Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-05-26

step out and get them carcasses.
Mebbe the pelts are with some
thin"
He dragged the three dead wolves
near the camp, and stood at the fire,
every faculty awake, saying, An
other grip O. hunger may bring 'em
back. A starvin' wolf says, like
Patrick Henry, Give me dinner, or
give me death "
There was no more sleep for that
party till the yellow hairs of the
sun" began to float upon the
brow of the morning." Then
wearied with their exciting vigil, all
dozed off into morning maps, save
Hunter John. When they awakened
they found the breakfast prepared,
the pelts of the wolves extended on
sticks over a smudge fire.
What an Ajax that fellow is;
what courage, self-reliance; what a
strong arm to lean upon" said
hardwood.
While they were. breakfasting
Uncle Ez told them of an expert
ence of his with a pack of hungry
wolves, that we'll nigh took away
their zest for the fare before them:
Il was onct out in the Coos country
with regular French coory-de- bwa,
(courier du bois,) a thurrerbred
woodsmen n trapper. We went
there fer to trap fer beaver. What
that leetle, .spry, wiry Canuck dinn't
know bout woodcraft, natur' her
self didn't care to larn. We was out
in the lonesomest region that ever
seed or heerd on; one of the back
pastors Of creation. We had sar-
cult O. traps we useter line. After
I. we'd cleaned out the medders that
: was in our sarcuit we struck out for
another poorly we'll up north, n
pro bly, quite a piece into Canada.
We was totin' our packs O. traps
late in the fall, and we stopped one
night to camp. The Frenchman
said, We make de camp pooty caff
(carefuD tonight; de wolf he give
US de dew So we found a place
where ledge O. rock run up per-
pendic'ler, n there was a kind ov
angle in it, so't on two sides we had
, high wall O. rock. This gin us a
snug little corner to make bough
house over, and we rolled up a log
in front ont and piled up fer a good
fire. We cooked our supper n
looked to our guns and had our axes
handy. We had to lay our fire
away so fur that it left little open
way on each end O. the fire into our
little corner under the ledge. We
got all ready afore dark, had our
tea, some pork and briIed partridge,
then the Frenchman gin me a lesson
in closin' with wolves at close quar-
ters. He said, No use for gun,
when you kill one de oder dey don't
care; dey come on, ten, twenty to
tam; wrap your left arm up in bag
or piece skeen, sheep skeen, de best,
and fight de wolf wild long knife in
your right ham He wound round
his left forearm and up to'ards his
shoulder a strip O. bearskin, soft
the wolf could bury his teeth in il
and not pinch the arm or hand.
7 did the same with sack we carried
: we each had long huntin' knives
sharp pinted, and we whet EN-
keen as razors, and curled down tc
= rest. But the varmints didn't pro
!. pose to give US much sleep; not
b. they. By the time dark had wei
n sot in there was howlin' all 'roun'
n you'd said that a bowler fel
n every tree in the woods was there
e We got beeg fight, mon garcen.
r SEE he; 'beeg fight; beeg pack, damn
d hoongry;' but he laft, and swore
It BY gar, we keel EN-; we got bees
# fun; keep steef on your leg, keel
e your lef' arm we'll on de front ant
n let de wolf grab, den you steel
o heem wild you knife, right unde
n you lef' arm; stab like de dew
n an you hear such vein Won neva