Ranching in the Bad Lands 29 



of old on the buffalo, and snap up any calf that strays 

 away from its mother. When hard pressed by hun- 

 ger they will kill a steer or a heifer, choosing the 

 bitterest and coldest night to make the attack. The 

 prey is invariably seized by the haunch or flank, and 

 its entrails afterward torn out; while a cougar, on 

 the contrary, grasps the neck or throat. Wolves 

 have very strong teeth and jaws and inflict a most 

 severe bite. They will in winter come up to the 

 yards and carry away a sheep, pig, or dog without 

 much difficulty; I have known one which had tried 

 to seize a sheep and been prevented by the sheep 

 dogs to canter off with one of the latter instead. 

 But a spirited dog will always attack a wolf. On 

 the ranch next below mine there was a plucky bull- 

 terrier, weighing about twenty-five pounds, who lost 

 his life owing to his bravery. On one moonlight 

 night three wolves came round the stable, and the 

 terrier sallied out promptly. He made such a quick 

 rush as to take his opponents by surprise, and seized 

 one by the throat; nor did he let go till the other 

 two tore him almost asunder across the loins. Bet- 

 ter luck attended a large mongrel called a sheep dog 

 by his master, but whose blood was apparently about 

 equally derived from collie, Newfoundland, and bull- 

 dog. He was a sullen, but very intelligent and de- 

 termined brute, powerfully built and with strong 

 jaws, and though neither as tall nor as heavy as a 

 wolf he had yet killed two of these animals single- 

 handed. One of them had come into the farmyard 

 at night, and had taken a young pig, whose squeals 



