"I have trapped and caught five old female wolves since I came to Iron County, Wisconsin, six years ago. Two of them I got in Michigan, Gogebic County, as I live almost on the line. There are times when you can see six or eight wolf tracks all going down the river or coming up at the same time. You can go again for a week and never see a track. I have followed them for a week, in deep snow on snow shoes, and never left their track, and in one week I set traps at 50 different deer that wolves had killed. I might have gotten a few more wolves but the fox, mink, cats, skunk, owls and "porkys" (porcupines) were bound to butt in. At one set I got a wolf, 3 foxes, 1 skunk, 1 mink and 10 porkys till June.
Two wolves caught a buck that would weigh 150 pounds, within 10 rods of my camp one night. The next morning there was not one pound of meat left on the bones.
I had a tent and one shanty in Gogebic County last winter, and I know the wolves killed 500 deer on the snow. How many fawns and does did they kill in summer time when you cannot see their tracks? The wild cats are not so bad, a fawn, rabbit or partridge makes a meal for them."
In the far north where the barren ground caribou is the principal game animal, and where wolves are plentiful, there can be no doubt that they kill large numbers of those animals. Musk oxen are also killed, and farther south the moose is killed by wolves, but it is our belief that the number is comparatively small. The moose is such a large and powerful animal that even a band of half starved wolves will, as a rule, pass it by, but there can be no doubt of the fact that they do kill them on rare occasions.
The elk is a great enemy of the wolf and it appears that they are seldom molested. Beyond all doubt the deer is the principal prey of the timber wolf.
For many years the state governments of the wolf infested country have been paying bounties on wolves and coyotes, to encourage the hunting and trapping of these animals. It is doubtful, however, whether the bounties offered are sufficient to encourage any, other than the regular trappers, to hunt wolves, and if they are, it has certainly had no definite results, for the wolves and coyotes, taken over the whole country, are practically as plentiful as ever.
Realizing that the state bounties were not a sufficient inducement to trappers, certain of the counties of those states where wolves are most abundant, offer additional bounty. This has the effect of thinning the wolves out of that county alone, but they immediately become more plentiful in the adjoining portions of the country.
In some of the Western States, the stockmen pay a bounty, in addition to that offered by the state. Some of them even offer special inducements, in addition to the bounties paid on the captured animals, and among them may be mentioned, board and lodging for the trapper, bait for the traps and the use of saddle and pack horses.
Such special offers to trappers have the effect of stimulating the hunting and trapping of noxious animals in that immediate vicinity and the result is, a thinning out of the animals for the time being. Usually the trappers drift into those sections where the animals are most plentiful and the bounty is highest.
One of the Government bulletins has the following to say regarding the bounty question:
"Bounties, even when excessively high, have proved ineffective in keeping down the wolves, and the more intelligent ranchmen are questioning whether the bounty system pays. In the past ten years Wyoming has paid out in State bounties over $65,000 on wolves alone, and $160,156 on wolves, coyotes and mountain lions together, and to this must be added still larger sums in local and county bounties on the same animals."
"In many cases three bounties are paid on each wolf. In the upper Green River Valley the local stockmen's association pays a bounty of $10 on each wolf pup, $20 on each grown dog wolf, and $40 on each bitch with pup. Fremont County adds $3 to each of these, and the State of Wyoming $3 more. Many of the large ranchers pay a private bounty of $10 to $20 in addition to the county and state bounty. Gov. Bryant B. Brooks, of Wyoming, paid six years ago, on his ranch in Natrona County, $10 each on 50 wolves in one year, and considered it a good investment, since it practically cleared his range of wolves for the time. It invariably happens, however, that when cleared out of one section the wolves are left undisturbed to breed in neighboring sections, and the depleted country is soon restocked."
"A floating class of hunters and trappers receive most of the bounty money and drift to the sections where the bounty is highest. If extermination is left to these men, it will be a long process. Even some of the small ranch owners support themselves in part from the wolf harvest, and it is not uncommon to hear men boast that they know the location of dens, but are leaving the young to grow up for higher bounty. The frauds, which have frequently wasted the funds appropriated for the destruction of noxious animals almost vitiate the wolf records of some of the States: If bounties resulted in the extermination of the wolves or in an important reduction in their number, the bounty system should be encouraged, but if it merely begets fraud and yields a perpetual harvest for the support of a floating class of citizens, other means should be adopted."
