Bismarck tribune., 1880-01-09
CHAsEDBY COYOTES.
By CROOKS.

ed in our Golden states much nave either
seen OF heard Of coyotes. Therefore it
will be unnecessary fol, ,megto give mi,
mute description Of the5animaL .l
AS a general thing they resemble the
dog !; are, however, smaller than com
mon-sixod cur, and have long, pointed
nose; they are invetcrate towards, and
very rarely attack men, unless hard
pressed by hunger.
Many weary miner has had his slum-
bers ruthlessly broken by the unearthly
howlings of the coyotes, and in extreme
indignation has seized his gun with the
intention Of putting an end to some of
his tormentors, but sailed out only to see
the whole pack scamper off.
However cowardlY coyotes may usual
ly be, I, for one, have just cause for bitter
hatred for the animal, Us once had an
adventure with them that came near
costing me my life. 3.t ST.
In the winter Of '53 was residing in
one of our mountain towns, and often,
by way of recreation, would take my
gun and 90 to a small stream called Dry
Creek, about three miles from the town,
in pursuit Of ducks-whlch article of
game was very plenty there. aa
One afternoon took my fowling- piece
and sought my usual haunts for ducks.
I was very fortunate, and before nightfall
had bagged more than I had anticipated;
consequence was, ran out of powder.
Inwardly upbraiding myself for not
bringing more, I started for home. By
this time it was probably an hour after
sunset
It was a glorious night. The stars
were out in all their brilliant magn1i-
cence; the moon scared high in an un-
clouded sky, affording me sufficient light
to travel with ease. III
I was charmed with the beauty Of the
evening, and was walking at a slow pace,
humming snatches of tunes I had often
heard from the lips Of loved ones, when
suddenly I heard the familiar howl of
coyote. ha@
s'Ah, you cowardly BEAST" I mentally
calculated, were you only within gun
shot, and l had my never-failing Old
Tom (that was the name always called
my gun) loaded, would send you into
the middle of next week making differ
ent noise from that.'
AS I proceeded further, the howlings
increased, and occasionally coyote more
bold than the rest would venture out of
the thicket, take good look at me and
disappear.
ssSupposing they should attack me
now,' thought I, s'here in this deso]ate
and lonesome place, with no powder to
use in my defense. Pooh!' laughed at
the idea. "What, coyotes attack man?
Those sulky devils. that throwing stone
at would drive away? Ha, hap r..
AS I proceeded farther toward home
the howlings became more numerous, and
gangs of two and three would cross my
pathsat distance if probably one hun
dred feet, and scamper off at my throwing
stone at them.
was probably mile and half from
where was hunting when noticed that
the coyotes began to throw off their tim
1dity, ,'and wonld approach quite near me.
'Getting tame," thought I '"undoubtedly
know am out of powder, and think to
impress me with the idea that you are
a courageous set of hounds. O, you
can't come that camel" and I threw a
stone at large, long g-nosed fellow, which
struck him on the head, and had a tend
ency to accelerate his movements.
Nearer and nearer the ugly things
would come, till finally noticed that
some were following at about fifty feet
distance. Still this did not excite any
suspicion that I was to be attacked.
/ was now about half way home, and
began to feel uneasy, as the pack had
steadily increased, until they numbered
some twenty-five, all the while swapping,
growing, and fighting, and, as you may
imagine, making rather an unpleasant
noise for a lone traveller, at night, and
fully mile fromIany house
Closer and closer they pressed as I
walked along at rather brisker pace
than when I started. They seemed to
really mean mischief by their actions
admit a cold perspiration broke out
on my forehead; but still would not
admit that I was IN danger. True, I had
heard Of instances where men had been
killed by coyotes but had never placed
faith in such stories.
Swapping and growing like. a lot of
hungry dogs over a bone, the whole pack
were following close at my heels, and at
every step they seemed to gain upon me,
until they were within ten feet OF me.
Turning round, shouted with all my
might and threw handful of small
stones at them, with the idea of frighten-
ing them away but it wouldn't do; they
we're not to be put to flight by either
loud words or stones. Nearer they ad-
vanced, stretching out in the form Of a
semi-circle, and presenting very formid-
able front. Occasionally one would
make feint as though to fasten his
teeth in my leg. So, bringing my gun
from my shoulder, used it as sort OF !
club in defence.