122 Goldman, In Search of a New Turkey. LApr. 



hundred feet above the plain as outlying foothills of the Mogol- 

 lons. A few miles beyond the pass, camp was made for the 

 night at a waterhole among the cedars which clothe the lower 

 slopes of the range. 



This section of the MogoUon Mountains is of peculiar forma- 

 tion. It has a northwest and southeast trend and forms here the 

 southern rim of the Colorado Plateau by connecting the San 

 Francisco group with the White Mountains of eastern Arizona. 

 The summit is known locally as the ' rim,' and marks the point 

 from which precipitous ' breaks ' lead down on the south into 

 Tonto Basin. Toward the north the slopes are so gradual that 

 in ascending one scarcely realizes that he is entering mountains, 

 and streams heading near the rim, flow northward in parallel 

 courses through deep and often inaccessible box canons until 

 they emerge on the desert and enter the Little Colorado. 



On the second day we continued up the long easy slope along 

 the ridge separating Clear Creek Canon and some of the upper 

 branches of Canon Diablo. The weather was beautifully clear 

 and all our hopes for an early storm were gone. As we gradually 

 increased our altitude the panorama of the Little Colorado 

 Valley widened below us, while far away in the northwest, San 

 Francisco Peak, the great landmark of the whole region, rose 

 abruptly into cloudland. 



The first turkey tracks were seen in spots of soft soil among 

 the piiions soon after noon and others were crossed at intervals 

 along the road. Late in the afternoon, when near the upper 

 edge of the piiion belt, we entered what was evidently the feeding 

 ground of a large flock, for many tracks were seen crossing the 

 wagon road in several places. This encouraged us to camp near 

 here, and when we came to a trail leading down into Clear Creek 

 Caiion and indicating accessible water, we did so. After a few 

 hasty preparations for the night the camp man was sent to the 

 bottom of the canon, over a mile away, to water the horses and 

 fill casks for camp use, while the hunter and I started out in 

 opposite directions to look for turkeys. I walked slowly and as 

 quietly as possible through fairly open pine and piiion woods, 

 following a half circular course in order to avoid going too far from 

 camp so late in the day. Many tracks were seen, but none of 