The failure of bounties to accomplish their proposed object was clearly shown by Dr. T. S. Palmer in 1896. Under the heading, "What have bounties accomplished," he says:
"Advocates of the bounty system seem to think that almost any species can be exterminated in a short time if the premiums are only high enough. Extermination, however, is not a question of months, but of years, and it is a mistake to suppose that it can be accomplished rapidly except under extraordinary circumstances, as in the case of the buffalo and the fur seal. Theoretically, a bounty should be high enough to insure the destruction of at least a majority of the individuals during the first season, but it has already been shown that scarcely a single State has been able to maintain a high rate for more than a few months, and it is evident that the higher the rate, the greater the danger of fraud. Although Virginia has encouraged the killing of wolves almost from the first settlement of the colony, and has sometimes paid as high as $25 apiece for their scalps, wolves were not exterminated until about the middle of this (the past) century, or until the rewards had been in force for more than two hundred years. Nor did they become extinct in England until the beginning of the sixteenth century, although efforts toward their extermination had been begun in the reign of King Edgar (959-975). France, which has maintained bounties on these animals for more than a century, found it necessary to increase the rewards to $30 and $40 in 1882, and in twelve years expended no less than $115,000 for nearly 8,000 wolves."
"The larger animals are gradually becoming rare, particularly in the East, but it can not be said that bounties have brought about the extermination of a single species in any State."
"New Hampshire has been paying for bears about as long as Maine, but in 1894 the State treasurer called attention to the large number reported by four or five of the towns, and added that should the other 231 towns 'be equally successful in breeding wild animals for the State market, in proportion to their tax levy, it would require a State tax levy of nearly $2,000,000 to pay the bounty claims' Even New York withdrew the rewards on bears in 1895, not because they had become unnecessary, but because the number of animals killed increased steadily each year."
"Wolf skins are often ruined by the requirements of bounty laws, especially when the head, feet, or ears are cut off. The importance of preserving the skins in condition to bring the highest market price is as great as that of making it impossible to collect bounties twice. A slit in the skin can be sewed up so that it will never show on the fur side, but can not be concealed on the inside. A single longitudinal or vertical slit, or double or cross slits 4 inches long, in the center where the fur is longest, would serve every purpose of the law without seriously impairing the market value of the skin."
One thing that is detrimental to the success of the bounty system, is the invariable "red tape" connected with such laws. In some states the bounty regulations are so complicated and so exacting, that trappers do not care to follow "wolfing" because of the trouble in securing the bounty money.
It would be impossible, in a work of this kind, to give the bounty laws of the different states, also as they are repealed so frequently, detailed information on that subject would be of little value to the prospective hunter or trapper. We give, however, an outline of the regulations in some of the principal wolf states.
The State of Wyoming pays a bounty of five dollars each on timber wolves and mountain lions, and one dollar and twenty-five cents for each coyote. In addition to this, there are both county and stockmen's bounties in certain parts of the state. Some ranchmen offer as much as forty-five dollars each, for grey wolves caught on their ranches.
In order to secure the state bounty, one must present the entire skin to the County Clerk, or Notary Public, of the county in which the animal was killed, and accompanied by affidavit to the effect that the animal was killed in that county, by the person presenting the skin, on or after March 1st, 1909. The skin must have the feet and upper jaw or head, with both upper and lower lips attached. The head will then be cut off and destroyed by the county official. Applicants for bounty must be identified.
With regard to private bounties, one should consult the county officials, but these, and in that case, the state bounty also, are as a rule, paid by the treasurer of the association offering the bounty.
Wisconsin pays twenty dollars on old wolves and eight dollars each on pups. Half of this bounty money is paid by the state and the other half by the county. In order to secure it, the trapper must take the carcass of the animal to the Town Chairman and remove the scalp in his presence. He gives a certificate to that effect and the bounty claimant presents the scalp and certificate to the County Clerk, who destroys the scalp and gives an order to the County Treasurer for one-half of the bounty. The County Clerk also sends an affidavit to the State Treasurer, stating that you have presented the scalp and it has been destroyed and the claimant then receives the balance of the bounty money from the state.
