CHAPTER I 

 A DESERT FASHION SHOW 



Kipling once said, "When you've heard the East a-calling, 

 you won't have anything else." And this is true of the 

 desert. The charm of the desert, once it gets its hold on 

 you, always brings you back. There are no fears nor dreads 

 out there; it is the place where mankind can go and rest. 



When springtime comes it is time to be on the move, to 

 see new places, new things, to enjoy, to learn. Early In 

 April we start on a trek or trip by automobile across the Giant 

 Amphitheater of the Sun, somewhere on the great desert 

 along the Mexico-California frontier and thence on into 

 Southern California ; seeking out the plants and flowers which 

 appear now in gay spring tints and hues, scrutinizing their 

 wondrous beauty, their colorings and fantastic shapes, their 

 scientific make-up and their dwelling places, and occasionally 

 their grotesque appearance. 



The desert Is an enormous caldron of burning sand, rolling 

 and rising and sinking here and there. But in the spring 

 these arid lands present a striking parade of beautiful flow- 

 ers — a veritable fashion show ! It Is early in the morning of 

 a cloudless April day; the night dew is on most of the blos- 

 soms, and they are fresh from Its bath. There Is no dust 

 and their colors are still bright as we inhale the fragrant 

 scent. The desert glow Is brightening, for the sun is rising 

 just over the eastern rim of the foothills, and we stop to gaze 

 upon the first of a colony of cacti called the Cereus Group. 

 The name Cereus is musical; we find that it is from the 



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