Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-03-17
SAND Or The DESERT.
The wind sports with IL and Works
Curious EGects.

AS mysterious, as uncomfortable, as
treacherous and as entertaining as the
vast ocean which lies only few
leagues west of It's borders is the great
sea of sand which forms a large Dor
ton of California's greatest desert.
known, because of its proximity to the
river Of that name, as the Colorado
desert.
This desert is the winds favorite
playground. He comes over the noun
tains from blowing the mighty deep
and works strange fancies in the pli-
able sands; he duplicates the great
pillows of the turbulent ocean: he imi-
tates the ripping waves of the placid
sea; he carves and builds and plays
at artist, sculptor and geometrician.
When he becomes weary Of his sports
he lashes himself to fury and losses
the sand u mile high in the air and
filings it broadcast over all the plain.
whirlinS and hurting the particles til
he obScures the sun and brings Il sur-
focating darkness to the land
On the east side of the desert he is
at present busy engul6ng n railroad.
Already he has buried many of the
telegraph poles which stand along the
way, and be has invaded the right of
way of the road, and the company is
busily Sighting TO hold possession until
a new line. which is being built around
the intruding hills, shall be completed.
Then the rolling pillows of sand will
be allowed to sweep on 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 are men
acing the railroad, for upon these hills
the wind has practiced his skill at
carving geometrical figures. These
hills are known as the Crescent hills.
Each is the shape of Il 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
duplicate horns of the crescent. If
hill is twice that height its other di-
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
nsrfn M
the gulf Of California when that body
OF water extended north n couple of
hundred miles farther than at 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 its 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 monuments OF
passing events.
In Death valley the phenomenon IS
reversed. There forty years after q
wagon party went to its death i'm that
valley the course OF the party was cas-
lily traced by the tracks made four
decades before Here the peculiar ma
ture of the soil was such as 10 prevent
erosion of the earth about the tracks.
The winds carried continually over the
soil sand brought from another part of
the valley. often filing the ruts and rs
often cmptying them again. 1t was
only few years ago that the trail of
the Pathfinder" John G. Fremont.
was easy TO follow across Il portion of
the Mojave desert in a region possess
cd or similar formation. Many ana
many time was the trail covered
inches deep beneath drifting sands, on
~ to be again rescued from submer-
sion by the same tickle winds.
In many places in the desert has the
wind left his autograph in sand RIFLES
ana sinuous, ripping waves, IKE the
waves OF sheet of water when the
gentle breezes set them dancing in
playful mood or like the rides upon
The surface OF n pebble fretted stream.
New York Tribune.