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Forest and Stream Letters 
Crossing the Coyote and Dog 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: 
INCE writing to you last I have 
heard of a party who had a “coyote- 
dog’? pup, and it may be of interest to 
you. 
These folks had a mongrel dog who 
had a bunch of unusual looking pups. 
They kept one and to their surprise it 
grew into a coyote. It was a dandy 
“watch dog” and was more than usually 
fond of their children. Whenever the 
children were scolded the “coyote-dog”’ 
growled. This got worse and worse 
until it wasn’t safe for the parents to 
say a cross word to the children and of 
course the children took advantage of 
it and were not as good as they should 
be. One day one of the children did 
something that deserved severe punish- 
ment and this child was taken into the 
house. The “coyote-dog” was locked 
cut but the minute the child screamed 
the animal came through the closed 
window—pieces of panes flying in all 
directions—and grabbed the mother by 
the arm cutting big gashes. 
After this they decided to get rid of 
this unusual animal, but no matter how 
far it was taken away the new owners 
could not make it stay. It always went 
back home. At last they sent it by 
team about 400 miles to Glendive, 
Mont., where the police force owned it. 
If still alive, as I believe it is—it is 
about 10 years old. 
NANCY CHRISTENSON, 
Mandan, N. D. 

Crossing the Coyote with Collies 
ONCERNING this subject, Mr. L. 
V. Archer-Burton makes the fol- 
lowing statement: Like the jackal of 
Africa, we have in Minnesota, Dakota 
and Canada the coyote, or prairie 
wolf, a cunning animal on which there 
is a government bounty of from $3 to 
$5. The writer, who likes to experi- 
ment, often crosses these with the collie 
or shepherd dog. When a litter is born 
they may all turn out like the wolf in 
disposition, but in this case these hy- 
brids are of no use more than to keep 
caged as curios. On the other hand, 
if the whelps show a kind disposition, 
they can be reared and become as affec- 
96 
tionate as dogs. There can also be 
one or more in the litter that will make 
good dog's or crosses, or even the whole 
lot. The writer has one pair at this 
writing, a male and female. The male, 

A coyote puppy 
Photo sent in by Nancy Christenson 
Mandan, N. D. 
which is a large fellow, is as tame and, 
in fact, more affectionate than the collie 
itself, while his mate is kept in a cage 
and cannot be handled. The same can 
be said of the wolves. Often one or 
more in a litter may show a kind dis- 
position while the others remain in their 
natural state. Such are then separated 
from the others, and become real pets, 
but are best kept in yards or on chains. 
Some years ago the writer sent one of 
these pet wolves to New York State, 
where he was put in harness on a sleigh 
with other dogs. He was very tame, 
and any child could lead him about. 
Crosses from these make good watch 
dogs, and can be depended on, They 
are very tough, and if of solid color re- 
semble the wolf. Queer as it may seem 
dogs with wolf blood are not cared for 
by other dogs, and are not mixers; 
while the wolf himself is given a wide 
berth by all, but if attacked by dogs 
he generally comes out ahead, for one 
snap at each fills the bill. 
Pheasants—A Bit of Individual 
Conservation 
DEAR FOREST & STREAM: 
HEASANTS! Bright-eyed, active 
chicks, feathering out and flapping 
their little wings before you would be- 
lieve it possible. 
Try hatching and rearing a few next 
spring. They will bring the atmosphere 
of woods and fields which you love into 
your own back yard, and by lberating 
them you are increasing your chances 
for sport on some bright autumn day 
a little later. This is how I did it. 
When I first became interested in 
pheasants I had not been out with a 
gun for years, believing that there was 
little game in a territory as thickly set- 
tled as that within reach, and being 
pretty well tied down to _ business. 
However, the pheasants stirred me up, 
and it was not necessary to stir very 
hard either, because I have always en- 
joyed roaming, especially with a gun 
to furnish the excuse and incentive for 
investigating woodsy nooks and field 
corners. 
Of course for a real thrill, there must 
be some likelihood of game, otherwise 
your hunting becomes merely “an 
armed walk through the country.” In 
a well-settled farming region otherwise 
devoid of game, this likelihood, amount- 
ing almost to certainty, can be sup- 
plied by the pheasant. 
One year I heard a great deal of 
pheasant talk, and was given a bird 
shot by a friend. The result was that 
my wife joined me in being stirred up, 
and we determined to get out in the 
field for at least one day the follow- 
ing year if possible. It was possible 
and we enjoyed a perfect autumn day, 
saw some pheasants, and shot at them 
too. Lack of a dog and lack of prac- 
tice were too severe handicaps, and we 
