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How to Read the Wilderness : An
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HOW TO READ
THE WILDERNESS
BY THE NATURE STUDY GUILD
HOW
TO
READ
THE
WILDERNESS
A N I L LU ST R AT E D G U I D E TO T H E
N AT U R A L WO N D E R S O F N O RT H A M E R I C A
Copyright © 2022 by Keen Communications, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Nature Study Guild (Berkeley, Calif.), author.

Title: How to read the wilderness : an illustrated guide to the
Natural Wonders of North America / by The Nature Study Guild.
Description: San Francisco : Chronicle Books, [2022] |
Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022012376 (print) | LCCN 2022012377
(ebook) | ISBN 9781797206868 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781797212371 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Natural history--North America--Juvenile
literature. | Plants--Identification--North America--Juvenile
literature. | Animals--Identification--North America--
Juvenile literature. | Stars--Names--Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC QH102 .N38 2022 (print) | LCC QH102
(ebook) | DDC 508.7--dc23/eng/20220523
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022012376
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022012377
Curation by John Lasack.

Design by Kelley Galbreath.
Chronicle books and gifts are available at special quantity

discounts to corporations, professional associations, literacy
programs, and other organizations. For details and discount
information, please contact our premiums department at
corporatesales@chroniclebooks.com or at 1-800-759-0190.
Chronicle Books LLC

680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
CONT ENTS
TREES
7
FLOWERS, FRUITS & FERNS

85
MAMMALS & BIRDS

187
THE OCEAN
281
THE NIGHT SKY

327
Sources | 390
PA R T 1
TREES
Trees of the
Pacific Coast
here are different areas where you’re likely to find certain
types of trees growing:
ON WARM, SUNNY RIDGES

These trees grow slowly with roots in dry, rocky soil, where
wind blows away the snow and shapes their resinous foliage.
Among them you’ll find lairs and lizards.
ON STREAM BANKS OR IN SOGGY SOIL

These trees grow fast, have shiny, pliable foliage, easily bro-
ken twigs, soft wood, and birds.
ON THE SEACOAST
These are often trees that grow only on windy slopes facing
the sea, usually in sandy soil.
IN BURNED AREAS
Unless fire returns, these trees will eventually be replaced by
more shade-tolerant species.
IN ABANDONED FARMYARDS, OLD SETTLEMENTS

These trees grow so well on the Pacific coast they may
seem to be native species, but they or their ancestors were
planted here.
9
how to re ad the wilderness
Other ways of categorizing trees:
DECIDUOUS TREES
These are leafless in winter
or the dry season.
SHRUBBY TREES
These are trees that often
grow as shrubs and become
trees only on sheltered slopes
and canyons.
The climate of this area has damp, foggy

sea air, a long growing season, and abun-
dant rain. It supports a deep, dark, ferny
forest where trees must compete
for sunlight.
The DOMINANT TREES of this

forest grow rapidly, straight
upward toward the light.
Before clear-cut logging,
the shade kills back lower
trunk branches and produces
fine-grained, knot-free lumber.
The smaller UNDERSTORY

TREES are shade-tolerant
throughout life and often
capture weak light with
thin, broad, horizontally
held leaves. They may grow
sideways toward a patch of
sunlight.
10
Average
trees
Rainfall
|
(inches per year)
t h e pac i f i c coa s t
over 128 in.
(3.25 m)
64 to 128 in.
(1.6 to
3.25 m)
32 to 64 in.
(80 cm to 1.6 m)
16 to 32 in.
(40 to 80 cm)
8 to 16 in. (20 to 40 cm)
under 8 in. (20 cm)
11
The Pacific coast climate is drier toward the south and in the low-
altitude inland valleys:
In the MIXED-EVERGREEN
FOREST of the coast ranges,
there are no big redwoods
or hemlocks. Small Douglas
firs dominate. Leaves here
are often thick, leathery, and
evergreen. This slows evapo-
ration of moisture during dry
summers and takes advan-
tage of mild, wet winters.
In the CALIFORNIA OAK-

WOODS , short, muscular-
looking, deep-rooted trees
with small, bristly leaves
stand far apart, or else
cluster along canyons and
north-facing slopes. Even the
pines here look stunted.
Much of this area is a
mosaic of woods, grassland,
and chaparral (stiff, dry,
evergreen shrubbery) on
hot slopes.
12
Average
trees
Growing Season
|
(frost-free days)
This map shows why
coast-range forests differ
from higher-altitude forests
of the Sierra Nevada and
Cascades. (see next page)
over
300 days
240 to 300
180 to 240
120 to 180
60 to 120
under 60 days
13
Climbing into high mountains is like going north
(and going north is like climbing). The climate

turns colder and usually wetter, and vegetation
resembles the fir forest of Canada. Further Sierra
up you see small spire-shaped trees as in Nevada
interior Alaska. The alpine zone is treeless Cascades
like the Arctic barrens.
ALPINE ZONE
(TREELESS)
SUB -ALPINE ZONE
RED FIR FOREST
SILVER FIR FOREST
MIXED CONIFER FOREST
DOUGL AS -FIR ,
CEDAR , HEMLOCK
FOREST
OAK WOODL AND
14
trees
|
The dry lower elevations of the
MIXED CONIFER FOREST are often
open pine woods (with chaparral).
In higher elevations, more rainfall
supports more kinds of trees, larger
and closer together.
Most adult trees here have
thick, corky trunk bark and can sur-
vive small ground fires. Accumula-
tions of unburned undergrowth and
fallen wood may support larger,
killing fires. Hillside trees may be
fire-hollowed on the uphill side
where logs roll against trunks and
later burn.
15
In the MOUNTAIN FIR FOREST,

