THE WOLF. 



*55 



to his inexpressible sorrow, found her body lying on 

 this hill or bank, slain by a Wolf, and the ravenous 

 beast in the very act of tearing it to pieces, till 

 frightened by the dogs. In the first transports of 

 his grief the first words that he uttered were, " Woe 

 to this bank !" since which time it has been com- 

 monly called " Wotobank."* 



In Lancashire, Dr. Whitaker particularly mentions 

 the great forests of Blackburnshire and Bowland as 

 " among the last retreats of the Wolf."t 



The " wolds" of Yorkshire appear, from the dates 

 of parish books, to have been infested with Wolves 

 perhaps later than any other part of England. 



" In the entries at Flixton, Hackston, and Folk- 

 ston, in the East Riding of Yorkshire," says Blaine, 

 " are still to be seen memoranda of payments made 

 for the destruction of Wolves at a certain rate per 

 head. They used to breed in the ' cars' below, 

 amongst the rushes, furze, and bogs, and in the 

 night-time to come up from their dens ; and, unless 

 the sheep had been previously driven into the town, 

 or the shepherds were indefatigably vigilant, great 

 numbers were sure to be destroyed." % 



Apparently, however, some error has been made in 

 the orthography of the localities referred to. Flixton 

 is in the parish of Folkton, near Scarboro'. We can- 



* Hutchinson, " Hist, and Antiq. Cumberland" (1794). vol. ii. p. 16. 

 Upon this tradition was founded an " elegant elegiac tale " by Mrs. 

 Cowley, which will be found prefixed to the second volume of the 

 work quoted. 



f Op. cit. i. p. 205. The last herd of red deer was destroyed there 

 in 1805. 



% Blaine's "Encyclop. Rural Sports" (1858), p. 105. 



