It was evening when we pitched our camp, and the great ball of the sun was sinking into the desert, sending glorious rays of many-coloured light flying all over its vast expanse.
"The desert is wide and there is no water in it, the mountains are high and covered with snow, and man cannot say what lies beyond them behind the place where the sun sets; how shalt thou come thither, Incubu, and wherefore dost thou go?"
As a virtuous lion Nigh the daughters of
deserts roaring!
"One of my spies, who is a Blackbird, flew over the desert to the Land of Oz, and saw the Magic Belt in Ozma's palace," replied the King with a groan.
"There are two ways to get to the Land of Oz without traveling across the sandy desert."
"Oh," said Dorothy, when the shaggy man had read the sign aloud; "I've seen this
desert before, and it's true no one can live who tries to walk upon the sands."
What you do with him in the
desert is none of my concern, but I shall not have the blood of a Frenchman on the hands of my tribe on account of another man's quarrel--they would send soldiers here and kill many of my people, and burn our tents and drive away our flocks."
"Yes, he went off with the rest of the Indians when Jacinto
deserted us, but he could not stand being a traitor, after you had tried to save his brother's life.
Our caravan rested three nights at the town, which was about four miles off, in order to provide some horses which they wanted, several of the horses having been lamed and jaded with the long march over the last
desert; so we had some leisure here to put my design in execution.
It seemed as though no caravan had ever braved this
desert expanse, or it would have left visible traces of its encampments, or the whitened bones of men and animals.
Behind the soldiers the green carpet rolled itself up again, so that there was always just enough of it for the procession to walk upon, in order that their feet might not come in contact with the deadly, life-destroying sands of the
desert.
Some of them determined to
desert, and to make their way back to St.
So I believe the best way to get across the
desert will be through the air.
As a precaution, however, the party halted on Bear River and hunted for a few days, until they had laid in a supply of dried buffalo meat and venison; they then passed by the head waters of the Cassie River, and soon found themselves launched on an immense sandy
desert. Southwardly, on their left, they beheld the Great Salt Lake, spread out like a sea, but they found no stream running into it.
Meanwhile, the city itself was
deserted. There was hardly anyone in the streets.
