The Raymer enterprise., 1921-02-10

waters thus separated and /, j, un In.
land depression. which at Its lowest
point was nearly 800 feet below sea
level. II is estimated that the amount
of silt carried by the Lower Colorado
river Is sufficient to cover SO square
miles one foot deep with dry alluvial
soil each year.
''The river continued to bring down
It's load Of sediment and to build its
delta higher and force 1t farther into
the gulf. Like all such deltaic streams,
the channel on the top Of the delta
Is constantly shifting, cutting one
bank, building up the other, overflow.
Ing both banks, and during high water
sometimes entirely abandoning an old
channel for a new one. In this way
the river has from time to time flowed
into the Salton sea for some years
or centuries, and anon has shifted to
the eastward and discharged again
into the gulf, This Is the general
course the river has followed ever
since Its discovery BY the Spaniardf
In the Sixteenth century.
@At high water the river normally
overfows Its banks In the valley re.
gions all the way from the Grand
Canyon to the Gulf Of California. In
unusually high water. such as oc'
Cured In 1891, the overflow running
into the Salton sinkNhas been suffi.
cient to materially raise the level Of
the lake and overflow the tracks Of
the Southern Pacific railway, which
are built along Its shores
Of their domain by Russia does not
entirely explain II.
"The Tekkintzl rug, more commonly
known by the less distinctive name OF
BOkhara, Is the lovellest product Of the
desert loom. Its charm lies not In In
tricacy Of design, manifold detail, or
symbolic meaning. 1t Is not picture
In wool. Brlllinacy Of coloring 1t does
not have. But In richness Of tone the
Tekkintzi wins Its rightful place as
queen Of rugs.
"Years Of care In selecting the long
fbered, spotless wool, In dyeing 1t In
reds from BOkhara, blues from At
ghanlstan, or blacks from Merv, with
a touch Of orange or yellow now and
then. and In weaving 1t beneath the
hot sun Of the dry DESERT give the
Tekkintzi q character which more hur-
ried methods cannot give. 1t reveals
no trace Of foreign accent, for Its
language Of lasting beauty Is bred in
the blood.
"F0r centuries, possibly extending
back to the Iranian peoples whom Al.
exander found here on his way to In
dia. the Tekke maiden had been taught
to dye and weave. When she was
married to her Mohammedan husband,
the young bride took with her to her
masters hut the rugs her patient toll
had formed, and he In turn paid a cor.
responding price to her parents. Her
d0wry was her skill and Its product.
She was a menlal, but with the soul
Of an artist. Her toll was long, but
1t was not drudgery. She was not o
slave. for her work demanded the In
spirati0n Of soul, and she had an
enviable position compared with that
Of many Of her Oriental sisters In
polygamy.
Gradually these masterpieces In
mahogany, deep chocolate, terra. Gotta,
old rose, burnt orange and black found
their way to America, where their ap-
peal was irresistible. Buyers raced
one another across Europe into the
Transcaspian home of history to Sc
cure the priceless treasures Of a con-
quered race. The skill Of the Tekke
woman began to win its reward. Her
genius had caused the art world to
wear a path to her hut and her open
air loom. But there was the unhappy
side.
Only the rich young Turkomans
could afford to buy wife at the ex-
orbitant price her skill made possible.
Parents raised the price of their
daughters, consoling themselves with
the fact that II they could not pro-
duce offspring they could at least pro-
duce valuable rugs. The age of mar.
riage became higher. Caught In a trap
which skillful women had woven, the
young men revolted from the exagger-
ated demands Of the avarlcious and
unromantic parents and sought cheap
er wives elsewhere, while Tekke wom.
en-, robbed of love and enIneshed In
their own skeins Of fine wool, dragged
out busy lives Of hated spinsterhood" :"