out by these intelligence depots. Now it often happens that a Coyote,
that has not much else to do will carry a dry bone or some other useless
object in its mouth, but sighting the signal-post, will go toward it to
get the news, lay down the bone, and afterwards forget to take it along,
so that the signal-posts in time become further marked with a curious
collection of odds and ends.

[Illustration]

This singular habit was the cause of a disaster to the Chimney-pot
Wolf-hounds, and a corresponding advantage to the Coyotes in the war.
Jake had laid a line of poison baits on the western bluffs. Tito knew
what they were, and spurned them as usual; but finding more later, she
gathered up three or four and crossed the Little Missouri toward the
ranch-house. This she circled at a safe distance; but when something
made the pack of Dogs break out into clamour, Tito dropped the baits,
and next day, when the Dogs were taken out for exercise they found and
devoured these scraps of meat, so that in ten minutes, there were four
hundred dollars' worth of Greyhounds lying dead. This led to an edict
against poisoning in that district, and thus was a great boon to the
Coyotes.

[Illustration]

Tito quickly learned that not only each kind of game must be hunted in a
special way, but different ones of each kind may require quite different
treatment. The Prairie-dog with the outlying den was really an easy
prey, but the town was quite compact now that he was gone. Near the
centre of it was a fine, big, fat Prairie-dog, a perfect alderman, that
she had made several vain attempts to capture. On one occasion she had