m THE STORY OF THE COYOTE . 
On account of the length of its fur, the coyote appears to be a thicker 
built and shorter-legged animal than it really is. The color varies consider¬ 
ably at different seasons of the year, being a bright brown in summer, and 
gray or grayish in winter; this ground-color at both seasons being overlaid 
with a shading of black, which tends to form stripes along the back and across 
the shoulders and loins. The under-parts are of a dirty white tint; while the 
upper portion of the muzzle, and the outsides of the ears and legs are gen¬ 
erally tan color. 
Tb> the hunter or emigrant encamped upon the prairie, the coyote is a 
positive nuisance. By instinct it is a thief and a coward. It will hang around 
a camp and watch every opportunity to- steal a meal. Sometimes the gnaw- 
A COYOTE OF THE WESTERN AMERICAN PRAIRIES. 
ings of hunger will give it enough courage to sneak into a tent and seize any 
morsel of food that may be left exposed. Having devoured this it will take a 
position a few hundred yards away, squatting on its haunches and licking its 
chops, waiting for another chance, but always prepared to- run if a camper 
picks up a stone or stick to throw at it. 
It is at night, however, that the coyote makes itself a nuisance. Its voice is 
far from: musical, but loud and high. It keeps up an almost incessant yelping, 
driving sleep from the eyes of the tired camper. Two* or three coyotes yelping 
in chorus will make enough noise to convince a person who> hears them for the 
first time that there are fifty or sixty in the pack. 
