196903 Desert Magazine 1969 March

8/14/2019 196903 Desert Magazine 1969 March

1/44


2/44

D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E B O O K S H O PMAMMALS OF THE SOUTHWEST DESERTS byGeorge Olin. Newly revised edit ion describesthe mammals of the deserts with art ist i l lustra-t ions of the animals and their footprints foreasy ident if icat ion. Paperback, 112 pages,$ 1 . 0 0 .

ANZA-BORREGO DESERT GUIDE by Horace Par-ker. Second edi t ion of th is wel l - i l lus t rated anddocumented book is enlarged considerably. Topsamong guideb ooks, i t is equa l ly recommendedfor research material in an area that was crossedby Anza, Ki t Carson, the Mormon Bat ta l ion,49ers, Railroad Survey part ies, Pegleg Smith, theJackass M a i l , But ter f ie ld Stage, and today 'sadventurous tour is ts . 139 pages, cardboardcover , $2.95.OLD CALIFORNIA MINES (1899) by Charles Yale.Reprint f rom early mining industry records.Photos show di f ferent types of mining, mainlyin Mother Lode country. Text contains stat ist icsand discussions of early problems $2.00.

OLD MINES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Hereis a reprint of a report of the State Mineralogistmade in 1893 and l imi ted to 1000 copies . I tcovers desert , mountain and coastal areas in-cluding Calico, Salton Sea, Colorado River dis-tr icts and southern California count ies. Really aterri f ic book for prospectors, both amateur andprofessional, and it is especial ly recommendedby DESERT. Paperbook. $2.50.LOST MINES AND TREASURES OF THE PACIFICNORTHWEST by Ruby El Hul l . I f you've beenyearning to go t reasure hunt ing, afoot or byarmchair, this is the book to point the way. In-cludes l i t t le known and fascinat ing sidelights onregional h is tory . 14 exact and detai led mapsand photographs. Hardcover , 257 pages. $4.50.

S U N , SAND AND SOLITUDE by Randall Hender-s o n . For more than 50 years Randall Hendersonhas traveled across the deserts of the West unt i ltoday he is known as the voice and prophet ofth is region of mystery , sol i tude and beauty .Founder of Desert Mag azine in 1 93 1 , he has de-voted his l i fe to understanding the great out-doors. His second and latest book is a culmin-at ion of his experiences, thoughts and philoso-phy. Hardcover , deluxe format , deck le-edgedpaper, 16 pages ful l color, excellent i l lustrat ions,$ 7 . 9 5 .METAL DETECTOR HANDBOOK by Art Lassagne,2nd edition. Includes history, operat ing tech-niques, interpretat ion of signals, and Directoryof Manufacturers. One of the most completehandbooks of i ts kind. Paperback, 65 pages.$ 3 . 0 0 .100 DESERT WILDFLOWERS by Natt Dodge. A llin ful l color. Handy to carry for ident if icat ion.Paperback, $1.50.

WHEN ORDERING BOOKSPLEASEAdd 50 cents PER ORDER(Not Each Book)for handling and mailingCalifornia residents add 5 percentsales tax, regardless of whether youare a Republican or Democrat.Send check or money order to Desert Maga-zine Book Shop, Palm Desert , Cali fornia92260. Sorry, but we cannot accept chargesor C.O.D. orders.

100 ROADSIDE FLOWERS by Natt N. Dodge. Acompanion book to h is 100 DESERT WILDFLOW-E R S , th is book l is ts 100 f lowers growing in the4,500 to 7,000 foot levels . L ike the companionbook, every f lower is i l lustrated in 4-colorphotographs. Excellent to carry in car duringweekend t r ips for fami ly fun. Paperback, 64pages , $1 . 50 .THE CALIFORNIA DESERTS by Edmund C. Jaeger.Revised 4th edit ion is standard guide to Mohaveand Colorado deser ts wi th new chapters ondesert conservat ion and abor ig ines. Hardcover .$ 4 . 9 5 .GEMS, MINERALS, CRYSTALS AND ORES byRichard M. Pearl. A paperback edi t ion of h isbest-sell ing hardcover book which has been outof print for a year. From agate to zircon, thebook tel ls where gems, minerals, crystals andores can be found, how they are ident i f ied, col -lected, cut and displayed. Paperback, sl ickpaper, 64 color photographs, 320 pages, $2.95

SUPERSTITION TREASURES by Travis MarloweWealth that exists in the Superst i t ion Mountains of Ar izona, fabulous ly r ich mines, p lus acache or two of gold and s i lverpi led high insecret hiding places by those long-ago Peraltaminers. Maps carved on stone before the massacre of 1848. I l lustrated in color and blacand whi te. Paperback, 64 pages. $2.50.BEACHES OF BAJA by Walt Wheelock. The author has personal ly explored the beaut i fubeaches of Baja, which, unlike those of UppeCal i forn ia, are unc lut tered and uncrowded. Hetel ls how to reach the beaches and what type ot ransportat ion is needed. A companion book toGerhard and Gul ick 's Lower Cal i forn ia GuidBook. Paperbook, i l lus t rated, 72 pages, $1.95

FOR COMPLETE BOOK CATALOG WRITE TO DESERT MAGAZINE, PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92260


3/44

Volume 32 Number 3

MARCH, 1969

WILLIAM KNYVETTPUBLISHER

JACK PEPPEREDITOR

MARK SMITHAdvert is ing Manager

ELTA SHIVELYExecutive Secretary

MARVEL BARRETTBusiness

LLOYD SHIVELYCirculat ion

JACK DELANEYStaf f Wr i terBILL BRYAN

Back Country Editor

EDITORIAL OFFICES: 74-109 Larrea, Palm Desert,Ca l i fo rn ia 9226 0 . Area Code 714 346 -81 44 .Unsol ic i ted manuscr ipts and photographs notoccompanied by self addressed, stamped and zipcoded envelopes wi l l NOT be returned.ADVERTISING OFFICES: 74-109 Larrea, PalmDesert , Cal i forn ia 922 60 . Phone 714 34 6-8 14 4.Listed in Standard Rate & Data.CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT: 74-109 Larrea,Palm Desert , Cali fornia 92260. Desert Magazineis published monthly. Subscript ion prices: UnitedStates , 1 year , $5.00; 2 years , $9.50; 3 years ,$1 3.0 0. Foreign subscribers add $1 .00 U. S.Currency for each year. See Subscript ion OrderForm in back of this issue. Allow f ive weeks forchange of address and be sure to send bothnew and old addresses with zip code.

C O N T E N T S4 Book Reviews5 Silent Stamp MillsBy L. L. SCHOENFELD6 Brush Popping Dune Buggies

By PAT HOLMES

8 Arizona's ApachelandBy WARREN and BARBARA TRANSUE

11 South ern Baja The Easy WayBy BILL HAYDEN

16 The Disappearing California CondorBy JACK ROOF

20 Freddy the Frog vs. My rtle the TurtleBy JACK DELANEY

23 Twenty-three SkidooBy GARY MOORE

24 Ruble, Treasures and GhostsBy AL PEARCE

28 The Crafty ChuckwallaBy BERNIE CRAMPTON

30 Mooney GroveBy IRENE WRAY

32 Lost Mule Shoe GoldBy HAROLD WEIGHT

36 Beale's CutBy CHARLES R. GRIZZLE

38 Back Country TravelBy BILL BRYAN

42 Wom an's View Point43 Letters

DESERT is published monthly by Desert Magazine,Palm Desert, Calif. Second Class Postage paid atPalm Desert , Cal i f . , and at addi t ional mai l ingoff ices under Act of March 3, 1879. Tit le regis-tered NO. 358865 in U. S. Patent Off ice, andcontents copyr ighted 1969 by Desert Magaz ine.Unsol ic i ted manuscr ipts and photographs cannotbe returned or acknowledged unless fu l l . returnpostage is enclosed. Permission to reproduce con-tents rrust be secured from the editor in writ ing.

MARCH COLOR PHOTOSFront Cover: Water from me lting snows in the m ountainstumbles down the canyons and into the desert in SouthernArizona's Sabino Creek. Photo by David Muench, Santa Bar-bara, Calif. Page 22 : Gary Moore, Monrovia, Calif., i l lustrateshis article on the ghost camp of Skidoo with the color photo ofone of the last remaining buildings. Back Cover: Rain cloudshover over palm trees in Coachella Valley near Palm Desert.Photo by Harry Vroman, Palm Springs. 3


4/44

B O O K REVIEWSROUGH RI DI NGBy Dick Cepek and Walt Wheelock

Two veteran desert travelers have com-piled an excellent book on how to driveand survive in the back country. Althoughbased on driving through Baja Califor-nia, the information is applicable to allother areas of the West.

Dick Cepek is a long-time back coun-try explorer and operates a supply firmfor four-wheel-drive vehicles. WaltWheelock is the author of numerousbooks and has been exploring the Westfor "forty-plus" years.Among the chapters in the book are

Adventure, Back Country Roads, Learn-ing, Tires and Wheels, Speed, Sand, Dig-ging Out, Rocky Roads, Stream Crossing,Food and Water, plus many others.If you are not an experienced backcountry driver and want to be one, thisbook is a must. Veterans will also findnew information and tricks-of-the-roadfor future use.I strongly recommend anyone whodrives off the pavement, whether in apassenger car, four-wheel-drive or dunebuggy, P u t t m s handy paperback, 36-pagebook in the glove compartment of hisvehicle. The dollar spent for the informa-tion will pay off in the long run. Yes,it's only $1.00.

BOTTLE COLLECTOR'SHANDBOOK AND PRICING GUIDEBy John T. Yount

As the hobby of bottle collecting be-comes more popular, new bottle booksare published to keep up with the latestin prices and identification. This bookshould be a valuable aid in these fields.

Contents include listing of 1850 bot-tles and their current market value,seventeen categories, including the JimBeam series, where to sell or buy bottles,identifications made easy, and how to tellwhich bottles will turn purple. Even forthose who have other bottle books, thisone should be a welcome addition. Pa-perback, illustrated, 89 pages, $3.95.

