Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-10-07
THE ARTFUL COYOTE
HE Is UGLY, coWARDLY, SMART, RAs-
oALLY AND TRICKY.
d me Art Of Disappearing From view
IGks . Streak Of Fading Light He Il
Unusually Proacient-His Peculiar Abil.
~ % . Musician.

Unusually P~roflcient-His Peculiar Abil.
~ % . Musician.
What Is . ooyotei A coyote is a little
animal Of the wolf species that inhabits
Tho foothills Of the Rocky mountains. He
y about 10 inches high and long in pro.
portion, and is the embodiment Of duplio.
~. His color is Understandable. He is
neither white nor black nor yellow, nor
any other we'll defined color, but q sort Of
blending Of all, producing a hue that can
best be described as coyote. he Is not
beautiful either In appearance or charac-
ter. There 70 nothing attractive about
ham. He is not troubled with oonsoien-
tious scruples. Neither Is he brave, and
6e won't fight unless he is compelled to.
he 10 q scrub wolf In every sense Of tho
word.
His physical beauty is about on q par
with his moral aspect. He has a little
peak shaped head, In the front Of which,
very close together, is q pair Of the bright.
est blacklist, wiokedest little eyes that
ever shone in the moonlight. He does not
appear to bepossessed Of any great amount
OF brains, but there 10 moro unadulterated
DO found In the same amount Of space
anywhere else In creation. The man who
magtnes that q coyote does not under
stand his business Just because he has not
. high forehead will 0 learn that the
principles of p~hrenology do not apply TO
this epitome Of everything that ID smart,
rascally, tricky and impudent.
In regard to his ability to yet over
gfound-in other words, to change his
epots-too much cannot be said. It IL
good deal like the wind. You cannot tell
whence he oometh nor whittier he goeth.
When he makes up his mind to place q
certain amount Of space between himself
and a given locality, he does not stand on
the order Of going. He does not run in
tho common aooeptatioD Of the term, but
he suddenly Transforms himself into q
dimly defined streak Of gray light that
shimmers across tho landscape for an in
SAINT and then sinks into oblivion 90 far
% mortal view is concerned. "
He Is seldom seen In the daytime. The
glare Of the sun does not soem to be suited
to his make mp. BE prefers to waits
around among b sagebrush in the soft
Light Of the moon. During the day he Is
Of q retiring disposition and recuperates
his exhausted vitality from the previous
nights debauoh under the friendly shade
Of a projecting rock or in the deep seclu-
don Of q clump Of quaking asp away from
the busy haunts Of men and remote from
any trail or road.
The coyote is not choice as to his diet
that Is, he can accommodate himself to
circumstances. His favorite dish Is live
back rabbit, and q moonlight race between
. coyote and q jack rabbit is an interest.
ing affair. It is conducted on the strict
est OF business principles, and no time ia
lost in arranging preliminaries. There is
no hippodroming or selling out in that
Jaoe. It is q square deal and fair play. IF
tho jack rabbit comes out ahead, 1t 10 Q
new lease Of life for him. II the ooyots
scores in that inning, 1t means a Thanks.
giving dinner for him. But fond as he ID
Of jack rabbit he will not disdain a lunch
con Of dead mule when he is playing in
hard luck. He sometimes eats prairie
dog, but not often, for prairie dog Is not
good eating sven for q coyote. Once In.
awhile a hungry coyote will prolong his
nightly revels till q comparatively late
hour in the morning. In that case he
may steal up to the hole OF a prairie dog
before the latter Is up and conceal himself
within easy s%pringing distance, and the
drst time the prairie dog energies from bis
house to take q look at the rising sun the
coyote Will pounce upon him and carry
him off to o quiet spot somewhere in the
1ecesses of the foothills and make q break
1Ast Of him.
Frontiersmen often wonder what b.
comes Of coyotes, for nobody ever saw Q
dead one. A mountain lion may get one
occasionally, but it is not q common CO.
o%urrenoe. Sometimes a coyote is acciden-
tally started from his rest by a hunter, but
II he can nee get a tree between himself
and the hunter, no matter II there Is not
another tree within five miles, the hunter
will never see tho coyote again. To call
him an artful dodger would but feebly
represent his character in that direction.
He is never to be depended on to follow
any given line Of conduct. The only way
10 arrive at Y an approximate conolu.
sion as to what action q coyote viii take
under certain conditions 10 to decide what
he is most likely to do and then watt pa
tiently for him to do just the opposite
thing.
To a lover Of natures music q ooyote
concert is o rare treat. It may not be al
together the music in itself; the environ
ments help q good deal. You should lie
ON q grassy knoll away up somewhere
nea the headwaters Of tho Ar~kansasriver,