uous in
the landscape was still the madrona, with its pretty, strawberry-like,
edible berries.

Flowers on the whole are not abundant in the sierra. The modest
yellow _Mimulus_ along the water-courses is the first to come and the
last to go. Various forms of columbine (_Aquilegia_) and meadow rue
(_Thalictrum_) should also be remembered. In August and September I
have seen the sloping hills of the sierra north-west of the pueblo
of Panalachic (Banalachic; banala = face, _i. e_., the outline of a
prominent rock near by), covered with large crimson flowers, and also
certain yellow ones, called _baguis_, making the country appear like
a garden. I noticed in the same locality two kinds of lovely lilies,
one yellow and one containing a single large red flower. The Tarahumare
have names for all these plants.

Before all, however, should be mentioned the carmine-red
_Amaryllis_. Like the crocus and the snowdrops of northern climates
it appears before the grass is green. It is a perfect treat to the
eye to meet now and then in this dry and sandy country, and at such
a chilly elevation, this exquisitely beautiful flower, which is
here appreciated only by the humming-birds. Edible plants, species
of _Mentha, Chenopodium, Cirsium_, for instance, and the common
water-cress, are, at a certain time of the year, numerous; but fruits
and berries are rare, blackberries being the most common ones.

Animal life is not particularly plentiful in the sierra. Still, deer,
bears, and mountain lions are fairly common, and there are many kinds
of squirrels and rats. The jaguar (_felis onza_) is found now and then
on the summits of the barrancas. Eagles, hawks, turkeys, blackbirds,
and crows are the most noticeable birds. The turkey is called by
the Tarahumares, tshivi; by the Mexicans of the sierra of Chihuahua,
_guajolote_; while farther south he is designated _cocono_. Now and
then the brilliant green trogon is met with.

There are many species of woodpeckers, all familiar to and named by
the Tarahumares. The giant woodpecker is seen in the more remote parts,
but it is on the point of being exterminated, because the Tarahumares
consider his one or two young such a delicacy that they do not hesitate
to cut down even large trees to get at the nests. The Mexicans shoot
them because their plumage is thought to be beneficial to health. It
is held close to the ears and the head in order to impart its supposed
magnetism and keep out the malefice