The Wrangell sentinel. (Wrangell, Alaska) 1909-current, 1933-02-24
Wrangell Man Tells Why He
Takes Exception To Recently
Published Alaska Wolf Stories
By LEE C0NSIDINE

| uuueTSldnu the meaning Oh wolf
bowls, it will sound like the
war cry.
l have been holding this howl
back ever since l read Ruggles'
first article, "Neighboring With
Wolves published in my favorite
magazine, The Saturday Evening
Post, in its issue of January 8, 1882.
More recently Ruggles has written
what l term another silly piece of
hooey under the title, Hungry
| Wolves" and gets it published in
| the same magazine under date OF
February Is, 1888. He adds insult
to injury by illustrating this last
hooey with caribou picture which
| is out of series of wild life pic
lures that l photographed.
l have spent nineteen years in the
northern Canada, where l have
hunted, trapped, prospected, mined
and acted as guide for big game
hunters. | have never seen nor
heard of the wolf habits which
Ruggles describes. will tell of wolf
conditions as l have found them
and one of us is going to be wrong.
Wolf characteristics
In the winter throughout the
caribou country it is very unusual
to see or to kill wolf with rifle
in the daytime, They are nocturnal
IN their habits travelling and hunt
ing after dark. In the summer dur
ing June and July when there are
twenty-four hours of daylight, you
| will be able to see few wolves
once in while. They are not very
numerous, as compared to the num-
bers of other fur bearers or game
| animals. Most trappers would starve
10 death if they had to make living
hunting or catching wolves for the
| county or what the hides would
Dring, because wolves are the shy
est and wariest wild animal we have
20 see and hunt. They are also the
| most difficult to trap. | have never
| seen them in big packs, two gener-
| ally together and seven the most;
/ suspect them of being a family
group.
| have been up and down the
Susitna river from one end to the
other and on most of the big side
wolf story. His recent article he
locates on the extreme headwaters of
the Susitna. l suspect him of choos-
ing this out of the way district be-
cause so few persons are familiar
with it. By the tone of his articles
l believe he just looked at the map
and let his fancy wander wide and
free.
Wolves Rarely Glimpsed
| will tell about how l have found
wolves to be all through those parts
of the country. For two years drove
dog teams for Col. Reyell, contract
or, and l.. ID. Ellexson, sub contract
or, on the first overland winter
mail route from Seward to Iditarod.
The route was split up into relays.
My relay started at Knik, an Indian
vi loo ut ha 90
drove lao miles from Knik up to
Rainy Pass, the divide between the
Kuskokwim valley and the Susitna
watershed. The mail was on week.
ly schedule and l was travelling
every day. Only once in two years
time l caught a glimpse of a wolf a
long way off in the distance. That
did not mean there were no wolves
along my route because every now
and then l saw their tracks, singly
and in pairs. They were as thick
here as In any other, part of the
country. This was some time be-
fore any shooting or outside hunt
ing parties were in this district
A year before steel was laid for
the Alaska Railroad, l carried mail
for the government up the Susitna
river and crossed Broad Pass Once
in while during the winter would
run across a wolf track but l saw
no wolves.
With Reindeer Herds
My next trip into the upper Su-
tates Bureau of Education. I was
With herd of about one thousand
head of reindeer and as was famil-
to hunt for stray punches of rein