The Conquest of the Desert 



follow. For the nameless grave has often been 

 the Valhalla of the brave. 



Call up the spirits of these valiant path- 

 hewers and put the question to them : " What 

 would you have us do to commemorate your 

 deathless deeds ? Shall we build noble monu- 

 ments to your memory, picture galleries, or 

 splendid palaces ? " And from across the ether 

 waves of Eternity comes the answer, clear as a 

 cloister bell : 



" To our resting-places bring your sturdy 

 settlers. Fling your railroads across the scorch- 

 ing sands. Fill your sickly, street-bred people 

 with the ozone of our wastes. Men we want — 

 not monuments — to perpetuate the glory of our 

 name." 



What is the meaning of the term desert ? 

 The dictionary defines it as "a barren tract 

 incapable of supporting population, as the 

 vast sand plains of Asia and Africa which are 

 destitute of moisture and vegetation." But 

 where will you find a region of this description ? 

 Certainly not in the Kalahari, the Sahara or 

 the Egyptian Desert. And these are the three 

 great deserts of Africa. For our purpose we 

 may think of a desert as a place with less than 

 ten inches of rain in a normal year. But under 



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