The times., 1897-06-13
WHERE BEASTS COME TO DRINK
Strange Sights Seen by an Old Pros
pector in Arizona.


of Tres Aiamos three cottonwoods), andis
lies hidden In the fastness OF mountains the
most barren and forbiddingin the Territory
of Arizona. A cold spring pours out OF the
solihrock aud chatterslts way noisily down
thenarrow canon. Here dtthe deadofnight,
come the beasts o the barren mountains for
mics around 70 drink OF the running waters.
And here, lying quietly in the moonlight,
/ have been silent spectator of some OF
the queerest sights that mans eyes ever be-
held. / have seen the deer and the wildcat
and the coyotes and the tufted lynx, and
even a numbering cinnamon bear or two,
come here to. drink. I have lain quite still
In the moonlight and watched them for
hours, and there is no more fascinating spec
tacle 70 be seen in the OPEN
The man who spoke mas seen some wild
sights in his day, too, for he is one of the
oldest prospectors in Arizona 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 ). II.
Mountains in Yuma county. Every mining
man on the coast knows l.. J.Court- Court
is strange character. He has made some
| money out of his ceaseleSs and tireless
prospecting, and has a score or more OF
| claims staked out in different parts OF the
| Territory. He is an intelligent man OF not
| little education.
''It's wonderful country he went on,
/ land no man ever set foot into a wilder
! region There are three cottonwood trees
where the spring pours out of the rock,
| and along the banks OF the creek axe many
| willows. Near the spring is level spot
| of ten acres The first night l eamped
| there because | was tired But after tl-at
| / STAYED on for two weeks because OF the
wonderfully weird charm of the place The
| walls OF the canon are marvels OF Con-
| glomerate nlalpais or lava There's gold,
| IRON, copper, cobblestone, granite, marble,
| sandstone and silver ore all ground up in
a mountainous mass that is as bare Of
vegetation as the day it poured from the
| heart of the earth. 1t was vomited forth
III the most hideOUs shapes imaginable,
| and seen in tie moonlight these shapes
take on all kinds OF horrible and wonder
| full aspects Its region worth ira Yelling
| miles to see, and you can reach itina days
lope from Congress.
But the average man who gees there
! will not see whatI saw in the moonlight
| Ill tell you how the deer came to dnnk-
|
first nightI was on the point OF going to
sleep, when I heard a snort from the top
of the bluff above me. looked, and thers
was a big buck with magnificent antlera
standing on the very brink. his dusky fig
Ure sharply outlined against the SKY. In
moment his snort was answered by the pat
ter OF many feet, and he was surrounded
by pack of deer. 1 counted eighteen in
all. The big buck yentUred cautiously
! down the lava slope, and when half way
. lie 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 ventured further down, and
| presently stood so close TO me that could
have hit him with pistol shot. Here he
| halted again, again tossed mis- head up
and down, right and left, then gave an
other snort, and the rest of the pack came
| I'D. Three times in this way they hated.
Always the buck acted as scout, anu no
one advanced till he gave the signal.
Arrived at the water, the buck waded
in a few steps, then signalled for the
others TO advance and drink And while
they drank he fell back of them several
Yards and stood there as guard until they
had finished Such an alert scout nOhuman
being ever made. And there was world
OF pride and dignityiu him as hestood there
and watched and waited. Surely he real
| lied that the fate OF the entire pack de-
pended upon him, and his hOnors and re-
| sIonsibiIities sat heavily upon him It
took the pack perhaps ten OF fifteen min
utes TO satisfy its thirst. Then il moved
| back from the water and stood near the
| buck Now il 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 whenhe was
once more at its head there was a wild
scramble up the Jagged sides of Jbe bluff
Il was fascinated by the spectacle and
resolved TO witness it again. So | stayed
another night The performance was re-
peated exactly gain 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 l must quit
loafing and get back to work OF course.
the deer scented me at once and knew all
along Just where / lay, but / kept very
still and they did not seem TO mind me-
1.-The smaller animals came at all times
of the night, and the smaller they were
che more noise they made. The foxes
were the slyest of al and the most tinlld.
They go on a dead run all the time, but
their heads always wrigglng from side to
side The first time they shifted my pres
ence at camp they made wild scamper
back to cover behind the rocks. but pres
entity they ventured out again, and, after
three, or four essays, they finally came
down and drank
"Isaw onlyone bear. He was pretty big
fellow, but have seenIots bigger. He came
| down the bluff like big pig, his nose root
ingin the ground at ever step. No, WASH t
afraid of him. There isn't an animal In
in America, I believe, that VIII touch
man unless man makes the attack. He
came within a few yards OF NE, stood
still and stared at me. 1 met his gaze
| calmly, and, / believe, fearlessly. Then
he went on TO the water, waded boldly In,
, | and drank his fill OF all the animals that
came to drink there only this gruff
and daring old cinnamon bear went about
his business fearlessiy. Even the coyotes
> and bot cats moved cautiously, and would
have turned tail and scampered off II had
stirred aboiI6 But Bruin waSnot that kindof
, an animal have never seen a timld bear
in this country We don't shoot bears IN
l Arizona you know. meet them frequently
e on my trips, and can handle a rifle as well
as most men, but never shoot. OFTEN we
have met face TO face on a narrow trail
andin these cases have always acted po-
8, litely and stepped aside toilet Mr.. Brulnpass
Incyer dispute. the way with a bear nor cour
| an untimely end by firing my gun when {