Wolves and Wolf Nature 



puppies of its own size, and evidently was per- 

 fectly at home with them. It wagged its tail 

 and fawned on any one that it knew well who 

 caressed it, but if a stranger attempted to pat 

 it, it usually dodged, and would not come 

 within reach of the hand. It did not always 

 remain about the camp, but wandered away 

 on to the prairie. Here it was several times 

 seen, and taken for a wild coyote, and chased 

 by the hounds. It would run fast and far, 

 and at length, when tired or about to be over- 

 taken, it would stop, lie down, and roll over 

 on its back, lying there with its paws in the 

 air until the pack came up. When the dogs 

 reached it, and recognized it as a friend, it at 

 once jumped up and fraternized with them, 

 seeming by its actions to express its gratitude 

 to them for having spared it, and, perhaps, its 

 satisfaction at the joke it had played on the 

 hounds. At all events, the boy who rode 

 with the pack declared that he believed " the 

 little devil done it a' purpose," and I was very 

 much inclined to agree with him. 



The wisdom of the coyote is proverbial. 

 In the folk myths of many tribes of western 

 Indians he is a mysterious and supernatural 



being, often one of the gods, but sometimes 



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