146 MAMMALIA—WOLF. 
Like all the wild animals of the dog kind, they unite in packs to hunt 
down animals which individually they could not master, and, during their 
sexual season, engage in the most furious combats with each other for the 
possession of the females. 
In the regions west of Hudson’s Bay, wolves are often seen, both in the . 
woods and on the plains, though their numbers are inconsiderable, and it is | 
not common to see more than three or four ina pack. They appear to be 
very fearful of the human race, but are destructive to the Indian dogs, and 
frequently succeed in killing such as are heavily laden, and unable to keep 
up with the rest. The males are not so swift as the females; and they 
seem to lead a forlorn life during the winter, being seldom seen in pairs 
until the commencement of spring. They bring forth their young in bur- 
rows, and though it might well be inferred that they are fiercer at those 
times, than under ordinary circumstances, yet Hearne states that he has 
frequently seen the Indians take the young ones from the dens and play 
with them. They never hurt the young wolves, but always replace them 
in their dens, sometimes painting the faces of these whelps with vermilion 
or red ochre. 
At the highest northern latitudes which have yet been explored, tle 
wolves are very numerous and very audacious. They are generally to be 
found at no great distance from the huts of the Esquimaux, and follow these 
people from place to place, being apparently very much dependent upon 
them for food, during the coldest season of the year. They are frequently 
seen in packs of twelve or more, prowling about at a short distance from 
the huts of the Esquimaux, lying in wait for the Esquimaux dog, which 
they are successful in killing, if he wanders so far as to be out of reach of 
assistance from his master. 
When the aboriginal Americans first gave place to European adventurers, 
and the forests, which had flourished for ages undisturbed, began to fall be- 
fore the unsparing axe, the vicinity of the settler’s lonely cabin resounded 
with the nightly howling of wolves, attracted by the refuse provision usually 
to be found there, or by a disposition to prey upon domestic animals 
During winter, when food was most difficult to be procured, packs of these 
famished and ferocious creatures were ever at hand, to run down and destroy 
any domestic animal found wandering beyond the enclosures, which their 
individual or combined efforts could overcome, and the boldest housedog 
could not venture far from the door of his master without incurring the risk 
of being killed and aevoured. The common wolf was then to be found in 
considerable numbers throughout a great extent, if not the whole of North 
America; at present, it is only known as a resident of the remote wooded 
and mountainous districts. 
