Will a Coyote Fight? 
DEAR FOREST AND STREAM: 
ESPITE the fact that there is no 
closed season, that they are shot 
and trapped most of the year, coyotes 
seem to survive the inroads of civiliza- 
tion far better than any other species of 
a like nature. Perhaps there are more 
of them or that by instinct they are bet- 
ter fitted to elude the many pitfalls de- 
vised for their extermination; however, 
the fact remains that in our south- 
western plains, deserts and mountains, 
there is quite a number of the coyote 
tribe that refuses to be trapped, shot 
or done away with. 
The writer lives in a sizeable town of 
some 80,000 inhabitants, lying in a 
range of mountains. In these foot 
hills, arroyas, and small canyons, one 
can get up a coyote most any time. I 
have known them to come right into 
town, generally at night, foraging for 
food. Not so very long ago a coyote 
came down one of these canyons into 
the outskirts of the city. Some dogs 
got in behind and cut off his line of re- 
treat. They were giving him quite a 
chase when the coyote spied an open 
doorway and dashed up the steps 
through the door into the front bed 
room taking refuge under the bed. The 
good lady of the house arrived just in 
time to close the door on the dogs but 
she had seen the grey streak flash under 
the bed. 
She realized she had a prisoner whose 
company was not wholly desirable, so 
closing the back door she went around 
to open the front door to give the cap- 
tive a way of escape. The coyote had 
a breathing spell of a few moments, and 
as the front door was flung open he 
thought it time to move, and he did. 
The dogs were on watch on the porch 
and steps, but when Mr. Coyote came 
out he jumped right over the first and 
second dog, hit the ground going some 
forty miles per hour, which speed he 
increased, leaving his pursuers far be- 
hind and disappeared in the grey of the 
foot hills. This happened in full day- 
light along about 11 A. M. and shows 
that, no matter how timid their nature, 
they will take desparate chances when 
hunger drives. 
I have often been asked if a coyote 
will fight. My answer is YES, if suf- 
ficiently cornered. On one occasion my 
family and I were driving some twenty 
miles north of town. Near a small lake 
or water hole, I saw something running 
slowly toward the mountains some eight 
or nine hundred yards distance. I real- 
ized it must be a wolf or a coyote, and 
in order to speed him on his way drew 
up my Winchester and dropped a .30 
bullet close in behind him. However, 
for some reason he showed no interest 
in more speed but continued on at about 
418 
the same gait he was going. Now 
whenever a coyote fails to react to the 
whine and plop of a closeby bullet, you 
can just put it down something is 
wrong. I drove the car over the sand 
in the direction of where we last sighted 
him, but concluded (as the sand was 
rather deep) to go forward on foot. So 
with my son, a youngster of nine years, 
we went forward to get a shot if pos- 
sible, or anyway satisfy our curiosity as 
to why Mr. Wolf or Coyote did not line 
out to the best of his running ability as 
per the usual schedule. 
All of a sudden we saw him. It 
seemed as though he were fastened. He 
plunged here and there making des- 
perate efforts to free himself. Sure 
enough, on coming up close we could 
see that he was a male coyote and a big 
one. One hind leg was fast in a steel 
trap, which explained the lack of speed 
and why Mr. Coyote delayed on his 
homeward journey. As we closed up 
on him he tried several times to break 
away, but failing at this, turned to meet 
us with fight sticking out all over him. 
I secured a stick and, going up close, 
teased him a bit. He would snap at the 
stick like a dog. I never knew before a 
coyote would fight, but this one did. At 
this time he made no effort to spring 
at us, Just snapped his jaws and glared. 
More in defiance or defence than at- 
tack. He-seemed in fair condition, so 
I drew my gun to shoot, but my boy 
yelled at me to hold on. “Don’t shoot 
him, Pop,” he said, “let’s catch him 
alive and bring him home! I did not 
know about that, anyway it sounded all 
right, so I told him to run down to the 
car and get the lap robe and my heavy 
army overcoat. 
My wife and daughter came with him 
to see the show and take a close up snap 
shot with the camera. I instructed my 
boy to take the stick and try to hold 
the coyote’s attention by tickling his 
nose while I executed a flank movement 
to envelope the enemy at one fell swoop. 
That move did not suit Mr. Coyote a 
bit, first he plunged toward the boy and 
then at me. He twisted and turned and 
snapped like he would tear one to pieces, 
so I whirled the lap robe on him, not 
altogether over him, which tangled him 
a bit and he ripped it up while I fell 
on him with the coat outspread, and 
then business did pick up. 
Lucky for me I got his head at the 
first lunge and in about five seconds had 
the old boy so balled up that he was not 
much trouble to handle. I eased his 
head out and gagged him. That took 
the fight out of him. We released his 
foot from the trap, but it took all four 
of us to do the job. We got him home 
all right, turned him loose into a wired 
enclosure we had built for chickens, 
gave him food and water and left him 
to cool down, During the night he evi- 
dently tried to jump out, for I noticed 
the next morning one of his legs was 
broken. It probably got caught in the 
wire mesh. I let my son dispatch him 
with his .22 rifle and we found he 
weighed 48 pounds before I skinned 
him out. 4 
A few days later I found the man > 
whose trap had caught him and re- 
turned his trap. This man said the 
coyote had been caught only a short 
time, probably the night before, as he 
had visited the trap the day before we — 
took him. ; 
There is no doubt but that the coyote — 
dragged his way over many weary 
miles through heavy sand, half mad 
with pain, hunger and thirst. He 
fought the best he could, whose nature 
is not to fight if any opportunity, how- 
ever small, offers the slightest chance — 
to escape. Yes, if sufficiently cornered, 
even a coyote will fight. 
GAME WARDEN GIBSON, 
El Paso, Texas. 
The Science of Fly Fishing for 
Trout 
By FrReEp G. SHaw, F. G. S. 
Mr. Shaw has long been an interna- 
tional figure in angling circles and for 
some years has maintained a school of 
casting in this country. His ability to 
impart knowledge of how to cast the fly 
delicately, accurately and effectively is 
appreciated by many American anglers 
who have studied his methods. 
The author, therefore, speaks with 
authority in his latest book, The Science 
of Fly Fishing for Trout. He treats ; 
fully and clearly all phases of the fly 
fisherman’s sport. The dry fly, the wet 
fly, choice of tackle, complete instruc- — 
tions in casting and the habits of trout, 
each in turn come in for their full share 
of attention. 
The work is a valuable one and should 
occupy a place on every angler’s library 
shelf. 
Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, 
New York City. Price $6.00. 
Of Interest to Trap Shooters 
S. M. Crothers won the Amateur 
Championship of the U. S. with an 
Ithaca at the N. Y. Athletic Club’s an- 
nual tournament. Last year Howard 
Voorhies won the same event with an 
Ithaca. Ithaca lockspeed has made it 
possible for the last four amateur 
champions to win. | 