In the State of Washington the bounty is fifteen dollars on timber wolves and one dollar on coyotes. The method of procuring the bounty as given here is copied direct from the game law pamphlet:
"Upon the production to the county auditor of any county of the entire hide or pelt and right fore leg to the knee joint intact of any cougar, lynx, wild cat, coyote or timber wolf, killed in such county, each of which hides or pelts shall show two ears, eye holes, skin to tip of nose, and right fore leg to the knee join intact, the county auditor shall require satisfactory proof that such animal was killed in such county. When the county auditor is satisfied that such animal was killed in his county, he shall cut from such hide or pelt the bone of the right fore leg to the knee as aforesaid which shall be burned in the presence of such auditor and one other county official, who shall certify to the date and place of such burning."
Utah pays a bounty of ten dollars on grey wolves and two dollars and fifty cents on coyotes. The entire skin, with tail, feet and the bones of the leg, to the knee, must be presented to the County Clerk within sixty days of the date on which said animal was killed. The County Clerk must then remove and destroy the bones of the legs and the applicant will sign an affidavit stating that the animal was killed by himself, in that county and within sixty days prior to that date.
The county official will then send a certified statement to the State Auditor, along with the other papers, who, after same have been examined, will transmit the bounty money to the claimant.
No bounty will be paid on the skin of a grey wolf until it has been seen and passed upon by the board of county commissioners at their first regular meeting. Bounty claimants must be identified by a reputable citizen and tax payer of the county.
In Minnesota the bounty on grown wolves is seven dollars and fifty cents and one dollar for wolf pups. The bounty regulations are practically the same as in the other states; the entire skin with head and ears intact must be presented to the Town Clerk within thirty days and the applicant must take affidavit as to the date and place of the killing.
In other states, if our information is correct, the bounties at present (1909) are as follows:
The fraud so often practiced by unscrupulous parties has always been detrimental to the efficacy of the bounty system. The Bureau of Biological Survey, have issued a special circular on this subject and being of general interest, it is reprinted here.
"The bounty system has everywhere proved an incentive to fraud, and thousands of dollars are wasted annually in paying bounties on coyote scalps offered in place of wolves, and on the scalps of dogs, foxes, coons, badgers, and even cats, which are palmed off for wolves and coyotes. If in all states having the bounty system whole skins, including nose, ears, feet, and tail of both adult and young animals, were required as valid evidence for bounty payments, the possibility of deception would be reduced to a minimum. The common practice of paying bounty on scalps alone, or in some cases merely the ears, is dangerous, as even an expert can not always positively identify such fragments. A satisfactory way of marking skins on which the bounty has been paid is by a slit 4 to 6 inches long between the ears. This does not injure the skins for subsequent use. If all bounty-paying states would adopt such a system, the possibility of collecting more than one bounty on the same skin in different states would be avoided."
"The following directions have been prepared as an aid to county and state officers in identifying scalps, skins, and skulls of wolves and coyotes, the pups of wolves, coyotes, red, grey, and kit foxes, and young bob-cats, coons and badgers."
"The variation in dogs is so great that no one set of characters will always distinguish them from wolves or coyotes, but when there is reason to suspect that dogs are being presented for bounties, their skins and skulls should be sent to the Biological Survey for positive identification. It goes without saying that anyone detected in such fraud should be prosecuted with a view to the suppression of these dishonest practices."
KEY TO ADULT WOLVES AND COYOTES.
These characters will not always hold in Oklahoma and Texas east and south of the Staked Plains, where there is a small wolf in size between the Coyote and Lobo or Plains wolf.
KEY TO WOLF, COYOTE AND FOX PUPS.
Wolf Pups.
Coyote Pups.
Red Fox Pups.
Grey Fox Pups.
Kit Fox Pups.
KEY TO YOUNG CATS, COONS AND BADGERS.
The bounty laws have always been a good thing for the trapper as they have helped much towards making his occupation a lucrative one, but, as before explained, it is doubtful if it has ever, in any marked degree, tended to decrease the numbers of predatory animals.
