Western field . s the intensely dry clearair of the desert, .which continues down tothe very shores of the gulf. The conse-quence is a mirage, even in the middle ofwinter, that has no equal on any part of thedesert that I have ever seen. On some daysevery bit of stick or rough edge of earthturns into a duck, goose, crane or curlewat only a few yards distance, while the flatsmooth places shine like the purest water,with every spear of grass turning into agreen bush; so that often within easy shot-gun range you have a first-rate duck pondfull of game. I have never seen this any-where else and it
Western field . s the intensely dry clearair of the desert, .which continues down tothe very shores of the gulf. The conse-quence is a mirage, even in the middle ofwinter, that has no equal on any part of thedesert that I have ever seen. On some daysevery bit of stick or rough edge of earthturns into a duck, goose, crane or curlewat only a few yards distance, while the flatsmooth places shine like the purest water,with every spear of grass turning into agreen bush; so that often within easy shot-gun range you have a first-rate duck pondfull of game. I have never seen this any-where else and it would be impossible with-out ground perfectly flat and dry, and theair so dry. This reminds me that the climate of thesewinter days that make such a mirage is asfar superior to the best on the Paciflc sideof the mountains as that is superior to theclimate of Chicago. Such is the case allwinter except when there is a storm on thecoast, when the wind whips over quite hardat times and clouds drift far into Arizona. A BIT OF THK MAIX (UPPEU) RIVER. and it may even rain on the river. Butgenerally even in a storm you will find itfine enough, with cool nights and warm days,no mosquitoes, fleas or torments of any north or east wind here is mild when itis strong on the Pacific side. This seemsa peculiarity of both deserts, the winds beingstrongest on the farther side of the moun-tains. Vast quantities of sandhill cranes winterhere and there is no finer bird on the coastif you can get a fat one. Even a lean oneis as good as most of the chicken eaten inCalifornia. This is contrary to the commonidea which confounds them with the heronsand bitterns. They are nothing of the sort,but graminivorous when they can get grassor grain. Here they feed on the wild flaxwhich is grown in great quantities along themiddle river. But unless one finds theirflyways, and takes great care, one can donothing with them. The ground is every-where too flat to allow sneaking on to them. What your corresp
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectsports, bookyear1902
