The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-02-16
COYOTE SGOuRGE
WIZ STERN lEKAS|

sluAlsu ~ " gMN1
IN WEST IE's'As'
osstfoy are snaI y ear,,e, Rul,t, che III
Il aFnerss and Menace School
II CHI ldren:
is ssss8 mic ], Febs g 4,
West Texas Is facing the great byote,
peril. Coyotes areS becoming SO 9nus
nereus IN the plains country south !!
If the mount lnous district west
Texas MS To ,becorne dim gerous not
only to- domestic animals, but y 4hnyss
man life. Mad coyotes. which We're
unlnoNn formerly, have become SO
common In recent years that already !
several persons have died Us - result
Of their bites. 51t has become nbso.
lutely necessary for camping parties
IN sIIvalde county to surround their
tents with wire netting as a protecs
ton against mad Il coyotes, kvsn
ranch houses have their galleries In;
closed with wire netting Parents on
the outskirts Of the Stow:l Of .uYaldes
are afraid to- send their children TO
school without an escort. During
the summer months almost a state OF
panic exists in some counties. "a
mad coyote is perfectly fearless, and
does not hesitate to attack any. per.
son or animal 1t encounters. IA
This animal feeds upon game Of all
kinds. It kills fawns, eats quail eggs,
kills the wild turkey hen and destroys
her st3during setting time. In fact,
a1lfwild fowls that nest on the ground
are liable to be destroyed by It. The,
other wild animals during the last
twenty years have decreased to such
an extent that the enforcement OF the
most rigid game laws is necessary for
their preservation. Coyotes are the
only animals that have multiplied
during this same period. and at pres.
ent they not only destroy live stock,
but have become a menace even to
human life. It is a fact that there
are very few young deer and young
turkeys in west Texas at the present
l ~
time, where coyotes are most numer:
Gus. The coyotes watch the mother
doe secrete her fawns. and during
her absence destroy her young. In
the same manner this vicious animal
kills young calves. a single ranch;
man I'm Maverick county last year
had 200 calves killed BY coyotes. \ ts
sheepmcn Made War. 8is
Coyote Il. the Spanish name for the
medium-slzed prairie wolf SO com
mon over the western part Of the Uni
ted States. 1t is possessed OF Al cum
ming and sense most extraordinar.
for q four-legged brute. In man,
ways it resembles the lobo wolf, onc'
50 common in west Texas, thought h'
lobo3is a powerful animal Of twice thu
I, size and strength of the coyote. On
{ powerful lobo when aroused by hun
!, ger will attack and destroy q full
grown cow, Cattle when attacke
,lbyt }lobo wolves will present a soil
!, defense Of horns BY forming a rim
j, around the calves. The ranchman$i
the early days hurriedly grabbed hi
i gun in the dead of night and rushe
through mesquite and cacti to the a!
i sistance Of his panic.strlcken; cattlt
4 Which were believing loudly and de
perately fighting the lobos. l! y
Il When the sheep industry BEGAN
so remuneratlve, through the sple,
K did market price paid for wool an
9 sheep, the flock master began to civ
$ it a great deal Of attention. I'll
d sheep is such a defenseless animi
= that 1T is the very symbol OF NEE
y ness. The wolf Is its natural enem
q The flock masters first duty in Il
Q care Of his flock began with the d
6 struction Of wolves on the hon
! range. a relentless war was @agt
y against wolves by the sheepmen
u every county in west Texas, and aft
:, five years the dangerous lobo was /, &
Y terminated from the plains OF we
Q Texas. though in the mountaino
% district there sun remain a few. II
t;EMURDERERs MAY RE54TRAcED
4. To; VILE, PINE eRoVEE DIV
IS NEW NIARTINsy1LLE, Feb IS.
n In order TO ascertain the cause Of
u vile stencil in the Pine Grove dive
n. (which Henry Davidson was recent