•2034 Thk Zoologist— March, 1870. 



cither the deer or wolves, and it was well ] did, for I afterwards heard 

 that the chase continued through tlie marshes several miles to the 

 eastward. In the winter, when the deer feed in the niarshes, which 

 are generally surrounded by belts of Coniferaj (Abies and Larix) the 

 wolves secrete themselves in the deer-paths and lie in wait until one or 

 more wolves get round to windward of the deer and drive them through 

 the paths, when some of them fall an easy prey to the secreted wolves. 

 During my residence in Newfoundland only one instance came to my 

 knowledge of a human being attacked by wolves, and this was an Indian 

 byname John Joe, who related the circumstance to me in broken English, 

 which amounted to the following: — "OneSunday morning,in the month 

 of April, 18(56, I was standing by the side of a small lake — one of the 

 many formed by the river Exploits — when 1 saw an old wolf coining 

 across the ice towards me, and I felt sorry that I had left my gun in 

 the ' tilt ' about half a mile from me, as I might perhaps have got a shot 

 at him. Presently I saw five or six more on the ice, and all making 

 towards me: upon this 1 turned and ' pulled fnot' back for the tilt as 

 fast as I could, but the wolves gained on me, and would have killed 

 me had 1 not climbed a tree out of their reach. After remaining under 

 the tree nearly an hour the wolves left, and ' sartin ' I was glad, sir, to 

 see their backs." Wolves are not so courageous usuallv, as the fore- 

 going story would seem to imply, and are generally well aware of the 

 presence of fire-arms. During the winter of 18fiC-fi7 a youth about 

 sixteen years of age, whom I knew very well, saw six wolves ))ull 

 down a fine young stag, on the middle of a large lake called Trout 

 River Pond, and, gun in hand, approached as cautiously as possible ; 

 but the wolves, although apparently very intent on their prey, were 

 too wary to allow of a sufficiently near approach to obtain a shot at 

 them : the boy, however, had sense enough to cut off as much venison 

 as he could conveniently carry, and return home. The next morning 

 he and some of his elder brothers revisited the spot, but found only 

 a few mutilated bones of the deer; and the wolves, which had not lelt 

 the locality, quietly slimk away without the chance of a shot. The 

 flesh of the caribou, which is usually of excellent quality when the 

 animal is shot without chasing, is scarcely palatable when killed by 

 wolves, or even when chased in canoes for some distance and shot, 

 having a frolhy and flabby appearance which is both disagreeable to 

 the touch and taste. 



Newfoundland Dog, Canis, fam. Newfoundlandaj. — These zoolo- 

 gical notes would be still more incomplete without some notice. 



