Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-01-26
COYOTES AND CANNES
USING THE DOGS TO CAPTURE THE
PESTS AND SECURE BOUNTY.

USING THE DOGS TO CAPTURE THE
PESTS AND SECURE BOUNTY.
Jim Kelley and Tom Went at It For All
There Was In It, but According to sfrs.
Tom They Never Got q scalp-The Wom-
en- Were skeptical All tie Time.
Does your husband love dogs that is,
does be have a bankering after every prom
ising pup that he sees, And when man
has the dog mania every pup looks prom
Using from the mangiest little poodle to
the offspring of the big monerel cur that
is good for nothing but to bark and aid
in the consumption of home products.
When we lived ON farm in Nebraska,
my husband never had but one attack,
and that did not last long, but it was Sc
we're while it did last. You see, it was that
hard winter The men didn't have much
10 do, for they didn't raise any crops TO
take care Of They were obliged to sell eli
the stock until they had very little to feed
and very little to feed them with.
Money, too, was scarce, and my Tom
and Jim Kelley conceived the idea of
hunting coyotes to pass away the time
ard repienish their purses with the boun-
~ money. But rs the coyotes did not
walk up and tender their scalps the men
concluded that they would have to go and
fetch them. The most important factor
in the fetching business was dogs We
already had one--a surly old fellow called
Watch Jim Kelley had four, but there
was nothing remarkable about any Of
them except old Spring. She could really
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didn L always want TO, and it didn't seem
to worry the coyote at all when she did
catch him. She nesded assistance, that
was certain.
Our Watch had the staying qualities, if
aogg enough could be obtained to interest
tho intended victim until he got there.
Tom found one dog down town that
looked MS if he could run and enSiced him
home Then he ran across u superannu-
ated old greyhound, an almost exact conn
terpart OF Kelley's Spring. To be sure, she
was too old 10 run and had TO be kept in
the house in bad weather Her teeth were
poor, and she must be fed on soft feed, but
Tom was certain she would raise pups that
would pick up coyotes like bird does
bugs, so babied old Dolly with II pretty
good Grace for his sake Dealing in fu-
tures" didn't fill the bill for the present,
so Tom east about again and procured two
nearly grown hounds, and he and Jim
Kelley, who had been equally successful,
started out with force of 1 dogs.
TisG coyotes were making nights hid
eous with their bowls and getting fat off
our poultry, but some way they didn't
se~rY-so plenty in the daytime. Surely the
dogs could catch one if they saw it and
Kill it after it was caught, but several
days passed, and not a coyote was sighted.
Evidently something was lacking. After
much deliberation the men concluded it
was trail hounds.
A week later and two more dogs had
been added to the force. One was young
and undeyeloped--that is, nothing had de-
veloped but her voice. A pack of coyotes
was nowhere where noise was concerned.
The other was a genuine, mature trailer.
Tom and Jim expected some rare sport
when they again set forth. The old hound
soon struck trail, and off he went, bel
lowing enough to scare every coyote out Of
the country. Dogs and horsemen fcl-
lowed.
Isn't it grand?"
That's good work"
"He's getting it down fine now"
''Just hear him He must be close onto
it,"
Such were the frequent ordinations of
the enthusiastic hunters.
From the noise they could tell that the
chase was eircling, and soon they came
in sight-pursued and pursuer, the dog
was some 20 rods behind---a big jack rab
bit.
They tried to call him off and then ran
in ahead of him. Confused by their inter
ference. he turned back ON the trail and
Hoped, haying, away.
"Coufound that dog" said Kelley.
Hell run himself to death and follow
that track back to where he started"
They spurred up their horses and inter
cepted him again but he only went off in
some other direction. Then they set the
other dogs on him and ran their brag trail
or down. roped him. and thoroughly dis
susted started for home.
The winter wore away with frequent
repetitions of that days chase. The men
. couldn't see what was lacking, unless it
was dogs. and whenever they found a new
one they TOOK it in. There were gray
hounds ard yellow hounds and spotted
hounis and black hounds and dogs that
were not hounds at all. and there were old
dogs, young dogs and little pups and big
pups and pups at MI ages.
One couldn't open the door but they
came in the house-couldn go out of
doors nfter night but he fell over one or
two. IL one barked. they all barked. es-
pecially the trailers. If they were let loose.
they fought; SO they had to he tied, some
with ropes, some with chains and one with
the clotheslne. If it showed. they were
put in the barn. in the henhouse or in the
house.
1t was slightly inconvenient, and things
were becoming uncomfortable. The at
mosphere in the house grew warm occa-
sionally, and when Tom came home and,
as usual told me of another fine pup that
he could get | quietly suggested that it
would be conducive to that pups health
tostaY, on its native heath.
Mrs, Kelley felt very much as did on
the dog question. and Jim and Tom consid-
cred themselves much abused men to he
deprived of legitimate and profitable
sport just for the lack of dogs. 1t would
have taken the entire produce of good
sized ranch to have kept those dogs had
not fate favored them. Many cattle died
around the neighborhcod, and as "what
was fun for the boy was death for the
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