Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-06-30
8 COYOTE C0ECERT.


4 camp or. bi7ouac on the Plains can
have no betses safeguard during the
dark hours Of night than. that which is
furnished unasked by the coyotes and
gray Wolves, that usually put in an
| appearance just as the second or re-
Rectad sunset tinge.is- fading from tie
higher clouds. During the winter sea.
son night falls SO quickly on tie Plains
that the twilight hour is a thing of
name rather than fact. The last of
sunset is the colalnenceRent off night.
At this hour you nay Rear far in the
distance the quick bark of single
coyote. A moment after the yelping
of number, Of wolves answer. this first
call The pack is assembling rapidly,
| and by the tinase darkness hIs shut out
your 1iew of the hearer SURROUNDINGS
You will listen. to .. bowling match--a
sort OF preliminary trial of voices, which
invaqiably denotes the surroeaaing Of
youG camp BY the newcomers. This
howl is short, and seems to be executed
by a chosen few. A silence of a few
moments duration follows. Then the
| whole bard baeaks out, and the. unearth-
ly noise which greets your ear is second
to nothing in all the long catalogue of
noises. Kit Carson averred that it was
comfy q little dispute as to wlricA coyote
had, as the winner OF the match, the
right to take tiie stakes (steaks).' It is
quite impossible to do full Justice to this
wolf nEusic. There is no racket known
to the inhabitants of the more civilized
sections of our country which will COM
pare with it. AL the felines in a
neighborhood would not make noise
which would begin toequal wolf music.
The hubbub to be heard at session of
the Board of Brokers is faint compari
son. .;I-.s
/ Hideous as this. wolf concert would
seem to ears unused to it, there is no
more satisfactory lullaby to the habitual
roager over the Plains, for in the lam
gpage of the section, of any red.skin
should take it under bis scalp to- look
| about camp, every cuss of them coyotes
would shut his trap and wake the fell
lers up with the quiet" AS the small
hours of the night come on, a few of
the wolves will steal into camp to Sc
cure edibles which have been earelessly
left within their reach. At times they
are 60 bold as to attempt the theft Of a
haversaek of food upon which the head
of a sleepaf is pilloMed, bet seldom if
ever gill they make any attack upon
the persons Of the campers. AS dawn
fcomea the bowling cases, and a MAORI
| ty Of the coyotes betake themselves to
their burr 5ws. Those wolves which
linger retire to safe distance from
camp, and there, squatted On their
launches like dogs, await the removal
of camp, hoping to secure few scraps
of food which may have been thrown
eway OF abandoned.
1t is an old saying among Plainsmen,
"That tie coyotes can smell States
feIIge,', and then you will not see coyote
anywhere within rife-shot of camp"
A considerable experience goes with
the Plaiasman to bear him out in this
assertion. Estates fellers shcots at airy
| a live thing as jumps ia their sight
whether is is any "coun* to them or no, =
remarkable old hunter. Possibly this
waste of ammunition may, to some ez.
tent account for the supposed keen
scent of the coyotes.-THEoDoRE E.
DAVIS, in Harpey's Magoziae,