Johnny Bear, and Other Stories from Lives of the Hunted
III
Thus Tito escaped from man, and for the first time found herself face toface with the whole problem of life; for now she had her own living toget.
A wild animal has three sources of wisdom:
First, _the experience of its ancestors_, in the form of instinct, whichis inborn learning, hammered into the race by ages of selection andtribulation. This is the most important to begin with, because it guardshim from the moment he is born.
Second, _the experience of his parents and comrades_, learned chiefly byexample. This becomes most important as soon as the young can run.
Third, _the personal experience_ of the animal itself. This grows inimportance as the animal ages.
The weakness of the first is its fixity; it cannot change to meetquickly changing conditions. The weakness of the second is the animal'sinability freely to exchange ideas by language. The weakness of thethird is the danger in acquiring it. But the three together are a strongarch.
Now, Tito was in a new case. Perhaps never before had a Coyote facedlife with unusual advantages in the third kind of knowledge, noneat all in the second, and with the first dormant. She travelled rapidlyaway from the ranchmen, keeping out of sight, and sitting down once in awhile to lick her wounded tail-stump. She came at last to a Prairie-dogtown. Many of the inhabitants were out, and they barked at the intruder,but all dodged down as soon as she came near. Her instinct taught herto try and catch one, but she ran about in vain for some time, and thengave it up. She would have gone hungry that night but that she found acouple of Mice in the long grass by the river. Her mother had not taughther to hunt, but her instinct did, and the accident that she had anunusual brain made her profit very quickly by her experience.
In the days that followed she quickly learned how to make a living;for Mice, Ground Squirrels, Prairie-dogs, Rabbits, and Lizards wereabundant, and many of these could be captured in open chase. But openchase, and sneaking as near as possible before beginning the open chase,lead naturally to stalking for a final spring. And before the moon hadchanged the Coyote had learned how to make a comfortable living.
Once or twice she saw the men with the Greyhounds coming her way. MostCoyotes would, perhaps, have barked in bravado, or would have gone up tosome high place whence they could watch the enemy; but Tito did no suchfoolish thing. Had she run, her moving form would have caught the eyesof the Dogs, and then nothing could have saved her. She dropped whereshe was, and lay flat until the danger had passed. Thus her ranchtraining to lay low began to stand her in good stead, and so it cameabout that her weakness was her strength. The Coyote kind had so longbeen famous for their speed, had so long learned to trust in their legs,that they never dreamed of a creature that could run them down. Theywere accustomed to play with their pursuers, and so rarely bestirredthemselves to run from Greyhounds, till it was too late. But Tito,brought up at the end of a chain, was a poor runner. She had no reasonto trust her legs. She rather trusted her wits, and so lived.
During that summer she stayed about the Little Missouri, learning thetricks of small-game hunting that she should have learned before sheshed her milk-teeth, and gaining in strength and speed. She kept faraway from all the ranches, and always hid on seeing a man or a strangebeast, and so passed the summer alone. During the daytime she was notlonely, but when the sun went down she would feel the impulse to singthat wild song of the West which means so much to the Coyotes. It is notthe invention of an individual nor of the present, but was slowly builtout of the feelings of all Coyotes in all ages. It expresses theirnature and the Plains that made their nature. When one begins it, ittakes hold of the rest, as the fife and drum do with soldiers, or theki-yi war-song with Indian braves. They respond to it as a bell-glassdoes to a certain note the moment that note is struck, ignoring othersounds. So the Coyote, no matter how brought up, must vibrate at thenight song of the Plains, for it touches something in himself.
{Illustration}
They sing it after sundown, when it becomes the rallying cry of theirrace and the friendly call to a neighbour; and, they sing it as one boyin the woods holloas to another to say, "All's well! Here am I. Whereare you?" A form of it they sing to the rising moon, for this is thetime for good hunting to begin. They sing when they see the newcamp-fire, for the same reason that a Dog barks at a stranger. Yet anotherweird chant they have for the dawning before they steal quietly awayfrom the offing of the camp--a wild, weird, squalling refrain:Wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-w-o-o-o-o-o-o-w, again and again; and doubtless withmany another change that man cannot distinguish any more than the Coyotecan distinguish the words in the cowboy's anathemas.
