34 



THE CONDOR 



Vol. X 



lightful plunge in Eel River and caught a string of trout in its waters before end- 

 ing our stay at Barney's. Early on the morning of August 8 we started on the 

 long trail for Covelo. After an all -day tramp over the roughest kind of country 

 we reached Covelo about ' eight o'clock at night, well fatigued. We spread our 

 sleeping bags in a pasture that night, for the hotel of the town had burned in our 

 absence and with it some of our belongings. 



Bunnell and I returned over the way we had come as far as Ukiah. Here I 

 left him, getting out a line of traps that night and putting up a few mammals before 

 taking the stage for L,ierly's ranch at the base of Mt. Sanhedrin, the next day. A 

 twenty-four hour's delay was necessary at John Day's in Potter Valley, where I 

 did some more collecting, and late on the night of August 12, our stage arrived at 

 that extremely picturesque spot, lyierly's ranch. Here for three days I had fine 

 small mammal collecting, but being without a gun had to neglect birds. 



After a short stay in San Francisco, I left for Marshall's, Marin County, on 



Tomales Bay, and just across 

 from the famous headland of 

 Point Reyes. Dr. Merriam 

 was on the train to this point 

 and made the journey very 

 instructive, pointing out the 

 characteristic shrubs and trees 

 of the region thru which we 

 passed. Marshall's is in a 

 country of rolling hills, gold- 

 en j^ellow in color from the 

 thin coarse grass which is 

 everywhere present. The 

 country is practically treeless 

 except in the well-watered 

 canyons where occur willows 

 and elder bushes and other sim- 

 ilar growths. On slopes protec- 

 ted from the cold , steady breezes 

 off the ocean, the California 

 laurel grows in dense patches. 

 This locality is cool, well- 

 watered and birds and small 

 mammals are fairly common. 

 On August 21, I joined Dr. Merriam at Camp Meeker, Sonoma County, in the 

 midst of a beautiful forest of redwoods. Here along the brook and in the shady 

 woods small animals were common; but a snail proved a great pest by eating 

 the bait from small traps. Frequenth^ nearly every trap set in damp places had its 

 bait removed and remained unsprung. Birds here were surprisingly scarce, per- 

 haps due to the thickly settled character of the resort. 



On August 27 I left Camp Meeker and on September 4 resumed field work at 

 Beswick, in the very heart of the Siskiyous in northern California. The famous 

 Hot Springs here have led to the establishment of a summer resort and this has 

 naturally had an adverse effect upon animal life. Fair trapping, however, was had 

 along Shovel Creek, and the fine orchards and gardens connected with the hotel 

 served to attract numbers of birds. Beswick is in a small valley — the widening of 

 the gorge of the Klamath river, which here runs tumultuously by. The altitude 



SHOVEL CRKfaK, NKAR BESWICK, CALIFORNIA 



