Iv THE HOUND OF THE PLAINS Ior 
west, then, he is a creature of the open country, 
leaving high mountains and forested regions to 
the large gray “mountain” or “timber” wolf 
(Canis lupus). Perhaps this is less his choice than 
his necessity, for in Mexico and Central America 
he seeks his food more often in forests than else- 
where, yet keeps his characteristic cunning and 
cowardice, becoming there the wild dog of the 
jungles, as in the north he is the hound of , the 
plains. It is that tropical region, indeed, which 
gives us his name, for “coyote” comes from the 
pure Nahuatl word coyot/, the final Z softened into 
ane. This ultimate must not be lost in the pronun- 
ciation, which is coy-o'te, in three syllables, — not 
ki-yot, as often heard. The word is translated in 
the old Nahuatl-Spanish dictionaries by the Span- 
ish adibe, a term applied to the African jackals. 
It is also employed as a terminal of generic signifi- 
cation for all similar animals, as Dr. Daniel G. 
Brinton has explained. Thus ¢/al-coyotl, from 
tlalli, earth, and coyotl, is a big burrowing animal 
found in Mexico. The derivation of coyot/, indeed, 
appears to be from the root coy-, which means a 
hole, alluding, of course, to the burrowing habits. 
I have met, in an indigenous Californian language, 
a very similar word which is said to mean “hill- 
dog.” 
When this wolf cannot find a natural hollow in 
the earth to suit him, nor evict some unhappy 
hare, prairie-dog, or badger, he digs for himself a 
