A “gopher-god.” 35 
put with the other specimens, the outside member 
of the circle, a genuine frontier lad, nearly six 
feet in height and sixteen years of age, decided — - 
“ You’d be all right now, Mrs. Maxwell, if you 
only had a gopher-god.” 
“A ‘ gopher-god ! ’ and pray what may that 
be ? ” she inquired, settling the fox, which had a 
bird in its mouth, on the rock-work. 
“ Wall, now ! Don’t you know what gopher- 
gods are?” and his hands settled an inch deeper 
into his pantaloons’ pockets and a merry light 
beamed in his honest, gray eyes, as he exclaimed, 
“ Why, they’re coyotes /” * 
“ Oh ! are they ? ” she said. 
“ Well,” remarked her sister, “ if you please, 
will you bring your information down to the level 
of common understandings; I'd like to know 
what coyotes are ? ” 
“ Why,” he answered, with a look of no small 
amount of incredulity, “ I didn’t know as there 
was anybody but what knew coyotes. They are 
them small wolves you can hear barking almost 
any night off on the plains.” 
“ Oh, thank you !— are they — what do you 
want to call them such heathenish names for ? ” 
“ Don’t you think you’re rather particular ? ” 
and his face put on a quizzing look. “ You just 
* Pronounced ki-oats. 
