Hunting Wolves in Eastern Nebraska
lOIiVKS mid coyotes linvo again
descended on the fold In Ne
braska. Scarcity of feed on the
western ranges, owing to tho
short growth of grnss nnd tho
cons qucnt diminution of tho herds nnd
Hocks, toKothcr with tho unceasing war
fiiru thnt has boon waged against these
oilt!t.w of tho west, has driven them
noarir to civilization this winter than
they havo tomo In many years. At ono
tlmo tho coyoto was un object nlmost as
familiar on tho Nebraska landscape ns tho
pralrlo dog or tho Jacltrabblt. Thoso wcTo
tho ilays when tho untclopo abounded and
tho .'uckrnbblts and similar creatures wero
plentiful, so that tho sneaking varmints
had lltllo trouble In getting food, nnd con
b quently lloii'ihed. Civilization Is fatal
to all such, nii'l with tho recession of tho
frontier tho western representatives of
tho genus cnnls In Its pristine stato havo
also receded and well nlKh disappeared.
Unrelenting warfare has been waned
against them for mnny years by tho stock
lalsors, and sudden death has lurked In
tho least suspected places for tho maraud
lug members of tho wolf tribe. Poison and
traps, springs and guns nro limited In
tholr possibilities, though, and havo tholr
drawbacks In usage ns well, so tho trlbo
of hobo and 'Glta have not perished from
tho faco of tho earth.
War of i:tiTiiiliiiitliin.
Nearly overy ono Is fntnlllar with tho lift,
history of tho "King of Ourrumpuw" and
tho romantic talo of "tho coyoto who
learned how," and thuro bo many In tho
west who will avor that thoso talcs do
not greatly overstate tho facts. Every
stock rango has Its account against wolf
and coyoto, written In the blood of slaugh
tered steers, of dogs that have been ma lined
or have proved treacherous and gonu over
to tho enemy, or hnvo been foolish enough
to eat tho poisoned morsel sot nut to catch
the plunderer of tho herds. Extermination
Is tho sentence pronounced ngnlnst him,
and tho effort to curry out thu sentence
Is nover relaxed. Bo when the wolf ventures
back nearer to civilization than lis out
posts conditions on tho rungo must bo un
favorable to an extreme.
Whntovor tho cause, wolves and coyotes
uro plentiful In Nebraska this winter where
they hnvo been llttlo more than n memory
for many years. Farmers do not relish this
propinquity, and have taken tho most ac
tive stops to Induce tho Intruders to retire
Ordinary methods of dealing with those
pests havo proved lucillclout. Tho offer of
u bounty has served frequently to encour
age an Industry hardly likely to become
popular, although decidedly profitable to
those engaged in it. Where tho bounty is
certain men havo been known to brcod
woIvih for tho solo purpose of soiling tholr
cnlps to the county. This, with tho price
recotved for their polls from furriers, made
the business ono of considerable profit. Dut
tho cold disapproval of tho public, backed
up by tho law, has had u deterrent effect
and the practical abolition of tho bounty
has also operated to discourage tho breeding
of wolves. Only a few yours ago n bunch
of enterprising cow punchers gathorod up
some hundreds of wolf scalps on tho rungos
of Montana and Wyoming and shlppod thorn
to eastern Nebraska nnd western Iowa,
whore several county treasuries wero neatly
milked before tho fraud wns discovered.
All these things tended to dlscourngo tho
practice of paying a bounty and left It In
cumbent on tho farmers and stock raisers
to fight tho wolves solely for uclf-protoctlon.
This has been done so earnestly that tho
wild animals had nlmost totally disappeared
from tho more settled sections of tho stato.
Only in tho wilder parts wero wolves or
coyotes found, and then not In groat num
bers. Their descent on civilization
simply menus an Invitation of destruction.
What was n popular sport In tho early days
r :
1 V tfK
TWO OF THIS HUNTEHS WITH TUMI It THOl'HIErf l'hoto by Anderson, Wnhoo.
of tho state has been revived, and grand
wolf drives aro being organized nnd car
ried on In counties whore they havo not
been known for many yours.
O.d-Tlnie Wiiy of llmitltiMr.
