196003 Desert Magazine 1960 March

8/14/2019 196003 Desert Magazine 1960 March

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E L L I SF R E M O N T

t h i s m o n t h ' sc o m s c e n e :" O n t h e W a y tot h e S i n g "

By W. THETFORD LeVINESS

Ellisone of SantaFe's internationallyfamous "cincopintores"studied theold masters, thenwent off by himselfto paint . . .

Fremont Ellis will have a one-manshow at the admission-free DesertMagazine Art Gallery in Palm Desert,Calif, from February 23 to March 14.Taos Artist Charles Reynolds will showhis work at the Desert Magazine ArtGallery from March 15 to April 4.The Gallery is open seven days a weekduring the winter season, from 9 a.m.to 6 p.m.

U-XiTOU LEARN to paint by paint-ing," says Santa Fe's FremontEllis, known throughout theSouthwest for his likable oil land-scapes. "You study the old masters,then you go off by yourself and paint."Largely self-taught, Ellis speaksfrom experience. "I had very littleeducation in art," he says. "All mylife I've just been painting."Ellis was born in Virginia City,Montana; while "on tour"his familywas in show business. As a child hetraveled vaudeville circuits in manyparts of the country, and when he was

15 was in New York City awhile. Oneday his mother took him to the Met-ropolitan Museum of Art."The paintings I saw there were asort of revelation," he recalls. "I wentback myself many times, and finallyan idea took hold. I wanted to be anartist."He spent three months at NewYork's Art Students League; sincethen painting has been his entire ca-reer. He settled in Santa Fe in 1919and built a studio on the picturesquemud-strewn Camino del Monte Sol.Ellis, as much as anyone, helped es-tablish the reputation of this street asthe hub of a thriving American artcolony. He was one of the "cincopintores," a Santa Fe group that at-

tained international prominence in the1920s. (The others were Josef Bakos,Walter Murk, Willard Nash and WillShuster.)The bulk of Ellis' landscapes havea Southwestern flavor; there arehouses, animals, and people in manyof them. He is definitely "representa-tional"but the term means little tohim. He doesn't try to copy whatNature has already done for his sub-ject."Leave that to the photographer,"he says. "I want my finished productto be a good painting. The subject ismerely a means to an end."He won't become involved in at-tacks on the so-called "modernists";instead, he says the true abstractionistand non-objectivist have much to offer."Why this constant quarrel with theavant garde?" he asks. "There 's anabstract and non-objective approachto all my own paintings, and I don'tconsider such an approach 'modern.'It's actually nothing new. It's beenused in good painting through theages. I think the serious abstractionistand the non-objectivist of today con-tribute a great deal to contemporaryart."Ellis will say repeatedly that hissubject-matter is secondary, but hisaspens look like aspens and his Indi-ans look like Indians. And he makesa good living selling his paintings,

chiefly to people who never buy strictly"non-representational" art.Galleries like his work too. Asearly as 1924 he won the Huntingtonprize for the best landscape at theLos Angeles Museum, and honorshave come swiftly ever since. Recentawards include the Adele Hyde Mor-rison prize and bronze medal at theOakland (Calif.) Art Gallery in 1953,and two highly coveted Southwesthonors in 1958the purchase prizeat the art show held yearly at Spring-ville, Utah; and the first prize in the

annual Rodeo de Santa Fe exhibitionat the Museum of New Mexico inSanta Fe.Ellis enjoys exhibiting his work. Heis represented in public and privategalleries throughout the Southwest.When a painting or a group of paint-ings of his is hung, he usually attendsthe opening.After 40 years in Santa Fe, Ellisis a well-liked and respected citizen.His present studio is on Canyon Road,another artery of the art colony hehelped found. He attends artists' teasand social events at Santa Fe galleries,and belongs to a local art-film club.He paints on a daily schedule, andtravels to many parts of the South-west on sketching t r i p s . E N D


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"Serenity"

B o l d , t t e m e n d o u sd e s e r t s k i e s

m t k F r e m o n t E l l i sl a n d s c a p e s . . .

" H ig h N o o n "


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Publisher's Notes Next month the newsstand sale price forDesert Magazineincreases from 35 cents to40 cents per copy. This "inflation-ary" step issimply our economic response to the increased costof paper stock (it went up again February 1st), the Post OfficeDepartment advanced rates (hundreds of pounds of DesertMagazines are mailed monthly todistributors and newsdealers

outside our printing area), and ever-rising labor costs.Despite the boost inprice forindividual copies ofDesert,I think that the average reader will still get abargain. Review-ing this month's Table ofContents, Iwill hazard a loose guessthat it would cost anindividual some 14weeks time andatleast $5000 tocover the same ground that our authors havedone for this March issue.There are atleast three Arizona features, atrip to Sahuaripain Sonora, Mexico, acouple ofsouthern Utah adventures, andeven a look at ice-making inarid Persia. We are particularlyproud ofthe Laura Adams Armer series that starts this month,telling ofIndian reservation life inArizona inthe 1920s. The

historical value ofMrs. Armer's sensitive observations will beevident toevery reader who follows her into Navajoland.* * *Recently a reader asked me if Desert isprimarily a man'smagazine. It may be, but I doubt it. We like to think thatDesert is ofvalue and interest to allthe family. It is a factthat at least two ofevery three letters we receive are writtenby women. ; * *And thanks tothe women, who seem towrite the checksand pay the bills, their gifts at Christmas have boosted oursubscription list to an all-time high for Desert. Ourpaidsubscriptions now number about 23,000 and ournewsstandsales areapproximately 14,000 a month.* * *Unless we can get some paper stock replacement in ahurry, heaven knows what our press run will benext month.We received word that seven tons ofpaper, loaded in a truckfor delivery toour printing plant, burned a few days ago!How much does one month's printing of Desert weigh?Last month we used 12,525 pounds of paper.C HUC K SHELTON , Publisher

> t i h O U T D O O R S O U T H W E S TVolume 23 M A R C H , 1960 Number 3

CO VE R

ARTTRAVELPERSONALITY

I NT RO DUCT I O N

I N D I A N SOTHER DESERTS

HISTORYNAT URE

ADVE NT UREL ANDM ARK

GEMS-MINERALSBACK COVER

28

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"O n theWay to theSing" waspainted bySanta FeArtist Fremont Ellis. This Monument Valley scene,with itslively, expressive colors andeasy arrestmentof great distances, reflects theartist's work at itsbest.For a feature article onEllis, seepages2-3.Fremont Ellis W.Thetiord LeVinessOn theRoad to Sahuaripa C. R. ApplebyLion-Hunter Milt Holt Frank JensenLaura Adams Armer begins an important and his-torically-valuable series of Desert Magazine articleson her 1923-31 experiences in Navajoland

Laura Adams ArmerWilliam E.Warne

Weldon D. WoodsonEdmund C.Jaeger

Nell MurbargerEthel and Orville Taylor

Luther MorrisHulbert Burroughs

5: Readers' Letters10: Desert Quiz29 : Driving Tips29 : Poem of the Month30 : News Briefs3 1 : Utah TravelBryce

SUBSCRIBETO

Navajoland in 1923Persian Natural IceFactoriesEmily Post's Desert TourThe Miracle of WildflowersTavaputs Pack TripYuma Territorial PrisonApache Tears in ArizonaWildflower Bouquet

also32 : Southwest Books33 : Arizona TravelLost Dutchman

Trek35 : California Travel-Wildflowers39 : Hard Rock ShortyCanyon 42:Editorial

SEND DESERT MAGAZINE TO:

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Mai l th is informat ion and your remittance to: Desert Magazine,Palm Desert, California.

The Desert Magazine, founded in1937 byRondall Henderson, is pub-lished monthly byDesert Magazine,Inc., Palm Desert, Cali-fornia. Re-entered assecond c las s m a t t e riuly 17,1948, at thepostoffice atPalm Des-ert, California, under' H i 1 ' the Act of March 3,1879 Titl e registeredN o . 358865 inU.S. Patent Office,and contents copyrighted 1960 byDesert Magazine, Inc. Permission toreproduce contents must be securedfrom the editor inwrit ing.

CHARLES E.SHELTON . . PublisherEUGENE L.CONROTTO . . . EditorRANDALL HENDERSONAdvisory EditorEVONNE RIDDELLCirculation Manager

Address alleditor ia l and circula-tion correspondence toDesert Mag-azine, Palm Desert, California.Address all advertis ing corre-spondence toEdith K.Whaley, 3493Cahuenga Blvd., Suite 3,Los Ange-les 28, Cali fornia.Unsolicited manuscripts and pho-

tographs submitted cannot be re-turned or acknowledged unless fullreturn postage is enclosed. DesertMagazine assumes noresponsibilityfor damage or loss of manuscriptsor photographs although due carewi l l beexercised. Subscribers shouldsend notice of change of addressby the f irst of the month precedingissue.


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LETTERSFR O M O U R R E A D E R SAutom obile G raveya rd . .Deser t :Having recently driven over MexicoRoute 2, I enjoyed reading Nell Murbarger'sstory on that road in the January issue.However, I thought she failed to bring outone thing that seems characteristic of Route2 : the great number of abandoned auto-mobiles, trucks and other equipment alongthis highway. Wi th garage facilities so fewand far between, the only thing most Route2 motorists can do when their cars breakdown is to remove all parts that can becarried away, and leave the auto shell torust in the desert.ROBERT A. BURROWESHayward, Calif.A Misplaced Song . . .Deser t :I have enjoyed Harrison Doyle's storiesof early-day life on the Mojave Desert(Aug. and Nov. '59 and Jan. '60), but hismemory slipped a little on one statement.He says one of the songs sung by the localbarbershop quartets in 1904 was "The Ro-sary." It happens that this song was notpublished until 1910and I am sure it wasnever sung by a quartet at any time.CHARLES KELLYSalt Lake City(Utah Historian Kelly may be confusingthe song, "The Rosary" with the bookby the same title. The lyrics were writtenby Robert Cameron R ogers and were firstpublished in "The Wind in the Clearing,"

in 1894; music was composed by E thelbertNevin in 1898. Up to and through theperiod Harrison Doyle wrote about, some250,000 copies of the song had been pub-lished. In 1910, Florence Barclay's novel,"The Rosary," was published, taking Nev-in's song as its theme and inspiration.Writes Doyle: "1 did a lot of singing inimprovised quartets in Needles. I re-member having a sheet music copy ofthe song long before 1905. We also hadthe song at home on one of the oldcylindrical Edison Home Phonographrecords." Ed.)

