going down, to be sure, and ham-stringing
them.'

"Being a novice in these matters, I begged
to be merely a looker-on.

"' With all my heart,' quoth the farmer:
'stand here and look at me through the
brush.'

"Whereupon he glided down, taking
with him his axe and knife, and leaving
his rifle to my care. I was not a little
suprised to see the cowardice of the wolves.
He pulled out successively their hind legs,
and with a side stroke of the knife cut
the principal tendon above the joint,
exhibiting as little fear as if he had been
marking lambs. 'Lo! ' exclaimed the farmer,
when he had got out, ' we have forgotten the
rope; I'll go after it.' Off he went,
accordingly, with as much alacrity as any
youngster could show. In a short time he
returned out of breath, and wiping his forehead
with the back of his hand, ' Now for
it.' I was desired to raise and hold the platform
on its central balance, whilst he, with
all the dexterity of an Indian, threw a noose
over the neck of one of the wolves. We
hauled it up motionless with fright, as if
dead, its disabled legs swinging to and fro,
its jaws wide open, and the gurgle in its
throat alone indicating that it was alive.
Letting him drop on the ground, the farmer
loosened the rope by means of a stick, and
left him to the dogs, all of which set upon
him with great fury, and soon worried him
to death. The second was dealt with in the
same manner; but the third, which was
probably the oldest, as it was the blackest,
showed some spirit, the moment it was let
loose to the mercy of the curs. This wolf,
which we afterwards found to be a female,
scuffled along on its forelegs at a surprising
rate, giving a snap every now and then at
the nearest dog, which went off howling
dismally, with a mouthful of skin torn from its
side. And so well did this ferocious beast
defend itself, that apprehending its escape,
the farmer levelled his rifle at it, and shot it
through the heart, on which the curs rushed
upon it, and satiated their vengeance on the
destroyer of their master's flock."

To imitate a wolf—or rather, to personate
one—is sometimes found advantageous. The
Black Foot Indians, on the Upper Missouri,
do this, Mr. Catlin tells us. " There are several
varieties of the wolf species in this country,
the most formidable and most numerous of
which are white, often sneaking about in
gangs or families of fifty and sixty in number,
appearing in the distance on the green
prairies like nothing but a flock of sheep.
Many of these animals grow to a very great
size, being, I should think, quite a match for
the largest Newfoundland dog. At present,
whilst the buffaloes are so abundant, and
these ferocious animals are glutted with the
buffalo's flesh, they are harmless, and everywhere
sneak away from man's presence....
They always are seen following about in the
vicinity of herds of buffaloes, and stand ready
to pick the bones of those the hunters leave
on the ground, or to overtake and devour
those that are wounded, which fall an easy
prey to them. While the herd of buffaloes
are together, they seem to have little dread
of the wolf, and allow them to come in close
company with them. The Indian then has
taken advantage of this fact, and often places
himself under the skin of this animal, and
crawls for half a mile or more, on his hands
and knees, until he approaches within a few
rods of the unsuspecting group, and easily
shoots down the fattest of the throng." But
the white wolf occasionally attacks the
buffalo in propriâ personâ ; always, however,
with great odds in his favour, for he is a
wary gamester. " A short time since," says
Mr. Catlin, "as one of my hunting
companions and myself were returning to our
encampment with our horses loaded with
meat, we discovered, at a distance, a large
bull encircled with a gang of white wolves.
We rode up as near as we could without
driving them away, and, being within pistol-
shot, we had a remarkably good view, where
I sat for a few moments and made a sketch
in my note-book; after which, we rode up
and gave the signal for them to disperse,
which they instantly did, withdrawing
themselves to the distance of fifty or sixty rods,
when we found, to our great surprise, that
the animal had made desperate resistance,
until his eyes were entirely eaten out of his
head, the grizzle (gristle) of his nose mostly
gone, his tongue was half eaten off, and the
skin and flesh of his legs torn literally into
strings. In this tattered and torn condition,
the poor old veteran stood bracing up in the
midst of his devourers, who had ceased
hostilities for a few minutes, to enjoy a sort of
parley, recovering strength, and preparing to
resume the attack in a few moments again.
In this group some were reclining to gain
breath, whilst others were sneaking about
and licking their chaps in anxiety for a
renewal of the attack; and others, less lucky,
had been crushed to death by the feet or
horns of the bull. I rode nearer to the
pitiable object as he stood bleeding and
trembling before me, and said to him, ' Now
is your time, old fellow, and you had better
be off.' Though blind and nearly destroyed,
there seemed evidently to be a recognition of
a friend in me, as he straightened up, and,
trembling with excitement, dashed off at full
speed upon the prairie, in a straight line.
We turned our horses and resumed our
march, and when we had advanced a mile or
more we looked back, and on our left, when
we saw again the ill-fated animal surrounded
by his tormentors, to whose insatiable
voracity he unquestionably soon fell a victim."

We need no later instances than these to
satisfy us of the cruel nature of the wolf, even
if the terrible legend of Little Red Riding