32 FIELD SHOOTING. 



from the county, as it pays a bounty of five dol- 

 lars a head. The gray prairie wolf is .very de- 

 structive of young pigs, lambs, geese, etc., and 

 wolves are more numerous in Illinois now than 

 most people suppose. Last spring Mr. Gillot 

 took a litter of five whelps in his grove near 

 Elkhart. He has a grand wolf-hunt every sum- 

 mer. The men who have hounds in the neigh- 

 borhood meet, and a small pack is got together, 

 with which we hunt the grove, and there is nearly 

 always fine sport. Mr. Gillot's daughters have 

 fine saddle-horses and are good riders. With 

 some other ladies they see the chase from the 

 hills, and there is a grand time. Last summer we 

 ran three down in the pastures and killed them. 

 Another also took to the open, and was killed 

 after the hunt was over in one of the pastures 

 by Mr. L. B. Dean. Thus there were four ac- 

 counted for, all of one litter and about half- 

 grown. But the old wolves got away, as they 

 usually do, for our hounds are not able to run 

 on to an old wolf. They go very fast, keep up 

 their lope for a long time, know the ground well, 

 and are very cunning as well as fierce when 

 cornered or brought to bay. Gray foxes arc 

 numerous with us. Eagles are commonly to be 



