Year: 1863

tude for life"


"Shall not be our fault if he escapes"
said L; and with hurried adieu to our
hospitahle entertainer, we once more push
ed on,


1t is unnecessary to enter into the de-


tails of that days pursuit The trail


led to the sumit of high range of hills,


and then kept along the brow of the ridge


for five or six miles, and diagonally de-


scended the same side we had gone up,


hearing off in broad circuit toward the


point from which we started. When the


sun again set, we reckoned our days tramp
: at not less than from thirty five to forty


miles, and yet, so far, we had not even


caught glimpse of the wolf.


We staid at another farm house that


night, took another rubbing down with


cold water, and rise the next morning as


fresh as ever The weather still contin-


ued cold and the tracking good-but there


were some indications that a thaw would


shortly take place, which made us very


anxious to get sight Of the beast. We


found where he had lain down, about a


mile from where we had stopped the night


before, and another place about six miles
from that, which showed that he was get
ting weary himself, and this encouraged


us to renew our exertions. About noon


of this, the third day, having ascended a
high hill, we got our first view of him,
crossing an open valley on the other side,
and we ran down the descent with loud
|, shouts, the dogs adding fine chorus
The wolf now made his way to steep


and rocky mountain, up which we climed
, slowly and with great difficulty, reaching
the summit about half an hour before sun
r set. But, joyful to discover or long
' journey was now at an end-for we traced
the beast to cave among the rocks, in
which, wearied and alarmed at the steady
G pursuit. he had taken refuge, never more,
q as we were both resolved, to come forth


alive.


t The mouth of this cave-or rather den,
! as it seemed more appropriate to term it
! would only admit us on our hands and
: knees and that it ran far back into the
e bowels of the earth we could tell by the
|. baying of the dogs, which ventured in as
n close to their enemy as prudence would
n allow. But how were we to destroy the
Y beast Should we block up the hole and
l. starve him out 3? build fire inside and


smoke him out or venture in and shoot
p him where he was? The first would take
e more time to accomplish than we cared tc
It spare, as we might have to remain on the


watch several days; the second we might
n not be able to succeed in at all +; and the


third of course, would be attended with
d more or less peril.


e After taking everything into considera


ton, however, we decided upon the last
Y and not to loose any time we set about il
- at once We had some trouble in collect
J. ing fuel enough to last us through the


night-for our plan would require us tc
h remain on the mountain till morning
IS but before it became dark we had got to


gether sufficient for respectable fire, al
d also few pine knots to serve us for torches
e Then we started our fire near the mouth
It of the cave, and made our supper on thu
J. remains of the lunch we had taken with
a us in the morning; after which we look
e ed carefully to our weapons, lighted ou1


torches, and began our internal explora
IL tious.


p As the dogs still kept up their barking
t, we could safely advance without any fea
d of disagrceable surprise; and 50 WI
E. crept along through the narrow, zig-zal
Is tunnel, with only the caution of looking
h carefully to the ground over which W
re moved, lest we might get sudden plung
n into some pit or chasm. In this name
ir we carefully worked our way back for som
lie three or four hundred feet, when we cam
a. to place something like small apart
n- ment, where we could stand upright. Her
d. we found the dogs, collected around sor
10 of hole in one corner, into which the vol
y had crowded himself back some fifteen O
a. twenty feet, facing his tormentors, whicl