branches are shaped to shed
heavy snowfall. You’ll find curved
lower trunks on trees that grew
from saplings bent by a thick,
sagging snowpack.
Fires are rare here but wreak
disaster when they come to the
“tinderbox” of twiggy deadwood
and lower branches.
The dense fir forest is on the
better soils. Pines grow where
it’s rockier, and in burned areas.
Lodgepole pine grows in moun-
tain basins or “flats” where cold
night air drainage collects.
16
trees
|
To survive in the SUBALPINE
ZONE , trees must mature
their new growth in a short,
unreliable summer where
you can make snowballs
in July and expect frost in
late August.
The higher you go, the
smaller the trees. Near the
upper limit of this zone, trees
can survive only where snow-
drift seals out the abrasive,
drying wind.
On the dry EASTERN SLOPES

of high mountains, the
trees most likely to grow
are Rocky Mountain trees,
adapted to a severe cold-
dry climate.
17
Identifying
Oak Trees
If the leaf is simple (not made up of leaflets), the

main veins branch off from a single large central
vein, and the leaf is lobed, it’s an OAK. Go to
If the first two are true but the leaf is not lobed,
go to
If the lobes are pointed and bristle tipped, go to
If the lobes are blunt and rounded (may have a

single point at end of the lobe), go to
If the lobes are shallow, it is ORACLE OAK

Quercus ×morehus
If they’re deeper, or if the leaves are over 4 inches

(10 cm) long, it is CALIFORNIA BLACK OAK
Quercus kelloggii
18
|
19
trees t h e pac i f i c coa s t
If the leaves have soft hairiness on the topsides and

seven to eleven deeply cut lobes; and if the trunk
bark is deeply checkered into squarish plates; or if
there are long hanging branches or long acorns, it
is VALLEY OAK, ROBLE Quercus lobata
If the leaves are shiny on top with fewer lobes;

or if you can rub off whitish-gray bark scales;
or if there are stubby acorns, it is OREGON OAK
Quercus garryana
20
|
21
If the leaf stems are shorter than 1 inch (2.5 cm),

the leaves don’t grow out opposite each other, and
the leaf margins are smooth curves, without teeth
or notches, go to
If the above is true but the margins have teeth or

notches, go to
If the leaf has no strong, penetrating odor when

you crush it; there is no conspicuous, smooth,
red-brown bark on the branches; and the leaves are
not yellow but are longer than 1 inch (2.5 cm), go to
If the main veins branch out into smaller veins

without reaching the edge of the leaf, go to
If the leaves are not narrow and bendy (with sharp

tapered tips, and with the widest portion toward
the base rather than toward the tip); nor are they
narrow or paddle shaped (wider toward the tip
and with a wedge-shaped base); and if there are
fewer than twenty-five teeth along their margins
or none at all, go to
If the leaves are dark green; or if the bark is black-

ish, not scaly or checkered, go to
If the leaves are light green or bluish; or if there is

scaly or checkered bark, go to
22
trees
If the leaves are convex on top and have tufts of
|
hair where the veins join on the undersides, it is
COAST LIVE OAK Quercus agrifolia
If the leaves are flatter, hairless, and some are

without spines, it is INTERIOR LIVE OAK Quercus
wislizeni
23
If the leaves are shiny green on top and whitish

below, it is MAUL OAK, CANYON LIVE OAK
Quercus chrysolepis
If they’re dull blue green on both sides, go to
If you’re in northern California, it is BLUE OAK

Quercus douglasii
If you’re in southern California, it is

ENGELMANN OAK* Quercus engelmannii
Oak trees and their shrub relatives breed promiscuously. You’ll often
find hybrid forms with mixed traits of several species. Identifying
them is beyond this guide.
*Except at Joshua Tree National Park, where the usually shrubby Q. turbinella is treelike
24
|
25
Trees
of the
Southwestern
Desert
if the tree you are identifying grows among:
fire plugs grassy graves water tanks
putting greens orange blossoms fountains
pools or sounds of lawn mowers and air conditioners,
you are in a man-made oasis.
27
These symbols show how or where desert trees are likely to grow:
RIPARIAN TREES:Their roots are in permanent

underground water.
TREES OF DESERT WASHES: They grow where flood

waters gather after a thunderstorm.
EVERGREEN TREES: In leaf all year long.
TREES LEAFLESS IN DRY SEASONS: They leaf out only

after a good rain.
TREES LEAFLESS in winter only.
TREES OF THE OAK-JUNIPER WOODLAND: These trees

of higher altitudes also grow in canyons and cool slopes
at the edge of the desert.
TREES INTRODUCED BY HUMANS that have escaped from

cultivation and are now growing wild.
DOMESTICATED TREES OF THE DESERT, planted in

parks, yards, and cemeteries.
28
Here are some ways trees survive in the desert.
trees
|
Trees have long roots SAGUARO MESQUITE
the southwestern desert

(some spread wide) (some go deep)
They conserve water by having:

YELLOW PALOVERDE
• small leaves
YUCCA
• thick-skinned leaves PALOVERDES
• leaves that drop in the dry season

VELVET
MESQUITE
• hairy leaves and twigs
• thick, fleshy trunks for water storage

