ALASKA WOLF ON SHEEP RANCH
Few sheep men would consent to
thave a wolf about, but the hero of this
•story in the Alaska Magazine was an
Alaska wolf:
Two or three years ago, when an
old wolf was buried in a corner of one
of the largest sheep ranches in Ne
braska, few people were aware of the
fact that he was headed for the mus
<eum in Washington, D. €., when, by
■one of Fate’s pranks, it was decreed
that he become the protector of Mr.
Minor's sheep.
Born in Alaska, the wolf’s first taste
fof civilization was the unpleasant one
■of having the steel jaws of a hunter’s
trap close over a front paw. When
Arthur J. Douglas discovered him he
won a home and the name ‘1 Puyio. ’ ’
Mr. Douglas and Puyio became good
friends, and at night the wolf showed
Ais love for his master by turning hinx
iself into a living “foot-warmer.”
Puyio’s first time to pose before a
tsamera was when he did so for an itin
erant photographer, who thought it
great sport to take a wolf ’s picture. He
■obligingly perched himself on the end
of a pile, which, projected from the
water’s edge, served as an ideal pedes^i
tal, and the little town of Loring,*
Alaska {as it was twenty years ago),
saestling at the baso of towering forests
^formed a decidedly picturesque back
ground for the picture of himself and
master, clad in the characteristic garb
■*ol an Alaskan trapper.
.Shortly after the picture was taken
MW Douglas went to Juneau, where he
anet Mr. Bruce Minor, who at that
•ftune was Alaska’s census taker. As
serting that Puyio was the finest speci
men of wolfhood then in captivity, and
3*eing a resident of Washington, D. C.,
Mr. Minor finally persuaded Mr. Doug
las to donate Puyio to that city’s mu
seum. Having promised to visit his
brother, who lived in Nebraska, when
his business in Alaska was concluded,
•and having also assured Mr. Douglas
t/hat he would personally oversee all
3etails connected with the wolf's
•transportation, Bruce Minor, in order
tte .fulfill both promises, had Puyio
with him when he arrived at his bro
ther's ranch.
Puyio was then turned loose tor a
play. He had one, too—no doubt about
that. The first thing he did, when his
eyes rested on the sheep dotting the
•pasture lands, was to dash into their
midst, where he proceeded to make a
wholesale killing. There is no doubt
that a bullet would have ended his
«areer right then, had it not been for
Hruee Minor, whose eloquent pleading
saved him.
His taste for. blood satisfied, Puyio
■stretched himself on the ground, per
mitting no one to approach him, and
long after efforts to capture him were
Teliijquished, and even after darkness
had fallen, he seemed to glory in 14s
freedom. From his point of vantage
he had a fine view of the cook-house.
It.reminded him of another little cabin
m^far-away Alaska, making him home
sick^for the friendly comradship of the
fLn& master he had ever known.
’’’Jjfce cook slept in the cook-house,
andhthat night, shortly after^ snuggling
down into his bunk, lie felt something
wet'.and 'cold pressed against his face.
His eyes flew open, and there, his huge,
gaunt body silhouetted against a back
ground of moonlight, stood Puyio. Too
terrified to make a move of any kind,
but thinking, nevertheless, that his last
hour had come, the cook stared into the
wolf large, shining eyes.
Apparently Puyio did not think he
•was doing anything out of the ordinary
when, after winking at the cook most
sociably, he crept into the bink and,
with' a sigh of genuine contentment,
stretched himself into a comfortable
position. That the cook took another
r. ^dew of the situation is readily under
stood. His fear finally gave way suffi-,
eiehtly for him to discover that Puyio
was-sleeping, and while he was wonder
ing just what sort of wolf he was up
' against a new sound broke the still
ness. It was the scream of a coyote.
Puyio raised his head, pricking his
ears.' Then another coyote answered
-the first one’s call. Afterward the cook
could remember nothing regarding how
he suddenly found himself alone, save
the fact that a blur of gray, passing
through the open window, had ob-1
scured the moonlight for one second.
At daybreak three dead coyotes were
found, but Puyio was nowhere to be
seen. After breakfast, though he
sKuked up to the cook-house and,
catching the cook’s eye, wagged his
tail in such a sociable manner that the
cook could not resist his friendly over
tures.
During the entirety of Bruce Minor’s
visit at the ranch Puyio slept with the
cook, but hardly a night passed that he
did not kill one or more coyotes. The
sheep, however, were not molested by
him after the first day, and Mr. Minor
the owner of the ranch, declared that
Puyio, as a protector of sheep, was
wortlikifhis weight in gold and too good
to lose. Bruce Minor, realizing ihe
truth of what his brother said, and
knowing too, that it was nothing short
of crime to condemn the wolf to the
confinement of a museum, finally
yielded to his persuasions to leave
Puyio behind when resuming the jour
ney to Washington.
So, after journeying half across the
continent on his way to the mesum
in Washington, D. C., and after having
adventures and distinctive experiences
not falling to the lot of common, ordi
nary wolves, Puyio spent the rest of
his days on the wide, rolling stretches
of a Nebraska sheep ranch, where
every one save the coyotes loved him.
'? TRIALS OF CHECHACOES
TChitina- Leader: Probably few che
chasoes have had more exciting ex
periences in so short a time than the
force of men employed on the Hubbard
Elliott property.
They started from Chitina in three
gangs, having only a description of
the trails to guide them. Each par
ty was lost and one party was six days
without food, when the members prov
identially ran across a cache.
James Gallagher wai in charge of
the party, and one of his men, Nor
ton, fell in the river while trying to
ford it.
Gallagher, “he’s got the lunch!” as
Gallagher, “he’s got the lunch,” as
the man was carried along by the swift
current.
Gallagher grabbed Norton, and was
pulled under, and another man grab
bed him, and the fourth man grabbed
the third, and finally all managed to
get ashore.
One of the men with Mr. Schmitz
saw a big, black bear just ahead of
him and turning to the foreman, said:
“Look at that big, black cow.” When
he realized that it was a bear he w$»
fired with a sudden ambition to get tja<
the top of the highest tree in sight, i V
On another occasion Mr. Schmitz
thought to rob an eagle’s nest near
camp, and was lowered down by a
rope. When he was near the two young
eagles the wicked old mother came
flapping towards him with its mouth
and claws ' spread ready for business'
and Schnlitz yelled for the men to cut
the rope and let him drop. He w&s.|
quickly lowered out of the danger zoiie-'
and decided that he had not lost afljp
young eagles.
. fv v
ALASKA PRAIRIE SCHOONER
Peter Schneider, better known as
Tazilana Jake, paid Chitina a visit last
week in his “prairie schooner.” Hfe
covered the distance from his farm gjt
half with one horse and his homefmade
wagon. , ^
The wagon, or rather the cart is a
two-wheeled affair, with wooden wheels
and a canvas covering. Mr. Schneid
er brought along some fine oats.
He has about thirty acres under
cultivation. He has a half an acre
planted to barley, ten acres of oats and
raises potatoes and all kinds of veg
etables.
He is a 'handy man with tools and
made a self binddr out of odds and
ends picked up in Chitina where, he
worked in the old tunnel. He has a
number of farm implements and be
lieves his farm will net him a good in
come in another season.—Chitina
Leader.
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