Then a new thing happened. Many people began to go West; farms and ranches began to be started. These farms and ranches had many sheep and cattle.
Then the wolf had his turn! He found that sheep and cattle were far easier to kill than the wild animals on which he had made a living so far. So the wolf began to raid farms and ranches at night. He still avoided man; he never let a man come near enough to shoot him; and he never touched a hidden trap. But still he began to kill sheep and cattle.
Man now found the tables turned on him! Formerly he had persecuted the wolf; now the wolf persecuted, or at least tormented, him! So man made one last desperate effort to beat the wolf in this battle of wits.
The American Wolf Learns to Evade the Poison
Man set his wits to work, and at last devised the use of poison. He selected different kinds of poison, with different tastes and different smells,—or no taste and no smell at all! He chose the nicest kinds of meat, on which to put the poison. Then he cunningly placed pieces of the poisoned meat all over the paths by which the wolves must come to raid the sheep and cattle. He thought that now he would beat the wolf!
Well, some of the wolves did eat the poisoned meat; they died. But a few of the wolves saw the fate of their unwary brothers. So these surviving wolves once more set their wits to work to discover the cause of this new danger. It may have taken them some time to suspect that the meat was the cause of this new danger; and a few more wolves may have died meanwhile from eating the meat.
But some of the wolves did detect the new danger. We do not know exactly how they did so. Perhaps this time they used one of their other gifts to save their lives; that is, they used their power of smell. They recognized man's scent in or about the meat. So they knew that man had put the meat there.
They had long known that anything that had to do with man was dangerous to wolves. So the wolves resolved to leave the meat untouched. Instead, they went on raiding the sheep and the cattle. And they taught their children, and their children's children, to do the same.
And now the American wolf has beaten man, finally and absolutely. The farmer and the ranchman can think of no other method of killing the wolf. So the American wolf continues to flourish merrily.
The marvel of all this is that the wolf is not naturally a very intelligent animal. Most animals have far more natural intelligence than the American wolf; and yet none of these animals seem to be able to beat man in the battle of wits. The American wolf alone has done it, though he naturally has very little brains.