194002 Desert Magazine 1940 February

8/14/2019 194002 Desert Magazine 1940 February

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r M A G A Z I N E

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m25 CENTS



Boot M UBy HAROLD WEIGHT, Pas ad en a, California

Photograph awarded first prize in December con-test of Desert Magazine. Taken at Calico cemeteryin the Mojave desert of California. Foth-Derby cam-era with Eastman infra-red film, A filter. Taken atf2.5, 1/25 second.

By GENE O. PARKSLas Vegas, Nevada

Second prize winning picture in the December contest of theDesert Magazine. Photograph taken at a Navajo hogan at TheGap, a trading post not far from Navajo bridge, Arizona. Cam-era was a 2

lAx2

lA Korella-Reflex. Exposure f5.6 at 1/500 sec-

ond, on Superpan press film, K2 yellow filter, at 10:00 a. m. inOctober.

Special Mestit

In addition to the prize awards, the judges in the Decembercontest commented favorably on the entries of the followingphotographers:

Fred Hankins, Tcrft, California, "Desert Woodpile."R. F. Brainard, Los Angeles, California, "Ocotillo."H. Bauer, Phoenix, Arizona, "St. Francis Xavier Mission."



D E S E R T

FEB. 2 Candlemas Day dance at San Fe-l ipe Indian pueblo , New Mexico.

2-4 Golf Tournament, Palm Springs,California.

2-4 Open Golf Tournament, Phoenix ,

Arizona.7 Prehisto ric Indian fabrics, illustra-

ted lecture by Clara Lee Tannerat Arizona Museum, Phoenix .

8 Effect of volcan ic action on pre-historic northern Arizonans, illus-trated lecture at Phoenix, ArizonaMuseum by Dr. Harold S . Col-ton, director, Museum of North-ern Arizona, Flagstaff.

8-9 New Mexico Wo ol Growers con-ference a t Albuquerque.

11 Arts and crafts of Southwest In-dians, discussed by Mr. and Mrs.Burton Frasher, Southwest Mus-eum, Los Angeles .

12-18 Annual Lettuce Tournam ent,Brawley, California. Elmer Sears,

chairman.14 Plant life of mountain and desert,Arizona Museum lecture by Dr.W . G. McGinn ie s .

15 Indian Turtle dance at Taos pueb-lo , New Mexico.

15-18 Riverside county Fair and Coa-chella valley Date Festival. Indio,California . (Horse show, Feb. 15 ,16 ; rodeo, Feb. 17, 18) . S tewartYost, secretary-manager.

15-18 World Championship rodeo, Ari-zona State Fairgrounds. Sponsoredby Phoenix junior chamber of com-merce.

16-17 Annual Western States ChildW elfar e conference, Area E ofAmerican Legion, a t Tucson. Os-car Lamp, area chairman.

16-19 Buffalo hunt in Houserock val-ley, south of Grand Canyon, Ari-zona.

18 Arizona Cactus and Na tive Florasociety meets, Phoenix. Speakers.Mrs. Gertrude D. Webster , presi-dent, Box 1973.

21 Dr. Emil W . Haury, departmentof anthropology, University ofArizona to speak on Papago In-d ia ns at A r i z o n a M u se um ,Phoenix .

21-25 La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tuc-son. (Indian Day, Feb. 22; P imaCounty Fair and Industrial exhi-bit ion, Feb. 22-25; Rodeo andWorld 's Champion Sheriff 's Rop-ing Contest , Feb. 23-25; Live-

stock Show, five days).23 Dr . Kenneth Chapman, Laboratoryof Anthropology at Santa Fe. NewMexico, to lecture at Heard Mu-seum, Phoenix .

24-26 Winter Sports Carnival , spon-sored by Flagstaff Ski Club, inSnow Bowl.

25 Horse Show, Palm Springs.25 Southwestern Indians Yesterday

and Today, lecture by Gordon C.Baldwin, Southwest Museum, LosAngeles .

28 Carlsbad Caverns, subject of Col.Thomas Boles , superintendent ofthe national park, at ArizonaMuseum, Phoenix .

25-MAR 3 Eighth Annual Citrus ShowMesa, Arizona.

