DESERT SCENES IN ZACATECAS 44* 



The isolation of these places is intense. The light of midday 

 dazzles the eyes as it is reflected from the walls of the houses, the dust 

 of the road, or the whitish soil of hill or valley. Heat is a liberal ac- 

 companiment of the fierce glare of light, as blistered lips may abundantly 

 testify after a few hours riding across the desert. The Mexican knows 

 the value of his broad-brimmed sombrero and is seldom to be found 

 without it, if indeed we may induce him to leave the shade of the tree 

 or the dark interior of his adobe dwelling at the middle of the day. 

 But the shade, even the thin shade of the mesquite, is a place of comfort, 

 affording some shelter from the direct rays of the sun. Even alongside 

 a thermometer registering over 100° in the shade, no discomfort may 

 be felt in the thin and relatively dry air of this climate. 



The most suggestive feature of the desert is its vegetation and the 

 variety of the plants which it supports. The great number of species 

 which by some peculiar fitness of their own are able to maintain them- 

 selves in the midst of seemingly impossible conditions, must certainly 

 impress one accustomed to the abundant vegetation of the green fields 

 and woodlands of the better-watered sections of the country, though the 

 number of individuals of a race may be considerably less. This is not 

 true of all species, but the fact is quite patent to any one who has seen 

 even a little of desert vegetation, having in mind the almost impen- 

 etrable vegetation of some of our northern woodlands. Across the 

 desert of Zacatecas one may ride in any direction, limited only by the 

 perpendicular banks of arroyos, or mountain barriers. The floor of the 

 desert here also is bare and clean for the most part, which means a 

 paucity of herbaceous plants. Such herbaceous forms as do exist are 

 found usually in shaded situations, under the shelter of woody per- 

 ennials. 



The vegetation of this region as it appears to one at a casual glance 

 seems to be composed of Yuccas, shrubs and small trees, Agayes and 

 cacti and these constitute the predominant features of the plant life 

 in varied arrangements and conditions. 



The most conspicuous element in this vegetation is the palma, so 

 called, which may be seen on every hand. Two kinds are usually met 

 with ; one a straight-stemmed plant, six to ten feet in height, with a 

 crown of stiff radiating sword-like leaves, much prized for the fiber or 

 ixtli which it yields. This plant, Samuela earner osana, which the na- 

 tive calls palma zamandoca, grows in great abundance on the higher, 

 lands, from the upper footslopes a thousand feet up the mountainside. 

 On the high rolling land south of Saltillo, from Carneros to Fraile and 

 beyond, thousands of acres are covered with this splendid plant. In 

 March and April they are in full bloom and one may go far to find a 

 more pleasing picture than these tall plants with their erect panicles of 

 creamy-white flowers, two or three feet in height. This plant grows so 



