CHAPTER FORTY TWO.
AN ADVENTURE WITH DUSKY WOLVES.
"During that year we raised two crops of corn. Neither one of themrequired as much as two months to bring it to maturity. When wegathered our fall crop we found that we had twenty times the full of ourcart--enough to serve us for a whole year, as well as to feed ouranimals in the winter.
"Our second year was spent pretty much as the first. We made our sugarin the spring, and planted a large quantity of corn. We added to ourstock of pets both deer and antelope; and among other animals we caughtan old she-wolf, with a large brood of wolf-puppies at her heels. Ineed hardly tell you that we were constrained to kill the old one onaccount of her savage disposition, but the young ones we kept andreared. They grew up quite as tame as our own dogs, with whom theyfraternised as if they had been of the same species.
"During the summer and winter we had several adventures in the trappingand killing of wild animals; but one of these adventures was of such asingular and dangerous character, that you may feel interested in itsnarration.
"It occurred in the dead of winter, when there was snow upon the ground;and, in fact, it was the severest winter we experienced during oursojourn in the valley.
"The lake was frozen over, and the ice was as smooth as glass. Ofcourse, we spent much of our time in skating about over its surface, asit gave us health and a good appetite. Even Cudjo had taken a fancy forthis amusement, and was also one of the skaters Frank was fonder of itthan any of us, and was, in fact, the best skater in our community.
"One day, however, neither Cudjo nor I had gone out, but only Frank andHarry. The rest of us were busy at some carpenter work within doors.We could hear the merry laugh of the boys, and the ring of their skates,as they scoured over the smooth ice.
"All at once a cry reached our ears which we knew betokened the presenceof some danger.
"`O Robert!' ejaculated my wife, `they have broken through the ice!'
"We all dropped what we held in our hands, and rushed for the door. Iseized a rope as I ran, while Cudjo laid hold of his long spear,thinking that that might best help us. This was the work of a moment,and the next we were outside the house. What was our astonishment tosee both the boys, away at the farthest end of the lake, still upontheir feet, but skating toward us as fast as they could drive! At thesame time our eyes rested upon a terrible object. Close behind themupon the ice, and following at full gallop, was a pack of wolves! Theywere not the small prairie wolves--which either of the boys might havechased with a stick--but of a species known as the `great dusky wolf ofthe Rocky Mountains.' There were six of them in all. Each of them wastwice the size of the prairie wolf; and their long dark bodies, gauntwith hunger, and crested from head to tail with a high bristling mane,gave them a most fearful appearance. They ran with their ears set back,and their jaws apart, so that we could see the red tongues and whiteteeth.
"We did not halt a moment, but rushed onward for the lake. I flung downthe rope, and seized hold of a large rail as I ran, while Cudjo hurriedforward, brandishing his spear. Mary, with presence of mind, turnedback into the house for my rifle.
"I saw that Harry was foremost; and that the fierce pursuers were fastclosing upon Frank. This was strange, for we knew that Frank was by farthe best skater. We all called out to him, uttering confused shouts ofencouragement. Both were bearing themselves manfully, but Frank wasmost in danger. The wolves were upon his heels! `O God! they willdevour him!' I cried in my agony, expecting the next moment to see himtorn down upon the ice. What was my joy at seeing him suddenly wheel,and dart off in a new direction, with a shout of triumph! The wolves,thus nimbly eluded, now kept after Harry--who in turn, became the objectof our anxiety. In a moment they were upon him; but he, already warnedby his brother, wheeled in a similar manner; while the fierce brutes,carried along by the impetus of their race, swept to a considerabledistance upon the ice before they could turn themselves. Their longtails, however, soon enabled them to veer around in the new direction;and they galloped after Harry, who was now the nearest to them. Frank,in the meantime, had again turned, and came sweeping past behind them--uttering loud shouts, as if to tempt them from their pursuit of Harry.They heeded him not, and again he changed his direction; and, as thoughhe was about to skate into their midst, followed the wolves. This timehe shaved up close behind them, just at the moment Harry had made hissecond angle and escaped.
"At this juncture we heard Frank calling out to his brother to make forthe shore; while, instead of retreating, he poised himself upon hisskates, until Harry had passed; and then dashed off, followed by thewhole pack. Another slight turn brought him nearly in our direction.
"There was a large hole broken through the ice close by the shore; andwe saw that, unless he turned again, he would skate into it! We thoughthe was watching the wolves too intently to see it, and we shouted towarn him. Not so: he knew better than we what he was about. When hehad reached within a few feet of the hole, he wheeled sharply to theleft, and came dashing up to the point where we stood to receive him.The wolves, following in a close clump, and too intent upon their chaseto see anything else, went sweeping past the angle; and the next momentplunged into the broken ice!
"Cudjo and I ran shouting forward, and with the heavy rail and longspear commenced dealing death amongst them. It was but a short, thoughexciting scene. Five of them were speared and drowned; while the sixthsucceeded in crawling out upon the ice, and was making off, frightenedenough at the cold ducking he had got. I thought he was going to escapeus, but at that moment I heard the crack of a rifle from behind; and thewolf tumbled over, howling like a shot hound. On turning around, I sawHarry with my rifle, which Mary had brought down during the encounter,and which she had intrusted to Harry as a better marksman than herself.The wolf was still only wounded, kicking furiously about upon the ice;but Cudjo now ran out, and, after a short struggle, finished thebusiness with his spear.
"That was a day of great excitement in our little community. Frank, whowas the hero of the day, although he said nothing, was not a littleproud of his skating feat. And well might be, as, but for hismanoeuvres, poor Harry would undoubtedly have fallen a prey to thefierce wolves."