CANIS LUI'US. ^^ 



I lu' aniouiU ()1 noise that a sin^"lc \\ olt is capable ot produciiiL;' is 

 sim[)l)- astonishing', and nian\- anuisinL;' episodes of camp lore owe 

 their origin to this fact. More than one "lone traveller" has hastily 

 taken to a tree, and remained in the inhospitable shelter of its scrawny 

 branches for an entire ni^ht, believing' himself surrounded by a pack 

 of at least fifty fierce and hun^r)- W'oKes, when, in reality, there was 

 but one, and (as its tracks afterwards pro\ed) it was on the farther 

 side of a lake, a couple of miles awa)'. 



The Wolf is one of the most cowardly and war)- of our mammals, 

 always taking' good care to keep out of sight ; and he is so crafty and 

 sagacious that it is almost impossible to allure him into an)' kind of 

 a trap. 



When opportunit)' affords he is one of the most destructive and 

 wasteful of brutes, always killing as much game as possible, regard- 

 less of the condition of his appetite, and he used to be the greatest 

 enemy that our deer had to contend with. During the deep snows 

 a small pack of W^olves would sometimes kill hundreds of deer, tak- 

 ing here and there a bite, but leaving the greater number untouched. 



In the year 1871 the State put a bounty""' on their scalps, and it is 

 a most singular coincidence that a orreat and sudden decrease in their 

 numbers took place about that time. Wdiat became of them is a great 

 and. to me. inexplicable m)'ster)', for it is known that but few were 

 killed. There is but one direction in which they could have es- 

 caped, and that is through Clinton County into Lower Canada. In 

 so doing the)' would ha\e been obliged to pass around the north end 

 of Lake Champlain and cross the River Richelieu, and before reach- 

 ing any extensive forests would have had to travel long distances 

 through tolerably well-settled portions of countr)'. And there is no 

 evidence that they made an)- such journe)'. 



The Wolf makes its nest in rocky caverns, under the upturned 

 roots of fallen trees, and in hollow logs ; and where suitable shelter 



* The la,v granting this bounty has aheady been given in a foot note under the Panther. See 

 pp. 29-30. 



