20 



THE OSPREY. 



A TRIP ACKOSS LOWER CALIFORNIA. 



By George P. Merrill, Washington, D. C. 



(With H Plates.) 



HE desert is 

 ever interest- 

 in.g. Tliere 

 is a fasfina- 

 tion al)"Ut 

 these a r i 1 1 

 wastes f 11 r 

 wiiich it is 

 difficult to ac- 

 cunnt, hut 

 wliich once 

 experienced 

 can nevtr he 

 eradicated. 

 The bai-ren 

 stretclies of 

 sand and 

 rocli, the 

 sharp sliad- 

 ows, the pau- 

 city of animal 

 life, the strik- 

 ing peculiari- 

 ties of plant 

 life, and 

 above all tKe 

 silence and 

 solici tud e, 

 produce im- 

 pressions which must be felt to be appreciated. 



In most cases a desert is barren simply through 

 lack of a proper amount or distribution of moistun.-. 

 In few instances is the soil actually incapable of sus- 

 taining vegetable life, (-iive it l)ut water, ami it be- 

 comes a garden spot. Not the least of many strik- 

 ing things in desert regions is the wonderful "way in 

 which certain plants adapt themselves to conditions. 

 It is wonderful to note the jieculiar forms of plants 

 to which the prevailing conditions give rise. If na- 

 ture abhors a vacuum she also abhors sterility, and 

 hard indeed are the conditions where she cannot 

 adapt some forms of life to their environment. The 

 essential to plant growth and propagation is moist- 

 ure, taken from the ground through the roots and 

 sent off into the air through the leaves. In regions 

 of abundant moisture, leaves are large and abundant 

 also; where moisture is lacking leaves are corresjKmd- 

 ingly few and small, sometimes reduced to mere 

 thorns. This is the characteristic of vegetable forms 

 throughout the region traversed. 



In August, l.Sl»2, the writer made a trip down the 

 coa.st of Lower California as far as San (Juentin, and 

 thence southward anil eastward nearly to the Gulf 

 coast, along a line approximately parallel with lati- 

 tude 30°. The entire region is a desert excepting 

 along the few small stream courses — a waste of sand- 

 stone mesas, parched by the blazing sun of a clouil- 

 less sky. The trip was hurriedly made with the 

 scanty equipments of a prospector's outlit. For- 

 tunately the writer carried a folding kodak which 

 even under the very trying circumstances did fairly 

 good work. Some of the views obtained have been 

 publLshed in the Report of the U. S. National Mu- 

 seum for 1897, to the authorities of which we are in- 

 debted for their reproduction here. 



The Jjarty left San (iuentin for El Rosario, some 

 40 miles to the south, late on July li), our convey- 



ance consisting of a "dead ex" wagon drawn by a 

 pan' of mules. That day we made but 7 to 9 miles, 

 nearly the entire distance being over level sand 

 plains, either quite bare or covered with cacti, sage 

 brush, and in places with dense growths of strong- 

 smelling shrubs with small harsh leaves and thorny 

 lirau'-hes. We cam]ied that night, as indeed every 

 night, in the open air, and were on the road again 

 by six o'clock the morning following. For nearly 

 ten miles the route lay along a beautiful beach fac- 

 ing the Pacific. Thousands upon thousands of dark 

 colored sea fowls flew back and forth in long undulat- 

 ing lines, while small flocks of gulls, curlews, and an 

 occasional brace of strong flying pelicans enlivened 

 the monotony of the trip. The sands were beauti- 

 fully hard, clean, and white, with few shells or other 

 indications of marine life. Disk-like echinoderms, 

 an occasional giant clam, and rarely a few abalones, 

 were the most conspicuous forms But this jiart of 

 the trip soon ended and leaving the beach we turned 

 inland, over a nearly level plain with high mesa 

 sands to the east. Such plants as existed were mainly 

 cacti and small, nearly leafless, thorny shrubs. 

 Rarely the pole-like form of a giant cactas or an 

 agave appeared in the distance, but much more 

 abundant were great repellant clusters of spiny, ser- 

 pent-like forms 3 or 4 inches in diameter and of all 

 lengths up to 10 or more feet. A miserable variety 

 of sage brush, with half dead, scrawny branches, was 

 everywhere, while an occasional small, tubular pink 

 flower showed up in strong contrast with the drear- 

 iness of the land. The ice plant, an insignificant 

 little thing growing close to the soil, of a green and 

 wine reil color, covered all over with jelly-like drops 

 or tubercles, gave interest to the scene. Small liz- 

 ards darted about, and an occasional quail, jack or 

 cotton-tail rabbit, a few butterflies, a large ichneu. 

 mon fly, a few grasshoppers, and a black, yellow- 

 s[iotted spider which builds strong webs on the 

 shrubs, were all that was visible in the way of ani- 

 mal life; though in the soil, at the foot of the shrubs, 

 was found an occasional empty spiral shell of a land 

 mullusk (Iklix ateanixinnit). Little in the way of 

 reptile life was seen, although immediately about 

 San (Juentin a species of rattlesnake was said to be 

 quite abundant. Beyond ]',l Rosario, with the ex- 

 ception of quail, mountain sheep and antelope, well 

 over to the east coast, no wild animals were observed. 

 About ilusk we reached the divide which marks the 

 limit of the ilesert here, ami went rattling down the 

 steep sandy slopes toward El Rosario mission and 

 the sluggish yellow stream of the same. 



We reached the bottom just about that hour when 

 it is too dark to see anything <listinctly, to i3n<l a flat 

 valley, perhaps a mile in width, hedged in on either 

 side by steep bluffs of sandstone, and covered by a 

 dense growth of greenish, pungent-smelling, almost 

 leafless shrubs and a few willows. The short twi- 

 light came quickly to an end and left us stuck in the 

 sand in a dense growth of biusb, whence we were 

 finally extricated by the aid of a Mexican, and about 

 9. 30 p. m founil our way to an adobe hut, where 

 we spent the night. 



live o'clock of July 21 found us once more astir. 

 Willie the head of the party was making arrange- 

 ments for pack and saddle animals, I inproved the 

 opportunity to utilize notebook and camera. El 



