193806 Desert Magazine 1938 June

8/14/2019 193806 Desert Magazine 1938 June

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THE

M A G A Z I N E


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FOR JUNEMAY 28Six months trout seasonopens in Arizona.MAY 28-29C owhands of Yava-pai districts tocompete in "Sportsof the Rangeland" at Seligman,Arizona.MAY 30Pioneer Days celebrationbegins at Clovis, N ew Mexico.JUNE 2-5Sixth annual conven-tion of Federation of NaturalSciences of Southern Californiaat Pacific Palisades.JUNE 11Annual flower show inhigh school auditorium in Vic-torville, California.JUNE 12Annual Smoki dance atPrescott, Arizona.J U N E 13 - - Summer sessions toopen at University of Arizona atTucson.JUNE 14-18Golden Jubilee pro-gram to be held at Manti, Utah,observing 50th anniversary of thecompletion of Manti Templewhich was dedicated by Brigham

Young in1888 .

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IF LOVE IS THEREBy Lois Elder SteinerSalome, ArizonaEven a desert a heaven can beWithout so much as the shade of a tree,I! love is there.A smile and a kiss at the close of the day;Heaven just can't be far away,

Not if you care.There's heaven in even the sand at your feet;It's not always in places where angelsmeetIts ANYWHERE!

CALICO18851905By Alice Richards SalisburyDaggett, CaliforniaBare mountains rise, deep-dyed in lusty huesChrome yellow, turquoise, russet, rose andgreen !Dark crag and shadowed mesa, deep ravineAm! peak parade across horizon blues.Benign they brood, nor note the far-flungnewsOf treasure-trove. Now MEN are here, menleanAnd hard and eager. A score of years theygleanThe metal Ages stamped from primal ooze.And then the tumult of their warring livesDissolves. The bite of drill no longer rivesRed hills. Shy lizards man the rampWhere that intrepid band once came to campIn cave and tent and hovel walled from mud.Across their burial-ground, coyotes scud!

SURCEASEBy Zee LelandAjo, ArizonaFrom teeming haunts of men I cameHeart-sick and illFrom river, lake, and trees, and greenLow-sloping hill.M.'le after milethrough city, town, and plainI spedand wept, and prayed aloud with painNor found surcease.Long hours of night and then the morningcame.The waking sun stretch'd rosy fingers up,Grasped firm the mountain top, and pulledherselfTo look towards the west,Shrugging aside soft downs of gray, and pink,And orchidbound with gold.To westthe mountains slipped o'er reachingheadsSoft underthings of hazy blues and reds,Then cast o'er all a cloak of purple mistTo wear throughout the day.Below and far beyond my weary feetThe golden desert sands, with shift and swell,Whispered of things untold and ages past,And long since gone from man.Minute blue blossoms smiled and laid a matOn which they bade me stay a while and rest.Lite-giving sunlight flooded all the world

Warming my inmost chill.Soriows, and ills, and heartbreak slipped away;Peace bathed my weary soul!No trace of man defaced this wondrous spot.All nature chimed sweet morning notes ofpraise,Of Hope, and Love, and Strength, and PeaceALWAYS.I stood alone with GodSurcease!

CREED OF THE DESERTBy J U N E LE MERT P A X T O N

Nature is Peace, and in blessingFor those who have gone astray.She covers with sand in gracefulwavesThe mistakes of yesterday.

YOU CAME TO MEBy Marty HaleSteubenville, OhioA barren field of sandy waste.The desert stretched with blinding glareFor miles the heat-waves spiraled up,No cooling breath of life seemed there;Yet God had not forgotten . . . forWhere grassless sod and vastness loomed,That we might know, and ever feelHis hand . . . He placed a cactus-bloom.My dusty trail along life's path,So like the desert did it seem,The years stretched out in emptiness,Anci scorched and seared was every dream;But God remembered once again . . .Like jewels in a rosary.Mote wonderful than cactus-bloom.Sweet as your songYOU came to me!

DESERT EYESBy Doris I. BatemanRedondo Beach, CaliforniaI see his eyesthis man who knows the hillsAnd calls them Motherblue, they are, andpaleAs if long staring in the sun distilsFor him the sparse-flung beauty of the trail;And in their half-translucent depths twopointsOf light pierce far into the mysteryOf his beloved desert which anointsHis nomad soul and sets it reaching, free.Baffling, his eyes, for while their nameless

questLies still unanswered in his pallid gaze,The) take unto themselves a manifestCommunion with the ageless nights and days:All mountain lore is his, yet wordlessspeakingTurns inward, while his eyes are seekingseeking.

PEGLEG MINEK. V. BennisTemecula, Calif.

Well, stranger, you put an ide' in my head,Or leastwise it come to me 'count of you saidSomewhere, in these parts, was a mighty richledgeJust lousy with gold from the heart to theedge.Discovered, way back in the pioneer days,By a feller named Smith, so the old story says.It seems to me, stranger, right careless of youTo tell me all this, for shucks, if it's trueI reckon I'd better be looking around.

That doggoned old ledge might be right onmy ground.Well folks, I've sure hunted a heap for thatrock.My wife's plum disgusted; she don't take nostockIn them kind of yarns, says it's only a myth,There never was nobody called Pegleg Smith.Now I've got a notion that story is true;I've met lots of fellows that think the same,too.Somf of them's hunted a heap more than meBut nobody's found it and no two agree.Now I'm goin' at it in the way, insteadOf usin' my feet, I'll be usin' my head.One of these days when I have some more gasI'll fill my old truck and go out thru the pass.When I hit the city I'll start lookin' 'roundTo see if some kin of old Peg can be found.I'm goin' to find out what they have to say,IF I find a Smith in that town of L. A.

DESERT MOONBy Sheila ONeillWinnemucca, NevadaThe desert moon rides low tonight,Great golden globe of mystery,Above the purple hills she peersAcross a gray-green sagebrush sea.The desert moon rides low tonight,As far as awakened eye can seeHer magic glory filters downAnd banishes reality.

RAIN IN THE DESERTBy Alwilda S. DraperArtesia, CaliforniaRain in the desert.Fitful, gusty spray,Over dune and canyon,Master for a day.Rain in the desert,Gray mists bending low,Caress the shifting sand dunesVeiling the sun's hot glow.Tempest of little watersNever find the seaRushing madly for a momentThen lost eternally.

HOUSE OF 'DOBEBy Louise C. RutzLas Cruces, N. MIt's a house of earth in New MexicoWhere the sun beats down and the dust clouds

blowWhere fluted peaks of the Rockies riseWith purple spires to pierce the skies.A house of adobe with mud troweled walls,Rough hewn vigas and cool dark halls.Hand carved beams, a blanket gayAnd a louvred door in the entry-way.A house of clay and straw and sandBut fashioned with patience and skill of handTo the firm content of the earth itselfIn sage-brush and sun on a mesa shelf.The massive walls turn the desert heatAnd hold back the worry and cares that beatFrom the outside world like winds that blowOn my house of earth in New Mexico.

The DESERT MAGAZINE


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HONORABLE MENTION:J. P. Knipp, Long Beach, "Joshua Bloom"Nicholas N. Kozloff, Riverside,"Painted Canyon"John E. Lanz, Glendale,"Hedgehog Cactus"

GoaclveUaFirst prize picture in the amateur photographers' contest heldby Desert M agazine in April. Picture taken by A . Wieder-sede r of 153 Mano r Street, A ltaden a, California, with 5x7Cycle G raphic cam era, one second exposure, stop 15, K-2filter, at four p. m.Acoma

T h i s p i c t u r e of t h e " S k y C i t y " of N e w M e x i c o w a s a w a r d e d s e c o n d p r i z e in t h e A p r i l c o n t e s t . P h o t o g r a p h e db y R a l p h H . A n d e r s o n of Y o s e m i t e N a t i o n a l P a r k . T a k e n w i t h 3 1/2x 4 1/4 G raf l ex , 1 /25 s ec . a t f l l K-2 fi l te r .

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to Rainbow StidaeJohn W etherill led the first white expedition to RainbowNatural bridge in southern Utah in 1909. In the years beforeand since that date he has p l a y e d a leading role in m a n yother important discoveries and explorations in thescenic FourCorners region of Colorado, Utah, NewMexico and Arizona.

In the accompanying text, John Stewart MacClary has giventhe readers of the Desert Magazine an intimate picture of oneof theoutstanding pioneers in thedesert Southwest.

By JOHN STEWART MacCLARY/ " ^ N a blistering mid-August day inI T 1909 a little cavalcade threadedits wayalong an obscure Indian

trail which led across northern Arizonaand into southern Utah.John W etherill was theguide who rodeahead. Behind himcame Dr.Byron Cum-mings, then of the University of Utah,and W. B. Douglass of the U. S. GeneralLand office. Th ere were others in theparty, and pack animals to carry thecamping equipment.Vague stories had reached the outsideworld of a strange rock formation of suchcolossal proportions as to excite wonderand interest. So far as was known, nowhite manever had seen it.But Wetherill, seasoned guide and ex-plorer, hadundertaken to lead Dr. Cum-mings to see this natural phenomenon.Douglass and members of his party hadThe DESERT MAGAZINE


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joined the expedition in northern Ari-zona.Probably no other white man knew thiswild northern Arizona region as well asW eth erill, but eventually the trail ledinto an area where he had not gone be-fore. He knew, however, he could de-pend on the directions given by his In-dian friends, and so he led the way with-out thou ght of failure. An d as the sunwas dropping down toward the westernhorizon the party reached its goaltheRainbow Natural Bridge of southernUtah.

