Tim WOLF QUESTION. 



FROM THE UPPER MISSOURI. 



Fort Assiniboine, Mont. 



Kditor Recreation: In reply to your 

 letter requesting information as to the wolf 

 problem, in this locality I would say it is 

 very far from being settled, and it becomes 

 more difficult of solution as time goes on. 

 Having been stationed at this post for 

 nearly 4 years, and maintaining a large pack 

 of English grayhounds and Russian wolf- 

 hounds I am naturally much interested in 

 the subject, and gladly give you my conclu- 

 sions on the list of questions submitted. 



(1.) At Fort Assiniboine, Chotau county, 

 Mont. 



(2.) Gray wolves are troublesome in this 

 vicinity, especially South of the post, in the 

 Bear Paw mountains. They are rarely seen, 

 however, doing all their foraging and trav- 

 eling at night and resting during the day, 

 in the rough country where they are able 

 to escape observation. 



(3.) Wolves in this vicinity seldom kill 

 sheep, as the latter are too carefully herded. 

 They get a good many young colts, but 

 prey especially on young cattle — 2 year olds 

 and heifers. 



(4.) It is said that in this country the loss 

 from wolves and coyotes is about 15 per 

 cent, of the annual increase. I have been 

 told by stockmen along the Yellowstone 

 and Musselshell, where wolves are especi- 

 ally numerous, that the loss from this 

 source is half the annual increase. I have 

 also seen statements, in the newspapers of 

 that locality, to that effect. In riding with 

 the hounds, during winter, I frequently 

 come across dead cattle undoubtedly pulled 

 down by wolves. 



(5.) I have never known a wolf, or 

 wolves, to voluntarily attack a human being; 

 although they fight savagely if trapped, or 

 rounded up by hounds. I know of at least 

 2 instances in which a dismounted hunter 

 was attacked and narrowly escaped injury, 

 while attempting to aid his dogs. I have 

 tried to ride down a wolf, lacking firearms, 

 while he was delayed by the dogs, and have 

 had him charge the horse twice. A wolf 

 ordinarily fears nothing so much as a hu- 

 man being, and always runs as soon as he 

 sees a man, whether on foot or on horse- 

 back. 



(6.) Wolves are certainly increasing in 

 number. When poisoning was first intro- 

 duced, in the buffalo days, the wolves fell vic- 

 tims in large numbers. Now they are much 

 wiser and more wary. Few are trapped. 

 They rarely venture out of rough country, 

 in daylight, and hence are with difficulty 

 caught with hounds. Experience with poi- 

 soning has made them chary of touching 

 bait. A few wolf pups are poisoned; but an 

 old wolf almost never falls a victim. I have 



known them desert a freshly killed steer 

 merely because I walked around it. I 

 could see, from their foot prints, they had 

 gone a hundred yards away, into the next 

 coulee, and had pulled down another steer, 

 rather than eat the one I had inspected. 



Bounties are paid on some 3,000 wolf and 

 coyote scalps, in this country, annually. I 

 was informed that during the months of 

 May and June, 1896, nearly 3,500 scalps 

 were punched in Teton County, to the 

 West of here. 



(7.) I have never known wolves to signal 

 across country. They certainly have a def- 

 inite route which they follow, when for- 

 aging, and treat the stumps, stones, etc., as 

 a dog would. In one instance, where 2 

 pieces of poisoned meat had been put out, a 

 wolf swallowed one piece; but on biting 

 into the other, he evidently tasted the 

 strychnine. This piece he carried about 30 

 yards, deposited it on a snowdrift and 

 urinated on it — presumably to show his 

 contempt. His pride was a little previous, 

 however, as the first dose of poison rolled 

 him over within half a mile. 



(8.) I have known a dog wolf to tip the 

 scales at 138 pounds; and have seen others 

 which I am positive would weigh 150 to 160 

 pounds. A bitch wolf is about one-third 

 smaller. I have a mounted wolf rug which 

 is 6 feet 2 inches from tip of nose to tip of 

 tail, and have seen a number of hides larger 

 than this. 



(9.) Coyotes never attack grown animals, 

 excluding sheep; but undoubtedly destroy 

 many newly dropped calves and colts dur- 

 ing one or 2 of the spring months. In this 

 section, where but little ground is under 

 cultivation, this destruction of young stock 

 represents a loss which is not counterbal- 

 anced by a gain to the farmer, through the 

 destruction of prairie dogs, gophers, jack 

 rabbits, etc. Farther South, especially in 

 Colorado, the increasing pest of jack rab- 

 bits is undoubtedly, in the main, due to the 

 interference with Nature's balance through 

 the destruction of coyotes. On the whole, 

 the character of the coyote, like that of the 

 crow, is not so black as it is painted. 



(10.) The best method for the extermina- 

 tion of wolves would be. 



First: To have the States interested ap- 

 propriate a sum, raised chiefly by direct 

 taxation of stock owners, sufficient to pay, 

 in full, all the bounty claims for the coming 

 year. This would prevent distrust of 

 bounty payments and would enable men to 

 engage in the business of wolf hunting with- 

 out danger of having to discount the bounty 

 certificates, for half a year's catch, at half 

 their face value. 



Second: To offer a bounty fairly com- 

 mensurate with the time and trouble neces- 

 sary for wolf catching. This should be $10 



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