Gray-wolf 769 



Writing of the northern species, R. MacFarlane says:'' moose- 

 " These Wolves yearly succeed in kiUing as prey quite a "^'^^^^ 

 large number of Reindeer and not a few Moose. On one 

 occasion, while travelling upon the ice between Forts Liard 

 and Nelson, in the Mackenzie River District, we came across 

 a big patch of hard-packed snow on the Liard River where a 

 large buck Moose had evidently been surrounded and no doubt 

 overpowered, after a most gallant fight for life, by perhaps a 

 score of ferocious and cowardly Wolves. A few well-picked 

 bones and the skull were the only relics left. At a short dis- 

 tance, however, we perceived a full-grown Gray-wolf, which 

 was at once shot. It had one of its hind-legs shattered by a 

 kick from the Moose, which so disabled it that it could scarcely 

 crawl. Had its companions not been fully gorged, they would 

 doubtless have fallen upon and eaten it, too." 



The havoc wrought by Wolves during winter among the 

 Whitetailed Deer is well known, but at all times they prefer 

 an easier prey, the easier the better; even carrion is always 

 acceptable food, and I have several times heard of Wolves hard 

 pressed in winter, filling their bellies with horse dung gathered 

 on the highway. 



The habit of burying surplus food seems to be common to stor- 

 all the Wolf tribe. Roland D. Carson writes me of the Wolves 

 in the Philadelphia Zoo: "Our males and females often bury 

 surplus food, but the females have not been observed to do so 

 more than usual just previous to the birth of the young." 



Captain Craine's half-wolf train-dogs, if not hungry, 

 would bury their food, and water on the place or even on the 

 food. This latter performance is explained in the Wolverine 

 chapter. 



These train-dogs aff^ord much light on the ways of their prop- 

 wild kinsmen. One of them will watch his cache all day and in- 

 in its defence fearlessly attack another that ordinarily he was 

 afraid of. The big dog rarely presses the point under these 



" Mam. N. W. Ten, Proc. U. S. N. M., 1905, p. 692. 



