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D E T E C T O H SINCLUDINGWHITE'S COINMASTER IV

AND OTHER POPULAR DETECTORSThat's right! At the first annual PalmSprings Gold Mining and Treasure Hunt-ing Show, you will be able to enter a draw-ing for free metal detectors, some of thelatest detectors on the marketPLUS! Usethese instruments in our famous treasurepit where you can keep what you find in theway of Indian head pennies, and other

On exhibit will also be gold mining equip-ment, survival foods, rockhound and lapi-dary equipment, treasure hunting aids,relic displays, a book fair where you canpick up the latest in published literature,books and periodicals such as DesertMagazine, and many other worthwhile ex-hibits of interest to off-road vehicle people,prospectors and outdoor enthusiasts.

PLUS! A special bonus will be the screen-ing of the film, "The Devil's H ighway," are-creation of the 600-mile journey of Cap-tain Juan Bautista De Anza, in 1775-6across the deserts of Old Mexico andSouthern California. The film containswildlife, ecology, treasure hunting andwilderness adventure and is in full color.Added to the program will be a short treas-ure hunting film. This is free to visitors atthe show.Families are especially w elcome, and a dis-count rate of $4 admits your immediatefamily to any single day of the show. W riteto Sunshine Publishing House for free indi-vidual discount tickets that will save you upto 25% on the $2 price admission. Clubswishing free display space should also con-

WORLD PREMIEREThe world premiere of "The Devil's Highway," a feature-lengthfilm in full color that follows the trail of Juan Bautista De Anza across Mexico and South-ern California on the 200th anniversary of the explorer's trip is free to visitors at the FirstAnnual Palm Springs Gold Mining and Treasure Hunting Show.

DESERT RELICSDesert relic and treasure hunting exhibits are some of the manyexhibits visitors will enjoy at the 1sAnnual Palm Springs Gold Mining &Treasure Hunting Show.

tact the show offices so that arrangementcan be made.Guest lecturers at the show will includdowsing, mining, prospecting and treasurhunting , so that you can sharpen your skillin these arts. Located in the brand newPalm Springs Pavilion, with the latest intheatre projection equipment, air conditioning and other conveniences, you'lenjoy your visit to this desert mecca fotourists.Write: Guy Golley, Show Director, Sunshine Publishing House, P . 0. Box 93Dua rte, California, 91010 or Sunshine Publishing House, P. O. Box 1837, Bisbee, Arizona, 85603.

Make your plans now to attend theFirst Annual PALM SPRINGS GOLD MINING AND TREASURE HUNTING SHOW

Friday and Saturday, August 1st and 2ndat the new Palm Springs City Pavilion, Palm Springs, California.


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W I L L I A M K N Y V E T T , Publisher-EditorGEORGE BRAGA, Art DirectorMARY FRANCES STRONG, Field Trip EditorF A . BARNES, Utah Associate EditorGLENN VARGAS, Lapidary EditorK. L. BOYNTON, NaturalistMARVEL BARRETT, Circulation Manager

Volume 38, Number 7 JULY 1975

CONTENTS

THE COVER:Old Grange Hall, nearPilot Hill in California'sMother Lode Country.Photo by David Muench,Santa Barbara, California

F E A T U R E SSTRING OF PEARLS 10 Thomas W. Moore

COLU MBIA, CALIFORNIA 14 HowardNealAUROR A'S NEW TREASURES 16 Mary Frances Strong

BAJ A CALIFOR NIA 20 Thos. L. BryantON THE GOLD RUSH TRAIL 24 Jack Pepper

BRING ON THE BOTTLE BRIGADE 30 Iva L. CeisingerRAFTING ON THE SAN J UAN 32 J. Gillingwa tors/K. Dienes

THE HAYM AKER 3 6 Jim Cornett

D E P A R T M E N T S

A PEEK IN THE PUBLISHER'S POKE 4 William KnyvettBOOKS FOR DESERT READERS 6 Book Reviews

DESERT PLANT LIFE 41 Jim CornettRAM BLINC ON ROCKS 42 Glenn and Martha Vargas

LETTERS TO TH E EDITOR 46 Readers'CommentsCALENDAR OF WESTERN EVENTS 47 Club Activities

ED ITOR IAL, C IRCULATIO N AND ADV ERTISING OFFICES: 74-425 Highway 11 1, Palm Desert, California 92260. Telephone Area Code 714 346-8144.Listed in Standard Rate and Data. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: United States, Canada and Mexico; 1 year, $6.00; 2 years, $11.00; 3 years, $16.00. Otherforeign subscribers add $1.00 U. S. currency for each year. See Subscription Order Form in this issue. Allow five weeks for change of address and sendboth new and old addresses with zip codes. DESERT Magazine is published monthly. Second class postage paid at Palm Desert, California and at addi-tional m ailing offices under Act of March 3,1879 . Contents copyrighted 1975 by DESERT Magazine and permission to reproduce any or all contents mustbe secured in wr itin g. Manuscripts and photographs w ill not De returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.Desert/July 1975


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BACKSPECIAL

196 9-11 issuesonly-Feb.-Dec.

Complete'66, '67, '6870 , 7 1 , ' 7 2 , 7 3Volumes

Each

1974Volume

"Ra in B a r re l "Assorted Issues1959 to 1965

Package of 20

Mail all orders to : DEPT. TDESERT Magazine

Palm Desert, Calif. 92260ia l check or ie y o rd er mus t

A P e e ki n theP u b l i s h e r ' sP o k e

legacy of words and pictures.

!

T IS with deep regret that I informthe readership of the death of JackPepper, a former editor and pu blish-

er of Desert Magazine. For 11 years, hisarticles and photos have appeared on ourpages, and the many thousands ofreaders who followed his travels throughthe West wil l mourn his passing. Semi-retired for two years, Jack was strickensuddenly with cancer. His last article,which was dictated from his hospitalbed, appears on the centerspread and isent i t led, "On the Cold Rush T r a i l . " W ewill all miss Jack, but will treasure his

.,,#

Following the Co ld Rush theme , Thomas Moore presents a str ing of ghost townsand camps from time s long pa st. These litt le jew els are off the beaten track and bearsuch names as Poverty Hi l l , Port Wine and Poker Flat. A big bonus for ghost townbuffs.

Back on the beaten track is HowardNeal's piece on Columbia which hasBeen a State Park since 1954.

Aurora and Bodie, two well-knownghosts come in for their share of thespotlight from the pen of Mary FrancesStrong.

A new author to Desert, Thos. Bryant,tells us that the magic of Baja Californiastill remains despite the new highwayand takes us on an intr iguing loop tr ipfrom San Felipe on the east coast, downthrough Puer tec i tos , Conzaga Bay ,Bahia de Los Angeles, and then inland toRosarito, Punta Prieta, El Marmol andreturning home on the new highway.

Iva Geisinger, author of " B rin g on theBott le Brigade," expounds on bott lesand bott le collect ing and wil l undoubted-ly bring new recruits to this fascinatinghobby.

Jim Cornett rounds out this issue by introducing the l i t t le-known Haymaker, thePika, and Katherine Dienes and Jean Gil l ingwators relate their interest ing exper-iences while rafting down Utah's San Juan River. This was not a commercial ven-ture, but was made with their husbands' home-made raft .

As is our usual summ er policy, our Book Shop w ill be open from 10 A .M . to 3P.M . Mond ay through Friday. We w il l be closed Saturday and Sunday. We have en-joyed visiting with our many readers who have stopped by our new location.

Jack Pepper1920-1975.

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T h e F i r s t a n d O n lyA l l C o lo r . B o o k o nT u r q u o i s eBy OSCAR T. BRANSON

This Book Is AMust For AnyonePossessingEven One PieceOf TurquoiseJewelry

The TruthAbout TreatedOr StabilizedTurquoiseW h at It I s -How It Is Done

BeautifulIllustrationsIn AccurateColor Can HelpYou Identify theTurquoise In YourJewelryPictures ofTurquoise from 43Localities fromU. S. And AroundThe W orld.Photography ByRay Manley Studios68 Pages62 Full Color Pages100 Color Plates9"x12" Perfect Bound

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Order From Your Dealeror DESERT MAG AZINEP.O. Box 1318Palm Desert, Calif. 92260Ca lif. Res. Please Ad d State Tax


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All books reviewed are available through theDesert Magazine Book Shop. Please add 25c perorder for handling and California residents mustinclude 6% state sales tax.

COLD FEVERBy Helen E. Wilson

Ma n's dream , just a f ter the tu rn of thecentury, was to str ike it rich, to f ind abonanza of gold. Some men had theCOLD FEVER and never recovered fromit . However , it was those men and wo-men who traveled the rugged land into

LOGGING THE REDWOODSLynwood Carranco and John T. LabbeThe story of the California redwood lumber industry,copiously illustrated with a vast collection of old histori-cal photographs. Lynwood Carranco's extensive knowl-

edge of the redwood country is joined with John Labbe'sencyclopedic information about the men and machinesthat produced the logs and moved them to market. Fea-tured are many photographs from the collection of Au-gustus William Ericson, pioneer redwood countryphotographer.8V2 x 11, 250 illustrations, boxed $14.95The CAXTON PRINTERS, Ltd.B ox 700

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isolated places and wrested gold andsilver from lonely hi l ls, that met the chal-lenge to make a good life and a decentcommunity f rom a prospector 's tenttown.

Hatt ie , a city g i r l , and Jack, a hunter ,prospector and miner , met, romancedand marr ied. COLD FEVER por trayshow this young couple with their twobabies followed the desolate life of pros-pecting against formidable odds duringthe Nevada Cold S tr ike in J arb idge. Sit-uated in the northeastern corner of thestate, this stor ied canyon community hasl ived lusti ly almost died and now l ivesagain. J arbidge flowed to prosperity onthe tide of prospecting and min ing , butebbed to near obscurity when the richgold andsilver metals petered out. It is afa r cry from the old ro l l icking min ingdays, and yet the dirt street, false frontbui ld ings, log houses and ramshacklemil ls are kept as a remembrance.More than eight years of careful re-search went into the preparation andwr i t ing of this book. Theauthor 's motherwas an ardent amateur photographeran d had kept informative letters, manyfrom what are now ghost towns. COLDFEVER is fabulously i l lustrated withearly-day pictures, map and memora-b i l ia , having 70such i l lustrations spacedthroughout the story. There are pages oflove, promises and news; dangerous butexciting days, as wel l as hardships.

