Evening star., 1901-08-31

dry creek beds and in the low places which
become shallow lakes after a storm The
aihal which spoils the little water availa-
oie Is from to GO per cent of the soil 1t is
formed of sodium chloride and sulphate
ana calcium and magnesium sulphate a.
combination which has killed thousands of
i iieau OF I'VE stock and driven men to de-
ilr1um and death in suffering from a thirst
aggraVated by drinking the salt-impreg-
mated water
There are two types Of vegetation on the
hed Desert, one persistent and one transit
ent The latter is in evidence only in the
spring, when the melting SHOWS leave some
moisture in the ground. 1t springs up
quickly, blossoms, withers and disappears
WITHIN few days of it's coming for the
sun establishes its supremacy early in the
spring months, and there are few forms OF
NE winch can withstand its ravs In Aprtl
ana May come the wild mustards beans
ana chlckweeds with some OF the fine
grasses but by June these have sown their
seed and gone. This is the end of the tran
slent vegetation for the year
,oa IS the persistent vegetation which
Iends character to the desert The salt
sage mas found a universal foothold II
grows throughout the arid region, but ia
supreme in the red deserts 1t constitutes
H. nt ieast one-half of the fodder for the
lNe STOCK which comes in the winter and
upon IL Is placed great dependence by the
sheep owners as the mainstay of their
hocks. 1t is eaten down each year to the
woody stem, but grows again for another
season and distributes it's seeds In enor.
NOUS quantities. One form of this sage
grows In a round ball, with single slight
stem easily broken by the wind These
palIS are sometimes three feet in diameter
ana when once started by the breeze as
tulnpie weeds across the country thew
.ldVel many miles unless lodged in some
nole @ en- route To the lonely traveller the
approach' of one of these moving plants in
the night is full of mystery and alarm untii
IL comes within range of the light of his
Sala9,ir Stang,i ana In the daylight horse has
o'sioy o,voy nerves indeed which will allow the
onslaught of one of these rolling growths
without swerving from the trail.
What Live Stock Feed On.
Then there is the sage brush. that token
OF the northwestern plains Live stock feed
upon It, The campers use it for fuel II ia
everywhere and but for its presence MANY
tran across the plains, now well worn,
would never have been attempted The
greaSe-Wood must not be forgotten for il
Is lull OF trying moments and vexation of
spirit for he who judges of its Character
ny ltS name Long ago the encyclopadiaS
tod us that grease wood was so called he
cause its branches We're covered with a
klnd or wax which made the wood inf1am
mable Many a man who has read that
definition and then spent hours of vaIuania
time trying to start a camp fire from the
thorny, ungraceful plant has wished the
author of the definition could be doomed to
spend eternity in the lighting of fires whore
the only fuel was this scrawny defy to
the desert ~
Even these deserts have rot wfthstocd Tho
attacks OF the homeseekers, however for
the latter have entered into the blood-red
wilderness. brought water from distant
rivers or from storage basins washed the
alkail from the soil and brought forth
bountnul harvests. The soil is rich and
deep. 1T is the alluvial deposit from disin-
tegrating hills. 1t is not inviting to the
eye, but the pioneers of the new lands have
learned that water not only covers a multi
tude OF sins. but eradicates bad appearances
as well, and the great deposits of svpsln,
tCunu In many of the red lands in Wyoming
are now contributing to the farming wealth
OF the state in their enrichment of the sell
The coyote. lizard. the horned toad the
snake and the sage hen must move on for
tne man with the hoe has come upon the
red desert to stay, and it will soon have
lost its terrors, real and imaginary to the
traveller across it's confines
]. d. WHELPLEY