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RECREA TION. 



Forest Glen, Md. 



My dear Coquina: Under the caption, 

 "Why is it?" in the current number of 

 Recreation, is an interesting article from 

 the pen of E. S. Thompson, which gives 

 the author's theory of the motive wolves 

 have in " doping " themselves in carrion. 



It requires some courage to take issue 

 with an authority so celebrated as this ar- 

 tist-naturalist, and I preface my remarks 

 with a request for pardon, in advance. 



The motive, Mr. Thompson thinks, is to 

 cover their trail with a scent sufficiently 

 powerful to hide their own — all other ani- 

 mals fearing the wolf. 



Now, it happens that the dog also has 

 this habit, as every country boy knows, 

 and one filthy mess of carrion will " dope " 

 all the dogs in a neighborhood. It is not 

 because all animals fear the dog, for such 

 is not the case. If the artist's theory be 

 correct, then " doping " has descended to 

 the domestic favorite, from a very remote 

 ancestry, just as a modern writer — Ro- 

 maine, I think — says his habit of turning 

 round and round before lying down, has 

 come to him: this latter being necessary 

 with his wild ancestors (who inhabited 

 grassy selvas) in order to make a bed in 

 the tall grass. Rather a far-fetched sup- 

 position, one would think. 



Cats, too, will roll and rub in a bunch of 

 " catnip." Is this to cover the scent of 

 their trail? 



All the races of men have some favorite 

 kind of dope, some of them nearly as of- 

 fensive as that of the canine family. It is 

 no uncommon thing to meet with the ani- 

 mal which we classify as the " dude," so 

 doped with perfumes as to cover the trails 

 of all the wolves in America. Why is this? 

 I believe it all arises from the character of 

 the animal which dopes itself. In other 

 words the smell of the dope depends on 

 the taste of the animal. It is a filthy, vul- 

 gar preference for something loud. Per- 

 fumes are only tolerable in those who are 

 themselves offensive. Nimrod II. 



In June Recreation E. S. Thompson 

 seeks information regarding the habit of 

 wolves rolling in carrion. The state of New 

 York owns a wide awake fox terrier, 

 assigned to duty as a rat catcher, at the 

 state hospital here, who has a similar 

 habit. I have noticed, recently, that he has 

 killed a number of squirrels, which he cov- 

 ers, lightly, with grass or earth, until they 

 reach a proper degree " of mellowness," 

 when he unearths and rolls on them, evi- 

 dently preferring his game " ripened." He 

 does not do so with rats which he has killed. 

 An eminent physician, connected with this 

 hospital, gives it as his opinion, that it is a 

 case of " in-stink." pure and simple. 



"C," Middletown, N. Y. 



It is certainly natural for certain carniv- 

 ora to roll in carrion, especially such as 

 have not been refined by domestication. 

 Even among the higher grade of domestic 

 quadrupeds the habit is found. From years 

 of personal observation I must conclude 

 this filthy habit is simply inherited, just as 

 the love of blood is natural to their kind. 



In lower brute life there is instinct but 

 little intelligent reasoning. It does not 

 seem plausible that the wolf, or any other 

 animal, endeavors to disguise its natural 

 odor by this means, else why should the 

 dog have recourse to it? 



Some years ago I was in White County, 

 Indiana, after chickens. While there I dis- 

 covered 3 or 4 gray wolves, left over from 

 a large pack, who were having fine sport 

 with the farmers' turkeys. I spent 10 days 

 in their quest and discovered a dead turkey 

 that had been partially eaten and then wal- 

 lowed in. A constant watch, on this body, 

 rewarded me with a shot, and with the un- 

 usual sight of an old male wolf sporting 

 " snout and tail " in this decaying body, as 

 if it were a gala time and his the acme of 

 pleasure. 



It seems to me this habit is simply without 

 purpose, save to emphasize the lower status 

 and the vile nature of the beasts that in- 

 dulge in it. 



G. W. H., New York City. 



ANOTHER BRANT STORY. 



In the July number of Recreation I 

 noticed a letter, and an illustration, de- 

 scriptive of a remarkable incident, viz., the 

 finding of an Esquimau spear head, fast- 

 ened in the sternum of a brant shot on an 

 Indiana farm. 



The rarity and strangeness of the thing 

 have led me to write you of a similar case 

 which came under my observation while 

 living in Alaska, some years ago. A native 

 brought in a brant which he had shot, on 

 the sand spit in front of the village. On 

 picking the bird up, his attention had been 

 drawn to something sticking among the 

 feathers of the right wing. This, on exam- 

 ination, proved to be a spear head, similar 

 in every respect to the one described in 

 your July issue. 



The point had passed between the 2 

 bones of the wing and had become wedged. 



It gave evidence of having been there 

 some time, yet the bird was strong and in 

 good condition. As this was in the spring, 

 when the flocks were passing North, the 

 bird must have carried its strange burden 

 with it during all the wanderings of its 

 winter migration. 



Such weapons as this spear are not, to 

 my knowledge, used within a thousand 

 miles of the place where the bird was shot. 

 H. R. Gould, Tacoma, Wash. 



