Low Down Articles
Echoes from the Past
Article 108 of 111
This article first appeared in the "Echoes from the Past" column of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
o o o
Wolf Pack Climbed Ladder to Attack
The following story came from George H. Wilson's column "Old Time Stuff" in the Evening Citizen, Ottawa, 10 August 1929.
That wolves will attack a man when in force is shown by this story of the experience of John Joynt, a former resident of Masham, now deceased, as related by Mr. R. N. Sully. (he who was, as a 15 year old, scared by wolverines).
The thing happened in 1960, when Mr. Joynt was shingling a new barn. In those days all shingles used by farmers were split and shaved by hand from either cedar or pine. (They were split from a block by using a wooden maul on a special knife called a froe and were finished by a drawknife.
Mr. Joynt had a pine bush on his land and was in it making shingles. Near where he was working was a small lake and a point of land ran out into the lake. Feeling the need of a drink, Mr. Joynt went out to the end of this point where the water was best.
As he got near the end of the point he saw what he took to be a dog. As he came near, the supposed dog crouched and whined. Thinking the animal belonged to a neighbour and wish to reassure it Mr. Joynt stooped to pat it on the head. The animal, however, slipped by him and ran back to the mainland and disappeared into the bush.
Mr. Joynt had not been long at his work again when he heard howling of a pack of wolves. He started for the barn, where there was a ladder to the roof. He carried with him the knife he shaved the shingles with. In his hurry he slipped and fell and rather badly cut his hand. He managed, however, to reach the barn and climb the ladder to the roof before the foremost wolf got to the bottom. The taste and smell of blood on the ground seemed to infuriate the wolves and they made several attempts to reach him. A number of wolves climbed the ladder almost to the top run and might have got to the top, but he knocked them off with a piece of loose board which was on the roof.
The wolves howled at the bottom of the ladder for a three hours and finally slunk off. There were about thirty in the pack.