SnowboundWith Desert . . .Deser t :Just a note to tell you how much we allenjoy reading your magazine every month.We live on a remote cattle ranch in easternUtah, and are now snowbound. A localpilot makes a weekly trip to our ranchwith the mail, and every month we lookforward to receiving our copy of DesertMagazine.My father-in-law, Ray "Budge" Wilcox,recently had the pleasure of guiding NellMurbarger and a party from the M4 Ranchacross the Tavaput Mountains, and I under-stand she is going to write a story on thatt r ip . MRS. DON WILCOXDragerton, Utah(For Miss Murbarger's account of thefirst crossing of the Tavaputs by com-mercial pack train, see page 24. Ed.)

Where Is Hard Rock? . . .Deser t :Say man, like what has happened to myfavorite periodical? Two monthly features,which except for the last two months, havebeen in your magazine for many years are"Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley" andthe "Desert Quiz." Maybe you think Harr yOliver makes up for the loss of oF HardRock Shorty. Well, in my opinion hedoesn't. Har d Rock Shorty is the bestwhimsical nonsense I've ever read. Statis-tics on your reader survey a short whileback show that most of your readers lookforward to the monthly quiz. Let's havethese two fine features back in a fine mag-azine, huh! Why not ask your large familyof devout desert rats if they share myopinion? L A RRY D. A L F O RDLong Beach, Calif.Desert:What happened to Hard Rock Shorty andthe Desert Quiz? Did you discontinue themfor good?Someday I am going to make a note-bookand put the Quiz questions and answers to-gether so I can really study them. Thenwhen I can go back to the desert to live1 will know a little about it.You are to be congratulated on yourmagazine . . . i t is good advertis ing for theSouthwest. We in the N orthwest should dosomething about letting people know aboutour beautiful country, too. Glacier Parkand surroundings has many opportunitiesfor photographs.MRS. EARLE HOLI.INGSWORTHMartin City, Montana(Hard Rock, who writes both his column

Continued

SaicThis wonderful mountain is part ofa 3 acre parcel located at the cornerof Scenic Drive and Boundary Lanein Pinyon Crest, Unit 4, on the fa-mous Palms - to - Pines Highway inRiverside County, Calif.At the base of this mountain, at anelevation of 4300 feet, an access roadleads to a beautiful home site whichcommands vast panoramic views ofboth the San Jacinto and Santa Rosamountain ranges.Careful restrictions protect your en-joyment here. Water, electricity andtelevision all available. 20 minu testo Palm Desert; a few more minutesto Palm Springs; this 3 acre parcelis yours for $4,000terms arrangedif desired.See us at our Palm Desert office orwrite for folders and further infor-mation.

P I N Y O N C R E S T I N C O R P O R A T E D8 PROFESSIONAL BUILDING

PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA


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LETTERS continued an d the quiz, has been in the calabooseserving u 90-day sememe for disturbingthe peace. Actually, what he didwasblow-up a billboard spoiling his view oja distant mountain peak. Fortunatelyin the best tradition of American penol-og y he managed to smuggle out a fewof his pencil joltings, and his latest effortappears on pave 39. Thequiz is on page10. Ed.)

Recipes for "Came Seca" . . .D e s e r t :O ne of my fondes t ch i ldhood memor i esis that of seeing jerked venison hanging todry on the basement c lo t hes l i ne and sneak-in g a mor se l whenever p oss i b le .But th e recipe for p r e p a r i n g th e jerkyp assed on with my fa t he r , and I'm w o n d e r -in g if you could supply me with th e h o m e -cur i ng met hod .

M R S . I. H. G R A F T O NAr ock , Or egon(In the April. 1940. Deser t Magaz i ne .the late Marsha l So uth gave two recipesfor jerky: ". . . we have been makingcarne seca jerky, if you prefer, thoughto us the Spanish name always seemsmore appropriate. Like most everythingelse there are ways and ways to the proc-ess. We have tried two methods an deach has its advantages. One way is todip the long, thinly cut .strips of mealinto a deep kettle of boiling, well pep-

pered strong brine. We lower them inslowly and extract them in the samemeasured fashion a slow dip that leavesthe meal white from the boiling liquid.Then it is hung out on the line to dry.The advantage oj this method seems tohe that it sears the juice in the meat andat the same time gives a uniform coatingof salt and pepper that discourages theflies. The disadvantage is that it tendsto make a rather tougher finished prod-uct. The other method is to cut up ourmeat inas thin sheets or strips as possi-ble and. salting and peppering it lightly,se t it away on a platter for a few hours.The sidt will draw the blood out, and thedrained meat is then hung out on thelines in the evening. By morning, in theaverage desert weather, it is dry enoughto discourage, to a great extent, the at-tention of flies. A little less tough prod-uc t is the result . . ." Another way toprotect against flies is to put the meat incheesecloth "pockets." Ed .)

Hummers' "Meal Ticket" . . .D e s e r t :

I enjoyed Dr. Jaeger ' s ar t icle on hum-mi ngbi r ds in the January isst ie . Twoyearsag o 1 p lan t ed a firebush in our gar den , an dwhen it bloomed a tug-of-war ensued be-tween th e h u m m i n g b i r d s an d bees, the lat-ter get t ing th e best of the fight fo r nec t a r .The hummer s would sp ear th e bees ont he i r sha r p beaks , but there were just to omany of the insects .I filled a wide-mouth jel ly ja r with sugar-wat e r an d tied it on a st ick fastened to thef i rebush. The birds loved i t and so didthe bees. 1 moved the jar. Al first th e

bi r ds would come near but would not dr i nk .I stood very still an d finally a l i t t l e " r oos t e r "took a sip and f lew away . N ext day hetook tw o s i p s . Soon I was feeding botht h i s r oos t e r and his hen r egula r ly , mor n i ngand even i ng .Finally, th e h u m m e r p a i r b e c a m e sopesky when I wor ked in the gar den t ha t Iha d to car r y th e sugar -wat e r wi t h me . Theywould "buzz" my head unt i l I p r o d u c e d adr ink for t h e m , an d they would even "chir -ru p and b u z z " th e screen door unt i l I fedt h e m I was even able to coax them intothe ki tchen!" O l d C h u c k , " as I call th e male h u m-mer , and his hen ha t ched out two ch i cks ,an d now all four of the bi r ds dep end onme fo r sugar -wat e r .

F R A N K ME R R E L L( i l e n d o r a . Calif.A Wonderful Gift . . .D e s e r t :

TOday 1 received my first issue of yourwonderful magaz i ne . It t op s all ot her s ofthis nature that I have had the p leasur eto read. Desert Magazine cont a i ns not onlybeaut i ful p ictures but many ar t icles of muchinterest . I am very indebted to my niecean d her husband for send i ng your magaz i neto me as a gift. JO E () . U O N N F A UPor t land . Or egonA Desert Lady Passes . . .D e s e r t :

I am a friend of Mar y Smi t h , and 1 wantto tell you of h er recent passing. I'm su r emany of your r eader s are acqua i n t ed wi t hMar y Smi t h and her "smal les t s t o r e" at

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Agua Caliente Hot Springs, Calif. Shepassed away Dec. 29 at Mallacoats RestHome at Alpine.After Mary sold her store at the springs,she bought five acres in Mason Valley, laterselling that, too, and coming to live withmy husband and me at Campo . She wasbedridden in my home for nearly two years.In December. 1958, my husband passedaway, and so I had to put Mary in a resthome.Mary was born in Utah on June 1, 1891.Her maiden name was Mary ElizabethLape. M R S . PAUL JOHNSONCampo, Calif.Desert Museum Tunnel . . .Deser t :We were delighted to see Charles Shel-ton's fine article about the Arizona-SonoraDesert Museum in the excellent Januaryissue.In regard to the Desert Museum tunnel:I thought you would be interested to knowthat this was entirely supervised andfinanced by the Charles Lathrop Pack For-estry Foundatio n. It was my privilege tohave been the originator and designer. Weemployed several talented Museum staffmembers to help with the construction ofthe dens. We presented this display, andthe Water Street Exposition, which we alsoconceived, designed and built, to the Mu-seum as our contribution. Incidentally, thecity of Pittsburgh is copying our plans andwill build a similar tunnel in the HighlandPark Zoo in that city.WILLIAM H. CARRAssistant to the PresidentPack Forestry FoundationTucson

Letter From a Mountainlion .

P l a n N o w F o rA n U n f o r g e t t a b l eFamily Vacation on the M-4 W OR KIN G & GUEST RA NC Hwhere you will have fine accommodations, goodfood and a splendid pool. Enjoy horseback rid-ing over beautiful timbered mountain trails, horseand Jeep pack trips in the spectacular red rockcanyons of Southeastern Utah and explorationof ancient Pueblo ruins.