Softbound, 140 pages, non-fiction,$5.00.

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THE WIND LEAVES NO SHADO WBy Ruth Laughlin

On the night Dona Tules Barceloopened her own gambling sala in SantaF e , no one dared remind the f iery red-haired beauty that her mother had beena peon and that she herself had onceworked for 40 pennies a year. As sheswept gracefully across the only woodenfloor in t o wn , she was proudly aware thatit was her wits andbeauty alone that hadmade her a rich, powerfu l woman.

Desert/July 1975


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The story of this exciting histor ical fig-ur e isavivid picture of l ife in the South-west in the 1830's w hen all that terr i torybelonged toMexico. At Santa Fe, themusty pomp of fading Spain mingledwith the acrid smell and lusty languageof buffalo hunters, gr ingo traders, gam-blers, elegant caballeros, and crookedpolit icians plundering the new nation. Itwas at ime when all ived dangerously,and Dona Tules Barcelo more danger-ously than all.

Experiencing cold, hunger, the terrorof Navajo raids and bitter hopelessnessof the poor asachi ld, her uck began oturn when she was given agold fr iend-ship r ing by ablue-eyed Yankee, andDona Tules began her role asa notoriousgambl ing queen. Shebecame the gover-nor 's mistress and apower inthe townwhere sheonce had been despised. Hergambling sala inSanta Fewas the ren-dezvous where conflicting forces of cus-toms and t rad i t ions, oldand new ideaschallenged each other. THEW I N DLEAVES NO SHADO W is a powerfulstory of love, hate, and jealousy, toldagainst the authentic background of agrowing, vigorous America.

C A B A L L E R O S , thea u t h o r ' s f i r s tbook, was published in1931 and is con-sidered aclassic among Southwesternl i terature. For hersecond book, THEWIND L EAVES NOSHADOW, Ru thLaughlin interviewed hundreds of old-t imers to trace the story ofDona Tules.One of the many clues she used was theox-hide money chest used byDona Tules100 years agowhen she f i l led itwithsil-ver pesos for hermo n te " b a n k " anddealt at iestas. This chest now belongsto Miss Laughl in .

Hardcover, 361 pages, f irst publishedin 1951, t isnow in itssixth pr in t ing.$4.95.

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Send orders toBox 1318,Palm Desert, California 92260Please add 25c for postage & handling

THE CAHUILLA INDIANS by Harry James. Acomparatively small and little known tribe, theCahuilla Indians played an important part in theearly settlement of Southern California. Today,the Cahuilla Indians are active in social and civicaffairs in Riverside County and own valuableproperty in and around Palm Springs. This re-vised edition is an authentic and completehistory of these native Americans. Hardcover,i l lustrated, 185 pages, $7.50.GUIDEBOO K TO THE COLORADO DESERTOF CALIFORNIA by Choral Pepper. Editor ofDesert Magazine for six years, the author hasused her research knowledge and first-hand ex-perience to compile this detailed and informativeguide to the Colorado Desert. Trips also includehistorical background. Slick paperback, illustrat-ed , 128 pages, $2.95.THE GUNFIGHTERS, paintings and text by LeaF. McCarty.Contains 20 four-color reproductionsof some of the most famous gunfighters of theWest, together with a brief history of each.Large format, beautifully illustrated, $3.00.SUCCESSFUL COIN HUNTING by Charles L.Garrett. An informative study of coin hunting,this is a complete guide on where to search,metal detector selection and use, digging toolsand accessories, how to dig and the care andhandling of coins. A classic book in the field. 181pages, paperback, $5.00.CALIFORNIA GEM TRAILS by Darold J. HenryThis completely revised fourth edition is themost authoritative guide for collectors of rocks,gemstones, minerals and fossils. Profusely illus-trated with maps and contains excellent descrip-tive text. Paperback, $3.00.

AMERICAN INDIAN FOOD AND LORE by Car-olyn Neithammer. The original Indian plantsused for foods, medicinal purposes, shelter,clothing, etc., are described in detail in this fas-cinating book. Common and scientific names,plus descriptions of each plant and unusualrecipes. Large format, profusely illus., 191pages, $4.95.ANTS OF DEEP CANYON, COLORADODESERT,CALIFORNIA by G. C. and JeanetteWheeler. A well-researched description of the59 species of ants found in Deep Canyon, adja-cent to the Coachella Valley. Photographs ofspecimens, nests and typical habitat and draw-ings showing many species are accompanied byreadable text and tables. 162 pages, handbooksize, hardcover, $8.95; paperback $3.95.MEXICO Guide by Cliff Cross. All new, revisededition w ith excellent inform ation .of tra ilerparks, hotels, camping space; tips on bordercrossing, shopping, fishing, hunt ing, etc., as wellas the history, culture , and geography. 210 maps,675 photos. 195 pages, $4.95.OWYHEE TRAILS by Mike Hanley and EllisLucia. The authors have teamed to present theboisterous past and intriguing present of this stillwild corner of the West sometimes called theI-O-N, where Idaho, Oregon and Nevada come to-gether. Hardcover, 225 pages, $7.95.

GOLD RUSHES AND MINING CAMPS OF THEEARLY AMERICAN WEST by Vardis Fisherand Opal Laurel Holmes. Few are better pre-pared than Vardis Fisher to write of the goldrushes and mining camps of the West. He bringstogether all the men and women, all the fascinat-ing ingredients, all the violent contrasts whichgo to make up one of the most enthralling chap-ters in American history. 300 illustrations fromphotographs. Large format, hardcover, boxed,466 pages, highly recommended. $17.95.ROCKS AND MINERALS OF CALIFORNIAcompiled by Vinson Brown, David Allan andJames Stark. This revised edition will save youhours of time by the description and pictures ofrocks and minerals found in this state. Color pic-tures with clearly developed keys show you howto identify what you have found and gives youfine tools to increase your ability as a field col-lector. Paperback, well illustrated with photos,locality maps, charts and quadrangle map infor-mation. 200 pages. $4,95.8

RETRACING THE BUTTERFIELD OVERLANDTRAIL THROUGH ARIZONA by Gerald T. An-hert. This book was written to mark the physicalroute and station locations in the most hazardoussegment of the Butterfield TrailArizona. Theauthor's original intent was merely to f ind,follow and map the Trail, however, the long anddifficult task resulted in putting this vital infor-mation in a book which makes it easy for othersto follow, or to provide a delightful armchairjourney over this dramatic route. Profusely illus-trated with maps and photos, this book is avisual hand-tool to the explorer; an exciting seg-ment of Americana to the scholar and historian.Large format, hardcover, $9.75.THE BAJA BOOK, A Complete Map-Guide toToday's Baja California by Tom Miller and El-mar Baxter. Waiting until the new transpenin-sular highway opened, the authors have pooledtheir knowledge to give every minute detail ongas stations, campgrounds, beaches, traileroarks, road condit ions, boating, surfing, f lying ,fishing, beachcombing, in addition to a BajaRoadlog which has been broken into convenienttwo-mile segments. A tremendous package forevery kind of recreationist. Paperback, 178pages, illus., maps, $7.95.GEM TRAILS OF ARIZONA by Bessie W . Simp-son. This field guide is prepared for the nobbiestand almost every location is accessible by car orpickup accompanied by maps to show sandyroads, steep rocky hills, etc., as cautions. Lawsregarding collecting on Federal and Indian landoutlined. Paperback, 88 pages, illus., $3.50.GOLD GAM B LE by Roberta Starry. Lavishly il-lustrated with old photos, the text recounts thevivid memories of the gold mining boom in Cali-fornia's Rand Mining District. Large format, ex-cellent index, 167 pages, $4.25.

THE LIFE OF THE DESERT by Ann and MyronSutton. This fascinating volume explains all thevital inter-relationships that exist between theliving things and the physical environment ofour vast desert regions. More than 100 illustra-tions in full color. Helpful appendices containcomprehensive index and glossary. Special fea-tures on endangered species, lizards and poison-ous animals. Hardcover, 232 pages, profusely il-lustrated, $5.50.DESERT, The American Southwest by RuthKirk. Combining her knowledge of the physicalcharacteristics of the land, and man's relation tothe desert from the prehistoric past to the prob-able futur e, with her photographer's eye and herenthusiasm for a strange and beautiful country,the result of Ruth Kir k's work is an ex traordinar-ily perceptive account of the living d esert. High -ly recommended. Hardcover, beautifully illus-trated, 334 pages, $10.00.TRAILS OF THE ANGELES, 100 Hikes in theSan Gab riels, by John W. Robinson. This is themost complete guide ever written to hiking andbackpacking in California's San Gabriel Moun-tains. Hikes vary from easy one-hour strolls toall-day and overnight rambles. Tours of the Mt.Lowe Railway and Echo Mountain ruins. Theauthor has walked, recorded and researched alltrips, and has graded them as "ea sy ," "mod er-ate" or "strenuous." Excellent trail map. 256pages, paperback, $4.95.

