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IO THE PRESBYTERIA
sions" are supplemented and strengthened I hope by
information received from this excellent brother, to
whom I gladly acknowledge my indebtedness.
One remark may be made, true of all this region, including
parts of Wreturn ?? >.< - 1-: * -
U ^ Aiiu icacmug aimOSt tO
Los Angeles, viz., "which is desert." This well sums up
and describes its general appearance and present condition.
Everywhere, whether mountain or plain, hill or
valley, it seems bare, barren, desolate, in many places
with an abundance of sand and rocks, and small,
stunted, ugly growths of various kinds, and now and
then wee sanddunes or hillocks, the home of the gopher;
ground-owl. and rattlesnake. Some of this land, we
were told, looks very different in the rainy season, and
even one good shower often changes the whole face
of nature; while a wise and careful system of irrigaif
? * - -
nun would doubtless convert the greater part into fruitful
fields and charming landscapes, though where alkali
abounds the case seems hopeless, it is always barren
"and nigh unto cursing." As seen from the train and
at this season of the year these bare mountains remind
one of those of the "Old World," especially of Greece
and Asia Minor.
Several other things may be said of this part of the
country. One is as to the general "lay of the land," or
rather the "profile" of this railroad: This is first up, then
down, and finally up again ; of course, there are many
minor ups and downs, but this is a ceneral
- - o T11""'
For El Paso is some 3.700 ^ect above the sea, and the
Southern Pacific as it passes into and crosses the corner
of New Mexico goes almost continuously up, up for
about 240 miles, and when near the Arizona line it
reaches 4,600 feet; then for 300 miles it goes almost as
continuously down, down to Yuma which is only 140
feet above. Nor is this all, for over the next 100 miles
it goes yet further down, even below the sea level, at one
point, Thermal, as low as 200 feet below. And in this
semi-tropical region are grown the earliest cantaloupes,
as well as other early fruits and vegetables. Here, too,
on one side of the railroad is the curious "Salton Sea," an
inland lake and with 110 outlet, some sixty miles long
-- 1 1 '
c.u nail cts uruan, iormeti by the breaking out of the
Colorado river from its old channel, caused by digging
an irrigation ditch or canal, which gave away when the
floods came down, and the waters poured in and partly
filled this deep depression, destroying valuable salt
works and fertile farming lands. After much time and
trouble and large expense the break has at last been
filled and the river forced back into its old channel, leaving
this artificial, or accidental, sea or lake. How long
it will continue remains to be seen, for they say it is
evaporating very rapidly, but whether it will ever again
become wholly dry only time can decide. From Yuma
on there is again a gradual rise until Los Angeles is
reached, ^hich is 300 feet above the sea. There was
also a very pleasant change of scenery after getting
well intn California f1i/? *'Korl -c J ' *
imv uau miiua U1 111C UCSCrt DClflg
often replaced by fruitful fields and orchards.
Of the products of this desert land, or as I think much
of it might be called this "Bad Lands" country, I learned
something from the friend mentioned. The most common
growth is the mesquite, which is found almost
y
N OF THE SOUTH. March 24, rgog. '*
everywhere; this varies in size from a small plant to a
goodly tree thirty or forty feet high ; it is not a pretty
growth?and nothing is in these desert lands?it belongs
to the acacia family and yields a pod with beans,
sometimes two crops a year, which the Indians use for
food, grinding or pounding up both pod and bean and
cooking in various ways; the cattle also eat the plants
and trees, living on them in dry seasons when all else
is dead, and the flowers are good for honey and the
wood for fuel. A veritable "gift of God" to these arid
rernons nml itc -1 ?1-?"
_ _0 , ?..v, -v^, pvov.nt always muicaics good natural
soil, which only needs irrigation to make it yield and
blossom abundantly, though now dry and barren.
Another common growth is the yacca or soapweed,
the Spanish Amale plant; this the Indians, Mexicans,
and Americans, too, use for soap; the Indian women
especially, after shaving or chopping it up, then soaking
and boiling thoroughly, use it for washing their hair
and value it highly. And the "Amale soap" made from
the root is admirable for use in the "hard" water, which
abounds and is exceeding hard in all these regions,
and is quite an industry in El Paso.
The creosote, or greasewood, plant, with an odor like
creosote, is also found here; the Indians use this as a
remedy for rheumatism, boiling it in water and then
bathing with it. Another plant found in many places is
the white brush, which has a pretty white flower and
blooms, whenever it rains, after each shower, and is very
good for honey. The sage bush also abounds. The
cactus may be seen in all this region, and in many shapes
and sizes; not at all attractive or beautiful with its ir
regular, but thick, spreading leaves and long, sharp
thorns or spines, but capable of growing almost anywhere,
and in the low hot parts about Yuma attaining
a great height and a mighty size, the "Giant Cactus,"
which bears a prickly pear, eaten and relished by some
persons.
Of the towns, which were generally small, scattering
and unattractive, only two or three were mentioned as
of any note. Uvalde, in the midst of the greatest bee
country in the world, so it is claimed.; and Deming,
the center of a large and fine cattle region, whence many
thousands are shipped every year, first to the better
grazing and corn lands of Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa,
and later to the markets of Kansas City, St. Louis and
Chicago. Around Deming, too, were many windmills
and pumping plants, which accounts for the pasturage
and cattle found thereabouts. There is also Tucson,
?pronounced Too-son, accent on final?one of the
largest cities of Arizona, and a live, growing place with
large "expectations"; but we got not even a glimpse,
for we passed this in the night.
These impressions may be concluded with one final
remark or suggestion. All who have passed through this
"desert land" and have seen how bare, barren and deso
late it is by nature, but how fruitful and beautiful it becomes
by irrigation, vyill ucderstand and appreciate as
never before the significance, as well as power and
beauty, of the Scripture use of water and its effects as a
type and illustration of the Gospel and its blessings.
Let any one go through parts of California, where
irrigation is being introduced, and see on one side the