THE CLOWN OF THE PRAIRIES 87 
close enough. At last he laid down by a cliff 
and pretended to go to sleep. When I came al- 
most near enough to photograph him he rose, 
looked at me, yawned as though bored, and ran 
away. A common prank of his is to lure a dog 
from a camp or ranch to a point where the 
coyote is safe, then to pounce upon the dog and 
chase him back in confusion. 
As I sat one day on a hillside, watching the 
antics of calves among a herd of cattle, two 
coyotes trotted into the scene. They caused no 
alarm and did not receive even a second look 
from the cattle. Slowly and knowingly the 
coyotes walked here and there among them, as 
though selecting a victim or looking for one 
whose days were numbered. Near me was a 
crippled old cow that plainly did not have long 
to live. The instant the coyotes came within 
view of her one of them sat down, plainly satis- 
fied with the outlook; and the other laid down 
with the easy, contemptuous air of a cynic be- 
fore a waiting feast. To add to the effective- 
ness of the scene a number of magpies, which 
usually are watchful enough to arrive first at 
any promised feast, joined them. 
On an Arizona desert I saw two coyotes 
walking along apparently without any heads. 
What scheme are they up to now? was my first 
thought as I stood looking at this magic scene. 
