TO IMPERIAL VALLEY 2']z 



that would serve our purpose: we had simply to 

 make as nearly due south as the nature of the 

 country would allow. 



The excitement of seeing any one off is rare at 

 San Felipe, so the population assembled for the 

 spectacle. Farewells were brief. Anything more than 

 * ' Adios " or " So long ' ' seems prolix to the Westerner. 

 Turning in my saddle after five minutes I saw that 

 our hosts still stood watching us, perhaps specu- 

 lating how long it might be before they had more 

 visitors to entertain. 



Passing Fish Creek Mountain I had a better op- 

 portunity to note its metallic look. Patches of white, 

 which my companion said were beds of gypsum, 

 gave contrast to the purple-red of the rock. Cleft 

 and canon were marked by scorings of gray that 

 shone in the morning light like waterfalls. If I had 

 a fortune and an extra life to throw away I should 

 be tempted to turn prospector and thoroughly ex- 

 plore Fish Creek Mountain. On the other side, Su- 

 perstition Mountain showed now as total black. 

 Ahead rose the cone of Signal Mountain, with the 

 C6copas, a wash of atmospheric pink, trailing off 

 southward into Mexico. 



A feature of desert travel whenever one is near 

 mountains is the liability to come abruptly upon 

 gullies ten or fifteen feet deep, with absolutely ver- 

 tical walls. These are water-courses, carved, almost 

 at a stroke, by the rush of water from the canons. 

 They are great consumers of time, often leading one 

 far out of one's course before a crossing can be made. 

 Their one good point is that a modicum of shade 



