WOLVES. 139 



sprang upon his back, and gripped into the thick sheep- 

 skin that covered his neck. With admirable presence 

 of mind the bold-hearted peasant now threw up both his 

 hands, and grasping the wolfs head and neck with all 

 his strength, hugged him with an iron clutch to his 

 shoulders. " Itze het ! " now shouted the cool fellow, and 

 holding his enemy in a death grip they swept into the 

 village, dragging the fierce brute after them, in spite of 

 his frantic efforts to disengage himself. The shouts of 

 the boy and man, with the mad speed and noise of the 

 horses, brought the villagers out to see what was the 

 matter. " Farkas ! farkas ! " shouted both, and the 

 peasants immediately seeing their perilous position, 

 gave chase with their axes, calling out to the man to 

 hold on bravely. At length the boy succeeded in 

 slackening the speed of the animals, the sledge stopped, 

 and the peasants rushing on, dispatched the ferocious 

 creature upon the man's back, whose arms were so 

 stiffened with the immense muscular exertion he had so 

 long maintained, that he could hardly loose them from 

 the neck of the dead wolf.' 



A clergyman in the neighbourhood of Eauxbonnes, 

 in the Basses Pyrenees, was not as fortunate as the 

 Slovack peasant ; for as he was returning from visiting 

 the sick in January 1830, he was beset by hungry 

 wolves, and torn to pieces by them ; the fragments 

 which they left, and the blood upon the snow, alone 

 telling his fate. 



The North American wolves are not so gaunt as 

 those of Europe, having shorter legs, thicker fur, 

 shorter muzzles, broader heads, more bushy tails, and 

 being altogether more compact. Their habits, how- 

 ever, are much the same. A farmer in New Hampshire 



