The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-03-16
THE lN1ERMoATAN AND COLORADO CATHOLICS 10 yuf.

This 7y@s explained TO me the aecry that nj
some time In the past this kind of cactus was com
mon enough in the mountains but that 9opleIs
rabbits and other desert animals had long ago cor
sumed all that could be reached in wild west
books and even In professedly historical novels one
reads occasionally of thus and that family clan
of Indians perishng of hunger or thirst 1t is
impossible for normally healthy savage to die OF
hunger or perish from thirst on the Arizona tes-
erts. The white man! Yes and often, the Indian
never. 1t is case of God teniperine the wind to
the shorn lamb or fitting the back TO the burden.
Under the thorns of every variety Of cactus there
! is refreshing. nourshing and indeed pautable food.
The desert and mountain tribes knew this from i'm
memorial times and until they YER confined to the
reservations cactus food formed large part of
their ordinary diet. They had a way OF their own
of stripping the needles from the plant reaching
the pulp and eating it cooked or uncooked
There are many fruit and berry bearing cact;,
and these fruits and berries were gathered In sea
son, eaten raw or boiled and from whicil 4 delicious
syrup OF Juice was extracted ana an Intoxicating.
drink called "chaca" distilled The pitayha and
suaharo cact grow to the height Of twenty and
thirty feet and yield when properly tapped from
ten to twenty-five gallons of pare drinking water
All desert plants contain large amount of mois
ture and the professors of the. Carnegie desert lab
oratoIy are trying to find out how these desert
plants. especially the cactus, extract water from
parched and sandy soil ana moisture from hot air
There is a cactus. christecd By tie early Span
ards the barrel" Which is IS per cent water and
strange 10 say, thriyes best in honclessly barren
lands in which no water is found within hundreds
Of miles and on which 10 rain ever falls.
TIE DESERT LABORATORY.
The desert aboratory for The study of the fora
OF barren lands is the property of the Carnegie
institute at Washington and was founded by Mr.
i, Y, Coville of the United States department of
agriculture, and Dr. d. Trenlbly MacDouga who
was for years assistant director of the New Yerl.
botanical garden. DR.. MacDougal is now here in
charge of the department of botanical research
In its specially of purpose there is only one other
institution in existence even colaeraliy related t.
this desert laboratory and that is The college o{
science established lately in Greenland by the gov
ernn}cni Of Denmark for researches in arctic re.
eoIis and the study of the fora aud fauna of TIN;
far north. This desert laboratory under expert bot
enisJs will include i'll its scope the physiographi
conditions of notable interest in the two great des
ert of western America deliminaed by III
geoogisi. the botanist and the geographer and des
ignated rs the Sonora-Nevad desert and the Sin
region of sand. These two r.
gions embrace large sections Of Idaho. Utah Ore
e0n, Colorado, Washington Nevada, Calforni,
Arizona, Baia California. Sonora and Sualoa III
this classification the beds OF manT ancient iaise
are included and with them your own yet existin,
Great Salt lake. Dir. MacDougal informs me that
notable features III this vast body are The SNAKE
river desert of Idaho. the RaIstoi sand lands OF
Nevada, the sage fields of Washington. the lavs
beds of Oregon Death valley, the Moiave desert.
the Colorado desert. the Painted desert in Arizona
and New Mexico the Saltoa bed and the great So
neea desert Of Mexico Ia the Califernias-S
ern snd Lower-te desert vegetation and that OF
the coast lands meet but, except in instances
never assimilate, was surprised to hear from the
professor IS without doubt you yTl
be &c read that if til dessre OF Inc earti could bc
breugnt il.5o ares tneY would form continent
larger than all North America. Tine wonderful an
peculiar vegetation of the deserts has time ans
again Invited and received tins attention of Learned
botsnista. but not until the founding of this Car
negie laboratory vas any systematic and continu
Gus study made OF desert plant life. The assistant
in charge Of the botanical department correspond
with the famous botanists of The world and is
daily mailing 10 snd receiving speciuaens Of deser,
fo=Eegs and plants from all parts OF Asia, Africs
aud Australia