Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1902-03-15
RECORDS IN THE SAND.
Prints Made by Man or Beast that
Convey News to Desert DweIIers.

In the Sahara little gusts of rain some
ZINES occur On these unusual occa-
SONS each drop leaves its impress on the
sand, these thousands Of tiny indenta-
.!9as pelng proof positive that rain has
i9Heh, II II happens that calm in the
ar follows 50 that the sand is not dis
tnrhed for number of days the marks
OF the rain drops remain as clear as
when they were first made.
The sand is the record of all that hap
pens on its surface. Just as the waves
obllterate the markings on the beach so
fsa winds of the desert blowing the
sands here and there, sooner or later
wipe out the records stamped on the sur
face; but they often remain for quite Il
while. and as the desert residents know
Row 10 read them they derive informa-
ton that is useful to them.
Vixen they see a sInuous, unbroken
groove along the sand they know that a
serpent has passed that way, and by fol-
lowing up the track they often catch the
"y2rmint' before he finds a hole into
which to crawl. They can tell how
many feet an insect has by the marks on
the sand. In fact, they are as thoroughly
ve:sed in the lore of sand marks as our
Wild indians were in the mysteries of
Woodcraft before they were gathered
upon reservations and lost much of the
cunning OF their fathers.
The desert people know the track of
the sand. They become wonderfully
quick in detecting differences in the sand
prints. AS long as Il man keeps afoOt
the story of his doings during the day
is written for all to read. The natives
can tell the footprints of every person
of their acquaintance. They know ev-
cry one of their camels or horses by the
marks they make.
When they see tracks that a passing
caravan has made they detect peculiari-
ties indiscernible to all but the desert
dweller. which reveal to them the tribe
to which the travellers belong. When
they turn their animals loose to Craze
where grass has sprung up among the
wells they will perhaps pay no attention
TO them for days, but when the animals
are wanted they will surely be traced by
indications so slight that they would
escape the notice of an lneXpert observ-
or. In fact, Il great variety of infOr-
nation is impaired to the natives by
sand markings that others would not OBJ
serve.
Among the GASES near the northern
edge of the desert there is no such thing
as property in land. The sands are
everywhere. and a man may use any
part of the surface just as long as he
chooses to occupy or cultivate it; but his
claim upon it ceases when he stops using
it. There is no individual property IL
water. In many places water underlleS
he surface at a depth of ten to thirty
feet. and he who chooses to dig for it
and bring it to the surface to nourish the
date palm is at liberty to do so. But he
does not own the water Anyone is at
liberty to use it for his palm trees, but
he must not plant a tree within about
thirty feet of those owned by his neigh
Dor.
There is, in fact, individual ownership
only III the tree itself. If the tree dies
and the owner does not replace it with
another anyone is free to plant one in
its place. The result is that a mans
number of groves. He may sell his
trees if he desires, but he cannot sell
the ground in which they are planted nor
the water that WHITES them.-New Yori;
Sim