Arizona Sketches | Page 9

fine scenery, but
are natural boundaries for the ranches and give shade and shelter to the
cattle.
There are no severe storms nor blizzard swept plains where cattle drift
and perish from cold. The weather is never extremely cold, the mercury
seldom falling to more than a few degrees below freezing, except upon
the high plateaus and mountains of northern Arizona. If it freezes
during the night the frost usually disappears the next day; and, if snow
flies, it lies only on the mountains, but melts as fast as it falls in the
valleys. There are but few cloudy or stormy days in the year and bright,
warm sunshine generally prevails. There has never been any loss of
cattle from cold, but many have died from drought as a result of
overstocking the range.

The pastures consist of valley, mesa and mountain lands which, in a
normal season, are covered by a variety of nutritious grasses. Of all the
native forage plants the gramma grass is the most abundant and best. It
grows only in the summer rainy season when, if the rains are copious,
the gray desert is converted into a vast green meadow.
The annual rainfall is comparatively light and insufficient to grow and
mature with certainty any of the cereal crops. When the summer rains
begin to fall the rancher is "jubilant" and the "old cow smiles." Rain
means even more to the ranchman than it does to the farmer. In an
agricultural country it is expected that rain or snow will fall during
every month of the year, but on the range rain is expected only in
certain months and, if it fails to fall then, it means failure, in a measure,
for the entire year.
Rain is very uncertain in Arizona. July and August are the rain months
during which time the gramma grass grows. Unless the rain falls daily
after it begins it does but little good, as frequent showers are required to
keep the grass growing after it once starts. A settled rain of one or more
days' duration is of rare occurrence. During the rainy season and, in fact,
at all times, the mornings are usually clear. In the forenoon the clouds
begin to gather and pile up in dark billowy masses that end in showers
during the afternoon and evening. But not every rain cloud brings rain.
Clouds of this character often look very threatening, but all their
display of thunder and lightning is only bluff and bluster and ends in a
fizzle with no rain. After such a demonstration the clouds either bring
wind and a disagreeable dust storm, or, if a little rain starts to fall, the
air is so dry that it evaporates in mid air, and none of it ever reaches the
earth. In this fashion the clouds often threaten to do great things, only
to break their promise; and the anxious rancher stands and gazes at the
sky with longing eyes, only to be disappointed again and again.
As a rule water is scarce. A long procession of cloudless days merge
into weeks of dry weather; and the weeks glide into months during
which time the brazen sky refuses to yield one drop of moisture either
of dew or rain to the parched and thirsty earth. Even the rainy season is
not altogether reliable, but varies considerably one year with another in
the time of its appearance and continuance.
The soil is sandy and porous and readily absorbs water, except where
the earth is tramped and packed hard by the cattle. One peculiarity of

the country as found marked upon the maps, and that exists in fact, is
the diminution and often complete disappearance of a stream after it
leaves the mountains. If not wholly lost upon entering the valley the
water soon sinks out of sight in the sand and disappears and reappears
at irregular intervals, until it loses itself entirely in some underground
channel and is seen no more.
Many a pleasant valley in the range country is made desolate by being
destitute of any surface spring or running brook, or water that can be
found at any depth. Occasionally a hidden fountain is struck by digging,
but it is only by the merest chance. Wells have been dug to great depths
in perfectly dry ground in an eager search for water without finding it,
and such an experience is usually equivalent to a failure and the making
of a useless bill of expense.
A never-failing spring of good water in sufficient quantity to supply the
needs of a ranch in the range country is of rare occurrence, considering
the large territory to be supplied. Only here and there at long intervals
is such a spring found, and it is always a desirable and valuable
property.