AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



33 



so obliging as to explain the nature and purport of every 

 thing. 



On this occasion, I was in company with Count Charles 

 Frederic Piper, a Swedish nobleman of high rank. The 

 Count held the appointment of Forste Hofjagmastare, 

 which may be rendered in French, (for in English I know 

 of no equivalent,) Grcuid Ventur de la cour. As this is 

 the second office in the gift of the Swedish Crown, in re- 

 gard to the forests, I was of course at head quarters for 

 sporting information. To this accomplished nobleman I 

 am under the greatest obligations, as well for his attentions 

 whilst I remained at Stockholm, as at an after period, 

 when I partook of the hospitalities of his princely resi- 

 dence at Lofstad. 



At this time, the ground was covered with snow to the 

 depth of six or eight inches: there were then, as we saw 

 by their tracks, one, if not two Wolves feeding upon the 

 carrion. As there were more of those animals, however, 

 known to be in the vicinity, which, it was daily expected, 

 might follow the example of their comrades, — and as it 

 was contrary to rule to call out the people, unless a greater 

 number were within the skall-plats, Mr. Arenius did not 

 feel himself justified in taking this step, which he much 

 regretted as he was very anxious to gratify my curiosity, 

 in witnessing the destruction of some of these pernicious 

 beasts. Though no chasse took place whilst I remained 

 in the capital, in the commencement of the following 

 April, five wolves were one day slaughtered in this very 

 skall-plats. 



Very considerable numbers of those animals are some- 

 times killed in the winter-skalls: I have heard of as many 

 as fifteen being shot in a day. On these occasions, wolves 

 never, I believe, turn upon their assailants; but, when 

 they find escape impossible, they generally skulk, and en- 

 deavour to hide themselves. Mr. Greifi" says, they do not 

 attempt to leap over the nets, but always endeavour to 

 creep under them. 



No one is allowed to use balls at a Wolf-skall, for fear 

 of accidents ; these animals are therefore destroyed with 

 large shot. 



Anecdotes of Wolves. — As usually happens when 

 the weather is severe, the Wolves now became rather trou- 

 blesome. Indeed, I heard of their committing many de- 

 predations in difierent parts of the surrounding country: 

 for this reason, I went on one or two little expeditions, un- 

 der the idea that I might be enabled to destroy some of 

 those voracious animals. 



Wolves are very partial to a pig. My plan of proceed- 

 ing, therefore, was this: I caused one of these animals, of 

 a small size, to be sewed up in a sack, with the exception 

 of his snout; and I then placed him in my sledge. To the 



back of this vehicle I fastened a rope of about fifty feet in 

 length, to the extreme end of which was attached a small 

 bundle of straw, covered with a black sheepskin ; this, 

 when the sledge was in motion, dangled about in such a 

 manner as to be a good representation of the pig. Thus 

 prepared, I drove in the night time through such districts 

 as were known to be frequented b}^ Wolves. To attract 

 these animals towards us we kept occasionally pinching 

 the poor pig, who, not liking this treatment, made the 

 forest ring again with his squeaks. 



This plan of shooting Wolves with the assistance of a 

 pig is not very unfrequently resorted to in Scandinavia, 

 when the weather is severe. If those dangerous animals 

 happen to hear the cries of the pig, it is said they almost 

 always approach immediately near to the sledge, when it 

 is not, of course, difficult to kill them. 



All my expeditions, however, proved unsuccessful; for, 

 owing to the wandering habits of the Wolves, I was never 

 able to fall in with them. On some of these occasions I 

 have suffered a good deal from cold; as, fi'om the necessity 

 that existed of being always ready for action, it did not 

 answer to be hampered with too much clothing. My poor 

 pig, I remember, had once his ears so hard frozen, that 

 they might have almost been broken off in the same man- 

 ner as so much glass. 



About a week prior to this time, a peasant on his return 

 home from Amal, one evening tied his horse up to his 

 door, whilst he carried the harness within the house. At 

 this moment, a number of Wolves made their appearance, 

 when the frightened animal broke his bridle, and ran off at 

 the top of his speed. The Wolves, however, gave chase 

 to the horse, and soon succeeded in coming up with him in 

 the forest, when they quickly destroyed him. 



During my excursion, I visited the spot where the poor 

 animal met his doom, but, with the exception of a bone or 

 two that were strewed about, not a vestige of the carcase 

 was to be seen; the Wolves having, by this time, devoured 

 the whole of it. There was some blood on the snow, 

 which was trodden down in the vicinity, in the same man- 

 ner as if it had been gone over by a flock of sheep. 



Though I was generally quite alone, with the exception 

 of my driver, during these expeditions, I do not apprehend 

 I ran much personal risk; the greatest danger was from 

 the horse proving unsteady, in the event of the Wolves 

 maldng their appearance. In that case, the sledge would 

 not improbably have been overturned, when I, in conse- 

 quence, might have been left to my fate. From the 

 Wolves themselves, under other circumstances, I enter- 

 tained little apprehension, as I was usually armed with a 

 good cutlass, and more than one gun. 



It is said, that people have incurred some jeopardy when 