Ono of tho most primitive methods of
hunting is thnt form which adopts what
tho Highland Scotch called tho "tlnchcl,"
that is, n cordon of men surrounding a
specified area and gradually drawing to a
common center, driving thereto nil tho ani
mals eaught within the slowly narrowing
circle. This practice has been followed slnco
before tho tlmo tho first of tho wolves was
domesticated and became n dog. It has
lost none of Its eillcncy, for tho beasts of
tho Held have not kept up with nil tho points
that mark tho advance of mankind, and
consequently boiiio of tho prehistoric prac
tices of tho chnso are still In use. When
tho Nebraska farmer decides on a "wolf
drive" notice is given to nil residing within
tho area to bo beaten over, usually a space
about twenty miles .square. Kvery nblo
bodied mnn nnd boy Joins, for tho fun of tho
thing is nmplo repayment to nnyono who
hns n tinge of red blood In his veins. Cap
tains are chosen to control tho sides, always
four, fcr tho territory is marked In n square,
and tho beaters approach along Its four
sides. Ample precautions aro taken to so-
euro the safety of all concerned from any
thing but unavoidable accidents. No fire
arms save Bhatguiis nro allowed, rides and
revolvers being ton dangerous. In soma
cases oven tho shotgun Is tabooed, tho kill
lug being done with clubs.
I'lnlah In ii Hut Out.
On tho day' appointed tho sides Bet out.
Tho captains agree ns to tho point where tho
columns shall convcrgo and then tho aides
nro charged each with his duties and the
hunt begins in earnest. " Slowly, steadily
tho lines move townrd tho place of meet
ing, which Is of necessity an open meadow
or field, driving everything before them.
As tho area Is cut down smaller and
smaller tho congestion of tho animals ba
comcs greater and greater and tho alarm
that first started thorn becomes an actual
terror. I'rnlrlo chickens, quail and other
game, birds, rabbits and tho like, floo in
wild dismay from tho npproach of tho
human walls, while tho wolves, seeming to
leallzi the trap In which they nro caught,
dash bt.ck and forth In search of shelter
or a placo to escape. Any which may try
to break through the cordon aro shot as
thoy run. Finally all aro huddled down
together In tho field whero tho drlvo Is
to end. Around each of tho four sides
stands a solid wall of men nnd boys, armed
with overy weapon with which a wolf may
bo killed, and yet which Is not essentially
dangerous to tho users or their companions.
Hero tho dogs aro brought Into play. Thoso
nro generally strong hounds, who can easily
copo with n wolf in open fight. When tho
dogs aro sot to work tho wolves aro in
tholr extremity, somo of fear nnd others of
desperation. Somo will rush wildly to ono
stdo or tho other of tho square that has
crushed them, only to bo shot down.
Others stand in bewilderment In tho centor,
to bo pulled down by tho dogs. No matter
what their choice, death is tholr portion.
Sundown of tho day of a wolf drive finds
tho farmers homeward bound, each satis
fied that from a dozen to twenty moro of
his four-footed foes have died.
HOUNDS HEM) IN M5ASH l'hoto by Anderson, Wnhoo.
m
OUOUl OF HUNTERS A FT E It A SUCCESSFUL DIUVE-l'hnto by Anderson,
Wnhoo.
HUNTERS HEADY FOR THE RIDE Photo by Anderson, Wahoo.
Relations Between Doctor and Cook Should Be Closer
HK THE arts which may be reckoned
nnclllinry to that, of medicine,
says the Uindou I-ancet, there Is
nono probably which Is so nog
lectod by practitioners of medicine
as that of cooking. Most medical men re
gard the kitchen as beneath their notice
and would scout tho Idea that uny special
training In its materials and Its methods
might bo of servlco to tholr professional
powers and usofulncss. Such an attitude
of mind !s ns unwarranted as wo believe it
to bo Injudicious. Not only aro thoro very
many substances which nro common to tho
kitchen nnd to the dispensary, a knowl
edge of which, therefore, Is Justlllod by
their presence in ono If It does not Indicate
on ncqualntnnco with tho other, but, moro
over, rightly regarded, tho kitchen nnd tho
cook play almost ns Important n part in
attnlnlng tho alms of tho medical man as
do tho druggist und tho dlsponsary.
It Is obvluusly of tho greatest Import
ance that If n physician orders a mcdlclno
ho should bo ablo to toll that It Is duly
dispensed. A similar argument may cer
tainly bo applied to tho products of the
kitchen. No mcdluil man would Ignore tho
Importance of dlot both In hcnlth and In
dlscaso, und tho cook mny woll bo regarded
as a chief officer In tho sorvlco of preventive
medicine,
Wo do not hold tho bollof of an old writer
quoted in Dr. W. T. Fornlo's "Kltchon
l'hyslc," who says that "tho practitioner
has only to dlroct such food as may con
tain the purtlcles that his patient may
stand In need of. For example, aro tho
kidneys diseased 7 Then let him prescribe
stews ami broths made of ox-deer and
sheep's kidneys. Asthmas require dishes
prepared from tho lungs of sheep, dcor,
calves, hart, and lambs. Aro tho Intcstlnos
diseased? Thon ho should order tripe,
boiled, fried or fricasseed. When this prac
tice has become general wo shall bo nblo
to remove overy dlsenso Incident to tho
human body by tho assistance of tho cook
only." Unfortunately, tho art of thern
poutles Is no such simple affair as this.
