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amusing air of disdain they would give a flirt of the tail & return to the tree where their companions were feasting.

Leaving this place we went on across the last of the foothills to the nearly level coast plain to the Hda. of Ixtapa which is some 15 miles from the head of the Bay of Banderas. The foothills had a scanty growth of herbage & low trees & bushes with fan palms here & there. The plain has a low matted growth of bushes, trees & vines nearly impenetrable without a machete. We came across a covey of Callipepla elegans soon after leaving the foothills. They stood 4 or 5 yards to one side of the trail & were not noticed till half our outfit had passed. They were extraordinarily tame & shot after shot was fired at them until over half of them had been killed & by a little trouble nearly all could have been taken. They are beautiful birds with handsome crests & markings & it was a pretty sight to see them running [[strikethrough]] alo [[/strikethrough]] through the under growth, at each shot stopping a few yds, beyond & with low piping call notes to gather the scattered members. I have never seen quail so gentle & unsuspicious. Once on the road a glimpse was caught of a deer walking through the undergrowth. Goldman got off his horse & went after it for 50 or 75 yds but could not find it. On the way he stirred up a Penelope a Chachalacca & saw another covey of quails.