216 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 



bustard also abounds in the country, and is considered a 

 great dainty ; but its shyness makes it very difficult to 

 approach. I was fortunate enough to catch a good view 

 of the first I ever saw, for we came suddenly upon him as 

 we were driving one day, about the middle of April. 

 During the summer, I remarked several flocks of them 

 at a distance. 



' Besides the fox, the badger, and the hare, which this 

 country possesses in common with England, it has large 

 numbers of elks, buffaloes, bears and wolves. The elk is 

 rarely met with in the southern part ; but, in a large forest 

 near Grodno, there are several. During our stay at Wier- 

 cieliszki, part of the wood was on fire, and the flames 

 disturbed some of its wild inhabitants. Word was brought 

 to Count Bisping that two elks had passed across his farm, 

 upon which he immediately mounted his horse and set off 

 in pursuit, with some big black hounds. He failed to 

 overtake the elks, but plainly marked their track. They 

 had gone through a piece of standing rye ; and, in the wet 

 soil, he pointed out to me the same evening, the clear 

 impression of their large cloven feet. The buffalo, or 

 bison, is not frequently seen. I was told that there was a 

 herd of them, about a thousand head, some forty or fifty 

 miles from Grodno, and they are very strictly preserved. 

 They are much larger than the American or African 

 buffalo. The law forbidding the slaughter of one of these 

 animals is as strict as that which prohibits the murder of 

 a man. 



' The wolf is greatly on the increase, as the inhabitants 

 are denied the means, which they formerly possessed, of 

 killing them. One day, as we were drawing near a small 

 cover with some greyhounds, I observed a great number 

 of magpies and carrion crows, which, on our approach, 

 flew around, marking their displeasure at our intrusion by 

 cries and croaks. We brushed through the little wood : 

 and, at the lower end, saw, what I at first thought to be a, 

 dog trotting away. I galloped after him, when my com- 

 panion also saw him, and cried, wilka, wilka, (wolf, wolf,) 



