The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-12
EXPLORATION OFSERlLAND
DESERT HoME OF THE ONLY NORTH
AMERICAN MAN-EATERS.
oniy Three rsrs-neut Sweet Springs IN
10000 Square Miles Of che ReG,op, and
Vet There IL Mig and Little Game
A-pienty- Littio Chance for tho Hardy
Prospectors In Search OF Gold.

A-plenty- Little Chance Tor the Hardy
Frospector, In Search or Gold.
A new view Of the region inhabited by tho
fierce man. eating Seri Indians the region
that includes Tiburon Island, In the lulf Of
California. and n considerable stretch OF tho
adjacent Mexican coast on the east side OF tho
Cuffs given In the April number of the Ma
tiondl Geographical Mdddztne by w. j. McCeo
and willard ID. johnson, who were members
OF the Bureau OF American EthnoloRy cNpcdi.
tioD that, In the latter part OF 1915. made an
examination OF the country and It's people.
On reaching the frontier ranch Of Senior Pas
cual Enclnns. the now ngcd hut always In
trepid Scrl fighter, n rarity that included some
of Don PascuRl's best men was organized, and
n small boat was built for n ferry across tho
narrow strait that separates the island from
the mainland, md thcn the work Of surveying
and mapping the entire region WINS begun. The
extent of country to he ex plorod was something
like 100 miles square. In this region forty.
seven elevated neaks were occupied for tri.
angulntion and skctChing. and n much larger
number for sketching only. As q result Of
this work n map has been produced. The dis.
trict that includes Serilnnd may be likcncd
unto n great roof-slope stretching from a lofty
comb in the Sierra Madre down into the Gulf,
as into n huge eavestrough; but the slope Is
diversified, and the greatest variation from It
Is found where the Serbs live. For, instead Of
sloping gently into the sea, the land rises sud
denly at the waters edge Into n coast range,
Sierra Scri. an imposing asscmblagc of peaks,
aretes. prcCipiccs. and profound gorges. cut
ting the azure at fully 5000 feet. though the
width OF the range from the strait TO the desert
Is but ten miles.
Tiburon Island itself. the hiding place OF the
Indians, is but thirty miles long by twenty
,t1 ,"l ,N . l. ,v-.L A,t1 .n-I ,-,,tl
W. ana ye. IL Is ,t 'p"n verse norm anu ~ SCUM s3I.h
Is called sierra Kunkaak, n range Of Alpine
rurrainoss thr"urhout most OF II its 1000 feet
y, ",tau t. e., hsv ,1o. lno'e - '1 ,rp ,Sntn,a enn" o vnr
which the Serbs roam stealthily. n broad waste
of plazas and sand dunes. Toward its broad
bosin'shaped exranse the storm freshets flow
from almost all directions, yet II is never full.
1t is partly barred from the Gulf and lined in its
with recent marine shells, which show that at
deed. If 1t were 10 sink a few hundred feet 1t
would 0ah again be Hooded But were 1t t2 sink
rugged and threatening as an archipelago far
out in the new sea.
from Most tG Hs th P,c ynp'T pas thT ITS fo% @Ser Fw eS e th in
lofty crests Of the Seri range. and are not con
densed until they reach the Sierra Madre, So
the two rainy seasons. %midwinter and. mid
summer, enough clouds do strike both tho
streams are formed to rush down the slope
in roaring torrents, but between tie noun.
ta!n,born Colorado River and the Sierra-fed
Yak. 800 miles apart, no river reaches the sea.
winds rising to nearly Contiguous gales in
December. 1880, and the unstable mir brings
forth fogs which feed the fora OF coast and
foothills. but little moisture ever reaches
sonora, the natural boundary Of Serilani. So
the aboriginal, princ!pnltty of Scriland is set
ap"T r. i."Iated, Ir@cthiG y ! insuI"t ba so far
striking feature OF the landscape ia found In
the abrupt transition from pinnacles and
Jagged cliffs to the smooth alrOnlike expanses
of foot slope and plain. 1t is IA picture that
conveys. irresist!bly. the impression that the
torrential deposits which fill the Intervening
valleys to profound depths: and the Reologist
when he finds that the iniermontane expsnscs
ARE simply blamed rock strata with II scaIt
veneer Of torremtsbrea%d GiiITium: ,0uo0,
Tiburon and the mainland. Because OF the
fierce gales that sweep through it. the old
named it FL lnhcrnillo-the Little Hell. On
coming to an examination Of this desert region
~itation. one Is astonlshcd to learn how few
and meagre these characteristics are.
declare, that there Is no soil in ScrilGnd, for
the scant moisture and slow-growing plants do
not produce humus. and the gray or nshcn earth
starlly in the sunlight. intiumlng the eyes
of the traveller as In snow blindness. In all
the half dozen valleys. the hundred barranCas
tearth cliffs, and the thousand storm-cut
gorges there are probably less than n dozen
nominally permanent and but two or three
actually permanent sources of fresh water in
the territory"
And yet. In spite Of the ruggedness. in spite
of the barrcnncss. and in spite OF the utter
aridity of this whole region. the fauna of Seri-
land includes, the big horn and the hura IA
large, sluggish deer In tho mountains; the
antelope, pcccnry. and black-tail deer on the
plains. with the Jack rabbit and coyote every,
where; the jaGunr Is rcputed COMMON, and
tho puma rare. the assemhlagc of large game
animals being large enough to tempt the SPORTS
man. Tho turkey lssssaid to haunt the suVIcslS,
and IT,. California quail may he seen hourly,
and small.birds are surprisingly numerous, while
hawks. eagles, and burrowinE owls abound.
Ground squirrels and Kangaroo rats are com
mon. On some portions of the island the SPUR
rels abound exceedingly, so that the land Is
laid out in heXagons. by Their surface trails.
while each third ar NTH football OF the pcdes-
trian stops half knee deep In burrows. The
ruttlcsnake. scorpion, centipede, and tRran-
tula furnish spice for the fare Of the traveller,
while rainbow swifts and sombrc. 81 wv
moving lizards Of alleged poisonous bite har-
bor numerously In the scattered plant colonies.
There are ants galore. and myriads of black
huns tl,t nnnnrpntly f%prtiliZp the Clrti Int