CHAPPARAL COCK. 145 
two horse, one pony, three mule, horse shod all round, pony 
too; shoes on pony old; one mule shod all round, others shod 
before ; trail five days old.” 
How he could be so accurate, he knows best, with nothing 
but some tracks in the sand, partly blown over by the wind, 
to guide him; but suffice it to say he was correct, which we 
ascertained two months afterwards; the horses and mules 
having been stolen from the neighbourhood of Fort Belknap, 
and a detachment of dragoons having been sent out after 
‘the marauders. Such is the force of habit, and most invalua- 
ble is this power in a country where stock is liable at any 
hour to be stolen. 
The first specimen of the chapparal cock was here seen. 
It is a species of cuckoo, about as large as a grouse; runs 
very fast, and will not fly unless closely pursued. It is the 
only bird that will attack the rattlesnake, which it does with 
great fury, seizing it by the neck and beating it to death with 
its short strong wings. 
We gave chase to this specimen, a fall grown male, but he 
escaped us by taking: to the thick tangled bushes on the 
bank. Shortly after we came to the Big Witchita. - 
The bed of the stream was very ‘wide, but there was but 
- little running water in it, and that salt and bitter, disappearing 
frequently entirely in the sand, the shores frosted with de- 
posits of salt and gypsum. We crossed and recrossed it 
several times during the afternoon, as it was very crooked and 
marching in a direct line, ee bed it in sight for a long 
13 
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