American Big Game in its Haunts 



serve, notably Show Low, Pinetop and Linden. The 

 wagon road from Holbrook, on the Santa Fe Pacific 

 Railroad, to the military post at Camp Apache, on the 

 White Mountain Indian Reservation, passes through 

 this strip by way of Show Low. The old trails 

 through Sunset Pass to Camp Verde and across 

 "The Rim" into Tonto Basin traverse the northern 

 part of the reserve, and are used by stockmen and 

 others at short intervals, except in midwinter. 



The climate of this section of the reserve is rather 

 arid in summer, the rainfall being much more uncer- 

 tain than in the more elevated areas about the San 

 Francisco Mountains to the northwest and the White 

 Mountains to the southeast. The summers are 

 usually hot and dry, the temperature being modified, 

 however, by the altitude. Rains sometimes occur 

 during July and August, but are more common in 

 the autumn, when they are often followed by abund- 

 ant snowfall. During some seasons snow falls to a 

 depth of three or more feet on a level in the yellow 

 pine forests, and remains until spring. During other 

 seasons, however, the snowfall is insignificant, and 

 much of the ground remains bare during the winter, 

 especially on southern exposures. As a matter of 

 course, the lower slope of the pifion belt and the 

 grassy plains of the Little Colorado, both of which 

 lie outside of the reserve, have less and less snow, 

 according to the altitude, and it never remains for 

 any very considerable time. On the southern ex- 

 posure, facing Tonto Basin, the snow is still less 

 permanent. The winter in the yellow pine belt 

 extends from November to April. 



470 



