195001 Desert Magazine 1950 January

8/14/2019 195001 Desert Magazine 1950 January

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THE DESERT MAGAZINE



D E S E R T C A L E N D A R

New Year's Eve —Annual campfireLiar's contest at Pegleg monumentin Borrego valley, California.

Jan. 1—Annual presentation of "The

Messiah" in Tabernacle on Templesquare, Salt Lake City, 2:00 p. m.

Full symphony orchestra withguest conductor and soloist. No

charge, but tickets required.

Jan. 1—Annual Pegleg Trek to Bor-

rego valley. California.

Jan. 1—Rodeo at Slash Bar K ranch,Wickenburg, Arizona.

Jan. 1—Arizona Snow Bowl trophyrace, Flag: ' iff, Arizona.

Jan. 1—Annual New Year's day pow

wow and dancing, Shevwit reser-vation, Santa Clara, Utah.

Jan. 1—Turtle dance at Taos pueblo,New Mexico.

Jan. 4-7—Annual Stock show, first on

1950 circuit, Phoenix, Arizona.

Jan. 6—King's day at Taos pueblo.New Mexico. Deer dance.

Jan. 6—Annual dances at many New

Mexico Indian pueblos: San Felipe,Santo Domingo, Cochiti, SantaAna, Zia and others. ColorfulEagle dance at San Ildefonso.

Jan. 8 — Rodeo at Remuda ranch,Wickenburg, Arizona.

Jan. 8—Phoenix Don's club Travel-cade, to Tucson and San Xavier,Arizona.

Jan. 12-15—National evaporative cool-er exhibit, Shrine auditorium,Phoenix, Arizona.

Jan. 14-15—Southern California chap-ter of Sierra Club will camp at

Crystal Creek ranch and hike to

summit of an unnamed peak in

the San Bernardino mountains.Howard Hill, leader.

Jan. 15—Phoenix Don's club Travel-

cade, over Apache Trail.Jan. 23—Annual Feast day and fiesta,

San Ildefonso pueblo, NewMexico.Buffalo dance given three timesduring day.

January—Exhibit of paintings of In-

dian and pioneer subjects, by Clar-ence Ellsworth; also Sunday after-noon lectures. Southwest Museum,Highland Park, Los Angeles, Cali-fornia.

During January Lloyd Mason Smith,director of Palm Springs Desert

Museum, will lead trips to Pusha-walla canyon, Murray canyon and

the Elephant trees in Anza DesertState park.

^g^z

Volume 13 January, 1950 N u m b e r 3

C O V E R

C A L E N D A R

POETRY

EXP LO RATIO N

H U M O R

C O N T E S T

H ISTO RY

FIELD TRIP

QUIZ

B O T A N Y

LETTERS

G H O S T T O W N

LO ST MINE

N E W S

CLO SE-UP S

M I N I N G

LAP IDARY

H O BBY

C O M M E N TB O O K S

NAVAJO GIRL, by Josef Muench

January events on the desert 3

Roads, and other poems 4

He Explored the Unknown Colorado

By AL HAWORTH . . . . . . . . . 5

Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley 10

Announcement of January photo contest . . . 10

When Stage Coaches Came to Vallecito

By MARION BECKLER 11

In the Garnet Fields of Ely

By HAROLD O. WEIGHT 15

Test your deser t knowledge 19

Adventures in a Desert Garden

By JOYCE MUENCH 21

Comment by Desert reader s 26

Printer of Old Tuscarora

By NELL MURBARGER 27

Rendezvous for Gold Hunters 32

From here an d there on the deser t 33

About those who write for Desert 38

Current news of dese rt mines 39

Amateur Gem Cutter, by LELANDE QUICK . . 40

Gems and Minerals 41

Just Between You and Me, by the Editor . . . 46

Reviews of Southwest literature 47

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Press, Inc., Palm Desert,California. Re-entered as second class matter July 17, 1948, at the post office at Palm Desert,California, under the Act of March 3, 1879.Title registered No. 358865 in U. S. Patent Office,and contents copyrighted 1949 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writing.

RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor AL HAWORTH, Associate EditorBESS STACY, Business Manager MARTIN MORAN, Circulation Manager

E. H. VANNOSTRAND, Advertising ManagerLos Angeles Office (Advertising Only): 2635 Adelbert Ave., Phone NOrmandy 3-1509.Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs submitted cannot be returned or acknowledged

unless full return postage is enclosed. Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility fordamage or loss of manuscripts or photographs although due care will be exercised. Sub-scribers should send notice of change of address by the first of the month preceding issue.

SUBSCRIPTION RATESOne Year $3.50 Two Years $6.00Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra, Foreign 50c Extra

Subscription to Army Personnel Outside U. S. A. Must Be Mailed in Conformity WithP . O. D. Order No. 19687

Address Correspondence to Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, California

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0



Mojave desert — photograph by J. H. Jackson

SANCTUARY

By VIRGINIA RHORERDallas, Texas

Oh, I think God put His fingersOn the barren rock plateau,

Traced His temples in the canyons,Laid His altars high in snow,

And he planned this primal EdenAt the weary journey's end,

By the starlit running watersTo restore the soul again.

WITCHING SEASONBy EMM A C. RICHEYSan Jose, California

Gray desert, how can you

Change your dress and look so new?Summer drab, winter dull,Spring a gaudy spectacle.

You repel with summer's heat,Winter palls with cold and sleet;

Spring extends your witching charms,Welcomes us with flowered arms.

• • •

DESERT NIGHTBy VIOLA PERRY WANGER

Upland, California

One lone tree etched against a twilight sky,A thin curved silver moon above a hill,

Out of the silence, a lone night bird's cry,Then quiet. All the world is still.

A loneliness so deep, so hushed, it heals

All bitterness and wipes away all pain,And leaves the heart clean swept, at peace,

Like meadows newly washed with summerrain.

POINT OF VIEW

By BARBARA N. WR IGHTRedwood Valley, CaliforniaTwo men looked from a speeding train,As they traveled over a vast, dry plain.The one saw nothing but miles of dust.The other thrilled with the wanderlust.The first saw cactus and mesquite and sage,And turned from them to his printed page.The second dreamed of wind in his face,The sun on his back, his mustang's paceAs , with singing heart, he roamed the

range.The first man would have thought this

strange,For he saw only the burning sandWhere the other saw his promised land.

• • •

DESERT RAINBOWBy MYRTLE M. PEP PER

Los Angeles, CaliforniaI've found new hope, new courage,And my soul has found new rest,

I've seen God's halo shiningFrom a rainbow in the West.

By TANYA SOUTH

Truth dwells in marble halls no moreThan in the hovels of the poor.It seeks the beggar man no lessThan moneyed elements to bless.Truth dwells in goodness, and in love,For the eternal treasure troveIs for the genuinely fine,Regardless of their life design.

By DIANA DER HOVANESSIANCedar City, Utah

You can have the super highwaysWith the clover turns and suchI'll take the little by-waysDirt roads, not traveled much.

The wide roads are for speedingAnd mapped out to the end

But the little roads need heedingWith surprises at each bend.

They lead you back in time, it seems,To a slower kinder paceFull of flowers and creeks and pine trees . . .The only signposts in the place.

Oh, the sand roads and the dirt roadsAnd the wagon trails set apartAre not so good for engines . . .But they're so good for the heart!

• • •

STORM ON THE DESERT

By HELEN RICHMONDHermosa Beach, California

There's a hot, dry wind through the palm

leaves,And the air is filled with sand;While stark and bare in the distance

Smoke trees like grey ghosts stand.

The low sweet call of the ploverIs hushed, as he droops his head

Where the clinging sweet verbenaOn the barren ground is spread.

From the hills of San JacintoComes the wind, with a stinging blast;

And over the waiting desertIts unleashed fury is cast.

No bleak, cold heights of mountainsNo billows of ocean grand,

Can fill the heart with such terrorAs a storm of desert sand.

When at last the wind is overAnd Nature, exhausted, sighs,

A peace comes over the desertAs it rests 'neath starlit skies.

The great, dark bulk of the mountainIn lonely majesty stands;

And the God of hill and desertHolds both in His loving hands.

MOUNTAIN BALLADBy M ARIE HENDERSON WOOD

Long Beach, California

I wear a crown of swirling clouds,I cradle the hemlock and fir,

I anchor swift hoof of the leaping goat

And echo the eagle's whirr.My caverns reverberate thunder's rollAnd lightning lashes its whip

Across the ledges and jutting cragsOf my lonely reaching tip.

My gulleys are beds for melting snowsThat merge with torrential rains

To roar and spill their white-maned wayTowards unsuspecting plains.

I pit my strength against man's brain,I laugh jn his sweating face.

I tangle his path with sharp-thorned brushTo lose him without a trace.

I hurl great rocks to machine-made roads,I capture the blizzard's snow

And hold it captive in endless drifts,Whose depth no man will know.

Then twilight comes with gentle handsTo quell my angry mood;

And I quietly shadow the desert foxSuckling her hungry brood.

THE DESERT MA GA ZINE



The Explorer was a clumsy looking boat, and it collided constantly with sandbarsin the channel, but it was a sturdy craft and eventually made its way upstream

despite all obstacles.

H e E x p lo r ed th eU n k n o w n C o lo ra d o

By AL HAWORTH

Illustrations are reprints of lithographs m ade by J. J. Young from sk etches b y H. B.Mollhausen, member of the expedition.

". . . we heard, from the direction ofth e Gulf, a deep booming sound, likethe noise of a distant waterfall. Everymoment i t became louder and nearer,and in half an hour a great wave, sev-eral feet in height, could be distinctlyseen flashing and sparkling in the moo n-light, extending from one bank to theother, and advancing swiftly upon us."

This frightening phenomenon of thetidal bore, a singular occurrence en-countered at only a few places in theworld, was Lt. Joseph C. Ives' intro-

duction to the unexplored, unpredicta-ble, unorthodox Colorado River of theWest .

It was at the end of November, 1857,

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0

that the young army officer, a lieu-tenant in the corps of topographic en-gineers, got his first glimpse of themouth of the Colorado as he stood onthe crowded deck of the Monterey, a120-ton schooner which had broughthim and his exploring party, supplies,equipment and a knocked-down steam-er of light draught from San Franciscoaround the Cape of San Lucas andup the Gulf of California.

The lieutenant's instructions werespecific. He was to "ascertain the nav-

igability of the Colorado." It was JohnB. Floyd's idea. Floyd was secretaryof war in the cabinet of PresidentJames Buchan an. The reason was a

"Determine the navig ability of

the Colorado!" Those were the

terse instructions given in 1857

to a yo ung army eng ineer. Lieu-

t e n a n t I v e s c a r r i e d o u t h i s

orders, and despite hardships,

danger and set-backs he never

lost faith in his ability to con-

quer the West's most unruly

stream. He left an accurate and

sometimes humorous record of

t h e r i v e r , t h e w i l d c o u n t r y

through which it flowed, and

the primitive savages who lived

on its banks. This is the first of

t w o i n s t a l m e n t s o f t h e I v e s '

story.

military one. Establishment of newarmy posts in Utah and New Mexicomade it desirable to find out whether ornot the Colorado might be "an avenuefor the economical transportation ofsupplies to the newly occupied sta-tions." So when in the summer of1857 Secretary of War Floyd finallyhad at his disposal some funds for fieldexaminations, he set apart a portion of



the money for exploration of the Colo-rado and directed the promising topo-graphical engineer, First LieutenantIves, to organize an expedition.

A nd now,after months of prepara-tion and a 30-day sea voyage, theyoung lieutenant sailed on the morningof November 29 from the vermilionwaters of the Gulf into the "deep redand very turbid" waters of the Rio

Colorado, a legendary river that forthree centuries—since its discovery in1540 by a detachment of 25 men whohad left Vasquez de Coronado's ex-ploring party and followed the streamto itsmouth—was scarcely approachedexcept by an occasional trapper.

There was a fort and an army postat Yuma, 150 miles by the windingriver from head of the Gulf, butbeyondthat lay an unknown and dangerouscountry, a treacherous shifting riverthat had to be conquered. The lieu-tenant knew he faced a difficult task.

But had he realized what actually wasin store for him and hissmall party, itis doubtful if he would have sleptsoundly that first night on the muddybanks of the Colorado.

First major undertaking was to un-load and assemble a steamboat builtin Philadelphia especially for the expe-dition. It was an iron steamer, 50feet long. It had been tested in Aug-us t on the tame Delaware river "andfound satisfactory," according to anearly entry in Lieutenant Ives' diary.He wrote those words before he knew

his Colorado.What would ordinarily be a routinejob presented grave problems, it wassoon appare nt. Captain W alsh hadtaken his Monterey up the mouth ofthe river to Robinson 's Landing, stop-ping place for ocean-going vessels.Careful examination of the steeplyshelving bank revealed there was noplace where it would be possible toland the steamboat material, suppliesand stores except at high tide, and thenthe rapid fall of thewater and the swiftcurrent "would render the operationdifficult if not impracticable," Ives ob-

served.Finally they hit upon an idea that

was highly distasteful to the good cap-tain. They would run the Montereyinto a gulley which would float theschooner at high water, but at lowwater and during the neap tides of thenext two weeks she would lie "highan d drv, 15 or 20 feet above the river;a position so new for a shipmaster toplace hisvessel in that it was with greatreluctance that Captain Walsh yieldedto the necessity of the case ."

It took more than two days to un-

load the ship. Because the river over-flowed the surrounding flat countryregularly, Lieutenant Ives' men work-

ed in clinging, slimy clay mud. Land-ing the boiler and heavy portions ofthe steamboat was particularly diffi-cult. Ives wrote ruefully on December2 : "A more unpromising place to builda steamboat could scarcely be ima-gined."

To build the ways andderricks, logsof half-decayed driftwood were sal-vaged from the muddy terrain a miledistant. Two or three men wouldharness themselves to a log and sink-ing knee deep at almost every stephauled each stick through more than amile of gulleys and mud into camp.

Aided by the ship's crew, the heavylabor of first operations was accom-plished and by December 5 "camp hadbeen fairly established."

Now to build the ways. It look in-genuity, back-breaking labor and theability to put up with continual physi-cal discomfort. Lieu tenan t Ives musthave had the gift of inspiring loyalty,

else hismen would have lost heart longbefore the actual river trip began. Anexcavation was made in the toughadobe large enough to contain both theways and the steamer. From this aditch led to the river. Hope was tofloat the completed boat at next highwater.

There followed days of unremittingtoil, during which Ives did not fail tonote the beauty of the Decemberweather —the same desert winterweather which attracts thousands to-day. Ives' men were captured by its

sDell. Near-tragedy was the result onefine Sunday. In his official report tothe war department, the lieutenant re-corded this account of the incident. Hewrote:

"Not satisfied to pass a quiet dayafter the labors of the week, many ofth e men, seduced by the enticingweather and smooth water, started ina boat after breakfast on a clammingexcursion towards the Gulf." A furiousnorthwester came up, the men nearlylost their lives, were unable to returnto camp until far into the night. They

were a sorry looking set. according toIves, and he sums up his account ofthe affair and his opinion of that partof theworld in these words:

"They had not got any clams, butwere hungry, wet and bedraggled, andquite satisfied that it was useless tosearch for either pleasure or shellfishat the mouth of the Colorado ."

But work was not interrupted onassembling the sturdy steamer thatwasto explore the river. Ea ch step offerednew difficulties that had to be solvedby A. J. Carroll, Philadelphia, who had

come along as engineer and had ac-companied the knocked-down boat onits trip down theeast coast, thence over

the Isthmus of Panama by railroad,andfinally to San Francisco by water.Handling the boiler, for instance, wasa laborious task. It weighed threetons, had to be moved up to the sideof the pit where the ways were con-structed. Although the distance wasonly 25 yards, it took 10 men all dayto inch it along through the deep mudinto place.

It was at this river camp that Iveshad his first sight of Colorado Indians.They were Cocopahs, lived along theriver for 50miles from itsmouth. Withhis careful choice of words, the lieu-tenant recorded that they were attract-ed by the smell of food cooking andgave this description of first encoun terwith the aborigines:

"Two dirty looking beings hove insight, and came trotting over the flats,directing their way with unerring sa-gacity towards that part of camp wherethe eating arrangements were progress-

ing." The novel appearance of thecamp, the machinery, the bustle, leftthem unimpressed. They establishedthemselves to leeward of the fire,"where they could inhale the odor ofthe victuals," and stayed until theywere fed. They stayed, in fact, fornearly a week, until there was, as Ivesreported, "a rupture of amicable rela-tions between them and thecook." Thelieutenant didn't think much of theCocopahs, classed them as inferior toother Colorado river tribes. "All theirfaculties and thoughts, if they had any,seemed to be concentrated in viewingpreparations for eating," he observed.

Cocopahs he saw later were, as awhole, better looking than this firstpair. "Several of the men had goodfigures," he wrote. "The women wererather too much inclined to embon-point, with the exception of the younggirls, some of whom were by no meansill-favored."

Their complete aversion to work ofany kind astounded the energetic Ives.To obtain a stock of firewood, the lieu-tenant finally talked two or three Coco-pahs into going after drift-logs. Theywere strong athletic fellows, and aftermaking their bargain they carried itout, although they became heartily sickof thebusiness long before the day wasover. "After bringing in a log," Ivesreported, "Each one would lie on hisback to rest, making horrible grimacesand rubbing his astonished arms andlegs. W hen night came I paid themhalf as much again as had been pro-mised—thinking that this and the vir-tuous consciousness of having for oncein their lives done an honest day'swork, might induce them to try it

again; but I believe that nothing thatthere is in camp would have prevailedupon them to repeat the experiment."

THE DESERT MAGAZINE



Mouth of the Colorado river in 1857, an expanse of desolate mud flats overflowed

regularly by the river when high tides from the Gulf of California backed up silt-

laden river waters. It was here Lieutenant Ives and his men tackled the job of

assembling their boat for the trip upstream. This was stopping point for ocean-

going ships, was known as Robinson's Landing. F rom photo by Lieutenant Ives.

Meanwhile Engineer Carroll and hishalf dozen men had overcome one me-chanical bottleneck after another; theover-size boiler had been fixed in place ;machinery installed; heavy metal platesof the hull bolted in place and rein-forced with four stout pieces of scant-ling along the bottom; essential parts ofthe power plant were complete; theword "Explorer" had been painted "in

large capitals" upon the wheel-house—and on Chris tmas Day, 1857, the boilerwas filled and steam got up . Th e en-gine ran beautifully.

A few days earlier #the high tide forwhich Captain Walsh had impatientlywaited finally came and the Montereywas restored, with her happy com-mand er, to her proper element. OnDece mb er 21 , after transferring sup-plies from deck of the Monterey to twosteamboats down from Fort Yuma, thegood captain took his ship back to seaand the little exploring party was left

in exclusive possession of the mouth ofthe Colorado.

On evening of December 29 Mr.

Robinson returned from Yuma to hissemi-aquatic homestead — Robinson'sLanding—ready to assume his dutiesas pilot. Lieute nant Ives counted him-self lucky to have been able to engagea man of Robinson's experience on theriver. He brought word that two de-tachments of Ives' expedition, onestarting from San Diego, the other fromSan Pedro, had made the overlandjourney to Fort Yuma bringing withthem mules and supplies. And at themouth of the Colorado river, the Ex-plorer was ready for launching.

Shortly after midnight on December30 , in moonlight almost as brilliant asday, the high tide floated the vessel,the engines were put in motion, andthe little boat backed slowly out intothe stream. It was a great occasion,and Lieutenant Ives commented that"few boats have ever been surveyedby their builders with as much admira-tion and complacency."

Next day was spent loading instru-ments, stores and supplies. At mid-night steam was gotten up. As the tiderushed up the river the lines were cast

loose and with a shrill scream from thewhistle the Explorer—literally loadedto the gunwales—started out into thestream and the young lieutenant bidfinal farewell to Robinson's Landingand mouth of the Colorado.

The distance to Fort Yuma, by theriver, was 150 miles. It took the Ex-plorer nine days to make the tr ip—anaverage of only a little more than 16

miles a day. First night out the over-loaded vessel was almost swamped bywaves when a sudden storm came up.Each day brough t new difficulties. Th eriver was exceedingly crooked; sharpturns, sand bars and shoals caused fre-quent delays. Navigation was mad eeven more difficult by the fact that theriver was lower than it had been inyears. Yes, there were troubles aplenty,and the exploration trip had hardlystarted.

On January 9 the Explorer reachedFort Yum a. Lieutenant Ives had gonethe last 27 miles on horseback andreached the army post two days aheadof his boat.

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0



8 tfoUh&ukef.

These Cocopah Indians lived— and still live today— along the Colorado

river from its mouth in the gulf for some 50 miles up-river. They were,

Lieutenant Ives reported, "much inferior to the other Colorado tribes."

The three detachments of the expe-dition were now united. Those whowere to go aboard the ship numbered24. They included:

Dr. J. S. Newberry, physician to theexpedition and in charge of naturalhistory; F. W.Egloffstein, topographer;H . B. Mollhausen, artist and collectorin natural history; C. Bielawski, sur-veyor. Lieutenant Tipton, 3rd artil-lery, was in command of the escort,but sent a few of hism en on the steam-er . P. H. Taylor and C. K. Booker,

astronomical andmeteorological assist-ants, accompanied the land party whichwas to follow the river to the head ofnavigation.

It seemed that circumstances werecombining to make trouble for thecourageous party as, on January 11,they made ready to leave Fort Yumabehind. Rep orts from up-river indi-cated the Indians were disturbed overrumors of a Mormon movement. Newsthat the Ives expedition was preparingto ascend the Colorado made the In-dians even more uneasy, for they were

jealous of anyencroachment into theirterritory. The lieutenant could find

no Yuma Indian who appeared willingto accompany him as interpreter. Theriver continued to fall, the Indians saidthey had never seen it so low, andIves concluded: "We shall be able totest the experiment of navigation at asunfavorable a stage of thewater aswillprobably ever be experienced."

But, with only six weeks provisionsand such arms, ammunition and lug-gage as were indispensable, and afterminor repairs and adjustments to theExplorer, everything was ready for the

start of "the ascent of the unknownriver above."

That first day's voyage was almostludicrous, would have taken the starchou t of less determined men. The Ex-plorer made only three miles, the partybeing forced to camp the first nightwithin sight of the wharf at For t Yuma.Only two miles after pulling out intothe river, the boat ran aground on asand bar. It took nearly five hours toforce the steamer into deeper waterbeyond, by the time another mile hadbeen negotiated it was nearly dark."We were in plain sight of the fort,"Ives recorded in his report, "and thissudden check to our progress was af-

fording an evening of great entertain-ment to those in and out of the gar-rison."

This was but a foretaste of what layahead. But early the next morningth e trip was resumed and soon theYuma shoals were passed. Ten milesupstream appeared a pass between pur-ple hills, and once in it the party lostsight of the flat valley above Yum a,felt for the first time tha t they werereally in a newpart of the river.

Lieutenant Ives named this Explor-

er 's pass—from that point on up theriver applied many names that areusedto this day.

