The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-02-23
WOLVES OF MONTANA
LESS DANGEROUS THAN SOME
OTHERS TO NAN.

One OF Them sIOrs Than g Match for a
Whole Pack OF Dogs-RussIan Stag
Hounds the Best for Hunting Them.
The Montana wolf, CAMS occidentalis,
of the species CAMS lupus, of which the
coyote, or CAMS lautrans, is also a sub
division, is the largest and most fero-
cious of the wolf species. Although, on
account OF his peculiar habits, he is the
least dangerous to man, he is more
devastating to fiocks and herds than
any other kind Of wolf Except in the
rutting and breeding periods, the
wolves of Asia and Europe, as well as
the timber wolves of this continent.
congregate in packs, especially when
pressed by hunger, and with the added
courage and ferocity that come from
the large numbers being together. they
will attack man and beast. Old trap
pers and hunters, however, who have
known the Montana wolf for many
years, tell me that they have never
gathered themselves In packs, even in
the coolest winters.
Sometimes the male and female will
unite in an attack, but more often the
dog wolf does the killing, which. ow-
Ing to his size, he is we'll able to &C.
complish. While the wolf of this sec
tions more choice than he might be
were games less plenty, at the same
time he does, contrary to what is gen.
orally believed, feed upon read bodies
that he finds on the prairie. The dog
wolf is very large, sometimes measur-
Ing nearly eight feet from tip to tip.
His teeth are long and sharp, and the
long hair upon his body makes 1t al
most impossible for an ordinary dog to
inflict any injury upon him unless the
attack is made in the flank.
Last fall W. S. Griffith, the sheriff of
Valley county, who owns one of the
best packs Of wolf hounds in the state,
went out driving with Mrs. Griffith.
and seven Of the dogs followed the bug
gy. Two were mere pups, and one was
an untried greyhound, so that the
fighting force was really four tolerably
good hounds. Unexpectedly the dogs
jumped upon large gray wolf, and
soon brought him to bay upon the open
prairie. They made a concerted attack
upon him and fought fiercely until Mr..
Griffith drove up to them. AS he was
unarmed, and there were no stones
upon the prairie, he tried to assist the
dogs with his whip. The fight was
finally reduced to two combatants, the
wolf and the strongest dog. The other
1 dogs had been put out of the game by
being literally picked up and thrown
over the VOLTS head. Although tired
and almost worn out the wolf made
dash at his single adversary, and run
ming him up against the wheels of the
buggy, nearly killed him. Then he
started off on leisurely trot over the
hill. Mr.. Griffith, who has killed scores
of them, said that he was the biggest
wolf he ever saw, being nearly as tall
as the front wheel of the buggy, but he
said that he was old and his teeth were
dull, otherwise he would have killed all
of the dogs.
Another fine pack of dogs is owned
by Arthur BroadWater Of Havre, and
with these, some of which were import
ed from the Cars kennels, and were
formerly owned by the Tenth cavalry.
Mr.. BroadWater has made a large in
come from the bounty on the hides of
the wolves and coyotes that he has
killed in the chase. He says that the
only successful dog to deal with the
gray wolf, which is not a speedy ami
NAL, is the Russian stag hound.
These dogs are fast enough and are
ferocious fighters, but the reason why
the excel SO much is that they exercise
a great deal of generalship. While one
or two worry the head, others rush the
quarry and snap at the tanks. Mr..
Broadwater will not allow the dogs to
continue the fight long, if the prey is
very large and strong, as there is too
much danger to the dogs. He usually
rides in and shoots the wolf.
Formerly the wolf fed upon buffalo
calves, weak buffaloes, which were left
and abandoned by the herd, and also,
of course. to some extent, upon deer
and antelope when they were able to
catch them on account of age or other
disability. The buffaloes, however,
were their chief cource of food. The
calves they killed when they found
them hidden on the prairie, neveh at
tacking when 1t was accompanied by
the mother COW. The great herds, too,
were constantly dropping out and
driving out the sick and weak, and
these were easy prey. Since the pass
ing of the buffalo the wolf has natu
rally turned his attention to cattle,
sheep and horses. 1t has been said that
the depreciation committed by the wolf
and coyote pest against the flocks and
herds in the past twenty years in this
state would amount to many millions.
Ut is estimated that each full-grown
wolf will require about three two-year-
old steers or their equivalent in year.
During the past ten years their num-
bers have been greatly reduced, thanks
to the heavy bounties that are offered.
while the sneaking coyote is much
smaller and less ferocious than the
wolf, he is more of pest, as he breeds
faster and is more alert for calves and
stray sheep.
One of the most peculiar things about
the wolf is that he will often approach
a man ON the prairie without apparent
fear. Such thing happened to me
while driving in an open buggy with a
friend. We were passing the head of
sharp coulee, when large gray wolf
came up within hundred feet Of US.