It was a momentous day for JohnWetherill as well as for the men who ac-com panied him. That great span of rockwhich arches over Bridge canyon at aheight of 309 feet probably has stoodthere for a hundred thousand yearsbutit has never failed to bring a gasp of awefrom the visitor who sees it for the firsttimejust as it inspired countless genera-tions of Indians with a feeling of super-stitious reverence.

I wanted to meet the man who had ledthat first party of explorers to the site ofthis great scenic m asterpiece. And so,with m y trailmate W ill Evans, I paid axnid-November visit to the Wetherillhome at Kayenta, Arizona.As pioneer traders on the Navajo res-ervation, Evans and W etherill alreadywere acquaintances. I first had hea rdJohn Wetherill 's name mentioned inconnection with the discovery and exca-vation of certain ruins in the Mesa Verde

group in 1888. I knew that he had taken

part in many important explorations inAmerican archeology.The air was chilly and it was growingdark as we stopped before the vine-covered stone home of the Wetherills.Bright lights shining through the win-dows revealed a tree-bordered lawn anda lawnmowerhere in the Arizona des-ert, nearly 200 miles from a railroad."Guess they're at home," surmised mytrailmate, "I'll ask John about a goodplace to pitch our tent. Then w e canpay him a call after we make camp andeat our supper."A big black dog signalled the arrivalof visitors. His bark didn 't sound likea challenge. M ore like a cordial "How -dy, pard." Another light flashed on andthe massive front door swung open.W hite haired, white bearded, dressed inriding clothes, John W etherill stood inthe doorway."Howdy, W ill ," I heard him say incordial tones, "Long way from home,

aren't you? Come in and bring yourfriend."Bewhiskered after ten days neglectedshaving, trail-dusty and weary, we felthardly fit to enter the orderly home with-out first cleaning up a bit. But the sin-cere hospitality of our host and his wifeinduced us to abandon our plan of mak-ing dry camp and brewing mulligan. Therhythmic tunk-tunk-tunk of the electricpower plant's engine, the burning logs inthe stone fireplace, the app etizing smellsWetherill home at Kayenta, Arizona a tree-bordered lawn and a lawn-mower in the heart of the Navajodesert.

wafted out through the door of the din-ing room"Bring in your bags," W etherill in-sisted, "You're just in time for dinner."W e removed the topsoil from our sun-baked skin in a civilized bathroom . Ourluggage was taken to a cozy guest roomequipped with modern twin beds andwarmed by an inviting grate fire. Whenthe dinner bell rang we were ready to dofull justice to the appetizing meal.One impression I recall was the quietefficiency of Fanny an d Betty We the rillwho served us. These two Navajo girlsadopted and reared by John and Mrs.Wetherill after their own two childrenhad matured and established their homesshowed interest and consideration forguests that often is lacking in more so-phisticated dining rooms. There was nonervous clattering of dishesno spillingof soup and beveragesno frantic tap-ping of hard heels on the wooden floor.The Indian girls of the desert exhibitedthe poise of cultured hostesses.There are people who think desert In-dians are doomed to lives of savagerythat it is impossible for them ever to ab-sorb understanding of white men's cus-toms. I have come to the conclusion thatit all depends upon the skill and under-standing of the teacher. Th e adopteddaughters of John Wetherill brightly re-flect the personality of M rs. W etherill.During the dinner hour M rs. W etherilldiscussed an interest of hers which maycontribute valuable knowledge in fieldsof scientific research. Over a period of

Continued on page 34

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Visitors to Hidden Valley have the choice o\scaling the rocky walls which surroun d it, o rcrawling through a tunnel, the entrance ofwhich is show n in the acco mpanying picture.

Last December Walter Ford was awarded aprize by the Desert Magazine for a picturetaken in Hidden Valley in the Joshua Tree Na-tional Monument of Southern California. Whenthe picture w as published inquiries beg an tocome in "W here is Hidden Valley and howm ay I find it?" The answ er is given by Fordhimself in the accom pan ying article. It is ananswer which will interest all those who like toget away from the paved highways and visitthe remote corners of the undisturbed desert.

Ridden I/a//, Temp uojj Muitetij

By WALTER FORD

JJ T *O\J have to crawl through aIF narrow tunnel to reach the val-' y ley." The speaker gazed reflec-' tively at the campfire and con-tinued, "I reckon it's pretty safe to go inthere nowadays, but back in the 70 s afeller that wanted to remain healthy gavethe valley a wide berth!"W e had camped for the night at QuailSprings in the Joshua Tree NationalMonument of Southern California. In thelittle group seated around our campfirewas one of those hopeful patriarchs of thedesert whose strike is always just one dayahead tomorrow, and tomorrow. Fromtales fanciful and real of lost mines, bo-nanza strikes an d frontier justice, the talkturned to cattle, cattle rustlers, and to theactivities of the thieving fraternity in thearea in which we were then camped.Although it was overlooked by theForty-Niners during the first gold rush,the territory which comprises the newlycreated Joshua Tree playground drewmany gold seekers during the followingyears. After the m iners had dispersed toother fields, cattlemen appeared on the

scene. Galleta grass grew in abundance.The water problem was solved by build-ing reservoirs or "tanks" to catch therainfall. As the cattle operations spreadout it was inevitable that the gentry whoselivelihood was gained by extra - legalmethods should make their entry. Inac-cessibility of the region made it ideal fortheir calling. Here stolen livestock couldbe kept from the eyes of the law until itcould be driven across the Arizona borderand sold."I said that you have to crawl througha tunnel to reach the valley," the oldprospector resumed, "but when those rus-tler fellers were active they built a regu-lar stairway for their cattle on the southside of the valley. Th ere is a steep washcut through the rocky walls from thefloor of the valley to the desert outside.When they were moving their stolenplunder those rascals would move enoughboulders to make it passable, and thenroll them back into place."This was my introduction to HiddenValley. Th e rustlers are no more. Timeand th e elem ents have removed all traces

of the precipitous trail over which theydrove their stolen cattle, but a narrowtunnel still affords access to one of themost picturesque spots in the Southwest.From the huge stone figure of a birdwh ich appears to stand g uard over theoutside entrance, to the granite bull highupon a rocky abutment at the westernend of the valley, a fantastic array ofstone figures meets the eye of the visitor.Foremost among these is the "Trojan,"a grim-visaged resemblance to a warriorof ancient Troy, which adorns the insidewall at the right of the entrance. A fewfeet away another figure appears in themaking, crude as yet, but sharply enoughdefined as an iceman with a block of iceon his shoulder. Because of its perfectoutline and the commanding position itoccupies, the stone bull presents perhapsthe most startling figure in the area and,incidentally, a challenge to those who takepride in their ability as mountain climb-ers. Access to the figure is not easy. Th eway leads over huge boulders with spacesup to several feet between them . But ifone has the sure-footedness of a mountain

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sheep, he should be able to reach the topwithout much difficulty.Only from such avantage point as thestone bull affords can the remoteness ofHidden Valley and itsadvantages as arendezv ous for early-day cattle rustlers befully app reciated. N ot m ore than afewhundred feet apart, the two piles of gran-ite boulders comprising the walls ofth evalley extend parallel for a distanceofapproximately one-half mile, then con-verge to form the western end. So decep-tive are these walls when viewed from theoutside that they appear as asingle ridgeof granite. Attesting this fact isthe ex-perience of afriend of the writer, who ig-noring definite directions as tohow toreach Hidden Valley, came back with thevehement assertion that no such valley ex-isted! He had viewed both walls fromthe outside and had decided that nothinglarger than akangaroo rat could pass be-tween them.The region surrounding Hidden Valleyhas been afertile field for archeologicalexplorations for the past decade, but thevalley has been overlooked. Th at itmayhave been inhabited by some aboriginalrace intimes past is indicated by thefragmentary pieces ofpottery which havebeen found on the floor ofthe valley. Ofadded significance isthe fact that inth earea surrounding the valley crude thickpottery h as been found along with thethin highly decorated type, while onlypieces of the latter have been found inthe valley. Archeologists whohaveworked inthe surrounding territory are

not sure whether these two types ofpot-tery mark definite and separate periods inThe "Trojan"

Recently the Sierra Club ofCalifornia spent aweekend exploring HiddenValley. This picture shows a group of Sierrans who made the difficult climb tothe top of Bull Rock, one of he many odd fo rmations found in the enclosingtrails of the valley.

the prehistoric life ofthis region orth ecolored earthenware wasbrought inthroug h barter w ith tribesmen residing atdistant points.Seeking tolearn more about the abo-riginal inhabitants ofHidden Valley, 1engaged one of thenumerous Indianswho drift down into Banning from thereservation to accompany me into the val-ley. Old John, as he was know n, camewell recomm ended. He could read pet-roglyphs, itwas said, and even determinethe tribe ofIndians that occupied certain

camp sites. Upon being show n some writ-ings incised in the rocks adjacent to Hid-den Valley hemade nocomment, butover pieces of thick pottery he grew quitevoluble. They were, he indicated, left bymembers of his tribe, the Cahuillas. Afterentering H idden Valley, Old John be-came sullen and morose. A fragment ofhighly decorated pottery brought forththe cryptic remark, "Injun no live here."Undismayed, Iled him to where some pet-roglyphic figures showed faintly througha covering ofmoss. Again the curt re-

The "Bull"

BOUNDARY JOSHUA" TREE NAT.~MON. IT

HIDDEN VALLEENTRANCE 600*FROM ROAD

* WFo V 0

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ply, "Injun no live here." W hether thefailure of my guide to reveal the historyof the valley was due to some ancestral ta-boo, or to just plain ignorance of his sur-roundings, I was not able to determine. Ifthe former, it may be affirmed that OldJohn did nobly in keeping the taboo in-tact.For those lovers of the desert to whomthe beaten path has become common-place, and who feel that there are no newtrails, a trip into Hidden Valley shouldprove a revelation. W ith its bizarre ex-amples of Nature's handiwork, its thrill-ing possibilities of additional discoveries,and the restful isolation that its locationaffords, the valley will undoubtedly takeits place as one of the m ost attractivespots in the whole desert area.Hidden Valley may be reached by fol-lowing the Quail Springs road where itbranches off to the right from the Twen-ty-Nine Palms highway, 29.2 miles fromU. S. highway 99 . Six and three-tenthsm iles beyond Quail Springs the road forksto the left to join the Twenty-Nine Palmsto Mecca road. Continue along that roadseven-tenths of a mile w here the car maybe parked and th e rest of the journey

made afoot. The tunnel entrance may befound approximately 600 feet from theroad.

