195311 Desert Magazine 1953 November

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A F I E L D G U I D E TO R O C K S A N D M I N E R A L SBy FREDERICK H. POUGH, Curator of Minerals, American Museum of Natural History

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D E S E R T C A L E N D A ROct. 28-31 International MiningDays, El Paso, Texas.Oct. 31-Nov. 1 Nevada Day andIndian Fair, Carson City, Nev.Nov. 1 Ceremonial dances, TaosIndian Pueblo, New Mexico.Nov. 2All Soul's Day, observed asMemorial Day in Spanish villagesin New Mexico.Nov. 6-15Arizona State Fair, Phoe-nix.Nov. 7Southern California Botaniststour of U. S. Date Gardens atIndio, California.Nov. 7-8 Desert Peaks Section.Southern California Chapter SierraClub climb of Twentynine PalmsMountain, in Pinto Mountains 8miles southeast of TwentyninePalms, California. Cam p at In-dian Cove.Nov. 7-8Southern California Chap-ter Sierra Club camping trip toDevils Punch Bowl and Big RockCreek near Valyermo, California.Nov. 8New Mexico Western Home-coming, Silver City, N. M.Nov. 8-9Colorado River Roundup,Parker, Arizona.Nov. 10-11Annual Cattle Show andsale, Raton, N. M.Nov. 12St. James Day Fiesta andHarvest Corn Dance, TesuquePueblo, New Mexico.Nov. 12Annual Fiesta and HarvestCorn Dance, Jemez Pueblo, N. M.Nov. 13-14Twentynine Palms Wom-an's Club Annual Weed Show, tablearrangements using weeds. HighSchool, Twentynine Palms, Cali-fornia.Nov. 13-18Ogden Livestock Show,Ogden, Utah.Nov. 15-16 Annual Death ValleyEncampment, Death Valley, Calif.Nov. 21-22Rodeo, Ajo, Arizona.Nov. 26Desert Sun Ranchers' Ro-d e o , Wickenburg, Arizona.Nov. 26-29 Southern CaliforniaChapter Sierra Club annual Thanks-giving camping trip to Death Val-

ley.Nov. 26-29 De sert Peaks Section,Southern California Chapter SierraClub climb of Tin Mountain in thePanamint Range, and Dry Moun-tain in the Last Chance Range,from Death Valley, California.Nov. 28-29Old Tucson Daze, Tuc-son, Arizona.Nov. 29Dons' Club Travelcade toCasa Grande Ruins, from Phoenix,Arizona.November (after first frost)Yei-be-chi and Fire Dance, Navajo IndianReservation.November, late, or early DecemberShalako ceremonies and housedances, Zuni Indian Pueblo, NewMexico.

Volume 16 NOVEMBER. 1953 Number 11COVER Reflection, Palm Ca ny on, California. Photo by

HUBERT LOWMAN of Covina, CaliforniaC A L E N D A R N o v e m b e r e v e n t s o n t h e d e s e r t 3EXPLORATION We Cl imbed Telescope Peak

By LOUISE WERNER 4PHOTOGRAPHY Picture s of the Mo nth 9PERSONALITY Trader a t Canyon de Chel lyBy RANDALL HEND ERSON 10FIELD TRIP A g a t e - s e a m e d B u t te a t B o u s e

By JAY ELLIS RA NSO M 13P O ETRY D e se r t R a t , a n d o t h e r p o e m s 17INDIANS His Own Horse to Ride in the Happy Hunting

Gr ou nd s, by JOE KERLEY 18H ISTO RY C r i s i s i n T a o s , b y G R E G O R Y K . H A W K . . . 2 0F ICTIO N H a r d R o c k S h o r t y of D e a t h V a l l e y 2 0LO ST MINE L i f e o n t h e D e s e r t , b y S E W A R D W H I T E . . . 2 1DESERT QUIZ A T r u e - F a l s e t e s t of y o u r d e se r t k n o w l e d g e . . 2 2LETTERS C o m m e n t f ro m D e s e r t ' s r e a d e r s 2 3M I N I N G C u r r e n t n e w s of d e s e r t m i n e s 2 6NEWS From Here an d There on the Desert 27CLO SE-UP S A b o u t t h o s e w h o w r i t e f or D e se r t 3 3PAGEANT An nual Death Val ley Encam pme nt 33H O BBY G e m s a n d M i n e r a l s 3 4C O N T E S T P r i z e s f or P h o t o g r a p h e r s 4 0LAP IDARY A m a t e u r G e m C u t t e r , b y L E L AN D E Q U I C K . . 4 1C O M M E N T J u s t B e t w e e n Y o u a n d M e , b y t h e E d i t o r . . . 4 2BOOKS Review s of South western l i terature 43The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Press, Inc., Palm Deseri,California. Re-entered as second class m atter July 17, 1948, at the po st office at Palm Desert,California, unde r the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registere d No. 358865 in U. S. Paten t Office,and contents copyrighted 1953 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writing.RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor MARGARET GERKE , Associate EditorBESS STACY. Business Manager EVONNE RIDDE LL, Circulation Mana gerUnsolicited manuscripts and photographs submitted cannot be returned or acknowledgedunless full ret urn p ostage 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 BATES

One Year $3.50 Two Years $6.00Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra, Foreign SOc ExtraSubscriptions 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, CaliforniaN O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 3


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Although the climb was ma de in Ma y, the leaders ha d to break trail across longpatch es of snow. Ph oto by Niles W erner.

W e Clim bed Te lescope P eakTelescope Peak, overlooking Death Valley, was given its name in1861 when the chief of a surveying party reported he "could see 200mile s in all directions as through a telesc ope." Tod ay a fine trail lea dsto the summit and it is a popular hike among those who go in for moun-

tain cl imbing. Here is the story of an ascent made by 51 members ofthe Sierra Club.By LOUISE WERNERMap by Norton Allen

Death Valley sink. The Desert Peak-ers of the Sierra Club of Californiawere in their favorite environment withtheir favorite companions.John Delmonte, leading, breatheddeep the heady air, forgetting for themoment the tensions of his workadayworld as owner-operator of a PlasticsFacto ry. As the trail round ed a knolldotted with Piny on Pines, and beganpulling up toward the ridge, he slowedhis pace, remembering that the agesof his party ranged from 8 to 62.The saddle, overlooking Panamint

ON A May morning 60hikers strung out along a trailthat hung like a balcony, 8000feet above Deat h Valley. Blue jeans,a red plaid shirt, a yellow sweater, agreen parkasplashes of color saun-tering past the gray sedimentary rocksof the slope. A crisp wind blew offthe snow-etched ridge that culminated,about seven miles away, in the lovelywhite point of Telescope Peak, thecrown of the Panamint Mountains. Attheir feet a gulley streaked down tobake its feet in the salt flats of the

Valley as well as Death Valley, de-manded a rest stop. Judith and Joce-lyn Delmonte, 8 and 10, their facesrosy with exertion, asked for theirfather's canteen and threatened todrink it dry. Chris Vance and FredBode, 10 and 11 , reached the saddledeep in a discussion about their re-spective ascents of Mt. Whitney, thehighest peak in the U.S. "It w asn'thard," said Chris , "But it wasn' t ex-actly easy either."In the bottom of Death Valley ahaze brooded over Badwater, the low-est point in the United States. Beyond ,dull reds and yellows played on theFuneral Mountains. Farther desertranges undulated to a buff-coloredplateau where a series of lava buttesappeare d. On the west side of thesaddle the escarpment dropped intoPanamint Valley, similar to Death Val-

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Telescope Peak, showing the r idge over which the party m ade the ascent . Elevat ion11,045. Ph oto by Niles Werner.ley but not as large or as dee p. Overthe purple crests of the Slate and ArgusRanges the Sierra Nevada thrust upsnowy peaks."We used to see wild horses here,"said Dr. James Bonner to a group offoreign exchange students he hadbrought as his guests from the Cali-

fornia Institute of Technology. "Burrosare comm oner, however. Wild burroswill watch you with curiosity as youinch near er to take their picture . Wildhorses don't have that much faith inpeople."Sage brush crushed under boots,scented the air. Mormon tea bushes

bristled yellow. The wind on the ridgecut through the brilliant sunshine. Halfa dozen young hikers dashed towarda snow patch, the laughter of the girlsturning to screams as the snowballingbegan and they felt icy trickles downtheir necks.Carl Heller, a marine serving as rearThis photograph of the climbing party taken on Mahogany flat a t the end of theautomobile road. Photo by Niles Werner.

