33 



THE PRAIRIE WOLF. 



A farmer had suffered greatly from the Wolves, and had determined to take his 

 revenge by means of pitfalls, of which he had dug several within easy reach of his 

 residence. They were eight feet in depth, and wider at the bottom than at the top. 

 Into one of these traps three fine Wolves had fallen ; two of them being black, and 

 the other a brindled animal. To the very great astonishment of M. Audubon, the 

 farmer got into "the pit, pulled out the hind-legs of the Wolves, as they lay trembling 

 at the bottom, and with his knife severed the chief tendon of the hind-limbs, so as to 

 prevent their escape. The farmer was thus repaying himself for the damage which hi 

 had suffered, for the skins of the captured Wolves were sufficiently valuable to reim- 

 burse him for his labor and previous losses. 



Among the Esquimaux the Wolves are caught in traps made of large blocks of ice r 

 and constructed in precisely the same manner as an ordinary mousetrap with a drop- 

 doc r. The trap is made so narrow that the Wolf cannot turn himself, and when he is 

 fairly inclosed by the treacherous door, he is put to death by spears, which are thrust 

 through interstices left for that purpose. 



PRAIRIE WOLF.-Cs/i/s lasrans. 



There is a rather smaller species of Wolf, which is found in great numbers upon the 

 American prairies, and named for that reason the PRAIRIE WOLF. These animals 

 are always found hanging on the outskirts of the numerous herds of bisons that roam 

 the prairies, and pick up a subsistence by assailing the weakly and wounded members 

 of the herd. Small as is each individual Wolf, it becomes a terrible assailant when 

 backed by numbers, and seldom fails to bring to the ground any animal which may be 

 unfortunate enough to attract its attention. 



When they have once brought their prey to the ground, they make marvellously 

 short work. There is a scuffle of some two minutes in length, during which the Wolves 

 are so eagerly plying their feet and jaws that nothing is visible except a cloud of dust 

 and hair, in the midst of which is a mass of whisking tails. The dusty cloud then sub- 

 sides, and the Wolves are seen moving slowly away from the scene of their late repast. 

 They also are in the habit of accompanying the hunters through their long peregrina- 



