Part 4

Of mammals, the prairie wolf is perhaps the most troublesome. It is constantly preying upon sheep and lambs; so much so that sheep can not be left alone without some of them falling a prey to this animal. Should the herder be absent or out of view, the wolf makes a dash into the flock and usually secures a lamb.

William Lloyd, writing from Paint Rock, Concho County, Tex., said:

In January. 1886, coyotes killed over 30 sheep near Fort Stockton, and in March about 20 at Toyah, Tex.

Charles W. Richmond, in 1888, wrote to the Survey from Gallatin County. Mont., relating the following incident:

While we were camped near Bozeman a flock of some 4,000 sheep were driven by, and night overtook them on some foothills south of Bozeman. During the night a flock of coyotes entered the ranks and the sheep stampeded. Many ran over some bluffs, and next morning sheep, dead and dying, were several feet deep at the foot of the bluffs. Nearly 500 were counted in the pile, and for several days afterwards sheep, with lacerated ears and torn flanks, wandered into barnyards in the vicinity. The total number lost must have been heavy.

In parts of the Southwest sheep growers have estimated their losses from wild animals as equal to 20 percent of the flock. The average loss reported from several States is 5 percent. In nearly all the States west of the Mississippi the industry has declined in the past two years, and one of the principal causes given is losses from coyotes. At present the industry thrives only in sections where the local conditions permit the herding of sheep in large flocks--a system highly injurious to the pasturage.

It is evident that the wealth of any State could be materially increased if it were possible everywhere to keep small flocks of sheep, Flocks increase rapidly under favorable conditions and good management, and the cost of keeping them is small when herders can be dispensed with. The double product, wool and million, usually places the profit of handling them above that of cuttle or horses. The gains also come oftener, since sheep mature in a year, while cattle and horse require three.

Vernon Bailey, chief field naturalist of the Biological Survey, writing from Seguin, Tex., under date of November 8, 1904, says:

No sheep are kept in tins part of Texas, and in talking with several intelligent farmers I find that the reason invariably given is the abundance of coyotes. The region is occupied by small farms, mainly 80 to 500 acres, on which cotton, corn, sorghum, and vegetables are the principal crops. There are few if any large stock ranches, but each farm has its pastures for horses and cattle. These pastures are the wild land covered with scattered mosquito, post oak, and patches of chaparral and cactus. The native grasses are abundant and of excellent quality, and in this mild climate furnish good feed throughout the year. Many of the pastures are not half eaten down, and the dead and dry vegetation becomes a nuisance. After harvest cattle and horses are usually turned into cotton and grain fields, where they do good work in cleaning up grass and weeds in the field and along the borders. Still there is abundance of feed constantly going to waste, and a small flock of sheep could be kept with great profit and no expense on almost every farm.

Fifty to two hundred sheep on a farm would at once make this part of Texas the most important woolgrowing section of the State. Other advantages to be gained would be keeping down the cactus and chaparral, which are inclined to spread and occupy much of the ground, keeping the edges of pastures and fields cleaned up so that they would not harbor a host of predaceous insects and rodents in close proximity to growing crops, and furnishing to the farmers and small towns a supply of fresh meat other than chicken. In this warm climate beef is rarely available, except in the larger towns. The advantages of introducing sheep into this part of the country are acknowledged by the farmers, and there seems to be no reason why it has not been done, except that coyotes are common, large, and fond of mutton.

Similar conditions prevail in many parts of the West and over large areas. While a dozen years ago the low price of wool was an important factor in causing farmers to abandon sheep raising, in recent years the prices have been excellent. Fine washed wool was quoted in the New York market February 6, 1905, at 32.35 cents per pound and in St. Louis on the same date at 40.41 cents per pound. The price of tub-washed wool at St. Louis was at no time during 1904 less than 30 cents per pound. Unwashed wool ranged from 15 to 31 cents during most of the year. Yet the number of sheep in the United States is now decreasing. Montana, with an area of 146,000 square miles, leads the States in the number of sheep kept, which is 5,638,957. England, with an area of 50,867 square miles, has about five times as many as Montana. In Montana sheep are herded in immense flocks; in England every landowner and farmer keeps a small flock.

It is evident that the discouraging condition of the sheep industry in the United States is not due to a lack of favorable climate nor to the absence of suitable pasturage. Neither is it due to low prices of wool and mutton. Indeed, in our markets mutton is coming to be more and more in favor, and this growing demand may be one of the causes for the present drain upon the flocks and the decrease in their numbers; but the chief discouragement of the industry undoubtedly lies in the depredations of worthless dogs and coyotes.

The dog question is a serious one, especially in thickly settled parts of the country, but the evil is best remedied by a resort to taxation. The tax on dogs should be sufficiently high to put most of the worthless ones out of existence.

MEANS OF DESTRUCTION.

The coyote problem is a serious one. Various methods of dealing with it have been in vogue since coyotes first began to like mutton. None of the methods have been entirely satisfactory, and some are signal failures. All of them combined have resulted in a partial check on the increase of coyotes in most parts of their range. Poison has probably killed the greatest number of adult animals, and in some parts of Mexico has almost destroyed some of the species, but no such success has attended its use in the United States.

