THE COYOTE OF PELICAN POINT 29 



He had vanished before my eyes. I had not seen 

 imove, although I had been watching him steadily. 



"Queer, isn't it?" said the warden. "It's no 

 <his particular dodge, for every old coyote that has 

 hunted learns to work it; but I never knew 

 that had it down so fine as this sinner. There 's 

 next to nothing here for him to skulk behind. Why, 

 jhe has given my dog the slip right here on the bare 

 -rock! But I'll fix him yet." 



I did not have to be persuaded to stay overnight 

 with the warden for the coyote-hunt the next day. 

 The warden, I found, had fallen in with a Mr. 

 'Harris, a homesteader, who had been something 

 'a professional coyote-hunter. Harris had just arriv 

 in southern Oregon, and had brought with him his ; 

 s 'dogs, a long, graceful greyhound, and his fighting 

 ^mate, a powerful Russian wolfhound; both 

 crack coyote dogs from down Saskatchewan, 

 had accepted the warden's offer of fifty dollars 

 the hide of the coyote of Pelican Point, and was now 

 on his way round the lake. 



The outfit appeared late the next day, and con 

 sisted of the two dogs, a horse and buckboard, and 

 'a big, empty dry-goods box. 



I had hunted possums in the gum swamps of th 

 South with a stick and a gunny-sack, but this rig, 

 on the rocky, roadless shores of the lake a dry- 

 goods box for coyotes! beat any hunting combina 

 tion I had ever seen. 



