142 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 
big grazers —the buffaloes, deer, antelope and, 
later, the wild horses — came the bears, the puma, 
the jaguar, wild-cats, and wolves, none of which 
despised more humble prey in moments of hunger; 
while the birds, reptiles, and lesser mammals were 
incessantly pursued by a host of smaller birds and 
beasts of prey, among which our badger took a 
prominent rank. 
The existence of all these — marauder and ma- 
rauded — depended, and still depends, upon their 
ability to cope with a climate which adds to its 
cardinal disadvantage of great aridity the char- 
acteristic of going to great extremes of both heat 
and cold.. These details may seem wide of our 
subject, but it is highly interesting to note the 
kind of country in which our “hero” chooses to 
dwell, and also who are his companions, and the 
means by which they maintain themselves in the 
competition of life. Now, whatever may be their 
relations with each other, the year’s weather —the 
climate —is a fact that all have to reckon with 
alike. 
The dry summer heats are not very prejudicial 
to the birds, and when pasturage has been parched 
out in one locality the grazing quadrupeds can 
move to another; therefore these are able to avoid 
the rigors and famine of winter by fleeing to a 
gentler Southern region, as all such animals do, 
according to their various necessities, followed by 
the big cats and wolves. But with all the smaller 