ELEPHANT TREE
SAGUARO
They discourage grazing by having: JUMPING CHOLLA
• barbed, sticking thorns CANOTIA
• stout, piercing thorns

CATCLAW
• hooked, tearing thorns ACACIA
• poisonous sap
WESTERN SOAPBERRY
29
Rainfall
Most of the rain in the desert falls in the cool higher altitudes of the
surrounding mountains. Lower altitudes are warmer, but the rainfall
there may dry up in midair. The high-rainfall areas on this map also
show where the high mountains are:
Average
Rainfall
over 16 in.
(40 cm)
8 to 16 in. (20 to 40 cm)
4 to 8 in. (10 to 20 cm)
under 4 in. (10 cm)
Where the average yearly rainfall is under 16 inches (40 cm), it makes
a great difference to trees how much the amount of rain varies from
year to year and what season the rain falls—matters which depend on
seasonal winds from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
30
trees
Winter Rain
|
Weakened remnants of the winter storms that drench the California

coast can bring sparse, gentle rain as far east as the Continental
Divide. But many desert trees can’t benefit from rain in winter, when
it’s too cool for their roots to grow or seeds to germinate. Winter
rains seldom reach the Chihuahuan Desert. It has dry, frosty winters.
MOJAVE DESERT Continental Divide
SONORAN DESERT
Colorado CHICHUAHUAN DESERT

Desert
Arizona Desert
Summer Rain
Monsoon winds can bring unstable, tropical air from the Gulf of
Mexico. The resulting thundershowers soak unevenly into the soil,
but they come at the best season for trees. Summer rains are most
reliable in the eastern end of the Sonoran Desert (the desert with
the most abundant trees). To the west, the rains thin out and may
skip a year. The trees are smaller and farther apart too.
31
Desert Soils
Desert mountains stand knee-deep in their own debris—eroded rock,

gravel, sand, and clay— which forms long bajadas (slopes) leading
down to an intermountain basin or valley. In the desert dryness, soil
changes along these slopes can mean life or death for trees. Violent,
splashing rain causes sheet erosion, which makes a network of tem-
porary watercourses emptying into desert washes. The erosion carries
Upper Bajada
Coarse, absorbent soil makes this the
best part of the desert slope for trees.
Lower Bajada
Here trees grow only in washes
where flash floods soak in.
Desert Mountain
Here trees grow wherever a
cool rock crevice holds water
within reach of roots.
32
trees
the finer soil particles farther downslope than the coarser sand and
|
gravel. So as you descend a bajada, the trees thin out because the soils
become finer, less porous, less able to absorb the quick rains that run
off and collect in the washes. Trees grow in the washes, especially
where a layer of windblown sand collects in the depressions and holds
moisture in the soil.
Bottomlands
Here permanent underground water may
be near enough to the surface to support a
riparian wood of large mesquites, cotton- Playa
woods, hackberries, walnuts, ashes, and— In the desert basin,
where the water surfaces—willows. water evaporates to
leave brine and salt—
no trees.
level of permanent underground water
The abruptness of change along the bajada is exaggerated in this diagram.
33
Identifying Cholla,
Saguaro, and Yucca

If the tree is a cactus, fleshy outside, woody
within; and bears clustered spines, go to
If it’s not a cactus, go to
If there are many jointed-looking branches that

divide into smaller branches pointing in all direc-
tions, it’s a CHOLLA. Go to
If the branches are few, or if they all come up from

the ground, go to
Flowers are orange

to brown. Fruit per-
sists on the plant
through winter.
34
trees
|
If the jointed branches are densely covered with straw
colored spines, the trunk bark is black, and the fruits dangle
in long clusters, it is JUMPING CHOLLA Opuntia fulgida
If the spines are dark, of uneven length, and the trunk bark
is lighter, it is STAGHORN CHOLLA Opuntia versicolor
The joints, which can sprout a new plant,

detach or “jump” at a touch. Barbed
spines discourage a second touch.
35
If a single trunk rises from the ground, it is

SAGUARO Cereus giganteus
Saguaro branches are

crowned with waxen,
night-blooming flow-
ers in April, and edi-
ble red fruit in June
(harvested by the
Tohono O’odham).
After rain, trunk
corrugations flatten
out as flesh absorbs
water and swells.
36
trees
If the leaves are clustered at the tip of a single
|
trunk (or at the tips of branches), and if the leaves

are stemless, spear-shaped, it’s a YUCCA. Go to
If there are only a few branches, or just a main

trunk; and if the leaves are edged with peeling
fibers, go to
If the tree has many branches, and if there

are small, sharp teeth along the leaf edges, it is
JOSHUA TREE Yucca brevifolia
37
If the leaves are stiff, daggerlike; and dead leaves

cover the trunk almost to its base, go to
If the leaves are flexible, grasslike, it is SOAPTREE

YUCCA, PALMILLA Yucca elata
The flower stalk is long,

bearing many flowers on
its upper part, but naked
on its lower part. Seed
capsules open in three
parts to release seeds
and remain on the stalk
through the winter.
On dry yucca seedpods you’ll find a small

hole made by the escape of a larva that fed
on some of the seeds. It grew from an egg
laid by a female yucca moth, whose instinct
then made her pollinate the yucca flower,
thereby ensuring seed formation. This
probably happened at night, when desert
creatures do business after hiding from the
hot daytime sun.
38
trees
If the leaf has many whitish threads along its edge, and
|
flower clusters are 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) long, it

is TORREY YUCCA Yucca torreyi
If the leaf is edged with coarse, splinter-like fibers,

and the flower cluster is shorter, it is MOJAVE YUCCA
Yucca schidigera
39
Trees of
the Rocky
Mountains
Rocky Mountain Tree Distribution
Climate limits where trees can grow. The very things people
like about the Rocky Mountain climate—cool summers and
deep snow at high altitudes, year-round dry sunshine in the
low altitudes—are hard on trees. The Rockies have abundant
water and warmth, but not in the same places. Trees here
must adapt to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight, and
drying winds.
Some trees are adapted to hot, dry foothills: A

