Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1898-06-08
DOGS WITH T FANGS
Bands Of Wild CANNES Which
TerrOrize Arizona.
Cattle Die from the Effects of Thefi
Poisonous Bfte-The Brutes
Form n Species by
Themselves.

Ranging through that section of the
United States where New Mexico and
Arizona meet are bands of wild ami
mails whose bite is mSre to be dreaded
than tina of the centipede and is as
fatal as the venom of the rattlesnake.
They are known as the wild dogs of
Arizona and so bold have they become
that the residents round about the field
of their operations are organizing to
hunt them down.
These brutes form a species by them
selves and no natural history tells of
them. Their origin is not positively
known, but they are supposed to be a
cross between a combination of ST.
berian bloodhound and bulldog stock
and the large timber wolf of Arizona.
The first of these was taken into New
Mexico by cattlemen resident there
about Is Years age.
1t was not very long after that when
the first of the present species of ami
mails that is now creating 81 much
trouble was seen. and for a time their
depredations were slight. Timber
wolves were not over plenty in Arizona,
and while occasionally a sheep. colt,
horse or steer would be pulled down by
the brutes. there was no attempt TO ex-
terminate them beyond taking a shot
at one of the depredators whenever OPP
portunity offered.
In these days. however. their hort
barks ard long dismal bowls or roars,
something like a coyote howl intensi-
fed many times. are becoming alto
pether too familiar. The noise they
rnala &c faarSnna inIaal--for moro en-
than the scream of the panther or the
howl of the thoroughbred wolf. Zone
have cver been captured. and no one
wants TO capture them. for their APP
pearance is VERY nearly as ugly as their
bite. 4 full-grown animal of this sort
will weigh about 100 pounds, and
stands from gig TO 3 feet high. They
are heaviest about the shoulders and
neck. have a round-shaped head and
short. sharp ears.
The general color of their coats is
rray. but long. blackish hairs come
struggling through. giving a disagree
able appearance. Occasionally one of
them will be of a different color still,
and perhaps of fairly good appearance,
but this is supposed to result from the
breeding in of domestic dogs. who have
been known to desert the ranches and
join one of these bands.
The cattle. calves. horses and colts
which meet death through these ami
mails are by no means killed by them
because food is needed. but die from
the effects of the bite. which in every
case produces symptoms exactly SINH
lar to ~strychnine poisoning. Benjamin
Brown. of Nutrioso, Ariz.. has perhaps
killed more of these animals than any
other person, and he regards the task
of hunting them as dangerous in the
extreme. While they have never been
known to wantonly attack a human be-
ing. they will defend themselves
against one quick enough.
Mr.. Brown tells one instance where a
calf belonging to Pollard Pearson, of
Nutrioso. was bitten by one of these
wolf-dogs. The bite was not a serious
one and the calf fled to its mother for
protection. The mother licked the
wound and in a few moments the calf
was apparently all right again. Two
days later the calf died with every
symptom of ~strychnine poisoning and
the following day the mother met a
similar fate.-Philadelphia Press.