The Artful Coyote
What is a coyote? A coyote is a little animal of the wolf species that inhabits the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. He is about 18 inches high and long in proportion, and is the embodiment of duplicity. His color is indescribable. He is neither white nor black nor yellow, nor any other well-defined color; but a sort of blending of all, producing a hue that can best be described as coyote. He is not beautiful either in appearance or character. There is nothing attractive about him. He is not troubled with conscientious scruples; neither is he brave, and he won’t fight unless he is compelled to. He is a scrub wolf in every sense of the word.
His physical beauty is about on a par with his moral aspect. He has a little, peak-shaped head, in front of which, very close together, is a pair of the brightest, wickedest little eyes that ever shone in the moonlight. He does not appear possessed of any great amount of brains; but there is more unadulterated cunning wrapped up in his hide than can be found in the same amount of space anywhere else in creation. The man who imagines that a coyote does not understand his business, just because he has not a high forehead will soon learn that the principles of phrenology do not apply to this epitome of everything that is smart, rascally, tricky and impudent.
In regard to his ability to get over ground, in other words, to change his spots, too much cannot be said. It is a good deal like the wind. You cannot tell whence he cometh or whither he goeth. When he makes up his mind to place a certain amount of space between himself and a given locality, he does not stand on the order of going. He does not run, in the common acceptation of the term, but he suddenly transforms himself into a dimly defined streak of gray light that shimmers across the landscape for an instant and then sinks into oblivion, so far as mortal view is concerned.
He is seldom seen in the daytime. The glare of the sun does not seem to be suited to his make-up; he prefers to waltz around among the sagebrush in the soft light of the moon. During the day he is of a retiring disposition and recuperates his exhausted vitality from the previous night’s debauch under the friendly shade of a projecting rock, or in the deep seclusion of a clump of quaking asp, away from the busy haunts of men and remote from any trail or road.
The coyote is not choice as to his diet, that is he can accommodate himself to circumstances. His favorite dish is live jack rabbit, and a moonlight race between a coyote and a jack rabbit is an interesting affair. It is conducted on the strictest of business principles and no time is lost in arranging preliminaries. It is a square deal and fair play. If the jack-rabbit comes out ahead it is a new lease of life for him; if the coyote scores in that inning, it means a thanksgiving dinner for him. But fond as he is of jack rabbit he will not disdain a luncheon of dead mule when he is playing in hard luck. He sometimes eats prairie dog, but not often; for prairie dog is not good eating even for a coyote.
Frontiersmen often wonder what becomes of coyotes, for nobody ever saw a dead one. A mountain lion may get one occasionally, but it is not a common occurrence. Sometimes a coyote is accidentally started from his rest by a hunter, but if he can once get a tree between himself and the hunter, no matter if there is not another tree within five miles, the hunter will never see the coyote again. To call him an artful dodger would but feebly represent his character in that direction. He is never to be depended upon to follow any given line of conduct. The only way to arrive at even an approximate conclusion as to what action a coyote will take under certain conditions is to decide what he is most likely to do, and then wait patiently for him to do just the opposite thing.
To a lover of nature’s music a coyote concert is a rare treat. If you have never heard one, it is utterly useless to try your imagination. A single coyote can make a novice believe that he is in six different places at the same time and has about seven vocal organs. It is interesting.