Scare-Wolves

I should at this point confess, admit, and make the disclaimer that I read about scare-wolves in a tear-off fact-a-day desk calenders that my Mum gave to me for Christmas. It's possible that the producers of this particular calender, which features archaic english words, just made it all up to save money.

In which case, everything I'm about to tell you would be crap. But it all sounds pretty plausible, so I'm going to assume they were on the level.

What Is A Scare-Wolf?

I might as well explain what a scare-wolf is by quoting the same two passages that the calender did.

"Two trappers butchered the carcass and returned to camp, staggering under the weight of as much meat as they could carry. The hide was suspended from a pole cut from the ill-fated poplar, in which position the hunters hoped it would act as a sufficient scare-wolf."

- Achilles Daunt's In The Land of the Moose, the Bear, and the Beaver, 1892.

"A device similar to a scarecrow, used to frighten wolves from carcasses of large game left by hunters for retrieving later."

- W.J. Gage's Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, 1967

How Might A GM Use It?

Well perhaps one day when your PCs are staggering across a wilderness, a bit hungry perhaps, they might come across a slaughtered, and partically dismembered bison, with the bison's hide suspended from poles beside it.

If they ignore the suspended hide, and start tucking in, they might get a visit from some rather upset locals...

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