LOST MINES AND TREASURESOF THE PACIFIC NORTHWESTBy Ruby El Hut

The best book on lost mines and tres-ures in the Pacific northwest area, thisvolume has been out of print for severalmonths. It is now available again throughthe Desert Magazine Book Shop. Illus-trated with maps and photographs, theauthor has done an excellent job of bothresearch and writing. Hardcover, 257pages, $4.50.

FOSSIL VERTEBRATESOF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIABy Theodore Downs

Another in the excellent series of Cali-fornia Natural History Guides publishedby the University of California, thisvolume deals with the history of animalsand identification of their fossils, plusan excellent chapter on the Care and Col-lection of Fossils. Illustrated both incolor and black and white, 61 pages,paperback, $1.75.

DEAD MEN DO TELL TALESBy Lake E rie Schaefer

Frank Fish, a well known and contro-versial treasure hunter, died under my-sterious circumstances in his mobile homeat Amador City, California. Althoughthe coroner's verdict was suicide, manyof Fish's friends, including the author ofthis book, believe he did not take his ownlife.

Mrs. Schaefer and her husband wereclose friends of the treasure hunter andhelped him establish his Buffalo RanchMuseum in Amador City.The first part of Dead Men Do TellTales describes Fish's years as a treasurehunter, his search for the Lost Dutch-man bonanza in Arizona's SuperstitionMountains, and the author's conversa-tions with Fish. This part of the book,

and the last chapter in which she de-

Books reviewed may be orderedfrom the DESERT Magazine BookOrder Department, Palm Desert,California 92 26 0. Please include50c for handling. California resi-dents must add 5% sales tax.Enclose payment with order.

fcribes the circumstances surrounding hisdeath, make interesting reading.The second part of the book is merelya short compilation of alleged lost minesand bonanzas in the West. However, forthose interested in the life of a profes-sional treasure hunter, this book makesinteresting reading. Paperback, 80 pages,illustrated, $3.00.

ROOM TO ROAMPublished by theBureau of Land Management

A section of the Department of theInterior, The Bureau of Land Manage-ment administers some 450 million acresof public domain land, ranging from ariddeserts to Arctic tundra.Created in 1812 as the General Landoffice, the Bureau "maintains the publicdomain as a national storehouse of landsand resources for the future, while man-aging the lands for multiple uses to meet

needs of the present." This is a hardtask for any organization and the Bureauof Land Management has its critics aswell as supporters.The millions of acres of land they ad-minister in the West are the wildernessareas which hundreds of thousands ofpeople visit each year, ranging from com-plete camping grounds to barren acreswhere man can find peace and solitude.Room to Roam is a recreation guide tothese public lands and your heritage.

Beautifully illustrated with 4-color photo-graphs and maps of the West's recrea-tional areas, it includes a complete guideto points of interest in the various areas.Officials of the Bureau of Land Manage-ment are to be commended for this pub-licationand it's yours for only 50 cents.Send money order to Room to Roam,Superintendent of Documents, Washing-ton, D.C. 20402. THTS IS A GOVERN-MENT PUBLICATION AND IS NOTCARRIED BY DESERT MAGAZINEBOOK SHOP, SO PLEASE ORDERFROM WASHINGTON, D.C.


5/44

S i l e n tS t a m pM i l l s

by L L Schoenfeld

NORTH O F the Dragoon Mountainsin Southern Arizona stands amonument to Arizona's mining history.Deserted, abandoned and forgotten, it'swooden parts and iron pieces have beentreated kindly by the dry desert air. Itseems to be resting, awaiting a resurg-ance in man's quest for that elusive yel-low metal.

From the Mother Lode to CrippleCreek, from the Comstock to Tombstone,it was known through the West as astamp mill. Wherever men dug preciousmetals from the earth a stamp mill wasusually nearbycrushing lumps of hardquartz into a slurry of runny mud sothat the gold or silver could be removed.It was well suited to the needs of the

early-day miner, being simple to oper-ate and reliable in operationand itcould be taken apart and hauled most anyplace a wagon could go.Stamp mills were usually powered bylow-pressured steam engines, the steamcoming from locomotive-type boilerswith extremely tall smoke stacks. Fuelwas whatever was handy, be it sage brush,

mesquite or tall pines.The genesis of the stamp mill is lostin antiquity, it is simply the mechaniza-tion of a mortar and pestal. The mostwidely used version consisted of fivestamps per mortarbox and a rotatingcamshaft to rise and drop each stamp inturn. The falling stampsome weightedover 750 poundswould crush the oreand release the precious metal.The most remarkable thing about thestamp mill was its longevity. The mod-

ern version was put in use in Californiaand Nevada about the time of the Ameri-can Civil War and some stamp mills werestill in use in the 1930s. The gyratorycrushers and ball mills that come intouse in the copper mills were not nearlyas efficient as stamp mills for certain typesof gold and silver ore.A standing stamp mill is a rare sightnowadays. The scrap iron drives ofWorld War II cleaned out almost all ofthem. In fact, the one pictured here may

be the last one left in Arizona.


6/44

Brush-PoppingDune Buggiesby Pat Holmes

The author was awakened one morning by the baying of sheep and the tinkling ofa bell on the sheepherder's burro as they casually walked past the campsite.

Due6

to visibility an d easy maneu vering, dune buggies are ideal vehicles for theexploration of both canyo ns and desert areas.

HE RAM'S head with its curling hornswas silhouetted against the late afternoonsun above the canyon. Two more moun-tain sheep, a female and a young one,were right below him. They were kind ofa beige color, but the ram was lighteralmost a cream. Poised on the sheer wallbefore going over the top, they were anunforgetable sight.

My husband and I took turns watchingthem through the binoculars. Then, as Ifocused my camera, the sheep disappearedfrom view over the canyon rim. Theywere probably too far away to get a goodpicture, but at least we had the thrill ofseeing wild mountain sheep.This was our second trip through GolerWash in the Panamints in our dunebuggy. The last time we had gone all theway to Butte Valley, but this time wedidn't get as far. There were too manyrocks to examine, odd formations to lookat, and pictures to take.My husband and I have never beenable to hike very far into the back countryso we explore by dune buggy. Holidaysand weekends will find us with our camp-er, buggy hitched on behind, heading for

the desert or mountains.Since we like the convenience of acamper and not moving camp very often,it was either buy a four-wheel drive or adune buggy. For us the buggy was themost practical. In fact, we now have two.Our first, a Corvair called the JungleCruiser because it has heat and doors, isbigger and heavier than most rigs. Thelatest is a Volkswagen.This year we traveled the canyons nearJohannesburg. The trail wound around

the hills until it washed out at a deep


7/44

gully. Unhooking the rig, we scouted thegully, finally finding a place to cross.My husband drove the camper and Itook the buggy across and down to alovely campsiteall to ourselves.Just for a little while though. The nextmorning we shared it with hundreds ofsheep. Leading the sheep was a belleddonkey loaded with gear while the herder

and his dog brought up the rear of theflock. I'm not sure who was more sur-prisedthe herder or us.The wild flowers were scatter-rugs ofyellow and blue sprinkled with white.There were several clumps of desertasters and a red flower, a new one to us.We stopped at the ruins of a ranch andwondered how it had burned. W hilethere we snapped a picture of a deserttortoise.On the way home we explored Last

Chance Canyon. Wild flowers and busheswere in bloom; a Beaver Tail cactus'sbright pink flower contrasted sharplywith the brown earth. One of the weirdformations in the canyon looked like adripped sand castle. There were manyold mines, and jasper, agate, and petrifiedwood to hunt.

In the summer we explore jeep trailsnear Kennedy Meadows or other moun-tain areas. During hunting season themen use the camper as a base camp, thentravel in the buggy to where they wantto hunt, whether it's ducks at Tule Lakeor deer in the Sierras.Sometimes friends who haven't a rigwill take one of ours and go with us. We

celebrate New Years by traveling cross-country along the Colorado River. A coldwind always seems to blow until the daywe leave; then the weather turns beau-tiful. So it's bundle up warm when wehunt geodes in the Potato Patch in theWiley Well area.In some places we gully-run to keepout of the wind and when I'm drivingin them, I never seem to be able to getme and the people riding in the backthrough the overhanging branches with-out them getting slapped. But it's all fun.Citizen's band radios are in both ourcamper and buggy. It is easier to caravanwith one. For the amount of money spentwe believe it was a good investment assome day we might have to call for help.When we go exploring in the buggywe carry a shovel, tools, a few parts,

binoculars, cameras in a case (to protectagainst heat and dust), sunglasses andlotion, Kleenex, hooded jacket, water anda lunch. A lunch is important! Some ofthe men went for a ride expecting to beback by dinner time. About three hoursafter dinner, they finally returned. Tokeep the seven of them from starving,they divided the only food they hada roll of Rolaids.But I have my problems too. Like thetime I ran over a cactus. And it was sucha little one. Have you ever tried to pumpup a tire punctured with cacti needleswith a hand pump? It took three of ustaking turns to inflate it enough so wecould reach camp. It was after that webought a tire pump that fits on a sparkplug.

Are dune buggies dangerous? Not ifyou follow common sense rules. Afterall we're not dashing up rocky washes orhills at 60 miles an hour. We are luckyif we travel at 10 mph. We want to seethings as we explore. By going exploring,the things a family can learn about theback country are amazing. The places tosee are endless and dune buggies are forbrush popping.

it's HYDRAULICt RAISESThe unique hydraulic mechanism which raises thecamper top can be safely operated even by a smallchi ld. Locks prevent accidental lowering. The top islowered quickly by the simple turn of a valve. Drivesafely at any speed with minimum drag and sway.Sit or recline on comfortable couches while travel-ing with top down . Alaskan camper top raises in sec-

onds. Enjoyroomy walk-in l iving quarters, weather t ight, high cei l ing, "h om eaway from home," complete with three-burner stove,sink, cabinets, ice box, beds and many other luxuryfeatures.6 FACTORIES TO SERVEYO U

Write today to the factory nearest you for free folder describing the most advanced camper on the road.R. D. HALL MFC, INC., 9847 Glenoaks Blvd.. Sun Valley (San Fernando Valley) California 9 1352 . Dept DALASKAN CAMPERS NORTHWEST, INC., 6410 South 143rd Street, (Tukwila). Seattle, Wash. 98168, Dept. DALASKAN CAMPER SALES, INC., (S.F. Sacramento area) Intersection of Interstate Highway 80 and State 21Route 1, Box 332, Suisun City. California 94585. Dept. D.

