Los Angeles daily herald., 1876-03-29


ces of nearly score of years ago, led
your correspondent to undertake a
trip to the Eastern terminus of the
Arizona branch of the S. P. r. r. a
few days ago. My memories of the
trip across 1.-The desert" from Fort
Yuma to Warmers Ranch in 1858, had
grown dim, and felt like furnishing
them up with a sight of some of the
genuine article in the way of sand,
rock, cacti, wind and the other con-
comitants of our American Sahara.
Whether took the train or the train
took me is disputed question, but
anyhow | was off at 2:30 P. NJ. for Sew
Ell Palms. The ride up to the time
when | sunk INTERESTINGLY into the
embrace of Morpheus, which hap
pened soon after leaving Cotton, was
pleasant one. 1t could not be other
wise at this season of the year. About
IL O'Clock p. NJ. was reused up by the
Conductor who shouted Seven Palms
in my ear, and | emerged from the
car and found myself at the terminus.
Considering the fact that the night
was dark one, the sky overcast with
clouds and the gentle zephyrs of that
particular region evidently were on
bust, | enquired for a bed and was
speedily escorted thorcto by my old
friend Ben Dettmer who holds the po-
sition of Mayor Domo to Mr.. Van
Dyke, the proprietor of the station.
| awoke early Everybody wakes early
out here) and after hasty toilet took
survey OF the surroundings. Here is
DESOLATION
for you. Disintegrated granite and
granite boulders are the indigenous
and principal productions of the re-
gion. A few dwarfed and parched
specimens of grease-wood and plant
which has q leaf like miniature
edition of wOrmwoOd are absolutely
the only efforts which nature feels
herself capable of putting forth. Even
the cactus shrinks from an effort to
suck up sustenance for its spikes and
thorns in this desOlate spot, and the
greasewood and daleas have been
blown upon by the West wind with
such unvarying persistency that they
cling to the surface of the earth and
seem to be engaged in frantic and
eternal but unavaling effort to warn
people not to take the late Horace
Greeley's advice to go West. On eth
er side of this barren region, which
hereabouts may be a matter of six
miles wide, perhaps seven, arise rang
es of hills, which look as if the origi-
nal fires of wrath had taken contract
to scorch them most thoroughly, and
had performed their work in such a
way as to leave not the faintest odor
of shoddy clinging to the transaction.
THE SCENERY.
Behind the Southern range of these
hills rise magnificent mountain rang
es, one of which, known to the Seven
Palmers as the Three Brothers, is said
to be 16, 700 feet high. Looking East
ward, the desert widens and broadens
for some forty odd miles, when there
is break in the hill range and the
prospect suggests the ocean, since the
only boundary which greets the eye is
the horizon, dim, indistinct and very
far from any of us. Two miles North
of the station is a cluster of desert
palms, seven in number originally.
Some of them have been taken away
and others will doubtless follow.
They grow, 1 am informed, III d brack-
ish marsh. / did not visit the locali-
ty. Nearly opposite the station to
| the South are some very fine hot
springs, the name of which is Aqua
Caliente. Here the remnant OF an In
dian tribe have rancheria, where
they cultivate grapes, peaches, melons,
and some cereals. shall begin to be-
lieve in the general degeneracy of the
universal Yankee nation if somebody
does not "scoop" those noble red men
of the desert with a small piece of
Pottawottamie scrip in the course of
! the slow moving ages, and convert
the locality into a grand thermo-hy-
gienic resort for the afflicted with
"roomatiz." Mark my prediction.
l do not know that anything further
is needed by way of description unless
| allude to the circus bugs, of which
there are many. They look as if they
might be first cousins to the cock
roach family, and have a way of get
ting mad and standing on their heads
when their peregrinations are inter-
fered with, until they are allowed to
proceed on their way without further
interruption. So much for the sur
roundings of Seven Palms station.
ITS CHIEF INTEREST
Consists in the fact that it is at pres
ent mile stone, so to speak, or you
may call it seven mile collection OF
stones, if you prefer, in the onward
march of the Southern Pacific rail.
road. 1t is another point gained in
the contest with savage nature and thf
struggle to bring us into profitable
connection and intimate relation with
the rich region beyond the Colorado
the company's present objective point
Four miles of track have been laid be-
yond Seven Palms, and the grader:
have completed their work Is miles
further on, which brings them to In
dian Wells, where good water Is OBJ
tanned at depth of 16 feet from the
surface. Twenty miles beyond Indiar
Wells the grading force under Mr.
Geo. Hall will reach Dos Palmas
where the sand begins to give way tt
better soil. Indian Wells station /:
32 feet below the sea level according
to barometrical measurement. Mr.
WIN. Monroe has charge of the track
laying force, and is pushing the worl
ahead with his Characteristic energy
He informs me the company have q
miles of steel rails on hand, this quail
ity being used exclusively Eastward
from the summit. Mr.. Monroe alst
called my attention to the fact that
reports to the contrary notwithstand
ing, four section hands can keep siI
miles of road on the desert in good or
der and repair with less labor than OF
any other part of the route. Som
parties have been actively engaged il
prophesying disaster from sam