Volume 3 FEBRUARY. 1940 Number 4

COVER

PHOTOGRAPHYLETTERS

HISTORY

ZOOLOGY

PERSONALITY

DISCOVERY

GEMS

CAMERA ARTDIARY

INDIAN CRAFTS

PUZZLETRAGEDY

FICTION

CRAFTS

BOTANY

PLACE NAM ESLEGEND

TRAVELCONTRIBUTORSLANDMARKCONTESTHOBBYNEWSBOOKSPRIZES

MININGCOMMENTPOETRY

Prickly Pea r cac tus . Photograph by Cla i re andRalph Proctor, Phoenix, Arizona.

Prize win ning pictures in Dec emb er . . Inside coverC o m m e n t from D e se rt M a g a z i n e r e a d e r s . . . 2He Witnessed the Death Valley Tragedy of '49

By J. C. BOYLES 3My Fr iend—the Tarantu la

By RAYMOND W. THORP 7Jake McClure—Champion With a Rope

By KATHRYN BOMAR 9I, too, Have Learned

By MO RA McMA NIS BROWN 11Field Day with the Boulder City 'Prospectors '

By JOHN W . HILTON 12Hopi. Photograph by WM. M. PENNINGTON . . 15January on the Desert

By MARSHAL SOUTH 17Hop i Gods i n Ma s que ra de

B y M R S . W H IT E M O U NT A IN SM IT H . . . 19True or False—a test of your desert knowledge . 21Tsosi Tells the Story of Massacre Cave

B y R IC HAR D VAN VALKENB ER GH . . . 2 2Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley

By LON GARRISON 25Pottery of the Yumas

By TOM WORTHINGTO N 26Everybody's Lit t le Friend

By MARY BEAL 28Origin of na m es in the Southw est 30The Mons te r Che ta

As told to HARRY C. JAMES 31Road s an d Accomm oda t ions in Dea th Va l ley . 32W riters of the Desert 33Ch urch Rock—BY JOHN STEWART M acCLARY . 34An noun ceme nt of Febru ary Landm ark contes t . 35G em s an d Minerals—B y ARTHUR L. EATON . . 36Here an d There on the Desert 38Review s of current desert l i tera ture 40Contes t for am ateur photog raphers 40

Briefs from the des ert regio n 42J us t B e t wee n You a nd Me —by t he Ed it or . . . 44SIREN, an d other po em s 45

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Publishing Company, 636State Street, El Centro, California. Entered as second class matter October 11, 1937, atthe post office at El Centro, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title reg isteredNo. 358865 in U. S. Patent Office, and contents copyrighted 1939 by the Desert PublishingCompany. Permission to reproduce contents must be secured from the editor in writing.

RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor.TAZEWELL H. LAMB, Associate Editor.

. , . . . /A l De Vore, 317 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles, Calif., Phone MI 6441Adv ertising \ Eugene A. LaMont, El Centro, California

Manuscripts and photographs submitted must be accompanied by full return post-age. The Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility for damage or loss of m anuscriptsor photog raphs althoug h due care will be exercised for their safet y. Subscrib ers shouldsend notice of change of address to the circulation department by the fifth of the monthpreceding issue.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 1 year $2.50 — 2 years $4.00 — 3 years $5.00GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS: 1 subscription $2.50 — two $4.00 — three $5.00

Canadian subscriptions 25c extra, foreign 5Oc extraAddress subscription letters to Desert Magazine, El Centro, California

F E B R U A R Y , 1 94



Palm Springs, California

D e a r Mr. Hender s on :It was my great privilege to make a trip

in October that covered a lot of the desert sobeautifully described in your Desert Maga-zine. As mile after mile registered on ourspeedometer, I felt like the bear that wentover the mountain to see what he could see.From Palm Springs to San Bernardino, throughCajon Pass to Victorville, Baker, Las Vegas ,Boulder Dam, on to Kingman, Prescott,Phoenix, to Tucson and back through GilaBend, Yuma, El Centro, to Palm Springs,

with ideal weather, through ever changingcolors that no artist 's brush could reproduce.

Mother Nature had dressed all the flowersin their best colors. Words cannot describesuch natural beauty, and laws that protectsuch "Manifestation of Beauty" are certainlyworth observing. In your October issue, yousaid the Rain Gods had swept the desert clean.I was in the second rain that hit the desert.an d I had the feel ing that Mother Nature hadfailed to wash some one's ears. After viewingthe results of the last flood, I decided every-thing was thoroughly washed, but feel com-pensated for the scrubbing by being able toview the carpet of flowers that for weeks hascovered the scrubbed spots.