PENNECAMP, INC., 40 1 W. End Av e , Manheim, Penna , 17545, Dept. 4G. R. Grubbs Manufactur ing, Inc. d/b/aALASKAN CAMPER SALES, 9048 Long point Rd.. Houston. Texas 77055. Dept. D.FORT LUPTON CAMPERS, INC., 1100 Denver Ave , Fort Lupton. Colorado 80621. Dept D


8/44

A R I Z O N A ' SA P A C H E L A N Dby Barbara and Warren Transue

TH E S L E E P Y little military cemetery,drowsing undisturbed in the warmdesert sun, lends a deceptively peacefulaura to Arizona's Fort Apache. It washere the renegade Geronimo made West-ern history, and put the Apache country"tall in the saddle" on every Americanm a p .

The fort itself was born in 1870, stra-tegically situated between the Navajo andApache domains. Troops stationed at FortApache gave chase to the elusive Geron-imo and Nachez. Originally known asCamp Ord, its name later was changed toCamp Thomas in tribute to Major Gen-eral George V. Thomas, "The Rock ofChickamauga." After a visit by the color-ful Cochise, who stayed there for severalweeks during the year of its founding,the camp finally received the permanentname of Fort Apache in a gesture offriendship to Cochise.

Where cavalry troopers and foot sold-iers once stood at rigid attention beforeGeneral O. O. Howard and GeneralGeorge A. Crook, Indian youngsters nowromp. For after being manned as a fortuntil 1924 by the United States Cavalry,the property was turned over to the In-dian Service to be used as a school. It isnow known as the Theodore Roosevelt8

School, and several of the original fortbuildings are still in use as a part of theinstitution.Fort Apache was "home" to many whowere not United States soldiers. It was

the training camp for many famous Apa-che scouts, whose invaluable aid to thetroops beside whom they traveled cannever be overstated. These were the menwho led our soldiers into the secret hid-ing places of the renegades; who follow-ed the outlaw bands into little-knowncanyons and rock formations to persuadethe fugitives of the futility of their fight.And these are the men who lie side byside with their soldier buddies beneathtime-tilted white headstones in the littleFort Apache Cemetery, on a gentle cactus-grown slope at the end of an almost un-marked path.The fort itself is only a part of thegreat Fort Apache Indian Reservation.Several miles beyond the fort, there is atiny sign pointing off to the right of themain highway (State 73) and labeledKinishba Ruins. An unpaved road wand-ers a mile or so to the site of one of themost impressive early Indian habitationsto be found anywhere. The word Kinish-ba is derived from two Indian words:

kin for house, and lishba Apache for


9/44

Man y of the original Fort Apache b uildings are used today for the Indian Theodore Roosevelt School.As m any as 2000 people lived at Kinishba centuries agoduring the Pueblo III period. Buildings are in remarkab le

shape for their age.A visitor slides through a tiny door of the Kinishba ruins.It is now a National Historic Landm ark, open to the public

the year 'round.

9


10/44

srown. These ruins tell much about acommunity of probably 2000 people wholived here some seven centuries ago. Inthe days when the fort was pulsing withmilitary life, soldiers and other residentsapparently dug in the ruins for souvenirs,thus removing much that could haveadded more detail to the Kinishba story.In 1931, the head of the University ofArizona's Archaeology Department, Dr.Byron Cummings, began a program ofexcavation and restoration at the site, aproject which continued until 1939. Kin-ishba is now a Registered National His-toric Landmark under the protection ofthe National Park Service, and whilevisitors are welcome to wander freely inthe ruins at all times, they are not allowedto remove any artifacts or do any privateexcavating.

Kinishba is known as a Pueblo site ofthe classic or Pueblo III period. It hastwo large "apartment houses," each withover two hundred rooms. With the addi-tion of a number of smaller structuresnearby, the community could accommo-date between one and two thousand resi-dents.

Archaeologists believe that the span ofKinishba's occupation reached from some-time in the late 1200sits peakto after1350. They are convinced that it wasfinally abandoned for a no more myster-ious reason than that the water problemin the area became acute and forced itsoccupants to move on.

Fort Apache Indian Reservation enjoysa delightful, temperate year-round cli-mate, the altitude of nearby White Riverbeing approximately five thousand feet.There is ample opportunity for campingin this White Mountain recreation spot;on the reservation itself as well as in ad-joining Sitgreaves National Forest. Thesmall towns near the fort, such as WhiteRiver (eight miles) and McNary (twen-ty-three)departure point of a day tripby old fashioned steam locomotivehavecomfortable hotel and motel accommoda-tions. As for fishing, the Fort ApacheReservation contains about halfmorethan three hundred milesof the state'sexcellent trout streams. The Indian resi-dents extend a friendly hand to visitors,who may attend some summer tribalceremonies with their cameras as long asthey do not intrude.

Arizona's Apache land is pure Ameri-canadon't miss its living history. 10

Indian scouts lie side by side with soldiers in the Fort Apache Cemetery. Scoutsaided troops in the waragainst Geronimo and Nachez.

FDRT RPRCHEINDIRN RE5ERVRTIDN(EASTERN SECTION)

LEGENDCamping Areas ;;:;:.Ranger Stationsand Lookouts aRoads: Pave d Improved


11/44

S o u t h e r n B a j a . . .T h eE a s yW a yby Bill Hayden

TH E DRIVE from the California borderdown the entire length of Baja Cali-fornia has long been an adventure fordesert travelers. In addition, the southernpart of the trip offers a special bonus.Here you can find historic Spanish ruins,abandoned Yankee mines, sleepy tropicalvillages, and desert mountains springingdry and dusty from the sea.

Since the inauguration of the La Pazto Mazatlan ferry three years ago theroads in Southern Baja have been im-proved for passenger car travel, openinghundreds of miles of scenic areas topeople who did not have the right equip-ment or time to make the trip.You won't find freeway and air con-ditioned motels yet, and swimming pools

are few and far between. There are plentyof problems still to be overcome. But youcan surmount these problems with anordinary passenger car, and two weeksvacation.

If you have a couple of extra weeks, asuitably rugged vehicle, and the patienceto savor the empty desert without rush-ing, drive down as we did last summer.For 10 days we lurched and joltedthrough the wasteland, following a pairof ruts over rocky hills and through dustyvalleys choked with greasewood andcactus. We cooked for ourselves, or atebeans and tortillas in dirt-floored adobekitchens, and slept in the open beside theroad every night.

To enjoy this region your familyshould be moderately adventurous, andwilling to rub shoulders with the friend-ly folk of rural Mexico. It isn't reallynecessary to camp out. But for peoplewho like to camp on their own, withoutsupervision and crowded camp sites, Bajais perfect. Besides, after tourists beginto discover this bonanza they'll quicklyoverload the limited accommodations, andyour camping gear will lend valuableextra flexibility to your trip.

Southern Baja Californiaabounds in picturesque bays and

uncrowded beaches and camping areassuch as this one at Concepcion Bay.


12/44

If you're not ready, willing andequipped for that particular form of ad-venture, don't give up on Baja. Instead,breeze from Los Angeles down to main-land Mazatlan in three and a half days,driving on paved highways all the way.Then, bring your car across to La Paz onthe twice-a-week overnight ferry.Although this luxurious ferry has plied

the Gulf for several years, until now ithasn't really done the motoring touristvery much good. The roads in southernBaja were so bad there was hardly anyplace to drive to. Now, that scene ischanging.One day last summer we left La Pazat noon and found a newly-paved high-way to San Jose del Cabo, 125 milessouth. The easy afternoon's jaunt leftplenty of time for sightseeing.We explored the old mining town of

El Triunfo, a ghostly relic of past gringoenterprise. In the 1860s an Americannamed Brooks operated an ore mill with24 stamps here, the largest mill south ofthe Mother Lode. Nowadays, a pair oftowering brick chimneys overlook thehalf-abandoned town. Mounds of purp-

lish slag surround the village, creepingup to the very back door of the oldchurch.We investigated the catch at a fly-infishing resort along the Bahia de lasPalmas, where marlin abound from Juneto October. By mid-afternoon we crossedthe Tropic of Cancer, near the pictures-que oasis village of Santiago. We fol-

lowed a short side road west to the vil-lage, past the small Hotel Palomar. Drydesert foothills surround the tiny greenvalley and push it up under the massiveSierra de San Lorenzo. Lush fields andgroves yield sugar cane, dates, bananas,mangoes, and papayas.By suppertime we reached the end ofthe highway at San Jose del Cabo. Wefound a restaurant, groceries, and gaso-line in this attractive tropical village. Afew blocks from the plaza is a smallhotel, the Casa de Fisher.For the next 25 miles we twistedalong the Gulf coast toward Cabo SanLucas, the southernmost tip of the Cali-fornias. The unpaved but adequate roadclimbed over and around desert sanddunes most of the way. On our left, the

