Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1899-08-04
DESPAIR LAND.
Unknown Great Bend Region OF
Texas.
CLIMB FOR WATER, DIG FUEL.
The Country VIII Soon BE Explored

States geological survey, under the
leadership of Robert L. Hill, is about
70 undertake an exploration Of the
least known portiou Of the Uui'ed
States, namely, the Great Bend region
of southwestern Texas, so called be-
cause 1t lies in the great bend of the
Rio Grande river. An Old saying ~
that country Is that mis- fnhQspitabc
domain WAS originally designed as IA
location for hades, bu, that somehow
the plan To utilize it thus was not car
ried Out-fOr what reason cannot h"
imag ned, inasmuch as II seems admir-
ably adapted for the purpose 1t IS II
land of wpirdly horn ole desert basins,
sandwiched be ween ranges OF gigauti e
mountains. which are carved into all
sorts OF astonishing Shape; but the
strangest feature OF its formation is
series OF mighty canyons, almost equal
ing IN grandeur the famous canyons of
the Colorado.
1t is "A country in which, a. the
phrase goes, ths traveller must "climp
TOR water and dig for wood, and hi,
expression is correctly descriptive, Ia.
asmuch as water can only be obtained
by ascending the mountains - ind
streams. while the only available fuel,
in the absolute absence of trees, -
furnished by the huge roots of the
mesquite, which are dag out of the
ground. For distance OF 225 miles
the Rio Grande flows through this re-
markabe region, piercing range af.r
range Of mountains. through which II
has cut the canyons described. No
body has ever vcntured 10 attempt a
passage through these ca yons by the
river, which i ob>;rucled uy frIghlful
cataracts and rapids, but Nh Hll is
going To try It.
Interest in ;he r"glon has been
rich deposits of quick silver in the CHI
SOS mounlains-one of the greatest o!
the ranges Through which the Rio
Grande has cut It's rock walled iUuUcl.
And, by the way, ii is in the same
county that the celebrated ShafrrI
mine-the only profitable silver mine
n Texas-is located. This mine was
discovered 10y Gen. Shafter of Sauu.
ago fame, who made one of the earli-
est journeys through the Great Bend
territory, and since then il has Welded
him good sized fortune. 1t was
there, TO The west az the Pecos river,
that he sought the Apaches and Com
auches, and cleared them whence
his sobriquet Of Pecos Bill. Across rhe
great bend Of the river is CCmao"h,
pass through which the Comanc' e In
dams used to make their raids into
Northern Mexico.
The canyons OF the Rio Grande ale u
sci les OF gigantic roofless tunnels
carved by the river through range
after range of mountains. Betw, Ell
the ranges are dry plains called "bol-
sons"-a Spanish word signifyiDg pur-
SEES or enclosed basins and these are
the most dismal and horrible deserts
imaginable, such vegetation as they
have being of weird and abnormal
description. On the mountains. like.
wise, nothing grows except cacti of n
thousand different varieties, and spiky
shrubs of forbidding appearance,
and the streams that flow down their
sides are lost in the burning sands be-
low.
Nevertheless, the country is hunt
er's paradise. There are plenty of deer
ana turkeys, as well as the "yow-wow"
and many other kinds of cats The
"Yow-wow," so pronounced, is spelled
iaguar in Spanish, but few Amer leans
know to call properly It's name, which
is phonetic rendering of the animals
cry. Included in the mi 1or fauna of
the Great Bend region are myriads of
pouched gophers, Kangaroo rats, and
pocket mice; also a great variety o.
queer reptiles. such as horned toads.
horned rattlesnakes, and desert lizards
Some of the lizards are good to eat.
while others can run faster than "A
horse, and others yet live on flowers,
so that one can get big boquet by
cutting one OF them open.
Notwithstanding the arid character
Of the country, there Is plenty of food
for all these animals. The cactus
fruits are nourshing, and SO are the
seeds of the prickly pear, while the
mesquite beans are extremely nutritious
and other desert plants yield sustrn-
ance in one form or another. The
loftier mountains. too, bear pine for
ests on their tops, which produce edi-
BILE nuts. One naturally thinks of the
timber line" on a mountain as mark.
ing zone, reached in going upward,
where trees cease To grow; but in this
strange region it is only on the noun
tain-tops that timber is found, the
slopes below being devoid of tree
growth.
When the Mexican boundry was sur
veyed, the parties engaged in the work
could not get into the canyon country
with their wagons and outfit, and were
obliged to make detour around IT.
1t IS a domain full of myth and legend,
as might be expected from its ply
graphic pecularities. In places the