Show adventurers ADVENTURE RV CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF deaths De ciles sleigh ride H HELLO ELLO EVERYBODY kathleen donovan of chicago is bringing us a regular hair raiser of a yarn th the e tale of an id adventure venture that happened to her in 1888 when she was blittle a little girl in those days kathleen lived on a farm in alcona county mich 11 with her mother and dad and her five brothers and sisters it way was pretty wild country up there then hunters shunned desolate forest there were thousands and thousands of acres of forest kathleen says where even the most daring hunters never camped settlers were ere few and far between on the borders of this wild tract were just a few settlers living along a road that was fairly passable kathleen says that tha winter hung on until an unusually late date in the year 1888 the cattle in the neighborhood were on short rations and the wild life in the woods was beginning to feel the pinch of hunger it was not an uncommon occurrence on those long cold nights to bear timber wolves howling calling comrades to join in a raid on some farmers barnyard the nearest neighbors lived five miles away and there much visiting between families but one sunday morning in march a bamm family y came over to kathleena Kath leens home to spend the day bringing their own little girl with them they had walked the whole distance in the morning before the sun began to melt the snow and intended to remain until evening when the muddy road would freeze again and walk home by moonlight horses were scarce in michigan in those days but kathleena Kath leens dad had just bought a fine young team kathleena Kath leens dad suggested a sleigh ride they were splendid for driving as well as on the plow kathleen bays and my father suggested that if our guests would remain until about 9 when the mud and slush on the road would be well frozen he would drive them home and we children could have a sleigh ride well sir that plan was agreed upon when night came they started out dad and the neighbors on the seat and the kids burrowing into the straw pile in the back of the sleigh after an hours ride they reached the friends house stopped for a cup of hot milk and then started for home again the kids were enjoying the ride the moon was bright and the sleigh leigh slid easily over the frozen road they had covered about a mile of the distance when away to the south they heard the long piercing erm the horses were doing their best cry of a wolf immediately other wolves took up the cry inside of half a minute it seemed to kathleen as though the whole forest were ringing with their terrible howls 1 I heard my father exclaim my godl god and from that moment on we children knew it was a race for our lives there were three of us who had taken the little excursion my brother who was about 10 my sister who was 12 and I 1 myself then about 8 A race for life with hungry wolves my sister covered my brother and me with straw and told us to lie flat under the seats the horses seemed to understand our terrible danger and fairly flew over the road from the first alarm there was no need to urge them I 1 had seen the flash dash of fire from their feet when they bounded forward when we were about two miles from home we could see dark shapes on the long straight road a scant half mile behind us the kids huddled on the straw in the back of the wagon none of them spoke until mary kathleena Kath leens older sister put her head down and whispered when I 1 jump dont tell father let him keep right on kathleen stared at her ber sister she was going to sacrifice herself to delay those wolves for a few moments kathleen caught mary and clung to her her brother told mary he would certainly scream if she jumped and meanwhile the wolves were gain gaining the horses were doing their best but they had a heavy sleigh to haul and the wolves were running free they were less than a quarter of a mile behind now and the sleigh was a mile from home mother was handy with shooting ion I on the sleigh creaked as it lurched along the road they were almost in sight of home when they heard the report of a rifle then they heard a second shot thus they knew that their mother at home had heard those terrible howls and was ready to help them As they rounded a turn in the road they saw a great bonfire built near the spot where rethe the sleigh would turn into the yard A wolf is afraid of fire and they knew it if they reached that blaze alive have a chance As they came closer to home they could see mother standing near the fire dad owned two fine repeating rifles the first that had ever come into the locality and mother had brought out both ot of them closer and closer they came to the blaze and still the wolves gained on them As the sleigh turned into the yard and pulled up beside the fire mother threw one of the rifles to dad and together firing shot after shot they held the pack at bay kathleen says there must have been at least 30 wolves in the pack they circled around the big fire snarling and snapping while mother and dad blazed away with the guns when nine had been shot down the pack broke and scattered and the next morning wo more were found dead a short distance away when the wolves were gone the horses were cared tor for says kathleen there was a look of 0 wonderful thankfulness on my mothers face as we gathered around the kitchen fire but all she said was children your prayers and then hen to bed but I 1 wonder it if any one of those kids did any sleeping sleep mg 9 how about it kathleen copyright service |