The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-18

1 From the New 1ork Woflu
 Lawton, okla.-President Roosevelt's
 nomination of John D. Abernathy, his personal friend, the man who captures
 and kills wolves with his bare hands. to
 be United States marshal for Oklahoma,
 Is variously regarded by Oklahoma peo- ple A mans ability to seize a coyote
 and tear it's jaws apart with his hands
 does not, in the opinion of some people,
 qualify him for United States marshal.
 There will never be occasion to tear a federal prisoners jaws apart. But on the other hand there are those who say
 that a marshal of determination and
 handy with his gun is needed in this territory.
 Abernathy lives fourteen miles north
 west of Frederick, the town near which
 President Roosevelt spent five days in coyote hunting last April Though Fred
 eriek is his nearest railroad station, he gets his mail-when not rending coyotes at the cross-road hamlet of Texca. Aber
 nathy drew his farm as a homestead in the opening of the Kiowa- Comanehe country in August, 1901, Before that he had lived in Texas He is a simple, or dinary free-spoken farmer, always with an open hand for a guest. He is not given to worrying, is a good shot and is possessed of a good pair of legs. else how could he catch coyotes with his hands?
 President Roosevelts attention was first called to Abernathy as an athlete and expert coyote catcher by Col. Cecil Lyon, chairman of the state republican committee of Texas, about eighteen months ago. The President came west in the following April and Abernathy joined the party in the half-million acre reservation of the Kiowa and Comanche
 Indians, bordering on Red river, in the
 southwest part of Oklahoma. At the
 suggestion of Abernathy himself the plans for the hunt were changed so that the reservation was selected as the hunt | ing grounds rather than a west Texas l ranch.
 Won Fame In 1902. Abernathy had been catching coyotes l for ten years, out outside of his own community none knew of his special pro-
 fcency in it until announcement was
 made in 1902 of a coursing event in Fort Worth at which prizes were to be given
 for the best work in catching jack rab-
 bits and coyotes with dogs. Cowboys and I ranchmen from all over the western and | northwestern portion of the state were | in attendance, many of them bringing | dogs that had made records at catching | these pests of the prairie. Abernathy ap- peared, and at the close of the day he had won every prize by capturing alive
 and unhurt three-fourths of the coyotes
 that had been taken. This made him l known throughout the Lone Star state. 1 Colonel Lyon heard of it, and invited him | to participate in a similar event in l Lyons park at Sherman Tex. Abernathy
 accepted and captured twenty-six wolves.
 Not long after this Lyon was in Wash l ington, and he told the President of the
 remarkable skill of the young ranchman l The President was eager to see the trick l done.
 Abernathy. with his brother, started
 across the prairie early one morning, ex- pecting to catch few wolves and take dinner at a camp he had established on
 Deep Red, where his wife and children
 were located. Early in the day the brothers became separated, and soon
 afterward John and his dogs sighted | lively coyote bounding over the hill
 They gave chase and ran the animal four or five miles, until in densey wooded valley 1t turned and began fighting tho dogs. It was an unusually large animal, and in few minutes 1t had killed one of the dogs and was getting the better of another. Then Abernathy leaped from his horse and grabbed the animal. It fought furiously, tearing his clothes and shredding his skin in places. but he suc- ceeded in getting jaw hold on the an- imal, and then he keeled 1t over on It's back and muzzled it with rope he had in his pocket.
 Goes Out With Roosevelt.
 On the last day of the Presidents stay on the reservation he and Abernathy started out on the ride together. About Il o'clock Abenathy left the others and galloped off in a northeasterly direction | over the prairie, resolved to bring back two coyotes by noon. He had ridden | not more than two miles when the dogs l jumped two sleek young coyotes, and | their master gave chase. They quickly | left the creek and the rough hills be- | hind, and were out on the rolling prairie 1 The dogs followed one coyote off in an | easterly direction, while Abernathy fol- | lowed the other to the northwest Aber- | nathy soon ran his coyote down, and dis mounting, seized and muzzled it. Then | he carried it on the saddle to where the l dogs had, in the meantime, killed the other. Then he galloped away with the | two dashed to his saddle toward the Pres idents camp.
 Shortly after the Presidents return to | Washington Abernathy received a com mission appointing him deputy United | | (T-r..