CHAPTER VII.
STILL HUNTING WOLVES AND COYOTES.
Hunting wolves with dogs, as described in the preceding chapter is certainly exciting sport but it is doubtful if it is as remunerative as still-hunting, especially in the rough sections where hunting with dogs is almost impracticable. In parts of the country where wolves and coyotes are plentiful, as they are in many of the thinly settled portions of the West, they may be still hunted at all times of the year. In the heavily timbered parts of the North, this method is practical only in winter.
The outfit that is needed for still-hunting in the West is one or more good saddle horses and the necessary equipment and a good, high powered rifle. A pair of field glasses will also be useful, but some hunters equip their rifles with telescope sights and the field glass is unnecessary. Hunters differ in their views, and with regard to rifles especially, there is a great difference of opinion. What one believes to be perfect, and which answers his purpose admirably, another has no use for whatever.
The arm selected should, however, have considerable power, and the flight of the bullet should be rapid, with a low trajectory. On the Western Plains the atmosphere is so light and transparent, and there is such a sameness to the surface of the country that one may easily be deceived in distances and with the high powered long-ranged rifle, there is less liability of errors, as the accurate estimating of distances is not necessary.
A gun of rapid action is also to be recommended and beyond all doubt the automatic acting arms are superior for shooting at running game. Personally, if the writer were selecting an arm for this kind of hunting, a high powered automatic rifle would be chosen, and it would be fitted with a small bead front sight and hunting peep rear sight. For use on horse back the shorter barrels are to be preferred.
In speaking of the outfit it is presumed that the wolf hunter would be a resident of the western country and would be hunting from home or anyway, making his headquarters at some ranch and hunting from there. If, however, he wants to go out into virgin territory, or if a stranger, he might find it necessary to camp out and in that case he would require a complete camping outfit. Some of the western wolfers use covered wagons for camps and this style of camp is very convenient as it may be moved easily, but if the surface of the country is very rough, this plan is not practical. In that case a tent would be needed and the hunter would use a pack horse in moving camp.
Speaking of saddle horses, in the more arid parts of the wolf country, the vegetation is scanty and horses require considerable time in which to rustle food. For that reason the same horse can not be used each day and one should have several so that each would have plenty of time to recuperate, after use. If one can obtain horses that will allow one to shoot from the saddle, so much the better. No special knowledge of hunting is required, but one should be expert in the use of the rifle, and should also be a good rider. All that is necessary is to ride over the rougher parts of the country, where wolves are most likely to be seen, and keep a sharp lookout for the game. It is always best to hunt to windward as one can approach closer to the game.
Where the bounty is sufficient to make summer hunting profitable, we would recommend this style of hunting at that time of year. In summer, hunting with dogs is not as simple a matter as in winter and trapping is not as good as during the colder part of the year. For coyotes, still hunting is a very successful method in parts of the country where the animals are plentiful and there is probably no place in which the method could be used to better advantage than in the sheep-raising district of Montana and Wyoming. There coyotes may be sighted every day and if the hunter would make a practice of following up the large herds of sheep to the summer range, he would always be sure of an abundance of game.
One is most likely to sight coyotes by riding along the coulees and over the rougher ground. About prairie dog towns are excellent places, as there they will frequently be found looking for the little inhabitants of the burrows. Other good places are the ragged, craggy parts of the Bad Lands and in the sage brush along the watercourses.
In winter one may follow the tracks in the snow and will stand a better chance of securing the game. While still hunting alone might not prove a very profitable method of hunting if one were hunting for bounty, it should always be used in connection with trapping and den hunting. As mentioned in a previous chapter one will often get shots at the adult animals near the dens and if one knows of the location of a den, he may often get a shot by watching it. Anyway the rifle should always be carried, and it should be used whenever a wolf or coyote is seen within range.
We will conclude this chapter by giving an account of a coyote still-hunt, as recorded by one of our western friends.
"It was one of those bright balmy September mornings, so characteristic of Wyoming, that I drove my horses down to water and noticed some coyote tracks in the mud at the edge of the water hole, and I decided then and there to have a coyote hunt that day. I was at the time in charge of a relay station, midway between two small towns and it was my business to look after the spare stage horses, for the stage driver changed teams here, leaving the tired horses in my care and taking on fresh ones. The northbound stage passed about 8:30 A. M., and the southbound outfit was due at about 6:30 P. M., which left me with practically the entire day at my disposal, to do with as I liked, and having my full quota of the spirit of our savage ancestors, I naturally turned to hunting the coyotes which abounded in that section.
"For some time past I had been doing practically no hunting. I say 'practically none' for I had not been out on a real hunt for several weeks, but I did have a short line of traps set and had been looking at them every second morning. On these trips over the trap line I always carried my 30-30 carbine on the saddle and had surprised and shot three coyotes, besides shooting at several more, one of which was wounded but escaped by crawling into a deep hole in a bad-land butte. Besides the three animals mentioned, I had caught in my traps up to that time, some twenty more.
"On this particular morning the 'Spirit of the Wild' called loudly, for as every hunter knows, there is something in the air of autumn which gets into one's blood at times, and there is no remedy except to go on a hunt. My trap line had been looked at the day before, so I was free for the day. Returning to the little sod house which I called my home, I got my rifle and six shooter, prepared a lunch and as soon as the stage had arrived, changed horses and departed, I mounted my horse and hit the trail for the hills to the westward.