It is true that continued trapping will cause the numbers of wolves and coyotes to diminish, but would not the trapping be prosecuted practically the same, even if there were no bounties? We believe that it would, for if the bounty offered were any great incentive, there would be more trapping done during the summer when the furs were of no account.
Neither do we believe that it ever induces others, not trappers, to kill these animals, for they will kill them on every opportunity, bounty or no bounty. It is man's nature to kill, for he is the enemy of all animal life.
Of the many methods of hunting and otherwise capturing wolves and coyotes, employed by the professional "wolfers" of the west, none is more remunerative than the hunting of the young animals during the spring season. While the fur of the adult animals is of little value at that time and that of the young is not worth saving, the bounty which is usually paid for wolf and coyote pups will fully compensate for all loss from that source. At that time of year (March, April and May) there is very little fur of any value, to be had but the wolf hunter can combine wolf trapping and the hunting of the parent animals with the killing of the young, and the large bounties paid by many of the states and the various provinces of Canada, will alone enable one to do a profitable business.
In those parts of our country where the extermination of the wolves and coyotes is necessary for the protection of stock and game and the authorities and stockmen co-operate for the destruction of predatory animals, the hunting of the young animals during the breeding season should be especially encouraged. In no other way can the number of wolves be so surely reduced. To those who are well acquainted with the habits of the wolf, their time of breeding and the most favored breeding grounds, this mode of hunting is very simple.
Wolves breed much earlier than is commonly supposed, even by stockmen who have resided for a considerable length of time in the wolf country. The majority of young wolves are born in March in the Western States and the young of the coyote make their appearance mainly in April, but occasional litters of both will appear in May, and grey wolves may be born at any time during the summer.
On the western cattle range, the dens of the wolf and coyote are located mainly in the valleys among the foothills of the mountain ranges and among the low mountains, but seldom at any great elevation. The steep side of a hill or canyon facing the south is the most favored location, and the rougher and more broken and brushy the ground, the better it suits the wolves for denning purposes. They especially like knolls, strewn with large boulders, from which the male parent can watch for the approach of enemies.
As before mentioned, the mode of hunting is very simple. All that is necessary is to look carefully over the breeding grounds until tracks are found and these should be followed to the den. It is safe to say that at that time of year, nine out of every ten tracks will lead to a den. On the northern portions of the range, there is almost certain to be good tracking snow during the early part of the breeding season, but even if the ground is bare it is not generally a difficult matter to trail the animals to the den. A track that has been made in the evening should be followed backwards and one made in the morning should be followed forwards, as the wolves do most of their hunting at night and return to the den in the early morning. When the track can not be followed, if one can get the general course of it, the lay of the land will enable one, on many occasions, to locate the den.
Whenever the hunter hears of wolves, or their signs having been seen frequently, he should make a diligent search for the den. As the old mother wolf always goes to the nearest water to drink, the number of tracks at a watering place will often be a dead give-away and a careful search of the locality will usually result in the discovery of the den. As the den is approached, the tracks will become more numerous, and near by there will be well beaten trails. Where tracks are numerous one should keep watch for the male, sentinel wolf, as he will always be on the lookout somewhere near the den and his position will enable one to locate it more readily. As one approaches, the male animal will howl and endeavor to draw the hunter off in pursuit and thus prevent the finding of the den. Their tricks on such occasions show considerable intelligence.
When looking for dens on bare ground, a dog, if he understands the work is very useful. A fox hound that is well trained on fox is good, but if trained for this style of hunting especially, will be found to be better. Unless on the trail of a bachelor wolf, which by the way are occasionally found during the breeding season, the dog will readily trail the wolf to the den. It is best to go early in the morning as the trail will be fresher at that time and the dog is more apt to follow a fresh trail, therefore, more certain of locating the den. In all probability, one of the old wolves will attempt to draw the dog off for a mile or two, but in that case the mother will endeavor to return to her young. Sometimes they find it necessary to fight the dogs and try to keep them from approaching too near the den. Anyway the actions of the animals will show when they are in the vicinity of the den, which may then be readily located.
One hunter who uses a dog for this style of hunting says: "The kind of a dog needed is a good ranger, extra good cold trailer and an everlasting stayer. Then if he will only run a short distance after starting the wolf and come back and hunt the pups and then bark at them when found, you have a good dog that is worth a large price. There are plenty of dogs that will hunt and trail wolves all right, but very few that will hunt the pups."
