THE VOICE OF THE DESERT 



22 



characteristic of regions with normal rainfall; canyons, 

 large and small, of arid country. 



And Grand Canyon is the grandest of all canyons be- 

 cause at that particular place all the necessary conditions 

 were fulfilled more exuberantly than at any other place in 

 the whole world. The Colorado River carries water from 

 a relatively wet country through a dry one, it bears with 

 it a fantastic amount of abrasive material, the rock over 

 which it flows has been slowly rising during several mil- 

 lions of years, and too little rain falls to widen very rapidly 

 the gash which it cuts. Thus in desert country everything 

 from the color of a mouse or the shape of a leaf up to the 

 largest features of the mountains themselves is more likely 

 than not to have the same explanation: dryness. 



So far as living things go, all this adds up to what even 

 an ecologist may so far forget himself as to call an "un- 

 favorable environment." But like all such pronouncements 

 this one doesn't mean much unless we ask "unfavorable 

 for what and for whom?" For many plants, for many ani- 

 mals, and for some men it is very favorable indeed. Many 

 of the first two would languish and die, transferred to 

 some region where conditions were "more favorable." It 

 is here, and here only, that they flourish. Many men feel 

 healthier and happier in the bright dry air than they do 

 anywhere else. And since I happen to be one of them, I 

 not unnaturally have a special interest in the plants and 

 animals who share my liking for just these conditions. For 

 five years now I have been amusing myself by inquiring 

 of them directly what habits and what adjustments they 

 have found most satisfactory. Many of them are delight- 

 fully ingenious and eminently sensible. 