Progress was slow. Each night theboat put in to the bank where woodwas available for fuel and next morn-ing after breakfast the deck would bepiled high with mesquite. Despitethese precautions, the fuel supplywould sometimes be exhausted beforeday's end, then the menwould swarmashore with their axes and lay in astock of firewood. A day's travel mighttake the Explorer 30 miles—or five.

I t was a heart-breaking fight againstshoals, bars, snags, with the skill ofPilot Robinson put to severest tests to

8 THE DESERT MAGAZINE



Yuma Indians as they appeared near middle of the last century after contact with

the whites. They were superior to the Cocopahs living nearer mouth of the river,

but those who lived around the army post at Fort Yuma deteriorated rapidlythrough their association with the white man's civilization, according to Lieutenant

Ives.

choose a channel in the disconcertingriver.

As they progressed upstream thescenery chan ged . It was still barr encountry, almost devoid of vegetationexcept at water's edge, but the rangesof hills became more frequent witheach range providing a deeper, morecolorful canyon. In passing throughthe country Lieutenant Ives did not

fail to note the majesty of the hugesaguaro cactus, his description couldnot be improved upon today. Hewrote: "The fluted columns stand inconspicuous relief."

An occurrence six days out of Yumabest gives an idea of the difficulties en-countered in navigating the Colorado.Leaving camp January 16 in Cane-brake canyon, the Ives expedition hadthis experience:

"An open looking stretch of waterahead gave encouragement of a good

day's run. We soon discovered that,as regards the navigation of the Colo-rado, no dependence can be placed up-on appearance, for after proceeding

only 200 yards the boat grounded upona bar with such force that it took nearlytwo hours to get her off."

It was in Canebrake canyon that thefirst of many rapids was encountered,and the crew learned the trick of jump-ing ashore with a tow line to pull theExplorer through the swift current andaround jagged rocks.

Since leaving Yuma very few Indianshad been seen. The river ran throughrough mountainous country, Indianvillages were confined to the alluvialbottoms. Ives' report alluded again tothe scarcity of vegetation, but madeone notation that hunters today wishcould still be true. At the edge ofwhat he called the Great Coloradovalley, just as they were leaving theChocolate mountains, they sighted adozen mountain sheep (big horns)scamoering over a gravel hill nearLighthouse Rock.

Just before departure from the fort,a Yuma chief had been able to assigntwo Indians to accompany the party.They were Mariano and Capitan. The

lieutenant took time out to commentupon their daily conduct and recordedthese interesting observations:

"When we make a landing to take inwood they instantly disappear and re-fresh themselves with the absence ofcivilization until the whistle signalsthat it is time to start; and similarly atnight, after receiving their rations, theygo off to a distance, out of sight of our

roaring campfires, and cook their foodover a few smouldering embers, in themost quiet and secluded nook that theycan find."

Progressing for nearly 100 milesthrough the Great Colorado valley, Dr.Newberry discovered a fact that hasplagued agriculture in the Coloradodesert ever since waters of the riverhave been put to beneficial use. "Thereis a good deal of bottom land." Ivesreported, "and some of it is fertile; butmuch of it is so charged with alkalias to be unproductive." Even in 1858,

how ever, Ives saw the solution. "Awell-conducted system of irrigationwould wash out the salt from the soiland increase the amount of productive

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0



land ." Exactly that system has beenemployed in today's rich Imperial Val-ley and in valleys along the Colorado.

Through most of the valley (the PaloVerde and Parker valleys of today), theexploring party daily encounteredYum a Indians. Reaching the upperend of the valley, they found theChemehuevis, altogether different inappearance and character from the

other Colorado Indians. The Cheme-huevis were smaller, with finer features,turned out to be complete rogues.They had only one thing in commonwith the Yumas, their delight at seeingthe steamboat in trouble.

Lieutenant Ives' good sense ofhumor was functioning when he re-corded how the jeering Indians disdain-fully watched slow progress of the Ex -plorer up the difficult stream. Here ishis account:

"The Yumas collected in knots uponthe banks to watch us pass, and their

appearance is invariably the precursorof troub le. Wh ether their villages arenear places where the river is most eas-ily forded, or whether they select forpoints of view the spots where theyknow we will meet with detention, wecannot tell; but the coincidence be-tween their presence and a bad bar isso unfailing that Mr. Carroll considersit a sufficient reason to slow down theengine when he sees them collectedupon the bank."

The Chemehuevis did not restraintheir amusement:

"I am sure they regard our methodof ascending the river with unaffectedcontem pt," wrote Ives. "They havebeen demonstrating to Mariano andCapitan—who are disposed to espouseour side, and yet are a little ashamedof being in such ridiculous company—how vastly inferior our mode of loco-mo tion is to theirs. The y can foot iton the shore, or pole along a raft uponthe river without interruption; and thatwe should spend days in doing whatthey can accomplish in half as manyhours, strikes them as unaccountablystupid."

One humiliating encounter was re-ported as follows:

"As usual they were awaiting ap-proach of the steamer at points oppo-site the bar s. Our troubles occasionedthem unqualified delight. They watch-ed the boat with breathless eagernessas we tried in vain to get through oneplace after another, and every time sheran aground a peal of laughter wouldring from the bank."

(The second and concluding partof the story of Lieutenant Ives' ex-ploration will appear in DesertMagazine next month.)

MardKock Shortyof

Death

ValleyMid-summer heat waves were

shimmering over the floor ofDe ath Valley. A station wagonhad just driven up, and the oc-cupants sought shelter under thelean-to porch of the Inferno storewhile a clerk filled the tank withgas from a little hand pump onthe top of a drum of fuel.

"Anything grow around here?"asked one of the visitors.

Since Hard Rock Shorty was

the only native within hearingrange, the question obviously wasaddressed to him.

"Sure! Anything'll grow hereif yuh give it water," he an-swered.

The stranger evidently was not

convinced, and continued to askquestions. It riled Shorty to havehis veracity questioned.

"This is the growin'est placeyou ever saw," he finally ex-claimed . "If you 're goin' overPioche way jes ask oF Pegleg Petewho has that cinnabar claim overthere. Pete camped one winter

with me an' Pisgah Bill over bythem Tule springs in Lost Burrocanyon. Lot's o' water comin'out o' them springs and Bill wasgrowin' a little garden there.

"First night Pete spread hisbedroll on the ground near thespring. He allus unstrapped thatwooden pegleg when he turnedin, and that night he stuck it inthe damp ground so it'd be handyin the mornin'.

"Pete didn't know about thatrich soil. Next mornin' that wood-en leg had growed into a 17-footpine tree. We made 'im a newwooden leg outa mesquite, buteverytime he went out hoein' inBill's garden he had to take aprunin knife an' stop every fewminutes to cut the new shoots offo' that leg."

*De&ent <vte 70anted. . . P r i z e C o n t e s t A n n o u n c e m e n t

With the return of cool weather, photographers again are roam-ing the desert country in search of unusual photographs—and after a3-month recess the Desert Magazine will resume its monthly photo con-test in January. Pictures entered in the contest m ay include any sub-ject essentially of the desert—landscapes, botanical subjects, wildlife,sunsets, shadow effects, human interest—the field is unlimited.

Entries for the January contest must be in the Desert Magazineoffice. Palm Desert, California, by January 20, and the winning printswill appear in the March issue. Pictures which arrive too late for onemonth's contest are held over for the next month. First prize is $10;second prize $5.00. For non-winning pictures accepted for publication$3.00 each will be paid.

HERE ARE THE RULES

1—Prints for monthly contests must be black and white. 5x7 or larger, printedon glossy paper.

2—Each photograph submitted should be fully labeled as to subject, time andplace. Also technical data: camera, shutter speed, hour of day, etc.

3—PRINTS WILL BE RETURNED WHEN RETURN POSTAGE IS ENCLOSED.

4—All entries must be in the Desert Magazine office by the 20th of the contestmonth.

5—Contests are open to both amateur and professional photographers. DesertMagazine requires first publication rights only of prize winning pictures.

6—Time and place of photograph are immaterial, except that it must be from thedesert Southwest.

7—Judges will be selected from Desert's editorial staff, and awards will be madeimmediately after the close of the contest each month.

Address All Entries to Photo Editor

* D e & & t t PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

10 T H E DESERT MAGAZINE



—<r~.

W h e n S ta g e C o a ch e sC a m e t o V a llec ito . . .

By MARION BECKLERPhotographs by M. Carothers

Drawings by Norton Allen

PEDRO FAGES urged hishorse up one more rise and drewrein. The troopers behind him

exchanged dark looks. How many morearid canyons must they climb, search-ing for those San Diego Presidio de-serters?

But Don Pedro had straightened inhis saddle, face intent. Below him laya valley. A small green valley, like an

emerald, deep in its gold setting."Amigos, our search is ended! Whereelse could our scoundrels hide? In themidst of all this desolation—water!Water and feed enough for a wholearmy! No ?" His black eyes snapped."Even the great Juan Bautista de Anza,bringing our people across the desertsfrom Sonora, knew naught of this oasis!It is for me, Pedro Fages, to discoverit! Gem more precious than mountainsof rubies, I name thee simply 'LittleValley'-—Vallecito!"

That was in 1782. From the be-ginning of time the camping ground of

roving desert peoples, the little valleyof plentiful water was now known tothe white man. It was not, however,

Gold-seekers, immigrants, sol-diers, stage and freight driv-ers—they all came to Vallecitofor water and food after the lon ghard trek across the SouthernCalifornia desert. For morethan 50 years this little adobestation surrounded by moun-tains was one of the best knownwatering places between LosAngeles and San Antonio. Hereis a glimpse of som e of the menand women who played lead-ing roles in Vallecito's history.

until 1826 that a trail was blazedthrough from Sonora by RamualdoPancheco, and the first overland mailservice into Alta California camethrough Vallecito.

Within a few years American adven-turers were making their own trailsacross the Colorado Desert. To manywho obeyed that early call to Califor-nia, the snows of the high S ierras seem-ed less attractive than the long stretchesof desert to the south—with the unfail-ing waters of Vallecito.

Vallecito lies to the east of SanDiego's m ountain ranges. The Lagunas

tower above it, their feet in its greenriver of saltgrass and tules. Here thelacy desert mesquite grows into shadetrees, and ocotillo and cactus spread agorgeous garden to the barren hillsclosing it in.

Vallecito is a link in the chain of val-leys that made a natural travel routefor the southern Immigrant Trail. HereGeneral Kearny rested his fatiguedarmy on one of the most difficult andunnecessary forced marches in history.With peace established, the WhippleBoundary Survey party, guided by Col.

Cave J. C outs, made camp at Vallecito.And the following year the quiet littlevalley became lusty with sound as avigorous stream of humanity pouredthrough, headed for the goldfields ofCalifornia.

In three fast moving decades afterthe loitering Spanish-Californians be-gan receiving mail overland from So-nora, the first American mail servicewas getting under way—through Val-lecito.

James E. Birch, owner and operatorof three thousand miles of stage linesin California, had the overland mail

contract. Though still in his twenties,he was the man most fitted for the greatundertaking. In his San Franc isco of-



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Th e oldstation hasbeen reconstructed and is being preserved by SanDiego county,California. It may be seen today in the same wild landscape as was found here

when theSpanish captain, Pedro Fages, first visited thewaterhole in 1782.

fice, in June, '57, he talked with R. E.Doyle.

"Doyle, I want you ready with pack-mules to leave San Diego for Tuc-son . . ."

"San Diego for Tucson?" Doyle ex-ploded. "I thought Sacramento wasto be the terminus, via Salt Lake!"

"The southern route," Birch snap-ped, "is preferred by the powers thatbe. Comanches, Apaches, deserts , orwhat-have-you, the overland mailleaves San Diego east, San Antoniowest, on July 24." Birch brought hisfist down with a bang on his desk,"Butterfield wants this contract, andhe's a close friend of the president.It'll be nip'n ' tuck if we keep it. I'veput my most reliable men on the job.A nd I'm counting on you, Doyle."

Doyle bought saddles, bridles, blan-kets, rations, and arms, and took theboat to SanDiego. He had three days

left to find mules, if he was to leave onschedule. It was not until August 9that his mule-train was ready, and he

set out on the epoch-making journeywith the first eastbound overland m ail.

Meanwhile, Vallecito had not beenaltogether a place for passers-through.It had served as an army sub-stationand since 1851 it had had one per-manent dwelling: a sodhouse, built byJames R. Lassator.

The Lassators owned a ranch inGreen valley, near Cuyamaca moun-tain. But during the months whenthere was travel from across the desertthey found it quite profitable down inVallecito, selling provisions and hay toimmigrants. In August they enjoyedthe coolness of Green valley. Theyknew nothing of Doyle coming throughVallecito with the overland mail. Littledid they guess that their little sod housewas about to become one of the mostimportant stations for a transcontinen-tal stagecoach line!

A t 2:00o'clock on the afternoon of

September 7 there appeared in Valle-cito two bedraggled riders and anexhausted pack-mule. Sweat-caked,

burned to a livid red, the men dis-mounted at the little store. But theonly sign of life was in the Indianrancheria over against the hills. J. C.Woods, whom Birch had appointedsuperintendent of the great mail serv-ice project, hadcounted heavily on get-ting fresh horses here. He said to hiscompanion, "Go find an Indian to

guide us to Lassator 's ranch."But no Indian could be persuaded to

leave the shade of the rancheria. Hop-ing for enough daylight to follow thetrail up through the mountains, themen urged their spent mules on upVallecito.

A dapper New York City man,Woods had left San Antonio with a fineoutfit of three coaches, 17 well armedmen on mule-back, and with militaryescort through Apache country. Hehad planned to see the first westboundmail through in person, and to meet

James Birch in San Diego at the earli-est possible date. Now , down at Car-rizo, were the coaches and outfit, rest-

12 T HE D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E



ing while the determined Woods pushedon, with one helper.

At two in the morning the Lassatorswere awakened by a loud pounding ontheir door. The re stood the superin-tendent of the overland mail, demand-ing fresh horses at once.

Yawning, Lassator said the horses

were in pasture, he'd get 'em in themorn ing. The superintend ent and hisman could sleep on a haystack!

But Lassator did not get back tosleep. Woods had much to tell him.The overland mail was at last a reality!His Vallecito store would be one of thestations! He'd serve meals to stage-coach passengers and supply feed forthe horses! Wh y, he'd be supplyinghay to all the stations strung out acrossthe desert. He 'd build a hay roaddown from the ranch. . . .

Woods reached San Diego the next

night at 10 o'clock, and was greetedwith great jubilation, bells ringing andflags waving. It was September 8, andthe first overland mail was through. Inhis government report, he wrote, "Imyself had come from San Antonio toSan Diego in 38 days."

But here was another disappointmentfor him. In fact, emba rrassmen t. Hehad expected to meet Birch with moneyfor his return trip. An d he had con-tracted debts along the way. But noBirch! It was some time later that helearned Birch had sailed on August

20 for Boston, that the Central Amer-ica on which he sailed, sank off CapeHatteras and Birch was drowned.

However, Woods got the road build-

S T A G E S T A T I O N

H!: -DED)CATEU TO TH E MEMORY O F

JAMES E. BIRCH!

h* . *AN 'VIN- ' !' AN EM PIRE ON. WUBW

'DUNDEE AND PROPRIETOR OF THE FIRST OFFICIAL,jvhRLAND MAILSTAGE LINE

IK TH r UNITED STATES,1 f IE-SAN • 3^SAN DIEGO OVERLAND MAIL OF'

1857 — 1861

A u - t o ' . . '— j ) HANDELED THE REINS ^" i

apBronze plaque mounted on the outside of the restored Vallecito

stage station.

ing under way at once, supplies sentahead to desert stations, and soon thecoach wheels were rolling. On October17, there appeared in California papersthis advertisement:

"This line, which has been in suc-cessful operation since July, is ticket-ing passeng ers. Passeng ers and ex-press by coach and six mules except

across the Colorado Desert, crossed bymule-ba ck . . ." This stretch by mu le-back gave this historic overland mailservice the name of the "Jacka ss M ail."

So James Lassator's dream cametrue. His little Vallecito store becamea stage station. After John B utter-field got the franchise, in '58, the runsincreased until there were stages

Vallecito cemetery in which John Ha rt was buried in 1867 (mo numen t on theright). It is said his family w as wealthy, and sent this engraved tomb stone by boa taround the Horn to be placed here. The m onum ent of stone on the left is in

memory of James E. Mason.

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 13



A section of the original Butterfield stage road is still plainly visible in therugged desert terrain in a pass above Mason valley, a few miles west of the

old Vallecito station.

through six days a week, connectingIndependence, Missouri, and Los An-geles. From serving sporadic imm i-grant travel, Lassator found himselfengaged in one of the West's mostthriving occupations.

In one of the immigrant trains pull-ing into Vallecito prior to 1854 therehad been the wagon of the unfortunateMulk ins family. Out on the desertthere had been an attack on the trainand Mulkins had been shot. JohnMulkins, a serious-faced boy in hisearly teens, was carrying on in hisfather's place while his mother looked

after the three smaller children. Theymade camp by the saltgrass cienega.And after they had driven on up thevalley for San Diego, James Lassatorfound he could not forget the patientface of the dark eyed little widow. Hebegan at once adding living quartersto his little store and, when summerbegan to slacken travel, he rode intoSan Diego and married her.

Life at the Vallecito stage stationwas fascinating, exciting. The re wasconstant contact with personages fromthe East and from the coast. And there

were the growing reports of strugglebetween North and South. Newspaperswere seized and read anxiously. Then

suddenly travel stopped. Troop s hadbeen removed from Arizona and theApaches poured out of their strong-holds. . . . The sudden silence in theremote Vallecito outpost was oppres-sive. James Lassator went with afriend over in Arizona, prospecting.

Word came back that they had lo-cated a mine, and that presently Las-sator would return to Vallecito a richma n. Then news came that the twohad been found, murdered and robbedby bandits. John Mulkins left at oncefor Arizona, to avenge the death of hisstep-father. But no trace of the mur-

derers could be found. M rs. Lassatorclosed the station and moved the equip-ment to Camp Wright (Oak Grove).In '6 3, when travel was resumed, shesold out to John Hart.

In 1939 the Vallecito stage station,as a San Diego county landmark ofthe route of the first transcontinentalstage coach mail line, was accepted bythe state as one of nine historic spotsin southern California to be set asidefor official registration as a state mon-umen t. Time had brough t ruin to thehouse of "saltgrass sods", but Dr. and

Mrs . Louis Strahlman, with the helpof interested parties, obtained the aidof the SRA and CCC and rebuilt it.

In the intervening years, stages hadrun through Vallecito until the comingof the railroads. Various squattershad come and gone before James E.Mason came. He had been a driveron the "Jackass Mail" and he hadserved in the Union Army. He was liv-ing in the station and running stockwhen the government survey was made.He filed on the land and became thefirst legal owner of Vallecito. The reis a monument, containing his ashes, inthe little Vallecito cem etery. It standsbeside the old, bullet marked monu-ment of John Hart, who operated thedepot until his death in 1867.

The restored depot is dedicated,quite appropriately, to James E. Birch,"the man who put the empire onwheels ."

LARABEE AND ALESO N TO

MAK E RIVER EXCURSIO NS

San Juan-Colorado river boat trips,widely publicised in recent years by thelate Norman Nevills, will be scheduledduring the coming summer season byCharles Larabee and Harry Alesonwho made a number of successful riverexcursions down the San Juan andthrough Glen canyon on the Coloradoto Lee's ferry last season.

Larabee and Aleson use the ArmyAir corps' 10-man rubber boats fortheir trips. After six river trips in thistype of craft they regard them as su-perior in many respects to wooden

boats. By carrying only a boatman andfour passengers to each craft they pro-vide comfortable passage and extremebuoyancy.

The Larabee-Aleson team plans toschedule its trips in May and Junewhen the river is high and no sand-bars likely to be encoun tered. Theyplan to start at either Bluff or MexicanHat, Utah, according to the stage ofthe river.

The actual boat run requires six oreight days, allowing time for trips intothe interesting side canyons and up to

Rainbow bridge, but the trips this sea-son are to be extended to 10 or 11days, and will include two days inMonument valley at Harry Goulding'sNavajo trading post.

Rendezvous for passengers is to beArt Greene's Cliff Dwelling lodge inHouserock valley. From that point thepassengers will be ferried to the take-off on the San Jua n river. Lee 's ferrywhere the boat trip ends is only a fewmiles from Cliff Dwelling lodge.

Larabee stated that he and Aleson

would also schedule one trip fromLee's ferry through Grand Canyon toBoulder city next summer.




Nevada state bureau of mines has identified the garnets of the Ely area as beinga gem variety of spessartite. Picture shows their occurrence in a quartz crystal vug.

Inset is a gem quality garn et clinging to its rhyolite matrix.

I n t h e G a r n e t F i e l d s o f E l yGarnets are a common occurrence in the desert country, but 99 percent

of them are of such soft and inferior quality as to have no value for gempurposes. It is only in rare instances that real gem garnets are found.Harold and Lucile Weight, taking their clue from an old U. S. quadranglem a p , located such a field in Nevada—and here is the story of theirexperience in a gem field high up among the pine and juniper coveredmountains near Ely, Nevada.

By HAROLD O. WEIGHTPhotographs by the Author

UCILE and I were looking at anold quadrangle map of Ely, Ne-vada. In the upp er center in

bold letters was the legend, "GarnetField."

"Maybe we wouldn't find a singlestone," I replied when she suggestedthat we shou ld visit the field. "Afterall, this map was printed in 1916, andI have heard that professional gemhunters stripped the field years ago."

"But they couldn't have found everygarn et," Lucile insisted. "Th ere mu stbe a few left for us."

She was voicing a conclusion Ireached years ago, that usually thetale of the cleaned out rock field is only

a lazy man 's lament. I have many aprize specimen from supposedly clean-ed out fields where only a little morecareful search or a little more strenu-ous digging was needed.

I had wanted to hunt for those gar-nets since the day I first saw Arthur G.Spencer's Geology and Ore Deposits ofEly, Nevada, the publication for whichthis old topographical map had beenprep ared. Geologist Spencer had writ-ten: "North of Lane valley certain ofthe layers (of rhyolite) are character-ized by more or less globular vesiclesthat contain beautifully crystallizeddeep-red garnets. Some of the vesicleshave linings of crystalline quartz and in

a few specimens a single brilliant gar-net is set in a matrix of quartz, form-ing a natural gem of rare beauty."

Government geologists are not inter-ested in inferior gem ma terial. W henthey write in such glowing terms of agem field, the collector who follows

their clues will very likely be well re-warded. And in any event, if we shouldfail to find the garnets, I knew that avisit to the enormous Ruth open-pitcopper mining operation near Elywould make the trip an interesting one.

Ely has an elevation of 6,433 feetand parts of the garnet field are wellabove 7,000 feet, so we planned ourvisit for midsum mer. We wanted nopart of the winter cold of those moun-tains nor of the storms which some-times sweep the great north-south val-leys in that portion of Nev ada. We

missed our objective by more than amonth, but our luck was good andwhen we headed westward from Elyon the morning of September 30, wewere still a jump ahead of winter. The

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 15



General view of the garnet fields near Ely, located in the Egan rang e of moun tains.Red ga rnets, some of gem quality, weather from the pinkish rhyolite (foreground)

and are found down the slopes and in the washes.

weather was crisp but not chilling, andthe sun shone brightly.

