The Last of the Plainsmen 



then, sweeping sand and gravel low across the desert 

 floor, had cut them deeply, until they rested on 

 slender pedestals, thus sculptoring grotesque and 

 striking monuments to the marvelous persistence of 

 this element of nature. 



Late that afternoon, as we reached the height of 

 the plateau, Jones woke up and shouted: &quot;Ha! 

 there s Buckskin ! &quot; 



Far southward lay a long, black mountain, covered 

 with patches of shining snow. I could follow the 

 zigzag line of the Grand Canon splitting the desert 

 plateau, and saw it disappear in the haze round the 

 end of the mountain. From this I got my first clear 

 impression of the topography of the country sur 

 rounding our objective point. Buckskin mountain 

 ran its blunt end eastward to the canon in fact, 

 formed a hundred miles of the north rim. As it was 

 nine thousand feet high it still held the snow, which 

 had occasioned our lengthy desert ride to get back of 

 the mountain. I could see the long slopes rising out 

 of the desert to meet the timber. 



As we bowled merrily down grade I noticed that 

 we were no longer on stony ground, and that a little 

 scant silvery grass had made its appearance. Then 

 little branches of green, with a blue flower, smiled 

 out of the clayish sand. 



All of a sudden Jones stood up, and let out a wild 



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