CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARXIVORA. 



235 



ues Sir John, " a wolf, which had been prowling round the fort, and was wounded by a rausket- 

 ball and driven off, returned after it became dark, while the blood was still flowing from its 

 wound, and carried off a dog from among fifty others, that howled piteously, but had not courage 

 to unite in an attack on their enemy. I was told of a poor Indian woman who was strangled bv 

 a wolf, while her husband, who saw the attack, was hastening to her assistance ; but this was the 

 only instance of their attacking human life that came to my knowledge. As the winter advances 

 and the snow becomes deep, the wolves, being no longer able to hunt with success, suffer from 

 hunger, and in severe seasons many die." 





ai I ft ki *'VliWi/!.\ /// A? fh / J 



PRAIIUE WOLVES. 



The Prairie "Wolf is a well-known variety, of a smaller size, with a sharp pointed nose, and a 

 fox-like expression. Its general color is a reddish brown. It has received various names, as the 

 Barking Wolf, from its barking somewhat like a dog, the Burrowing Dog, and the Cased Wolf. 

 Its northern range is about the 55th degree of latitude, and thence southward to Mexico. It is 

 abundant in Texas. It associates in greater numbers than the gray wolf of the same districts : it 

 hunts in packs, and brings forth its young in burrows on the open plain, remote from the woods. 

 On the banks of the Saskatchewan these animals start forth from the earth in great numbers 

 on hearing the report of a gun, and gather round the hunter expectant of the offal of the animal 

 which he has slain. They are much more fleet than the common wolves. Sir John Richardson 

 was informed by an experienced hunter who had resided for forty years on the Saskatchewan, 

 that the only animal on the plains which he could not overtake, when mounted on a good horse, 

 was the prong-horned antelope, and that the prairie wolf was the next in speed. These animals 

 live on birds, small quadrupeds, and, when urged by necessity, on the carcasses of buffaloes and 

 other animals. When taken young they can be tamed, and have some of the qualities of a dog, 

 but neither his intelligence nor his fidelity. 



The Red Texan Wolf resembles the gray wolf in size and form, but has a more foxy coun- 

 tenance ; in its habits, also, it resembles the gray variety. It is common from Arkansas to 

 Mexico, and perhaps further south. In color it is of a reddish brown, but there is a considerable 

 diversity among the different varieties. 



It may be remarked, generally, that the gray, white, and black wolves are widely distributed 

 i over North America, all being found more or less frequently, from the Arctic regions to the .Gulf 

 of Mexico. The prairie wolf seems nearly confined to the plains east. of the Rocky Mountains-; 

 'the red Texan wolf is exclusively southern in its distribution. 



The Cayotl or Caygotle of Mexico appears to be a small variety of wolf, of a whitish-gray 

 color, and of a less savage character than is common to the tribe. Mr. Ryan tells us that he was 

 followed bv one of them, and every evening when he encamped, the wolf squatted himself down, 



