MAMMALS OF THE MEXICAN BOUNDARY, 219 



MiU'icopMs and others that the iiaiiK,' was learned of the desperate fighters who 

 lived in the higher ranges with tiie (leer, the elk, the bear, and the coyote (p. 

 li;>). * * * The Apache was not so well provided with meat as he might 

 have been, becanse the general area of Arizona was so arid and barren that 

 it could not be classed as a game country ; nevertheless, in the higher eleva- 

 tions of the Sierra Mogollon and the San Francisco there were to be found 

 plenty of deer, some elk, and, in places like the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 

 the Canyon of the Kio Salado, and others, there were some Rocky Mountain 

 sheep. Down in the plains or deserts, called in the Spanish idiom "playas " 

 or " beaches." there were quite large herds of antelope, and bears were encoun- 

 tered in all the high and rocky places (p. 129). 



Writing of the vicinity of Camp Apache, Arizona, he observes: 



Two branches of the Sierra Blanca River unite almost in front of the camp, 

 and su])ply all the water needed for any purpose, besides being stocked fairly 

 well with trout, a fish which is rare in other sections of the Territory. Hunting 

 was very good, and the sportsman could find with very slight trouble deer, 

 bear, elk, and other varieties of four-footed animals, with wild turkey and quail 

 in abundance. * * * The Tonto Basin was well supplied with deer and 

 other wild animals (p. 142). 



In October, 1884, during a " pow-wow " with the head men of a 

 small tribe of Apache Indians then living on Carrizo Creek, Arizona, 

 General Crook pointed to an old Indian and said: 



That man is a great hunter. He used to kill many elk in the White ^Nloun- 

 tains. 



The remark was repeated to the hunter through an interpreter, 

 and he was much pleased that the General remembered him so well. 

 Elk teeth were quite commonly seen in the possession of the Apaches. 



Through conversation with hunters, I noted, October 8, 1884 : 



The elk is still to be found in considerable numbers in the White Mountains 

 of Arizona, and in less numbers in the San Fryncisco Mountain region. 



I found charred bones of the elk in the ancient buildings reared 

 by the now extinct clifl dwellers of the Verde Valley. I did not see 

 the elk in the Southwest, but saw the trades of an old bull on Oak 

 Creek, Arizona, when hunting with Sergeant Fox, in the winter of 

 1885-80. At the head of this stream, in the San Francisco Moun- 

 ' tains, a few fragmentary old cast horns were discovered by members 

 of my party in 1887. Not an elk was then known to exist in that 

 region. Mr. '' Bill '' Munds, an old settler who owned a handsome 

 herd of stock and a fine range in the San Francisco Forest, told me 

 that when he first came into Arizona, many years ago, he found the 

 Indians making a " drive " of elk in the San Francisco region. There 

 Avere plenty of elk tracks and more of Indians', although he saw 

 neither elk nor Indian on that day ; bat there was abundant evidence 

 that the drive was successfid. 



The Hopi Indians called the elk Chyze'-ze-seha. One of the 

 Hopi, when shown the skin of the elk sent me by Mr. Nelson, called 



