Fes, 3, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
181 



THE COYOTE— Drawing by Ernest Thompson Seton. 
over at least middle and southern Texas, and 
apparently eastward on strips of prairie as far 
as Gainesville and Richmond. There are vague 
reports of a small wolf occuring further east 
on the coast prairie even to the border of Louis- 
iana, but specimens are needed before these re- 
ports can be associated with definite species. 
East of the semi-arid mesquite region coyotes 
-are rare and probably mere stragglers. True 
to their name of prairie wolf, they do not enter 
the timbered country to any extent, although 
at home in the scrub oak, juniper, mesquite, and 
chaparral, as well as over the open prairie of the 
southern part of the State. In the extreme 
southern part of the State their range is slightly 
overlapped by that of the little microdon, and 
in the extreme western part by that of mearnsi, 
while specimens from the northern Pan Handle 
country and Staked Plains are nearer to me- 
bracensis. 
“In spite of the enmity of man, in spite of 
traps, poison, gun and dogs, the coyote over 
most of his old range fairly holds his own. 
Combining with the cunning and suspicion of the 
fox a speed and endurance that almost insures 
his safety from ordinary hounds, he has little 
to fear except an occasional long-range shot. or 
the traps and poison of the professional coyote 
hunter. 
“On many of the large ranches men are em- 
ployed by the month to kill the coyotes, lobos 
and panthers, and some of these men have at- 
tained such skill as to be able almost to extir- 
pate the coyotes over a considerable area. But 
the coyotes are wanderers, and while they soon 
gather where food is abundant and easily pro- 
cured, they quickly leave an inhospitable region 
for better hunting grounds. Civilization has 
little terror for them. I have heard them howl- 
ing near many of the little towns and ranches, 
where they were attracted by the smell of 
freshly killed beef or by carcasses that were far 
from fresh, and near a ranch corral have found 
many dead coyotes poisoned at the carcass of a 
cow. After dark they show little fear of the 
ranch dogs, and sometimes seem even to invite 
chase. In fact, they not infrequently cross with 
ranch dogs and produce hybrids with erect ears 
and wolfish appearance. I have seen several 
of these hybrids with characters that sub- 
stantiate the statement that they were half 
coyote. At San Pedro Park, San Antonio, I 
was shown a six-months-old cross between a 
coyote and shepherd dog, bred and born in 
the zoo. Except for being nearly black, it had 
the general appearance of a coyote. It was 
kept chained in the open and was on friendly 
terms with the keeper. 
“About our camps the coyotes on rare oc- 
casions are surprisingly familiar, coming close 
to the camp wagon, especially if there is fresh 
meat in it, though usually paying their visits 
after dark. Sometimes the first man up in the 
morning gets a glimpse of one sneaking away 
or on rare occasions gets a good shot within 
easy range. Except during the breeding season, 
when they are quiet, their frequent serenades 
are our regular camp music. 
“Within certain limits the credit and debit 
sheets of the coyote are well balanced. On the 
one hand, he kills many sheep and a few goats, 
some poultry, and considerable game. On the 
other hand, the bulk of his food the year round 
consists of rabbits, prairie dogs, ground squir- 
rels, gophers, wood rats, mice, and all the small 
rodents that come in his way. An unusual in- 
crease of jack rabbits in any region is always 
followed by a corresponding influx of coyotes, 
which probably accounts in part for the often 
observed fact that in the years following their 
maximum abundance jack rabbits are unusually 
scarce. 
“At times the food of the coyote consists 
largely of fruit, including that of several species 
of cactus, juniper, and forestiera berries, per- 
simmons, and the sugary pods of the mesquite; 
but in times of scarcity a piece of rawhide 
garnished with a few horned toads, lizards, and 
some horse manure suffice for a meal. 
“Coyotes are common throughout the ex- 
tremely arid valleys of western Texas, includ- 
ing the Pecos and Rio Grande valleys south to 
their ‘junction. Distance from water seems to 
have no effect on their abundance, although 
they can hardly find a spot more than an easy 
night’s journey, 20 or 30 miles, from open water. 
We find their tracks along every road and trail, 
and often see one of the animals loping across 
the valley or watching us from a ridge, and 
frequently hear them from our evening camp- 
fires. At El Paso in 1859 I jumped one from 
under a creosote bush, where it was sleeping 
at mid-day, within rifle shot of the town, and 
at another time saw four on the mesa half a 
mile from the railroad station. At Fort Han- 
cock Gordon Donald reported them in 1902 as 
very abundant and said: ‘I heard them calling 
in the evening, and the Mexicans had several 
young ones that they had caught in the vicinity. 
A ranchman told me that in the low foothills 
where his ranch was situated he saw two or 
three coyotes every day.’ ” 

