CAPTURE OF ANIMALS. 47 



course might be caught at certain times in the way described 



on page 22. 



THE WOLF. 



There are many varieties of the Wolf, and they are found 

 throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. They are 

 substantially the same in form everywhere, but vary in color 

 from black through shades of brown, fulvous, yellow, 'and 

 gray, to white. The most common color is gray. They vary 

 in size from the great White and Gray Wolves of the northern 

 regions of America to the Coyote of the western plains. They 

 inhabit chiefly unsettled and mountainous regions. They be- 

 long to the same family with the dog and fox. They are car- 

 nivorous, and combine both ferocity and cowardice in their 

 character. Though lean and gaunt in appearance, they are 

 fleet and powerful animals. They hunt mostly in packs, and 

 destroy great numbers of deer in the stiff snows of winter, 

 sometimes slaughtering whole herds in a single night. The 

 sheepfold of the frontier farmer also suffers from their depre- 

 dations. They feed on almost all the smaller animals they 

 can overpower. Troops of them have been known to pursue 

 and attack men. When hunting in packs and pressed with 

 hunger they are bold and exceedingly ferocious. At other 

 times, when roaming singly, they are sneaking and cowardly. 

 The Gray Wolf of this country, which may be taken as the 

 standard of size, is about four feet long from the point of 

 the nose to the root of the tail ; the length of tail being about 

 seventeen inches. In the far north they are very large, some- 

 times measuring six and one half feet in total length, and 

 weighing fifty pounds. 



In North America the leading varieties are the Gray Wolf, 

 the White Wolf, the Black Wolf, the Red Texan Wolf, and 

 the Prairie Wolf or Coyote. In South America a Red Wolf 

 is found in the marshy districts of the Rio de la Plata. In 

 Europe there are Gray, Black, Brown, Red, and White 

 Wolves. The latter are confined mostly to the Northern and 

 Alpine regions. In Asia there are several varieties peculiar 

 to that Continent. 



It has been supposed by some that there is a variety on this 