Tito instinctively uttered her music at the proper times. But sadexperiences had taught her to cut it short and keep it low. Once ortwice she had got a far-away reply from one of her own race, whereuponshe had quickly ceased and timidly quit the neighbourhood.
One day, when on the Upper Garner's Creek, she found the trail wherea piece of meat had been dragged along. It was a singularly invitingodour, and she followed it, partly out of curiosity. Presently she cameon a piece of the meat itself. She was hungry; she was always hungrynow. It was tempting, and although it had a peculiar odour, sheswallowed it. Within a few minutes she felt a terrific pain. The memoryof the poisoned meat the boy had given her, was fresh. With trembling,foaming jaws she seized some blades of grass, and her stomach threw offthe meat; but she fell in convulsions on the ground.
The trail of meat dragged along and the poison baits had been laid theday before by Wolfer Jake. This morning he was riding the drag, and oncoming up from the draw he saw, far ahead, the Coyote struggling. Heknew, of course, that it was poisoned, and rode quickly up; but theconvulsions passed as he neared. By a mighty effort, at the sound of theHorse's hoofs the Coyote arose to her front feet. Jake drew his revolverand fired, but the only effect was fully to alarm her. She tried to run,but her hind legs were paralysed. She put forth all her strength,dragging her hind legs. Now, when the poison was no longer in thestomach, will-power could do a great deal. Had she been allowed to liedown then she would have been dead in five minutes; but the revolvershots and the man coming stirred her to strenuous action. Madly shestruggled again and again to get her hind legs to work. All the force ofdesperate intent she brought to bear. It was like putting forth tenfoldpower to force the nervous fluids through their blocked-up channels asshe dragged herself with marvellous speed downhill. What is nerve butwill? The dead wires of her legs were hot with this fresh power,multiplied, injected, blasted into them. They had to give in. She feltthem thrill with life again. Each wild shot from the gun lent vitalhelp. Another fierce attempt, and one hind leg obeyed the call to duty.A few more bounds, and the other, too, fell in. Then lightly she lopedaway among the broken buttes, defying the agonizing gripe that stillkept on inside.
{Illustration}
Had Jake held off then she would yet have laid down and died; but hefollowed and fired and fired, till in another mile she bounded free frompain, saved from her enemy by himself. He had compelled her to take theonly cure, so she escaped.
And these were the ideas that she harvested that day: That curious smellon the meat stands for mortal agony. Let it alone! And she never forgotit; thenceforth she knew strychnine.
Fortunately, Dogs, traps, and strychnine do not wage war at once, forthe Dogs are as apt to be caught or poisoned as the Coyotes. Had therebeen a single Dog in the hunt that day Tito's history would have ended.
IV.
When the weather grew cooler toward the end of Autumn Tito had gone fartoward repairing the defects in her early training. She was more like anordinary Coyote in her habits now, and she was more disposed to sing thesundown song. One night, when she got a response, she yielded to theimpulse again to call, and soon afterward a large, dark Coyote appeared.The fact that he was there at all was a guarantee of unusual gifts, forthe war against his race was waged relentlessly by the cattlemen. Heapproached with caution. Tito's mane bristled with mixed feelings atthe sight of one of her own kind.
She crouched flat on the ground andwaited. The newcomer came stiffly forward, nosing the wind; then up thewind nearly to her. Then he walked around so that she should wind him,and raising his tail, gently waved it. The first acts meant armedneutrality, but the last was a distinctly friendly signal. Then heapproached and she rose up suddenly and stood as high as she could tobe smelled. Then she wagged the stump of her tail, and they consideredthemselves acquainted.
{Illustration}
The newcomer was a very large Coyote, half as tall again as Tito, andthe dark patch on his shoulders was so large and black that the cow-boyswhen they came to know him, called him Saddleback. From that timethese two continued more or less together. They were not alwaysclose together, often were miles apart during the day, but toward{Illustration: They Considered Themselves Acquainted} night one or theother would get on some high open place and sing the loud
Yap-yap-yap-yow-wow-wow-wow-wow,
and they would forgather for some foray on hand.
