The characteristic plants of these deserts are sage, mesquite, greasewood, and a great variety of cacti. Of the cactus family, the most conspicuous is the _saguaro_, or giant cactus, which frequently attains the height of fifty feet. All the cacti are leafless and abundantly supplied with sharp, needle-like spines which protect them from herbivorous animals. The bark or outer covering has a firm, close texture that prevents the sap from evaporating during the long, dry season. In traversing the deserts during May and June, one is amazed at the display of beautiful blossoms of white, yellow, purple, pink, and scarlet issuing from their thorny stalks. The plant most welcome to the thirsty traveller, and which has saved the lives of many a wandering prospector, is the "well of the desert," a barrel-shaped cactus thickly studded with sharp spines. When one cuts out the centre of the plant in a bowl-like form, the cavity soon fills up with a watery liquid that is most refreshing. [Illustration: A giant cactus in Arizona] Hot and forbidding as are these terrible wastes, they are the dwelling places of several tribes of Indians. The desert cactus furnishes them a large part of their food, and the fibre is woven into cloth to provide them with clothing. These Indians have been acclimated to the desert for centuries and are well versed in all of its moods and mysteries. They know of no better abode; neither can they be induced to leave it for a more congenial climate and fertile soil. Travellers and prospectors have told many stories about their experiences in these deserts. But perhaps no story has possessed a greater fascination than that of the lost Pegleg Mine. The story of this lost mine has been told and retold with many variations for the past seventy years, and more than a score of persons have lost their lives in attempting to rediscover it. In 1836, according to the traditional story, a man named Smith, distinguished from the rest of the Smith family by the possession of a wooden leg, was journeying with several companions from Yuma over the Colorado desert. On account of his wooden stump he was dubbed "Pegleg" by his fellow-travellers.