THE WOLF. 57 



Voracious appetite Devastations. 



The length of the animal's hair augments his ap- 

 parent bulk ; and the tail is long and bushy. 



The wolf is one of those animals whose carni- 

 vorous appetites is the most voracious, and whose 

 methods of satisfying it are the most various; 

 nature having amply furnished him with strength, 

 agility, and all the requisites for pursuit or con- 

 quest: yet, with all these advantages he fre- 

 quently dies with hunger: for being proscribed 

 by man, and driven into the sequestered retreats 

 of forests and mountains, the wild animals elude 

 his attack by swiftness or artifice, and those he 

 can take are not sufficiently numerous to satisfy 

 the inordinate cravings of his stomach. 



Wolves are naturally timid and cowardly ; but 

 when pressed by hunger they become courageous 

 from necessity, and seem to bid defiance to every 

 danger. In countries where they are numerous, 

 whole droves come down from the mountains, or 

 out of the woods, and unite in the work of gene- 

 ral devastation. They attack the sheep-folds, 

 enter the villages, and carry off sheep, lambs, 

 hogs, calves, and even dogs; for at such times 

 every kind of animal food is equally agreeable. 

 The horse and the ox, the only tame animals 

 that can make any resistance against these ene- 

 mies, are frequently overpowered by their numbers 

 and their repeated attacks. Even man himself, 

 on these occasions, frequently falls a victim to 

 their rapacity. They are seldom driven back 

 until many of them be killed; and when obliged 



NO. II. H 



