320 Wild Beasts 



venison was tied for a bait." Visiting one of these pits 

 in the morning, with its constructor and his dogs, three 

 wolves, " two black and one brindled," were found to have 

 been caught. " They were lying flat on the earth, with 

 their ears close down to their heads, and their eyes indi- 

 cating fear more than anger." It is said by Felix Oswald, 

 (" Zoological Sketches ") that pitfalls always cow animals. 

 At all events, in this case, the farmer, axe and knife in 

 hand, descended and hamstrung them. Audubon stood 

 above with a gun and the dogs, to whom these helpless 

 creatures were thrown to be worried. None of the cap- 

 tives made any resistance worth mentioning because they 

 were such cowards ! If a lion of the Atlas, however, comes 

 ramping down upon an Arab douar, leaps over the fence of 

 a cattle-pen, and finds himself at the bottom of a trench, he 

 meets death with the same resignation. But that is on 

 account of the dignity of his character. No mortal knows 

 what either animal thinks or feels, and, since there is no 

 difference between their demeanors, it would be quite as 

 easy to make the death scene of the wolf poetic, and prob- 

 ably fully as much in accordance with the truth. 



What has been said of fortitude applies equally to other 

 qualities. It seems reasonable to allow wolves some part 

 in deciding what enterprises they shall undertake, which 

 way an attack ought to be made, and whether the risk of 

 any adventure is likely to overbalance its advantages. 

 They are very well acquainted with the business which it 

 falls to their lot in life to transact, and since the days have 

 gone when Greek lycanthropes, German wahr-wolves, and 

 French loupgarous appeared among mankind, not anybody 



