The sun., 1919-01-19
: Making Desert Travel safe.

deserts of Mojave, the Colorado.
Death Valley More nearly than any
one else, so far rs we have had op.
portunity to judge, GEORGE w. PAR
SONS has written of these vast, lonely,
silent stretches in manner to pre-
sent what seems 1lfellke-or death.
like--picture; one which brings n
realizing sense of their savage beau-
ties, for beauties they have. their ap-
palllng ugllness, their lethal entice-
ments, for inexpllcably these deserts
do entice men to their embrace.
Mr. PARSONS is California mining
man. and. in 1901 he was chairman Of
the committee on mines Of the Los
Angeles Chamber of Commerce. He
foresaw that the building of rail-
road from Salt Lake City into south
ern California, and other transDorta-
ton betterments which would make
the frlnges of the deserts more aces
sible, would bring many miners into
the region. for already the mountains
thereabout were yielding probably
copper, tin, silver and gold.
With the purpose Of providing re-
liable information for the use of the
Chamber of Commerce as TO mining
prospects in the desert regions Mr..
PARSONS organized an exploring party
which seems to have had State aid,
or at least State authority, and made
his investigation and report. But In
Cidents of his rides of one thousand
miles over the descrts-the distance
surprises until one learns that rs they
spread over parts OF California, Ne
vada and Arizona these deserts are
nearly equal in territorial extent to
the State OF New York-gave birth
to a new purpose to provide the des-
erts with sign posts indicating the
locations of water holes, springs and
wells, TO set up some sort of instru-
mentality to keep those precious
stores of water clean and supplied
with appliances for securing and u.s.
ing the water for man and beast. 1t
took him fifteen years fully to accom-
plish his purpose, with the aid first
of frien/s and sympathetic civic bod
les tim of the State, and finally Of
Congress, which took over the whole
work as an interstate project. The
work Is now in the capable hands of
GEORGE OTIs SMITH, Director Of the
Federal Geological Survey.
Mr.. PARSONS recently printed FOR
private circulation the story OF this
work, fascinating story. indeed, in
which, while adhering closely most
of the time to his main subject max
ing the desert safe for travellers he
has by casual mention Of scenes and
incidents. brief narratives Of desert
tradition and tragedy, unconsc!ously,
It may be, supplied much picturesque
and dramatic information.
Those who have no other knowl-
edge of the desert than that gained
by casual Glances out Of sleeping
or dining car window probably Won
der why any one ever crosses any
part of It ip any other way. An an
swer 70 that would involve large
consideration OF human nature. Why
does one man whom Mr.. PARSONS en-
countered irrigate little patch Of
- g I'd NV of dc
the Nile for thousands of years and
farm thereon? He drags his products
to the nearest mining camp, sells them
for satisfactory profit, no doubt
and then returns to-the desert No
compani onShip nor entertainment such
even as the mining camp would offer {;
no sound by day or night except the
bowling OF coyotes no news, no mail
no neishborly gossip. Why?
The fact Is that white Americans
for three-quarters Of century have
been crossing those deserts or arms Of
them, and Spaniards for century
before that, and Apaches for centu-
rles before the Spanlards On one
side are the fertile lands of southern
California. where were fat herds and
wine giving vineyards from the days
of the earliest Spanish settlements ;
on the other side mountains where
copper, silver and gold have been eN-
tracted by rude processes for as great
n length Of time. But why did the
herders cross TO the mines, the min
ers to the grazing lands? Why do
early morning ferryboats carry Man
hattanltes to work in New Jersey and
Jerseyites TO work in Manhattan
Mr.. PARSONS found that the desert
was not traclSless: miners were going
from camp TO camp, adventure seek
ers whittier their wanton wishes car
rled them; prospcctors for gold were
seeking bills beyond hills, mountains
beyond mountains, short cutting over
the desert; home seekers we're NOV
ing restlessly, ever hoping for better
land and searching for It through
some desert crossing Thousands of
these, including many Of the early
army of white emigrants, lost their
way or miscalculated the quantity OF
water they must carry and persisted
Of thirst. 1t was finding human skel-
etons-sixty were found In one place,
only a little way from cool water
finding in some instances that those