DON COYOTE 155 



ing of the baby jaws. They are a rollicking lot 

 and are quite as ready to chew at one another's 

 feet and ears as upon other objects. They 

 tumble and roll, growl, scramble and scrap in 

 sham fight, their green, close-set, slanting eyes 

 expressing the happiness they enjoy. Play is 

 now the fundamental, uppermost, and dominat- 

 ing business of their lives. The instincts of 

 youth urge them on to the expenditure of their 

 overflowing energy in the matching of strength, 

 and in this competitive play they acquire the 

 elasticity of mind and muscle so essential in 

 after life. The mortality among young coyotes 

 is not great; for their natural enemies, with the 

 exception of man, are few. In a remarkably 

 short time after birth these puppies are ready 

 to shift for themselves and meet the hard strug- 

 gle before them. 



Coyote puppies early learn that their greatest 

 safety lies in flight when danger confronts them. 

 Curiosity seldom leads them to sit still or stand 

 and look when they are approached. Brand 

 this trait with the ill-sounding name of coward- 

 ice if you will. It is this so-called cowardice 

 that means to the coyote triumph in the arena 



