Wolves and Wolf-Hounds 215 



some cases even when the body of one wolf 

 is as big as that of another. I have seen 

 wolves from Texas and New Mexico which 

 were undersized, slim animals with rather 

 small tusks, in no way to be compared to the 

 long-toothed giants of their race that dwell 

 in the heavily timbered mountains of the 

 Northwest and in the far North. As a rule, 

 the teeth of the coyote are relatively smaller 

 than those of the gray wolf. 



Formerly wolves were incredibly abundant 

 in certain parts of the country, notably on the 

 great plains, where they were known as buf 

 falo wolves, and were regular attendants on 

 the great herds of the bison. Every traveler 

 and hunter of the old days knew them as 

 among the most common sights of the plains, 

 and they followed the hunting parties and 

 emigrant trains for the sake of the scraps left 

 in camp. Now, however, there is no district 

 in which they are really abundant. The wolf- 

 ers, or professional wolf-hunters, who killed 

 them by poisoning for the sake of their fur, 

 and the cattlemen, who likewise killed them 

 by poisoning because of their raids on the 

 herds, have doubtless been the chief instru 

 ments in working their decimation on the 

 plains. In the 70*8, and even in the early 



