Arizona republican., 1919-12-07

Roosevelt Dam, recently constructed
by Uncle Sam in Arizona. has caused
he despised desert to blossom and
bloom. The thriving city of Phoenix
Is the hub OF this garden of Eden.
An eastern remittance man. writing
from his adopted home in New Mexico, |
stated that all that was requisite to
make that section most desirable I
place to live was water and good So
ETY. to which letter his friend re-
oiled that those two ESSENTIALS were
tlso lacking IN perdition. Water and /
Excellent society are a prevailing fac
or both in and adjacent to Phoenix.
The reservoir created by Roosevelt
Dam contains sufficient reserve water
o Mitigate 100000 acres for three con-
,ecutive years with out rainfall. Once
the tarantulas. centipedos rattle /
snakes and ella monsters injected
pep" and preparedness into, the eau
tious cowboys and sour coughs" who
slumbered surrounded by horsehair
lariats, as a precautionary measure.
Nature having created these objec
tionable critters there was placed
E on the desert the chaparral bird or
road runner, the avowed enemy of the
. RATHER" This birds work is most in
genious. Finding a rattlesnalSe asleep,
he would construct from the small
spinous cactus, a corral closely sur
rounding the snake. giving it no time
to uncoil or jump. Neither tarantulas
Centipedes or snakes will cross a
needed or jagged obstruction (hence
the utility OF the horsehair lariat. The
rattlesnake will die of starvation rather
than essay the cactus fence. vic
tim to the ingenuity of his enemy,
ia. 1I,o
paral bird
Surplus water from the dam has
created many duck sanctuaries at
tracing them in countless numbers.
Hirst lake, located near the confluence
of the ella and Aqua Fria rivers, about
is miles southwest of Phoenix, covers
approximately $50 acres, many small
islands are in evidence. the shores
being set to flag, reeds and tulies, with
an abundance OF wild rice and grass
nut feed. AS the guest of Captain c.
V. Gulley and Tom Rasmussen of
Phoenix, a brace Of all-round outdoor
sports and shooting enthusiasts,
motored out over the excellent pixies.
also passing fields Of Egyptian cotton.
orange. fig and olive groves, also pass
ing fields Of milo maize, seductive
feeding ground for quail and the Son
ora or white Winged Pigeon indi-
genous to Mexico and Arizona.
Passing into the section Of sage and
grease brush, we found the sahuaro cac-
tus tree with their spinous rows about
one inch apart, extending from the
root to the top, at times height OF
30 feet, mute silent sentinels of the
arid deserts Of the west. Many native
Mexicans were gathering the dwarf
sahuaro cactus from which the most
delicious candy is manufactured. The
maguey cactus or century plant, exudes
from its punctured leaves a juice, from
which the Mexican pulqua (beer) is
made. When fermented and distilled,
the 'mescal," substitute for spirits
frumenti. a fight being guaranteed with
every drink. Hirst lake flashed into
sight, thousands of ducks were there
OF every variety, both "puddlers' and
deep sea divers Jack Snipe were
jumping from every depression,
screaming. back their defy of Scape!
Scapel Scapel as they zigzagged or
rail fenced" to a more congenial To-
cality. A shot fired at caper cutting
jack, put in flight a bank of ducks,
some making an immediate getaway,
while many more made the circling
flight OF investigation. We preempted
couple of permanent shore blinds on
points directly opposite, with about 125
veards of open water between. We
we're on a direct flyway where every
bunch of birds had A blazed aerial trail,
usually presenting a possible shot in
their pilgrimage. Pass shooting pre-
dominated. We had every opportunity
and angle to test ones ability as a
lead or daylight guesser." To sue
cessfully negotiate with those birds re-
lulred a postgraduate course in the
correspondence school of wing shoot
ing. They came down wind, circled,
volplaned and coasted. skidded came
like bats out Of perdition and loafed
in over decoys, curious investigators,
they attempted to get chummy with
our live decoys. 1t was an afternoons
work out on diversified shooting from
every angle, height and distance.
Doubles. singles, kills and misses. with
an occasional 'eye-swipe' were re-
corded and discussed My shooting
yards weighed in the scales of mark
manship were not found wanting. The
makings of a western mulligan stew,
was our objective, the legal limit OF
birds were requisite and we answered
the roll call for honorable mention
An afternoon of unalloyed pleasure
afield with job lot family Of ducks