The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-09-13
Wolves and Dogs.
How is it that the wolf of Russia Is 50

How is it that the wolf of Russia Is SO
much more formidable an enemy to the
human race than his French or German
brother? Writers and novelists of all
ages have accused this ubiquitous quad
ruped of treachery, stealthiness and
ferocity, until children, who take their
impressions from books and not from
experience, have come to regard him as
the incarnation of all that is mean,
bloodthirsty, tricky and dangerous.
" "TruJh compels ME, however," says
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Irving
Dodge, of the United States Army, '.to
affirm that of all the carnivorous ami
mails of equal size and strength, he is
the most harmless to beast and the least
dangerous to man. He will not even
attack when wounded; and though he
will snap at pursuing dogs in self-de-
fense, he never follows up the advantage
given him by his sharp teeth and pow
erful jaws, but takes to flight as fast as
he can" These words. written about
the buffalo wolf of the American plains,
tall, gaunt, lean and hungry-looking,
may with equal truth be applied to his
congener in Brittany and Poitou. In
the former province wolves are rarely
seen, although they commit terri
BILE nocturnal depredations among
sheep, calves and dogs. Such, how.v-
er, is their cowardice, that every
Breton farmer is in the habit of sending
his flock of sheep out to pasturage dur
ing the day with little child, often
girl not more than six or seven years of
age, in charge of them; and nothing is
more uncommon than for the hungry
marauder, who lies licking his chaps on
the edge of the adjoining thicket, to
issue forth from his fastness and pounce
upon a sheep SO long as the infantile
representative of the lord of creation is
close at hand. At night, however, the
wolf is bolder, and will scale walls and
scratch his way through the thatched
roof of a sheepfold to get at his prey.
Strange as it may seem, the dog-eE-
pecially if he be of the smooth-haired
breed, like the pointer or fox terrier
has more attractions for the ''canis
lupus" whose relative or descendant
he is generally believed to be, than the
woolly sheep. '.When wolf is hun
gry," writes an English gentleman who
has long resided in Brittany. ssand
smells an appetizing dog, he will spring
upon him and carry him off, even under
the nose of his master. 1t is GER
tain, in fact, that the wolf pre-
fers a dog to any other prey.
When I was at Huelgoet three
years since wolf jumped over the wall
of the hotel yard and carried off dog
whose piteous howls awoke the entire
village. An empty collar, suspended
at the end of a chain, and covered with
blood, bore testimony to the untimely
fate of its late wearer." The lively
author of 'Wolf-hunting in Brittany
relates that a Breton peasant named
Antoine lived some years since with his
wife in the Forest of Dualt or "Black
Rock" A heavy snow-storm had fallen
in the mountains, and for several nights
in succession Antoine found it neces-
sary to protect his three sheep by ad-
mitting them to his hut. Six. or seven
wolves paced round his dwelling all
night, utsering the most dismal howls;
but large wood fire and the presence
| of man kept off the famished besiegers.
| At last the peasant and his wife fell
asleep, and the fire burnt low. A sud-
| den dash was made at the roof, and five
gaunt wolves leaped down into the hut.
Before Antoine could strike light the
three sheep were devoured, and a
favorite little dog was swallowed at a
gulp, and then the invaders sprang up
on an old oaken cupboard and disap-
peared through the roof.-London Tel
| egraph.