DIVISION :eiGHT — SCIENCE^. 583 



Coyote. — The coyote {canis latrans) is to America what the jackal is 

 to the old world, a sly, predatory, lowland wolf, hunting either singly or in 

 bands, fleet of focJt, hard to kill, the familiar of every portion of the western 

 country. During the day the coyote remains in the canyons, in the Arroyo 

 and the main range, but as soon as night sets in, their demoniac laughing- 

 bark can be heard, setting the dogs in the neighborhood wild. Knowing 

 that it can outrun the average dog, the coyote strolls up into the town, trots 

 down Orange Grove Avenue and through the orange groves, after plunder. 

 They venture into the very heart of the town, being seen on Marengo 

 Avenue and in various localities thickly settled. As morning approaches, 

 they start for the Arroyo and the foot-hills. I have seen them lying on the 

 slopes of the high hills south of Ramona during the day, and their wonder- 

 ful speed has often tested the powers of Mr. Shorb's fine gray and stag 

 hounds. In one run, the coyote was followed from the top of the range at 

 least a mile and a half before it was caught, and then made a most savage 

 fight, wounding every dog in the pack, and badly injuring the best dog. 

 The coyote will rarely attack a larger animal than itself, but when caught 

 or cornered it makes a valiant fight. The coyote burrows on the hill sides, 

 forming a subterranean nest, where its young are produced. It preys upon 

 various small animals, and is a veritable scavenger, eating anything it can 

 find or steal. The coyote belongs to the same genus as the common dog, 

 and the difference between the skulls of the two is very slight.* They are 

 readily tamed, and Mr. Bandini informs me that he had one which ran with 

 a pack of hounds unmolested. 



Mountain Deer. — In wandering in the 

 low brush of our hill sides, or the deep, well- 

 wooded canyons of the upper range, the stroller 

 often sees for a fleeting moment a vision of long, 

 pointed ears, bright, lustrous eyes, then a crash 

 is heard, and the black-tailed deer is away, find- 

 ing its way through the seemingly impenetrable 

 scrub with remarkable ease and celerity. This \ <^ '^'-''" 01 d deer 



i'i.ii i /■ /^ /^ 1 L- \ • '^".*'p<»«i« trail in Mil, 



little creature (C<?rz^z<i' Co/umoian?is) is very com- fr^^ \ ' lard can- 



mon among our hills and mountains. The black- #^W' ^< y°*^' above 



tailed deer may be considered a purely mountain f;^'I ^ theoiddings 

 form, loving the thickly-wooded slopes, and the ;. * ,■- f^''™- 



lofty ridges of the upper range. It equals the 



Virginia deer in size, often exceeding it, and has an entirely different 

 antler arrangement, the horns being what is known as doubly 

 dichotomous, or arranged in double pairs. It is stouter than the 

 Virginia deer, and is not so fleet. The rutting season is usually in Septem- 

 ber, the horns being cast in March, and perfect again in August. The 

 young number one or two, and are attractive little creatures, spotted like 

 the young of many of the tribe. The black-tailed deer is easily distinguish- 

 able from the mule deer by its smaller size, its jet-black tail, and the dusky 

 horse-shoe mark on the forehead. 



Mule Deer. — The mule deer {Cariacus inacrotis) undoubtedly ranges the 

 whole Sierra series, and Judge Katon has in recent years described a variety 



*The coyote is altaost identical with the wild dogs of Assj^ria and Palestine spoken of so frequently 

 in the Bible, and with the Dingo or wild dog of Australia. The aborigines of our Santa Barbara islands 

 had domesticated it. Chas. F. Lummis writes : " Coyote is one of the Aztec words adopted into Span- 

 ish. . . Its original form was coyotl.'" 