The clear waters of the Gulf of California are ideal for skin diving. The tropicalclimate makes it an ideal winter vacation area.12

surf hammered at rocky headlands androlled into broad, sweeping sandy coves.We pitched camp on the open beachhere, right beside the road. There are,however, three luxurious fly-in touristhotels along this stretch. Reservationsare advisable, and can be obtained bymail or in La Paz.Another easy drive south from La Paz

leads to the charming Pacific coast vil-lage of Todos Santos, especially praisedfor beautiful tropical flowers. The HotelCalifornia there is frequented mostly byMexican travelers; you might find it aninteresting change from tourist routine.From La Paz to Todos Santos it's justfifty miles, half paved and half gravel.North of La Paz, new roads are open-ing a dramatic region previously beyondthe reach of the ordinary motoring tour-ist. The trip north starts with 130 miles

of excellent paved highway, renovatedjust last summer. The lightly traveledroad cuts through the desolate Magda-lena Plain to Villa Constitucion, a halfday's drive. From this raw, dusty cotton-farming center a new road branches east-ward toward the Gulf, 60 miles away.The first half of this new road wascompleted last summer: a wide, gradedmodern highway, surfaced with gravel,easy to drive. Then, the road hit ruggedcountry, and stopped short. Last July a

road crew was punching the last 30miles through the mountains down toPuerto Escondido, on the Gulf. Localofficials told us that this road would bepassable by the end of the summer.Before you try to drive this segment,check in La Paz (the Department ofTourism, on the waterfront drive) andin Villa Constitucion on the condition ofthis road. Allow two or three hours forthe 30-mile mountainous stretch, anddon't let nightfall catch you there. Start

early from La Paz to reach Loreto, orspend the night at the modest hotel inVilla Constitucion and tackle the toughgrades the next morning.Once you get through the mountainsto the Gulf, 75 miles of improved, new-ly-built gravel road stretch ahead. Yourfirst sight of the Gulf, Puerto Escon-dido, is a landlocked jewel of quiet waternestled under mountain crags. Cruisingnorthward, you'll easily crest the round-eel, barren foothills and dip down beside

sheltered coves. Here are inviting lonely


13/44

beaches with shade for camping, andclear clean water for swimming and skindiving.Fifteen miles up the road is a stonechurch tower, rising above a grove ofdate palms beside the Gulf: your firstglimpse of historic Loreto. A turnoffleads through a warped checkerboard ofdusty streets, walled by adobe dwellings,

to the small plaza and the old stonechurch.Missionary Jesuits first built here in

1697, founding the first lasting settle-ment anywhere in California. From thisspot, 70 years later, Father Serra set outto establish the missions of Upper Cali-fornia.W e stayed days longer than we'dplanned in Loreto, enjoying the hospit-able guest house of Dona Blanca deGarayzar, across the street from the

church. We especially loved her shadedveranda and garden, a cool retreat alivewith singing birds in the evening. DonaBlanca and her vivacious daughterserved delicious food, and sparked livelyconversation at the family-style table.Rural Loreto wakes you early andwith charm: roosters crow at each other,and the church bells ring three summonsbefore each mass. Sweet-voiced nunssing daily services in the old mission.

Loreto's people move slowly in the blaz-ing summer; they live simply, and smileeasily. The whole town faithfully ob-serves the admirable custom of siesta.Two fly-in tourist resorts just outsideof town didn't intrude on Loreto's en-chantment. Hopefully, the beautiful newseaside hotel now under constructionright in the town will fit in as well.Last summer the new road reachednorth to the southern reaches of Con-cepion Bay, a huge natural harbor open-ing to the north. Here massive mountainshoulders crowd into the Gulf, bendingthe shoreline into secluded coves andsheltered lagoons. After pitching camphere, you can fish for bass from therocky points, pick up buckets full ofclams in the sandy shallows, or locate anoutboard with guide and go after pargoor roosterfish.The conventional auto has to turnback here, for the present. Forty milesof brutal terrain block the way to Mule-

ge. You should be able to drive back toLa Paz in one day, without any trouble.The road problems isolating southernBaja will soon be solved. The othermajor problem is the La Paz to Mazatlancar ferry. This modern white ship makestwo overnight round trips a week. Travelbrochures emphasize the comfortable

Th e La Paz to Mazatlan Ferry makes two trips weekly, carrying passengers andvehicles. A second boat providing more service is expected soon.

B R A N D NEW!"METALERT"*tells youwhere theaction is !

Award-winning "Metalert" Model70 leads you straight to the actionfabulous relics, valuable minerals,scarce silver and gold! Use it any-where, even in streams and at thebeach!Unsurpassed power and sensitivity.Rugged, lightweight and beautifullybalanced for hours of tireless treasu rehunting. Revolutionary solid-statecircuits powered by easily replacedstandard battery.Built to the same exacting stand-ards as Fisher precision instrumentsfor industry and science. Look for"Metalert" the finest detector youcan buy!

"TrademarkWRITE FORFREE LITERATURE

IfriIF I S H E R R E S E A R C H L A B O R A T O R Y ZDept. DE,Palo Alto, Calif. 94303 m

I want to be a winner! Rush me infor- Vmation about "Metalert" treasure Mand metal detectors, success stories, WDiscovery brochure. NameAddress -

kState - Zip

13


14/44

MORE SUN - MORE FUNTHAN PALM SPRINGSPhone 714 346-8113

75-188 Hwy. I l l , Indian Wells, Cali f."Center of Golf Country, U.S.A."

R E N TTrailers Campers

Family Sleeping, Dining,Cooking Facilities Enroute

2 LIGHT SYSTEMS - 2 WATER SYSTEMSO v e r 500 R e n t a l D e a l e r s. . . fo r a d d r e s s e s , w r it e " S C O T S M A N "P . 0. Box 2114, G a r d e n s , C a l i f . 9 0 2 4 7

staterooms, the three dining rooms, andthe 115-car capacity. What they don'tmention is the very real problem of get-ting your car on board the ferry.That problem stems from an abund-ance of huge trailer trucks. These giantvans are the main support of southernBaja's dynamic economy, which hasboomed tremendously in the last five

years. They cross back and forth to main-land Mexico, bearing the lifeblood ofBaja: bales of cotton, stacks of lumber,bags of cement and flour, tanks of bu-tane, and case after case of bottled beer.

Last summer, by government order,these trucks enjoyed top ferry priority,and there always seemed to be moretrucks waiting than the ferry could hold.After forty huge rigs were packedaboard, no more than six or seven auto-mobiles could be jammed into the re-maining nooks and crannies. The pro-cedure for Obtaining one of these pre-cious spaces was unbelievably irksomeand time-consuming.Our advice is to plan a week's leewayin your schedule, and apply for theferry crossing before the one you really

8 4 6 M l .TO LOS ANGELES

HIGHWAYGUAYMAS

VILLA CONSTITUCION

7 2 5 M l .TO LOS ANGELESTRAIL

G U L F O F C A L I F O R N I A

TOPOLOBAMPO

P A C I F I C O C E A N

CABO SAN LUCAS

1 3 3 9 M l .TO LOS ANGELESHIGHWAY

I IU II II II I II I Graded,Improved14


15/44

want, to establish your priority. Ofcourse, if you take this advice you'llhave to appear in La Paz at various par-ticular times during awhole week.If you have tospend a week tieddown somewhere, La Paz is awonderfulplace for it tohappen. For one thing,you can work-in side trips to Todos San-tos or the Cape between your scheduled

negotiations. For another thing, La Pazitself is friendly and fascinating. Theconveniences and vitality of amoderncity of 50,000 rest easily on aprovincial,tropical foundation.The newest part of town is inland.Here, not far from the territorial capitalbuilding, is theArtesiana Mexicanatrade school. They'll make you feel wel-come while you watch apprentice pottersand weavers learning traditional skillsfrom master craftsmen.The older part of LaPaz stretchesalong the bay. Traffic bustles oncleancobbled streets; modern stores alternatewith the old military headquarters, thecentral market, the large church with itsunusually musical bells. Beside the water,the Hotel Perla's spacious, shaded openair restaurant looks toward the wharfwhere small freighters load and unload.The half-dozen hotels in La Pazrange from well appointed tourist resorts,

on the outskirts, tocomfortable, moretypically Mexican establishments down-town. The Sombrero Campground, onthe west side of town, offers thatchedcabanas, showers, and a cooler stockedwith cold beer and sodas.So, if you have towait in La Paz,there's plenty tosee and do. However,it's very possible that improved ferry

service may alleviate theproblem bynext summer. Already, we're told, ca-pacity has been increased 50 percent bya third weekly trip between Mazatlanand La Paz. Inthe future they plan tosell reservations bymail, or throughlocal travel agencies. Further plans callfor additional ferries tohandle the in-creased traffic. You should check for thelatest ferry information before you leave,at your nearest Mexican Consulate, orwith the Mexican Government's Depart-ment ofTourism, 3106 Wilshire Boule-vard, Los Angeles.

Baja California ischanging fast.Tobe sure, the northern desert will retainits awesome emptiness and challenge forfurther years tocome. The south, onthe other hand, is about toreceive amassive onslaught of tourists. Maybeyou can beat the rest ofthem there.If you can'tthen, maybe you oughtto join them.

F R O M

Jon Hayden and Marty Brumfeld had no trouble in keeping the author's partysupplied with fish. Year 'round fishing is excellent, both on the Gulf side and in

the ocean off southern Baja California.

GOLDAKRICHES!w i t h the A llNewC O M M A N D E R ' 7 2 0Treasure Locator!

T h e ' C o m m a n d e r ' 720u n s u r p a s s e d for l o c a t i n gb u r i e d t r e a s u r e , c o i n s , C i v i lW a r r e li c s and for b e a c h -c o m b i n g , f e a t u r e s the" T e l l - T o n e " S i g n a l . L o c a t e sa n y m e t a l o b j e c t u n d e r d i rt ,s a n d , mud, r o c k , etc. Noc u m b e r s o m e c o r d s c o m p l e t e l y t r a n s i s t o r i z e d ,b a t t e r y p o w e r e d .

EFFECTIVE DEPTH RANGE(Under Normal Condit ions)

3" Bullet7" Penny8-12" Silver

Dollar18" Pistol24 " Jar ofCoins3 0 " K e t t l e36 " ...Placer GoldDeposit48 " Metal Chest60 " Large MetallicObject

THE GOLOAK COMPANY, INC.1101A Air Way AvenueGlendale. Calif. 91201Gentlemen: Please send free literature on Goldaktreasure locators.D I enclose $1.00 foi myAmerican TreasureHunters' Guide (reg. $2.00 value).Name

L

AddressCityState _ Zip Code

15


16/44

TheDisappearingby Jack Roof

The giant Condor, a living link with the Age of Dinosaurs,once numbered in the thousands. Today it is believed less than

100 exist andunless conservation measures are taken thebird will become extinct. Thevultures are harmless to man,

feeding only ondead anima ls. They nest in the high mountainsof Central andSouthern California.

Photos by Carl B. Koford and illustration courtesyof the National Audubon Society.

