store of information upon that subject. In expressing surprise that a
wolf had strength enough to jerk about a big drag-log, as though it
were merely a small stick, he replied that once when he had killed a
full-grown bull-moose and dressed and hung up the meat, he had left for
camp with part of his prize, but on returning again to the cache, he
had found a wolf moving off with one of the hindquarters. It must have
weighed close upon a hundred pounds. But perhaps, if I quote Charles
Mair, the strength and endurance of a wolf will be better realized: "In
the sketch of 'North-Western America' (1868) Archbishop Tache, of St.
Boniface, Manitoba, recounts a remarkable instance of persevering
fortitude exhibited by a large, dark wolf caught in a steel trap at
Isle a la Crosse many years ago. A month afterward it was killed near
Green Lake, ninety miles distant, with the trap and connecting
wood-block still attached to one of its hind legs. It had evidently
dragged both around in the snow for many a mile, during a period of
intense cold, and it is, therefore, not surprising that it was a
'walking skeleton' when finally secured."

Though the timber-wolf is a fast traveller, it cannot out-distance the
greyhound or wolf hound; but though it is seldom seen in water it is a
good swimmer. Its weight may run from seventy-five to one hundred and
fifty pounds, and an extra large wolf may stand close to thirty inches
at the shoulder, and be over five feet in length. In colour they range
from white to nearly black, but the ordinary colour is a light brownish
gray. Usually they mate in February, but whether or not for life, it
is hard to say. They breed in a hollow log, or tree or stump, or in a
hole in the ground, or in a cave. The young are normally born in
April, usually six or eight in a litter, and the father helps to care
for them.

Many of the wolves I have seen were running in pairs, some in families,
and the greatest number I have ever seen together was seven. That was
in Athabasca in the winter time. The seven were in a playful mood,
racing around and jumping over one another; and though all were
full-grown, five of them displayed the romping spirits of puppies, and
I wondered if they could be but one family. Though my dog-driver and
I, with our dog-train, passed within about a hundred paces of them, and
though we were all on a sunny lake, they never ceased their play for a
single moment, nor did they show in any