The Springfield herald., 1913-06-13
ONe Of the CAnRo

shipped good many. That traffic OF
course was stopped when Mexican law
declared a closed season for mountain
sheep. 1t was high time, too. for they
were wantonly destroyed. sometimes
not even for their heads and skins.
but merely for the pleasure of slaugh-
ter. l think If American nimrods had
understood how easily those marvel
GUS hunting grounds might be reached
by boat to San Quintin. where an efi-
cient Mexican guide with excellent
saddle and pack mules was to be pro-
cured. the slaughter would have pro-
ceeded more merrily still. l heard OF
one American. and he from distant
Boston. who had discovered this hunt
er's Ell Dorado. and who made perl
odical trips to 1t. That was before
Mexico. in fear of insurrectos, forbade
the Importation of firearms into the
peninsula.
1t is not strange that San Pedro
should harbor so much game. for 1t
Is the only really wooded mountain
on the peninsula, and the timber here
Is very fine. Deer and bighorn are
not the only game; other animals
there are, not SO harmless, and that
may even play the roll OF hunter In
stead of hunted. Mountain lions are
so numerous that young colts. which
they consider the most delicious OF
tidbits. have a hard time trying to be-
come horses. A man living on the
western slope of the mountain showed
me corral fully five feet high from
which a mountain lion took a three
year-old flly. leaping the fence with
ease with the colt In his mouth. and
dragging the carcass a mile up the
side of the mountain before he stopped
for his meal.
Raging Torrents.
On the eastern side there are
streams that start bravely from the
mountain. but they are Immediately
sucked up by the sands of the desert.
Canyon Diablo Is an excellent example
of this; In the time of rains the water
rushes from the mouth of the ex-
tremely narrow. rocky canyon. which
Is a mere slit in the mountain wall.
in tumultuous flood. 1t entirely fills
the narrow opening so that the can
yon cannot be ascended beyond its
mouth, and 1t cannot be crossed. such
raging tOTTeHl is H. Let III lebb
than a mile 1t has disappeared. and
not only Is there no stream, but the
rounded arroyo sides are Of smooth
sand as though years had passed since
water flowed between them. Many
streams OF abundant flow start out In
this way. but all promptly disappear.
And as the mountain acts as a barrier
to check the rains that come in from
the Pacific, the strip Of land between
San Pedro and the Gulf of California
remains absolute desert.
On the western slope. however. the
streams flow with greater assurance.
One of them is turned from its chan
mel and is carried along the skirt
of the mountain for twenty miles to
wash the gold from the soil OF Socor-
ro.
San Antonio creek is a fairly typical
mountain stream. rushing little river,
flowing through its own dense growth
Of alders and alamos. 1t proves the
mountain quality of its water, too, by
sheltering speckled trout that reach
the very respectable size of twelve
inches.
In one fertile little cove in Its deep.
rocky canyon 1t nourishes an oasis OF
really tropical verdure. a tiny half
moon of land set thick with fig. grape
and peach. where Jack Frost never
intrudes.