Everett Betty Schum akerBox 963, Moab, Utah Alpine 3-6801

See page 24 for Nell Murbarger's account of an M -4Ranch pack trip over the Tavaput Mountains


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O n t h e R o a d toS a h u a r i p a

m ~*TINY CRAFT AFLOAT ON YAQUI RIVER IS A"PONGO," WHCH FERRIES VEHCLES MAK-

IN G TRIP TO AND FROM TOWN OF SAHUARIPA

T h e author discovers a new back-road in Sonorawhen he helps his new friend get toSahuaripa for a fiesta . . .B y C. R. APPLEBY

I N SONORA the great Mexicanmountain chain of the Sierra MadreOccidental begins. Along its west-ern slopes lies a high desert countryof dwarf forests, scattered pueblos andplacid rivers flowing south. It is a landof ocotillo, pitahaya, mesquite andacacia; a rugged land whose peopleare supported by cattle and mines.Recently my wife and I traveledthis part of Sonora in our pickuptruck. From Douglas, Arizona, wemeandered south 233 miles to Sahua-ripa, then made a right angle turn

west to Hermosillo and the Gulf ofCalifornia.The Mexican part of the trip beganat Agua Prieta, the border town whichadjoins Douglas. Here we picked upour tourist permits ($3 per person),car permit (gratis) and auto insurance(nominal, with rates depending uponthe length of time the insurance is tobe in force).The first settlement that we metbelow Agua Prieta was Fronteras. Itholds a small place in history as So-nora's first permanent military post.It was established in the late 17thCentury to keep the frontier againstthe Apaches. In 1739 the captain ofthe Fronteras presidio was killed bythese Indians, leaving to a son his ex-ample of courage and his nameJuanBautista de Anza. Thirty-six yearslater the younger Juan Bautista deAnza led the first band of Californiasettlers across the deserts and north toSan Francisco Bay.This historical digression is my soleexcuse for mentioning Fronteras. Tothe traveler it offers only a glimpse ofadobe houses clustered on the plain.At the next settlement along the

route, the dun and dusty Esqueda, weturned east for a side trip to the Ba-vispe River. The first 10 miles of thisroad was a delight. The last elevenwas as bad as anything I have beenover in Mexico and should not beattempted except in a vehicle withplenty of road clearance. The roadends at a spot called La Playa, wherethe Bavispe spreads out in a long nar-row lake behind Angostura Dam.The lake is famous for the hugeblack bass that abound there. Acrossthe water lies a ranch and a lodge of

sorts built to house visiting fishermen.We camped on the west bank wherewe learned just how cold the Sonorahills can get with a night-long windwhistling over our sleeping bags.Returning to Esqueda, we drovesouth again along the channel of astream called the Fronteras or Naco-zari. The road crosses rolling hillsstudded with scrub oak. Dove andquail are plentiful. Sleek Sonoranjackrabbits showed their buff-whitehindquarters as they scattered aheadof the pickup.We passed through Nacozari inmidafternoon. Here as in many cop-per mining towns the houses cling tothe sides of a gulch. Across the roof-tops the lowering sun struck the ter-


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races of what might have been someAssyrian ruin, but which in actualitywas the remains huge concrete stepsalong the hillside of a copper re-finery.The road winds south along a rivergorge, then out into the plains andthrough occasional pueblos of drabunplastered adobe. Vaqueros in twosand threes, their long chaps danglingbelow the stirrups, reined their horsesfrom the road to let us pass . Wepicked up gas in Cu m p a s . By the lastlight of sunset we entered Moctezuma.

Moctezuma is a town that neverquite recovered from the revolutionsthat swept Mexico early this century.I ts population (around 2500) is todaywhat it was 70 years ago. It is acolonial town with some fine old build-ings, but an air of somnolence anddecay pervades the place.Hotel Moctezuma faces the plaza

and adjoins the church. Clean, inex-pensive and quite elementary, I rec-ommend it only to those who arefamiliar with Mexican country hotels.Meals are served here.Dinner was finished and my wifehad retired weary from the day's longdrive. I sat chatting with Moctezuma's24-year-old physician and its 28-year-old dentist.The young dentist was depressed.His wife was off with her parents inthe remote hill town of Sahuaripa. Hispickup truck had broken down. Animportant fiesta was only a day away.W as I, by chance, going to Sahua-r ipa?Sorry, I told him. Our plans wereto slant southwest into the SonoraRiver valley and proceed to Hermo-sillo by way of the old capital of Ures .A h! But we could go to Hermosilloby way of Sahuaripa, he said. A littlelonger, perhaps, but Sahuaripa was afine town. Very old, very isolated.I studied my maps. Sahuaripa laysouth over a couple of mountain

ranges and near the upper reaches ofthe Yaqui River. The distance wasonly 110 road miles, and we were outto see eastern Sonora, I reasoned. Ourtime was our own.Sure, I told the dentist, we wouldgo to Sahuaripa.He was elated. He paid our hotelbill (something less than a dollar,U.S.) over my pro tes ts . We wouldleave early the next morning.How long would it take us to drivefrom Moctezuma to Sahuaripa?"Diez horas," he answered.Ten hours to cover 1 10 miles?Either he was mistaken or the roadwas miserable. It was too late to backdown on my promise .The dentist was not mistaken. Weleft at eight the next morning and

arrived at our destination at six inthe evening.I advise those traveling in conven-tional vehicles to take the southwest-bearing route out of Moctezuma. Itoffers a far easier way to Hermosil lo.Our tr ip to Sahuaripa was a ruggedone. It led through only one smallpueblo, Tepachi. The hills over whichwe climbed were thickly forested withmesquite and acacia. Here and therethe sunlight was caught in hundredsof white blossoms resembling morning-glories. These delicate flowers sparkledon the otherwise bare limbs of thepalo santo or tisusan t ree.No game was visible, though itcould easily have hidden in the densestunted forest. We asked our travelingcompanion about it. There, was plentyof game in the hills, he said. Deer,lion, tigre, fox, wolf, javelina, wildturkey and partr idge.Coming to the edge of a cliff wego t our first stunning look at the YaquiRiver. It was near a ranch aptlycalled La Ventana "the window." Abroad blue ribbon uncurled throughgorges and slopes clad in organpipecacti and ocotillo. We crossed on apongo or small ferry. A final line ofmountains separated us from Sahua-r ipa.

The reunion was a happy one forour dentist friend. His pretty wife andbaby daughter, his wife's parents, DonCarlos and Dona Antonia, and a coveyof in-laws gathered to greet him. Mywife and I were given buckets of hotwater to bathe with and a welcomedinner. Later the dentist and hisspouse went off to the dance that cli-maxed the fiesta. Declining their invi-tation to come along, we toppled intoour beds at the Hotel Las Palmas.Las Palmas is Sahuaripa's premierhostelry, although there is no sign toadvertise its name or even to indicatethat it is a hotel. It can be found onthe Avenida Cinco de Mayo, next doorto the Jardin de los Ninos . The room

rate for two is 10 pesos per d a y 8 0 cin U.S. currency. The price is a fairone.We ate all of our meals, save one,with the family of Don Car los . Theexception was when we sampled thelocal restaurant (Las Palmas servesno meals) and found the food quitegood.The day following the fiesta was aday of rest . We passed it sitting inthe outer doorway of our room andrambling through the sunlit streets.We left for Hermosillo early the nextmorning.Back across the river ferry we wentand bore west to the rich valley where

TOLOROSBURG


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CHURCH AND FORTRESS WERE COMBINEDIN THIS ANCIENT MISSION AT TEPUPA.THERE ARE FIRING PORTS INTHESE ROOFLESSROOMS WHICH LOOK OUT OVER THE VALLEYOF THE MOCTEZUMA NEAR YAOUI JUNCTION.

th e RioMoctezuma empties into theYaqui . We passed through thevillageof Suaqui. Spray engulfed us as wemade a running ford of the Mocte-zuma. Ahead in theplace calledTe-pupa lay a splendid ruins that DonCarlos hadtold us about.The ruins, terraced on ahillside thatcommanded the valley, were of achurch three centuries old. PioneerJesuits located amission here in 1629.The edifice was probably raised during

th e middle years ofth e century, aroundth e time that the Puritans were ex-tending their logtowns on theMassa-chusetts shore and the Sun King, LouisXIV, was building thepalace walls atVersailles. That portion of the mis-sion containing thealtar is in decentrepair and is used forworship by theresidents of Tepupa. Thearchesandroofless rooms of the east part arefrequented by courting couples andvillage idlers whogaze by the houron the brocaded green of the RioMoctezuma valley below.A fewmiles north inBatuc is an-other church, of later vintage butstillancient, andnear it a lovely emptycapilla, unused except by thevulturesthat crowd its tower.N ow theroad wound monotonouslybetween peaks andacross high ridgesan d at last descended into the widecoastal plain. At dusk we reachedHermosillo, which tous , after five daysin the backlands, sparkled like ametropolis.W e hadbeen through country thatis quite accessible but rarely visited,a place where tourists seldom tread.TODAY ONLY VULTURES USE THE CAPIILAAT BATUC, ONE OF SEVERAL OLD ANDHANDSOME CHURCHES INMOCTEZUMA VALLEY

The area, though, isnot without charmfor the mildly adventurous. Itsclimateis salubrious, its history fascinatingan d itspeople kindly and hospi table.If youhave an appetite for newkinds of desert country, try foragingin eastern S o n o r a . E N D

T r u e o r F a l s e T h e s e q u e s -tions cover awide range ofSouthwest subjects botany, geography,history, Indians and mineralogy. Afairscore is 12 to14 right answers; 15 to 17is good; 18 orover isexcellent. Answersare on page 38.1. Arattlesnake adds anew button toits tail once a year. TrueFalse2. Sotol was one of the food plants ofdesert Indians. True False3. Capitol Reef National Monumentwas setaside topreserve Nevada'sfirst state capitol at Carson City.Tr u e . . . Fa l s e .4. Billy the Kidplayed a prominentrole in theCurry County War.True . False .5. The mineral cinnabar yields quick-silver.True . False ....6. Badwater is a famous waterhole inDeath Valley.True . False .7. According tolegend, the EnchantedMesa ofNew Mexico isthe ancienthome of the Acoma Indians. True . False .8. ThePhoenix Dons was a vigilantegroup that kept law andorder inthe city in the 1880s. True .False .9. One of themost popular mineralcollecting locales with rockhoundsis at Wiley's Well, Calif. True--.False .10. The kangaroo ratcarries itsyoungin a pocket in itsskin. True.-False .

