Swift Runners on Snowshoes Make Short Work of the Brutes.
The Swedish Lapps live entirely with, by and upon their raindeer. A Lapp who owns a thousand deer is a very rich man; but, as taxes are assessed upon the number of deer, he is inclined to underestimate his herd. The most dangerous enemy to the herd is the wolf, who, if so disposed, can kill thirty deer in a night. A band of wolves can make a rich Lapp poor. When the snow is deep and soft and it is announced that wolf tracks have been seen in the neighborhood of the deer the swiftest runners on shoeshoes prepare for an exciting chase. The wolf may have a start of a mile or two, but the track it leaves in the deep, soft snow is so prominent that the hunters can follow it at their best speed.
The wolf, though he may run fast, has but slight chance of escaping the short men who on shoeshoes rush through the wood, dart down steep hills and jump from ledges several yards in height. Each hunter does his best to outrun the others, for the wolf belongs to the Lapp who strikes the first blow. As soon as the leading hunter is close enough to the wolf he gives it a heavy blow across the loins with his strong spiked snowshoe staff. If there are other wolves to be pursued, he kills it outright; if not, he disables it and waits till all the hunters arrive before giving the death stroke.
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