3-inch (7.5-cm) ponderosa pine seedling may
have roots 2 feet (60 cm) long. It can take soil
surface temperatures of 180°F (82°C), but a
heavy frost can kill it.
Other trees can survive short summers and

bitter winters: The new needles of subalpine fir
resist frost, and its branches shed heavy snow.
But its roots are shallow and could not survive
the dry heat of the foothills.
41
Each tree’s range has an upper

limit, the altitude above which
it’s too cold for the tree to
grow, and a lower limit, below
which it’s too dry.
SUBALPINE FIR
DOUGL AS FIR
PONDEROSA PINE
42
These are the five LIFE ZONES found at different altitudes in the Rocky
trees
Mountains. Some trees grow in several zones, but if you know what
|
zone you’re in you can usually tell what trees you’ll find.
t h e r o c k y m o u n ta i n s
Plains Zone
Upper Sonoran Zone—annual rainfall 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm)
Grasses, sagebrush, or dry shrubbery dominate this zone, the driest
in the Rocky Mountains. To survive here, trees must have roots that
reach moisture.
SMALL TREES grow with

wide-spreading roots in
loose, porous soil or the The only LARGE TREES are
cool crevices of a rocky ones rooted in subsurface
outcrop: water along a stream bed:
• Pinyons • Cottonwoods
• Gambel oak • Hackberries
• Junipers • Boxelder
• Mountain mahogany • Willows
43
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Etait-il onze heures? Etait-il minuit? Elle crut entendre des pas, dehors,
devant le perron. Elle écouta quelques moments.
—Je me suis trompée... D’ailleurs, qu’importe?
Et, tout à coup, au pied de sa fenêtre, une voix qui tâchait de ne pas trop
se faire entendre:
—Maman!... c’est moi!... Viens m’ouvrir!
Etait-ce une hallucination de son cerveau malade à force de souffrance?
Tout doucement, elle ouvrit sa fenêtre, poussa la persienne. En bas, dans
le faible clair de lune, une silhouette immobile, la tête levée vers la croisée
éclairée.
—Laurent?... appela-t-elle d’une voix étouffée, c’est toi?
—Oui, c’est moi. Viens m’ouvrir!... J’ai à te parler.
Allait-elle avoir peur, peur de son fils?
Elle répondit, affaiblie dans tout son corps par l’émotion:
—Je descends! Attends-moi!
Et comme elle glissait dans les escaliers, une bougie à la main, comme
elle s’énervait à tirer sans bruit les barres de la porte, l’espoir, une dernière
fois, envahit son cœur incorrigible.
«Peut-être qu’il vient... qu’il vient me dire qu’il me pardonne...»
La porte était ouverte. Dans la lueur remuante de la bougie, il apparut,
grand, pâle, les yeux immenses, les boucles noires de sa tête sans chapeau
dérangées comme par un coup de vent—le vent de la course qu’il venait de
faire en auto, sans doute. Et, tout de suite, à son haleine, à l’on ne sait
encore quoi qu’elle devina dans l’ombre: «Il est ivre!...» pensa-t-elle.
—Allons au petit salon... dit-il.
Elle le précédait, éclairant leur marche indécise.
Ils ne s’assirent ni l’un ni l’autre. La bougie répandait sa petite lumière
et ses grandes ombres à travers les meubles. Le silence de la demeure
endormie était écrasant.
Il se tenait devant elle, sauvage et viril, ses belles mâchoires légèrement
bleuies par la barbe rasée. Un grand foulard de trois couleurs pendait le
long de ses habits bien ajustés.
—Il me faut dix mille francs... dit-il sans attendre. Tu vas me les donner.
Malgré ses yeux qui l’hypnotisaient, qui la clouaient sur place, elle eut la
force d’articuler:
—Non, Laurent.
—Non?...
Il avait fait un pas, avançant sur elle. Elle vit qu’il titubait un peu.
—Tu es ivre!... prononça-t-elle avec un dégoût immense.
—Ça se peut!... ricana-t-il. Mais ça ne m’empêche pas de savoir ce que
je veux!
Et, tout à coup, sa colère éclata, rauque, étouffée par le souci de ne pas
éveiller la maison.
—Tu vas me les donner, tu entends?... sans ça... sans ça je mettrai le feu,
je tuerai, je ferai n’importe quoi! N’importe quoi!...
Fût-ce l’horreur? Fût-ce la terreur? Elle ouvrit grande la bouche; et
Laurent vit qu’elle allait crier.
—Ne crie pas!... gronda-t-il en la saisissant brutalement au bras, ou
bien...
Elle ne voulut pas entendre le reste de cette parole inadmissible.
—Laurent!... Laurent... tais-toi!... Je vais te donner ce que tu demandes...
Un chèque que tu pourras toucher au chef-lieu. Seulement, écoute...
écoute!... Il faut que tu t’en ailles, dès demain, avec tes amis. Tu ne peux
pas me déshonorer plus longtemps! Il paraît que tu...
—C’est bon!... coupa-t-il. Va me chercher le chèque! Après, nous
verrons!
Elle reprit la bougie, et, le laissant dans l’obscurité, furtive, dramatique,
elle sortit du salon en courant.
*
**
Le lendemain, à la surprise de tout le pays, le manoir de la route de
Fleurbois était vide. La bande avait dû repartir avant le lever du jour, car
personne n’avait rien vu.
Mᵐᵉ Carmin, alitée, couvait le secret de sa nuit. Nul ne saurait jamais ce
qui s’était passé entre elle et son fils. Elle savait, maintenant, que sa ruine
était certaine. Laurent, en deux ans, avait dévoré l’argent gagné dans sa
course Paris-Lisbonne.
—Il me prendra jusqu’à mon dernier sou!
Cela, c’était le cri de l’avarice. Il y en avait un autre, bien plus
abominable:
—Il me tuera un jour!...
Elle ajoutait en fermant les yeux:
—... Si je ne meurs pas de chagrin avant...
Au bout de trois jours elle put se lever, chancelante et défaite. Les
servantes la soignaient, le cœur saignant devant cette crucifixion. Et l’oncle
Jacques aussi la soignait, qui, rabroué par le curé, n’osait plus rien dire.
Il y avait cinq jours qu’elle était sur pied quand la nouvelle lui fut
apportée. Les trois autos étaient revenues au manoir. Laurent et ses amis
étaient là de nouveau.
Alors, vaincue, ayant fait appeler l’abbé Lost et son frère:
—Je suis décidée, leur dit-elle. Je ne peux plus rester ici. Demain je
commence mes bagages et j’écris à mon notaire pour mettre le château en
vente.
XV
DERNIER DU NOM
Après avoir pris cette détermination qu’elle savait inébranlable, Mᵐᵉ