One might easily imagine that a race of prehistoric giants piled bo ulder onbou lder in the creation of the granite walls which surro und Hidden Valley.

PRIZESIncreasing numbers of camerafans are entering pictures eachmonth in the contest conducted byth e D e s e r t M a g a z i n e . Thesemonthly contests are open to allamateurs and the range of subjectsincludes close-ups of plant and ani-mal life, desert homes and gardens,odd rock formations, landscapes,unusual personal pictures with adesert slant.Prizes are $5.00 for first and$3.00 for second place winners.Composition, lighting, focus andother fine points of photographyare no less important than subject.Recently the Desert Magazine ob-tained two fine cover pictures fromamong the prints submitted by theamateurs.Following are the rules govern-ing the contest:1Pictures submitted in the Junecontest must be received at the Des-

T O A M A T E U RPHOTOGRAPHERSert Magazine office by June 20.2Not more than four printsmay be submitted by one person inone month.3Winners will be required tofurnish either good glossy enlarge-m ents or the original negatives ifrequested.4Prints must be in black andwhite, 2Vix3Vi or larger.5Pictures will be returned onlywhen postage is enclosed.For non-prize-winning picturesaccepted for publication $1.00 willbe paid for each print.

W inners of the June contest w illbe announced and the pictures pub-lished in the August number of themagazine.Address all entries to:CONTEST EDITOR,DESERT MAGAZINE,El Centra, Calif.

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/ /

ok tin

MOTHER-LOVE Photo by W. M. Pennington

Mother-love is the same in metropolitan penthouse and in humble hut ofthe desert Navajo.The cradle which holds the Navajo papoose is of a type long known in thedesert Southwest. Ancient cradle boards unearthed in the ruins of cliff dwell-ings are much the same as those used by modern pueblo mothers to carrytheir infants.In childhood and maturity most Navajos are straight-limbed and erect inposture. The nose is strongly arched. The lips are firm and naturally shaped.It seems probable that the early months in the papoose cradle may have con-

tributed to these characteristics.Sheltered from direct sun rays by the canopy above its head, tiny feetsupported on a board that is part of the cradle, the Navajo baby rides back-ward in this prehistoric rumble seat.JUNE, 1938


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ueen o\f i t k e"Peiett A/iqkt

By RUBY BOWENPapago Legend of the Desert Queen

Long ago, says a Papago legend, there lived a wrinkled and bent, kind-ly old Papago grandmother, who all her life had yearned to be beautiful.W hen it cam e time for her to set her burden basket down, G reat Spirit heardher and granting her life-long wish he touched her shriveled arms, so likedried sticks, and w herever he touched them flower buds app eared . Onceeach year thereafter the little brown Papago grandmother is permitted toreign for one magic night as the beautiful Flower Queen over all other desertblossoms.On a warm June evening as that haunting perfume of the Night-Bloom-ing Cereus which Indians call the "Ghost Smell" drifts across the desertsands knowing Papagos will tell you that Great Spirit 's promise has againreached fulfillment, and she who carried beauty unrequited in her heartthose many years reigns again in floral loveliness.Thus the desert Indians explain simply and beautifully that which hasbaffled botanists for many years, the presence of the indescribably lovelyQueen of Night on our southwestern deserts, fragantly blooming, inexplica-bly carrying on her traditions during one of the hottest, driest seasons of theyear .10

aUT on my desert homestead westof Tucson, Arizona, as I watch myNight-Blooming Cereus cacti de-velop and make ready for another blos-soming, I am inclined to agree with thePapagos that, truly, a Great Spirit walksthese sands. Those who live in an arid,sun - parched region the whole yearIhrough inevitably come to regard the ex-quisite flowering of this p lant w ith some-thing of the awe reserved for birth, death,and other of Life's mysteries.For m onths our desert Queen appar-ently was just a bundle of rather dry non-descript-looking sticks growing obscurelyin the sand, quite like the plain, wrinkled,bent old grandmother of Papago lore.Near the blooming time the plantstalks grow plumper and the buds withtheir white hairs begin to develop. Lastyear I watched my Night-Bloom ing Cere-us buds for a week for tell-tale signs oftheir opening. During the last four nightsthey seemed unchanged, and then oneevening suddenly the lovely petals began

to unfold.It takes the Night-Blooming Cereusabout an hour to open fully, but duringT h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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the night the blossom continues to widenand elongate until it is said to reach itsmaximum size and the fullest perfectionof its beauty in the hour before dawn.W atching the blooming of a Cereus isa wo nderful and never-to-be-forgotten ex-perience. The large wh ite petals sweepback in amaz ingly wide arcs before one'svery eyes. Large, white moths flutter outof the desert moonlight, hover near anddrink the nectar of that exquisite fra-grance, making of our patio an enchantedplace.

The blossom, measuring from three andone-half to almost six inches across andfrom seven to nine inches long, is a softwaxen white with slender gracefully-pointed petals. Th e lovely wh ite under-petals are faintly tinged with shadowylavender, blending to soft maroon tintsnear the stem, which gives the flower adistinctive, rather exotic appearance.These tints merge into the brown of theovary and calyx tube and into the brown-ish-green fluted stems. A few slight pink-ish bracts grow on the under side of theblossom. Th e dark, spiny stems by con-

There is neither beauty nor sym-metry about the Night-BloomingCereus until that eventful nightwhen it bursts jorth in radiant blos-som. Because of its scraggly grow thgoo d pictures of the plant are noteasily obtained. The Desert Maga-zine is indebted to G eorge Cham-bers for this photo.

CEREUS BLOOMSBy the author of the

decompanyina art icle

Refuged in purple shadowsOf desert mountainsIn midnight darknessOn the desert . . .A Cereus blooms.Waxen petals, virgin petals liftedTo pale desert starlightIn the silence,A slow measured silence . . .A Cereus blooms.All is stillAs in death . . . quietOnly a perfume,A perfume seeping through darkness,A hidden perfumeHaunting us, telling usA Cereus has bloomed.Putting on white robesIn unison; mysteriously,In the quiet, hidden sanctityOf desert altars;Like virginal girls, veiled;Veiled nuns taking final vowsIn white robes,Vows of purity, chastity, constancyA desert Cereus blooms.

trast accent the extreme delicacy of theflower.Silvery pollen, powdery as star dust,rests lightly on the stamens which extendan inch above the blossom to form acorona about which moths hover.Like its near-relative, the Giant Sahua-ro, the flowers are funnel-shaped; butwith the petals infinitely more gracefuland recurved. Th e cactus stems are alsofluted, as in the case of its giant relative.

W he n th e first rays of the rising suntouch our Cereus, she begins to drooplike a sleepy child, and her petals close.The blossoms, normally, are tight-shutbefore noon.My finest photographs are not taken atnight, but shortly before the rising sunpeers over the m ountain. By transplant-ing my Night-Blooming Cereus in the

shade in my cactus garden, and by screen-ing them well, I find that I may enjoythe blossoms in all their loveliness untilabout 8:30 to 9:00 o'clock in the morn-ing before they begin to droop.As the petals start to close, the en-chanting nectar, as if drawn out by thesun, increases in quantity, attracting wilddesert bees which take the place of thenight moths in continuing the pollinatingprocess.I have often wondered why someonedoesn't give us the perfume of the Night-Blooming Cereus so that we might enjoyit the whole year through, instead of onjust the magic night. Perhap s the rela-tive rarity of the cactus may preclude this.The Night-Blooming Cereus is so veryfragrant that one blossom will perfume a

