THE WARY WOLF 143 



the wolves saw me. On they went across the 

 plateau. I hoped that the antelope might es- 

 cape; but just before he reached the top of a 

 ridge I saw a wolf peering over. The antelope 

 and the wolves disappeared on the other side, 

 where I suppose the drifting clouds and stead- 

 fast pines again witnessed a common tragedy of 

 the wild. 



On another occasion I saw three wolves drive 

 a deer from a canon and so direct its course that 

 it emerged where the way was covered with a 

 deep snowdrift. As the deer floundered through 

 the soft snow it was pounced upon by a fourth 

 wolf, which was lying in wait at this point. 



Wolves occasionally capture the young, the 

 stupid, and the injured among deer, sheep, elk, 

 and moose; but the big-game loss from wolf dep- 

 redations probably is not heavy. These wolf- 

 chased animals have developed a wariness and 

 endurance that usually enable them, except 

 perhaps during heavy snows, to triumph over 

 this enemy. 



Economically, the food habits of wolves are 

 not entirely bad. In many localities they prey 

 freely upon those ever-damaging pests mice, 

 rats, rabbits, and prairie dogs. They are also 

 scavengers. 



The vast herds of buffaloes used to be con- 

 stantly followed by countless packs of wolves. 



