The times., 1899-01-05
KILLING WOLVES.
Two Brothers in south Dakota Who
Make II Pay.

/ The wOlf-killing championship OF the
northwest can, without question, be con-
idently claimed by Jesse and Lon
Brown, living between here and the Black
Hills. who at present are making from
500 10 $40 a week trapping wolves and
coyotes for the liberal bounties offered by
the cattlemen. The bounty fund is raised
by assessing cattlemen five cents head
for cattle owned by them, Jonn AlDers,
who has just returned from the cattle
ranges of the ceded Sioux lands, west Of
the Missouri River, gives some interesting
information concerning the operations OF
these skillful wolf hunters. The vast cat
tie range between here and the Black Hills,
extending for distance Of two huRfred
and fifty miles. is divided into three wolf
and coyote bounty districts. Thus, be
tween the Cheyenne River and line
drawn north and south through the centre
of Jackson County, bounty OF $40 per
gray wolf is paid; from the centre OF
Jackson 10 the centre of Pratt County
comprises the next district, where all gray
wolves killed are paid for at the rate OF
IS each. In these two districts the bounty
for coyotes is 81 each. The third and last
district comprises the territory east OF the
centre of Pratt County and extending TO
the mouth of Bull Greek, on the White
River. For gray wolves killed in this re-
gion the bounty is fixed at s7.5j
bounties the cattlemen board Jesse and
Lon" Brown and furnish them with the
horses needed by them in their campaign
against the wolves.
These men, who are brothers, own a
total of sixty or seventy steel traps, with
which they catch the wo.ves and coyotes.
In a little over two weeks they recently
caught 1U5 coyotes and twenty gray
wolves. They place the traps in Places
CT nrGe1
to rendezvous. and take such precautions
as are necessary TO prevent cattle, calves
and horses being caught in the traps.
They employ a peculiar scent to draw
wolves and coyotes to their traps. Tnis
scent is very powerful, the principal IN
gredent being musk or something similar
to 1t in odor. The four-footsd pests OF
the range are decidedly cunning. and great
care has to be taken not to arouse their
suspicious. The traps, after being set,
are placed in a hollowed-out spot IN the
ground, covered with paper and then hid
den from view by sprinkling light dirt or
dust upon them.
A piece of fresh meat, usually mutton,
is then laid close to the trap, after qGan-
tity of the scent has been placed upon IL
This scent has a peculiarly penetrat g
odor. and If the wind is favorable 1t VIII
attract wolves and coyotes from as much
as a mile away. The animals sniff the
air, proceed toward the spot from which
the scent comes, and while smelling SIS
piciously around the scented piece of meat
step into the trap and are caught. Each
trap is securely fastened by a chain, so
that it cannot be dragged away by the
captive. Frequent visits to the traps are
made by the hunters, when the CAPTURED
animals are killed and their scalps and
| hides taken away as evidence necessary
to secure the bounty.
The TWO trappers meet with good success
| when they set their traps in prairie-dog
towns, and many wolves have been caught
there The recipe for making the peculiar
scent employed by the two men IS known
only TO themselves, and they have repeat
| edly declined offers OF large sums of money
for the information. They canseat TO sell
quantities of the concoction. but only with
| the understanding that il be not used in
| the territory where they carry on their
| operations. Some years ago 1t was be
| lieyed wolves could be killed by leaving
pieces of poisoned meat in places where
| IL would be detected and eaten BY them
| but it was not long before they became
| too wary to be killed in this manner
| Cold meat no longer has any attraction
for them. Young colts appear 10 be q
favorite article OF diet. In procuring fresh
meat the gray wolves display u wonderful
| sagacity and almost human intelligence
Whenever a pack of wolves discover a
band of horses feeding along 4 river OF
creek they stalk them as skillfully as a
hunter would stalk deer, keeping well
to the Ieeward. so that no telita.s scent
shall be carried by the wind 10 the acute
nostrils of the horses. Suddenly woii
will spring from behind clumI of bushes
and with one quick snap hamstring an un-
suspecting colt Then the whole pack vii
rush in among the horses, which gallon
wildly away to the open country, ieavinE
the helpless colt to be torn to pieces am
devoured by the hungry brutes. Many cat
tie are also killed by them, and the meal
is eaten only while it is yet warm. &. II
Howard president of the Western Soutf
Dakota Stockmen's Association, who hai
had considerable experience with wolves
estimates that each pack OF five or si'
gray wolves will kill and eat steer ever.
other day on an average, and he believe
the loss TO the cattlemen from this sourct
is considerably greater than from th'
Winter storms and exposure
Gray wolves are not remarkably fee
of foot. and occasionally mollted COW
boys can run them down and rope them
Various measures have been resorted L
for the purpose of Kidding the cattle rang
of the pests. Some of the catt!emen Il
past years imported. at great expense
trained hounds to hunt them down, bu
none of the plans adopted met with a
good success as the method employed b
Jesse and Lon" Brown. While it is con
ceded that much of their success is d j..
to the peculiar scent which they plac
near their traps to draw the wolves [
them, still it requires skill in placing III
traps in such a manner as not TO arous
too much suspicion on the part of tn
. | NJ