The Delta independent., 1889-12-10
THEH INVITED DESERT.
Awful Band stss, md Terrible H..s,
0urious and unlpoNn Animals.


ssorpisn-xating Nass, AAaslsps and Jaekass.
Earsd Squirrels Alkalins Lakss-A Land
Full Of Wonders and sWsrming With
Danssrs-A vsritabls Desert
DR.. Merriam. who was sent by the
agricultural department to study the
animal and vegetable life Of Arizona,
gives q most interesting account of his
experiences In the awful Painted Des-
ert. amid such weird surroundings as
death itself might select for Its abode.
Imagine. he says. ''an endless
waste of sand. glaring yellow in the
ever shining sun, level as q billiard
<able and bearing not single sign Of
segetation anywhere. The dust of the
plain is 80 finely powdered that your
feet sink into 1t 2,or inches at each
step. while, to relieve the eye, there is
nothing but hill here and there.
shaped invariably like an inverted pot.
with its sides scooped out by the action
Of the elements, so as to expose the
strata or mari and sandstone in the
cliffs; cleaning in brilliant hues OF rod,
yellow, purple, brown and blue. which
gives the Painted Desert its name. On
the tops Of these hills are enormous
quantities Of fossil wood, supposed to
have been fioated there when the desert
was an inland sea. long ages ago.
Much Of this wood is agatized, exhibit
ing the most beautiful colors. Onge
In = while you come across a pool /of
muddy water. 90 strongly favored With
the allEali crusted around it that 6nly
the impossibility Of getting any other
water to drink could induce You to
taste II The temperature during the
day Il commonly 400 in tbA shade
fahrenheit and It Is only at plght that
any symptoms OF animal life are dis
coverable.
Then the desert barrens swarm
with scorpions. centipedestbf fatal bite,
ard great spiders innumkrsble. Now
and then, while on the march, you see
objects like enormous giants moving
across the waste swiftly. They are
sand-whirl& resembling water-sponts
In their formation. 400 or 800 feet IN.
diauistsf perhaps, And many hundreds
of feet height On ono occasion
saw - lsAny as s6ven of them stimuli
taneosfsly all <hirling In different
dirsqtioaS. aa9 threatening death with
thelf approach II one strikes you,
there is yothfng TO do but lie down as
~ a. possible on the ground, with
pour facS in the sand, otherwise you 4
III bei swept away or suffocated.
Ghase hnd-whirls are generated by
s,,rcsht9 Of ascending heat They are
yaeitd " Eand-blasts, 90 called. which
sWs6t greet bodies Of loose sand across
~ dnssft with such force that It bites
Into thS very roclks. You can imagine
IT. effects upon the traveller. The only
shade 70 be found Is in the shadow OF
1pur horss, aud the heat in the sun is
. intense that tho glass OF ther-
tnometer exposed 70 II breaks almost
Hmedistely. So rapid Is the svapor-.
aaicn that the juices OF ones body are
dried up. the blood becomes thickened
and tho consequent suffering Is In
tense.s
ibid you fiud many new kinds Of
animals In the desert P" asked your
correspondent.
''Quite number that are now to
science.r = replied the Doctor. but
the most CURIOUS q all was a little
beast tbetef shall name the scorpion
mQusess because 1t appears to feed
upon scorpions exclusively. don't
know how It manages to catch its food
without being stung. for you know how
big and dangerous even to man the
scorpion Is in that torrid region; but
I caught number OF them and scor-
pions were found in the stomachs of
them all l also found . queer sort of
kangaroo rat . mouse with jackass
eara and another kind Of mouse with
pockets In its cheeks. The kangaroo
rat has . very long tail and jumps
liks kangaroo. caught all these,
except the scorpion mouse, in the
Grand Canyon also. That Is q weird |
place enough.
1axDsatiss ~ xArsst and Lang Affections
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