Profile of Dr. McCleery

Description

This document appears to have been written by Dr. McCleery, in which he describes himself and his work with wolves. I am uncertain of the circumstances under which this document was created. My best guess is that it may have been written for the benefit of the Kane Republican because it was in a box with many other documents donated to the Kane Depot by the Kane Republican, and because the Kane Republican cites the facts on this sheet in future articles.

I assume this document was created May 1949 because one line of the document reads "The best article I ever read about wolves is in the current issue of True Magazine" and then "(May 1949.)" is hand-written immediately after this statement.

The document is type-written with some hand-written additions and corrections. The transcription below includes these additions and corrections.

Creator

Date

May 1949

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This document is currently owned by the Kane Depot and is available for viewing.

Full Text

Dr. Mc Cleery.

Date of birth: July 23, 1867

Place of birth: Milton, Pa. My mother's great grand-father surveyed northern Pennsylvania for William Penn, and the compensation he received was the corner of Pennsylvania bordering on Lake Erie where Erie is located. His relative William Frampton was secretary to William Penn at the time.

Length of residence in Kane: 57 years

Education and schools attended: John C. Greene's school at Lawrenceville, N. J. Princeton University. University of Pennsylvania. Jefferson Medical College.

Length of practice: 50 years

Reason for retirement: Health

Reason for interest in wolves: Always interested in wolves as a child. In 1887 made trip to Alaska and the Yukon for hunting Grisslys [sic]. Made a study of wolves there and at Alberta Canada. Also along points of the Union Pacific railroad- the first year of it's[sic] construction. I also practiced medicine at Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Purchase of first pair: I read in the papers of the U. S. Government's intention to exterminate the Lobos, and wrote to Washington making arrangements to secure some. They sent me the last twenty nine wolves they captured, except one which died in the St. Louis zoo. From these I selected the most intelligent and best physical specimens for breeding, and shot the rest.

Most interesting experience since acquiring wolves: My first Lobo was purchased from the zoo at Sheridan, Wyoming in 1920. I often took him on the streets of Kane with a collar and chain. If we met a dog he suddenly remembered something he forgot at home, turned in his tracks and went the other way- not caring to interview the wolf. We met a boy with a pup which didn't know anything yet. He offered to play with Jerry. To my surprise he played with it- being only one year old himself. I invited the boy to bring his pup to the high fenced field where I often released Jerry for a romp. There was a game hen confined in a box in this field. She had nine peeps. The pup immediately tried to catch the peeps, but Jerry beat him to it. He brought them in his mouth to me uninjured, whereupon I returned them to the mother in the inverted coop. This was repeated nine times- without injury to any of the chickens. The Philadelphia Ledger wrote the story. Afterwards when I was in Philadelphia a friend remarked "that was an interesting writeup about your wolf in the Ledger. There was only one thing wrong with it- that is that it's not true." I replied, "You are the last person who should say that, for you were there and saw it". He said, "I remember now". I acknowledge I would hesitate to tell this story if I didn't have five witnesses who saw it.

Facts about habits of the wolves- male and female: Wolves mate for life, and Lobos never hunt in packs except family groups. When wild their litters average six to twelve. They have no enemies or diseases. It was the battles among themselves that held down the numbers of the Lobos. Males fight males and females, females. The life history of the timber wolf is very similar to that of the Lobo. If a mother lobo has one outstanding pup she will keep that one and eat the others. She will also eat an injured pup. After the mother has nursed them five weeks she turns them over to the male, who feeds them by disgorging the meat. The best article I ever read about wolves is in the current issue of True Magazine (May 1949.)

Number of assistants: Two

Length of handling young wolves: From three and a half weeks of age to the end of their lives- especially the first two years.

Number that have to be killed from each litter: Age of maturity is five years- we kill ten out of eleven before that time.

Disposition of wolves after death of owner: I have selected two competent young men-whom I have instructed, I would like to see the wolves perpetuated and hope they succeed.

Most distinguished vistor[sic]: (next page)

Most noteworthy vistor [sic] to see the wolves:
Stanley P Young and staff- of the Fish and Wildlife Survey- Washington, D. C.
Fritzjof Nansen- Arctic Explorer
Dr. Crile- Cleveland
Governor George Earle
Sergeant York
Fox Films- representative
Barnum and Bailey
Lord Aukland- England
Representatives of the New York, Cleveland and other big zoos.
Consul and wife from Brazil- many years ago

Those coming from a great distance:
Consul and wife from Brazil
We receive letters from all parts of the world- Asia, Europe, Australia and South America. We receive letters from all over the States from people who expect to visit our wolves. Two men from Gays Lion Farm were here, and said they had made a special trip. They made a statement, ("About all we hear around the lion farm is stories about these wolves".

Number of wolves on hand at present time: We have twenty one wolves. We used to carry forty five, but thought it unnecessary. They are all Lobos. We have an order in with an Alaskan wolfer for one or more black caribou wolves, which we hope to receive this summer.

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