A LAND OF DROUGHT AND DESERT 



465 



GATHERING ROCK-SALT FROM THE GREAT SALT BED ON THE SANTA CLARA DESERT, 



WEST OE SAN IGNACIO (SEE PAGE 445) 



Enormous salt deposits exist on this desert and elsewhere in Lower California 



that followed to make camp as we could. 

 Our camp men then gave us the benefit 

 of their desert craft by setting fire to a 

 dense group of half-dry yuccas, which 

 almost at once set up a splendid torch- 

 like red flame 8 or io feet high, bril- 

 liantly illuminating a broad circle for 

 about half an hour, thus giving us ample 

 time to unload the mules and arrange 

 camp. Yuccas are fired in this way, also, 

 to bring together members of a party 

 when separated at night. 



HONEY-BEES IN THE DESERT 



During our stay in the pine-forested 

 highlands of the San Pedro Martir 

 Mountains we were interested to find 

 swarms of wild honey-bees rather com- 

 mon in hollow trees up at least to an 

 altitude of 8,ooo feet. These were the 

 descendants of swarms escaped from the 

 bee-farms of southern California. Later, 

 when we were on the coast plain at San 

 Ouintin, we found them living in small 



deserted cabins, their combs hanging free 

 from the under side of the roof. They 

 had also penetrated some of the most 

 arid desert sections along the Gulf coast 

 more than 200 miles south of the border. 



In September, at the time of our visit 

 to Dick Daggett's camp, at the mouth of 

 Calamahue wash, scores of wild bees 

 were buzzing about a canvas water-cooler 

 hung in an open shed, thirstily sucking 

 the moisture and then flying away over 

 the sun-baked, cactus-grown hills. Dag- 

 gett said his men lined the bees from 

 this water, and then, by using burning 

 beeswax and honey for bait, were able 

 to find many nests in the rocks or in 

 hollow stems of the cirio, and thus kept 

 him well supplied with honey. 



The recently made well here was the 

 only available water supply for a long 

 distance, but bees appeared very soon 

 after the well was dug. Daggett in- 

 formed us that some of the nests were 

 found several miles from camp, thus in- 



