or.DEi; V. THE carn"ivoi;a. 



inn tt) Buffon, as soon as tlicy regain tlie woods ; hut in wild countries, and 

 where they hurrow, tliis is not the case. Captain ^Viiiiamson, in liis Eastern 

 Field Sports, rehites tlic^ manner of smoking them out, and states tliat on 

 one of tlicse occasions a nunilicr of trinkets once attached to native children 

 were dug out, and recognized hy the parents. 



In Xorthern'India wolves roam and even hurrow, occasionally, midcr the 

 buildings of European occupants. One night a servant was sleeping in the 

 veranda, with his head near the outer lattice, when a wolf thrust his jaws 

 between the bamboos, seized the young man l)y the head, and made efforts 

 to drag hiui through. His cries awakening tlu; whole vicinity, the beast 

 was compelled to quit his liold ; but althougli encountered and struck at by 

 many, he escaped. The man was nearly scalped and dreadfully lacerated, 

 but recovered. 



A peasant in Russia was once pursued in Jiis sledge by eleven wohcs. 

 Being about two miles from home, he urged his jiorse to the very extent of 

 his speed. At the entrance to his residence was a gate, which, being shut 

 at the time, the frightened horse dashed open, and carried his master safely 

 into the court-yard. Nine of the w-olvcs f lUowcd them into the enclosure, 

 when fortunately tlie gate swung back and shut them all, as it were, in a 

 trap. Finding themselves thus caught, the animals seemed to lose all their 

 ferocitv, and, as escape was impossible, slimk into holes ami corners, mo- 

 lesting no one, and offering no resistance. They were all despatched with- 

 out further difficulty. 



TiiEiii Domestic IlAiiixs. — Wolves do not acquire their full growth 

 till after the end of the second year. The female produces from three to 

 seven whelps at a litter. They are brought forth in holes, or imdcr the 

 most sheltered and impenetrable covers, where a bed of moss is gathered by 

 the mother for their comfort and necessary warmth. The male wolves are 

 accused of a desire to devour the whelps as long as they arc blind ; and the 

 fact is well known that the females practise this unnatural brutality if the 

 3-oung ha'ie been handled, or her attention or suspicion be raised by .some 

 cause, which, it seems, excites in her an idea of apprehension for their 

 safety, and is manifested by so singular a mode of expression. After the 

 eyes are open, the male wolf is no longer an object of maternal fears. lie 

 then joins in the care of raising the young, and in bringing partridges, 

 moorfowl, rats, and moles to the lair : and both stages of the whelps' exist- 

 ence indicate the further operation of secondary causes all in unison with 

 those already noticed. "With the growth of her progeny, the she-wolf in- 

 creases in vigilance and in daring. By degrees they are led by her to 

 drink, two or three times a day, to the nearest sequestered water. As they 

 increase in statiu-e, both the parents take them out to hunt, 

 xo. HI. 13 



