LIFE IN WOODS OF NORTH MICHIGAN 271 



Every student of natural history has heard of "rogue 

 elephants," for instance, and knows that hunters consider 

 them the most dangerous to meet or attack. 



There were wolves in the Michigan woods at this 

 time, but not in great numbers, and they had been 

 so harassed by the trappers that it was difficult to find 

 the few that remained. They evidently scented us miles 

 before we came up to them, for on one occasion we 

 followed a wolf trail for three days in succession, and 

 for the whole of that time they compelled us to follow 

 them hefore the, tvind so that our scent was sure to reach 

 them. All our skilful endeavours to alter this were of 

 no avail. In Europe the fox is the type of cunning : he 

 is not one whit more crafty than the wolf. Indeed I 

 should award the wolf the palm for sly craftiness, and 

 I may say that in following wolves for three days we 

 showed ourselves very poor foresters ; for this animal is 

 very rarely tracked down. The only way to shoot him 

 openly is either to surround a tract of forest with a large 

 circle of hunters, and gradually close in towards the 

 centre ; or to lie in wait near a bait, the said bait being 

 a pig. For the wolf, like the bear, would risk his soul, 

 if he had one, for pork. 



But we had this excuse for following the wolves 

 mentioned above, that we knew, from the state of the 

 tracks, that they were not very far ahead, and every 

 night we set traps hoping to catch some of them. The 

 traps were of two kinds — large, steel spring-traps, and a 

 cage-trap, constructed on the principle of a mouse-trap, 

 but of course of huge size. It seems incredible, but 

 remarkable as the statement may seem, these ferocious 

 brutes, while cunningly refusing to enter the traps, actually 

 tore the back out of one of them, though made of steel 

 ribbons, breaking the metal, apparently, with the teeth, 

 and so obtained the bait. It was the opinion of all of 

 us that the trap was broken from the outside ; certainly 

 it was done by the wolves as the marks of their teeth 



