244 FORTY-FOUR YEARS OP 



I heard my dog growling, as I lay with ray head on him. 

 Being sound asleep, 1 did not become conscious of danger 

 until his repeated growlings fully aroused me ; when I 

 heard something coming up to my fire. To my surprise, 

 it came up right in the smoke, when I was sure it knew I 

 was there, and could smell me ; for it came quite near, and 

 commenced growling at me. 



The old dog was so frightened that he lay close to me 

 for protection. I would not shoot by guess, and it was so 

 dark that I could not have seen an ox if he had been 

 there. As I found I had no chance of shooting to any 

 certainty, I thought I would try to provoke the wolf to 

 jump on the old dog ; which I knew he would do if the 

 dog was only out of my reach. 



There being a high log lying before me, I took the dog, 

 and held him up so that the wolf could see him, but kept 

 myself out of view, with my knife ready in my hand. If 

 the wolf jumped on the dog, I intended to catch him by 

 the leg, and let him bite all he could until I got my knife 

 into him. But, though I could not tempt him to come 

 over to me, he kept round me until daylight began to ap- 

 pear ; when he went off about a hundred yards, and gave 

 a long howl, to which no answer was returned. 



As he was going down the Crossings, into a thick 

 swamp, I got out and went below, between him and the 

 laurel, and sitting down, howled like a wolf, which I could 

 imitate very well. I did so twice or three times ; but, get- 

 ting no reply, I despaired of hearing from him ; and, as it 

 was yet too dark to see to shoot, I sat still until I heard 

 something moving towards me through the dry leaves ; 

 and, notwithstanding I could partially see it as it ran, yet 

 I could not tell whether it was a deer or a wolf. 



On it came, until about to pass me ; when, finding it 

 was 8 wolf, I spoke easily to him, and held my gun ready. 

 He- beard me, and flopped, when I fired at him. He gave 



