14 Our Araby 



attracted to two great hills of sand which rise in 

 smooth, dome-like contour a few miles straight 

 ahead, that is, to the east. The larger is, I should 

 guess, five hundred feet or so high, the smaller 

 much less, and both probably represent outlying 

 rocky foothills which, forming obstructions in the 

 path of the wind that blows down the Pass, have in 

 course of ages become submerged under the slow, 

 all-obliterating tide of wind-driven sand. There is 

 something queerly fascinating about these dunes. 

 It may be partly the tricks of light and shade, the 

 chameleon-like play of color which they exhibit; 

 but there is some subtler quality, too. Perhaps 

 there is aroused by the sight of that heap of sand- 

 atoms a geological instinct akin to the sense of 

 infinitude which is raised by the inconceivable 

 figures of astronomy; or perhaps one's sense of 

 curiosity is touched, and subconsciously one won- 

 ders what may be hidden under that blanket of sand 

 that defies the eye with its suave, unrevealing out- 

 line. However it be, there is something about the 

 great dunes that stamps them strongly on the mind. 

 Turning to the south the view takes in a sort of 

 bay or backwater — barring the water — of mountain- 

 enclosed desert which may be considered as Palm 

 Springs' private back-yard. Into it open the four 

 caiions which are Palm Springs' pride, viz: Tah- 

 quitz, Andreas, Murray, and Palm, the last three 

 being the scenic cream of Our Araby, and notable 

 especially for their remarkable display of the 

 native California palm. It is this tract which it is 



