The delicate "pin cushion" gathered
in clusters of myriad small spiny balls. The prickly pear, here in Ha
Va Su Canyon, were not the starved, shrivelled, mineral-tinted cactus
such as we found at the beginning of our trip. Instead they were green
and flourishing, with large fleshy leaves joining on to each other
until they rise to a height of three feet or more and cover large
patches of ground to the utter exclusion of all other growth. What a
display of yellow and red these desert plants put forth when they are
in bloom! A previous visit to Ha Va Su was made in the month of May
when every group of prickly pear was a riot of pure colour. All this
prolific growth is made possible by the extreme heat of the summer
months aided in the case of those plants and trees which flourish in
the fertile soil of Ha Va Su by the sub-irrigation and the spray from
the fall.
After making an inventory of our provisions we concluded not to try
the tedious and uncertain trip up Cataract Creek. With care and good
fortune we would have enough provisions to last us to Diamond Creek.
With our run the next day the inner gorge continued to deepen, the
walls drew closer together, so that we now had a narrow gorge hemming
us in with 3000-foot walls from which there was no escape. They were
about a fourth of a mile apart at the top. A boat at the foot of one
of these walls was merely an atom. The total depth of the canyon was
close to 4500 feet.
Pages:
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245