Hunting with the Bow and Arrow

he would be less frequently captured than the coyote, who is also a very clever gentleman. As it is, a rac

ity for combat. We have, of course, that product of culture and breeding, the coon h

umber of Procyon lotor. Having been accepted as a companion of one or two or more ambitious and enthusiastic dogs, we start out at

rees. The dogs busy themselves sniffing and working through the underbrush, crossing the creek bac

As if shot, they are off in a bunch. A clatter of sounds, scratching, rustling, and scrambling, we hear them tearing through the brush. We follow, but are soon outdistanced. Down the creek bed we go, splash through mud, clamber over logs, stop, listen, and hear them baying,

mint. Frank Ferguson is the champion coon hunter; so he draws a blunt arrow from his quiver, takes quick aim and shoots. A dull thud tells that he has hit, but the coon does not fall. Another arrow whistles past, registering a miss;

r and eats a pound of butter. He fully deserves what is coming to him. I loose Teddy and Dixie, my two faithful hounds. Th

ere I lose them in the jungle. I run on by instinct, listening for their directing bark. Once in a while I catch it faintly in the distance. They must b

s no doubt about it, he has rushed in where angels fear to tread. He has received a recent lesson in coon hunting. So I console him with a little petting and ask him where is Teddy. Just then I hear a subterranean gurgle and scuffle and rushing off to a nearby clump of trees, I find that away down under the ground in a hollow stump, there is a death struggle going on--Teddy and the coon are having it out. From the sounds I know that Ted has him by the throat and is waiting for the end. But he seems very weak himself. As I shout down the hole to encourage him, the coon, with one final effort, wrests himself free from the dog and comes scuttling out of the hole. With undignified haste I back away from the outlet an

nder back to camp in time for congratulations and wonder

g to the dogs, but usually this little cousin of the bears

us; he hunts them for their pelts. He is also a trapper for the market and long since has found that the bl

, but he extends them not infrequently both into the sunrise and twilight zones. One

ed distinctly against a red dirt bank across the ravine, they stood just for a moment in surprise. I drew my bow and instantly loosed an arrow at the foremost. It f

on me a second, then gracefully, and with infinite ease, they cle

erful bushy tails as an aeroplane readjusts its flight, and soared level across the obstacle. One final downward curve of that beautiful counterbalance landed them smoothly on the dis

bright light on the head, I could have shot him, but then he is such a harmless little denizen of the woods that I hate to kill him. But after all, is he really harml

chased many foxes over the sa

the brush where a larger dog follows with difficulty. With strident yelps the pack picks up the hot trail, and off they rush, helter skelter, through

e trunk, mounts like a squirrel and gains a rotten limb, panting with effort. As we approach he climbs

! It was twenty feet to the first foothold on a dec

he loses heart. Sometimes we have mounted the tree and slipped a noose over the fox's neck, brought him close, tied his wicked little jaws tightly together with a thong, packed him off on the horse to

unt arrow add another fur collar t

flight. Compton and Young, arrows nocked and muscles taut, crept cautiously to the thicket of wild roses out of which flew the quail. There, stooping low, they saw the spotted legs of a lynx softly stalking the birds. Aiming above the legs where surely there must be a body, Young sped an arrow. There was a thud, a snarl, and an animal tore through the cracklin

nt casual appearance. Often have we seen them slink out from a bunch of cover, cross the open hillside, and there, if within range, receive an

, we have called these wary creatures fr

we prefer the accidental meetings and impromptu adventures to the more certain contact. Still when at nig

t he has rather a kindly feeling toward this little brother of the plains, called by the Aztecs coyote, or "wild one." We know his evil propen

oulder, a band of these gamins of the wilds would follow him teasing at his heels. Ishi would turn upon them with feigned fu

ow he lost his claws. Of course, he had long claws like the bear in the beginning, and fine silky fur. But one night, coming weary from hunting and cold, he crept into a hollow oak gall to sleep. The wind fanned the embers of the camp-fire and the dry grass burst into a blaze. It swept up to the sleeping coyote, where only his feet protruded from his hollow spherical

e protests at your entrance upon his domain with a forlorn wail, or insolently stares a

air. The coyote heard it coming; he pricked up his ears, pointed his nose skyward, rose and limped lively to the left, turned, peered into the sky, and ran a short distance to the right

m, however. One of our neophytes with the bow, having had his tackle less than a month, was out riding in his new automobile in company with a group of friends. The bow at that time was his vade-mecum; he never left it home. He chanced to see a stray coyote near the side of the highway when, after passing it a hundre

ng gallop, drew his faithful bow, and shot at sixty yards. Unerringly the fatal

ounded them with his success. Loud were the shouts of joy; a war dance ensued to celebrate the great event. When done

the danger of

creek, Ferguson cut across the intervening neck of the woods to intercept him if possible. He reached the stream bottom at the moment the coyote came trotting past. Having a blunt arrow on the bowstring, he shot across the twenty-five yards of bank, and quite unexpectedly cracked the animal on the foreleg, breaking the bone. A jet of blood spurted out with as

accurate shooting. Compton is particularly good at long ranges, so he pointed out a bush about one hundred and seventy-five yards distant. It was about th

ll fearsome beasts that cross the trail of an archer. But with that fateful hope which has foreshadowed an

the family, we shall continue from time to time to speed a