The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1912-04-19

- INCE the transformation Of
prairie into grain fields by q
host of eager farmers, nearly all
~ the wild creatures have disap-
peared. To the old-time ranch
er, riding home from the distant post
Office at shutdown, the careless coyote.
as it sinks across the crop-dividiDg
lane, seems last link with bygone
era, and its evening serenade becomes
howl Of sympathetic protest against
the roar Of gasoline engines. For the
coyote is not panic-stricken by advanc-
ing tides Of unprecedented life like
its large congener the wolf, but adapts
itself to altered conditions, and prob
ably finds in the latest boom of the
poultry yard some compensation for
the disappearance Of sheep, writes E.
s. Cameron in Country Life. I have
somewhere read that the cat which
can strike an octave is the only must
ciOn among mammals, but I think the
coyote can excel the tabby in this re-
spect. It can do anything it likes with
it's voice and, with the ease of light
operate soprano, can Shrek in altis-
simo or rattle out staccato at top
speed, besides barking and bowling in
all the variations peculiar to a dog Of
its size. When several coyotes affect
orchestral combination the effect is
indescribable.
Recent systematists assign eight
species Of coyotes to the United
States, and four more to Mexico, but
in the present account refer only to
CAMS latrano. Coyotes, like foxes, diff
fer very much in size, but an average
male coyote in Montana weighs %
pounds and stands about twenty-five
inches at the shoulder, with total
length from tip to tip of A inches, of
which the tail occupies Is inches. The
prevailing hue Of our coyote is ash
color. which darkens on the back ow-
ing to the profusion Of black hairs.
and turns gradually to reddish yellow
at all the extremities, excepting the
tip Of the tail, which is usually black,
but occasionally white.
Aid to Farmers.
# the farmers are wise, the coyote
will date new lease Of life from the
new agriculture; for where there are
no sheep, the quondam foe becomes a
valued friend and ally to keep down
the hordes of jack-rabbits, gophers,
prairie dogs, feld-mice and other pests
which destroy the crops. Owing to an
81 nj hA oh Iov
cottontail-rabbits, coyotes, in default
Of carrion, subsist during the winter
chiefly upon mice. Among the latter
are included the voles (Microtus),
which are very destructive, and Gas
ably demonstrated by Mr. Stanley e.
Piper of the Biological society so pro-
life that, In the absence Of natural
checks. they night multiply to a
plague every four or five years. The
Nevada vole plague within recent
memory forbids a doubt that unless
the threatened determination Of
hawks, owls and coyotes can be avert
ed. the result must be disastrous to
the farmer. yet 'he declines" Il quote
the eminent naturalist. DR.. A. K. Fish
er, Yearbook, United States depart
ment Of agricultural ito give a mere
pittance in return for value received,
and visits indiscriminate persecution
on the humble and faithful workers
that have helped to save his harvest
or orchard" That coyotes may devel-
op into confirmed poultry thieves is
indisputable, but in my experience
these crafty robbers of the henroost
are either females with hungry pups
dependent on them, or individuals Of
feeble type. whom age or injury pre-
cludes from hunting in wider field.
The raids are made at night or early
dawn, and 1t is thus a simple matter
to safeguard the birds by shutting
them up when they retire to roost.
Turkeys. however, must be excepted.
their vagrant habit rendering them an
easy prey. Coyotes with taste for
chicken know by instinct when the
homestead is untenanted or insecurity
watched, and the prosecuted beast
forthwith becomes extremely bold. At
| the time Of writing. q neighbor (Mrs.
Hagen) happened to be alone on her
ranch In the early morning hours with
Tout companions other than her little
girl and an old blind dog. Hearing q
terrible outcry among her fowls. she
rushed to the barn where they were
gathered for the night, and surprised
COYOTE IN the middle Of its CORY
work. One headless pullet already
stained the ground. and second was
inst saved from similar fate by her
sudden appearance, which alarmed
the murderous brute. causing It to re-
traat without IT. bocty. Meanwhile