The den is usually a natural one; a hole worn in the rocks by the elements, or in washed out cavities in the hard ground of the bad lands. Down in the valleys they sometimes den in the ground, enlarging the burrow of a badger or other animal. The opening is, as a rule, large enough to allow one to enter and secure the pups, but sometimes it will be necessary to dig the den open. For dens in the rocks, which are too small to allow one to enter, the hunter should provide a hook, something on the order of a gaff hook such as is used by fishermen. The hook should be of fair size, very sharp, and should be attached to a handle about three or four feet in length. A famous western wolf hunter in speaking of his outfit says:
"I will say to the boys who intend to hunt pups, get two or three strong fish hooks and a strong cord and carry them in your pocket. You can usually find a small stick or pole of some kind. When you find a den, tie your hooks on end of stick, wrapping cord very tight. If you use two hooks, put one on each side of stick. Shove your stick in the den among the pups and turn or twist it and you will soon have a pup hooked. This works the best of anything I have ever tried; where pups are small. I have gotten many a bunch or pups this way, when my pick or shovel would be five or six miles away.
When the pups get too large and strong to pull out alive, I put a candle on the stick, shove it into the den and lay on my stomach. With a 22 rifle I shoot the pups in the head and then they are easily pulled out with the fish hooks. I mean this for dens that cannot be dug out, as there are many of them in rock ledges and in holes in the solid rock. Instead of the candles mentioned by this hunter, some prefer to use a lantern and one "wolfer" uses a hunting lamp, attached to his hat. Some sort of firearm should be carried always. A revolver is good for use in the den, but a rifle is best outside.
It is not often that the mother wolf will be found in the den, as she usually makes her escape before one comes near, but should she be found at home she should be disposed of first. There is no danger, whatever, from the adult wolves. One of our western friends in speaking of this says: "I never hesitate in entering a wolf den, even when I know the mother wolf is with her young, and have never known one to act vicious, but always sneaking and cowardly. A few years ago at the Cypress Hills in Canada I entered a den and took ten pups. The mother crawled as far from me as she could and never raised her head. I set my 30-30 Savage and pulled it off with a rope, shooting her through the heart. It was forty feet from the entrance of the hole to where she lay, and it was midnight when I got her out. I had to move some dirt and rocks and it was a big job.
"I have killed other grown wolves in the den and have never known one to show fight. Of course, I always use a lantern to see what I am doing, and would not enter a den without one." The young wolves should be killed immediately and live pups should never be handled with bare hands, as blood poisoning is likely to result from a bite.
Beyond all doubt wolf chasing as it is practiced in some parts of the country is one of the most fascinating of sports and in a place where the animals are fairly plentiful and the surface of the country is not too rough, is also profitable. In parts of the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, some of the professional wolfers use this method of securing their game and in the states lying west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, also in Western Canada, wolf hunting is a very popular sport among the ranchmen.
Among the dogs that are most approved of by the wolf and coyote hunters, may be mentioned the fox hound, the greyhounds, and stag hounds of various varieties, the bloodhound and crosses of these dogs. The grey hounds are the swiftest of dogs and a pair of them are invariably to be found in a pack, the balance being some heavier and fiercer breed of dog, such as the blood hound, fox hound or a cross of the two. It is the grey hounds that run the game down and hold it until the arrival of the balance of the pack, the heavier dogs doing the actual fighting.
One who has followed wolf hunting extensively gives the following short but interesting description of the sport: "On the open plains of the west, wolves are often hunted with large swift running dogs, grey hounds, stag or wolf hounds or their crosses. The hunters go on horseback and the wolves are usually roused out of some coulee or draw. Sometimes trail hounds are used to start the game, on breaking from cover and being sighted by the running dogs the race is on. Wolf, dogs and horsemen, race across the often rough and dangerous ground at breakneck speed. The wolf, maneuvering to gain the coulee or cover of some sort and get out of sight of the dogs (the running dogs have only slight scenting powers and depend entirely on their sight). The lighter and swifter grey hounds, as a rule, are the first to overtake the wolf and by coming up alongside and snapping at his flanks, force him to turn and face them, thus giving the heavier and fiercer wolf hounds a chance to close in and grapple with and kill the wolf. Unless the dogs are well trained and very courageous, a large timber wolf often proves more than a match for the bunch of four or five dogs."