We regretted not having more timeto spend in Ely. The town, sixth larg-est in Nevada, has had a colorful past.

But n othing in its history is more inter-esting than the manner in which it be-came the seat of White Pine county.The county was created in 1869. Twoyears after the discovery of the silverbonanza at Treasure Hill and Hamil-ton, the boom camp became the countyseat. But when Hamilton's court-house burned early in 1887, the Treas-ure Hill boom was almost over and athree-way battle developed betweenHamilton and the more lively camps ofCherry Creek and Taylor, each seek-ing the new $10,000 structure which

had been authorized. Wh en no agree-ment could be reached, it was deter-mined to construct the new courthouseat the geographical center of White

16

Pine county. The exact center provedto be without water, so tiny Ely, fourmiles away on Murray creek, becamethe county seat.

Our 34-year-old map proved hope-

lessly inaccurate so far as roads wereconcerned but since it showed thegarnet fields, we wouldn't have tradedit for a dozen up-to-date ones. An dwe knew we couldn't go far wrong.Ely is located at the mouth of Robin-son canyon and about the only reason-able route westv/ard from it is up thecanyon.

Highway 50 now climbs almost di-rectly from Ely, holding to the southside of the canyo n. In spots therugged walls rose almost verticallyabove us and beyond them were steep

strikingly banded mountains. Thecountry was peppered with prospectholes and workings, most of thempredating the copper era by decades.

The first mines in this region weresilver and gold. Once we passed thepicturesque brick and stone ruin of anold ore furnace, perched on a shelfagainst the northern wall.

We reached the little community ofLane City at 2.5 miles from Ely. To -day it scarcely deserves the name of acity, but small as it is, Lane can lookupon Ely as an upstart and johnny-come -lately. Lan e is the site of thefirst town in this part of Nevada, es-tablished and named Mineral Cityabout 1869 shortly after an Indian ledprospectors down the Egan range togood mineral showings in the canyon.The population of Mineral City fluc-tuated from a high of about 600 in1872 to a low of two families in 1881

as gold and silver developments fluc-tuated.

We continued past Lane City onHighway 50, searching for an old trail

T H E D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E



When we reached the point where

imberly branches off, we found thata bladed road headed northward in thedirection we wanted to go. Zeroingour mileage we took to the sideroadand found it fairly narrow and steep,but in good condition.

At .7 of a mile from the highway,we saw the faint ruts of a very old roadheading up a narrow canyon to thenorth east. Th at the old track had beenabandoned was shown by the fact thata shallow drainage channel to carryrain runoff had been cut directlythrough it where it joined the road.

With a little bumping and frame twist-ing I managed to get all four wheelsinto the ruts.

I cannot recommend this ancientpair of ruts to anyone driving a modernpassen ger car. But it was only .2 ofa mile to a steep pitch where the trailends. Visitors should park at the firstavailable spot after leaving the power-line.

We were out of sight of the power-line road, in a bright and silent world.Steep slopes covered with juniper andoccasional small pines rose on all sides.

The sun burned down from a sky soblue it seemed to have a blackish tinge.At our altitude the sunlight was hot,the shad e cold. A nicely patternedlizard executed a series of push-ups ona nearby rock, then eyed us unblink-ingly. A little breeze stirred the pineneedles. Otherwise there was no move-

ment and for the moment no sound.We were submerged in a peaceful bowlof green.

There was a high ridge on the south-east, and the garnet-bearing rhyoliteshould outcrop on the slope of thatridge. On the map it had looked onlya step from the valley we were in. Butmountains have a way of rearing upand expanding when you get intothem, until they bear no resemblanceto the smoothly contoured lines onpaper.

Shouldering our collecting sacks we

started climbing toward a low pass tothe south . Th e slope was not as steepas many a butte we had climbed on thesouthern deserts, but at 7,000 feetthere was a noticeable lack of oxygenin the air. On the way up, the rockhad been chiefly limeston e. Wh en wepanted through the saddle, we cameupon brownish weathered rhyolite, butthere seemed to be no trace of garnet.

The view from the top was magni-ficent, mountain after mountain, theirridges looking dark because of the cov-ering of pine upon them. There was

only one thing wrong with it from mypoin t of view. The slope on the farside fell away faster— and farthe r—than the one we had climbed. Loo k-ing at those washes far below—theones marked "Garnet Fields" on themap—I was just about willing to con-cede they probably were cleaned out.

But Lucile already was heading downthe mountain, and I followed. We rang-ed back and forth across the moun-tain side, in many places covered bywhat was almost a talus of rhyolite,withou t seeing a single garnet. Lucilewas all for continuing to the washes inthe valley, but I complained that wewere faced with an unpleasant reversalof the natural law that whatever goesup must come down. In this case,however far we went down, we wouldhave to bring ourselves back up. An dafter I promised that we would go back

to the Lane area and work up thewashes, she reluctantly turned backtoward the top of the ridge.

When we finally did head up hill,we found that Nature had been up toone of those cute little tricks she some-times plays on rockh oun ds. No soon-er had I started climbing than I sawa bright sparkle in the rhyolite float.Picking it up, I found it to be a perfectlittle red-brown garnet clinging to a bitof matrix . The n I saw a second and athird and a little yelp told me Lucilehad made a similar find.

Lucile finds a prize garnet in a piece of rhyolite broken from this great outcroppingin the mountains north of Lane valley.

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 17



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It was really quite simple when weunderstood it, but something collectorsmight remem ber. Going down hill wewere facing into the morning sun andthe dark sides of the garnets were to-ward us. Wh en we turned , the suncame over our shoulders and reflected

from the brilliant faces of the stonesinto our eyes. After we started findingthe garnets, it seemed we could locatethem even in the shade of the smallpines, the junipers, rabbitb rush andgreasewo od. Mo st of them were indi-vidual crystals, or half-crystals sinceeach garnet was or had been attachedto rhyolite and therefore was not per-fect in all its faces.

In the enthusiasm of hunting—andfinding-—we had forgotten altitude a ndtiredness. But after half an hour Lucilesank down in a spot of shade and

sighed as she tossed some fracturedstones back to the ground. "I neverthought the day would come when Iwould throw away garnets," she said.

It had indeed proven to be the oldstory. The field had been cleanedout only for those who expected to beable to fill their pockets without walk-ing more than 100 feet from their cars.Such collectors will not enjoy the Elyfield, but those who like garnets wellenough to work for them can find allthat they should want.

A surprising number of rockhounds

regard garnets as among the mostbeautiful of natu ral gems. Our fond-ness for them has been shared by thehuman race since earliest history. Peo-

18

ple of the Bronze age in Europe drilledwaterworn garnet pebbles to makenecklaces. Ancien t inhabitants of theEast mounted the shining crystals ingolden rings. Garne ts were the "car-buncles" of Biblical times and one ofthem was set among the 12 stones in

the breastplate of the High Priest ofIsrael, made at the command of Moses.For many centuries, a fine garnet wasequal in value to a ruby.

The garnet is the birthstone for Jan-uary, and naturally many legends havegrown up about it. Some garnets weresupposed to glow at night from the firewithin, and the fabled Prester John ofAbyssinia was alleged to have a roomlighted by a single great carbuncle.The stone was supposed to protecttravelers from any sort of injury, tomaintain and restore health, to ward

off plague and even warn its owner byturning dark when danger approached.

The name, from the Latin granatus,seed or grain, was given because earlyobservers thought small garnet crystalslooked like the seeds of the pomegran-ate. There are six principal subspeciesof the stone. The garnets of Ely havebeen identified by the Nevada state bu-reau of mines as being spessartites, amanganese aluminum garnet whichsometimes occurs in rhyolite. Spessar-tite garnets often are of a yellowish-brown color not popular for cutting,

but those at Ely are a deep rich redand should facet into good stones whenfound in large enough unfracturedpieces.

lT0T0NO""i

However, we were looking for thecrystals and especially for the crystalsin quartz-lined vugs, which Spencerhad mentioned. I had found one ortwo of the latter in very weatheredcondition and the only way to get goodspecimens, it seemed, would be to find

a rhyolite outcropping and start break-ing rock . I found a likely spot downthe slope, where layers of rhyolitebroke through the earth and talus.

The first blow of the hammer openeda sparkling inch-wide cavern of tinyquartz crystals with two small redgarnets set upon them, a perfect gem.The rhyolite itself added to the speci-men, proving to be a colorful pinkwhere freshly broken. Then for thenext 15 minutes I broke rock withoutfinding another prize. There were manyquartz-lined vugs, but no good garnets

in them.In the meantime Lucile had followed

a trail of individual stones to the high-est point on the ridge. There she dis-covered an outcropping crowded withthe little crystalline open ings. I fol-lowed her and swung the hammer untilmy arm was tired. This is a placewhere the man who is handy with ahammer will get the prize specimens.And, although good gem pockets werenot common, we gradually accumulat-ed a little pile of high grade.

By that time, blisters on my right

palm and my outraged muscles insistedthat enough was enough. Hunting fora more direct descent, we followed afaint trail northward to the first saddle

T H E D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E



he west, came out at the end of theold road on which we had left the car.Although it is a little steeper, I wouldrecommend this route for visitors tothe Ely field. It is quite simple to hiketo the end of the old road, where itheads eastward up the mountain, fol-low the wash up to the saddle, then

turn right to the highest point of theridge where garnet-bearing rhyolite isplentiful.

Although it still was fairly early inthe morning, the altitude and exercisehad excited our appetites. After ahasty lunch we drove back to Highway50 and across it for a visit to the Ruthcopper pit. Th e paved road skirtedthe edge of the tremendous mesa ofwaste rock which has been hauled fromthe pit. Then it curved into Ruth ,where we crossed the railroad, doubledback to the right, then swung left on

a gravel road that climbed to theoperat ion.

There is no space here even to out-line the tremendous story of copperdevelopment in this corner of Nevada.Copper was known to exist from thedays of the first prospectors and somerich ore was shipped in 18 73. Butthe area only came into its own as acopper producer after Daniel C. Jack-ling, at Bingham, Utah, had proventhat two percent copper could be minedprofitably if done on a tremendousscale. Between 1907 and the present,

more than 100 million tons of ore havebeen removed from Ruth. Today 18,-

000 tons of ore are sent each day fromRuth and Kimberly to the concentratorand smelter at nearby McGill, wherethe ore is reduced to approximately200 tons of blister copper.

The Ruth pit is much easier to reachthan the pioneer operation at Bingham,and it is almost as awe-inspiring. Ken-necott Copper corpo rat ion has turned amountain into a hole in the ground andwhen you stand on the edge of thathole, the ceaselessly chomping powershovels and the whistling ore trainsnearly a mile away across the pit looklike childr en's toys. Splotches of red ,green, lavender and yellow—ore stain-ed with copper and iron—make thewalls of the pit beautiful in some lightsand the haze from the many enginespuffing abo ut accen tuates its size. Th eRuth pit is a sight no visitor to theregion should miss.

After we left Ruth, we headed downHighway 6 toward Tono pah. Wecamped that night far from the garnetfield at Ely, in a desert whose barren-ess made it seem more familiar to us.

After supper, by the light of a camp-fire, we sorted out the prizes of theday's collecting and cleaned the dustof the sacks from the gleaming crystals.

1 picked up a piece of pink rhyolite. In

one of its cavities was a beautifullyshaped garnet whose faces shone in thefirelight. In another flattened vug, thegarnet was rough and broken and mis-shapen.

"It 's strange," I said. "He re is agood garnet and a worthless one al-most side by side."

"Well, of course," Lucile answered.

"Look at the cavities. One didn't have

room to grow."

That was true, but how strange that

it was true . On e crystal grew subject

only to the limitations which lay with-

in its own nature and it became a beau-

D e s e r t Q u i zThe old desert rat who writes the Quiz ques-tions for Desert Magazine says this month's listis a little harder than usual. They cover a wide

range of subjects—geography, history, Indians, mineralogy, botany, booksand travel. 10 to 12 is a fair score, 13 to 15 good, 16 to 18 is superior.The answers are on page 38.

1—The shore line of Lake Mead lies in two states: California andNevad a Arizona and Nevada California and ArizonaUtah and Nevada

2—The berries of a juniper tree are:Black Grey-blue Red Green

3— Hou serock valley in northern A rizona is famed as: The scene of a

historic placer gold strike A famou s Ind ian battlefieldThe place where Geronim o surrendered An open range wherebuffalo may still be seen

4—Going east on U. S. Highway 80, Pacific time changes to Mountaintime at: El Cen tra Tucson Yum a Gila Bend

5—Billy the Kid was killed by:Wyatt Earp Pat Garret t Apache Indians Accident

6—D avis dam is being constructed in the: Little Colorado R iverRio Gran de river Gila River Colorad o river

7—Hogan is a Navajo word translated as:Dwelling Hou se Village Medicine man Foo d

8—Bill Bradshaw is known in desert history as the man who: Discoveredgold at La Paz Blazed the way for the Butterfield trailConq uered the Yu ma Indians Built a wagon road from San Ber-nardino to the Colorado river

9— Pajarito plateau is in: New Mexico Western Utah Mojavedesert Southern Arizona

10— According to legend the Lost Breyfogle mine is located in: SanDiego county, California Superstition mou ntains SouthernUtah Death Valley region

11— A mescal pit was used by desert Indians for: Storing grainPunishing wayward tribesmen Ceremon ial purposes Roas t-ing food

12—Western gecko is the name of a desert:Lizard Bird Snake Moth

13—Brigham Young brought his Mormon settlers to Utah primarily to:Find more fertile farm lands Seek gold Gain freedom toworsh ip as they pleased Acq uire a federal land grant

14— Coo lidge dam impo und s the waters of: Salt river Gila river

Bill Williams river Am argo sa river15— The Montezum a Castle ruins in Arizona are protected by: U. S. Park

rangers Forestry service men Arizon a state policePrivate guards

16— In the following list, the one mineral harde r than quartz is:Calcite Feldspar Topaz Fluorite

17— "Slip" is the name of a material used by the Indians in: Mak ingpottery Weaving baskets Preparing food Mak ingdance costumes

18—Most important crop raised by the Hopi Indians is:Wheat Tobacco Cotton Corn

19— Lieutenant Ives is known in history as the officer w ho : Brough t thefirst camel carav an across the Southw est desert Signed a treatyof peace with the Navajo Indians First explored the lower

Colorado river by boat Established the first fort at Yu ma,Arizona20— Corona do highway crosses over the: Wasatch mountains Chuck-

awalla mou ntains Wh ite mou ntains Superstition mo un-tains

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 19



tiful gem. The other, cramped inspace, blocked by outside forces, couldnot realize its own potentialities andbecame contorted and broken andworthless. We talk of molding theindividual to the mass pattern—we tryto break individuality down to a com-mon denominator—when such circum-stances destroy the growth and beautyeven of the stones which we are pleas-ed to call inanimate.

Of course, most primitives didnot—an d do not—consider s tones or any-thing else as lifeless. They wors hippe dinanimate objects, believing that theyhad a hidden life. Toda y we areprob-ing the dreadful animation that lieshidden in the heart of pitchblende andcarnotite and the other uranium ores.A nd we are saying that crystals dogrow, slowly, each tiny particle comingthrough the solution to itsproper place,and that they are held together by elec-

ELY GARNET LOG

0.0 Junction of Highway 50 withRuth-Kimberly road. Turn northon bladed dirt road followingpowerline.

0.7 Turn right, northeasterly, frompowerline road onto trace of oldroad. Advisable to park car.

1.0 End of old road. Hike east, fol-lowing edge of drainage wash be-

tween two hills. At saddle be-tween the hills follow faint trailright, southerly, to highest pointof ridge andrhyolite outcrops.

trical forces between theparticles. Weknow that since the beginning of t ime,eons before animate life appeared onearth, minerals have been producingcrystals "after their kind" so perfectlythat the minerals can be identified bythem.

Is it possible that in time we willlearn enough to come into partial

agreement with the savages who gavelife to every object? That we will findthat there is a sentience we cannotcomprehend but differing from oursonly in degree, moving in that vastkingdom we have called mineral—infact in everything on the face of theearth, under it and above it? That isno more fantastic than the miracle that

we should live andbreathe.From the sleeping bags I heard Lu-cile's muffled voice. "You'll freeze outthere ."

I woke to a sense of cold. The firehad burned to a bed of embers and Ihad been staring deep into their red-dish glow.

"I was just wondering," I said. "Doyou suppose it hurts a rock when youbreak it?"

Lucile sat up and stared at me."You'd better turn in," shesaid gently."And don't drop any of those garnets."

Collectors who visit the garnet field will beonly a fewmiles from Ruth andwill findinterest in thegreat open-pit copper mine which local residents say is the largest

operation of itskind in theworld.

20 THE DESERT MAGA ZIN E



Adventures ina Desert Garden

The Boojum tree is a strange desert plant from L ower California. It growsto 70 feet in height and has little flowers on its straggly b ranches. FredGibson, director of Boyce Thom pson Arboretum, points out its flowers to

the writer of the accomp anying story.

S

ANDING under the Boojum

tree I knew just how Alice inWonderland must have felt when

she said,

"I can't believe it."

"Can't you?" said the Queen in apitying tone. "T ry again. Draw along breath and shut your eyes."

I did just that, but when I openedthem again, it was still there— a strangetall thing, fat at the bottom and thin-ning as it rose far over my head topointed branches with small yellowflowers.

It didn't take me long, however, toget used to seeing things I couldn'tbelieve in the Boyce Thompson South-western Arboretum near Superior, Ari-zona. I must admit to some dizziness

From the far corners of the desert world Boyce Thompson broughttogether a strange collection of flowers and shrubs—transplanted themto his 1600-acre gard en near Superior, Arizona. And n ow Fred Gibsoncarries on the work of the founder of this exotic ga rden . Joyce M uenchwrites about some of the interesting characters of the plant world shemet in this place—and of the man who directs it.

By JOYCE MUENCHPhot ographs by Joseph Muench

We hadn't ever met Pentalophus, butthe gleam of triumph in his eye wasenough to move us and the camerasin the direction he had indicated.

Around the next corner we cameupon them. Backed by a great PaloVerde in a golden shower of blossomand partly obscured by a DutchmanPipe vine that clambered over theprostrate cactus branches, was a greatbed of blosso ms. Big violet and whiteblossoms, velvety and fresh as thedawn, were popping out of their longbuds, like a bright rug sweeping intoview as it was unrolled on the ground.

By the time my husband had divedunder his black cloth and I was readyto give up trying to count the numberof the flowers, our gardener reappear-ed, followed, not by the Duchess, butthe director of the Arboretum, FredGibs on. In the course of this floweryintroduction we met Echinocereus pen-talophus, native to southern Texas andeastern Mexico, as well as the manwhose amazing flower garden includesplants from half the earth's surface.

Most of the great botanical gardensand arboreta of the world grow shrubscommon to the great deciduous for-est belt covering western Europe, east-ern Asia and the eastern part of North

Am erica. This area totals about 7,-600 ,000 square miles, or one - sixthof the earth's surface.

But nearly one half the land surfaceof the world is desert and savanna.The shrubs which grow in this areaof approximately 26,000,000 squaremiles do best in arid and semi-aridregions, and the goal which BoyceThompson set for himself was to bringtogether the plants of this arid world.Since they would do best in a landof low rainfall he came to the desertSouthwest for a site, and selected thefoothills of the Pinal mountains for hisexperimental gardens. Before his deathMr. Thompson established a founda-tion for the care and perpetuation ofhis rare garden.

at being transported from Baja Cali-

fornia where the Boojum tree (Idriacolumna r is) grows incredibly slowlyto 70 feet in height, to Palestine,the home of the real crucifixion plant(Paliurus aculeata) and then whizzingover to Australia and the lanes of Eu-calyptus trees before I came back tothe Arizona desert to a big Ferocactusbarrel wearing its wreath of flowers.

My husband and I were adjustingour dark glasses after one of theseflights of fancy when a gardener camehurrying along the path.

"There are some nice Pentalophusopening back that way," he said, wav-ing a hand and rushing off like theWhite Rabbit down a green tunnel ofeastern olive trees.

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 21





Picket Post Inn. Overlooking the Boyce Thompso n Arb oretum near Sup erior,Arizona, this interesting home w as built by Mr. Thomp son as his winter home.

It is now operated as a guest ranch.

For years at tempts have been madeto raise it commercially since the seedsare hard to gather from the wild bush-es . While it grows vigorously on landtoo dry for cotton and other crops,ten years are required to get a plan-tation ready to produ ce. In the mean-time it makes a nice hedge.

The rows of various kinds of grassesin the Arboretum are not spectacular,but they are very impo rtant. Somework has been done by the agriculturaldepartment sowing seeds from air-planes. Larg e scale operations couldreplant the worn out grazing lands ofthe Navajos, at once stopping the ero-sion that is tearing out the land andrehab ilitating it for sheep raising. Itis vital to our future that we learnmore about the habits of these grassesfrom such earnest students as theworkers in the Boyce ThompsonSouthwestern Arboretum.

We wanted to learn something aboutthe character of the man who dreamedup this won derland in the desert. M r.Gibson took us to Picket Post House,perched on rocky cliffs above the Ar-boretum . For years this was the win-ter hom e of Boyce Thom pson. Hewas born in Virginia City, Montana,in 1870 and spent his youth in the West.His mining interests took him overmuch of the rough, unsettled countryin Arizona. To visit the mining pro p-erties of the Magma Copper companyhe often rode horseback throughQueen Creek canyon. It is beautifulcountry and because it is now a gamepreserve, one may glimpse some of thedesert mule deer, coyotes, bob cats,and perhaps even a mountain sheep

as he no doubt saw them. Overlook-ing the canyon he built this housewhich is now a popular guest ranch.Fine old paintings still hang on the

walls of the big lodge and severaltower rooms have a full sweep of thegardens.

In 1929 Thompson planted a seed-

ling saguaro (the giant of the cactusfamily). It was a mere six incheshigh then. Now it stands 30 inches,having grown just 26 inches in 20years. Our guide told us that whenit is six or eight feet tall it will growfaster each year until it is about 10feet. Then for many years, perhaps100 more or less, the growth will beconstant, if the weather is favorable.It survived the freeze in 1937 whenthe temperature dropped to 17 de-grees and there was six inches of snow.Many of the plants in the garden were

killed back to the ground that year.Usually the low is about 25 degreesand there is little snow. In the sum-mer the temperature may go to 112

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 23



Reddish yellow blossoms with many delicate petals and a vivid green pistilsit jauntily on the top of thesmall hedgehog cactus known asEchinocereus

dasyacanthus. This species is a native ofsouthwestern United States.

and even the cactus try to find theshade of a taller plant.

There is not a succulent or cactus

without some kind of bloom and manyof them are among the most beautifulblossoms in the world. Every imag-inable shape and color are seen alongthe paths, with the flowering trees forbackdrops. Persimmon and pome-granate, Hottentot Fig called Dead-man's Finger, great barrels, and allthe prickly pears make walks downthe paths exciting adventures.

