(U)4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. v.,t,. xxvur. 



t)(»tli aroiiiid ill the snow for iiijiny a mile, diiriiiL;- a ix-riod of intense 

 cold, and it was thcrol'ore not sui'prisinii- tlial lie was a "" w alkiiit;' 

 skeleton " when tinally secured. 



From tlH> statement LS58-1STT, inclusive, the conijiany sold in Lon- 

 don as many as 171. TTo wolf skins, or an averaye of nearly «),S71 a 

 year. I tlihik more than half of them must have Ixdonoed to the 

 smaller variety {Caitix hiffans) of the prairies and British Columbia. 

 The three best sales were in iSHo, with I."),41i> (the maximum), 12, d;')!) 

 in 185!», and li\(;i<; in ISCC; the three lowest, 2,802 in 1872, 2,08;} in 

 187<;, and 1,865 (the minimum) in 1877. In li»02, they sold 1,340, and 

 in 1U08, l,7i)0 skins. From 1858 to 1884, Athabasca District con- 

 tributed 2,119 skins of the woodland (black, g're}-, and white) wolf to 

 the London sales. For the outtits 1885 to 1889, it made a further addi- 

 tion of 339 skins. Between 18()3 and 1884, inclusive, the district of 

 Mackenzie River supplied a total of 1,880 skins of this animal. Its 

 quota in 1889 was only 49 skins. From 1802 to 1887, Fort Resolution, 

 Great Slave Lake, gave 193, and in 1884, 10 skins. The posts of the 

 upper Peace River, with its lake stations transferred from Edmonton, 

 sent in 48 woodland wolves in 1889. 



The Eskimos use the fur of the diti'erent varieties of wolves for 

 trinnning- the hood and other portions of their deerskin capotes or 

 tunics. 



COYOTE. 



('(inis Idtranfi Say. 



This smaller prairie wolf is not found much to the north of the 

 northern branch of the Saskatchewan River; but on the west side of 

 the Rocky Mountains it is, in some seasons, fairly numerous as far as 

 latitude 55 north. Mr. Molierly, an intelligent and experienced 

 observer, writes: 



Tlie prairie wolf seldom attacks any lar^e animal except when led on by a wood- 

 land example. After a time, however, he will learn to kill domestic sheep without 

 any assistance. They generally live on mice, gophers, imisiiuash, berries, and car- 

 rion. I think the wodd wulf inhalnting the plains country is much smaller than 

 the kind fiimid farther north, and also lighter in color, and may ])ossil)ly be a cross 

 between both species. It is more cowardly than the true woodland wolf. 



lie further states that the male renders no assistance whatever to 

 the female in providing food for the young, which nmnber from three 

 to five, and occasionally six. Indians have known of instances where 

 both kinds of wolves and some of their dogs have mated, and the}' have 

 always found that the r(\sulting ott'spring were not only prolific, but also 

 bettei' and stronger as beasts of burden. Parry records an instance — 

 tlu^. tirst authentic one known to him — where a setter dog had inter- 

 course with a female wolf {<'<nu.s (jrheiis). It was soon afterwards 

 killed by a niah^ of the same species. 