OLD FORTS OF THE NORTHWEST by H. M.Hart. Over 200 photos and maps. Exciting pictor-ial history of the military posts that opened theWest. Hardcover, beautifully illustrated, origin-ally published at $12.50. New Edition $3.95.CORONADO'S CHILDREN by J. Frank Doby.Originally published in 1930. this book about lostmines and buried treasures of the West is aclassic and is as vital today as when first writte nDobie was not only an adventurer, but a scholarand a powerful writer. A combination of legendsand factual background. Hardcover. 376 pages,$3.95.MINING CAMPS AND GHOST TOWNS, A His-tory of M ining in Arizona by Frank Love. Drama-tic history of the mineral frontier as it affectedone section of the vast American West, the lowerColorado Region. Illustrated, hardcover, 192pages, $7.95

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California residentsplease add6% state sales taxPlease add 25c for postage & handling

BLUE GOLD, The Turquoise Story by M. G.Broman. Information on the identification, his-tory and mining of turquoise, as well as an intro-duction to the lapidary and silversmithing tech-niques used in making turquoise jewelry. Thisbook is intended for the general reader who isinterested in knowing more about the origin ofturquoise as well as the interesting facets of buy-ing, collecting and assembling of turquoisepieces. Paperback, color and b/w photos, $4.95.GHOST TOWNS OF THE WEST by LambertFlorin. This popular hard-back series is nowavailable in paperback volumes. Rearrangedstate by state, lavishly illustr ated, handy to takealong while traveling. Please state which volumewhen ordering: Arizona-$2.95; California-$3.95;Colorado/ Utah-$2.95; Nevada-$2.95; Oregon-$2.95LOST MINES OF THE GREAT SOUTHWESTby John D. Mitchell. The first of Mitchell's lostmine books is now available after having beenout of print or years. Reproduced from theoriginal copy and containing 54 articles based onaccounts from people Mitchell interviewed. Hespent his entire adult life investigating reportsand legends of lost mines and treasures of theSouthwest. Hardcover, illustrated, 175 pages,$7.50.JOURNEYS WITH ST. FRANCIS by Alvin Gor-don, illustrated by Ted DeGrazia. A beautifullywritten book covering incidents in the life of St.Francis of Assisi, illustrated with 22 four-colorplates by DeGrazia, one of America's outstand-ing artists. Hardcover, $6.75.

NEVADA GHOST TOWNS AND MININGCAMP S by Stanley W . Paher. Covering all of Ne-vada's 17 counties, Paher has documented 575mining camps, many of which have been erasedfrom the earth. The book contains the greatestand most complete collection of historic photo-graphs of Nevada ever published. This, coupledwith his excellent wr itin g and map, creates a bookof lasting value. Large 9x11 format, 700 photo-graphs, hardcover, 492 pages, $15.00.CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS by the SunsetEditors. A comprehensive guide covering thenorthern coast and redwood country, the SierraNevada and northern mountains, the San Fran-cisco Bay area, central valley and foothills, thecentral coast region, the southern desert andmountains. Area maps and photos. 128 pages,paperback, large format, $2.95.SOURDOUGH COOKB OOK by Don and MyrtleHolm. How to make a sourdough starter andmany dozens of sourdough recipes, plus amu singanecdotes by the authors of the popular Old Fash-ioned Dutch Oven Cookbook. A new experiencein culinary adventures. Paperback, 136 slickpages, illustrated, $3.95.

WILDLIFE OF THE SOUTHWEST DESERTS byJim Cornett. Wr itten for the layman and seriousstudents alike, this is an excellent book on all ofthe common animals of the Southwest deserts. Amust for desert explorers, it presents a brief lifehistory of everything from ants to burros. Paper-back, 80 pages, $2.99.PACIFIC CREST TRAIL, Vol. 1: California, byThomas Winnett. Even if you are in good physi-cal condition, just reading this detailed, inform-ative book and planning to walk the PCT, youmight sit back exhausted by the sheer prospectsof such an adventure. How to hike the trail, ap-preciate, and DO it, have been outlined in theproper order. 145 pages with photography, plus127 pages of topographic maps of the entire PCTroute and alternate routes. Paperback, $4.95.NEW BAJA HANDB OOK for the Off-PavementMotorist in Lower California by James T . Crow.Discover the real Baja that lies beyond the edgeof the paved road, the unspoiled, out-of-the-wayplaces unknown to the credit-card tourist. Theauthor, drawing from his extensive travels inthese parts, tells where to go, what to takealong, the common sense of getting ready. Illus-trated, paperback, 95 pages, $3.95.Desert/July 1975

HOW AND W HERE T OPA N GOLD by WayneWinters. Convenient paperback handbook withinformation on staking claims, panning and re-covering placer gold. Maps and drawings. $2.50.A FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN REPTILESAND AM PHIB IANS by Robert C. Stebbins. APeterson Field Guide. 207 species, 569 illustra-tions, 185 in full color, 192 maps. The best bookof this type. Hardcover, $6.95.ON DESERT TRAILS by Randall Henderson,founder and publisher of Desert Magazine for 23years. One of the first good writers to reveal thebeauty of the mysterious desert areas. Hender-son's experiences, combined with his commentson the desert of yesterday and today, make this aMUST for those who really want to understandthe desert. 375 pages, illustrated. Hardcover,$7.50.THE ROSE & THE ROBE by Ted DeGrazia.Text and sketches tell of the travels of Fray Juni-pero Serra in California, 1769-1784. Tremendoushistory and art appeal. Large format, 25 four-color illustrations by DeGrazia. Hardcover,$11.75.TO HELL ON WHEELS by Alan H. Siebert. Amust for every desert traveler, this is not justanother survival book, it is a manual of mobilityfor the recreational vehicle driver who is lookingfor something more than the organized camp-ground. Highly recommended for both thenewcomer and old-timers. Paperback, 64 pages,well illustrated, $2.95.

BACK ROADS OF CALIFORNIA by Earl Thol-lander and the Editors of Sunset Books. Earlystagecoach routes, missions, remote canyons,old prospector cabins, mines, cemeteries, etc.,are visited as the author travels and sketches theCalifornia Backroads. Through maps and notes,the traveler is invited to get off the freeways andsee the rural and country lanes throughout thestate. Hardcover, large format, unusually beau-tiful illustrations, 207 pages, $10.95.FROSTY, A Raccoon to Remember by HarriettE. Weaver. The only uniformed woman on Cali-fornia's State Park Ranger crews for 20 years,Harriett Weaver shares her hilarious andheart-warming experiences of being a "mother"to an orphaned baby raccoon. A delightful bookfor all ages. Illustrated with line-drawings byJennifer O. Dewey, hard cover, 156 pages, $5.95OLD FORTS OF THE NORTHWEST by H. M.Hart. Over 200 photos and maps. E xciting pictor-ial history of the military posts that opened theWest. Hardcover, beautifully illustrated, origin-ally published at $12.50. New Edition $3.95.LOST TREASURES OF THE WEST by BradWilliams and Choral Pepper. The authors havegathered together little-known stories of miss-ing, stolen or buried wealth. Every tale containssubstantial clues to the whereabouts of fabledand, in some instances, fabulous wealth. Hard-cover, 184 pages, $7.95.GHOST TOWNS AND MINING CAMPS OFCALIFORNIA by Remi Nadeau. An excellentbook on California ghost towns. We recommendit highly. Paperback, $3.75.

LOST MINES AND HIDDEN TREASURES byLeland Lovelace. Authoritative and exact ac-counts give locations and fascinating data abouta lost lake of gold in California, buried Aztec in-gots in Afizona, kegs of coins, and all sorts of ex-citing booty for treasure seekers. Hardcover,$5.95.COLORFUL DESERT WILDFLO WERS by Graceand Onas Ward. Segregated into categories ofred, blue, white and yellow for easier identifica-t ion, there are 190 four-color photos of flowersfound in the Mojave, Colorado and Western A ri-zona deserts, all of which also have common andscientific names plus descriptions. Heavy, slickpaperback, $4.50; hardcover, $7.50.DESERT VACATIONS ARE FUN by RobertNeedham. A complete, factual and interestinghandbook for the desert camper. Valuable infor-mation on weather conditions, desert vehicles,campsites, food and water requirements. Infor-mation on desert wildlife, mines, ghost towns,and desert hobbies. Paperback, illustrated, 10maps, 134 pages, $3.95. 9


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Above: Cibsonville, 1850. The Taber mine was a very rich producer through theyears as Cibsonville vied with Howland Flats and Rabbit Creek in riches andpopulace. Right: How land Flats, 1851. Tired old buildings, dressed in widow'sblack, like ha rpies and crones, lean on crutches awa iting the funeral that is sure tocome for this once prosperous city. Far right: Poker Flat, 1851. Slack jawed andopen mouthed, eyeless window sockets stare at my intrusion. This old home awaitsthe fate of its skeletonized neighbor in the foreground.

10 Desert/July 1975

/ beheld, and lo,threre was noman, and all thebirds of theheavens werefled. I beheld,and lo, thefruitful place wasa wilderness, andall the citiesthereof werebroken down atthe presenceof the Lord, andby His fierceanger. For therehath the Lordsaid, "The wholeland shall bedesolate; yet willI not make afull end."

Jeremiah 4:25-27


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BLAIRSDEN

S I I . R K A C I T Y

D O W M E V I L L E

Below:Poverty Hill,7857.Hydraulic debrisstartsat thevery edgeof town,bu t the townproduced overfour milliondollarsin goldthroughits lifetime.

growth , the sharply pointed ridges, thesteep canyons dropping away from theedge of the narrow road to a stream bed2000 to 3000 feet below. Imagine thedeep paralyzing winter snows 15 feetdeep traversed by men andwomen on 8-

or 12-foot skis imagine horses wear-ing snowshoes andmail delivery by dogsled. Imagine the privat ion andhardshipof long winters begun in October andlast ing unti l the end of May.

A h , the strikes that formed the towns

Poverty Hi l l ! Port Wine! Queen City!Crass Flat! St. Louis! St. Louis?? Yes,and Whiskey Diggins, H owland Flat,Cibsonvil le and Poker Flat and thenthere are Scales and Onion Valley ando h , so many others, all in a chunk ofgold-bearing rock 10miles long and lessthan a couple of miles in wid t h !

Thus, for photographers, history andghost town buffs and a dventurers, a tourof these "lost" Sierra camps wil l bringits own reward. Whi le there are st i l lghost towns scattered throughout Cali-fornia and Nevada, this is the only areawhere one may visit as many as eightsuch towns in a single day.

This remote area of Sierra County wasprospected in thespring of 1850. CaptainSears, an oldsea dog who ef t his ship inSan Francisco when the news of golddiscovery was new, found gold on thehigh ridge that bears his name betweenthe North Fork of the Yuba and the SouthFork of the Feather Rivers.

