whence the shot came. Woe to the hunter whom he meets then, unless he is well prepared for mortal combat 1 The carcajou [wolverine] is an animal that is found only in the
Rocky Mountains; at least that is my belief. It appears to be of a special genus, and partakes of the natures of the wolf and bear. It has prodigious strength.
The great buffalo herds are invariably accompanied or followed by bands of wolves of various species. The white and tawny kinds are most common. They devour the carcasses of buffalo that die of sickness or as a result of wounds or accidents; and lacking them they kill others as they need them. They display much boldness and sagacity in their rapacious operations, and seem to act in concert and as if by understanding. First they post themselves at proper distances in a line in the direction the victim is supposed to take; then two or three charge into the middle of the herd, cut out the fattest and drive it toward the spot where their companions are waiting. The victim then runs between two ranks of wolves. As it goes on, fresh bands join in the chase, until at last, exhausted by fatigue, it stops and becomes their prey. They hamstring it first to prevent its escape, and then devour it alive.
At other times they practice a still more cunning stratagem; they urge their prey up some steep place, beyond which lies a deep ravine or precipice. There they form a half circle about it, closing in continually and redoubling their threats and howls. The poor buffalo, placed between two fires, hesitates a moment at sight of the abyss; but soon, bewildered by the yelping and baying, it attempts the only way to escape from its assailants, jumps off and falls crushed at the bottom of the ravine. Then our highwaymen also go down by the roundabout way, and partake together of the fruit of their industry.
On the 8th of October, we passed within sight of a very remarkable tower, in the middle of a fine plain in the neigh-