The Deser t Magazine gives a thrill to thosew ho are unable to visit the interesting placesdescribed in each issue, and may you be for-

given for causing poor mortals to get a roam-ing spirit. The poem in December issue, "TheMaster Art is t , " by Ivan B. Mardis is the gemof poems. One can almost feel the quiet, rest-ful atmosphere in the photograph .

Deser t Magazine has gained its popular i tyon its simplicity and natural things, so please.Mr. Henderson, don' t go highbrow and spoilthe effect.

May your New Year be as happy as youwill make thousands of Deser t Magazine read-ers. IDA H U E Y .

• • •Yermo, California

Dear Randal l :Th i s is just a plea for the Desert Lily, ad-

dressed to all who travel the desert wavs. Letme say that this Lily of the Desert takes noback seat for any Lily of the Field.

The bulb of the Desert Lily, if it is allowedto bloom and mature undisturbed, lives fromyear to year (perhaps I should say from sea-son to s eas on) . But pull ing the bloom killsthe bulb and forever destroys this thing ofexquisite beauty. The bulb makes no division-al increase. It is propagated by seed only.

In 1933, the plot of sand, about four acres,behind Cronese service station on highway 91,was thickly covered with Desert Lilies.

O n e day a family having a 12-year-olcl boystopped for car repairs . When no one waslooking, the boy pulled all the lilies he couldpack and piled them into the car. He com-pletely cleared the area and many seasonshave passed without a lily in this plot.

Our exper iments in t ransplant ing the lilybulbs have not been successful. In 1932 we

planted some seed in a likely place and thelittle plants have thrived — but none haveblossomed yet.

Our conclusions, briefly, are these: Thatpul l ing the flower destroys the bulb, and -hatat least seven widely spaced seasons are nec-essary to reproduce from seed to seed. Proper-ly cut and cared for, the flower of the Deser tLily will continue a thing of beauty for aweek or more , but when pul led they wil l wil talmost before taken home. The blossoms, ten-der and waxy, mar easily when touched byharsh things. A slight constriction of thetender stem, such as is given by the hand ingrasping causes premature wil t ing.

So please do not tamper with the DesertLilies. They have too much beauty and indus-try and courage to be wantonly des troyed.

E L M O P R O C T O R

n

Los Angeles, CaliforniaD e a r Mr. Hender s on :

The article about our son Everett Ruess inthe December Desert Magazine leaves un-answered the poss ible meaning of the word"Nemo" that Everett carved in the cave andon the doorstep of the Moqui Indian House.In all probability it is an echo from repeatedreading of Jules Verne's "Twenty ThousandLeagues Under the Sea." Everett 's copy iswell worn. Captain Nemo, hero of the novel,long years before the modern submarine wasinvented, deserted civilization, invented a newlanguage, enlisted a crew, and traveled in asubmarine, scientist that he was, joyously ex-plor ing the flora and fauna of the seven seas.

Everett's letters, essays and diaries indicatein many hints that he felt modern cities to be"big mistakes." Against the artificial in ex-cess he revolted. Art and artists, he felt, should

be subsidized, not commercialized. It wouldno t be impossible that he desired to die tothe world, as it were, and be reincarnated ina still freer life, all in one life-time.

Whether Everet t is alive or dead, he is atpeace now. He left us and the world in 20years, more to remember and to treasure thancould be required of an average hundred years.W e have released him in our hearts to steerby the North Star of his own soul. Even werehe found alive, we would have no desire tointerfere with his fulfilment of his life anddestiny.

C H R I S T O P H E R G. RUESS.• • •

Pasadena, CaliforniaDear Sirs:

"The Deser t . " a small volume by the artist.

J ohn C. Van Dyke, is a treasured volume inmy small library. Noting the list of bookslisted from time to time in "The Desert Mag-azine," I note this volume is not listed. Possi-bly it may be out of print. In any event, itsinterest is more than passing in value ofabiding interest. After nu merou s visits ' intothe desert and sleeping out beneath the starsalways, and waiting with keen interest thedawn, and tarrying with the twil ight—VanDyke's book always is resorted to much assome resort to the Good Book for such nour-ishment as is not to be had by other means

We enjoy "The Deser t Magazine," and en-close a check for subscriptions to two morefriends. Start these with the first issue of 1940.