When Sears hadgathered a companyof prospectors together and was return-ing to mine his discovery, he was followed by a group led by a man namedGibson. Upon being ordered to turnback, Gibson refused and retorted thatthe mountains of California were as freefor them to mine as anyman. A compro-mise wasworked out, and both groupsproceeded to Sears Ridge where thecamp of Sears' Diggings came intobeing. Later, Gibson found other richdeposits and one in part icular, on a r idgeoverlooking Little Slate Creek, becamethe site of thr iv ing, brawl ing, Gibson-vil le which boomed unti l 1870.

Even asGibsonvil le was f irst develop-i n g , Gibson and his men ound gold de-posits which they attempted to keep asecret among themselves. This kind ofchicanery fired dissension between hisme n and he Sears faction and scatteredthe two groups as suspicious individualeffort quickly replaced the group en-deavor. Thus were the newcamps born.Brandy City, Hepsidam, Scales, QueenCity, Pine Grove, Whiskey Diggings,Potosi, Morr is town and Eureka Citywere just a few of these new camps.

St. Louis, staked out on the site ofSears' Digging s in 1852 by a group fromMissour i , boomed unti l it was swept byf ire in 1857. During the 1860's the townprospered again because of the hydraulicmining boom. Howland Flat, whose postoffice wascalled Table Rock and which^2 Desert/ July 1975


13/48

Sca/es, 7857. The o/d m/ne bunkhouse an d kitchen on a rainy day in June. In 1860,there we re 59 males and 13 females in the town.

functioned from 1857 to 1922, is locatedon the north side of Table Rock at anelevation of 6000 feet. Because of thegreat hydraulic mining activity in thearea, and perhaps because of its finebrewery, Howland Flat became one ofthe most populous towns of the Sierra.

The frequent references to hydraulicminin g indicate the extent of that kind ofoperation in this region. E.E. Mattesoninvented the method in 1853 which con-tinued unti l the Anti-Debris Act of 1883closed al l hydraulic m ining in California.The washed-out silt choked the riversand covered the r ich agricultural bottom-land in the Sacramento River valley.

The Lost Sierra is also famous for thedebut of Lotta Crabtree at La Porte in thesummer of 1854. Of course, as everyknowledgeable skier knows, downhil l skiracing had its beginning in America at

Desert/ July 1975

La Porte sometime around 1854. Theworld's f irst ski club was organized be-tween 1858 and 1861. W hile La Porte,founded in 1850 as Rabbit Creek, is inthe center of this string of abandonedcities, it is definitely not a ghost town. Ashadow town, perhaps, with a lusty his-tory of its own, it shows renewed life andvigor wi th tour ism.

It should De noted for our tour thatwhile all the roads to these old towns arerough and scary, they are passable forautomobiles in summer with the excep-tion of the road down to Poker F lat w hichneeds four-wheel-dr ive al l the way.Summer in these mountains is from July4th to the first storm. The old campsstrung together every three or four milesby these single-lane roads resemble astr ing of beads "pearls" for the ghosttowner. D

/ Good thingsare happening at . . ?D e a t h V a l l e yJ u n c t i o n

Stay at the historicAMARGOSA HOTELThis lovely 50-year hotel isbeing rejuvenated. 20 roomsopening October 1975. All car-pet ed. All beautifully furnished .You, your family or your groupcan make the Amargosa Hotelyour headquarters while in theDeath Valley area.You can now dine in the restor-ed Dining Room in the Hotel. Ase pa rat e ba nqu et facil ity is I'available for gro ups . IllTelephone Death Valley Junc-tion #1 for information or reser-vations.Don't miss seeing Marta Becketa t her famous AMARGOSA ,OPERA HOUSE. You've read(|about this beautiful and uniqueattraction in Desert an d Nation-al Geographic. You'.e seenMarta Becket's AMARGOSAOPERA HOUSE on television.Make a visit to the AmargosaOpera House a must whileyou're in this area. See MartaBecket's fabulous murals insidethe Opera House. No perform-',ances during July and August.Telephone Death Valley Junc-tion #8 for reservations. Tourswelcomed.

The Amargosa General Store,Death Valley Junction ServiceStation and Amargosa Potteryare all open. Space is availablefor development. Watch thisspace each month for morenews as the restoration of DeathValley Junction continues.flrFor further information aboutDEATH VALLEY JUNCTIONplease write:Death Valley Junction, Inc.

P . O . Box 675Death Valley Jun ction , ,ji 92328

13


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G H O S T S by HOWAR D NEALC o l u m b i a , C a l i f o r n i aLOCATION: Columbia is located east of Cali-fornia Highway 49, four miles north of Sonora.

B RIEF HISTORY: In late winter and earlyspring, rainfall in the foothills of the western SierraNevada Mountains can be torrential. So it was thenight of March 27, 1850. Thaddeus and George Hil-dreth, and several other prospectors, were movingthrough the foothills seeking their fortune. Theycamped for the night at a spot near what was to be-come the site of Columbia. The rains came, thecreeks rose, and the sleeping prospectors becamesoaked. By morning, though, the weather hadchanged. The sky was bright and clear. The sun waswarm. So, blankets were spread out to dry beforethe group moved on. In order to pass the time whilethe sun did its work, the men did a little prospecting.The group did not move on! The color of the gold inthe gravel was brilliant. In just two days nearly$5,000 was taken from the stream beds!Word passed quickly in the Mother Lodecountry. Within days prospectors were coming fromnear and far. In a month there were more than 5,000miners on the site, and a town was born. First itwas called Hildreth's Diggings, then AmericanCamp, and finally Columbia.W ithin two years of the Hildreth discovery,Colum bia had become a small city. Typical of mining

towns it counted some 30 saloons among its nearly150 businesses. The town was growing fast, andbuildings were being completed almost daily. Butthey were not to last long. They were wood, and inthe summer of 1854 the inevitable fire struck. Theentire center of the business district, with the ex-ception of one brick building, was wiped out.Columbia was rebuilt. This time many ofthe buildings were brick. Again in August of 1857,another fire struck. A 13-square-block area was en-gulfed in the conflagration and the remaining framestructures were destroyed.Columbia was rebuilt again and, as it hadin so many gold towns, a Mother Lode architectureevolved. The buildings were brick with iron shuttersand doors. Neither fire nor vandals could attackthese buildings. Nor, as it turned out, could theravages of weather and time. More than a centurylater, many still stand with a long life remaining.In the decade between 1850 and 1860,Columbia became the largest city among what wereknown as the Southern Mines. Population estimatesof the day range from 15,000 to an improbable highof 40,000. Whatever the truth, Columbia was a bigtown. By 1860 the decline of Columbia hadstarted. The placer gold was gone, and the minerswere moving on. Buildings were being vacated, and

A miner's cabin,which is morethan 80 years old,is among themore than 40gold rush era buildingsthat have been preservedand restored atColumbia State Park.Exhibits arebeing addedregularly as part ofthe Parkrestoration program .Photographs by Edward Neal

Desert/July 1975


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Columbia'sWells FargoandCompanyexpressofficewas builtfollowingthe fireof 1857whichdestroyedthirteen squareblocks ofthe city.Scales ondisplay inthe officeweighed outmore than$55 m illionin miner'sgold dustand nuggets.

some were being torn down. Columbia, whose minesproduced $87 million in gold, was on its way to be-coming a ghost. Columbia was never abandoned. Itnever, quite, became a true ghost. The populationdropped to below 500, but there was always someoneto call Columbia home.In 1945, the California Legislature decidedthat a typical gold rush town should be preservedand restored. Columbia was chosen. Now known asColumbia State Park, Hildreth's Diggings is onceagain showing its luster as the "G em of the SouthernMines . "Desert/July 1975

COLUMBIA TODAY: Has the State allowedcommercialism to spoil Columbia? The true ghosttown enthusiast will undoubtedly say yes. For himthe stage coach rides, and other tourist attractions,will distract from the historical theme. Yet, there ismuch history to see in Columbia. It is all there, pre-served and restored authentically. More, perhaps,can be learned about California gold rush life andtimes in this one spot than in any other. Columbia isan ideal first stop, before seeing the true ghosts ofthe Mother Lode. Besides, even a ghost town buff'schildren will enjoy a " r e a l " stage coach ride!


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"IT/ 5

' - / .

i-\m;

T


17/48

Old schoolhouse throughhotel door frame atBodie State Historical Park.Photo by David Muench.

I IGH IN THE Bodie Hil ls, east of thei California-Nevada border, the ghost-\ ly remains of a mining town liecradled among the flanks of 8,000-foot

peaks. Well over a century has passedsince glit tering, golden Aurora rode theunruly waves of fame and fortune.Though her "glory days" spanned but adecade, the great mining camp spranginto a stylish city; became the seat ofboth Inyo County, California and Esmer-alda County, Nevada; while her minesfeverishly produced over 30 mil l ion dol-lars from rich ores.

Many are the legends about Auroraand her story has been chronicled innumerous journals and books. The needfor recreation has increased and newhobbyists have taken up the age-oldhobbies of bott le, rock and memorabil iacollect ing, photography and ghost townhopping. These "new t reasures" are al lto be found at Aurora.

From the north, east, south and west,four main roads lead to Aurora. They areold, historical routes and the saying,"All roads lead to Aurora," seems f it-t ing . A tr ip can be made even more in-teresting by choosing an alternate roadon the way out. Our favorite is the southroad up Cottonwood Canyon to Bodie,then east along Bodie Creek through DelMonte Canyon. I t is a beautiful drivethrough narrow canyons and high plainsin the Bodie Hil ls.

Cottonwood Canyon Road leaves StateHighway 167, seven miles east of itsjunct ion with Highway 395, seven milesnorth of Leevining, California. A smalls ign "Bodie, 10 mi les" points the way.Desert/ July 1975 -j 7

A good, graded road heads due north,then makes an abrupt 90-degree turneast and, in just over four miles, entersthe picturesque canyon. Rock walls closein and, shortly, a stone-faced dugout willbe seen on the right. It is believed tohave been a tollhouse.

