400 
MAMMALIA. 
carcasses, rather denotes foresight than ferocity; the Wolf is not, i 
therefore, the monster of cruelty pictured by Buffon. 
The Wolf often destroys Dogs, its most deadly enemy; and 
resorts to stratagems the better to accomplish its purpose. Should 
it see a Puppy about a farm-yard, it approaches, and attracts atten- 
tion by frisking and making all kinds of gambols to gain its 
confidence. When the youngster, seduced by these overtures, 
responds to them, and leaves the friendly shelter of his home, 
it is immediately overpowered, and carried off. Against a 
vigorous Dog, capable of defending itself with success, the 
stratagem is different. Two Wolves arrange between them- j 
selves the following plan : — One shows itself to the hoped-for ! 
victim, and endeavours to make the Dog follow its track into 
an ambuscade, where the second Wolf is concealed. Both sud- ! 
denly assail it at once, and through their combination obtain 5 
an easy victory. 
Under ordinary circumstances the Wolf does not molest Man, 
but even flies from his presence. In cases of extreme hunger, 
on the contrary, it attacks him, looking out for an unguarded 
moment in order to take him unawares. If the Man is on horse- 
back or accompanied by a Dog, its first efforts are directed against 
the quadrupeds. 
During the winter, when the ground is covered with snow, in 
the great plains of Germany, in the vast steppes of Russia and 
Poland, Wolves are most dangerous. “Hunger drives the 
Wolf from the wood/’ says a proverb. Allied in immense 
troops they range the country in every direction, and become a 
terrible scourge. 
In those plains of Siberia that are infested by Wolves a 
sledge journey is far from agreeable, for frequently a band 
of these ferocious brutes persistently follow travellers. If the 
sledge stops for only a second, the Men and Horses are lost ; 
safety exists only in flight. The struggle on such occasions is ! 
fearful. The Horses, mad with terror, seem to have wings. ji 
The Wolves follow on their track, their eyes flashing with 
fire. It is a terrible situation to be placed in to behold these 
black spectres tearing across the surface of the white shroud 
of snow, thirsting for your blood. From time to time a re- ; 
port is heard; a Wolf falls. More audacious than the others, 
