74 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 
tain Franklin gives the following interesting account of this 
mode of taking their prey. “ So much snow,” says he, 
“ had fallen on the night of the 24th, that the track we in- 
tended to follow was completely covered; and our march 
to-day was very fatiguing. We passed the remains of two 
red deer, lying at the bases of perpendicular cliffs, from the 
summits of which they had probably been forced by the 
wolves. These voracious animals, who are inferior in 
speed to the moose, or red deer, are said frequently to have 
recourse to this expedient, in places where extensive plains 
are bounded by precipitous cliffs. Whilst the deer are 
quietly grazing, wolves assemble in great numbers, and, 
forming a crescent, creep slowly towards the herd, so as 
not to alarm them much at first; when they perceive that 
they have fairly hemmed in the unsuspecting creatures, 
and cut off their retreat across the plain,, they move more 
quickly, and with hideous yells terrify their prey, and 
urge them to flight by the only open way, which is to- 
wards the precipice; appearing to know that, when the 
herd is once at full speed, it is easily driven over the cliff 
— the rearmost urging on those that are before. The 
wolves then descend at their leisure, and feast on the 
mangled carcases.” 
Mr. Say seems to think that they require an exercise of 
all their speed,, to succeed in the chase of a deer or young 
buffalo, but from the statement of Dr. Richardson, and of a 
writer in the Sporting Magazine, it appears, that they are 
very swift and long winded, the former of these gentlemen 
states, that he was informed by a trader who had resided 
for many years in the Hudson Bay Company’s possessions, 
that the only animal which surpassed the Prairie Wolf in 
swiftness, was the prong horned antelope. Notwithstand- 
ing their speed and cunning, they are often exposed to great 
distress for want of food, and are reduced to the necessity 
of satisfying their hunger with prairie mice, snakes, &c., 
and even of appeasing, in some degree, the cravings of ap- 
petite by distending their stomach with wild plums, and 
other equally indigestible food. They have been known 
to lay waste fields of corn, of which grain they are very 
fond when it is in a green state. They will also venture 
near the encampment of the traveller, and follow the hunter 
in hopes of partaking of any offals that may be left. 
The Prairie Wolf closely resembles the other species in 
rapacity and cunning; there are few animals that are more 
suspicious and mistrustful, or avoid snares and traps with 
such intuitive sagacity. Mr. Say gives the following ac- 
count of plans of taking them, which were attempted by 
Mr. Peale: “He constructed and tried various kinds of 
traps, one of which was of the description called a ‘live 
trap,’ a shallow box, reversed and supported at one end by 
the well known kind of trapsticks, usually called the ‘ figure 
four,’ which elevated the front of the trap, upwards of three 
feet above its slab flooring; the trap was about six feet long, 
and nearly the same in breadth, and was plentifully baited 
with offal. Notwithstanding this arrangement, a wolf actu- 
ally burrowed under the flooring, and pulled down the bait j 
through the crevices of the floor; tracks of different sizes 
were observed about the trap. This procedure would seem 
the result of a faculty beyond mere instinct. 
“ This trap proving useless, another one was constructed in 
a different part of the country, formed like a large cage, but 
with a small entrance on the top, through which the animals 
might enter, but not return; this was equally unsuccessful; 
the wolves attempted in vain to get at the bait, as they 
would not enter by the route prepared for them. 
“A large double ‘steel trap’ was next tried; this was 
profusedly baited, and the whole carefully concealed be- 
neath the fallen leaves. This was also unsuccessful. Tracks 
of the anticipated victims, were next day observed to be im- 
pressed in numbers on the earth near the spot; but still the 
trap, with its seductive charge, remained untouched. The bait 
was then removed from the trap, and suspended over it from 
the branch of a tree; several pieces of meat were also sus- 
pended in a similar manner from trees in the vicinity ; the fol- 
lowing morning the bait over the trap alone remained. Sup- 
posing that their exquisite sense of smell, warned them of 
the position of the trap, it was removed, and again covered 
with leaves, and the baits being disposed as before, the leaves 
to a considerable distance around were burned, and the trap 
remained perfectly concealed by ashes, still the bait over the 
trap was avoided. Once only this trap was sprung, and had 
fastened, for a short time, on the foot of another species” — 
( C. nubilus — Say.) 
Not disheartened by these fruitless attempts, which were 
repeated and varied in every possible manner, Mr. Peale 
attempted another scheme, which eventuated in complete 1 
success. “ This was a log trap, in which one log is ele- 
vated above another at one end, by means of an upright 
stick, which rests upon a rounded horizontal trigger stick 
on the inferior log.” 
There can be but little doubt, that the Prairie Wolf might 
be domesticated, for it is a remarkable fact in the history 
of animals, that the larger carnivora are more readily and 
completely tamed than the smaller. This may arise from 
several causes, but the most prominent is, that although 
they are endowed with greater strength, they are likewise 
possessed of a superior degree of intelligence. Experience ! 
confirms the truth of this reasoning. There is no carni- 
vorous animal, that may not be tamed by proper treatment, j 
and which will not become useful and even affectionate to a 
certain degree. But this disposition is evinced in very dif- 
ferent proportions by different species. Thus, the smaller 
