es was a very curious spectacle--rain in the
sky that did not reach the earth. Perhaps some cold current high above
us would condense the moisture, which would begin to fall in long
trailing sweeps, blown like fine folds of muslin, or like sheets of
dissolving sugar, and then the hot air of the earth would dissipate it,
and the showers would be absorbed in the upper regions. The heat was
sometimes intense, but at intervals a refreshing wind would blow, the
air being as fickle as the rain; and now and then we would see a slender
column of dust, a thousand or two feet high, marching across the desert,
apparently not more than two feet in diameter, and wavering like the
threads of moisture that tried in vain to reach the earth as rain. Of
life there was not much to be seen in our desert route. In the first day
we encountered no habitation except the ranch-house mentioned, and saw
no human being; and the second day none except the solitary occupant of
the dried well at Red Horse, and two or three Indians on the hunt. A few
squirrels were seen, and a rabbit now and then, and occasionally a bird.
The general impression was that of a deserted land. But antelope abound
in the timber regions, and we saw several of these graceful creatures
quite near us. Excellent antelope steaks, bought of the wandering Indian
hunters, added something to our "canned" supplies. One day as we
lunched, without water, on the cedar slope of a lovely grass interval,
we saw coming towards us over the swells of the prairie a figure of a
man on a horse. It rode to us straight as the crow flies. The Indian
pony stopped not two feet from where our group sat, and the rider, who
was an Oualapai chief, clad in sacking, with the print of the brand of
flour or salt on his back, dismounted with his Winchester rifle, and
stood silently looking at us without a word of salutation. He stood
there, impassive, until we offered him something to eat. Having eaten
all we gave him, he opened his mouth and said, "Smoke 'em?" Having
procured from the other wagon a pipe of tobacco and a pull at the
driver's canteen, he returned to us all smiles. His only baggage was the
skull of an antelope, with the horns, hung at his saddle. Into this he
put the bread and meat which we gave him, mounted the wretched pony, and
without a word rode straight away. At a little distance he halted,
dismounted, and motioned towards the edge of the timber, where he had
spied an antelope. But the game