Reminiscences of a Canadian Pioneer for the last Fifty Years: An AutobiographyThompson, Samuel
History
Reminiscences of a Canadian Pioneer for the last Fifty Years: An Autobiography
Thompson, Samuel
Frontier and pioneer life -- Ontario; Thompson, Samuel, 1810-1886; Toronto (Ont.) -- Biography; Toronto (Ont.) -- History
Wolves often disturbed us with their hideous howlings. We had a
beautiful liver and white English setter, called Dash, with her two
pups. One night in winter, poor Dash, whom we kept within doors, was
excited by the yelping of her pups outside, which appeared to be alarmed
by some intruder about the premises. A wolf had been seen prowling near,
so we got out our guns and whatever weapon was handy, but incautiously
opened the door and let out the slut before we were ourselves quite
dressed. She rushed out in eager haste, and in a few seconds we heard
the wolf and dog fighting, with the most frightful discord of yells and
howls that ever deafened the human ear. The noise ceased as suddenly as
it had begun. We followed as fast as we could to the scene of the
struggle, but found nothing there except a trampled space in the snow
stained with blood, the dog having evidently been killed and dragged
away. Next morning we followed the track further, and found at no great
distance another similar spot, where the wolf had devoured its victim so
utterly, that not a hair, bone, nor anything else was left, save the
poor animal's heart, which had been flung away to a little distance in
the snow. Beyond this were no signs of blood. We set a trap for the
wolf, and tracked him for miles in the hope of avenging poor Dash, but
without effect. This same wolf, we heard afterwards, was killed by a
settler with a handspike, to our great satisfaction.
Among our neighbours of the Sunnidale settlement was a married couple
from England, named Sewell, very well-conducted and industrious. They
had a fair little child under two years old, named Hetty, whom we often
stopped to admire for her prettiness and engaging simplicity. They also
possessed, and were very proud of, several broods of newly-hatched
chickens, some of which had been carried off by an immense falcon, which
would swoop down from the lofty elm-trees still left standing in the
half-chopped clearing, too suddenly to be easily shot. One day Hetty was
feeding the young chickens when the hawk pounced upon the old hen, which
struggled desperately; whereupon little Hetty bravely joined in the
battle, seized the intruder by the wings from behind and held him fast,
crying out loudly, "I've got him, mother!" It turned out, after the hawk
was killed, that it had been blind of one eye.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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