11. Ironwood trees have thorns. True .... False .. .12. The padres Kino andGarces mademany trips of exploration together.Tr u e . False13. Inlocating a mining claim, the no-tice of location should be placedat all four corners of theclaim.True . False. -14. Tombstone, Ariz., was once a greatsilver mining camp. TrueFalse.. .15. Blossom of the saguaro cactus iscrimson.True . False .16. Author of the famous stories aboutthe frog that never learned toswimwas Dick Wick Hall. TrueFalse17. The stream which Major Powellcalled the Dirty Devil isnow knownas theLittle Colorado. True-..False ....18. The date palm tree is not a nativeof North AmericaTrue. False..19. On e of thenation's largest buffalo

preserves is in Monument Valleyon the Utah-Arizona border. True.... False..-.20 . Baja California's Laguna Salada ison e ofthe best sport fishing groundson earth.T rue False


11/44

H E H U N T S L I O N S

HOLT, STORMY AND SHEBAON A RABBIT HUNT

Milt Holt "Brines "Em Back Alive"the hard way

By FRANK JENSENM ILT HOLT, professional guide and lion hunter fromGunlock, Utah, does most of his "hunting" with alariat. He's more interested in bringing back thebig cats alive.

W I T H A LASSOHolt. "With mou ntain lions you've got 200 pounds of livefury on the other end of the rope."Holt has an intuitive knowledge of wild animals andtheir ways that has put him in a class by himself. Genialand mild-mannered to the point of being easy going, he isa far cry from the stereotyped rugged outd oors man . In hisown element, however, he can outstalk the mountain lionat his own game and t hat takes quite a bit of doing, forthese creatures are one of the few predatory animals thathave survived the infringements by civilization on themountain w ildernesses of the Wes t. The big cats arecagey, seldom allowing themselves to be seen. A p ack of


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LIONHUNTER-

SHEBA "NEARLY A LWAYS COLLECTS- A C R O W D " WHEN SHE STROLLS DOWN

ST. GEORGE, UTAH, M A IN STREET

well-trained dogs as well as horses are almost a necessityfor any hunter who expects to tree a lion.Holt's personal twistroping the lionsadds dangerand excitement to this "game." A few years ago anyhunter in this business would have said bringing in a livemountain lion on the end of a rope was an impossibility.Milt Holt's secret lies in drugging the animal once he canget a needle past the flailing claws. "Otherwise a cat wouldbeat himself to death against the bars of a cage," heexplains. The easy-going hunter, who guides dudes intosome of Southern Utah's best mountain lion country, hopesto make his collection of big cats pay off. He has alreadyused his dogs and lions in a Disney film as well as severaltelevision shorts.

Holt was born and raised in the Mormon hamlet ofGunlock, a farming and ranching community 20 milesnorthwest of St. George. The town was named for William"Gunlock Bill" Hamblin, a Mormon scout who was oneof the best marksmen of his day. It was Hamblin whosplit the bowl of an old Indian pipe at 50 paces to givePipe Springs and its century-old fort on the Arizona-Utahborder its name. Milt Holt, like Gunlock Bill, is alsosomething of a "tamer" of the Wild West. Holt maintainshis own private zoo right in the middle of Gunlockatpresent he has six full-grown mountain lions, a blackbear and a bear cub in the menagerie, along with a packof hunting dogs and horses.Star of this wild animal troupe is Sheba, a year-oldlioness who is as playful as a kittenbut packs the wallopof a prize-fighter. Holt takes Sheba along when he goes

hunting for jack rabbits, a mainstay of a mountain lion'sdiet. Sheba not only retrieves the rabbits, but will rundown wounded jacks like a hunting dog does, says Holt.Sheba's companion on these hunts is Stormy, a com-bination "black and tan" and "blue tick" hound. Thelion was adopted by Holt when she was a cub, and Sheba,in turn, adopted Stormy who is one month her junior."The pair are inseparable," says Holt. "They eat to-gether, play together and even sleep in the same pen." But

on the trail, Stormy becomes a ferocious hunting dog."He'll even climb a tree after a cornered lion," reportsHolt. "That kind of dog doesn't last long."In the wild ruggedly scenic slickrock country aroundGunlock, both Holt and his lion are attuned to their sur-roundings. In mock "warfare" the pair will stalk oneanother until Sheba, tiring of the game, streaks for her"prey." These big cats, like any house cat, will purr whencontent and hiss when provokedand when excited emita shrill squeak nearly inaudible to the untrained ear, buta sound that the hunter recognizes.Sheba, who has become something of a local celebrity,accompanies Holt on his periodic trips into St. George forprovisions. The sight of a lion in the streets nearly always

collects a crowd (a gross understatement) . Once Holtand his pet created near pandemonium at the local court-house when a woman employee spotted Sheba and wentscreaming through the building that a wild lion was on theloose. On another occasion Sheba realized a clear profitwhile "mooching" at a meat market counter. A customerdropped a dollar bill on the floor, and the lioness, mis-taking the floating bill for another morsel of meat, slappedher paw down on it at the same time the man reachedto pick it up."That fellow nearly went through the ceiling," recallsHolt. Before beating a hasty retreat, the unnerved mantold Sheba to keep the money.The capture of Sheba's mother and her two cubs was

a comedy of errors that Holt relates in an oft-hand manner.It seems the lion was cornered in a cave by the unsuspect-ing hunter who thought he only had the cubs. Holt fash-ioned a noose on the end of a long stick and crawled inafter the "cubs." The instant he realized his mistake, heflipped the rope over the big lion's head and then backedout of the narrow crevice at full speed. The lion charged,and Holt, still holding on to the other end of the rope,headed through the thick junipers at top speed. Luckily,a tree branch snarled the rope, throwing the lion to theground."I went back the next day to retrieve the cubs," relatedHolt. "I needed one day to get back my b r e a t h . " E N D

HOLT HOLDS A BLACKBEAR CUB.THESE ANIMALS AREDIFFICULT TOKEEP IN CAPTIVITY.


13/44

Desert Magazine takes pridein presenting to its readers

the first in a series ofpreviously unpublished articles

by one of America's mostdistinguished - and sensitive--

authorities on the cultureof the Navajos:Laura Adams Armer

author of WATERLESS MOUNTAIN, DARK CIRCLE OF BRANCHES,SOUTHWEST, CACTUS, and THE TRADER'S CHILDREN

Based on her 1923-31 experiencesNavaiolandn lNavajoian

On January 12, 1960, Laura A rmer entered her 87th year. She was born inSacramento, Calif., the youngest of three children."Nothing turned to gold for father," she recalls, "but we did have food anddrink and books." Her early life in San Francisco centered around aneducation in art but the beauty around her was"elusive." After six years in art school, she opened a photography studio. "I wassuccessful," she write s. "1 phot ograp hed celebrities from all over the world still I was not satisfied w ith my medium o r with what I wastrying to express. Then one day I received an inspirationas if a voice had spoken. 'Don 't wor ry,' 1 found myself saying out loud,'when you are an old woman you will write what you fail to paint.'So I began life over."In 1923 Laura Arm er made her first visit to Navajoland (see following p age ).A decade of dedicated work followed. "Waterless M ounta in,"written in 1928. was the first great book to come from her experiences in theFou r Corn ers Country . When it was awarded the New berry Medal,the prophesy was fulfilled.Mrs . Armer and her artist husband. Sidney, are "spending our last dayssurrounded by the groves of beautiful redwoods in northern California." RECENT PHOTO OF LAURA ARMER

TURN PAGE FOR "N AVAJOLAN D IN 1923 "


14/44

. . . see preceding page forintroduction to this seriesN a v a j o l a n d I n 1 9 2 3M y L a u r a A d a m s A r m e r

THE author-to-be of "Water less Mountain"makes her first trip to Navajolandand meets the "shy denizens of the desert"in the harsh beauty of their arid empire. . . Despite the relative recentnessof this first contact with the Navajos, itmight well have taken place five centuriesearlier, for by 1923 there hadbeen but litt le contact between thesetribesmen and whitemen . . .

I N THE ARID region of NorthernArizona, the Navajo Indians havelived for centuries . Their environ -ment is dram atic in the extrem e. TheGrand Canyon of the Colorado River,with its strata showing from the topsoil to the bedrock of granite, presentsa mile-deep record of the physical his-tory of the earth. Hum an dram astaged amid such stupendous landsculpture naturally is affected by itsgrandeu r. The early N avajos, fight-ing their way from the north, wereover-awed by this land in which theyfound a haven.Legend tells that at one time theyplanted crops and lived in stonehouses. Today the Navajos are shep-herds with small log and dirt hogansfor homes. During their wanderingsthey absorbed some of the culture ofthe Pueblo people descended from theCliff Dwellers. Navajo myths aretinged with Pueblo coloring, but al-ways they retain a character of theirown. The imagination of these pre-cocious stragglers peopled the aban-doned cliff dwellings with supernaturalbeings. The San Juan River theynamed the Old Age River, of whichthey have never ceased to sing:"That flowing water!Thai flowing water!fy mind wanders across it.That broad water!That broad water!My mind wanders across it.That old age water!That flowing water!My mind wanders across it."Through the years the Navajos

roamed the mountains, hunting andgathering seeds, learning to respectthe thunder and the rattlesnakes. Theymade songs as they traveled. Theseare sung inside the medicine lodge inwinter when the thunder and thesnakes are asleep. They are part ofthe healing ceremoni es. Medicine menmemorize but do not understand thesearchaic words. They chant and shaketheir rattles in great earnestness, con-vinced that the songs of their uncleshave power to heal. With the songs,the sandpaintings are made. The twoare inseparable.Paintings in dry color on the floorof the medicine lodge illustrate themyths. In them live historic episode s,poetic conceptions and symbolic de-signs. They are not emotionally con-ceived expressions of any individual.They are traditional tribal symbolsthat must not deviate from the pre-scribed pat tern. Only in the decora-tions of the skirts and tobacco pouchesof the gods may the pourer of sandexpress his personality in patterns ofstars, crosses, triangles, feathers orwhatever his fancy dictates. The N av-ajos do not think in aesthetic termswhen making a sandp ainting. Powerlies in symbolic verity. The p ourer s ofsand do not doubt that deity is por-trayed in manifold phases, nor do themany men, women and children doubtas they come riding from far canyons,some in old wagons drawn by decrepithorses, many on horseback and a fewin wheezing Fords. They come ridingto hear the songs, to gossip, to meetold friends and to revel in the stories


