CHASING A WOLF WITH A CANOE. 225 



None but a person accustomed to such craft would 

 have ventured to step into it. It was nothing more 

 than the roughly hollowed trunk of a tree, about ten 

 feet long by eighteen inches wide ; however, it an- 

 swered my purpose, and, provided with a light paddle, 

 I set out on my return, which, though only eight miles 

 by land, was at least twenty by water. 



The sun was just dipping behind the tips of the 

 trees ; the air, which had been oppressively hot all day, 

 was somewhat cooler. I was going slowly up the 

 stream with long easy strokes of the paddle, under the 

 shadow of the overhanging willows, when, about 100 

 paces before me, I saw four wolves playing together on 

 a bank of gravel, jumping in and out of the water, and 

 rolling over each other like puppies. They did not 

 see me, and I paddled silently to the side of the river 

 where they were playing, ran the canoe on the sand, 

 took the paddle, hardly knowing exactly what I 

 intended, and crept .stealthily along towards the unsus- 

 pecting wolves, a projecting rock hiding me from their 

 sight. But wolves have a line scent, and just as I was 

 raising my head cautiously, they all lour sprang into 

 the thicket. I returned disappointed to my canoe, and 

 continued my voyage. On arriving close to a cane- 

 brake, about 100 yards further on, I heard a rustling, 

 and caught hold of the bough of a tree near me, to 

 keep the canoe as still as possible, when an immense 

 wolf, as black as pitch, with a white star on his breast, 

 came out of the canes, apparently with the intention 

 of swimming across to join his companions. TVhen he 

 caught sight of me, he turned his head from side to side 

 like a dog. As I remained quite motionless, but with 



