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Title: The Rim of the Desert

Author: Ada Woodruff Anderson

Release Date: August 31, 2004 [EBook #13343]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: He worked tirelessly, as though he was determined to
infuse her numb veins with his own vigor. FRONTISPIECE.]

THE RIM OF THE DESERT

BY

ADA WOODRUFF ANDERSON

AUTHOR OF "THE STRAIN OF WHITE," "THE HEART OF THE RED FIRS," ETC.

WITH FRONTISPIECE BY MONTE CREWS

1915

_To the Memory of_

MY MOTHER

A gentle and appreciative critic, the only one, perhaps, who re-read my
previous books with pleasure and found no flaw in them, and who would have
had a greater interest than any other in this publication.

FOREWORD

The desert of this story is that semi-arid region east of the upper
Columbia. It is cut off from the moisture laden winds of the Pacific by
the lofty summits of the Cascade Mountains which form its western rim, and
for many miles the great river crowds the barrier, winding, breaking in
rapids, seeking a way through. To one approaching this rim from the dense
forests of the westward slopes, the sage grown levels seem to stretch
limitless into the far horizon, but they are broken by hidden coulees; in
propitious seasons reclaimed areas have yielded phenominal crops of wheat,
and under irrigation the valley of one of the two tributaries from the
west, wherein lies Hesperides Vale, has become a garden spot of the world.

To the initiated I wish to say if in the chapters touching on the Alaska
coal cases I have followed too literally the statements of prominent men,
it was not in an effort to portray them but merely to represent as clearly
as possible the Alaska situation.

ADA WOODRUFF ANDERSON.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME BACK
II THE QUESTION
III FOSTER TOO
IV SNOQUALMIE PASS AND A BROKEN AXLE
V APPLES OF EDEN
VI NIP AND TUCK
VII A NIGHT ON THE MOUNTAIN ROAD
VIII