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was formed, each fronted by a semicircular 

 bluff, highest in the middle, and rising per- 

 fectly sheer and straight. At the foot of 

 these bluffs, which varied from six to thirty 

 feet in height, was the bed of the stream. 

 In many of these creeks there will be a 

 growth of small trees by the stream bed, 

 where it runs under the bluffs, and perhaps 

 pools of water will be found in such places 

 even in times of drought. But on the creek 

 where we found the sage fowl there were 

 neither trees nor water, and the little bot- 

 toms were only covered with stunted sage- 

 brush. Dismounting and leaving my horse 

 with the cowboy I walked down to the edge 

 of the bottom, which was not more than 

 thirty or forty yards across. The covey re- 

 treated into the brush, some of the birds 

 crouching flat down, while the others 

 walked or ran off among the bushes. They 

 were pretty tame, and rose one at a time as 

 I walked on. They had to rise over the 

 low, semicircular bluff in front of them, 

 and, it being still early in the season, they 



