THE GRAY WOLF. 157 



time going at their highest speed ; but seeing that the 

 quarry was still keeping its lead, and that there was a 

 probability of losing it in a coppice a mile or two ahead, 

 the deer-hounds were unleashed, and away they sped like a 

 flash of gray light. A run of a few minutes placed them 

 beside their foe, and they promptly brought it to a halt. 

 It darted at them with open jaws, but they avoided its 

 fangs, and when it tried to escape, one or the other bit it 

 severely in the flanks. They worried it in this manner un- 

 til the pack arrived ; and when we reached the scene we 

 could only see a struggling mass of dogs and flying hair, 

 and hear an occasional yelp as some hound was severely bit- 

 ten ; but the struggle was soon over, and a splendid wolf 

 lay dead before us, its head and throat being covered with 

 scars, and its limbs broken. The spoils were then distrib- 

 uted among the equestrians ; but that was a simple affair 

 and easily done, for the first horseman in at the death re- 

 ceived the brush, and the owner of the pack took the skin. 



Some persons run down the animal with greyhounds 

 trained to the business, and they keep it at bay until the 

 hunters arrive, when it is killed with fire-arms. " Wolfers" 

 resort to this method on the plains sometimes; but as they 

 seek the hide only when it is in good condition, in winter 

 and spring, they cannot use greyhounds to good advantage 

 in the wild country they frequent during their expeditions. 



In several merry spins that I have had after the wolf, 

 both with and without the cheerful music of hounds, I 

 have found the chase much more exciting than a run after 

 a fox, as a person has no feeling for the fugitive, and he 

 likes to practise his revolver on it as it scuds away. When 

 mounted Indians pursue a pack of wolves, they make a sur- 

 round, drive the animals into the centre, and then shoot 

 away until they have slain all that have not run the gaunt- 

 let. They prefer to trap them, however, to any other mode 

 of capture, as it is a saving of time and energy. A wolf 

 caught by the leg will gnaw it off rather than be made a 

 prisoner; but before attempting that it will try to run 

 away with the trap, and, if successful in this, it will travel 



