went unto them (as the like in that countrie
hath not been seene), the one began to fawne
and play with the other, and so went
together into the woods and continued with
them, everie of these times, nine or ten
daies, and did return unto us without any
hurt."

But to do the wolf "a shrewd turn," as
old English writers have it, is undoubtedly
the general rule: " There seems," says Audubon,
"to be a universal feeling of hostility of
men against the wolf." It rarely happens that
wolves begin the fray with man, and only one
instance of their doing so occurred within his
knowledge, which he thus describes: " Two
young negroes, who resided on the banks of
the Ohio, in the lower part of the State of
Kentucky, about twenty-three years ago"
(he is writing in eighteen hundred and thirty-
five) " had sweethearts living on a plantation
ten miles distant. After the labours of the day
were over, they frequently visited the fair
ladies of their choice, the nearest way to
whose dwelling lay directly across a great
cane brake. As to the lover every moment
is precious, they usually took this route to
save time. Winter had commenced, cold,
dark, and forbidding, and after sunset scarcely
a glimpse of light or glow of warmth, one
might imagine, could be found in that dreary
swamp, excepting in the eyes and bosom of
the ardent youths, or the hungry wolves that
prowled about. The snow covered the earth,
and rendered them more easy to be scented
by the famished beasts. Prudent in a certain
degree, the young lovers carried their axes
on their shoulders, and walked as briskly as
the narrow path would allow. Some transient
glimpses of light now and then met their
eyes, but so faint were they that they
believed them to be caused by their faces
coming in contact with the slender reeds
covered with snow. Suddenly, however, a
long and frightful howl burst upon them, and
they instantly knew that it proceeded from a
troop of hungry, perhaps desperate, wolves.
They stopped; and. putting themselves in an
attitude of defence, awaited the result. All
around was dark, save a few feet of snow,
and the silence of night was dismal. Nothing
could be done to better their situation; and,
after standing a few minutes in expectation
of an attack, they judged it best to resume
their march. But no sooner had they
replaced their axes on their shoulders and
begun to move, than the foremost found
himself assailed by several foes. His legs were
held fast as if pressed by a powerful screw,
and the torture inflicted by the fangs of the
ravenous animals was for a moment
excruciating. Several wolves in the meantime
sprang upon the breast of the other negro,
and dragged him to the ground. Both
struggled manfully against their foes; but
in a short time one of them ceased to move,
and the other, reduced in strength, and
perhaps despairing of maintaining his ground,
sprang to the branch of a tree, and speedily
gained a place of safety near the top. The
next morning, the mangled remains of his
comrade lay scattered around on the snow,
which was stained with blood. Three dead
wolves lay around, but the rest of the pack
had disappeared, and Scipio, sliding to the
ground, took up the axes, and made the
best of his way home, to relate the sad
adventure."

It is by means of pitting, that the American
farmers get the better of these marauders.
Audubon tells us how, while between
Henderson and Vincennes, he chanced to
stop for the night at a farmer's house by
the side of the road. " After putting up my
horse and refreshing myself, I entered into
conversation with mine host, who asked if I
should like to pay a visit to the wolf-pits,
which were about half a mile distant. Glad
of the opportunity, I accompanied him across
the fields to the neighbourhood of a deep
wood, and soon saw the engines of destruction.
He had three pits, within a few
hundred yards of each other. They were about
eight feet deep, and broader at bottom, so
as to render it impossible for the most
active animal to escape from them. The
aperture was covered with a revolving
platform of twigs, attached to a central axis. On
either surface of the platform was fastened a
large piece of putrid venison, with other
matters by no means pleasant to my olfactory
nerves, although no doubt attractive to
the wolves. My companion wished to visit
them that evening, merely as he was in the
habit of doing so daily, for the purpose of
seeing that all was right. He said the
wolves were very abundant that autumn, and
had killed nearly the whole of his sheep and
one of his colts, but that he was now paying
them off in full; and added that if I
would tarry a few hours with him next
morning, he would beyond a doubt show me
some sport rarely seen in those parts. We
retired to rest in due time, and were up with
the dawn. ' I think,' said my host, ' that all's
right, for I see the dogs are anxious to get
away to the pits, and although they are
nothing but curs, their noses are none the
worse for that.' As he took up his gun, an
axe, and a large knife, the dogs began to
howl and bark, and whisked around us, as if
full of joy. When we reached the first pit
we found the bait all gone and the platform
much injured, but the animal that had been
entrapped had scraped a subterranean
passage for himself, and so escaped. On peeping
at the next, he assured me that three famous
fellows were safe enough in it. I also
peeped in and saw the wolves, two black and
the other brindled, all of goodly size, sure
enough. They lay flat on the earth; their
ears lay close over their head; their eyes
indicating fear more than anger.

"' But how are we to get them out? '

"'How, sir? ' said the farmer. 'Why, by