15/44

of ancient times when their forefathersdwelt near the Old Age River.I t was Washington Matthews whofirst recorded some of the sandpaint-ings and songs of the Navajos in 1885.These were published in an Ethno-logical Rep ort. In 1887, the Am eri-

can Folklore Society brought out hisNavajo Legends, a precious volumeof understanding of the tribal life of avirile people. He was the first scholarto become aware of the poetry of theN avajos. It is to him that I owe theinspiration that sent me among them;

to him and to the Franciscan Fathersof St. Michaels, Arizona, who pub-lished An Ethnologic Dictionary ojthe Navajo Language.I went first as a painter, trying toexpress the inner-longing for the in-tangible in a land that is cruel and

L A U R A A R M E R W A S A L R E A DY W E L L -K N O W N F O R H ER W O R K I N P H O T O G R A P H Y W H E NS HE W E N T T O N A V A J O L A N D . T H I S P E N E T R A T I N G S T U DY S HE TI T LE D , " F O U R G E N E R A T I O N S . "


16/44

"HOUSE OF DAWN AND OF EVENING TWILIGHT"

impersonal . As the years passed, Ifound myself studying folklore andreligious ritual of sandp ainting. It isnecessary to tell how physically diffi-cult it was to enter the Navajo domain.Only through the kindness extendedby various white traders was I enabledto work. They helped me in a par tof my own country where it was im-perative to obtain a permit from theUnited States government, allowing meto live on an Indian Reservation.

Among the Navajo songs translatedby Washington Matthews was one ofDawn Boy telling of a Child of theWhite Corn wandering in the house ofhappiness, in the house of long life,with beauty all aroun d him. It was thesong of Dawn Boy that decided theroute of our vacation in June, 1923.We left Berkeley in a Buick touringcar, Sidney and I, our twenty-year-oldson, Austin, and Paul Louis Faye, afriend who had lived among the Nav-

ajos studying their language and cus-toms. We were prepared to camp-outin a dry country . The r unning-b oardof the car held canteens of water anda lunch box. A trunk on the rearstowed a gasoline camp-stove withpots and pans. Sleeping-bags andethnological reports filled half of theback seat. Cameras and canned goodsreposed at our feet. The baggage wasnot a complete index of our activities,as paints and brushes were left athome and in my husband's San Fran-cisco studio of comm ercial art. Lug-gage all around us, with it we wand-ered. Austin drove the car, achievingGrand Canyon which we left withouttaking one snapshot, proving properrestraint and reverence in the presenceof majesty.

On a short side-trip from the Can-yon we met Navajos repairing theroa d. They were tall men with longblack hair knotted at the backs of

their heads. All wore turquoise ear-rings dangling from pieces of stringwhich went through holes in the earlobes. The turquoise was cut in t r i-angular form with rounded cornersand sides. The blue gems glowingagainst brown skin spoke of romanceof the Southwest, recalling old talesof Spanish conquistadores who, seek-ing gold, found turquoise; told ofMontezuma in regal splendor of tur-quoise; told of secret desert mineswhere the life-giving stone awaited theprimit ive miner. As the song of DawnBoy had brought yearning to me, sodid the turquoise earrings. I askedMr. Faye if it would be possible tobuy a pair of the earrings, if so whatshould I pay?

"If they are heart 's desire, pay whatequals heart 's desire ."The bedecked Indians could speakno En glish. They were about to re-turn to their camp for the noon meal.We went with them. Their womenwere roasting mutton ribs and fryingbread in a Dutch oven of sizzling fat.We silently held their proffered hands.We did not shake hands, just clasped.N o word was spok en. After a longsilence I asked what to do next.

"Offer the price of heart 's desire,"said Mr. Faye.I took from my purse a five-dollarbill, held it toward a shy denizen ofthe desert and pointed to his greenish-blue earrings. From the alacrity withwhich he removed the pendants andgrasped the five dollars, it was evi-dent the pri ce was sufficient. Thu sbegan the turquoise trail which wasto lead to the house of happinessamong the cliffs.

At Flagstaff, where we were toleave the highway and plunge intoterra incognita, Mr. Faye gave us ex-plicit directions as to behavior amongthe Navajos for whom he had con-ceived a wholesome respect. I wasadvised not to wear knickers but todon a skirt for the approval of modestIndians. I comp lied, adding whatevertouch of femininity I could musterfrom my suitcase. Filling our canteenswith pure mountain water, we startednor th. Mile after mile we rode overa land without perceived beginning orending; a land indifferent to humanityor to anything less magnificent thanthe sky above. Flat places lay dazzlingin sunshine. Rocks pointed prop hetic-ally upw ard. Placidly the waterholesmirrored the sky, into whose bluemerged the snowy peaks of the west-ern mountain . D ust in the distance in-dicating a flock of sheep bore a senseof human insignificance. It was power-fully lonely.

We reached Red Lake Trading Postset upon a rise of ground in the midst


17/44

of sand. M ade of ston e, and octagonalin shape, the building suggested a fron-tier fort, especially as the windowswere barr ed with iron. Inside the for-bidding walls we met Trader O'Farrell .Groups of Indians barter ing woolenrugs for flour and sugar, leaned leis-urely upon high counters. We likedthe rugs. We liked the odor of smokeand mutton woven into them alongwith zigzag patterns of white, blackand gray. Barb aric silver jewelry setwith turquoise dazzled us by its pro-fusion. We learned that it was pawnedwealth to be redeemed by the Indianswhen money was not needed for soda-pop or canned tom atoes . Some of thepieces were for sale. Holding a stringof turquoise and white shell in myhands, I forgot that I should be pre-pari ng the noon meal. Lat er, whileI opened cans of food outside thestore and tried to shelter my cookingfrom the whirling sand, Mr. Faye pre-sented me with an antique silver brace-let set with one blue stone. I placedit upon my right wrist and continuedto st ir the soup.

Among juniper-dotted hil ls we meta woman on hors eback. Sure andstrong, with calico skirt flapping abouther moccasined feet, the desert beautypassed, smiling a welcome to Navajo-

land. Aus tin slowed the car that wemight watch the personification of allthat was lovely in the midst of auster-ity. An apple-green plush jacketserved as background for masses ofturquoise and coral beads. The riderdisappeared among the junipers whichseemed to bow in obeisance to herbeauty.At the top of Marsh Pass we campedfor the night. D istant mesas brokeinto terraced cliffs whose rocks rosefrom the banks of a winding river farbelow us.It was good to awake to a worldof turquoise sky. Every breath of airadded zest to existence. Mr. Fayesmiled, Austin laughed uproariouslyat some joke of his father's, a blue jayscreamed in appreciation, and the cof-fee bubbled over. Full of the joy ofthe morning, down to Wetherill 's Postwe wandere d. It was the Wetherillfamily that had discovered the ruinsof Mesa Verde, in Colorado. Wetalked of a possible route to the Na-tional Park, and were told that Mr.Wetherill was driving cross-country inthe afternoon to some point in thatdirection.No automobile had been over theroute he intended to travel!

N E W S MITH , TRADER AT SUNRISE POST, 1923Next morning we filled the car with

gasoline, piled an extra 10-gallon canamong the ethnological reports andfollowed Mr. Wetherill 's trail acrossthe desert.At Mesa Verde, high in the cliffs,rest ancient rock homes, long sinceabando ned by the builders. Visitorswonder why human beings sought shel-

Continued on page 34

" W H E N W I N T E R C O M E S , T HE T H U N D E R A N D T H E S N AK E S A R E A SL E EP "


18/44

B yW I L L I A M E . W A R N EThis is the second in a series ofarticles by Mr. Warne based onhis observations in Iran during hiswork there as Point 4 Administrator."The Ghanat" (horizontal well ofPersian antiquity) appeared inDesert Magazine's February issue.

POMEGRANATE JUICE, chilled with ice, is a favoritesummer drink in Iran. Anyone who tries it in thenoonday heat, hot as only a dry desert country can be,will readily appreciate the tastes that from ancient timeshave made this drink popular. Cold pomegranate juicetitillates the taste buds, soothes the throat and quenchesthirst.But, where do the people get the ice to frost theirdrinks?Only in a few cities is there power service that couldoperate electric refrigerators, and even in these placesrefrigerators are rarities, seldom found outside the housesof foreigners in residence there.But here in Ghezvin, or there in Dastgard, the hand ofwelcome extended an ice cold drink."It is the custom," the host explains. "In summer ourpeople have always welcomed their guests this way."Where I was born, on the banks of the TippecanoeRiver north of the battleground in Indiana, ice froze inwinter to a thickness sufficient so that it could be sawedin blocks and snaked off the river to be stored in sawdustin a cellar. My father had such an operation in connectionwith an ice cream factory that he ran. In the first grade

this gave me great prestige. But we left Indiana when Iwas so young I scarcely trust my memory concerning anydetails. We moved to the Colorado Desert of California,albeit the irrigated portion thereof, and I began at onceto gain the experience that made it seem so wonderful tohave iced drinks in summer in Iran. That Middle Eastcountry seemed in 1951 more primitive so far as facilitiesfor living were concerned than the Imperial Valley wasin 1914 when I first saw it.The only cooling agent in general use at that time inthe Imperial Valley was an olla, hung in the shade outdoorsand jacketed thickly with burlap sacking. By keeping thesacking moist (which could be done by pouring a tin dipperof water around its top and letting it soak down) the water

in the earthen jar was kept cool by evaporation. Theseollas were of a capacity of about five gallons and were ofrelatively porous clay baked red. There was enough naturalseepage through the jar when it was full to provide a moistappearance part way up the side. The wet sack intensifiedthe cooling process.The olla had a broad flange 10 inches or a foot acrossat the neck, and the great jar was suspended by a wiretightened under this flange. Usually the wire connectedin four strands, with a hook in a rafter. The circle of wireat the neck made it easy to fashion a hook on which tohang the tin dipper. Usually the olla was covered witha wooden lid and often a chair stood beside it so that achild might climb up, stand on his tiptoes and dip himself

a drink.Technological improvement comes rapidly in America,however, and very soon in our valley some inventor intro-duced an olla with a push-button spigot near the bottom.All the jars began to have a standard symmetry and uni-form appearance that spoke of mass productionand someof the flavor went out of our pioneer life. Even so, wehad no ice. That did not come until later when trucksbegan to traverse routes along our dirt roads collectingcream for the cooperative creamery in Holtville. The milktruck brought ice from town and we put it down in a biginsulated box. Butter could be set on the dwindling cakeand, though it sometimes got a little moist looking, it wouldkeep its shape. That was real progress, but, of course, wepaid for it. The irrigation water had to be watched moreclosely, for if the road flooded the milk truck could notget through. If it got stuck, there was Old Ned to pay.The engine would roar and the wheels would spin andliterally plaster mud over everyone trying to help. The

N A T U R A LIceF A C T O R I E S0 NT H ED E S E R T SO FI R A N


19/44

*.-Tl:- CUNNINGHAM'',..'. 5; '-/,':." / y . *; .;;;..!r-.:' ': CAB INICAM PI",... =/ r ; . ,"'; j c.:"''-^-\ ^ . y? ' " / : ' ' - ! -: ;?

