Canid.e.- 



-MAMMALIA.- 



-Canid.e. 



107 



to attack the wretched wanderers. The little resist- 

 ance they experienced in their depredations on these 

 unfortunate creatures, emboldened them in an astonish- 

 ing manner, and tanglit them to look with contempt 

 and defiance towards a race, of whose powers they liad 

 lieretofore been in awe. Such n\imbers, however, suc- 

 ceeded in finding their way to the cantonments, that 

 ■we were to all intents in a state of siege. The wolves 

 followed, and were to be seen in all directions commit- 

 ting havoc among the dying crowd." Here we have 

 indeed a sad picture ; for the very loss of food these 

 animals experienced by the general scarcity of other 

 creatures, was more than amply compensated to them by 

 the abundance of perishing men, women, and children. 

 For the latter, indeed, tlie Wolf has a remarkable pro- 

 pensity at all times. The same writer declares that 

 " liis favourite object is a child at the breast, which, 

 when opportunity serves, he seizes by the throat, thcre- 

 b)' not only preventing it from giving the alarm by its 

 cries, but taking a hold such as enables him to bear 

 away his prize without impeding his progress." Very 

 lew cliildren, even if timely rescued, survive this 

 trenchant gi'ip. On anotlier occasion two wolves 

 gained access to a bungalow near Cawnpore, where 

 tliey seized a lad thirteen years old, precisely in the 

 Fame manner; death having ensued, they were in the 

 act of ingeniously raising the body over a wall, when 

 the fall of a tile aroused the sleeping parents, who 

 liurried to the spot, from whence the brutes scampered off 

 leaving the victim of their cunning a ghastly spectacle. 

 About this time the wolves in the northern districts 

 became so familiarized witli man, by wliat had happened 

 during tlie famine, that they very frequently attacked 

 adults and even armed persons. Ordinarily, however, 

 as we have before remarked, the Wolf is a great coward. 

 Sir John Richardson testifies to the same behaviour in 

 the case of the American wolf, which is probably a 

 mere variety of the common grey species. He states 

 tliat if these wolves were not as fearful as they are 

 rapacious, tlie American buffalo-hunters would be 

 unable to preserve their game. " The simple i)recau- 

 tion of tying a handkerchief to a branch, or of blowing 

 up a bladder, and hanging it so as to wave in the wind, 

 is sufficient to keep herds of wolves at a distance." 

 Sir John Richardson also mentions an instance where 

 a poor Indian woman was killed b}' a wolf, within sight 

 of her husband, who was coming to rescue her ; and it 

 is particularly worthy of notice, that in this instance 

 the neck was the part of the body seized. In the 

 liigher northern latitudes many wolves perish during 

 llie cold season from inanition; and in some cases, 

 when the winter has been unusuall}' severe and pro- 

 longed, they perish by hundreds. Some voyagers tell 

 us tliat they have both seen and heard the poor animals 

 ■ — for under these circumstances we feel inclined to pity 

 Ihem — howling painfully as they lay stretched and 

 famishing on blocks of ice. To these they have resorted 

 in the hope of catching seals and other marine animals, 

 iind wliile thus employed, the ice-fields have become 

 detached and have drifted away into the open sea. 

 The Wolf, like the fox, forms buri'ows or earths ; into 

 tliese they retreat during the day, and likewise occupy 

 tliem for the special purpose of rearing their young. 



The number of cubs produced at a birlli seems liable 

 to vary, there being usually four or five ; but in the 

 case of the American variety. Sir John Richardson 

 states that eight or nine are sometimes the result of a 

 single litter. A very eftectual manner of extirpating 

 wolves is by smoking them out of their earths. Tliis 

 plan, adopted in India, is extremely simple. All that 

 is necessary, is to be provided with a quantity of sticks, 

 straw, and lucifer matches, and a few pounds of brim- 

 stone. There are generally several outlets to eacli 

 earth ; but it is not necessary to make a fire before 

 many of these, especially if the party be well provided 

 with fire-arms. Usually it is not considered desirable 

 to give any of them the slightest chance of escape ; but, 

 under any circumstances, it is advisable to fire the lower 

 holes, so as to allow of the fumes being drawn in by a 

 strong current of air. The death of tlie savage tenant 

 is usually very jjainful, and long before he comes to the 

 surface, his commencing distress and agony is indicated 

 by a painful moaning. Sometimes they rush out ; but 

 being more or less stupified by the fumes, they seldom 

 make their escape. If they avoid the spears and clubs 

 of the natives, who are anxiously watching outside, the 

 gun, rifle, or arrow, more surely effects the purpose of 

 their destruction. In the foregoing remarks we have 

 repeatedly had occasion to point out instances of the cun- 

 ning and ingenuity of the Wolf; but we cannot entirely 

 quit our account of this animal without quoting another 

 interesting illustration of its craftiness. Mr. Lloyd, in 

 his " Scandinavian Adventures," thus writes: — "At oije 

 time, indeed, I had serious thoughts of training a fine 

 female wolf in my possession as a pointer ; but I was 

 deterred, owing to the penchant she exhibited fur tlie 

 neiglibours' pigs. She was chained in a little inclo- 

 sure, just in front of my window, into which those 

 animals, when the gate happened to be left open, ordi- 

 narily found their way. The devices the wolf employed 

 to get them in her power were very amusing. When 

 she saw a pig in the vicinity of lier kennel, she, evi- 

 dently with the purpose of putting him off his guard, 

 would throw herself on her side or back, wag her tail 

 most lovinglj', and look innocence personified. And 

 this amiable demeanour would continue until the grunter 

 was beguiled within the length of her tether, when, in 

 the twinkling of an eye, the prey was clutched." Whilst 

 she was young she contented herself with the tail ; but 

 after she had realized lier full powers, the unsuspect- 

 ing swine were snapped up bodily, and, on such occa- 

 sions, Mr. Lloyd found it a difficult matter to rescue 

 them from her jaws. 



THE EED WOLF {Canis juhala). — This is a well- 

 marked form, inliabiting the marshy districts of South 

 America. The fur has a fine cinnamon-red colour, 

 which imparts to the species a very attractive appear- 

 ance. The terminal moiety of the tail is white, and 

 there is also a white spot under the head. The Red wolf 

 is further distinguished by a short black mane, commen- 

 cing at the occiput, and proceeding downwards along 

 the middle line of the back. According to D'Azara, as 

 quoted by Ogilby, these animals "do not commit havoc 

 on the herds or smaller flocks ; and as they inhabit 

 only the extensive lowlands and marshes of Paraguay 

 as far as the river Plata, and near its mouth, he has no 



