146 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



hour. As they were not eaten, the killing was 

 apparently for the amusement of the wolves. 



In wolf-infested cattle territory it is common 

 for one or more cows to guard the calves while 

 the other cows go to water. At a ranch where I 

 made my headquarters for a few days, the plan 

 was being tried of equipping every thorough- 

 bred calf with a bell. This practice proved only 

 temporarily effective in keeping wolves away. 



In the cattle country you will find the wolfer 

 a picturesque character engaged in the pe- 

 culiar occupation of trying to exterminate wolves. 

 His equipment consists of a rifle, traps, and poi- 

 son. A few wolfers follow their occupation 

 the year round. Many of them are free trap- 

 pers some of them old-timers who have seen 

 better trapping days. 



When a wolfer meets another wolfer, or when 

 he is discussing business with stockmen and 

 others who are interested, his talk is likely to 

 run to "Three Toes," a wolf that killed so many 

 cattle on the S. S. Bar Ranch; or to "Old Two 

 Toes," which John Jones succeeded in trapping. 

 He is eager to hear how Smith trapped the last 

 wolf. Just as the prospector has faith that he 

 will find the mythical lost mine, many wolfers 

 firmly believe that they will yet compound a 

 scent which will please the nostrils of the most 

 wary wolf and lure him to his doom. 



