21. Putnam and the Wolf

Israel Putnam, as a boy, lived with his father on a farm in Connecticut when wolves were still there. Every winter an old mother wolf would come with a family of young wolves with her. The hunters always killed the young wolves, but could not catch the mother. One winter this old wolf killed seventy sheep and goats in one night. All the farmers started out to find her. They saw her track in the snow and after a long hunt their dogs drove her into a cave. They sent the dogs into the cave, but the wolf bit them and drove them out again. Then they put straw in the cave and set fire to it to smoke her out. It made the wolf sneeze, but she would not come out. Then Israel Putnam said, “I will go down into the cave and bring her out.” So they tied a rope to his legs and let him down into the cave. He held in his hand a burning piece of birch-bark, for he knew wild animals are afraid to face fire. He crawled along on his hands and knees in the narrow cave, holding the blazing bark, until he could see the wolf’s eyes. The wolf gave a sudden growl. Putnam jerked the rope and the men pulled him out quickly. He was badly scratched by the rocks and his clothes torn, but he got his gun and went in again. This time the wolf growled and snapped angrily, but he shot the wolf and brought her out dead. The sheep had peace after that.