334 THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 



coast. I saw a wolf at about half a mile and he apparently saw 

 me at the same distance, for I was black and moving against the 

 hillside that was already speckled with the black patches of the 

 spring thaw. After watching me a while he came towards me at 

 a sedate lope until about three hundred yards away. Then he 

 noted something peculiar in my actions, which of itself shows a 

 high grade of intelligence, for it is fairly certain that the only 

 dark animals he had ever seen were either ovibos or caribou. The 

 former he regards with respect and never attempts to attack, but 

 it cannot be supposed that he is afraid of them, for while they are 

 powerful and have a good defense against wolves they are too 

 clumsy to be dangerous on the offensive. Caribou, on the other 

 hand, are his regular food, and in the northern islands at every 

 season except summer must furnish more than 99 per cent, of it. 



When the wolf stopped I stopped also. After he had watched 

 me for a minute he commenced to circle to get my wind. As soon 

 as he was sufficiently to leeward he stopped to sniff what must have 

 been to him a strange scent. Just as soon as he had his mind made 

 up that it was strange he went off at a lope. And it seemed to me 

 as I watched him that he was using a good deal of will power to 

 keep himself at a fairly dignified gait. 



In places equally distant from human beings I have often since 

 met wolves singly or in pairs and have found them equally cautious. 

 Sometimes they are in bands of eight or ten, presumably the par- 

 ents and the family of grown-up pups, and on such occasions they 

 may come a little closer but seldom within 150 yards, if in the 

 open. In the woods, as for instance near Bear Lake, they will 

 approach closer, especially the family groups if the pups are well 

 grown. 



At noon on June 20th we found ourselves on the west coast of 

 what appeared to be a bay fifteen miles or more across and ob- 

 viously a great deal deeper than that, for no land could be seen 

 towards the bottom of it. The weather had cleared and visibility 

 was excellent. We would have liked to continue traveling but the 

 opportunity was too good to lose and we stopped to get a very good 

 determination of latitude and longitude. 



From this observation camp I walked a short distance inland, 

 both to get some idea of the elevation and to secure a view, especially 

 for islands to the south. Measured by the aneroid, the land rose to 

 75 feet a hundred yards from the beach and to 175 feet four hun- 

 dred yards inland. A mile or two inland it was probably 500 to 

 800 feet high, in places rolling grassy prairie, but in other places 



