The Forrest City times., 1898-04-01
aRIzoNA's WILD DOGS.
Their Poisonous Bite L. Fatal q
| Cnffle.

SOttie.
Ranging through that section of the
United States where New Mexico and
Arizona meet are bands of wild ami
mails whose bite is more to be dreaded
than that 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 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 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 ago.
1t was not very long after that when
the first of the present species Of ami.
mails that is now creating so 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 shot
at one of the depredators whenever op-
portunity offered.
In these days, however, their short
barks and long dismal bowls or roars
something like a coyote howl intensi
fed many times, are becoming alto.
gether too familiar. The noise they
make is fearsome indeed-far more SO
than the scream of the panther or the
howl of the thoroughbred wolf None
have ever been captured, and no one
wants to capture them, for their ap-
pearance is very nearly as ugly as their
bite. full-grown animal of this sort
will weigh about 100 pounds, and
stands from 2H to 3 feet high. They
are heaviest about the shoulders and
neck, have round-shaped head and
short, sharp ears.
The general color Of their coats Is
gray, 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 then
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 beer
known to wantonly attack a human be.
ing, they will defend themselve.
against one quick enough.
Mr.. Brown tells one instance where q
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 fed to its mother TO,
protection. The mother licked the
| wound and in few moments the call
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 ate.-Philadelphia Press.