. 2 MAMMALIA. 



old stumps, and caves, and preying upon poultry and eggs as well as 

 upon wild game. With these the present species must not be con- 

 founded. 



Family CANID/E. 

 CANIS LUPUS Linnaeus. 



Wolf. 



Comparatively few Wolves are now to be found in the Adiron- 

 dacks, though twelve years ago they were quite abundant, and used 

 to hunt in packs of half a dozen or more. 



They have hard work to get a living here, and are always gaunt 

 and hungry. They cannot catch deer with any certainty except in 

 deep snow, and are, therefore, during thegreater part of the year, forced 

 to subsist upon skunks, hares, mice, frogs, carrion, and such other food 

 as they are able to procure. In times past they were a great enemy 

 to the settlers of this region and within fifty years have caused our 

 border farmers much annoyance by destroying their sheep and pigs ; 

 they have also been known to kill calves and young colts. 



In summer they sometimes drive a deer into a lake and follow it 

 along the shore, from time to time jumping high in the air in order 

 to sight it and determine the direction in which it is swimming. If 

 the lake is a small one and there are enough Wolves, they are oc- 

 casionally able to pounce upon it as it emerges from the water; but 

 this rarely happens, and the deer almost always escapes. In Septem- 

 ber, 1870, I saw a pack of Wolves drive a deer into the head of 

 Seventh Lake, Fulton Chain. It escaped the Wolves to be slain by 

 a man with a shot-gun ! 



Within my recollection Wolves were so common here that scarce- 

 ly a night passed when they could not be heard howling in various 

 parts of the forest. So bold and impudent were they that they often 

 came about camp while the inmates were sleeping and stole any 

 venison, or other meat, that chanced to hang within reach. 



