Wolves and IV olf -Hounds. 387 



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 ex- 

 perience, 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 fast- 

 nesses 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 be- 

 tween, although 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 dif- 

 ference in the size of the teeth, in some cases even when 

 the body of one wolf is as big as that of another. I have 

 seen wolves from Texas and New Mexico which were 

 under-sized, slim animals with rather small tusks, in no 

 way to be compared to the long-toothed giants of their 

 race that dwell in the heavily timbered mountains of the 

 Northwest and in the far North. As a rule, the teeth of 

 the coyote are relatively smaller than those of the gray 

 wolf. 



Formerly wolves were incredibly abundant in certain 

 parts of the country, notably on the great plains, where 

 they were known as buffalo wolves, and were regular at- 



