Children Capture Coyote on Horse Heaven Ranch
Two young children on a Horse Heaven ranch showed remarkable courage, roping a full-grown coyote with the help of their dogs.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
J. P. Smalley's two children, while out horseback riding a short distance from their Horse Heaven ranch, came upon a full-grown coyote which, with the help of the dogs, they ran to cover. After worrying and wearing it out, the girl succeeded in roping it, and together they tied it on a horse and took it home with them where they staked it out. It soon revived and showed all the fight and fierceness it was capable of. That two children of that age should capture such an animal is a notable feat, requiring courage and nerve unusual in childhood.
“That two children of that age should capture such an animal is a notable feat, requiring courage and nerve unusual in childhood.”
While the Horse Heaven Hills are now known for wind farms and dryland wheat, the rugged spirit of the frontier defined the area's early settlement. The children's feat remains a testament to the harsh reality of living near the untamed steppe at the turn of the 20th century.
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