Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-13

they prey.
The peaceful disposition of sum
mer changes as the snow fills the
forests, the cold gales moan through
the trees. and the long. dark nights
enshroud an almost dead world, into
hungry forocity and force OF craft
and caution born of the direst need,
breeding a daring which at last
makes the animal formidable to man
himself Much eXaggeration mas
crept into the popular history Of
wolves. from the superstitutious tales
of old; but basis enough remains %
make IL certain that travellers Though
the wintry wilderness of Canada or
Russia have more then once been at
tackled, pulled down. and killed py
these beasts, whose boldness, cn-
durance, and persistence in pursuit
when crazed by famine, are aim ost
boundless. Nevertheless more nnr-
sons have been scared than hurt; ana
that mainly by the terrific howlins
which multiplies itself by it's rapid,
echoing volume. until 1t seems as
though a dozen wolves were clamor-
ing in concert &.
1t is In winter. mainly. when the
larger animals must be depended
upon, that the wolves form them
selves into packs and assist one am
other. To this class OF animals hunt
ing is truly "the Chase" for their
method is, having found their quarry
in which the good nose for a trail
and the keen hearing assist theml.
to keep. it in sight and run It down.
The endurance of their gallop is as
tonishing. yet most deer. antelopes,
md hnrsne nA ttf q tsi i'm
them, and would usually escape a
single wolf. Therefore two, or some.
times many. unite, and by relieving
one another. cutting across. corners.
surrounding a pond in which some
fleeing victim has sought safety, or
otherwise acting in concert, will ex-
haust and pull down an animal
enough to furnish meal for all
If the later ones are not to slow in
arriving. A band of Artlc wolves
will depopulate a district of reindeer
In one winter; only the polar bear
and the musk OK can hold their own
against them. Very pretty tactics
are often employed, especially by CO.
votes. whose work must be doubly
strategic because done in the open,
Plainsmen still call particularly
big old gray wolf a buffalo rum
ner," recalling the time when the
principal prey of those of the West
was the bison. THE wolves seldom
molested the buffaloes unless they
were disabled by wounds or sickness
The young calves were what they
were after when they skulkd through
the herd. lodging the old bulls and
angry cow buffaloes in the tall bunch
grass of the plains"
Dwellers on the frontier or in
thinly settled and mountainous dis
tricts, suffer from the depredations
of the bigger wolves, which MAIN
more than they Kill and eat. when
famine, or the lesson from some prev
ious success. leads them to attack
domestic animals. This destructive
less, and the value of their pelts,
have led to their determination
throughout the more thickly settled
parts of both the United States and
Canada, and even. in the far West
they become scarce since the, dis
of bison, elk and black
tail. black variety still. haunts
the recesses of the Florida ever
glades. In the ranching districts.
however. cattle and sheep keep many
bands alive wherever there are rocky
Businesses to. which they may retire,
in spite of the traps, poisons, and
guns which they understand so much
better than their forefathers; but
they are not as adaptable. clever, and
safe as the coyotes. In Europe, they
still persist on the continent even
iE France and Spain, wherever a
rough country gives them harbor,
whence they may race forth on win
ter nights to ravage the farms and
and official returns show
that more than half a million head
of cattle and smaller livestock are
destroyed by wolves I'm
European Russia alone,
, In Saxon times wolves were very
abundant. Aelian added to his mar
vels and asserted that the wolf cam
not bend its neck; if-it should happen
to tread on the flower OF the squlll 1t
at once becomes torpid, So the willy
fox, fearing his more powerful en-
emy, takes care to strew his path
with squills. The conversion of men
into wolves was n well-known. sup
erstition. dated from Grecian and |
Roman times; 1t formed the basis of
much of the witchcraft prosecutions
OF, the middle ages and onward. and
has left its mark in folklore. -