Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-03-13
SHIPS TO SAIL DESERT SANES.
Fast Craft that Astonishes Southern
California

Fast Craft that Astonishes Southern
California.
Strange tales of a phantom ship that
come from the dreaded Mojaye desert,
in Southern California, have founGa-
ton in fact, for gliding over the path
less stretches of shifting sand is the
queerest craft that ever sailed. 1t is
yacht on wheels, a GRACEFUL land
going clipper, faster than any that ever
rode the main, and aptly named
Desert Queen" To the very heart OF
The sun-blistered, forbidding waste this
odd thing carries it's plucky hav-
igators, and ludicrOus stories are
brought to the outer world by The
solitary prospectorS who in their roam
ing have seen it's white sails 81 nou-
cited against the ever-changin~ back
ground.
Who would not be surprised, or even
awed by the remarkable spectacle OF
trim craft such as ordinarily belongs
to the sea skimming swiftly over this
barren region, where not even drop
of water ever fallsS
This is beyond doubt the most
unique vehicle ever conceived t@ be
propelled by the wind, and was Quilt
by two miners, Charles S. and Carl H.
Hoyt of Cleveland, O., six mfcnEhs ago.
1t has been in use ever since, covering
thousands of miles. The 4s0yts have
a gold mine in the buttes near Rosa
mond. Cal, and live nine miles away,
at the other end Of peCdliaF dry lake
which is hard as concrete and swept
smooth as a tennis court by the sands
forever driven over it by the tieIce
winds rushing through TechichIpa
pass. This level tract suggested he
novel idea of a sailing machine, ahd it
was built of odds and ends picked up
about the camp.
For the front support an old buggy
axle was used, and to this we're at
tached two iron wheels, 90 inches In
diameter, which had done service on
farming implement. Other parts
were improVised with similar ingenu-
ity, and the result is a stanch ''Dosst''
IA feet long, eight feet across in front
and Tapeliing TO the rear, with a mast
Is feet high mainsail 10 feet on the
boom and 10 feet on the mast, Jill and
iibbo0m to match. The steering con
tr'iranCe is like that used on hook
and ladder truck. The Ship" answers
her helm perfectly and sails about as
close to the wind as the ordinary
water craft On her initial run Desert
Queen got beyond control and while
~. g 10
grief with crash. Broken tirabe1S,
bruised men and wrecked sails We're
Uttered on the ground, and it took
many days to repair the dana ge. Now
She carries her owners and their sup
plies and tools to and fro from the
mine every day, and often they take
out excursion parties of half a dozen
people She is the wonder OF all who
have heard of her and hundreds nave
gone to Rosamond from many places
to see her.
The speed of the Desert queen is ;
her astounding quality, however. and
almost beyond belief. FIFTY miles an
hour is often attained ON the dry lake
under favorable wind and her owners
claim that she could readily make 10,
but the danger would re too great. The
longest fast run was 40 miles on the
open desert in 80 miTuCes. What the
possibilities of a carefully balanced
machine. with ball bearings, and rlbper
tires and plenty OF canvass would BE
on the smooth lake bed can hardly be
coniectured. but it is no be denOnt
NrSyaNs q
sidering the building oft; TWO SsTntal mr.
! for racing and for foGs. This in zen
poses in othereSted various posslbllil
ton mas. ,ahg a new. quick and e4Ieap
teSH of transportation across the >Sa7
Lara. where winds are .7aid CONSTANTLY
10 pGevail a.
No HnOre exciting OF Thrilling ca
pefienttN can be imagined tthan asst!
aFde on rsSle Desert Queen. %amid sur-&
roSindingr- more desolate THAI the sea
itself. N.op. go lodging between tine I
dots at Sra<~> ewOod and cacti as you
leave the QaNap when the wind pises; !
here and There grotesQue yucca 4r ,es
stand like sentR@als. with limbs sapt- 4
stretched like rlons arms to reach rosl i
horned tOads s0uFS- away over the hos !
sands. and lizards ttart. licking like !
blue StreakS. fc4' the shelter. BUT not /
always quickly enough for the Queens !
wheels have crushed -mHsly before they
cotEtd move; jacktabbits so skitteHE
through the brush. A2e little ash |
colorea desert chipmHnks scatter the
sSnd abslt in their fTeRzied haste to |
get 5nta CHER retreats a4d An oCca-
siona1 cesosa. long and gray and lean |
the picture of starved 1ant-rises
upon its Scrasgy legs and shifts: now
and then YOU may run over a deadly
sidewinder" trattlesnake). or pass
the bleaching bones of some poor
creature. human or otherwise that suf-
tered the horrors of starvation and
probably sucked blood from its own
engue before the end came-Portiand
THE GARnCNpI0 OF