My special joy was the plants andlabels in the glass houses that join theadministration building. The size ofthe desert has always been my despair

—because of the space between flow-ers—miles of gullies and sun-beatenacres across which a newly glimpsed

flower beckoned. But here I couldstep across states and even oceans toenjoy them all at once. The beautiful

Rainbow cactus, so popular that it isalmost gone, stood next to the yellowglory of the South American Astro-phytum or star cactu s! Heavily scent-ed night-blooming cereus hung fromthe walls and ceiling to remind me ofth e old Mexican Fiestas held to cele-brate the opening of the "Queen of theNight!"

Animals seem perfectly aware thatthis is a game refuge and they are freeto plunder without fear of reprisals.The porcupine comes out at night tostand on his hind legs and girdle

branches. Rabbits scurry throughthe bushes from under one's feet. Be-fore the planting sheds were finished

the newly arrived plants were visitedby squirrels and chipmunks, wood ratsand even trampled by a mountain lion!Skunk, fox, and badgers leave theirfootprints on the paths.

On our daily jaunts we met visitorswho were studying birds. During theweek they had counted over 100 spe-cies. We couldn't recognize them allbut we did know the mourning dove

with its haunting cry and no onecouldmiss the bright red of the cardinal,giving a concert in a Cedar of Lebanon.

Less spectacular was the DoodleBug! Mr. Gibson led us down past theorchards to a sandy spot in a trail. Weknelt to the rite—while he blew softlyon a spot that showed a conical hole.Between breaths he said, very softly:

"Mr. Doodle Bug, Mr. DoodleBu g!" After several tries, we couldsee the sand moving slightly and witha pen knife, Gibson scooped some ofthe sand onto his hand. The DoodleBug, looking like a grain of sand him-self began to scuttle backwards, try-ing to find a new place to hide. Helives at the bottom of his excavatedcone and waits for the sand to be dis-turbed by a victim falling into thetrap, whereupon he emerges and de-vours the tiny bug or ant. His orientalhabit of moving backwards probablystems from the desire to see where hehas been, just as the Chinese do, pre-ferring it to our fruitless habit of try-ing to look into the future.

Looking back on my adventures Ifound that it wasn't too hard after all

to believe in the Boojum tree and Ihave no doubt that the next time Istray into the gardens of the BoyceThompson Arboretum, Mr. Gibsonwill have new wonders to produce andnew friends as interesting as the Dood-le Bug!

• • •

P U E B L O I N D I A N S TO H O L DC E R E M O N I A L S IN J A N U A R Y

January is an important monthamong Pueblo Indians of New Mexico,marked by rituals and ceremonies inmost of the many pueblos.

Following New Year's daydances inall pueblos, January 6 is the next bigday. This is the day when new gov-ernors are installed with impressiveceremonies. And those Indians whohave adopted certain phases of Christi-anity commemorate the coming of theMagi to Jesus at Bethlehem with theFeast of the Three Kings. This is theirda y of giving presents, rather thanChristmas day, an influence whichdates back to earliest Spanish mission-aries.

Feast days and celebrations duringJanuary have a deep significance to In-

dians. The ceremonies are actuallythanks for good fortune and prayersfor continued good fortune.




V•- "7

Two pictures of blossom of Echinocereus pentalophus blankii, a native of easternMexico a nd southern T exas. Grow ing above its mother plant, each blossom is a

miracle of perfection, reddish violet in color and sometimes as much asfour inches across.



Sa ve the Desert Palm Trees . . .

Coachella, CaliforniaDesert:

When the Redwood forests of Cali-

fornia were threatened by the logginginterests, an aroused public formed theSave-the-Redwoods league and the re-sult has been that several of the Red-wood stands have been given the statusof protected park areas.

Those of us who have found manypleasant weekend outings in the Palmcanyons of Southern California feelthat the residents of Riverside county,and especially in Coachella valley,should take similar measures to pro-tect these native palm oases from thedestruction which is now going on.

Palm trees with their long skirts ofdead fronds are highly inflammable, an ddisastrous fires already have sweptPalm canyon, Curtis Palms, Forty-ninePalms and other groups. Heedlessvisitors carve their initials in thetrunks and otherwise disfigure the trees.Perhaps the schools in the countywould take the initiative in raisingfunds for the preservation of thesetrees. The Washingtonia is a native ofthis area, the most majestic of all ournative trees of the desert country. Mostof the palm groups are in Riversidecounty—and surely this is the place

where a Save - the - Palm movem entshould be initiated.

RO BERT O . S CH N A BEL

Rugs From the Navajo . . .

Louisville, KentuckyDesert:

On a recent trip West we saw manybeautiful rugs which I believe werewoven by Navajo Indian s. Since re-turning home we have decided weshould have some of these in our rum-pus room. Will you please give methe names of some of the Navajos who

weave these rugs, as we would preferto buy them direct from the Indians.

E S T E L L E B O V I E R G A N

Very rarely is it practicable forthe consumer to buy Navajo rugsdirect from the Indians who weavethem. A majority of the weaversneither speak nor write English.They much prefer to deal with thelocal Indian trader—who generallyunderstands their language, andwhom they know and trust, andwho extends them credit when theyneed it. Your b est source of rugs

is the Indian trader, who serveswell in the role of business agentfor the rug weavers.—R. H.

Odorous Flowers of the Desert . . .San Gabriel, California

Desert:In March, 1907, my partner and I

were prospecting on the Mojave des-ert at a time when the desert flowerdisplay was unusually colorful.

We camped one night at an oldBorax works where there was plenty offeed for our burros . Surrounding the

camp were millions of little white flow-ers which did not open until the sunwent down in the evening. The blos-som had three petals and a black cen-ter and the stems were only three orfour inches long.

As the petals began to open up wenoticed a peculia r odor. It smelledlike a big hog ranch. We were bothstricken with severe headaches, andwere unable to sleep that night.

Next morning as soon as the suncame out the flowers began to closeagain—and our headaches disappeared

as if by magic. I do not know thename of these flowers, but as far as 1am concerned they will always be"heada che flowers". During 42 yearson the desert I found them only in twoother places, once south of Gladstoneand again in 1928 east of Cuddebackdry lake.

A . F RED EA D S

• • •

In De fens e of Burros . . .Bangor, California

Desert:I have just read with interest T. R.

Goodwin's discussion of the policy inDeath Valley monument in the matterof the mountain sheep vs. burro.

Mr. Goodwin stated that a sheepwill not drink at a spring or waterholewhere a burro has preceded him. Outof my experience on the range I amconvinced that the dislike is mutual.There isn't an animal on earth thatlikes to drink after a mountain sheep.

I was born in Prescott, Arizona, inJanuary, 1880, and in my younger dayswas cowboy in Arizona, New Mexicoand for a time in Old Mexico. Then I

went to prospecting and had a packtrain of eight bur ros. I put shoes onmy burros, and fed them rolled barley.The story that a burro will eat tin cans,I think, is a myth.

It was stated that burros are beingkilled to provide meat for fox farms.If the people of California and Arizonaknew how delicious is burro jerky, theywould protect the animals from need-less slaughte r. If they are to be eatenthey should be regarded as a game ani-mal for table consumption. I used topay $5.00 a sack for burro jerky, and Imade some of it myself by cutting the

meat in long strips, then salting it andhanging it on a wire to dry.I will tell you how to cook jerky.

Take a hammer and pound the driedmeat on a flat iron or rock. I used myrock mo rtar and pestle. The object isto pulverize it. The n take about a tea-cup full of the pulverized meat, put twotablespoons of shortening in a fryingpan, pour the crushed jerky in and stira few seconds and then sprinkle in threetablespoons of flour, stir well untilbrown, pour in a cup of cold water,

and then add milk until the gravy isthe right consistency. It ma kes a finedish served on mashed potatoes.

But I am not in favor of killing theburros . They are the finest little ani-mals in the world. They are not hurt-ing anyone, and I hope others will joinme in protesting against their slaughterunder any conditions.

SILAS P. W R I G H T

Report on the Devil's Highway . . .

Yuma, ArizonaDesert:

As a result of bulldozing operationsin connection with the new borderfence being built between Arizona andSonora the Camino del Diablo is nolonger passable between Tule andBates wells.

However, it is still possible to go infrom the west to the Black Butte min-eral collecting grounds mentioned inHarold Weight's splendid article, Gemson the Devil's Highway, in the Septem-ber Desert. The graves marked with acircle which Mr. Weight mentioned arenot easily seen from the roads and

those making this field trip should fol-low the published road log carefully.CH A RLES F . G RITZN ER

P i n o n I n c e n s e . . .Bring the delightful fragra nceof the Pinon Forest into yourhome or office. The burner is aminiature model of the outdoorbaking ovens used by prehis -toric Indians, and stil l in use inNew Mexico pueblos . Whenthe lit t le cones of genuine pinonpine are burned in this t inyoven the aroma is a breath ofthe outdoor Southwest.

Kills kitchen and bathroomodors and removes the smell ofstale tobacco. Pueblo Indiansburn pinon for nasal and bron-chial a i lmen ts .

Burner and 15 cones.. . $1.50Burner and 54 cones.... 2.70Extra co n es . 36 for 1.25

Postpaid to You

D E S E R T C R O F T S S H O PPalm Desert, California

26 T H E D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E



Clyde Terrell, veteranpublisher of the Tonopah, Nevada, Times-Bonanza.

Prin te r o f O l d T u s c a r o r a . . .The old joss house with its silver and gilt ornaments, its carved teakwoodand fat-bellied go ds, is gone. Gone are the fan-tan parlors, and their

gleaming stacks of gold coin; and gone, too, are the pigtailed Orientals whoprayed and played, who brewed their tea and smoked their opium, andworked long gruelling shifts in the mines of Tuscarora. Only a ghost townremains—but the picture of the camp's heyday scene is still vivid in thememory of on e of its old-timers.

By NELL MURBARGERPhotographs by the author

THIN-FACED, saucer-eyedorphan kid, Clyde Terrell, rodeinto Tuscarora on a horse-

drawn stage more than 50 years ago.Once there he proceeded to pick upconsiderable mining lore, and at thesame time learned his lifelong trade in

the little print shop operated by "Peg-leg" Plunkett, then editor of the Tus-carora Times-Review.

Today Terrell is Nye county's repre-sentative in the Nevada state assembly,and publisher of the Tonopah Times-Bonanza. Few men have had the op-

portunity to watch Tuscarora's com-plete transition from boom town toghost town as has this veteran Nevadaprinter and editor.

Clyde knew the Beard b rothers, Johnand Steve, who came into the region

from Austin in the 1860's and operat-

J A N U A R Y , 19 5 0 27



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ed gold placers until 1871 when thefirst silver lode in the vicinity of Mt.Blitzen was discovered by W. O. Weed.Thereupon began Tuscarora's 14 yearsof highest prosperity. During that pe-riod there came into production thefabulous Dexter gold mine, the Navajo,Nevada Queen, Grand Prize, NorthBelle Isle, and other rich producers ofsilver.

Of Tuscarora's once-opulent China-town, Clyde has vivid memories. Justas any red-blooded youngster is at-tracted by the mysterious and un-known, so this place of strange smellsand stranger sounds held for him agreat fascination.

At the time of his arrival in theNorthern Nevada mining camp, itsChinese section was already well es-tablished . Com pletion of the Pacificrailroad in 1869 had the immediateeffect of releasing upon the westerndesert an army of several thousand

Chinese, who had been employed pre-viously in grading and laying track forthis first transcontinental line.

Fearing that the entry of cheapOriental labor would result in wide-spread wage cutting in the mines, amajority of Nevada's labor unions tooka militant stand against the hiring ofthese unemploye d Chinese. In sev-eral communities where they attemptedto re-establish themselves, their flimsyhomes and few beggarly possessionswere burned and the terrified Celestialssent fleeing before the fury of armed

mobs.For some unknown reason, Tus-

carora exhibited greater tolerance to-ward the ex-railroaders, and before long2000 Chinese were operating mines inthat vicinity. Chiefly their efforts we redirected toward working old tailingdumps and low-grade ore in propertieswhich the whites had abandoned whenproduction became too lean to warranttheir further development.

Although Tuscarora's Chinese sec-tion was at that time the largest con-centration of Orientals in Nevada, it

in no way resembled the picturesqueChinatown depicted in Charlie Chanmovies.

Along a narrow street, curved to fitthe contour of the mountain, huddledtwo rows of ugly shacks and boarding

To p— Hand -drawn hose cart, pur-chased when the fire station burn-ed, is still in use at the old camp.

Center— Main street, Tuscarora asit appears today. Center building isstill occupied as a general store.

Below— All that remains of one ofthe mills which once overlooked

the town.




hou ses. A majority of these wereequipped with cellars beneath theirfirst floors; while some of the largerstructures extended through severallevels to open at the top of the street.All were dimly lighted and poorlyventilated.

Amid these impoverished surround-ings sat the beautifully appointed joss

house, ^t that time the most elabo rate-ly-designed of any in the state. He re,too, flourished opium dens and a ple-thora of gambling parlors—for gamb-ling was serious business with Tus-carora's Chinese!

"I've often seen as much as $5000on the gambling tables in a singleChinese joint at Tuscarora," said ClydeTerrell when I called on him in theback shop of his Tonopah newspaperoffice.

"You may be sure that more thanone white man looked with envy on

those great stacks of gold, and plentyof them schemed to get their hands onit, too ! Bu t the Chines e were w atchfuland so far as I know, there was onlyone successful attempt to rob the dens.

"This man—we'l l cal l him Jim—gotaway with around $5000 in gold," con-tinued Clyde, as he went on throwingin dead type from the latest edition ofthe pape r. "H e picked a black, coldnight, when smoke was pouring freelyfrom the stovepipe of the colony's big-gest joint. H e got up on the flat roof,raised a pole alongside the pipe, and

by means of a stout cord and a smallpulley he hoisted a long, narrow cylin-der mad e of newsp aper. In the cylin-der he had wrapped five pounds ofblack and red pepper, mixed with sul-phu r. As soon as he had the cylinderin the pipe, he let go of it very quickly.

"The cylinder shot down the pipeand hit the damper just above the blaz-ing stove. Mean while, Jim had dro p-ped a bucket over the top of the stove-pipe and had gotten off the roof. H etook a position just outside the backdoor, which was locked.

"Inside the gambling joint pande-monium broke, as the room quicklyfilled with the choking fumes of pepperand sulphur. There was a wild rush forthe front door. Jim, his bulky shoulder

To p— Abando ned road leading toone of the Tuscarora mills. Sage,once stripped from the hills by theminers jor fuel purposes, has re-turned taller and denser than ever.

Center— Lake formed in the oldDexter gold mine pit— now well

stocked with rainbow trout.Below— Tailings from the minescover hundreds of acres of the hill-

sides around Tuscarora.

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 29



TO MOUNTAIN CITY

DINNER , ' SSTATION J v "

against the flimsy back door, lungedforward and the door went down. Heran along a narrow passageway to an-other door which opened into thegambling room . Holding his breath,he tried this door and found it was notlocked. Leap ing in— and still holdinghis breath — he scooped most of the

gold into an ore sack and in a matterof seconds was dashing out the sameway he had entered. The Chinesegamblers, suspecting a trick, rushedback into the room . . . but they weretoo late. Jim had vanished, slammingthe inner door behind him.

"The Chinamen never recoveredtheir gold," concluded Clyde. "Andas for Jim—his ill-gotten wealth didhim little good, for he lost most of itback over the very gambling tableshe had robbed!"

Even after law-enforcement agencies

were established, said Clyde, the placehad a fondness for settling problems inits own frontier fashion and old-timersliked to tell the story of the Rocka-fellow-Dennis feud. Rockafellow, itseemed, had been using such threaten-ing language in public against MajorJohn Dennis that the sheriff arrestedhi m and tossed him in the calaboose.

Dennis appeared immediately at thejail and put up bail bond for his ad-versary so that he might have the"pleasure of whaling the tar out ofh im."

The payoff came when Rockafellowproved to be the better scrapper of thetw o and Major Dennis not only was

thrashed but lost his bail money aswell!

Clyde recalled other yarns of thisisolated camp, 50 miles south of theIdaho border; some of them concern-ing incidents witnessed by himself,others gleaned from the old-timers whopreceded him.

"Sewells—now Nevada's largest gro-cery chain—got its start in the oldcamp of Tuscarora," he recalled, add-ing that another Tuscarora merchantwho distinguished himself by successwas a tailor named Price.

"His business grew into the inter-nationally-known Price Tailors of Chi-cago."

Captivated by the glamour of thepast, I listened while this newspaper-man-legislator told of his boyhood inth e old mining camp.

"T o my mind," he declared, "nospot in the world will ever unseat theTuscarora of my day as a paradise foryoungsters. In those days the hillswere so full of sagehens that a coupleof hours hunting within a mile or twofrom town would supply all the 'chick-ens' a family could eat for days. Therewere a dozen trout streams within afew miles of town, and prairie chick-en s in all the valley meadows.

"There were a half-dozen old millbuildings to prowl through, and therewas quicksilver to be washed from the

old mill tailings and sold to wanderingjunkmen.

"On winter nights, with all the world

TO MCO. B4MILES

white and buried beneath several feetof snow, and the temperature down tozero or below, we would gather at theMcNamara home where lessons werestudied under the warm rays of a coal-oil lamp, and the kitchen cookstoveglowed red with sagebrush fuel. Mrs.McNamara would sit and repair stock-

ings and school clothes while weyoungsters studied our books, her faceserene and peaceful, her eyes filled withlove of her three growing and brilliantyoungsters. Outside the snow creakedsharply as passersby went their wayalong the trails shoveled through thedeep drifts.

"Then there would becandy to make,or corn to pop; and we would finallystumble off toward home, sleepy-eyedbut our hearts light and happy."

Saturated with the essence of theold days, as imparted by Clyde Ter-

rell, Dora Tucker and I continued onupstate to Tuscarora. We wanted tosee just how time had dealt with thisfamous old Elko county mining camp,which is credited with producing some$40,000,000 in gold and silver.

Driving north out of Elko on NevadaState Highway 11, we found an inter-esting country where time seemed tohave slipped back 70 or 80 years.Here there was not a house, not aplanted field or a tree—only wide roll-ing hills and high, grassy plateaus onwhich grazed hundreds of white-faced

cattle.At Dinner station, a historic old

stage depot 24 miles north of Elko,




we turned to our left on a narrowgraded road which headed up a ravineand into the Independence mountains.Although i t was June, the higher peaksstill glistened white from a light snow-fall of the night before. There werepatches of bright lupine and Indianpaintbrush along the way.

Descending the west side of the In-

dependence range through scenic Tay-lor canyon, we soon found ourselvescrossing the Independence valley, asgreen as a New England meadow, andwatered by numerous crystal clear troutstreams—all tributaries of the OwyheeRiver.

It was while we were still in the val-ley that our attention was drawn to amountain in the snow-capped Tus-carora range ahead of us.

We knew that it could be none otherthan Mt. Blitzen, for its ravines andlower slopes were pock-marked with

mine tunnels and spotted with millionsof yards of tailings, like daubs of yel-low and brown and gray paint on anartist 's palette. As we drew nearer webegan passing tumbled rock walls, va-cant foundations and leaning chimneys.Then a sharp left turn and a last steeppitch brought us into the heart of Tus-carora.

For a city which formerly had con-trolled the politics of Elko county,there wasn't much remaining. Threeframe bu ildings with false fronts, wo od-en awnings and hitchrails; a couple ofrock masonry structures with tall, nar-row iron doors; a few assorted dwell-ings, and mining camp rubble withoutend.

Where 2000 Celestials once trod thestreet, we found not one son of China;and of Tuscarora 's once-teeming hordesof Occidentals, we were told that only23 remain.

One of these survivors operates afourth class postoffice in the frontroom of her hom e. Ano ther man andhis wife own the village's only otherbusiness house—a toy-sized generalstore which stocks everything fromFletcher's Castoria to fly-swatters.

Across the street from the storestands one of the two habitable stonebuildings. Wh ile its exterior has thegeneral appearance of a powder houseor jail, this is the old Masonic Tem-ple—one of the oldest in the state.After the population of the town haddwindled until there no longer wereenough members to fill the officialchairs, the brothers remaining trans-ferred to Elko Lodge, F . & A. M ., andthe heavy iron doors creaked shut onthe last meeting at Tuscarora.

While we were unable to locate any-one with authority to admit us to thebuilding, we were told that its interiorstill exhib its the flower-emblazoned

All that is left of the old Miner's Union hall at Tuscarora.

carpets and costly wallpaper of boomdays.

Nearby lies a heap of charred tim-bers and heat-twisted residue wherefour of the town's buildings went upin smoke in the summer of 1948.These included two old landmarks—the original express office, and No. 2fire station. The 19th century hand -power hose cart, which proved inade-quate to stem the 20th century blaze,still stands on a vacant lot across fromthe scene of the fire.

Ironically, the first water for thecamp was piped at great cost from theIndependence mountains, nine milesdistant . . . and then, when mine ex-cavation was started, a gushing flood ofwater was struck almost at groundlevel!

Firewood also constituted a majorproblem, since no sizable timber grewin the imm ediate vicinity. Fo r milesaround, the hillsides were denuded of

sagebrush to provide fuel for operatingthe several large mills and many mines;and at times, we were told, the gather-ing of sagebrush required as many menas were employed in the mines. Thiscost, together with the everlasting

pumping, constituted a staggering over-head expenditure that could only bemet by exceptionally rich ore.

In later years there arose over Tus-carora 's claims endless litigation. Th efinal blow—a blow from which Tus-carora never recovered — occurredwhen the incessantly-working pumpswere halted by a devastating fire andwater flooded the underground work-ings.

Over the past half century the oldtown has experienced a renewal of ac-tivity on an average of once every tenyears, but such revivals are marked byever-lessening duration and diminishedfervor.

When I asked the storekeeper if

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 31



there was currently much mining ac-tivity in thevicinity, he replied, "Nonewhatever!"

"But these families who live here—",I persisted. "If they don't mine, howdo they make a living?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't cost muchto live here . . ." andwhile that didn'tanswer my question, I decided to let it

pass.I wandered down to the oldcemeterywhere sleep so many of the pioneerswho knew Tuscarora in her flamingyouth. Many of the graves are en-closed with iron grille fencing, heavywith thecorrosion of 70years. Otherswere originally enclosed by elaborately-hewn paling fences, now sagging andbroken. Most of the older headboardsare completely barren of inscription;the names and dates they once borehaving been erased by time. Despiteits neglect, the graveyard seemed en-veloped in a wonderful aura of peace.

Peace and wild heliotrope. On top ofthe graves and between them, andalong every foot of margin, lay atangled blanket of the little whiteflowers.