Carmin se sentit l’âme comme assainie.
Partir!
Pour ne se donner pas le temps de s’appesantir sur des pensées
profondément amères, elle se mit tout de suite à l’œuvre et passa le reste de
la journée à ranger ses papiers.
Jacques de Bonnevie, consterné, restait près d’elle, la suppliant de
renoncer à son projet. Mais elle ne l’écoutait même pas.
Quand ils eurent dîné tous deux, elle passa dans le petit salon pour y
commencer la correspondance que comportait son départ. Son frère l’avait
suivie, la tête basse.
—Et moi?... répétait-il, et moi?... Qu’est-ce que je deviens, dans tout
ça?... Et l’abbé?... Ce n’est pas possible que tu nous lâches comme ça,
voyons!...
Absorbée, elle écrivait, sans lui répondre, sans le regarder.
—Alors, bonsoir!... dit-il enfin. Je vais me coucher.
—Jacques, répondit-elle d’un air singulier, je te demande, au contraire,
de rester près de moi...
Il ne comprit pas. Il ne pouvait pas deviner qu’elle avait peur, peur de
son fils-nocturne.
—Bien... fit-il. Alors je vais dormir... Si j’avais su, j’aurais apporté mes
papiers.
Il sommeillait, elle écrivait.
Contractée dans l’effort de rester lucide et froide, elle établissait le calcul
de tout ce que Laurent lui avait coûté, depuis la balafre de Clémentine
jusqu’aux dix mille francs extorqués six jours plus tôt. Ensuite, elle faisait
l’énumération de ses biens, leur rapport exact, puis supputait le prix auquel
elle allait vendre son château. Les chiffres s’alignaient sur le papier, vivants
comme des êtres pour cette Normandie regardante.
Elle venait de faire la preuve d’une longue addition, et trempait sa plume
pour continuer ses calculs. Quatre fort grands coups dans la porte d’entrée
la firent sursauter, lui arrachant un cri d’épouvante.
Jacques avait bondi.
Mᵐᵉ Carmin joignit les mains. Ses dents claquaient.
—N’ouvrons pas... chuchota-t-elle, c’est Laurent!
—Laurent?... A cette heure-ci?...
Là-dessus, les coups redoublèrent. Et, pour leur ébahissement terrifié,
des cris de femme percèrent la nuit.
—Au secours!... Au secours!... Ouvrez! Ouvrez!
On entendit le remue-ménage des domestiques, en haut. François, le
jardinier, parut à la porte du salon, une bougie dans une main, son fusil dans
l’autre, puis les trois servantes affolées.
—Madame... Madame... On a regardé par la fenêtre... Il y a un clair
magnifique. On a vu. C’est une femme toute seule, qu’a des cheveux dans
le dos... Tenez!... la voilà qui recommence!...
—Allons ouvrir!... dit Jacques de Bonnevie, livide.
Le fusil braqué, le jardinier marchait devant. Mais ce fut Jacques qui, la
porte ouverte, parla.
—Qui êtes-vous?... Qu’est-ce que vous voulez?...
—Oh! m’sieurs et dames, ne me tuez pas!...
L’inconnue reculait, les mains suppliantes. Elle bredouilla rapidement,
en proie à l’effroi:
—J’ai fini par trouver votre château. J’étais passée devant en auto... Il
faut que vous veniez vite, vite!... Ils se sont tous battus, là-bas... Il y en a un
de tué à coups de bouteille, et Laurent...
Un sanglot l’interrompit. Les doigts aux joues, elle reprit:
—Laurent a un coup de couteau dans le ventre! Il va mourir!
Elle se remit à crier, délirante, en répétant:
—Il va mourir!... Il va mourir!...
Mᵐᵉ de Bonnevie ne sut pas comment elle se trouvait dehors, secouant
cette femme aux épaules.
—Qu’est-ce que vous dites?... Qu’est-ce que vous dites?...
Un mélange de chypre et d’alcool l’inondait d’une odeur canaille. Les
cheveux défaits de l’autre s’entortillaient autour de ses mains.
—Je suis Fifi, hoquetait la malheureuse, amie de Laurent!... J’ai tout vu.
Je vous dis qu’il va mourir si vous ne venez pas le sauver tout de suite!...
Que se passa-t-il? A qui revint l’initiative de la chose. Quelques
moments plus tard, le tonneau roulait sur la route illuminée de lune, au
galop du cheval fouetté par Jacques. Mᵐᵉ de Bonnevie, à côté de lui, la fille
cramponnée derrière avec le jardinier, personne ne disait plus un mot.
Tout était allumé dans le manoir. Mais le silence y régnait.
—Oh!... rugit la fille en entrant. Ils sont tous partis! Ah! les...
Elle n’essayait même pas d’atténuer les ordures que vomissait son
indignation.
Hagarde, encore fardée malgré les larmes qui la barbouillaient, à demi-
dévêtue, elle montrait, aux lumières, un visage d’environ trente ans, joues
molles entre les mèches teintes au henné, petites narines ouvertes, bouche
sensuelle, avec de magnifiques yeux bleus, largement bistrés par le vice et
le koh’l.
Dans la maison subitement vide, abandonnés au fond de la salle à
manger, il n’y avait plus que le cadavre et le blessé, l’un sous la table et
l’autre dans un coin, chacun entouré de sa petite mare de sang.
Le désordre de la nappe, chavirée avec sa vaisselle, les chaises brisées,
les bouteilles de champagne cassées, disaient la bataille après la fête,
éloquence tragique.
Mᵐᵉ Carmin s’était ruée dès le seuil. A genoux près de Laurent évanoui,
lui soulevant la tête, elle sentit deux autres mains, brûlantes et douces,
mêlées aux siennes. Fifi, la fille, était à côté d’elle, à genoux comme elle.
—Vite!... Vite, François, reprenez la voiture, allez chercher le médecin à
la ville!
—Surtout, ne le soulevons pas!... murmurait l’oncle Jacques, penché sur
le blessé.
—Ah! si seulement je savais conduire l’auto!... se lamenta Fifi. Ils lui
ont laissé la sienne. Je l’ai vue en entrant dans la cour.
Une crise de passion la jeta sur Laurent, dont elle se mit à baiser la
bouche avec fureur.
—Mon Laurent!... Ils me l’ont tué!... Ah! je t’aime! Je t’aime!... Depuis
trois ans il me battait, il me faisait tout!... Ça m’était égal! C’était mon
homme! Moi qui pourrais être sa mère, il n’avait qu’à me regarder avec ses
yeux qui font peur, je lui obéissais. Tout le monde lui obéissait, d’abord!
C’était un chef, celui-là! Quand il vous regardait un homme, il en faisait un
chien. Quand il vous regardait une femme... Ah! les garces!... Elles le
voulaient toutes. Et si généreux! Il donnait tout ce qu’il avait! Et peur de
rien!... De rien!... Pas plus des flics que des autres bandes! Il réussissait tous
ses coups! Il était toujours le plus fort! Il fallait le voir se battre!... Et quand
il chantait, avec sa voix qui vous chavirait!... Et ils t’ont arrangé comme ça,
toi! Toi!... Laurent! Laurent!... C’est ta Fifi!... Ta Fifi pour la vie, tu sais
bien!... Laurent, mon gosse, ouvre-les, tes grandes châsses qui vous
décarcassent, qui vous font obéir, même quand on ne veut pas!...
Un frisson parcourut tout le corps de Mᵐᵉ Carmin de Bonnevie. Elle le
savait bien, elle, qu’ils faisaient obéir, les yeux de Laurent, même quand on
ne voulait pas.
Une sorte de rage la soulevait, d’entendre les cris d’amour de cette
prostituée qui était «l’amie de Laurent», alors qu’elle, la mère, n’avait
jamais rien eu de lui que haine et mépris. Apprendre par celle-là tout ce
qu’elle n’avait pas su! «Il chantait donc toujours?... Il avait donc retrouvé sa
