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Le Lovip Blarvc 
A Fireside Tale of a White Wolf and of the Mis¬ 
fortunes Attending those who Pursued It 
By P. CROSBY TUCKER 
T H E night was wild; a wet norther had 
swept down across the prairie with the 
setting of the sun, and now whipped the 
bare branches of the china trees and whirled 
and whined about the corners of the house like 
a thing possessed. 
Out at the cow pen the cattle huddled behind 
the scanty stack of prairie hay and the calf shed 
with tails turned toward the wind, heads droop¬ 
ing and backs arched in abject misery. The 
driving rain dripped from their soaked hides in 
streams as they crowded together in their efforts 
to gain a little warmth by physical contact. 
Beyond, in the darkness of the pony corral, 
the cavayard had drifted to the southernmost 
corner where,' further progress stopped by the 
high, fence, they like the cattle crowded together 
for warmth. 
Outside on the prairie could be heard the con¬ 
stant crunch and swish of innumerable hoofs 
churning the wet earth into slush, as the range 
stock drifted southward before the icy wind, 
seeking shelter. They traveled mostly in silence, 
though now and again a distressed “Moo” broke 
from some isolated straggler, who for the 
moment lost touch with his neighbors. They 
came mostly in single file, a group of six or 
a dozen, sullenly tramping in each other’s tracks. 
Occasionally a bunch, old animals and young, 
now a cow with a six-months-old calf, a year¬ 
ling and a three-year-old following closely; or 
a matted-crowned patriarch at the head of his 
harem, the younger bulls dutifully in the rear, 
but pressing close, the co'd and wet having for 
the moment suspended “the low of the herd.” 
Tnside La Maison it was more comfortable. 
The large earthen fireplace was piled high with 
oak back log and china tree faeeot that blazed 
and snapped in defiance of the wind that swirled 
down the wide chimney and sent gusts of smoke 
eddying into the room. Around the fire in a 
semicircle on rawhide-seated cha’rs were Papa 
Valcour and Anse, Feez La Blanc, Adolphe and 
Victor, each puffing steady streams of perique 
smoke toward the fireplace. 
The firelight illumined their faces, but left 
the rear of the room in shadows except where, 
through a doorway, the yellow glow of an oil 
lamp lighted up the kitchen where maman was 
busy with her evening task of “reddin’ up” the 
supper things. 
Before the hearth were stretched the three or 
four hounds—Black, Brindle and the tan pup— 
whose steaming hides attested to their recent ad¬ 
vent from out-of-doors. Overhead the strings of 
dried garlic and red peppers dependent from 
the rafters were interspersed with the b.ack- 
corded rolls of recently-hung perique tobacco of 
the season’s gathering, while on the shelf over 
the fireplace were a number of glass jars inter¬ 
spersed with cakes of golden yellow beeswax 
that contained maman’s stock of sun-dried okra 
and sassafras leaves, with whose aid her dishes 
of gumbo and chicken fille received character 
and zest. 
“Dose cattle driftin’ bad ternite,” observed 
papa. 
"Ya-as, dey bunch bad erlon de line fence 
en de bayou. Lots oh dose ole cows geet down 
en maik er beeg crop er hides ter gather cum 
three days,” interjected Adolphe. 
“Ja done, eet vere bad. Dose cow dun go 
eenter de wintah een bad shape. 
“All dese fall de rain he rot de grass, so dey 
hab no eatin’ evah sence de La Bades fence up 
de maarSh en maik er rice fiel’ of hit,” remarked 
Feez. 
“Mais, oui! rice he good crop, but dat maarsh 
ben wintah pastah for de range stock evah sence 
gret Gran’pere La Blanc settle de prairie; das 
wuz long taime ergo. Now eet dun sole an’ 
stock haf teh rustle de uppah range. Mauvais! 
no wondah we see de loup blanc. 
“Ya-as, en de naixt t’ing yer knows, papa, 
dah be sumbody a hearin’ le loup-garou. Dis 
de kine er night he do he trabels een. Me, I 
no want hear heem; mek me feel crawley up 
mah back.” 
