The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-09
HER MATE.

The Indians call the West .the land
where the sun lives and believe it is the
country to which spirits CO. following
the red trail Of the sunset as it stretches
its last slanting rays across the earth
II is, to them. an enchanted country
and those who live in the West and love
IL have felt. at one time or another. its
,enchantment- The prairies. the foothills
the mountains. all have their mystery
And a part OF this mystery is the coyote
Mugsins was q Collie On one of the
ranches in Colorado. He was a quiet
] willing dog. and all were fond of him
I After the manner of the Mexicans he en-
: joyed the -'sieSta,' and IN that respect he
rivaled our cook in the length and fire.
quency of his maps; yet when il came to
cutting out a COW there We're few dogs
that could equal him. It was his desire
; for sleep. at all times OF the day that
aroused my curiosity and finally led me 10
I the discovery of another side OF his life
One night. I sat in the doorway OF the
{ cabin gazing out across the moonlit
! stretches and pulling drowsily at my pipe
The stars twinkled brightly and now and
then the voice OF some night creature
came floating through the air Suddenly
! was startled from my dreaming by q
figure which slipped out OF the shadow of
. the corral and Hoped away towards the
strip of cottonwoods which marked the
course of a little stream running near by
} recognized Muggins when he had gone
; but a short distance, and waited TO see
( what would happen. Soon / heard him
/ utter several short barks- Then there
was a silence. Twice again | heard the
! ba rks He seemed TO be waiting each
: time as though expecting en- answer. AT
last It came: the cry OF a coyote.
I On the edge OF the tableland which ends
+ in high bluff a short distance back Of
the ranch buildings. coyote sat sharply
outlined in the moonlight. Muggins had
taken a mate from the tribe of his wild
kindred. AS the two trotted side by side
across the flats. | understood why he so
often slept in the daytime.
Going silently through the brush, they
surprised small flock Of sagehens. sleep
ing peacefully, and captured two before
they could escape. They were adopts at
still hunting.
Back in the rock-walled canon in the
foot hills was a small den carefully hid
den from all but the most searching eyes
in answer TO a short bark. two little furry
balls came tumbling and rolling out of the
hole falling over each other in their
eagerneSs. The father and mother had
just returned, each with a sagehen dang
ling from their jaws. The little fellows
showed no hesitation, but straightway
pounced on the birds. With fierce growls
they tugged and tore at them. often
Z
feathers. They were. apparently, not
troubled with any doubts as 10 their abil-
fly to devour a supper nearly as large as
themselves. Stretched out on the ground,
the two older ones looked on with fond
eyes. From my hiding place behind a
boulder. with binoculars in hand. watch
ed the scene. The largest one of the
group would hardly have been recognized
as Muggins. He had thrown off the be-
h1 q NJ a n
ed as truly as the rest wild.
The depredations Of the coyotes had
finally reached such a point that the
ranchmen determined to wage war on
them in earnest Each saddle was slung
with rife. When they rode the range.
the cowpunchers kept a sharper lookout
than usual for the sinking grey figures
which seemed to evade them with as
much ease as they did the traps and
poison VIC had set out. One night, late
in the summer, several of the boys were
coming home from dance at neighbor-
ing ranch and while skirting along the
foothills one of them caught sight or
band Of four coyotes. Although there
was only the dim light of the moon, the
men began shooting at them and just as
the leader of the band was disappearing
into a narrow Gulch a chance shot hit
him and he went down However, he re-
gained his feet and all four were soon
out of sight
When the cook stepped outdoors the
next morning he stumbled over the body
of Muggins stretched out on the door
step. The dog was dead. and a bullet
hole in his side. with the hair matted
around It, showed the manner of his
death AS we gathered around. recalling
where we had last seen him, mentioning
his little characteristics, one of the men
exclaimed: Here's the big coyote we
shot last night You remember. Paul.
that band we saw over by the foot
hills? Muggins was their leader and in
the dim light we didn't recognize him.
We buried him near big cottonwood
tree on which one of the lien carved with
his knife in true cowboy style: "Muggins;
he died with his boots on"
4 slender grey coyote waited long that
night on the bluff at the edge of the
tableland. Finally she went away to hunt
alone. Night after night she sat on her
launches and waited. And at last she
found where he was buried. The western
moon shone down softly on the sagebrush
fats In the shadow Of the butte lay the
grave Of her mate Stirred by some
strange power. she rased her head and
gave utterance to her cry. Coming out
Of the stiffness OF the night. il filed the
air with its quavering dying away again
into the vast silence: the howl of the
coyote. spirit Of the prairies.-A. f. II.
Talbot, in Outdoor Life