The physical advantages were with Saddleback, but the greater cunningwas Tito's, so that she in time became the leader. Before a month athird Coyote had appeared on the scene and become also a member of thisloose-bound fraternity, and later two more appeared. Nothing succeedslike success. The little bobtailed Coyote had had rare advantages oftraining just where the others were lacking: she knew the devices ofman. She could not tell about these in words, but she could by the aidof a few signs and a great deal of example. It soon became evident thather methods of hunting were successful, whereas, when they went withouther, they often had hard luck. A man at Boxelder Ranch had twenty Sheep.The rules of the county did not allow anyone to own more, as this was aCattle-range. The Sheep were guarded by a large and fierce Collie. Oneday in winter two of the Coyotes tried to raid this flock by a bolddash, and all they got was a mauling from the Collie. A few days laterthe band returned at dusk. Just how Tito arranged it, man cannot tell.We can only guess how she taught them their parts, but we know that shesurely did. The Coyotes hid in the willows. Then Saddleback, the boldand swift, walked openly toward the Sheep and barked a loud defiance.The Collie jumped up with bristling mane and furious growl, then, seeingthe foe, dashed straight at him. Now was the time for the steady nerveand the unfailing limbs. Saddleback let the Dog come near enough_almost_ to catch him, and so beguiled him far and away into the woods,while the other Coyotes, led by Tito, stampeded the Sheep in twentydirections; then following the farthest, they killed several and leftthem in the snow. In the gloom of descending night the Dog and hismaster laboured till they had gathered the bleating survivors; but nextmorning they found that four had been driven far away and killed, andthe Coyotes had had a banquet royal.
{Illustration} The shepherd poisoned the carcasses and left them. Nextnight the Coyotes returned. Tito sniffed the now frozen meat, detectedthe poison, gave a warning growl, and scattered filth over the meat, sothat none of the band should touch it. One, however, who was fast andfoolish, persisted in feeding in spite of Tito's warning, and when theycame away he was lying poisoned and dead in the snow.
{Illustration}
V.
Jake now heard on all sides that the Coyotes were getting worse. So heset to work with many traps and much poison to destroy those on theGarner's Creek, and every little while he would go with the Hounds andscour the Little Missouri south and east of the Chimney-pot Ranch; forit was understood that he must never run the Dogs in country where trapsand poison were laid. He worked in his erratic way all winter, andcertainly did have some success. He killed a couple of Grey Wolves, saidto be the last of their race, and several Coyotes, some of which, nodoubt, were of the Bobtailed pack, which thereby lost those memberswhich were lacking in wisdom.
Yet that winter was marked by a series of Coyote raids and exploits; andusually the track in the snow or the testimony of eye-witnesses toldthat the master spirit of it all was a little Bobtailed Coyote.
One of these adventures was the cause of much talk. The Coyote challengesounded close to the Chimney-pot Ranch after sundown. A dozen Dogsresponded with the usual clamour. But only the Bull-terrier dashed awaytoward the place whence the Coyotes had called, for the reason that heonly was loose. His chase was fruitless, and he came back growling.Twenty minutes later there was another Coyote yell close at hand. Offdashed the Terrier as before. In a minute his excited yapping; told thathe had sighted his game and was in full chase. Away he went, furiouslybarking, until his voice was lost afar, and nevermore was heard. In themorning the men read in the snow the tale of the night. The first cryof the Coyotes was to find out if all the Dogs were loose; then, havingfound that only one was free, they laid a plan. Five Coyotes hid alongthe side of the trail; one went forward and called till it had decoyedthe rash Terrier, and then led him right into the ambush. What chancehad he with six? They tore him limb from limb, and devoured him, too, atthe very spot where once he had worried Coyotito. And next morning,when the men came, they saw by the signs that the whole thing had beenplanned, and that the leader whose cunning had made it a success was alittle Bob-tailed Coyote.
The men were angry, and Lincoln was furious; but Jake remarked: "Well, Iguess that Bobtail came back and got even with that Terrier."
{Illustration}
VI.
When spring was near, the annual love-season of the Coyotes came on.Saddleback and Tito bad been together merely as companions all winter,but now a new feeling was born. There was not much courting. Saddlebacksimply showed his teeth to possible rivals. There was no ceremony. Theyhad been friends for months, and now, in the light of the new feeling,they naturally took to each other and were mated. Coyotes do not giveeach other names as do mankind, but have one sound like a growl andshort howl, which stands for "mate" or "husband" or "wife." This theyuse in calling to each other, and it is by recognizing the tone of thevoice that they know who is calling.
