The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1919-06-20

two neckties In the entire car, and
they occupied, Richard observed, the
same seat.
'"The beginning Of the canal sys-
tenn"
Richard looked out upon fiat, one
toned country, marked OF In rec
tangles by plows and scrapers. Far
ther south these rectangles were edged
by young willows. He fancied he
could see, even at that distance, the
CLEAN of water.
1t was the passing of the desert. A
few miles back he had seen the desert
in its primitive nakedness, which not
even cactus relieved. He was passing
over the land which man and horses
were preparing for water. And he
could see the land where water was.
"That was the way Riverside looked
when / first saw It." commented the
other man who wore tie. "Come out
on the rear platform. We can see bet
ter"
Richard followed to the back of the
dust-swept, sitting car. The glare on
the platform was intense. He stood
watching the newly made checkerboard
Of a country slip past him. Receding
were the two lines of cleaning steel
rails which connected and separated
him from the world outside. He was
"going in" Not in Mexico even had
he such a feeling of ultimate remote
ness. The mountains, converging per-
spectively toward the throat Of the
valley, looked elusive and unreal In
their gauze draperies of rose and VIC
let. The tender hour of day was CLOTH
ing them with mystery, softening their
sharp outlines. They curtained the
world beyond. Richard felt the sus-
pense of the next act.
1t was a torpid Imagination, he
thought, which would not quicken over
this conquest of the desert. East of
the tract men and teams were prepar-
ing the newly furrowed ground for the
seed. The curved land knives were
breaking up the rich mold into ridges
Of soft soil as uncohesive and feathery
as pulverized chocolate. 1t was the
dark color of the chocolate of COM
merce, this silt which had been pill
fered from the states through which
the vagrant river wandered. The smell
of the upturned earth, sweetly damp,
struck against his nostrils. Richard
INDUCED minute of whimsical fancy
this was California territory over
which his train was passing, but the
soil, that dark earth those blades were
crumbling, was it not the tribute of
other states, of despoiling Wyoming,
Of ravishing Colorado and Arizona?
To the west new squares were being
leveled and outlined. Shrubby rec
tangles were being cleared of their Gre
osote bush and tough mesquite. Com
pared with other countries, the prepa-
ration for planting was the simplest
Horses were dragging over the ground
a railroad rail bent into a V angle,
which pulled the bushes by the roots
and dragged them out of the way. Be-
yond, farther west, could be seen the
untouched desert. The surface for
many miles was cracked by water
lines, broken and baked into irregular
sand cakes; the mark Of sand which
has been imprisoned by water and
branded by swift heat.
Close by men were putting in with
care the seed that was to quicken the
river silt. They were passing square
where the green tips Of the grain
were piercing the ground. Now they
were abreast of field Of matured al
falfa over which the wind raced crate.
fully. Desert and grain field; death
and life! The panorama embraced the
whole cycle.
They went back to their seats. After
a few minutes the other leaned over
his shoulder, his hand waving toward
the passing mountains. ''Those are the
Superstition mountains you can see
over yonder. An unusually apt name. u
"Yes?"
"Why is 1t good, you mean? That
pile Of dark rock stands as a monu.
ment to an effete superstition. 1t is
the gravestone for gigantic mistake
Why, it was only the grossest igno.
rance that gave to the desert the label
of bad lands The desert is a con.
dition, not fact. Here you see the
passing of the condition, the burial OF
the superstition. Are you interested in
irrigation?"
Richard was not given to explain
the degree of interest his profession
involved, for the stranger drew a pain.
full breath, and went on.
"Of course you are, If you are a
western man. You are, think?'
The engineer said he was, by choice
Irrigation is the creed of the West
Gold brought people to this country
water, scientifically applied, will keep
them here. Look at Riverside. And
we are at the primer stage only. We
are way behind the ancients in infor.
nation on that subject. I learned al
school, so did you, that some of the
most glorious civilizations flourished
in spite of the desert which surround.
ed them. That was only half truth
They were great because of It'll Why
did the Incas choose the desert when
their strength gave them the choice OF
the continent of South America? WHY
did the Aztecs settle in the desert
when they might easily have pre-.
empted the watered regions? Then
there are the Carthaginians, the Toll.
tees, the Moors. And one never for.
gets Egypt
"For protection" Richard gave the
sighted question an interested recog.
milton. 'Was that not what we were