CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
71 
finished locating them, then return at leisure and spring the 
traps, thereby rendering them harmless until man would re¬ 
turn, re-bate and set them again. Not content with springing 
man’s traps, they would then scratch earth and straw over the 
whole of it as if to make a show of their contempt for the 
trapper and his devices. 
To merit the title of leader of the pack, such individuals 
must be strong, ferocious, bold and crafty: he must be leader 
in fact as well as in name. He must be worthy to give orders 
to subordinate members and strong enough to command re¬ 
spect for his authority. It is by no means an unusual occurrence 
for the leader to plan a deer hunt when they have tired of 
feasting upon rabbits and other small game. Realizing the 
fleetness and the endurance of the deer, he plans the chase 
with as much painstaking care and strategy as a professional 
soldier. He knows well that a single wolf could scarcely hope 
to run down a deer without the aid of other members of the 
pack. He realizes, too, that if all members pursue him as a 
pack, nothing more would be gained. So when his quarry has 
been definitely located within a certain area, he places his men 
on post and starts the chase himself. Each member thoroughly 
understands the part he is to play in the chase. Just what 
method or language is employed in stationing his men and 
giving them their instructions is as much the reader’s guess as 
the writer’s. When the leader has begun to weaken and the 
deer has been driven near a post guarded by some other mem¬ 
ber of the pack, the leader signals such sentry to take up the 
chase while he takes time out for rest. In such manner it is 
a very easy task to exhaust the deer and then all members 
enjoy venison, which proves a real delicacy and a refreshing 
change from rabbits, upon which they have feasted so long. 
Should the reader feel disposed to attribute every act of 
the wolf, in which he displays evidence of reasoning processes 
to animal instinct, it might profit him to consider the follow¬ 
ing story, which proves conclusively to the writer that they are 
capable of formulating strategic plans for extricating them¬ 
selves from situations wholly new in their experiences with 
men and hounds. 
