Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-01-20
THE WOLF SKIN.
The Cruel Ingenuity of Esquimaux In Cap
turing wolves.

The Cruel Ingenuity OF EsquimauN III NaP-
turing wolves.
Where do you suppose these WOLF
skins come from that make Sucn pref
ty gray rugs, which cost only about -
npccr. although the fur is so hand
snmr+'' said Prof. Otis T. Mason. so
many people would not buy them If
they knew, fancy. They are obtain
ed from the animals by the Northern
Indians. particularly in the Hudson
Bay region. and by the EsquimauN.
These SavagcS possess Il ticndiSh III
rrnuity in their methods of capturing
game. and their way of applying II Ion
killing wolves is sufficiently horrible
to discourage me with this particular
sort of pcltry-
1T is beautifully simple. They tax"
Il fiat piece of flint Il foot or so lonG
and Clipped to extreme sharpness 1T
the edges This they faStrn To II wool
en- stake which they drive into the
ground firmly. 50 as to leave tn" blade
of flint projecting above the surface.
Then they cover the blade all over
with Il good-sizcd hunk of fat from Il
seal or other such animal, which quick
ly freezes. Now the wolf-Catching Hp-
paratuS is complete. so that the person
who sets the trap has only T." come
back in IL day or two ana gather III
his prey without trouble.
"'rhc wolf has Il mastering appetite
for blood. and ii is of this weakness
that the hunter takes advantage. y
little while after the trap d"Sciihrl
has been set. along comes Ill" W"ll.
He is hungry. and he ticks the huHk
of frozen fat. All. II is good! 50 Ii"
lckS it some more and us ii is thlWrd
by the warmth of his tongue it tastes
|
tongue comes into contact with thu"
sharp edge of the flint and is cut. He
tastes the blood. not knowing that ii
is his own. and the flavor sets him
wild. Eagerly he lickS ii and lickS ii.
decorating his mouth and becoming
more frrnzitd in his desire for his OWN
life fluid.
"Mranwhic other wolves have come
ND and have begun to lick 1T the fat.
cutting their own tongues and brc"m-
ing in their turn wild ut the taste. So
presently the bait is surrounded by Il
pack of ravCnOuS and crazy creatures.
which soon turn upon one another ana
fall to drvollrinw each other. until the
mrrcilrSS flint is tn" centre of Il StruS-
Cling mass of frrociouS combathntS. 1t
is like the struggle that followed the
planting of the dragons teeth of old,
only that none of those who par1ici-
pate live long after the fight is over.
the last survivor bleeding to death. At
his leisure the hunter appears upon
the scene and skins the dead beasts
for market. The pcltS cost him moth
ing. save the trouble of removing them
and the vHlur of the hunk of fat: the
stake with the flint blade is ready TO
he set again fol victims. That is the
reason why gray wolf rugs cost only
So each. with three skins to Il rug.
But that is only one of the diaboli-
cal devices employed for such pur-
poses by these natives. The hunter
takes Il long strip of Whalrbonr from
the head of Il whale he has killed. just
such us is used to Stitfrn corSc1S He
doubles it up into the shape of the let
ter NJ, and fastcnS it c0mpactly in that
form with bindings of fine SinrW. This
he rncloSrS neatly in Il Wad of fat.
and leaves ii on the ice to freeze.
Pretty soon along comes Il great white
bear. shifts ut the delicate morScl so
happily thrown in his way. and bolts
il without further consideration. The
fat quickly mcltS in his warm stomach.
and the Sinrw bindings are consumed
by the action of the digestive fluids,
So that before long the strip of whale
bone is released from its bent shape
anu springs out at lUll ltllSIl atfoSS
Mr.. Bears stomach, and he dies with
in Il few hours of lockiaw in frightful
agpnirS Next day the noble pot-hmt-
rr comes along and possesses himself
of Il big white robe. large enough To-
cover Il small room. and worth several
dollars at first hand. or two or three
gallons of bad WhiSkry.
Nothing better illustrates the super
i0rity of man as an animal over his
competitors in the struggle for exist
"ncc than the ease with which he is
abb" 10 destroy by device the biggest
and the most formidable of the crra-
lures he encounters. There are no say
ages so low in the human scale as not
10 find ready means for capturing and
killing the largest and most dangerous
beasts The time is not recorded in
the annals of the world when the n,,
tivrS of the lands inhabited by the rlr-
plant and the crocodile did not take
tn" former with Il loop set for him to
put his foot into and the latter with II
hlitcd stick Sharpcncd ut both ends
l'nhcSitatingly does the PolyncSian AT
tack the man-cating shark in its own
element. diving beneath il and stab
bling it in the belly with knife. There
is nothing which man is afraid of or
Will not try to catch. In the primtivr
traditions of most races you will find
accounts of the tricks employed by
their ancestors for sharing the sun,
the moon and the StarS.'-EX.