The Portland daily press., 1897-06-03
WHERE BEASTS COME TO DRINK.
Strange Sights Seen by an Old Prospector
in Arizona,


in Arizona,
(From the ST. Louis Globe-Democrat.)
'4The weirdest spot on earth is the
Canon of Tres Alamos (three cotton
woods) and it lies hidden in the fastness
of mountains the most barren and for
bidding in the Territory of Arizona. A
cold spring pours out of the solid rock
and chatters it's way noisily down the
narrow canon. Here, at the dead OF night,
come the beasts of the barren mountains
for miles around to drink OF the running
waters And here, lying quietly in the
moonlight, l have been a silent spectator
of some of the queerest sights that mans
eyes ever beheld. 1 have seen the deer
and the wild cat and the coyotes and the
tufted lnyx, and even numbering Gin
namon bear or two, come here to drink.
1 have lain quite still in the moonlight
and watched them for hours, and there is
no more fascinating spectacle to be seen
in the open"
The man who spoke has seen some wild
sights in his day, too, for he is one of the
Oldest prospectors in Ari IONA. He came
into Phoenix the other day from Tres
Alamos, and in the evening he went
south and east to the new diggings at
the S. II. Mountains in Yuma county.
Every mining man on the coast knows
L. J. Court. Court is strange charac-
ter. He has made some money out of his
ceaseless and tireless prospecting, and
has score or more of claims staked out
in different parts of the Territory. He is
an intelligent man of not q little educa-
ton.
cts a wonderful country" he went
on, land no man ever set foot into
wilder region. There are three cotton
wood trees where the spring pours out of
the rock, and along the banks of the
creek are many willows. Near the
spring is level spot of ten acres. The
first night I camped there because I was
tired. But after that stayed on for two
weeks tecaues of the wonderfully weird
charm of the place. The walls of the
canon are marvels of conglomerate NAL
pals or lava. There's gold, iron, copper,
cobblestone, granite, marble, sandstone,
and silver ore all ground up in a noun
famous mass that is as bare of vegetation
as the day it poured from the heart of
the earth. 1t was vomited forth in the
most hideOus shapes imaginable, and seen
in the moonlight these shapes take on all
kinds of horrible and wonderful aspects.
It's a region worth travelling miles to see,
and you can reach it in a days lope from
Congress.
'But the average man who goes there
will not see what saw in the moonlight
I'll tell you how the deer came to drink
it's the prettiest sight in the world
The first night 1 was on the point of go
ing to sleep, when l heard snort from
the top of the bluff above me- looked,
and there was big buck with magnif
cent Eantlers standing ON the very brink,
his dusky figure sharply outlined against
the sky. In a moment his snort was an
swered by the patter of many feet, and
he was surrounded by pack of deer. |
counted eighteen in all. The big buck
ventrlred cautiously down the lava slope,
and when half way he halted, tossed his
antlers about as he shifted the air, and
then gave another musical snort. At this
signal on came the rest of the pack. They
halted just behind him. Then he ven
tured further down, and presently stood
so close to me that could have hit him
with pistol shot. Here he halted again,
again tossed his head up and down, right
and left, then gave another snort, and
the rest of the pack came up. Three
times in this way they halted. Always
the buck acted as scout and no one adj
yanced till he gave the signal. Arrived
at the water, the buck waded in a few
steps, then signalled for the others to adj
vance and drink. And while they drank
he fell back of them several yards and
,-41 IL ct H.
an able scout no human being ever made.
And there was world of pride and dig
nifty in him as he stood there and watched
and waited. Surely he realized that the
fate of the entire pack depended upon
him, and his honors and responsibilities
sat heavily upon him. 1t took the pack
perhaps ten or fifteen minutes to satisfy
its thirst. Then it moved back from the
water and stood near the buck. Now it
was the bucks turn to drink. He strobe
forth, bent his head and drew in great
draughts of the cool water. But he drank
with his dignity still upon him. The
pack waited for him, and when he was
once more at its head there was wild
scramble up the jagged sides of the bluff.
II was fascinated by the spectacle and
resolved to witness it again. So / stayed
another night. The performances was re-
peated exactly. Again on the third night
they came to drink in the same way, and
the next night and the next, and so on,
till it dawned upon me that I must quit
loaflng and get back to work. OF course
the deer scented me at once and knew
all along just where 1 lay, but / kept
very still and they did not seem to mind
me.
"The smaller animals came at all times
of the night, and the smaller they We're
the more noise they made. The foxes
were the slyest Of all and the most timid
They go on dead run all the time, but
their heads always wriggling from side
to side. The first time they shifted my
presence at camp they made a wild
scamper back to cover behind the rocks,
but presently they ventured out again,
and, after three or four essays, they
finally came down and drank.
II saw only one bear. He was a pretty
big fellow, but I have seen lots bigger.
He came down the bluff like a big pig,
his nose roofing in the ground at every
step. No, 1 wasn't afraid of him. There
| isn't an animal in America, 1 believe,
that will touch man unless man makes
| the attack. He came within a few yards
of me, stood still and stared at me. 1
mot his oaza calmly and / believe fear