212 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



transformation, and made us acquainted with two 

 bright-eyed, attractive children. The daily visit 

 was a pleasure. They delighted in helping Mary, 

 watching me at my w^ork, listening to stories 

 or in telling us about the calves, the pig, the 

 coyotes that came to the corral at night, and 

 with open eyes of the big bear shot by " Dave 

 and Paw." 



A business journey to the East in December 

 took us away from Mineral Creek, and the time 

 of my absence was spent by Mrs. Scott in Tucson. 

 On my return we devoted several weeks to an 

 exploration of the outlying country. Twelve 

 miles northeast of the town, in the foot-hills of 

 the Santa Catalinas, beyond Camp Lowell, is 

 Agua Caliente. The Hot Springs are approached 

 through a forest of the giant cactus. The word 

 forest alone describes the closely massed columns 

 of the saguaro, scattered over the vast area, 

 almost to the exclusion of other plant life. 



The hard, woody ribs that surround the pith of 

 the cactus, like the staves of a barrel, are pierced 

 in many places by Gila, red-shafted, and gilded 

 woodpeckers, who find in the soft central mass 

 a material readily excavated for domiciles. The 

 general habit of woodpeckers is to seek new 

 nesting places every year. The abandoned cavi- 

 ties of former seasons are promptly preempted by 

 two kinds of owls, the Mexican screech owl and 