Continued on page 35

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i i f i tofi t h eQiinii By WILFRED PARKS/ ^ N THE beginning of time, an Earth Magician saty in his enchanted grotto surrounded by the SevenFairies of Creation. They w ere pond ering theirnext gift to man. Many beautiful projects had beenconsidered, but none seemed suitable to the moment.Finally the Earth Magician spoke:"I will cleave a great chasm deep in the earth,deeper than any other earthly gorge, that man mayhave something to wonder at.""And I," said the first Fairy Genius, "will write onthe walls of this gorge the Story of Geology, that manmay learn thehistory of our work.""I," said the second Fairy Genius, "will toil with in-finite pains with theChisel of Erosion, so that man maylearn the architecture of theelements."The third Fairy Genius proposed: "Let me put in thebottom of this wonderful chasm a silver stream, morebeautiful in its setting than anyprecious metal, sothatm an may be humble in his desires.""Then," said the fourth Fairy Genius, "I will putalong theglorious rim of this gorge a purple garlandof cedar and pine with their silhouetted tips reachingmutely toward theviolet canopy of the sky, a symbolof hope, for man to see."After a moment of thought, the fifth Fairy Geniussaid: "When youhave done all this work, I will graceits breadth and depth with morning and evening veils

each veil tenuous and illusive, so that man may seei t always as a pageant of mysterious color."The sixth Fairy Genius considered sadly: "What isthere left for me to do? Youhave done everything;nothing else can be added, unless . . . ah! I will castover all a profound silence, so that man may findpeace in hissoul as he stands at thebrink of thepreci-pice."They turned then to regard theseventh one, who satin silent contemplation, und ism ayed . They wo nderedwhat might be his final contribution. At last theFairyGenius spoke:"And I will give to this Beauty, Grandeur andMys-tery a dream quality, sothat none cancapture itsexactimage to take away with him for thepurpose of barteror trade."Thus the making of the gift be ga n. Ye ar followedyear, to the hundred, to the thousand, to the million.Perennial floods cut their waydown through the sleep-ing strata. Snows andfrost expanded minute particleson the shoulders of the cliffs, thaws crumbled them,and rain washed them away. Contributing to the taskw as the sun1 s everlasting smile, while always at theirlacework were the careful fingers of the wind. Andwhen it was done, man came andgazed at all thisma-jestic loveliness, and called it the GRAND CANYON.

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This photo graph, naturalsize, shows a "petrifiedflow er" in its original ma-trix, this sp ecimen waspicked o ut of an exposedfissure in the rocks.

I hat Arevet TG.deIn one of her artistic moments, Nature createda w axen flower - like gem which ha s been giventhe common name of "chalcedony rose." Gen-erally they occur in fissures in the rock, but dis-lodged specimens frequently are picked up on the

slopes of the desert mountains and in the arroyos.They are valued mainly for display and souvenirpu rpo ses. The gem-cutting fraternity adm its frank-ly that it cannot improve on the natural craftsman-ship of these stones.By JOHN W. HILTON

*< / H PETRIFIED flower!" That is/ / what the old prospector called' it and little wonder that he did,for it resembled nothing so much as acamellia. Th is stone (for stone it wa s)had the appearance of having been carvedby some expert oriental craftsman. It hadthe fine silky polish of an old piece ofjade.

He had brought it to me from the Ari-zona desert. He knew that such an oddand pretty stone would be a welcome ad-dition to my collection.The next day at school my chemistryteacher identified it as a chalcedony"rose" and explained that the concentricarrangement resembling petals was due to

an attemp t at crystallization on the part ofthe silica of which it was composed. Shehad seen othe rs of th is type and said

there were areas on the desert where theyare not at all uncommon.Later, in the library I learned that chal-cedony is a fine grained or cryptocrystal-line form of quartz and gets its namefrom a Greek word meaning wax.

As a lad in school, the idea of roamingover the desert described by my prospec-tor friend and seeking these strange andbeautiful stones had a great fascinationfor me. From that day I have been deep-ly interested in these graceful little rose-ates of chalcedony. After read ing every-thing available in the school library I feltthat I k new all about how they wereformed. But today I wou ld not care toventure an opinion on the subject. Thereis an element of mystery that has neverbeen explained to my satisfaction.I do know they are found in igneousrock, or in alluvial fans and washes

where they are deposited after havingweathe red out of rocks. Although theywere formed in rock which was very hotand their general shape resembles themelted wax they were named for, it ishighly improbable they were a moltenmass themselves. Th e evidence pointsrather to the theory that as the lavas be-gan to solidify, hot silica jell condensedout of the gases and formed these oddshaped masses in the cavities and seamsof the rock.Although no two of them are evershaped alike, still their composition isquite similar, indicating that some defi-nite law of crystallization is involved intheir forma tion. I have noticed that dif-ferent localities run to definite types,

showing that these laws must have beenmodified by varying temperatures andother conditions. One notable variationJ U N E . 1 9 3 8 13


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seems to hold true. Those found in thefissures of rock are of the very smoothtype, showing little if any actual crystalson their surface. Those found in thefloors of gas pockets, although they mayresemble in general shape the fissurestones, have a tendency toward definitecrystallization. These crystals range insize from m icroscopic crusts resem blingfrost, to brilliant little gems a quarter ofan inch long. W hethe r the crystals arelarge or small they are arranged in con-centric form following the general out-line of the rose.

There also seems to be quite a colorvariation but so far I have not examinedany of a very bright h ue. Most of themare either white or just off white runningthrough pale pinks, orchids, greens, bluesand light tans. A few have markings inconcentric lines of light orange or rustcolor but these are not common.It is surprising what a beautiful andinteresting collection could be made ofjust this one m ineral forma tion. Singlepieces may also be used for paper we ights,ash trays, match holders or other decora-tive objects, depending upon their sizeand shape . Some of the small smoothspecimens make lovely charms or pen-dants. These do not require polishing orcutting as in most cases this would de-

tract rather than add to their individualcharacter. A small diamond drill-hole toattach them to a chain is all the prepara-tion necessary to m ake an interesting andbeautiful piece of jewelry.In my wandering about the desert Ihave encountered this mineral in perhaps20 or 30 localities. The re are probably

hundreds more that have not been re-corded or studied. I would be interestedif any of my desert readers would sendme information about chalcedony rosesin their vicinity. I would like to use thismaterial to compile a map of our south-west desert area, shading the portionswhere they are known to occur.One of the places where fissures in therock yield very beautiful specimens ofchalcedony roseates is along the ridge atthe top of the Kofa (S. H. ) mountains inArizona between Yuma and Quartzsite.Since it requires a strenuous 2500-foot

climb to reach the ridge, it is not likelythis field will be over-crowded with col-lectors. For those who are interested,however, the ascent of the Kofa massifshould be undertaken from the northeastappro ach. Kofa is inaccessible on theTypical chalcedony roseates foundin many places on the desert. At theleft a specimen taken from a fissureand at right o ne which had been dis-lodged and was picked up in ananoyo.

west and north sides except to the mostskilled climbers.Occasionally a pretty roseate may bepicked up far down on the slopes of themo untain. Specimens also are found onthe gravel slopes at the south and eastbase of the Cargo Muchacho mountainsin eastern Imperial county, California, al-though they are by no means plentifulthere.The value of this form of chalcedonydepends largely on its attractiveness fordisplay and souvenir purposes. Gem cut-ters prefer other forms of chalcedony formark etable stones. Na ture has done sucha lovely job of casting these roseates itwould be rather presumptuous for m an toseek to improve their natural beauty.

NEW GEODE FIELD ISFOUND NEAR 29 PALMSA new geode field in which some ofthe stones contained crystals ranging frompale green to black green recently wasdiscovered by a group of gem-hunters re-siding in the 29 Palms area of SouthernCalifornia.Following up arroyos 25 miles north of29 Palms where specimens of agate havebeen found, members of the party cameto embankments of pink clay conglomer-ate and discovered the geodes in theiroriginal m atrix. A number of fine speci-mens were collected by those in the group.

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in the Smoki Snake Dance. If twodots,two years.Some nowhave six or eight dots andare very proud of them. These are theonly badges of membership. Questionone of these men, and hewill answer youimpersonally. They appoint a clan chiefto answer questions. For such publicityas thechamber of commerce considers in-dispensable mim eographed releases areis-sued tothe press. This isone show that isbetter than the ballyhoo; those whomotor 100 or 200 or 500miles to seetheDances feel that they have made a pil-grimage infinitely worth while. In thesecolumns recently, Virginia Duncan laudedthe Dons of Phoenix for their unselfishcontribution to southwestern culture inthe annual Superstition Mountain LostGold Trek, and urged that more enter-prises of this nature be sponsored. Ap-plauding that, I would like to add theSmoki People of Prescott to the hall ofhonor reserved for those who arepreserv-ing the finest traditions of the desertfrontier.The amazing circumstance of staid busi-ness men turning savage always evokesdiscussion. Wh at spiritual overhauling isrequired for a civilized white man tostripoff his clothing, dress and paint him-self like a savage, and hop around witha snake in his mouth.The answer is not easy. Thegenus ho-mo hasbeen desperately afraid of snakes

since Adam and Eve had their encounterwith one. Even the utterly harmlessgrass snakes cause terror in most yards,an d a manmust rationalize himself force-fully before he will handle one of thethings. But the men of Prescott do it.

The Hopi Indians in their age-olddances use venomous rattlesnakes withpoison fangs intact, but that's anotherstory. ThePrescott Smoki handle only thenon-poisonous bull or gopher snakes,coach whips, chicken snakes, and some-times an old rattler which hasbeen doc-tored. Those Smoki snakes dobite, how-ever. Incensed, frightened, they striketheir men at every rehearsal and everydance, puncturing naked shoulders, arms,chests, occasionally a man's cheeks. Imaintain that takeslet us say, fortitude on thepart of themen.Novices in the Smoki clan of courseare squeamish. They are told, though,that a snake is really clean. He may bewashed, and become more sanitary thana cat ordog, or than human fingers whichare eternally in germs! He is cold to thetouch, which is the first shock, but this"snakiness" is a god-given thing just asis thedancer's warmth. Come to think ofit, the snake probably imagines that them an is obnoxious too; and it is absolute-ly certain that the snake ismore afraid ofth e manthan the man is of thesnake. Intime, doubtless, they evolve a mutual re-spect.

