Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-12-31
The Mojave Desert.

n
In the days of our boyhood-0
Jones of my bosom, Millefde
Consule-the map of North Amer
lea contained, In the vast Q66ntry
lying to the westward Of tbs upper
Rio Grande, patch of Irregular
shape and extensive area, entitled
"The Great American Desert
This region the tapographer, per-
chance pseudo-patrioticaliy emu.
lstive Of his fellow-craftsme en-
Of the Eastern Hemisphere, dslin-
eated as a sandy waste, similar to
its African counterpart. Our occi-
dental Sahara, moreover, was OF
! great utility to the maker of maps,
who, year by year, drew its west
ern boundary nearer to the Pacific,
triumphantly poihting out this ad.
dition to his map as an evidence of
the amount Of geographical knowl.
edge acquired during the previous
twelvem onth, and thus imposing
upon q good-natured public. which
allowed itself to be deceived by the
simple artifics; just SO, to this day,
1t IL cozened by u not unlike trick
of the Publisher Of minor dictiona-
ries, who yearly inserts, in the
same old lexicon, q new title.page.
Well do I remember that our
young imaginations, fed upon the
work OF that Caledonian Munchau-
sen, Gordon Cumming, and his
French rival, Gerard, looked for.
ward to the day when we, also,
should become envied of all boys
because Of slaughter among the
lions and other fsr0 nature OF the
Great American Desert. This,
however, is neither here nor there.
At length the wonted annual in
crease Of the desert ceased; then 1t
began to contract In size; for its
eastern limit receded before the
westward march Of the nation,
while its western boundary, like
the sagacious Indian of story,
could be pushed no more thithsr-
ward because OF the Pacific Ocean, ],
and In this case, the dawning fact
of California; and finally, the
Great American Desert became re-.
duced, little by little, to the barren
lands known to the schO0l-bOy OF
to-day. -.
The western portion of this
waste is called the Mojave Desert
and here use the word W0ste ad-
visedly, for desert is o mlsnomer
when applied to region more
like that of the Mosaic myth. The
boundaries of that particular part
of California known as the Mojave
Desert are not very we'll definsd,
especially on the southward aud
eastward sides, Oh which 1t merges
i'm mperceptibly Into the Colorado
Desert; but 1t may be considered
as occupying the north western
portion Of San BernsrdinO county,
the southeastern corner of Kern
county, and the northeastern cor
ner OF Los Angeles county, the
greater part OF its area lying with.
in the first named county. In the
counties OF Kern and Los Angeles,
the desert fills the epsce lying be.
tween the Sierra Nevada, on the
north, and the various ranges OF
the Sierra Madre. on the south, ex.
tending westward, in wedge.like
shape to the point where the
Sierra Nevada and the Coast
Range separate. BY the very in
accurate masses OF this region the
western arm II sbsurdly called the
SPAIN PlaiDsn The extreme
length, from east to west, of the
Mojave Desert is about one hum
dred and fifty miies, and its width,
from north TO south, about one
hundred miles. Bat its extent
must not be computed from these
dimensions; 1t does not contain
more than from one thousand To
twelve hnndred square miles-an
area which is as nothing in the
immensely Of California.
The general surface of the desert
is from two Thousand to two thous-
and five hundred feet above the
level of the sea, and is ouriously
broken by ranges Of hills, Otter
rising to the dignity Of mountains
and eapriciously running In every
direction, as we'll as by detache
hills or "buttes;u while the m0re
level portions of the plain are
traversed by ridges of sand, not un.
like the dunes Of the seaside, and,
like them, the effect Of the high
winds which sweep over the leese
soil. At times, especially during
the so-oalled spring and autumn 01
Southern California, this sand,
and pebbles even larger than q
hazel.nut. are blown hither and
thitber, like drifting snow. In the
guIlies GU the northern and west.
ern dAnks of the bills, this mAte-
rial has accumulated during the
ages to an extraordinary hight
above the desert level, and up
these slopes the sand-loving yucca
aud the muscru climb. No bowl
ders are to be found Oh the desert,
but angular fragments and water
worn pebbles Of quartz, f1tnt and
igeneous rocks are strewn every
| where. Pieces of lava, roughly
rounded by almost constant mo-
tlon during the months referred to,
are found far from the hills, while
the cones of pines aud other like
trees are rolled onward to q dis
| tanos of miles from the parent
beugh on the sum mits of the two
great mountain chains that hem
the desert In. On the southern
and eastern margins Of the many
shallow ponds, Of which some ars
entitled to be termed lakes. and In
deed are so called, the pebbles lie
as on the beach of the sea. Where
rock appears In the hills, 1t 10 al.
ways IN situ, thrusting itself forth
In angular, mia-shapen crAgs, such
as the 6paniard calls JnrGll0n. Tc
the southwArd Of Buckhorn
6prlngs, the old immigrant road,
leading westward frem the Oolora
do river across the desert, and
through the Tejon Pass and CaA0u
to the TulArs Plains, winds fol
some distance between low out
cropping Of . very coarse sysnite
worn aid split by the Alternats
frost and sunshine of many centu
trisa iltp huge blocks, lying on
Iupon Anothor-theee rooomb tb(