From the old cemetery I wanderedon past crumbling rock walls and cav-ing foundations—the skeletons of one-time assay offices and hotels and bar-ber shops. Per hap s even Sewells' firststore. Price's tailor shop, and "Pegleg"Bill Plunkett's newspaper office wheremy friend Clyde hadbeen initiated intothe wonders of type lice and printer's

deviltry.As I groped through the head-high

sagebrush—all the slopes are reforest-ed with it, bigger and brawnier than

ever—I came out suddenly upon abeautiful little lake. It was crystal clearand blue as any lapis lazuli. Alon gits shores grew a dense fringe of cat-tails, rushes and pussy willows, and inthe soft mud of the bank appeared thecloven hoofprints of a doe and fawn.Quail were calling from the canyon;and frogs, redwing blackbirds and kill-

deers seemedto be

waginga

contestto

out-sing one another.

A s I stood looking at the greatmounds of white clouds mirrored in thequiet depths of the lake, a grandpa-sized trout leaped clear of the waterto snap at a passing insect. The morn-ing sun flashed from his silvery sidesan d as he slipped back beneath thesurface a ring of ripples spread awayfrom him, momentarily disturbing mycloud reflections.

Turning back toward town, I met atousle-haired youngster with a crooked

willow fishpole over one shoulder anda tattered little brown dog at his heels."Going fishing?" I inquired need-

lessly.

" Y u p ! Got m'lunch here, too!"Importantly he indicated a bulky papersack stuffed between the bib of hisoveralls and the bare brown skin ofhis chest. Expectantly, the little dogwaved his stump of tail.

"What ' s the name of that prettylittle lake?" I inquired.

"Aw, 'tain't no real honest-Injunlake," he replied. "It's th' old Dexter

gold mine. You've heard of th' Dexter,I guess? Reck on it wa s th' richest goldmine in th' world! An ' now it has th'world's biggest rainbows in it. You

oughta see em! Like this— ". A pairof brown arms stretched to their fullestspan and a seven-year-old face brokeinto a wide grin from which two frontteeth were prominently missing.

Suddenly I was remembering whatClyde Terrell had said about no placein the world equalling the Tuscaroraof 50years ago as a paradise for grow-ing children.

One look at the freckle-faced young-ster, his crooked fishpole and raggedp u p , and I knew that in one respect, atleast, Tuscarora wasunchanged.

• • •

A R C H E O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y

F O R M E D INPRESCOTT . . .

With the purpose of developing in-terest in southwestern archeology, anew organization has been formed inPrescott, Arizona. Its name is theYavapai County Archeological society,Harold Butcher has been chosen presi-

dent.Specific goals of theorganization are

to stimulate research in archeology, en-courage and support museums, protectexisting records of ancient times, dis-courage exploitation, undertake map-ping of the archeological resources ofYavapai county and catalog artifacts.Yavajai county is believed to be a richarcheological area.

One of the society's directors, GeorgeHunt Williamson, is a young archeolo-gist who has already earned nationalattention. He was awarded the gold

key by the State of Illinois for out-standing archeological research during1946 when he discovered prehistoricvillage sites in southern Illinois.

R e n d e z v o u s fo r G o l d H u n t e r s . . .Another year has passed, and the location of Pegleg

Smith's lost gold remains as much a mystery as ever.

But the search goes on, and the annual Pegleg Trek isto be held again in Borrego valley, California, on January

1 in accordance with a tradition established three yearsa g o .

Harry Oliver, chairman of the committee in charge ofthe arrangements, announced plans for the January 1 ren-dezvous late in Novem ber. "All gold-hunters are invited,"said Harry. "And if they don't find Pegleg's black nug-gets, they will still have a lot of fun."

The program will begin on NewYear 's eve when theannual Liar 's contest is to be held at a big campfire inBorrego valley near the Pegleg mon umen t. This also is afree-for-all. Ha rry Oliver will be master of ceremonies,and contestants mayenter their names any time previousto the start of thecontest at 7:30 p. m.December 31.

F or the information of campers, there is plenty ofparking andcamping space on thegravel bajada where thecontest is held. Howeve r, there is no water, and thewood

supply is limited, so campers are cautioned to bring amplesupplies.

Early on the morning of January 1 the gold-hunterswill head out across the desert, in whatever direction theywish, and the hunt will be on, for this is the heart of theregion in which Pegleg's legendary three hills, with theblack nuggets on their tops, are believed to be located.

There are many versions of the Pegleg story, but most ofthem agree on the point that the famous one-legged pros-pector washeading west from Yuma across the Cahuillabasin when he made his fabulous gold discovery.

Actually, those who attend the annual Pegleg Trek in-clude photographers, botanists, rockhounds and manyother breeds of desert hikers who are more interested intheir particular hobbies than in hunting for Pegleg's my-thical gold. But there are no restrictions. Ea ch visitorfollows hisown desires. According to custom, each visitoris expected to deposit ten rocks on the Pegleg monumentbefore starting the hunt. This is said to bring good luck.

In addition to Oliver, the committee this year will in-clude John Hilton, Ray Hetherington, Ed Duval and Ran-

dall Henderson, with Henry E. H. Wilson as honorarychairman. Judges in the Liar's contest will be DesertSteve Ragsdale, Al Burnand and Guy O. Glazier.




t & e

ARIZONA

C ami no del Di abl o Impassab l e . . .

Y U M A — H i s t o r i c C a m i n o del

Diablo (Devil 's road) to Sonoyta inSonora, Mexico, is now virtually im-passable and adventurous desert travel-ers should check carefully before at-tempting to make a trip over the haz-ardous route.

According to Mr. and Mrs. C. F.Gritzner of Yuma , who recently tra-versed the road along the Mexican bor-der from Tule Well, south of Wellton,to Sonoyta, the road is cut to pieces.The federal government is building afence along the international boundary,has used bulldozers to cut a straight

uninterrupted fence line, and what re-mains of the original historic road isnow virtually impassable. The Gritz-ners made the trip with difficulty in aspecially equipped four-wheel drivejeep.

A field trip made by Harold O.Weight over this route was describedin a story titled Gems on the Devil'sHighway, which appeared in Septem-ber issue of Desert Magazine.— YumaDaily Sun.

Wi l l i amsburg of the W e s t . . .

T O M B S T O N E — Aimed at makingTombstone, famed pioneer miningboom town, the "Williamsburg of theWest," a restoration program has beenlaunched which is designed to giveTombstone an 1880look from one endto the other. Fronts of buildings areto be replaced with originals, old over-hangs will be put back, historical spotssuch as the O. K. corral are to be re-stored and wooden sidewalks laid. Anon-profit corporation has been form-ed to finance and direct the program tomake Tombstone a western show-

place.—Tombstone Epitaph.

Few Na t i ve s in Arizona . . .

P H O E N I X — Although most new-comers to Arizona go native by don-ning sombreros and levis and within afew years, in many cases, like to claimthe state as their own, in reality halfof Arizona's residents have been in thestate less than 10 years, a recent sur-vey reveals. And a much smaller per-centage are native Arizonans—in fact,a non-Indian native adult is somewhat

of a curiosity. This constant infusion of,new blood is economically advantage-o u s , o b s e r v e r s b e l i e v e . — M o h a v eCounty Miner.

Ind i an 4-HClub Formed . . .

S A F F O R D — Traditionally sheepraisers, Indian boys at By las are be-

coming interestedin

beef cattle,and a

4-H club of Indian boys has been or-ganized at Bylas. Fifteen boy s signedup to raise 15 registered Herefordbulls, it is hoped these will be used tohelp build up high-grade herds.— Gra-ham County Guardian.

• • •

Exhibit of Kcrtchina Dolls . . .

FLAGSTAFF—A special exhibi t ofHopi Katchina dolls, arranged in con-nection with publication of Dr. HaroldS. Colton's new book, Hopi K atchinaDolls, is on display at the Museum of

Northern Arizona at Flagstaff. Themuseum has some 200 dolls in its col-lection, not all are in the display.—The Coconino Sun.

Before next summer work is expect-ed to be completed on a huge newbridge over the Gila river on Highway666 which will link 18 miles of newroad in Graham and Greenlee counties,shortening thedistance between the twoareas by about 28 miles. Only one ofits type in Arizona, the bridge will rise110 feet above the river bottom, willbe 726 feet in length.—Graham Coun-

ty Guardian.

• • •

Because of heavy early snows, Ari-zona's famed Snow Bowl winter sportsarea near Flagstaff was opened aheadof schedule, and enthusiasts were wel-comed on Thanksgiving day. Originalopening date had been set December15.— Coconino Sun.

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J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 33



T H E D € S € R T T R A D I N G P O S TClassified Advertising in This Section Costs 8c a Word, $1.00 Minimum Per Issue

INDIAN GOODSDEAR CUSTOMERS: Sorry we have no catalog.

Because we handle Indian Artifacts and eachpiece is distinctive, cost would be prohibitive.

We have lots of old and new rugs, baskets,jewelry and ceremonial things. Plenty ofrocks and minerals, gold specimens and nug-gets. We also have Chimayo blankets, coatsand purses. We will be glad to ship. Tell uswhat you want and send the money. Daniel'sTrading Post, 401 W. Foothill Blvd., Fontana,California.

FOUR VERY FINE ancient Indian Arrowheads,$1.00; 4 tiny perfect bird arrowheads, $1.00;1 ancient stone tomahawk, $1.00; 2 flint skin-ning knives, $1.00; 1 large flint hoe, $1.00; 2spearheads, $1.00; 10 arrowheads from 10states, $1.00; 20 damaged arrowheads, $1.00;10 fish sealers, $1.00; 10 hide scrapers, $1.00;4 perfect saw edged arrowheads, $1.00. Theabove 11 offers $10.00, postpaid. List Free.Lears, Kirby, Arkansas.

BOOKS — MAGAZINES

MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS for all publica-

tions at publishers' prices. Courteous, promptservice. F. G. Voltmer, 10211 Seabury Lane,Los Angeles 24, California.

BOOK OF CACTI for the amateur collector.Describes and classifies over 500 varieties,over 200 photographs. Subjects on care, theirculture, how to plant in rock gardens andpots. Sent postpaid $1.00. Discount to dealers.Published by M. Nowotny, 1401 Broadway,San Antonio, Texas.

URANIUM PROSPECTOR'S Handbook, $1.00;non-technical, complete, Dept. T., Craft-Connor Publishing Co., 601 S. Vermont, LosAngeles 5, California.

BOOKFINDERS—Scarce, out of print, unusualbooks quickly supplied. Send wants. Clifton,Box 1377d, Beverly Hills, California.

OUTDOOR RAMBLER—A Western Desert Pub-lication. 8 issues $1.00; 15c copy. No stamps.OUTDOOR RAMBLER, Box 192, Carson City,Nevada.

PANNING GOLD — Another hobby for RockHound s and Desert Roam ers. A new booklet,"What the Beginner Needs to Know," 36 pagesof instructions; also catalogue of mining booksand prospectors supplies, maps of where to goand blueprints of hand machines you canbuild. Mailed postpaid 25c, coin or stamps.Old Prospector, B-333, Dutch Flat, California.

"GOLD PANNING FOR PROFIT." Healthy out-door hobby. Beginners' big illustrated instruc-tion book—$1.00. Miners' gold pans, $2.00.Prosp ectors ' powerful m agnifying glass, $1.00.Package black sand and real gold, $1.00.Desert Jim, 627 Lillian, Stockton, California.

PALM SPRINGS PICTORIAL: 21st Annual Issue,45c by mail, or ask your newsdealer. Pictorial,465 No. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs,California.

PALM SPRINGS and the desert. Articles, pic-tures, information. Sample 45c. Subscription$3.50 a year. Villager Magazine, Palm Springs,California.

ATTENTION URANIUM PROSPECTORS: "PAYDIRT" INFORMATION about Utah, Colorado,Arizona latest Uranium strike area. Send forinformative, colorful non-technical prospectusabout Uranium deposits and where to look.Geological and geographic data of those areasby a rancher-prospector who located and work-ed Uranium claims. Includes topographicsketches, directive maps, climatic informationand other vital text pertinent to stakingclaims, field equipment with additional refer-ence to mining regulations. "Pay Dirt" ex-perience for only $1.50. Wr ite: Knox Tracey,P . O. Box 1066, Valiejo, California.

MISCELLANEOUS

GEOLOGIC & SCENIC COLOR SLIDES, 2 sam-ples, catalog, $1.00. Heald-Robinson, 112dLemon, Monrovia, California.

FRED AND JESSIE PORTER welcome you toSHOOT!!! your pictures of "Ghost Town of

Calico" and mountains in miniature, at the"POW-WOW" Trading Post, Hiway 91, Yermo.Calif. The hub of Rock-hounds Paradise.Crystals, cutting material in rough or slabbed.Uranium, highly fluorescent, and specimens.Miniature cactus, gifts and souvenirs.

DESERT WOODCRAFT—Fine gift items madefrom Ironwood, Mesquite, Cactus. Bowls8 x l'/2, $6.00. Beautiful color and grain.Other bowls of various sizes and design.Cactus book-ends $6.00. Table lamps $8.00 to$12.00 including special matching shades,postpaid. Also coffee tables, end tables andfloor lamps. First time offered anywhere—Ihave a special treatment which brings outthe natural yellow color in the cactus. Finelyfinished in Lacquer. Anything made to order.See display in Palm Desert Book Shop orwrite to D. R. Jones, Craftsman, Palm Desert,California.

KODACHROME SLIDES ON APPROV AL. Gla-cier, Banff, Jasp er. Mtn. Goats, Mtn. Sheep,Bears. Moose, Deer, Lakes, Mountains, Sun-sets and many others to select from. Roundout your series from our collection. Alsoother Western National Parks. DouglasWhiteside, Yosemite National Park, California.

FLUORESCENT TURITELLA and other typePaperw eights, $2.50 each. Exclusive pattern .Le tter O peners $2.50 to $3.50. Clay Ledbe tter,2126 McKenzie, Waco, Texas.

ARIZONA AGATE MINES are for sale at verylow price. Buildings, equipment, stock—allgoes. Veins of Agate now open. Cannot keepup with orders. For details write owner,Charles E. Hill, 2205 N. 8th St., Phoenix,Arizona.

RAFFIACRA FT — The easiest profitable hobby;requires no tools or equipment. Supplies, in-structions and handmade sample, $2.00. Malik,Box 192, Carson City, Nevada.

KARAKULS—Producers of Persian Lamb furare easy to raise, adaptable to any climateor altitude. For further information writeAddis Kelley, 4637 E. 52nd Place, Maywood,California

CACTI AND SUCCULENTS—From the desertsof the world. Don-Rita brand. By appointmentonly. Write us your needs and we will try tohelp you. Michael Donnelly Cacti Gardens, 334Lowell St., Daly City, California.

LADY GODIVA "The World's Finest Beautifier."For women who wish to become beautiful, forwomen who wish to rema in beautiful. An

outstanding desert cream. For information,write or call Lola Barnes, 963 No. Oakland,Pasadena 6, Calif, or phone SYcamore 4-2378.

COLOR SLIDES—Travel, Nature, Geology, etc.Free list (with sample 30c, three for dollar).Kelly D. Choda, Box 5, Los Alamos, NewMexico.

20 OLD WESTERN outlaw photos, $1.00. 20 dif-ferent Old West, Pioneer, etc. photos, $1.00.10 different battle of Wounded Knee 50c.5 different Lincoln 25c. Lists 5c. Vernon Lem-ley Store, 302 Dallas Ave., Mena, Arkansas.

SILVERY DESERT HOLLY PLANTS. One dollareach postpaid. Greasewood Greenhouses, RFD,Barstow, California.

MINING CLAIMS for sale or lease: The GreenGems and Jerry's. 16 claims containing Tur-quoise and Bentonite. Very good quality. 4500tons Bentonite in sight. Jack E. Bu rkha rdt,Box 92, Lone Pine, California.

THREE DIMENSION, Cactus framed desert land-scape p ic ture s, si ze 6 x 8 x 2 , $3.00; 8x 1 3 x 2 ,$5.00. The Special 10 x 20 x 2Vi, $10.00.Diorama Studios, 1225 N. Anita, Tucson, Ariz.

HYDROPONIC GARDEN: Described in AugustDesert. Large furnished trailer, two cementblocks for future house and garage; utilityhouse with toilet, shower, etc.; lot largeenough for more units. Price $5000, term s.Mira Coffin, Box 598, Twentynine Palms,California.

AVIATION WORK: Engineering and Mechanics.Top Salaries. Big demand for trained men.Qualify yourself. Free catalog, job lists andfull information. Wr ite: CAL-AERO TECH-NICAL INSTITUTE, Dept. C-10, Grand CentralAir Terminal, Glendale 1, California.

KODACHROMES of Cathedral Valley, newly dis-covered scenic area in Utah; or colorful Capi-tol Reef National Mo num ent. Sets of 10, $5.00.Charles Kelly, Torrey, Utah.

DESERT LOVERS—Send One Dollar for 10 Ex-clusive photos of strange Lower CaliforniaDesert Plant s. Free listing on request. ArtCenter, 525 "E" St., Room 217, San Diego 1,California.

National Monument Development . . .AJO—A million dollar development

program for Organ Pipe NationalMonument is being considered by thedepartment of the interior to provideimproved facilities so visitors can bet-ter enjoy the mountain scenery and theabundant and varied desert vegetationand wildlife. The development, how-ever, is in th e futu re. — A jo Copper

News.• • •

Old A pac he Scout Buried . . .VERDE — One of the last remain-

ing Apache scouts of the Indian wars,James Mocasque, more than 100 yearsof age, died November 19, 1949, onthe Middle Verde reservation where hehad lived in recent years. Known asLong Haired J im , Mocasque served un-der General Crook and General Miles.He was known as an honorable Indian,was respected by both Indians andwhites. He was born in 1844.— Verde

Independent. • • •CA M ERO N — M r. and M rs. A r t

Greene and their family, well known todesert travelers as hosts at the MarbleCanyon lodge at Navajo bridge on thehighway connecting the two rims ofGrand Canyon, gave up their lease onNovember 1 and moved to Cliff Dwell-ing lodge eight miles west on the roadto Houseroc k Valley. The Greeneshave purchased the Cliff Dwellings, andplan to add guest accommodations assoon as they can be built. Loren zoHubbell of Winslow, Arizona, owner

of Marble Canyon lodge, stated thatname of the Greene's successors therewould be announced in the near future.

• • •Newly appointed curator of art at

the Museum of Northern Arizona,Flagstaff, is Alexander O. Brodie, sonof the Alexander Brodie who was ter-ritorial governor of Arizona in 1903-0 5 . Announcement of the appoint-ment was made by Dr. Harold S. Col-ton, museum director.

REAL ESTATEFOR SALE FOR ONLY $5000: 3'/2-acre grape-

fruit and date garden. Fine for homesite. Hasall utilities, space for vegetable garden, onelemon tree, several orange trees and niceplace for chickens. Has small, new 2-roomframe house. Write Ronald L. Johnson,Realtor, Thermal, California.

YOUR DESERT HOME: Five acres, $1,000. Easyterms. No fog, no smog, 8 miles north ofPalm Springs. R. H. McDonald, Box 21, DesertHot Springs, California.

COLORADO RIVER LOTS, water frontage andrights, near Blythe in California. Also farmacreage. Ray Spillane, Vidal, California.

DESERT SUN HOME: At beautiful Palm Desert.Near the new Coachella Valley School. Deepwell water, natural gas and electricity. Thisis a dream home with view windows, fireplace,car port and insulation. Priced to sell at$9,950. Carl H enderson , R ealtor, B ox 201,Palm Desert, California.

DESERT LOTS: $129 to $179. Why pay more?

60 cycle electricity and water available. Lotsar e Hi block south of Highways 60, 70, 80on Main St. in Evelyn Subdivision, in fastgrowing Superstition Village. 14'/2 miles eastof Mesa. (Trailers Welcome). Wm . Hughes,Rt. 2, Box 594-A, Mesa, Arizona.




CALIFORNIA

Hu ge D redger Sinks in R iver . . .

N E E D L E S — D i v e r s h a v e b e e nbrought here from San Diego in an ef-fort to salvage the huge million dollardredger which sank on November 5while engaged in deepening the Colo-rado river channel above Lake Havasu.

The reasons for its sinking have notbeen disclosed by Reclamation bureauengineers who were operating theequipment.— Needles Star.

• • •

In W ago ns to Death Va lley . . .

BISHOP—"The F irs t Annual P ion-eer Horseback and Wagon Trek fromLone Pine to Death Valley" departedfrom Lone Pine in time to reach Deso-lation canyon for the '49er pageant.Sponsored by Bruce Morgan, the cara-van included many vehicles of ancientmanufacture, Morgan hopes to repeat

th e 8-day trek year after year.— InyoRegister.• • •

Long Tunnel Dispute Ended . . .

HEMET — Hemet val ley farmers ,whose underground water supply hasbeen decreasing steadily since the Met-ropolitan Water district completed itstunnel through San Jacinto mountainsten years ago, have been assured thattheir losses will be made up by watersupplied from the Colorado river.

This agreement settles a controversywhich developed while the tunnel was

still under construction. In building thetunnel, which brings Colorado riverwater to the Los Angeles metropolitanarea, engineers found it impossible toseal the tube against seepage from rockcrevices in the massif through whichthey were drilling.

So much water was drained into thetunnel that farmers in the Hemet-SanJacinto area soon found their groundwater table being lowered and seriouscrop damage threatened. They formedthe San Jacinto River Protective dis-trict as a safeguard.

After long negotiation with Metro-politan district representatives a basisof settlement has been reached withoutthe necessity of resorting to the courts.The Metropolitan district has agreed tosupply the Hemet-San Jacinto userswith water equal to the amount theyare losing through tunnel seepage.

• • •

Min e C omp an y S u es D is t r ic t . . .

EL CENTRO—Destruct ion by f i reof the Holmestake Mining company'sgold stamp mill on Highway 80 in east-ern Imperial county was basis for a

$300,000 damage suit against the Im-perial Irrigation district. The miningcompany charged that a district em-ploye cut the power line which served

the mill, thus making inoperative themill's fire-fighting equipment. The dis-trict contended that at the time thepower line was cut the mill was alreadyenveloped in flames and virtually de-stroyed.— Yuma Daily Sun.

• • •

Bombing Range Blocks Highway . . .

EL CEN TRO —H ow to p rov ide a

direct automobile route from Califor-nia's Imperial Valley across the desertto Blythe without interfering with theEl Centro Naval air station bombingrange is the problem being studied byImperial county supervisors, navy of-ficials and businessmen. Present roadfrom Niland, in north end of Imperialvalley, to Blythe crosses the bombingrange and hence is closed to traffic.

The highway, which valley interestshave long wanted improved, is import-ant to economy of the two irrigatedareas—but the naval air station is im-

portant to national defense and also toEl Centra's economy. I t poses a prob-lem.— Imperial Valley Weekly.

• • •

Commercial Fishing Opposed . . .

C A L I P A T R I A — E lim in atio n ofcommercial fishing in the Salton sea,below-sea-level inland salt water body,is asked by the chambers of commerceof Calipatria and Niland because ofthe sharp decrease in the number ofmullet at the mouth of the Alamo riverin this year's run of the famed fish.Chamber officials and Imperial Valley

sportsmen have taken their case to thestate division of fish and game. In 1921mullet in Salton sea were almost wipedout by commercial fishing.— CalipatriaHerald.

