182 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:5— May, 1918 



their attention. The victim can not be moved, may perhaps 

 be only half conscious. Rufus is relieved of his load which is 

 placed within reach of the sufferer, then, tying the dog to the 

 still form, in order to keep off the coyotes or the buzzards which 

 might return, the Good Samaritan goes back to camp for supplies 

 or, perhaps, to a mining camp for a stretcher and more aid. 

 Weeks afterwards the stranger has only the scars where the buz- 

 zards tore into his flesh to remind him of his experience, but 

 could he ever forget Rufus? 



This then was their chosen work and the manner of its accom- 

 plishment, with variations in the urgency of the needs. Some- 

 times it was a barefoot Indian that they found, a victim of that 

 deadliest of American reptiles — the "side-winder", or horned 

 rattle snake. Perhaps it was not too late to administer an antidote 

 with the hypodermic needle. Always there was someone who 

 needed help. 



The rescue work was really divided into two parts, first, that of 

 patrolling the desolate expanse of country and rescuing unfortu- 

 nate travellers or prospectors from the terrors of the desert death, 

 by administering to their needs, and second, that of erecting 

 signs indicating trails and water-holes, thus preventing suffering. 

 Such signs which, by the way, bore the Boy Scout emblem, for 

 Mr. Beck was a Scout Master, were paid for from the proceeds 

 of the winter lecture tours. 



In July, 191 7, Lou Wescott Beck passed into the Valley of the 

 Shadow, a victim of his hard life on the desert. His death was 

 probably the indirect result of having taken a few swallows from 

 a contaminated water-hole. He had been without water for 

 thirty-one hours and came upon the "well" at three o'clock in 

 the morning. Knowing that it had been good when he last visited 

 the spot he drank without waiting for Rufus to test it. (Rufus, 

 with his keen scent, was an expert in these matters.) But the dog 

 refused to drink when it was offered to him. Prompt action 

 saved Mr. Beck's life but it was the beginning of a long siege of 

 ill-health, to which he finally succumbed. He left his companion 

 of the past twelve years alone save for Mrs. Beck and the friends 

 which the dog made by reason of his wonderful record. For 

 weeks he was wretched and ill but, though his work is finished, 

 for he could no longer endure desert hardships, even if he had 

 another master, his indomitable spirit and the kindness of those 