A T FIRST it appeared to be a distantairplane, but as it flew closer, theobserver on the mountain top becamemore interested. Soon he saw the dis-tinctive white feathers on the leadingedge of the black wings that spannednine-and-one-half feet of sky.It was a California condor, the largestland bird in North America, and one of

the rarest. As soon as he identified it,Robert Mallette noted the exact time, thedirection of flight, and the probable ageof thebird and recorded them on his pre-pared tally sheet.Mallette, the Coordinator of the Cali-fornia Condor Survey Committee, leads a


17/44

California Condorteam of 134 men and women who annu-ally travel to 64 mountain tops in south-ern and central California for a two-daycount of the rare birds.The team is made up of representa-tives from the California Department ofFish and Game, the U.S. Departments ofInterior and Forest Service, AudubonSociety, University of California, LosAngeles County Zoo, and other interested

conservationists."We counted 52 this year," said Mal-lette. "But in 1965 we saw only 40. Wehope this means that they are increasing,but it's too soon to tell; our surveymethods have improved in the past fouryears. It doesn't really mean that there

aren't more than 52, but that's all wesaw. Some might have stayed in theroosting area or for some reason didn'tfly within sight of an observer."The condor, a living link with the Ageof Dinosaurs, once flew the coastal anddesert mountains from the ColumbiaRiver in Washington to Baja California,Mexico and numbered in the thousands.Now it can be seen only in remote sec-

tions of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Bar-bara, Kern, Tulare, San Luis Obispo,Monterey, and San Benito counties."Several factors might have caused thedecline in condor population: harassmentby thoughtless mountain visitors, unlaw-ful shooting which can bring a $500

fine and a jail sentence, lack of availablefood, the poisoning of dead animals intrying to eliminate predators, but mostimportant of allthe encroachment ofcivilization on its nesting and feedingareas," Mallette said.Condors will not tolerate much dis-turbance, especially mechanical. Fred Sib-ley of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-vice reported that a nest is seldom found

within a mile of a road. "We saw a nest-ing bird," he said, "which showed con-siderable nervousness when a hiker camewithin a half-mile of it, but when anoisy truck started up at an oil well overa mile away, it flew off and didn't re-turn for several hours."


18/44


19/44

So rare is the million-year-old speciesthat scientists and nature lovers comefrom all over the world to study it. Luckyis the one who gets to see this magnificentcent bird, the master of flight, as it soarsover the rugged mountains, its telescopiceyes searching for carrion.Like other vultures, harmless to manand beast, the condor eats only dead ani-mals from the size of a squirrel to a largesteer. "We are trying to work out somemethod of artificial feeding. For example,a condor eats about six pounds of fooddaily. A nesting pair could eat a 100-pound deer in a week. During that criti-cal period, if the birds have to go too farfor food, it might mean the death oftheir one offspring that it takes over ayear to raise. Incidentally, they lay onlyone eg g every two years," Mallette added.To keep the count as accurate as possi-

ble and to avoid duplicate counting, eachobserver records the time of sighting,direction of flight, number of birds, andapproximate speed of the birds. Therecords are collected each night by asector captain who reports to main head-quarters. That way minimizing a multiplecount of a bird that might fly 100 milesin a day, passing many observers.Although there is considerable pressurefrom an irrigation district to build a damand roads into the only sanctuary left for

the birds, the agencies involved andother conservationists intend to fight tokeep the 53,000 acre refuge in the SespeRange of the Los Padres National Forestinviolate and free from trespass."We want to keep the condor for itsscientific and aesthetic values," Mallettesaid. "If the condor isn't kept as a sym-bol for conservation attempts, this livingpart of California's heritage and manymore dwindling species will have diffi-culty surviving the encroachment of civili-

zation and so-called progress."Some critics of government spendingcomplain about the cost of the annualsurvey and the bird's protection, butfuture plans are to continuue it. Aboutone third of the observers are unpaidconservationists. One of them summedit up: "I don't mind paying taxes to sup-port them. It's possible that there areonly 52 of them in the world; I'd gladlypay my part to support a living dinosaur,so why not a bird that might be extinctin a few years."

YOUR Treasure Chest of riches is waiting. and the COINMASTER IV points the w ay!

$29.50down

Everyone enjoysusing this lightweight,ultra-sensitive, eajy- to-operata metal detector. . . for locating gold,copper and silver coins,jewelry, and rel ics.So sensitive it will readilydetect a silver dime throughover 3" of (ol id quartz reck.There is no finer or moresensitive instrument Manu-factured at any p ri

TERMS:$ 2 9 3 0 d o w n an d$10.92 for 18 m o t .5% Cash Discount

TWO-YEAR GUARANTEESend fo r FREE catalog.

WHITE'S ELECTRONICS, INC. , Room1011 Pleasant V al ley Rd., Sweet Home, Oregon 97386 mr\

< n *

c ^\|w\\**

19


20/44

Freddy the Frog vs. Myrtle the Turtle

^"" . by Jack DelaneyAs the circular starting gate is raised during the Joshua Tree turtle races, the speedy contestants plunge to the finish line.

A BUNCH OF the boys were whoopingit up, down by the old horseshoepits, when a breathless courier raced to-ward the Calaveras County Jumping FrogJubilee headquarters at Angels Camp. Hecarried a legal document from the JoshuaTree National Turtle Race Associationaddressed to the august body of jumpingfrog experts.

The communication was a challengefor a meeting, with no holds barred, be-tween a thoroughbred Calaveras Countyjumping frog and a determined JoshuaTree plodding turtle at the Joshua TreeNational Turtle Races early in May(1968) followed by a courtesy rematchat Angels Camp a few weeks later. Thechallenge was accepted and the competi-tions held. The novel race was so thrill-ing and controversial it will be a featureevery year from now on at both JoshuaTree and Angels Camp.

At Joshua Tree, last year's race resultedin a victory for the frog. Reports that hehitchhiked part way on the back of theturtle are unfoundedthe record showsthat he won fairly. At Angels Camp, the2 0

Joshua Tree turtle, "Old Josh," won bya nose. It was a photo finish with camerasclicking all around the finish line! Withthe series all tied up, this year's twomatches will provide suspense and excite-ment for the thousands of spectators whoattend these annual events.

The community of Joshua Tree is lo-cated on the high desert of southeasternCalifornia's San Bernardino County. Itis approximately 30 miles from Interstate10 along the Twentynine Palms High-way, at the entrance to Joshua Tree Na-tional Monument. The town was namedafter the thousands of Joshua trees thatcover the landscape in all directions.Years ago, the Mormons named the giantyucca plant, "Joshua Tree" or "PrayingPlant," because 6f its branches which re-semble upstretched arms.

It is claimed that in this area the sun-rises are as colorful as the Grand Canyonupside down! Should you doubt thisand wish to verify the claim, plan to stayovernight. There are six motels and threemobile home parks here, and severalrestaurants. Additional accommodationsare available at nearby Yucca Valley and

Twentynine Palms. Many attractions areoffered in the high desert, but JoshuaTree is the only community in the worldthat sponsors turtle races.

The National Turtle Races of JoshuaTree are held on the first weekend inMay. This year, the 24th annual eventwill be held on Saturday and Sunday,May 3rd and 4th. Four or five weeksahead a roundup of turtles will be held.Residents of the area search the desertfor the little animals and bring them torace headquarters where they will bepenned, fed ,and cared for prior to therace days. Immediately after the festivi-ties, according to law, they will be takenback to their natural habitat and released,for another year of romping and roaming.

The question has been asked: "Arethe participants in these races turtles orare they tortoises?" A simple answer tothis question is yes. There are two generaltypes of turtlesthe water-loving groupknown as terrapin; and the terrestrial, or"land lubber" forms called tortoises.Since the animals used in the Joshua Treeraces are denizens of the desert, they mustbe tortoise-type turtles.


21/44

Daniel Webster, who never had theopportunity to enjoy the annual turtleraces, describes a turtle as: "any of anorder of land, freshwater, and marinereptile with a toothless horny beak and abony shell which encloses the trunk, andinto which the head, limbs and tail usual-ly may be withdrawn." This descriptioncertainly doesn't suggest that the creatureis capable of running (or crawling) a100-yard dash!

As a preliminary to the big event aqueen and a number of princesses areselected to reign over the festivities. OnSaturday, starting at 10 a.m., a paradeconsisting of floats, the Queen and hercourt, clowns, old prospectors, mountedgroups, bands, and Myrtle the Turtle,will proceed through the town's businessdistrict ending at Sportsmen's Park, thescene of most of the day's activitiesThere will be entertainment, music, turtleegg hunts, food and amusement booths,pony rides, etc., in addition to the turtleraces. The park also has picnic facilities,a children's playground, green lawns andJoshua trees.On the first day (Saturday), the selec-tion, classification, and identification ofturtles begins at noon. More than a 100of these little desert creatures are in-volved; and they are sorted into threeclasses: the regular "free lance" group,sponsored by the festival management;

the privately owned animals entered byvisitors who are eager to see their pets in

competitive action; and the "rent-a-turtle"entries who give their all for the spectatorwho cares enough to pay the rent.Anyone without a turtle of his ownmay rent one for a 50-cent registrationfee, and enter his in any race for an ad-ditional 50 cents. For identification, tabscontaining numbers are prepared and at-tached to each animal's shell. Different

colored tabs are used for the three cate-gories of entries general, privatelyowned, and rented. (This system wasadopted many years ago when it was dis-covered that the application of paint toa turtle's back is harmful to the littlecreatures.)After the selection and identificationprocedure the competition starts, with arace every 20 minutes throughout theafternoon until 5 p.m., at which time thepresentation of awards to the winners is

scheduled. The feature attraction is thematch race between a Joshua Tree turtleand a Calaveras County jumping frog.It is held around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, theactivities start at 10 a.m. with turtle racesheld at 20-minute intervals until 4 p.m.,followed by the awarding of prizes andthe Grand National Sweepstakes. Thisfinal race is open only to the winners ofthe two days' racing and results in thechampion for the year.A unique feature of the National Tur-

tle Races is the circular starting gate inthe center of the track. The turtles are

Freddy the Frog and M yrtle the Turtle relax before the race. Once the race startsall friendships cease as they speed toward the finish line in this thrilling contest.

