The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-04-07
P.GIjAS Up N IiE SKY
VIEWS QF CITIES AND RAILROAD
TRAINS SEEN MANY MILES
AWAY
REFLECTED IN THE MIRAGE
Atmospheric Freak Becomes n Sort
of Travelling Companion in
Certain Portions of the
Southwest.
Detroit Free Press.

Detroit Free Press.
AS the mirage is so infrequent In the
populous part of our country. and as so
little is said about it, it is probable that
the majority of Americans know of it
only by name though they may have
read descriptions of the mirage of the
Sahara desert or the fata inorganic of
Sicily and Southern Italy. Occasionally,
It may be seen across Lake Ontario.
and New York state may look upon a
Canadian town pictured upon the sky.
This happens but once in many years.
But the mirage of the Southwest be-
comes a friend, a sort of travelling COM
paniOn. 1t is not so frequent nor so pic
turesqUe in New Mexico as in Arizona
and Southeastern California. The mira ge
In this section is said to be much more
wonderful and charming than on the
Sahara or the fata morgana at the
Straits of MeSsina. 1t combines the
beauty Of these and adds something to
both.
AS the traveller passes through Arizona
on the train he sees the lakes coming
and going all the time, and wonders If
it is not a mistake to call it desert.
Occasionally he viii be astonished to see
wild animals come so near the train,
but when he sees some great beast Iarg-
er than an elephant he begins to ask
questions and is likely to feel skeptical
when told that it is all a fancy and DE
to the mirage. Our party was growing
SO used to phantoms that we were conf
dent we could not be mistaken again.
Nevertheless we were
We had left the Mooui reservation and
were travelling toward the Chitiquo river
when we beheld city chiseled out Of
marble with cathedrals and towers, with
pillars capped with Grecian gods and
christian saints, with streets of marble
ana river winding its way through the
city. We believed it a real city and
Ihought 1t was built of marble because it
was SO plentiful here. 1t was city of
Splendor, but child of the sun, which
gave HE and beauty to the Sand-barren
desert; and 10, when we look again, the
magic city with its wonderful towers and
pillars and river has vanished like a
shooting star and feeling of loneliness
comes over us as We see once more the
Saddened GesolatiOn of the desert
Two days later, ninety miles from
where we had seen the phantom city, we
viewed the Painted Desert as it is call
ca. Its co!ored rocks take on all the
terms Of life with castles, Cathedrals,
Irult and flower gardens rivers, lakes.
landscapes and animals of all descrip-
IONS. we knew then that this was the
magic magic city Between this point and the
colorado river, the desert seemed in the
distance to be full of life. The palo-
verde, which is an evergreen tree, was
plentiful as well as the mesquite and
low, and here and there we would meet
with the peoples all in red From the
prlckiy-pear cactus, the Indians gather
q fruit which is very wholesome
Along the Colorado river the mirage Is
frequent. Sometimes the objects are re-
Versed and appear to be upside down.
sometimes yerucal-tnat is, standing one
above another. The scientists saw that
these miracles are caused by the heating
or the sand, the atmosphere being Of
1Iuch nlSfer temperature near the sur
1 lace where 1t expands rapidly, but leaves
tIe greater volume of air above dense
mat the sun striking the air obliuueIy
forms an angle Of light because it passes
uniformly through the dense air, but
more readily and inclines straight toward
the earth instead Of obliquely with a
tendency to turn back toward the denser
atmosphere This angle of light causes a
r9Heclloh; The objects on the earth are
shadowed in the lower strata and reject
ca from that upon the higher And vet
TINS was not a satisfactory explanation to
us, for the mirage astonished and amused
US after the sun had gone
one evening we We're sitting on the
steps OF ranch cabin, when looking to-
ward the south we saw a magnificent
monastery. We were surprised tnat-4we
mad not seen it before 1t was then
growing dark and we could see it until to-
TAI darkness closed. In the morning it
was gone: We, Travelled on sixty miles.
ana few nights after were visiting
MISSION when we saw at the ranch
where we were stopping, less than han n
mile away, barn and a number Of sheds
ana trees. We mad taken views from all
parts of the ranch while there hut Fail
ed to observe these buildings and trees.
II was growing duSky and the moon had
risen, but the buildings remained
we had left the mission and were half
way TO the ranch when we beheld in tho
moonlight toward the west a fairy lake
with sailing ships and fatry-like childreo.
the sceEe being touched with silver a,1d
m i'm TNiN
arrived at the ranch, the barn and other
bulldlngS and trees had vanished The
next morning, We had risen before
daylight IT order that we might see tbc
train at THE Needles" about 80 rniles
south. We could see the cars plainly as
Wen as the men. The whole scene SEEM
GO but few hundred yards away. This
we were told, may be observed almost
any morning in the year.
Inc next surprise the mirage gave US
was near the Pagago Indian Reservation.
N,he morning we were presented with the
picture OF a living city. The houses and
the markets were plain and the inhahf
tants wearing their serapes and SOM
breros- Many were going to church, the
water carriers were hurrying about men
on mustangs were going here and there
end there was no mistaking the fact that
1t was real city. We learned after
WARD that 1t was the town of Magdelena.
MeAIco JOG miles or more south.
But the most wonderful of all the
scenes IS that Of the Jim Jam Valley
IN the San Bernardino mountains over
the Arizona line in Southern California
FROM Yuma to the mountains we passed
many scenes the most interesting being
the mud volcanoes" The mud is thrown
up from many openings, some springs
Spouung several feet in height There
IS a continual making and destruction Of
mud pies. These So-called volcanoes are
sometimes below sea level and generally
quite cold. though few are boiling hot
Both are accompanied by rumbIine
noise. One sees the skeletons of many
b1rds that in their search for water have
persisted by the fumes of the e'yoIca0
noes" We saw the remains of mocl<ino q
BIRDS. golden eagles and the Mexican
snow bird -
When we entered the Jim Jam Valley
through Dead Mans Pass, the sun was
SHINING brightly. We had not gone far
Nnen we witnessed strange things. The
walls OF the cliffs were frightfuily scar
cd and peaks twisted into tortured
forms Not a living creature of any kind
inhabItS the valley, which is only TWEEN
" miles or so in length and probably
half as wide. So far as we could fell
When In our right senses not pIant or
living thing of any nature inhabited th{s
valley. Yet we saw many lakes and
rivers and foliage and birds and wafar
fowl which vanished as we approached
and seemed to scatter In all directions
winch made us restless and the ladies' ~
our party almost hysterical The ladies
were all correspondents of Eastern ana