Our dogs, having sighted him, quickly caught him up; but were shy of making further acquaintance with him, until ur<,red on by the cries of the huntsman, when they soon rolled him over. The wolf had tried at first to gallop off; but, unfortunately for him, he had partaken too freely of his breakfast, and could not escape from his swift and strong pursuers. He was quickly despatched with the butt end of the huntsman 's whip. We proceeded with our trophy homewards, and, upon reaching a hamlet belonging to the property of Wereiki, the peasants met us, expressing the greatest delight at the death of their enemy. They told the Count that hardly a night passed in which the wolves did not rob them of sheep; and that, two nights before, they had made off with a cow. Two old wolves with four young ones had been lately seen by them; and, no doubt, the one we had just killed was one of the litter. He appeared about eight months old; more than three parts grown, and very strong; the bone of his leg was very large. He was in colour a brown-grey and black, with light tan legs, and greyish eyes. He ran with his tail between his legs, just like a cowardly cur. In winter, wolves assemble in large numbers, and, being stimulated by hunger, are very formidable. But, as long as they are alone, and not much pinched for food, they are easily frightened. On one occasion, the wife of the Count's farm director was returning in her carriage from a friend's house, where she had been visiting, about five miles distant. One of her carriage horses was a mare, by the side of which (as the custom is in Poland) was running a little black foal. It was just becoming dark, when suddenly they were startled by seeing what they at first thought was a dog, running after the foal. But the coachman soon made him out to be a large wolf. He gave the reins to the lady; and, jumping out of the carriage, picked up a goodly supply of stones. He then called the foal, which instantly ran up to him: for the foals, being always in the stables with the other horses, become tame as dogs. The coachman next turned round manfully upon his enemy,
218 FORESTKY IN LITHUANIA.
shouting at him, and pelting him with stones. The brute forthwith acknowledged the superiority of his assailant, and slunk away into the wood. The lady meanwhile was not a little alarmed by the reconnoitre, and right glad to reach home in safety. It was towards the end of August that this incident occurred, and wolves are rarely found to be so venturesome at this early period of the autumn. As the winter advances, hunger compels them to more daring deeds.
' Traps of all kinds are employed to catch the wolf in severe weather; the steel snap-trap, the pitfall, and the split tree — like that in which the old bear is represented as caught, in one of Kaulbach's illustrations of " Reineke Fuehs." The last, it is said, is the best snare. Sometimes, but very rarely, a fox is caught in it instead of the wolf; but the characteristic cunning of the fox generally prompts him to avoid it. Strychnine also is frequently used to destroy the wolf; and many become the victims of this poison. But the peasants more frequently injure their own property, by resorting to this process of destruction, for their dogs, being left to forage for themselves, are attracted by the poisoned bait, and die in consequence.
1 The fox in Poland, as in Germany, is ingloriously murdered. He certainly has the pleasure in Poland of hearing the music of his pursuers, but his death by the gun is accomplished in a way which would be indignantly condemned by the English fox-hunter. As soon as the hunters are posted in the wood, the dog-keeper lets loose his pack of ten or twelve large clumsily-built hounds, of black or tan colour. They trot away without any order, and speak to every kind of game, hare, fox, or wolf. In brushing about the wood, they often start other game which, if it come in the way of the hunters, hardly ever fails of being shot; for these hunters are capital marksmen. The wild boar also is frequently started from his lurking-place on these occasions, and is always regarded as game of the first order by Polish sportsmen.
1 There are two kinds of hare. The field or common brown bare, and tbe wood hare, whicb is very like tbe Scotch bare, as it changes its colour with the season. I saw several of them quite white, when I first went to Poland; whereas, in summer, they are a brown-grey.