THE BLACK WOLF. 
(^Yy t one time the Black Wolf of 
Mj\ America was considered by 
I 1 naturalists to be only a 
/J L\ variety of the common 
Wolf, but it is now be- 
lieved to be a distinct species, not only 
by reason of the color of its fur but 
from differences of stature, the position 
of the eye, the peculiar bushiness of 
the hair and other evidence entitling 
it to rank as a separate species. This 
variety is referred to as an inhabitant 
of Florida, and is described as par- 
taking of the general lupine character, 
being fierce, dangerous, and at the 
same time cowardly and pusillanimous, 
when they find themselves fairly 
enclosed. If imprisoned in even a 
large space, they crouch timidly iu 
the corners, and do not venture to 
attack man when he enters the cage. 
Audubon mentions a curious instance 
of this strange timidity in a ferocious 
nature, of which he was an eye-witness: 
"A farmer had suffered greatly from 
Wolves, and determined to take 
revenge by means of pitfalls, of which 
he had dug several within easy reach 
of his residence. They were eight 
feet in depth and wider at the bottom 
than at the top. Into one of these 
traps three fine Wolves had fallen, two 
of them black, and the other a brindled 
animal. To the very great astonish- 
ment of Mr. Audubon, the farmer got 
into the pit, pulled out the hind legs 
of the Wolves, as they lay trembling 
at the bottom, and with his knife 
severed the chief tendon of the hind 
limbs, so as to prevent their escape. 
The skins of the captured animals 
were sufficiently valuable to reimburse 
the farmer for his labor and his 
previous losses." 
The Esquimaux use traps made of 
large blocks of ice, constructed in the 
same manner as our ordinary mouse- 
trap with a drop-door. The trap is 
made so narrow that the Wolf cannot 
turn himself, and when he is closed in 
by the treacherous door, he is put to 
death by spears. 
Wood says that when Wolves and 
Dogs are domesticated in the same 
residence a mutual attachment will 
often spring up between them,although 
they naturally bear the bitterest hatred 
to each other. A mixed offspring is 
sometimes the result of this curious 
friendship, and it is said that these 
half-breed animals are more powerful 
and courageous than the ordinary 
Dog. Mr. Palliser possessed a fine 
animal of this kind, the father of 
which was a White Wolf and the 
mother an ordinary Indian Dog. It is 
a well-known fact that the Esquimaux 
are constantly in the habit of crossing 
their sledge Dogs with Wolves in order 
to impart strength and stamina to the 
breed. Indeed they are so closely 
related to Wolves that there can be no 
question that they are descended from 
them. 
The Wolf produces from three to 
nine young in a litter. In January 
the mother Wolf begins to prepare her 
habitation, a task in which she is 
protected or assisted by her mate, who 
has won her in a fair fight from his 
many rivals. He attaches himself 
solely to one mate, and never leaves 
her till the young Wolves are able to 
shift for themselves. The den in 
which the young cubs are born is 
warmly lined with fur which she pulls 
from her own body. The cubs are 
born in March and remain under her 
protection seven or eight months. 
They begin to eat animal food in four 
weeks after birth. 
The Wolf's whelp will at last a Wolf become 
Though from his birth he find with man a home. 
Arabian Proverb. 
ii 