"The section of the country to the west of the station was of the bad-land type, groups of buttes and ridges, radiating in every direction, seamed and honey-combed by the rains of centuries. While the country is very dry, the rains are veritable deluges when they do come, and the ordinarily dry water courses become raging torrents. Along these creek beds, sage and grease wood brush was abundant; in the hills, no vegetation was to be found. It was at all times a paradise for coyotes and occasionally a band of grey wolves strayed through those parts. However, the wolves had been rarely met with since the stockmen had abandoned the cattle industry and gone to sheep raising, but the coyotes had increased in numbers.
"At this time of the year, the sheep were being driven down from the mountains into their winter range and in addition to the coyotes which remained, throughout the summer, in the bad-lands, the still larger number which make a practice of following up the great bands of sheep were also appearing on the scene, and the day promised good sport.
"Riding westward about two and a half miles, I struck the bed of a stream and followed it up towards the hills. Here, I knew there were several prairie dog villages and about such places one is almost certain to find coyotes, so I turned my horse that way in the hope of getting a shot at one of the wary animals. My fond hopes were realized, for on rounding the hill at the edge of the first village I saw a large coyote slinking guiltily over the crest of the nearest ridge, but giving me no chance to draw the gun before he passed out of sight. Hastily riding to the top of the ridge, I saw the animal making his get-away down the draw at the other side and throwing my carbine to my shoulder, I caught a quick aim and fired just as he was rounding a spur of the ridge about a hundred and fifty yards away. Snap-shooting from horseback is uncertain at all times and on this occasion I had barely time to catch a half-hearted aim, so was not very hopeful regarding the results of my shot.
"Riding up to the spot, I dismounted and on looking the ground over, was elated to find a splotch of blood, but farther search revealed no other traces of the game. Naturally, I supposed that the animal had gone on down the draw and mounting my horse I rode slowly down the hollow, keeping a sharp lookout for the coyote. After looking the ground over for a quarter of a mile or more, and finding no signs of the game, I decided that this animal, anyway, was lost and returned to the scene of the shooting. Dismounting once more, I took the rifle and climbed to the top of the ridge to see what lay beyond. Imagine my surprise and delight when on reaching the top, which was low at this point, I saw the wounded coyote, vainly endeavoring to escape at the bottom of the depression on the other side.
"The first glance showed that the animal was badly wounded and could not last long, but fearing that it would fall into a hole, I took a hasty shot and had the satisfaction of seeing it crumple down, apparently lifeless. On approaching, however, I found that it still retained enough life to make a vicious snap at my hand, missing that member by only a few inches. As I watched it, undecided whether to shoot it again or leave it bide its own time, it breathed its last.
"It was a fine, large specimen and after skinning it, which required some twenty minutes of my time, I looked it over and found that my first bullet had struck it in the right hip, breaking the bone and passing through the body diagonally, emerging at the left shoulder. It was certainly a good shot and had I been using soft point bullet cartridges instead of full metal patched, the animal would have been killed instantly. It is surprising, however, how tenacious of life these animals are. The second shot had passed through the shoulders.
"I returned to the prairie dog villages but saw no more coyotes. I did see a badger and fired at it just as it was about to enter the burrow, but missed the animal entirely. Going back to the creek bed I followed on up into the hills to a small alkali spring where I halted to eat my lunch. The water from this spring entirely disappears within two hundred yards of the place where it rises. The sun was shining fiercely hot by this time, and after eating my lunch I made a cigarette and crawled into the grateful shadow of the bank where I rested for a full hour. I had intended to make a large circle but found now that I would not have the time that such a trip would necessitate and so decided to go on northward through this range of hills and return home over the trap line.
"At the edge of the hills I found the traces of a sheep outfit and on rounding a spur so as to obtain a good view of the little valley beyond, I saw the white topped wagon of the herder at the far-side, but the sheep were farther down the hollow. Here I expected to find coyotes and I was not disappointed, for on riding through a patch of sage which covered several acres, a coyote broke cover on the opposite side. Three shots followed each other in rapid succession, throwing dirt and gravel over the fleeing animal but without harming him, and having no other effect than to increase his speed. I followed for some distance but failed to get another shot at the coyote and soon lost sight of it. Signs of coyotes were numerous here and about a mile farther I found the remains of two sheep which had been killed and eaten by the animals.
"As I rode over a small sag of a ridge and entered the head of a long narrow hollow, I saw a coyote trotting along down the draw about two hundred yards below me. The animal started to run before I could catch aim and I emptied the magazine in short order the last shot dropping the coyote, but it was not badly hurt and leaping to its feet it made off down the hollow. However, it enabled me to get quite close and putting spurs to the horse, I followed the animal, firing with my revolver. The third shot rolled it over and a fourth finished it, making two coyotes out of three shot at that day.
"Skinning the animal I mounted and hurried on to look at the traps. There were sixteen traps in the line and all but two of them had been undisturbed. Of these two, the bait was taken from one but the wary animal had apparently known just where the trap lay and had avoided it, the other held a young, female coyote. After looking at the traps, I returned home and dressed and stretched the skins of the captured animals.
"The skin of the coyote is of no value as fur, at that time of the year, but the combined state and stockmen's bounties aggregated $4 on each animal, so that I had $12 for my day's hunt. During the fall and early winter I captured by means of traps and gun, a hundred and thirty-three coyotes and four wolves. All of the unprime skins taken that fall were tanned by myself and made into robes."