, 1885-06-16
COWARD AND s.sAk ra.Is.


An animal Tia. i.,-, the taaa. i= -
iroS LrSp slth coptemr,
fGnr-t z vU -Is u. rltr-f A
The first experience of Ito e. stern
traveller on the ortheru suiAe raj.
way usual has some reference to. T..
coyote. As the train gradually as eh :,
the plateaus that merge into the inti
mountains on the way west from Tn. Ia
tho first form Of animal life oaservi 81 10
the coyote standing on some dist at
knoll or half hi ing n the slanty a e
brush and gazing wistfully at the pass
ing train.
The coyote is the sneak thief. tho
pict pocset of the ocky mountain
rrgioi Althorgh the dog belongs to
the same genus o. an mails, yet tho
hunters ana traPaers IA expressing their
contempt for a .ig.er lndiaa Will eon
pare lum 10 co ote. Tut never to a
dog. Evon the Indian dog VIII ch is a
coyote tanned thro ga long generations,
dcspises his ancestor and lights him ut
every opportunity with great show of
contempt, o cowardly is this animal
that he never dares to sci G a bird
which faces him, but springs when its
back is turned. m
The dismal bark Of the coyote at
night remi-ds one Of the ackal Of the
Orient. My first experience with these
animals vas when sleeping in a tent
after II hard days ride in Wyoming on
the back Of broncho. The night was
dark aud threatening. suddenly a
chorus OF unearthly sounds cams
from a high rock ~overhangiug the tent.
what ON earth is that
Coyotes, said the guido, with a
curse, turning c for renewed sleep.
II took a shotgun and a cartridge of
heavy slugs and blazed away at half a
DO en- figures dimly outlined on
tile rock above If there were any
more strange noises that night |
sl,p pit too soundly to hear them. In the
morning two dead coyotes were found
e the tent, oil which the remainder
of the pack and perhaps other animals
had managed to make n meal during
the night. The coyotes followed us
wherever we Travelled, for 500 miles
through the mountains, always sinking
away in Sthe distance, and at night,
somewhat embolden, stealing into camp
and eating the refuse of our meals. 1
shot a number of these animals and
dissected them. If any one can men,
ton an edible article in existence that
the coyote will not eat he ought to give
1t TO the world at once as a curiosity.
To my knowledge they are earn yorous,
insectivorous, herbivorous, graminivor-
GUS, ~frugfvorous and the rest.
The antipathy between the coyote
and the Indian dog is one of the feat
ures of life in the west that attracts
general attention. ONE naturalists
have Teen in haste 10 use this fact to
prove that the latter is not n descendant
from the former. llainly, the antag-
onlsm between the animals is proof that
they are identical species. The Indian
dog has been trained through long gen
erations to protect the interests OF his
master. The coyote is in opposition to
the interest. of man, and makes it his
business to steal and plumber. The in
terests of the wild and tame coyote arc
consequently antagonistic, and it is
natural that they should fight. A west
ern artist has photograph which sho VS.
an Indian dog and a coyote side by side.
Any one who ean point out any di err
ence in looks is welcome to the fame of
his discovery.
Sportsmen, in the absence of game,
often ride down the coyote, but find the
chase brief and with few features of fox
hunting. | rode one down, but never
repeated the operation.
In the fight etween the Indian dog
and the coyote the deg us ally gets IN
unmereiful thrashing, particularly if he
strays far from camp. In such cases
the coyote calls his neighborS, and tine
entire pack set upon the dog, and 0 ten
kill him. If the coyote is alone and can
get no help he makes haste to sneak
away, tail between his legs. The Inlian
dogs and the coyotes however, inter
breed commonly.
lie coyote is found over a very wide
section of country. Evidently their
range is from sea level to 10. 900 feet
above. l saw large numbers of them in
Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, between
5000 and 4, 900 feet above sea level.
When first seen they ara usually stand
ing m%otionless on some Sight elevation
or among the sage brush. If no harm
is likely to come TO them they will stand
and scrutlni2e the traveller from very a
near point. In fact, they are safer near oy
than at a distance, as one is apt to take
them for Indian dogs IL they appear
tame. In Idaho ] saw them hunting in
their usual sneaking way the large sage
hens. Indeed, when l had tasen the
trouble to shoot one of these birds ] was
surprised to see a nimble coyote step out
from under a tall sage brush, seize the
bird and dash away. AT that time /
was riding through the mountains in a
double buggy and was unable to give
chase. One day | climbed nm almost
perpendicular elevation of about 800
feet. On the narrow top wa a coyote,
who in his haste to escape, leaped too
far, and fell over the precipice on the
opposite side, several thousand feet
deep. In captivity the coyote is the
most servile and d%espicable rascal i'm
aginable. How the Indians ever had
patience to domesticate them and make
courageous and faithful dogs Of them l
can not imagine. Although the Indian
may be wifeless and wigBamless, he is