ORDER OE CARNIVORA. 
401 
the victim had tried to climb the sledge, and one of the travellers 
has shot it. This incident gives some advantage to the fugitives ; 
for the carnivorous troop halt for a few seconds to devour the body 
of their companion. But the end is nigh : the village or castle 
appears against the grey sky, and the Wolves are deprived of 
their anticipated prey. At other times the adventure terminates 
in a tragical manner : after a pursuit of some hours, the team, 
exhausted and incapable of progressing farther, is overtaken ; 
the sledge is surrounded and carried by assault : the rest may be 
imagined ! 
Certain Wolves — fortunately, they are rare — show a marked 
preference for human flesh. Such was the notorious animal 
which desolated Gevaudan, in the second half of the eighteenth 
century, and whose evil reputation yet survives. This animal was 
of enormous size (measuring about six feet from the point of the 
nose to the tip of the tail), and for several years defied all efforts 
made for its destruction. 
In India, where Wolves are classed among sacred animals, 
they levy tribute on mankind, carrying off every year numbers 
of children. 
In April or May the she Wolf brings forth five or six young, 
which she suckles for two months, after that time providing them 
with such animal food as small game. For her progeny she 
cherishes the most devoted affection, leaving them only when 
compelled, watching over their safety, and sacrificing her life 
in their defence. If she becomes aware that they have been 
disturbed in her absence, or even their hiding-place approached, 
she removes them at once to another locality. As soon as the 
young are active on their legs, which happens when they are 
about three months old, they are instructed to hunt and capture 
their prey. 
To put a limit to the ravages of Wolves, the kings of France 
organised the Louveterie , an institution which yet exists in a 
modified form. In the old French Court there was an office of 
“ Grand Louvetier.” The person who held it extended his juris- 
diction over all the Louvetier s in the provinces. The “Wolf- 
hunters ” levied a tax on each inhabitant residing within a radius 
of two leagues of the place in which one of these brutes hap- 
pened to be killed. The Revolution swept away the Louveterie , 
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