94 DIVISION I. VERTEBKAL ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



life. Thus the gentle, eoiiililing, and afieetioiiatc nature of our familiar 

 do'r.s is reiiilereil visilile in the mild ex[)re.^sion of the eve.s and countenance, 

 and in all their hahits and demeanor ; while, on the contrary, the malig- 

 nant, cruel, and treacherous nature of the wolves is as strongly e.\[)re.ssed in 

 the sinister eyes, that Inirn in the dark like coals of fire, and the gaunt form 

 and haggard countenance, whose wild and fearfid expression resembles that 

 of a human \illain, who, while he is meditating new crimes, yet shakes 

 witli fear before the vision of the retriliutioa that will swiftly overtake him. 



There are many species of wolvco, but they vary so little in all essential 

 particulars, that one description will sufHce for the whole. (See Plate IX.) 



They have the licad broad; muzzle pointed; eyes distinct, oblicjue, small, 

 and malignant. The tail, hanging close between the legs, wants the flexibility 

 of that of foxes, and the recurved attitude of that of dogs. They walk more 

 on the ball of the feet than dogs, the fur is coarser, and tlieir odor is very 

 offensive. Their whole aspect, indicating vigilant malignitv, fetir, and cru- 

 elty, distinguishes tlieiu from the familiar species, c\en when in size and 

 similarity of fur they approximate most closely. Tlie muzzle, contracted 

 below the eyes, is pointed, the edge of the lips black. On the cheek there 

 are two or more hairy warts, and the bristles of the whiskers on the lips are 

 short. 



The principal species are the Liipns vnhjurin, the Common AVolf of 

 both the (.)ld and New World ; the L. h/cniiii, Black "Wolf ; L. inihihis, 

 the Dusky A\'olf; L. ?<rr.rii-uiiii.<, ]\Iexic.in AVolf; L. ](Uriiii>:, Prairie 

 A'\'olf of North .Vmeri("i ; //. cucjoltltt, Loup de Mexique, Cuvler ; and X. 

 tniri.-i, the Jungle Koola. 



From these the otlier wolf-like animals shade down through nearly, if not 

 quite, forty species, terminating with the Aguara dogs and foxes. 



A\'olves inhal)it the Northern Hemisphere from the Polar Seas to Central 

 China, and Cii.-hna in India, Northern Persia, Natolia, Europe, ^lorocco, 

 and the whole of North America. — As our limits will not permit us to enter 

 into specilic descriptions of these several families, we will proceed to give 

 such sketches as will best serve to make the reader acquainted with the 

 general character and nature of the \\ hole. 



TiiEii: Habits. — Wolves howl more frequently when the weather is 

 about to change to wet. They grovel with the nose in the earth, instead of 

 diLiginLr with their iiaws, when thev wish to conceal a i)nrt of their food 

 or the droppings about their lairs. The parent wolves punish their whelps 

 if they emit a scream of pain ; they bite, maltreat, and drag them by the 

 tail, till they have learned to bear pain in silence. "\\'olf-hunters connnonly 

 assert that the animal is weak in the loins, and when first put to speed, that 

 Lis hind quarters seem to waver, but when warmed, that he will run without 



