After long delay the road was discovered, and as the wolves did not come we proceeded.  We listened anxiously for the renewal of their howling, but our ears did not catch the unwelcome sound.  The doctor exhibited no alarm.  As he was an old traveler, I concluded to follow his example, and go to sleep.

In ordinary seasons wolves are not dangerous to men, though they commit more or less havoc among live stock.  Sheep and pigs are their favorite prey, as they are easily captured, and do not resist.  Horses and cattle are overpowered by wolves acting in packs; the hungry brutes displaying considerable strategy.  A gentleman told me he once watched a dozen wolves attacking a powerful bull.  Some worried him in front and secured his attention while others attempted to cut his ham-strings.  The effort was repeated several times, the wolves relieving each other in exposed positions.  At length the bull was crippled and the first part of the struggle gained.  The wolves began to lick their chops in anticipation of a meal, and continued to worry their expected prey up to the pitch of exhaustion.  The gentleman shot two of them and drove the others into the forest.  He could do no more than put the bull out of his misery.  On departing he looked back and saw the wolves returning to their now ready feast.

The best parts of Russia for wolf-hunting are in the western governments, where there is less game and more population than in Siberia.  It is in these regions that travelers are sometimes pursued by wolves, but such incidents are not frequent.  It is only in the severest winters, when driven to desperation by hunger, that the wolves dare to attack men.  The horses are the real objects of their pursuit, but when once a party is overtaken the wolves make no nice distinctions, and horses and men are alike devoured.  Apropos of hunting I heard a story of a thrilling character.

“It had been,” said the gentleman who narrated the incident, “a severe winter in Vitebsk and Vilna.  I had spent several weeks at the country residence of a friend in Vitebsk, and we heard, during the latter part of my stay, rumors of the unusual ferocity of the wolves.

“One day Kanchin, my host, proposed a wolf-hunt.  ’We shall have capital sport,’ said he, ’for the winter has made the wolves hungry, and they will be on the alert when they hear our decoy.’

“We prepared a sledge, one of the common kind, made of stout withes, woven like basket-work, and firmly fastened to the frame and runners.  It was wide enough for both of us and the same height all around so that we could shoot in any direction except straight forward.  We took a few furs to keep us warm, and each had a short gun of large bore, capable of carrying a heavy load of buck-shot.  Rifles are not desirable weapons where one cannot take accurate aim.  As a precaution we stowed two extra guns in the bottom of the sledge.

“The driver, Ivan, on learning the business before him, was evidently reluctant to go, but as a Russian servant has no choice beyond obeying his master, the man offered no objection.  Three spirited horses were attached, and I heard Kanchin order that every part of the harness should be in the best condition.