SAVAGE DOGS OF FOREST AND PLAIN. 51 



posed the jackal to be the original parent of the dog. On 

 our far Western plains, and about the Rocky Mountains, 

 abounds the prairie-wolf, or coyote, about the size of the 

 jackal. He is timid and harmless to man, though he loves 

 to prowl about the settlement and camp, and act the part 

 of a sly thief. The wolf has a more continuous howl, 

 but the coyote is 

 known by a snap- 

 ping bark ; and the 

 noise of a single 

 individual sounds 

 to the stranger like 

 the barking of a 

 numerous pack. 



3. " In those 

 plains of Siberia 

 that are infested by 

 wolves, a sledge- 

 journey is far from agreeable, for frequently a band of 

 these ferocious brutes persistently follow travelers. If 

 the sledge stops for only a second, the men and horses are 

 lost ; safety exists only in flight. The struggle on such 

 occasions is fearful. The horses, mad with terror, seem 

 to have wings. The wolves follow on their track, their 

 eyes flashing with fire. It is a terrible situation to be 

 placed in, to behold these black specters tearing across the 

 surface of the white shroud of snow, thirsting for blood. 

 From time to time a report is heard-^a wolf falls. 



4. " More audacious than the others, the victim had 

 tried to climb the sledge, and one of the travelers had shot 

 it. This incident gives some advantage to the fugitives ; 

 for the carnivorous troop halt for a few seconds to devour 

 the body of their companion. But the end is nigh ; the 

 village or castle appears against the gray sky, and the 



The Coyote. 



