r El Dorado, with the
advantages the Antelope Valley was said to possess _can_ exist
unutilized. The Americans are far "too cute," if they found such a
place, to tout for occupants from England.

As this is the last I have to say about California, I will close this
chapter.

FOOTNOTE:

[7] Always excepting the pavements. These are bad, but not as bad as
in New York.

CHAPTER V.

Nevada--Utah--Wyoming--Denver--A restless
night--Seeking for a ranch--Ranch work--Colorado
Springs, the Sanitarium of Western America.

Nevada, east of California, is a wretched waste, and like Arizona,
described some pages back, mostly, if not all, desert. True, in both
cases, I only saw the parts traversed by the rail, but it is absurd
to suppose, were any part otherwise, it would not have been selected
for the line. The whole distance across the state is, say, by rail,
350 miles, and certainly 250 of that is a sandy waste. Then came the
state of "Utah," famous as the abode of the Mormons, and part of this
was also bare sand, but not like Nevada, for where irrigated, as
California, it seemed fertile.

This was the last I saw of the American Deserts, and recalling the
hundreds of miles of such I had traversed in my two journeys, I
wondered greatly at the ignorance of Western nations on this head. It
may be so, because, if you look at the map, you will see the parts
described by me as desert are far out west, and that few Europeans go
there. Of course Americans do, but even with them it is the
exception, and quite in keeping with national characteristics to keep
it quiet. The day will come that we shall know how many square miles
of desert there are in the States. When it does many, not I, will be
surprised.

In "Utah" we skirted the north side of the Great Salt Lake, but saw
nothing of the Mormons. Salt Lake City, their abode, is perhaps 100
miles south, at the southern end of the lake. The next state we
entered was "Wyoming," which differs much from either "Nevada" or
"Utah." Here are great rolling plains of grass, such as hold in
Texas, and cattle raising is carried on over the whole state, at
least so I was told. It is a large country, about 350 miles long east
and west, and 250 broad. The line of Rocky Mountains runs through
it, and some of the scenery is superb. As far as abundant food in the
shape of grass goes, Wyoming must be a good ranch locality. But the
winters are very severe, and the snow lies