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Show 224 BY PATH AND TEAIL. the water ; the spring freshets will swell it to 50,000 feet, for that is the average high flow of the river. At present the new inland lake is a beautiful sheet of water, and is a never failing source of wonder to Eastern tourists after crossing hundreds of miles of arid wastes, of sand, greasewood and cactus. To the west, from the fond- du- lac or foot of the lake, tower the snow- capped peaks of Mount San Bernardino and Mount San lacinto, each about 12,000 feet high. For ages the Bernardino has held the restless, crawling sands of the thirsty des ert which scorched its foothills, and at last the cool waters have come and rippling waves play with its foun dations. Facing Salton or what was once Salton the sea is about twelve miles wide, and the mountains, rising majestically to the west, mirror themselves on its placid surface. Here, in Yuma, they tell me the temperature was no higher than usual last summer, yet the heat was the most oppressive in the history of the place. They attribute this oppression to the Salton sea, and dread the ap proach of June with a much greater area under water. Whatever the outcome of this continuous inundation may be, if not arrested, whether the present waters join the gulf or an inland sea is formed, a remarkable climatic change is sure to occur, and, indeed, is now in process of evolution. For the past year, more rain has fallen in and around Yuma than in the last five years, and sections of land that were formerly a wilderness of shifting sands are now Blossoming like a garden. Here before our very eyes is the verification of the prophecy of Isaiah : i l The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and tho wilderness shall rejoice and shall flourish like a lily; it shall bud forth and blossom and shall rejoice with joy |
