A Mail Carrier attacked by Wolves--Narrow escape.
--We gain the following information from a gentleman who passed through here about 10 o'clock yesterday evening, from
Decatur:
‘
The mail carrier between this place and
Decatur, when about forty-five miles from here, on his return trip, was startled at hearing the howling of wolves, and, turning to ascertain the proximity of his danger, discovered, at no great distance, a pack of a hundred or more wolves, apparently frenzied with hunger, and with lolling tongues, rapidly lessening the distance between them and the horror-stricken mail-carrier.
Viewing thus his danger, with desperation lent by despair, the mail-carrier immediately put whip to his horse, hoping to gain a place of refuge ere the hungering wolves could overtake him; but the wolves gradually gained upon him, he beginning to think that his sands of life had nearly run out, when suddenly a tree presented itself to his gladdened vision for which he rode for dear life, and finally gained the asylum of his hopes, with the savage beasts close upon him, and jumped from his horse on to the limb of the tree.
The wolves came up in a moment, and after howling with disappointment for a short time, the loss of a warm supper, gradually settled down in quietude to watch their prey.
The carrier remained in this awful condition until nearly morning, with scarcely any clothes on, having thrown off nearly all his
wearing apparel, hoping to increase the speed of his poor animal.
At about the dawn of day the wolves disappeared, when the mail-carrier, nearly frozen to death, fell from the tree to the ground insensible.
In that condition our informant, who came along a short time afterward, found him, and carried him to a house five miles distant, where he recovered sufficiently, previous to our informant's departure, to relate the story.
The horse was chased by a portion of the wolves, and is supposed to be lost, together with the mail.--
Boyer Valley (Iowa) Record. ’
