Ruxton had the
civilized perspective on nature represented by Thoreau
and Saint Francis of Assisi. Primitive harmony was run over by
frontier wrath to kill, a wrath no less barbaric than
primitive superstitions.
But the coyote's howl is more tonic than all theories about
nature; the buck's whistle more invigorating; the bull's
bellow in the canyon more musical; the call of the bobwhite
more serene; the rattling of the rattlesnake more logical; the
scream of the panther more arousing to the imagination; the
odor from the skunk more lingering; the sweep of the buzzard
in the air more majestical; the wariness of the wild turkey
brighter; the bark of the prairie dog lighter; the guesses of
the armadillo more comical; the upward dartings and dippings
of the scissortail more lovely; the flight of the sandhill
cranes more fraught with mystery.
There is an abundance of printed information on the animal
life of America, to the west as well as to the east. Much of
it cannot be segregated; the earthworm, on which Darwin wrote
a book, knows nothing of regionalism. The best books on nature
come from and lead to the Grasshopper's Library, which is free
to all consultants.
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