The Worthington advance., 1900-04-20
RICHES OF THE DESERT.
Geld, silver, Lead, Iron aad Copper.
All Found In the Mojave
Fasisk Desert sand. ~.


high IN the air. The Thermometer was
dancing a'Highland fling, 100 degrees
perhaps, anywhere you thought it
might be, and the heat waves rose from
the sands .~.,.s :. : 3 Z ~ '@%+
II wouldn't care to own this land,''
remarked a tourist. rl~
"Why??' asked a Californian.
"lt's SO absolutely worthless
"Ihere's just where you eastern peo-
pie care mistaken" said the native.
s. True. this isn't the most beautiful
part of California; like Los Angeles
better myself-but I can tell you, no
one is going to give you this desert this
year. Why, all it wants is water to
convert it into the garden spot of the
world.''
That's true of Hades," retorted the
stranger, ''but the trouble is you
haven't the water, and you're not going
to get it here"
"Wrong again." said the Californian.
."They are finding the finest kind of
artesian water all over the desert.
Some day you'll find this desert a
banana orchard; and as for value, some
of the most valuable mines in the state
are on the desert. The land that water
has been put on has been found to be
very rich, and fruit ripens five or six
weeks earlier here than anywhere else.
The desert is rich in gold, silver, copper.
lead and iron; you don't happen to see
it from the cars, but it's there all right.
Dozens of paying gold mines are be-
ing worked on the desert. The richest
and largest iron mine in the west is
right in such a place as this, and not
far away. The iron lies around like
sand, and is preferred in the fine work
on the cruisers to all others. Over be-
yond here they raise trees, yuccas,
that are ground up and sent to Eng
land, where they print papers on it.
Down at Ivanpah- that's town right
out on the desert, red-hot place
they have started'a copper mine; began
this year, and it's panned out $1sO,0OO
profit so far. I suppose you wouldn't
refuse that. And if you want to bet,
I'll go you any amount that within a
year there'll be a dozen copper mines
at work on the desert. Why, the desert
is just rolling in wealth all ready to be
picked up. It's warm, I'll agree to that,
but there are hotter places. When you
come to silver mines, there are lots of
them on the desert, at Barstow, and
Calico. In the worst part of the desert
in the hills over beyond Daggert, is the
most valuable borax deposit in any
land. About 600 people are working
at it, and they think they are in great
luck. You can't touch the borax king
who owns it with a ten-foot pole. He
makes thousands out of it.
IF you want to see the greatest sight
in America" continued the enthusi-.
astic Californian, ''in the way of a salt
mine, go down to Salton, on the desert.
There they p1ow it out; and there are
acres of salt, pure and white as snow.
know another desert landholder who
gets a crop of bitumen; another gets
phosphates; another asbestos. Anoth-
er has a sulphur deposit; and still an
other takes out gypsum, all on the
desert, and the great waste has just
begun to be known. There's enough
gold and silver and copper lying in that
desert to make hundreds of men mill
ionaires, and it's going to be found
yet. And," added the Californian,
"there's another side to it, it's hot, but
it's the healthiest place on earth. Peo-
pie are living here now who would be
dead in a few months anywhere else.
''Then look at the curiosities," he
went on. "Take Salton, way down be-
low the level of the sea. Ten years ago
it was one of the wonders of the coun-
try. Salton is $50 feet. lower than sea
level-a curious sort of place. All at
once the men at the salt station heard
that the Indians said the whole sink
was full once and was going to fill up
again, and they began to take to the
mountains until not one was left. That
there was something in what the In
dians said anyone who has been there
knows, as you can see the old water
line and the old fish traps, made of
rock, along the shore line. The white
men didn't take much stock in the
story, but one day they found water
running into the desert from New river,
and in few weeks there was an inland
sea on the Mojava desert that you
couldn't see across, and it came down
into Salton and threatened to ruin the
salt works. There it staid for month
or two, one of the wonders of the coun-
try, and thousands visited it.
"Then," said the Californian.
"there's the town of Indio, on the
desert, that's many feet below the sea
level; and few miles from there it
blows so hard that they've started a
wind ground-glass factory. All they
do is to set the glass outdoors, and the
first sandstorm grinds it all right.
'Down at Palm Springs they have a
palm tree forest that is desert at
traction. How the trees got there no
one knows, but there are hundreds of
them. Some people live there. One
man told me that in summer he spent
most of the time lying in an irrigation
ditch, it was that or roast; and in some
places on the desert the nights are so
cold you feel as though you'd freeze to
death. tell you the desert is great
place. It isn't exactly a summer resort,
but for actual value of resources it will
60 ahead of many like areas in the rich
est parts of America.''-N. Y. Sun.
Novel Booty Taken BY y'Thieves.
There are some remarkable thefts
that the police are called upon to hunt
down, but two of the strangest and
cheapest robberies that ever came to
the notice of the Seventeenth district
officers were reported few days ago.
In one case ragman had pushed his
cart up an alley at Seventeenth and