The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-02-26


come out of very warm water, and window
panes are unbearably hot. When one
puts his hands on wall in house on a
hot day it feels like the walls that surround
a baker oven. All horses and cows are
kept here under roofs or sheds at midday
when the mercury is ranging high. Vege-
tables, such as potatoes, rot In two days
in such high temperature, and milk sours
in an hour.
All residents who are able to do so leave
Yuma early in June, and do not come
back until along in the latter part of Sep
tember In this way they avoid the hot
test weather, but even then they expe-
rience few days when old Sol sends down
shafts that make temperature of over
1000 in the shade. The refugees from il
summer in Yuma usually 90 TO the sea
shore and mountains in southern Califor-
MIA, and they are mostly women and chill
dren. But there are over 2 500 men.
women and children who can never leave
town for even week in summer Hun
dreds of them have stayed here each sum
mer for years, and have no more to say
about few days with the temperature at
1899 or 104o in the shade than the East
ern people when the mercury of their ther-
mometers rises up to 800 OF so. No one
thinks of wearing any but the thinnest
and loosest and scantiest clothing. There
is scarcely billed shirt to be seen in
all Yuma from May to September. and a
starched collar would be an abomination
Hundreds of men never wear coat. vest
or suspenders for eight months in the year.
Only the broadest straw hats and cort; he'll
NETS are worn. Canvas shoes and the
thinnest cotton socks cover the feet and
a belt about the waist is the trousers sup
porter.
The mirages seen in these desert regions
are as wonderful as appear anywhere in
the world. No one who has not seen them
can know how realistic they are Scores
Of travellers across the Colorado desert
toward Yuma both from the East and the
West, have been lured from the faint,
shifting trail across the burning yellow
sands to pursue Il lake Of clear water or to
turn aside to reach yonder cascade of flow
ing water in the shade of Oaks and man
zanita brush, and have in consequence
wandered toward thin, vapory, tantaliz-
ing mirage, only to die horrible death
from thirst and hunger under fierce cop
perry sky.
The history Of Yuma abounds in stories
of people who have started out from there
in midsummer to 90 to gold mines across
the deserts. and have never been heard
from again Sometimes the mirage on the
desert is that Of the ocean with great ships
sailing on it. This is Il reflection of the
Pacific coast along the shores Of southern
California-some 200 miles west Then
an hour later there may be a magnificent
scene Gin the heavens just enough above
the horizon to make it appear the more
natural and tantalizing) of waterfall amid
rocks and in copse of green trees, This
is reflection Of scenes away up in the
Yosemite Valley, some $50 miles north
west. Often there are mirages Of fields
of alfalfa. in which cattle are browsing
knee deep, and of irrigating bitches run
ming full with clear water Sometimes
these mirages will remain for an hour, as
clear and distinct as if they were the land
scape, and then on a shifting of the hot
wind or cloud they will disappear as if by
magic, to be followed by another and en-
tirely different scene