Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-01-05
thin buried There arr they'll l.et sus.

somethin' the jaclrabbits has dropped
there, an when they jumps afterthat
iacirabbit down they comes with their
forelcgs into it. The way to catch coy
otes is to make 'cm think you thinks
thcy's all durn fools. scc?' g,r spay
Another hour Of trnmping andiat its
expiration the other rbrcc traps were
set and baitcd.
"Now,p sand Peck, "if youdon't mind
goin' Ven take look at the traps as
WAS set Yesterday"
Again VIC set off across the low, roll
ing hills, at right angles with the
canyon. and tramped through tangled
maze of chaparral until VIC reached the
lower edge Of the keystone range. AS
we sl5irted the flat the pungent aroma
of the mephitis was waited to us and
Peck sworo long and loud.
another of them burned skunks!
I've caught morcn twenty this week,
an it pears like there's twenty thou
sand of 'cm left"
Sure enough, the first trap held a
skunk, and the little animal, which had
pulled and squirmcd for hours, was
standing still, looking at us with pteous
eyes and trembling with pain. The
smell was sicl,ening, and Peck stopped
me at safe distance.
you stay ycrc, lest you get the smell
on yer feet, an I'll fix i'm"
A wcll-directcd shot killed tho
skunk, and the old man pulled it from
the trap and hcavcd it away with n
Grunt of disgust. Then he united the
trap, and taking from his pocket
flannel rag and bottle with largo
neck rubbed the contents over the
trap. Et1t .A III
"What Is that stuff
"Alcohol an asaGtty," returned
Peck, testify. ait kills the smell,
some Of it, an the coyotes like it too,
but t amt as good Us it might be.
The disinfccting process did not re-
qnirc much time, and when it was
finished Peek had acquired a new
flavor which was not pleasant, but he
did not seem to mind it. The trap was
taken up and carried to new location
and set in runway without bait.
eth be a day or two aforc ! catch
anything in that trap" said Peck.
"Somc fellcrs burics their traps TO
mako 'cm clean, but jist uses alcohol
and a7aftty. The best stuff for clean
in is sulphuric acid an water, cause
that cuts off everything, but you've got
to put asaiitty on anyway to kill the
smell of the acid, see? Coyotes likes
the smell Of asaftty an I've caught
some by dragging little bag OF it over
the ground fer a mile or so an then
settin' down with iay rife to watch the
trail. They'll follcr it sure il it's carly
in the mornin' an the grass is damp"
Nine more traps were visited Five Of
them held sliunlks, one Il fox, two were
not sprung and one had captured n
coyote. The sllunlSs and the fox were
killed at once and Peek was fairly wild.
1T docs seems though there amt
nothin' here but skunks. II they was
worth ten cents apiece an didn't smell
SO internal I'll make fortune sure.
Tho ornery things is jist swarmin',
and they gifts caught to spite me. l
know it,"
The coyote was large specimen of
muscular starvation. The long, 1.-the
body, with its shaggy hair, the small,
furtivc eyes and snecring, snarling
mouth made threatening picture.
Long before we reached the trap we
could hear the chain rattle rs the coy
ote, frantic with fear and pain, sprang
back and forth in fruitlcss efforts TO
escape. Peck was in a better humor
now, and when he had shot the captive,
taken of the scalp, flung the carcass
away and reset the traphe talked coy
otc" at rapid rate.
''It's funny, they allus gifts caught by
TIC fore feet; allus. Now, q fox or a
coon or the wildcat II get caught by the
hind legs sometimes, but coyote never
does. It's allus the front foot that
goes into the trap. This yerc Teller is
the third I've caught in the last week.
That amt bad; but expect to do bet
ter aforc long, cause the sleeps comm
tlONll lEOIn lllt lilo nOhs dA tilO
coyotes folders the sheep. No, /
couldn't do better on the plains. I've
tried it there. There's no trees to hang
your bait on, an it's too settled up;
there's too many dogs"
odd You ever try to raise any coy
otcs?"
"Yas, onct had two cubs in the
mountains last year. thought I'd go
into coyote raisin' on big scale an
bankrupt the state, but it wouldn't
work. AS soon as the cubs was growed
up they keep me SO busy huntin' for
feed for 'em that jist got tired an
shot 'cT. Thcy's treacherous brutcs,
too, an they bites wicked. A big
onc'll whip apretty good dog if he's cor
nered.
1--we seed good many different
ways Of trappin of 'cm, but this way,
with steel traps baited with jaclsrab-
bits, is the best. cd tell you an aw-
full lot bout coyotes, but ! amt got
time now I've got to go out an hunt
up some meat for myself Como to my
shanty some day AN mebbe We'll have
some o. the states venison."
And Coyote Peck, giving his Win
chester u flirt that landed it on his
shoulder, tarned quickly away and
trainped out of sight in the thicllets,
leaving me alone, tired, hungry and
hardened with the faint flavor Of some
thing which makes the most fearless
chicken shuddcr with fear when it
steals over the roost. Francisco
Chronicle.
A Too "Frcsh" Conductor.
"Where are you going, aunty?"
asked q conductor on one of the in