THE PRAIRIE WOLF. 101 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE PKAIRIE WOLF. 



The Prairie Wolf. Origin of its Name. Its Position among: the Canidce. 

 The connecting Link between the large Wolf and the Fox. Its Bur- 

 rows. Peculiarity of its Barking. Its Form and Color. How it is 

 looked upon by Plainsmen. Where it is very Abundant. Hunting it 

 on Horseback. Its Speed. Best Dogs for Hunting it. Its Numbers 

 make it difficult to be Hunted by one Pack of Hounds. The Heavi- 

 ness of its Brush. When it runs Best. Best Horses for the Chase. 

 Leaves a Screaming Scent. Dashes after it with Hounds and Horses. 

 Kill Six in One Day. Run into Encampments of War-parties of 

 Indians. Rapid Retreat. A Severe Fight with the Red Men. A 

 Chase on the Plains of the Columbia. The Meet. Mongrel Dogs and 

 their Love of Fighting. At Cover. Start. Two Coyotes. The Pur- 

 suit. Killed by Indian Dogs. A Mongrel Greyhound brings One to 

 Bay, and it is shot. I shoot One. Looking for my Party. A Meet 

 and a Run. Surprised by Indians. Whites versus Indians in the 

 Chase. Seven Coyotes killed. Fun and Confusion. Falls and Laugh- 

 ter. The Relation of Indian Dogs to Coyotes. Their Character for 

 Hunting. Future of Coyote-hunting. 



THE prairie wolf, or coyote (Canis latrans),\s found all 

 over the open plains of the Far West, and ranges from 

 British America on the north to Mexico on the south. Its 

 technical cognomen is derived from its characteristic in 

 barking, which is so different from the melancholy howl 

 of the gray wolf, and its common name of coyote, from 

 the Mexicans; but among them it is a wretched creature, 

 little larger than a fox, and so timid that it flees from a 

 cur. It is much larger, more active and energetic, in the 

 North, and has all the qualities necessary to make hunting 

 it will) hounds and horses both interesting and exciting. 

 It seems to occupy the position in size and character be- 

 tween the large wolf and the fox, and to be the connecting 

 link between them. It resembles the wolf in bodily out- 

 line, appearance, and color, and, like it, hunts in packs ; 