“Das loup blanc ’nufif,” added Anse. 
“How dat, Anse?” questioned Adolphe. “Yeah 
no tell us ’bout dat.” 
“Eau sacree; eet wuz unpleasante,” with a 
shrug of the shoulders, and after a silence of 
some minutes he resumed: “Me en papa we 
start by starlight teh ride down teh de beeg 
draw afteh dat black yearlin’ en ole Spot’s heifer 
dat dun strayed las’ week. Jes’ es eet cum day, 
w’en t’ings luk gray en kinder mixed en fuzzy, 
down by de lone mesquite dar wuz sumfin’, w’ite 
er stanin’. W’en we cum clus heet dun gone, 
but a minute later dar heet wuz ergin de mouns 
er leetle furder on. We start teh ’lope en eet 
gone ergin. Den we seen hit on de leetle mour 
neah de crawdad flat des fah ’nuff off so w 
don’t mek hout w'at ’tis. Den jes’ es heet cur 
full light we heah er lobo call off teh ouah righ' 
den er pack ansehed down to’ard de maarsh, e: 
den de w’ite t’ing cum down offen de mour 
right to’ard us. En we heahs de loudes’ longes 
yelp er loup evah dun maik, en suah yer er 
settin’ dar we see hit’s er beeg w’ite lobo—beej] 
laik er yearlin’, en heet jes’' canterin’ crlong 
Papa ups he rifle en taiks er shot, but loup pay 
no ’tention; jes’ lopes right pas’ en een e 
minute he dun gone. Me, ah ride hup hon d 
moun’, but can’t see nuttin’, but dat same Ion} 
yelp dun come ergin fum way off yondeh to’arr 
de maash. 
“ ’Bout sunup, des es we geets teh de trem 
blantes 4 , me ah see sumfin’ stan’in’ by de beej 
suck-hole en papa he says, ‘Ain’t dat le loup? 
Suah enuff, dar he ees, en me, ah try mah luck 
but de bul'et des splash de mud; no loup dah, 
but we heahs he howl ergin sumers erbout.” 
“Das vere bad. My papa he tells me,” inter 
jected Victor, “dat las’ taime le loup blam 
wuz erroun’ mos’ all de cattle die fum charbor, 
fly 5 , en de people hab el vomito 6 all das summah 
le loup-garou he howl all das wintah, too.? 
“Eh! Nom de nom! W’at wuz dat?” 
At the instant a long, raucous cry came dowt 
the wind; harsh and discordant it struck the ear 
The air seemed vibrant with it and the tense 
nerves seemed to extend and repeat the sound 
Then silence fell. The hounds started growl¬ 
ing from their slumbers, but as the prolonged 
sound struck again upon their wakened ears 
their tails dropped, the bristles on their backs 
rose in evident terror, and with eyes gleaming! 
in affright they sought refuge beneath the men’s, 
chairs, while they, startled, gazed at each other, 
inquiringly. 
“Nom de Dieu! Das fus taime evah heal 1 
dat, me. What eet be?” gasped Ado'phe, as 
maman, white-faced and startled, joined the 
group. 
“Das honlee de black stud try break hout he 
pen, I reckon,” ventured Anse. “Some dem 
ponee dey geet too clus teh de wall en he geet 
mad.” 
“Reccum so,” agreed papa with a deep breath 
of relief, “but heet soun’ mauvais on sech er 
night. Das black stud plum locoed 7 , en he mek 
er beeg racket w’en any udder pony geet neali 
heem. Sum dese days he goan kill heself wey 
das he try brek troo de wall. Me, ah don’ know 
w’at we goan do with heem.” 
‘Prairie tremblantes—shaking or trembling prairie, a 
marshy formation. 
5 Charbon—anthrax. 
C E1 vomito—yellowjack, yellow fever. 
7 Locoed—poisoned by locoweed; crazy; it paralyzes the' 
brain. 
