and principal fodder of the
buffaloes whenever it is in season, and these animals roam over the
prairies in search of it.

Of course with this knowledge we were now on the _qui vive_. At every
new rise that we made over the swells of the prairie our eyes were busy,
and swept the surface on every side of us, and in the course of a few
days we encountered several false alarms.

There is an hallucination peculiar to the clear atmosphere of these
regions. Objects are not only magnified, but frequently distorted in
their outlines, and it is only an old hunter that knows a buffalo when
he sees one. Brothers a bush is often taken for a wild bull, and with
us a brace of carrion crows, seated upon the crest of a ridge, were
actually thought to be buffaloes, until they suddenly took wing and rose
into the air, thus dispelling the illusion!

Long before this time we had encountered that well-known animal of the
great plains--the "prairie-wolf,"--(_Lupus latrans_).

The prairie-wolf inhabits the vast and still unpeopled territories that
lie between the Mississippi River and the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
Its range extends beyond what is strictly termed "the prairies." It is
found in the wooded and mountainous ravines of California and the Rocky
Mountain districts. It is common throughout the whole of Mexico, where
it is known as the "coyote." I have seen numbers of this species on the
battle-field, tearing at corpses, as far south as the valley of Mexico
itself. Its name of prairie-wolf is, therefore, in some respects
inappropriate, the more so as the larger wolves are also inhabitants of
the prairie. No doubt this name was given it, because the animal was
first observed in the prairie country west of the Mississippi by the
early explorers of that region. In the wooded countries east of the
great river, the common large wolf only is known.

Whatever doubt there may be of the many varieties of the large wolf
being distinct species, there can be none with regard to the _Lupus
latrans_. It differs from all the others in size, and in many of its
habits. Perhaps it more nearly resembles the jackal than any other
animal. It is the New World representative of that celebrated creature.

In size, it is just midway between the large wolf and fox. With much of
the appearance of the former, it combines all the sagacity of the
latter. It is usually of a greyish colour, lighter or darker, according
to circumstances, and of