> %., 0X1 ? i ' . . "' , . JJ\ ./ .-:j j% *- -, \ %- ' iw,,.>"""' '" ' 5 >"* - - " ' / .-" i i s ' a r f ' f ;' = =.

Sego

mti'u-.~.

dy's "Wild Bunch." Budge tookuson a side trip to therock whereJoeWalker and Joe Herron, outlaws, wereslain byaposse in1898. Thesand-stone face oftheledge waschippedaway bysome oftheshots fired inthe brief butbloody battle.

Next day we laid overbut, notfrom choice. Half our horses andmules hadstrayed from camp duringthe night andittook Budge and Guyuntil five o'clock that evening tobringthem back. Theweather wasperfectand itwas easy toputintime aroundcamp. We found afew arrowheadsmostly broken. We took walks, wrotenotes, investigated several pole bear-traps that hadn't been set for aquarter-

PHEME BROWNELL WITH BIG CHANNELCATFISH SHE CAUGHT INGREEN RIVER

century. Ev andI took a short rideand counted 19deer andfiveelk;Ethel andPheme didsome washing;John made awonderful rice puddingbig enough tofeed asmall army.

Morning dawned bright andclearand wewere onthetrail by 7:30.This was our last dayinthehighcountry, andsoon after leaving campwe started down thesteep north wallof Florence Canyon, dropping 2000feet inelevation in acouple of miles.From anaustere world of tall gloomyfirs and aspens wedescended rapidlythrough theTransition Life Zoneofyellow pines andmountain mahoganyto thescrub oak andchaparral of theUpper Sonoran Zone, and,finally, othe pleasant realm ofmaples, choke-cherries, boxelders, elderberries andcottonwoods. We dismounted in a


27/44

. . ' '

grassy glade at the bottom of thecanyon, congratulated each other onhaving made the hazardous descentsafely and began shedding coats andwindbreakers. We had literally riddendownstairs to summer.Three hours and several miles later,we sp otted o ur first cliff dwelling. Itwas about 100 feet above the canyon

floor just below the mouth of PoleCanyon, and though only a small ruinits roof timbers were still in place.That afternoon we saw a dozenmore cliff ru ins all on the north faceof Florence Canyon. They appearedinaccessible, and probably never havebeen entered by white men.By mid-afternoon we were terriblytired after fighting our way throughthe brush on the canyon floor. Firstit had been kingsize sagebrush tower-ing higher than our heads; then camemiles of scrub oak extending across

the canyon floor from wall to wall.At five o'clock Budge reportedcheerfully that it was "only a coupleof hours" to the mouth of FlorenceCanyon where we would camp for thenight. Hoursnot miles!The scenery was as spectacular aswe were weary. The canyon walls be-gan to narrow and grow progressivelymore sheer. Scores of times the twist-ing gorge appeared to end only a fewhundred yards ahead, but a sharp bendwould reveal more canyon and trail .Stone pinnacles and promontories ap-peared on the rimrock. Great s tonearches high on the skyline stood outin silhouette against the last brightglow of the dying day.

All that kept me in the saddle forthose last six miles was a stubborndetermination not to be the first toquit .At eight o'clock we rounded theshoulder of a last rocky knoll andlooked down upon the old log build-ings and pole corrals of an abandonedranch. Surrounding the buildings werea small meadow and an old orchard,bordered by the silvery-gray tide ofthe Green River. Beyond the riverrose the towering west wall of Desola-t ion Canyon.On this ranch from 1887 to 1928had lived Budge's father-in-law, JimMcP herson . In 1941 the governmentbought the place for inclusion in theUte Indian Reservation.It seemed to me I had scarcelyclosed my eyes when I was awakenedat daybreak by the sharp ring ofBudge's axe as it bit off chunks of drywood for our breakfast fire. A mo ck-ingbird in the tree above my bed wassinging like mad, and near the placewhere Ethel was sleeping a young cot-tontail rabbit was sitting on hishaunches, taking in the scene.

ETHEL JOHNSON AND EV SCHUMAKER ON THE TRAILWandering over the peaceful oldranch and seeing the evidence of aonce-prosperous institution, I found ithard to believe that every pound ofequipment, all the supplies and everypiece of farm machinery brought tothis place during its 54-year life, wasfreighted in on the backs of packmules from the town of Green River,

40 miles south. A 400-pound cook-stove, an organ, several mowing ma-chines and a bullrake all packed overa trail barely wide enough for an ani-mal's footing.During the last five miles of ourride through Florence Canyon we hadnoted many fine Indian pictographsand petroglyphs. But the day had beentoo far spent to permit their examina-tion. We laid over a day at the ranchand Ev, Budge and I rode back up thecanyon to inspect and photograph theancient paintings.At the base of a sheer sandstonecliff we found a veritable art galleryof unusual 'glyphs. One of the mostnotable pictured a warrior with wideshoulders and narrow waist, and a tallantler-like headdress. Farther up-can-yon was a large showy pictographsimilar in appearance to a bulls-eyetarget. The nine painted circles werealternately red and yellow, with onewhite band midway between centerand rim. On the tip of a rock out cropwe found an excellent display of smallincisings and large showy paintings.

Done in black, white, red and yellow,they depicted antlered warriors up tothr ee feet in heigh t. E ntir ely differentin character was a painting consistingof a red circle 24 inches in diameter.

On a bright yellow field was a thin12-inch red crescent a dying moon and below, three s izable red dots .Returning to camp in mid-after-noon, we found a string of fine catfishtaken from the river by our compan-ions. Largest of the lot a blue chan-nel cat weighing about five pounds

was proudly claimed by Pheme. Whilethe others were fishing, John Leveringhad found a beautiful white quartzarrowhead, and every member of theparty had enjoyed the day to thefullest.With the catfish fried to a goldenbrown and served with crisp watercressgathered by Ethel, plus a steamingskillet of hashed-brown potatoes, aDutch oven full of John's wonderfulflaky biscuits and a jar of strawberrypreserves, we sat down to a grandsupper.Early the next morning we tookleave of the peaceful ranch and beganmaking our way south along the GreenRiver bank, through Desolation andGray canyons . We were now in des-ert country, at an elevation of about4000 feet, and for the first time onthe trip we noticed the heat. Judgingby the intensity of the sun beatingdown on the brown rocks and cliffsflanking the river, we knew that an-other month would bring days whenthe heat in these canyons would bealmost beyond human endurance. Oc-casional clumps of cottonwoods af-forded welcome shade for a trailsiderest, and salt cedars formed a nar-

Continued on page 34


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This gruesome fortress was the Alcatraz of its day. Now it's a popular tourist attraction.By ETHEL and ORVILLE TAYLOR

H IGH ON the granite bluff knownas Prison Hill, the crumblingruin of the old Arizona Terri-torial Prison towers over the valleybelow. This grim fortress has seenthe once-mighty Colorado dwindle toa passive stream; and the Army out-post of Fort Yuma develop into abustling agricultural center, the Yumaof today.Eighty-three years have passed since

the cornerstone was laid on April 28,1876, for this most notorious andhated prison. The first group of in-mates numbered seven, but at onetime there were 376 felons from allover the nation confined here, includ-ing four or five women. Captain F.S. Ingalls, a military man and formersteamboat pilot, was the prison's firstsuperintendent.Built by Convicts

Ironically, most of the cells weredug out of the rocky hill by the hap-less convicts who were to occupy them.The walls were plastered over withadobe mud and some of the exteriorwalls were made of adobe blocks.There were 34 compartments in themain cell blockeach fashioned forsix prisoners. Bunks were in tiers ofthree to conserve space. The averagesize of these cells was six by 10 feet.The walls were reinforced with ironstrips, and a metal grating was ce-mented into the dome ceiling for ven-tilation.Incorrigibles were kept in anotherblock containing 12 cages. On thewall of one of these is scrawled thewords "human liberty." Victims oftuberculosis were isolated in a rowof cave-like cells on the sunny sideof the hill. An unknown prisoner in

Cell 5 of this block passed down thispoem:Have you had a kindness shown?Pass it on.'Twas not yours, for you alone.Pass it on.Let it travel down the years.Let it wipe another's tears,'Til in Heaven the deed appears.Pass it on.The infamous dungeon block con-tained "Snake Den," a cave 15 feetsquare by 10 feet high hollowed outof the heated hill. The more viciouscriminals were confined here, and toprevent fighting amongst them, theywere chained by the leg to iron ringsimbedded in the floor. Many menspent months in this dark hole, sleep-ing on the rocky floor and existingon bread and water. Only deathended this ordeal for some.Even those fortunate enough tokeep out of the Snake Den had noeasy life. There were few provisionsfor comfort. The dugouts were coldin winter, unbearably hot in summer.Scorpions found the rough adobewalls to their liking.