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Among those who reached the to p Wayne and Ruth McCartney, FredBode Jr. and Sr., Jocelyn D elmonte, Ch ris Va nce with his dog Brownie,John D elmonte, leader, Judith D elmonte and Carl Heller, assistant leader.guard, herded the last of the queueup the saddle. Some felt themile anda half they hadcome wassufficient ex-ertion so lingered on the saddle to re-turn to camp at leisure. John startedup the trail that contoured the nextknoll, passing a few limber pines thatthrust out ragged arms to the wind,their barkless trunks twisting like cork-screws.U p and up climbed the excellenttrail at an easy grade toward the snowwhich thewind hadswept off theback-bone of the ridge, and piled in driftson theDeath Valley side, burying theupper par t of the trail. Deciding thatth e top of the ridge would be bettergoing than the snow, John Delmonte

led theway. It waslike walking alongthe peak of a roof, looking down intoth e two valleys. No vegetation had

ventured this far, only the bare boul-ders.A steep snow-slope loomed ahead.John remembered that the ranger inthe station in Wildrose Canyon hadtold him a survey party on horsebackhad been turned back only a fewdaysago because of toomuch snow. Thereseemed no way to avoid the drift sohe plunged upward, ankle-deep, break-ing a zigzag trail as he went.The first of theclimbers topped thesnow-slope and their "ohs" and "ahs"indicated to those still struggling upthe snow, that something satisfyingloomed ahead. The re, just a few rodsahead, stood the tall cairn of rockswhich marked the summit.Reaching the top of a mountainmust release some special substanceinto the bloodstream. The fatigue ofhours on the trail is forgotten in theglorious feeling of satisfaction whichcomes with having conquered another

peak. No wonder the Desert Peakerslove toexchange their horizontal worldat sea level, in and around Los An-geles, for the vertical world of themountain tops. Telescope Peak offeredthem something special in this line.Nowhere else in theUnited States doesthe terrain fall so abruptly for such adistance. Its head, for half the yearcrowned with snow and battered byicy winds, rises in the air at 11,045feet, while theridges andgullies plungeto below sea level, there to swelter inthe bottom of Death Valley.In 1861, W. T. Henderson, one ofan exploring party looking for theLostGunsight mine, made the first ascentand named the peak because, "hecould see 200 miles in all directionsas through a telescope."But a dozen years before Hender-son came this way, another partythe Jayhawkers bound for the Cali-fornia gold fieldsalso had climbedthe Panam ints . Their scouts, perhaps,had pulled themselves up to this ridgeand had looked with despair towardvalleys and mountains yet to be sur-mounted before they could find anopen route to coastal California.In later days a graphic glimpse of

The "Beehives" inWildrose Canyon.

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Pana m int George, over 100 years old, beside the old Panam int City boom townstage coach.the Jayhawker expedition was givenin broken English by an Indian whoas a teen-age boy in 1849 had watchedtheir slow progress.This lad was stalking mountain sheepon a high ridge in the Panamints whenhe was startled by the appearance ofthree men with white skins and longbeards. He had never before seen awhite man and he was afraid of themso he hid behind boulders.The three, scouts of the Jayhawkerparties, staggered by. Just a few daysbefore this they had burned theirwagons to smoke the meat of theirstarving oxen. The Indian boy couldhave led them to water and safety, buthe feared to do so. Many years laterhe was asked why he remained con-cealed. He always answered, "Why?to get shot?"This Indian in later years becamewell known to the white people whocame to Dea th Valley. Guiding aparty under the leadership of a mannamed George, he became known asPana min t Georg e. The last 50 yearsof his life were spent on the Indian

ranch in Panamint Valley, at the footof Telescope Peak with a score ofother Shoshones some of whom becameknown as Hungry Hattie, Isabel, Mabeland the Old Woman.Early surveyors, miners and geolo-gists camped at Indian Ran ch. Pros -pectors staggered in, crazed with heatand thirst. Th e isolated position ofthe Panamints and the relative inac-cessibility of some of the canyons,made their oasis a natural refuge forarmy deserters, bandits and others de-sirous of evading the law. In placeslike Surprise Canyon, for instance, thelaw did not often penetrate.Panamint George hinted that hewas the first to find the famous silverledge in Surprise Canyon, on whichPanamint City later mushroomed. Withcharacteristic Indian logic, he took outonly as much as he had immediateneed for. His claim of course had noweight against those of Senators Jonesand Stewart who eventually sank twomillion dollars in the ledge. In 1875Panamint City had so lawless a repu-tation that Wells Fargo, which served

some pretty rough camps in its day,refused to risk a run to Panamint City.I first heard about Panamint Georgein 1934, at a campfire in WildroseCanyon on the evening before my firstclimb of Telescope Peak. Tyler Van-degrift had stopped at the Indian ranchand had visited with the old man, thennearly 100 years old. At Tyler's sug-gestion, we pooled our left-over foodand one of the drivers volunteered toleave it at the ranch on the way out.I happened to be riding in that car.A pack of barking dogs greeted usat the broken-down gate. A couple ofshacks leaned crazily in the shade oftall cottonwoods. Chickens roosted onthe seats of the old Panamint StageCoach. This vehicle had somehow ,after years of hauling some of theliveliest character who ever leechedthemselves to a mining camp, cometo rest by a clump of mesquite in thedrowsy timelessness of the IndianRanch.The only story I've ever heard aboutan attempt to domesticate a bighornsheep was told of Panamint George.

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O ne of the Indians brought in a wildlamb that had lost its mother. Thebaby bighorn mingled with the goatsthey raised on the Indian Ranch andbecame the special pet of Mabel,George's niece. One day the lambdiscovered he could leap the fence.After that hecame andwent. Eventu-ally he heard the call of the wild,bounded up a ridge of the Panamints ,heading for theskyline. Though Mabelwatched and hoped, he never cameback.Wm. Caruthers in Loafing AlongDeath Valley Trails , tells of stoppingat the Indian ranch to give Georgesome oranges. He found the old In-dian irrigating hisalfalfa in a tempera-ture of 122degrees."Heavy work for a manyour age inthis heat, isn't it?" asked Caruthers .George bit into an orange eatingpeeling and all. "Me papoose," he

grinned, "Meonly 107years old."Panamint George died in 1944.Many of theyounger Indians hadgoneto war or to work in defense plants.The ranch passed out of Indian hands.Hundreds of climbers have writtentheir names in the cast aluminum reg-ister boxwhich theSierra Club placedon Telescope Peak in 1934. The 51who reached the top in May 1952,constituted the largest party to date .Unusual also was the number of fam-ilies and tfie ages of some of the chil-dren. Ju dith Delm onte, 8, is probablythe youngest to have made the top ofTelescope Peak under her ownpower.Judith began mountaineering at theag e of 2on her father 's back.

A trip to Telescope Peak offers en-joyment for nearly everyone. Thedrive240 miles from LosAngelesthrough Cajon Pass, Trona, over theSlate Range, approached the peakfrom the Panamint Valley side. Asign reading "Indian Ranch," pointedup a dirt road running toward a dis-tant clump of cottonwoods.We turned off the main highway,right, up a dirt road into WildroseCanyon, where a symphony of wild-flowers delighted our eyes. Yellowpredominatedtiny pincushion daisies,brown-eyed Panamint daisies, andeight-inch poker-like spears of aloe.In a wash an apricot mallow grewbeside a beavertail cactus that flaunted16 redpompoms andnine buds.Lav-endar phacelia smiled everywhere un-derfoot, accented with the sharp redof paint brush and the royal blue oflupine. Swarms of Brown Monarchbutterflies fluttered about in quest ofnectar.

In 1880 the Modoc Mines in theArgus Range needed charcoal to re-duce ore. Thenearest timber, juniperand pinyon pines, grew about 10milesup Wildrose Cany on. There they builtten stone ovens, shaped like beehives,35 feet high, 35feet at thebasal diam-eter, and twofeet thick. This activitybrought the first wagon-road into Wild-rose Canyon.Several hundred men once felledtrees, split logs, stoked the ov ens, testedcharcoal andfreighted it across Pana-mint Valley with teams. All that isleft today are the tenovens, remarkablywell preserved, and a timber-line on

the hillside above them showing howfa r up the cutters went. Above thisline the junipers and pines are largerthan below it. Fortunately, conditionsin Wildrose Canyon have favored re-production and new trees clothe thescar. The "Beehives" are being pre-served as a historical monument withinthe Death Valley National Monument.A couple of miles above the Bee-hives a road ended on top of a ridgeof the Panam int Moun tains. Somecars boiled the last mile. Our water-less campsite at the end of the roadon Mahogany Flat perched 8000 feetabove Death Valley. Dead branchesof mountain mahogany, juniper andpinyon provided firewood.Unscrambling food andsleeping bagsout of car trunksbuilding firesthesmell of juniper smoke, beans, hamand coffee Mrs. Delmonte feedingher family of six a combination of

noodles, peas and tuna warmed uptogether songs and stories aroundthe campfire camera enthusiastsreadying their equipment before crawl-ing into their sleeping bags, in antici-pation of amagnificent sunrise.The seven mile trail from MahoganyFlat to the top of Telescope Peak hasan easy grade. TheCCC's built it in1935. Before that, an improvised trailexisted, probably started by Indians.Anyone able to walk maysaunter outon this balcony that hangs 8000 feetover Death Valley. The mile and ahalf to the next saddle is well worththe effort. Hav ing gone this farw hoknows? one might be tempted tocont inue upand upand up.

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P I C T U R E S O F

Its spines starkly outlined in whiteand shadow, this opuntia cactus wasphotographed by Paul E. Black of LosAngeles to win for him first prize inDesert's September photo contest. Itwas taken with a 4x5 view camera,Isopan film, 1/10 second at f. 22.

Art Miller of Redlands, California,won second prize with this picture ofa ewe and her lambs in MonumentValley. Miller used a 31/4x41/4 CrownGra phic ca m era, Super XX film, 1/100second at f. 22.


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Cozy McSparron in the doorway of his trading post, and the sign which greetsvisitors to Canyon de Chelly.

Trader a t Can yon de Ch ellyBy RANDALL HENDERSON

E W E R E S E A T E D on thescreened-in veranda of therambling Thunderbird ranchhouse which Cozy McSparron built ofnative stone at the entrance to Ari-zona's Canyon deChelly 35yearsago.Beyond thewire fence which keeps In-dian sheep from nibbling Mrs. McSpar-ron's carefully-tended flowers, Navajomen andwomen were loitering aroundthe entrance to the trading post.For Cozy McSparron is a traderon e of the veterans among the 106white storekeepe rs whose po sts are. lo-cated in remote areas of the Arizona-New Mexican Indian country. Thetraders are the Indians ' main contactwith the white man's world."Yes , theNavajos are fast learningthe ways of the Anglo-Americans,"Cozy was saying. "An Indian tradernow sells five times as much gasolineas he did a few years ago, and onlyone-fifth as much hay.

