The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-11-18

The Quest Of the Lone Wolf.

killing OF the old bulls, The .,,
and calves. They were n n
mon that buffalo hunters 49, a'
wasted any Of their precions
munition on them. But whsn. =. -
buffalo herds were gone and - -
cattle herds, working SLOWLY ~, ne
from old Mexico. began to cov. .v ~
great plains, the lobo BEGAN. - ~
greatest pest of the business ~ ~
cepting his small cousin, the co, -,
he has been the hardest Of Al Ma -
predatory beasts to DESTROY ~, ~
was when the lordly gri,slv ,a.e
to come far down on the ,nls,.
and kill the largest bulls NM
blow of his paw. The grizzly sc -
fight, but he could neither Ma ' ~
run very we'll. Before tho rss." S'
ing. rife he retired in dvinS,i.,
numbers to the farthest recess !;
the mountain canyons. H. ~,
kills few sheep, but scarcely .sr .'
where 10 he Q factor in the v.,t,.
business.
But the wolves, after lust ,h,.,.
so years Of persecution, ara ain
very much a factor. They -.
greatly reduced in numbers. n,
nearly every section of open r,n a,s
country still has its little band y
wolves. And their appetits n.
beef is enormous. 1t costs II M
a year or more, to support eyery
one of them. The biological sur,.v
has therefore decreed unmerrt,r,
war against them, and it is prohahl.
that they are doomed. In som.
sections, as in that where Wilkins
hunted, only a single wolf is In
In such cases the wolf hss ham
known to steal a march on civil.
cation by mating with q dog and
raising a little of wolf-doss thai
/ are just as bad as wolves And
! sometimes worse.
The Wise Coyote.
The little coyote, also true wolf
! has survived the advance Of civil.
, cation much better than the lobo
He is still numerous all over the
west, and is reported to be extend.
/ ing his range eastward. The coyote
does great damage to sheep, taking
regularly 10 per cent of the lamb
crop, in many sections OF the
southwest, but he is not menace
to cattle. Furthermore, he does not
depend upon stock for living to
the extent that the wolf does II
: the sheep men make it too hot FOR
him, he can retire into a desert
/, country, where you would think Z
buzzard would starve, and there
live on mice. lizards and an coca.
i sional jack rabbit. 1t is possible
| to reduce his numbers in sections
| where he is a pest, but he Is in no
danger whatever of being exteru.
mated.
The one other predatory creature
which engages the government
hunters is the mountain lion, puma,
or panther, as it is variously called.
This creature is native to almost
every part of the United States, but
it has been exterminated in much
of the east, leaving a trail of legend
and myth behind it. There is no
creature about which you can hear
more weird and thrilling stories
Its cry is said to be the most hair,
raising in the world, resembling the
scream of terrified woman II is
said to trail men for days and
nights, seeking a chance to pounce
upon them. But there are re
remarkably few records of attacks
on men by, mountain lions, and tht
animal kills few cattle because /
lives only in mountain country. Ii
some sections of mountain summer
range it is very destructive to cat
tie and to horses. young colts beinl
! Its favorite food. Few lions ar
killed, and they are still abundan
in the Rocky mountains.
t This government campagl
against predatory animals may b
regarded as last act in the dram
of subjugating the wild west. Whe
the wolves and lions are gone tn
western rangeland will be as tan
, as an Iowa hog pasture, and ther
will be no more need OF men WI
can shoot rife and set trap.