214 Hunting the Grisly 



marcation, especially in size, between the 

 coyotes and the big wolves of any given dis- 

 trict; but in certain districts the big wolves 

 are very much larger than their brethren in 

 other districts. In the upper Columbia 

 country, for instance, they are very large; 

 along the Rio Grande they are small. Dr. 

 Hart Merriam informs me that, according 

 to his experience, the coyote is largest in 

 Southern California. In many respects the 

 coyote differs altogether in habits from its big 

 relative. For one thing it is far more tolerant 

 of man. In some localities coyotes are more 

 numerous around settlements, and even in the 

 close vicinity of large towns, than they are in 

 the frowning and desolate fastnesses haunted 

 by their grim elder brother. 



Big wolves vary far more in color than the 

 coyotes do. I have seen white, black, red, 

 yellow, brown, gray, and grizzled skins, and 

 others representing every shade between, al- 

 though usually each locality has its prevailing 

 tint. The grizzled, gray, and brown often 

 have precisely the coat of the coyote. The 

 difference in size among wolves of different 

 localities, and even of the same locality, is 

 quite remarkable, and so, curiously enough, 

 is the difference in the size of the teeth, in 



