266 CALIFORNIA DESERT TRAILS 



way through gullies of sand and boulders bleached 

 almost snow-white by the terrific sun. The glare 

 from the ground was even more intolerable than 

 the direct blast, and the heat was intensified by 

 the scarifying dryness. The effect on the eyes was 

 acutely painful; indeed, it is surprising that such a 

 sensitive organ can endure these conditions without 

 lasting damage. Aqueous humors were never meant 

 for this sort of thing. As we neared the mountain I 

 found that certain white patches that had puzzled 

 me were splashes of sand that had been swept far 

 up the slopes, as waves rush up the face of a cliff. 

 Along the base appeared again the curious shapes of 

 clay, many of them as perfect as if turned in a lathe 

 or cast in a mould. 



By a narrow pass we turned into the heart of the 

 mountain. Precipitous walls, as in Split Mountain 

 Canon but not so high, shut us into a winding defile 

 where we could not ride abreast. It was midday and 

 the place was like a furnace, the temperature not 

 less, I think, than 150° in the sun. The formation 

 looked like red clay, but the loose rocks that strewed 

 the cafion were of varied kinds and colors, prevail- 

 ingly igneous and many with metallic lustre. I saw 

 that my companion occasionally added a bit of rock 

 to the museum he carried in his hip pocket. It is 

 hard to keep one's mind off the subject of mines 

 and metals in this locality where something striking 

 in the way of minerals appears at every turn, and 

 every lonely caiion looks just the place to be hiding 

 ledges of "the right stuff." _ 



We rode along looking for shade, but it was a mile 



