THE PRAIRIE WOLF. 163 



high, and, like it, has a long, slender, and rather sharp- 

 pointed muzzle. The eyes, which are close together, are 

 of a light-brown color; the ears are long and erect; the 

 legs, especially the hind ones, are very long, compared to 

 its size; the feet are also long; the pads are black and 

 naked ; and the tail, which is bushy, and more than half 

 the length of the body, is tipped with white hairs. Its 

 general color is an ochreous gray, which is much lighter 

 on the abdomen than on the back and sides; and the 

 long hairs on the neck, which it bristles up when angry, 

 have a speckled appearance when it is in that mood. It 

 hunts much at night, and its dismal howls may then be 

 heard a long distance off. Its cry, which is so much exe- 

 crated by those who feel that their life is not endangered 

 by red foes, is pleasant music to those who have to traverse 

 a country frequented by hostile Indians; for while it in- 

 dulges in midnight serenades they know that their most 

 deadly enemies are some distance away. Let its cries 

 cease, however, and the plainsmen, who have been lulled 

 to serene sleep by its weird howls, would awake at once, 

 and make preparations for a struggle of life and death. 

 Its voice has often been to hunters what the geese were 

 to ancient Rome; arid this characteristic has often been 

 the means of saving its life, for it was looked upon more 

 as a friend than a foe, notwithstanding its kleptomaniac 

 propensities, and the natural antipathy of man to all its 

 wild tribe. Its specific distinction of latrans is most ap- 

 propriate, for a bigger barking thief it would be difficult 

 to find, nor, at the same time, one more cowardly, for a 

 cur will cause a whole pack to scamper away with the 

 utmost celerity. It never attacks man, even when famish- 

 ing; but should he leave any edibles convenient, it will 

 steal them with greater cunning than ever fox displayed. 



The Indians of Washington Territory have a tradition 

 that it is a demon or deity, and therefore pay it much re- 

 spect, and never, I believe, kill it, for fear of its bringing 

 them " bad medicine," or ill luck. It figures largely in 

 the myths of all the red men inhabiting the region border- 



