Year: 1872

10 Among The early settlers oil Woo
ye stock, a besutiful town in the Gre
no Mountain State, was man by q
ne re name of Silas Sloey, who had left b
at early home near the sal, and folloI
in ing the windings of ii.e new Connec
:. icut, had ct last pitched upon q plat
aS in the wilderness, where he erecte
.. cabin, and then commenced an o
s slaught upon the gisns of the fore
e that reared their heads ia statel
5 grandeur about him, but gave wa
q beneath his relentless strokes, an
8 in couple of years he had quite a
s open space encircling his cabin. Dul
D ing this time he had lived alone, bu
$ when the second autumn came anoth
!" er journey was undertaken to tbs
9 old home by the sea, and when b
returned young wife bore him com
0 privations incident to 'dn 7 .ne lOyS 'n'
Three yesrs came and went, an.
. the clearing had greatly enlarged it
, borders, although no ann but his ow,
labored within it's bounds. The tree
, that at first came close up to tn,
cabin, had now retreated to a respect
able distance, ard The ground they
had once occupied was now usurpeC
by flourishing crops that cbeered the
settler and encouraged him TO still
greater exertions.


/ The three years spent in the fores,


by the young couple had been those


OF peace and contentment. a son


was born to them at the commence


ment of the second year OF their mar


ried life, and who was, at the time


the adventure we are about to relate


lranspired, nearly two years of age,


and as bright little fellow as ever


cheered the hearts of parents, whose


very lie seemed bound up in their


child.


Ine nearest neIghbors of the Sloeys


were more than three miles away,


through the forest, SO it was seldom
they saw others than themselves. The
settler was too much occupied with


his work TO pay much attention to
making visits, and the distance was so
great that it was not safe for his wife
to 90 alone, as the forests swaimed
with wild beasts, which rendered the
night hideous with their cries. Bears
and pantbers abounded, but the
wolves most TO be dreaded snd proved
the greatest annoyance for often
they would gather around the cabin
at early dusk and keep up their hor-
rid cries until the early gray of dawn
sent them bowling into the dim aisles
Of the forest and up the dark ravines
among the mountains, where shadows
almost like those of night lurked
through the day.


One day, late in October, business
called the settler to the nearest settle.
ment OF importance in that section,
which chanced to be some eight
miles distant; and he set out early
in the morning, telling his wife she
should not look for him before night
fall, as it YVES very uncertain what
time lie would be able to accomplish
his business, andit might be that he
would not be home till late in the
night; but come be would before he
slept, unless come unseen event inter-
posed to prevent. Bending over his
child that was sleeping in the bed, he
kissed it, and then, having bestowed
the same mark Of affection upon his
wife, he bade her to be careful not to
stir from the cabin or to allow the
child 10 wander from her sight. for
fear that some harm might come to
them from the wild beasts. With
this caution, which she promised |
readily to observe, he threw his rifle
over his shoulder and took his way
across the clearing, and his wife
watched him from the doorwa until
the forest thicket hid him from her
sight.


The morning had given promise of
q beautiful day, which assurance was
well kept until little past meridian,
when the wind changed to the east
ward, and dark clouds began to OBJ
scurc the sky to the south and west,
giving strong indications that storm
was nigh at hand. Busy with her
work and the care of her boy, Mrs. |
Sloey did not notice the approaching |
storm until near nightfall, when the
sudden darkness that seemed. all at
once TO throw a deep gloom about
the cabin reminded her that the night |
and storm were close at hand, and |
going to the doorway she gazed anx-
iously toward that point in the forest
whence she expected to get the first
sight of her husband.


Although her gaze was long and
earnest, it vas not rewarded by o
glimpse ef her husband then with q
glance at the dark clouds that seemed |
to cover the little clearing as If with
a huge pail, she tried to calculate how
long it would be before the rain would
begin to fall, and to guess the dis
tance her husband might be away,
and the chance he had of reaching
home before the storm. |


Standing in the doorway the gloom
seemed to deepen every moment,
sighIng dismally in the forest diad |
away, leaving everything almost as
still as death.


The kettle singing on the hearth |
recalled her to the tact that she had |
commenced preparing supper, and
turning away from the door, she ap-
preached the rude stone fireplace,
and after paying due attention to
what was cooking there she ap-
preached the bed upon which her boy !
was sleeping, and found the air OF
the fast deepening night appeared to
strike him where he lay. Not caring
to close the door, as she wished to
catch the first sound of her husbands
footsteps on his return, she bethought
herself Of quilt that was in the loft,
which she could spread upon the bed
without disturbing the little son.


Listening for moment. to make
sure no footsteps were approaching,
she ascended the rude ladder, and felt
her way along in the darkness--the loft
was unprovided with windows-to the
spot where she supposed the object Of
her search to be lying, but it was not
there. Either she or her husband had
moved it, and gloping her way about
in darkness, she, after a few moments
delay, succeeded in finding it, and
taking it on her arm, she approached
the ladder and was about to descend


when she caught sight of an object in


the room that seemed to turn her


blood to ice, and for a moment rem


dered her incapable of thought or ac-


tiop.


Standing in the center of the room,


with its head upturued, its fierce eyes


glaring around in every direction. its


long red tongue partly protruding


from its half-open mouth in which the


white fangs were visible, was a huge,


lank wolf, that despite the timidity of


its race had ventured in through the


halfopen door in search of food, at


tracted by the odor of the meat that


was cooking upon the fire. as it had


been prowling around. the cabin, as


was frequently the case at this season


ofthe year. ---


For a minute, Mrs. Sloey was so


paralyzed with horror that for her


life or her child's she could not have
Il