Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1894-10-04
Saint Maru's Beacon

TREE WTTH A TEMPER.-ssThere
are more queer things to the acre
in Arizona than in any other part
Of this wide. wide land" said Col.
Bruce Dion, OF Houck's Tank,
Apache county, 'sand according to
my idea, and I know pretty near
what queer things are. The queer
est thing in all Arizona is the tree
that has a temper worse than q
blonde comic opera prima donna's
and gets its dander up with just as
small provocation.
They tell me that out there that
this tree belongs to the coniferous
species. 1t grows to be something
like twenty-five feet high and then
stops. Its leaves are long, slender,
and pointed, like porcupine quilts.
When this tree is in good humor
these leaves lie close to the branches,
and it spreads pleasant, aromatic
odor all around.
"But when it is angry every leaf
on the tree rises up on end, and the
aspect Of that particular piece OF
timber is about as fierce and threat
eniEg as anything You would care
to look at. The pleasant resinous
odor the tree sent forth in its peace
ful mood gives way to an order that
will put wings on your feet to place
as much distance as you can between
the offensive tree and Yourself.
"This tree is especially touchy
on the subject Of dogs, and the
coming of canine any where near
it will instantly make it furious.
Yet a wolf, o grizzly bear, or O
mountain lion never ruffies the
temper of this tree il those animals
do not presume on too great famil-
iarity with it.
"They may lie around it as long
as they care to, but if one of them
so far forgets itself as to rub OF
scratch the trunk of the tree, the
hot tempered thing will fly into one
of its trantrums instantly, and the
way Mr.. Bear, Wolf and Lion viii
make himself scarce in those parts
is o whole circus to see.
''Nothing will work this tree NJ
to concert pitch, though, so quick
and effectually as throwing stones
at it. Then it will actually Ri
and tear, and no living thing woult
think of going within gunshot o
it.
"Some folks out at Houck's Tanl
call this tree the porcupine tree
and some say its right name il
skunk tree. call it the holy terro,
tree. But no matter what you cal
it, it is queer job Of nature. and
Arizona claims it as her own.
"WhiIe this tree is the only gen
uine Governor Waite sort of veg
etable crank we've got in Arizona
we point with some pride 70 another
tree that only Arizona soil has tn,
talent to produce. This one is the
electric light tree. This is not al
abundant as the holy terror tree
and is a dwarf, seldom having the
courage to get more than twelve
feet high.
"Its foliage is very dense, and at
night it CLEANS like an arc light.
The light that shines from this tree
is so strong that one may sit twenty
five feet away and read fine print.
The fueerest point of this is that
its light begins to grow dim with
the coming of the new moon and
steadily loses brilliancy until the
moon is full. Then the tree is as
dark as q mine.
"When the moon begins to wane
the trees luminosity is gradually
renewed, and by the time the moon
has disappeared the tree is shining
again as brightly as ever.
Sometimes the light on this
queer tree becomes faint even in the
dark of the moon. Then we have
to do queer thing to restore it.
We dreach it with q bucketful or
two of water, and instantly the eff
fulgent glow will return in all its
brilliancy.