Arizona Sketches | Page 4

of history as well as mystery and invites
investigation. It has a fascination that every one feels who crosses its
border. Paradoxical as it may seem it is both the oldest and newest
portion of our country--the oldest in ancient occupation and civilization
and the newest in modern progress. In natural wonders it boasts of the
Grand Canon of Arizona, the painted desert, petrified forest, meteorite
mountain, natural bridge, Montezuma's well and many other marvels of
nature. There are also ruins galore, the cave and cliff dwellings,
crumbled pueblos, extensive acequias, painted rocks, the casa grande
and old Spanish missions. Anyone who is in search of the old and
curious, need not go to foreign lands, but can find right here at home in
Arizona and the southwest, a greater number and variety of curiosities
than can be found in the same space anywhere else upon the globe.
Arizona is a land of strong contrasts and constant surprises, where
unusual conditions prevail and the unexpected frequently happens.
From the high Colorado plateau of northern Arizona the land slopes
toward the southwest to the Gulf of California. Across this long slope
of several hundred miles in width, numerous mountain ranges stretch
from the northwest to the southeast. Through the middle of the
Territory from east to west, flows the Gila river to its confluence with
the Colorado. This stream marks the dividing line between the
mountains which descend from the north and those that extend south,
which increase in altitude and extent until they culminate in the grand
Sierra Madres of Mexico.
The traveler in passing through the country never gets entirely out of
the sight of mountains. They rise up all about him and bound the
horizon near and far in every direction. In riding along he always seems
to be approaching some distant mountain barrier that ever recedes
before him as he advances. He is never clear of the encircling
mountains for, as often as he passes out of one enclosure through a gap
in the mountains, he finds himself hemmed in again by a new one. The

peculiarity of always being in the midst of mountains and yet never
completely surrounded, is due to an arrangement of dovetailing or
overlapping in their formation. His winding way leads him across
barren wastes, through fertile valleys, among rolling hills and into
sheltered parks, which combine an endless variety of attractive scenery.
An Arizona landscape, though mostly of a desert type, is yet full of
interest to the lover of nature. It presents a strangely fascinating view,
that once seen, will never be forgotten. It stirs a rapture in the soul that
only nature can inspire.
Looking out from some commanding eminence, a wide spreading and
diversified landscape is presented to view. Though hard and rugged, the
picture, as seen at a distance, looks soft and smooth and its details of
form and color make an absorbing study.
The eye is quick to note the different hues that appear in the field of
vision and readily selects five predominating colors, namely, gray,
green, brown, purple and blue, which mingle harmoniously in various
combinations with almost every other color that is known. The most
brilliant lights, sombre shadows, exquisite tints and delicate tones are
seen which, if put on canvas and judged by the ordinary, would be
pronounced exaggerated and impossible by those unfamiliar with the
original.
The prevailing color is gray, made by the dry grass and sandy soil, and
extends in every direction to the limit of vision. The gramma grass of
the and region grows quickly and turns gray instead of brown, as
grasses usually do when they mature. It gives to the landscape a
subdued and quiet color, which is pleasing to the eye and makes the
ideal background in a picture.
Into this warp of gray is woven a woof of green, spreading in irregular
patches in all directions. It is made by the chaparral, which is composed
of a variety of desert plants that are native to the soil and can live on
very little water. It consists of live oak, pinion, mesquite, desert willow,
greasewood, sage brush, palmilla, maguey, yucca and cacti and is
mostly evergreen.
The admixture of gray and green prevails throughout the year except
during the summer rainy season, when, if the rains are abundant, the
gray disappears almost entirely, and the young grass springs up as by
magic, covering the whole country with a carpet of living green. In the

midst of the billowy grass myriads of wild flowers bloom, and stand
single or shoulder to shoulder in masses of solid color by the acre.
Upon the far mountains is seen the sombre brown in the bare rocks.
The whole region was at one time violently disturbed by seismic force
and the glow