The Great Coyote Drive Falls Flat
A massive community hunting effort ends in embarrassment as the wily predators evade the local volunteer army.
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.
There was something the matter with that coyote drive last Saturday. Only four jackrabbits were sacrificed on the altar of the day’s sport. There seemed to be plenty of men packing deadly weapons, yet Old Man Coyote failed, neglected, or declined to play his part. Four or five of the animals were sighted, but when the circle closed in at Chambers’ bar, they were gone. One or two were seen to cross the Columbia on the ice to the Grant county side. Despite the disappointing results, leaders like Sam Allard, Herb Huff, and Edmund Anderson are being called out for their lack of tactical success. The Spokesman feels it best to let the matter drop with as little noise as possible, noting that everyone at least enjoyed the outing.
“There seemed to be plenty of men... but for some reason or other, Old Man Coyote failed, neglected or declined to play his part.”
This community hunt highlights the era’s aggressive stance on predator control and the importance of organized community events in rural Washington. Chambers' Bar was a specific geographical feature along the Columbia River, now largely submerged or altered by the massive dam projects that eventually defined the region.
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