THE FISH WITH LEGS. 501 



notice of the foe. The consequence is that they have con- 

 tracted the habit of eating certain parts of an animal in an 

 uncooked condition. I have estimated that six men may make 

 a full meal from a buffalo without lighting a fire. The ribs on 

 one side are taken out with a knife, and the concavity serves 

 as a dish. The brains are taken out of the skull, and the 

 marrow from the leg-bones, and the two are chopped together 

 in the rib-dish. The liver and lungs are eaten with a keen 

 relish ; also certain portions of the intestines ; and the blood 

 supplies an excellent and nutritious drink. 



" Both Indian and buffalo have probably disappeared for- 

 ever from these plains. Elk, black-tailed deer, red deer, 

 mountain sheep, wolves, and the smaller animals, are still quite 

 abundant, especially in the valleys of the small streams, where 

 they flow down through the mountains. Elk Mountain and 

 Sheephead Mountain have always been noted localities for 

 these animals." 



/ 



THE FISH WITH LEGS. 



But while the buffalo has become extinct in that locality, an 

 inhabitant of the water may be preparing (query: in support 

 of the theory of development?) to take its place. I quote 

 again from Hayden : 



" There are other attractions here, of which the traveler will 

 be informed long before he reaches the locality. The ' fish 

 with legs ' are the only inhabitants of the lake, and numbers of 

 persons make it a business to catch and sell them to travelers. 

 During the summer season they congregate in great numbers 

 in the shallow water among the weeds and grass near the 

 ' shore, and can be easily caught; but in cold weather they 



