116 NEIGHBORS WITH CLAWS AND HOOFS. 



Mr. Opie, who is the possessor of a donkey, or burro, 

 which is, no doubt, as dear to his owner as Mr % Black's 

 horned cattle were to him. This burro, like most others, 

 is fond of having his own way, and, when confined in 

 stable or corral, and the idea occurs to him that he would 

 prefer to extend his wanderings beyond those limits, he 

 proceeds calmly to kick down the walls of the inclosure, 

 and thoughtfully strolls away in search of drier sage- 

 brush or more thorny greasewood. Now, it happened 

 one night that Mr. Opie's burro, having, as usual, demol- 

 ished the barriers between himself and freedom, strayed, 

 in a meditative frame of mind, to the corral in which Mr. 

 Black's cattle were confined. On reaching it, he gazed 

 mildly at its occupants, and then gave himself up to a con- 

 templation of the beauty of the scene. 



21. " The clear stars looked down unwinkingly on the 

 plain ; high in the heavens rode the glorious moon. In 

 the distance rose the mountains, bare near their base, but 

 higher up clothed with chaparral, and higher still with 

 dark pines. Scarcely a sound disturbed the quiet of the 

 night. The long-drawn howl of the coyote was silent, but 

 in the creek the water murmured softly its little song. 

 All this the burro observed and enjoyed ; but, as the sweet 

 smell of the stacks reached his nostrils, he remembered 

 that life was not made for dreaming, and, walking up to 

 the corral, he leaned against it, and, with scarcely an 

 effort, threw down half a dozen lengths of fence. Then 

 he entered, and began to eat Mr. Black's hay. 



22. " While all this was going on, a grizzly of remark- 

 able size and ferocity was pursuing his way down a canon 

 toward the corral. He did not stop to contemplate the 

 calm loveliness of the night, but went hurriedly along, for 

 he was hungry, and he remembered a particularly large 

 and fat calf that he had twice unsuccessfully tried to 



