Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1888-03-01
WOLVES AND COYOTES.
New the Terror. - Western sheep Meu
Ar- Exts ssntast-d.

uew the Terror. - w~-t-ru sheep-Meu
Arr Exts sssniast-d-
! 'Oue Of the greatest pests that the
sheep-men of the Wesi have 10 en-
Dr." said K ,l,ert r Dol !. large
sheep-owner of II H'go. Col. To- r.
por er. 'arisss from the ravagcs of
wolves and coyo'cs The great gray
wolves of the plains arc particularly
fond Of mutton. and are very dainty in
their tastes when they have chance
TO crafty them II wolf gets into
flock when the shepherd is out II sight
he will kill at least n dozen sheep in
half an hour. n he does not pretend
to devour them. but sucks the bloud
from their throats. and then turns to
another. Fortunately the wolves are
scarce. and the amount Of dams-e
actually done is small. But with the
coyotes il Is different These AMI
mails are very plenty. and seem.
unlike all other Wild animals. 10 in
crease rs civilization advances The
coyotes are very timid. and do not at,
tack tho sheep in the daytime when
the shepherds and dogs are never far
off But at night they get into the
cnrrals. and do an immense amount
of execution before they are discov-
cred aud driven away. One night
some half dozen coyotes got into my
corral. and next morning had seven-
ty-sIx dead sheep on NY hands. The
sheep dogs were powerless agai q
them. rs the coyotes ronld run two
feet TO their one, and were never capt
urei. Some four or five years ago
several shecpmen. myself among the
number. bought dozen grcyhounds.
intending to run down these animals
and rid the country Of an intolerable
pest. But the experiment Wa by no
means success. as. although the
greyhounds could easily run down
the coyotes. when they came 10
close quarters the latter were
far more than match f'r the
dogs Turning over on els backs.
they would snap to the right and the
left with their sharp teeth. in1icung
severe wounds. and by the time th
following horsemen came up the
hounds were badly injured. In a short
time the hounds could not be induced
to 90 anywhere near the coyo =. and
we got rid Of the useless animals. We
had given up in despair any hope of
Kidding ourselves of the pests. as moi
soned meat had a more disastrous eff ct
upon our dogs than upon the wolves
aud coyotes. and bv shooting we could
not dispatch any number worth count
ing But last summer n MI Lane. of
Cheyenne. recommended us To buy a
pack If Scotch deerho unds that hud
proved oi great use om the Laramie
plains. We bought half pack ,iN-
teen dogs, and since then we have en-
ipyed some IF the grsndest sport !
ever saw in my life. These animals
are shaped somewhat like
grey hound. but are heavier. not
quite % fleet and are very fierce.
They possess ample speed 10 run down
a coyote. and when once they have
overtaken one ars sure To kill il.
At first thcy did not escap. without
wounds. a the coyotes. generally -
cowarlly. will when corner d. fight
desperately. But it was beautiful to
watch the way in which he dogs
would deal with one. WHrn over
aiken the coyote would lie on ~ back.
presenting keen row of teeth for the
inspection of the hounds. Instead Il
sprinyin on him all at onc' the ack
would wait until some old veteran. Of
which we hail four. came To the from
This dog would stand over the coyote
and maze a movement as II TO seize
lin by the throat. bu; wouli imms-
diately draw back his head. Snap
would 20 the sharp teeth. and before
the coyote could again prepare himself
the dog would have him by the throat.
aud in a few seconds he would BE-
ihrottled. Daring last jolly and
August the dogs must have Killed
| upwards of NO hundred. ami liIe ioss,.s
among the sheep have almost entirely
ceased.
But when the hounds got after an
old gray wolf. continued Mr. D. .dd.
.fhere would be a battle royal The
great gray wolves are larger and far
stronger than the hounds. and fight
furiously. They do not lie down Ia
receive the attack. but turn Un the
hounds. aud in moment there i
writhing. struggling mass of yellow
hair in the ccuter of which can be
seen the long. gray fur of the wolf
The fight lasts from five TO ten min
utes. and although the wolf always
succumbs to numbers. There are usu-
ally three or four crippled dogs to be
taken care OF. and during the sum-
1
bought some twenty-five additional
hounds last fall. giving u a full pack.
with several over to supply losse-. and
have had most excelenl sport all win
ter. besides having saved hundreds OF
dollars in sheep that would oil her
wise have been killed 81 Louis
POSt-DIspatch
.