Membership in the Smoki People hasbecome the highest social honor that aPrescott citizen canhave. Almost anybodywith a friend canjoin theRotary, the Ki-wanis, the Lions, the Country Club. Butonly a manwilling to devote long hoursto reading and rehearsing his dance partcan join the Smoki. Sometimes young-sters are admitted to the rehearsals, sothat they maystart training early and de-velop exceptional skill.

Because, you see, handling snakes isTo the cadence of Indian Tom-toms the Smokis stage the ArrowDance

really the superficial part of this amazing-dance ceremony. The rhythm and intri-cate pattern of the dance itself demandpractice. Thefirst Smokis had to beself-taught. No Broadway dancing mastercould be hired, because these were reli-gious dances of the Indians, andeven yetthe Indians resent thewhite man's adopt-ing their rites. Persons whohave seenan Indian dance under thestars w ill knowthat it is a long, rhythmical, complicatedthing, with intricate steps by individuals,and with strange routines by what pale-faces would term the ensemble or thechorus. The group moves in perfectunison, with no orchestral accompani-ment save that of tom-toms andchanting.A m an cannot go outbefore breakfast andlearn to do that. He must work at it,slave at it, skip lodge to practice it, for-sake thefamily fireside to rehearse it, ne-glect his business to travel around andsteep himself in it. That's why my hat'soff to theSmoki. They areG O O D ,andthey didn't get that way by accident.

Occasionally some hypercritical specta-tor is heard lamenting this "travesty onthe Indian dances." Hewill look unctu-ously at theprogram, fleck a bit of honestdust off his Manhattan lapel, and ask,"How would you like it if some foreignrace mocked your Catholic High Mass, oryour Protestant ritual of the Lord's Sup-per?"Well , he would have something there if theSmoki People were MOCKING.But they aren 't. They arere-enacting.If thewhites' High Mass or Commun-ion ceremony were indanger of being lostand forgotten, then the Hopi Indianswould be rendering a service to civiliza-tion and human knowledge by trying

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faithfully to copy them and preserve them .You see?One common error, on the part of peo-ple who have not seen the performance,is to assume that the Smoki do nothingbut snake dances. Actually, there is atwo-hour program of 12 or 14 dances,only one of which includes snakes.The Fire Dance, the Buffalo Dance,and many others are shown first, andmany are more beautiful than the snakerhythm. All in authentic costume, themen of Prescott, abetted by their cos-tumed squaws and by harm onizing chant-

ers, do the things that have constituteda good time on the high mesas of Navajoland or Zuni land, or the w ildernesscamps of the Apaches and Comanches,for at least a thousand years.But the grand finale is the SnakeDance copied from the Hopis, and soprofound is the white American love ofthe spectacular, the sensational, that wetend to forget the other rituals and centeron this. Lou Gehrig at a baseball gamewill command all the applause and inter-est because of three lucky home runs,when maybe eight other players really

won the game.The Smoki People have performedtwice away from their pine-guarded hill-

Indian architecture prov ides a real-istic stage for the Smo ki dancerstop near Prescott, once at Philadelphiaand once at Phoenix. A great deal of loveand a great deal more money, probablywill be required to m ove them again.Something was lacking when the ritual

was enacted in an auditorium near Inde-pendence Hall, and in a football stadiumat Phoenix .It all boils down, I think, to the factthatexcept for color of skin and theactual worship these " Ind ian " dances ofthe white Smoki People in Prescott areREAL.

LIARS ! H ERE'S A P RIZE CO NTES TIn order to settle a long-standingdispute as to which community hasthe highest temperatures, the Des-ert Magazine will conduct a contestduring the summer months for hot-weather story tellers.The first contest starts with thepublication of this announcementand will end June 30, 1938. Forthe best hot air yarn submitted dur-ing that period a cash prize of $5.00will be awarde d. For non-prizewinning stories accepted for publi-cation the rate will be one cent aword.

Here are the rules:Stories may be submitted by anyreader of the Desert Magazine re-gardless of place of residence.Yarns must be about the heat, andapplicable to the desert region ofArizona, California, Nevada, Utahor New Mexico.Stories may be either truth or fic-tionpreferably fiction.The prize winning answer in theJune contest will be published inthe August number. Address entriesto Hot Air Contest, Desert Maga-zine, El Centro, California.

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o n Sany>aclnto

Here's onespot on theedge of thedesertwhere it isalways rainingin the SanJacintotunnel of theColorado river aqueduct. Waterpouring infrom theroof andwalls inpartsofthe 13-mile bore hasbeen a terrific obstacle toengineers and workmen. It was no simpleproblem forWill N. Fox,photographer for theMetropolitan Water District, tosecure thisandother pictures accompanying this story.

By J.WILSON McKENNEY ^ - A H Q U I T Z , de vil- go d of the Ca-/ huillas, hides in hiscave amongthehigh peaks of SanJacinto mountainand grum bles. Many years ago, accord-ing tolegend, hewarned hisdusky neo-phytes who occupied thedesert canyonsto theeast that any who dared transgressthe sanctity of themountain would cometo grief.Indians still believe in thelegend ofTahquitz. But the white men, indefianceof thepagan admonition, aredrilling atunnel straight through theheart of the

devil-god's sacred domain.Five years agoengineers blasted the

first rock on themountainside south ofBanning as theMetropolitan Water Dis-trict ofSouthern California began the gi-gantic task of bringing Colorado riverwater tothe Pacific coast. Every daysincethat blast inMay, 1933, old Tahquitz hasrumbled hisprotest, andevery day thewhite men have battled their wayagainstseemingly insurmountable obstacles.Practically allthe work on the2 42-mileaqueduct and theupper feeder system onthe Southern California coastal plain hasbeen completedwith theexception ofthe pumping plants and theSan Jacintotunnel. Only a fewweeks of cleanup

work remain on thethree plants. OnMay 15 it was estimated that theaque-duct was 85 per cent completed. But theSan Jacinto tunnel, first tobe started, w illbe thelast section finished. Ne arly 80miles of tunnel have been completed onother parts ofthe aqueduct but only a lit-tle over 11 miles have been penetrated inSan Jacinto. Is it anywonder that theCahuillas speak of thesupernatural pow-ers ofTahquitz?W h a t isthe reason forthis slow prog-

ress through the mountain? The Indianssay it isthe wrath ofTahquitz. The en-18 The DESERT MAGAZINE


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U -2.93 mi. *\* 3.35 mi. 13.04 Miles- 5.08 m i . >}-*- 1.68mi . > 45OOGround surface overt of tunnel

LEGENDEx c a v a t io n Pro g re s sC o n c r e t i n * >>

P I O N_E_ER I I I r U N_N_E _1L_.14,953 - L i n e d - -9395

I080O IO75O IO7OO IOS5O IO5OOAQ.UEDUC T IO45O I04O0ST A T I ON S 10300 IO2OO

This progress profile chart teas prepared especially for the Desert Magazine under the direction of Don. }.Kinsey, Assistant to the General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It shows thestate of construction work on the San Jacinto tunnel of the Colorado river aqueduct as of April 15, 1938. // is ex-pected the tunnel bore will be finished before next fall. It will be completely lined and ready for operation in 1939.

gineers say it is due to unexpected inflowof underground water.Progress of construction work alongthe aqueduct and in San Jacinto tunnel isreported in a news bulletin publishedevery week by the District. But it is im-possible to draw from these sources thetenseness of the underground drama, thereality of physical combat, the romance ofmen achieving over great odds.Determined to see and hear, for my-self, I interviewed General Superinten-dent B. C. Leadbetter and received fromhim permission to visit the project. OfficeEngineer Dick Stephens took me in handand related the story of conquest from be-ginning to end.From the headquarters in Banning,Leadbetter phoned to Don DeWitt, chiefinspector at Potrero, and sent me on myway, giddy with facts and figures. In afew minutes I had driven south over roll-ing hills to Potrero camp, nestled in theSan Jacinto range. I parked in the onlyavailable spot, where the sign read "NoParking," and entered the frame shacklabeled "Engineers."DeWitt traced the history of the job for

me on outspread blueprints and charts.The accompanying sketch shows dis-tances, elevations, and progress of con-struction.

