t seeing a single
wolf; but let him fire off his gun, and, as if by magic, a score of them
will suddenly appear. They start from their hiding-places, and rush
forward in hopes of sharing in the produce of the shot.

At night, they enliven the prairie-camp with their dismal howling,
although most travellers would gladly dispense with such music. Their
note is a bark like that of a terrier-dog repeated three times, and then
prolonged into a true wolf's howl. I have heard farm-house dogs utter a
very similar bark. From this peculiarity, some naturalists prefer
calling them the "barking wolf," and that (_Lupus latrans_) is the
specific appellation given by Say, who first described them.

Prairie-wolves have all the ferocity of their race, but no creature
could be more cowardly. Of course no one fears them under ordinary
circumstances, but they have been known to make a combined attack upon
persons disabled, and in severe weather, when they themselves were
rendered unusually savage by hunger, as already stated. But they are
not regarded with fear either by traveller or hunter; and the latter
disdains to waste his charge upon such worthless game.

Our guide, Ike, was an exception to this rule. He was the only one of
his sort that shot prairie-wolves, and he did so "on sight." I believe
if it had been the last bullet in his pouch, and an opportunity had
offered of sending it into a prairie-wolf, he would have despatched the
leaden missile. We asked him how many he had killed in his time. He
drew a small notched stick from his "possible sack," and desired us to
count the notches upon it. We did so. There were one hundred and
forty-five in all.

"You have killed one hundred and forty-five, then?" cried we, astonished
at the number.

"Yes, i'deed," replied he, with a quiet chuckle, "that many dozen; for
every 'un of them nutches count twelve. I only make a nutch when I've
throwed the clur dozen."

"A hundred and forty-five dozen!" we repeated in astonishment; and yet I
have no doubt of the truth of the trapper's statement, for he had no
interest in deceiving us. I am satisfied from what I knew of him, that
he had slain the full number stated--one thousand seven hundred and
forty!

Of course we became curious to learn the cause of his antipathy to the
prairie-wolves; for we knew he had an antipathy, and it was that that
had induced him to commit such wholesale havoc among these creatures.
It was from this ci