SOUTHERN ARIZONA 213 



a miniature species known as Whitney's owl, 

 peculiar to the region. Sparrow-hawks, too, de- 

 light in becoming tenants. The saguaros in the 

 neighborhood of Agua Caliente afforded excel- 

 lent opportunities for studying the habits of 

 Whitney's owl, but my chief difficulty was to get 

 close enough to the opening of the nest. The 

 birds were far from shy; they sat in the open 

 doors of their retreats, paying no attention to the 

 passer-by. A light sectional padder readily car- 

 ried in our " ambulance " solved the difficulty. 



At Camp Lowell generous hospitality always 

 awaited us, and it was one of the pleasures of our 

 stay in Tucson to visit our friends at the " Post." 

 In my frontier life I have received unfailing kind- 

 ness and consideration from officers in both 

 branches of the Service. No body of men I have 

 known have wider scientific interests. 



Early in the spring of 1883 I looked for a point 

 at which to continue my ornithological work. 

 The northern slope of the Santa Catalinas was 

 finally chosen for personal as well as scientific 

 reasons. Pepper Sauce Gulch was the site of our 

 new home. I built here a simple cottage of 

 bungalow type, with wide-spreading roof, hauling 

 in the lumber fifty miles from Tucson. The 

 material used was California redwood, and this 

 served not only for walls, floors, and shingles of 

 the roof, but was converted readily into the win- 