placed in the numerous compartments ofthis central contraption; then it is raisedand they race toward the perimeter. Thereis no chance of an entry being crowdedagainst the rail because there is no rail!They are all free to run or crawl in anydirection toward the finish lineif theyare so inclined.The number of turtles per race differs

but some of the feature events include asmany as, 40 or 50 entries. It is thrillingto watch so many of these little armoredreptiles jockeying for position, or in somecases, showing indifference by takingnumerous rest stops along the way. Afteran exciting 20 minutes, the "also-rans"are scooped up in order to clear the trackfor the next race.Excitement and good humor prevailsat the turtle races, even when they devel-op into slow motion performances. The

only thing serious you'll see here is theturtle himselfthe expression on his facecould bring tears. It is interesting towatch the owners of entries and studythe methods they have devised for bring-ing in a winner where their turtles con-fuse the event with a drag race and areinclined to overdo the dragging bit! Theowners are not satisfied with a smilefrom Lady Luckthey won't settle foranything less than a passionate embrace!For instance, a librarian in Palm Deserthad a pet turtle a few years ago. Theturtle's name was Richard, and he knewithe would respond to the calling ofhis name. She entered him in the Na-tional Turtle Races at Joshua Tree andwas thrilled with his excellent perform-ance. She carried a supply of lettuce andbananas to feed Richard between races,and stood at the finish line shouting hisname during the contests. His ability torecognize his name and his passion forlettuce and bananas resulted in two winsin three races!However, certain turtles have beenknown to ignore all incentives and set asnail's paceor perhaps a turtle's pace.In other words, they choose to dog it. Onething is clear, whether you are the proudowner of a stable of turtles, the sponsorof a single hardtop pet, or a spectator-type turtle-watcher, you'll enjoy the ex-hibition of competitive skill this annualevent offers, and a pleasant day or twoin the high desert sunshine. Remember,during the first weekend in May, the

place to be is Joshua Tre e! 2 1


22/44


23/44

Twenty-ThreeSKIDOOby Gary Moore

Tw o PROSPECTORS were cross ingDeath Valley in 1905 when theywere caught in an unusual fogone ofthe few ever recorded in the areaandwere forced to make camp until theycould once again see the trail.Harry Ramsey and his partner "One

Eye" Thompson were enroute from Rhy-olite, Nevada to the new gold strike areaof Harrisburg when they made camp onthe south side of the Tucki Mountains.While waiting for the fog to lift Ram-sey did a little prospecting and found orewhich started a gold rush and the found-ing of Skidoo and a short, but violenthistory.After their discovery Ramsey andThompson staked claims. Later Ramseysold his claim to Bob Montgomery, amajor holder of mining interests in Rhy-olite, for $60,000. W hen fi na nc ie rCharles Schwaub took an interest in thearea, Skidoo was made.Fortune seekers came from all direc-tions. The fact there were no roads ortrails made little difference. The popula-tion filtered in over the rocks andthrough the ravines.The town took shape. It had a news-paper, The Skidoo News, a bank and theinevitable saloons. The town boastedthree restaurants, hardware, and generalstores. Roads were nil but the Skidoovianshad a telephone line. Mines in the areawere approaching a total yield of

$3,000,000 in gold and silver.

Essentials for living had to be hauled10 miles. Water was piped 23 milesfrom Telescope Peak. This 23-mile waterpipe may have been the reason for thetown's name, due to the popular clicheof the era "Twenty-three Skidoo."More interesting than any other aspectof the town were the personalities likeone Joe "Hooch" Simpson. His middlename indicated his favorite pastime.Hooch blew in from Keeler where hehad killed a man, just prior to shooting

up a saloon in Independence. He appar-ently reasoned that going straight wasfar superior to crime so went into part-nership with Fred Oakes, building theGold Seal Saloon.But Hooch didn't stay sober or legiti-mate long. One day in a drunken stuporhe ambled across the street to the bank.The bank was part of Jim Arnold'sSkidoo Trading Company. Hooch de-manded at gunpoint all the cash in theplace. Jim laughed and grabbed the gun

from the drunk. Adding insult to injury,Jim hid Joe's gun.Joe's pride was hurt. It didn't take himlong to find his weapon, wander back tothe bank, and shoot Jim Arnold. Hearingthe shots, several townsfolk rushed in toapprehend Hooch. Joe was chained to abarroom table. Drinks made the roundsof all, including Hooch. But later thatnight when Jim Arnold died, publicopinion changed. The consensus was tohang Hooch immediately which they

did without hesitation.

Th e verdict and p unishm ent w ere .sofast the photographers from the city ar-rived too late. Obliging citizens hastilyrestrung Joe from the same telephonepole so pictures could be taken.Sam Hooper worked for Jim Arnoldin his combination store and bank as astore helper and bank clerk. He gambledand lost so decided to dip into the bankfunds to pay his debts. To do this he de-cided to stage a mock holdup with him-self the victim.The bank clock consistently ran onehour fast, which irritated Hooper no end.Such was the case when he left the bankthat afternoon. After dark he returned,cleaned out the safe, and left town tohide the loot. While on the road Sam raninto George Murrel and exchanged greet-ings.Returning to town, Sam went to thebank, strewed papers all over, and set theclock back an hour. Firing a shot into itand the desk, he took a dive to the floor

from the desk top.When he was found everything wentas planned, until George Murrel turnedup. It seemed that Arnold had correctedthe clock also. The clock had stoppedone hour earlier than Sam had planned,exactly at the time Murrel saw him. Heconfessed and was run out of town.

Skidoo lasted only a few years andtoday few buildings remain of the onceroaring and violent town the townknown as the "place where they hung thesame man twice." D9^


24/44

Rubble,Treasurean dGhosts

by AI Pearce

2 4 WICKENBURGV.


25/44

C ONGRESS JUNCTION has been calleda town so tough that even the wo-men strapped on six guns and shot it out.It was the site of the rich Congress GoldMine and supply center for the nearbytowns of Stanton, Weaver and Octave.The four towns combined made up acenter for practically every incorrigiblewho ever wandered into Arizona.

Today, only their ghosts remain; ghostsof men who defied the Apaches to wrestlea fortune of gold from the groundorsteal it.Some say the fighting has never ended.They insist that on dark nights, theApaches smear their faces with war paint

and come howling out of the nearby hills.They claim the ghostly outlaws still ridedrunkenly down the debris-littered streets.On particularly stormy nights, when theclouds are clasping with thunder, onemay even see a detachment of Cavalrytroops come charging from the Old DateCreek Army Camp.According to legend, a flood in 1890in the Hassayampa River washed away amining camp, carrying downstream a safe'containing a small fortune in gold.Another story tells of three Italianswho befriended an Indian and was ledto a rich gold deposit. The three menloaded themselves down with gold, butwere attacked by other Indians beforethey could reach civilization. The storywas told by one of the men who survivedthe attack, but died before he could drawa map to his treasure. His pockets werefilled with gold when he died.This was in I860. Three years later,the town of Weaver was founded byprospectors who picked thousands ofdollars of loose gold from the ground.Octave came to life that same year whenplacer mining yielded over a milliondollars worth of gold. Later, the Octavemine produced $8,000,000 worth of ore.The Congress mine also produced a sim-ilar amount, not to mention the millionsthat were scooped from the sand.

Ruins of stone houses which were once the homes of miners can befound between the towns on the loop-trip in Arizona.Using a Goldak metal detector, the author found "lots of horseshoes"during his brief trip. Time preven ted a complete search .


26/44

Ruins such as this are ideal areas for metal detecting andbottle collecting. F ew people have visited the area in recent years.

The trip to the old army cam p is strictly a four-wheel-driveas can be seen by this washed out and abandoned road.

Nearby Stanton was a placer camp,originally called Antelope Springs. Amean hombre named Charles Stantonhired a bunch of Mexicans to murderthe town's leading citizens. Then he re-named it Stanton. But whatever hisprofit, it was short lived. He was soonmurdered by a bad guy from Weaver.Abandoned in 1896, Weaver became

a den for outlaws whose apparent aim inlife was to shoot the daylight out ofother outlaws who had taken over Con-gress.One of the most popular tales con-cerns a gang who robbed a gold ship-ment and then returned to Weaver toboast of their accomplishment. Thatnight the robbers went to bed in a drunk-en stupor. They were murdered and theirgold never found. It seems they hidit somewhere between Congress andWeaver.After reading about the four Arizonaghost towns and the army campthe his-tory is like a wild west movie on the late,late showmy wife and I decided tovisit the area.There are not too many areas that canboast a background similar to the 25 mileradius surrounding Congress Junction.There are restaurants, service stations, andseveral families in Congress. It's quiet andpeaceful, a marked contrast to what itmust have been during its heyday. It'skept alive by the tourists traveling High-way 89 from Prescott to Phoenix. But forevery occupied building there are severalthat are deserted, mute evidence of whatthe town had once been.We took a dirt road to the west a fewmiles north of Congress towards the oldarmy camp. This dirt road crosses thehighway and continues east to Stanton,Weaver and Octave, in that order. Thesethree towns can be reached in a passengercar. It's rough, but a cautious driver canmake it. It takes a four-wheel-drive rigto reach the army camp. This seldomvisited site is across a sandy gully at theend of a rough, washed out dirt trail.This old camp site has numerous olddumps of interest to bottle collectors. Thecamp was occupied from 1867 through1874 so any bottle would be a collector'sitem.We had a Goldak metal locator, whichis one of the best I have ever used. How-ever, our total find this trip consisted

only of tin cans and horse shoes. If some-


27/44

one would invent adetector that wouldtell thedifference between gold and tincans! On theother hand, many an oldprospector hid hisgold in a tincan, soyou can't afford nottodigthem up.The army camp is found bydrivingwest from Highway 89about 10milesbefore turning south on a rough dirtroad. The turnbff isdirectly inline with

a railroad bridge. After making the turn-off, take thefirst road toyour left. Herethe going gets rough. Cross thestreambed andthen bear sharply to theright,going towards piles oflava rock.There isnoroad here. Youjust followyour nose towards alarge clump oftreesdownstream from where youmade thecrossing. Youwon't beable to see evi-dence of thearmy camp until you'real-most on top of it. Crumbling walls areall that remain above ground.If youdomake thetrip, give yourselfplenty oftime. I'msure there arealot ofold bottles under ground and allyou needto find them is alittle time andpatience.My wife andI reluctantly left thearmycamp shortly before noon and turned ourJeep towards Stanton, eight miles eastofHighway 89.Here weencounteredourfirst disappointment. What isleft of thetown is onprivate property andposted.From theroad wecould seeseveral build-

ings, indicating that the town was fairlywell advanced before itwas abandoned.We headed towards Weaver, twomiles away. There areacouple of famil-ies living inWeaver andI sort ofenvythem. They have the type ofview fromtheir front door that would cost asmallfortune elsewhere.The area is amaze ofstaggering foot-

hills, bordered tothenorth byhigh,con-iferous forest-covered mountains. Betweenthe foothills small gullies areremainingevidence of thefloods that swept goldfrom themountains.A fewmiles tothesouth aprospectoris reported tohave picked up $30,000worth ofgold nuggets inone day.Beyond Weaver theroad gets a bitrougher. Thehills getsteeper andthereare more and more deserted minerscabins along the way.Due to a lack of

time, wedidn't stop at any of thesecabins. However, I amcertain anafter-noon ofexploring would beboth interest-ing andpossibly profitable.Octave consists ofcrumbling walls anda dump site that covers theentire sideofa hill. A part of this dump hasbeenexplored. There arebroken, purple bot-tles allover theplace. Theheart of thedump, which appears to bemany feetdeep, isuntouched and mywife grumbled

for hours about not having time toreallygo through it.

