The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-05-31
MONT. WOLF ONIlNG
Dogs to Be Used In the Exciting
| Sport.
PACK MUST BE WE'LL TRAINED
! One Timber Wolf Has Been known
to ROut Dozen
Hounds.

The recent raising of the bounty on
wolves and coyotes in Montana to S. per
head has interested the idle sport sman
and made wolf hunting quite a profitable
business.
A year, or so. ago the ravages of these
prairie providers on the young of both
horses and cattle was an increasing me-
mace to the ranchman. .
The wolves defied traps and guns and
the use of shovel and pick in the middle
of April seems to be the only sure way
to reduce their number.
| Lately in Teton county the ranchmen
have had to corral their. young stock at
night and put a watch over them. The
bold raids of the wolves on unmatched
corrals are numerous. -..., -
It is generally believed that the coyote
is afraid of man, but the writer has known
| a Great Northern brakeman to be freed
all one cold night last January on the top
of side-tracked box car in the foot
hills of the Rockies by pack of coy
cites.
The sport Of running the coyotes to
earth with hounds and horses is rather
tame, but with timber wolves it is not
such an easy matter but very exciting.
The wolf has jaws like a bear trap
that can snap the ham strings of a 2-year-
old steer and one will clean out pack
of four or five inexperienced hounds as
easily as if they were sheep.
| 1t is delicate matter to train good
pack of hounds and keep them in order,
and there are only few such in the state
Of Mont ana. A pack must be composed of
three, or four greyhounds. The young fe-
males are the feetest. Their duty is to
overtake and engage the game. There
should be also several thick-set savage
crosses with the German boarhound,
which are slow but gamy and will fight to
the death. One or two fox hounds to
carry the scent are added to the pack as
the others only go by sight, and it very
often happens that coyote will dodge
into a. coulee and escape.
The pack must be run every day and fed
only at night, and as much care taken
of them as of race horses. Last >April
the writer had the pleasure to have the
care of such pack.
Word had come from a neighboring
ranch that a pair of timber wolves were
denned in the vicinity and that they were
making frequent forages on the young
colts. .-att -
The next day at sunrise my wife and /
set out with the pack. Standing on the
top Of level plateau, scanning the val
Hey below us with a powerful pair of field
glasses, we soon located the band OF
horses away up at the head of the val
ley. They seemed to be in ring and at
intervals the stallion would dash QUIT, tail
and name erect. In front of him lodging
around were two gray objects which
proved to be wolves. 49,
I We could hardly see. the, horses with the
naked eye, SO we knew that they could
not have seen us. We rode UP under COW
er of the ridge and when about oppo-
site the marked butte top, keeping the
pack back &C and under control, we peeped
\ over. There was only one wolf now. TIL,
other was watching on top Of the mex
rise. "
In the enter of the ring of horses LAY
a colt with his hind legs paralyzed ani
the old male wolf was waiting for the
1 blockade to dispense 2s*
4 The colt was sure to be his in time
The mother would have to fight the vol
off for few days and the little one, pre-
vented from nursing, would eventually
satarVe to death or die from his wounds.
! That. is the VOLTS game to dash into a
| herd OF horses, hamstring a colt, and wait
We dashed down on the wolf and soon
1 the dogs had him running up the next
slope 200 yards ahead of them The dogs
were stringing out, the fighters being left
! behind. We followed as fast as ou1
cayuses could carry US under spur and
In about, two miles we saw the leaders
| closing up on the wolf :.
J 4 They were too weak to get hold tina,
would stop him. Soon he turned at BAY
and scattered them right and left Ever,
snap cut like a buzz saw, but the dogs
kept at; him. In a minute the fighters
: were on the scene and there was a fierce
battle. Once the wolf jumped from the
middle Of the pack with dog hangins
TO his throat, only to be; shaken off and
then a general close in, again
The pack had torn coyotes in halves
but this wolf was more than holding his
| own, and at last had to be shot whom
separated sufficiently from the dogs.