Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-08-22
STRANGE WESTERN RIVERS.
Wonderful streams Flow from the
Mountain Of the Pacific Range.
(New York Sun.

Almost every one thinks that perforce
river must be of water" said a man
on the little car that winds up Mount
Lowe, in the Sierra Madres, but it is by
no means necessary. As an example,
look at this" and the speaker pointed
up the steep slope Of the mountains az
the car passed the curve. Reaching
from the track, which, indeed, had cross
ed it, was a mass Of stones. some larger.
some smaller, than a walnut, that ex-
tended upward as far as the eye could
see. The grade was very steep, and to
all intents and purposes a river of stone
was imperceptbly flowing down.
ITS a perfect river Of rock" continued
the passenger. Some peculiar atmos-
pheric effect is continually wearing it
away or breaking it out, so that il
crumbles and gradually rolls down in
wel-defined shape-a veritable stream
gradually making its way into the canyon
bottom. Just such a river was discovered
by Agassiz in Patagonia, when he land
ed there from the Blake, though in this
case the so-called river was of great
size and the rocks all large and moving
in a given direction with Irresistible force.
I'm a few quarters of the globe SINH
they more interesting than on the Pacific
coast The site of the city Of San Fran
cisco Is the bed of an interesting sand
river that even to-day is flowing in from
the Pacific toward the city Ii an eXca-
walton is made i'm the heart of San Fran
cisco to-day beneath the pavements OF
the streets will be found vast deposit
of sand, and this can be traced from the
bay 10 the sea, about six miles, forming
a well defined stream. The city has coy
cred up much OF II, but out near the
park the strange waves of the sand river
are seen in mounds, heaps and dunes
carved into curious shapes by the wind
and by watching these during ;he pre-
valence of the almost constant trade
wind the passage of the river Of sand
can be observed over the surface
constant flow Of sand Is ever moving on
TO the east The sand river Of San Fran
cisco is formed by the trade-wind. Hun
dreds Of years ago 1t began blowing
the light sand from the seashOre near the
famous seal rocks, and, unchecked, IL
travelled Oh I'm "a neyer-ceasing stream
until it reached the bay Of San Fran
cisco. five miles away. This river of sand
forms the sand lots of San Francisco's
history"
terest can be observed on the Island or
San Clemente. From the summit IF some
Of the hills the island on the west slope
appears to be covered with glaciers that
fill the deep canyons. which at one ume
bore water dowr 20 the sea. They are OF
sand and instead OF flowing down, they
flow upward. Some are evidently IVV ieet
in depth. and Allied from top to bottpm
witt sand that is ever feacnlnB up
threatening the island, or portions or IT,
with devastation Some of the rivers are
so incrusted that they resemble frozen
snow. the surface In phases being covered
with small shells in such numbers that.
they can be scooped up by hundreds.
The animals have evidently died end be-
come buried in the sand, which gradually
blows away. leaving the shells in relief
That these sand rivers have been mere
for ages Is evident from the remains round
of the ancient inhabitants of the island
In one spot what had apparently been
battlefield appeared. twoscore or more
skeletons being piled together IN coniu-
SION Skulls were crushed and broken
and leg bones fractured. some OF the
bodies lay on their faces; others were
doubled no. as though after battle they
had been covered with sand. In the river
bed were found many curious implements
nearly haliotis The writer found shell
filed with beads near skull. and by one
skeleton. buried In sitting position, were
two flutes made from the bones Of
deer. each inlaid with pearl that had been
selected for its beauty
In walking over the surface of one sand
river the writer suddenly tourd himself
on the edge of a remarkable pit or de-
preston 100 or more feet deep and per-
haps 100 feet across. The sides were Of
pure gray sand, carved by the wind so
perfectly that the surface was smooth
as though polished. Ii was pit or cone
followed out by the wind and at the
very bottom was a small, bare place and
a tree showing how deep the sand de-
post was. The pit was at an angle of
perhaps 90 degrees. and by jumping from
the edge one would slide the thirty or
forty feet and find II difficult to make the
return in the sliding sand. Near here
several smaller pits We're found. illus
tsating the peculiar power of the wind