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Show ADVENTURERS' CLUB i 1 HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES V 'jjy OF PEOPLE LIKE YO U R S E L F I KJ "Death's Sleigh Ride" TT ELLO EVERYBODY: A Kathleen Donovan of Chicago is bringing us a regular regu-lar hair-raiser of a yarn the tale of, an adventure that happened hap-pened to her in 1888, when she was a little girl. In those days, Kathleen lived on a farm In Alcona county, Mich., with her mother and dad, and her five brothers and sisters. It wai 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 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 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 wa,s beginning to feel the pinch of hunger.. It was not an uncommon occurrence, on those long cold nights, to hear timber wolves howling, calling comrades com-rades to join in a raid on some farmer's barnyard. The nearest neighbors lived five miles away, and there wasn't much visiting between families. But one Sunday morning, In March, a family came over to Kathleen's 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 Kathleen's dad had just bought a fine, young learn. Kathleen's Dad Suggested a Sleigh Ride. "They were splendid for driving as well as on the plow," Kathleen says, "and my father suggested that if our guests would remain until about 9 o'clock, 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 burrow-ing into the straw pile in the back of the sleigh. After an hour's ride they reached the friend's 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 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 L' 1 - - - . 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. . "I heard my father exclaim, 'My 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 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 had seen the flash 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, Kathleen's older sister, put her head down and whispered: "When I jump, don't tell father. Let .him keep right on." Kathleen stared at her 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 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 Iron. 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 bon-fire built near the spot where the sleigh would turn into the yard. A wolf Is afraid of fire, and they knew If they reached that blaze alive, they'd 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 of them. Closer and closer thev came to the blaze. And still tv,Q 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 two more were found dead a short distance away. When the wolves were gone, the horses were cared for. Says Kathleen; ' "There was a look of wonderful thankfulness on my mother's face as we gathered around the kitchen fire, but all she said was, 'Children your prayers. And then to bed.' " But I wonder if any one of those kids did any sleeping? How about it, Kathleen? Copyright. WNU Service. Stange 'Offering to Heaven' Legend says Li-Shin-Min, a Chi-nese Chi-nese emperor, made a strange "offering "of-fering to heaven" 1300 years ago. Praying that a plague would be stopped, he swallowed a live locust to prove he meant his prayer. |