itself was a great achievement for the wolf. Why? Because some
species of animals as a race do not learn so quickly to run away from
the mere presence of man; one or two animals personally may learn
quickly to do that, but not all the animals of a species. That is why
the buffaloes and some of the antelopes and deer in the West were wiped
out; they did not learn in those same few years to run away from the
presence of man. The wolves alone learned this, and they have survived
as a race.

_The American Wolf Learns to Evade the Trap_

But the battle was not yet over. Seeing that his gun had now failed, man
used his wits to kill the wolf in another way. He set _traps_ for the
wolf; and he cunningly baited the traps with tempting food. Then the man
went away from the traps. He thought that because he was not himself
anywhere near the traps, the wolf would not be afraid to approach them.
Well, at first some wolves did go up to the traps, and were caught by
them.

But a few other wolves saw that fate of their unwary brothers. So those
surviving wolves again set their wits to work to discover the cause of
this new danger. And after a time they saw the steel traps. "So, _this_
is our new enemy!" they said.

After that they avoided the traps, even if the traps were baited with
the most tempting food. And they taught their children to do the same.

So again man was beaten in this battle of wits. He found that the trap
could catch the wolf no more.

But man tried again. He _hid_ the trap cunningly under leaves or under
snow; only the tempting bait was placed in sight. He thought that
because the wolf could not now _see_ the trap, he would fall into it.

Well, some wolves did fall into it.

But a few other wolves saw the fate of their unwary brothers. So these
surviving wolves again set their wits to work to discover a way of
detecting the traps. Perhaps they saw the hunter's footprints; or
perhaps they realized that the snow or the leaves covering the trap did
not look _natural_. You remember, in Book I, how Salar's father detected
a very tricky trap because the ground there did not look natural. Well,
in some way, the surviving American wolves detected the traps, even when
the traps were covered up. So after that they began to avoid these
_hidden_ traps, and they taught their children to do the same.

Man found himself beaten once more by the wolf in this battle of wits.
He found that the American wolf could not be ca