Arizona republican., 1905-01-26
THE SIMPLE LIFE
As the Globe Democrat Says, Dr.
 ncGee Will Live It.

Dr. w. J. NcGee of the Smithsonian institution, is a scientist of recognized i talents and has done considerable ex- ploratOry work in the southwest, hav-
 ing at least twice visited the island of
 TiburOn in the Gulf of California This
 island was made famous by the fact
 that Charlie Meadows, Tom GrindeII
 and other Arizona newspaper explorers
 did not go there to be devoured by
 the cannibaIs as they promised to do But Dr. McGee goes whenever he. wants
 to and never once has he been eaten
 up by humans though in some places the heas are pretty bad. On the occa-
 sion of his last visit he passed through Phoenix and was Interviewed by a Re l publican reporter He seemed to be a man of more than ordinary intelligence, from which fact it is assumed that
 some reporter for the Globe Democrat
 must have been very hard pressed to
 fill space when he hung the following | tale on the doctors accommodating 1 shoulders:
 David R. Francis proposed trip around the world and Isaac $. TayIor's recent cruise through the waters of the ] gulf of Mexico in a private yacht are ] but commonplace occurrences when compared to the plans of the chief of anthropology at the worlds fair, w J. McGee, who has evolved way of seek ing recreation and recuperation from the labors of the exposition that will defy the attempts Of the other versatile directors or chiefs to equal
 No triumphaI tour for Dr. McGee. He says that the hard work of the past year has to a certain degree de- composed the walls of his capillary ar teries and caused him to take on an excessive amount of fish, and in order to restore his system to it's accustom- ed vigor he will bury himself three or four months in the heart of the Ari- zona desert, with nothing but prairie dogs for his companions. His wife, Dr. Anita McGee, the famous war nurse. l has written him from Washington that she thinks his purpose foolish, to say the least, so he is certain that she will | not go with him.
 While sOjOurning in the desert pr. | McGee will live on beans bacon and | rice, prepared by himself. He will take 1 enough rations to last him six months. | and will be driven to his resting place | over nearly 100 miles of desert The | spot selected Is forty miles from the | nearest railroad, and the closest town | is Yuma, reputed to be the hottest |
 
 which the doctor has selected is only a water hole in the desert, and, accord ing to his statement, is hotter than Yuma. The yearly rain only averages l half an inch, and the temperature | reaches 125 degrees in the sun-there is no shade. Natives of Yuma claim that the spirits or bad men are ire quently seen in this part of the coun- try. They invariably reply when ques- tioned that they are coming back for their blankets.
 Fuel is scarce in the desert and the | doctor will cook his food with the aid | of a large magnifying glass and the l. suns rays.
 During the daytime Dr. McGee will occupy his attention by roaming over his domain costumed a la Igorrote, and to solve a great scientific | problem. The mesquite and cactus plants of the country, unlike ordinary plants are green throughout, and ! scientists have discovered that they absorb light for food, fin place Of wa ter. Dr. McGee says he will try to dis cover how. this is done, and then evolve a scheme by which the suns rays can be used for motive power The cactus | he says, holds the secret of this pro- cess, and he believes he can by the e q rays for steam and electricity
 The water hole where the doctor is going was formerly on the track of the California pioneers and the tran on either side is marked |Dy the bleached bones of animals and men. Over 100 graves are scattered about the spring, fifty of the pioneers perishing there at one time. The doctor will walk to Yu- ma, when his stay is over. He thinks he can do this at the end of three months. His friends say he will vel come the opportunity.
 DT. McGee is now finishing the re- port to the government on the anthrO- biological exhibit at the worlds fair As soon as this is finished he will make lis trip. When pr. McGee returns rom his prolonged sun bath he will no longer be tat he says, and his nervous energy exhausted by the click of type writers and their operators tongues, .T--+- -s.-l