Page:Condor14(3).djvu/5

May, 1912 SOME NORTH-CENTRAL COLORADO BIRD NOTES 83 Plover that afternoon, and wished very much to photograph it, but the wind was blowing a hurricane, and we did not attempt it. The 30th we drove over a rolling prairie country, populated by millions of prairie dogs, as indeed had been the region through which we had already passed. It was a dry barren country. and bird life was pretty scarce. Perhaps the most interesting things we saw that clay were three antelope, the first. my companions had ever seen wild. In the old days 1 suppose one would have seen hundreds, if uot thousands, in that same region, to say nothing of the buffalo. There were a few ranches I) 3, the water courses; these were the older ones; other newer ranches had been taken up by settlers who hoped to make a go of dry Fig. 30. COLONY OF CLIFF $W.S?.LLOW$ ON TI-IE $.?NI)S'I'ONE BLUFF FORI?ING T*m BANK OF WWN? CRVa?K, W?LI? COUNTY, COLOR?I?O farmiug. These were dependent on wells for water, and some did not even have the well, but hauled their water from the wells of those who were more fortunate. About some of the old ranches birds were fairly abundant. as there were usually ?me trees. We camped that night near a well, which we emptied by the time we left next morning. We traveled on the 31st over country similar to that of the clay before, varying the monotony of the proceedings by digging out a kangaroo rat. It was captured after an exciting chase, and caged. and Rockwell carriecl it to Denver with hi?n that evening. intending to immortalize it with the camera. Instead, when he posed it, and asked it to look pleasant, it died of fright. We reached Fort Morgan late that afternoon. just in time to load Rockwell