[1]: 109  First published in 1903, it contains a series of interrelated lyrical essays about the inhabitants, both human and otherwise, and the arid landscape of the Owens Valley and the Mojave Desert of California.

The opening essay describes the "Country of Lost Borders," an area of land between Death Valley and the High Sierras.

The section's title refers to the trails made by wild animals moving towards sources of water across the landscape of an area known as the Ceriso.

The Ceriso is not defined in the text, but in "The Last Antelope," Austin says that it "rises steeply from the tilted mesa overlooked by Black Mountain, darkly red as the red cattle that graze among the honey colored hills," and that it is "not properly mesa nor valley, but a long healed crater miles wide, rimmed about with the jagged edge of the old cone.

The unnatural trash he leaves cannot be used by the scavengers in the story, and as such serves as a stark contrast to the desert's natural processes for recycling waste.

In the story, the pocket hunter described by Mary Austin lives off of the land with minimal interactions with the civilized world.

Despite Austin's muted praise, the pocket hunter wants to strike it rich in order to move to Europe and mingle with the landed elite, a goal he accomplishes.

Austin portrays Jimville as a small town set in a harsh environment and inhabited by simple yet endearing toughs.

This story follows the life of Seyavi, a Paiute Indian who loses her mate, lives alone with her child, and sells baskets she weaves in order to survive.

Austin claims that the Paiutes make the land itself their home, with the natural ridges of mountains as walls and the wild almond bloom as their furnishings.

Austin contrasts the mountain landscape to a meadow outside a forest reserve, which lacks color and beauty because it is damaged by the grazing of sheep.

Austin implies that with the advent of cities and manufactured objects people have lost an innate ability to know what natural remedies may be beneficial or detrimental to one's health.

The story continues with descriptions of storms and their effects upon the wildlife of the area, pausing to explain how the land teaches people things.

The story uses the example of a group of Native Americans who learn the use of smoke signals by observing the dust pillars formed by desert winds at the edges of mesas.

The end of the story expresses Austin's discontent at how people have dealt with the weather by determining the best seasons to plant crops rather than by musing about the "eternal meanings of the skies".

"The Little Town of Grape Vines," or El Pueblo de Las Uvas, tells a story of a simple people living in peace with their environment.

With houses made of mud, homemade wine, and gardens to provide the fruits, vegetables, and herbs, the townspeople live a simple life without the complex notions of wealth and class that Austin feels have corrupted much of society.

The end of the story is a call back to the simple life exemplified in "The Little Town of the Grape Vines," criticizing those people who are overly obsessed with their own perceived importance in a world where their actions truly matter little.

As such, these people create communal towns that have cultural harmony and closeness to God and are free from crime and class distinctions.

These animals must work within the limitations of the land, allowing their trails to be followed and their prey to have a haven, in order for their entire ecosystem to function and survive.

While not explicitly part of the nature fakers controversy of the early 20th century, Austin's work reflects a clear opposition to writers like Ernest Thompson Seton and Charles G. D.

[5] Her work contrasted with contemporary fictionalized accounts of nature—stories about the lives of animals that were highly disingenuous, enamoring children with fantasies about the natural world.

Austin used her popularity to sell people on the merits of the sort of "true" nature writing found in The Land of Little Rain.