belle voix?...» Et la jalousie qui la tordait, en cette minute, l’empêchait
même de comprendre quelles révélations sur l’existence mystérieuse de son
fils ressortaient des propos incohérents de la créature de mauvaise vie.
Cependant, debout à côté des deux femmes à genoux, l’oncle Jacques,
lui, hochait lentement la tête.
*
**
On ne put le transporter qu’à l’aube. Sorti de son évanouissement, il
gémissait, prononçait des mots sans suite.
Un premier pansement, fait sur place par le médecin, avait arrêté le sang.
—Je crois qu’il s’en tirera, Madame... Attendons le chirurgien du chef-
lieu. Ma dépêche sera mise à la première heure...
Après les constatations des gendarmes, le cortège s’était mis en route,
Laurent à demi couché dans la voiture, les autres à pied.
Fifi suivait aussi, mais elle n’entra pas au château, chassée par le regard
des domestiques.
Quand Laurent fut allongé dans le lit qu’on avait en hâte improvisé dans
un coin du petit salon, il ne tarda pas à recouvrer tout à fait ses sens; et ses
premières paroles furent une série d’injures et de menaces épouvantables. Il
continuait le rythme de la rixe.
Ayant enfin compris, reconnu les lieux et les gens, il fit un geste brusque
pour se relever. Toutes les mains l’avaient ensemble recouché.
—Laurent!... sanglota Mᵐᵉ de Bonnevie, c’est moi, ta maman... Tu es
blessé, mon chéri!... Tu veux bien que je te soigne, dis?...
Il la toisa d’un regard tel qu’elle recula. L’abbé Lost s’était approché.
—Laurent!... Tu me reconnais bien, n’est-ce pas?...
—F...-moi la paix, tous!... vociféra-t-il en essayant des bonds sous les
mains qui le maintenaient. Ce n’est pas vous tous que je veux! C’est Fifi
que je veux! Où est-elle, la charogne?... Pourquoi n’est-elle pas là?... Je la
veux, vous entendez?... Je ne veux qu’elle! Elle toute seule!...
Et comme, frappée à mort, se laissant tomber assise sur une chaise, la
mère songea, les dents serrées: «Il l’aime!»
—Allez chercher cette fille!... ordonna le médecin. Il va se faire mourir,
s’il continue à s’agiter!
Ce fut silencieusement et comme écrasée de honte qu’elle entra dans ce
château, dans ce salon familial, elle, la fille du ruisseau, que la présence du
prêtre obligeait à courber la tête. Elle s’était rajustée de son mieux, avait
tordu ses cheveux teints, lourdement, sur sa nuque. Et sa robe décolletée et
mouillée de vin et de sang, son parfum vicieux, son fard, scandalisaient les
fauteuils de tapisserie criarde, ouvrage lent des heures provinciales, exécuté
par des mains dévotes.
—C’est toi, Fifi?...
Presque bas, elle répondit:
—C’est moi, Laurent.
—Viens ici. Où étais-tu, chameau?
Il esquissa le geste de la gifle. Puis, comme elle s’agenouillait à son
chevet, il dit:
—Donne-moi à boire!...
Et ce fut elle, désormais, elle seule qui le soigna.
Il y eut une visite de la police, en vue d’un interrogatoire. Mais comme
le blessé, hurlant, éclatait en injures, le médecin s’interposa:
—Vous reviendrez plus tard...
Ce fut enfin le chirurgien, vers quatre heures du soir.
Dans la salle à manger, tous attendaient, glacés. Fifi seule dut rester avec
les deux docteurs, Laurent l’ayant exigé.
—L’opération n’est pas possible, dit le chirurgien en sortant du petit
salon. Mon collègue vous expliquera. Ma présence n’est plus utile.
A Jacques de Bonnevie et à l’abbé, qui le reconduisaient, il confia,
baissant la voix:
—Il est perdu. Il n’en a plus que pour quelques heures...
Cependant, Mᵐᵉ Carmin, assise à l’écart dans la salle à manger,
repoussée là par les yeux de son fils, semblait plongée dans des réflexions
obscures. Devinait-elle, avec son instinct de mère, ce que le chirurgien
venait d’apprendre aux autres? L’heure du dernier déchirement approchait,
après toutes les tortures de sa vie crucifiée. Laurent allait mourir, mourir
sans lui avoir pardonné, sans l’avoir jamais aimée. Incapable d’aimer? Non,
puisque cette fille était près de lui.
Comme le tuteur et l’abbé revenaient lentement, se dirigeant vers elle
avec un visage qui cherchait comment lui dire la vérité:
—Je sais... murmura-t-elle simplement.
Ils furent effrayés de son calme.
L’abbé commençait:
—Il faut que j’essaie... le pauvre enfant!... Que j’essaie de le confesser...
Mᵐᵉ de Bonnevie l’interrompit.
—Attendez un instant, monsieur l’abbé.
Surpris, ils la suivirent. Elle entra dans le petit salon; et, sans oser
s’approcher du lit, distante et solennelle:
—Ecoute, Laurent! Je veux que tu comprennes enfin quelle tendresse
j’ai pour toi. Puisque tu aimes tant ta compagne...
Elle ravala péniblement le sanglot de son amour maternel et de son
orgueil d’honnête femme, à jamais humiliés.
—Puisque tu aimes tant ta compagne, eh bien! moi, ta mère, je te donne
mon consentement. Cela peut se faire ici, tout de suite, étant donné ton
état... Voilà! Epouse-la, Laurent! Et je l’aimerai bien à cause de toi.
Elle était plus pâle que le mourant. Les yeux fermés, appuyée au mur,
elle attendit le mot qu’il allait dire; le mot qu’il ne pouvait pas ne pas dire
pour reconnaître le sacrifice suprême qu’elle lui faisait.
La fille, à genoux, les mains sur les yeux, s’était mise à pleurer.
Laurent avait tourné brusquement la tête. Il regarda sa mère. Du fond des
mystères de la mémoire, du fond de son enfance déjà lointaine,
dédaigneusement, impérialement, sur le ton même qu’avait eu jadis l’oncle
Jacques, lors de la scène au pavillon:
—Un Carmine Buonavita, dit-il, n’épouse pas une catin!
*
**
Il mourut au crépuscule, après une agonie violente comme toute sa
courte existence.
Enfin calme et pour toujours, visage admirable sculpté par la mort, front
étrange de faune, mains croisées sur un chapelet ironique, on eût dit qu’il
allait, d’un instant à l’autre, se redresser pour quelque flot d’insultes, pour
quelque geste d’énergumène.
A sa droite et à sa gauche, deux bougies brûlaient. Sourdement, les
sanglots de la mère et de la maîtresse rythmaient le parfait silence du soir.
Et comme, debout au pied du lit, l’abbé Lost, consterné, murmurait des
prières pour ce mort qu’il n’avait pas pu confesser, Jacques de Bonnevie se
pencha vers son oreille:
—J’espère bien, prononça-t-il, que, sur sa tombe, on écrira la vérité.
Le prêtre s’était retourné, surpris. A voix basse, l’historien prononça
lentement, les yeux fixés sur le cadavre:
—Lorenzo Carmine Buonavita, dernier du nom, chef de Grande
Compagnie.
FIN
TABLE DES CHAPITRES
Pages
I. — La rencontre dans le parc 5
II. — Apprivoisement 19
III. — La belle découverte 35
IV. — A boire! 45
V. — Angoisses 55
VI. — L’épouvante 67
VII. — Un frisson dans la nuit 81
VIII. — Une lettre 91
IX. — Mater dolorosa 103
X. — Lorenzo 119
XI. — Le maître 135
XII. — Le scandale 151
XIII. — Des jours 173
XIV. — La Grande Compagnie 199
XV. — Dernier du nom 219
095-1-21.—Imp. Henry Maillet, 3, rue de Châtillon, Paris.
Pour paraître dans la série

