VII.


Tito had many adventures in which she did not come out so well. Once she
nearly caught an Antelope fawn, but the hunt was spoiled by the sudden
appearance of the mother, who gave Tito a stinging blow on the side of
the head and ended her hunt for that day. She never again made that
mistake--she had sense. Once or twice she had to jump to escape the
strike of a Rattlesnake. Several times she had been fired at by hunters
with long-range rifles. And more and more she had to look out for the
terrible Grey Wolves. The Grey Wolf, of course, is much larger and
stronger than the Coyote, but the Coyote has the advantage of speed, and
can always escape in the open. All it must beware of is being caught in
a corner. Usually when a Grey Wolf howls the Coyotes go quietly about
their business elsewhere.

Tito had a curious fad, occasionally seen among the Wolves and Coyotes,
of carrying in her mouth, for miles, such things as seemed to be
interesting and yet were not tempting as eatables. Many a time had she
trotted a mile or two with an old Buffalo-horn or a cast-off shoe, only
to drop it when something else attracted her attention. The cow-boys who
remark these things have various odd explanations to offer: one,
that it is done to stretch the jaws, or keep them in practice, just as a
man in training carries weights. Coyotes have, in common with Dogs and
Wolves, the habit of calling at certain stations along their line of
travel, to leave a record of their visit. These stations may be a stone,
a tree, a post, or an old Buffalo-skull, and the Coyote calling there
can learn, by the odour and track of the last comer, just who the caller
was, whence he came, and whither he went. The whole country is marked