Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-08-08
"oUTCAST IN GRAY"
The Coyote and Attempts Of RANCH
men to Suppress Him.

The Coyote and Attempts of Ranch.
men to Suppress Him.
The "outcast in gray" as Bret
Harte dubbed the coyote, or prairie
wolf is one of the perils to live stock
that every ranchman or stockms.n In
Arizona or Texas has to take into ac-
count.
While other wild animals in the last
twenty-five years have decreased to
such an extent that the enforcement
or rigid game laws Is necessary, coy
otes have multiplied, and unceasing
vigilance Is necessary to circumvent
the wiles Of this shambling desert
wretch who combines the audacity OF
a hoodlum with the cunning Of thief.
The coyote Is a mongrel composite
of the wolf. the fox and the ornery
Indian dog.
Nature gave him the wolf form,
but 1t Is by foxlike cunning that he
makes his living. While everything Is
food that comes to his ravenous jaws,
his predictions are for tender young
calves and lambs. the ranchwoman's
cherished turkeys or any other domes-
tic fowls.
Every kind Of wild fowl that nests
on the ground, with all the eggs dur
ing sitting time, is delectable NOR
sci, while the coyote has phenomenal
nose for trailing up anything sick or
wounded, even man himself. He likes
rabbit meat, but does not often get
1t, for Br'er Rabbit is something Of
sprinter himself and does not trust
himself to sleep on the desert with
both eyes shut.
Failing other meat, he falls with
gusto upon the swifts and other desert
lizards, eats prickly pears and mes
quite beans, choke cherries and pin
ons, thus prolonging by his obliging
stomach his absolutely worthless life
Gaunt, leathery, with muscles like
whipcords and dusty, shaggy hide, fur
tive eyed, he limps through the clear
ings and skulks along the arroyas.
A shade on the stable. a ghost by the
wall,
Now leaping. now limping. now riskins
a fall;
Lop cared. and large jointed, but ever
always,
A thoroughly vagabond outcast in
grey
The voice Of the coyote Is one of his
most distinctive assets. Heard at
night, In a staccato series Of earsplit-
ting, demoniac cachinnations, one can
easily imagine all the hosts of sin let
loose and making merry. Yet quite
as likely as not all this yelping that
pierces the ear of night Is the output
of a single couple of these pariahs
of the dog family.
While the ordinary coyote Is a cow
ardly brute, confining his attentions
to the weak and helpless, a mad coy
ote-and these have become unpleasant
ly common in the last few years-is
fearless, never hesitating to attack any
person or animal that he encounters.
In many districts a state Of panic ex-
lists, during the summer months es-
pecially, and camping parties and iso-
lated ranch houses have their tents
and porches as we'll as chicken yards
and corrals enclosed with wire netting.
So catholic Is the coyote In his
tastes that even the family house cat
has learned to stay in nights when his
raucous notes are heard In the dis
tance.
1t takes a mighty hunter to catch
a coyote alone. An inexpert eye pass
es him over for a patch of sand or
sunburnt rock as he stands alone in
solently eying his would-be captor, so
closely does his shaggy coat match
the desert coloring.
When he starts to run 1t Is with
deliberation. He prefers a dog trot
burt when he finds it advisable to put
on speed he slips along in easy lopes
that carry him quickly out Of reach.
He is a great traveller, frequently max
ing fifty miles a night after water or
some special dainty that he has scent
ed from afar, then back again before
light.
The coyote Is not easily trapped.
His sense of smell Is remarkably
acute, so that he is easily able to de-
tect the tracks Of man or the odor Of
gunpowder. He views all traps with
suspicion and has learned to avoid
impregnated with strychnine,
a poison which the hunters formerly
used with some success.
Nowadays, when his depredations
become too fragrant to be borne, word
is passed along that coyote roundup
is in order. At the date appointed all
the young men of the countryside
gather with their dogs and horses,
and a Gordon Is extended to cover a
number of square miles, then gradual
ly drawn in until pack of the snarl-
ing beasts are run down, corralled and
slain.
The greyhounds that are trained for
this purpose can easily overtake the
coyote, but are seldom able to kill
him alone In Arizona the Indians are
devoted to this exciting sport, appear
ing as by magic on their stout ponies,
armed with their bows and arrows.
At a recent roundup in the Salt
river valley $50 of the Pimas came
over from the reservation and did yeo-
man service in anticipation of the
good dinner that was prepared for
them afterwa"d by the ranchers'
wives. assisted by the squaws.
In Texas the coyote peril has as
sumed such proportions. single
ranchman losing 200 calves last year,
that the people have applied to the
legislature for relief. The matter has
taken the shape of a bill appropriat-
ing $4,000 for the payment of boun-
ties for the scalps of these desert
thieves.
BUTTONS FROM POTATOES. - Great
quantities of buttons are now made
from potatoes. 1t is not generally known
that If the substance of the common
Irish potatoes be treated with certain
acids ii becomes almost as hard as
stone. and can be used for many pur-
poses for which horn, ivory and bone
are employed. This quality of the po-
tatoes adapts II to button making, and
a very good grade Of button Is now
made from the well known tuber The
potato button cannot be distinguished
from others save by a careful eXami-
nation. and even then only by an ex-