The mystic mid-region, the deserts of the Southwest . nce of the Indians ofthe desert, but it is in the fibrous tissues ofthe giant cactus and the yuccas that theyfind their material for the weaving of gar-ments, plaiting ropes, and making baskets andother articles of use and ornament. Of lateyears the squaws of the several desert tribeshave found the making of baskets and othertrinkets for sale to curio hunters a very profit-able undertaking. One squaw of the MojaveIndians received more than three thousanddollars in a single year for work of that sort. And the desert, which flaunts the banner
The mystic mid-region, the deserts of the Southwest . nce of the Indians ofthe desert, but it is in the fibrous tissues ofthe giant cactus and the yuccas that theyfind their material for the weaving of gar-ments, plaiting ropes, and making baskets andother articles of use and ornament. Of lateyears the squaws of the several desert tribeshave found the making of baskets and othertrinkets for sale to curio hunters a very profit-able undertaking. One squaw of the MojaveIndians received more than three thousanddollars in a single year for work of that sort. And the desert, which flaunts the banner ofdeath in the face of the stranger, hands out itstreasures to its children, and they live andtlirive and love it. There is a little flower found growing incertain portions of Californias deserts, whichfulfills the poets statement embodied in thecouplet : 58 The Mystic Mid-Region Full many a flower is born to blush unseenAnd waste its sweetness on the desert air. The little yellow blossom has, so far as thewriter knows, no name in the text-books on. I photograph hy C. C. Pierce & Co. A YELLOW DIAMOND-BACK RATTLER botany. It is a tiny blossom, growing veryclose to the ground, and it opens only at , whoso chances to pass through a patchof these flowers is treated to incense such asnever exhaled from the most redolent orangeorchard. Curious Desert Plants 59 The perfume is given oft in vast quantities,and is sweet beyond the power of kinsj^uai^e todescribe, yet it is not the sickening;, overpower-ing perfume of some plants. One does not need to lift the flower to theface to get the fragrance, — the air is fairlysaturated with the sweet odor. The daylight,however, puts an end to both blossom and per-fume. There is not a sign of the blossom tobe found when the morning sun lights up thedesert plain. It is only the night travelerwho is favored with the sweet experience aris-ing from an acquaintance with this strangeplant. CHAPTER IV STRANGE DWELLERS OF THE DESERT THE repre
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectdeserts, bookyear1904
