218 THE FORESTS AND DESERTS OF ARIZONA 



in Germany, but of somber, low-topped cedars and pifion — the 

 road running over trestles and loops to get from the plateau into 

 the valley. Passing southward from Prescott on this line, we 

 traverse a rugged, dry, mountain country, which contains rich 

 mining ground where a man may wash his day's wages in gold 

 from the sojl anywhere in the creek bottoms or canons. Defi- 

 ciency of water alone retards this mining development; yet some 

 large mines are worked by pumping water six and eight miles 

 over the mountain. 



As we descend into the plain from the 6,000-foot level of Pres- 

 cott the temperature seemingly rises in geometric ratio, and as 

 we reach the plain, at about 1,200 feet, we begin to suspect our 

 friends were right after all in commiserating our fate. We reach 

 Phoenix at night, and the broad waters of Salt river in the moon- 

 light at least suggest coolness, and the night, warm enough to 

 sleep outdoors, does indeed afford relief from the excessive heat 

 of the day, when the thermometer was at 110°. 



The southern portion of Arizona can be subdivided into two 

 sections fairly well differentiated topographically, climatically, 

 and economicall3^ The eastern district is elevated and moun- 

 tainous ; it is bounded on the west by the high mountain ranges 

 of Santa Rita, El Rincon, Santa Catalina, and Tortilla and Super- 

 stition mountains. The western part is a vast desert plain out 

 of which, like islands from the sea, rise abruptly, in parallel lines 

 ten to thirty miles apart, in black and purplish hues, rugged and 

 'towering granite mountains, reflecting the sun's rays with daz- 

 zling brilliancy. These mountains are mostly devoid of vegeta- 

 tion and mostly also of soil, awful in their barrenness, while the 

 desert below may be just as barren in places or else is studded 

 with the sparse vegetation of cacti, agave, yucca, catsclaws, palo- 

 verde, mesquite, etc. — a paradise of spines and thorns. There 

 would appear on general principles nothing more depressing 

 than such a country ; so it is when viewed from the car-window ; 

 yet, as a matter of fact, to the explorer it is full of interest, a 

 stimulus to the curiosity and furnishing real entertainment; 

 and, finally, much of this hopeless desert promises to the future 

 many a paying enterprise. Not only do the desert mountain 

 ranges conta,in minerals of value — gold and silver and others — 

 while salt, borax, gypsum, sulphur, asbestos, kaolin, and pumice- 

 stone may be found in the plain, but the soil is capable of pro- 

 ducing profusely in this southern clime, if only water can be 

 brought to it. Water is the great problem here. The little rain 



