The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-01
COYOTES OF TEXAS.
Few Cold Facts About the Vnga-
bond and PicIpOcket.

n rev NOid fnctS About the NaGa-
bond and PickpOcket.
From the Dallas (Texas) News.
Every now and then a writer on one Of
the Eastern papers kills little space with
a description of The coyote and his habits
| These descriptions, generally speaking, give
| evidence that the writer has never seen
a coyote outside Of a circus and has OBJ
tanned his Information from persons who
have Travelled in the Southwest, and from
natural history. Although well written
and containing much interesting inforna-
/ ton, 10 saw nothing Of amusing anecdotes,
at the expense of this much talked-of ant
nal, they generally make Texans smile
| In the language of the cowboys and
ranchmen, the coyote is the "orneriest'
| animal on earth. He is a natural born
thief, and his sneaking little eyes show
it. Those who know him well swear that
the only thing he won't steal is a very,
| very warm stove.
Brother Coyote is never troubled with
| dyspepsia. He can eat anything. Ranch
men aver that the coyote and the buzzard
| are mortal enemiesy and that the bitter
! ness of the latter Is tinged with envy, all
because the former will make a good meal
| off odorous edibles which the broad
winged carrion bird will sail over contempt
tuously The coyote likes jack rabbits,
and will sometimes dine off prairie dogs,
but he will eat anything from a greasy,
! worn-out saddle 60 the carcass Of steer
'ten days gone"
| out on the praires many strange stories
are told at his expense One of these,
| which does not find mucn "reIence, is that
| The coyote can 80 for weeNs without wa
! ter. In West Texas they have what Is
! called a "dry season." Sometimes rain
/ does not fall for months. The streams
! dry up Where there were once broad
streams there are nothing but tracked
! gullies with dry sand on the bottoms. This
| does not make much difference to the
prairie dog. He can burrow down in the
| sand until he reaches water. But the
| cayote cannot do that, and, as he Is rarely
ever seen to drink at all, many believe that
he abstains from water during this dry
period That this Is moi so is attested by
| the fact that these animals have been
! seen TO sneak up to the ranch tanks and
eagerly drink the tepid water. This does
| not happen often, however, and there
seems 10 be no doubt that the "scavenger
! Of the prairies" as he Is sometimes call
! ed. can 90 without water for days al a
! time
The coyote is the vagabond of the four
| footed animal world. He is the prototype
of the pickpocket Both his looks and his
| actions show this. He is Of an uncertain
color. In the daytime his hair seems 10
be of the color of the sand Of the plains,
at twilight il harmonizes with the gloom
of the dying day. AT night, If the moon
Is shining, II seems to be a light gray,
! and II the moon is obscured II Is black
so black that all that is visible Of him are
| two small fiery eyes, which come into
view as he prowls around the cowboys
fire. He is ever ready to raid a night
camp-that is, n he believes he can escape
with a whole skin. If the opportunity Is
| offered. he will rush I'm and snatch a piece
of broillng meat from off the Goals over
turn the coffee pot. scatter the embers,
| scare the horses and make off az the
| speed OF an express train. He is always
! followed by few rife balls and blue
| coated stream Of profanity but generally
manages to escape unhurt
The coyote can run like CREASED Hight
ming" He can run circles around an ordl-
nary horse and not hair try. He just hangs
| his tongue out OF the northeast corner Of
his mouth, shuts one eye, and slides Off