Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-06-18

al l.iSat the moon i1,...s =. -. upon
II dcs"lntc. arid plain, stretching away
to the great Sierra Matlrc mountain
chain. deep. shadowy blue, against the
western Sky. The air Is chill, and Il
bleak wind searches oft every fold in
our hlanlietS-wc might Utmost be
spending a night OH the tundras.
With scarce Il moment of dawn the
IL floods everything, IL most welcome
warmth for awhile. soon to MAKE ono
gasp FIJI its brcnthless heat. Long be-
fore the rainy season actually begins
vegetation seems to feel IL quickrning
IN the air; the plants scent the coming
moisture weeks beforehand; the rush
ing streams, swollen with the melting
SHOWS FROM the lower mountain tops.
bring life to the lands through which
they flow; spring is awakening every
whcrc-cXccpt OF the alkali plain.
Where IL thin rind of rcd brown
grass roots partly covers the white
dust, parched mesquite bushes find
root, and strange, uncoutli organ cuttl
rear then columns. like mammoth can
delabra. Here wild eyed cattle roam
%uncasily, nlbbling occasionally ut the
bitter grass stems.
Farther out in the desert. where even
the mesquite and cacti fail, we ride
slowly across the pnrclled surface,
wondering If Il single living thing can
endure the bitterness OF the earth. In
the distance move the wliirlwindS of
dust. tall, thin columns with perfectly
distinct outlines. u%mduluting slowly
here and there, both life and death in
their silent movement.
Most remarkable II seems to us when
n stray great blue heron now and then
flies silently up from the desert (what
can possibly attract these birds to such
n place OF death as this, distant even
from the bitter poolsD and flaps slowly
out OF sight. Twice IL grent ebony
ave. sails through the dusty mir over
II heads-thc same bird requesting.
No other life is visible save the bal
nnccd black spccks high against the
blue, as invariably II part of II Mexican
day us are stars of the night. IIcrOiis,
v%ulturcs, %ravcn-all move slowly, GEM
ing less alive than the distant dust
columns.
But we feel the real spirit of the
eternal desert when, MS we turn to re-
trace our steps, we spy Il something
white, different from the surrounding
earth, and the spell of past ages falls
upon lis. The bitter water is ever dry
ing up, the whirlwinls carry the dust
from place to place, the birds come
and go as they please, but this relic of
nm nlptll,ar nj Of tl,n Gillian {iy,n hrtno,
PAST and present into close touch.
What scenes has the desert looked
upon since this mammoth staggered
dying into the quagmire which proved
it's tomb? Our eyes smart from the
dust as we reluctantly turn our horses
heads OH the back trail, for we should
like to stay and search ont these fos-
sils-morc fascinating in n way than
the living beasts and birds which pco-
pie the tropics beyond.
One of the most wonderful Of the
exhibitions Of bird life vouchsafcd to
us in Mexico comes rs we leave the
alkali plain and ride away among the
mesquite scrub. 4 confused mass OF
black appears in the air, which soon re-
solves itself into hundreds of individ-
ual spccks. The atmosphere is so de-
cciving that what at first seems to be Il
vast cloud of gnats close at hand is
soon seen to be n multitude of birds
blackbirds, perhaps, until we approach
and think them ravens and, finally,
when a quarter Of n mile away, we
know that they are yulturcs. Three
burros lie dead upon the plain. This
we knew yesterday, and here arc the
.scayengers. Never have we seen vul-
lures so numerous or in such order.
A careful scrutiny through the glass
es shows many score Of black and tur-
key buzzards walking about and feed
ing upon he arcases of the animals.
From this point there extends upward
into the mir q vast inverted cone Of
birds, all circling in the same direction.
From where we sit upon our horses
there seems not Il single one out OF
place, the outline OF the cone being as
smooth and distinct as though the birds
were limited in their flight to this par
ticular area. 1t is Il rare sight, the sun
lighting up every bird on the farther
side and shadowing black MS night
those nearest us.
Through ones partly closed eyes
the whole mass appears as n myriad
of slowly revolving wheels, intersect-
ing aud crossing each others orbits,
but never breaking their circular out
line. The thousands OF sonring forms
hold us spellbound for minutes before