WATER TRAILS OF THE CERISO 



other, they are night prowlers, it is perhaps 

 true only as the things they feed upon are 

 more easily come by in the dark, and they 

 know well how to adjust themselves to con- 

 ditions wherein food is more plentiful by 

 day. And their accustomed performance 

 is very much a matter of keen eye, keener 

 scent, quick ear, and a better memory of 

 sights and sounds than man dares boast. 

 Watch a coyote come out of his lair and 

 cast about in his mind where he will go 

 for his daily killing. You cannot very well 

 tell what decides him, but very easily that 

 he has decided. He trots or breaks into 

 short gallops, with very perceptible pauses 

 to look up and about at landmarks, alters 

 his tack a little, looking forward and back 

 to steer his proper course. I am persuaded 

 that the coyotes in my valley, which is nar- 

 row and beset with steep, sharp hills, in 

 30 



