THE CONQUEST OF ARID AMERICA 



The third field for future development is a vast region 

 lying upon the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. This 

 is so little known to the outside world that it may almost 

 be named as Undiscovered California. It is reached 

 only by lines of narrow-gauge railway running northwest 

 and southwest, respectively, from Reno, Nevada. The 

 northerly district is included in the three great coun- 

 ties of Plurnas, Lassen, and Modoc. The country is 

 distinctly arid, lying upon the western flank of the great 

 basin formed by the Sierra Nevada and Wasatch ranges, 

 which inclose portions of California, Idaho, and Utah, and 

 all of Nevada. Here we find the real sage-brush desert 

 fertile, well-watered valleys surrounded by all the wealth 

 of forest, mine, and natural pastures. The climate ap- 

 proximates much more nearly to that of New Mexico 

 than to that commonly associated with the name of Cali- 

 fornia. It is of the milder type of the temperate zone, 

 favorable to the growth of such hardy fruits as apples, 

 pears, peaches, and prunes. Up to this time, however, 

 the chief products of the country are native and alfalfa 

 hay, cattle, sheep, and horses. The sparse population 

 is, perhaps, as prosperous as any farming community in 

 the United States. This fact IG mostly due to the vast 

 extent of fine grazing lands surrounding irrigated valleys 

 and to the herds of cattle and sheep which find their way 

 to the farmers' hay-stacks from the ranges of northern 

 California, southern Oregon, and western Nevada every 

 autumn and winter. 



The most important district in this region is Honey 

 Lake Valley, lying eighty miles northwest of Reno. Here 

 a new era has set in with water-storage for irrigation, 

 Bmall farms, and colonies planned upon the best ideals. 



146 



