Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-05-04
ROUNDED UP BY COYOTES.
How the Jack Rabbits at Nevada are
Gathered In by wolves.

Gathered In nv wolves.
"You never saw the artistic way the
Nevada wolves would round up the jack
rabbits. | suppose" remarked Joseph
Grandclmyer, the old time Nevadan.
at is the cleverest bit of strategy | ever
heard of. There are several kinds of
wolves all through the state, but the
coyotes are by far the plentest. In the
Humboldt, Smoky, and other valleys the
coyotes form in military line, oftentines
along some old road, as l have most fire.
quently seen them. and thus systemati-
cally go on a regular drive.
"They stretch out over great area of
country, the coyotes being stationed
somewhere near mile apart. Once
they get sight of jack rabbit his name
is Dennis. He may take to the sage
brush and elude the coyotes for time.
Fifty or a hundred coyotes can thus in a
short time rake in a terrible lot of rabbits.
If the coyotes are hungry it is about the
rarest sport one can witness. They go
at the hunt with so much ardor and with
such perfect system.
"A coyote on his own account can
usually forage successfully for feed. He
is sly, like a fox, and, always with an
eye out for number one. he generally has
his belly full and lots of fat sticking to
his ribs; but if the weather has been bad
and he gets separated from his fellows on
a recommending tour he may have hard
time of it. In the sagebrlsh jack
rabbit can generally manage to elude a
coyote. He can get in and out quicker
while the coyote, being bigger, is de-
layed by the brush, and can't get in and
out like a rabbit.
But after a lot of hungry wolves have
held council of war and decided to go on
a hunt, it is time for the rabbits to hunt
their holes. There is always music in
the air about that time. and the weird
bowls of the wolves sound like distant
reveille. The rabbits seem to understand
the situation, too, and scamper hither
and thither over the plains and rolling
hills. 1t is not long, however, till the
wolves marshal their forces. They begin
by making a wide detour over the hills,
lessening the size of tie circle as they
advance, and holding all the rabbits they
get IN as skillfully as fisherman handles
his seine.
"The jack rabbits are all of t-emble
when they see how their enemies have
them hedged about, and jump helplessly
into the air, and utter pitiful cries. The
wolves merely watch the sides warily,
and look on vindictively, with tongues
lolling out through their white teeth. and
eyes sparkling, expressive of the knowl-
edge that they will soon have some fine
eating. AS the wolves draw nearer to-
gether the quick snap, snap of their jaws
is heard as they snip the threats of their
victims, and they fall dead from loss of
blood.
when every rabbit is killed, the
coyotes sit down on their launches to a
very comfortable banquet, and never let
up until they have taken aboard so much
rabbit meat that they can hardly stir.
Then they slowly meander of to their
homes, wherever they may be, and if
there is a lot of rabbit meat left as there
may be, they put in an appearance again,
at stated intervals, until the whole is
consumed.
After a lot of coyotes have had a
talk, so to speak, and decided to go on a
hunt, they will sometimes go to a rough
region, where they know the rabbits
abound, and lay siege for them in an
other way. Certain brigades will Chamber
upon the high rocks and hill tops sur
rounding canyon. and drive the game
Down into the depths below. other relays
of vol IS having previously been placed
at the entrance and at the weak places.
They oftentlmes get great many into a
canyon in this way, and thus speedily
finish them. 1t is generally in the very
early morning that the coyotes sound
their reveille and go after the rabbits. y
st. Louis Globe Democrat.