xviii CONTENTS 



and owls The burrowing owl Ground-birds The road- 

 runner's swiftness The vicious beak The desert quail 

 Wings of the quail Travelling for water Habits of 

 the quail His strong legs Bush-birds Woodpeckers 

 and cactus Finches and mocking-birds Humming-birds 

 Doves and grosbeaks The lark and flickers Jays and 

 magpies Water fowl Beetles and worms Fighting de- 

 struction by breed Blue and green beetles Butterflies 

 Design and character Beauty of birds Beauty also of 

 reptiles Nature's work all purposeful Precious jewel 

 of the toad 174 



CHAPTER XL Mesas and Foot-Hills. Flat steps of 

 the desert Across Southern Arizona Rising from the 

 desert The great mesas " Grease -wood plains" Up- 

 land vegetation Grass plains Spring and summer on the 

 plains Home of the antelope Beds of soda and gypsum 

 Biding into the unexpected The Grand Cany OF 

 country Hills covered with juniper The Painted Desert 

 Hiding on the mesas The reversion to savagery The 

 thin air again The light and its deceptions Distorted 

 proportions Changed colors The little hills Painting 

 the desert Worn - down mountains Mountain wash 

 Flattening down the plain Mountain making The foot- 

 hills Forms of the foot-hills Mountain plants Bare 

 mountains The southern exposures Gray lichens Still 

 in the desert Arida Zona Cloud-bursts in the mesas- 

 Wash of rains Gorge cutting In the canyons Walls 

 of rock Color in canyon shadows Blue sky Desert 

 landscape Knowledge of Nature Nature-lovers 

 Human limitations 194 



CHAPTER XII. Mountain -Barriers. The western 

 mountains Saddles and passes View from mountain 

 top Looking toward the peaks Lost streams Ava- 



