Hunting Coyotes Jolly Good Sport

“President Roosevelt has had great sport hunting bears, and Secretary Loeb has had a thrilling experience with a jack rabbit, but neither can compare as a sport with the coyote roundups we frequently have on the plains,” said a man from Montana to a Star man the other day.

“Coyotes have completely overrun many parts of the west and while exterminating them is great sport, it is also a great necessity.

“A coyote roundup is one of the most picturesque features of western life today, and it is becoming a favorite source of amusement. To be a successful coyote hunter one must be a good rider and must be able to keep well up with the trained dogs that run the animals to earth. Many persons who belong to hunt clubs say the coyote gives a better chase than does the fox. President Roosevelt, before his nomination for the vice presidency, spent several days coyote hunting out of Colorado Springs, and he declared it one of the most exhilarating sports he ever knew.

Not Spectacular Side.

“Ranchmen and cowboys, however, do not go in for the spectacular side of coyote hunting. They do not care to follow any certain forms, but prefer to take part in the great roundups that are held several times a year in nearly every community in the coyote country.

“Most of the ranchmen have dogs that are trained to coyote hunting. These coyote dogs are of many breeds. The hunt clubs, whose members are mounted on swift horses, part thoroughbred, go in for greyhounds alone. The greyhound is naturally too cowardly to attack any animal, but long training has put enough spirit into these dogs so that two or three of them will tackle a coyote on the run. The hounds are clever in their method of attack, one catching the coyote by the throat, and the other by the flank, rendering it helpless until the master of the hounds or the leaders of the hunt can come up and dispatch the quarry.

“The cowboys, however, have not trained their greyhounds so thoroughly, and, in consequence, they have to reinforce these fleet animals with dogs that are slower but more plucky. Therefore, the greyhounds take the lead and make the coyote stand at bay until a miscellaneous collection of bull dogs, shepherd dogs and stag hounds arrives on the scene and does the gladiatorial work. The fights that ensue are watched with great glee by the cowboys and ranchmen. An old coyote has been known to disable two or three dogs before being put hors du combat.

Those in Arizona.

“Probably the most remarkable coyote roundups, however, are those held in Arizona. The territory pays a liberal bounty on coyote scalps, as the sheep industry suffers greatly from the depredations of the pests. Lately the Indians have been assisting in the work of hunting the coyotes—all but the Pima tribe. This tribe believes that every coyote is the reincarnation of a dead Indian and consequently a Pima will never kill a coyote under any circumstances. The other tribes in Arizona have no such scruples, however, and, as they are expert coyote hunters, they are pressed into service from their reservations.

“I know of a roundup when two hundred Maricopa Indians and as many cowboys assembled in the vicinity of Phoenix, to rid the country of the hordes of coyotes that were playing havoc with flocks and herds. A huge semicircle was formed, and over twenty square miles of desert were scoured. A racing, yelping mass of coyotes, followed by dozens of excited dogs and whooping cowboys and Indians, were forced into a small box canyon. In the pack of coyotes was a frenzied lot of jackrabbits, driven to desperation by their forced association with their natural enemies. Closely guarded on all sides, not a coyote escaped. Revolver and rifle shots laid the animals low as they dodged among the rocks and tried to hide behind sagebrush. When about an equal number of coyotes and dogs were left in the canyon the firing ceased and the dogs were left to fight it out. For over an hour a fierce battle was waged, some of the coyotes making a determined stand and crippling many of the dogs. When the count was made it was found that over two hundred and fifty coyotes and nearly one hundred jackrabbits had been killed. About a dozen dogs had also been killed during the fierce fight in the canyon.

Fashionable Hunt Club.

“This form of coyote drive is one of the most primitive methods of hunting and is what the Highland Scotch call the ‘tinchel.’ The methods adopted by the fashionable hunt clubs of the west are more spectacular, though they hardly result in the slaughter of so many coyotes. The hunt club members are merely after an exhilarating chase, while the cowboys are desirous of getting rid of a natural enemy.

“It is a pretty sight to see a western hunt club after coyotes, however. Smart costumes are worn, and the red coats and fluttering riding habits give the scene many of the characteristics of an eastern fox hunt. The dogs are carried out into the prairie in a little wagon. This is a two-wheeled affair, suitable for jolting over the rough prairie ground. When a coyote is sighted by the master of the hounds, who rides well in front, the door of the wagon box is opened and the hounds bound out as if on steel springs. They are held in leash until they get a good glimpse of the coyote and then they are released. They dart forward like twin streaks of lightning and then begins a pretty chase. The coyote is one of the fleetest animals in existence and can distance any other breed of dog but the greyhound. Some of the animals when in good condition even manage to draw away from the greyhounds, but this is rare. Usually the coyote tries to run at right angles, and this effort to throw the pursuers off the track is usually fatal, as it enables the greyhounds to make up much of the intervening distance.

“As soon as the dogs have seized the coyote they hang on like grim death, until the leaders of the hunt appear. Then the coyote’s body is taken in charge and the hunters wander over the prairie in search of another victim. The ride across the plains is dangerous as well as inspiring, and it is this element that appeals to horsemen of the Roosevelt type. The plains are seamed with deep cuts, or arroyas, some of which are so wide as to tax the jumping ability of a trained hunter. Then there are occasional barbed wire fences, put up by stockmen, and it is a nervy huntsman who will try to jump one of these on the gallop. In spite of its dangers, however, coyote hunting is a favorite sport among western women, and in Denver there is a hunt club composed entirely of society belles.

“In spite of the various means of hunting the coyote, however, the animal continues to flourish. Wary, fleet and brave when brought to bay, this animal will haunt the plains until civilization has completely blotted out the old west.”