his hind legs were held by the
sharp teeth of the trap, he had managed to drag it and the heavy log
fastened to it to quite a distance.

When Oowikapun drew near, the wolf made the most desperate efforts to
escape; but the strong trap held him securely, and the heavy log on the
chain made it impossible for him to get far away.

Oowikapun could easily have shot him, but ammunition was dear and the
bullet hole in the skin would be a blemish, and the sound of the gun
might scare away the game that might be near; so he resolved to kill the
wolf with the back of his axe. Better would it have been for him if he
had shot him at once. So putting down his gun he took his axe out of
his belt and cautiously approached the treacherous brute. The sight of
the man so near seemed to fill him with fury, and, unable to escape, he
made the most desperate efforts to reach him. His appearance, was
demoniacal, and his howls and snarls would have terrified almost anybody
else than an experienced, cool-headed hunter.

Oowikapun, seeing what an ugly customer he had to deal with, very
cautiously kept just beyond the limits of the fearful plunges which the
chain would allow the wolf to make, and keenly watched for an
opportunity to strike him on the head. So wary and quick was the wolf
that some blows received only maddened without disabling him.

Oowikapun at length, becoming annoyed that he should have any difficulty
in killing an entrapped wolf, resolved to end the conflict at once with
a decisive blow; and so with upraised axe he placed himself as near as
he thought safe, and waited for the infuriated brute to spring at him.
But so much force did the entrapped brute put into that spring that it
carried the log attached to the chain along with him, and his sharp,
glittering fang-like teeth snapped together within a few inches of
Oowikapun's throat, and such was the force of the concussion that he was
hurled backward, and ere he could assume the aggressive, the sharp teeth
of the wolf had seized his left arm, which he threw up for defence, and
seemed to cut down to the very bone, causing intense pain. But
Oowikapun was a brave man and cool-headed, so a few blows from the keen
edge of the axe in his right hand finished his foe, whose only weapons
were his sharp teeth, and he was soon lying dead in the snow; but his
beautiful skin was about worthless as a robe on account of the many
gashes it had received, much to the annoyance of Oowi