236 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



speed, rear their bodies upright and proceed on 

 their hind limbs like bipeds. When I was telling 

 this to Loco Tom at Stovepipe Springs, he 

 matched it with this yet greater absurd state- 

 ment: "Why, up here these lizards run so fast 

 on hot days that they have to stop every once 

 in a while, turn over on their backs, and put 

 their feet up in the air to cool them off in the 

 wind." 



It has always been a puzzle to me to explain 

 how these swift-moving creatures can so easily 

 find a hole for refuge while in movement. When 

 going at top speed they can "spot" a burrow 

 and suddenly duck into it as if they had known 

 it was there all the while. Such is their momen- 

 tum that you cannot see how by any possible 

 means they can keep from shooting straight 

 over the abrupt hollow. 



When at rest their heads and shoulders are 

 held up high in such a position as to favor care- 

 ful observation and alertness. The pelvis and 

 the tail rest flat upon the ground. The knees of 

 the rear legs stand out at right angles from the 

 body and are "elevated to such a degree that 

 they nearly reach the plane of the back." This 



