The Wolf 335 



fixed at the muzzles of loaded muskets, he fired off the 

 guns and ate the bait. Seated upon a hill, just out of 

 range, this "charmed wolf," as the men called him, "nar- 

 rowly watched the proceedings of those engaged in further 

 schemes for his destruction, and exulted possibly in his 

 superior wisdom." Belcher's sailors began to believe this 

 animal to be one of the officers of Sir John Franklin's lost 

 ship, the Erebus. Dr. Rae reports the case of a wolf that 

 cut the string fastened to the trigger of a gun before taking 

 the meat placed in front of it. And Audubon relates that 

 wolves watch fishermen in the northern lakes, pull their 

 lines up, and appropriate the catch. They gnaw through 

 heavy timber into caches and undermine dead-falls. They 

 uncover and spring steel traps, and are as difficult to be- 

 guile as the wolverene — it is impossible to say more. 

 Captain Lyon's crew caught a wolf in a trap that pre- 

 tended to be dead when the men who set it arrived. 

 Wherever men carry firearms the wolf appreciates their 

 effectiveness, and is perfectly well aware that his coat will 

 not turn a rifle-ball. But while this exercises an obvious 

 influence upon his general behavior, in most cases the 

 ability to see the movements of his enemy seems to lessen 

 his dread of what may happen. If several are together 

 when fired at, they will scamper off ; but it is very common 

 to see them turn when they think themselves safe, and 

 regard their adversary with strict attention. 



Upon the whole, it is doubtful whether wolves have been 

 much diminished in numbers anywhere, except in places 

 where the country has become thickly settled. While 

 these creatures have solitudes to fall back upon, they make 



