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Show The Sandhills of Peru In Harper's Magazlno for July, Ernest Er-nest C. Host tells of tho curious traveling trav-eling sand crescents of Peru which movo across tho desert: "After passing another 'town' of throe or four mud huts, wo enter tho famous desert of Islay, on which aro what I consldor the most remarkablo natural curiosities to bo seen on this globe," says Mr. Host; "for wo aro now among hundreds nny, thousands of pure-white sand crescents, on a plateau of 4,500 feet ubovo the lovel of tho sen, and fifty-four miles from tho coast, where all clso Is of a dark-rod dark-rod or chocolate color. Whonco comes this sand, and why always In a crescent cres-cent shape? Prof. Balloy, whom I afterwards af-terwards met at Arequlpa, in cbarg of tho Harvard university observatory, told mo that scientific men do not agree ns to tho reason -why tho sand always forms tho samo crcscont shape, although it Is generally believed that the whirling eddies hereabouts are re sponsible; some, howover, arguo thai such Is not the case, since each ont of these croscents has an opening toward tho northeast. At any rate, tho Inner clrclo Is an almost perpendicular perpen-dicular wall, of the flnost pure-whlt sand, and from the upper edges th croscents slopo gradually away on th outside. Thoy average about twenty feet in height, tho Inner clrclo having a diameter of somo fifty-feet, although I have seen ono at least n mile and a half In dlamoter, which was, howover, not much higher than tho average. Theso croscents movo, It Is ostlmated, at tho rate of threo Inches overy twenty-four hours; and when, on tho slow Journey, ono comes near the railroad, it becomes necessary to shovel the sand across tho tracks, aftor which II travels on, forming now crescents oi mingling with somo of tho others." |