Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1895 — THE YELPING COYOTE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE YELPING COYOTE.

Habit* of This Queer Inhabitant of the • - Plain* Whatever else may be said for or against the coyote, there are three points upon which his enemies, as well as his friends, have agreed—that his true aim in life is to satisfy the cravings of his inner anatomy. That his chief affliction is an undying curiosity, and that his principal amusement is to pour forth his soul in accents of yelping melody. There is no ease on record where a coyote was of the opinion that his famine was filled; it is against his creed to even dream of having enough to eat When one of them goes on a little raid by himself, and is so fortunate as to catch a young and unsuspecting calf out for a moonlight stroll without his mother, why supper is assured as far as the coyote is concerned, and he will carve out the choicest morsels first and then gorge himself on the more substantial portions until he resembles* a packed grip on legs. Yet not even then is the coyote ready to depart for home—not if he knows himself; but if the remainder of the feast be not too heavy he will throw it across his back, and, holding one end in his mouth, carry the remnant of the luckless calf to his den for future reference; when, if he be a coyote of family, his spouse and cubs will be allowed to assist him in taking care of what is left ere it spoils. But should the calf be of such a size that the remainder can not be removed, the coyote simply camps on the spot and eats by installments until the approach of day, when, with many a longllng glance and reluctant howl, he drags himself homeward. The Curiosity of a coyote is absolutely beyond his control. Should anything unusual happen on the range, as a stampede for instance, every place ot vantage in the immediate neighborhood is liable to be adorned with one or more coyotes, standing like silent interrogations, only to be transformed a ‘moment later, when the maddened herd has thundered by, into howling exclamations of joy, as they think ol the trampled victims from whose fat

quarters entire suppers are to be carved at will. The yelping howl of a coyote produces a strange impression on the mind of one who hears it for the first time. As long as a coyote is heard to express himself in long-drawn howls, uttered at irregular Intervals, it is a sure sign that no game is in the wind. But whenever one be'gins to pour forth his soul in whole volleys of staccato yelps and agonizing shrieks it is an unfailing indication that he has either just eaten or has brought his game to bay and needs help in taking it. The ‘ti+ue when the coyotes do their best and most scientific yelping is uetween day break and sunrise. Then it is that one coyote will make as much noise as a large family of cur dogs; and a dozen reciting in chorus will create an uproar that could not be equaled if a flock of mad geese were shut up with a whole regiment of hound pups. The strangest part of it is that the coyotes, when giving these morning concerts, do not stand still and look solemn; but whirl round and round, and roll over and over, and leap wildly into the air, their antics resembling very much the gyrations of the man with a bumble bee up his ti-ousers leg.

A MIDNIGHT SERENADE.