Beset By Wolves

Beset by Wolves

Novel Russian Scheme to Exterminate Fierce Brutes.

From a Cage the Hunters Shoot In Safety--Attack Repulsed with Boiling Water.

Captain Alexander Petrowa, a Russian officer of artillery noted for hs skill in hunting big game, while in New York a few days ago described a singular wolf hunt in Russia in which he took part last winter:

"I had been invited by an uncle, Baron Imhoff, to spend a fortnight with him at his country house in northwestern Russia, about a hundred miles from Volinsk.

"I reached the place one afternoon late in February, and next morning, after a hearty breakfast, our party, warmly wrapped in furs, took seats in a big sleigh drawn by a splendid team of the best horses in my uncle's stables.

"The sleigh which followed close behind us was a puzzle to me because of its queer load. Instead of the usual paraphernalia of a hunting expedition it was filled with planks. joists, iron bars, and had in the middle of this queer assortment a big stove all ready to be set up and a lot of rubber garden hose, together with a hand pump and a great iron kettle.

"After a fast run of about two hours our sleigh drew up at a little cabin situated on the edge of a thick forest. An immense plain spread out before us for many miles. and not far away was a herd of perhaps fifty horses in an inclosed field watched over by two armed men. There was also a strong inclosure in which the horses were kept at night.

"The two carpenters who had come along in the sleigh which carried the planks and the stove immediately set to work unloading that material and clearing away a little plot of ground in front of the cabin. Within an hour or so they had put up a solid structure about seven feet high, all grated with iron bars. It looked much like a big menagerie cage placed in such a position that we could pass into it from the front door of the cabin.

"In the center of this cage the stove was set up and a fire built in it. Enough wood was gathered to keep a hot blaze going all night long. The carcass of a dead horse was placed near the cage.

"As soon as night fell we entered the cage, and soon the wolves began to gather, attracted by the promise of a feast.

"Soon they became sufficiently bold to attack the horse, and then the sport began.

"Detachments of the animals carne up from all sides and fairly rushed upon the cage. This boldness enabled us to shoot them with great certainty. The ground about the cage was soon literally covered with dead wolves, but still they came on. Whenever it seemed that we had finished them a fresh contingent appeared.

"It now became necessary to economize our ammunition. My uncle gave the order to throw boiling water on the wolves by means of the hose and the pump plunged into the kettle. The effect was fearful. Horribly burned, the wolves that we hit gave out cries of distress and rolled in the snow. As fast as the kettle was emptied we threw into it more ice.

"A general retreat now took place, and the wolves that were able to run or drag themselves away dispersed. and some bands even that we noticed coming from afar turned on their tracks when they met their fellows in distress.

"We killed with blows of clubs the wounded wolves that lay in our neighborhood and then counted the dead. Sixty-eight of the brutes lay on the ground. The number of fugitives was at least a hundred, of which a quarter must have been grievously wounded or burned." 

BOILING WATER WAS THROWN ON THE WOLVES