No matter what kind of dogs are used, they must be good tonguers and good fighters, and must have an abundance of strength and endurance. It is needless to say that the dog must be trained and this must be done at an early age. The young dog should never be run alone, for the wolf is likely to fight it off and once the young dog is driven back it will be spoiled for hunting purposes.
One of our Kansas friends in speaking of wolf dogs says: "We have plenty of wolves (coyotes) and have had for the twenty years we have kept dogs. As to breeding, we used an English greyhound bitch with courage, speed and a special hatred for a wolf, crossed with an English fox hound with all the qualities necessary, except the speed. We then picked the bitch with the most good qualities and crossed her with another fox hound whose ancestry is perfect. Here we get the dog we are using now and with which we have made the most satisfactory of catches. We seldom have a run lasting more than three hours and catch many, when vegetation is not too high, in from one to one and a half hours. Where this dog has the advantage over the fox hound is in speed and the fact that it is ever on the watch ahead for the game."
Evidently the party who used this breed of dog has endeavored to instill into the one type, all of the good qualities of the several breeds that go to make up the regulation pack of wolf dogs. It is surmised, also, that the one breed of dog is used alone, when chasing wolves. In Western Canada, wolf hunting is a favorite sport and one of the hunters from that section in speaking on this subject gives the following method of hunting:
"First, we put a box on the sleigh big enough to hold our dogs and then hook up a lively team, and strike across the country, leaving the dogs run along side. When a wolf is sighted, we get the dogs into the box and drive as close to the wolf as we can — that's usually from three to five hundred yards — then turn the dogs loose and cheer them to victory. The dogs usually run down the wolf within a mile, and we follow as fast as horse flesh can take us. When the leading dog gets alongside, the wolf stops, and in a second the dogs form a circle around him and he is a goner. Some hunters just turn the dogs loose, not knowing when they are ever going to see them again. That plan would not work with me. Good hounds are too expensive to monkey with that way. I have found that letting one or two dogs on a wolf trail spoils them, because one wolf will give two dogs all they can handle, and sometimes a little bit more, especially if they are young dogs. It takes two old dogs at least, to handle one wolf, and I have seen them get the hard end of it. The wolf perhaps would take to running into the scrub and then it wouldn't be long until a pair of wolves would be slashing your dogs or 'fleecing' the stuffing out of them."
Those who make a business of wolf hunting, or in other words, those who hunt for profit, do not always allow the dogs to fight and kill the wolf, but carry a gun with them, on all occasions and if they have an opportunity to shorten the chase by means of a well directed bullet, do not hesitate to do so. A high powered rifle should be used and one should learn to handle it in a business-like way. In the Western States where the large ranches are rapidly disappearing and the farm, with the barbed wire fence is taking its place, wolf hunting will soon be a thing of the past. Mr. Jack Kinsey, one of the most noted wolfers of the West, gives a description of an exciting wolf chase, in which he illustrates this point, and we give the story in his own words:
"While I was in Dakota last winter I had two exciting wolf chases. I was stopping with Mr. Wm. Clanton, a cowman, living seven miles south of Harding, S. D. One day I was in his shop putting a coyote hide on a stretcher, when one of his neighbors drove up and asked Mr. Clanton if he had a rifle. He said, 'Yes, there is a wolfer here who has one.' 'Why,' his friend said, 'there are two big grey wolves just back over that hill.'"
"I waited for no more but ran for my horse and gun. Clanton saw me going to the barn and told me to bring his horse. Now I was not long in getting those horses and we were soon on their trail. We followed their tracks about one and one-half miles when we sighted them. Picking out the largest of the two we both rode after him. The wolf started west towards some bad lands, but Mr. Clanton was riding a good young horse and he soon turned the wolf south, but now he was headed straight for a wire fence.
