the deep snow, and soon became fatigued, so, bidding their comrades farewell, they resigned themselves to their fate, drew their yataghans, and shouting their war-cry, died like men, fighting to the last.

The survivors were now within a couple of miles of shelter, but their horses were almost worn out, and the leading wolves hardly a pistol-shot behind; another moment and they expected to feel their fangs, when an old man, whose two sons were also present, seeing the hopelessness of the case, bade his comrades farewell, and shouting out the “imaum" (Mahommedan creed) as a death-song, felled his horse to the ground with the heavy butt of his pistol, as he could not rein up the scared animal, and offered himself a willing sacrifice to save the rest. On tore the survivors, now reduced to eight in number, and on followed their relentless pursuers, now again only half a dozen horse-lengths behind. In spite of all their efforts their doom seemed sealed and their case hopeless, when their chief drew his pistol and shot the man nearest to him through the head. He threw up his hands and dropped the reins, but although stone-dead he sat firm in his saddle, the affrighted animal carrying him till a second shot brought both to the ground.

.

Again the pursuit was checked for a time, and the desired hamlet appeared in view. They reached a wooden building erected for the succor of travelers in such peril as they were, and the door being luckily open, they rushed in, and drew the heavy bar up across the inner side of the door. Suddenly, however, a heart-rending shriek was heard from without, above the howling of the baffled wolves; and peeping through the chinks they saw one of their comrades, whose horse had broken down and lagged behind unperceived by the rest, surrounded by the wolves, and fighting desperately; a moment more and he was pulled from the saddle, and both man and horse devoured before their eyes. Then the wolves surrounded the hut, and finding themselves baulked of their prey began to fight among each other, at times endeavoring to scratch away the earth under the logs, or force their way through the crevices, but the hut being substantially constructed resisted all their efforts, and a deadly discharge of fire-arms was kept up from the interior, which thinned their numbers and revenged the human victims; but the dead wolves were speedily devoured by their brothers, who remained howling and shrieking round the hut until the night of the second day, when a violent thunder-storm arose and they took themselves off in the dark, much to the relief of the six survivors, who, seeing the coast clear, made the best of their way to their homes.

While in Siberia, Mr. Atkinson, author of "Oriental and Western Siberia," was made acquainted with a great horde of terrible Russian wolves at midnight. With a company of Kalmucks he was encamped for the night on the open plain on the banks of a small lake. While the men huddled round the fire a distant and terrible howling smote their ears, and well knowing the cause, they collected their horses and looked to their fire-arms, though at the same time well aware that there was little hope of their ammunition, ever so well expended, outlasting the murderous desires of the approaching enemy who had from afar scented them. The camp-fire was burning low, but at present it was not mended, the experienced Kalmucks knowing they would have a better chance if they allowed the gaunt pack to approach nigh enough to allow of a fair shot, and then piled on dry wood and raised the fire to a great blaze, at once bewildering the wolves and discovering their whereabouts. Presently the pattering of hundreds of feet in a swift gallop was heard, and then, the men making a blaze, there they were, brought suddenly to a halt, with ears and tails erect, and glaring as only a wolf can. signal a volley was discharged, wounding several of them, as their sudden shrieking and howling attested. In a few moments the hundreds of feet were heard beating a retreat.

At a

But they were not yet vanquished; they had merely retired to consult as to the best mode of attack. Nor were their deliberations protracted. In a few minutes the snorting and whinnying of the frightened horses announced the re-approach of the savage army, and they could be heard stealthily coming up between the camp and the lake, and divided into two parties, so as to be able to assault the camp on both sides. Flitting over the snow, their savage eyes here and there twinkling in the darkness, the double troop came on, but again a shower of bullets brought them to a stand; this time, however, they did not retreat, they merely halted.

At this critical time, with the darkness increasing, and five hundred pairs of fierce jaws surrounding them and hungering for their carcases, the devoted little band were horrified at hearing a sound that denoted the approach of a new pack of wolves. Now, indeed, did Mr. Atkinson and his men give themselves up for lost, but it was not to be, and, wonderful to relate, it was the extreme ferocity of their enemies that saved them. On the approach of the second troop, the first, by snarling and growling, betokened their jealous rage that these strangers should come to take the very meat out of their mouths after they had tracked it and been kept waiting for it.

