Wolves and Wolf -Hounds 219 



America being larger than the otter of Eu- 

 rope, while the badger is smaller; in the mink 

 being with us a much stouter animal than its 

 Scandinavian and Russian kinsman, while the 

 reverse is true of our sable or pine marten. 

 No one can say why the European red deer 

 should be a pigmy compared to its giant 

 brother, the American wapiti; why the Old 

 World elk should average smaller in size than 

 the almost indistinguishable New World 

 moose; and yet the bison of Lithuania and 

 the Caucasus be on the whole larger and more 

 formidable than its American cousin. In the 

 same way no one can tell why under like con- 

 ditions some game, such as the white goat and 

 the spruce grouse, should be tamer than other 

 closely allied species, like the mountain sheep 

 and ruffed grouse. No one can say why on 

 the whole the wolf of Scandinavia and north- 

 ern Russia should be larger and more danger- 

 ous than the average wolf of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, while between the bears of the same 

 regions the comparison must be exactly re- 

 versed. 



The difference even among the wolves of 

 different sections of our own country is very 

 notable. It may be true that the species as a 

 whole is rather weak and less ferocious than 



