VOL. II.] Cape Region of Baja California. 193 
none were met with on the sand. The two rattlers that Mr. Bran- 
degee stepped over, as they laid close together in the trail, were in 
the dry arroyo where the cow-path was partially overgrown, but 
they were both collected and no one bitten. The Mexican boys 
used to catch snakes and lizards alive for me by slipping a running 
noose of thread or horse-hair (which was attached to the end of a 
switch) over the reptile’s head. 
There were other interesting things in the large arroyo besides 
botanical specimens and birds, for we had located a patch of cac- 
tuses ( Cereus gummosus ), called by the Mexicans ‘“‘pitahaya,” bear- 
ing one of the fruits of the gods. This delicious red fruit was, when 
the skin was taken off, in size from a walnut to a goose egg, usually 
rounded and from one and a half to two inches in diameter. The 
smooth, thick skin is studded with sharp spines which may be eas- 
ily knocked off with a stick from the ripe fruit. The pulp is firmer 
than that of a watermelon, which it resembles, but the flavor is like 
bashing else known to me, having a slightly acid taste. The “ pita- 
hayas’’ are eaten by many of the birds, especially by the house 
finches, which pick out the pulp and small black seeds from the hole 
they have made through the skin and leave only a scarlet shell 
hanging to the thorny arms of the cactus. 
Small mammal traps were set nightly and several species of small 
rodents were caught, but unfortunately some of them were mutilated 
about the eyes and ears by ants. This could be obviated only by 
repeatedly visiting the traps throughout the night, for no matter 
how early they were taken up in the morning the ants had already 
found them. The most common and conspicuous mammal of the 
region is the white-tailed or antelope chipmunk ( Zamias leucurus). 
Nothing was learned of the black - capped ground squirrel, which 
_ probably does not extend nearly as far south. Stories were heard 
regarding the rabies of the little striped skunk (.Spzlogale lucasana ), 
which the people call the “zorrillo’’ and are so much in dread of, 
but no specimens could be secured. In the more mountainous 
parts of the cape region we often listened to stories of mad skunks 
and wildcats until it was enough to make a nervous man keep his 
head covered at night. The subject of rabid skunks was pene 
in ZoE (vol. i, 9, 272), and need not be repeated here. 
The largest series obtained of any single species of mammal was 
— of the pocket gopher ( 7iomomys ), the reddish variety of which was 
common in the sandy gardens and easily trapped. 
