338 A JOURNEY TO THE 



wet, turn quite hard, unless great care be taken to keep con- 

 stantly rubbing them while drying. 



The person who informed Mr. Pennant that the we-was-kish 

 and the moose are the same animal, never saw one of them ; and 

 the only reason he had to suppose it, was the great resemblance 

 of their skins : yet it is rather strange, that so indefatigable a 

 collector of Natural History as the late Mr. Andrew Graham, 

 should have omitted making particular enquiry about them : 

 for any foreign Indian, particularly those that reside near 

 Basquiau, could easily have convinced him to the contrary. 



[362] Animals with Canine Teeth. 



Wolves. Wolves ^ are frequently met with in the countries West 



of Hudson's Bay, both on the barren grounds and among the 

 woods, but they are not numerous ; it is very uncommon to 

 see more than three or four of them in a herd. Those that 

 keep to the Westward, among the woods, are generally of the 

 usual colour, but the greatest part of those that are killed by 

 the Esquimaux are perfectly white. All the wolves in Hud- 

 son's Bay are very shy of the human race, yet when sharp set, 

 they frequently follow the Indians for several days, but always 

 keep at a distance. They are great enemies to the Indian 

 dogs, and frequently kill and eat those that are heavy loaded, 

 and cannot keep up with the main body. The Northern 

 Indians have formed strange ideas of this animal, as they think 

 it does not eat its victuals raw ; but by a singular and wonder- 

 ful sagacity, peculiar to itself, has a method of cooking them 

 without fire. The females are much swifter than the males ; 

 for which reason the Indians, both Northern and Southern, 

 are of opinion that they kill the greatest part of the game. 



[1 The wolves of the wooded country belong to the species to which the 

 name Canis occidentalis of Richardson seems applicable ; those of the Barren 

 Grounds, which are frequently white, may be considered as subspecifically 

 separable under the name Canis o. albus Sabine (type locality, Fort Enter- 

 prise, North-West Territory).] 



