The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-01-25
A1ssMo Birds AND BEASTS
Animal carioslt,es .; tho sou.,sestsrs

" hstesGuail have been known here
sance lSiT. Chat year one was seen II
central California. and another was
seen IL the Vale lie las Palnlas Gf.y
mites below San Diego, whore it livca
Tor t.rae TsaGs ana where mary effor.s
were taS,io 10 capture Ii alive, bati-.
vain, cores Of people saw IT, Itvaa
pure wt'3.e. v'ifh eyes Of a p;nkis,s b. {
out Not : Saa lie of any other color ny
on it. =; 1881 she writer saw five Other
white quail I. faw miles further south,
mt the Real del Cantillo. Four Of these
were pure white. One had a feather
IN each wing that was of dark brown
color. The little band all had eyes Of
the same color as the other quail with
which they ran. Their i1aunts were
found p place cleared, aud daily gropld
wheat, barley, rice, sago, cracked corn
and seeds Were scattered where the
quail came for water. a hiding place
was made in the thick brush adjoining,
where the writer often hid in order TO
watch them as they came daily
for their rations. Often would they
come within two Or three feet Oh the
one watching them, unaware that they
were almost in reach OF human hands.
All attempts to spare, trap or catch
them alive proved uravailing, though
on old Mexican spent much tine Cor
two years in trying 10 ira, them -Four
years ago on the mountain side OF the
great valley Of the Colorado, two
Others were seen. Al Of these bat
two, one with pinilish eyes, and orc
witt, u dark feu::so- IL each wing, re
serblcd c.osc.v the associates il cray
or brown 'i'hcy .e.rc always to-
gether, aa1 seemed 80 l.ke chs ea3la
interest IL tae nn~ brood Is that tlla
other quail ;!il. cocld never lean.
thoagh watched t.ien ca"afIily Or
months, whether The white qu1!i
nestled and r.ise.l their young OF noS.
When living IL q band Of twenty-five
or fifty in the spg;Dg they seemed to
care for the little caes the same. The
quail of the Pac;ic coIst, though abont
the size, is an entirely different Bid
from the BOB White luail OF toe
east.
1t is said, and generally found TO !,e
be true. that the rntt;csi,a.ia Is ho'.ad
to be OF the same colo. rs the ground,
brush ard rocl.s WAR; il lives. liz the
a.oal-blacz loan Of VallaciIos i fouc,l
them almost let black. the diaiuol /
shaped spots Oh their backs an} side
being lined s2it!. white IL The deep
red colorcd soils O. the iron regions |
found them red, the lines Of the di,a-
monds being jet black. IN tho vcitov
clay hills they were IS yellow rs ocar2.
the lines on them being nearly red.
On the peninsula OF San Quentin, next
TO the Pacific, one hundred and tweatJ
miles south OF san Diego, found a
pure white rattlesnalle. with the eX-
ception Of the very saul. tiae lines OF
black that marked the diancnd spots
on the body. Riding along on the very
brink Of The ocean my mule sudden! =
stopped md refused to go OF or to turn
around. BY her actions knew that a
rattlesnalso was ne2r. | alighted ana
IN the deer trail, just ahead OF my
mule, there lay the snake, winter tran
the occans sands, IN fact, almost as
white as the snow. The air WAS COOL
the snake stupid. cat a forlZed stick,
which ] placed just behind its head,
took silken cord and put its moose
around The neck Of the snake, and soon
he was inside Of a tin can which car
Yied for the purpose. When ! reached
yaay camp at night changed the white
beauty from his tin home into jar OF
elcohol, to be looked at and to become
the wonder Of scores who never before
saw a white rattlcsnalSe I hare seen
many that were q little gray, almost
white, but none just like ny little
beauty with It's FIVE rattles and buttons
and its great, fat head.
The coyote OF the west is similar to
She little prairie wolf Of the east
Those that live in the valleys and On
the plains gre of & light gray color, at
times changing to yc!lowisa tingc,
while those that live in the mountains
are all very dark brown. Near Ense-
NADIA, in Lower California. two Of my
men encountered very large coyote
which was marked with great spots OF
pure black and white. For several
months he lived within two miles of
town, hunting fish and musscls along
the seashore at low tide, usually living
nnder bridge on the wagon
road that led 10 San Diego. l
saw him few times near
at hand, when had no rifle with me,
and once, not more than fifty yards
away, so that know that he was
full-blood coyote A hundred miles
farther south, one day, / met, face to
face, q coyote as black as the b,ac'lcst
dog / ever saw; in fact, thought 1T
tnust be dog. Several times after
ward INST the same one, or another
iust as black He was not afraid, and
would stand and watch me and my
mule thirty to fifty feet away. He
would run if / chased him, but stop
when did, and follow me back to the
spot where just saw him. Two hun
dred miles further south ! saw two
that were nearly white, perhaps would
have been so had they been washed up
i'm good shape. AS one travels to the
southwark they grow holder and more
1nischievnns.
AS one goes south from Yuma or from
San Quentin, on the Pacific, all Of tho
birds change colors. The black and
yellow hawk are never seem All the
hawks, even the owls, change, OF are
the color of the morning dove-a purple
or grayish blue.
At Montague island, one Of the love-
Hest places on the Pacific coast for an
all-tbe-yeai-round resort for health Or
pleasure, white ducks, curlow and