title: The Mojave Desert (Images of America: California)
author: John M. Swisher
description: John M. Swisher is a leading authority on the Mojave Desert, having written several books and numerous papers on the subject since 1937. His deep love for the area is evident in this new publication, which will preserve and commemorate the deserts rich history for years to come. Within these pages, discover the origins of the Mojave Desert, a stronghold for desert recreational opportunities, as well as one of the leading golden opportunity bases for Americas exciting future.
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  The Mother of Felipe  
    
  
  
  This page copyright © 2001 Blackmask Online.
  
  
  
  
  
  http://www.blackmask.com
  
  
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  # The Mother of Felipe
  
  
  ### Mary Austin
  
  
  
  
  
  This page copyright © 2001 Blackmask Online.
  
  
  
  
  
  http://www.blackmask.com  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  THAT triangular portion of the great Mojave desert lying south of the curve of
  the Sierra Nevadas, where those
  
  
  mountains unite with the coast hills is known as Antelope Valley. A big,
  barren, windy country, rising from the level of
  
  
  the desert in long, undulating slopes that face abruptly toward the mountains.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  In the open placers rise weird phalanxes of yucca palms, and among the hills
  little dark pools hide their
  
  
  treacherous margins in unwholesome grasses, and the white leprous crest of
  alkali. A country to be avoided by the
  
  
  solitary traveler, with its hard, inhospitable soil, and its vast monotony of
  contour and color. A country sublime in its
  
  
  immensity of light, and soft unvarying tints, 