"Dust Devils" and the Desert. 101 



matched the collision stops them and a struggle ensues 

 as to which way they shall twist. Gradually one gains 

 the mastery, and the two combined begin to gyrate 

 alike and then rush on together. A dust devil comes 

 on you unawares and sweeps off your hat and an Arab's 

 clothes. I have seen one twist a goat round like a top, 

 and our camel-men were once attacked and their loose 

 clothes swept off, while we, only fifty yards away, heard 

 the roar but felt not a breath of wind. 



The wildness, the freedom, and the limitless extent 

 of the desert all have their charms, the scent of its 

 heated breezes is fascinating, while its very barrenness 

 has an intense interest. Compare the vegetation of a 

 desert to that of a well-watered country. In the desert 

 the plants fight for life against the want of moisture; 

 they are thinly spread, stunted, with small leaves or 

 no leaves, spiky or hairy, every contrivance being made 

 use of to prevent transpiration and to retain moisture. 

 In the watered country the plants fight against one 

 another, they crowd each other out, and the most 

 luxuriant gains the mastery. In the desert you can read 

 in the sand as in clearest print and see the scarcity 

 of its animal life. Bordering on the watered country 

 the tracks are fairly numerous, but the further you go 

 the fewer become the feet>marks until those of sand- 