POISONING.

Strychnine has always been a favorite weapon of hunters for wolf pelts and bounties. A half century ago hunters on the prairies killed the buffalo for its pelt, and added to their income by killing the wolves that followed the daily slaughter. A little strychnine inserted in the skinned carcass of a buffalo enabled them to secure many pelts of the gray wolf and occasionally one of the coyote; but not often the latter: he was regarded as much too shrewd to be taken by ordinary methods of poisoning. Resides, the pelt was small and not sufficiently valuable in comparison to warrant special efforts to secure it. Even in 1819 Thomas Say, who first gave a scientific name to a coyote, found this animal more abundant than the gray wolf. Yet the number killed for their pelts has never been great.

As an illustration of the coyote's shrewdness in avoiding poisoned bails, a farmer in Oklahoma gave the writer the following experience: After butchering some hogs he poisoned a hogskin and left it with other offal for a coyote that nightly prowled about his premises. In the morning everything but the poisoned skin had been cleared away. He left it two more nights, but it remained untouched. Thinking that the animal would not eat the poisoned bait, he buried it. That night the coyote dug up the pigskin and ate it, falling a victim to its deadly contents. Since then the farmer says he has never failed to poison coyotes when he buries the bait.

Another method of poisoning coyotes is to insert the strychnine in small chunks of meat that can be easily swallowed. Success by this method depends largely upon the condition of the animal as regards hunger, and may be helped by making what is known as a 'drag' in the neighborhood of the bait. A small animal--a bleeding dead rabbit is good--is dragged over the prairie and the morsels of bail left at intervals along the 'drag.' Two days previous to a general coyote hunt in Oklahoma a steer badly affected by 'lumpy jaw' was killed, opened, and left in the middle of the area to be hunted. During the first night coyotes howled all night in the vicinity of the carcass, but failed to touch it. The second day a hind quarter was separated from the carcass and dragged in a circuit of a mile or two, the drag coming hack to the carcass. During the following night the coyotes picked the bones of the carcass hare. Thus gorged with beef, they were in a condition favorable for their slaughter in the drive of the following day.

In the use of strychnine for wolves, the dry crystals of strychnia sulphate are generally preferred. They should be inserted in the bait with a knife blade, and the meat should be handled as little as possible. It should be remembered that if precautions are not taken there is a greater probability of killing dogs than wolves. The entire neighborhood should know of the intended attempt, and all valuable dogs should be confined until the operation is finished and uneaten baits disposed of.

TRAPPING.

Coyotes are not easily trapped. Some skill and a good knowledge of their habits are requisites for success. They travel in rather well-defined paths and usually hunt against the wind. Having a keen sense of smell, they easily detect the tracks of man, and if they have had previous experience of traps or guns they are suspicious of danger. In the wildest parts of the country remote from settlement they are more readily trapped. The chances for successful trapping decrease with their familiarity with man, so that there is little probability that the process will ever have much effect on their numbers.

The writer knows a Kansas trapper who is quite successful in capturing coyotes in a rather thickly settled part of that State. He steel traps and sets them along hedges in places where the animals are accustomed to pass through openings. No bait is used and the trap is partly concealed by dead leaves or grasses. He claims that both the direction of the wind and of the animal as it approaches the opening have much to do with the chance for success.

Field naturalists of the Biological Survey usually have experienced little difficulty in securing coyotes in traps. A No. 3 steel trap is generally used. A suitable place is selected along a narrow path or trail and the trap sunk in the ground level with the surface and concealed with fine grass, leaves, or other material that will harmonize with the surroundings. At the same time care is taken that the material used shall leave the jaws of the trap free to spring clear of the covering.

The trap should be fastened to a bush or stake, or if these are not available, to a clog. For the last a pole lying on the ground is best, since it may be utilized without moving it or disturbing the surroundings. If the trap is anchored to a bush or small tree the chain must be securely fastened with snap or wire. A stout stake over which the ring will not slip, driven out of sight into the ground, is better. Every part of the trap and chain is covered, and the ground left in as natural and undisturbed condition as possible.

Any kind of fresh meat will do for bait--rabbits and other small rodents are often used, but larger baits seem to be more attractive. it is also of advantage after setting the trap to make a 'drag' of the bait for a quarter to a half mile, at the end of a rope from the saddle horn, and finally to fasten it to a bush or stake close to the trap, or cut it in bits and scatter all around the trap so that not all can be reached by the coyote without walking over the trap. The skill of the trapper and the situation of the trap will determine the best arrangement. The suspicion of the coyote is lessened apparently after following the bloody trail of a well-planned drag.

Before setting the traps many trappers rub their feet and hands on a skin or some strong-smelling meat or carcass to conceal the human odor. Oil of anise or rhodium is sometimes used for the same purpose. Any strong odor is likely to attract the attention of the coyote and allay suspicion. Care must be taken not to spit on the ground or kneel or throw down any clothing in the vicinity of the trap. A good plan is to set a line of traps and leave them for a day or two, and then go the rounds with a horse and drag, and bait the traps without dismounting.

HUNTING.