When the second pack came right up, the first, from snarling and snapping, took to teeth and claws, and in less then a minute the wolf battle became general, and so fierce and engrossing that neither party perceived a few of the Kalmucks steal off to return with a supply of fuel, which, piled on the dying embers, was soon converted into a huge bonfire. Roaring and crackling, and leaping high in the air, the savage brutes ceased war and looked aghast at each other, when a well-timed volley so increased their discomfiture that, with a terrible howl, the wolfish company scampered off, leaving many dead and dying on the field.

Mr. Atkinson in his interesting "Travels in the Regions of the Upper and Lower Amoor," consisting of adventures in the Russian acquisitions on the confines of India and China, describes the bearcoot, a species of black eagle which is tamed to hunt by the Cossack tribes of that region. One of these birds is almost always to be found in the tents of the chiefs. In the article on "Deer" the reader will find an account of the manner in which these powerful birds hunt the stag. In its wild state the bearcoot is quite able to hunt on its own account, and to dispute with other desert marauders the possession of its prey.

One day Mr. Atkinson and his attendants were on a hunting expedition, when they saw a fine maral, or deer, which had been run down by three wolves, that were tearing the noble beast while he was still alive. From their ambush the hunters were on the point of firing upon the wolves, when they saw overhead a couple of bearcoots poising upon level wing, preparing for a swoop. They withheld their fire, waiting for what would follow. Straight as an

arrow's flight the eagles shot down upon the wolves. These marauders, perceiving their winged assailants, stood on the defensive, baring their long yellow fangs, and uttering a savage howl. It was all in vain. In a few seconds the first bearcoot had struck his prey; one talon was fixed in his back, the other in the upper part of his neck, completely securing his head, while with his beak the eagle tore out the quivering liver of his prey. The second eagle in a moment had in like manner pounced upon his quarry; and in a few minutes two of the wolves were as lifeless as the stag which they had hunted. The third wolf, attempting to escape, was brought down by a shot from one of the hunters. These would not deprive the eagles of the meal which they had won. After devouring the livers of the wolves, they finished their repast upon the stag, and then soared majestically aloft.

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After the voluminous "evidence for the prosecution," it is pleasant to find a witness who, although not pretending to excuse or palliate the enormities laid at the wolf's door, gives such testimony as to the wonderful tenderness exhibited by the animal under certain circumstances that one is inclined to look on it much more favorably than hitherto. The witness in question is a reliable one, an officer in high position in the Indian army, and possessing unusual means of acquiring information. Six or seven years ago he wrote and caused to be published a pamphlet, from which the following curious stories are extracted:

"About seven years since a trooper in attendance upon Rajah

Hurdah Singh, of Bondee, in passing near a small stream, saw three wolf-cubs and a boy drinking. He managed to seize the boy, who seemed about ten years old, but was so wild and fierce that he tore the trooper's clothes and bit him severely in several places. The Rajah at first had him tied up in his military gun-shed, and fed him with raw meat; he yas afterward allowed to wander freely about the Bondee bazar. He there one day ran off with a joint of meat from a butcher's, and another of the bazar-keepers let fly an arrow at him which penetrated his thigh. A lad named Tanoo, servant of a Cashmere merchant then at Bondee, took compassion on the poor boy, and extracted the arrow from his thigh, and prepared a bed for him under the mango-tree where he himself lodged; here he kept him fastened to a tent-pin.

"Up to this time he would eat nothing but raw flesh, but Tanoo gradually brought him to eat balls of rice and pulse. In about six weeks after he had been tied up, and after much rubbing of his joints with oil, he was made to stand and walk upright, whereas hitherto he had gone on all-fours."

So he remained for several months, during which he was taught to obey a few simple signs, to prepare the hookah, light the tobacco,

etc.

"One night, while the boy was lying under the mango-tree, Tanoo saw two wolves creep stealthily toward him, and after smelling him they touched him, when he got up. Instead, however, of being frightened, the boy put his hand upon their heads and they began to play with him, capering about while he pelted them with grass and straw. Tanoo tried to drive them off, but could not. At last, however, they left him, but the following night three wolves came, and a few nights after four, who returned several times. Tanoo thought that the two which first came must have been the cubs with which the boy was found, and that they recognized him by the smell."

The wolf-boy, however, could not be entirely reconciled to civilized life. In being removed from place to place he never lost an opportunity of endeavoring to escape into the jungle. At last Tanoo was sent away on a short journey, and when he returned his savage charge had disappeared, and was never again heard of. The next story I will quote from the pamphlet is even more wonderful than the above.

"In March, 1843, a cultivator who lived at Chupra, about twenty miles from Sultanpoor, went to cut his crop of wheat and pulse, taking with him his wife, and a son about three years old, who had