Three Boys in the Wild North Land

by Egerton Ryerson Young

Frank’s Adventures—The Reindeer followed—Unwelcome Interlopers—Cowardly Wolves stalking the Fawns—Repelled by the Gallant Bucks—Close Quarters—Successful Shots—Different Game than Reindeer—Visions of Splendour.

Frank’s experience was a very different one from that of Alec. He and his companion had started out in a westerly direction until they sighted the herd of deer a few miles away. They followed them up until they came so near as to have been able to have shot some, but, like other hunters, they were anxious to kill the leader, so as to throw the herd in confusion. With this object in view they carefully skulked along, hiding behind the clumps of bushes and rocky ridges that were quite numerous.

All at once they heard a snorting and a sound of rushing hither and thither among the deer, and so they carefully climbed up some rocks and cautiously looked over to try and find out what was the cause of the commotion. At first they could not make out what was the matter, but after a while they saw that the herd had other hunters than themselves after them. These were a pack of wolves.

They were at the front of the herd, and so Frank and the Indian quickly drew back from the rock, and hurried on to see the battle. Fortunately for them, the reindeer were so excited by the presence of the wolves that our two hunters were able to get among some large jagged rocks that rose up fifty or sixty feet, not very distant from them. Here they had a capital view of the valley in which were the deer and the wolves. There seemed to be about a dozen wolves in the pack, and perhaps two hundred reindeer in the herd, including about thirty young ones that seemed about five or six months old.

The object of the wolves seemed to be to evade the great antlers of the bucks and to capture those very pretty young fawns. It was very interesting to watch the skill and courage with which the great antlered bucks would close up, like a company of cavalry, and charge the wolves when they ventured too close to the herd. The wolves never waited to receive the charge, but ignominiously turned tail and ran for their lives. They, however, soon returned when no longer pursued. There seemed to be a thorough understanding among the deer as to the position each should take while menaced by the wolves. The large antlered ones formed the outside circle. Next inside were the hornless males and the does, while in a compact body in the centre were the fawns.

Thus on they slowly moved, while the wolves attempted at various parts to break through, but always quickly retreated when a company of the bucks gallantly charged them.

This strange conflict was watched by Frank and his companion for some time with intense interest, until it had an abrupt ending. It came about this way. In one of the determined charges made upon the wolves by, perhaps, thirty reindeer, they drove their cowardly enemies right up among the rocks just beyond where Frank and his companion had hid themselves. The close proximity of the wolves so excited Frank that he whispered to the Indian:

“Let us fire at the wolves and never mind the deer.”

The fact was that Frank’s sympathies had so gone out for the deer, as he watched the incessant schemings of the wolves to get at the beautiful fawns and the gallant efforts of the older ones to defend them, that he had no heart to fire into the herd. He could well see that their firing into the herd would so terrify and disorganise them that the wolves would easily destroy the little ones.

From where they were hid the two hunters noticed that the wolves, now no longer chased by the reindeer, were again clustering near the rocks, utterly unconscious of the fact that between them and the herd were some more dreaded foes than even the antlered deer.