Toll roads were common in the earlydays and were built under a short-term,county franchise system. They providedneeded wagon routes and profits for thebuilders, without cost to the newly-de-ve lop ing count ies . Charges weregenerally nominal five cents a mile forwagons and a cent or two for animals.Often, individual segments of a road

by MARY FRANCES STRONGPhotos by Jerry Strong

were completed by different leasees;consequently tolls were charged uponentering each section. Later, the moreimpor tant to l l roads became majorroutes in the coun ty 's netwo rk o fhighways.

The Cottonwood Canyon tollkeeper'scabin appears to have been comfortablethough primitive. It has a nice stonefireplace and a metal roof held down byrocks and gravel. No doubt there havebeen many temporary occupants downthrough the years including prospec-tors and hunters.

The canyon road winds with a naturaldrainage channel as it ascends to overOnly a few shacks remain in the ghost town of Aurora. In the back ground is Au roraCreek Canyon. On the high, mesa-like ridge, geodes and jasp-agate will be found.


18/48

Glen Cash of Haw thorne has found many bottles at Aurora, including over a dozen"Lady's Legs" in fine condition. Like all bottle collectors should do, he is careful notto dig nea r ruins and fills all holes when he is finished.

8,300 feet elevation at Bodie State His-toric Park. If you have not roamed thisold California mining town with i ts manyphotogenic buildings, a stop can bemade. Howe ver, unless you are planningto camp overnight (and you should),there will not be enough time left forex-p lor ing Aurora.

From Bodie, a graded road continues

east around mine-covered Bodie's Bluffand passes the Syndicate Mill site.Ahead l ies the s t i l l w e l l -p re serv edGray's M i l l . It is easy to imagine the tre-mendous roar that must have rever-berated through this little valley when allthe mil ls were operating.

Just beyond Gray's M i l l , adjacent toth e road, stands the ruins of a very im-

Many historical sites are passed enroute to Aurora. Gray's Mill in the left center anda few of many dumps on Bodie's B luff are visible be yond remnants of this tollhouse.

pressive toll house. The floor and sec-tions of wall remain and there is evi-dence of several other buildings. Therewas also probably a small saloon hereDirt abutments on the south side of theroad indicate the remnants of a largecorral. The area is very photogenic.

Once again, the road turns north. Ifyour trip is taken in the fa l l , you wil l f indgolden-hued rabbitbrush bursting withblooms. Canyon walls will be a patch-work quil t of autumn reds and yellows.Jack Frost does his work early in thehigh country. If you watch carefully onthe r ight, over the next seven miles, youwill see the rock work of an old toll road,well above Bodie Creek. You will alsopass the ruins of a way-station on thele f t , j u s t p r i o r to e n te r i n g " T h eNarrows" of Del Monte Canyon.

The road is reduced to one lane as itwanders through the high, rock-wallednarrows. There are a few places to pass.Bodie Creek runs swiftly just below theroad. In several places where a sharpcurve is rounded, you can look straightdown into a clear pool where trout lurk.Hil lside springs provide small streams toford and a narrow, one-lane, r ickety,wooden bridge crosses Bodie Creek. It isnot a dangerous section of road but oneto drive slowly and carefully in order toenjoy the outstanding scenery.

Del Monte transformer station, 9.7miles from Bodie, is a good place to stopfor a coffee break. You are now almostwithin shouting distance of Aurora,which lies up the side canyon, one andone-ha l f m i les east . Un less fu r the rstorms have added new boulders,, as m a l l , f o u r - wh e e l - d r i ve ve h i c l e ca nprobably negotiate the old short-cut upAurora Creek. However, other vehiclesmust fol low the main road.

Three miles beyond Del Monte, a signindicates the graded road to Aurora offto the r ight. From this point, the roadquickly tackles the mountains and in fourand a half miles, climbs a thousand feetto the "Ci ty o f Golden Dawn."

There is much to be seen along theway. Winding through a forest of pinyonpines, the road passes the remnants ofgreat volcanic activity that occurred hereeons ago. On the left is nine-square-mile Aurora Crater. Hidden by the for-est, it is difficult to recognize as a crater.Colorful ash beds outcrop in places and,at one area near the road, a huge depositof lava occurs. The flow lines resemble a18 Desert /July 1975


19/48

giant batch of taffy. Also on the left, alarge furnace will be seen. Skillfullycrafted, i t has defied t ime and theelements.

Three miles from Bo die Road a smallvalley is entered. At its center, a three-fork junction calls for a decision. Thoseheading to Aurora turn right. Later, youmay enjoy taking the center road to ex-plore the ruins of the Chesco Mine Theth.rd fork is a 4W D trai l leading aroundthe east side of Aurora Crater to MudSprings Canyon.

From three-forks, the road deterior-ates somewhat. It climbs a hill where

the ruins of a 40-stamp mill cover theentire east side We walked out onto theconcrete piers and were treated to a fineview of the countryside. Continuing onwe crested the hill, passed the cemeteryroad (which we visited later) then literal-ly dropped down into Aurora.

Not much rem ains w here 10 000people once flourished. Eighteen millspounded day and night and a city of finebnck b ui ldings had risen. A few woodenshacks, concrete and rock walls brickwalls and the di lapidated bui ldings of asmall mill mark the site. There is oneodd-looking, adobe bui lding east of the

mill - the roof-pitch of which gives itthe impress ion o f be ing oc tagona lThough the majority of streets in the oldtownsite are over-grown by brush, it iseasily recognizable that Aurora has beena sizable community.

We wished we could have seen Aurorabefore the business section had been re-moved. It came to mind what the lateOcie Randall of Fresno, Calif., long-timefriend and fel low rockhound, had told us.

" M y f irst tr ip to Aurora was in 1949Nearly all the buildings were standingand it was a sight to behold. I was told

Continued on Page 39

* 5? I GRAY SB O D I E *Slote Historic* P

Desert/July 1975


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C a l i f o r n i aT h e M a g ic R e m a i n sD e s p i t e t h eN e w H i g h w a ybyTHOS. L. BRYANT

| Left: The graveyard at El MarmolBelow: Mission San Borja.Opposite page: The road south

M from Puertecitos over the grade.


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M HE OPENING of the paved highway0 in Baja Cali fornia gave rise to a nurn-1 ber of worries among the veterantravelers to this desert wonderland.Many an old-t imer was heard to com-ment on the certainty of the landscapebeing f i l led with recreation vehicles,stopping for refreshment at hamburgerstands and to paw among the treasuresof Ti juana-l ike curio shops.

Fortun ately, this has not come to pass,at least not yet, and Baja remains amecca for the desert traveler who wantslots of space between himself and thenext campsite Tru e, the towns along theroute of the paved highway to La Paz arenow growing less untainted as more andmore U.S. visitors stop for gasolina an dthe paved highway i tself does carry whatseems an inordinate number of largerecreation vehicles. But the real Baja,away from the towns and the pavement,is st i l l there.

One of the more interesting and scenicjourneys possible for the adventurer is aloop run ning from San Fel ipe on the eastcoast, down through Puertecitos, Con-zaga Bay, Bahia de Los Angeles, andthen inland to Rosarito (not to be con-fused with the more northerly RosaritoDesert/July 1975

Beach), Punta Prieta, El Marmol and upthe pavement to home. We made thisjourney recently and found that exceptfor the run home on the pavement, it isl i t t le changed from the earl ier tr ips wehad made when the pavement was stil l inthe talking stages.

San Felipe is a well-known resort onthe Sea of Cortez, about 100 miles southof Mexic al i . I t is reached by paved High-way 5 out of the border city. San Felipehas played host to Ame ricans for a num -ber of years and is well equipped to pro-vide foodstuffs and beverages for thosewho are going on to the south. It alsomarks the end of the paved highway andthose who are going on should be pre-pared for primit ive roads and drivingconditions. In fact, it would be Wise tohave a good amount of off-pavementdriving experience under your belt be-fore striking out in Baja.

The road from San Felipe to Puerteci-tos is an easy drive through unspec-tacular but beauti ful desert country, oc-casional ly touching the coastl ine for a.glimps e of the gulf Puertecitos liessome 55 miles south of San Felipe and isalso qui te used to having "gr ingos"around as many have vacation homes

there overlooking the sea. It is also apopular spot for f ishermen who f ind theSea of Cortez relatively untouched andb o u n t i f u l . Puer tec i tos boas ts a res -taurant for the hardy of spiri t (and stom-ach) which serves typical local dishesand we have found the chorizo and eggsthere qu ite tasty. T here is also a gasol inestation and topping off the tank is a goodidea.

South from Puertecitos, the road be-comes one of the sti f fest tests of d rivingability and patience as it traverses threemountain grades. It is slow going withrough, rocky stretches and sheer drop-offs,* but th e rewards are many. Thecrossing of each of the grades is cli-maxed with a small beach where a re-freshing dip in the warm gulf waters cando much to restore body and s piri t . Also,at one of the beaches, we were fortun-ate to happen upon a school of dolphinscavorting near the shore and putt ing onquite a show for anyone who happenedalong.

After crossing the grades, the roadruns parallel to the coast into ConzagaBay. This is the domain of "Papa" Fer-nandez, an elderly gentleman who sellsgasoline an d cerveza (beer) as well as21


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Ruins of original Mission San Borja, built in 1762.

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22

other foodstuffs. Conzaga Bay is anatural inlet and shelter for pleasure andfishing boats, with i ts red rock forma-tions growing from the blue gulf waters.Cam ping in the area is common practiceand for a small fee to Papa, you cancamp by the bay and use it for swim mingand washing off the trai l dust.

Leaving Gonzaga Bay, the road wan-ders inland into some of the most gor-geous desert scenery found in Baja, withelephant trees and cacti marking thepath to Calamague Wash. This is aspring-fed arroyo with water year 'roundfor the cattle and desert animals of thearea. It is a splendid spot for catching aglimpse of the occasional coyote and wildburros that generally remain in hiding orat least at a safe distance from thetraveler.