Proposed Desert State Park . . .PALM SPRINGS—Proposed boun-

daries of a new desert state park thatwould include the famous canyons ex-tending from Tahquitz to Palm Can-yon are to be mapped and submittedto the California Park commission fol-lowing a visit to the Palm Springs andCoachella valley area by members ofthe state commission.

Preparation of the maps has alreadybeen started by Desert Associates, PalmSprings organization, which has workedclosely with the Sportsmen's League ofCoachella valley in promoting a statepark on northeastern shore of Saltonsea.— The Desert Sun.

• • •

Pheasants Planted for Hunters . . .INY O— Prior to opening of the hunt-

ing season in the Owens valley area,more than 3000 pheasants were plant-ed to give hunters more birds to shootat, according to Arthur L. Hensley,

district game conservationist. It is be-lieved that preda tors — coyotes andbobcats—kill a great many of the plant-ed birds.— Inyo Independent.

D E S E R T H O f l l E S I T E SFine water, excellent drainage, surfaced

streets, electricity, natural gas, telephones,new school under construction—an ideallocation where you can enjoy all today'sconveniences in the clean atmosphere o! awell-planned desert community.

Lots range from $950. Write for informa-

tion.

PALM DESERT CORPORA TIONPalm Desert. California

'S MORE HOUSE. . . FOR YOUR MONEY

HOM ES of DISTINCTIONBuilt With Call ior Estimates — Plan s Av aila ble

Investigate now. Year ' round comfort, lowhea ting costs . Cool in sum me r. Low costmaintenance. Build with "Precision Built"concrete , pumice and red c inder b locks . Deser tc inder b locks for deser t homes .

TRANSIT MIXED CONCRETE CO.34B4 E. Foothill Blvd.. Pasadena 8, California

SYcaraore 3-8133 RYan 1-6329 ATlantic 2-5104

JANUARY, 19 5 0 35



NEVADA

Pioneering Days Not Past . . .

F I S H L A K E V A L L E Y — T o m a k eirrigation water available for home-steaders who have taken up land inFish Lake valley, a mutual water com-pany is being formed and papers havebeen filed at Carson City, it is report-ed. Nearly 125 filings have already

been made, rounding out the proposedcolony of pioneers. Most of the home-steaders are adequately financed, many

"EVERYTHING FOR THE HIKER'

SLEEP ING BAG S

AIR MATTRESSES

SMALL TENTS

and many o the r i t ems

VAN DEGRIFT'S HIKE HUT717 West Seventh Street

LOS ANGELES 14. CALIFORNIA

own equipment and come from farmsin New Mexico, Oklahoma, California,Texas and other states—some from asfar east as Ohio.

The West is still a young country.—Tonopah Times-Bonanza.

• • •

Tonopah's 50th Anniversary . . .TONOPAH—Fiftieth anniversary of

the discovery of Tonopah is to be ob-served this year with publication by theTimes-Bonanza of a special annivers-ary edition. The newspaper has col-lected many old photographs, but isasking for mo re. Pictures are wantedof both early personalities and earlyscenes in Tonopah or any place in Nyecounty—also views of historic Gold-field, Belmont, Berlin and lone.—Tonopah Times-Bonanza.

• • •

Landmark R emo val Protested . . .AUSTIN—The old Methodist church

built here in the early 1860's whenAustin was a leader among Nevada'smining camps is a historic landmarkand should be retained in its present

W H E R E P A L M S G R O W W I L DIn Palm Canyon, 5 miles south of Palm Springs, is thelargest native palm oasis in Southern California— wherevisitors are always welcome to wander among themajestic trees and enjoy the beauty of one of the desert'smast lovely canyons. You are invited also to inspect thelovely display oi genuine Indian silver work, weaving,pottery, basketry and other crafts in Dean Kirk's

P A L M C A N Y O N T R A D I N G P O S T

situated on "The Bench" where you park your car at thehead of the trail leading down into the park of statelyWashingtonia palms. Vis i tors are a lways welcome.

M i n i n g C a m p s of the S o u t h w e s t . . .Here are three books of the boom mining days in the Southwest—

of famous s t r ikes and of the men who played leading ro les in the days

when fortunes were being taken from the desert hills .

DESERT BON ANZA. By Ma rcia Rittenhouse W yn n. The story

of Randsburg's three rich strikes—gold, tungsten and silver.A book flavored with anecdotes of the boom days in one ofCalifornia's richest mineral are as. 285 pp. $4.00

GOLD, GUNS AND GHOST TOWNS. By W. A. Chalfant.Stories of the men, good and bad who were drawn to theSouthwest by the lust for gold—told by a m an w ho knew ma nyof the characters in this book perso nally. 177 pp. $3.00

TOMBSTONE. By Walter Nob le Burns. Story of the "TownToo Tough To Die." Gun-toting, cattle rustling da ys in oldArizona. As history it is accurate, as a story it holds youspellbo und . 388 pp. $1.50

Mailed postpaid(California buyers add 3 % sale s tax)

SHofiP A L M

DESERT, CALIFORNIA

location, claim local residents who op-pose a plan to demolish the church andmove the bricks to Fallon to be usedin construction of a church there. Thechurch building is in disrepair, hasbeen unused for approximately 20years. Lo cal residents have offered torepair the roof and building if theMethodist conference would pay formaterials.— Reese River Reveille.

• • •

Wi ld D ogs R oam D es e rt . . .

TONOPAH—Led by a large policedog, a pack of wild dogs of unknownorigin is roaming the desert areas aboutseven or ten miles from Tonopah andtrouble is anticipated when sheepmenmove in their flocks for winter andspring grazing.

The pack consists of about eight ani-mals, four or five of the young dogs ap-pear to be half coyote. How they sur-vive is a my stery. So far as is know n

there is no water available unless theyrange much farther than believed.—Tonopah Times-Bonanza.

• • •

Better Use of Limited Supply . . .

CARSON CITY—Nevada water us -ers have been warned that they shouldmake better use of limited water sup-plies, and in particular should developthe many small streams in the moun-tains to supplement underground re-sources. H. V. Peterso n of the U. S.Geological Survey urges that a studybe made of every mountain range to

learn where stream flows may be de-veloped as a source of water for live-stock, irrigation and domestic use.—Humboldt Star.

• • •

No Gambling Depression . . .

PIOCHE—Despite hints of a reces-sion in some lines of business, Ne-vada's billion-dollar-a-year gamblingbusiness is continuing to climb. Thestate's more than 1300 legalized gam-bling establishments grossed an esti-mated $40,540,000 during 1949 ascompared with $38,578,600 in 1948.

This means that more than a billiondollars was wagered. The state getsits cut in taxes.— Pioche Record.

NEW MEXICO

Three New Water Projects . . .

G A L L U P — T h r e e N e w M e x i c owater projects which will bring addedirrigation and power facilities to needyareas, are included in the reclamationbureau's construction plans for thisfiscal year. The three projects totalmore than $2,000 ,000. They are theTucumcari project, the Fort Sumnerproject and the Rio Grande project.—Gallup Independent.




Is This Hunting Fair? . . .

ALB UQUER QUE—A spec i a l hun t -ing season for big game in the 600 ,000-acre Vermejo park in northern NewMexico, where hunting permits weresold by a private land owner at $250each, is under fire by the AlbuquerqueGame Protective Association. The at-tack was led by State Senator LeonardGinn. Fault was found with the fact

that the ranch owned byWilliam Gour-ley, San Antonio, had a special openseason that preceded the regular openseason by a month, and that Gourleywas allowed to sell hunting permits.The ranch had been stocked withelk.— Gallup Independent.

• • •

Nava j os Seek Education . . .

G A L L U P — " T o d a y it can be saidwithout qualification that the Navajoswant the white man's education, andthey want it with an impressive deter-

mination." This is the way Allan G.Harper, superintendent of the spraw-ling Navajo reservation, sums up theNavajo attitude toward formal school-ing. He points out it is a big changefrom earlier days when parents wouldnot permit their children to enter gov-ernment schools.

This past year every school on thereservation had to turn away eagerpupils. In the 1948-49 school year10,000 Navajo children receivedschooling, while 14,000 school age chil-dren had no facilities at all.— GallupIndependent.

• • •

Large Black Bear Shot . . .

L O V I N G T O N — O n e of the largestblack bears ever taken in New Mexicofell recently before the guns of LandCommissioner Guy Sheppard and StateSenator Burton Roach. The bear'sweight was estimated at 600 pounds .The animal was shot in theBlack rangeof southwestern New Mexico.— Lov-ington Press.

• • •

Taos Artist Wins Laurels . . .

TA OS — A Christmas theme oil paint-ing entitled "Indian Kids Sliding" wonfor Howard Cook, Ranchos de Taosartist, the honor of being one of the 50American painters to be featured in the$28,000 internat ional Hallmark ArtAward exhibit in New York duringDecember. Cook's paint ing was one of50 chosen from 4158 entries. — LasCruces Citizen.

• • •

To Change City G ove rnm ent . . .HOB B S—Thi s New Mexico city is

changing from a mayor-council form

of government to a city commission-manager system. The change was ap-proved by a 2 to 1 vote at a recentelection. A second election will choose

a five-man com mission, this comm is- would have been 80 years of age Julysion will hire a city manager.— Gallup 31 . Plans to collect funds for the pro-Independent. posed monument have already been

. . . made.— S alt Lake Tribune.

UTAH

Ute Indians Not Socialistic . . .

R OOSEV ELT — Th e Ind ian is es-sentially individualistic in nature, cannever be regimented into a socialisticexistence, anddesires to become a self-supporting, respected and independentcitizen of the United States.

This is the opinion of spokesmen forth e Ute Indians of the Uintah-Ourayreservation who are asking for repealof the Wheeler-Howard Indian act of1934. They favor the original systemof tribal government, claim the Wheeler-Howard act disregards both individualand band rights upon the reservation."The Indians on the reservation do notlike and do not want the pooling oftheir resources," declared Julius Mur-

ray, member of the Uintah band. Heurges restoration of property rights toeach of the three bands of Utes on thereservation.— S alt Lake Tribune.

More Coal for Kaiser . . .

SALT LAK E C ITY — Th e Ka iserSteel corporation's growing coal hold-ings in central Utah were increased bya new 600-acre cooking coal reservewhen Kaiser obtained a lease from thedepartment of interior in competitivebidding. Theaddition brought total ofnew coal deposits under lease by KaiserSteel to 3640 acres, or a supply esti-mated by the company at 36,000,000tons. Kaiser Steel is making prepara-tions to expand its operations at theFontana, California, plant, needs add-ed reserves.— S alt Lake Tribune.

• • •

Mo numen t lor Bert Loper . . .

G R E E N R I V E R — A m o n u m e n t inmemory of Bert Loper, famed riverman who had run every rapid in theWest, may be erected by spring in thisEmery county town where Loper lived.

He died last July 8 while on a tripthrough the Grand Canyon (DesertMagazine, September, 1949). He

U. S.Highway 6 across central Utahis expected to be completed within twoyears, forming with Highway 50 a newtranscontinental route which will short-en driving time between Denver andSan Francisco by three hou rs. Unfin-ished portion of Highway 6 is a 51 -mile section west of Delta, Utah. It isimproved and graveled now.— FallonStandard.

There's no finer place to enjoy desertlife than the Desert Inn—a 35-acre gar-den es ta te in the m i d s t of s c e n i csplendors. So carefree and informal,yet one of America's most luxurioushotels. Join the distinguished wintercolony who finds here perfect rest orrecreation. Your own private bunga-low; swimming pooJ, tennis courts . . .all sports. And food par excellence!

THEDESERT

INN

. . . 42 years underoriginal ownershipand managementNellie N. Coffman,Earl Coffman andGeorge Roberson

S L E E P IN Y O U R CAR IN L E V E L C O M F O R T

CALIFORNIA CAR BEDTransferable front seat unit providesluxurious AIRFOAM innerspring comfort:FOR DRIVING—as a s turdy seat .FOR SLEEPING—as a double bed.

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N E W ! C U STO M C R U ISIN G SEA TMarvelous new twin front seats convert-in g at a f inger-touch to s i ng l e OR doublebed, reclining seats, or chaise longue.Transferable—a permanent investment in

comfort. Described in Newsweek, PopularMechanics, Science Illustrated, etc.EasilyInstalled.

Factory Installation CALIF O RNIA CA R BED CO.2725 W.54th St., LosAngeles 43 —Write for Brochure "P"

Mail Order ShipmentsA X mi ns t e r 3-4700

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 37



ANSWERS TO DESERT QUIZ

Questions are on Page 19.

1—Arizona and Nevada.2—Grey-blue.3—An open range where buffalo

may be seen.4. Yuma, Arizona.5—Pat Garrett .6—Colorado river.7—Dwelling house.

8—Built a wagon road from SanBernardino to the Colorado river.

9—New Mexico.10—Death Valley region.11—Roasting food.12—Lizard.13—Gain freedom to worship as they

please.14—Gila river.15—U. S. Park rangers.16—Topaz.17—Making pottery.18—Corn.19—First explored the lower Colo-

rado river by boat.20—White mountains.

D E S E R TC L O S E - U P S

From the window of her home onPalomar mountain in San Diego coun-ty, California, Marion Beckler looks

down on a vast panorama that extendsfrom the sea to the desert. Acrossthis landscape a hundred years agocame Kearny's army and a little laterthe stage coaches of the old Butterfieldline—the Jackass Mail it was some-times called.

With a school teacher's interest inhistory, Mrs. Beckler has done muchreading on the subject of that old trailfrom the desert—and her research ledto the writing of the story of the Valle-cito stage station for this issue of DesertMagazine.

COUNTY MAPSFor Schools, Hunters, Fishermen, Public Offices, and Travelers

Rngr. Sta., Elev., Nat. Forest, Pwr. Lines, Canals, Boundaries, etc.Sizes: 20x30 to 73x100 Inches

CALIF: with Twnshp., Rng., Sec, Mines, Roads, Trails, Streams, Lakes, R. R., Schools,Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butle, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado,Glenn, Kings, Lake, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Sacramento, SanBenito, San Francisc o, San Joaqu in, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Solano,Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba—each $1.

Tuolumne, Santa Barbara, Plumas, Pla-cer, Modoc, Madera—$1.50

Tulare, Tehama, Imperial—each $2.San Diego, Mendocino, Humboldt—$2.50Trinity, Shasta, Mono, San Luis Obispo,

Monterey, Lassen—$3.

Fresn o, Kern , Riverside—$2.50 • $5.Los Angeles—$1 and $3.Siskiyou—$2 and $4.Inyo county, $15; E or W'/2 $7.50; San

Bernardino, 73x110, $15; No. or So. >/2$7.50; NW, SW., NE. or SEVt, $3.75.

Also Oregon, Idaho and Washington County Maps

W O R L D 'S M I N E R A L S2417 San Pablo Avenue—TEmplebar 2-3870

OAKLAND 12, CALIFORNIA

RIVER VACATION 1950BOAT TRIPS ON SAN JUAN AND COLORADO RIVERS

COME VISIT THE GORG EOUS C ANYO N WONDERLANDS

• Boat from Mexican Hat or Bluff, Utah, to Lee's Ferry, Arizona.Eight or n ine da ys on the r ivers .

• Two da ys an d overnight in Monum ent Val ley with Harry a ndMike Goulding.

• Overnight a t Rainbow Bridge at Bi l l and Kather ine Wilson ' sEcho camp .

ALL-EXPENSE TRI P— 10 to 11 Da ys . Start at Art G re en e's CliffDw ellers . Return to Cliff Dwe llers in A rizona.

Full Fare - - $175 per person

These river tr ips will be made only during May and June, 1950

In July. 1950, you may join A GRAND CANYON EXPEDITION, fromLEE'S FERRY, ARIZO NA, to BOULDER CITY, NE VADA

18 to 22 Days. Fare: $750

For Details Write:

L A R AS E E AN D A L E S OM W E S T E R N R I V E R T O U R SRichfield, Utah

Mrs. Beckler's school is near the fa-mou s Palom ar telescope. She and herhusband have their home on the moun-tain, and their GI son is in school atStockton.

Mary and Marion Carothers , whosupplied the pictures for the Vallecitostory, make their home in La Jolla,Californ ia. Th eir work as free lancephotographers has appeared in many

western publications.• • •

Another "first contribution" in thisissue of Desert Magazine is the vividdescription of the Ives Colorado expe-dition in 1857, written by Al Haworth,associate editor of Desert. Although amember of the magazine staff onlysince last April, Mr. Haworth as for-mer publisher of the Calexico Chroni-cle and later the Imperial Valley Week-ly at El Centro, has been a desertjournalist 15 years.

• • •

John Hilton, who has written forDesert at intervals since the magazinewas started, returned recently fromMexico where he spent the summergathering material for a non-fictionbook narrating his experiences on anexploring trip into little-known interiorregions of western Mexico. The man -uscript is scheduled to go to the pub-lishers soon.




m mDeath Valley, California . . .

Discovery of a rich deposit of pitch-blende, source of radium and uranium,between the Panamint mountains and

Death Valley, is claimed by two LosAngeles prosp ectors. They are Rich-ard E. Darnell, laboratory employe ofa potash company at Trona in SanBernardino county, and his prospectingpartner, George Taylor.

Taylor found the pitchblende severalweeks ago. Darnell said the ore as-sayed $16,000 to $17,000 a ton inDenver. He presumes the Atomic En-ergy Commission will take over asguardian of sources of uraniu m. If thefind develops, it will be the first pitch-blende mining in California, according

to a spokesman for the AEC in LosAngeles.

Darnell said the deposit is in a giantslab about nine miles off the nearestroad in rugged territory in the Pana-mints.— Barstow Printer-Review.

• • •

Goldfield, Nevada . . .

While wages in the gold mining in-dustry have more than doubled since1934 and the cost of materials neces-sary to the industry has increased 70percent, the price of gold has remainedat $35 a fine ounce since it was peggedat that figure by President Roosevelt.Now President Truman's declarat ionthat he will never agree to a raise inthe price of gold has raised a storm ofprotest in western mining camps.—Goldfield News.

Eureka, Nevada . . .

At least 385,000 acres of land ineastern Nevada has been recently leas-ed for oil exploration, a survey reveals.Most of the land is in White Pine coun-ty, some in Elko county to the north.

Standard of California is among thelease holders. Phillips Petroleum plansto drill one well immediately in WhitePine county, where it holds a 5000-acre lease.— Eureka Sentinel.

R e n o , N e v a d a . . .

The house of representatives haspassed Congressman Walter S. Baring'sbill which provides for establishmentand operation of a rare and preciousmetals experiment station at Reno,Baring has reported . The station will

help revival of gold and silver miningin the state, it is believed. Th e billmust go to the senate now for approv-al.— Ely Record.

Marysvale, Utah • . .

A new uranium find good enough tojustify building a processing plant atthe site has reportedly been located

near this southern Utah town. Accord-ing to D. W. Viles, general manager ofthe Vanadium Corporation of America,the discovery is "one of the best pros-pects in the country."

Deposits of "autunite" ore in theMarysvale region have been describedas richer than the carnotite ores foundon the Colorado plateau and in south-western Utah . Th e autunite lies inveins in contrast to the erratic locationsof carn otite. Par t of the exploratorywork is being done in the vicinity of theYellowjacket mine, famed in otheryears.— S alt Lake Tribune.

• • •

Clark County, Neva da . . .

An unlimited deposit of manganeseore, comprising an entire mountain, isto be developed by Manganese, Inc.,which has acquired the ManganeseOres property in Clark county. A new-ly perfected process will recover atleast 65 percent of the manganese.The deposit is near a mill erected atoutset of World War II. It will requirean expenditure of $750,000 to changeover the plant, but the firm expects to

be in produ ction by next fall. Th eproperty is being purchased from theNevada Colorado River commission.—Eureka Sentinel.

• • •

Ely, Neva da . . .

High costs of production and opera-tion, as compared to prices receivedfor prod ucts; tax laws which discourageventure capital; importation of foreignmetals. Thes e are three of the factorsthat have reduced the western smallmining industry to a point where it isnow "in its death throes," a house sub-

committee was told at a recent Nevadahearing. Ore bodies are being deplet-ed, new development is lagging, thecongressmen were told.— Pioche Rec-ord.

• • •

Pioche, Neva da • . .

Opening of extensive copper and sil-ver mining operations in the "LuckyGroup" mines near Lathrop Wells hasbeen announced by the Boulder Indus-trial Minerals corporation. The cor-poration has a five-year lease on themine site. Or e containin g an estimat-

ed 15 percent copper and a smallamount of silver is to be shipped out ofLas Vegas to Salt Lake City.— PiocheRecord.

Tonopah , N e v a d a . . .

Installation of equipment soon andmajor scale operations next summerare planned at the Gold Queen groupof 14 placer claims in the Sylvania dis-trict if an ample water supply can bedeveloped in nearby Palmetto wash.The group of claims was leased recent-ly for 10 years by Dodge Constructioncompany, Charles H. Segerstrom andJohn M. Heizer. The placer depositsare said to range from 4 to 20 feet indepth over a broad area. Drill holesindicate that gravel at upper part of theprop erty averages close to $ 1.50 a cubicyard, one hole disclosed gravel whichassayed $28 a cubic yard.— Los An-geles Times.

White Pine County, Nev ada . . .

A new silver strike has been reportedat Grand Deposit mine in Silver Moun-tain mining district near Muncy creek.According to Paul C. Lyon, Salt LakeCity, president of the company, thestrike was made in a winze projectedfrom a main cross-cut on the 600-footlevel. The mine is operated underlease by Edgar Johnson. Settlement ona 47-ton dry shipment of ore showed anet of $2980 or $63.74 per ton.—Humboldt Star.

Win n emu cca, N eva d a . . .

Capacity operations have been re-

sumed at the noted Jumbo gold mine inthe Awakening district following settle-ment of litigation with the Austin fam-ily, owners of the property. Th e RedLedge Mining company held the leaseand operating privileges in the mine,but that partnership has been dissolved.Incorporation has been completed andthe property will be known as theAu stin-Jumb o Mines, Inc. This willidentify it with the gold strike made in1936 by George Austin. Mining ca-pacity of the open-pit operation is ex-pected to be increased to 1000 tons

daily, rejecting approximately 50 per-cent by screening, with 500 tons goingthroug h the mill. Assay value of orenow going to the mill averages $3.50per ton. It is free milling ore, yieldsapproximately 85 percent recovery.—Humboldt Star.

Moa b, Utah . . .

The Independent Uranium Producersassociation has been formed by meninterested in development of atomic oremining in the Fou r Corners area. In

addition to working for technical de-velopments, the association will seekhigher prices from the government foratomic ores.

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 39



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A M A T E U R G EM C U T T E R• By LELANDE QUICK, Editor of The Lapidary Journal-

A correspondent asks how to polish lapislazuli, stating that conventional methods oftin or cerium oxide on felt or leather buffsdoesn't do much for it. That is true. Lapislazuli is a dense opaque material and rarelyseen in amateur gem collections, because itdoes not take a high polish like agate ma-terials. Most am ateur gem cutters expectto get a mirror finish on everything, butthere are many materials on which thiscannot be accomplished. It cannot be ac-complished on rhodonite, lapis lazuli orturquoise but we did see an approximatemirror finish on some variscite cabochons atthe Las Vegas show in November.