Tho recently proved valuo of thyroid gland,
however, In tho treatment of myxoedema,
to tnko only ono striking Instance, should
lend us to take a closo Interest In tho help
thnt substances which may bo most suit
ably prepared In tho kitchen nro ablo to
afford us In tho treatment of disease, and
not to regard tho kitchen simply as a place
from which tho provision of healthy food
for healthy persons U nil that can be do
sired or obtained,
Thoro is n fund of Interest nnd of In
formation In tho old accounts of the various
properties and powers with which writers
from tho earliest times Invested different
articles of dlot. Thus, Pliny, tells us that
"Cato thinks that after eating haro sleep
Is Induced, but tho common pooplo suppose
that after such food tho body Is more lively
and gay for nlno days; this may be only
an Idle rumor, but, still, for so widespread
n belief tbcro must bo some foundation."
Whether thero Is any truo foundation for
such a belief or not an Investigation Into
tho exact chemical properties of flesh of
various animals and into such articles of
diet, for Instance, as shcll-fish, which are
known to havo peculiar effects upon cer
tain people, would not only bo nf great
Interest, but might lead to results of great
thorapoutlc vnlue.
Such chemical work as this Is a most
fitting direction in which to turn somo of
tho efforts of clinical laboratories, such as
aro suro in tho future to bo more and more
extensively employed In connection with all
largo goncral hospitals. Thero aro many
widespread beliefs and theories with re
gard to tho effects of different foodstuffs
In health and disease Exact knowledge
on such points Is scanty. Wo cannot doubt
that In attempting to enlarge and to define
It, direct or indirect results of Importance
and utility would bo obtained. Why, for
Instance, aro tomatoes In tho popular mind
so widely associated with the spread of
cancer? We have no grounds whatever for
bollovlng tho idea to have any reasonable
foundation. Yet how much do we know of
tho special constituents of tho tomato?
Has it any therapeutic properties? Is It, as
a matter of fact, particularly prevalent
whero cancer is especially common? Such
questions and their solution are a natural
adjunct to Intelligent medical interests In
tho kitchen, and we havo mentioned merely
tho crudest and most obvious of tho many
problems, therapeutic and pathological,
that tho kitchen suggests to us it we honor
it with our nttentlon.
There Is nnothor point of view from
which tho cook may bo brought to the aid
of tho practical physician. Supposing that
oxporlment were to show that drugs which
now are used only In formally prescribed
mixtures or pills wore capable of Introduc
tion Into tho moro welcome output of tho
domestic kitchen how grateful an assist
ance might wo obtain. It Is often difficult
when a medicine has to bo taken frequently
and over long periods of tlmo to bo suro
that the patient docs not grow caroless
or forgetful. If, however, instead of taking
his draught before, or his pill after, his
dally meals, that draught or that pill were,
without altering tho tasto of tho dish and
without losing its own cfilcncy, combined
with tho patient's dinner Instead of pre
ceding or following It, we can imagine n
far moro certain acceptance, on his part,
and tho physician's orders would be moro
constantly carried out by connivance on the
part of the cook than thoy are with the
operation of tho choralst. Such a relega
tion of tho dispenser's duties to tho hands
of tho chef can only bo achieved by fa
miliarity on the part of the medical man
with the work of both of his subordinates.
With tho work of ono he Is, perhaps, fairly
cognizant; with that of tho other wo
strongly recommend him to become more
Intimately acquainted.
Pointed Paragraphs
Chicago News: Tho wages of sin aro not
regulated by an earthly trust.
Many of the flights of genius aro from a
high bluff downward.
Too many things aro dono well that aro
not worth doing at all.
It's usually tho man that shakes the troo
that gets tho least fruit.
Nothing so effectually cures a man of the
flattery habit as marriage.
juei wnen a gin minus sno is marrying
happily all her relations shed tears.
White lies requlro a great deal of white
washing to keep them from turning black.
A spinster who is willing but unable to
catch on says that marriage Is a failure.
No matter what a man has dono the world
soon forgets him unless bo keeps right on
doing.
Every man's reputation would be above
par If he could get credit for his good In
tentions. It has been said that short accounts mado
long friends but thero nro notable excep
tions to tho rule.
Tho Individual who gets the hardest
knocks In early Ufa Is apt to be fairly well
content with his lot In after years.