A f te r p a ss in g th r o u g h C a la ma g u eWash, the road leads you to the pavedhighway and it's a short run south to theintersection of the road leading to Bahiade Los Angeles. The road into L A . Bayis now paved , mak ing i t a qu ick

'45-minute dr ive from the north-southhighway but also opening it to manymore visitors than in the past. While thatis good for the motel-restaurant ownerthere, Senor Diaz, we experienced aslight amount of sadness in seeing alarge motorhome heading in as we wereleaving the next day.

Bahia de Los Angeles has long been afavorite fishing spot for f lyers who areadventurous enough to cross the borderand land in the middle of town on a dir tstr ip. It has always been common butsti l l unusual to find a small airplaneparked next to your vehicle in front of themotel or in line at the gasoline pumps.

The beaches around L.A. Bay offeropen and free camping spots for thosewho are willing to pass up a shower anda bed, not to mention a change fromcampstove cooking. The motel-restaur-ant is clean and pleasant with good foodincluded in the pr ice of a night's lodging($24 U.S. for a couple in the fall of '74).

The most southerly destination on ourloop trip was the mission at San Borjawhich lies about 35 miles from L.A. Bay.There is a sign about 15 miles west ofL.A. Bay which marks the turnoff toMission San. Borja and claims it's 16miles away. W el l , it's closer to 22 milesbut the scenery enroute is so outstandingyou won't mind the difference. The road,however, is in very poor condition and

Desert/July 1975


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should be attempted only with four-wheel-drive vehicles along.

The mission was first erected in 1762but the f irst bui ldings did not withstandthe desert weather. A later bui lding wasput up and sti l l remains in reasonablygood condit ion although San Borja wasabandoned as a mission site in 1818. TheMexican government is currently fund-ing a restoration project of the lattermission. There are a few famil ies whosti l l l ive nearby and wil l probably cometo see who is visi t ing the ruins but theyare quite fr iend ly and rather shy and wil lnot bother the visi tor.

Continu ing from San Borja, we took theback road out to the paved highwaythrough semi-arid ranch country to Ro-sari to. If t ime is running short, i t 's astraight shot up the highway to Ense-nada and Ti juana and the U.S. border.Since we had another day remaining inour four-day i t inerary, we detoured fromSanta Ynez on the pavement out to theabandoned onyx quarry at E l Marmol .The trip takes only a few hours and al-though the roads are in rather sad con-dit ion we have driven them in a smallJapanese pickup without problems.

El Marmol was in operation unti l 1958but the price of onyx dipped and trans-portation costs became unbearable, sothe quarry was shut down. It boasts aschoolhouse constructed entirely of onyxand sti l l in good condit ion. Most of theother buildings have collapsed or beentorn down by local residents of the areafor bui lding suppl ies. There is a ceme-tery not too far from the schoolhousewith a number of elaborate gravestonesand a surprising lack of onyx.

There is a differen t road which headsnorthwest from El Marmol and takes thetraveler back to the pavement and thetr ip home.

The splendor of the desert is alive andwell in Baja Cali fornia and the pavedhighway has not destroyed this land forthe vacationer who wants isolation andfreedom from the crowds. In fact, thepaved highway has helped us "old-t imers" in some ways in making themore remote spots we enjoy a bit easierto get to. Travel in Baja is so rewardingfor the desert buff, not only for thescenic wonder and beauty, the rock hunt-ing, the f ishing, the camping, but alsofor the restoration of the spiri t frombeing miles away from the crowds andrush of modern l iving . Des ert/ July 1975

The road from Santa Ynez to El Marmol onyx quarry.

At the clean, newMonum ent Valley KOAcampground. Individualtrailer hook-ups, a generalstore and laundry/showerfacilities.

monument valley KOAO f . . . Stay at near-by Goulding's Lodge &Trading Post. Furnished, air-conditionedrooms, family style meals and shoppingfacilities.Plus daily guided tours into the heartof Monum ent Valley. An adven tureyou won't want to miss.Goulding's

Lodge & ToursFor free brochure ^and information, write: Box 1 - D i J L ^Monum ent Valley, Utah 8453 6. Or call (801) 727-3231.23


24/48

by JACK PEPPER

Amador City storefrontsin California's Mother L ode Country.

Photo by David Muench.24 Desert/July 1975 x \ .


25/48

EDITOR'S NOTEWHAT FINER TRIBUTE CANBE PAID TO A MAN THANTO SAY HE GAVE HIS ALL.E V E N T H O U G H G R A V E L YILL TH E AUTHOR DICTATE DTHE FINAL PAGES OF THISARTICLE FROM HIS HOSPI-TAL B ED TO MA K E HISFINAL DEADLINE.

--2--" *

&"

u. M

I HAVE FOUND IT! Eureka!" Arch i -medes, the Creek scient ist, shoutedthese words in 247 B.C. after dis-covering what he thought was a methodof determining the purity of gold.I t is doubtful i f any Argonaut panning

for gold in 1849 in California's MotherLode Country shouted the same wordsafter str iking a bonanza of the yellowmetal . His words were certain to havemore explet ive.

However, Archimedes' remarks didnot just go down in history books, for in1850, when California gained its state-hood, the of f ic ia l mot to was "Eureka."

Today, the merchants, traders andresidents along Highway 49, which runs300 miles through the Mother LodeCountry (excluding the Northern Sec-t ion), can once again shout "Eureka,"for they have found a new form of gold.

My last visit to the Mother LodeCountry was in 1970 (see Desert, Sept.,1970). Since it was my first visit I didn'tknow what to expect. And, l ike anytourista, I wasted time at places thatshould have been just brief stops, miss-ing many of the off-the-beaten-pathplaces of interest not publicized as muchas the main attract ions.

I think one of the biggest mistakes oftravel books on the Mother Lode is theiremphasis on old buildings and photogra-phy. Granted, it is a photographer'sparadise, but if you concentrate only onsnapping a photo to take home to showyour neighbors, or look at only the moreDesert/July 1975

spectacular ghost town ruins, you aremissing 50 per cent of the moods andfeeling of the Cold Rush Country. Forthe Mother Lode is a land of moods moods which cannot be captured bystopping alongside the road, and withthe engine running, snapping a pictureand then rushing on to the next "his-tor ical marker. "

So what if my family and I have only afew days, how do we see everythingwithout a fast tr ip, you ask?My answer to that is don't try.Figure out just how much t ime you haveand then pick one particular area (even ifit is only a few square miles) and con-centrate on that sect ion. Don't fai l tostop and go inside every shop and t rad-ing post that is open. The buildings aremore than 100 years old, but inside youwil l f ind the interest ing and hospitablem odern -day A rgonau t , casua l l y andwithout any sales pressure, displayingWestern American art ifacts. These arethe people who have discovered and un-derstand the many moods of the MotherLode.

As for the kids, the M othe r Lode has aplethora of delicious bakery shops andice cream parlors. Where once sweatyand unshaven miners paid for their"redeye" with nuggets, Junior can nowmosey up to the same bar and yel l ,"Pardner, bui ld me a double deckerchocolate fudge banana split ."

On my second trip, last year (1974), Ifound the mood of the Mother Lode one

25


26/48

> L A N D Since 7955IN TH EM O T H E R L O D E Acreage Lots Cabins Homes

G o l d e n C h a i n a s s o c i a t e sREALTY

Pmc Grove, CA jacks n, CA P;oreer CAi- ihway 88 49 Main Street Highway 881209) 296-7561 '209] 223-0396 /209! 295-7650

Welcome to the Mother Lode

Jn z Ja.LLi.man.Silver & Turquoise Jewelry

N o . 30 Broadway, JacksonAlso mine outlet for turquoise

Lon Cox, SilversmithPhone [209] 223-0776

R e s . [209)754-3635

We Specialize inWESTERNNON-FICTION

W e publish bookson a co-op basisW e sell books on aretail an d wholesale basis

W e have a book clubfor mail order clients

W e conduct a book searchW rite for our free bookl ists, or information onbook publishing andthe book club

California Traveler, Inc.Star Route 1Pioneer, Calif . 95666or

visit our Book Storein historic Volcano

of extreme optim ism , much more so thann 1970 when there was what merchants

called a "s lu m p. " Today, everyone is3usy and there are new trading postsand antique shops along the highwayand in the four major "cit ies" of Mari-posa, Sonora, Jackson and Placerville.

If you are driving a passenger car,these "cit ies" (and Columbia State His-toric Park and the Coloma HistoricalMonument) are the only places whereyou can be certain to find hotel and motelaccommodations. There are a few alongthe highway, but they are usually filledearly.

I had no trouble finding space in themany public and private recreationalfaci l i t ies for my Blazer and travel trai ler.Even if they are f i l led, there are hun-dreds of places along the road w here youcan pull over and make a "dr y cam p" forthe night.

There are dozens of paved county andstate roads leading into the Mother Lodeand Highway 49. Choose the one that ismost convenient from where you l ive and

the part of the Mother Lode you wish tos e e . I live in Southern California so Iusually take the paved State 41 fromInterstate 5 to Oakhurst and left onHighway 49 to Maripo sa. Highways tonearby Yosemite National Park leadfrom Oakhurst and Mariposa.

There are many books on the MotherLode but don't fail to have a copy ofSunset Travel Book Gold Rush Country.This excellent travel guide containsmaps, pictures, side road tr ips, detai ledhistories of each locale, and vignettes ofthe famous and infamous charactersof Cold Rush Days. I recommend a copyfor every two passengers in your car.

Since the Gold Rush Country providesthe history, facts, and figures aboutHighway 49, let's concentrate on the in-teresting modern-day Argonaut and howwe found l i tt le-known areas.

In Mariposa, your first stop should bethe two-story wooden Mariposa CountyCourthouse, which was built in 1854 at acost of $12,000 and has been in con-tinuous use since the doors firs t opened.


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Indian Grinding Rock State Historical Monu ment features the largest bedrockmortar in the United S tates. Located near Volcano , it is a beautiful overnight camp -ing area nestled among the pine trees. Com plete camping facilities [no store] areavailable. Opposite page: Author pans for gold in the American River where thefamous Cold Ru sh started. Coloma is now a state park and offers e xcellent facilities.Cases are tried before judges sitting onthe bench where justice was dispensedmore than 120 years ago.

