CHAPTER I. _The Approach._--Desert mountain ranges--Early

morning approach--Air illusions--Sand forms--The winds--Sun-shafts--Sunlight--Desert life--Antelope--The Lost Mountains--The ascent--Deer trails--Footprints--The stone path--Defensive walls--The summit--The fortified camp--Nature’s reclamations--The mountain dwellers--Invading hosts--Water and food supplies--The aborigines--Historic periods--The open desert--Perception of beauty--Sense of beauty--Mountain “view” of the desert--Desert colors--The land of fire--Drouth and heat--Sand and gypsum--Sand-whirls--Desert storms--Drift of sands--Winter cold in the basin--Snow on desert--Sea and sand--Grim desolation--Love for the desert--The descent--The Padres in the desert--The light of the cross--Aboriginal faith 1