de volumes à 3 fr. 50
Jehan D’IVRAY LA ROSE DU FAYOUM.
André LES CENTAURES (Nouvelle édition).
LICHTENBERGER
Jeanne LANDRE LE DÉBARDEUR LETTRÉ.
MIDSHIP “VENT DEBOUT”. (Préface de Claude
Farrère.)
Dernières nouveautés littéraires parues

dans la
Collection des “Œuvres Inédites”
Chaque volume: 1 fr. 50
Pierre MILLE HISTOIRES EXOTIQUES ET
MERVEILLEUSES.
Charles FOLEŸ FIANÇAILLES TRAGIQUES.
Lucie DELARUE-MARDRUS LES TROIS LYS.
Jeanne LANDRE UN AUTEUR FOLICHON.
RACHILDE LA MAISON VIERGE.
J.-H. ROSNY Ainé, de LA COMTESSE GHISLAINE.
l’Académie Goncourt
Pierre VÉBER LA JOLIE MADAME LIVRAN.
Marcel BERGER LA DERNIÈRE CROISADE.
Gustave GUICHES LE PETIT LANCRIT.
Maurice LEVEL LE CRIME.
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D’ENFANT.
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How To Read The Wilderness An Illustrated Guide To North American Flora and Fauna Nature Study Guild Full Chapter