Few people work with lapis for this rea-son but it can be brought to a very nicesheen by turning up a sander to 3500 r. p. m.and using a piece of well worn 220 cloth,with practically no grit. After you get the highsheen by quickly touching the stone to the

sander (be careful of that heat at such highspeed!) take it to the buffs and see for your-self that wet polishing improves it not at all.

• • 9

The Federal authorities have been raisinghob with several dealers recently who havebeen failing to collect the tax on gem ma-terials sold in the rough. This has fright-ened all dealers to the point where they leanbackwards in an effort to obey the law.What law? The law that established excisetaxes in 1941 as a war measure for "puni-tive purposes against certain types of con-sumption and production." In plainer wordscitizens were to be punished for spending$3000 for a diamond ring or a mink coatthey didn't need instead of putting theirmoney into bonds as a loan to their gov-

ernment.No one dissented at such a law. Butthrough the years the interpretation of thelaw by the Washington clerks has becomefarcical. Intended as a tax on luxury itemssuch broad interpretations have been madeas collecting a tax on a man's wallet be-cause there is a tax on luggage. (Manywould agree that a woman's handbag is lug-gage.) The cosmetic tax on lipstick has notbeen collected yet on shaving cream—but itprobably will.

This brings us to the 20 percent tax ongems and gem materials, for their purchaseis the foundation of the gem cutting hobby.So many letters about this nuisance tax askour advice that we offer a hypothetical caseas an illustration. A person goes on a field

trip and brings home a big load of geodesfrom the Chuckawallas. They look prettygood when he saws into them. He showssome to a dealer who wants to swap and theamateur uses this chance to make his trippay for itself by swapping fifty of them fora couple of grinding wheels and a book.Two hours later a tourist stops by the shopand buys a half dozen of the rocks for$5.00. If he says he wants them for hismineral cabinet he gets a written receiptfrom the dealer that they were sold as"specimen material" and he pays no tax.But if he has any idea in his mind that heis going to improve some of them by pol-ishing the good ones on the sawed side toenhance their beauty he has to pay thedealer 20 percent tax. For then he is mak-

ing an ornamental stone and the govern-nentholds that to be "semi-precious". Silly,isn't it? Silly but unjust for such a lawmakes the gemcutting hobby the only hobbysubject to taxation.

The result of this law is that it makesdishonest people of many who are otherwiserigidly honest. It scares some dealers intocollecting tax on everything they sell. Whycan't the tax be interpreted to agree withthe customs duties on the same items? Dutyis not required on minerals in the rough butif the mineral is ready for mounting in jew-elry it requires duty.

We have seen many letters from the tax-ing collectors on this matter and here iswhat we gather from them: A dealer mustcollect the 20 percent excise tax on finishedstones, ornamental objects (ash trays, book-ends, etc., when made of minerals), syn-thetic stones (although they are not naturalminerals), carbochon blanks, preforms, slabsand rough material intended for gemcuttingpurposes. That means tax must be collect-ed on agate, petrified wood and obsidian.A recent letter to a manufacturer of syn-

thetics advised that the tax must be col-lected on "everything with a hardness of sixor over, the pearl excepted." Just let somedealer fail to collect tax on his next sale ofchrysocolla, which never has a hardness ex-ceeding 4, and see what happens. If onebuys some gold in sheets and makes a ringthere is no tax but if the same person buysa ring in a store there is 20 percent tax.If he pays no tax on gold in the raw statewhy should he pay tax on a hunk of rock?

Beardsley Ruml, New York business con-sultant, told Congress members on Novem-ber 23 that the all-wartime "punitive" excisetaxes should be repealed outright. He pre-dicted that the net loss to the Treasury bysuch a move will be "much less that whatappears to be the gross loss." Ruml is vice-

chairman of the research and policy sub-committee of the Committee for EconomicDevelopment, a private organization of busi-nessmen formed to study economic condi-tions. He was author of the pay-as-you-goincome tax plan. He made his recommen-dation to a joint Congressional economicsubcommittee now looking into the nation'sfiscal and monetary policies.

Ruml emphasized that the excise taxes hewould repeal are only those applied in war-time for "punitive purposes against certaintypes of consumption and production." In-cluded are such items as jewelry, furs andelectric light bulbs. He eliminated fromconsideration excises on gasoline, alcohol,tobacco, and those in effect prior to 1941.

Here is a matter for the American Fed-eration of Mineralogical societies to con-sider. Why should the gem cutting hobbybe the only one in America subject to thearbitrary decisions of taxing authorities ina manner never intended by the law? Some-one wrote, "Why don't the jewelers' as-sociations do something about it?" Theydid. They got the tax repealed on watchesunder $65. A watch under $65 is regardedas a necessity and a more expensive watchis a luxury. But the same clerk didn't ruleon alarm clocks. Any alarm clock over$5.00 is subject to 20 percent tax but theauthorities generously reduced the tax on thecheaper clocks to only 10 percent. Allalarm clocks are regarded as luxuries while$65 watches are a necessity. Thewatch boysjust talked louder than the clock boys, that'sall. Why can't the five million amateurgem cutters set up a howl? We'd like tohear from readers about their tax experi-ences.

40 THE DESERT M A GA ZI NE



GemsFIRST CLARK COUNTY

G E M SHOW SUCCESSFULWith a total attendance of between 4200

and 4500, the Las Vegas, Nevada, show ofthe Clark County Gem Collectors was con-sidered a big success, particularly in viewof the fact it was the organization's firstrock show. It was held over Armisticeweekend, and was formally opened by Gov-ernor Vail Pittman and Mayor Cragin ofLas Vega s. Collections displayed by theCedar City. Utah, club and the SequoiaMineral society, California, came in forcomm ent. Grand award for best display inthe show went to Paul and Ann Drury ofthe Clark County Gem Collectors.

• • a

Dr. Richard Jahns, department of geologi-

cal sciences, California Institute of Tech-nology, told members of the Pacific Mineralsociety, Lomita, California, many interest-ing things about granite when he spoke be-fore the club at its November meeting. Histalk was illustrated with slides. Dr. Jahnssaid Vermont has more granite of commer-cial value than any other state, 65 percentof granite used comes from Vermont andMassachusetts.

• • •

A noted expert on jade and an enthusias-tic collector, L. J. Bergsten, Oakland, Cali-fornia, was speaker at November meetingof the Sequoia Mineral society which met atParlier, near Fresno. The speaker told offinding a new jade field while spending asummer in Wyoming, where he had gone for

his health. On November 6 members of thesociety met Bakersfield rockhounds at Por-terville, enjoying an all-day swap party.

a a o

Interesting experiences on vacations orrecent rock hunting trips were related bymembers of the San Jose, California, Lapi-dary Society, Inc., at November meeting ofthe group. Five members were scheduledto bring exhibits, and exhibitors for Decem-ber were announced as R. F. Henley, C. R.Hitchcock, Bruce Holmes and Glen Holmes.

• • •

An exchange of gifts featured the De-cember meeting of the Santa Monica Gem-ological society, while at the Novembermeeting members profited by a quiz pro-

gram. A panel of six answered questionsby Quizmaster Vern Cadieux, who broughtout many interesting facts about cutting andpolishing procedures and equipment.

MineralsS A N FERNANDO VALLEY

CLUB NAMES OFFICERSNew officers of the San Fernando Valley

Mineral and Gem society in California tookoffice January 1 and are looking forward toan active year. New officers are: GlenCraig, president; Mrs. Elinor Waller, vicepresident; Miss Grace Johnson, secretary;E. G. Lilleberg, building trustee. The club'smagazine, Rocks and Gems, will be editedby Mrs. W. C. L. Cooper. The society hadno field trip in December, but enjoyed aChristmas party with an exchange of rockgifts.

• 9 • •

With field trips over until next summer,the Minnesota Mineral club at Minneapolishas resumed regular indoor meetings whichare held at the Curtis hotel. First fall

meeting was Saturday night, November 12.• a •

"Geology of the Prescott Area" was sub-ject of a talk given by Mrs. Medora Krieger,U. S. Geological Survey, at November meet-ing of the Yavapai Gem and Mineral so-ciety, Yava pai county, Arizona . Presidentis Ernest E. Michael. Mrs. Krieger is en-gaged in mapping the Prescott quadranglefor the Geological Survey, described howthe work is done. She reported that graniterocks around Prescott are among the oldestknown—they are pre-Cambrian, going backsome 500 million years.

» • mAnnual show sponsored by the Yavapai

Ge m and Mineral society was held in theWebb Motors showroom, Prescott, Arizona,on December 10 and 11. The newly organ-ized Yavapai County Archeological societywas invited to prepare an exhibit.

» • •

Members of the Texas Mineral society,Dallas, enjoyed an illustrated talk on "TheMeaning of Western Scenery" at their No-vember meeting in the Baker hotel. Speakerwas Dr. J. D. Boone, Jr., head of the ge-ology department at Arlington State col-lege. Thomas D. Copeland is club president.Other new officers are: J. D. Churchill, vicepresident; F. N. Bentley, secretary-treasurer.

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ORANGE COAST GROUPHEARS JOHN HILTON

Known as desert artist, author and pio-neer gemcollector, John Hilton of Thermal,California, was guest speaker at Novembermeeting of the Orange Coast Mineral andLapidary society when members gathered atCorona del Mar November 21. Hilton isreputed to know virtually every gem field insouthern California and adjoining states, hasrecently been exploring in Mexico.

t 9 •

A 50-minute color motion picture show-ing development of Paricutin, the world'snewest volcano, was exhibited by Dr. Fred-erick Pough, curator of mineralogy, Amer-ican Museum of Natural Science, at Decem-ber meeting of the Mineralogical Society ofSouthern California. The meeting was inthe Pasadena City college auditorium. Thesociety's November field trip was to theCrestmore quarry.

W E ' R E W A I T I N G F O R Y O U A T . . .Town & Country Market also Farmer's Mar-ket. Brazilian Phantom Quartz $1.50 —sandpictures —Indian Jewelry, etc. Will makemost anything to your specifications. Wehave 1 Automatic lapping machine at a bar-gain. Address everything:

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J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 41



G E M M A R TA D V E R T I S I N G R A T E

8c a W o r d . . . M i n i m u m $1.00

MINERAL SETS—24 Colorful Minerals (identi-fiedi in lxl compa rtments — Postage paid.S3.50. Prospector's Set of 50 Minerals (identi-fied) in lxl compartments in cloth reinforcedsturdy cartons. Postage paid So.75. Elliott'sGem Shop, 2G Jergins Arcade, Long Beach 2,California.

BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIAN Opal Cabs, 10x8—$3.00 to $7.20. 12x10—$4.80 to $9.00. Opalrough for cutting $1.20 and $2.00. Ace Lapi-dary. Box 67, Jamaica, New York.

BRAZILIAN AGATE, Specimen pieces, also goodfor coloring, $1.00 a pound. Pieces run fromone to ten pounds each Black Onyx Blanks,10x12 and 14x12size—S2.50 dozen. Mail ordersfilled promptly. JUCIIEM BROTHERS, 315 W.Fifth St., Los Angeles 13, California.

FIRE OPAL—We are now specializing in allgrades of Australian cutting fire opal. Westock this lovely opal in all price ranges.Also cutting material and specimens. No mailorders. West Coast Mineral Co., 1400 Haci-enda Blvd. (State Highway 39), La HabraHeights. California.

MINERAL SPECIMENS and cutting material ofall kinds. Gold and Silver jewelry made toorder. Your stones or ours. 5 lbs. good cuttingmaterial $4.00. J. L. James, Box 117, CarsonCity, Nevada.

IF YOU ARE A ROCKHOUND you need theLapidary Journal. Tells how to cut and polishrocks, gives news of all mineral-gem groups.Tells how to make jewelry, carries ads ofdealers in supplies, equipment, gems, mineralsfrom all over the world. Well illustrated,beautifully printed. Subscription $2.00 a year—back numbers 50c. Sample Copy 25c if youhave never subscribed or been sampled.LELANDE QUICK, Editor, P.O. Box 1228,Hollywood 28, California.

TEXAS AGATES—Five pounds selected fromall locations, including plume, iris, fortifica-tion, scenic, opal assortment, etc., postpaid,$5.00. Visit. 20 tons to select from at 25cper pound. El Paso Rock and Lapidary Sup-ply, 2101 Pit tsburg St., El Paso, Texas. Phone5-8721.

PLUME, BANDED and Moss Agate for sale atRanch. Write or come. J. A. Anderso n, BON182, Aloine, Texas.

BRAZIL: Amethyst and Citrain, green Tourma-

line, golden, green & white Beryl, Aquama-rine, Chrysoberyl. Australian gems: Fine Opal,blue Sapp hire, Zircon. Burm a: Pigeon BloodRuby, Balas Ruby, Zircon. Africa: Fine Tour-maline, spec. Emerald, Tigers Eye, black StarSapphire. Ceylon: Fancy Sapphire, 7 carataverag e, Spinel. Moonstone. Local: Perid ot,Montana Sapphire, Yogo Sapphire, MexicanTopaz. P. O. Box 1123,Encinitas, Calif. Vis-itors contact postoffice.

NEW CATALOGS AVAILABLE

If you want Choice Cutting Material, Fine &Rare Minerals, Geiger Counters, Miner-alights, Books, Trim Saws, Fluorescents,Ores, Gems, Ring Mounts, or advice, writeto . . .

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BUHL HANDI-SCOPE — Pocket-size 20-powermicroscope for detailed study of gems andgeological specimens. Large, umlistorted field,no special illumination required. Fine-focus-ing adjustment permits depth inspection oftransparent materials. Price $4.95, postpaid.BUHL TRIPLET — Indispensable to collectorsand cutters. Highest quality 14-power triplelens gives brilli ant, color-perfect image of gems.Distortion-free field forc h e c k i n g f a c e t s , sur-faces, etc. Price: $11.50postpaid.

BUHL OPTICAL COMPANYDesk C-122

1009 Beech Ave. Pit tsburgh 12, Pa.

GOLD NUGGETS! Beautiful, solid gold speci-mens, $1.00 each or 3 for $2.00. Special col-lection 12 nuggets from California, Oregon,Nevada and Alaska, $5.00. Desert Jim, 627Lillian, Stockton, California.

ATTENTION P.OCK COLLECTORS. It will payyou to visit the Ken-Dor Rock Roost. We buy,

sell, or exchange mineral specimens. Visitorsare always welcome. Ken-Dor Rock Roost.419 S. Franklin. Modesto. California.

FROM YELLOWSTONE VALLEY, Montana.Moss Agate Slabs, 25c per sq. inch. Paul Fry,Rt. 1, Box 115A, Miles City, Mo ntana.

EXCHANGE Eastern minerals for western,Showy XLgroups as Amethyst, Smoky Quartz,Calcites, Quartz, Hibbinites, Anhydrites, Lau-mantites, Heulandites, Quartz Casts, Solids ofTriphylite, Purple Lepidolite, Spodumene,Rose Quartz, Siderite, Hematites and others,Ted Schoen, 117 Orchard St., Mt. Vernon,New York.

MONTANA MOSS AGATES in the rough forgem cutting SI.50 per lb. plus postage. AlsoSlabbed Agate 2V- per sq. in. (Minimum orderSI.00). Elliott 's Gem Shop, 26 Jergins Arcade,Lung Beacli 2, California.

BEAUTIFUL SLABS of Arizona" variegatedAgates, SI.00 each postpaid. Arizona Agate

Mines, Cave Creek, Arizona.FOR SALE: Beautiful purple Petrified Wood

with Uranium, Pyrolusite, Manganite. Nicesample SI.00. Maggie Baker, Cameron, Ariz.

HERKIMER "DIAMONDS" (quartz crystals).These matchless natural gem-like crystals invarious forms, also fine matrix specimens nowavaila ble. As sortm ents $2.50, $5.00, $7.50,S10.00 postpaid in United States. H. Stillwell& Son, Rockville Centre, New York.

MINERAL SPECIMENS, slabs or material bythe pound for cutting and polishing, RXUnits,Felker Di-Met and Carborundum Saw Blades,Carborundum wheels Cerium Oxide. Mount-ings. Approval selection sent upon request.You are welcome. A. L. Jarvis, Route 2, Box125, Watsonville, California, on Salinas High-way.

HUNT AGATES BY PROXY — If you cannotcome to the agate mines then have us dig andgather Arizona agates in chips and chunks foryour collection, rock garden, fish bowls orgem and specimen cutting pleasure. Mixedassortment 10 pounds $5.50. Vein agate inlarge chunks at $1.50 per pound. Samplepackage of agates $1.00 postpaid. Shippingextra on rough agates. Arizona Agate Mines,Cave Creek, Arizona.

MINERAL TRADES WANTED with Dana col-lectors, Write C. M. Carson, 205 Dalton St.,Ventura, California.

TEMPSKA PETRIFIED FERN WOOD. Perfectspecimens, bulbs or stump, $3.00 lb, 20 to 100lbs. in each. Pictures of bulbs on request.Stump pieces 1 to 30 lbs. in each, $1.00 lb.,plus postage. All Gem quality. A. E. Fisk,2390 Broadway, Baker, Oregon.

BEAUTIFUL AGATES from the most colorfulagate hill in the world. True Carnelian,Mosses, Banded, Plume, Saganite, Tubes, manyother patterns. Also Texas, red and blackPlume, Montana Agates, Rickolite and HoneyOnvx. Fine for spheres and book ends, etc.Make your next rock hunting trip in our

yard and save money. Tons to select from, aslow as 25c lb. Geo. C. Curtis, TheAgate Man,645 1st St., Hermosa Beach, California.

SIX BEAUTIFUL Mineral Specimens, $5.00.These are nice. Ask for list of materials nowon hand, also fluorescent selection. Jack TheRock Hound, P. O. Box 86, Carbondale, Colo.

URANIUM SAMPLE $1.00, $3.00, $5.00. Nochecks, no C.O.D.'s. Rare Minerals. 1169 Kir-man Ave., Reno, Nevada.

FINE CUTTING Flowering Obsidian $1.00 lb.,plus postage. Snowflake Jasper $1.25 lb. post-paid. Jaspagate $1.00 lb. postpaid. RockTrailer now closed Sundavs. Tucson Thomp-son, 10016 North Seventh Place, Phoenix,Arizona.

FIFTY MINERAL SPECIMENS, %-in. or over,boxed, identified, described, mounted. Post-paid $4.00. OldProspector, Box 21B-363, DutchFlat, California.

NEW FIND : Banded Agate. Makes beautifulcabochons or hearts. $2.00 brings you 3 nicelarge specimens of this material. Try it. Askfor list of other fine specimens, fluorescentand cutting. Jack The Rock Hound, P. O.

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ARIZONA STATE FAIRSHOW OUTSTANDING EVENT

With a rock that photographed itself, astrange little shrine built by the atoms and a"Flag On Iwo Jima" etched by nature on agem stone the fourth show of minerals atthe Arizona State fair was off to a goodstart. Ten days were packed full of interestto more than 55,000 visitors who pouredinto the mineral building from November 4to 13.

Nineteen grade schools and many high

school students exhibited among others.Arthur L. Flagg, superintendent of the min-eral department and president of the Min-eralogical Society of Arizona, has workedduring the past four years to encourage in-terest in the earth sciences among schoolchildren. First award went to Lower Miamischool again, which won the Phelps Dodgetrophy for the second year.

Seven cases of unusual Arizona mineralswere displayed by the Arizona departmentof mineral resources, and one case of urani-um ores, mostly from Arizona.

Another case housed a collection of spec-tacular uranium minerals belonging to Ar-thur L. Flagg, Phoenix, with specimens fromevery country in the world producing ura-nium. One piece of Uraninite-Gummitewas displayed beside an "autoradiograph"(photo) which it took of itself. There werethree specimens of newly discovered miner-als from old workings in the Hillside mine,Yavapai county, Arizona. These have notbeen classified yet. Two more from thesame mine and one from Burro creek havenot been named. Of the 200 known ura-nium ores, some of which are extremelyrare. 53 were represented in the exhibit.Many contained colorful and rare crystals.

Representing early Arizona was a replicaof an old arrastre, an ore grinding device,built by H. D. and Charles B. Richards,Phoenix. The arrastre was operated by awater wheel. All during the fair the Rich-ards brothers panned gold for crowds ofinterested spectators.

Among the many exhibits were those ofthe MineralogicaJ Society of Arizona andthe Maricopa Lapidary Society, both ofPhoenix.

The Maricopa Lapidary Society displayedtheir crafts in 12 cases of their own andseveral belonging to the mineral department.The exhibit included a wide variety ofpolished slabs, cabochons, hand-made jew-elry, faceted gems and carved figures. Or-ville P. Sanderson, of the Associated Pressin Phoenix, is president of the society. Ithas been organized two years and this wastheir second show, outstanding in workman-ship and artistic displays.

• • •

December 11 event for the Northern Cal-

ifornia Mineral society was a field trip toFolsom, with members on the lookout es-pecially for polishing materials.

• • •

The Wisconsin Geological society, Mil-waukee, has made several trips into nearbylocalities to obtain marcasite for the na-tional convention which will be held in Mil-waukee in June, 1950. Members of thesociety also took a trip to southwestern partof the state to visit the lead mining country.Plans and preparations for the national con-vention of mineral and geological societiesare already being made by the Milwaukeegroup.

GEMS, GENUINE AND SYNTHETIC. Gorgeousquartz rock crystal stars mounted for ear-rings, pendants or unmounted. Opals, Tour-malines, Aquamarines, Alexandrites, Emer-alds, Rubies, Sapphires, Topaz, Amethysts,Corundum (various colors), Spinel, Rutile(Titania), etc. Let us know what you want.Satisfaction guaranteed. H. Stillwell & Son.Rockville Centre, New York.




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R O C K H U N T E R S

EL PASO GEMSHOWPLANNED FOR 1950

With appointment of committees, workhas already started on the 1950 El Paso,Texas, Gem show which is to be held inJune. General chairman is L. G. Howie.

Enthusiasm for the event has increasedwith the active help of J. C. Hutchison, pres-ident of the Rocky Mountain Federation ofMineral and Gem societies. PresidentHutchison says he hopes to make the ElPaso show one of the outstanding Federa-tion events.

• • •The Victor Valley, California, Gem and

Mineral club had an active fall with fieldtrips to Nevada, to Yermo, California, andto Mule canyon. The club has adopted thepractice of scouting all field trip sites tomake sure that club m embers will find ma-terials.

• • •Good specimens of Death Valley onyx

and hematite with seams of malachite werefound in abundance by members of theMojave Desert Gem and Minerals society,Barstow, California, on their October fieldtrip into the Virgin area. All of this ma-terial takes a high polish. Although it wasa 120-mile trip, members and their friendswere well rewarde d. Bill Lewis, well knownminer and rockhound, led the expedition.

