Pueblo chieftain., 1921-02-06


tne rehnement of animal ferocity. Her,
oi.Isht-tonorrow night he devastated
range haif hundred miles away.
showed Uncnnpy Cunning
ne loped thru every kind of dance,
and spurned them ali. He sniffad a..
,he subtlest poison and passed il h,,
ihe most adroitly concealed tran Was
as clear to him as a mirror in tho ,rIn'
5' oid hunters. unerring shots
sildo away unharmed. The price an
nus mead was $500. Bounty huntors
sought him for profit. Sportsmen put
iorth every device to stay him for repe
utatioh sake. And stil the old wolf
went unscathed about his work of dc
Struction. VI w.
Credulous people said, he was ,
charmed thing. Others attributed bis
lnuhity TO wisdom greater than
o.', last ever before possessed. StilI 9th
ers said he escaped by plain luck-the
mysterious thing that adhcres 10 some
hais as to some men. In whatever
way thoy explained his uncsuny oIu-
e1Veness, everybody feared him-pcr-
lv apS S,,t no. consciously, very rarely open
~ put there was no man thr1Iout thar
region who did not feel a shiyer RIM
uo"h between his shoulder blades
Mheil; alone or in the dark. he thought
oi this gray devil of the desert
Al Kinds of stories got abroad. This
thing, they said. was not a wolf Inot
merely wolf. They believed that nn
lure mad perpetratcd monstrosity
half wolf and half mountain lion. nos,
seSslns s the craftiness OF both and tho
SrueltE OF hell. In public opinion ho
mad all the qualities of the Were volf
of Old World legends VI
No WONDER that the telephones hum
ned when the word went out that !,
un,.r, n sent by the United States de-
partfnent of agriculture to protect Tho
| livestock industry. had killed tbo cri,n.
| maj Wolf That word ended n min,
years reign of dread. during which tbo
stockmen around Custer had paid trib
ute 10 this wolf to the extent of so5 ooo
worth OF livestock And NOR ,ro,,o, ,,,oOc
loss was not tho whole of the horrible
tool no took. When he killed for food
nc look only the choicest animals but
sometimes no killed in atrocious way,
ior the nero sake of killing. often he
wounded cattle. breaking their logs
pitinS Off their tails mutilaiinr thor,
IN unspeakablc ways,
four years ago his mate was killed
~, IL never TOOK another and many peo-
pie supposed that he devoted himself
TO revenge for her death Later on bo
attached to himself two coyotes. NOT gs
cGuais but as servants. He never
permitted them TO como near him. and
.ncy could feed from his kills only att
nc hifpself had finished. They trav-
oled far out on His nanks. giving bir,
warming OF ambush or approa ching
danger and adding to the ntrnospbrro
Vi mystery that surrounded him.
An Tnctics Failed
alter bounty. reaching by stages
from 900 to $500, failed to bring In tho
oid criminals scalp: after priy,to
trappers and sportsmcn hunters had
given up the quest. after poisons nnd
dogs had failed-the stockmcn tricd a
roundup. Having. az they thourbt
locatcd tho wolf. a large number Of
ridors started in a great circle and
closed up. This. like all the other do
vices, was unsuccessful Some OF thu
atockmen. in resignation. announced
that they would have to board tho
WOLF for the rost of his life. Otbers
decided to send for government
hunter. Therefore. in March, 1890 tho
bureau of biological survey. United
states department OF agriculture. sent
to Custer II. +. Williams. ono Of its
pest hunters, with instructions TO stay
after tho wolf until he was taken. no
matter how much timc was required
Williams went He took with him n
bunch OF traps, but, as tho old wolf
was known TO be trap wise. he expect
ca TO depend mainly on his rife. As
Things turned out. he required both
the trap and the rife TO got the wolf