O . S. MAR SHALL.Mr. Marshall— Van Dyke's THE DES-

ER T was published by Senbrier's in1915

an d is now out of print, but copies maybe found occasionally in old book stores.I agree with you. it is one of the classicsof the desert. R j_r

• • •

Hamil ton, New YorkGent l emen:

Enclosed please find a check for S5.00 forwhich I would like the two gift subscriptionsas indicated--plus a renewal for myself. CanI get the binder with this order / I certainlyappreciate the one I received last year withmy renewal .

I still think your magazine is great — abreath of sunshine, warmth, blue skies andplenty of sky for us poor souls who plowthrough the snowdrifts of upstate New York

C. J. H Y L A N D E R .

Needles , CaliforniaDear Mr. Henderson:

I noticed an article in the January issue ofthe Deser t Magazine under the heading ofLudlow, regarding the Tonopah & Tidewaterrailroad, which I think is an error.

As I had been informed in the past, theTonopah & Tidewater railroad was built bythe Pacific Coast borax company during theyears of 1905 and 1906. from Ludlow, Cali-fornia where it connected with the Santa Fecoast lines, north (o Crucero where it crossedth e San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake rail-

road (now the Union Pacific r.r.) then northto Gold Center about one mile south of Beat-ty, Nevada where it connected with the Bull-frog and Rhyolite. W.ien the 1907 panickilled Rhyolite in 1908 all trains stoppedoperating into Rhyolite, including the LasVegas & Tonopah railroad, which connectedwith the San Pedro at Las Vegas then runnorthwest to Beatty, then through the Bullfroghills north to Goldfield. As far as I knownone of these roads ran into Tonopah, onlyto Goldfield.

W h e n the Bullfrog & Goldfield railroadstopped operation, the Tonopah & Tidewateroperated their trains over the Bullfrog &Goldfield tracks to Goldfield until 1928, therails were then torn up north of Beatty, andthese ties (not north of Tecopa) were soldto Death Valley Scotty. The ties are stored

in a canyon (known as Tie canyon) on thewest side of thecastle to be used for fire wood.

North of Goldfield runs the Tonopah &Goldfield railroad which connects with abranch line of the Southern Pacific railroadat Mina, Nevada.

The towns of Bullfrog and Rhyolite areghost towns . The old depot of the Las Vegas& Tonopah rai l road, a concrete block build-ing, still stands and is converted into a barand gambling casino operated by Westmore-land. At present the only road in this sectionis the Tidewater between Crucero and Beattyalthough the tracks still remain south to Lud-low.

A. P. MILLER.• • •

Pasadena. California

Dear Miss Harr is :I cannot imagine a nicer Christmas presentthan the one you gave me—the knowledgethat Desert Magazine considered one of mypictures good enough to award it first prize.A nd I'll tell you why I think that's just abouttops in honors for a desert picture. Mv folksand I spent Christmas Eve going throughMitchell 's Caverns up on the Mojave. In thegroup there were two separate parties fromSan Diego, one from San Fernando, one fromPasadena, and of course Mr. Mitchel l . Andevery one of those parties was a steady readerof Desert Magazine. In other words, yourpublication is reaching the real desert lovers—those who know what a desert magazineshould be. And later that evening, as we sataround the fire in Mitchell 's cabin, with thestars and moon lighting that vast expanse of

silent beauty, and the wind howling downfrom the snow-dappled peaks behind, wetalked about Desert Magazine again and thepraise was unanimous .

I am very proud to have my work repre-sented in a magazine whose quality has be-come a by-word with the desert people every-where. As soon as I get some other picturesthat I consider good enough I'm going to tryagain.

In the meantime I am going to give myselfanother present. One I've been promising my-self for a long time. I will appreciate it ifyou will take the five dollar check I am re-turning, and enter me for a three-year sub-scription to Desert Magazine, starting withthe February issue.

H A R O L D W E I G H T .

The DESERT MAGAZINE



Bah-vanda-sava-nu-kee. The whites have given him thename Indian George Hansen.