"Mr. Clanton would have succeeded in turning him again, but he struck a ditch full of snow, so the wolf got inside the pasture but I was fixed for wire fences. I had my trapping axe on my saddle and soon made a gate that we did not stop to fix up. We had run the wolf five or six miles by this time, and our horses were pretty well winded. So we pulled them up and let them take a slower gait until we got through the other side of the pasture.
"As I said before, Mr. Clanton was riding the best horse, so he kept the outside while I took advantage of the cuts. Mr. Clanton was just far enough ahead of me to make one throw at the wolf with his rope, but he missed him. The wolf cut in behind his horse, when I rode in front of him and put a 30-40 soft point in his head. He was a very large grey wolf. His hide stretched 6 1/2 feet long. On the way back we saw three more wolves and two coyotes."
We give the following spirited account of a wolf hunt which occurred in South Dakota:
"Will tell about one of my hunts behind a pair of wolf hounds that are certainly right when it comes to coyotes. I left my home here in Illinois on the 12th of December and arrived at Presho, S. D., early the 14th, where my friends met me, and we started for the ranch, which is about midway between Presho and Pierre.
"When we got to the reservation fence (Brule Reservation), we kept a lookout for coyote signs, and located a place that we thought would be all right, and planned a hunt for the following Saturday.
"The day proved all that could be desired, so we started out at noon. Earl, Claude, Mort, Chas., Sheldon and myself, with the two hounds, Ike and Lucy. A ride of about two miles brought us to the reservation, and the hunt was on.
"Our outfit consisted of our saddled ponies and team and buggy, and by standing up in the buggy seat we located two coyotes on the side hill playing in the high grass. A circle around the hill and Lucy discovered them and was off with Ike a second, as he was not as fast as Lucy.
"Away we all go across the prairie with the team and buggy following the reservation fence to keep the coyote away from the fence. It was a short chase, as Lucy soon had Mr. Coyote by the hind leg and turned him on his back quicker than it can be told, and Ike being close at hand soon had him by the throat, so by the time we could get out horses stopped and turned Mr. Coyote was no more.
"After skinning, we started for the buggy and Sheldon reported coyote No. 2 headed south down the draw, and Earl went after him around the hill and drove him back our way.
"A shout from that direction and the dogs have discovered No. 2 and we are away with Lucy in the lead, and this time we are not far behind, so that when the dogs got him we were right there, and the coyote not much hurt, so he gets a rope halter and is stowed away alive under the buggy seat.
"The dogs are panting hard and are very thirsty, with no water closer than five miles, so we head for home, but not far away on the hillside another one is seen and the buggy starts toward the left to head him toward the ranch, so the dogs will be running toward home when they jump him.
"This time Ike catches sight and is off, and Lucy cuts across to head him off. It is a short chase, for old Ike soon has his favorite hold and all is over.
"After skinning we started for home and as I hadn't ridden much for over a year you can gamble I was feeling pretty sore, for the pace a pack of hounds set isn't slow by a long shot. On driving into the yard the dogs were not slow about getting into the house and lying down.
"The live coyote we tied to the buggy wheel, and while I was gone after a strap and chain he bit the rope off and 'cut the mustard' for parts unknown with about a foot of rope still hanging to him.
"We have good hunting here in the spring and fall, plenty of chickens and, some ducks and geese, with lots of jack rabbits and (Flicker Tails), prairie dogs, and their side partners, owls and rattlers.
"Our outfit is the bar circle outfit, O and I think our Holstein cattle are among the first herds in the state. Have since this hunt disposed of my interest in the O but still have a bunch of cattle at Presho, which supply the town with milk."
Hunting wolves with dogs, as described in the preceding chapter is certainly exciting sport but it is doubtful if it is as remunerative as still-hunting, especially in the rough sections where hunting with dogs is almost impracticable. In parts of the country where wolves and coyotes are plentiful, as they are in many of the thinly settled portions of the West, they may be still hunted at all times of the year. In the heavily timbered parts of the North, this method is practical only in winter.
The outfit that is needed for still-hunting in the West is one or more good saddle horses and the necessary equipment and a good, high powered rifle. A pair of field glasses will also be useful, but some hunters equip their rifles with telescope sights and the field glass is unnecessary. Hunters differ in their views, and with regard to rifles especially, there is a great difference of opinion. What one believes to be perfect, and which answers his purpose admirably, another has no use for whatever.
