THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



198 



bination o f common 

 sense and good judg- 

 ment. 



THE FIDELITY OF 

 ROMULUS 



My coyote, Romu- 

 lus, was very destruc- 

 tive to poultry, and 

 even to the wild deer, 

 and I finally gave him 

 to a zoological garden, 

 where he died six 

 years later, at the age 

 of twelve. 



I made a point of 

 going to see him once 

 or twice a year, and 

 he never forgot me. 

 As soon as he saw me 

 he would begin to exe- 

 cute a strange little 

 rocking dance, mean- 

 w h i 1 e smiling and 

 waving his brush. The 

 keeper would unlock 

 the door of his pen. 

 and as I entered the 

 wolf would rush to 

 greet me and roll over 

 on his back like a 

 friendly puppy. Then 

 he would throw him- 

 self upon me, lap my 

 face and hands, hang 

 onto my clothing as 

 though to detain me, 

 and when finally I had 

 to leave him, he would 

 raise his muzzle in the 

 air and howl discon- 

 solately. 



My experience with 

 domesticated timber 

 wolves would tend to 

 show that they are not so demonstratively 

 affectionate as the coyotes. As puppies, 

 they are rather playful, but as they get 

 older they are apt to take themselves very 

 seriously. 



They differ greatly in character. Some 

 I have had became so savage that it was 

 necessary to get rid of them ; others were 

 gentle and friendly as lon^ as thev lived. 



One big, powerful wolf I owned some- 

 times showed marked affection for me. 



■^tr-v&m** 



A DOG AND HIS MASTER PROTECTED ALIKE FROM POISOX GAS 

 AT THE BATTLE FRONT (SEE PAGE 239) 



Every living creature — man, dog, horse, and mule — had to be 

 equipped with a gas mask in order to pass through the areas deluged 

 with poisonous fumes during the world war. In the background 

 are seen stretcher-bearers carrying a wounded man to safety. The 

 war dogs were frequently employed in rinding the sorely wounded 

 in Xo Man's Land and in leading rescuers to them. 



but it was only occasionally, and then 

 only when we were entirely alone. The 

 presence of a third person made him 



Nevertheless, he did not 



friendlv advances even of 



grimly aloof, 

 resent the 

 strangers, and when I took him with me 

 on lecture trips, as I often did, he would 

 follow me through the audience, and the 

 smallest child present might put its arms 

 about his neck without fear of being 

 hurt. But he simply tolerated these ad- 



