SENTINELS OF THE DESERT 
The form, though it is struck down, may keep on living. 
The roots may cling to the desert soil and pump water 
into the fallen barrel when it rains. The tip of the tor¬ 
tured trunk may turn skyward and, when springtime 
comes, put forth its gorgeous blossoms and ripen fruit 
and seed. 
Sahuaros like to form in stately companies that march 
solemnly up some rocky hillside. They may group them¬ 
selves on an open plain and form silhouettes against scar¬ 
let sunsets. They may have scattered greasewood and 
palo-verde bushes about their feet. Wherever one of 
them offers a crotch, a red-tailed hawk is likely to come 
to make a nest. The sand storms play a soughing tune 
upon their bristling tines, and the clumsy Gila monster 
makes its home beneath their shade. On the desert the 
sahuaro is supreme. 
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