The Mariposa C ounty History Center,sponsored by the Mariposa County His-torical Society, on Jessie Street at thenorth end of town, is an outstanding ex-ample of how the modern Argonauts arebringin g new l i fe and originali ty tothe Mother Lode.In my 1970 article, I did not mentionthe History Center. I did n't know if theyeven had one. Last year everyone urgedme to, "See our outstanding mu seu m."Don't fail to stop and spend at least twohours there.

I t is not a "museum" in the deadlysense of the word. Rather, as the self-guided tour brochure states: "W it h thisHistory Center we present an authenticpicture of people and life in MariposaCounty, from the migra tion of i ts f irst in-habitants, through the Indian and Span-ish periods, to the famed C alifornia G oldRush, to the recent past."

A 49er mine r, H orace Snow from AguaFria, wrote a series of letters, in 1852 to1 8 5 4 , to Charl ie, his l i fe- long fr iend inCambridge, Massachusetts. The letterswere so graphic they gave a keen insightinto the personal and daily lives of theArgonauts. These letters became knownas the "De ar C ha rl ie " letters and forawhile were lost; however, they wererecently found.Dese rt/ July 1975

When officials decided to redesign theHistorical Center, they called upon theservices of Mur iel Neavins, a well-knownNorthern California display artist. Assoon as Miss Neavins saw the "DearChar l ie" notes, she cr ied, "Eureka! Ihave found i t ! "

She had the letters decoupaged andthen placed each letter in a differentdisplay room with various scenes of theCold Rush country over a hundred yearsa g o . For instance, when Horace wastalking about his bedroom, her displaywas built around his very graphic de-scription. She related the letters to eachdisplay, thus making this the mostdramatic presentation I have seen in anymuseum.

A recent donation to the Center wasthe merchandise and paraphernalia fromthe famous Gagliardo store in Hornitosby Miss Jennie Gagliardo, who died atthe age of 90. The following day in Hor-nitos we had the pleasure of meeting thelast decendant of the Cagliardo family.She was an attractive 21-year-old out-door, ranch-type gir l . She was leavingHorn i tos s ince she had mar r ied arancher in Sacramento. When we askedher if she was reluctant to leave, sherepl ied, " M y f amily has l ived here formore than a 100 years, but my hus-band and I wil l continue to fol low thepioneer sp ir i t . "

Prior to leaving the Center, we learned

R V f a c i l i t i e sa n d f u nC a l i f o r n i a ' s G o l d C o u n t r yTrail stops were never l ike this: Over 320landscaped spaces wi th all hoo k-ups ,swimming , store, main lodge, pool andgame room. TV lounge, showers, laun-dry and much more. Ovei 100 tourista t t ract ions nearby Only150 miles fromthe Bay Area. Reasonable rates. Sendfor color folder. For Reservations call(209) 245-6981

cFarcHorizon$

P. O. BOX 191, PLYMOUTH, CA 956691On Golden Chain Hwy. 49

P R O S P E C T I N GT R E A S U R E H U N T I N G

SEND FOR FREE1975 CATALOGKEENE ENGINEERING ""*'

9330 Corbin Ave.. Norlhridge, Calif. 9132412131 993-041 127


28/48

about the historical background of theMother Lode countryThe discovery of gold in California

changed the history of the United Statesand had lasting financial repercussionsthroughout the world. Within two yearsafter the 1848 discovery of gold at theAmerican River, tens of thousands ofArgonauts the largest migra t ion inworld history poured into what theMexicans named "veta madre," mean-ing Mother Lode because of theincredibly r ich quartz veins.

Orientals came from the East, jamme dinto boats, many of which were lost atsea, drowning all of their scurvy-riddenpassengers Easterners and Europeanscame by a 15,000-mile sailing triparound the Cape of Good Hope or by a"short cut" across the Isthmus of Pan-ama, suffering malaria and oppressiveheat. The majority, however, came over-land, a 3,000-mile tre k where thousand slost their lives from thirst, cholera or In-dian raids

One month after gold was discovered,the United States took possession ofCalifornia as a result of the MexicanWar. Ninety per cent of the 15,000 pop-

Gold Country VacationPINE ACRES RESORT located In the heart ofCal i forn ia 's h istor ic Mother Lode, on StateHighway 88 In Amador County, o f fers a perfectvacat ion for your fami ly . Goodf ish ing. Clean a ir . Recreat ionfor a l l ages. Mule l , House-keeping Cabins. Tra i ler Park,Campgrounds . Exp lo re m in ingru ins, pan for g o l d . Wri te f o rf ree brochure:

PINE ACRES RESORTB ox 66 -D, Pine Grove, California 95665Phone [209] 296-4650

HACKWORTHREALTY!?EALT.OP T H E K E Y T O Y O U R N E E D S

2 Offices to Serve YouPine GroveP. O. Box 97209-296-7464

but ter Creek37 Main Street209-267-5600

Tom H ackwo rth, RealtorRes: 209-296-7275

28

ulation resided in or near four presidios:San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbaraand San Francisco.

Five years later, there were 250,000"Cal i fornians" and the casual Mexicanlife-style was a thing of the past. Far-sighted northern polit icians, ant icipat inga possible conflict with the South, madeCalifornia a state in 1850. Millions ofdollars of Mother Lode gold thus pouredinto the Union treasury. This bonanzawas a major factor in the outcome of theCivil War.

Historians agree that if it were not forthe discovery of gold in 1848, Californiawould have been an agricultural terr itoryfor many years and settled gradually aswere the other territories of the West.

But the discovery of the gold n ugget atSutter's Mill set the stage for one of themost dramatic episodes in history. Thedrama was like a Cecil B. DeMilleextravaganza In the backgrou nd weretens of thousands living in shacks andstone huts, panning for gold from dawnto dusk in the freezing water of themountain streams and rivers. During thefirst two years after discovery, goldcould be found everywhere, and minersoften shared their claims.

But the inf lux of "outsiders" boomer-anged in 1851, claims overlapp ed andevery yard of grou nd was taken Claimjumping was a common occurrence, re-sult ing in violence and murder. Whiteminers, claiming the Mexicans andC h in e s e w e re " f o r e i g n e r s , " f o r m e dvigilante groups and drove the minori-ties off their claims. If they resisted theywere shot down in cold blood

Along the stretch of the 300-mileMother Lode, more than 550 miningtowns were built to supply the minerswith equipment, but mostly with food,booze and wild entertainment. Morethan 300 towns have comple te lydisappeared.Names of the "stars" of the extra-ganza have become legends in Califo rniahistory. To name only a few were Gen-eral James C. Fremont, Kit Carson andGeorge Hearst. Jenny Lind and LolaMontez made brief appearances beforegoing on to greater fame. Joaquin Mur-

Between Hornitosand Bear Valley

can be seen miles of neatly builtstone fences, believedto have been built by the Chinese.

Desert/July 1975

rieta was one of the West's most color-ful out laws, as was highwayman BlackBart . A "gent leman" who was alwaysimmaculately dressed, complete with hatand gloves, he staged 28 coach rob-beries, using a shotgun he never loaded.

Many of the Bret Harte stories werebased on his experiences in the MotherLode Country. Every May, during the


29/48

Calaveras County F air, a frog jum pingcontest is held based on Mark Twain'sfamous story, "The Celebrated JumpingFrog of Calaveras County "

The drama lasted only 12 action-packed years when the curtain camedown, leaving the Mother Lode with onlya few thousand m iners. As the gold gaveout, huge mining interests were formed,

One of many scenic recreational areaswhich Highway 49 passesalong the Mother Lode.

buying up individual claims. The day ofthe rugged Argonauts was over, al-though large scale mining operationscontinued for years

From Mariposa, be sure to take theside trip to Hornitos (once the rowdiesttown on the 49 trail). It is rich in history and colorful anecodotes, havingbeen founded by Mexican miners whohad been run out of neighboring Quartz-burg. Have lunch there at the little res-taurant and listen to the wild tales ortheir favorite outlaw, Joaquin Murr ieta.Enjoy the loop-ride through beautifulcountry, noticing the winding, hand-laid rock walls separating the land sec-tions. These walls were built by Chinesecoolie laborers who were paid the tre-mendous sum of 25 cents a rod.

Follow the Bear Valley Road intoCoulterville and stop for a cold drink atthe old Jeffery Hotel and MagnoliaSaloon. You will be enchanted by one ofthe best collection of firearms, minerals,coins and other C old Rush items we haveseen outside of a museum.

Across the street was another mod-ern-day pioneer. A lovely, gracious ex-ranch woman, Georgia Newhall. And Isay "ex-rancher" for Georgia had l ivedon a ranch for 58 years and is now asuccessful business woman running anunusual store Unusual in the sense thatit is a fun store, bo th for the customersand Georgia You never know what youmight uncover in this shop! In talking tothis fascinating woman, we discoveredhow she started this new life for herself.

Georgia had a habit of never throwing

anything away, and after years of ac-cumulating "odds and ends," her hus-band offered to pay the first threemonths rent on a shop for her "TreasureTroves" if she would clean out all theparaphernalia, junk, antiques, treas-ures, old bottles, old frames, etc., andopen up a shop. He had a two-fold plan he could get the garage, shed, out-buildings and attic cleaned, and Georgiacould have some fun but the ideabackf i red, for now Georgia is doing abusiness that is growing by leaps andbounds.

All the farmers, ranchers and fr iendsare br inging her their "white elephants"to sell on consignment and she is lovingevery minute of it. But most of all shehas a natural love for people and a trustand graciousness that has opened up anew personality and life for this modern-day Argonaut of Coultervi l le. I bought abeautiful crystal for my rock collectionfor all of 50 cents This rock had beenbrought in by one of her consigners and,according to him, the crystal was fromthe "M oo n Trip " She repeated thisstory about the "moon rock" with atwinkle in her eye and a shy, sweetsmile. After all, treasure is in the eye ofthe beholder. What is one man's junk isanother man's treasure!

