74 



THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 



tain Franklin gives the following interesting account of this 

 mode of taking their prey. " So much snow," says he, 

 " had fallen on the night of the 24th, that the track we in- 

 tended to follow was completely covered; and our march 

 to-day was very fatiguing. We passed the remains of two 

 red deer, lying at the bases of perpendicular cliffs, from the 

 summits of which they had probably been forced by the 

 wolves. These voracious animals, who are inferior in 

 speed to the moose, or red deer, are said frequently to have 

 recourse to this expedient, in places where extensive plains 

 are bounded by precipitous cliffs. Whilst the deer are 

 quietly grazing, wolves assemble in great numbers, and 

 forming a crescent, creep slowly towards the herd, so as 

 not to alarm them much at first; when they perceive that 

 they have fairly hemmed in the unsuspecting creatures, 

 and cut off their retreat across the plain, they move more 

 quickly, and with hideous yells terrify their prey, and 

 urge them to fliglit by the only open way, which is to- 

 wards the precipice; appearing to know that, when the 

 herd is once at full speed, it is easily driven over the cliff 

 — the rearmost urging on those that are before. The 

 wolves then descend at their leisure, and feast on the 

 mangled carcases." 



Mr. Say seems to think that tliey require an exercise of 

 all their speed, to succeed in the chase of a deer or young 

 buffalo, but from the statement of Dr. Richardson, and of a 

 writer in the Sporting Magazine, it appears, that they are 

 very swift and long winded; the former of these gentlemen 

 states, that he was informed by a trader who had resided 

 for many years in the Hudson Bay Company's possessions, 

 that the only animal which surpassed the Prairie Wolf in 

 swil'tness, was the prong horned antelope. Notwithstand- 

 ing their speed and cunning, they are often exposed to great 

 distress for want of food, and are reduced to the necessity 

 of satisfying their hunger with prairie mice, snakes, &c., 

 and even of appeasing, in some degree, the craving of ap- 

 petite by distending their stomach with wild plums, and 

 other equally indigestible food. They have been known 

 to lay waste fields of corn, of which grain they are very 

 fond when it is in a green state. They will also venture 

 near the encampment of the traveller, and follow tlie hunter 

 in hopes of partaking of any offals tliat may be left. 



The Prairie Wolf closely resembles the other species in 

 rapacity and cunning; there are tew animals that are more 

 suspicious and mistrustful, or avoid snares and traps wilii 

 such intuitive sagacity. Mr. Say gives the following ac- 

 count of plans of taking them, which were attempted by 

 Mr. Peale: "He constructed and tried various kinds of 

 traps, one of which was of the description called a ' live 

 trap,' a shallow box, reversed and supported at oie end by 

 the well known kind of trapsticks, usually called tlie 'figure 



four' which elevated the front of the trap, upwards of three 

 feet above its slab flooring; the trap was about six feet long, 

 and nearly the same in breadth, and was plentifully baited 

 with offal. Notwithstanding this arrangement, a wolf actu- 

 ally burrowed under the flooring, and pulled down the bait 

 through the crevices of the floor; tracks of different sizes 

 were observed about the trap. This procedure would seem 

 the result of a faculty beyond mere instinct. 



"This trap proving useless, another one was constructed 

 in a different part of the countr}', formed like a large cage, 

 but with a small entrance on the top, through which the 

 animals might enter, but not return; this was equally un- 

 successful; the wolves attempted in vain to get at the bait, 

 as they would not enter by the route prepared for them. 



"A large double 'steel trap' was next tried; this was 

 profusedly baited, and the whole carefully concealed be- 

 neath the fallen leaves. This was also unsuccessful. Tracks 

 of the anticipated victims, were next day observed to be 

 impressed in numbers on the earth near the spot; but still 

 the trap, with its .seductive charge, remained untouched. 

 The bait was then removed from the trap, and suspended 

 over it from the branch of a tree; several pieces of meat 

 were also suspended in a similar manner from trees in the 

 vicinity; the following morning the bait over the trap alone 

 remained. Supposing that their exquisite sense of smell, 

 warned them of the position of the trap, it was removed, 

 and again covered with leaves, and the baits being disposed 

 as before, the leaves to a considerable distance around were 

 burned, and the trap remained perfectly concealed by ashes, 

 still the bait over the trap was avoided. Once only this 

 trap was sprung, and had fastened, for a short time, on the 

 foot of another species." — fC. nnbiliis^Sai/.J 



Not disheartened by these fruitless attempts, which were 

 repeated and varied in every possible manner, ]\Ir. Peale 

 attempted another scheme, which eventuated in complete 

 success. "This was a log trap, in which one log is ele- 

 vated above another at one end, by means of an upright 

 stick, which rests upon a rounded horizontal trigger stick 

 on the inferior log. 



There can be but little doubt, that the Prairie Wolf might 

 be domesticated, for it is a remarkable fact in the history 

 of animals, that the larger carnivora are more readily and 

 completely tamed than the smaller. This may arise from 

 several causes, but the most prominent is, that although 

 they are endowed with greater strength, they are likewise 

 possessed of a superior degree of intelligence. Experience 

 confirms the truth of this reasoning. There is no carni- 

 vorous animal, that may not be tamed by proper treatment, 

 and which will not become useful and even affectionate to a 

 certain degree. But this disposition is evinced in very dif- 

 ferent proportions by different species. Thus, the smaller 



