AMPHIBIOUS 'COONS. 251 



game. At his earnest solicitation, Shamus was per- 

 mitted to abandon his post of duty temporarily, and 

 go along also, with the understanding that he was to 

 select choice pieces from the first suitable game we 

 might bring down, and, returning to camp, be ready 

 for our arrival with an ample dinner. 



As we rode down the valley of Silver Creek, gangs 

 of wild turkeys occasionally came out of the narrow 

 skirt of timber, and, running along before us for short 

 distances, re-entered it, and were lost to view again. 

 Never having been hunted, they seemed destitute of 

 the timidity and cunning which are the usual charac- 

 teristics of this bird. 



Twenty minutes' ride brought us to the Saline, the 

 basin of which we found to be half a mile or there- 

 abouts in width, and presenting a scene of great des- 

 olation. We were something like two hundred feet 

 below the table-lands which came down to the narrow 

 valley in barren canyons and masses of rock. The 

 stream itself is narrow, with less than two feet of 

 water running swiftly over the sands, and along its 

 banks, at intervals, a few dwarfed cottonwood trees. 

 Such was the Valley of the Saline at this point ; yet 

 thirty miles below, our men told us, the valley opened 

 out into rich bottom lands, and was famous for its 



beauty. 



While in the act of crossing, we came suddenly 

 upon four small animals playing and fishing in the 

 shallow water. With an exclamation of astonish- 

 ment, the Professor had his glasses out in a moment. 

 The guide informed us they were only 'coons, and such 

 they were sure enough, with the peculiar color and 



