80 WOLF DAYS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



of fur on the hide. The wolf was not trapped for 

 what the hide was worth, but for the bounty on his 

 scalp. This bounty law was changed many times. 

 Most of our laws of this character were local laws. 

 There were four or five counties in this locality that 

 had a bounty law passed, $25 on a wolf and $12 on a 

 whelp or pup, as they were commonly called. During 

 the first four years this law was in force the trappers 

 caught so many wolves that every man that was not a 

 trapper signed a petition asking the State Legislature 

 to change the bounty on wolves to $12 on a grown 

 wolf and $6 on a whelp, on all wolves caught in Mc- 

 Kean County, after the passage of said act, and the 

 law was changed to this effect. When this law was 

 passed none of the trappers would try to catch a wolf. 

 The wolves increased so fast that the next Legislature 

 was petitioned to change the wolf bounty to the origi- 

 nal amount, which was done. The early settlers in 

 Northern Pennsylvania were mostly \cry poor, and it 

 put them to their wits' end to get money enough to 

 pay taxes and keep soul and body together. Had it 

 not been for the wild game, the abundance of fish 

 and the small fur-bearing animals, such as 'coon, 

 foxes, marten and mink, all of which were very plenty, 

 four-fifths of the early settlers would have starved 

 out and been forced to leave or die. A true story of 

 some of the early settlers would be an interesting book 

 for the people of this age to read. Some of the fur 

 buyers who traveled through this country in early 

 days that my father told me about were 'Doc' Smith, 



