Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1915-06-22
STROLL|NG OVER HILLS
ADJOINING ELKO CITY
Part Of Autoists Visits the Slate De-
posit Workings South Of Town
For Sunday Outing

yesterday little know what charm
there is in a stroll over the hills In
the country surrounding Elko.
The air was soft and balmy. The
temperature was just right. One
could leave his coat behind in the car
The sky was clear with hardly a
cloud. And the sun in this altitude
had almost the brilliance of the tro-
pics.
And what Nevadan does not love the
strong aroma of the sagebrush and
CT the cedar 1t is a joy to get out
and breathe in this ozone that the
gentle breeze watts over the sage
brush hills.
One is reminded of Bryant's famous
line, ITO him in the love of nature
holds communion with her visible
forms she speaks various language"
And the language that nature spoke
yesterday was we'll worth a sermon.
There was a crow calling high up
above the hills to Lamoille. 1t was
the only bird on wing, and about the
only sound to break the stiffness.
But hidden away in cleft of rock
in an old adit to one of the slate work
ings was woodpecker's nest and two
young birds, full feathered and almost
ready to fly, were breathing long and
deeply and lying stretched at full
length.
Then when they. were disturbed by
the noise of the intruders they lifted
up their heads, opened wide their bills
and called for the expected worm
which they thought the mother bird
was bringing, all the time keeping
their oyes tightly closed.
Several jackrabbits, scared out from
their hiding places among the sage
brush, scampered out over the hills.
ridge shell, both rifle and shotgun.
telling of the war that had been made
on the rabbits In the past.
The flowers are not numerous in the
surrounding hills but they are most
beautiful. And they are all in solid
colors, blue, red, white, yellow. The
are nearly all the primary colors with
very little shading.
The prettiest flower of all was
probably blooming prickly pear. 1t
has the color Of old gold with a silver
tinge around the outer petals.
A party of three drove out yester-
day in the auto. They left the car
when they had gone as far as they
could take 1t up one of the canyons
and then climbed on foot to the crest
Of the hill and looked down on the
valley. It is q splendid view one gets
OF the gray and brown hills. Here
and there is a dark green cedar. But
otherwise the hills around Elko are
almost treeless.
1t was not so in the early days. One
stLl finds cedar stumps a foot or more
In diameter. These trees were cut
down years ago for ties when the rail-
road was building, and for fuel. Groves
Of young cedars are now coming on.
ia those early days the hills wera
also covered thtckly with bunch grass
andblue joint and rye grass. Here
and there is still some tufts Of rye
Sri SIS, but the more tender bunch grass
has nearly all been "sheeped" out.
Tar up on ridge was found a
mountain lily. This delicate flower is
pure white with touch Of blue in
the bottom of the cup. This was the
only flower that had a mixing of col.
ors. The little bluebells and the vel.
low bells have no stripping.
Four OF the cactus blooms were
found on one plant. three on another,
and one stood out alone, in n walk Of
several miles. They are in fact very
scarce, but dozens Of other buds were
getting ready to open out and some
had already closed up for the sea.
| son.
II Is now thirty.five years since
James Russell discovered the shale
beds south OF town that promise to
make Elko famous. These beds ex.
tend from Osino on the east to Bull
lion on the west, distance OF forty
miles.
In places the shale beds have been
opened up by shaft or incline a hun.
dred feet deep or more. And during
the hard winter of thirty years ago
people dug out this shale and burned
it In the stoves and 1t made hot FIRE.
The only fault found was that It kept
one man busy cleaning ou the ashes.
And there In the shale and slate
are the sneiis and the scales OF the
Ash deposited millions Of years ago