WOLF-COURSING 129 



trap, and teeth that cut like knives, so that the dogs were 

 continually disabled and sometimes killed, and the hunter 

 had always to be on the watch to add animals to his pack. 

 It was not a good-looking pack, but it was thoroughly fit 

 for its own work. Most of the dogs were greyhounds, 

 whether rough or smooth haired, but many of them were 

 big mongrels, part greyhound and part some other breed, 

 such as bulldog, mastiff, Newfoundland, bloodhound, or 

 collie. The only two requisites w r ere that the dogs should 

 run fast and fight gamely; and in consequence they 

 formed as wicked, hard-biting a crew as ever ran down 

 and throttled a wolf. They were usually taken out ten 

 at a time, and by their aid Massingale killed over two 

 hundred wolves, including cubs. Of course there was 

 no pretence of giving the game fair play. The wolves 

 were killed as vermin, not for sport. The greatest havoc 

 was in the spring-time, when the she-wolves were fol- 

 lowed to their dens. Some of the hounds were very fast, 

 and they could usually overtake a young or weak wolf; 

 but an old dog-wolf, with a good start, unless run into at 

 once, would ordinarily get away if he were in running 

 trim. Frequently, however, he was caught when not in 

 running trim, for the hunter was apt to find him when he 

 had killed a calf or taken part in dragging down a horse 

 or steer, and was gorged with meat. Under these cir- 

 cumstances he could not run long before the pack. If 

 possible, as with all such packs, the hunter himself got 

 up in time to end the worry by a stab of his hunting-knife ; 

 but unless he was quick he had nothing to do, for the pack 

 was thoroughly competent to do its own killing. Grim 



