The Wolf 339 



described as a distinct species ; but this brute which has 

 so evil a reputation in the highlands of Mexico, " the red 

 Texan wolf," as Audubon calls it, does not extend in the 

 United States to the northern prairies ; it only exists as 

 a variety of the common species in the lower Mississippi 

 valley, and farther south. 



Audubon remarks that this form of the common species 

 has "the same sneaking, cowardly, yet ferocious dispo- 

 sition " as other wolves ; nevertheless those anecdotes 

 with which he intersperses his descriptions are certainly 

 not calculated to foster the belief that his impression 

 agrees with facts. 



There are certain traits and habits belonging to wolves 

 at large which may now be brought together. They are 

 not by any means strictly nocturnal animals, but very 

 commonly prowl by night, and in places where large packs 

 assemble ; most of what has with truth been said against 

 them occurred under cover of darkness. By all accounts, 

 it is amidst gloom and storm, while the buran rages over 

 the arctic tundra, that troops of these fierce creatures do 

 their worst among Yakut and Tungoo reindeer herds. 

 Caribou are not herded, and have been but little observed 

 by those who could give any information upon such a point 

 as this. Everywhere, a wolf is destructive, fierce, wary 

 and sagacious. Moreover, it will often become aggressive 

 and audacious in the highest degree, when circumstances 

 contribute to foster the development and facilitate the 

 expression of its natural character. It is the typical wild 

 beast of its family, and if it is not in many instances 

 sanguinary and prone to take the offensive, there is a 



