Mary Austin\'s Land of Little

¶ … Mary Austin's Land of Little Rain is an observer's unique tale of deserts, plains and mountains in California. In the passage we studied, the author talked about the Country of Lost Borders and Ute, Paiute, Mojave, and Shoshone that lie on its frontiers. The author is not telling us what she saw; she is actually observing things for us. It is her unique way of imposing her views on us. Even though the audience must have appreciated her admiration for deserts and plains, things that often go unnoticed by ordinary travelers, there are points in the reading when you actually feel trapped. The author doesn't want you to think for yourself. Austin has made observations and you are gently requested to accept them without further questioning. For example at one point Austin tells us "Desert is a loose term to indicate land that supports no man; whether the land can be bitted and broken to that purpose is not proven. Void of life it never is, however dry the air and villainous the soil." Here we notice the use of force. The author wants us to believe that desert is not the right word to use for the place since it smacks of lifelessness. How does the author reach that conclusion? Some readers might have a different view of the word entirely.

This can be differentiated on account of the force used since there are other points made with complete abandon of a traveler who is only interesting in observing but not in observing for you. For example she writes, "Where the mountains are steep and the rains heavy, the pool is never quite dry, but dark and bitter, rimmed about with the efflorescence of alkaline deposits." This is called an ordinary observation, observation made for the sake of telling the readers about what you saw but not exactly what you want the readers to see. There is manipulation that you notice throughout the chapter. It happens in subtle ways at times but at others, its blatantly clear. For example Austin writes, "Since this is a hill country one expects to find springs, but not to depend upon them; for when found they are often brackish and unwholesome, or maddening, slow dribbles in a thirsty soil." I am sure there are some travelers who would love to disagree with this since not all springs can possibly be blackish or unwholesome. This is a too generalized view of the land and I feel as if the author is being rather irresponsible in her account of the place.

Some of the lines are indeed useful and informative. If you are a reader who is actually interested in visiting the place yourself, the chapter includes bits of wisdom and information that one might find highly useful. When the author explains why deaths are common in this place, she writes about illusions that desert creates and the effect it has on a thirsty traveler. Austin observes: "There are many areas in the desert where drinkable water lies within a few feet of the surface, indicated by the mesquite and the bunch grass (Sporobolus airoides). It is this nearness of unimagined help that makes the tragedy of desert deaths....To underestimate one's thirst, to pass a given landmark to the right or left, to find a dry spring where one looked for running water -- there is no help for any of these things." This is a vital piece of information and might help an aspiring traveler in his desire to come back from the place unscathed.

Some of the information provided is not meant to help an aspiring traveler but are merely mentioned for entertainment purpose. This is where you see a writer's instead of a traveler's attempt to capture the attention of his audience. The author is often unbiased when presenting this kind of information. It exists in lines such as this one: "There is neither poverty of soil nor species to account for the sparseness of desert growth, but simply that each plant requires more room. So much earth must be preempted to extract so much moisture. The real struggle for existence, the real brain of the plant, is underground; above there is room for a rounded perfect growth. In Death Valley, reputed the very core of desolation, are nearly two hundred identified species." Highly interesting observation this is- but has more entertainment value than informational. Whether the growth is sparse or not is an additional bit of information, which is interesting if you just want to know more about the dynamics of a desert, but otherwise doesn't serve any real purpose.