Show A russian wolf hunt the following was translated from a late a umber number of M alex dil dumas malt newspaper ilisan it is an extract from one of his letters from st peters pt buie burl i wolf hunting and bear hunting are the favorite pleasures of the russians wolves are hinted in this way in the winter when the wolves being hungry are ferocious three or four hunters each armed with a double barre I 1 ed gun get into a troika which is i a sort of carriage drawn by three horses its name belig derived from its team and not its form the middle horse trots rots alfaye the lefthand left hand hind and right hand horses mus mils always gallop the middle horse trots with his head hanging down and he 13 called the snow eater cater the two others have only one rein and they are fastened to the poles by the tho middle of the body and gallop their heads beads are free they are call cali called ed the furies furie the troika is driven by a sure coachman A pig is tied to the rear of the vehicle by a rope or chain for greater security some twelve yards long the pig is kept in in the vehicle until the huntsmen huntsmon hunts men reach the forest where the hunt is to take place when he is taken out and the horses started the pig not being accustomed to this gait begins to squeal and his squeals so soon on degenerate into lamentations his cries bring out une uns wolf who gives chase to the pie pig then two wolves then three then ten then gifty filly wolves all posting as hard as they can go after the poor pig r fighting among themselves for the best places snapping and stinking stil king at the poor pig at every opportunity port unity who squeals wi with I 1 h despair these squalls of agony egony arouse all me ile wolves in the forest within a circuit of three miles miles and the troika is followed by an immense flock of wolves it is now that a good driver i is s indispensable the horses have an instinctive horror borror of wo wolves IV and go almost crazy they run as fast as they can go the huntsmen huntsmon hunts men fire as fast as they can load here there is no necessity to take any aim the pig squeals the horses neigh the wolves howl bowl the guns suns rattle it is a concert to make As long as a the driver commands bis his horses fast as they may be runn running i ing away there is no darger but if he ceases to be master of tb them emif if they baulk if the troika is upset there is no hope the next day bayor or the day after or a week afterward noti aig will remain of the he party but the wreck of the troika the barrels of the guns and the larger bones of the huntsmon huntsmen hunts men dilver driver and horse horses last winter prince R ephine went on one of these hunts and it came very near being hu hlf last hunt hant he was wag on a visit with one of his friends to one of his steps near the steppe and they determined ter mined to go on a wolf hunt they prepared a large sleigh in which three persons could move at ease three vigorous horses were put into it and they selected for a driver a man born in the country and thoroughly experienced in the sport each huntsman had bad a pair of double guns and a hundred and fifty ball cartridges it was night when wh en they reached the steppe that is an immense prairie covered with snow the moon was full and shone brilliantly its beims beima reflected by the snow gave a light scarcely inferior to daylight the pig was put out of the sleigh and the he horses whipped ed uli ull u As soon as tiie tire heeg pig felt that he was IT dragged rag nag ed he began to squeal A wolf or two a appeared p pear d but they were timid and kept a lorg way 0 off their number gradually increased and as their numbers augmented they became bolder litiere were about twenty wolves when they cama camb within gun rane ranse range of the troika one of the party fired a walf feil fell the flock b became came alarmed and h hail hall a if fled away seven or eight hungry wolves re bained behind to devour their deai dead companion the gapa were soon filled on every side bowls answered howls on every side sharp noses nobes and brilliant eyes were seen peering the guns rattled voley volley att tit atter after ter volley but the flock of wolves increased instead ef of diminished and soon it was nota noea not dot a flock but a vast herd of wolves in thick serried berried columns which gave chase to the creigh the wolves forward so rapidly they seemed vi t fly over ever the tho snow and so lightly that not a sound was heard their number continued con tinned to increase and increase they seem seeb d to be a silent tide drawing dradi nearer nearer and nearer and which the guns of the p arty rapidly as a they weye discharged had no effect neon the wolves formed a vast crescent whose horns began to encompass the horses horbes their number increased ao so rapidly that they seemed to spring out cf 0 the ground there wag was something wierd in th thir ir bope sope arance for where could thre three e thousand tho osand wolves cume emme from in such adart of snow the party had taken the pig into the seigh his big squeal llie ille leased the wolves boldness bolano ss the party continued to fire but hey they had now used about half their aman nilion and had bad but two hundred cartridges left while they were surrounded by three thousand wolves the two horns of the file crescent bocage nearer tle tie aber and nearer and threatened to envelop the party if one of the hoida give g iye tye outtie adte of the whole party was seal sealed d what lehat do you yon think of this ivan 7 said the prince addressing the driver 11 1 I had rather he be at home prince are vou afraid of any evil the devils have tasted bloo dand the more you fire the more wolves have what do you yoa think is the best thag to be done 4 make bilake the hores go faser faster are freyou you sure of the horses I 1 ye prince are you sure of our barely safely the driver made no reply lie ile quickened the horses and turned their heads towards home the horses flew faster than ever the driver excited them to increased speed by a sharp whittle and made hem them describe a curve which intersected one of the horns of the crescent ces cesan cn the opened their ranks and let the horses hersea pass the prince raised his gun to his shoulder for gods sake dont fire fine fired exclaimed the driver we are dead men if you do he obeyed ivan the wolves oston ostor astonished shed abed at this act remained motionless for a minute during 1 a ring this minute the troika gained on them when the wolver started again after afler it it was too lae late they could not overtake it A quarter of an hour afterwards they were in sight of home the prince thinks the th horses must have run at least six fix miles in those fifteen minutes herode he rode over the fhe he steppe the next day and found the bones of more than two hundred wolen fi ea general scott has issued an order directing the officers of the army to give regular and systematic instructions to the troops in ba bayonet y onet exercise and target practice for small arms and in the full use of the seve several rai ral weapons placed in their hands bands |