ANIMAL LIFE IN LABRADOR 431 



starvation, and only 'the pangs of hunger gave the poor 

 beast the courage to face a man. I have in my collection 

 the skull of a large wolf which had killed itself by eating 

 sticks. A piece the exact width of the mouth, cut off by 

 the two large lateral teeth, had sprung across the mouth 

 like a bow, and the pressure on each end had absorbed the 

 alveolus of the jaw, so that the stick was right through on 

 both sides above the teeth. The pressure had also ab- 

 sorbed the bone above it, and eaten a long hole the size of 

 the stick through the base of the skull, and so probably in- 

 fected the brain. The stick is still in situ in the skull. 



The method by which the wolves destroy the caribou was 

 hotly debated some time ago. I append two detailed de- 

 scriptions from eye-witnesses. Mr. Flowers of Hamilton 

 Inlet, hunting with his brother, noticed a full-grown caribou 

 flying at top speed across the barrens. From the hill on 

 which they were they watched it through their field glasses, 

 and noticed it mount a neighbouring steep ascent at the 

 same matchless pace, and then suddenly stop and lie down. 

 Very shortly a large timber wolf came flying by. As soon 

 as it sighted the caribou it turned off and ran to leeward, 

 making a long circle as if afraid to go near. Probably it 

 had had experiences before. Soon after two more wolves 

 came along, and one of these also started to circle round. 

 The other, however, went straight at the deer from behind, 

 while its attention was drawn the other way. It ran right 

 in under the forelegs and grabbed the deer high in the 

 throat. The deer, a fine old stag, reared up on his hind 

 legs, the wolf still holding on. The deer then went down 

 and tried to knee the wolf to pieces against the hard 

 ground. Just at that moment one of the party shot the 



