The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-05-05
THE PLAINS OF YUHA
SOME OF THE cURloslTlEs OF THE
COLORADO DESERT.

of "a Tragedy of Heat, Thirst and
I strew the Barren Region.
There is section OF the Colorado
desert where nature has left some re
markable records. She has visited the
region alternately with fire and water
and has left It with neither. IL is the
most desolate. wild, barren, fOrbidding
part OF the desert. says the Los Ange'
les Times, and IL is stunned alike by
man and beast. That there Is good
and sufficient reason for avoiding this
locality IL attested by numbers OF
graves, nameless for the most part,
found In the terrible region.
These graves are simple affairs,
merely mounds OF earth with border
OF stones about each and pile or
rocks two or three feet high at the
head. Each tells the story OF a
tragedy Of heat, thirst and death.
Those Items are about all that Is ever
known Of the stories OF those who
perish. Their mummified bodies or
bleached bones are found long after
the struggle Is over, and the finder re-
specting the memory or the unknown,
scoops hole In the earth, lays the
CHASTITY relic within and piles up the
only monument available in that Wild
region.
The plain now lies nearly a hundred
feet below the level Of the sea, and the
rocks OF the plain and the bases Of the
mountains are washed and eroded III
wonderful manner. Mingling with the
burnt stones and volcanic debris are
rocks worn by the waves ana shaped
into hundreds Of fantastic forms. There
are many acres Of these stone curlosi-
ties. and certain sections Of the field
seem devoted to certain shapes ana
figures.
For instance, one passes through
region which he at once names IN" can
bage patch, for IT presents the appear.
ance OF field OF those vegetables
which have turned 10 stone. The waves
have worn the rocks into round bowl
ders about the size Of the vegetable
which they so much resemble ana have
cut into the globes, lamlnating them IN
perfect imitation OF the leaiy layers or
the garden vegetable.
Another locality IL devoted almost eX-
cluslvey to dinner piaics Thousands
OF rounded, thin disks are scattered
over the plain or are piled scores deep
In singular piles, each piece shaped eA-
actly like the crockery which adorns
our tables and quite as thin ana sym
meti'ical.
Another section OF this truly wonder
ful region is given almost wholly 10
dumbbcls. These vary In size from
pieces weighing one or two pounds up
to those seemingly calculated for eNer-
clslng the muscles of giant and
weighing thirty or forty pounds each.
In almost every instance these natural
are well balanced the balls
Mt either end Of tho connecting piece
being Of the same size and weight
There Is in this plain an arsenal also.
While guns and swords and bayOncts
and powder were not there 10 be found,
there are thousands OF cannon balls
varying In size from two and three inch
balls 10 those At for the big thirteen
Inch guns OF modern warfare. And all
are OF stone, all formed In natures
workshop.
There arc other objects iunumerablc.
sfhere are stone roses, stone lilies stone
tulips, stone leaves, stone birds, stone
animals. stone Quoits, stone ornaments
in varied and unique designs. stone
cancs-ln fact, almost everything con
ceivabe In nature or art initiated In
stone on the plain OF luha.
In one portion of Yuha rise two hills
or small mountains. one might mis-.
take them In the distance for ancient
craters, but when he approaches the
eminences ne discovers them To bo
monuments 10 an ancient life-the rec.
ords OF species now extinct They are
shell mountains. great beds Of prchis-
toric bivalves which We're left stranded
when that ancient sea swept back from
the region and left n dry and desolate
land.
one OF these mountains. the large
one. Is composed wholly Of large rough
shoJs much larger. but less elongated,
than the shells of the modern oyster,
which in some respects they So much
resemble as to lead 10 the suspicion
that they are the remains Of the ances-
tors Of our much priced bivalve.
The lesser hill IL composed OF tiny
shells Of n prehistoric type of brachio-
poda. Like the larger shells, they are
found except on the surface I'm an un-
disturbed state, both valves of nearly
every shell being found In position.
Although the mollusk dwellers of these
shells vanished several centuries ago,
so perfect are the shells one almost cX-
poets when he opens the valve Of the
shell 10 find the living creature within.
Hctributiop.