We were inthearea foronly aday, avery short time when youremember thehistory. We eft with adesire toreturn.The Congress-Octave area is a fadingpart of history, and as one ramblesthrough thearea he isovercome by thepresence of theghosts whocontributed

so much and eft only afew ales oflostfortunes andviolence.

Author plans toreturn to the oldmining camp area inArizona as hebelievesthere are many sites which w ould produce finds.

Lowest Photo Prints PriceHighest QualityKODACOLOR FILMDEVELOPED &PRINTED8 Jumbo Prints $1.7812 Jumbo Prints $2.4212 Jumbo Prints andNew Roll ofKodacolor except 126 $3.3012 Jumbo Prints andNew Roll of Kodacolor f i lm, 126 $3.50Kodacolor Neg reprints $ .16All prices comparably low.

Price sheets andenvelopesavailable.No gimmicksNo lies47 years ofcontinuousservice guarantees yourquality.MARKET BASKET PHOTO CO.P. O.Box 3 70, Yuma, Arizona 85364orP. O.Box 2830, San Diego, Calif. 92112

Make YourOutingsMoreFun

cued 7* * /METAL DETECTORS Detectron RayscopeGet theBest . .Top Guarantee . .Easy toOperateFrom$119.95to$165.00

ECTORS \Jjr/ Find( Golde J Old Coins

TreasuresStop ByAnd SeeOur. . .Western Artifacts, Indian Collection, JewelryDisplay, Lapidary Equipment, Tumblers, GoldPans, DryWashers, Books onTreasures andLost Mines . andother items of fun forthe entire family. For information just writetD orcall:

COMPTONROCK SHOP

1405 South Long Beach Blvd.Ph. 632 -909 6 Complon, Calif. 9022127


28/44

NATURE'S INSTANT LIZARDT H E C R A F T Y

HE is THE second largest lizard in theUnited States. His name, Chuck-walla, is of Indian origin. The genericname, Sauromalus Obesos means "flatlizard." And indeed he is both a "flat"lizard and a "fat" lizard.The skin is so loose it hangs in foldsover his entire body, front and back.When alarmed at a noise or frightenedby an enemy, this flat body enables himto squeeze into the narrowest of crevicesin the rocks, and because of the loose

elastic skin, he can inflate his body so itis impossible to pull him out. His infla-tion can be 50 to 60 percent greater thanhis normal size.A 16-inch-long male can either deflatehis body to three-fourths inch in thick-ness, or inflate his body to three inchesas a protection against his enemies. If a

Chuckwalla is undecided as to whetherdanger is near, he usually sits high onhis rock, body inflated and very slowlylooks over the terrain. His scales aresmall, smooth and closely set.His habitat is in the rocky areas ofthe lower desert regions of SouthernUtah, Southern Nevada, Southern Cali-fornia and the lower part of Arizona,being more numerous in Arizona. He re-quires a daily temperature of from 80to 120 degrees.Being a cold-blooded animal, Chuck-wallas' activities are completely depend-ent on temperature; unable to locomoteafter temperatures fall below a certainpoint. In the fall of the year, when thedaytime temperature begins to drop, theChuckwalla is seldom seen. He will moveslower and slower, until finally retreating

under the rocks or in a hole in theground for his winter hibernation.The Chuckwalla is the last of all thelizards to emerge from his winter hiber-nation into the awakening of spring. Na-ture intended this, for, as almost allother lizards can live on insects, theChuckwalla is a complete vegetarian andmust wait in hibernation until the budsand flowers of the desert come intobloom. He eats prickly pear, leaves ofthe creosote bush and encelia bush, and

blossoms of all colors, although its fa-vorite food seems to be anything with ayellow color.A good part of every day is spent ly-ing on the rocks, sunning and napping.The territory of a male Chuckwalla in-cludes at least one good-sized rock, aboutfour or five feet high, and six to eight

When danger threatens the Chuckw alla inflates his body. Early morning the lizard crawls out of his hole into the sun.


29/44

feet in width. This territory is about 20feet square. He will allow very youngChuckwallas in his territory, most fe-males, but never another male. Earlymorning and late afternoon seems to bethe time for eating, which is a slow, con-tented process. The nights are spentunder the rocks sleeping.With the exception of the Gila Mon-ster, the Chuckwalla is our second larg-est Iguanid lizard, and a full grown maleusually grows to about 18 inches, includ-

ing the long, rounded tail, which isgenerally equal in length to the body.The color is a brownish grey, or lightishgrey. As a male grows older, his greycolor turns to a black and he will haveyellow and orange spotty dots on hisback and stomach. These will not betoo noticeable when he is cold or fright-

ened, but warm and contented and lyingon his rock, he presents very beautifulcoloring.Their chief weapon of defense is theirfat, blunt tail, which, when hurled in anenemy's direction, will cause the enemyto think twice before attacking again.Their teeth are in a single row aroundthe edges of their jaw, and they use themwhen the occasion arises. They are sharpand the bite from a Chuckwalla feelslike many tiny pin pricks. Their last

means of defense, but the method usedmost often, is running into a crevice andinflating their bodies to full expansionmaking themselves quite impossible to bepulled out. Living among the rocks asthey do, crevices and safety are usuallywithin easy reach of the Chuckwalla.Mating takes place in late May and

by Bernie CramptonJune and the eggs are laid in July orAugust -in holes in the ground. Hatch-ing occurs in late August and September,and the number of eggs to a clutch isfrom eight to fourteen. The babies areabout two inches in length.In spite of their languid appearance,their stubby legs can carry them withgreat speed. Watching a Chuckwalla atvery close range, he looks demure andcontented as any peaceful soul on earth.When frightened by noise or enemy, hehas the appearance of a vicious monsterfrom a prehistoric age.But they are not vicious monsters.They are shy, yet friendly and curious.You can spend hours watching theirantics, but, even if you do capture oneto study, don't take him home . . .leave him in his own natural habitat forothers to enjoy.

A vegetarian, the Chuckwalla dines on leaves and berries. Despite his fierce appeara nce he is docile and shy.

*,


30/44

Tulare County'sMOONEY GROV Eby Irene Wray

EXPLORERS wh o t r av e l edthrough the San Joaquin Valley found aprimeval forest of valley oaks and wel-comed the relief of deep shade after theirtravels through the desert. Today, thevalley is the gardenland of the world, butyou can still find the remnants of theforest where the Kaweah Indians lived,and you'll also find a replica of a pioneervillage. There are log cabins, a black-rmith shop, a cupola-topped one-roomschool, furnished settlers' homes, andprobably the largest collection of oldfarm tools and machinery anywhere.

The pioneer village is surrounded bya 10-acre park, with picnic tables, row-boats and a man-made lagoon twistingthrough the giant oaks, a playland, aminiature railroad, and many other sur-prises. It's called Mooney Grove, super-vised by the Tulare County Parks Depart-ment and the Tulare County HistoricalSociety. There's no entrance fee, the pio-neer village is free, and so are the row-boats. It's open all year 'round.On U.S. 99 south of Fresno, take the

Visalia Turnoff, (Highway 198). Afterabout five miles, watch for MooneyBoulevard, turn right and it's about fourmore miles. When you leave the park,continue south on Mooney Boulevardtoward Tulare. You'll come out on U. S.99 again.If you bring a picnic lunch, a goodplace to eat would be the shaded tablesnear the pioneer village museum. Kidscan run and play here, and there's some-thing to interest everyone in the village

after lunch.

You'll enter through the museum build-ing where there are cases around therooms with exhibits of all kinds: oldsewing machines, churns, quilts, clocks,dolls and doll furniture, clothes, andmany interesting old photographs. Oneset of old pictures shows five sisters of afamily in various poses showing off theirlong hair. It not only reached the floor,it trailed along for another foot or two,like a weird wedding train. There's aspecial room for Indian artifacts. In acovered area back of the museum arehoused a 1915 Cadillac V-8, old tractors,and an early model Best tracklayer.

Step out into the pioneer village. Withwide expanses of lawn, and mighty oaksshading you, you'll see a windmill, twoold schoolhouses, settlers' furnishedhomes, a jail, a blacksmith shop, a logcabin, and other buildings. All are au-thentic. Some have been moved from theiroriginal sites around the county.The tool shelter is a long shed whichcovers quite an assortment of farm tools.Wagons of all kinds, mowing machines,hay rakes, potato planters, grain seeders,manure spreaders, scrapers, discs, Stock-ton gang plow, ensilage cutter, fan mill,walnut huller, sulphur duster, cultivators,and, most interesting of all, a Holt Com-bine. This monstrous machine, built in1917, was run by a gasoline engine andpulled by horse or mule teams. It has atwenty-foot header and was sometimesused with an eight-foot extension. It oftenharvested fifty acres of grain in a day.Inside Surprise School you'll go back60 years when you sit in the old desks.