All the 360-mile trip on Route 49 wasmade with the excitement of re-livingthis exciting history over 100 years agoin a wild and uproarious time, but themost important were the interesting andunusual modern-day Argonauts l ivingalong this route. All you have to do istake an extra few minutes to say hello,ask a couple of questions and you haveanother ex citing story try it on yournext tr ip . D

In the Heart of the Mother Lode visitthe Most Picturesque of Them All

off HighwayThe Jug & Rose

Muriel ThebautCalifornia Traveler

Book Publisher Fred S. CookThe Bandstand

Muriel Thebaut

88 in Amador CountyLauns General Store

Larry & Aloha LaunA Stitch in Tim eHandmade Gifts Diana Mitchell

Little Shamrock LapidaryHank Varley

Desert/July 1975 29


30/48

Left: Bottlesfrom left to right, ,according toLarry O'Malley,the collector, are:beer, whiskey,catsup, "pumpkinseed, " wine, and anoriginal "Nodeposit.no return"beer bottle.Below: TheO'Malley familylook for anitquebottles trapped bysand at the base ofdesert bushes in a drywash. Early goldminers dumped theirrubbish here.Here: G om e^

I CROSS THE DESERTS, into thepo mountains, over the plains and down

to the ocean's edge, l ike swarms ofants, go the bottle collectors. Pokingaround ancient structures from whichthe paint has long since vanished; dig-ging in old trash dumps on a home-

steader's farm ; even excavating the sitesof old outhouses seemingly, no placeis too indelicate for the bottle scroungers.

The craze for collecting antique bottleshas spread rapidly to all corners of thecountry; witness the bottle shows; thebo t t le -s tocked she lves o f an t ique

dealers; the flea market bottle sellersAnd it's safe to say, 100,000 homes dis-play combinations of squat bottles, tallbottles, round bottles, f lat bottles, tr i-angular bottles; blue, brown, clear,amber, emerald green or amethyst bot-tles; dug up, purchased dearly, or horsetraded.

Just about everyone knows what abottle is. Encyclopaedia Britannica de -scribes it as being a rigid or semi-rigidcontainer in which l iquid is held. It canbe a jar , a tum bler , jug, via l , ampoule orcarboy.

Ea r l i e s t b o t t l e s we r e ma d e f r o mgourds, shells or animal skins. Laterones were formed from clay, moltenglass or carved from pine logs.

The Egyptians and Syrians have beenmaking glass bottles for more than 3,000years. The early Egyp tian m ethod was towind molten glass str ings around a coreof silica paste on a metal rod, or by dip-ping the core into molten glass. Thesilica paste was dug out after the glasshad hardened. The collecting of theseancient specimens has long been theprivi lege of archaeologists.In 1850, manganese was introduced to

Desert/July 1975


31/48

Right:Larry O'Malley

examines part ofa jar which he dug

up at an abandonedgold mine dump site

on the CaliforniaDesert.

glass to bleach out iron oxides, but thispractice was discontinued in 1914. Whenglass of this period has been exposed tosunlight for about f ive to eight years, i tturns various shades of purple, produc-ing the much sought a f ter "am eth ys t"bottles.

The true bottle collector knows hisbottles inside out. He knows how his findwas formed: free blown, blown in a two-piece mold or a three-piece mold, ormade in a turn mold. He can approxi-mate its age by its height, shape of itsneck and top and other character istics.

But anyone can start collecting bottleswith a minimum of bottle facts, thoughthe digging collector should cultivate afew detective instincts. John Cleveland,past president of the Mission Trail His-tor ical Bottle Club of the MontereyPeninsula, recently suggested to a be-g inner : "Arm yoursel f wi th a meta l de-tector, a spading fork, a spring steelprobing rod and a shovel, and ventureforth into bottleland." The rest of thetools seemed logical enough but, "whythe metal detector for glass bottles?" Iasked. Cleveland patiently explainedthat usually old bottles are to be found inDesert/ July 1975

conjunction with al l kinds of buriedrefuse including metal. Find themetal in a buried dump and the bottleswil l be there too.The probing rod appears to be one ofthe most popular tools of the hobby.Push the probe down into the earth of alikely area and listen for the clinkingsound of glass. When you've been bittenby the antique bottle collecting bug (nodoubt a close kin to the b ug wh ich bringson rockhound fever), that sound becomesheavenly music to your ears.

Collecting old bottles is especially in-teresting because it is possible to playthe role of amateur archaeologist androughly reconstruct a period of a fam-ily's history. By its shape, color, size andembossing, a knowledgeable collectorcan usually give an educated guess as towhat a bottle once contained. For ex-ample, ink bottles are fairly easy toidentify because of their small, squatsize. And whiskey, beer and wine bot-tles had their own particular recogniz-able styles.

Say you're digging in an old ghosttown, behind the shack in which a minerand his family once l ived. You uncover

bylVAL.GEISINGERwhat must have been a small fortune inwine or whiskey bottles, so you feel sorryfor poor Mama because she had an al-coholic husband on her hands. Though itwasn't too unusual for it to be the otherway around; Mama was the alcoholic.Back then, she was usually prettystraight-laced so she didn't realize shewas hooked on medicines, many of whichwere high in alcoholic content. Medi-cine bottles abound in old dumps. How-ever, an unusually large cache of medi-cine bottles may, instead, indicate muchil lness in the family.

A sizable collection of scent bottles re-veals a fem inine presence po ssiblyyo u n g , p r e t t y a n d se l f - ce n te r e d , o rmaybe just unsure of herself. Thenagain, she may have been just plain lazyand didn't bathe often. See what gamesour imaginations can play with oldbottles?

To help stretch a miner 's meager pay,Mama did a lot of home canning theold fruit jars wil l be there to prove it.

As you dig in the old towns ite's refusedump, you wil l probably run across theusual hodge-podge collection of bottles.

Continued on Page 4031


32/48


33/48

E S A N J U A Ny JEAN GILLINGWATORSandKATHERINEDIENES

Top left: Most folkwho travel along the river

take time to explorethe old cliff dwellings.Bottom left: The boystie down the supplies

in preparationfor the day's journey.Right: Upper canyon

rains created thisred waterfall,

which diminished to a trickleby the next morning.

Desert/July 1975 33


34/48

Water- and wind-carved amphitheaterprovided background for lunch stop.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY'S LARGEST4-WHEEL-DRIVE HEADQUARTERS

Accessories for All Makesr i JeepJOHNSON'S 4WD CENTER, INC

7590 Cypress [at Van Buren]P. 0 . Box 4277Riverside, California 92504Telephone [714]785-1330

the float tr ip wasmade of two huge, rub-ber sausage-like pontoons. Chains and ametal framework topped with plywoodd e ck in g p r o v i d e d s ta b i l i t y for thetwisting tubes. The lower center sectiongave us ample room for the storage ofprovisions and gear for five people.Steering the hulking craft was accom-plished by two long sweeps mountedfore and aft. For power we rel ied entirelyon the r iver which served well unti l wedrifted into the reach of Lake Powell.Then we resorted to pu l l ing , rowing , andusing makeshift sails; but progress wasdeadly slow. Fortunately, we had only

34

tw o or three miles of lake to cover.The geography of the San Juan River

began 25 mill ion years ago in the Mio-cene Era.W i t h its headwaters in the SanJuan Mountain Range in Colorado, theSan Juan flows south throu gh a corner ofNew Mexico, then west to its end in GlenCanyon, which is now drowned by LakePowell.

As it passes through Bluff, Utah , ourdeparture point, the r iver is charac-ter ized by a steady current, sand bars,an d a shelf- l ike shore where consider-able farming is carr ied on. Then a fewmiles fur ther down, the canyon narrowsto a deeply incised valley. As the watercuts downward through terrain which ispredominately sandstone, the rate ofdrop increases to seven and eight feetper mile. At t imes the river gives thestr iking i l lusion of a steep downhil lgrade because of horizontal upthrusts inthe layered canyon walls.Travel ing a reddesert r iver is an over-whelmingly visual experience in severalmind-bending d imensions. In the in-tense sunlight the eye must cope withimmense vermil l ion cl i ffs balanced pre-cariously against profoundly blue skies.Bu t as one tries to adjust to the enormityof his surroundings, the vibrant colorsand delicate geometry of miniatureforms in desert life compete for the eye'sattention. The stark linear patterns ofseemingly frail desert plants in bluedand yellowed shades of green pose insubtle counterpoint against the softnessof coral-colored sand. It is a keenly feltpleasure to struggle with the infinitecontrasts.

Other thoughts came to us as we kneltin ancient cl i ff dwell ings and siftedp o wd e r e d e a r th y i e l d i n g p o tsh a r d s ,stone chips and bits of charcoal throughour hands. We wondered about theBasketmaker Indians who l ived abovethe r iver here and labored and myster iously left long before Columbus wasborn. We pondered picture messagesthey had left us graven on the cool stonewalls and t r ied to decipher the thoughtsof those who made them . We sat in theikivas and studied their rock-bound canyon attempting to see it as they did.

There is a substance to the shadowsan d the solitude of places so l ittle seenby man. It is as though a bit of t ime canbe taken into one's hand, examined indetail andf i led in a memory pocket to becarefully sealed away against the tedium

Desert/ July 197


35/48

of future days in the din of civi l ization.We poked among the artifacts of later

men who came here to probe the earthfor minerals and metals and t r ied to re-construct their days and dreams, suc-cesses anddis i l lus ionments. Thecarcas-ses of dead machinery erode slowly inthe sand. Lizards sun themselves onabandoned s team eng ines , assor tedpumps, and tobacco boxes oblivious tothe great enterprises of homo sapiens.

We camped on satin-smooth sand atsites furnished variously with cotton-woods, tamarisk andother desert plants.Pesky thunderstorms found us severalt imes on the river or in camp, but theywere sometimes welcome rel ief from theintensity of the sun. Being ecology con-scious we took care to leave each place aswe found it so that others may enjoy thesame untrammeled wilderness.

We floated past beaver whose surpriseat seeing us was exceeded only by ourown. We race

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197507 Desert Magazine 1975 July