to note the rapidly increasing desert
character of our surroundings. The whole thing was like a Salvator Rosa
setting for wild adventure and daring lawlessness. I am confident that
any one owning a horse there, and not overburdened with moral sense,
would almost unconsciously become a desperado. May we not imagine that
man is apt to develop within himself the characteristics of those
animals who find a subsistence in such places? There the sly coyote,
the panther, and wildcat inhabit; there, too, the rattlesnake and other
venomous things have their life; and may not the environment which
produces such creatures have like effect upon men who grow up or dwell
there? Such were my reflections when at Deming, where we made a wait of
twenty minutes, I saw an armed guard mount our train to be all ready
for possible train robbers. One of the guards was a sweet-looking,
mild-mannered man, quite young; but the conductor told me that that
sweet fellow was the one who did the business, by a sure shot, in the
last recent train-robbing escapade. It seemed all a matter of course,
to fit in nicely with the landscape, and did not trouble us in the
least nor disturb our tranquil rest. The morning found us all safe and
unmolested, which was rather a disappointment to some of our ladies who
wished especially to encounter a train robbery or hold-up. The ideal
highwayman is ever held to be gallant to the ladies, even when
depriving them in good old-fashioned way of their jewels.

The desert of Arizona, through which we were speeding, had the same
pale and tawny look of dry, rocky, and alkaline soil; but nature is
never idle anywhere. Here we were entertained with whirling processions
of immense cacti, some thirty feet high, which seemed to dance past us
in grim, grotesque fashion as we rode along. Some species were gorgeous
in blood-red blossoms, an admirable contrast to the pale, bell-shaped
flowers of the yucca plant.

At Yuma we had a vivid evidence of what care and irrigation can do even
in this arid waste. The station enclosure was a mass of brilliant
beauty. There were red, pink, and white oleanders. There were
pomegranates in full bloom, with their rich yellow blossoms.

An enthusiastic German whom I met was quite enraptured with the sight
of palms and flowers, and declared that the railroad company ought to
establish oases such as this, but larger, at frequent intervals, well
furnished with casinoes, music, hotels, and all the app