CHAPTER !X 



THE WOLVES. 



GKJWRAL DKSCRirTION OP THK CSNIS CANIS— •-'HK C»MMO.N Kl'ROrKAN WOLF— THE JACKAI 



WOXJf — riUi XA5KR<X>— TJIK STKll'Kl^ WOlJf — THK AMERICAN WOLVKS — TOK C.KAY WOLP— 



THK C\>YOrK — IHK RKD WOLF — IHK SOI.' FH AMERICAN WOLVKS — IHK CRAB-K.ATINO WOLK— 

 VllK AOfARAOllAY. 



TllU family of tin- CANin.K, comprising the animals commonl) 

 kt\o\vn as dogs, wolves, and foxes, has an almost universal range 

 over the earth, being i>nly absent from liie island siib-regii>n5 

 ot Madagasavr. the Antilles, AustrivMalaya. Nexv Zealand, and the 

 .slands of the l\uitie. With the exception of the IIvina IVh; ami the 

 Great-eakkh Fox, all the species are usually placed in the genus Cams. 

 The family is pretty clearly defmed, but in its structure does not ditVer 

 fn.mi the Felid;e so widely as vs commonly suppose.^.. As a whole, the 

 animals embraced in it do n^.t .attain the size of the Kirge species o( the 

 cat family, and are far inferior to the latter in cruelty and love of slaughter. 

 They are nearly equal to them in agility ; their blunt claws, indeed, df 

 not permit them to clitub, nor can they perform the enormous leaps which 

 the cats execute; but they are excellent rumiers, and their wonderful per- 

 severance far exceeds anything of the kind displayed by the l'"elid;v. Thev 

 are all swimmers, and some ol them are masters in the art. and K>ve to be 

 in water. Their senses are all highly ileveloped. that of smell in par- 

 ticular attaining a wonderful degree of acuteness. 



All the species of the Caniii.k exhibit great intelligence ; the lowei 

 ones betray remarkable cunning and slyness, sometimes at the sacrifice 

 of courage ; but the higher varieties, especially those which have been 

 long associated with mankind, prove that their taculties have been 

 cultivated to an extent which no other animal has reached. The tame 

 dog and the untamed fox act with reason and deliberation, and execute 

 carefully-prepared plans, the result of which they have foreseen. The 



