Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1908-01-10
A ACOYOTEHERO
AsIORY o. 1aE sIIaaAs. sy !. w. HAYS.

The theatre of my last summers
outing was the eastern boundary of
San Bernardino Valley. 1t is the
most picturesque section of Southern
California. The lofty and rugged
Sierras form a horseshoe, studded
with three peaks, each more than
two miles high San Bernardino,
San Groganio (Graybackl and San
Antonio told Baldy). A fourth peak
that tops the two-mile line is San ia
cinto. a score of miles southeastward.
One afternoon was strolling lazily
in the foothills at the base of San
Bernardino peak. 1t was near the
mouth of Santa Ana Canyon, whence
flows the river whose water irrigates
the larger part of the great orange
belt. The foothills thereabout are
uncultiyated. mainly because of irri-
CATION difficulties. A few energetic
ranchers surmount the obstacle, how
ever, by developing water in gulches
in higher levels and leading 1t by
bitches to their land.
A small hillside ranch attracted
my attention. Somewhat weary and
quite thirsty by reason of long tray-
cling, with gun on shoulder, I ap-
preached the ranch house. 1t was a
cosy little cottage, embowered in
vines and flowers, with a large ad-
joining garden showing a profuslon
of fruit trees and vegetables.
A. 4
tion was attracted by a queer little
stone enclosure. perhaps six or eight
feet square and about five feet high.
In the middle of the square was a
very large boulder Part of the face
Of the boulder had been rudely
dressed and thereon was a fairly well
cut inscription. thus:
In Memoriam
CANAS LATRANS
1890
The oddity of the memorial, and
particularly its sudden reminder Of
college days and classic wrestle, gave
added interest to my call at the cot
tage.
A stalwart rancher, apparently a
little on the sunny side of forty, was
sitting on the cosy porch. He arose
and met me cordially as / introduced
myself and intimated that thirst was
the primary cause of my call and Gu
riosity the secondary cause, alluding
to the memorial. Responding to his
Invitation to be seated, caught a
glimpse through the doorway OF a
tidy woman within and also a pretty
girl of perhaps sixteen or seventeen
years.
After little verbal skirmishing
drew from the rancher the story of
which the memorial was the visible
reminder. Here 1t is:
The rancher was a yale man." as
he expressed it. As prominent
figure in university athletics he had
injured his health. After graduation
he developed ineipient tuberculosis
and was advised by physicians to lose
no time in getting to Southern Cali
fornia and adopting the "close to ma
ture" life In the dry atmosphere near
the mountains. He homesteaded a
quarter section of seemingly worth
less hillside land and built a shack
on the site of his present cottage.
The change of environment soon
restored his health, and he was so
greatly pleased with the new life that
he returned to his Eastern home for
life partner. to whom he was en-
gagged when in his senior year at
Yale. Back to his mountain-edge
home he came with his bride, a sem
sible Yankee lass who shared his love
for the "close-to-nature" idea. In
due season the present cottage dis
placed the shack, Just in time to ac-
commodate the arrival of the stork
with bouncing girl baby.
"Neighbors were few and far be-
tween in those days" said the ranch
er. Il mean the bipedal, not the
quadruped kind. There were entire
ly too many of the latter, and some
of them were unpleasantly sociable.
Coyotes developed an inordinate love
for our poultry, Jack rabbits and cot
tontails had a weakness for our veg
etables, and occasionally a mountain
lion would meander down from the
mountains in quest of fresh veal or
pork.
don't know whether you are IA
miliar with coyote cunning, but for
ways that are dark and for tricks
that are vain they beat the heather
Chinee' out of sight. Many an evening
! sat on this porch with Winchester
or double-barreled shotgun in hand
loaded with buckshot in wait for the
willy rascals.
Just after sunset, in the early twi-
light, they would begin to skirmish
toward the enclosure that contained
the chicken coops. First would come
from the distance two or three Of the
familiar dog-like yelps, followed by
the dismal and weird long-drawn
howl peculiar to the species. The
yelps and howls would gradually
draw nearer until was led to peer
into the gathering darkness and
finger the gun trigger expectation
OF getting a shot. and then would
be startled suddenly by the squawk
OF chickens in the corral. having
been victim Of coyote decoy trick.
We'll, to get to tho gist Of the
story, one evening caught a faint
glimpse of coyote In the underbrush
as 1t was working the deeoy racket.
1t was long range shot, but deter
mined to take the chance with my
Winchester. l blazed away and was
rewarded by yelp quite different
from the decoy kind. indicating that
! had hit the mark.
"As hurried out to see what exc
cution had been done the nearly full
moon was just peeping above the hor-
lion, down the valley. partly lighting
up my surroundings. From a short
distance in the opposite direction to
the one was going came mournful
wall, evidently the voice of mate or
companion of the one my bullet had
sfruCk-a pafhaffa roaanonoa 70 tha