WOLF, 
251 
perceives living animals a great way off, and 
follows them a long time upon the scent. When* 
ever he leaves the wood, he always takes care to 
go out against the wind. When just come to 
its extremity, he stops to examine, by his smell, 
on all sides, the emanations that may come either 
from his enemy or his prey, which he very nicely 
distinguishes. He prefers those animals which 
lie kills himself to those he finds dead ; and yet 
he does not disdain these when no better is to be 
bad. He is particularly fond of human flesh ; 
and perhaps, if he was sufficiently powerful, he 
would eat no other. Wolves have been seen fol- 
lowing armies, and arriving in numbers upon the 
field of battle, where they devoured such dead 
bodies as were left upon the field, or but negligently 
interred. These, when once accustomed to human 
flesh, ever after seek particularly to attack man- 
kind, and choose to fall upon the shepherd rather 
than his flock. We have had, continues Buffon, 
a late instance of two or three of these keeping a 
whole province, for more than a month, in a con- 
tinual alarm. 
It sometimes happens that a whole country is 
called out to extirpate these most dangerous in- 
vaders. The hunting the wolf is a favourite di- 
version among the great of some countries ; and it 
must be confessed it seems to be the most useful 
of any. These animals are distinguished by the 
huntsmen into the young wolf, the old wolf, and 
the great wolf. They are known by the prints 
of their feet ; the older the wolf, the larger the 
track he leaves. That of the female is narrower 
and longer then that of the male. It is necessary 
to have a very good starter to put up the wolf ; 
and it is even convenient to use every art to encou- 
rage him in his pursuit ; for all dogs have a na- 
tural repugnance against this animal, and are but 
