The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-08-31
Continued from last week.
1853 MILES BY AUTOMOBILE

4b63 mlltS bf AUlUmUblLt
after travelling for two hundred miles
across the desert. Il proved conclu-
sively what water will do. for il was
the water alone which transformed the
desert into luxuriant fields OF alfalfa,
fruit, csntsloupes and vegetables.
Before the arrival OF man and the in
stalling OF irrigation, Imperial VALLEY
was q desert waste the same as the
Ssliou Sink. The largest ostrich farm
in the world is located near Mr.. Laugh
rims farm. He sells alfalfa to the
manager and while we were there he
took US over to see the birds. There
we're $500 OF them and it certainly
was a wonderful sight. We saw them
at all ages from the chicks just burst
ing out OF the shell in the incubstors
to the full grown birds. They feed
principally on alfalfa and are cared for
mech the same az cattle. At dis
tance they look more like herd Of
cattle than like birds.
We passed several extinct volcanoes
enronte. one in the western part OF
New Mexico aud others in Arizona.
From the amount OF lava which had
flowed down for miles around, some OF
it piling almost mountain high, il
showed that they had been live ones
in their day. We also passed through
the petritied forest of Arizona. This
was undoubtedly one of the most won
derful sights we saw. Immense petri-
fled trees. some Of them three or four
feet in diameter and twenty to thirty
feet in length, with the roots project
ing as they were torn from the ground, 3,
were lying just as they had fallen and
trunks and limbs were scattered every
where, There was not Just piece of
tree here and there but acres and acres
OF it-au immense forest turned to
rock We found some beautiful speci-
mems hut since the federal government
prohibit the carrying away Of any piece
weighing more than eight pounds, We
had to content ourselves with some Of
the smaller pieces. We brought home
some splendid specimens however
Ancient Clid Dweller ruins are located
near Flagstaff, Arizona. We spent a
part OF day exploring the habita-
tion OF these prehistoric people. IL il
marvellous how they built their houses
or rather caves. into the face of the
cliffs and mystery how they gained
access to them. They must have had
some mode OF ascent and descent un-
known to the present generation
Maybe they had wings, They certain
ly needed them for it looked like moth
ing except something winged could
ever reach the location they chose for
their abode. Arizona affords a num-
ber of wonderful sights For the tourist
From Flagstaff we travelled for many
miles through beautiful pine forests on
our way to the Grand Canyon Of the
Colorado passing enroute the Painted
tion. To say that they were all beau
tiful does not half express it. The
grandeur of the Grand Canyon must
be seen to be appreciated. Its magni-
tude and magniiicence can scarcely be
described.
From the Imperial Valley We cross
ed the mountains to San Diego and our
road took US to within few rods Of
the Mexico line This was just at the
time when the war excitement was at
its height aud we were not particu-
larly anxious to be too close to the
greasers, bet we could not resist the
temptation to at least step over the
line. liza Mexican had raised up out
of the brush about the time we crossed
the boundary there would have been a
wild dash to "See America First" on
our part We didn't tarry long in
Mexico While travelling close to the
line we passed number of tough
looking MeNcans We passed two
fellows laid out alongside the road in
the hot sun. They didn't look good to
us so we didn't stop to investigate
their business. They looked like ban.
dts but they were probably just plain
drunks. At San Diego we took in the
Exposition and visited the principal
points Of interest in that section, Here
we got our first view of the Pacific and
were cooled by the fine sea breeze
We could enjoy it to the fullest extent
after our long sojourn across the des-
ert We took the coast route to Los
Angeles from this point and Travelled
right alongside the waters edge a
great part of the way, With the ocean
on one side, the mountains on the
other and a fine boulevard winding at
times along the beach, where the
spray from the breakers fell across it
and then again among magnificent