Lobo, Rag and Vixen | Page 4

work with poison.
I need not enter into the details of a hundred devices that I employed to
circumvent this 'loup-garou'; there was no combination of strychnine,
arsenic, cyanide, or prussic acid, that I did not essay; there was no
manner of flesh that I did not try as bait; but morning after morning, as
I rode forth to learn the result, I found that all my efforts had been
useless. The old king was too cunning for me. A single instance will
show his wonderful sagacity. Acting on the hint of an old trapper, I
melted some cheese together with the kidney fat of a freshly killed
heifer, stewing it in a china dish, and cutting it with a bone knife to
avoid the taint of metal. When the mixture was cool, I cut it into lumps,
and making a hole in one side of each lump, I inserted a large dose of
strychnine and cyanide, contained in a capsule that was impermeable
by any odor; finally I sealed the holes up with pieces of the cheese
itself. During the whole process, I wore a pair of gloves steeped in the
hot blood of the heifer, and even avoided breathing on the baits. When
all was ready, I put them in a raw-hide bag rubbed all over with blood,
and rode forth dragging the liver and kidneys of the beef at the end of a
rope. With this I made a ten-mile circuit, dropping a bait at each quarter
of a mile, and taking the utmost care, always, not to touch any with my
hands.
Lobo, generally, came into this part of the range in the early part of
each week, and passed the latter part, it was supposed, around the base

of Sierra Grande. This was Monday, and that same evening, as we were
about to retire, I heard the deep bass howl of his majesty. On hearing it
one of the boys briefly remarked, "There he is, we'll see."
The next morning I went forth, eager to know the result. I soon came
on the fresh trail of the robbers, with Lobo in the lead--his track was
always easily distinguished. An ordinary wolf's forefoot is 4-1/2 inches
long, that of a large wolf 4-3/4 inches, but Lobo's, as measured a
number of times, was 5-1/2 inches from claw to heel; I afterward found
that his other proportions were commensurate, for he stood three feet
high at the shoulder, and weighed 150 pounds. His trail, therefore,
though obscured by those of his followers, was never difficult to trace.
The pack had soon found the track of my drag, and as usual followed it.
I could see that Lobo had come to the first bait, sniffed about it, and
had finally picked it up.
Then I could not conceal my delight. "I've got him at last," I exclaimed;
"I shall find him stark within a mile," and I galloped on with eager eyes
fixed on the great broad track in the dust. It led me to the second bait
and that also was gone. How I exulted--I surely have him now and
perhaps several of his band. But there was the broad paw-mark still on
the drag; and though I stood in the stirrup and scanned the plain I saw
nothing that looked like a dead wolf. Again I followed--to find now
that the third bait was gone--and the king-wolf's track led on to the
fourth, there to learn that he had not really taken a bait at all, but had
merely carried them in his mouth. Then having piled the three on the
fourth, he scattered filth over them to express his utter contempt for my
devices. After this he left my drag and went about his business with the
pack he guarded so effectively.
This is only one of many similar experiences which convinced me that
poison would never avail to destroy this robber, and though I continued
to use it while awaiting the arrival of the traps, it was only because it
was meanwhile a sure means of killing many prairie wolves and other
destructive vermin.
About this time there came under my observation an incident that will
illustrate Lobo's diabolic cunning. These wolves had at least one
pursuit which was merely an amusement, it was stampeding and killing
sheep, though they rarely ate them. The sheep are usually kept in flocks
of from one thousand to three thousand under one or more shepherds.

At night they are gathered in the most sheltered place available, and a
herdsman sleeps on each side of the flock to give additional protection.
Sheep are such senseless creatures that they are liable to be stampeded
by the veriest trifle, but they have deeply ingrained in their nature one,
and perhaps only one,