130 
BLACK AMERICAN WOLF. 
and leaving his rifle to our care. We were not a little surprised at the 
cowardice of the wolves. The woodman stretched out their hind legs, in 
succession, and with a stroke of the knife cut the principal tendon above 
the joint, exhibiting as little fear, as if he had been marking lambs. As 
soon as he had thus disabled the wolves, he got out, but had to return to the 
house for a rope, -wdiich he had not thought of. He returned quickly, and, 
whilst I secured the platform in a perpendicular position on its axis, he made 
a slip knot at one end of the rope, and threw it over the head of one of the 
wolves. We now hauled the terrified animal up ; and motionless with 
fright, half choked, and disabled in its hind legs, the farmer slipped the 
rope from its neck, and left it to the mercy of the dogs, who set upon 
it with great fury and worried it to death. The second was dealt with 
in the same manner ; but the third, which was probably oldest, showed 
some spirit the moment the dogs were set upon it, and scuffled along on 
its forelegs, at a surprising rate, snapping all the while furiou,sly at the 
dogs, several of which it bit severely ; and so well did the desperate animal 
defend itself, that the farmer, apprehensive of its killing some of his pack, 
ran up and knocked it on the head with his axe. This wolf was a female, 
and was blacker than the other dark-coloured one. 
Once, when we were travelling on foot not far from the southern boundary 
of Kentucky, we fell in with a Black Wolf, following a man with a rifle 
on his shoulders. On speaking with him about this animal, he assured us 
that it was as tame and as gentle as any dog, and that he had never met 
with a dog that could trail a deer better. We were so much struck with 
this account and the noble appearance of the wolf, that we offered him one 
hundred dollars for it ; but the owner would not part with it for any price. 
Our plate was drawn from a fine specimen, although not so black a one 
as we have seen. We consider the Dusky Wolf and the Black Wolf as iden- 
tically the same. 
As we shall have occasion to refer to the characteristics of Wolves gener- 
ally again, we shall not prolong this article ; the Black, as already stated, 
being, in fact, only a variety. In our account of the Common Gray Wolf of 
the North, and the White Wolf of the Prairies, which last is very common, 
we shall give farther and more specific details of their breeding and other 
matters. 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 
All packs of American Wolves usually consist of various shades of colour 
and varieties, nearly black, have occasionally been found in every part of 
the United States. The varieties, with more or less of black, continue to in- 
crease aswe proceed farther to the south, and inFlorida the prevailing colour 