The arm selected should, however, have considerable power, and the flight of the bullet should be rapid, with a low trajectory. On the Western Plains the atmosphere is so light and transparent, and there is such a sameness to the surface of the country that one may easily be deceived in distances and with the high powered long-ranged rifle, there is less liability of errors, as the accurate estimating of distances is not necessary.
A gun of rapid action is also to be recommended and beyond all doubt the automatic acting arms are superior for shooting at running game. Personally, if the writer were selecting an arm for this kind of hunting, a high powered automatic rifle would be chosen, and it would be fitted with a small bead front sight and hunting peep rear sight. For use on horse back the shorter barrels are to be preferred.
In speaking of the outfit it is presumed that the wolf hunter would be a resident of the western country and would be hunting from home or anyway, making his headquarters at some ranch and hunting from there. If, however, he wants to go out into virgin territory, or if a stranger, he might find it necessary to camp out and in that case he would require a complete camping outfit. Some of the western wolfers use covered wagons for camps and this style of camp is very convenient as it may be moved easily, but if the surface of the country is very rough, this plan is not practical. In that case a tent would be needed and the hunter would use a pack horse in moving camp.
Speaking of saddle horses, in the more arid parts of the wolf country, the vegetation is scanty and horses require considerable time in which to rustle food. For that reason the same horse can not be used each day and one should have several so that each would have plenty of time to recuperate, after use. If one can obtain horses that will allow one to shoot from the saddle, so much the better. No special knowledge of hunting is required, but one should be expert in the use of the rifle, and should also be a good rider. All that is necessary is to ride over the rougher parts of the country, where wolves are most likely to be seen, and keep a sharp lookout for the game. It is always best to hunt to windward as one can approach closer to the game.
Where the bounty is sufficient to make summer hunting profitable, we would recommend this style of hunting at that time of year. In summer, hunting with dogs is not as simple a matter as in winter and trapping is not as good as during the colder part of the year. For coyotes, still hunting is a very successful method in parts of the country where the animals are plentiful and there is probably no place in which the method could be used to better advantage than in the sheep-raising district of Montana and Wyoming. There coyotes may be sighted every day and if the hunter would make a practice of following up the large herds of sheep to the summer range, he would always be sure of an abundance of game.
One is most likely to sight coyotes by riding along the coulees and over the rougher ground. About prairie dog towns are excellent places, as there they will frequently be found looking for the little inhabitants of the burrows. Other good places are the ragged, craggy parts of the Bad Lands and in the sage brush along the watercourses.
In winter one may follow the tracks in the snow and will stand a better chance of securing the game. While still hunting alone might not prove a very profitable method of hunting if one were hunting for bounty, it should always be used in connection with trapping and den hunting. As mentioned in a previous chapter one will often get shots at the adult animals near the dens and if one knows of the location of a den, he may often get a shot by watching it. Anyway the rifle should always be carried, and it should be used whenever a wolf or coyote is seen within range.
We will conclude this chapter by giving an account of a coyote still-hunt, as recorded by one of our western friends.
"It was one of those bright balmy September mornings, so characteristic of Wyoming, that I drove my horses down to water and noticed some coyote tracks in the mud at the edge of the water hole, and I decided then and there to have a coyote hunt that day. I was at the time in charge of a relay station, midway between two small towns and it was my business to look after the spare stage horses, for the stage driver changed teams here, leaving the tired horses in my care and taking on fresh ones. The northbound stage passed about 8:30 A. M., and the southbound outfit was due at about 6:30 P. M., which left me with practically the entire day at my disposal, to do with as I liked, and having my full quota of the spirit of our savage ancestors, I naturally turned to hunting the coyotes which abounded in that section.
"For some time past I had been doing practically no hunting. I say 'practically none' for I had not been out on a real hunt for several weeks, but I did have a short line of traps set and had been looking at them every second morning. On these trips over the trap line I always carried my 30-30 carbine on the saddle and had surprised and shot three coyotes, besides shooting at several more, one of which was wounded but escaped by crawling into a deep hole in a bad-land butte. Besides the three animals mentioned, I had caught in my traps up to that time, some twenty more.