Locked up at NightThe men were locked in their cellsat night, but moved freely around thegrounds during the day. When theirwork details were finished, they wereallowed to spend some time in theexercise yard. From here the coolinviting Colorado was plainly visibleas was the prison cemetery with its

rocky mounds.Some of the most desperate outlawsof the old West were incarcerated atYuma. for this was the Alcatraz ofthat era. Bill Downey, Bert Alvord

and Finn Clanton (brother of IkeClanton of Tombstone fame) did timein Yuma. Finn was sentenced to 10years for cattle rustling. The notori-ous "Buckskin" Frank Leslie, with 14notches on his gun handle, served along stretch for the murder of awoman in Tombstone.Woman Desperado

Best known of all the inmates wasthe "Girl Bandit" Pearl Hart, prisonnumber 1559, as hard and vicious asany man ever to share these grimquarters. She specialized in stage andtrain robberies, starting at the age of17 by holding-up the Florence toTucson stage. She did well in herhazardous calling until, in 1899, theprison doors opened to receive the105-pound desperado. Confinementcured her of the opium habit and mustalso have mellowed her, for she com-posed a poem now on display at theprison museum.The walls surrounding the prisonwere not high, nor was there needfor barbed wire atop them. Otherfactors made jail-breaks a poor gam-ble. The principal deterrent was the"Tank Station," a large tower over-looking the prison grounds. Guardsarmed with rifles and a formidableCatling gun kept watch from thetower. Any convict in a mood forsuicide had only to attempt to scalethe walls. There he was without coverand under direct fire. And if by somemiracle a prisoner did make it over,there was another not-to-be-taken-

lightly factor to reckon with: the des-ert. The obvious escape routedownthe Colorado River to the Mexicanborder, 26 miles away was wellguarded. Indians were always eager


29/44

to collect the $50 standing promiseby the government for any fugitivereturned.Despite all this, there were at-tempted escapes, two of which areworthy of note.In 1887 seven daring felons tookSuperintendent Thomas Gates as hos-tage and fled toward the river. TheGatling gun in the tower could not beused because of the danger to Gates.However, one guardan expert shotopened fire with his rifle, and withfour deliberate shots dropped four ofthe fleeing convicts. Gates tried tobreak away from his captors, and wasstabbed in the back. The guards, ledby a loyal lifer, ran to the aid of thesuperintendent, then overtook andcaptured the remaining three. Thelifer was granted a pardon as rewardfor his unselfish courage. Gates wasbadly wounded and never regainedhis health, dying not long after.Second Attempt

The second break took place in1890, soon after the return of CaptainIngalls as superintendent. This timethe venturous escapees got no fartherthan the gates, for the Gatling gunmowed them down the unusualaspect of this abortive attempt beingthat the wife of Ingalls was in theguard tower at the time. Varying ac-counts of what followed had her eitheroperating the gun, or at least helpingreload it.The prison was abandoned in 1909,

three years before Arizona Territorybecame the 48th state, when person-nel and inmates were moved to thepenitentiary at Florence. The build-ings were used for a high school forfour years (the Yuma high schoolathletic teams arc known as the"Criminals"), then lay idle for morethan a generation.Wind, rain and vandals took theirtoll. Finally, in 1941, the city ofYuma took the responsibility of pro-tecting and preserving the historicallandmark.Open to PublicA museum was established in theformer mess hall and chapel. Thepublic is welcomefree of chargeto tour the grounds and inspect the10,000 items on display here. Hoursare from 10 to 12 and 1 to 4, Tues-day through Saturday; 1 to 4 on Sun-days; closed Mondays.Motorists will find plenty of park-ing space and all facilities for a leis-urely visit. Picnic tables have beenprovided for the public in the exerciseyard. A spectacular view of the river

and the sprawling prison is the rewardfor climbing the steps to the top ofTank Station. This once - dreadedguard tower is now the Veterans ofForeign Wars clubhouse.

The museum is bulging with treas-ures of the past, including articlesmade by the prisonersropes, bridlesand belts of horsehair. On the grim-mer side are the numerous picturesof hangings and hangmen, and thecollection of handcuffs and leg-irons.

While most of the cells are locked,mere are a few that can be entered;one can get an idea of what it waslike to be on the inside looking out.The only occupants now are waspswhich cement their nests to the adobew a l l s . E N D

s a w sBy BENN KELLER, ManagerFord Desert Proving GroundsKingman, Arizona

Vapor LockThe uninitiated desert visitor tour-ing the desert country on one of itssummer days may find his car com-

ing to a bucking halt while negotiat-ing a grade behind a slow truck. Thecar may produce the well-knownsymptoms of running out of gas,which is actually what is happening,even though there is plenty of gaso-line in the tank. This malfunction istermed "vapor lock" because the fuelin the supply system reaches its boil-ing point and changes from a liquidto a vapor. Thus the fuel pump isrendered incapable of pumping thefuelnow a vaporinto the carbur-etor.

Vapor lock is commonly encoun-tered, is not serious, and does noengine damage. The easiest thing todo is "nothing," except maybe raisethe hood so the underhood tempera-ture will lower more rapidly andchange the gasoline back to a liquidstate. This usually takes 15 minutes.D o not run your battery down byrepeated efforts to re-start the enginewhile the fuel still is too hot. If a 15minute delay cannot be tolerated,pour water over the fuel pump.Vapor lock can be caused eitherby an improper grade of fuel or un-derhood temperatures which havereached a critical maximum. Youshould shy away from offbrand fuelsfor desert driving; the additional fewcents you spend will be worth it ifyou have conditions conducive tovapor lock.

D o not stow spare tires, luggageor other material where it will pre-vent the free flow of air through yourradiator. When climbing grades atslow vehicle speeds, manually shiftto the next lower transmission gearto speed up your water pump andfan, which will help to keep the un-derhood temperature below criticalvalues.

P O E M O F T H E M O N T HB U T , L E T T H EG A D G E T F A I LBy CLARENCE ALVA POWELL

Detroit, MichiganMan is truly insignificantAgainst the vast immensity of this,Unless he hurtles through the hot abyssCombustion-driven auto-mendicant;Or winged, mercurial-warrior jet-propelledThrough sepulchres of stratospheric night;Or fragile-speed in lesser airborne flight,To observe the prismic marvels held here.But, let the gadget fail and man descendTo thirsting on the horrors of his face,Immersed in fantasies of serpent-spaceWhile, senses wrung, implacably the end,He builds his mansion in the undertoneOf lizards sheltered in the bone-house.

Desert Magazine pays $5 each month for the poem chosen by the judgesto appear in the magazine. To enter this contest simply mail your type-written poem (must be on a desert subject) to Poetry Contest, DesertMagazine, Palm Desert, Calif. Please include a stamped return envelope.


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" O V E R L O O K E D F O R T U N E S "IN THE RARER MINERALS

Here are a few of the 300 or more rarerminerals and gemstones you may be over-looking while mining, prospecting or gemhunting. Uranium, vanadium, columbium,tantalum, tungsten, nickel, cobalt, selenium,germanium, bismuth, platinum, iridium,beryllium, golden bery l , emeralds, etc.Some minerals worth $1 to $2 a pound,others $25 to $100 an ounce; some beryl-lium gems worth a fortunel If looking forgenu, get out of the agate class into thebig money; an emerald the size of yourthumb may be worth $500 to $5000 ormore! Now you can learn how to find,identify, and cash in on them. New simplesystem. Send for free copy "OverlookedFortunes"it may lead to knowledge whichmay make you rich! A postcard will do.DUKE'S RESEARCH LABORATORY

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SOUTHWEST NEWS BRIEFSInscriptionDefaced

t^ In 1837 fur trapper Antoine Robi-doux established a monument nearpresent - day Cisco,Utah, of p r i c e l e s svalue to students ofhistory. Taking a cue from the In-dians, Robidoux chiseled a hand-some inscription on the face of aboulder: "Antoine Robidoux passedthis way November 13, 1837, to es-tablish a trading house on the Greenor Wh ite river." Recently, hunt erserected another monument on thesitea monument to their stupidity.Firing high-powered rifles, they de-faced portions of Robidoux's petro-glyph.

I Continued improvement of 368miles of Navajo-Hopi reservation_ , , roads is p r o v i d e dFunds for f o r i n t h e n e w F e d .Indian Roads e r a l b u d g e t for t h efiscal year beginning July 1. Ear-marked for the work is $5 millionthe same amount as in the currentyear . In addition, nearly $2 millionwill be spent for work on federal-aidhighways across the reservations.Educational and welfare servicesplanned under the regular Navajo-Hopi program will cost $19.3 millionin '60-'61an increase of nearly $2million over '59-'6O.

Haven forWaterbirds

Cf Development of a " w a t e r f o w larea" on the Colorado River on andadjacent to the Ci-b o l a s l o u g h s be-t w e e n Y u m a andEhrenberg is finally underway, the"Phoenix Gazette" reports. The proj-ect was launched several years agowhen the Arizona Game and FishCommission acquired land in thatarea, and outlined plans for water-fowl resting grounds, habitat forother wildlife, fishing waters, parksand general outdoor recreationalfacilities. The state recently granteda lease on 1200 acres of the land forfulfillment of part of the general plan.Not included in this initial contractis development of 3V2 miles of riverfront earmarked for a public camp-ground . C| Me anwh ile, the Utah Fishand Game Commission has voicedapproval of a plan to grant sufficientland to the International WaterfowlAssociation for establishment of awildfowl propagation and exotic birdcenter at Farmington Bay on theeastshore of the Great Salt Lake.

