88 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



their food, that robs them of their speed, that brings them 

 easily within the power of the Cougar on its snow-shoes, and 

 of the human Cougar who is similarly equipped for skimming 

 over the drifts. 



Another deadly peril from the snow in a hard winter is 

 set forth by Raymond S. Spears.^^ After pointing out that 

 the heedless burning of forests had destroyed the winter cover 

 of the Adirondack Deer, he says: 



"Perhaps the worst sight of all was that of Deer with 

 * saddles' of snow on their backs. The snow froze to the hair 

 of the animals, which did not have life enough to melt it. 

 The saddles grew larger and larger on scores of Deer, until the 

 victims finally succumbed." 



Wolves, too, rank high in the list of the Whitetail's foes, 

 and have long played seesaw havoc with the Deer in the 

 North. On the Upper Ottawa the Deer came in with the 

 settlers. The Wolves followed, because in the Deer they 

 found their winter support. In summer the Deer were safe 

 among the countless lakes, and the Wolves subsisted on what 

 small stuff they could pick up in the woods. But winter 

 robbed the Deer of the water safe-havens, and then the 

 Wolves could run them down; thus they wintered well. 



But wintering well meant increasing, and the Wolves 

 became so numerous that they destroyed their own support, 

 when starvation, followed by extinction, was their lot. Again 

 the Deer recovered locally or drifted in from other regions, and 

 again the Wolves increased to repeat their own destruction. 

 This has been the history of the Deer population along most 

 of our frontier wherever winter is accompanied by deep snow. 

 If we could exterminate the Gray-wolf we should half solve 

 the question of deer-supply; but there is no evidence that we 

 shall ever succeed in doing this. 



However, I find one experienced old hunter (E. T. Mer- 

 rill, of Reed City, Mich.,) who has little faith in the stories 

 of Wolves running down Deer. He says:^^ 



"I have not yet seen the race between Wolves and a Deer 



'*In Sat. Eve. Post, January 26, 1907. ^^ Sports Afield, March, 1900, p. 229. 



