The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1872-08-14
The Coyote


The coyote Is long, slim, sick and
sorry looking skeleton, with gray
wolf-skin stretched oFer it, a tolera-
bly, bushy tail that forever says down
with despairing expression of for
sakenness and misery a iHrtive and
evil eye, and a long. sharp faee, with
slightly lifted lip and exposed teeth.
He has general sinking expression
all over. The coyote Is GFisg,
breathing allegory Of want. He L.
always hungry; he is always poor,
out of luck and friendless- The mean
est creature despises him, and even
the feas would desert him for a We
Iocipede. He Is SO spiritless and cow
ardly that even while his exposed
teeth are pretending a threat, the rest
of his face is apolOgising for it. And
he is so homeIy $50 serawny, and
ribby, and course haired. and pitiful
When he sees you he lifts his lip and
lets a fash of his teeth out, and then
turns little out Of the course be was
pursuing, depresses his head a bit.
ard then strikes u long, sOft-foOted
trot through the sage brush, giaHe-
ing over his shoulder from time TO
time, till he Is about out of easy pis-
tOl range, and then he stops and takes
deliberate survey Of you; trots fifty
yards and stops again-anOther fifty
and stops again; and finally the gray
of his gliding body blends with the
gray Of the sage bush, and disap-
pears. And this il when YOU make
no demonstration against him; but
If YOU do. he develops lively inter-
est in bis journey, and electrifes his
heels and puts such a deal Of real e.
tate between himself and your weap-
on, that by the time YOU have raised
the hammer you see that you need a
minnie rife, and by the time you
have got him In line you need a rife
cannon, and by the time yoa have
q drawn a bead, " you see that moth
ing but an unusually lOng-winded /
streak of lightning could reach him
where be Is now
But if YOU start a sWift-fOOted dog
after him, YOU viii enjey il ever 80 7
mueh-espeeially if it is dog that
has a good opinion Of himself. and
has been brought up to think he
knows something about speed. The
coyote viii 20 swinging gently off on
the deceitfal trot Of his, and every
little while he viii smile a fraudful
smile over his shoulder that viii ill
that dog entirely full Of encourage
ment and worldly ambition, and make
him lower his head still lower to the .
ground, and stretch his neck still fur
-her TO the front, and stick his tail out
straight behind, and move his furious
egs with q still wilder frenzy, and
cave a broader and broader, and
higher and denser cloud Of desert
sand smoking behind, and marking
ais long wake across the plain. And
III this time the dog is only a short
.weenty feet behind the coyote, and
o save the soul Of him be cannot IN
ierstand WHY il is that be cannot get
,ereeptiblv closer; and he begins to
ret aggravated, and it makes him
and madder to see how gently
he coyote glides along and never
.ants or sWeats or ceases to smile:
md be grows still more and more in
ensed to see how shamefully he has
'een taken in by an entire stranger,
md what an ignoble swindle that
Ong, calm, soft-footed foot is; and
lext be notices that he Is getting fag-
ed and that the coyote actually has
o slacken speed little to keep from
unning away from him-and then
hat town dog is mad in earnest, and
e begins to strain and swear, and
aw the sand higher than ever, and ,,
each for the coyote with eoneentrat-
d and desperate energy This
spurt' finds him six feet behind his
Hiding enemy, and two miles from
is friends. And then. in an instant
nat a wild new hope is lighting up
il eounteHanee, the coyote turns
nd smiles blandly upon him once :
lore, and with something about it
-hieh seems to say: We'll, l shall
ave TO tear myself away from YOU,
ub-business is business, and it will :
OF do for me to be fooling along this /.
-ay all day-and forthwith there is :
rushing sound, and the sudden split
ng Of long crack through the at 5
losphere, and behold that dog is sol ) )
ary and alone in the midst Of that
lst solitude. 1t makes his head
vim. He stops and looks all around; 7
limbs tbs nearest sandmound, and :
izes into the distance; shakes his :
Fad refectively, and then without a :
ord, he turns and jogs along back :
his train, and takes humble pO- q
ton under the hindmost wagon, and =
els unspeakably- mean, and looks = =
'hamed and hangs his tail at half :
asst for week 9