CAMPING IN A BARRANCA m:::::::: 



any organ — came to my ear, then changed to a londer 

 rnmble, and then to a muffled booming, and I knew the 

 volcano was speaking. How far underground it worked 

 or what forces were contending together, would be 

 perhaps forever a mystery, but the realization of such 

 mighty powers at work so near, far from arousing 

 alarm, seemed to quell all fear, and without another 

 disturbing tliought I picked my way back to the tent. 

 The sleep which came to us that night was of the qual- 

 ity of sweetness known only to those whose happiest 

 days and nights are the ones spent closest to the heart 

 of wild Nature. 



SANDPIPERS AND HAWKS 



At daybreak a plunge into the clear, cold stream 

 refreshed every sense, and the life of the canyon began 

 another day. For us, its birds and trees were created 

 yesterday, but the rocks which fringe its summit have 

 seen them come and go for centuries. We appeared 

 thus suddenly and fitted into the environment as if 

 always a part of it, disturbing nothing that we could 

 avoid, shooting little except for food, and even that 

 with low-sounding guns whose reports brought no 

 alarm to the tenants of the harranca. And thus here 

 as elsewhere we strove to merge as nearly as pos- 

 sible into our surroundings, and by means of neutral 

 tinted clothes and quiet watching, to see into the 

 real lives of the creatures of this Mexican wilderness. 



" <4- 133 ^ 



