THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 21 



the arts of woodcraft; and one of the most skillful riflemen in the 

 country. 



Hunting and trailing the mountain lion, in his home and adjoining 

 states with his pack of trained hounds, the hunter became the hero of 

 many a chase and capture. The hunter, his dogs and their trophies, 

 were starred in the films; his pen was famous for his magazine stories. 

 The government, attracted by his success, employed him as a special 

 hunter to destroy the enemy of the game and stationed him in these 

 mountains. And Uncle Sam doled out regular rations for the hunter 

 and his dogs and horses, also furnished all the ingenious contrivances 

 known to man for the capture of the foe of the game, while the hunter's 

 wife and four small children resided in one of the valley towns at the 

 foot of the mountain slope. The mother and children annually joined 

 the hunter in his haunts, during the summer months. The hunter usually 

 made regular trips to the nearest settlement in the valley below for sup- 

 plies, a distance of twenty miles, and with each trip out he mailed to 

 his publishers an installment of his serial, "The Waif of the Ump- 

 quas. ' ' 



The shades of the closing day were covering the dreary mountain 

 slope. For several miles on their path towards camp the hunter and his 

 dogs were frequently interrupted by the near approach of the wolves 

 in their rear. At every outbreak of the deep note of the wolves the 

 young fighters would halt and attempt to retrace their steps to meet and 

 challenge their enemy, and it was with some difficulty that the quartet 

 were induced to proceed. With an occasional thrust of the staff, or a 

 kick from the hunter's foot, accompanied by his harsh command, the 

 unruly fellows sullenly went onward. 



The timber wolf, ranging regularly through the year in this section 

 in former times, was very destructive to the cattle upon this summer 

 range; many of them were killed annually by the wolves. The cattle- 

 men, with the assistance of the hunter and trapper, waged a war of 

 extermination upon the wolf. The wolves now visiting this section of 

 the mountains range far to the east in the Cascades. It only makes its 

 appearance in this section when the heavy, snow fall drives the deer 

 down from the summits and the distant Cascade Mountains; it follows 

 the deer down and ranges back with them as the snow line recedes. 



During the summer months these wolves prey upon the breeding 

 does in the thickets; they follow the mother to her foundling and capture 

 the fawn. The wolf's favorite method of foraging is to range with the 

 panther in the vicinity of the licks and watering places of the deer. 

 After the panther makes a capture from aloft, the wolf drives the 

 victor from its spoils, and devours the carcass of the deer. The deer in 

 the early spring season range on the southerly high peaks of the moun- 

 tains, where the snow first disappears, while the snow on the north 

 slope remains at a great depth, and with the early spring freezing and 

 thrawing, causes a crust to form on the top of these immense snow 

 beds. The wolves by an organized system drives the deer from their 

 hiding places in the adjoining thickets out upon the crust-covered snow. 

 The crust breaks with the deer, making it a helpless victim of the pur- 

 suers. The wolves creep out in pursuit of the deer on top of the crust, 

 pounce upon the struggling animal in the snow pit, and begin eating the 

 poor victim while still alive. 



This timber wolf is of a dirty, grizzly color during the summer 

 season, and as winter appears its coat turns nearly white. Its average 

 weight at maturity is usually over a hundred pounds. It is possessed 

 with an extra large and broad head, with powerful jaws, crushing the 

 bones of its victim and swallowing them with a gulp. It is not very 



