THE WARY WOLF 143 
the wolves saw me. On they went across the 
plateau. I hoped that the antelope might es- 
cape; but just before he reached the top of a 
ridge I saw a wolf peering over. The antelope 
and the wolves disappeared on the other side, 
where I suppose the drifting clouds and stead- 
fast pines again witnessed a common tragedy of 
the wild. 
On another occasion I saw three wolves drive 
a deer from a cafion and so direct its course that 
it emerged where the way was covered with a 
deep snowdrift. As the deer floundered through 
the soft snow it was pounced upon by a fourth 
wolf, which was lying in wait at this point. 
Wolves occasionally capture the young, the 
stupid, and the injured among deer, sheep, elk, 
and moose; but the big-game loss from wolf dep- 
redations probably is not heavy. These wolf- 
chased animals have developed a wariness and 
endurance that usually enable them, except 
perhaps during heavy snows, to triumph over 
this enemy. 
Economically, the food habits of wolves are 
not entirely bad. In many localities they prey 
freely upon those ever-damaging pests—mice, 
rats, rabbits, and prairie dogs. They are also 
scavengers. 
The vast herds of buffaloes used to be con- 
stantly followed by countless packs of wolves. 
