Great blue
herons were stalking beside these pools, and from one we flushed a white
ibis. In the woods were reddish cardinal birds, much less brilliant
in plumage than the true cardinals and the scarlet tanagers; and
yellow-headed titmice which had already built large domed nests.
In the valley of the Nueces itself, the brush grew thick. There were
great groves of pecan trees, and ever-green live-oaks stood in many
places, long, wind-shaken tufts of gray moss hanging from their limbs.
Many of the trees in the wet spots were of giant size, and the whole
landscape was semi-tropical in character. High on a bluff shoulder
overlooking the course of the river was perched the ranch house, toward
which we were bending our steps; and here we were received with the
hearty hospitality characteristic of the ranch country everywhere.
The son of the ranchman, a tall, well-built young fellow, told me at
once that there were peccaries in the neighborhood, and that he had
himself shot one but two or three days before, and volunteered to lend
us horses and pilot us to the game on the morrow, with the help of
his two dogs.
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