IN THE LOUISIANA CANEBRAKES 387 



were grey. One of the dogs was the largest I ever seen, and 

 had the biggest foot. He made a track a third larger than 

 any I ever saw. The old ones had evidently just butchered and 

 was feeding the little ones when I came in sight about 400 

 yards away. I believe a wolf has got the quickest eye of any 

 animal living, and just as my head came up over the hill the 

 old ones all looked my way apparently at the same time. It 

 was too far to shoot so I thought I would pretend I did not 

 see them and just simply ride by. After riding some distance 

 three of the old ones began to move away and to my surprise 

 the big fellow came over to head me off. He was just on top 

 of a bench about 100 feet high, and I knew it would not do 

 to get down to shoot as one jump would take him out of sight 

 so I cracked my heels and let my pony have them in the abdo- 

 men and ran for the top of the hill, but was running against 

 the wind and when I reached the top my eyes was watering 

 so I could not kill him, but give him a close call as I got a 

 lock of his hair. I found another den the same spring (in 

 1899) and I got eight pups and there was five old ones. They 

 had to go some distance to find horses and cattle and there was 

 a plain trail that I could follow at least five miles without snow. 

 Colts seem to be their favorite dish when they can get them. 1 



1 My own experience has been that wolves are more apt to kill cattle than 

 horses, whereas with cougars the reverse is true. It is another instance ol 

 variability doubtless both in the observed and the observers. Wolves may 

 seize an animal anywhere in a scuffle, and a pack will literally tear a small deer to 

 pieces; but when one or two wolves attack a big animal, like a bull caribou, elk or 

 moose, or a horse or a steer, the killing or crippling wounds are inflicted in the 

 flanks, hams or throat. Very rarely an animal is seized by the head. To any 

 real naturalist or hunter, or indeed to any competent observer, it is unnecessary 

 to say that no wolf, and no other wild beast, ever bites, or can by any possibility 

 bite, one of these large animals, like a horse, moose, or caribou, in the heart; 

 yet an occasional " nature fakir," more than usually reckless in his untruthfulness, 

 will assert that such incidents do happen; and, what is even more remarkable, 

 uninformed people of more than average credulity appear to believe the assertion. 