Contractors who started the tunnel atthe west portal were flooded out at Potre-ro shaft. Declaring that the company hadmade unsatisfactory progress, District en-gineers took over the job on force ac-View of a small portion of a "Face"in San ]acinto tunnel, shoiving wa-ter pouring from fissures and drill-holes. Larger streams under tre-mendous pressure are sometimesopened when the face is blasted. Fox

photo.

count in February, 1935, installing hugepumping systems capable of lifting16,200 gallons a minute by way of the815-foot Potrero shaft. It would be vir-tually impossible to drive a tunnel thislength from only two working faces:fresh air must be forced in, foul airdrawn out, muck carried out, and excesswater drained away. When ground con-ditions were found to be worse than an-ticipated, the Lawrence adit was added to

the original plans and the locationchanged to accommodate it. The changein course increased the length of the tun-nel from 12.7 miles to 13.04 miles. Atpresent the tunnel is being advanced atfour faces.The distance originally planned be-tween Cabazon and Potrero shafts8.22mileswas the longest ever attemptedwithout adits. Engineers believe that itwould have been possible to drive this

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distance if they h ad encountered only dryrock. But they did no t count on the curseof Tahquitz.At the point in the discussion where Iwas nearing danger of statistical indiges-tion, DeW itt asked me the size of my hat,shoes and coat. For the trip undergroundI was garbed in hard-fiber helmet, hipboots, and rubber raincoat.We waited at a tower of girders andcables until the last load of muck cameup the shaft. A watchman swung open asteel gate and we stepped into a smallelevator cage. Quickly and quietly thecar droppe d, dim lights flashed by, dampair struck our faces. In a little over a min-ute we had passed 815 feet, the equiva-lent of an elevator ride from roof to base-men t of a 60-story building. Anothergate swung open and we stepped into thetunnel, a well-lighted world of metallicnoises and musty odors. Everything wasdripping wet. There was the sound ofrunning water.A train was ready for the eastward tripand we climbed on the front end of thesquat electric pow er car. As we movedoff into the tunnel I had the expectantthrill of a youngster em barking on aroller coaster ride. The inspector shoutedin my ear and pointed downward. W ewere riding on an elevated track and un-der us a dark river was flowing towardthe west portal. Above the noise ofclanking cars, he shouted that the flowreached maximums of over 20,000 gal-lons a minute.The mountain seems to be literally sat-urated with water, the good clear moun-tain variety that municipal councils wouldgive their eye-teeth to have in city waterma ins. But to the District engineers this

good water is the curse of Tah quitz. Aswe rolled swiftly along on our 9400-footride, I turned over in my mind a strangeparadox: here is a great desert project, anaqueduct laid across the most arid landsof the continent, yet its builders find theirNemesis in the very element it is destinedeventually to transport.The District does not want the moun-tain water. As fast as possible the tun-nel is being sealed with stout cementwalls and the crevices behind them arebeing grouted with liquid cement underpressure. Th e walls must be absolutelysmooth and impervious to outside intru-sion.The miner who sat next to me on thecar borrowe d a cigarette. He started dig-ging five years ago with the sun on hisback at the top of Potrero shaft. N ot allthe men underground have been on thejob that long but his experience expressesthe spirit of the District, "We can't quit;the job must be finished." From ChiefEngineer Frank E. Weymouth down tothe lowest greenhorn track-layer thatspirit prevails. If mod ern eng ineering canovercome the doubtful power of an an-cient superstition, the Colorado riveraqueduct will be ready to deliver water tothe 13 member cities of the District in1939 in spite of Tahquitz or hell 'n high-water.The San Jacinto is not the longest ofthe tunnel series in the aqueduct: eastCoachella bore is 18 miles in length.W hy should this excavation under thesnowy crown of Mt. San Jacinto be moredifficult than the others? Th e Cahuillashave their answer: the engineers haveother convictions.Engineer Leadbetter had given me a

A tremendous amount of woo d andsteel is used in supporting the roofsand walls of the tunnel. The minerswill work in the "rain" until the ce-ment arch is completed. Fo x photo.brief glimpse of the troubles which con-front him daily. Dow n in the tunnel Ibegan to understand what those problemsare. The tunnel pierces dozens of ancientslanting faults, places where the rockmass has slipped in some prehistoric age.M elting snows above seep down to thesefaults and flow into the cracks. When ablast makes an opening in the fault, wa-ter spurts forth under pressure rangingfrom 100 to 600 pounds to the squareinch. M iners work day after day in aheavy rain from the roof of the heading.The sight of new outpourings from theface just opened sometimes strikes terrorto the heart of even the most seasoned un-derground man. But electric pumps droneendlessly behind him and a 30-inch pipeboosts the water out of the way.Water rose 500 feet in Potrero shaftafter the contractor was flooded out in1934. Miners began to repeat an old In-dian legend about a great undergroundlake. Fear that the tunnel had encoun-tered itor certainly would soonthreat-ened for a time to break down the moraleof the work ers. Since the District hascompleted the tunnel from Potrero west-ward, the gravity drain has dissipated thethe lake legend.The "quicksand" scare about a yearago was in reality due to a quantity offine material known technically as"gouge" which lies on the under side ofthe old faults. Althoug h impervious towater, it flows when penetrated. A minerwith a handful of excelsior can "plugthe dike" against a flood if he acts quick-ly. Th e roof and floor of the tunnel arebuilt on a firm foundation and no quick-sand has been encountered.I asked the inspector about the arsenicwater which was said to have been amenace to stock along the San Jacintoriver. For answer, he invited me to drinkfrom a small pipe which had been stuckin a flowing fissure. The w ater was de-licious. Chem ists test it regularly. The rehas never been any contamination.Farmers who rely on pumped water inthe nearby valleys complained that thetunnel was tapping their irrigation supplyand that the water level was lowering.Geologists proved, however, that the20,000 gallons a minute coming from themouth of the tunnel is less than one percent of the available water supply in them ountain. Incidentally, heavy rains raisedthe water table in the valleys this season.The most interesting point of all thecomplex mechanism of construction is atthe working face, where men advanceinto unkno wn rock. Three shifts every

Continued on page 2920 T h e D E S ER T M A G A Z I N E


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! - > ' V v . . - / . ; '

Cfltoit 'Ttee" ft t hof the ancient empires arereported to have worn gorgeouscostumes, but it is doubtful if oldKing Solomon himself ever was arrayedin the regal splendor of a desert Smoketree at blossom time in June.Smoke tree's display of color is especial-ly conspicuous because it comes at a sea-son of the year when most of the otherplants and all of the creatures of the des-ert are in retreat from the withering raysof the summer sun.

W riters have never agreed as to wh etherthe flower is indigo, purple or deep vio-let-blue, but it is a colorful blossom andgrows in such dense clusters as to changethe entire color scheme of the desert arroy-os during the period when it is in flower.Smoke tree is another of the desertshrubs favored with a common namewhich accurately describes the aspect ofthe plant. Seen at a distance, the palegray-green tops of the trees may readilybe mistaken for the smoke wisps of a dry

campfire. Am ong Mexicans it has beencalled "ghost tree." Tiny leaves appearon the stems at times but are hardly no-

By DON ADMIRAL ticeable, and soon fall off. Generally thetree has the appearance of being entirelyleafless.Originally the tree was named Daleaspinosa. Later the name Parosela spino-sa was given. Recently, however, Daleaspinosa has again returned to favor. Th egenus name is in honor of Thomas Dale,an English botanist. Spinosa, the speciesname, refers to the sharp pointed twigs

or branches.Habitat of the tree is the dry wash bedsin the deserts of Southern California,Arizona, and Sonora and Lower Califor-nia in Mexico.The tree in its native state is protectedby law. It is difficult to transplan t, andthose who wish to secure Smoke tree forgardens or exhibition purpose will havebetter success in growing it from seed.The plant grows rapidly under favorableconditions and becomes a fair-sized treein three years' time. Its mature heightis from 12 to 15 feet. M ature trees maybe pruned severely if new growth is de-sired. Pruned trees should be given plen-ty of water.

J U N E , 1 9 3 8 21


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Torto ise eggs are buried in shallow holes scoo ped in the desert sand by the reptiles. This jemale is abou t to co ver her egg withsand. It will be hatched by the sun. Torto ise eggs vary in size, the larger ones being very similar to bantam eggs.

Saga oj\ the W alking/] RISE in defense of the desert tor-\J toise. With the world pock mark-ed by war and tumult, a little con-sideration of the calm visage and philo-sophical habits of the strangest reptileon earth seems rather in order.The desert tortoise has good reasonfor being philosoph ical. Behind himis an unbroken heritage of 100,000,000years. In the Mesozoic period whenthere was scarcely an animal alivewhich would be recognizable today,tortoises existed which were practicallyidentical to those now crawling aboutthe California deserts. The dinosaurtramped and ranted, the flying reptilesbeat the air with their twenty-footwings, the sloth slithered indolentlythrough the junglebut they have longbeen relegated to quiet corners in themuseums. Meanwhile, the tortoise plodson, unchanged and tireless.The most advanced species of thetortoise family inhabit the Southwesterndeserts. Am ong these, the Gopherus

By R. DeWITT MILLERagassizi is commonest in the Californiadrv lands.Brother agassizi has a high backedshell which will take a beautiful polish.By pulling in his armored front legs,he presents a united front that wouldturn a labor leader green with envy.Not only is the tortoise built formaximum protection, but he has becomeadapted to the desert climate to a trulym arvelous degree. For food he lovesyoung cactus. Toug her varieties ofdesert plants are too much for him.Instead of teeth he has horny ridgesthat look like petrified gums.Once anything goes down a tortoise'sthroat the problem of digestion issolved. A tortoise's stomach can digestanything. One mem ber of the familywas found to be able to digest smallwire nails in forty-eight hours.He can go weeks, probably evenmonths, without drinking. Rain waterpuddles, small springs, and certaindesert plants provide sufficient sources

of moisture. Tortoises may have diedof thirst, but there are no cases of iton record.Nor has the desert sun any terror forSerior Tortoise. The reptiles are prac-tically inactive until the temperaturerises to around 80, and the higher it

goes the more lively they become. Onewoman puts her pet tortoises in theoven for a few minutes on winter daysto make them active enough to amuseher guests.But if the tortoise likes lots of heatand little water, it can't stand to havethings reversed. Although they canswim for a few minutes, they soondrown or die of a kind of pneumoniacaused by getting water into their lungs.There is a high tortoise mortalitycaused by well meaning pet collectorswho put them in fish ponds, under the

impression that they are over-sizedturtles.Tortoises and turtles belong to the

22 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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DESERT PLACE NAMES. . . Compiled by TRACY M. SCOTT . . .