Conditions on the Navajo reservation are changing rapidly, andthe transition is bringing many problems to the Indian trader. In thisinterview. Cozy McSparron, one oi the veterans amo ng the traders, giv esinteresting sidelights on what is taking place among the tribesmen."Even the diet of the Indians ischanging. In theearly days the Nava-

jos dined mostly on bread, meat andcoffee. They mad e their ownkind offried bread, their meat was mostly mut-ton, and the coffee they bought fromthe trader. Now they eat amuch widervariety of foods. The y love fruit, butnot vegetables. They buycabbage andpotatoes in quantity, but seldom wantlettuce, tomatoes or celery."The velveteen jackets and calicopants which were once the conven-tional dress of Navajo men, have givenwa y todenim shirts andlevis or khaki.In the olddays a Navajo woman used

10 to 12 yards of cloth to make askirt that swept theground. Now threeto five yards areenough, and the skirtonly comes to theshoe tops orhigher."

McSparron told about one of thetwo families from the Canyon deChelly area who took advantage of theopportunity a few years ago to relo-cate on the Colorado River Indians 'reservation at Parker, Arizona, wherebetter soil and more water are avail-able than in thearid Navajo land.

One of these Indians, more indus-trious and better educated than theaverage, moved with hiswife and fourchildren to a 40-acre farm at Parker .A year later he returned to visit oldfriendswith another baby and a bet-ter car. The following year he returnedwith a newFord equipped with a lug-gage carrier. On his most recent re-turn visit he wasdriving a 9-passengerDeSoto and had eight children. Hetold Cozy he no w has 60 acres of cot-

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CHIN LEEI N D I A N S C H O O Lf | , , " " B L A C K R O C K C A N Y O N

CANYON DECHELLYNAT I O NAL M O NU M E NTRANGER STATION

BLACK ROCK;

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ton, and plans to return next year in abig new t ruck.Motor t ransportat ion has broughtboth advantages and disadvantages tothe Indian traders. Many of the In-dians now go to Gallup, Holbrook,Winslow or Flagstaff for a share oftheir groceries and clothing, and foritems it is not possible for a trader tocarry in stock. But they also comegreater distances to t rade at Thunder-birdbecause of their friendship fora man who has been their life-longfriend and advisor.

Leon Hugh (Cozy) McSparron wasborn in Gallup. Later he went to Den-ver to complete his schooling. Atschool he was a champion boxerbutremained an amateur. When he hadfinished his formal education he re-turned to the Indian country and wasgiven a job as clerk in the ChinleTrading Post at Canyon de Chelly byMike Kirk."Mike wanted to learn to box, andI think he hired me so I could givehim boxing lessons," Cozy recalls.Later Kirk worked for Lorenzo Hub-bell, whobefore hisdeath was regardedas the dean of the Indian traders.Eventually Mike became a successfultrader on his own.During World War I McSparronserved in the 97th Infantry division.In 1918 he returned to Chinle andbought the trading post then owned byG. E. Kennedy. He re-named theplace Thunderbird and later beganconstruction of the stone house and

guest cabins which have made theThunderbird Guest Ranch a popularmecca for travelers in the Indian coun-try.The guests dine family style at abig table in the ranch living room, sur-rounded by a colorful collection of In-dian weaving, basketry, pottery andthe souvenirs which a trader inevitablywill collect during many years amongthe tribesmen. Following an old tradi-tion, Cozy always occupies the seat atthe head of the tablebut there areno other formalities. A dinner at theThunderbird ranch is never a dull af-fairfor 40 years among the Navajosplus a natural endowment of Irishhumor have been combined to createa delightful host.

The high regard in which he is heldby the Indians of Canyon de Chellywas revealed in 1949 at one of thelocal tribal meetings. An easternerwith more zeal than understanding hadbeen seeking to stir up trouble for thetraders. He proposed that the Indians,instead of paying a profit to the whitetraders, should take over the poststhemselves and operate them cooper-atively. Some of the Navajos alsothought it would be a good idea andthe question came up for discussionat many of the tribal meetings. Finallyone aged Indian woman gained thefloor to voice her protest. "You nottake trading post away from Cozee,"she exclaimed. "I raised that boy andhe live in my back yard. He alwaysfriend of Indian. We want Cozee stay

here.'" It became evident before themeeting was over that most of theIndians at Canyon de Chelly sharedthe views of the Navajo grandmother.There is good reason for the loyaltythe Indians feel for Cozy McSparron.He has been much more than a t rader.He encouraged the women to returnto vegetable dyed rugs, and to weavethe old designs which are so highlyprized by those whoknow good Indiancraftsmanship. He visited the hogansand inspected the wool to be sure itwas properly cleaned and spun. Heextended more liberal credits to thosewho were willing to cooperate andthen found better markets for the im-proved weaving.

The Indians come to Cozy to settletheir disputes. He speaks their lan-guage, and through theyears they havecome toregard him as an elder brotherwho is always welcome at their hogans.Discussing the changing conditionson the reservation, he said: "In theearly days, trading was almost entirelya matter of barter. The Indians tradedwool and pelts and rugs for their foodand other necessities. When they didnot have something to trade theybrought in their turquoise and silverand left it in pawn . Their word wasalways good."Today there is money on the reser-vation. Not wealth, but a considerablepart of the traders' business is for cash.Thousands of the Navajo men andmany of the women spend at least apart of theyear in off-reservation work

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Manv Navajos l ive and have their gardens on the floor of precipitous Canyon deCh elly. Their wa gons gradua lly are giving wa y tom otor vehicles. on the railroad, in the army campsan d in the harvest fields. The IndianPlacement Bureau isworking diligentlyto find employment for the Indians."While the Indians areworking forthe white man's wages they are alsolearning about his way of life. Someof it is goodand some not so good.During my first 35 years here I neversaw a drunken Indian. I am sorry tosay that isn't true today."

The medicine men, Cozy believes,are slowly losing prestige. TheyoungerIndians go to thedancesbut they gofor fun, not because it is part of theirreligious faith. The tragedy of this isthat while their ownreligion is on thewane, they have found nothing to takeits place. TheCatholics and many ofthe Protestant churches maintain mis-sions on the reservation, and havemade valiant efforts toChristianize theNavajos. But progress has been veryslow. The most effective work hasbeen done in the direction of medicalaid to the Indians.Now that the Indians have beengranted theright tovote, Cozy believesthe traders will become an importantfactor in state andnational politics, tothe extent that their counsel is acceptedby the Indians in their various com-

munities.There is a note of nostalgia in theirwords when the McSparrons discuss

the changes which have come abouton the reservation inrecent years. Oncethe needs of the Indians were simplesugar, salt, flour and coffee werethe main items of food, and a fewbolts of yard goods took care of theclothing problem. Now thetrader hasthe alternative of expanding his stockto department store proportions, orwatching much of his trade go to thedistant cities.The Indians are in a period of tran-sition from the old ways of theirfathers to the newmode of life that isbeing learned from the whites. Thereis a bit of pathos in this situationboth for the Indian and for the trader.It will require many years, perhapsgenerations, for the readjustment tobe completed, and since the McSpar-rons cannot remain always in the roleof traders, they have bought a littleranch inArizona's Verde River countrynot many miles from Montezuma'sCastle where they plan to retire beforelong andspend their days among theirfruit trees and in their garden.In the meantime the Indians aremaking fine progress in many direc-tions. The discovery of oiland uraniumores ontheir reservation lands isbring-ing large royalty funds into the tribaltreasury, and much of this money isbeing spent for the improvement ofliving cond itions. Also, Uncle Sam isnow contributing more generously than

in previous years to schools, roads,hospitals and other services for thetribesmen. The average Navajo, ac-cording to Cozy, has twice as muchwealth as 15 years ago.One of the paradoxes of this situa-tion is that although money is moreplentiful among the Indians there hasbeen no slackening of pawn transac-tions. Formerly, only the children ofwealthy Indians had their own jew-elry. Today nearly every Indian boyand girl has two or three turquoise or-naments , and of course all of the tur-quoise andsilver in thefamily isavail-able for pawn if there isneed for it.Very little silver work is nowbeingdone on the reservation. The silver-smiths generally areemployed bycurioshops and traders whooperate alongthe main highways andrailroad. Also,weaving is on the decline, and thereare some traders who predict that in afew years a Navajo rugwill be a rarity.I t is true today, as in thepast, that interms of human labor, a Navajo rugor blanket is thebiggest value that canbe bought on theAmerican market.The McSparrons have a high regardfor the native ability and intelligenceof the Navajo peopleand they believethat in the slow processes of the greatAmerican melting pot these Indianseventually will emerge as capable stal-wart citizens of the communities inwhich they will establish their homes.

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Black Butte at Bouse, Arizona. Agate seam s lace the northea st side. Lonelycem etery in the foreground. Largely unexplored for gem stones, th e area to thesoutheast ha s produced som e interesting gold ore.

A ga te -s e a m e d B ut te a t B o u s eNortheast of Bouse, Arizona, a black malpais butte rises from thedesert floor, its sides laced with seams of green, lavender, pale pinkand deep red ag ate we bbe d with mo ssy fil ligree. "Good caboch onscan be cut from rough specimens chipped right out of surface seams,"reports lay Ransom, who visited the site recently with his mineralogistfather. Here is Ransom's description of a new field for the specimencollector and lapidary, and his introduction to two old-time rockhounds-Mr. an d Mrs. Jim Ree d of Bo use.By JAY ELLIS RANSOMPhotos by the authorMap by Norton Al len

/J T WAS FROM Mr. and Mrs ./ George Green of Tacoma, Wash-ington rockhounds whom wehad met by chance at a crystal fieldnear Quartzsitethat my father and1 first learned of the unusual seam ag-ate to be found near Bouse, Arizona.George had showed us several piecesof fair-sized agate, green, lavender andmossy pink. They cam e, he said, fromseams in a black malpais butte north-east of Bous e. W ith a dry twig ofgreasewood he sketched a map in thesand at our feet, marking the buttewith an X on the winding line of a drywash.

Bouse was 50 miles or so off ourplanned route, but Ransom Senior andN O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 3

I decided that the black butte wasworth investigating. George's agatespecimens were some of the finest I'dseen.Turning the samples over in myhand, I considered the many variedforms in which agate comes out ofsaturated silica solution percolatinginto cavities and fissures. Seam agatemight be defined as chalcedonic silica.It occurs as a secondary depositionfilling seams, fissures, veins or cavitiesas if Nature had deliberately designedit as a healing medium to reunitebreaks in rock faulted and fractured bymovement of the earth.Like chalcedony and jasper suchagate is found in a wide variety of de-

posits and forms, quite often stainedand colored by metallic salts or oxides.Sometimes, where the silica has formeda preliminary gel, colloidal gold is con-centrated into beautifully branchinggold inclusions in the completed agate.The pieces I held in my hand werevaricolored in pastel shades of pink,green and lavender. Some of it wasalmost as deep a red as jasper but witha mossy filigree. Good cabochons

could be cut from the rough specimenswhich George had chipped right outof surface seam s. "I just followed abit of float up out of the flats into adry wash," he explained, pointing hisroute out on the sand map. "and therewas the mother outcrop."We bade goodbye to the Greens and,with the late afternoon sun barely anhour above the western ranges, droveinto Bouse; We'd traveled a well-gradedgravel road that cuts northward outof Quartzsite, crossing the PlomosaMountains by a low pass about mid-way in its 25-mile course. En ro ute wesaw little evidence of mining activity,past or present, until we had crossedthe barren Plomosas. But from thecrest of the divide down to Bouse, ele-

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TO SWANSEA

vation 995 feet, all the side roadspointed toward variously named mines.At Bouse weleft Highway 95 toemergeonto paved State Highway 72that runsfrom Parker Dam to Hope. Bousestands about halfway, a station on theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail-road.Parking in front of the only cafe intown, we stepped out to get our bear-ings. A scattering of sun-blisteredhouses, twoservice stations and a set-tlement across the tracks showed littlelife. Weentered the cafe. Over bottlesof pop we learned from the waitress-owner that an elderly couple, Mr. andMrs. J. N. Reed, were the local rockcollectors. "They're mighty fine peo-ple," she added . "You'll enjoy themboth."

Thanking her, Dad and I went backout into thedeclining sun. Because ofthe lateness of the day and the prob-lem of getting photographs beforedarkness fell, we decided to hasten tothe agate area before visiting the Reed s.

Driving across the track we weresurprised at the country surroundingthis western Arizona community. Thera w and ragged desert seemed devoidof the cholla so common to westernArizona . Palo Verd e trees, pale andfeathery in the glowing sun, gave thetown its only touch of greenery. Hereand there, stunted and malformed, afew saguaros raised thorny trunks be-tween the rocks. Greasewood seemedto predominate on the outlying flats.

The area south of Bouse hasbecome

on e of the richest cotton raising regionsof Arizona. Thecountry seems utterlywaterless and desolate, yetParker Damon the Colorado River is enablingbroad acreages of raw desert tobecomeproductive, andonce water is broughtto thesoil, its fertility seems inexhaus-tible. Thecotton fields appear out ofthe desert sosuddenly that at first onemight think them a mirage; but darkskinned pickers at work in the whitefields and great trucks loaded withbaled cotton roaring along the high-way immediately prove the scene'sreality.

Pausing near the tracks to take aphoto of the volcanic butte on whichagate seams arefound, we drove eastand north along a smooth dirt road toSwansea, an old time mining camp fa-mous inwestern Arizona history. BouseButte rises a mile east of town, a jetblack color in theevening sun, roundedbut distinct against the general back-drop of red Arizona sandstone. Ob-viously of volcanic origin, it is easilythe most prominent object in the im-mediate landscape.

The butte rises four or five hundredfeet above the level of the surroundingflats, and it is liberally sprinkled withrhyolitic rocks ranging in size froma fewinches toseveral feet indiameter.Black and glossy with desert varnishand pockmarked with gas blowholes,these rocks serve as reminders of anot too distant geologic time whensuch rock "bombs" were blown forci-bly from the bowels of the earth.

Zeroing our speedometer on leavingthe pavement, we turned at mile 0.7onto a side road on our right, or east,leading to a neglected cemetery on thelow brow of a lava ridge. At 0.9milesthe cemetery road branches, the leftfork climbing the rise to the saggingwooden grave markers and the rightmember winding tortuously toward thesoutheast. Following our memorizeddirections, weturned right and at mile1.1 reached the ghost of a junction.From here, turning left, the road veersnorthward climbing easily up a broadboulder-strewn slope to its end at mile1.3. Although the road is little morethan a widening of the spaces betweengreasewood clumps andboulders , it isneither steep norrough. However, onesharp dip did cause us to scrape ourtailpipe and rear fender guards ratherbadly.Locking the car in gear, weclimbedout to find ourselves on the northwestcorner of themountain, notrails show-ing anywhere save the wide brownscars of bulldozer slides that are a dis-tinct feature of the butte.The ground was covered with bould-er s of all sizes, thesmaller ones rollingtreacherously underfoot. Accordin g toour verbal directions we should findon the north face of the peak twodeeply cut washes in the otherwisenearly smooth curvature of the hill.Crossing the first and deeper arroyo,we climbed the intervening ridge anddescended into a second and broaderwash. While this oneslopes duenorth,

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it is on the extreme northeast flank ofthe butte.At its lower end but well above thebroad level flats of the desert beyond,we stumbled upon a cairn of rockswhich might have been a mining claimma rker. We soon ran across smallseams and fissures of the peculiarlyattractive agate George had shown usat Crystal Mountain.We had not come in precisely theway our friends had described. Stand-ing beside the cairn Dad and I tried toguess the probable route of explorationGeorge and his wife followed. Theagate seams we found were not thosewhich had produced the large fine spe-cimens George showed us. We did,however, chip off some good samplesof the smaller veins, climbing up thewash a short distance above the cairn.

Here and there, piled waist high,stood several mining claim markers ,but we found no evidences of gopher-ing. Concluding that further explora-tion would be necessary and that min-eral and gem stone possibilities defi-nitely existed in the area, we hastenedback to the car before darkness fell.

Although the hike in had takenprobably ten minutes, it should not beattempted without rubber-soled shoes.We saw numerous lizards scurryingamong the rocks.Retracing our route to Bouse, weturned south along the highway to JimReed's place on the edge of the town.

They're busy folks in their hale-and-hearty seventies, and they have moreirons in the fire than many a youngercouple. Jim was not at home since hehad gone out to the nearby cotton fieldsto oversee a job of picking. M rs. Re ed,jolly and alive with fascinating obser-vations on the rock hunting potentialof Arizona, greeted us.Inside her expansive living room,still not quite finished, she showed usboxes of gemstone specimens she andher husband have gathered here andthere. Fo r a long time I had read

Jim Reed's ads for gold ore specimensin various mineral magazines and visu-alizing a producing mine nearby, Iinnocently asked : "M rs. Ree d, I 'veseen your husband's ad, and after look-ing over this rather remarkable coun-try this afternoon, just where wouldyour husband's gold mine be?"Mrs. Reed, her blue eyes glintingcannily, looked at me with the expres-sion she must have used to answer thegaze of countless similar questioners."Does Gimbels tell Macy's" she in-quired archly, then burst out laughing.

"Oh, I know you folks wouldn't rushout to the claim and try to get speci-mens for yourselves, but there's plentyothers who would. You see," her

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Reed of Bouse, Arizona, inspect a specimen of agatefound near their hom e.voice grew confidential, "Jim couldhave a mighty fine gold mine out there,if he wanted to develop his ledge. Butwe're getting too old to mine it our-selves. We're in our seventies, andwhat with taxes and the high cost ofdevelopment, we just can't do it. Jimchips off his specimens whenever hegets an order to fill, then covers upthe ledge so others won't claim it.We've been here four years now, andare building this home for ourselves,a little at a time, as my husband sellshis specimens."

She went on to explain that sellinggold ore in the form of cabinet speci-mens to schools and private collectorsis much simpler than going throughthe red tape of developing a produc-tion mine. "A lso, its retu rn is vastlygreater per ton of ore and per hour oftime put in digging it out," she added.

Actually, Jim Reed's ore is rhyolitewith fleck gold running through it.

She showed us a piece. "It's ric h," shesaid, her vivacious blue eyes studyingour faces. "So rich that every timeJim goes out to get more specimens,he has to be careful that nobody isgoing to follow him. Others couldjump his claim, and what could wedo about it?"

Waiting for Jim to return from hiswork, with darkness creeping in overthe desert velvet soft and sparklingwith stars, we learned something aboutthis pioneer couple. They have rearednine children, seven of them girls."Maybe you've seen my youngerdaughter, Mazy, in the movie 'CoveredW ago n'." She reached for an albumof photographs and began to leafthrough, proudly. She held out Maz y'spicture, a beautiful girl with many ofher mother's features."All my girls were beautiful," Mrs.Reed said, dreamily. "Bu t it never didmean much to them, although it has to

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Ph oto from the C. C. Pierce collection.MARCH OF THE SAGUAROBy BESSIE BERGRio Linda, California

On, up the rocky hill from desert's edge,The legions of the gaunt Saguaro go.They pause not, all these ribbed Amazons,Although what goal they seek they cannotknow!There is a Force, all irresistible,Impells them upward in this lonely land;Some portion of the desert's destinyMust be fulfilled by this strange, armo redband.

THE CHIPMUNKS AND IBy LAURA SEELEY THOMSONLong Beach, CaliforniaHi , scampering desert-chipmunksBurrowing deep in sandSay, what do you think of humansInvading your sun-burned land?Like motionless little statuesWith beady-black eyes, you deceiveYourselvesbut not me, so scurryAlong with your make-believe.1 toss you food every morningAppeasing your appetites;Hurl sticks at your vile assailantsAnd umpire your frequent fights.Yet, while from this porch I watch youAnd love every move you make.To you I am but a well-springOf celery, cheese and cake.

By ALICE FLORIOEureka, NevadaYou utter oaths harsh to the human earDirected at the beast that bears your load.In perfect echo back to you it comesOn desert waste that's long been your abode.You vow that burros never should have been.Created to impede the pace of manImpatiently along the desert trailAnd curse the toil and sweat and burningsand.Come sundown and you've reached a water-hole,Cool clear miracle for desert thirstHow come you're said to have a raw-hideheartAnd yet you let the burro beast drink first? ELF OWL PHILOSOPHY

By GERTRUDE DUS TGlendora, CaliforniaAn elf owl, perched in a Joshua tree,Sat fair and square between the moon andme.He stared at me, I stared at himMotionless there on the Joshua limb."Hello," I called, "and how do you do?""I mind my own business," hissed he, "Doyou?"The moon laughed, the wind capered ingleeAs the owl popped into a hole in the tree.

THE DESERT CALLSBy ETHEL E. MITCHELLWinslow. Arizona

The voice of the desert calls me,To my soul I hear it speak;And I know its charm will lure me.For my fortress walls are weak.Did I think that walls could hold meAs I placed each stone on stone?Or that a deep and hidden yearningWould subside if kept alone?The stones are now as nothing,For they can no longer stayThe tumult wakened by a whisper"These stones are only clay!"

By TANYA SOUTHBe brave, whatever comes your way.Be brave, whatever may dismay.Shoulder your burden. Let your hourOf struggle be triumphant power,When you soar, lofty-winged, o'er painAnd Truth attain.Be brave. Let nothing break yourheart.

Do you your partWith strength and purpose and withplanGod-conscious Man.

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19/44

Navajo asked me if I would bury thestranger and shoot his horse over hisgrave.There was no doctor nearby. Mak -ing quite certain the man was dead, Iburied him and, as the Navajo hadrequested, shot his horse over thegrave. The horse was to provide amount for the departed to ride in thehappy hunting grounds.On another occasion, I was askedto bury a Navajo who had died in hishogan. According to instructions, Iburied him inside, with his head facingthe rising sun. I then nailed the doortight and broke a hole in the north wallas a warning to all Navajos that it wasan evil hogan.

When I came out of the hogan, mygrim duty done, the dead man's oldBuick roadster was in flames. Per-haps he was intended to have his fa-miliar form of transportation in theafterworld. Or perh aps, as somethingclosely connected with its owner, itwas feared the automobile, too, mightbe infected with the death spirits.

This primitive fear of a dead bodyoften causes much suffering, both men-tal and physical. I rememb er one fineyoung Navajo boy who had been awayat school for eight years. He return edin the last stages of tubercu losis. Hisfamily was taking him home in awagon, across the reservation to theirisolated hog an. On the way, it becameevident that he was dying and, terrified,they left him by the roadside andquickly drove off. A white man foundthe boy's body several days later andburied him.Nor do the Navajos look upon thecause and cure of disease in the sameway as the white m an. They believethat the cause of disease is supernat-ural, and that its cure must be broughtabout by supernatural meansmagic.The white man believes that the causeof disease is natural, and that a curemust be brought about by naturalmeansscience.The Navajo believes that disease iscaused by failure to live up to theNav ajo religion or way of life. If aNavajo mother-in-law looks upon herson-in-law, even accidentally, she hasbroken a taboo; she has left breachesin her armor through which an evilspirit may enter and attack her lungs,her kidneys, or any part of her anat-omy.Overindulgence in anything also maypermit an evil spirit to enter the bodyand bring abou t disorder. A Navajomust not be too greedy, too ambitious;he must not covet too much of any-

thing.If a Navajo woman weaves too manyrugs, or if she has woven one that isperfect, she has committed a sin; she

has overstepped the limits of modera-tion, has weakened herself spirituallyand allowed an evil spirit to enter herbody, causing sickness. The Navajomust be moderate in all things.If a Navajo is getting too manysheep, too much turquoise, or if he istoo lazy and not getting his rightfulamount, then he is liable to be takenover by an evil spirit and some organof his body, even his mind, may be-come disordered.

When a medicine man diagnoses acase of illness, he pays no attention tothe patient's anatomy; instead, he triesto discover just what religious taboohas been broken. Having found whathe thinks is the cause, he applies oneof the many rituals which a good chan-ter must memorize. A sing will beheld, a sand painting will be made,rattles will be shaken, drums beaten,

herbs administered and chants sung.If a patient fails to improve, a differentritual will be tried.The only way for a Navajo to getwell is to be prayed over; that is, tohave a medicine man sing over himand drive out the evil spirit. The N av-ajo believes a sing can also fortify himagainst disease, just as vaccination canfortify a white man against smallpox.Slowly, as they overcome their fearof the white man's hospitals and medi-cine and as more of their children learnabout the white man's ways and hisbeliefs, the Navajos are overcomingtheir inordinate dread of graves andthe dead and are revising their ancientmethods of diagnosing and treating dis-ease. But deep-rooted beliefs changeslowly, and in the more isolated re-gions of their reservation, the Navajosstill cling to the faith of their fathers.

After the Navajo medicine man has decided jus t what religious taboo wasbroken to cause illness, he prescribes treatm ent a cha nt , a s ing, a sand-paint ing, a sacred charm or pot ion.

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CRISIS IN TAOS ..By GREGORY K HAWK

The year was 1861. The moment had come when Taos, NewMexico must decide whether it was to lead its sleepy existence be-neath the Stars and Bars or whether Old Glory was to remain flyingover the town.

Ranged about the base of the flagpole in the center of the plazawere a handful of Anglos and Spanish-Americans loyal to the Union.Ringing them, standing in the shade of the plaza's cottonwoods, wereknots of Anglo settlers, Confederate partisans; once neighbors andfellow-settlers in Taos Valley, now bitter enemies. Other scores ofthe settlers of Southern sympathy were in the saloons fronting theplaza, drinking noisy toasts to the cause of the Confederacy. As soonas the "Taos lightning" took effect a bloody battle was likely.How the news of the firing on Fort Sumter reached Taos is nowforgotten. Perhaps it came by courier across the plains from FortLeavenworth to Taos by way of Fort Union. Or perhaps it was

carried by a wagon train freighting goods to the New Mexican towns.The effect of the news, however it was brought, was to split thepeaceful farming town into two armed camps. Only a man of out-standing leadership and character could keep the factions from abloody clash.Kit Carson, famous western scout and later brevet general inthe Federal army, was that man. Previously, he had refused to takepart, much less lead the Confederates in seizing the Taos district.Now, told that the Southerners were going on without him in theirdesign and were gathering in the plaza in overwhelming numbers, heleft the neutral position of his home.When Carson walked into the plaza, he headed directly for theflagpole. He was unarmedprobably the only unarmed man in thewhole gathering. Fearlessly and calmly, he marched with his small-gaited steps through the crowd of Southerners, nodding here andthere to friends and acquaintances. Though by now everyone intown knew where Carson's sympathies layno middle course waspossible in those emotional days. One was either pro-Confederacyor pro-Union. So great was the respect for Carson that the knots ofenthusiastic partisans fell silent at his approach and parted to givehim passage.At the flagpole Carson looked over the lashings of the flag'shalyard. He kept his back to the Confederate partisans while hemade sure that Old Glory was at the peak. Word of his arrival inthe plaza flashed through the saloons. Scores of Southerners downedtheir last toast to the Confederacy, to General Beauregard, to thePalmetto State, and poured into the street facing the square.Carson turned from the flagpole to face the enlarged crowd.For a long minute he looked at the now-silent, attentive faces, at themetallic gleam of rifle barrels and "hogslegs" hung low. A hushhovered over the plaza.Slowly he began to speak in his mild-voiced drawl, but underhis gentle tone rang the iron clang of command:"Boys, I know you and you know me. I'm for the Union myselfand you are against it. Don Fernando de Taos has been Union since'47 and it will stay Union. And that flag stays up! Now Tm goinghome and f suggest that you do the same."The crowd of Confederate partisans parted and melted awayas Carson slowly walked alone back to his home not far from the

plaza.And the Flag stayed up.

M a r d K o c k S h o r t yof

DeathValley

"Frawgs?" asked Hard RockShorty. "Why sure! The bestand biggest frawg legs in theworld usta be raised right herein Death Valley. Not only that,but they wuz raised right here inInferno at that spring up back o'the store."Pisgah Bill wuz the frawgraiser. He read a book about itan' since it sounded like there

wuzn't nothin' to do but lugmoney down to the bank, Pisgahsent out fer some young frawgs.Well, yu know, that pond aroundthe spring suited 'em fine, andwith lots o' warm weather tomake 'em croak, an' lots o' bugsto make 'em grow, them frawgsgot fatter 'n fatter. They donepretty near as good as it said inthe book."Looked like Pisgah had agold mine in frawgs. But aboutthat time oF Hank Higgins who'd

run this store ever since BoraxSmith grub-staked him, decidedto retire. That city slicker whobought the place decided to makea dude ranch here and got busyright away puttin' up cabins.Come the first o' October,the dudes began flockin' in tosoak up some o' this famousDeath Valley sunshine.The second morning all theguests came around as a com-mittee and served notice theywuz all movin' out if somethin'wuzn't done to keep them blank-ety-blank frawgs from singin allnight. Couldn't stand the noise,they said. An' since the newowner also had the rights to thespring, he told Pisgah to git themfrawgs out-a there."Only place Bill had to take'em was up to that alum springin Eight Ball crick. Twenty-fourhours after Bill'd put 'em in thatalum water they'd all shriveledup like they hadn't had a mealfer six months. There wuz noth-in' in the book about thatso

Bill threw the book away an'went back to prospectin'."

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L I F E O N T H E D E S E R TBy SEWARD WHITE

N NOVEMBER of 1933, a mannamed Pierce from Indio and Iwere doing some prospecting inCalifornia's Chocolate Mountains. OneSunday evening a stranger walked intoour cam p at Pegleg Well. He said hisname was Ebner and that he had comeon foot from Niland that day.

We invited the stranger to share ourfood and fire. After d inner , he toldus the story behind his long hike. Hesaid he was looking for a deposit ofnative copper.In 1914, Ebner and a companionhad crossed the desert from Picacho,driving packed b urros. It was winter,and snow was falling. Somewhere be-fore they dropped down into Mam-moth Wash leading to the Salton Sea,they came to a place which was lit-tered with pieces of heavy metal.

The weather was so bad that thetwo men feared stopping too long toexplore the site. But they gathered afew samples of the ore and pushed on,confident they could find the placeagain. The m etal proved to be nativecopper.Ebner was not able to return to hisfind until 1920and then he remainedonly long enough to estimate that sev-eral truckloads of the copper could be

gathered easily from the surface de-posits.The years between 1920 and 1933he worked as a lumberjack in thenorthw est. In 1933 he was snowblinded while working at Crater Lakein Ore gon . Down on his luck and flatbroke, he remembered the copper nearSalton Sea and traveled south with thehope of relocating the site and gettingsomeone to stake him to enough moneyto remove the surface values.Ebner's story intrigued me, and 1asked him to let me join the search.He agreed, and the next morning westarted out together. Since he thoughtwe were within 10 miles of the copperand would be out overnight at most, Icarried only a small pack that con-tained a blanket, two canteens, a suitof long underwear and a little food.A gold pan, compass and knife com-pleted my equipm ent. Ebn er carrieda piece of canvas in a gunny sack, halfa loaf of bread and a few strips ofbacon. The remainder of his bindlehe left at our cam p. He wore ragswrapped on his feet, having no socks.We went up through the low hillsaround Pegleg Well and out on theflat varnished rocks that cover the longslope eastward 50 or 60 miles to the

Hungry, broke, on rag-bound feet Ebner searched for hislost native copper field. W hen he stumb led into Sewa rdWhite's prospecting camp in the Chocolate Mountainsof California, White offered to join the questand here isthe story of their unrewarded trek across the Desert.Colorad o River. The hard surface al-lowed fast hiking which did not tire,and we moved quickly in a strong coldwind. Innumerable dry washes lead-ing out of the Chocolates deterred ussomewhat as we headed south with themountains on our right.

Before long Ebner picked out atowering spur of the Chocolates where,he said, on his previous trip he hadseen wild sheep and near it a big washrunning crosswise to others. He wassure he recognized the landmark.About 11 o'clock we reached thespur. Ebn er said our goal was the nextsharp pinnacle jutting out into the flatsanother 10 miles away. We hiked alittle farther before stopping for lunch

and then continued on, reaching thepinnacle about 3:30 p.m.Once more Ebner shook his head.Near the pinnacle I found a tank ofwater in the rock with mountain sheeptracks around it. From the tank wetook a direct route toward the thirdbig pinnacle.About 5 o'clock we came to aminer's deserted ramada and a pros-pect hole nearby. A road of sorts ledto the place. Th ere was a tricklingstream with cattails and grass grow-ing in it. Tw o burro s with bells fast-

ened around their necks grazed notfar away.We pushed on until dusk, thenstopped in a wash for the night. 1threw off my pack and canteens andsprinted to the next point, from it tolook down into what I hoped wouldprove to be Ebner's promised land.The quarter-mile run through littlewashes and up gentle hills actuallyrested my legs and the cramped musclesof my shoulders and arms which thepack had confined all day. I cameback after dark, guided by a big fire

Ebner had blazing.We must have traveled more than20 miles that day, the hardest, steadi-est hike 1 have ever tak en outside ofmountain peak ascents. Ebner talkedvery little. He tried vainly to recog-nize landmark s. "It must be the nextpoint," he kept repeating.Several times during the day I hadseen signs of mountain sheep, and fora while 1 hoped to scare up a band ofthe bighorns in some of the washes.There was more water in that dry timeof the year than 1 had su pposed but

one had to know where to look forit in certain rock formations and nat-ural tanks. The country was highlymineralized. We crossed dozens of

acrossquartz veins and stringers, and wefound copper's green stain severalplaces.Ebn er stretched out by the fire. Hehad only his piece of canvas for bed-ding. His hat was pulled down ov erhis eyes in a typical hobo mannerwhich reminded me of my own dayson the road.I put on my long underwear and allmy clothes and wrapped up in myblank et. As I lay there by the fire Iknew we would not get back to Peglegfor another day and a half and I won-dered how hungry we would be bythen. I wondered to o, what the nextday would bring.Despite the cold I slept well thatnight. We were up before the sun. Itook off my "pajamas" in spite of thechill and lengthened the straps of mypack . We ate a very meager break fastof bread, honey and dried fruit.1 left everything but my small can-teen. The water in my gallon canteenhad a cork with varnish on it and thewater was tainted.We started off again, our pacequickened by our lighter loads. Wewent up through the gap and out intocountry thick with cholla. Ebner soondecided that the country "didn't lookright." Nevertheless we went on aboutfive miles through the cholla and alongthe Glamis road before we turned back.At the farthest spot Ebner pointed tothe end of the Chocolates and said,"that must be the place." This was agood 15 miles beyond the first "rightplace." However there was a north-south wash there as he had described.We drank some water and began tofeel sick. Ebner seemed to be suffer-ing mo re. By the time we made itback to our packs he was walking

slowly and I was feeling weak. I gaveEbner some more fruit and nuts andfinished the last bite of bread . Wedrank no more water.Our packs again on our backs, weheaded slowly back to the miner'scamp which we had discovered the daybefore. It took us an ho ur and a halfto make the two-and-a-half-mile trek.No one was in sight. We got goodwater at the spring, entered the ra-mada and helped ourselves to coffee,oatmeal and crackers. We had Karofor dessert. Ebner then baked some

hot bread and I took two big potatoesand some salt. Before we left I wrotea note explaining our raid and left a50-cent piece which, in those depres-N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 3 21


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sion days of 1933, would just abouthave paid for the food we took.The good water and the food re-vived us. I took the lead. By forsak-ing the hills for the flats below, wefound the going easier and faster. Eb-ner's feet were in bad shape. He hada nasty blister on one heel and severalon the soles of his feet; but his only

complaint was that he still felt sickfrom the bad water.Hiking along, Ebner told me thatonce he had traveled 65 miles on footfrom 5 o'clock in the morning until 9that night. He had a long, swingingstride for a man only about five feetsix inches tall. He was in his fifties,strong and tough. I could well believethat in his younger days he had beena man of more than usual strengthand endurance. Worn now with yearsand a hard life, he still was a matchfor many an outdoorsman.The most imposing of the landmarkswe left behind were two huge pinna-cles or buttes of red rock. They werepyramidoidal in shape and very muchalike in every way but size. The north-eastern one was about one-third aslarge as its neighbor which must havebeen seven or eight hundred feet high.The strata were tilted on end and thewalls hung absolutely perpendicular.Enormous masses of scree buttressedthe pinnacles. There seemed to be noplant life at all.By dark we were back within 10 or

12 miles of Pegleg. We camped oncemore in a big wash and had plenty oftime to gather wood. We got severallarge ironwood snags which were sobig and heavy that it took our com-bined strength to drag them into camp.We lighted a fire and I fried my lastbits of ham while Ebner baked thepotatoes. Before going to bed we puton a second big chunk of ironwood,assuring ourselves of fire for half thenight at least.When I awoke Ebner was wrappinghis feet. We finished our potatoes and

started off in a hurry to reach Pegleg.Ebner's blisters obviously were caus-ing him great pain, but we pushed on.We reached camp at 10 o'clock.Ebner stayed with Pierce and mefor the next two days which we spentprospecting and discussing the trip,trying to plot our course on a map.Ebner was still firm in his determina-tion to find the copper again."I never went to it from this direc-tion," he explained. "The way wewent things look different." He saidhe planned to work in the tomato

harvest at Niland, get a little stake andgo back again, the next time from thedirection of Picacho. Pierce and I took

him to Niland, where we said goodbye.I -never saw Ebner again.Was his story a hoax? I believe notfor the following reasons:First, there is copper in the Choco-lates. Pegleg Well itself is an old min-ing shaft with copper ore on the groundaround it.Secondly, Ebner had nothing to sell.Unlike the usual prospector lookingfor a stake he asked for nothing.

Finally, for what other reasonwould he hike from Niland to Peglegand on to the Glamis road and beyondwithout food, bedding, shoes or ade-quate clothing?Should someone strike a native cop-per deposit on the east side of theChocolates, I hope this tale might beremembered and the mine named, inhonor of a weary, sore-footed wand-erer, "The Lost Ebner Mine."

T R U E O R F A L S E If the law of averages is work-i n g , you should get 10 of thefollowing True or False ques-tions correct even if you know nothing about the Great American Desert.Probably you will do much better than that for readers of Desert Magazinehave the opportunity to learn much about the arid region of southwesternUnited States. A score of 14 to 16 is good, 17 or 18 is excellent. Over 18is super. The answers are on page 40.1TheLost Pegleg gold mine is generally believed to be in the ColoradoDesert of Southern California. True False .2First white man known to have run a boat through the rapids ofGrand Canyon was Major John Wesley Powell. True . False _ .3Yucca baccata is the name of a Spanish dance. True . . False4The roadrunner or chaparral cock will fly long distances if in danger.True False5The Gila Monster has four legs. True _ . False6First Americans to explore the Southwest desert were gold-seekers.True False7Kachina dolls are made by the Yuma Indians. True . . False8Lowest elevation in the United States is at the foot of Bright Angel

Trail in Grand Canyon. True False .9Crystals found in geodes generally are quartz. True . _. False10Hovenweep is the name of a National Monument in Arizona.True False11Water in the Great Salt Lake has a higher salt content than oceanwater. True...... . False12The Vermillion Cliffs may be seen from Navajo Bridge which crossesthe Colorado River in northern Arizona. True ....... False...13Prehistoric Indians were mining turquoise in New Mexico andNevada before the white men came to the Southwest. TrueFalse14Navajo Indian women still dye all their hand-woven rugs and blanketswith vegetable dyes derived from the native shrubbery. TrueFalse15Desert Center, California, is in the Chuckawalla Valley. True

False16The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe. True False17The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River. True

False18The Taos Indians of New Mexico are nomads like the Navajo.True . False19The Valley of Fire in Nevada is a National Monument. TrueFalse20Flagstaff, Arizona, is on Highway 60. True . False

2 2 DESERT MAGAZINE


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Meteor Near Mt. Signal . . .El Centro, CaliforniaDesert :In "Just Between You and Me" inthe September issue of D es er t Maga-zine, Editor Randall Henderson men-tions he's been looking for a meteoritefor 40 years.I was born on an El Centro ranchin 1911. When I was three or fouryears old, I remember seeing a mete-orite streak across the sky, and feelingthe terrific earth jolt which followed.I recently talked to Ed Stevens whoalso lived here then and he, too, re-members the meteori te. About 19351 read in the local newspaper that ameteorite had been found somewherebetween Mt. Signal and the mountainsnear the Mexican border. The mete-orite was taken to some museum orinstitute for study.G R A C E H U F F M A NA Rattlesnake's Young . . .Elsinore, CaliforniaDesert :In a letter to Desert Magazine, pub-lished in the September issue, LeoTurner speaks of the "old wives' tale"of rattlesnakes swallowing their young.I am sure in my own mind that rat-tlesnakes do swallow their young.About 30 years ago, while campedwith my family on a ranch known asSquints or "The Last Ranch," aboutthree miles north of Lake Arrowhead,California, we noticed a rattlesnakedisappearing in his hole near our camp.We reached a stick down into thehole and could hear the snake rattle,although it would not come out. Weaimed a shotgun down the hole andfired, then put the stick back and drewout a large rattler twisted around it.It was nearly dead, its body almostsevered by the shot.As we held the snake up, ten babyrattlerseach about four inches long,as I recallfell o ut of it. They w eremature, alive and full of pep.V E R N O N F . J A M E S Agates Worth the Price . . .Winterhaven, CaliforniaDesert :In the August issue of Desert , mygood friend Lelande Quick, in his de-partment, "Amateur Gem Cutter,"says he too has become irked by theunreasonable prices asked by somedealers for rough gem material.However, we feel that Mr. Quickdidn't treat the agates justly. For someof the world's most beautiful gems

the results of Nature's accidental ac-complishment of perfection of formand colorare agate.There are many more good dia-monds on the market today than thereare good agates. For an agate ofsupreme quality seldom appears onthe market counter. If and when thesesuper-fine specimens are offered forsale, they usually command a price farin excess of $72.00 per pound.At the recent gem and mineral showin Balboa Park, San Diego, a groupof five rockhounds picked five of themost outstanding gems exhibited there.Two of the five were fire agates fromCoon Hollow, exhibited by an anony-mous Coachella Valley lapidary andmodestly labeled, "fire chalcedony."E D R O C H E S T E R 200 Years Too Late . . .Victoria, TexasDesert :In "Just Between You and Me" inthe September issue of Desert Mag-azine, Randall Henderson wrote:"Father Garces was the first missionaryto pay them (the Hopis) a visitin1776."That's just about 200 years too lateto be a "first."Padre Juan de Padilla v/as withTovar's expedition to the Hopis in1540. In Perea's Segunda Relacion,he tells of establishing the mission atAwatovi on August 20, 1629:

"Traveling by their daily stages,they (Fathers Francisco de Porras andAndres Gutierrez and Brother Chris-tobal de la Concepcion) arrived at theprovince of Moqui on the day of theglorious St. Bernard (which title thatpueblo now has) . "Following the establishment; at Awa-tovi, missions were built at Oraibi(San Miguel), San Bartolome deShongopovi (the ruins are still visible),San Bernardino de Walpi and possiblyat Mish ongn ovi. All these missionswere destroyed in the Pueblo Revoltof 1680, and four of the Franciscanmissionaries were killed.An unsuccessful attempt v/as madeto re-establish the mission at Awatoviin 1700.Franciscans from the Rio GrandeValley and from Zuni visited the Hopicountry intermittently during the 18thcentury. Padres Dominigues and Es -calante were there on their return tripfrom Utah in 1776. Escalante wasthere the year before Garces. Garceswas at Oraibi on July 4, 1776.

R EV. VIC TOR R . STONERThanks, Father Stoner, for cor-recting m y bad history. You areright, and I should have known bet-ter.R.H.

Where Dinosaurs Trod . . .Phoenix, ArizonaDesert:"I think I would get a bigger thrillin finding a chip off the moon or oneof the distant stars than I would infinding a gold mine," Editor RandallHenderson, speaking of his life-longsearch for a meteorite, wrote in "JustBetween You and Me" in September'sDesert .My whole being tingles still from arecent thrilling experience as excitingcertainly as finding a meteorite.My wife and I were staying withHopi friends during the Snake dancesin Aug ust. In the course of our con -versation, someone mentioned dino-saur tracks, and our Indian friend ex-tended an unusual invitation."There are some dinosaur tracksover in my sheep pasture," he said."Would you like to see them?"Thinking "over in my sheep pas-ture" meant just a few minutes away,I accepted eagerly. "Certainly, Albert.I would be pleased to see them. Whenshall we go?""Right now, my brother," he an-swered, and we departed at once inhis pick-up truck.The "road" we followed consistedof two faint twisting lines snakingacross the desert rough, bumpy,sandy. Clump grass, sagebrush andrabbit bush almost hid the faint trailmade three years before on Albert 'slast visit.Approaching a rock mound, weveered off the faint tire tracks andbumped out across rough raw deserttoward a long low rock ridge. Albertdrove in behind the ridge and stopped.On foot, he led the way up a wideshallow trough between the ridge anda low outcrop of rock.About 20 feet ahead of me, hestopped. Already I could see the hugefootprints washed clean by the rainsthe Snake dance had brought.I inspected the tracks carefully.There had evidently been quite a groupof the large prehisto ric beasts. Theyhad traveled the trough, then turnedleft out of it, crossed the trough east-ward and recross ed it to the west. Amother dinosaur was in the herd; adistinct set of smaller tracks followedat her side.Three-toed sloths, one of them ababy, also had left prints in the once-soft red sandstone, as well as wadingbirds or fowl and other unidentifiablesmaller animals.And, amid the various animal tracks,we distinctly saw three human foot-

prints! They were clearly recognizable,two left footprints and one right.That's the thrill I'll never forget.R . W. APPLEGATEN O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 3 23


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W H A T E V E R Y MA N W A N T S :This clever Map, Blue-print Readermeasures all distances o n any flatsurface . . . has dozens of uses . . .Tax and Postpaid $2.75MARSHUTZ OPTICAL, CO.r,:il So.Olive St. Est. 1887 Los An g e l e s

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Your own initials in lustrous lava blackvirtually will make your table. Deco ratedhere in the West, this individually styledwhite china dinnerware looks equally athome in Palm Springs or Pawtucket because of its modern rhythm shape.F U L L 53 P I E C E SETincludes COMPLETE service for eight8 dinner plates. 8 bread andbutters, 8soups, 8 cups. 8 saucers, 8 dessert dishes,a sugar bowl and a cover, exquisitecreamer and a generous platterCOMPIiETE, $49.85(A perfect gift for the bride, it's avail-able also as service for 4, 6. and openstock.)Indicate monogram. Sony, no C.O.D.s.Express collect, shipped anywhere. Sendyour check ormoney order to:JACOB KAROI i CHINA CO.7333-A Coldwater Canyon Ave.N O R T H HOLLYWOOD, CA L I F O RN I A

SOUTHWEST SHOPPING GUIDE

" I t ' s New" THE TOY-A-WAYCompletely solves the year 'round toy stor-age problem for Mo ther. $9.95 prepaid.Powerfully built of metal in eye appealingcolorsred w ith yellow interior. Rolls withease over carpeting orcomposition floors onball bearing swivel casters. Measures 16" x15" x 18"andholds over 100 lbs. Gray rub-ber bumpers to protect furniture andwalls.Children have fun playing with them too.For your nearest dealer, write KALASTEELPRODUCTS CO., 338 Parsons St., Kala-mazoo, Mich.

A R E E L " T H A N K YOU' G I F TSave hours of kink straightening toil. In afew minutes REDI-HOSE REEL, up to 100ft. of hose, permanently coiled, can be at-tached to your water line faucets. It re-volves while water is running and is guaran-teed leak-proof with shut-off and spraynozzles. Sturdy connector arm holds reeland your hose on faucets always ready forinstant use. Easy to keep hose neat. Youwill be delighted or your money refunded.Send $7.95 for Redi-Hose Real, postpaid,REDI, 1703Alamo, Glendale 7, California.

G E M OF A STOOLYour little "GEM" will fill your needs daily.Snack table? Cigarette stand? Chairlessguest inT.V. room or patio? Youname it,the little "GEM" will do it. Sturdy 1%"thick by11" wide top, 18" high, wrou ght ironlegs. Fun to assemble, use hammer only.Even "Mom" can do it in two minutes.Unfinished top$5.95 postpaid, four for $22.Finished top $6.95 postpaid, four for $25.Order now, immediate delivery. NoCODs,please. LINSON MFG. CO.,274A W. Spa-zier Ave.,Burbank, Calif.

H E R E ' S AREAL COOL IDEADRYBROW, the new miracle sweat bandkeeps sweat from your eyes and glassesat work and play.' Simply moisten incool water and get that wonderful"air-conditioned feeling." Made of cellu-lose sponge, it absorbs all head perspi-ration and keeps you refreshed andhappy. One piece head band fits anyhead, $1.00 postpaid, 3 for $2.00. BRUNSSALES AG ENCY, Box 630, MarVista 24,California.

C K R T I F I K I ) D A T E SORGANICALLY GROWNon the deep virgin soil of an ancient seabed. Rich in many vital protective min-erals and vitamins. A lucious source ofquick energy. Attractively packaged forChristmas gifts. Send us your listwe'llmail your selections. Three pound gift box.delivered $2.35. Five pound Family Special,delivered $2.75. Fifteen pounds naturaldates, delivered $6.90. LEEANDERSON'SCOVALDA DATE COMPANY, Highway99, Box208M, Coachella, California.

E L B R A Z E R O B A R B E C U EWorld's most beautiful, economical PORT-ABLE barbecue. Hand crafted ancient Az-tec design colorfully decorated syntheticCeramicfully equipped with famous Uni-steel patented answeep draft central firebowl, 3 position large plated grill10 centscharcoal cooks over one hourstand con-verts into carrying brackettake it with youeverywherebeach, picnic, patio, indoorsfully guaranteed. Available better stores$14.95 or write direct to factory. R. M.KELLER, El Brazero, 6399 Wilshire, L. A.24 DESERT MAGAZINE


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SOUTHWEST SHOPPING GUIDE

iCOPPKR P IP K IN S E R V E R SETWhat's the latest in servers? Why, thisCopper Pipkin Server Set! Unique yetso practical. "Serves" cigarettes, with in-dividual ash trays. Use for melted butter,sauces, cocktail dips, etc. Anunusual "Show-off" for your favorite plant! Black ironstand holds VA" server and four 2"dippers.This is the identical set you have seenadvertised at ahigher price. Our price $3.00

postpaid. An excellent Christmas gift.P A P P Y ' S C O U N T R Y S T O R E , P a l mSprings, California.

WOODEN "NUT B R E A K E R "Designed by a foremost California artistusing a new principle. Nut Breaker breaksnuts. Gentle screw action, leaves nut meatsintactconfining shells to bowl. No mess.Ebony black8Vi" long. A real conversa-tion piece. Ornamental art object caneven hang on the wall! Order for yourselfand several for those "have everything"friends. There! That should start you or-dering Christmas Gifts! Priced SI.50 post-paid. PAPPY'S COUNTRY STORE, PalmSprings, California.

K A I B A B S. . . the original, authentic Navajo SquawBoot . . . for men and women . . . soles ofbleached rawhide, uppers of real buckskinin traditional Navajo Rust or Natural at$14.95 . . . White or Turquoise at $15.95postpaid. Invisibly hand sewn by expertIndian craftsmen. Available thru selecteddealers or direct . . . check or money order. . . no C.O.D.s . . . Send outline of footfor perfect fit. Write for free folder.KAIBAB BUCKSKIN, Box 5156, Tucson,Arizona.

ACCURATE TOPO. MAPSIf it's maps you wantwe've got them. Foryears we have been supplying all types ofmaps. We carry all topographic quadranglemaps in California and other western statesand Alaska. Have maps of Barstow area(see cut) and county maps. Geologic maps50c to $2.50, aero, charts 50c, coast &geodetic charts $1.25. McAllister's LostMines of Southwestern Statesmap, $1.75.4000 dif. maps to choose from. WEST-WIDE MAPS CO., 1141/2 W. 3rd St., LosAngeles 13, California. Michigan 5339.

y N K * 'f.&* - ** |k j , J lt f * i. /' 1

G U I D E TO PALM CANYOXSWILD PALMS of the California Desert,is a little book by Randall Henderson tellingof his exploration in the native palm can-yons of Southern California, with map anddetailed information about Palm Canyon.Andreas Canyon, Fern Canyon and EagleCanyonnear Palm Springs. The authorestimates there are 11,000 of these palmsin more than 100 separate oases. Story in-cludes botanical classification, what is knownabout their history. 32 pp. photos. DesertCrafts Shop, Palm Desert. California50c.

D A T E S A R E A I i H O L I D A Y T R E A TDelicious sun-ripened Dates from California.They're wonderful every day, and particu-larly during the holiday season. Also makesan excellent gift. Our Dates are sun ripened,thus you enjoy the benefit of fresh Dates,packed with vitamins and minerals for quickenergy. Our special offer, this 3 lb. tin offresh Deglet Noor Dates, delivered in theU.S. only $3.50 postpaid. Case of 12, $36.Send check or money order, no C.O.D.splease to SAN ANTONIO DATE SHOPand Date Garden, Box 235, Indio, Calif.

FURNACECREEK INNAM ERICAN PLAN

FURNACE CREEKfe RANCHEUROPEAN PLAN ,


26/44

M I N E S a n d M I N I N GShiprock, New Mexico . . .Ground was scheduled to be brokenin September for a $3,00 0,000 uraniumprocessing plant at Shiprock, withactual milling of ore slated to begin in1 9 5 4 . The Navajo tribe has leased theground for the plant and for an accom-panying housing project to be builtnearby. Kerr-McGee Company of Ok-lahoma has signed a contract to haveits subsidiary, Navajo Uranium Cor-poration, construct and operate thenew facility. A large supply of orealready has been stockpiled in antici-pation of the Shiprock construction.Mining Record. Reno, Nevada . . .Nevada Ore Refining Corporationhas announced a revolutionary newmethod for treating manganese ores.Purities reported as high as 99.4 per-cent have been obtained. Reversal ofthe usual process of recovery is saidto be the secret. Instead of taking themanganese out of the ore, the processtakes out the gangue material, leavingthe almost pure metal. In order toobtain results, the chemical actionmust take place at a temperature of140 degrees or more. The corporationhas erected a 50-ton mill near RenoHot Springs, a few miles south of Reno,to take advantage of the hot springfeatures of the area. Mining Record. Moab, Utah . . .Utex Exploration Company has dis-closed it is investigating the possibilityof building a $3,000,00 0 uranium p roc-essing mill nea r M oa b. Charles A.Steen, discoverer of the Utex Mine,probably the richest uranium strike inthe United States, said a sufficient re-serve of uranium ore has been devel-oped on the Utex property and otherimportant discoveries in southeasternUtah to justify construction of a millin the vicinity. Ore from Steen 's MiVida mine is now being stockpiled atMonticello, Utah. Pioche Record. Hawthorne, Nevada . . .Ninety tons of ore is being proc-essed daily by Nevada Scheelite Divi-sion of Kennametal, Inc., at its Leon-ard mine and mill in the Regent dis-trict northea st of Haw thorn e. The millhas a capacity of 150 tons, employingthe ball mill method and table flota-tion to recover tungsten. In additionto milling activities, the company hasundertaken a diamond drilling sched-ule and also is drifting undergroundto develop the ore. California MiningJournal.

Carson City, Nevada . . .Earl Whitney has leased the sup-posedly worked out ground of the RioTinto Copper Company in an attemptto revive its activity. Whitney, formergeologist for Rio Tinto, and an associ-ate plan to run a cross cut from the200-foot level into virgin territory. Theproperty, the old Frank Hunt mine,was discovered in 1936 and subse-quently produced approximately $20,-000,000 in copper ore. HumboldtStar . Winnemucca, Nevada . . .Resumption of the search for ur-anium in the Kings River area of Hum-boldt County, about 75 miles north-west of Winnemucca, has been startedby Uranium Metals , Inc., a Denverconcern. The site of the developmentis a number of claims established sev-eral months ago by Jess Nachiando,Irvin Sweeney and James Murdock.Uranium Metals has taken a lease onthe claims from the locators and plansintensive development in expectationof uncovering uranium in commercialquantities. Roy F. Roseberry of Elkowill be superintendent in charge of op-erations. Ba t t le Mountain Scout . Fallon, N evad a . . .First shipments of a 1,000,000-tonorder of iron ore for Japan have leftSilver Springs, new town on the U.S.50-Alternate 95 highway near Fallon.The highgrade hematite is from a de-posit southwest of Dayton and is beingshipped by a California trio organizedas the Continental Nevada Iron MiningCompany and headed by Ed Creganof Los Angeles. Contract calls foropen-pit mining, trucking and loadingat Silver Springs at the rate of ten car-loads a day. Territorial Enterprise. Tucson, Arizona . . .

The Pima Mining Company, headedby Herbert Hoover, Jr., has discovereda highgrade copper ore body 15 airmiles from T ucson. Mining expertssay the discovery, made four years ago,is one of the few, if not the only, virgincopper ore body found in Arizona in15 years. The com pany's claims coverabout 275 acres in the San Xavier andMineral Hill area

Documents

195311 Desert Magazine 1953 November