Windows are view-height, and the "out-30


31/44

doors" looks as tempting now as it prob-ably did to students then.The two-story Emben house, near Sur-prise School, is typical of the larger ranchhomes built in the 1890s. The Embenand Cramer houses are both furnished inpioneer style and look charming and liv-able. The Cramer house has a carpetweaving loom in the back bedroom. The

jail was built in 1872 and stood on thenorth side of Courthouse Square inTulare.The Ducor building, originally thehome of the Ducor Women's Club, andlater the community library, now is homefor two Washington Hand printingpresses and the Alpaugh telephoneswitchboard. One of the printing presseswas used for many years by the VisaliaTimes Delta.The log cabin is one of the oldesthouses in Tulare County, built about1854 on Elbow Creek, northeast ofVisalia.Mooney Grove is centered in what'sleft of the great forest which once coveredFour Creeks country, the delta of theKaweah river and its many channels. Itwas marked by streams where wild berryvines entwined with oaks, cottonwoodsand willow trees. The Yokut Indians, ofthe subtribes of Ga-We-Ha, or Kaweah,Yokohl, Wukchumne, Wolasi, Telam-ne, and Choinok enjoyed an abundance

of game and great production of acorns.Life was easy, in this place of peace.Fathers Garces and Zalvidea and Lt.Francisco Ruiz were probably the firstwhite men in the area. Father Zalvideasaid it would be a good site for a mission,but it was his considered opinion thatthe land was "too arid for anything butsunflowers."Jedediah Smith trapped beaver here in1827; Ewing Young's party, with youngKit Carson as a member, passed through

in 1829. Carson returned in 1844 withJohn Fremont's exploratory party.In the early 1860s Michael Mooneybought the property now known asMooney Grove. His son, Hugh, respond-ing to public appeal to save some of thevalley oaks, sold the land to the countyat a token fee. The Tulare County His-torical Society became the recipient ofgifts of houses, buildings and exhibitsand the pioneer village. Museum hoursare from noon to six o'clock weekdaysand noon to seven on weekends.

One of the many pastimes at Moon ey Grove is boating o n the lake and picnickingon the shore. Area is open the year 'round.

The Pioneer Village is complete w ith log cabins, an old school, blacksmith shop,pioneers' furnished homes and other authentic replicas of the pa st.31


32/44

As described in the 19 69January issue of Desert Magazine,

the Cargo Muchacho Mountainsin Southern California are

dotted with mines, some of whichare believed to have been

worked by the early Spanishexplorers. Today the area is as

confusing and dangerous as it wasa century ago. And within thisarea is the Lost Mu le Shoe Gold

as described in this articleby Harold Weight, reprinted from

the 19 54 Se ptember issue ofDeesrt Magazine.

32

IT is 40 years or more since the manwho found the Lost Mule Shoe Goldrode from Picacho, on the Colorado River25 miles north of Yuma, into that mazeof cragged mountains, volcanic flows,rock-paved mesas arid great washes to thenorthwest. He was seeking the most directpossible way to the oasis of Dos Palmas,almost 90 airline miles distant.

It would have been foolhardy for ahealthy man to strike out thus, alone,across an empty and jumbled and almostwaterless land. This traveler was almosttoo ill to ride. But in time he reached hisdestinationand on the way he stumbledupon a ledge so richly laced with yellowmetal that the rock would scarcely fallapart, even when broken.

Unfortunately, the man who found theLost Mule Shoe Gold never returned tohis golden bonanza to reap its reward.Nor was he able to describe his route soothers could trace it outthough at leastone man spent the greater part of his life-time in the attempt. Possibly he failedbecause it was no real trail he had fol-lowed, but part road and part ancientIndian pathway and part, perhaps, the

ways of wild game to watering places,and part a trailless trek up sandy washesand over a multitude of look-alike ridges.The man had been ill with dysenterywhen he was ferried across from Arizonato Picacho. Nonetheless, he was desper-ately determined to press on to Dos Palm-as. He did press on, but four and a halfhours after he had left Picacho, he wasso sick and so weak that he could con-tinue no farther. At that time he wascrossing a saddle between two low hills.He dismounted and sprawled on theground.After a few moments he felt better,

and as he lay there, his eyes wanderedover a ledge which cropped out near by.Even in his semi-conscious condition hesaw the golden streakings in the rock andwas excited by them. He made his wayto the ledge. The ore was rich beyondanything he had ever seen. Should it con-tinue to any depth, here was a fortune!And spilling down from the ledge wasthe dull gleam of placer gold that hadbeen eroded from it.Here was the realization of every pros-

pector's dreamif he could stake out

LOST MULE SHOEGOLD


33/44

claims and file upon them. But he wastoo weak even to build a stone discoverymonument. Finally he removed his vest,folded it and laid it on the ledge. Thenhe took a spare mule shoe from the loadon his pack mule and placed it on thevest to hold it in place. With samplesfrom the ledge, and one last look at theterrain to fix it in his mind, he rode on.The vest and mule shoe, he hoped, wouldbe there to identify the spot when hereturned.

But when he reached the coast, his ill-ness continued and in time became in-finitely worse. He was in the veterans'hospital at Sawtelle when William M.Smith learned from him the story of thegolden ledge he had seen so briefly.Smith's relationship to the man is un-certain. One says a brother-in-law, an-other a son-in-law, a third no relation.But Smith visited the man in the hospitalover a period of two years. And at lastthe old prospector gave Smith a map ofthe route he had followed, as he remem-bered it."I'll never get back now," he said."If you find it, send me just enough tomake me comfortable."So the man who found the Lost MuleShoe Gold passes from the story. Todaynot even his name is remembered bythose who have heard of his strike. Eventhe date of his discovery is indefinite.According to Carl Walker, of Gold RockRanch near Ogilby, California, who heardthe story often from Smith, the ledge wasfound while the American Girl andHedges mines in the nearby Cargo Mu-chacho Mountains were still operating.Hedges, near Tumco, was worked quitesteadily from 1892 to 1909 and intermit-tently, 1910-16. The American Girl wasactive from 1892 to 1900, and 1913-16.There was no doubt in William M.Smith's mind that the strike was a real

one. Probably he saw some of the ore. Atany rate, in 1927 he bought the propertyat the old Hoge ferry landing, at themouth of Gavilan Wash, about sevenmiles above Picacho. Later he franklystated that he had bought the ranch tobe in a position to hunt for the lost ledge,which he was certain would be foundwithin a few miles of that point. He putup new buildings beside the river, namedit the 4S ranch, moved his family in, andbegan the quest which was to continuethe rest of his active life. And even after

The main streets of Picacho are now under tules and water of theColorado backed up by the Imperial Dam. The discoverer of theLost Mu le Shoe go ld ferried across the river at this point.he had given up the ranch, more than 10years later, and moved back "inside,"Smith returned again and again to huntfor the Lost Mule Shoe Gold.If it does exist how could Smith, aidedby the map and the directions given himby the original finder, have searched formore than 20 years in vain ? Anyone whoknows the Picacho country can answerthat. Above the old gold camp is mileupon mile of desert-mountain wildernesswhich has never been tamed by man.Prospectors have been through most ofit, at one time or another, but back fromthe river there are no habitations. Westfrom the river no road has touched themost of it, and probably no road everwill. It was lonelier when Smith huntedthe ledge from the 4S than it was whenthe sick man first found it. It was lone-lier when that man crossed it than it had

been a decade or two before, when pros-pectors were numerous. And it is evenmore lonely today than it was whenSmith started his search, and just as dan-gerous as it has always been for the care-less or inexperienced.

All of the land where the Lost MuleShoe Gold may be hidden is considereda part of the Chocolate Mountains. Onthe river side, above Picacho, at least ascore of giant washes drain these moun-tains, and have cut their foothills andmesas into thousands of ridges and buttes,and probably into thousands of low hillsconnected by saddles. Among them areWhite Wash and Bear Gulch and Car-rizo, Gavilan and Julian Parra washes, inthat order, and far to the north, Vinagre.In most of these washes, placer gold hasbeen found.

When the discoverer of the lost goldenThe lost bona nza is believed to be somewhere in the area ofGavilan Wash which goes from Indian Pass to the Colorado River.It is passable only by back country vehicles.


34/44

ledge rode through this country, the riverroad from Picacho crossed the mouths ofall these washes. There also was the roadHoge built up Gavilan Wash to IndianMesa, along which he once trail-herdedhogs from his Arizona ranch. There wasthe road Julian Parra roughed out froman upper tributary of the wash that bearshis name toMesquite Diggings, which hediscovered. And many were the deep-rutted Indian trails, leading to wateringplaces and through the easy passes, stillused by Indians and Mexican and Ameri-can miners.Today the river road lies submergedby backed-up waters of Imperial Dam,

and Parra's mining road has almost van-ished. The Indian trails are broken andweathered and unused. Between Picachoand Vinagre Washmore than 20 milesby the riverthe only road which entersthis lonely land is the jeep trail successorto the one Hoge made up Gavilan Wash.Editor's Note: Even today the road

from Picacho to the site of the old 4SRanch where Gavilan Wash meets theColorado River is passable only bybackcountry vehicles. How ever, there are goodgravel roads for passengercars to theGoldRock Ranch, Indian Pass and from Yumato Pichaco on the Colorado. (See Desert,Jan. '68.)

\Smy 1

To WtNTERHAVEN S YUMA

But which of the great washes did theman who found the Lost Mule Shoe Goldenter? Which of the old roads or trailsdid he follow even inpart?"I feel," says Carl Walker, "that themaximum a sick man could make in fourand one-half hours, riding a horse andleading a pack mule, would not be over16 miles. If I were trying to retrace that

man's steps, I would do just as he did. Iwould start from Picacho, riding a horseand leading a mule and remembering thathe was sick, and take the shortest route toDos Palmas. That would establish hisspeed and the approximate area in whichhe could have made his discovery."But what was the shortest route to DosPalmas, as the man who found the LostMule Shoe Gold knew it? That woulddepend upon his knowledge of the land,or lack of it. The course he followed

could shift, by sev