154 MAMMALS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY. 



Somerset, Pa., Hotel Van Near, April 10, 1902, we find C. S. Van Near's state- 

 ments regarding the wolf in question. It will be seen that John " Aneer" 

 above quoted, should be John Queer, and that there seems no doubt of the 

 capture of the animal. Its origin, as suggested by Dr. Warren, is doubtful. 

 The letter is as follows : " Mr. Samuel N. Rhoads, Dear Sir : Your letter of 

 inquiry received in regard to wolf hide which I have. In reply would say 

 that he was a very large gray timber wolf, and was caught in a trap in Laurel 

 Hill Mountains by an old man by the name of John Queer. He measured 

 six (6) feet and two (2) inches from point of his nose to tip of tail without 

 any stretching. His height at shoulders was three (3) feet and at hips two 

 (2) feet and eight (8) inches. His front legs very strong and about the size 

 of a man's arm. Mr. Queer brought him here to Somerset, Pa., and got ten 

 (10) dol. bounty for him from the commissioners and I bought the hide and 

 gave him three (3) dol. for it, and I tried to get it mounted but was unable, 

 and had it tanned and have it yet. His colcr : the under side of his body is 

 rather light, his legs are a little brown and gray, his sides are gray, and 

 along back and tail are gray mixed with black and mostly black. If you wish 

 to see the hide you can see it any time here at Hotel Arlington, Somerset, 

 Pa. Very truly yours, C. S. Van Near." 



Sullivan Co. "The last wolf killed here was in 1860, by Richard Wil- 

 liams." Behr., 1902. " Long since exterminated." Bennett, 1896. 



Tioga Co. The county bounty records for 1896 show that 30 was col- 

 lected by Chas. Kerby for the killing of 3 wolves in Tioga. The newspaper 

 clipping which follows was sent me by a correspondent. It indicated not so 

 much the abundance of Pa. wolves as the scarcity of that love for truth which 

 so many people lose in their greed for filthy lucre : " Wellsboro, Pa., Jan. 24, 

 1897. By the confession of one of the persons implicated, the particulars of 

 a unique story have just come to light in the lower end of this county. Last 

 fall, when Charles Lee's circus returned to Canton to go into winter quarters, 

 the sheriff sold him out. Among the animals in the menageries were three 

 prairie wolves, which were sold for 50 cents each to Charles Kerby, of Cedar 

 Lodge. He kept them chained in his dooryard until cold weather set in, 

 when a bright thought struck him. With the aid of two men from Canton 

 the beasts were put in a box and hauled into a forest away back in Liberty 

 township, where they were shot. Although wolves have been extinct in 

 Pennsylvania for many years, there is an old law giving 10 bounty for wolf 

 scalps. Kerby took the three pelts to the office of Justice of the Peace De 

 Coursey, where he made affidavit that he killed them within the bailiwick of 

 Tioga, got the $30 bounty and went home happy." See also Dr. Warren's 

 remarks on this fiasco, p. 496 of the Poultry Book. "About 1885 Levi 

 Kissinger, of Roaring Branch, killed a wolf." Cleveland. A fuller account 

 was later sent to me by Dr. Cleveland as follows: "Mr. Levi Kissinger, of 