Blacksnakes. 
Lockport, N. Y., Jan. 26.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The articles in late numbers of Forest 
AND STREAM about blacksnakes, reminds me of 
an incident, 
When I was twelve years old I was following 
two miners with a forked stick spreading the 
new-mown grass, when the forward man, a red- 
headed Irish-Canadian, gave a yell and jumped 
back nearly against the scythe of the man fol- 
lowing him. This was a Yankee and knew all 
about blacksnakes, the cause of the Irishman’s 
outcry. The Yankee promptly cut the snake’s 
head off with his scythe. The snake was between 
four and five feet long and had a whiie ring 
around its neck, 
I have seen but one other snake of that species, 
and that I saw last summer, just sixty years after 
I saw the first one, and about half a mile from 
the place. The last specimen was only sixteen 
inches long, and the ring was a light yellow, as 
was also the under part of the body. The snake 
had a wound about an inch from the end of tail, 
and made no effort to get away. I picked it up 
and took it to the house and put it in a glass jar, 
intending to preserve it, but neglected to do so. 
Can you give the name of this species, and is it 
harmless? J. L. Davison. 
{This is the blacksnake (Zamentis constrictor) 
in which is found much color variation, the body 
color ranging from deep lustrous pitch black 
through dark and light slate color, dark olive, 
olive green and greenish; rarely specimens are 
seen which are speckled; some of the scales being 
yellow. Common names are “whipsnake,” “pilot,” 
“black,” “green” or “blue racer.’’| 
Wild Dogs of the Catskills. 
MippLEtown, N. Y., Jan. 12.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: On a visit to Ellenville, N. Y., yes- 
terday I was told of a pack of wild dogs which 
inhabit the foothills of the Catskill Mountains 
there. My informant, Mr. F. J. Burhans, of 
Ellenville, a shooter and fisherman well known 
through this section, told me that a dog owned 
by some one in the mountains some years ago 
took to the woods with her young, and from them 
have grown a pack that are the terror of the 
mountain farmers, who are working hard to get 
rid of them. 
One day this week, Mr. Burhans said, a farmer 
came into his gun store to get a repeating rifle 
to kill some of the wild dogs which he reported 
had killed a calf and two good dogs for him. 
E. H. KNISKERN. 
This is the first time that I ever got any authentic 
information about any wild dogs. 

The Antidote. 
Pusiic attention is weekly called by some 
startling example to the pernicious effects of the 
diabolical police gazette and five-cent flash story- 
paper literature that is corrupting the young 
folks of the land. State Legislatures are enacting 
laws to suppress this monstrous evil by making 
the sale of such papers to minors a misdemeanor. 
This is as it should be. Another wise course is 
to supply wholesome literature to the boys. Give 
them healthy reading—the Forrest AND STREAM 
for instance. Let them inhale the odor of the 
balsams, then they will not have a taste for the 
reeking atmosphere of the five-cent novel scenes. 
Equip them with fishing-rods and shotguns, then 
they will not transform themselves into arsenals 
of bowie knives and bulldog pistols to extermi- 
nate Indians, parents and schoolmasters. 
