were, as our
cattle refused to touch them. Certain nutritious plants, natives of the
soil, such as the mescal, quite common when we first entered the
country, were so completely killed out by the cattle that later not a
single plant of the kind could be found.

Amongst the fauna of Arizona was, of course, the ubiquitous prairie dog;
and as a corollary, so to speak, the little prairie owl (_Athene
cunicularis_), which inhabits deserted dog burrows and is the same bird
as occupies the Biscacha burrows in Argentina. Rattlesnakes, so common
around dog-towns, enter the burrows to secure the young marmots. Another
animal frequently seen was the chaparral-cock or road-runner, really the
earth cuckoo (_Geococcyx Mexicanus_), called paisano or pheasant, or
Correcamino, by the Mexicans. It is a curious creature, with a very long
tail, and runs at a tremendous rate, seldom taking to flight. Report
says that it will build round a sleeping rattlesnake an impervious ring
of cactus spines. Its feathers are greatly valued by Indians as being
"good medicine," and being as efficacious as the horseshoe is with us.

A still more curious animal, not often seen, was the well-named Gila
monster or Escorpion (_Heloderma suspectum_), the only existing animal
that fills the description of the Basilisk or Cockatrice of mediaeval
times; not the _Basilicus Americanus_, which is an innocent herbivorous
lizard. This Gila monster is a comparatively small, but very hideous
creature, in appearance like a lizard, very sluggish in its movements,
and rightly owning the worst of reputations. Horned toads, also hideous
in appearance, and tarantulas (_Mygales_), very large centipedes and
scorpions, were common, and lived on, or rather were killed because of
their reputation, but they seldom did anyone harm.

But the most highly appreciated, that is the most feared and detested,
of wild creatures was the common skunk, found everywhere, mostly a night
wanderer and a hibernator. He is a most fearless animal, having such
abundant and well-reasoned confidence in his mounted battery, charged
with such noxious gases as might well receive the attention of our
projectile experts. The first time I ever saw one he came into my
mountain hut. Knowing only that he was "varmint" I endeavoured to kill
him quickly with a spade. Alas! the spade fell just a moment too late
and henceforth that hut was uninhabitable for a month. The only way to
get one out of the house is to po