WOLF-COURSING 127 



to look out for traps and poison. They are so shy and 

 show such extraordinary cunning in hiding and slinking 

 out of the way of the hunter that they are rarely killed 

 with the rifle. Personally I never shot but one. A bold 

 and good rider on a first-rate horse can, however, run 

 down even a big gray wolf in fair chase, and either rope 

 or shoot it. I have known a number of cow-punchers thus 

 to rope wolves when they happened to run across them 

 after they had gorged themselves on their quarry. A 

 former Colorado ranchman, Mr. Henry N. Pancoast, 

 who had done a good deal of wolf-hunting, and had 

 killed one which, judging by its skin, was a veritable 

 monster, wrote me as follows about his experiences: 



" I captured nearly all my wolves by running them 

 down and then either roped or shot them. I had one 

 mount that had great endurance, and when riding him 

 never failed to give chase to a wolf if I had the time to 

 spare; and never failed to get my quarry but two or three 

 times. I roped four full-grown and two cubs and shot 

 five full-grown and three cubs the large wolf in ques- 

 tion being killed that way. And he was by far the hardest 

 proposition I ever tried, and I candidly think I run him 

 twenty miles before overhauling and shooting him (he 

 showed too much fight to use a rope). As it was almost 

 dark, concluded to put him on horse and skin at ranch, 

 but had my hands full to get him on the saddle, was so 

 very heavy. My plan in running wolves down was to 

 get about three hundred yards from them, and then to 

 keep that distance until the wolf showed signs of fatigue, 

 when a little spurt would generally succeed in landing 



