RANCH LIFE AND THE HUNTING -TRAIL 



When at bay the coyotes fought desperately but unavailingly, the two 

 hounds killing their quarry very quickly, one seizing it by the throat and 

 the other by the flanks, and then stretching it out in a trice. They occa- 

 sionally received trifling injuries in these contests. The animal that gave 

 them most trouble was a badger which they once found and only killed 

 after prolonged efforts, its squat, muscular form and tough skin making 

 it very difficult for them to get a good hold. 



We did not have time to go far from Mandan, and so confined our 

 coursing to jack rabbits, swifts, and foxes. Of the latter, the great red 

 prairie fox, we saw but one, which got up so close to the dogs that it had 

 no chance at all, and after a fine burst of a few hundred yards was over- 

 taken and torn to pieces. The swifts are properly called swift foxes, 

 being rather smaller than the southern gray fox. Ever since the days of 

 the early explorers they have been reputed to possess marvelous speed, 

 and their common name of "swift," by which they are universally known, 

 perpetuates the delusion ; for a delusion it emphatically is, since they are, 

 if anything, rather slow than otherwise. Once, in a snow storm, I started 

 one up under my horse's feet while riding across the prairie, overtook 

 him in a few strides, and killed him by a lucky shot with the revolver. 

 The speed of the coyote also has been laughably exaggerated. Judging by 

 the records of the hounds, the antelope is the fastest plains' animal, the 

 white-tail deer and the jack rabbit coming next; then follow, in order, 

 the coyote, the fox, and the swift, which is the slowest of all. Individuals 

 vary greatly, however ; thus a fast jack rabbit might well outrun a slow 

 deer, and of course both coyote and fox will outlast the swifter jack rab- 

 bits. Several dogs should run together, as otherwise a jack or a swift, 

 although overtaken, may yet escape by its dexterity in dodging. The 

 cactus beds often befriend the hunted animals, as the dogs rush heed- 

 lessly into them and are promptly disabled, while a rabbit or a fox will slip 

 through without injury. 



Two or three of us usually went out together. Our method of pro- 

 cedure was simple. We scattered out, dogs and men, and rode in an 

 irregular line across the country, beating with care the most likely looking 

 places, and following at top speed any game that got up. Sometimes a 

 jack rabbit, starting well ahead, would run for two miles or over, nearly in 

 a straight line, before being turned by the leading hound ; and occasion- 

 ally one would even get away altogether. At other times it would be over- 

 hauled at once and killed instantly, or only prolong its life a few seconds 

 by its abrupt turns and twists. One swift gave us several minutes' chase, 

 although never getting thirty rods from the place where it started. The 



