78 



To this correct and excellent description I may add that the eye of 

 the North American wolf is of a greenish colour; its expression is 

 sneaking and sinister, intermingled with an aspect of extreme cunning 

 similar to, but far surpassing in force that of the yellow eye of the fox. 

 As stated above, the tail of the wolf is bushy, but corresponding with the 

 size of the animal it is neither so long, nor so elegantly rounded and 

 heavy as that of the fox. 



At one time the grey wolf was found all over the American con- 

 tinent, as far south even as the Gulf of Mexico. It is still to be met 

 with in considerable numbers on the great plains of the west, in the 

 northern and western States, on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains, 

 and in more or less abundance, according to favorable location, in all 

 the remote or sparsely settled portions of Canada, New Brunswick, 

 Newfoundland and Cape Breton. 



As before remarked, the black, red and «rey, as well as the white 

 wolves of the arctic regions are believed by scientific naturalists to be- 

 long to one and the same species. In physical conformation, size, 

 weight and general character they are specifically identical. The diff- 

 erence of colour alone, attributable to the influences of diversity of cli- 

 mate, appears to be the only distinguishing feature between one variety 

 and another. In voice, form, and manner of hunting their prey, all the 

 varieties of the North American wolf are essentially similar. 



In early times in Canada, and in the valley of the Ottawa, not less 

 than in other places, wolves were dangerously abundant. In all new 

 settlements, sheep, when a farmer was fortunate enough to possess 

 any, had to be carefully penned up every night, otherwise wool would 

 certainly have been found flying before morning. 



It was not alone that in one of those nocturnal raids many sheep 

 were devoured. This was not the worst feature in the transaction. A 

 couple of these bloodthirsty marauders, in a single night, would kill 

 fifteen or twenty sheep, simply tearing their throats for the purpose of 

 sucking the blood, without otherwise mutilating the carcasses. 



After such a catastrophe cheap mutton was easily procurable; fre- 

 quently too at a season of the year when the old pioneers were obliged 

 to live without meat of any kind, fresh or salt, for months at a stretch. 

 For the benefit of those who may be unacquainted with the hardships 



