The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-18

I their lack Of discrimination. They don't
care who they hit, and would as soon i'm
| plant q handful Of their fangs ia the person
/ of an ardent admirer as in that OF their bit
/ tsrest enemy.
When they have deposited their stickers
in you they take no more interest in them:
/ simply let q aud allow you TO take the in
/ tsrest. They are Intended, think, as a sort
/ Of visiting card, and / am told they will
| travel industTiOusly through your system
| lfacetious) and present themselves before
| your inner consciousness.
The mesquite is a very ingenious tree. Il
masquerade as a peach, and the counter
felt is perfect 10 the eye of the tenderfoot or
/ Newcomer. IL is very wary about growi- z
/ TO much hight or slzs lest IL should be cut
down and made use Of. It is also careful TO
be 90 crooked in stem, limb and twig, that
/ you could not gee piece out Of it any where
three inches long going all the time in the
same direction. yet in spite of itself it is
both a useful and beautiful tree. Its
crookedness does not interfere with its
value as firewood; It has feathery, graceful
foliage, great clusters Of pendant bean pods,
which are very nutritious and fattening for
horses aud cattle. and a thorn about two
inches long, and sharper than a serpent's
tooth.
Then there is the cat-claws and its cousins
and aunts. that are all thorns, and have
neither leaf. bud, berry or blossom, and ap-
pear TO be OF no use on earth. But that is
not so, they have an Office; their task is
necessary, but most ungrateful, one. Out
in this beautiful prairie country the air is
like champagne, the skies smiling and
cloudless as those Of Italy, the climate
so kind, the soil so generous, it is SO easv
TO get horse, one that viii
go, and everything conspires TO
make one forget, while on his back, that
man is mortal, and that he Is born to a des-
tiny higher and sadder than mere enjoy
ment. 1t seems possible to always ride on
and on, leaving behind every pain and fail
ure of this cumbrous but frail garment
Of humanity that we wear, the cares that
sadden, the disappointments that guaw, the
grlefs that benunb, the doubts and fears
which corrode the pure gold of our happi-
ness
To ridel To ride! Endless miles unrolling
behind you, new beauties opening before;
the wind singing in your ears, tho blood in
your veins; your heart exulting in your
bosoml 1t is then, as you skim across the
plains, dreaming you are a swallow aud
that you will at the next bound dart away
rejoicing into the blue empyrean, that the
cat-claw gets in its appointed work. Reach
ing forth OBTAINING hand it abstracts a bit
OF your anatomy, promptly and effectually
bringing you back to earth and its woes.
ABOUT THE FAUNA.
The fauna Of West Texas is characterized
by universal evasiveness, and is as hard to
catch on to as the floral is easy.
The burro is an animal that will repay
study. He is undoubtedly a philosopher
and regards with passive, stole contempt
the master against whom he cannot openly
contend. He can be broken, subdued,
made to drudge, but to go beyond his ac-
customed pace. to descend to undignified
haste for any mans pleasure, he will not;
and his revenge upon his taskmaster is to
travel along in saturnine enjoyment, and at
a snail like gait, while the tyrant wastes his
breath in excavations that are as incense to
the burro's nostris, and blows that are
sweet tribute to his powers Of aggravation.
lie is familiarly known as the Mexican
hooking Bird, and 10 famous, not for his
beauty, but for his voice This statement
is always meant as joke.) He might, more
properly, be called a nightingale, for he
loves to sing in the sweet dusk Of summer
nights. When the heart is too full Of the
mournful music of his cadenzas to bear
more, steal out and attach a stone to the
warbler's tail, and he will MARBLE no more
till it is removed. To him, as to more dulcet
singers in more civilized climes, the attitude
of the vocalist Is more important than the
music; and his chosen posture, when he
would pour forth his soul in song, is with
his head and tail elevated, one outrageous
thoughtful visage, and one thrown back
over his shoulder, In degage and care less
manner, as Frederick Paulding used to wear
his cloak in the palmy days when he played
Hamlet"
do not want this statement in regard to
the stone taken as joke. though some per-
haps may persist in thinking it funny. 1t
Is merely fact.
The strictly accurate mind hesitates. in
mentioning the largest and most conspicu-
GUS thing about the burro, between his bray
and his ears. The la ter are shaped some-
thing like a snow shoe and are about that
size. They tell tale out there-Lut do
not believe it and only introduce it here
because it has been considered by good
judges to be mildly amusing-of Hollander
who came to West Texas ana was conveyed
out by his host to view the landscape Ger.
The house stood on rolling plain, and just
over a little rise were several burros, OF
whom, hoaever, nothing could be seen but
their ears. II ligue desc goundries,n said
the Hollander Hes niZs undt fladt.
nndt," hi, dull eye Frightening as it lit on
the burrOs' ears, II see you got vlnd-mills,
too.n
The Texas steer, though irreclaimably
uncivillzed himself, makes valuable CO ltri-
buttons to civilization, supplyi.g beef,
leather and unlimited Ii erlry material.
The ranchman, like misfortune, early marks
him for his own. Though sharp, heis often
roped IN. Still be is never subaued, ard
goes believing and protesting on his wild
and devious way till he reaches that desti-
nation OF all Texas steers-Chicago; where
his last act as an individual is often to fur
nlsh material for stirring paragraph.
Perhaps the most curious and interesting
animal of all West Texan fauna is the cow
boy. Closely allied to man. he yet has
traits that are peculiar to himself alone. He
Is pleasing and attractive species, ex-
tremely gentle and trac able when properly
approached He is the only genus of the
entire West Texas fauna that will stand
still long enough to be studied and properly
classified He is mild and gregSrious in
disposition, easily tanned and domesticated.
The impression SO long obtaining in the
east, that he is a dangerous animal, sub
slsbing chiefly on fire water and exceedingly
destructive to human life is entirely errons
eous.
Closely associated with thescowboy. and.
indeed, a species of the same family, is the
broncho-buster, with his attendant figure.
the broncho. These two the discriminat ng
naturalist will bracket together, some what
in the manner of the buffalo and the buffalo
bird. But at auv moment the broncho-buster
is liable to reverse his position and become
the broncho-busted
The above are extracts from my forth
coming work, "The Flora and Fauna of
West Texas" and when a respectable gen
tieman with thin, pale face and a fat, red
book rings your doorbell and invites your
NN~N A.. ~