460 



RECREA TION. 



toward the shore, then shouldered his gun 

 and started on his tramp around the bay. 



It was evening when Blake returned to 

 the house, and rain was falling. He paused 

 for a moment beside the kitchen window, 

 and looked into the room. On the table 

 lay his cap, dripping with water. In a chair 

 near by sat Marie, her face buried in her 

 apron, sobbing bitterly. Beside her stood 

 the old woman, wringing her hands, while 

 tears were running down her wrinkled 

 cheeks. Near the table stood Pierre, the 

 picture of guilt and misery. For a moment 

 Blake wondered if any of his city friends 

 would more sincerely mourn his loss than 

 did these 2 women. Somehow their sorrow 

 spoiled his enjoyment of the joke he had 

 played on Pierre. 



The door was ajar, and forgetting he was 

 hatless and dripping with rain, Blake 

 pushed it open and entered. With a wild 

 yell, Pierre fell on his knees, behind the old 

 woman, his eyes bulging and his teeth chat- 

 tering with fear. 



"Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! dare he is! 

 tack him away! tack him away! " he cried. 

 " He dead, and I make him git drown. I 

 give myself up and be hung, af you tack 

 him away! " The women were staring with 

 astonishment at Pierre, for they had not 



seen Blake. " Doan you see his ghost dare 

 on de door? " he cried, pointing his trem- 

 bling finger at the dripping sportsman. 



The ludicrous appearance of the tall 

 Frenchman, cowering behind the old wom- 

 an, was so comical Blake leaned against the 

 door and burst into laughter. Slowly 

 Pierre arose to his feet, and as the truth 

 dawned on him, he came forward, trying 

 to smile. 



"We's ver' glad dat you doan' get drown, 

 M'sier Blake. I fin' dat boat and you hat, 

 and we t'ink you drown," he said. " I doan' 

 fin' de oar, but I s'pose you pay for dem 

 if we doan' find him." The rapid change, 

 from the terror-stricken, cowering wretch 

 to the smiling, self-assured young man, 

 anxious to get a good price for his oars, 

 only increased Blake's mirth. 



" Your oars are all right," he said, when 

 he had recovered himself; " they're hid- 

 den in the bushes, on the point — but I heard 

 what you said about trying to drown me; 

 and if you don't get Marie to marry you 

 before I come again next year, I'll have 

 you arrested, as sure's my name is Blake." 



" I dunno if I do or I doan'," said Pierre, 

 looking shyly at Marie. " I lack to got 

 marry up along wid dat girl, an' I do ver 

 bess I can." 



THE WOLF QUESTION. 



FROM SOUTHEAST MONTANA. 



Stacey, Custer Co., Mont. 

 Editor Recreation: Replying to your 

 questions regarding the wolf pest: 



1. Where are you located? 



In the Southeastern part of Montana, 

 about 40 miles due South of Miles City. 



2. Are gray wolves troublesome in your 

 region? 



Gray wolves do a vast amount of damage 

 in this section of country. 



3. What do they destroy? Horses? Cat- 

 tle? Sheep? 



They destroy cattle, sheep, and horses. 

 Most damage is to cattle and colts on the 

 range. The wolves do not have so good 

 a chance to kill sheep, as there is always 

 a herder with them, though they occasion- 

 ally raid them, too; not hesitating to go 

 into the corrals at night. Many people do 

 not use corrals but simply " bed them 

 down," i.e., bunch them on a small piece 

 of ground and hold them till they lie down 

 for the night. It is then that Mr. Wolf 

 gets in his best work; for he will stampede 

 them from the " bed ground," killing num- 

 bers of them and scattering the remainder 

 over the range. 



4. About what amount of damage should 



you estimate they do in a year, in your 

 county or range? 



It is a difficult matter to form an estimate 

 of the damage done by wolves; but I feel 

 safe in saying that in each county of this 

 State the stock killed annually by them 

 amounts to many thousands of dollars. My 

 individual losses, in the last 4 years, amount 

 to upward of $500, and my losses have been 

 small compared with those of some of my 

 sheep raising brethren, owing to the fact 

 that I always put my sheep in corrals, at 

 night. 



5. Did you ever know of a gray wolf kill- 

 ing or harming a human being? 



No, I never heard of a gray wolf attack- 

 ing a human being in this State, or in any 

 of the grazing States. They are very cow- 

 ardly. 



6. Are wolves increasing in numbers? 

 They are increasing here, though the 



State pays a bounty of $3 on each wolf 

 killed. 



7. Have you any reason to believe wolves 

 can signal across country, and so tell each 

 other what parts are dangerous or where 

 the hunting is good? 



Yes, I believe they can and do signal to 

 each other. Three years ago I called one 

 up to within 30 paces of me. I was work- 



