Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-09-26
A MEXICAN woLF-HuNT.
Description Of One Witnessed I'm the Up
lands of chihuahua.

AAuUS VI
Mexico and our Southern border States
still harbOr three species of the genus
Lupus: The black wolf. the coyote or prairie
wolf, and the gray wolf (cants occidentalis)-
the last the most mischievOus, and with
single exception Of the grizzly bear, the
bOldest predatory quadruped of the North
American continent, writes Felix ID. Os-
wald in the New York Mad aud Express.
Wolves, surprised in the act of disembowel-
ing n dead horse, have been known TO at
tack a meddlesome dog and tear him limb
from limb, and then, as if encouraged by
their success, make headlong charge upon
mounted hunter, and, in spite of repeated
pistol shots, pursue him for distance of
several miles.
A "hue and cry" is a phrase often APP
piled to the petty stop-thief sensations of
our modern cities, but he that would know
the original significance of the term should
see the effects of a wolf-alarm in the up
lands of Chihuahua. The restless vigilance
of the mounted 'herders has gradually
driven the wolf population to the fastness
of the alturas, or rugged highlands, where
caverns and thiclets of myrtle and cedar
shrubs offer then vantage ground. In
stress Of famine, however, the fierce high
landers now and then sally i'm force, and, by
avoiding all beaten roads, occasionally sue
coed in raidng the pastures of lonely
rancho and effecting their retreat to the
summit regions of the Sierras.
The experienced leaders of such expedi-
tions arc not apt to tarry on a scene of car
mage, well knowing that the shelter of
night alone can revert retribution if his re-
treat should be interrupted. At the first
sound OF the trOmpddd, or alarming trum-
pet, the farmer leaves his plow and the
miner his pan, dogs are unclaimed, horses
saddled in wild haste, and, five minutes
later, dust-clouds sweeping across the vega
as If on the wings of the storm, announce
the arrival of rescuing parties from far and
near. There is no time TO be lost The
baffled marauders are flying for the Sierra,
and by an unsparing use of spur and whip
may be overtaken, headed off, perhaps, and
possibly caught in the coils of rodes or
circle hunt-a sport the wild hunters would
not exchange for the spectacle of the finest
bull fight in Spanish America. Forward,
hounds and racers ahead through bush and
bramble, guided by the bugle signal of the
vanguard joining the direct pursuit or
taking advantage of Decline trail to gain
the uplands ahead of the fugitives, and turn
their fight by flank charge.
The wolves keep well together, fully
/ aware that stragglers will be instantly
cornered; another mile and the thickets are
gained; but left and right the hillsides al
ready clatter under the hoofs of galloping
horses, the fatal trompddd rings out its sig
nal blasts mingled with even louder cheers,
and the running fight with legion of yelp-
ing ours presently becomes general melee,
The gdlgos, the fierce bloodhounds of the bor-
der-ranchos, have forged ahead, and cheered
by the yells of the hunters at once rush
into the thick of the. flying outlaws. For a
moment the terrible snap bites of the ma
RAIDERS prevail; the aggressors recoil, but
the victory has been purchased at the price
of perilous delay; the racers have passed
the foothills, and horn signals already blare
from the gates of the mountain passes; the
remaining hopes of escape are measured by
minutes. The 0dl0Os again rush Tin; but in
| the midst of the confusion veteran wolf is
seen standing firm, scanning the rocks
ahead with the eye of an expert campaigner,
/ evidently resolved to keep his wits ready
and utilize every possible chance of saliva
ton.
But that chance is soon reduced to aprob-
l lem Of battle-tactics. The confusion of the
second charge has involved the loss of an
! additional minute, and that minute has de-
cided the fortune of the day. Reinforce
ments of bloodhounds charge bowling up
/ the glen, a whirl of galloping hoofs sends
/ down a shower Of pebbles from the flank of
/ lateral ridge, and new detachment Of
/ hunters storms ahead TO complete the block
/ ade Of the dltirds.
Every Odl0o Of the uplands will soon be on
the ground, even if his owner should have
TO recall him from the view halo chase of
/ deer hunt. Near the little mining hamlet
/ OF San Rafael once visited the camp of a
railway surveyor, when the echo of
| trOmpddd sent our Mexicans a flying in all
/ directions. and few minutes after the first
/ bevy of hunters a strange team came thun-
I dering down the ROAD horse, two mules
and a two-wheeled cart containing
/ hunter and a grizzly old gdl0o The dog
/ was still sore from the scars of a recent
/ prize fight and had one of his legs band
/ aged; but rather than incur the odium Of
Sinking the rally, his owner had decided to
fetch him out in cart, and in spite of his
wounds the old fighter stood bolt upright,
answering the cheers of the villagers with
/ deep-mouthed bark.
I A dozen such champions can be warrant
i ed to save the expense of gunpowder, even
I IN a wolf-hunt. In the first heat of the pur-
\ suit, and when the plurality of his allies are
still far behind, they often outstrp the
horses and strain every nerve to accom-
I plish the main purpose of interrupting the
fugitives, but in pitched battle they can
appreciate the advantage of cooperative
tactics. Two and two, or in larger packs,
they keep close together, and while the
mounted hunters charge in with clubs of
blackberry wood, their canine allies pick of
bloczade-runners till the reduction of the
hostile force warrants a signal for a general
assault That signal tests the power of the
leaders, for the wolves now close their
ranks, and the valor Of their veterans seems
to increase with the hopolessness Of their
plight, and even the last Survivors perish in
selling their lives as dearly as possible. Drip
ping with blood and the foam Of their saw
age snap-bites, they stand bristling at bay,
grimlv determined toresist their aggressors
TO the very last
She-wolves, however, somewhat lack that
stoicism, and in view of inevitable death are
apt TO lift their heads and wake the echoes
OF tho ditlTus with wierd farewell howl,
addressed, perhaps, TO the memory Of their
starving whelps in the caverns Of the dis
tant Sierra.
REv- RoBEEr COULTER, at the age of
twenty-seyen, came to this country with his
bride in tse Storage.
JENSx JUSE tairs. Croly) Is ffTtv-seven
years old. The first ten years she spent In
England; the rest IN this country.