The plant life of Lower California is different from that of any other part of the world—so naturalists say. There is a veritable riot of strange forms of cacti and other plants which manage to live without rainfall. The cacti vary from giant forms, which raise their massive fluted trunks to a height of fifty to sixty feet, to little straggling species which are too weak to stand upright. Another peculiar form is the creeping devil cactus, as it is called, which has the appearance of gigantic caterpillars crawling in every direction. These plants do actually travel away from a common centre, as the stem sends down rootlets every little distance, and then the older stems in the rear die about as fast as it advances in the front. There are not many species of birds or animals, and only such kinds as can live where water is scarce will be found. It is said that some animals have been found that never drink water, and even in captivity can not be taught to drink, as it does not seem necessary to their existence. Owing to its desert character the peninsula is very thinly peopled, and there are extensive sections where not a single inhabitant will be found. The most populous section is that south of La Paz, where the rains are more regular. A few small towns or villages will be found scattered around the coast, with a limited number of prospectors and miners gathered in the interior. The effort to colonize Lower California has been a tale of unbroken failure for more than fifty years. A few rainy years will cause apparent prosperity, but the succeeding years may be rainless and disaster follows. Those who have studied Lower California say that it is not all a hopeless desert, but that there are possibilities of agriculture through irrigation in many parts. CHAPTER XXIII THE RUINED CITIES OF YUCATAN