The Indianapolis journal., 1891-07-05

bDiUeI0l0k pOSlt1Vely
desert Its weird stiffness Is actuany
startling. Nothing 10 more harasslng ~
the nerves than this absolute silence: Anu
the desert Is so quiet, SO destn-hAo. 81
actionless that you are inclined 10 puncn
yourself. and feebly inquire wnetner gu
are not inanimate clay, so awfuily does tne
desert impress it's strange personality upon
you. Among fortIle fields ana earoensS
glittering with fruits and flowers you Ieei
the mastery of nature; here Nature is your
master. Her desolation has no sympathy
with man. She repels his advances. anu Il
ne stays she captures him, and desiccatcs
him so thoroughly by her hot. dry atmos-
phere. that even as fertilizer he loses MS
ultimate usefulness.
Such were my thoughts as / stood before
the orderly section-houso at flowlng
Wells John Hslloran. the section ooss,
was making q brave endeAvor TO cultivate
the sandy land, as was shown by two at
tenuated fig trees and come yellow bios
soming cacti. Mrs. SpillmaD. the track
walkers wife. made the house happy Win
her cheery personality. her BUSTING ways
and her contented disposition-strange
strange contrast to the dismal surround
ings.
There is q refreshing sound about the
name of Flowing Wells. but 1t 10 SAD 9ls-
appointment In 1882 the Southern Paclnc
company dug q well, and WAS rewarded oy
burst of clear cool water at $50 feet.
Track Superintendent Curtis ana otner
officials threw high their hats In the alr. SO
confident were they of baving struck fresn
water. for IL must be remembered that
each train had to carry tank from
Walters to Yuma. Q distance OF 100 miles.
Their ecstasy was, however. short-llVed-
for the water WAS very salty. IL mas It's
uses, for the Mexicans have sunk oatn,
MIR. Mulvihill telling me that be has seen
men who have been terribly afflicted per-
fectly cured after q weeks bathing IN this
wonderful Bethesda. He is confident that
when these wells are better known they
will be patronized by patients from all
over California
THE MEDICAL soUAw-wEED.
In the vicinsge of these wells. and rather
more spsrsely over the desert, grows the
squaw-weed. which is employed by the In
dians for medical purposes. It is coarse
sort of bamboo grass, having similar COM
partments and exceedingly bitter to the
taste The squaws boil the spears into tea
or make poultice from them. Either cures
certain difficult complaints So impressed
was Gn Englisbman with its healing quail
ties that he packed and sent home to a doc
tor In England quite q supply of the weed.
Bet ween Tortugs and Mesquite are the
famous moving mountains They areen
nous sand hills about half to three-quar-
ters of a mile in length. and attain an altj-
tude of five hundred feet. They point east
and west. In the spring months, when the
wind blows fresh and strong from the
southwest, the mountains of sand drift
eastward, coming, year by year. closer to
| the railroad track. Then in the fall the
winds set In from the northeast and the
sand mountains shift to the west Mulvi-
hill says by actual measurement and close
observ alton. extending over several years,
he has learned that these hills move some
forty feet in q year. and. as i said. are
slowly encr0Rching upon the track.
About Tortuya is sea- level. and the grade
| from Flowing Wells to SaltOn is e0nsidera-
| ble as the latter point is 26S feet below the
| sea. This rs the lowest point in the desert
| and also In the United States. From Flow
| ing Wells to little above Volcano there is
some vegetation. Here can be seen thick
punches OF gayeta, coarse grass, on which
told me tnat 1T is exceedingly nutritious.
and that stock prefer il to hay. Here also
| are seen desert flowers unlike any else
where. wild pink verbenn grows luxur-
iantly; species OF dandelion displays its
yellow petals IN big bright patches little
squares of vetch, with the purple blossoms
| hiding among the pale green sprays, de-
light the eyes. while the sandy soil
Is almost hidden by the thick growth
of snake weed. liz has never been SO
plentiful before; owing probably to the
coplous winter rams. The snake weed Is u
valuable plant Rattlesnakes. which are
here known as slde-winders because they
wriggle along sideways. eat 1t when they
teamsters inform me that Indians and
others when they have been struck by a
side-winder make poultce of the snake
weed. and. quickly applying it to the
wound. have averted the fatal conse-
quenceS.
THE FATAL SIDE-wINDER.
There is much contention about the dan
gerous qualities of the side-winder. One
class of men emphstically assert that the
k,s. e.. II -: 4
and ammonia. while others contend that
beyon excruciating pain nsught else need
be feared. George w. Durbrow-and there
is no better authority on the desert and it's
life-declsres that the bite IS fatal. lie de-
spises the side-winder, and is never so
happy as when catching them. Some few
weeks ago he sent to the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition magnificent pair. male and female.
Extraordinary stories are told about the
side winder.
Mr.. Mulvihill is responsible for the fol.
lowing: A section foreman was bitten by
one of the snakes. He drank numerous
bottles of whisky and was saved. But he
became the color of a rattlesnake, missed
and would sometimes crawl on his side He
was positively distressful object and had
to leave Walters. All, in fact. that he
could not do was rattle. He was in this
awful condition for several months. "But,
thank GOd," said Mulvihill. piously. he
ing after the desert"
The most desolate spot in the desert is
between Volcano springs and FiLks. For
many miles nothing grows. The red. sun-
scorched plain 10 as clear of vegetation as
| the palm of the hand. Nothing grows-ab-
solutely nothing The ground underneath
seems hollow. and the noise made by the
hand-car as it passes over this su bterrane eu n
unknown tunnel is very loud. There is
something wrong about this place." said
Mulvihill, with q shudder. "One day we
will hear of a train falling through here.n
1t is indeed mysterious, awe-iDsplring
| country. Close to the track are two
geysers. One is of yellow. bubbIng, IN uddy
water, which seethes and fumes as if boil
ing, but In reality Is AS cold ice. A few
| feet distant another we'll of thick black
blue and greenish mud heaves and groans.
and scatters the foul sulphurous soil In
great splashes. Mr. Darling. the agent,
told me that one of his predecessors held
a cat over this geyser. and that it died in a
few minutes from the exhalations.
Four miles from the section hOuse and
depot are some hot wells which have
medicinal properties. But the feat of get.
ting there is surrounded with danger At
any moment one may be plunged into a
boiling bath of mud. the upper crust being
very slight and treacherous.
Professor Hanks. while exploring in this
vicinity, fell through into such a mas of
hot mrN and was so severely scalded that
his life was IN danger. Chief Engineer
Hood speaks in the most respectful terms
of this place. His horse stepped into such
q hole and he SAYS If it had not been for
the wise and quick way the intelligent ami
nal extricated himself and carefully re-
traced his journey. both would have per-
ished.
SURFACE LIKE A MIRROR