i 4 2 WAITING IN THE WILDERNESS 



with them, except that wherever he went they 

 appear to have accepted him as their leader, 

 acknowledged his mental and physical superi- 

 ority, and looked upon him with awe and admi- 

 ration. Doubtless he asserted authority, and 

 they may have revered him for his mastership. 



The desert exacts many unusual actions from 

 the life in its borders. The desert coyote from 

 long life in these exacting scenes has become as 

 clever as a fox and as durable and successful 

 as the cactus and the sage among which he lives. 

 He receives the cloud-bursts and the deadly des- 

 ert dust storm. He ranges over an empire, 

 knows its resources and the few wet spots that it 

 affords. Most of the time the desert is ex- 

 tremely dry and the water holes and springs 

 long distances apart. In many places the only 

 water is salty or alkaline and too often polluted 

 with dead snakes or rabbits or other life that 

 died in the water or by it. 



Many desert animals have developed the 

 ability to go long periods without water. Desert 

 antelope and sheep may not drink for a week. 

 The camel and possibly one or two other ani- 

 mals have extra water reservoirs by the stomach, 

 but most desert animals do not have this equip- 

 ment. They are, however, able to do with but 

 little water; perhaps one of the ways that enable 

 them to survive with scanty water is that they 



