ALONG THE DESERT BORDER. 147 



side of the canon — which had here expanded to a fourth of a 

 mile in width — we repaired thither, and building a fire in a 

 sort of ravine, which broke the force of the wind, we passed a 

 dismal night. Few had more than one pair of blankets where- 

 with to fight off the cold, and these were spread on the stony 

 soil, making a couch that none could sleep upon but weary 

 travelers like ourselves. The cold had considerably abated 

 by morning, when we emerged from the canon into a dreary 

 desert which lay spread before us, covered with thorny vegeta- 

 tion of all sizes, from the stunted prickly pear to the yucca tree 

 growing to the height of twenty feet, and a foot in diameter. 

 The yucca is a singular tree, and gives a peculiar appearance to 

 the country in which it grows. The wood is soft and spongy, 

 and the fibres are locked and twisted to an extent rendering it 

 impossible to separate them. The limbs, which project hori- 

 zontally, are short, thick and blunt; from their extremities 

 project circular clumps of bayonet-shaped spines a foot in 

 length, which are stiff and armed with thorny points. On ac- 

 count of the singular formation of its formidable-looking leaves 

 the plant is sometimes known as the " Spanish Dagger." These 

 leaves are of a vivid green color, and are in pleasing contrast 

 with the few gloomy-hued plants of the desert. The yucca is 

 short lived, and in localities where it abounds the earth is 

 thickly strewn with prostrate trunks, which are nearly as light 

 and porous as so much cotton. It burns freely, but owing to 

 the sickening odor it emits, is not in much demand for fuel. 



The tree is shown in the foreground of the next illustration, 

 which is sketched from memory. 



Traveling for fifteen miles over a plain of sand and gravel, 

 which abounded with yuccas and other thorny plants, we 

 halted after noon at a camping place known as the " Beaver 

 Dam." In the evening a party of fifty or sixty men came up 

 with us and encamped near, intending to travel with us until 

 the end of the journey. We now numbered near a hundred 



