Il6 Nelson, With Bob-tvhite in Mexico. [apHI 



while farther away broad belts of brilliant green sugar cane were 

 in vivid contrast to the dry browns and yellows of the general 

 surface. The sun was shining brightly, and the fresh balmy air 

 seemed full of life-giving power. The musical notes of Meadow- 

 larks were heard at intervals, and on one side of the valley flocks 

 of Red-winged Blackbirds were swirling back and forth over some 

 small marshy spots grown up with tules. Through the valley 

 bottom flowed a little stream of clear, sparkling water, which, 

 before reaching the distant shore of the Pacific, runs a wild 

 course through the mountain gorges of Guerrero. Behind me 

 arose the mysterious pyramid of Cholula, crowned by a white 

 walled chapel, which now occupies the place of ancient sacrifice. 

 Over to my right stood the gigantic form of the Smoking Mount- 

 ain — hoary old Popocatepetl — with the gleaming robe of the 

 White Lady — Iztaccihuatl — shining over his shoulder. In 

 front a sweeping plain descended for many miles through a 

 district of great sugar estates to the far horizon, where it was 

 walled in by the blue front of distant mountains. 



Turning to one side I approached some scrubby bushes which 

 appeared to offer shelter for birds or other game. Suddenly the 

 familiar accents of my mother tongue fell on my ear. I listened 

 with bated breath. Again arose in clear, round tones, the calls 

 so familiar in my boyhood days, ' Bob White,' ' Bob White.' 

 With eager steps I hastened forward to a small group of acacias, 

 and there, quietly perched on top of a bush, was an old friend, 

 the author of the notes. It is difficult to describe the mingled 

 pleasure and exultation caused by this unexpected meeting. It 

 proved to be the Puebla Bob- white {Colinus graysoni nigripectiis 

 Nelson) and during the following days a number of others were 

 seen, and it became evident that my friend of the first morning 

 was one of a colony located in the neighborhood. 



Afterwards, during my Mexican travels, I learned that the Bob- 

 whites are widely spread in that country and although many of 

 them have changed the color of their dress more or less, yet their 

 customs and tricks of speech remain much the same as in their 

 northern home. 



At a later date during this same season, while working down 

 the eastern slope of the Cordillera in Vera Cruz, near the City of 