Fo r the historical data contained in th is department, the Desert Magazine is indebted tothe research work done by Miss Scott; to the l a te W i l l C. Barnes, author of "ArizonaP la ce Na m e s" ; to Frances Rosser Brown of NewMexico and to Hu g h O 'Ne i l of Ogden,Uta h .ARIZONA

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CALIFORNIAA M A R G O S A (ah margo 'sa ) Inyo county

Sp. for "bit ter ," referr ing to mineral wa-ter . M ountains, r iver and mine near DeathValley. First desert gold mine wasfound byMormons near Amargosa in 1854.ED OM Riverside county

He b re w w o rd for "red." Once applied toarea from Dead sea southward. Supposed tohave been given as name for this Californiasettlement because the district resembles theterritory in Palestine .J U L I A N San Diego county

O ne of the early stations along the Emi-grant tra i l . Formerly the Julian ranch housewas here , the place shown as Julian 's ranchon SanAntonio-San Diego mail stage routein 1859; also station for Butterfield stagesfrom Yu ma. Gold m ining dis tr ict s ince1870.Highway through Julian wasmade from oldmine tailings, said to contain more than$7,000 gold per mile . Kunzite , mined nearJu l ia n , is found elsewhere only in Madagas-car.

M U S C U P I A B E (mus cuepie'a bee)San Bernardino countyShoshonean Indian place name. Literally"the pino n pine." Original word mus-ku-pia-bil.

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B L AN CHA RD CRO S S ING Na v a jo co un tyRock crossing on Little Colorado river, 8miles east of Winslow. Blanchard was oneof thefirm of Breed andBlanchard who hada store here 1878-1883. Stage station on tworoutes , one through Chavez Pass and thesecond going west throug h Sunset pass.Blanchard and Joe Barrett were found deadin the store, December 1881. A posse fol-lowed the murderers' trail, captured "ThickLipped Joe" W a t e r s andW il l ia m Ca m p b e l l .A t St. Johns they were taken from the jailand hanged by "unknown parties ."LAVA Yu ma countyStation S. P. R. R. about 93 miles east ofYuma. "Country near s ta t ion is covered withlava rock, hence the name."Letter from

Paul Shoup.S AAVE DRA S P RING S (sah vay'd rah)Mohave countyAfter one of hisMexican guides of w h o mBeale says, "He wasabsolutely worthless asa guide or anything else." Shows on Beale'smap (18 47- 58 ). They were suffering forwater when theguide discovered this springon the west side of the Corbat range at itsnorthern end.

NEVADAGOS IUTE Elko countyMountains sometimes writ ten Gosh Ute.From Gossip , Go Shute or Go-ship , an In-

dian chief; also a Shoshonean tribal name.TIM P AH UT E L inco ln co un tyRange (town name spelled Tern Piute)Tarn Pahu te, local subtribal nam e. Theyformerly inhabited the valley of the Uta hLake. Original name was Tim-paiavats(Tim p a n a g a tz i s ) . The Spanish name of"fish eaters" wasprobably literal translationof the Indian word.T O Q U I M A (T o kee'mah) NyecountyMountains . Literally "black backs." MonoIndian tribe formerly living in lower Reeseriver valley.TRUCK E E W a sh o e co un tyRiver. Indian chief with Fremont in 1844.Died October 1860.M IND E N Do u g la s co un ty

Settled January 1907. Named after Min-den, Germany, home town of prominentfarmer, H. F. Da n g b e rg .

NEW MEXICOE L IZA B E T HT O W N Co lfax co un tyN a m e d for daughter of Jo h n M o o re , oneof the discoverers of gold in 1866. N a m elater abbreviated to E'Town, a l though mostmaps show the original spelling.J E M E Z (hem mez) Sandoval countyMountains, Indian reservation, pueblo,town, springs, state park . Peak 8589 elev.From ha-mish, Keresian word of uncertainm e a n in g .FRE NC H Colfax county

From Capt. Will iam French, author of"Some Recollections of a Western Ranch-m a n , " whocame to the United States fromIreland in1883.24 The DESERT MAGAZINE


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UTAHO R E J A S DEL OSO (oh ray' h a h s del o' so)San Juan countyMountain r idge. Means l i terally "ears ofthe bear," perhaps from peculiar outl ine ofthe summit.P A R A G O N A H ( p a r - a h go' nah) Iron countyT h e Pi Ede n a m e for "li t t le salt lake."Settlement formed in 1852.AS HL E Y

Lake, river and fo r t . Na m e d for W il l ia mAshley, American trapper who built a fortthere in 1825.W A H WAH Beaver countyM o u n ta in s and valley. May be " W a - w a h , "" th e p e o p le ; the Indians, s trangers ." Pahutew o rd for Indians of the Sacramento valley.( C O R R E C T I O N )

E S C A L A N T E (es cah l a h n ' tay) Iron countyT o w n and valley. Literally "scaling orclimbing a slope." Also Sp. su rn a m e . De-rived from Franciscan Father Silvestre VelezEscalante, who, with Fray Francisco Atana-sio Dominguez, made their celebrated jour-ney from Santa Fe, New Mexico, in to Utahin 1776 and gave name to El Va d o de losPadres, the "Crossing of the Fathers ," of theColorado river.No te Th e De se r t M a g a z in e is indebted toF . W. H o d g e of The Southwest Museumfo r the above correction in data publishedlast month .

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t U eW AL TE R F O RD, w h o se Hid d e n Va l le ymotorlog in th is number of the Desert Maga-zine makes one w a n t to climb right in the caran d go out and explore that mysterious hide-away, is an engineer by profession. He hastraveled widely and is a member of the Ad-venturers ' Club of Los Angeles . Ford is oneof those tr ip le-threat writers who not only turnout readable copy, but also take the photo-graphs and furnish the art w o rk to go w iththeir manuscripts . Another writer new to Desert Magazinereaders th is month is R U B Y B O W E N of Tuc-son, Arizona. Materia l for her interestingstory about Night-Blooming Cereus was gath-ered largely from actual observance of the cac-ti at the desert homestead west of Tucsonw h e r e she and her husband have resided forthe last eight years. Mr. Bowen is night editor

of the Arizona Daily Star at Tucson.M r s . B o w e n has made "desert l iv ing" ahobby and her spare t ime has been devoted tomany phases of study and recreationamongthem, cactus gardening, desert cookery, bee-keeping, bird study and coyote taming. Herexcursions out into the untamed desert areoften made on the back of a burro .

G E O RG E CL AYTO N, w h o se p r ize w in n in gphoto appeared in last month's edition is al inotype operator at Long Beach, California,and follows photography as a hobby. Clayton'semployer is Raymond G. Green now servingas district governor for the 100th district ofRotary International .J . P. K NIP P , w h o se Jo sh u a B lo o m p h o toappears on the cover of th is number, is anofficer of the Farmers & Merchants bank ofLong Beach, California. He and Mrs. K n i p pare interested in photography as a hobby, andbring their camera to the desert whenever theyhave the opportunity .

W I L F R E D P A R K S , who w ro te the G r a n dCanyon feature, Gift of the Genii , for th isn u m b e r of the Desert Magazine, is to be sta-tioned at the Canyon as a guide during thecoming summ er. W ide travel over the desertregion has given Parks an in timate knowledgeof many phases of desert lore.

M R S . D O R O T H Y C. CRAG E N, w in n e r ofthe April Landmarks contest conducted by theDesert Magazine, is general supervisor of Inyocounty schools and her h o m e is at Lone Pine,California. ZE E L E L AND of Ajo, Arizona, whosepoem "Surcease" is printed th is month, writes"These verses were writ ten 10 years agow h e n my f irs t desert morning dawned. I cameto spend a yearand hope to remain always."

Chee Dodge, grand old man of the Na v a -j o s , w il l be the subject of a character sketchw r i t te n by MRS. W H I T E M O U N T A I NS M I T H for the July number of the DesertM a g a z in e . O RE N ARN O L D w i l l a l so be inthe July number with a story of the annual In-dian Powwow held at Flagstaff, Arizona.

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J U N E , 1931 25


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OF YESTERDAY A N D TODAYa monthly review of thebest literatureof thedesert Southwest, past andpresent.

J.S.LOUISFORMER PACIFIC COAST MANAGERCARB O NDAL E M ACHINE CO M P ANY

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A DRAB LITTLE H O M E -BUT LIFE WAS INTERESTINGTelling thestory of a "Desert W ife" (Lit t le ,Brown and company) Hilda Faunce paintsclearly her four years at a remote trading poston the Navajo Indian reservation in Arizonaan d her finished work is the portra it too, of aw o m a n of courage, loyalty andfine sensibility.In a prefatory acknowledgment, Mrs. Fauncesays a series of letters shew ro te to her cousin,Ruth Wattles , form the kernel of the book.The author pays a graceful tribute to MissW a t t le s for her "guidance and literary aid."Her desert-bred husband hadnever been hap-py in the fogs and ra ins of the Oregon coast.He felt that "all man's ownership of earth wasgone, where there were so many to claim it."W he n financial worries were piled on top ofannual rainfall of 97 inches, homesickness forthe desert caused the Faunces to set out in awagon drawn by two horses to re turn to acountry of little rain and few people .Mrs. Faunce's love of h o m e and loyalty toher husband are sh o w n in the attachment shefelt forher garden and allthe little, strong tiesof association which tugged at her heart-stringswhen they loaded their few possessions intothe wagon. She had been m arried seven yearsto a taciturn man, considerably older than her-self, but "I had been will ing to go anywhere,anyhow, with Kenand I still was."They drove 1300 miles in the camp wagon,their destination a two-room shack at Covered

ewYou will be thrilled with the power of the 85-horsepower engines and with theeconomy of thenew "60."The streamlined body makes Ford thequeen of theh i ghways . . . the quality car in the lowpriced field.In Imperial Valley, let Edgars' demonstrate the newFord without obligation toyou. Ford sells itself.

