legs only, are seen scampering" about ; and occasionally horned 

 toads, bull and garter snakes, the beautiful red-racers, king 

 snakes (mortal enemies of the rattlers), rattlesnakes themselves, 

 and worst and most feared because they give no warning, the 

 coral snakes and deadly sidewinders. There is a demand for 

 rattlesnake oil, supposed to be a panacea for rheumatism, so 

 that in killing the reptiles one not only decreases the pests but 

 can make fifty or seventy-five cents each in addition. 



Hunters can get small gray foxes, called Desert Swifts, 

 wild cats, lynxes, coyotes and skunks. One man last winter 

 made $60.00 from skunk skins. Of birds, there are crows, 

 blackbirds, hawks, grou.nd ^>wl^. butcher birds, orioles, road- 

 runners, blue birds, red birds, meadow larks, linnets, and most 

 numerous, the little gray desert l:)irds. 



Fnirn the river to the foot of the Three Buttes where Atri- 

 l)lex is found, is a tliree and a half-mile rise of about six hun- 

 dred feet, and to the top of tlie highest butte perhaps one hun- 

 dred and fiity feet more. From there one can see the great cot- 

 ton-wooded arc cf the Mojave River for ten miles, with the 

 paralleling line of the Santa Fe tracks, and the verdant ranches 

 between. To the north and south stretch miles of wild land, 

 while to the west of the river on the ^lesa, are spread the 

 rectangles of reclaimed Homesteads and Desert Claims. No- 

 where are the sunsets more marvellous than here, when fleecy 

 clouds are ])resent to catch the evening glow, which can also be 

 seen on the nearer hills and mountains, on the farther San Ber- 

 nardino Range with ( )ld r>ald\- snow-crowned for half the vear, 

 and away off to the far distant Panamints in the northwest. 



V\"e like to speak of our valley as "The Desert," because 

 it is not one. There is no monotony of color, of landscape, of 

 vegetation, of occujiation on a new ])ioneer ranch, nor of pass- 

 ing life. The trains are a never-ceasing interest, either the 

 regular passengers, the i)eriodic'd specials for extra tourist 

 travel and big conventions, and the Troo]i trains of June and 

 Julv taking our men to the I'order; or the freights of fift\' and 

 sixty cars, sometime- all bright yellow, carrying oranges to the 

 Eastern markets. Ainrg the road. The National Old Trails 

 Hisliwav, is to be seen an automobile at almost anv hour, often 

 a motorcycle or motor truck, and rarelv a wagon and team, or a 

 prospector with .one or two burros. Sometimes there are visit- 

 ors, perhaps from a machine with a far-eastern license, stopping 

 for water; or jx-destrians for health or economy, who always 

 have interesting experiences t(T relate. Once a party of six 

 moving-picture actors was entertained over night, walking from 

 I^os Angeles to New York, who expected to earn their wav by 

 eivinsf vaudeville entertainments en route. Another time, a 

 twentv-vear-old girl arrived, dressed in overalls, traveling alone 



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