34 THE CONDOR [VOL. V the burrows. As the young aninmls were nearly grown and each burrow con- tained from six to eight individuals, the Indians must have received a generous supply of meat. After night-fall our journey was less wearisome, the rain had ceased, the treacherous washes were less frequent or formidable, the unruly horse had settled down to an even pace, and we rode along with comparative comfort. From time to time the shadowy form of a passing Indian, or the dim outlines of the hogans showed that we were among the Navajos and gradually approaching our destination. Keam Canyon lies within the Moki Reservation. eighty miles north of Hol- brook and about one hundred miles northeast of the San Francisco mountains, the highest peak of which is plainly visible from the bluff shown in the accompanying plate. The Moki name of this mountain is Ne-vat-i-kiobi, which means the house of the snow. At the trading post of Mr. T. V. Keam, in the vicinity of which most of the observations in the present paper were made, the trend of the canyon is towards the northwest, but a few miles lower down it turns to the west and broadens into a more extensive valley. Thirteen miles from this post is the Mesa, on which the Moki pueblos of Tewa, Sichumovi, and Wolpi are situated. The portion of the valley which interests us is from 4oo to 8oo yards in width and is depressed one hundred feet or more below the surface of the surrounding mesa. The side walls are picturesque and present an endless variety of forms, from clear cut perpendicular cliffs to masses of giant boulders interspersed with a more or less luxuriant growth of pinyon and juniper. Erosive action has left its mark in the softer material, and produced caves of varying size which furnish homes for some of the birds and mammals of the region. Out-croppings of coal are quite numerous, and heaps of ash, together with bits of pottery, show where the abor- igines utilized this fuel in the preparation of their wares. The canyon is well known to many anthropologists and others who are inter- ested in the ritual customs of the Moki, and who have traversed the long stretches of desert between the little town of. Holbrook and the cliff dwellings on the First Mesa to witness the celebrated snake dance and other Tusayan ceremoni'es. Mr. Keam's genial hospitality towards the many strangers 'who ha? visited this far- off land is proverbial and has earned for him a wide reputation. Anyone unacquainted with the conditions of bird life in the arid regions would be disappointed with the small number of species 'found at Keam Canyon', and would be surprised at the meagre representation of most of them. Although considerable time between July ?8 and August 3 was devoted to exploring the canyon and surrounding mesa for the purpose of observing birds, only thirty-nine species were found, and of these seven were included on single records. The doves (Zenaidura macroura) were fairly common throughout the canyon, and considerable numbers visited the little rivulet that flowed from a covered spring in a side can- yon back of the house, where they bathed and drank at all times of day from sin/- rise until long after dark. Turkey vultures (Calkaries aura) were almost always present, and about fifty roosted in a clump of dead pinyohs below the northwest rim of the canyon within plain view of the house. Among the birds of prey the little sparrow hawks (Falco sparverius deserlicolus) were the commonest, and were often seen hunting for lizards and insects, or flying about their nesting places in the crevices and erosions of the canyon walls. One prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) was seen on July ?8, and a week later a fine adult duck hawk (Falcoperegrinus analurn) flew close to the house toward evening and disappeared along the edge of the cliffs beyond. Although no golden eagles (.dquila) were seen at large, as many as a dozen were counted at the Moki pueblos, where ?[hey are used in con-
