

tional Forest Reserve no positive evidence was obtained in 

 the region visited by us, that either deer or moose had suf- 

 fered to any great extent from the activities of the wolf, al- 

 though in the remoter regions reached signs of the beast 

 were very common. One of the animals was even seen, and 

 that, too, in the very suspicious circumstances of feeding upon 

 the carcass of a cow-moose lying in the river above a rapids, 

 and which had met death only a day or two before it was 

 discovered by us. One or more wolves may have been directly 

 or indirectly responsible. But such examination as the time 

 and the place permitted making did not prove the guilt of the 

 wolf beyond a doubt. The most incriminating circumstance 

 is reduced to many tracks on the banks and the fact that the 

 wolf was seen feeding on the carcass. 



The skeleton remains of two very small fawns were found, 

 which, of course, gave no hint of the cause of death. One dead 

 moose-calf was found in this territory by two forest rangers 

 who reported that when found, the calf had apparently been 

 dead but a day or two and that careful examination of the 

 calf and the mud of the river-bank where it lay failed to sug- 

 gest anything but a natural death. We saw the carcass a few 

 few days later most of the flesh had been stripped from the 

 bones. This past summer we found the remains of a bull- 

 moose that may or may not have been killed by wolves. We 

 also found the remains of a bear that had left for perhaps hap- 

 pier hunting grounds the summer previous. 



Now, the fact remains that in all this wolf-inhabited terri- 

 tory deer were actually seen by us, and even photographed. 

 Judging only from numbers seen, they were less numerous 

 than in the territory lying within ten or fifteen miles of the 

 settled districts, but this may in part be accounted for by the 

 lateness of the season, when we were in this region, when 

 deer do not so frequently visit the water courses and come to 

 view. Signs showed, however, that deer were by no means 

 rare, actually common in all this region. 



Of course the summer season is the least favorable for find- 

 ing tell-tale skeletal remains of big-game kills. We did as a 

 matter of fact, however, find two more such remains of moose, 

 yet the top of the skull in these cases had been removed with 



27 