The loose rambling brotherhood of the Coyotes was broken up now, forthe others also paired off, and since the returning warm weather wasbringing out the Prairie-dogs and small game, there was less need tocombine for hunting. Ordinarily Coyotes do not sleep in dens or in anyfixed place. They move about all night while it is cool, then during thedaytime they get a few hours' sleep in the sun, on some quiet hillsidethat also gives a chance to watch out. But the mating season changesthis habit somewhat.
As the weather grew warm Tito and Saddleback set about preparing a denfor the expected family. In a warm little hollow, an old Badger abodewas cleaned out, enlarged, and deepened. A quantity of leaves and grasswas carried into it and arranged in a comfortable nest. The placeselected for it was a dry sunny nook among the hills, half a mile westof the Little Missouri. Thirty yards from it was a ridge which commandeda wide view of the grassy slopes and cottonwood groves by the river. Menwould have called the spot very beautiful, but it is tolerably certainthat that side of it never touched the Coyotes at all.
Tito began to be much preoccupied with her impending duties. She stayedquietly in the neighbourhood of the den, and lived on such food asSaddleback brought her, or she herself could easily catch, and also onthe little stores that she had buried at other times. She knew everyPrairie-dog town in the region, as well as all the best places for Miceand Rabbits.
{Illustration}
Not far from the den was the very Dog-town that first she hadcrossed, the day she had gained her liberty and lost her tail. If shewere capable of such retrospect, she must have laughed to herself tothink what a fool she was then. The change in her methods was now shown.Somewhat removed from the others, a Prairie-dog had made his den in themost approved style, and now when Tito peered over he was feeding on thegrass ten yards from his own door. A Prairie-dog away from the othersis, of course, easier to catch than one in the middle of the town, forhe has but one pair of eyes to guard him; so Tito set about stalkingthis one. How was she to do it when there was no cover, nothing butshort grass and a few low weeds? The White-bear knows how to approachthe Seal on the flat ice, and the Indian how to get wit
hin strikingdistance of the grazing Deer. Tito knew how to do the same trick, andalthough one of the town Owls flew over with a warning chuckle, Tito setabout her plan. A Prairie-dog cannot see well unless he is sitting upon his hind legs; his eyes are of little use when he is nosing inthe grass; and Tito knew this. Further, a yellowish-grey animal on ayellowish-grey landscape is invisible till it moves. Tito seemed toknow that. So, without any attempt to crawl or hide, she walked gentlyup-wind toward the Prarie-dog. Upwind, not in order to prevent thePrairie-dog smelling her, but so that she could smell him, which came tothe same thing. As soon as the Prairie-dog sat up with some food in hishand she froze into a statue. As soon, as he dropped again to nose inthe grass, she walked steadily nearer, watching his every move so thatshe might be motionless each time he sat up to see what his distantbrothers were barking at. Once or twice he seemed alarmed by the callsof his friends, but he saw nothing and resumed his feeding. She sooncut the fifty yards down to ten, and the ten to five, and still wasundiscovered. Then, when again the Prairie-dog dropped down to seek morefodder, she made a quick dash, and bore him off kicking and squealing.Thus does the angel of the pruning-knife lop off those that are heedlessand foolishly indifferent to the advantages of society.
{Illustration: Their Evening Song.}
VII.
Tito had many adventures in which she did not come out so well. Once shenearly caught an Antelope fawn, but the hunt was spoiled by the suddenappearance of the mother, who gave Tito a stinging blow on the side ofthe head and ended her hunt for that day. She never again made thatmistake--she had sense. Once or twice she had to jump to escape thestrike of a Rattlesnake. Several times she had been fired at by hunterswith long-range rifles. And more and more she had to look out for theterrible Grey Wolves. The Grey Wolf, of course, is much larger andstronger than the Coyote, but the Coyote has the advantage of speed, andcan always escape in the open. All it must beware of is being caught ina corner. Usually when a Grey Wolf howls the Coyotes go quietly abouttheir business elsewhere.