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How To Read The Wilderness An Illustrated Guide To North American Flora and Fauna Nature Study Guild Full Chapter

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How to Read the Wilderness : An

Illustrated Guide to North American

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Nature Study Guild (Berkeley, Calif.), author.

Curation by John Lasack.

Chronicle books and gifts are available at special quantity

Chronicle Books LLC

FLOWERS, FRUITS & FERNS

MAMMALS & BIRDS

THE NIGHT SKY

ON WARM, SUNNY RIDGES

ON STREAM BANKS OR IN SOGGY SOIL

IN ABANDONED FARMYARDS, OLD SETTLEMENTS

Other ways of categorizing trees:

The climate of this area has damp, foggy

The DOMINANT TREES of this

The smaller UNDERSTORY

8 to 16 in. (20 to 40 cm)

under 8 in. (20 cm)

altitude inland valleys:

In the CALIFORNIA OAK-

(and going north is like climbing). The climate

SUB -ALPINE ZONE

RED FIR FOREST

SILVER FIR FOREST

MIXED CONIFER FOREST

OAK WOODL AND

In the MOUNTAIN FIR FOREST,

On the dry EASTERN SLOPES

If the leaf is simple (not made up of leaflets), the

If the lobes are pointed and bristle tipped, go to

If the lobes are blunt and rounded (may have a

If the lobes are shallow, it is ORACLE OAK

If they’re deeper, or if the leaves are over 4 inches

If the leaves have soft hairiness on the topsides and

If the leaves are shiny on top with fewer lobes;

If the leaf stems are shorter than 1 inch (2.5 cm),

If the above is true but the margins have teeth or

If the leaf has no strong, penetrating odor when

If the main veins branch out into smaller veins

If the leaves are not narrow and bendy (with sharp

If the leaves are dark green; or if the bark is black-

If the leaves are light green or bluish; or if there is

If the leaves are flatter, hairless, and some are

If the leaves are shiny green on top and whitish

If they’re dull blue green on both sides, go to

If you’re in northern California, it is BLUE OAK

If you’re in southern California, it is

fire plugs grassy graves water tanks

putting greens orange blossoms fountains

pools or sounds of lawn mowers and air conditioners,

you are in a man-made oasis.

RIPARIAN TREES:Their roots are in permanent

TREES OF DESERT WASHES: They grow where flood

EVERGREEN TREES: In leaf all year long.

TREES LEAFLESS IN DRY SEASONS: They leaf out only

TREES LEAFLESS in winter only.

TREES OF THE OAK-JUNIPER WOODLAND: These trees

TREES INTRODUCED BY HUMANS that have escaped from

DOMESTICATED TREES OF THE DESERT, planted in

the southwestern desert

They conserve water by having:

• thick-skinned leaves PALOVERDES