IQ2 



RECREA TION. 



colts and poultry ; and even made the 

 wooded hollows and borders of the 

 swamps dangerous to children. A long, 

 narrow belt of country on both sides of 

 the river was enclosed by lines of men 

 and boys, horses, dogs, and even 

 mounted women, slowly marching to- 

 ward a common centre, with clamor of 

 dogs, cow-bells, horns, drums and shout- 

 ing boys, driving before them to the place 

 of slaughter, on an open river bottom, 

 an abundance of game. Twice was 

 this hunt repeated, with the result of 

 about a hundred wolves and half as 

 many foxes and wildcats slain, beside 

 quantities of edible game. 



In each of these surrounds a brown- 

 ish gray dog wolf, of enormous size, 

 apparently twice as large as the largest 

 gray wolf, after loping stealthily to the 

 bottom, carefully avoided by his lesser 

 companions (for, with a swing of his 

 head and without breaking his pace, he 

 never failed to bowl over, with a terrible 

 gashed wound, any animal that jostled 

 him) turned and charged fiercely through 

 the closing circle of men and dogs, un- 

 touched by rifle shots and unchecked 

 by the dogs. His weight threw off 

 from his broad chest and muscular 

 neck all dogs that ventured to close 

 with him, as easily as if they were 

 kittens, each with a fearful rip ; while, 

 if caught by the flank or haunch, he 

 turned and bit so quickly that his stride 

 was scarcely broken. Nor did he turn 

 aside for boys or men, but charged 

 straight upon them, darting past, as 

 they stepped aside, so adroitly as to 

 dodge their blows. 



There are only two varieties of wolves 

 commonly known in the United States. 

 One is the large gray, or forest wolf, 

 generally supposed to be the largest of 

 the wolves ; the other is that pestilent, 

 little sneak, the prairie wolf, or cayote. 

 Black wolves are rare and belong mostly 

 to the British Dominion and the Rocky 

 Mountains, though occasionally killed 

 in many of the northern states years 

 ago. There is, however, another dis- 

 tinct variety, still more rare, but a 

 century ago scattered all over the 

 north. This is the giant wolf — lupus 

 gigas — the most formidable of all the 

 wolf kind. This animal is nearly twice 

 the size and weight of the gray wolf 

 and possesses extraordinary speed, 

 bottom, pluck and muscular power. 



He is at once the most intelligent and 

 the slyest of his kind. Wholly nocturnal 

 in habit and less gregarious than other 

 wolves, there are very few living hunters 

 who have ever seen a specimen. They 

 were never numerous. I never heard 

 of more than seven being known to ex- 

 ist in any one locality and usually only 

 one solitary predator, or perhaps a pair. 

 These great wolves do not hesitate to 

 attack and kill large calves, colts and 

 sometimes even a full grown cow at 

 night. One will kill several pigs in one 

 night or throttle a score of sheep. There 

 were tales, years ago, of their attacking 

 man. Fifty years ago, I remember a 

 story of a hunter being killed in the 

 wilds of northern Michigan by three of 

 these animals. But I have always 

 doubted it, because hunters go armed 

 with rifle and knife. Besides, of all the 

 tales of strong and brave men being 

 killed by panthers, black bears or 

 wolves, I have never heard such a story 

 that, on investigation, did not prove 

 unfounded, though I have seen men 

 who had been badly wounded in such 

 encounters. At any rate, a frontiers- 

 man, armed, certainly does not fear any 

 wild beast that lives on this continent, 

 and simply despises wolves. 



It was a giant wolf that broke through 

 the battue circle of Bonaplace. This 

 Wolf committed such unbearable depre- 

 dations that a large reward was offered 

 for his scalp and he was persistently 

 but vainly hunted all that winter. 



One evening, late in February, Rob y 

 having occasion to visit a farmer living 

 a mile and a half distant, walked and 

 took the child with him, first sending 

 him in for his mother's permission. 

 Most of the way he carried the boy in 

 his strong arms. Returning, as they 

 passed a deep, bushy ravine, only a 

 mile from the village, he set the little 

 fellow down in the road, while he broke 

 a spray of red winter berries near by. 



Suddenly a great wolf came leaping 

 down the ravine and seized the child, 

 who cried out in fear, the thick fur 

 tippet, wound twice about his neck, 

 preventing his being throttled. Rob 

 ran to the rescue, and dealt the brute a 

 powerful kick in the side with his heavy 

 boot. This blow would have broken 

 the ribs of a strong dog, but the forest 

 prowler answered it with a fierce snarl 

 and a wicked side snap of his knife-like 



