42 
MAMMALIA. 
old stumps, and caves, and preying upon poultry and eggs as well as 
upon wild game. With these the present species must not be con- 
founded. 
Family CANIDS. 
CAN IS LUPUS Linnaeus. 
Wolf 
Comparatively few Wolves are now to be found in the Adiron- 
dacks, though twelve years ago they were quite abundant, and used 
to hunt in packs of half a dozen or more. 
d hey have hard work to get a living here, and are always gaunt 
and hungry. They cannot catch deer with any certainty except in 
deep snow, and are, therefore, during the greater part of the year, forced 
to subsist upon skunks, hares, mice, frogs, carrion, and such other food 
as they are able to procure. In times past they were a great enemy 
to the settlers of this region and within fifty years have caused our 
border farmers much annoyance by destroying their sheep and pigs ; 
they have also been known to kill calves and young colts. 
In summer they sometimes drive a deer into a lake and follow it 
along the shore, from time to time jumping high in the air in order 
to sight it and determine the direction in which it is swimming. If 
the lake is a small one and there are enough Wolves, they are oc- 
casionally able to pounce upon it as it emerges from the water; but 
this rarely happens, and the deer almost always escapes. In Septem- 
ber, 1870, I saw a pack of Wolves drive a deer into the head of 
Seventh Lake, Fulton Chain. It escaped the Wolves to be slain by 
a man with a shot-gun ! 
Within my recollection Wolves were so common here that scarce- 
ly a night passed when they could not be heard howling in various 
parts of the forest. So bold and impudent were they that they often 
came about camp while the inmates were sleeping and stole any 
venison, or other meat, that chanced to hang within reach. 
