The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-11-10
CHAPTER XIII

Miles farther than Linda's cabin,
clear beyond the end of the trail that
Duncan took, past even the highest
ridge of Trails End and in the region
| where the little rivers that run into
the Umpqua have their starting place,
Is a certain land OF Used to Be. 1t
isn't land Of the Present Time at all.
It Is a place that has never grown old.
When man passes the last outpost
of civilization, and the shadows of the
unbroken woods drop over him, he is
likely to forget that the year Is nine
teen hundred and twenty, and that
the day before yesterday he had seen
an airplans passing over his house.
The world seems to have kicked of
its thousand-thousand years as a
warm man at night kicks off covers ;
and all things are just as they used
TO be. It Is the Young World-a
world Of beasts rather than men, a
world where the hand Of man has not
yet been felt.
On this particular early-September
| day, the age-old drama Of the wilder
ness was in progress. 1t was drama
Of untamed passions and bloodshed,
strife and carnage and lust and rap
inc; and It didn't, unfortunately, have
a particularly happy ending. The
players were beasts, not men. The
only human being anywhere In the
| near vicinity was the old trapper,
Hudson, following down his trap line
on the creek margin on the way TO
his camp. II Is true that two other
men, with a rather astounding SINH
larity Of purpose, were at present COM
| Ing down two Of the long trails that
led TO the region; but as yet the
drama was hidden from their eyes.
One of the two was Bruce, coming
from Linda's cabin. One was Dave
Turner. approaching from the direc-
ton Of the Ross estates. Turner was
much the nearer. CuriousIy, both had
business with the trapper Hudson.
The action Of the play was calm at
first Mostly the forest creatures
were still In their afternoon sleep
The does and their little spotted
fawns were sleeping; the blacktail
deer had not yet sought the feeding
grounds on the ridges. The cougar
| yawned in his lair, the wolf dozed In
his covert. even the poison-people lay
like long shadows on the hot rocks
An old raccoon wakened from his
place on a high limb, stretched him
self. scratched at his fur, then began
TO steal down the limb. He had long
way to go before dark. Hunting was
getting poor in this part of the woods
He believed he would wander down
| toward Hudsons camp and look for
| crayfish in the water. A coyote Is
usually listed among the larger forest
creatures, but early though the hour
was--early, that is, for hunters to be
out-he was stalking a fawn in q
| covert
| All the hunts were progressing IA.
mOusly when there came a curious in.
! terruption. 1t was peculiar growl
quite low at first. It lasted long
| time, then died away. There was nc
opposition to 1t. The forest creatures
/ had paused IN their tracks at its first
| note, and now they stood as If the
! winter had come down upon them sud.
denly and frozen them solid All the
other sounds Of the forest-the little
whispering noises Of gliding bodies
and futtering feet, and perhaps a
\ birds call in a shrub-were suddenly
stilled. There was a moment OF
GREATNESS suspense. Then the sound
commenced again.
1t was louder this time It rose and
| gathered volume until It was almost q
roar. 1t carried through the silences
/ in great waves of sound And in il
was sense of resistless power; nc
creature in the forest but what knew
| this fact.
1.-The Gray King" one could imagine
them saying among themselves. The
effect was instantaneous The little
raccoon halted in his descent, then
crept out to the end of limb. The