I Boulder City, the beautiful N eva dacommunity that sprang from then u ^-. H o o v e r Dam con-Boulder City s t r u c t i o n site_ i s n o wa self-governing mu-nicipality after being a "governmenttown" for 29 year s . The 3500 resi-dents of Boulder City approvedemancipation by a 5-to-l vote. Hop-ing to use Hoover Dam and LakeMead as lures, the majority of resi-dents see a big boom ahead in thetourist business for their town.P I C K - U PC A M P E R S

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31/44

By FRANK JENSENP . O . Box 808, Cedar City, Utah

HE PAIUTE Indians had a name forBryce Canyon in Southern Utah: Unka-timpa - w u - wince - pock - inch, whichmeans, "red rocks standing like men in abowl shaped canyon."When March winds sweep across the highplateau country bordering the ColoradoRiver, the rocks of Bryce, standing likegrotesque stone men, become more like athousand Santa Clauses capped with beardsof snow.Utah is snow country from Januarythrough March and the Beehive State boastssome of the best skiing and winter sceneryin the United States. Just ask any Utahn.Although Bryce Canyon National Parkhas more than a quarter-of-a-million visi-tors annually, few realize the adventure incolor awaiting the person who pays a callto this fairyland in winter.At 8000 feet, Bryce Canyon has aboutfour to five feet of snow on the rim fromlate December until early April, althoughthe roads into the park are kept open year-

round as are trails to major viewpoints.For the photo enthusiast lucky enough tocatch Bryce after a snowfall, a snow-ladenpine tree makes a perfect frame for Bryce'swinter formations.The Bryce Canyon story began aboutsixty million years ago when much of whatis now the Western United States was cov-ered by inland lakes and seas. Some 12,-000 feet of silt, sand and lime were depos-ited in these watersa conglomerate ex-posed in the walls of the Grand Canyon,Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon's colorfulformations.Over the centuries Bryce Canyon hascarved its varied shaped pinnacles with theaid of running water, frost, snow, ice and

acids carried in the air in rainwater. Thesenatural forces of erosion have accountedfor the delicate, sometimes grotesquely-sculptured forms that add to the beauty ofBryce Canyon below the rim.

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This yea r's off-season visitor to Brycewill also find awaiting him a new $250,000visitor center and museum, completed inDecember under the National Park Serv-ice's Mission 66 Program.This visitor center houses, among otherthings, an auditorium for slide lectures anda museum-exhibit room containing charts,displays and dioramas. The museum re-creates more than 25,000,000 years of geo-

logical history. One display shows rocksof various ages, some of them a billionyears old. In still anothe r display is an-swered the familiar question: why are therocks red? One of the museum 's moststriking displays is a life-like diorama de-picting a fox stalking a chipmunk againsta Bryce Canyon setting.The Bryce Park lodge and cabin facilitiesare closed from October through May.Nearest accommodations during the win-ter and spring months are at Panguitch, on

U . S . 89 about 25 miles southeast of theCanyon . This town, which plays host tomany Bryce visitors year-round, has 11motels and four resta urant s. Most of themotels are "modern," and winter rates be-gin at $4. In the busy summer, these r atesstart at $7.There are two events of special interestin Utah this month. On March 13, theJunior Ski Classic takes place at Brighton.The Ute Indian Bear Dance is held annu-ally in the Uintah Basin in late March orearly Apr il the exact date is not set untila few days before the cerem onial. Thedance is held to celebrate the advent ofSpring. For dates of this event you shouldcontact the Roosevelt C of C.END

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OFF-SEASON VISITORS DISCOVER WINTER WON-DERLAND IN BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK

ill Hoy photoYOUR NEXT INVITATION. . . to join Colorado River and "down N o r t h "to the ARCTIC river expeditions.. . . come see and photograph beauti ful ,gentle and colorfulGLEN CANYON of the COLORADO RIVER3-day fares are $ 85.004-day fares are 100.009-day fares ore 160.7410-day fares are 178.60All trips but 3-day will visit Rainbow Bridgeon an 1 1-mile hike. Datings for 1 1 boatingtrips:Mar. 29-Apr. 7; Apr. 10-Apr. 19; Apr. 22-Apr. 30 ; May 3, 4, 5; May 10, 11, 12, 13;May 17, 18, 19; May 24, 25, 26, 27; May 31-J u n . 2; Jun. 7, 8, 9, 10; Jun. 14, 15, 16;J u n . 21 , 22, 23, 24.. . . Identify above photograph and receive$10 credit on a boat fare.. . . One half the fare will be refunded toour 1001st guest.. . . Chi ldren 7 thru 11half fare. And, i fyou are interested in the Trip of a Lifetime,come join our Arctic Expedition 1960 for1,025 miles on the Magnificent Mackenzie inNorthwest Territories, Canada. July 15 toAugust 31. Boating fare is $950. $ 19.80per day. Cheaper than staying at home,landlubbers!

HARRY ALESONWESTERN RIVER TOURSRICHFIELD, UTAH


32/44

T W ON E V A D A C L A S S I C S

REPRINTED INOne VolumeJ. ROSS BROWNE'S

A Peep at Washoe (I860)A N DWashoe Revisited (1863)

Two serio-comic accounts of Virginia Cityan d the Comstock Lode (1860-63).P r e s sBOX 85 BALBOA ISLAND. CALIF.

Price $5.50Add 15c postage; California residents alsoadd 404 sales tax256 pages, 90 woodcut illus. by Browne.Brochure on request.

onBotarv))i FromS7 DESERTM A G A Z I N E ' S

mail-ordersales departmentThere's no time like Spring fordesert flowers and no t imelike the present to order thosebooks that will increase yourknowledge and enjoyment of these flowers.DESERT WILDFLOWERSEdmund C. Jaeger.Fine handbook on desert f lora,almost 800 species describedand il lustrated by l ine drawingor photo. A must for folks whotravel the desert by-ways..--$5THE WILDFLOWERS OF CALI-FORNIAMary Elizabeth Parsons.For the amateur botanist whowould gain a more intimate ac-quaintance with the plants thatbeautify the state's valleys,mountains and deserts. Excel-lent pen sketches and colorplates - $3.95BOOK OF CACTI AND OTHERSUCCULENTSClaude Chidamain.For those interested in garden-ing or collecting, an encyclo-pedia of information regardingnature, propagation and cu l t i -vation of cacti. Well i l lustrated$4.50

ORDER BY MAIL FROM

(Desert MagazineBOOK STORE

PALM DESERT, CALIF.(Please odd 15c per book for postage andhandling; California residents also add4% sales tax)

BOOKS of the SOUTHWESTSTRUGGLE FOR SURVIVALO N THE NAMIB DESERT

1939. Two German geologists in South-west Africa run off to the Namib Desertto avoid internment. For two years they"play at the game of Robinson Crusoe."They join the leopards and hyenas as beastsof prey. They begin to fathom the "men-tality" of Stone Age Man.From this unusual experience has comea book, The Sheltering Desert, by HennoMartin, one of the participants . This ison e of the finest desert adventure storieswritten in recent years. It is an absorbingtale, dealing as it does with the funda-mental human drive: survival.Martin and his companion, HermannKorn, develop special skills in the desert.They learn how to efficiently kill the "lovelybeasts of the wilderness" (but never with-out compunction); they acquire the patiencethey had so often seen, but never fullyunderstood, in the "less civilized" Africannatives.Early in their experience the two intrud-ers gain the full realization of just howwoefully lacking in physical attributes arehuman beings how swift afoot the gracefulspringboks, how powerful the jaws of ba-boons, how fantastic the eyesight of vul-tures! But, how wonderful is man's brain(at least it seems wonderful until the twome n get the latest news on the bloody warraging in E ur op e ) .It may be significant to note that afterthe desert adventure ends, Martin and Kornreturn to civilization and the latter ispromptly killed in an auto accident.Published by Thomas Nelson & Sons,New York; 236 pages of text; 32 pages ofphotos; $5.I. ROSS BROWNE'S"PEEP AT WASHOE"

A hundred years ago Nevada was knownas Washoe and was in the Utah Terr itory.And a century ago the great silver minesof Virginia City were coming to life. Per-haps the best, and certainly the liveliestreports on the frantic Comstock scene wererecorded by J. Ross Browne, who doubledas reporter and illustrator in his wander-ings around the West of a hundred yearsago."A Peep at Washoe" and "Washoe Re-visited" are reprints of two humorous ac-counts Browne wrote for Eastern publica-tions of the day. The modern reprint, donein good taste by the Paisano Press, is richlyadorned with almost 90 woodcuts done byBrowne in 1860 and 1863, when he visitedthe Carson-Virginia City area.The flavor and the odor of the Westernmining camp has never been recorded inbetter style.There are 256 pages in the Washoe book.The dust jacket is smartly done with silverink. Price is $5.50.COLLECTION OF ELLINWOOD'S"COW COUNTRY" CARTOONS

Tom Ellinwood, Arizona Daily Star(Tucson) editorial page cartoonist, decidedin 1957 that his Sunday cartoons needed aspecial theme. He drew one titled, "BeautyCa n Be Practical," showing a cowboy watch-ing the rain clouds come in. Accompanyingthe drawing was an eight-line verse written

by him: A golden desert sunset I Or aneagle soaring free I Or cactus blooms inspringtime I Are beautiful to see. / But ofall the sights around me I The one forwhich I sigh I Is a pouring summer rain-storm I When the tanks are nearly dry.And thus was born Ellinwood's popular"Cow Country" cartoon series . ArizonaSilhouettes recently brought out 104 Ellin-wood cartoons in a paperback book, CowCountry. It sells for $1.Ellinwood's cartoons run from the hu-morous to the sentimental but they're allas Western as campfire smoke and sleepin'under the stars .Some verse samples:Old Sam the cook is doggone good I Atrustling tasty chow, I And also when yourhair's too long / He'll chop it off rightnow. I Since this ain't his profession, he Ileaves bald spots here and there; I Butyouget saved a trip to town / Besides, thecows don't care.There was a lady visitor / At roundup

time this year, I And she just couldn't bearto watch I Them brand, or notch an ear. IIt hurt the little calves, she thought, / Totreat them all so mean; I But when shelined up for a steak I Her appetite waskeen.REFERENCE WORK ONMEXICO'S WILDLIFEA much-needed a

Documents

196003 Desert Magazine 1960 March