The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-09-19
CRIMINALS AMONG wony.s.
Ono That Killed Cow Ever, bay To
Five Years.

Five Years.
Mr.. E. Seton Thompson. naturalist
to the Government of Manitoba, has,
under the title, 'Wild Animals 1
Have Known" given a series of OBJ
seryations on the cunning Of beasts.
That quality is in general the device
of the weak, but the helrlessness
which it indicates may be of different
grades. There is the cunning of
wolves, which use their wits to rob
man of his flocks and cattle, that of
the domesticated creatures. which
sometimes delight lie criminal acts.
and the cunning belonging to self
preservation among those animals on
which others prey.
Mr.. Thompson claims for certain
animals, says the Scientific Ameri-
can, II share of the Difference paid to
depraved greatness. For example,
there was the wolf which, in the four
toenth century; terrorized sll Paris
for ten years; lame grizzly bear
which, IN two years, ruined all the
hog raisers and drove half the far
mers out of business, in tho Sacre-
mento Valley, and certain wolf in
New Mexico, which was reported to
have killed cow every day Sor five
years.
The wolf grew to be so well known
that an increasing price was Jet upon
his scalp, until the sum reached q
thousand dollars. Ordina-T means
of hunting or trapping failed COM
pletely. The wolf and his mate
brought up their cubs among some
rocky precipices, within thousand
yards of the farm, and killed cattle
daily.
At this period, Mr.. Thompson
made the acquaintance of the vandal,
and tried to kill him by scientific
methods. lie melted cheese mixed
with fat of heifer in a china dish,
cut it into Jumps with bone knife.
to avoid the faint of metal, and CON
cealed in the Jumps strychuiue and
cyanide, in odor- PROOF capsules. In
doing this, he wore gloves stepped in
cows blood, and even avoided breath
ing on the bait.
One of these Jumps, placed in a
tempting position, disappeared. Mr..
Thompson followed the track to the
next lump, and the next, aud noticed
that these also were gone. AT the
fourth he found that the wolf had
laid all four together and scattered
dirt over them.
The wolves now took to stsmpeding
and killing sheep, Half dozen goats
are usually kept with each Cock, as
leaders, and they are not easily STAN
peeled at night; so when wolves are
about, the sheep crowd about these
leaders and remain there while the
shepherds drive the wolves away.
The object of the wolves is to STAN
pede the sheep, and then pick them
up, day by day, afterward.
One night they ran over the backs
of the huddled flock, and killed all
the goats in few minutes. The
sheep were then available for prey.
Traps to the number of one hun
dred and thirty were set in different
parts of the big ranch. The trail of
the rack was followed, and i became
apparent that the leader, wG.ned by
the scent, stopped all the ! est, and
advanced alone TO the trap. He
scratched until he laid bare Q dozen
buried chains and pickets. Then he
entered an H-shaped species of traps,
realized his danger. and slowly backed
out, putting down each paw back
ward until he was off the dangerous
ground.
Afterward he sprung as many traps
as possible by scratching cods and
stones at them with his hind feet.