BRAWLEY EL CENTRO CALEXICO

W a te r , 100miles from the railroad at G a l lu p .Main room was the store, the other room wasl iv ing quarters . The building had walls ofrough boards set on end and held together bya horizontal s tr ip of boxboards at topand bot-tom. For furniture there was a bed, a stove, asewing machine and drygoods boxes convertedinto a window seat and dressing table. Onlyneighbors were Indians who had a way ofma-terializing, apparently out of the thin desertair, astride wiry ponies. At first it was a "ter-rifying loneliness of yellow rim rock, graysand, redbuttes, black streaks of volcanic ash,and waterwashed clay hills." It was "an im-mense world of sand andsunshine."A nd at first, too, the Indians were notfriendly. The trader who had preceded theFaunces at Covered Wate r had not been popu-lar .How they made fr iends with the Indiansways andwiles of theredmanstories of birth ,

life and death in the hogans h u m o r andtragedy in trading post days and nightsandfinally how the Faunces saved to buy a farmon the San Juan r iver in New M e x ico (sh esays it was l ike planning for paradise) arechapters in Mrs.Faunce's book. Summ ing itup , shewrites , as she tells of departure fromCovered Water in the same camp wagon theyhad used when they moved from Oregon "Iha d not realized we had woven so manythreads of friendship that it h u r t tobreak them.In all my life these four years were the mostisolated and themost colorful."T A Z E W E L L H. L A M B .

IN THE WESTNOTHINGIS COMMONPLACEI n W E S T W A R D , H I G H , LOW ANDD R Y byDorothy Qu id s Hogner with i l lustra-tions by Nils Ho g n e r we have a travel storythat is tru ly moderna sort of motorlog indiary effect, so p o p u la r in these days of drive-out, look-over and rush-on. These two NewEnglanders, aware that the W e s t is no longerwild, have undertaken a motor tr ip of 15,000miles , to include the real West as they havelearned about it from the libraries.They have thehappy faculty of observation;and have seen beyond the rough surface thatso often sends tourists scurrying back to thenearest filling station. The re is a pleasant

humanness about their travelsthe accidents,the usual incidents of long-distance motoring,with none of the rush and dither so commonto tourist traffic. It is obvious that this writerand artist husband are real people whoactual-ly hoped to enjoy their outing, and were notundertaking it simply to make the neighborsjealous.A newview is presented of some of the oldwell-known places Grand Canyon, DeathValley, Arizona, the Giant Cactus forests, theAll-American canal, Imperial valley, and re-mote outposts andghost towns. We find newinterest in some of the th ings we regarded ascommonplace.My streak of thrift rebels at the price of$3.75 for th is volume, a l though the print iseasy to read and the illustrations are distinctlynovelalbeit a bit heavy and not too pretty.Published byDu t to n , 1937, 310 pp.

T R A C Y M. S CO TT.26 T h e D ES E RT M A G A Z I N E


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FATALITIES FROM SNAKEBITES HAVE BEEN REDUCEDSnakes have a definite place in Nature'sscheme of life, says James M. Dannaldson,andnone but venomous reptiles should ever bekilled. In the United States there are onlyfour species poisonous to man the rattler,copperhead, water moccasin and coral snake.Dannaldson's 72-page book, SERPENTTRAILS, is a practical handbook for thosewhose work or recreation may bring them incontact with members of the reptile family.Chapters are devoted to the rattler, gopherandking snakes, lizards, Gila monsters, sidewindersand the desert tortoise.Many of the so-called remedies for treatmentof rattlesnake victims are foolish and ineffec-tive, says the author. Among these "absurdcures" he lists alcohol, potassium permanganatecrystals, hot branding iron, turpentine and ker-osene. The most effective treatment is in-cision of the wound and suction of the poison.As a result of scientific research in this fieldthe mortality rate among victims has beengreatly reduced in recent years.Dannaldson's book is illustrated with a num-ber of unusual reptile pictures. It was pub-lished in 1937 byKellaway-Ide of LosAngeles,$1.00. Dannaldson's home is 14710 Green-leaf Ave., Van Nuys, California.

YUCCA LAND IS THEMEF O R BOOK OF SONG-POEMS

"Songs from the Land of the Yucca," writ-ten and published byAnna B. Stevenson of LasVegas, New Mexico, is truly a book of song,although only a few of the author's verses ac-tually have been scored to music.The versatility of the author is disclosed inthe wide range of subject matter. There is asong for every mood and fancy. The beautiful

"Call of the Canyon Resort" is followed by arealistic little jingle "I'd Hate to Be a Manand How!"M r s . Stevenson is musician as well as authorand has written the music for two of her num-bers. The song of her own state, "New Mex-i c o " she regards as her best.

HANDBOOK WRITTENFORVISITORS TO PETRIFIED FORESTFor visitors to the Petrified Forest NationalMonument in Arizona who desire to knowmore about this strange geological forma-tion than can be learned during a casual visit,M r s . White Mountain Smith haswritten an in-

formative little handbook.M r s . Smith's story takes the reader backmillions of years to the probable origin of thecolorful petrified wood and other fossils foundin the park area, and then describes briefly thewide range of scenic wonders found in this na-tional reserve. The books are sold at the Na-tional Monument headquarters near Holbrookat 25 cents each.

STATE MINERAL BULLETINREADY FOR DISTRIBUTIONBulletin No. 114 of the California divisionof mines is ready for distribution according tothe announcement of Walter W. Bradley,

state mineralogist. The bulletin contains dataconcerning the state's mineral resources, infor-mation as to the use and treatment of manymineral substances. It may be obtained fromSacramento, price 80 cents.

ValLySERVES theNATION'SB R E A K F A S T T A B L E

Delicious Imperial Valley cantaloupes are rolling to marketsa l l over the United States. From the"Wud&i QandetiojAmerica r r

comes a summer crop known far andwide as thechoicest melono n theAmerican breakfast table.While cantaloupes lead in quantity themany fine melonvar-ieties grown in the county, watermelons, honeydews, andhoney-balls are also sought in the market-places. Themelon growinga n d marketing industry in Imperial County presents agriculture'sfinest example of scheduled production.

Because of the dependability of climatea n d reliable irrigation, harvesting may be reg-ulated toprovide a constant flow of good mel-o n s to all parts of thecountry.Melons offer only one of many diversified fields forinvestmentin Imperial County. While cantaloupe growing and shipping re-quires considerable financing and marketing connections, othercrops offer profitable openings for small farms and limited equip-ment. F o r further information regardingScenic Attractions . . Dairying . . Agriculture

write today to B. A. H A R R I G A N , Secretary

Imperial County Board ofTradeCourt House El Centro, Calif.J U N E , 1938 2 7


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DESERT MINING BRIEFSTOMBSTONE. ARIZONA . . .

Written by Dr. B. S. Butler, head of thegeology department ofthe University of Arizona, a bulletin recently hasbeen issued by theuniversity covering themineral possibilities of theTombstone area.Associated with Dr. Butler in thepreparation of thebook were Dr.Eldred Wilson and Dr. C. A. Rasor.Although Tombstone already hasyielded $37,000,000 ingold, sil-ver, copper andlead, the orebodies are by nomeans exhausted, ac-cording to thesurvey.OGILBY. CALIFORNIA . . .

Rumors that an orebody assaying $100,000 hadbeen encounteredby Holmes andNicholson, operating at the oldPadre-Madre mine inCargo Muchacho mountains, were denied by M. A. Holmes, fatherof Kenneth Holmes, who is one of theowners. Thefather statedthat avery rich pocket hadbeen struck, butadded that apocket doesnot constitute a gold mine. It wasexplained that therumor wasstarted when theowners placed an armed guard towatch over thenewly discovered pocket for onenight.

GOLDFIELD. NEVADA . . .One of thelargest gold nuggets to betaken out of theplacer fieldsat Osceola in recent years wasdiscovered a fewdays ago byGeorgeGrabe Jr. Thenugget weighs 7.84ounces andcontains gold worthapproximately $250. Grabe picked thelump of gold off a conveyor

belt asgravel wasbeing put through therecovery plant.W IN N E M U C C A , NEVADA . . .

Discovery of an orebody which runs $1,000 to the tonnear Union-ville, wasreported recently by Roy B.Whitman, Nevada mining man.The values are 60percent gold and 40percent silver and are on theOtto Cline property, Whitman said.

' O N TOP OF THEWORLDDiscover themountain magic ofmile-high LakeArrowhead, California's famous mountain lakeresort that lives up to itsbirthright "Swiss Alpsof America." Magnificent scenery...all sports...and newfeatures galore tomake your stayatLakeArrowhead more enjoyable than ever. StayatTH

Documents

193806 Desert Magazine 1938 June