Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1908-07-08
WARMED BY DESERTS
what These Sandy Wastes Mean
to Mother Earth.
A DEATH GRIP ON THE WORLD

a DEATH GRIP ON THE WORLD
They Indicate the Beginning Of The
and Of Our Beautiful Planet. Which
Is Deemed 10 ReH Thr0ash Space n
Parehed and Liseless Crs.
I'escriS alreaGy exist on the earth.
.sad the nameiess horror that attaches
10 the word an the thoughts OF al who
ilsve had experience Of them or arc
giitcl with Imagination TO conceive IS
IN truth greater than we commonly
suppose for the coSuiic circumstance
sbout them which is most terrible is
nos that deserts are. but that deserts
ilIye begun To be Not as local evita-
Die evils are they only to hc pictured.
tUt as the general unacceptable death
NIP on our world. for q Is the begin
liis ~ the end. What depaupeTates
shc forests 60 grass lands and thence 10
at1Stes must in turn attack the sea bot
ioa,s when they shall have parted with
ihcir seas
tss, o. The fertile spots upon the
lea1e; because az the salts the streams
iclanant 90 noisurc that would still
Grain into iAeiu.-evenuaIly they must
share the fortune OF their predecessors
s-sJ Sac planet roll o parched orb
iareUgb STaee. The picture is forbid
ling. out the fact seems one 70 which
.fe a.e conStrgctiveiy pledged and into
Ei-h we are in some sort already al
entered.
siiCdlnS the earth with what It takes
h-t iistle personiacation TO liScn 10 the
ii.e OxtiaguiShins Serpents coils run
10 desers BELTS OF country. The one
.-o'eS. roughly speaking. Tie tropic OF
-l-rer. extending nor,E,yari from IL;
Zee Other. the tropiC of Capricorn. Ari-
-sna is in the northern laad. rs arc the
sahara. Arabia and the deserts OF CEN
.ai Asia
Now. these desert belts are growing.
u tlc great desert 90 northern Arizona
t1e traveller. threading his way across
saScsruSh and cacti plain shut in 10y
.r-spt >ilc,i shelves ~ land rising here
.r-i there Sfre hundreds II feet high
cr. suddenly comes upon pefriied for
esq
rr-uss or trees IN az stages OF frac-
sure strcw the ground over Il space
9-,nc niles in extent. So perfect are
iaeir forms he s. almost minded TO
th.nS the rSliai wasleful 'voodchopDcr
.'gS necn by and lgfs the scattered
;ro'rcts OF h.s ast IN Uttered confu-
sion upon the scene az his exploit.
e.ly their beautiful color CONVEYS n
scnse OF strangeucss 10 the eve. and.
leaning down and touching them. ne
e ia sfa~ %
not carbon. Form has outiivcd sub
stance and kept the resemblance. whilo
the particles OF the original matter
have al hecn spirited away. Yet 80
perfect is the prescnrmcnt one can
hardly believe the fact. ami where one
fallen giant spans a little canyon one
almost thinks 70 hear the sound of wa
ter rushing down the creek.
But il Is some millions Of years and
more since this catastrophe lcfeu. and
the torrent. uprootIng IL. left IL prone.
with limbs outstrctched IN futile grasp
3 upon the other side. 4 confer % was.
cousin only 90 such as grow today. ana
hourished probably I'm the crotaceous
, era. Tor the land has not been under
water here since the advent OF tertiary
times
Nowhere near IL. except for the rare
cottonwoois along the bank 90 TIM Lit
tie Colorado. grows anything today
The land which once supported these
forests is Incompetent TO do so now.
Yet nothing has changed there since
d except the decreasing wafer sun
ply. During tertiary and quaternary
time the rainfa3 has been growing less
20
the great pine oasis that caps the pla-
b teau OF which these petriGed forests
form part and IS kernctcd by the san
francisco peaks. The height above
, sea level Of the spot where the chal-
) codony trunks are strCwn IS about
1900 feet. The lower present limit OF
the pine In It's fun development is
$500 feet. Two thousand feet onward
the verdure line has rctrcated since the
former forests We're. AMI this Is no
local alteration. for upon the other side
Of the plateau petriied remains Of trees
are similarly found
The line Of perpetual green has risen
because IN desert regions the moisture
Is found most plentiful nearest to thf.
clouds from which Ii falls up0, !
parchinS earth. Streams. instead ~
gathering volume rs they 20, are lar
gest near their source and grow less
and less with each fresh mile OF How.
The brooks descending frclu the Anti
Lebanon, in Syria. water the ea.'dens
or Damascus and, thence EsuinS upon
the PLATA, lose themselves inst Beyond
the threshold of lis s-Ites. So in the
Arizona desert. GoaSh IN a less de-
gree. aud those who live there. know If
5 but too well-From Percival IoweWs
MARS and the Future Of the Earth
in Century.