• • •Mummy mountain, near Phoenix, Arizona,

was explored by members of the Mineralogi-cal Society of Arizona on their Novemberfield trip. The mountainside is seamed withpegmatite dikes, and in addition to the nor-mal constituents—qu artz, feldspar andmica—searchers found black tourmaline and gar-

nets. The area had never been carefullyexplored for rocks, there were many sur-prises.

• • •Crestmore quarry near Riverside, Cali-

fornia, is becoming a popular huntingground for rockhounds, and October fieldtrip of the Long Beach Mineral and Gemsociety was to the quarr y. Blue calcite,crystals and many other materials were col-lected.

• • •Election of officers was main item of

business scheduled at November meeting ofthe Searles Lake Gem and Mineral So-ciety. The meeting was in ballroom of theTron a, California, club. Members of theorganization are beginning to plan for their

annual '49er party to be held early this year.

W y o m i n g Gem S t o n e s

Agates , mixed, all types , 10 lb. bag$5.00. Colorful A ga tes $2.00 lb. SweetWate r Aga te Pebb les $1.00 lb., select ones25c each. Montana Agate Sl ices 35c each .

PETRIFIED WOODS: Limb wood, (EdenValley), $1.00 lb., black wood, 25c lb.,colorful agatized wood 25c lb.

TURITELLA: Agatized 25c lb., a v e r a g e10c lb. JADE: All gem qual i ty , b lack andgreen or olive, $4.00 slice, mottled colors$3.00 lb. Wyo. arrowheads, most ly black25c each . Wh en order ing plea se specifysize of s tones desired. All orders shipped

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Southern California rockhounds withindriving distance of the ocean had a field dayrecently when high tides at Redondo beachwashed up or uncovered a vast number ofgemstones. Moo nstones, jade, jasper, manytypes of agate andother semi-precious stoneswere collected by hobbyists. Moonstones aslarge as eggs were not uncommon.

Lapidarists have learned to study ocean

tides and storm warnings, converge on thebeach by the hundreds to find stones in thewake of high tides. The Redondo area hascome to be called "Moonstone Beach," ap-parently is the depository from a mysterioushorde on the ocean bottom offshore.

• • •

"Some Sidelights on Mineralogy" wastopic of a talk given by W. O. Eddy, min-eralogist, at November meeting of the SantaCruz, California, Mineral and Gem society.Mr. and Mrs.Carl Becker brought some oftheir specimens for display. A field tripto Pescadero was planned for Sunday, No-vember 13. The Santa Cruz club boasts 49members, meets the second Wednesday ofeach month in the Congregational Com-munity hall in Soquel.

An illustrated talk on his trip to Mexico,in which he described primitive methods ofcutting stones, was given by Adolph Jensenat November meeting of the Nebraska Min-eralogy and Gem club in Omaha. Mem-bers brought specimens, both polished anduncut.

November field trip of the East Bay Min-eral Society, Oakland, California, was tothe Brisbane rock quarry where membersfound amethystine quartz crystals, paligors-kite (a kind of tremolite) and pink fluor-escing calcite. The group also visited aselenite location and went to San Mateo

beach for some polishing material before re-turning home. At the November 17 meet-ing Dr. Frederick Pough, curator of miner-alogy and geology, American Museum ofNatural History, NewYork, was speaker.

INTERESTING FIELD TRIPTO MOTHER LODE COUNTRY

Searching for rhyolite, quartz, calcite,jasper, copper ores andother m inerals,mem-bers of the Northern California Mineralsociety took a two-day field trip November12 and 13 to the historic Mother Lode coun-try. A bus was chartered for the occasion,hotel accommodations were arranged in ad-vance.

At the November 16 meeting, the club

nominated officers who will be elected at alater meeting to serve in 1950.

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The Oklahoma Mineral and Gem society,Oklahoma City, has a slate of new officersto head the group of the coming year. Offi-cers are: Mrs. H. T. Daniels, president;Alvin Markwell, vice president; Mrs. DomerL. Howard, secretary; O. C. Bundy, treas-urer; L. T. Riggs, director. A motion pic-ture, "The Behavior of Light," was shownat November meeting, held in the home ofMr. and Mrs. Domer L. Howard.

• • e

"Man Makes a Mineral—Portland Ce-

ment," was topic of an illustrated talk givenby Harmon S. Meissner at November meet-ing of the Colorado Mineral society, Den-ver. At October meeting the group namedcommittees for the year, and on October 2enjoyed a field trip to study geologic for-mations of the foothill area around Denver.

• • •

Members of the newly-organized Rock-hound club of Safford, Arizona, are gettingright down to work. A November fieldtrip took them to the hills "to see whatmight be found." Several mem bers broughthome good cutting stones. Final organiza-tion of the club was completed at a meetinglater in November.

• • •

Members of the Gem Cutters Guild in theLos Angeles, California, area feel they arereally learning how to make jewelry. Theywere helped along in their hobby by an in-structive talk and demonstration at a re-cent meeting when H. L. Chapman, a clubmember, showed them how the work isactually done. The Guild meets the fourthMonday of every month at the Manchesterplayground.

• • •

Nearly 3000 persons attended the fourthannual mineral show of the Sacramento,California, Mineral society, held in October,making it the largest and most successfulyet staged. During the month a field tripwas made to Garnet hill in Calaveras countywhere nice specimens of andradite and

epidote crystals, in idocrase, were obtained.President of the Sacramento group is GeorgeL. Hinsey.

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A practical demonstration on cabochoncutting and polishing was given by BertMonlux at November meeting of the LosAngeles Lapidary society. The meeting wasin Griffith park auditorium. Tho se attend-ing agreed that "seeing is worth many timesmore than all the books in the world" as ameans of learning actual cutting and polish-ing procedu res. President of the Los An-geles group is Vic Gunderson; Norman Cuppis program chairman.

• • •

June 24 and 25 have been set as dates forthe 1950 convention of the California Fed-eration of Mineralogical societies, to be heldthis year at Valley Wells—Trona. Threesocieties will be co-hosts to the convention.They are the Searles Lake Gem and Mineralsociety, the Majove Mineral society and theNOTS Rockhounds.

• • e

A Christmas potluck dinner party was theseasonal observance for the Mineral andGem Society of Castro Valley, California,held at the comm unity center. Seven newmembers were admitted at the meeting. Attheir November meeting members heardE. R. Lamberson of the East Bay Mineralsociety speak on stone polishing.

• • •

The club's annual auction, to raise fundsfor the year, was feature of the Novembermeeting of the Chicago Rocks and Mineralssociety. There was no speaker. Membersdonated specimens which were auctioned offat the meeting. At a recent meeting theChicago group joined with the MarquetteGeologists association to hear Lelande Quickspeak.

• • •Third annual gem and mineral show of

the Orange Belt Mineralogical society, Cali-fornia, was held Saturday and Sunday, No-vember 19 and 20, in the Industrial build-ing at the National Orange Show groundsin San Bernardino. Chairman of the eventwas Louis B. Mousley, San Bernardino.

• • •Many fine specimens of quartz crystalswere found by the Junior Rockhounds ofPrescott, Arizona, when they explored thedesert area near Congress on a perfect dayin November. Including parents and friends,the group totaled 20. President of the Jun-ior Rockhounds is Thomas E. Ryan.

• e •December field trip of the Mineralogical

Society of Arizona, Phoenix, was to Saddlemountain, where members found carnelian,desert roses and opalite. They also got tosee the old ghost town of Wintersburg. OnDecember 2 the group enjoyed a birthdayparty and auction, while at the December 16meeting Ben Humphreys talked on pegmatitedikes and pegmatite minerals.

• • •The Tacoma Agate club, Tacoma, Wash-ington, has an unusual project in which theyshare with others their joy in beautifulstones. Club members take their rocks forbedside displays in Madigan Military hospi-tal, patients look forward to the visits witheagerness. Patients have shown so muchappreciation that twice-a-month visits havebecome a regular club project. Regularmeetings of the club are held the first andthird Thursdays of each month at St. JohnsEpiscopal parish house, South Tacoma.

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POMONA VALLEY FOLKSENJOY ANNUAL BANQUET

Fourth annual banquet of the PomonaValley Mineral club was enjoyed by mem-bers at the Claremont, California, Inn No-vember 8 when Jerry Laudermilk of Po-mona college spoke on unusual geologicalformations of Pomona valley. Laudermilkis recognized as an authority on desert var-nish, a coating on rock usually formed

through the action of manganese and ironhydroxide. It varies in color from tan toblack.

• • •

The famous Harvard Museum slides, pic-tures in color of more than 100 select min-eral specimens, were shown at Decembermeeting of the East Bay Mineral society,Oakland, California. The slides were ob-tained by President Jerry Smith. Decem berfield trip was to the Alma pyrite mine.

• • •

A. Maudens, Burlingame, California, holdsmembership in five different societies, buthis particular interest is opals. So that wassubject of his talk at November meeting ofthe Sacramento Mineral society. He dis-

cussed formation of opals, the varieties andoccurences. Some members of the clubmade a field trip the weekend of November18 to the Monterey coast, obtaining nephritejade.

• • •

Annual Christmas party of the San Jose(California) Lapidary society was held asthe December meeting at the De Anza hotelDecember1

6. Exhibits at the meeting wereprovided by C. R. Hitchcock, Bruce Holmesand Glen Holm es. Scheduled to have dis-plays at the January meeting are LloydMabie, Macia Mabie, Arthur Maudens andLeona Maudens.

• • e

The N.O.T.S. Rockhounds, China Lake,California, staged a real field trip November

11-13 when they were hosts to members ofthe Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, SantaBarbara, Ventura and South Bay clubs andthe Earth Science club of Los Angeles Citycollege for a trek into the Lead Pipe-BlueChalcedony springs area of the Mojave des-ert. They found rich deposits of nodules,geodes, agate, chalcedony and precious opal.Hunting was good. Ed Snearly. presidentof the N.O.T.S. club, supervised the trip.The campsite and deposits are on the rangeof the U. S. Naval Ordnance test station,but permission was granted for the organ-ized trip.

• • •

The Hollywood Lapidary society held itssecond annual exhibit at Plummer park,Hollywood, California, in October. With

an attendance of 2500, the show was a bigsuccess. President of the society is RussellKephart, show chairman was Walt Shirey.October field trip was to Trona where nicematerial was collected and the group wentthrough the American Potash and Chemicalcorporation plant. In December the societywent to the Death Valley Centennial cele-bration in lieu of a rock-hunting field trip.

Election of officers took up most of themeeting time December 8 when the FeatherRiver Gem and Mineral society, Oroville,California, met with refreshments beingserved by Mr. and Mrs. George Foster, JohnGemsky, Rose Churchman and GeorgeAsay. At the December 22 meeting refresh-ments were served by Mr. and Mrs. Hansen,Mr. and Mrs. Kunkelman and GladysBlevins.

The Colorado Mineral society, Denver, issponsoring the collection anddisplay of min-eral specimens for institutions which care tohave them. First collection will go to theIndustrial School for Boys at Golden, Colo-rado. Specimens for this purpose werebrought to the December meeting by mem-bers.

New officers were to be elected at theNovember meeting of the Searles Lake (Cal-ifornia) Gem and Mineral society, held atthe Trona Recreation center. Two directorswere also to be chosen, and two constitu-tional amendments voted upon.

Don Johannes, new president of the Ajo,Arizona, Rockhounds club, conducted hisfirst meeting in November. Club memberswere told that their exhibit won second prizeat the Arizona State fair. Elected alongwith Don to lead the club during the comingyear were these officers: Jimmy Kimes, vicepresident; Nancy Powell, secretary; BernardSchlenker, treasurer. The club meets thefirst and third Wednesdays of each month.

Prospecting for pegmatites in the South-west was subject of a talk given by RichardH. Jahns, professor of geology at the Cal-ifornia Institute of Technology, at Decem-ber meeting of the Mineralogical Society of

Southern Caligornia. Displayed at the meet-ing were minerals collected on a recentfield trip to the Crestmore quarry. Six newmembers were welcomed at the meeting.

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FEDERATION CONVENTIONDATES ARE ADVANCED

Dates of the 1950convention of the Cali-fornia Federation of Mineralogical Societies,to beheld in Trona, have been advanced oneweek to June 17 and 18, according to RalphMerrill, chairman of the steering commit-tee. This will allow more time between thestate meeting and the American Federationconvention to be held in Milwaukee June

28-30, 1950. • • •

Relating some of his experiences wh.'le inIndia during the war, Ralph Nowak of theGem Cutter's Guild, Los Angeles, Califor-nia, was speaker at most recent meeting.He illustrated his talk with motion pictures.He displayed various stones from the BurmaRoad. Next big event on the organization'scalendar will be an auction January 7 at thehome of Mr. and Mrs. Nowak in West LosAngeles.

ROCK COLLECTORS ATTENTION

Back again at the old stand on highway111, with the TRAILER ROCK STORE. Onemile S. E. of Cathedral City. Have gath-ered lots of fine cutables and XLS thissummer. Also many imports from foreignlands have arrived and more are com-ing. Come and get yours fromTHE ROCKOLOGIST (Chuckawalla Slim)

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}e tween Ifou and M i

/T

by RANDALL HENDERSON

in December Cyria and I were among the35,000 people who thronged the roads into DeathValley to witness the first presentation of the Death

Valley '49ers pageant. My figure—35,000—is only aguess. No official figures have been given out as this is

written. Some rumored estimates ran as high as 100,000.But in any case, it was a huge crowd—many times larg-

er than the management had anticipated. We spent hoursin a bumper-to-bumper line, inching along the one high-way that leads to Desolation canyon. Thousands becamedisgusted with the traffic jam and the dust—and pulledout of line and spent the rest of the day enjoying them-selves among the sand dunes or in the 100 scenic canyonsfound in the Death Valley Monument.

Probably less than than half of those who drove toDeath Valley actually witnessed the pageant. But for themost part the crowd accepted the situation in good spirit.They had come to Death Valley for a glorious holiday—and they were not going to permit bad traffic management

to spoil the day for them—not in a colorful playgroundwhere Nature had created as much space and as perfect aclimate as is to be found in Death Valley in November.

When we finally reached the pageant amphitheater, weparked our cars on the slope of a great bajada at themouth of Desolation canyon. The program ended justbefore dusk, and Cyria and I did as hundreds of otherswere doing—we built a little fire and roasted our cannedwieners and toasted our buns on the spot, while we waitedfor the outgoing traffic congestion to clear.

That night we witnessed one of the most impressivesights in my memory. We looked down on the floor of adesert valley dotted with the campfires of literally thou-sands of visitors who came prepared to spend the night

there. The moon was full, and the evening temperaturesjust crisp enough to call for a jacket. It was a picturemany times more impressive than any pageantry that couldbe created on a man-made stage. I am sure that few ofthe thousands who went to Death Valley failed to get aspiritual lift from the experience—even if they were notfortunate enough to witness the covered-wagon parade inDesolation canyon.

• • •

This year's '49er pageant was planned jointly by theCalifornia Centennials commission and the Death Valley'49ers, incorporated — a non-profit organization spon-sored by the supervisors of Inyo, Kern, San Bernardinoand Los Angeles counties.

The Centennials commission, of course, has no interestbeyond this year's pageant. I hope the '49ers corporationwill make plans for an annual presentation of this historicaldrama in the outdoor setting of Desolation canyon.

46

The trek of the Jay hawker caravan across Death Valley100 years ago is symbolic of the finest American tradi-tions of courage and loyalty. It is good for Americans tobe reminded of the effort and the hardship involved in thepioneering of this land. The history of the West offers no

more dramatic theme than the Death Valley trek.

But I am sure the Death Valley story of 100 years agocan be presented much more effectively than was done thisyear, at a mere fraction of the cost.

I am certain of this because over a period of years Ihave watched the little community of Calexico on the Cali-fornia border do a similar job. They have done it muchbetter than was done in Death Valley—without importedtalent, or financial aid from the state legislature.

The Death Valley pageant was a strange medley of his-torical drama, a three-ring circus, and college footballhooray. I can think of nothing more incongruous thanbare-legged majorettes and pom-pom drill teams prancingover the rocks of a Death Valley hillside ahead of a 20-

mule-team borax freighting outfit. Or anything more in-harmonious than three high school bands all playing differ-ent tunes at the same time against the sounding board of aDeath Valley mountain range.

Yes, I was disappointed in the pageant as presented thisyear. But I also am aware of the tremendous difficultiesunder which this program was presented—the limited timefor preparation, the lack of opportunity of rehearsals, theabsence of precedent for such an undertaking, and thepolitical nature of the sponsorship. This is not a criticismof the Centennial commission and the boards of supervisorsinvolved. They are worthy men and deserve credit foreven attempting such a tremendous job. But political man-agement of such an event is of necessity cumbersome.

The flaws in a premiere should not be judged too harshly.A start has been made, and surely the traffic count intoDeath Valley on this occasion is abundant evidence of apopular interest which will justify an annual repetition ofthis historical spectacle.

Those who selected the site and converted colorful Des-olation canyon into a great outdoor amphitheater did amagnificent job. The natural setting is perfect for such adrama. Parking space for cars is unlimited. The foun-dation has been laid for something fine and enduring, andit remains only for the people of the Mojave desert to takethe initiative in developing a pageant worthy of the his-torical role which it symbolizes.

The story of the Jayhawker trek, and the heroic parts

played by Manly and Rogers, should be presented as asimple narrative—less somber than the script for this year'spresentation, and certainly without the three-ring circusfinale we witnessed in Death Valley.

THE DE SE R T M A G A Z IN E



B O O K S O F T H E S O U T H W E S T . . .PERSONAL TALES OF

THE GOLD RUSH DAYS

William Lewis Manly, hero of theill-fated Jayhawker trek across Death

Valley in 1849-50 never worked as aprofessional reporter, and yet the bookand newspaper manuscripts he wroteduring the 50 years following his ar-rival in California as a '49er are amongthe most accurate and vivid records ofthat hectic period in California history.

Manly's book Death Valley in '49 iswell known, and is now in its fourthprinting. Scores of M anly's short arti-cles written for the newspaper of thatperiod have remained buried in thearchives until recently when ArthurWoodward, curator of history in Los

Dust jacket for "The Jayhaw kers" Oath" isillustrated with this sketch by Cal Peters.

Angeles Museum, brought them to-gether in a single volume titled TheJayhawkers' Oath and Other S ketches.

This book has just come off thepress of Warren F. Lewis, Los Angelespublisher, in an unusually attractiveform at. Th ere are five par ts in thevolume, first being devoted to the Jay-hawker episode and other pioneeringexperiences of the gold rush days. Thesecond part tells of the experience ofManly and others in searching for lostmines in the Death Valley region,

mainly the Alvord, Gunsight and Brey-fogle dep osits. Th e third and fourthparts are devoted to incidents of thegold rush days, and other glimpses oflife in the early W est. Th e fifth pa rtis the story of the Wade family's ex-perience in Death Valley as membersof the Bennett-Arcane wagon caravan.

The book is generously illustratedwith old lithographs and wood cuts ofthe gold rush period. A large coloredmap of the West as it was visualizedby the cartographers of 1846 is foldedinto the back of the book.

Arthur Woodward and WarrenLewis have made an important contri-bution to western Americana in thepublication of this volume—and theprinters and binders also deserve hon-

orable mention for excellent craftsman-ship.

Warren F. Lewis, Los Angeles.Manly Bibliography. Illustrations. M ap.168pp. $6.00.

This book may be ordered fromDesert Crafts Shop, Palm Desert, California

NEW EDITION OF MANLYSTORY NOW IN PRINT

After being out of print for manyyears, a new and fourth edition of Wil-liam Lewis Manly's thrilling story ofthe Jayhawkers' historic trek acrossDeath Valley in 1849 has been publish-ed in Los Angeles.

The new volume of Death Valley in'49 is announced as a Centennial edi-tion. It carries an introduction by CarlI. Wheat, Californian historian whoseresearch has thrown much light on theDeath Valley tragedy of 100 years ago.

William Lewis Manly, who wrote theoriginal story, was a native of Vermontwho at the age of 29 joined the rushfor the California gold fields. At SaltLake City he became a member ofthe wagon train starting for Californiaover a southern route which wouldavoid the heavy winter snows in thehigh Sierras.

Soon after leaving the Utah capitalthe caravan began to break up and

eventually Manly reached Death Val-ley with a little group which includedAsabel Bennett and family, whomManly had known in Wisconsin. Large-ly through the courage and loyalty ofManly and Rogers this little party sur-vived terrifying hardship.

Manly's story of the experience wasnot written in book form until manyyears later. It was first published atSan Jose in 1894 . A second edition was

Just Published!

Centennial Edition'

DEATH VALLEY IN '49

By Will iam Lewis Manly

Introduction by Carl I. Wheat, author of"Trailing the Forty-Niners Through DeathValley."

HKKE is Death Valley's chief source book!The immemorial and fascinating saga ofwagon-train life of the early pioneers whoblazed the trail through Death Valley in 1849.

A true collector's item, this beautifully de-signed book has 32 full page photographs, amap of the Manly Trek and panorama viewend-sheets. A centennial memorial to thehigh courage of the Forty-Niners.

540 pag es 5% " x ZVi" $6.50

BORDEN PUBLISHING CO.3077 Wabash Av-enue, Los Angeles 33

printed as one of the Lakeside classics.A third edition was published by Wal-lace Hebberd of Santa Barbara.

Writing of Manly's work, Carl Wheatsays: "Though he wrote his DeathValley in '49 a generation after theevents which it records, his descriptionspossess an almost photographic accur-acy, and few of the many books fath-

ered by the Gold Rush can comparewith Manly's account, either in interestor in quality. His simple word s ringtrue. His boo k is a literary milestonealong the great westward trail."

Borden Publishing Company, LosAngeles. Photographs. Map. 524pp.$6.50.

• • •Customs of the N a v a j o . . .

Sandy Hassell writes: "A Navajowoman obtains her divorce by placingher husband's saddle and other belong-ings outside the hogan; a man gets his

by taking his personal belongings andriding off." Hassell for many years wasa trader on the reservation, and a 42-page handbook he has written aboutthe life and customs of the colorfulNavajo has just been published. It ispacked with personal information aboutthe religion, the taboos and the domes-tic life of the tribesmen—an excellentlittle book for those who would knowthe Indians better. Published by theauthor. 50c.

N O W A V A I L A B L E !

The Journals of Major J . W .

P O W E L L ' S

E X P L O R A T I O N So f the Co lo rado R i ve r

in 1869, 1871-72

Two volumes conta ining hi ther tounknown and unpubl i shed j our -nals of the first and second Powellexplor ing expedi t ions down theGreen and Colorado r ivers , plusbiographica l ske tches and le t te rsof the men who accompanied

Major Powell .

The Exploration of the ColoradoRiver in 1869 (270 pps. , i l lus. $4.50)

The Exploration of the ColoradoRiver and the High Plateaus ofUtah in 1871-72 (540 pps., illus.

$6.00)

Published and for sale by

T H E U T A H S T A T E

H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T YRoom 337, State Capitol

Salt Lake City, Utah

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 5 0 47



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Documents

195001 Desert Magazine 1950 January