The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1905-03-12
SAND OF THE DESERT.
The Wind sports With 1t and Works
curious Effects.

Ihe "InU sports ~ ts"u w W
curious Effects.
As mysterious. az uncontrollable. as
treachero,,S and as entertaining as the
vast ocean which lies only Il few
leagues west of its borders is the great
sea of sane which forms Il large por-
ton Of taliforni;s'% greatest desert.
known. because Of its proximity to the
ri;rr of that maine. rs the colorado
desert
This t!c:.rt is tie winds favoritc
playground. lie comes over the noun
tam; from piowinS the mighty deep
and works St:rsng" fancieS in the p!!-
able sands: he duplicates the great
pillows Of the turbulent ocean; he imi-
tatcs the ripping waves of the placid
sea; he carvcs and builds and plays
at artist, sculptor and Geometr!cian.
When he becomes weary of his sports
he lashes himself to fury and losses
the sand Il mile high in the air and
whirling and hurting the particles till
he obscures the sun and brings suf-
locating darkness to the land.
On the east side of the desert he Is
at present busy engulting railroad.
Already he has buried many Of the
telegraph poles which stand along the
way, and lie has. invaded the right of
way Of the road. and the company Is
busily lighting to hold possession until
a new line, which is being Quilt around
the intrutllng hills, shall be completed.
Then the rolling pillows of sand will
be allowed to'sweep Oh undisputed.
In the southwestern portion of the
same desert is another range of travel
ing hills. These are more wonderful.
however. than the ones which arc men
acing the railroad. for upon these hills
the wind has practiced his skill ut
carving geometrical figures These
hills are known as the Crescent hills.
Each Is the shape Of true crescent,
the points of which are toward the
east. A hill which is fifty feet high is
found to be 100 feet thick at the base
and 200 feet from point to point Of the
VI IEc CIeSSellL. IL IL
hill is twice that height it's other d.
mansions will be found to have dou-
bled also. Little and big. they keep
their proportions as they move slowly
across the plain.
In crossing the desert one frequently
finds footprints Of men and animals.
not indented in the yielding sands. but
standing above the level of the earth
supported by tiny sand columns six
inches to one foot In height. This phe-
nomenon is easily accounted for. The
so called sand Of the Colorado desert
is really fine particles of silt, for that
region was at one time the bottom or
the gulf of California when that body
of water extended north a couple of
hundred miles farther than ut the pres
ent time. There are certain adhesive
properties to this SILT, and under the
weight Of man or beast the particles
cling together and become stationary
instead of continually drifting before
the wind. which continues It's work Of
erosion upon the impressed soil about
the tracks, soon leaving them stranded
In the air. Thus the footprints. In the
sands Of time become monsrnerts of
passing events.
In Death valley the phenomenon IL
reversed. There forty. years after a
wagon party went to It's death In that
valley the course Of the party WIS cas-
lily traced by the tracks made folr
decades before. Here the peculiar ma
ture of the soil was such as to prevent
erosion Of the earth about tie tracks
The winds carried continually over tie
soil sand brought from another part o.
the valley. often filling the rnts and AS
often emptying them again. It was
only a few years ago that the tail Of
1.-THE Pathfinder John C. Fremo:1te-
was easy to follow across portion Of
the Mojare desert in a region posses.
ed Of a similar formation. Many AMI
many Il time vas the trail covcre,.
inches deep beneath drifting: sands, Oil
~ to be again rescued from s.,tmcr-
sion by the same tickle winds
In many places in the desert has the
wind left his autograph ID sand rifles
and sinuous, ripping waves. like the
waves of Il sheet of water when TIE
gentle breezes set them dancing in
playful mood OF like the rifles upon
the surface of a pebble fretfed stream.
New York Tribune.
: