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FrijolesC a n y o nUp-canyon view of thegreat defile carved byTh eLittle River of the Beansin its spectacular depar-ture from the high PajaritoPlateau. Like the cliff menbefore us, westare inaw ea t t h i s m i g h t y g a s hslashed by a small streamthrough deep beds of volcanic ash. Seen from nearTalus House, Cone House,and caves of the northcliff wall, Bandelier Na-tional Monument.

Curious talus-slope villages and artifi-cial caves, the latter gouged from softvol can ic tuff ofthe sheer north wall, addedto thewide variety of primitive architec-ture and fascinating modes of cliff-dwellerliving atFrijoles Canyon innorthern NewMexico. Here Cone House shows theadaptability of early Indian builders totheir newhome. A great drouth at theend of the 13th century drove them fromvastly more pretentious sites at PuebloBonito and thecliff cities onMesa Verde.

DESERT MAGAZINE

PUEBLO PANORAMAS VIIIB A N D E L I E RBy JOHN L. BLACKFORD

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D E S E R T C A L E R D f l RNov. 1Heard Museum of Anthro-pology opens season, Phoenix, Ariz.Nov. 2All Souls' Day MemorialServices in Spanish Villages, N. M.Nov. 2-3Billy Moore Days, Avon-dale, Arizona.Nov. 3-4Annual Fall Road Races,Palm Springs, California.Nov. 3-4Copper Giant Rodeo, Ajo,Arizona.Nov. 3-12Arizona State Fair, Phoe-nix.Nov. 4Western Saddle Club Gym-khana, Phoenix, Arizona.Nov. 8Rose Festival, Mesa, Ariz.Nov. 8-9Northwestern NewMexicoHereford Breeders' Annual Showand Sale, Raton.Nov. 9Good Neighbor Day, BisbeeArizona.Nov. 9-1114th Annual Desert WeedShow, Twentynine Palms, Calif.Nov. 9-12 Eighth Annual DeathValley, California, Encampment.(See page 20.)Nov. 10-11Rodeo, Parker, Ariz.Nov. 10-12Jeep Cavalcaders trip toMojave Desert, from Hemet, Calif.Nov. 11Second Annual Air Fair,Winslow, Arizona.Nov. 12St. James' Day Fiesta andHarvest Corn Dance, Tesuque Pue-blo, NewMexico.Nov. 12Annual Fiesta and HarvestCorn Dance, Jemez Pueblo, NewMexico.Nov. 13-15National Forest Recrea-tion Association Convention, Tuc-son, Arizona.Nov. 14-17Annual Western Week,Palm Springs, California.Nov. 15Annual Desert Outings byVisitors Club Begin, from Phoenix,Arizona, Adult Center.Nov. 16-21 Annual Golden SpikeNational Livestock Show, Ogden,Utah.Nov. 172nd Annual Indian HarvestFeast, Pueblo Grande, Arizona.Visitors will be served typical mealsby Mohaves, Papagos, Pimas,Apaches, Hopis, Navajos and Hu-alpais.Nov. 17Washington Garden ClubFlower Show, Phoenix, Arizona.Nov. 17-18Elks Rodeo, Victorville,California.Nov. 18Founders DayPicnic, PalmSprings, California.Nov. 22Desert Sun Ranchers Ro-deo, Wickenburg, Arizona.Nov. 24-25Old Tucson Daze, Tuc-son, Arizona.Nov. 24-25Junior Parade and Ro-deo, Florence, Arizona.Nov. 24-25Annual Rodeo, Needles,California.Nov. 28-30Nevada State Farm Bu-reau Convention, Ely.Nov. 30Square Dance Festival Pre-Vue, Phoenix, Arizona.Nov. 30-Dec. 1 Arizona CattleGrowers Convention, Tucson.After First Frost Navajo FireDances, Navajo Reservation.Late November or Early December

Shalako Dances, Zuni Pueblo,New Mexico.

V o l u m e 19 NO VEMBER, 1956 N u m b e r 11C O V E RP R E H I S T O R YC A L E N D A RPOETRYEXP LO RATIO NCLO SE-UP SDESERT QUIZEXPERIENCEFIELD TRIPP H O T O G R A P H YHEALTHRECREATIONA RTL A N D M A R KPICTORIALG A R D E N I N GFICTIONN A T U R ELETTERSC O N T E S TN E W SM I N I N GU R A N I U MH O BBYLAP IDARYC O M M E N TB O O K S

Around a Campfire in Southeastern Utah's NeedlesCountry, by JOSEF MUENCHBandelier, by JOHN L. BLACKFORD 2November events on the desert 3Intrusion and other poems 4Jeep Trail Into Utah's Rugged Needles Country

By W. G. CARROLL 5About those who write for Desert 10A test of your desert knowledge 10Dreamers of the Mojave

By KENNETH M. STEWART 11G em Stones of Palo Verde PassBy HAROLD O. WEIGHT 13

Pictures of the Month 17"Little Yellowstone" on the Salton Shores

By MIRIAM R. ANDERSON 18Death Valley Encampment 20Olive Rush, Pioneer Artist of Santa Fe

By W. THETFORD LeVINESS 21Daddy of the Joshuas, by BETH BRAKEMEYER . 23Lizards of the Desert, by GEORGE M. BRADT . 24Pest Control in the Desert Garden

By RUTH REYNOLDS 26Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley 27Elephant Trees of Vizcaino

By EDMUND C. JAEGER 28Comment from Desert's Readers 30Picture-of-the-Month Contest announcement . . 31From here and there on the desert 32Current news of desert mines 37Latest developments in the Industry . . . . 38Gems and Minerals 40Amateur Gem Cutter, by DR. H. C. DAKE . . . 45Just Between You and Me, by the Editor . . . 46Reviews of Southwestern 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 postoffice at Palm Desert,California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered No. 358865 in U. S. Patent Office,and contents copyrighted 1956 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writing.EANDALL HENDERSON, EditorBESS STACY, Business Manager EUGENE L. CONROTTO, Associate EditorEVONNE RIDDELL, Circulation ManagerUnsolicited manuscripts and photographs submitted cannot be returned or acknowledgedunless 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 KATESOn e Year $4.00 Two Years $7.00Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra, Foreign 50c 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, California1956


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ruins in Navajo National Monument. Photo by Josef Muench.FULFILLMENT

By CONSTANCE WALKERLos Angeles, CaliforniaO search for Truth and Beauty in the worldAnd soon the wings of spirit are unfurled;Then desert space and distant stars unbindNew shining treasure for a gleaning mind.

By TANYA SOUTHSweet, remember life is just,Whatever agony or thrustFate may impose. I view the LightAs one great gleam along the rightAnd true course only. Nothing lessCan ease our living, make distressOne whit the slighter. Still as wePlod onward in Eternity,Through sun and storm, by feast orcrust,Let us remember Life is just!

FAR PERSPECTIVEBy MAUDE RUBINSanta Ana, California

I find my freedom where the clouds blowwild,Where wind plays on the desert's soundingsandWhere springtime is the winter's darlingchildAnd gold pours forth at noon-day's highcommand.

Freedom to wonder, freedom to think andgrow,Freedom to look as high as endless sky.I listen, let the stars tell what they knowLet far perspective train my slothful eye.I find new prayers where mountains standserene,Then send them high like shining eagle-word.I find new faith in tranquil desert sceneAs I stand before the Candles of the Lord!

By GRACE BARKER WILSONKirtland, New MexicoWe climbed the ladders up the ruined wallsOf cliff dwellings. Light laughter filled thehallsOf ancient times as tourists crowded in.I thought, somewhere above that curiousdin,I heard a murmur, and dim footsteps passedAlong sand-covered floors. Across the vastExpanse of time between the then and nowWe were intruders in their home, somehow.An d I was glad when all had left the place,And peace returned to ghosts of a dead race.

NIGHT IN THE DESERT

By R UTH A. INOLESBYTorrey, UtahStars hang low in their heavenly splendor,Lighting a world breath-takingly still,Till the wily coyote pauses to renderA mournful cry from a distant hill.Silence enfolds me in lonely raptureBroken only by whispering sand,With poignant longing I strive to captureThe heart of this vast and beautiful land.The breeze that tosses all sham asunder,Drifting down from the canyon shelf,Thrills and fills my soul with wonderI am at peace with God and self. LOST TRAILS

By GRACE BARKER WILSONKirtland, New MexicoLost trails across the desert still are fullOf strange adventures. When you feel thepullOf centuries, walk where the tracks are dimAnd find old ruins on a canyon rim.And here someone has dug deep by a moundFor fabled Spanish treasure still unfound.The trail may end abrupt as it beganBeside a modern Navajo hogan.And should you wander far at close of day,In purple shadows you may lose the wayDown an arroyo rain gods have forgot,Where time's recurring seasons matter not.

TIMELESS COLORAMABy MILDRED BREEDLOVELas Vegas, NevadaSo long as desert hills shall standUnchanged as centuries advance,And summer's burning desert sandLies bare in limitless expanseSo long as cloudless desert skyKeeps watch upon the naked peaks,A thousand shades that please the eye,Convince the heart that color speaksWith grandeur and with magnitudeBeyond the scope of brush or tongue,In much the same sweet solitudeThe Maker knew when Earth wasyoung.

DAYLIGHT ON THE DESERTBy MILDRED BREEDLOVELas Vegas, NevadaThe desert is a paint pot,Boasting every shade and hue.Pink and gold and apricotAlternate with lavender,As the sun, a master blender,Mixes yellow, red and blue.An d the change, though soft and distant,Is as subtle and as constant,As the movement of the oceanIn slow motion.

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Needles area looking northeast over Indian Creek V alley. Departm ent of Interiorair photo by George Grant.Trail Intotah's Rugged

Cataclysmic in form, awesome in scope, silent in nature, south-eastern Utah's Needles area remains an uncharted, unexplored regionreflecting the very fury of the earth's beginn ings . Here is a story of oneof the ever-growing number of jeep excursions into the fringes of thisfantastic land.By W. G. CARROLLMap by Norton Al len

IEFORE US spread a maze oftowers and spires, great blockhouses and stone skyscrapers

scent of the supper fire, it would havebeen easy to imagine that what I waslooking at was Manhattan Island's sky-line instead of the silent, fantasticNeedles country of eastern Utah.I was not the first to conjecture up

this resemblance, nor will I be the last.Nearly a hundred years ago, on Au-gust 23, 1859, Geologist J. S. New-berry of the MacComb expeditiongazed upon the Needles from the mou thof Indian Creek. He described whathe saw in these words: ". . . someidea of their appearance may be gainedby imagining the island of New Yorkthickly set with spires like that of Trin-ity Church, but many of them full twicein height. In every direction the in-numerable canyons run ramified deep,dark and rugged, impassable to every-thing but the winged bird."Today, man has joined the "wingedbird" in flights over the Needles, buthe has made little penetration of thearea on the ground since Dr. New-berr y's visit. Lates t geological and to-pographical maps show the northerntip of the Needles country as a seriesof fault lines paralleling the ColoradoRiver, but southward, deeper into thelabyrinth of eroded and faulted red,buff and white walls and shafts, hun-dreds of square miles are curtlymarked: "Not Mapped."In my party were Bates Wilson,superintendent of Arches National

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Monument; Jerry Herdina of Chicago,an amateur geologist and paleontolo-gist; and my wife, Helen. We h addriven south from Moab on U.S. High-way 160 in two jeeps packed withcamping gear, reserve supplies and ex-tra gasoline. After 43 miles of goodhighway, we traveled 20 miles of twist-ing trail varying from primitive pathsto good graded road, which broughtus to Dugout Ranc h. This ranch, atthe junction of Cottonwood and Indiancreeks, is headquarters for the IndianCreek Cattle Company and jumping-off-place for the Needles.s I t was autumn and Indian Creekvalley was a colorful, isolated paradise.The valley floor was a patchwork ofgreen alfalfa fields and thick yellowgraze. Sheer red walls of Kayenta in-termittently capped with white Navajosandstone and fingers of rock wereclose to our right. Similar walls onthe left were cut through by Titus andCottonwood canyons which were top-ped with magnificent buttes resemblingparap ets of old world castles. Crow n-yjg this beauty were the irregularlyspaced clumps of green and goldencottonwoods marching up the deepCanyons as far as the eye could see.' This is the gateway to a millionacres of rugged grazing land, and thegate itself bore a characteristic notice:'' 'Please open the gate before you gothrough, and be damn sure you closeit after you."

We followed these instructions anddrove onto a faint trail which heads

downhill to the Needles country. Inthe time it takes to shift gears wetraveled 200,000,000 years back ingeological time. Here we entered arolling sage and tumbleweed-covereddesert, punctuated with strange, abruptlandmarks like the twin North andSouth Six Shooter Peaks towards whichwe drove.After crossing Indian Creek the

road turns northwest across miles ofbroken, eroded country to the base ofthe mesa out of which the South peakrises as a bright red, tower-cappedcone. We climbed the steep talus slopeto the mesa top and the peak towereddirectly above us. Across a mile-widecanyon its identical twin rose like areflected image in the clear blue mir-ror of sky.On the narrow northwestern arm ofthe mesa we stopped the jeeps andgot out to stretch our legs and admirethe panorama within the distant en-

closing walls in which towers and iso-lated buttes looked like floating islandsin a great bowl of red-brown water.Heavy rains two weeks previouslygave the land around us a fresh, cleanlook and the potholes in the stonebenches were filled with cold, clearwater. From these waterholes thearea's wildlife would find sustenance.The sun was swinging toward theNeedles to the west, and we hurriedalong to Squaw Springs where we madeour base camp. It was here, at sunset,that Manhattan's imagery caught myfancy.

The solid chunk of Bates' big axeawakened me at daybrea k. With hisdutch ovens and cow country cookery,Bates was a most excellent chef. Bythe time the rest of us had gatheredaround the campfire, a frying pan ofbacon and one of scrambled eggs weresizzling over the coals, and the bigblack coffee pot was perfuming themorning air.We started for the Needles under ahalf-threatening sky while the sun wasstill low in what I would have swornwas the south. We traversed a numberof deep, narrow canyons and reachedthe base of Elephant Hill. The Needlesarea is deeply carved in the massivecross-bedded gray to red sandstone ofthe Cutler formation. Eleph ant Hill isa high narrow ridge with steep brokenfaces of this red sandstone, separatingtwo equally narrow canyon s. Gnarledjuniper and pinyon cling sparsely to itssides but grow in thick clumps in thecanyon bottom s. This is the first realbarrier to the Needles and crossing iton horseback or by jeep is an adven-ture.The twisting trail out of ElephantCanyon led into the Devil's Lane.Thisflat, high-walled corridor stretchedaway before us to a distant group ofspires towering over the D evil's Pocket.Devil's Lane was the first of a numberof paralleling channels which we en-tered, some of them many miles longwithout a break in their walls. Thelane, almost barren of growth, wasremarkably free of rubble considering

- 4 THE NEEDLES f iREOf-

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walls and rim. Even the juniper

occa sional dwarf sunflowers. In

In the Devil's Pocket we climbed apar k. Th e group of white-

nto an adjacent canyon. It too

Our trail to the junction of the Colo-

a mystery to the rest of us. It wasthe overlook. Twelve hund red feet

d ride down Cataract Canyon. The

far below. A few miles

On our return we explored Cyclone

walls. In this cor rido r the floor

To p Helen Carroll drinks from apothole. In the background is SouthSix Shooter Peak.Center In the Devil's Lane withsome of the Needles spires in thebackground.Bottom Junction of the GreenRiver, from upper left, and Colo-rado, from right, which continuesdownstream at lower left to CataractCanyon.

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In the late afternoon light the trailback to Squaw Springs was an orangeand mauve Kodachrome of sunset-tipped spires, sandstone mushroomsand muffins, and weird figures, naturaland unnatural, imitated in stone.Next day we explored the colorfully-banded pastel walls and pinnacles ofChesler Park, named for the rancherwho brought cattle into this remoteplace in 1885. This is one of the mostbeautiful spots I have encountered inthe Four-Comers country, and one ofthe most inaccessible. Its four squaremiles of grassy floor is naturally fencedon three sides by the rough sheer wallstipped with the ever-present needles.Delicate shades of red-tan, buff andpink alternate with horizontal bandsof wh ite. Th e green floor slopes to-ward the northwest and is open on thisside to a view of the distant Land ofStanding Rocks across the ColoradoRiver. On this open side, the inclos-ing of Chesler Park is completed bya low eroded barrier of slickrock whichdrops off into a narrow canyo n. En-trance into the park is through a breakin this barrier.On the following day we broke campand backtracked to a slickrock benchabove Salt Creek. Her e we made adry camp and set out in the jeep toexplore the canyons to the south.Although we still were deep ineroded canyon lands, the character ofthe country quickly changed. Ourroads were the wide sandy washes ofSalt Creek and Horse Canyon whichwound between towering, terraced wallsof red and white sandstone, higherthan those in the heart of the Needlesand by contrast smooth. Occasionalclumps of cottonwoods stood along thebanks and on the mid-channel islands.Where walls receded leaving clearings,head-high sage grew thickly and waist-high rabbit-brush was crowned withyellow bloom.Many centuries ago these lonelycanyon lands were more densely pop-ulated than they are today. Evidenceof cliff-dwelling ancients were in everycanyon. The few white men who havepenetrated this country have not gonefar nor stayed long.Bates had visited Horse C anyon manytimes before with his Explorer Scoutsfrom Moab, and was familiar withmany of the wide tributary canyons.

To p Cyclone Canyon, an earth-quake fault. Its name derives fromthe winds which sweep it frequently.Center View to the northwest fromChesler Park. The Needles of Devil'sPocket are at right foreground.Bottom A circular granary in atributary to Morse Canyon used bythe ancients.



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monolith at left.A window to the sky, eroded through theoverhang. Scene is in Horse Canyon . A small tributary of Horse Can-yon is crowned with lovely anddelicate Castle Arch.

shelf, we searched the

Farther up Horse Canyon, aeons

. Tho usan ds of years ofoot opening to the sky. Some day

Two miles ahead our jeep squeezed

At the far end of a brush-l Castle Arc h. Its pink and tan rib-urves high above a sheer fin which

Late that afternoon we headed both

unknown, uncharted land. Chancesare the heart of the Needles countrywill always remain unch arted. I hopein years to come that we can returnand find it as silent, deserted andmysterious as it is today.

'Tis not the weight of jewel or plate,Or the fondle of silk and fur;'Tis the spirit in which the g ift is rich,As the gifts of the wise ones were;And we are not told whose gift w as goldOr whose was the gift of myrrh.

Edmund Vance Cooke

S H A R E Y O U R E N J O Y M E N T O F

b y G i u i n g a G i f t S u b s c r i p t i o nT o Y o u r F r i e n d s

Here is a thoughtful Christmas present that spreads its goodwishes over the entire new year and for many years to come . . .Use the convenient order blank in this copy and a colorful giftcard bearing your name will be sent to your friends to arrivea few days before Christmas.

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W. G. Carroll's first Desert Magazinefeature, "Jeep Trip into Utah's RuggedNeedles Country" appears in thismonth's issue. Carroll recently retired

after 25 years of employment as anengineer and plans to "roam the South-west in our four-wheel-drive camperin search of stories and photographsand," he adds, "I'm getting so I pickup material from washes or kick at anoutcropping and remark, 'Looks likecutting stuff'."The Carrolls reside in Hollywoodand have traveled extensively in the

Southwest.Here's Desert 's monthly brain exercise. If itw a s c r ' m ' n a l t o be wrong, we would all be^ m j a j ] ; s o ^ t n e ^esi y O U c a n ^ j j , them, andwhen you have finished you will have added to your store of knowledgeabout the Great American Dese rt. Even a tenderfoot o ught to get 10 ofthem right. 12 to 15 is a good score, 15 to 18 excellent. An yon e doingbetter than 18 will be at the head of the Quiz class. Th e answers are onpage 39.1In summer the desert visitor may encounter sidewindersSunningthemselves at midday on the dunes Swimming in the water-holes In rocky crevices On the sand dunes at dusk2-Fig Tree John, about whom Edwin Corle wrote a book, lived on the

shore ofG reat Salt Lak e Elephan t Butte reservoirPyram id Lak e Salton Sea3 The astronomical n am e of the North Star is PolarisVenus Jupiter Mars4Tallest tree native of the Southern California desert is Smoketree Washingtonia palm Ironwo od Mesquite5Morenci, Arizona, Santa Rita in New Mexico, Ruth in Nevada, andBingham in Utah , have one thing in common. They are the sites ofIrrigation dam s Early southw estern forts Ope n-pitcopp er mines Rich gold strikes6Name of the Indian who instigated the revolt of the Pueblo Indiansagainst the Spaniards in 1680 was G eronimo __. P opeEstaban.___. M an gu s Co lor ad o7One of the following desert watering places is not in Death ValleyTinajas Altas Bennett 's well Stovepipe w el l. - Fu r-nace Creek8The old mining camp nearest to Davis Dam in the Colorado River isRawhide Searchlight Rhyolite Skidoo9Among the coniferous trees, the one best adapted to the land of littlerainfall isP inyon Sugar pine Pon dero sa Jeffreypine10The dam in the Salt River which was named in honor of a presidentisH oove r dam Coolidge dam McKinley damRoosevelt dam11 Lodore Canyon is in theC olorado River Virgin RiverSan Juan River Green River12 Can yon de Chelly is in Ariz ona New Mex ico Utah____.California13The mine which brought fame to Henry Wickenburg was the Fo rtun a Vulture Com stock lode Yellow Aster14 Gecko is the nam e of a desertB ird Lizard Ro den t^..Insect15 Th e color of the Chu pero sa blossom is White___ . Blue .Yellow Red16Fred Harvey's Phantom Ranch is in Zion National ParkCedar Breaks National Mon ument Taos In the bottomof Grand CanyonGeorge Wh arton James was an Author Mining manTerritorial governor of Arizona Scout with Kearny 's Army ofthe WestAshfork, Arizona, is the source of much of the Southwest's Onyx Flagstone Quicksilver Turquo ise19Most of the Kachina dolls sold in the Southwest are made by theNavajo Indians Hopis Mojaves Apaches20 Th e state flower of Arizona is the Saguaro YPop py Cliff Ros e

1718

Mrs. Beth Brakemeyer who wrote"Daddy of the Joshuas" in this month'sDesert, was born in Nebraska and at17 started her teaching career in theproverbial little red school house in asmall town in that state.There she met and married herschool superintendent, quit teachingand migrated west with her husband."This is when I began thinking of

writing and suddenly the bug got me!"she recalled. But, raising a family an dreturning to the teaching professionmade her writing career spasmodic atbest. Last summer while attendingFresno State College she became amember of the Writer's Workshopwhere her interest in writing was re-kindled. * * *"Dreamers of the Mojave," in thismonth's Desert, was written by Ken-neth M. Stewart, associate professorof anthropology at Arizona State Col-

lege, and a graduate of the Universityof California at Berkeley.The field trip to the Mohave Indiansdescribed in his story was made whenhe was a graduate student working onhis Ph .D. in 194 6. Since that time healso has done field work with the Pa-pago Indians and has engaged in arche-ological excavations in Arizona.* * *Joseph Schmedding, long time des-ert enthusiast and author, passed awayat his home in Desert Hot Springs,California, on September 2. He was70 years of age. His most recent Des-ert Magazine story, "Christmas inKeams Canyon," appeared in the De-cember, 1955, edition.* * *Miriam Anderson, author of thismo nth's " 'Little Yellowstone' on theSalton Shores," is a long time residentof California's northwestern ColoradoDesert."My unusual experiences on thedesert include pack trips to San Gor-gonio and San Jacinto peaks. Standingthere gives one real perspectives! Then

weathering the flood in Palm Springsin 1938 when I luckily had two gaso-line camp stoves and was able to heatwater for coffee and tea for peoplewho had no heat; making personalfriends with many of the Indians there;eating their acorn bread; exploring themesquite hills; remembering the beautyof the old church in Palm Springs, andAileen's library, both gone now. It wasa much different town, indeed, andbehind the bath house, where the twohuge fig trees stood, there were buttwo trailers in 1934 and one of themwas mine."Mrs. Anderson now m akes her homeon Twin Creeks, in Old WatermanCanyon above San Bernardino.

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L I F E O NT H E D E S E R Tre a m e r s o fh e M o j a v e . . .

The Mohave Indians near Needles, California,once a proud warrior race, are falling behind in thestruggle to better their lives in the white man's world.A basic reason for this failure may be an ancientbelief still prevalent in the conscious and subcon-scious manifestations of their ancient culturethatto succeed o n e n e e d not work or train or learnonemerely need have the proper dreams.By KENNETH M. STEWARTAssociate Professor of AnthropologyArizona S tate Col lege

SAT ON A rock, watching the flickering campfire ofmesquite wood . To my right loom ed the dark bulk ofthe truck. The Colema n lamp illuminated a smalle of sandy mesa beyond which lay utter blackness. TheSave for the crackling of the fire, and the hea vy

till. Fa r away in town, a dog howled.The desert was new to me, a city dweller, but I had

It was a great relief to be camped on the clean desertfter a miserable night in a flea-infested auto court on ourarrival in Needles, California, for anthropological fieldork with the Mohav e Indians. The court was near thewitchyard, with its clangor and hissing, while trafficwhizzed by on the nearby highway.I despaired of further sleep, and dressed for a sunrisewalk along the Colorado River, watching the reddeningskies above the gray mo untains to the east. Ma king myway through thickets of rushes, I watched the turbid, silt-

laden stream flow relentlessly in its channel, eddying aroundsandbars, dallying in lagoons, and I thought of the dayswhen broad-shouldered Mohave Indians, naked to a G-string, ferried their children and household goods acrossthe river, pushing large pottery vessels before them as theyswam.The day before at the railroad station I spoke to stockyMohave women in bright calico dresses, selling beadedcurios. I learned from them that my best source of infor-mation would be the old chief, a man of more than 80years, yet in full possession of his faculties and well-in-formed about the Mohave way of life in the old days.An hour later I found this man."I dreamed that my spirit was floating in the sky, farabove the clouds," he said in a gentle tone, as his brighteyes gazed beyond the river toward the jagged peaks,seeing things to which my own eyes were blind.

Mohave Indian mother and child. From the C. C.Pierce collection.I was silent, not wishing to interrupt his flow of mem ory."Truly , it was a great thing. I saw two big hawk s,flying swiftly through the air. Th at m ade me very hap py.It meant that I would become a kwanami, a great warrior."The days passed as I interrogated the old chief, attempt-ing to draw out information about the former life of theMo haves. This was never a difficult task for he spokefreely, and my pencil moved rapidly in taking notes.I learned that before the wagon trains of the whitesrumbled through Arizona, upsetting the ancient Indian wayof life, the Mohave were known by other tribes as a nationof dreamers. The Mohave believed that to achieve attain-ment in life one must dream properly.A Mohave must have the proper dreams to be successfulas a medicine man, a warrior, a gambler, to acquire anydesirable ability. An d there was nothing a man could doto induce the right dream s. He either had them or he didn't.Mohave dreams would baffle a psychoanalyst, since

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they supposedly begin in infancy, oreven before birth, while the unconsci-ous embryo is yet in his mother'swomb, or even earlier, while the soulof the future Mohave was with thegods at the sacred mountain north ofNeedles known as Avikwame, orGhost Mounta in.This prenatal dreaming was in asense predestination, since knowledgeand skills were acquired throughdreams and not by reflection, practiceand hard work.

As I listened to the old chief, I con-cluded that the Mohave were so pre-occupied with dreaming that they hadlittle interest in material things, andthis was reflected in a great indiffer-ence to the arts and crafts. Theirbasketry was sloppily executed andtheir pottery did not rise above thelevel of mediocrity. The simple rec-tangular house was constructed of logs,brush and mud, with a floor of dirtand an earth-covered roof, while dur-ing the steaming summer months theIndians moved out under ramadas,flat-topped shades without walls whichpermitted the free circulation ofbreezes.Today, too, the Mohave show littleevidence of a materialistic orientation.Many of them live in shacks on theoutskirts of Needles, in an area oftenpartially flooded by the river, and theiryards are littered with tin cans, rustyjalopies, and other rubbish of westerncivilization. Meticulous housekeepingis rare among the Mohave.

Little time was lost from dreamingin making clothing. For men, thewardrobe consisted of breechclouts andfiber sandals; for women, a short skirtof fibers. Haird ress, too, necessitateda min imu m of effort. Bo th sexes wo retheir hair long in back, with that ofthe women cut in bangs, while that ofthe men was sometimes rolled into"pencils" which hung down the back.On?occasion the long hair was plas-tered with mud as protection againstinsects, suggesting the turbans of theNear Eas t .Even dreamers require nourishment,but the food quest along the lowerColorado was not an arduous one.In spring the mighty river, swollen bythe melting snows of the Rocky Moun-tains far to the northeast, burst itsbanks and flooded the bottomlands.Then as the waters receded, the Mo-have planted corn, beans and squash inthe rich mud, and harvested the cropsafter their rapid growth u nder th e fiercesummer sun. Jackrabbits were huntedin the thickets along the river, fishwere taken in huge basket scoops

shaped like canoes and a few huntingspecialists (who had, of course,dreamed their power over the game)went to the mountains in the vicinity

of present day Oatman and Kingmanto hunt deer and antelope.Government was a casual matter,and held little interest for the Mohave.The tribal chief was respected, butthe great warriors, the kwanamis, wereat the pinnacle of prestige in the tribe.The only activity which ranked withdreaming in the Mohave conception ofthings was warfare. But dream-life and

warfare were closely relateda mancould not be successful in battle unlesshe had experienced the proper dreamsfor war. These kwanamis were thegreat men of the tribe. The M ohaveenjoyed fighting, and terrorized neigh-bor tribes for hund reds of miles around ,smashing their enemies with viciouswooden clubs shaped like old-fashionedpotato-m ashers. Periodically, bands ofMohave raiders departed on a gruelingsix day journey across the desert todescend on the Maricopa southwest ofPhoenix, killing, scalping, plunderingand capturing women and children forslaves.

Sometimes even marriages resultedfrom dream ing. If a girl and a youngman dreamed of each other, it wasregarded as an indication of the willof the god Mastamho that they marry.Marriage and divorce were extremelycasual affairs, with a couple simplydeciding to live together. The maritalbonds were severed by the simple de-parture of either partner.When the death of a Mohave ap-proached, friends and relatives as-

sembled and began an eerie wailing,which might continue for days, if deathwere slow in coming. The corpse wascremated on a funeral pyre, whilemourners cast the possessions of thedeceased into the flames. In formertimes, they were sometimes too preci-pitate in their actions, and there arereports of "corpses" suddenly sittingup in the midst of the leaping flames.The death of the old chief had beenanticipated after he had suffered astroke shortly before my arrival atNeedles. Relatives had been sum-

moned from the Colorado River Res-ervation, 50 miles downstream atParker, Arizona; the funeral pyre wasready beside the house, and ceremonialreplicas of the ancient weapons, thewar club, the long bow and the feath-ered pike, had been prepa red. But thepatriarch's vitality was great, and hefooled the mo urners. By the time ofmy arrival, he was able to sit up andtalk for hours at a time.Mohaves, like so many other South-western Indians, fear the dead and any-thing connected with death. After aperson has rejoined the gods at GhostMountain, his name should neveragain be spoken and it is a great in-sult to a Mohave to mention the names

of his dead relatives. The M ohaveresent having their pictures taken, fear-ing that someone may see the photoafter their death.On one occasion, my fellow anthro-pologists and I accompanied someMohaves to the site of old Fort Mo-have, on the Arizona side of the river.Walking through the thicket in singlefile, we were spread out over a distanceof 30 or 40 yards. I began to whistle,and a Mohave woman in the rear ofthe column became frightened.

"I hear a gho st," she cried. It seemsthat, in Mohave belief, ghosts whistle,and to hear whistling at night is par-ticularly terrifying.Mohave life today goes on at aleisurely pace, with much free time fordreaming . Em ploym ent for many ofthe men is not steady, and they loungeon the grass in back of the railroadstation at Needles, perhaps dreamingof the old days and the god Mastamho.

Many of them are rather bitter aboutthe white man's encroachment upontheir land, and his discriminationagainst the descendants of a tribe oncegenerally feared and respected . An ddiscriminated against they are. Forexample, they are required to sit in aJim Crow section at the local theater.In a certain department store in Need-les, the Mohaves trust only one clerk,and will wait silently until he is freeto wait on them.Approximately 400 Mohaves live inand near Needles, while 600 reside on

the Colora do River Reservation. Theones on the reservation farm irrigatedlands and are more progressive thanthe die-hards at Needles, who insiston staying where they have alwayslived, even though it may mean pov-erty and hardship for them. The oldchief once said to me, "That's like aprison down there at Par ker ." But itseemed to me that those at Parker werehappier and more prosperous by hav-ing adjusted to altered conditions in-stead of clinging tenaciously and fu-tilely to a vanished past.Change is inevitable and is acceler-ating. I n 1956 M ohav e children at-tend school, play football, watch moviesand young men are drafted into thearmed forces. Mo haves drive autom o-biles, use modern methods of farmingand work in the railroad shops or onthe tracks at Needles. Wa rriors nolonger campaign against the Maricopas.But dreams persist, in spite of anominal acceptance of Christianity bymany of the Mo have. The old peopleare nostalgic for a time when the riverwas wild and unhampered by dams,

when the white men were not yetnumerous in the region, and when thedesert was not scarred by the materialthings of "civilization."12 DESERT MAGAZINE


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Jasp-agate, carnelian and some fire agate are found in this ruggedly beau-tiful volcanic mountain-desert country in the eastern Palo Verde Mou n-tains. Palo Verde Peak, the towering volcanic neck, backgroun d, is alandmark for this part of the desert.

G e m S t o n e s o fP alo V erde Pass

Less than a mile from the soon-to-be-paved Palo Verde Pass roadin Imperial County, California, isan ideal collecting area for begin-ning rockhounds. Here is an end-less field of botryoidal chalcedonysome of it with thin layers ofiridescent limonite which producesthe much-prized fire a ga te.

By HAROLD O. WEIGHTP ho tog raphs by the au tho rMap by Nor ton Allen

7HE SUN was low one afternoonlast May as Lucile and I fol-lowed the Palo Verde-Ogilbyroad from the expanding cultivatedlands of the rich Colorado River valleyinto the eastern end of California'sbarren Palo Verde Mou ntains. Theslanting light and lengthening shadowsaccentuated the rich colors and fiercelyjagged outlines of the range and madeeven more spectacular the great red-dish triangle of Palo Verde Peak, a

volcanic neck which is the landmarkof this part of the desert.These Palo Verdes were the moun-tains which, above all others, caughtthe fancy of John S. Brown during hisreconnaissance of the Colorado Des-ert for the U. S. Geological Survey in1918. "Now here in all the ranges ofthe region were desert colors seen morebeautifully developed," he wrote, "andthe trip through these mountains isdecidedly worth while for that alone."Considering how rugged the roadthrough the Palo Verdes must havebeen at that time, Brown's suggestionwas high praise for any scenery. Bu t

I can second it heartily, although I mustconfess that in my memories of myfirst trip through these mountains in1931 I had little time to admirescenery.There had been much rain in thecountry and little auto travel, so per-haps conditions then were exceptional.My father, Donald Gorton and I hadbeen exploring the outliers of the Choc-olate Mountains, looking for PeglegSmith's lost black-coated golden nug-gets. That was my first lost mine huntand I was naively confident of success. We did not loca te a gold-platedblack butte on that trip or on any of

N O V E M B E R 1 9 5 6 1 0


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Botryoidal chalcedony with irides-cent limonite layers the so-called"fire agate" from this field in theeastern Palo Verdes.the later journeys I have made throughthat country since, however.When we ran out of time on ourPegleg hunt we returned to the coastby way of Blythe, detouring at Mid-way well for a brief visit to the oldPaymaster mine. The veteran care-taker at the mine assured us we wouldnever make it through Palo Verde Pass.

It was rough going, but we finallycame through with tires badly shreddedby the rocky ruts along the way.Today this same canyon route hasbeen so bladed, filled, cut and straight-ened it hardly would be recognized asthe same road. When Lucile and Itraveled this way early in May wefound no obstacles except the dust andwashboard that are characteristic of

gravel roads.On this trip we were not after blackgold. We were hunting a gem field EdRochester had told us about. Gemrocks you can find in the Palo Verdes,but the cutting material in this endof the range was as elusive as Pegleg'snuggets. I had collected beautifulstones in the western and southwesternsections of these mountains since thelate '30s. Since the same andesitesand rhyolites are found throughout theentire-range, I was confident that rock-hound rocks also were available onthe northeastern and eastern sides.

But this was my fourth effort to findthem in any quantity.Once when I mentioned it to EdRochester, he confirmed my notionthat gem rock occurred there. But healso let me know that I was a Johnny-come-pretty-lately. An area in thispart of the Palo Verdes known asPoker Gulch had been worked by someof the first rockhounds since the early1920s. Tom Worthington, who inter-ested Ed in the "pretty rock business"had long ago shown him bookend jasp-agate and beautiful red chalcedonyamong the buttes around Poker Gulch,but this field was exhausted.

"I can give you directions to a bet-ter field, almost in sight of the road.I was in there just a few days ago andthere is a lot of colorful jasp-agateand some fire agate," Ed told us.He led us around to the back of hishouse where, under a shade tree, hehad a three-auto-tire gem tumblerrumbling steadily away."One for coarse, one for fine andone for polish," he explained, stop-ping the contraption to pull some grit-covered lumps from one of the tires.He washed them in a bucket andhanded them to us. They were strikingpieces, with mossy splotches of red,white, black and gray.

"From the field off Palo VerdePass," he said. "Of course they'reRed, gray, white and black moss-splotched cabochons cut from ma-terial found in the Palo Verde field.

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.?>::;.?%aya$tie PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 6 31


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m i T h e o n t h e D e s e r t . . .ARIZONA

Rattlesnake Deaths Gain . . .TEMPERatt lesnakes may surpassscorpions as the cause of deaths dueto venomous animals in Arizona. Scor-pions were responsible for 68 percent(a total of 64) of the deaths due tovenomous animals during a 20-yearperiod, 1929 through 1948. The totalof 64 is more than twice the numberproduced by all other Arizona poison-ous animals put together. From 1949through 1954, however, as manydeaths (five) were caused by rattle-snake bites as scorpion stings. Of the94 deaths recorded from 1929 through1 9 4 8 , 70 percent have occurred fromMay to August. Phoenix Gazette Indian Royalties Increase . . .

WA S H IN G TO N , D . C . The In -terior Department announced that In-dian tribes received 46 percent moreoil and gas royalty income in fiscal1956 than the year before. Individualsand tribes collected $41,000,000 fromoil and gas lands in the year endingJune 30. The income increase wasdue mainly to added interest in leasingOsage Reservation lands in Oklahomaand Navajo and other Indian lands inthe Southwest. Yuma SunK E N T F R OS T JE E P TR IPSInto the Famous Utah Needles AreaJunction of the Green and Colorado rivers;Indian and Salt creeks; Davis, Lavander,Monument, Red, Dark and White canyons;Dead Horse and Grand View points; Hoven-weep and Bridges national monuments.3-day or longer trips for 2-6 person parties$25 daily per person. Includes sleepingbags, transportation, snide service, meals.Write KENT FROST, Monticello, Utah.

L o o k i n g f o r a P U B L I S H E R ?Do you have a book-length manuscript youwould like to have published? Lear n aboutour unusual plan whereby your book can bepublished, promoted and distributed on aprofessional basis. We consider all types ofworkfiction, biography, poetry, scholarlyand religious books, etc. New authors wel-come. For more information, write for valu-able booklet D. It's free.V A N T A G E P R E S S . I N C .0253 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 28, Calif.Main Office: New Yor k 1, N. X.

1 0 0 0 T R A V E L S C E N E S

SPECIAL OFFERTo introduce readers of DESERT to our2"x2" COLOR SLIDES for home projec-tion, we are offering a FREE 20 pagecatalog and a FREE sample color slide.Travel, Science, Nature, National Parksand the southwest. Write today to

K E L L Y D . C H O D A7 3 2 UR S U L A S T . A U R O R A 8 , C O L O .

Delinquency Curb Proposed . . .P A RK ERTo he lp the Co lo radoRiver Indian tribes of western Arizonafight juvenile delinquency, the Bureauof Indian Affairs is proposing to givethe Indians a 10 percent discount inpower rates for lighting a tribal recrea-tion area, Acting Commissioner W.Barton Greenwood announced. "TheIndians of the Colorado River Reser-vation," Greenwood explained, "havealready spent $18,000 in developingthis recreation area to provide theiryoung people with a wholesome andhealth-building ou tlet for their energies.We believe the tribal leaders should becommended for this action and giventangible assistance in every feasibleway." The discount proposed would belimited to a maximum of $25 in anyone month. Indian Plan Approved . . .PHOENIX Indian Commiss ionerGlenn L. Emmons reported that Ari-zona Indian tribes are unanimous intheir approval of his agency's plan toliterally "put itself out of business."The plan involves preparation for therelease of Indians from governmenttrusteeship by bettering the health ofthe people concerned; giving them ade-quate education; and bringing them tothe point of industrial and social de-velopment where they can stand ontheir own feet. Phoenix Gazette Boundary Proposal Wins . . .PHOENIXThe way was c learedby Arizona voters for establishment ofa permanent boundary between thisstate and California. The center ofthe Colorado River channel has beenthe recognized western boundary ofthe state, but the river has changedits course numerous times creatingjurisdictional problem s. A rizona'sboundaries were set forth in the stateconstitution which can only be changedby a vote of the people. The amend-ment approved authorizes the statelegislature to change the boundary.The two states already have agreedon a permanent line. Los AngelesTimes Plaque for First Farm . . .PHOENIX A historical plaquenow marks the site of the first farmin the Anglo-American settlement ofthe Salt River Valley. The pionee rfarmer was Frenchy Sawyer who har-vested a small crop of barley anderected a mud-and-brush house at the

site in 1868. The marker was placedby the Maricopa County Farm Bureau. Phoenix Gazette

Building Razing Halted . . .JER OM E The Jerome His tor icalSociety has been successful in its at-tempt to stop razing of buildings inthe main section of the ghost city. Thesociety has completed purchase ar-rangements with Verde ExplorationLtd. for most of the remaining build-ings in the downtown area. A careful,gradual restoration of some of theproperty is planned by the organizationin order to add more rental propertyto its real estate holdings. Verde In-dependent Petrified Forest Funds . . .HOLBROOKPetr i f ied Fores t Na-tional Monument is to receive $1,529,-000 for improvements during the next10 years, according to the NationalPark Service. The expenditure is partof the $14,000,000 earmarked duringthis period for 14 national monumentsin the state. The Service plans tospend $408,000 for road improvementsand trails at Petrified Forest, and$1,121,000 for buildings and utilities. Holbrook Tribune-News CALIFORNIAMyst ic Maze Campaign On . . .NEEDLES Members of theNeedles Gem and Mineral Club havelaunched a campaign to have theMystic Maze Indian grounds preservedas a state park or historical monument.The club declared that the maze, lo-cated two miles west of Topock, rep-resents an unusual facet of Indian lorewhich has long interested students andresearchers.Desert Star More Mexican Buying Asked . . ,CALEXICO Increased shoppingprivileges for tourists in Mexico weresupported in a resolution approved bythe Calexico Chamber of Commerce.The San Diego Chamber originated themove to have U. S. Customs set a $200limit along the California-Mexico bor-der on merchandise which may bebrought back duty-free from Mexico,as long as most of the merchandise isMex ican-m ade. A limit of $10 hasbeen in effect along the border since1 9 3 1 . Under the new resolution, only$10 of the $200 worth could be inAmerican-made merchandise. Cal-exico Chronicle Mt. Whitney Records . . .M T . WHITNEY Two recordswere believed broken by Mt. Whitneyclimbers in August. The first was byRichard Jones of China Lake, threeyears, nine months old, who is be-lieved to be the youngest person ever tohike to the top and back . The secondwas set by Bob Lee of Ridgecrest whohiked from Whitney Portal to the topand back in eight hours and eightminutes. Inyo Register

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. . .COACHELLA Two new suits,ing more than $68,000 for dam-from the rising water of the Saltona, have been filed against the Coa-Valley Irrigation District. Mr.rs. William Horsely, owners ofbeach lots and of trust deeds onoperty, filed a claim for,502 in damages. A damage claimr $3500 was filed by Mr. and Mrs.ilkington who also own twoch lots. Engineers earlier reportedthe rise of the waters may haveWater level has dropped sixYuma Sun . . .HEMETSanta Rosa Indian lead-again this year will forego potentialfrom use of reservation landsing the deer season by closing theemee hazard. The reservation lands were

d last year for identical reasons.Hemet News . . .LONE PINEThe State Division ofParks has opened negoti-s for the acquisition of property inlabama Hills for the formationpark. Most of the land in-d by the Los Angelesepartment of Water and Power. Theplans a 27,000 acre park in theInyo Register . . .MARKLEEVILLE Acquisition

rkleeville in Alpine Countya state park was formally approvedthe State Park Commission. Theas budgeted $100,000 for firstity parcels for outright acquisition,use permit fors Forest Service lands. . . .BLYTHEThe antiquated bridgeolorado River on U. S.

hway 60-70 east of Blythe will beproviding the application ofornia and Arizona now before thermy District Engineer is approved.a new bridge 60 feeteam from the present one. The8-year-old bridge would be removedf the new structure.Palo Verde Valley Times NEVADA . . .MOAPAIn a small rockshelter ineadow Valley Wash near Moapa,

red evidence that prehistoric mand in this area for over 4000 years.tion of the site by Southwest

S o m e th i n g R e a l l y D i f f e r e n t !Our Editor, Fred Gipson, made the following pledge in an earlyissue of TRUE WEST:"This is the type story we'll have in TRUE WEST: Somethingdifferent. Something fresh and warm and alive. Whenever possible,we will print stories by eye-witnessesstories written by old-timers

who actually SAW the events they're writing about."For me, history has got to bemore than a bare recording ofnames and dates and places, re-shuffled like old bones moved fromone graveyard to another. It's gotto be brought ALIVE and madeREAL! And so long as I can getthat type story, that's the sort that'sgoing into TRUE WEST."A magazine with the fast move-ment of fiction, yet with the au-thentic detail of the historicaljournalsthat is TRUE WEST. Weare trying to get the vital, truehistory of the old west down onpaper while some of the boys whomade it axe still living to tell theirstories.Here is just a partial list of"coming up" contents:

LOR D S OF THE S OU TH PLA IN S , by NormanB. Wiltsey. Abso rbing story of the Coman-ches, most daring and proficient of all thewild Indian horsemen of the West. Youmeet the fierce Kwahadis of the Staked Plain,the Buffalo Eaters of the Canadian Rivercountry-atI the divisions of this storied na-t ion of red men in this condensation of theirl i fe history.HO W THE D U T C H M A N GOT HIS G O L D , byJohn Taylorwho has been in the Supersti-t ion Mountains for years. He advances somenew theories on the source of Jacob Walzer'streasure. A must for Lost Dutchman minefo l lowers.KILLER IN F A N C Y P A N T S , by Wayne T. Wal-ker. Luke Short was famed for his habit of

dri l l ing his vict ims neatly between the eyesand for this consideration was known as"The Undertakers' Friend."C H A R LIE 'S BIG M O S Q U I T O , by W. W. Raleigh.An amusing anecdote in the l i fe of the fa-mous Charlie Russell as to ld by a man whoknew him.I FOUGHT AT B E E C H E R 'S IS LA N D , by Geo.Oaks. An eye-witness account of a veryfamous batt le, and a new revelat ion. Thecharge of Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Siouxan d the death of Roman Nose will sendchills up your spine.W H E N D E A T H R O D E THE JA R B ID GE S TA GE ,by Nell Murbarger. Gripping tale of themurder of a stagecoach driver.H A N G I N G OF THIRTY-EIGHT SIOUX, by G. D.Wolfe . One of the most dramatic true In-dian stories you'll ever read!A MAN C A L L E D BAT. The fascinating storyof Bat Masterson, buffalo hunter, Indianfighter, Army scout, frontier sherif f andfamous sports writer and editor on a bigNew York newspaperlH OLE -IN -TH E - WA L L GA N G, by B. D. Titsworth .The bloody saga of Black Jack Ketchum andhis dreaded Hole-in-the-Wall gangsome newdata and eye-witness accountsl

There just isn't room left to listmore. They are all TRUE storieswith pictures. Each bi-monthly is-sue is crammed with factual, ex-citing, and well illustrated articlesby top authorities on badmen, lostmines, buried treasure, rangewars, Indian fights, outlaws, ghost-towns, trail drives, gold rush, cow-boys and ranch life. ITS THEREAL THING!

W E S P EWhy don't you put a dollar bill,check or money order in an en-velope and send it our way? Theregular rate is 12 issues for $3.00.This special shake-hands-and-get-acquainted offer is a flat fiveissues for a buck!

P/UTOWS Dim

TR UE WE S TP. O. Box 5008-MA ustin, TexasGentlemen:I'll try five issues of TRUE WEST.

Here is $ for months,start ing wi th your issue. Send to :NameAddressCity . State

1956 33


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T H E D E S E R T T R A D I N G P O S TClassified Advertising in This Section Costs 12c a Word, $2.00 Minimum Per Issue

REAL ESTATEBEAUTIFUL 80 acre Coachella Valleyranch to be sacrificed. Nice ranch house,40 acres three-year old asparagus; 26acres dates; balance grapes. $100,000Term s. Ronald L. Johnson, broker, Box1 6 2 , Thermal, California.CHOICE HOMESITES and acreage. SaltonSea vicinity. For full information writePon & Co., Box 46 DA, Azusa, California.MOUNTAIN HOME for sale. Big Bearback road. Six rooms. Mode rn. Garage ,shop, horse corral with barn. $7000. Takegood trailer for part. W. H. Schmidt,Box 611, Yucca Valley, California.

INDIAN GOODSFIVE FINE Prehistoric Indian arrowheads$2.00. Perfect stone tomahawk $2.20. Ef-figy pipe $5.00. Perfect flint thunderb ird$3.00. Flint fish hook $3.00. List free.Five offers for only $12.00 Arrow head ,Glenwood, Arkansas.FINE RESERVATION-MADE Navajo andZuni jewelry. Old pawn. Hundreds offine old baskets, moderately priced, inexcellent condition. Navajo rugs, old andnew, Bayeta, native dyes, Two Gray Hills.Artifacts and gems. A collector's para-dise! Open daily 10 to 6, closed Mon-days, Buffalo Trading Post, Highway 18,Apple Valley, California.FIVE ANCIENT arrowheads, $1. Four

birdpoints, $1. Three drills, $1. Spear-head, flint knife and scraper, $1. 24-inchstrand beads, $1. Four different strandsbeads, $3.50. Have peace pipes, toma-hawks, beadwork, masks; also Africanrelics. Paul Summers, Canyon, Texas.5 FINE ANCIENT Indian arrowheads, $2.Flint eagle ceremonial, $2. Perfect Fol-som, $5. Spearhead, $1. List Free. Lear's,Glenwood, Arkansas.

BOOKS MAGAZINESOUT-OF-PRINT books at lowest prices!You name itwe find it! Western Ameri-cana, desert and Indian books a specialty.Send us your wants. No obligation. In-ternational Bookfinders, Box 3003-D,Beverly Hills, California.HAVE REAL fun with desert gems, min-erals and rocks. The rockhound's how-to-do-it mag azine tells how. One year(12 issues) only $3.00. Sample 25c. Gemsand Minerals, Dept J-10, Palmdale, Calif.DESERT MAGAZINESall copies of Des-ert Magazine November 1937 to Septem-ber 1956, fine condition, take best offer.Frank A. Krause, P. O. Box 467, SealBeach, California.

M I S C E L L A N E O U SWILL BUY U. S. Cents. Large, FlyingEagles, Indian Heads and Lincoln's upto 1915. Dale, 495 Oak, Laguna Beach,California.

LADY GODIVA "The World's FinestBeautifier." For women who wish tobecome beautiful, for women who wishto remain beautiful. An outstanding des-ert cream . Fo r informa tion, write or callLola Barnes, 963 N. Oakland, Pasadena6, Calif., or phone SYcamore 4-2378.

SECTIONIZED COUNTY maps SanBernardino $1; Riverside $1; Imperial5 0 c ; San Diego 50c; Inyo 75c; other Cali-fornia counties $1.25 each. Nevada coun-ties $1 each. Topographic maps of allmapped areas. Westwide Maps Co., 114W. Third St., Los Angeles, California.FREE "Do-lt-Yourself" Leathercraft Cata-log. Tandy Leather Com pany. P. O. Box791-W17, Fort Worth, Texas.JOIN A REA L Prospectors and Rockhounds

organization. Am ateurs welcome. M anybenefits for members. Membership $2.50year, includes publication "Panning Gold."United Prosp ectors, 701 Vi E ast Edge-ware, Los Angeles, California.BUILD YOUR OWN real swimming pool!Fun for the entire family! Easy plan andinstructions, only $1.00. Delta Pools, Box6 0 4 , Stockton, California.BURIED TREASURE HuntersJoin otheractive hunters in the Treasure Trove Club.Armchair members welcome, too. Inter-esting circular free. W rite: RichardMaxwell, Williamsburg, New Mexico.GHOST TOWN ITEMS: Sun-colored glass,

amethyst to royal purple; ghost railroadsmaterials, tickets; limited odd items fromcamps of the '60s. Write your interestBox 64-D, Smith, Nevada.PAN GO LD : $1 for 75 panning areas in25 California counties. Geological for-mations, elevations, pertinent noles. Pan-ning pans $2.75, $2.25. Leather nuggetand dust poke $1. Fred Mark, Box 801,Ojai, California.

scientists recently attested to the sig-nificance of this discovery. At a dep thof over six feet, early type projectilepoints were uncovered indicating thepresence of a type of man not previ-ously reported from Southern Nevada.Carbon samples from a fire hearth atthis level, age-dated by the Carbon 14Method, reveal occupancy by thesepeople about 4050 years ago. Ma ter-ial from a hearth at 54 inches indicatesan age of over 3870 years. In thenext layer above were located piecesof pottery and typical corner-notchedprojectile points of the BasketmakerIndians who lived here about 1600years ago. Pueblo pottery in the nextlevel shows that these Indians, thebuilders of the famed Lost City orPueblo Grande de Nevada, occupiedthe site until about 1150 A.D.

Wat e rho l e s for Bighorn . . .LAS VE GA S A long-range p ro-gram to establish waterholes for desertbighorn sheep has been developed bythe U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service toincrease the number of animals inSouthern Nevada's huge Desert GameRefuge. Waterhole development hasincreased the available range, lowereddisease potential, eased pressure onexisting water supplies and has givenlambing ewes a better chance to pro-duce by allowing greater dispersal, offi-cials poin ted out. Ultima te aim of theprogram, adopted at other game ref-uges in Arizona and New Mexico, isto create waterholes at intervals of fivemiles or less to insure water reservesfor a year or more where evaporationis rapid. One method is to protectwaterholes from use by other animalswhich can find water elsewhere, byplacing them in spots accessible only tobighorns. Concrete dams have beenconstructed across some gullies andwaterways. Nevada State Journal Visitors Taking Artifacts . . .CAR SON CITY Out - of - statevisitors have been carrying off invalu-able relics in truckload lots from Ne-vada's archeological deposits, ThomasW. Miller, chairman of the NevadaPark Commission declared followingan inspection tour of the areas in-volved. Evidence was found, he said,that the relics are being systematicallylooted and that some of the finest ofthem have been carried off. Millersaid some non-Nevadans have fileduranium claims of doubtful value andare leasing their land to relic and arti-fact hunters in violation of Federaland State laws. Reese River Reveille Industrial Data Released . . .C A R S O N C I T Y A 1 6 0 - p a g ebook, Industrial Nevada Basic Data,has been published by the Nevada De-partment of Economic Development.The publication presents a comprehen-sive economic picture of the statebroken dow n by localities. Those de-siring free copies of the book can re-ceive them by writing to the depart-ment in Carson City. Reese RiverReveille a Chukars on Way Back . . .CARSON CITYChukars appearto be on their way back to a popula-tion level equal to that achieved priorto the harsh winter of several yearsago which almost wiped them out, theState Fish and Game Commission re-ports . A parallel condition exists withthe sage grouse. Both game birds showan increase, but their numbers still arevery low and a severe winter could bedisastrous. Reese River Reveille



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NEW MEXICO. . .SANTE FEWeather Bureau ex-

better. July and August rains helpedbut not enough. Rain during

Alamogordo . . .W A S H I N G T O N , D . C N e w M e x -

New York's rate, which

Lake Tribune M u s e u m Opens . . .TA OS The Millicent A . Rogers

n Taos. Featuring Indian and

jewelry, pottery, blankets, baskets,paintings by Indian artists, bultos, re-tablos, kachinas and other art objectsof a related nature which were gath-ered by the late Mrs. Rogers duringher lifetime. El CrepusculoFind Early Evidence of Man . . .PORTALESA stone spear pointembedded in the neck vertebra of anelephant which is known to have be-come extinct on this continent at least10,000 years ago, was discovered nearhere at the Sam Sanders gravel pit inBlackwater Draw . A bulldozer uncov -ered the gigantic skeleton of the ele-phant while pushing aside the clay andsand that lies above the gravel deposit. Alamogordo Daily News

Tribe Signs Plant Contract . . .GALLUP Navajo Tribal officialsand the Meyer Furniture Company ofLos Angeles have signed a contractfor the erection of a furniture plant.A temporary plant is expected to bebuilt by the firm at Gam erco. Plansare to build a permanent plant on landto be donated to the tribe for indus-trial use by the Gallup Chamber ofCommerce .A dahooniligii

Carson Park Dedicated . . .TAOSThe Kit Carson MemorialState Park was dedicated at specialceremonies held in late September.The bill providing for establishmentof the park was approved by the Leg-islature in 1951. State officials fromKentucky, where the famous scout wasborn, and Missouri, where Carson wasraised, were invited guests of the cere-mony. El Crepusculo New Forestry Booklet . . .A L B U Q U E R Q U E People andTimber, a non-technical publicationby the U. S. Department of Agricul-ture, has been released. It outlines thetimber situation in the nation as re-vealed by a three-year survey done bythe Forest Service in collaboration withstate agencies, forest industries andother interested org anizations. It is ofparticular interest to people of theSouthwest where timber supplies arenot abundant and where the propermanagement of forest land is so impor-tant for the protection of vital water-sheds, a Department spokesman said.A copy of Miscellaneous Publication721, People and Timber, may be ob-tained by writing to the Forest Service,U. S. Department of Agriculture, 510Second Street NW, Albuquerque, NewMexico. Sandoval Journal

I N

Don' t miss the November issue ofc o l o r f u l A R I Z O N A H I G H W A Y SMagazine with the big feature on min-eral collecting in Arizona by A. L.Flagg, president of the American Fed-eration of Mineralogical Societies. Thisfeature is illustrated with many full-color photographs of mineral speci-mens. An article of interest on photo-graphing minerals in color is also in-cluded in this issue.3 5 P ER COPY

A T YO UR F A V OR I T E N E W S S T A N D , OR C O NT A C T

V E M B E R , 1 9 5 6 35


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UTAHFifth Park Completed . . .SALT LAKE CITYFive roads iderest parks are now in operation in thestate, roa d officials ann oun ced . Fallconstruction schedules call for the com-pletion of an additional park every 10days as long as weather will permit.The program will then berenewed nextspring, and by next fall the state willbe dotted with roadside rest parks.Eventually, the state wants to haverest parks about 50 miles apart onevery major highway inUtah. Purposeof theparks is to give the motoris t asafe place to pull off the road andrest when hegets too tired to drive.Salt Lake Tribune

Road Contract Awarded . . .K A N A B The f i rs t bid onconstruc-tion connected with the $421,000,000Glen Canyon Damproject was let inKanab by the Bureau of Reclamationto theStrong Company of Springville.That concern will build the first fivemiles of the 25 mile road from BitterSprings on Highway 89 in Arizona tothe damsite for $1,156,000. This sec-tion of the road is expected to be themost expensive with some rock cutsup to 200 feet. Southern Utah News Interstate Route Protested . . .V E R N A L Utah and Coloradohighway officials have decided to workfo r the designation of U. S. 6-50 be-tween Denver andSalt Lake City as afederal interstate highway. Followingthe announcement, officials of the Na-tional Highway 40 Association andVernal business andcivic leaderspro-

You' l l want to keep thoseMAPSwhich appear each month inDesert Magazinemaps whichwill beyour guide onmany de-lightful excursions into the greatdesert playground.Attractive loose-leal binders em-b os s ed in gold not only willpreserve the map s , but will bea beautiful addition to yourh ome book-shelf. Each binderholds 12 cop ies . Easy to insert,they open flat.

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tested the action taken by the twostates, maintaining that U. S. 40 wasthe only logical route for inclusion inthe interstate network. Proponents ofth e U. S. 6-50 route point out thatthis more southerly route is at loweraltitudes, would serve southeastern U tahas well as Carbon, Emery and Grandcounties andwould afford better con-nections with NewMexico andTexas. Vernal Express F laming Gorge Project . . .VERNALAside from road build-ing, most of theactivity at the FlamingGorge Reclamation Damsite is coredrilling totest the strength of the quartzand quartzite walls and floor of thecanyon. Thesearch is still under wayfor thebest site for a permanent villagewhich will, at the height of construc-tion work on the dam, be the tempo-rary home of from 4500 to 5000 per-sons. Thedam, first unit of theUpperColorado River Development projectto bebuilt inUtah, will not be locatedat Flaming Gorge, but some 20 to 30miles downstream from this scenicattraction in theGreen River. VernalExpress Tribesmen Receive Clothing . . .S A LT LA K E CITY U pw ards to100 tons of used clothing wasdistrib-uted to Navajo andHopi Indian fam-ilies in theFour Corners area byUtahNational Guardsmen. Maj. Gen. Max-well E. Rich, adjutant general of theGuard, said Operation Friendship wasa huge success, thanks to thepainstak-ing efforts of Utahns to search storageclosets for unused clothing. Salt LakeTribune College Enrollment Highest . . .S A L T L A K E C I T Y U t a h l ea dsthe nation by a wide margin in theproportion of its total population andits college-age population (18-21 yearsof age) that are actually enrolled ininstitutions of higher learning withinthe state, Utah Foundation researchersreported. In 1955, 3.3 percent ofUtah's population was enrolled in col-lege, compared with 1.6 percent forthe nation as a whole.

Y O U R T R A V E L D R E A M S C O M E T R U E !Go where you please, stay as long as you l i ke .Explore the byways, relax by a rippling stream. . . e n jo y the sea, he woods, the m o u n t a i n s -travel carefree wi th all the comforts of home,whether it's an extended vacat ion tr ip or a week-end camping jaunt. Wri te today forf ree booklet!

A I R S T R E A M T R A I L E R S Oept. p12804 E. FIREST ONE BLVD., N0R WA U, CAL IF.110 CHURCH ST., JACKSON CENTER, OHIO

Speed Damsite Roads . . .K A N A B Prospects appear goodfor early development of an accessroad from Kanab to the Glen Canyondamsite, Utah andArizona state high-way commissioners indicated. Mem-bers of the two state highway groupsmet recently with representatives ofthe Bureau of Reclamation and theBureau of Public Roads to coordinateefforts of Utah andArizona in build-ing access roads to thesite. Themeet-ing was principally todetermine whereroads from each side of theborder willmeet. Salt Lake Tribune River Experts Needed . . .S A LT LA K E CITY The Bureauof Reclamation announced an urgentneed for personnel of many skills inconnection with therecently authorizedUpper Colorado River Storage Project.Most pressing need is for surveyors.In addition theproject will require ad-ditional engineering and cartographdraftsmen, construction inspectors, soiltechnologists, agricultural economistsand civil engineers. Vacancies exist atCarson City, Nevada; Durango andGrand Junction, Colorado; RockSprings, Wyoming; andOgden, Span-ish Fork, Vernal and Kanab, Utah .Candidates may apply by mailing astandard government application form57 to Box 360,Salt Lake City. SaltLake Tribune Dinosaur Returns to State . . .HANKSVILLEPreparat ions havebeen made for the mounting of thesauropod dinosaur skeleton discoveredin 1954near Hanksville, at the Uni-versity of Utah muse um . Discoverywas made by a team of Yale Univer-sity paleontologists who shipped abouthalf of the fossilized bones to NewHaven, Connecticut, where prelimin-ary preparations were made for mount-in g the skeleton. When it wasdiscov-ered atYale that available space wouldnot accommodate thedisplay, arrange-ments were made to turn the bonesover to the University of Utah. Therest of the bones found by the Yaleexpedition were brought to the Uni-versity of Utah last summ er. Assem-bling and preparing the skeleton forexhibition will take an estimated twoyears. Salina Sun

SAN JUAN and COLORADORIVER EXPEDITIONSEnjoy exploration, safe adventure andscenic beauty in thegorgeous canyons ofUtah andArizona. Staunch boats, experi-enced rivermen. For1957 summer scheduleor charter trips anytime write toI . FRANK WRIGHTM E X I C A N HAT E X P E D I T I O N SBlanding, Utah

:)? DESERT MAGAZINE


37/48

ni M I N I N GP. O. Dorr has soldof valuable tungsten property inNew York Mountains east of Twenty-to the Crescendo Mining Co.Las Vegas, Nevada, in a joint venture

Oil and Gas Co. and Tacks Oil Corpo-was announced at morea million dollars. The new own-to spend $100,000 to develop theand rare earth prospects onIn addition to important cop-and uranium deposits, thehas the third largest tung-in the United States. The newis earmarkeda 200-ton mill to handle company-and to do custom milling.

for the drilling of 120 to 125 gason the Southern Ute Indian Reserva-by the Murchison Trust ofThe concern said wells would beon 40,000 acres of Indian land inAll the wells will beand will be drilled byMining Record at Goldfield was sched-to begin operation again followingof a power hook-up. Purchasethe mill from the Newmont Mining Cor-in Augustof negotiation.was estimated at $70,000. Newof the property is the Monarch Mill-and Mining Co. of Las Vegas.

Kennecott Copper Corporation will addto its huge and historic openofnew 5490 foot-level ore haulage tunnelthe Copperton rail yards to theof the massive pit. This 18,000 footbe the longest singlein the United Salt Lake Tribune The Dasco Mines Corporation of Vista,for a 50 toton per day manganese flotation millto process ores from

had a production record of $1,-the property for the past 20Vista Press

Reports indicate that a further expansionatat Henderson isof titanium sponge is to50 percent and related meltingfor the production of titanium in-are to be expanded 80 percent. Thisthe announcementof a 67 percent increase over theof 10 tons per day.arecompleted late nextthe total capacity of the Nevada plantbe 25 tons of sponge and 30 tons ofof these additionalis estimated at $15,000,000.

Gabbs, Nevada . . .Standard Slag Co. is expanding its op-erations in iron ore mining in Nevada. Forthe first half of this year, iron ore ship-ments by Standard have averaged about40,000 long tons per month, all of whichwent to Japan. Current shipments are fromthe Stokes mine near Gabbs and the Minne-sota mine, about 16 miles from Yerington.At the present time, exploration programsare in progress in the Kingston Mountainsof California, south of Pahrump Valley inNevada and in the Cortez range of centralNevada. Tonopah Times-Bonanza San Juan, County, Utah . . .Standard Oil Company of Indiana hasscheduled a 5200 foot test of the Mississip-pian formation in the Elk Ridge sector ofSan Juan County. The company has per-fected a federal unit comprising 38,550acres of land, none of it in the NavajoReservation.Suit Lake TribuneWashington, D. C. . . .The General Services Administration an-nounced extension of the purchase programfor manganese, mica and beryl. The metal-lurgical grade manganese program has beenextended to January 1, 1961 and raisedfrom 19,000,000 to 28,000,000 long tonunits. The mica and beryl programs havebeen extended to June 30, 1962.Hum-boldt Star

Washington, D. C. . . .The government program for buyingtungsten was expected to begin immediately.A delay occurred in the Genera] ServicesAdministration offices because the order,passed by Congress and approved by thePresident, had not been signed.NevadaState Journal lone, Nevada . . .Reactivation of an old Nye County cin-nabar property four miles south of lonewas announced by officials of the UraniumExploration and Copper Co. of Las Vegas.The ground is being purchased from CharlesKeough and James Larson, it was reported.The mine had a successful productive his-tory early in the 1900s but was closeddown in 1918 after producing 18,000 flasksof mercury. Pioche Record- Son Juan County, Utah . . .Shell Oil Co. announced that its NorthDesert Creek No. 1 wildcat in San JuanCounty has completed potential tests of1440 barrels of oil per day. The oil ofthis discovery well has a gravity of 42.0and gas-to-oil ratio is 660:1. This is oneof the biggest flowing wells ever completedin the state.

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38/48

URANIUM NEWSM i n e r s U r g e d t o f i l e L o c a t i o nD a t a t o P r o t e c t S u r f a c e R i g h t sClaimholders of unpatented mining claimslocated on lands of the United States priorto July 23, 1955, should take immediatesteps to protect themselves against attemptsto challenge the validity of those claims.Before a determination of validity canbe made, the U. S. Department of Interioris required to publish locally a notice tomining claimants for determination of sur-face rights. A copy of anynotice must alsobe sent to each person who has filed arequest for such notice.Unpatented claimholders wishing to pro-tect their interest should, therefore, immedi-ately file in the Recorder's office in thecounty where theclaim is located, a requestfor a copy of any "notice to mining claim-ants." This request should contain the fol-

lowing information regarding each claim, asset forth in paragraph (d), sec. 5, PublicLaw 167, of 84th Congress, 1st Session:1 . Name and address of person makingrequest;2 . Thedate of location;3 . Thebook andpage of the recordationof the notice or certificate of location; and4 . The section or sections of the publicland surveys which embrace such miningclaim; or if such lands are unsurveyed,

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cither the section or sections which wouldprobably embrace such mining claim whenthe public land surveys are extended tosuch lands or a tie by courses and dis-tances to an approved United States min-eral monument. Mineral Information Serv-ice New Uranium Mill atMexican Hat Made ReadyTexas Minerals Co. wasexpected to haveits newuranium mill at Mexican Hat, SanJuan County, Utah, in operation by Sep-tember. The firm is a joint subsidiary ofthe Texas Co. and NewJersey Zinc Co.The mill will employ between 100 and110 men, it was announced. The company

plans construction of a 70-home townsitenearby on land leased from the Navajotribe.Chief source of ore for the newmill willbe the Happy Jack Mine inWhite Canyon,but 20percent of capacity is expected to bereserved for custom ores from other thanWhite Canyon andMonument Valley areas,it was reported. The mill will use waterfrom the nearby SanJuan River and powerfrom a high voltage line to be constructedto the mill site.Salt Lake TribuneTh e AEC predicted that construction ofnew facilities for ore processing in this andother free world nations which are nowunderway or definitely planned should in-

crease the total annual production of ura-nium oxide to 30,000 tons. Three millswere under construction during the firsthalf of 1956.Mining Record o Lawsuits Threaten FollowingHectic Grants Claim RushThe late August Grants, New Mexico,uranium rush turned out to be a prospec-tor's nightmare and a lawyer's dream. TheAEC released 11,875 acres at 10 in themorning and by sundown 1100 claims hadbeen staked. The question of how manyof these claims overlap and howmany areinvalid may keep the courts busy for thenext decade.Declared one prospector following therush: "If anyone gets any good out of thisit will be our grandchildren." GrantsBeacon

TREASURE HUNTERSNew type metals detector. Distinguishesmetals from black magnetic sands. Ideal forlocating gold nuggets, placertects metals under salt water.f V i b ' ' ' ' mW . ': :. .

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Uranium Industry Out ofSpeculative Era Says AECThe United States is not dependent onany overseas source for its uranium, nor isuranium mining any longer in the twilightzone that lies between wildcat speculationand recognition as a stable industry, anAtomic Energy Commission spokesman re-cently disclosed.Dr. Jesse Johnson, director of raw ma-terials for the AEC said the nation's ura-nium industry is not only operating at amore productive level than ever before, butis much more stabilized and looking aheadto a permanent commercial market."We have noticed a decided change inoperating plans through 1966. Companiesare talking in terms of a commercial mar-ket which will begin some time in the 1960sand will be a permanent market," he de-clared."Exploratory drilling by private com-panies is greater now than the combineddrilling by the AEC and private firms inany year from 1951 to 1954," Dr. Johnsonadded.In its 20th semi-annual report, the AECsaid: "Production of uranium from all freeworld sources continued to increase duringthe first half of 1956. The rise in domesticproduction was especially rapid and theUnited States is now the free world's lead-ing producer. Ore production exceededprocessing capacity, with ore being stock-piled at the locations of new mills." Reese River Reveille Atlas Becomes Partner inMoab, Utah, Uranium MillUranium Reduction Co. has agreed tolet financier Floyd B. Odium's Atlas Cor-poration become a partner in developmentof the nation's largest independent uraniummill at Moab, Utah. URC,inwhich CharlesA. Steen holds controlling interest, hasagreed to sell about a 30 percent equity in-terest to Hidden Splendor Mining Co., awholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Corpora-tion.In return, Atlas' UteMilling Co. affiliatewill not construct a large uranium concen-trator near La Sal, Utah. AEC approvalwas pending for the project.The historic accord would have the ef-fect of committing virtually all presentlyknown major uranium ore reserves in theBig Indian Districtone of the largest andrichest in theworldto the $8,500,000 millscheduled to start operation this fall.This would assure both miners and em-ployees of the mill more permanent em-ployment and would have the effect ofgreatly stabilizing economic development inGrand and San Juan counties. Otherwise,total mill capacity would have greatly out-run presently known ore reserves in thearea. Salt Lake Tribuneo Atlas Corporation reported that its AlmarMine in the Big Indian District of SanJuan County, Utah, contains a uranium orebody in place valued at approximately $36,-000,000, making it one of the nation'smajor deposits of uranium. TheAlmar orebodies have been established by more than200 core drill holes for an aggregate of over100,000 feet of drilling. Salt Lake TribuneTHE PROSPECTOR'S CATALOGWe are pleased to announce the advent ofa new Minerals Unlimited Catalog, specifi-cally designed for the amateur or profes-sional prospector. T you are interested inGeiuer Counters, MiueralightS, Blowpipe Sets,

Gold Pan or any of the other equipmentnecessary to a field or prospecting trip,send 5c in stamps or coin for your copy.MINERALS UNLIMITED, Dept . D1724 University Ave., Berkeley, California



39/48

Sayone of the most productiveinthenation, miners believe.for this belief is the fact that someoredeposits arebeing located inthe profit-in theCameron area and theof the uranium stripSt. Johns.Greatest problem of the middle Little

andminers is thelongto deliver ore to a mill. Highore canbeshipped profitably toTubaor toShiprock, butsomuchtheore, even of commercial grade, onlybeprofitably handled if a mill were100miles of the source.

The Securities andExchange Commissiona temporary halt tosales of stockoiland related com-It said thecompanies failed to dis-the facts relating to an indictmenta financier who is the principalforeach ofthenine stock issues.The nine companies temporarily barredany more of their stock inCo.,National Lithium Corpora-Oil and Minerals, Inc., andEe,Inc., all of Denver; Dalmid OilInc., and Diversified Re-Inc.,both of Grand Junction, Colo-Inc., Tungstonia,and Iola Uranium Corporation,Humboldt Star of Abandoned MinesThe Bureau of Mines hasissued a warn-to prospectors that many abandoned

are death-traps, and inexperiencedandskill arecourting trouble.The bureau pointed out that not onlytheprospector face thedanger of cave-or injury byclimbing rotted ladders, heis periled by gas or lack of oxygentheshafts.In some mines deteriorated explosives,the minemay go off at theslightest jar. The Atomic Energy Commission reportsit is purchasing $47,000,000 worth ofto use in atomic reactor plants.Co. and Berylliumit approximately 500,-a five year period, theThe metal is utilized as a mod-in atomic reactors. Grants Beacon Continental Uranium Corporation an-ore hasbeen blockedt in a joint venture in the Deer Flatsof SanJuan County, Utah, to meritof a uranium mine. One test12 feet of .42percent U3O8.is scheduled to estab-thefull extent of the orebody and toamine portal. Salt Lake. Tribune

M I N E R A L O G YOffers unlimited opportunity forrock collector or Ura-nium prospector. Make Ityour career orhobby. We trainyou at home. Diploma course. Send for Free C atalog.MINERAL SCIENCE INSTITUTE

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AEC Modifies PaymentRules onDevelopmentThe Atomic Energy Commission hasmodified Domestic Uranium Program Cir-cular 5, Revised, regarding thepayment ofdevelopment allowances to producers ofuranium ore.Circular 5, Revised, which remains ineffect until March 31, 1962, establishesguaranteed prices for uranium-bearing car-notite androscoelite ores of the ColoradoPlateau area.Under the circular, sellers desiring todeliver more than 1000 short tons of oreduring any calendar year are required toenter into a contract with theAEC. Themodification eliminates the requirement thatsuch sellers submit proof that funds re-ceived asdevelopment allowances have beenspent fordevelopment orexploration duringthe contract period or within six monthsthereafter.The modification wasmade necessary bychanged conditions indomestic uranium ex-ploration and development. Developmentexpenditures, in early small-scale uraniummining activities, were generally incurredwhile mining progressed.Elimination of the accounting provisionwill permit maximum use of the develop-

ment allowance as an incentive to uraniumexploration anddevelopment, andalso willsimplify administration of the allowanceprogram. Dove Creek Press

Anaconda Co.officials report that it maybe 10 more months before the Woodrowmine north of Laguna in Valencia County,New Mexico, is again in production. Themine was the scene of the first uraniummine fatality in theState. A worker waskilled there in July when a section of themine caved in. Thecompany is constructinga newshaft to bypass the cave-in. GrantsBeaconANSWERS TODESERT QUIZ

Questions areonpage 101On thesand dunes atdusk.2Salton Sea.3Polaris.4Washingtonia Palm.5Open-pit copper mines.6Pope.7Tinajas Altas.8Searchlight.9Pinyon.10Roosevelt dam.11Green River.12Arizona.13Vulture mine.14Lizard.15Red.16In thebottom ofGrand Canyon.17Author.18Flagstone.19Hopis.20Saguaro.

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The "Snooper" Geiger countermodel 108 $ 29.95The "laicky Strike" Gcijrer counterModel KlfiC 99.50The "Professional" Geigcr CounterModel 107C 149.50The "Special Scintillator"Model 117 299 50The "Deluxe" ScintillatorModel 11IB .".495.00

ULTRA-VIOLET MINERALIGHTSModel NHOperates on 110 AC only 14.75Model M12Operates on batteries onlywith battery 4t) 65Model SL-2537Operates on batteries or 110 ACwithout case and batteries.'""" 30.50With No. 303case and batteries 61.00With No. 404 case and batter ies (iff.00.(id1.001.002.002.(102.50

BOOKS"Prospecting with a Geiger Counter" by Wright"Uranium Color Photo Tone""Uranium Prospectors Hand Book""The Uranium and Fluorescent Minerals" by H. C. Dake"Popular Prospecting" by H. C. Dake"

Documents

195611 Desert Magazine 1956 November