SHY LIFE IN THE DESEKT 



AFTER the desert and the mountains, and some 

 of the longer-desired birds, I have enjoyed few 

 sights in Arizona more than that of two coyotes. 

 Old beaters about the wilds of this Western 

 country will be ready to scoff, I dare say, at so 

 simple a confession. " Two coyotes, indeed I A 

 great sight, that ! " So I think I hear them say- 

 ing. Well, they are welcome to their fun. It is 

 kindly ordered, the world being mostly a dull 

 place, that men shall be mutually amusing, and 

 there is no great harm in being laughed at, pro- 

 vided it be done behind one's back. 



The fact remains, then, as I state it. To me 

 the coyotes were very interesting and unexpected 

 beasts. And the pleasure of my encounter with 

 them was heightened materially (this, too, is a 

 laughable admission ; I know it as well as any- 

 body), when I learned that hereabouts, whatever 

 may be true elsewhere, it was to be esteemed a 

 piece of rather extraordinary luck, unlikely to 

 be soon repeated. To all men of science, though 

 they be nothing but amateurs and dabsters, rar- 

 ity is one of the cardinal virtues of a specimen. 