ANY wheels spin through the Panamint range thesedays, rolling along to Death Valley with well-dressedand well-fed sightseers bound for de luxe winter re-

sorts which draw visitors from all over the world. The sleekautomobiles and their big rubber tires attract only a casualglance now from Indian George. But he remembers when heand his people of the Shoshone tribe nearly 90 years ago sawfor the first time a wheel in Death Valley. The wheels werecreaking, iron-rimmed wagonwheels of the ill-fated raggedJayhawker party on their tragic way to California. It wasaround Christmas time in 1849.

Indian George was a small boy then. He was born at Sur-veyor Well in Death Valley about the year 1841. And thefirst white man he saw on the desert so long ago in a worldhe had known as inhabited exclusively by Indians terrifiedhim. He ran from the sight and thus won his tribal name,Bah-vanda-sava-nu-kee (Boy-Who-Runs-Away).

"Boy-Who-Runs-Away" is a venerable patriarch of his peo-ple now. Nearing his 100th birthday, he has the dignity ofgreat age. His head is as white as the winter snow on Tele-

scope peak high above his home in Panamint valley. Despitethe burden of his years, he retains a delightful sense of humor

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0

When the i l l- fated Jayhawker and Bennett-Manlyparties trekked across Death Valley in 1849 the whitegold-seekers were in mortal fear of the Indians wholurked al ong the trail . Today , 90 ye ars later, Ind ianGeorge Hansen, venerable patr iarch of the Death Val-ley Shoshones who as a boy wi tnessed the t ragedyof the Americans, discloses that the Indians also wereafraid of the whites. "The hearts of our people wereheavy for these strange people," he said, "but we wereafraid. They had things that made fire with a loud

noise and we had never seen these before." IndianGeo rge is nea rly 100 ye ars old today, but he has avivid recollection of the incidents of his long life onthe Death Valley desert . The accompanying interviewwa s g iven to a ma n who has for many y ears been anintimate fr iend and advisor to the aged Indian.

neiiedtk

Veatk l/atletf

By J. C. BOYLES

that makes him chuckle at recollection of the incident thatgave him his name. And his memory goes back clearly to thedays before the white man invaded his world.

On a late October day we sat in the shade of the cotton-woods at the old Indian ranch where he has made his homefor the past 70 years. There he lives with his daughter Isabel,granddaughter Molly and Old Woman, his sister-in-law. Atnearby Darwin he has many great-grandchildren.

Bah-vanda-sava-nu-kee's home place is watered by a streamfrom the melting snows of the Panamints. The pungent smellof goats permeated the air.

Leaves of the cottonwoods had begun to turn yellow withthe first cold of autumn, dust devils swirled over the mudflats, a blue haze lay over the mou ntains. Lean hung ry mo ngreldogs sniffed at my feet, Old Woman silently shelled pinonnuts, the silence broken only by the cracking of hulls.

Around us was the region called home by a small bandof Shoshones for many generations before the white man'scoming. Coville called the tribe the Panamint Indians, mostsoutherly of the Shoshonean family whose homes were on theeastern side of the Sierra Nevada and northward nearly toCanada. In Death Valley and along its border the desert bandlived widely separated, in wickiups close to springs or waterholes, utilizing in a barren, forbidding territory, every edi-ble shrub and root, every living thing that walked and

crawled.The women gathered mescjuite beans, wild grass seed and



pinon nuts which were winnowed and

ground into coarse flour. The men snaredrabbits and quail and hunted the wilybighorn sheep in the nearby mountains.

Bah-vanda-sava-nu-kee has seen herein his lifetime a development of humanhistory equivalent to man's progressthrough all that long, long stretch of

time since the first wheel as tonished trav-elers afoot. During the past 20 years I

have studied the story of his life.W h i l e Old Woman she l led the pinons,

I said:"Grandfa ther , you have seen many

winters and the wisdom of an old man

is good. That is why I have come to you

to hear of the old t imes."

After a long silence, Bah-vanda-sava-nu-kee spoke:

"M y son, you are Kwe-Yah, the

Eagle. ' I have known your father for

many, many years. You have been to the

white man's school and have learned his

ways, many of which are good, and you

understand our people and many of our

ways are good.

"I am grow ing old, my limbs creak,my eyes are dim with age. To you, my

son, I can talk plain and you will under-stand without me saying foolish thingslike when I talk to white people."

The re was another interval of silence,and then he continued, speaking slcwiyand deliberately. As nearly as I can do

so, I use his own w ords :

Long ago I was born in a camp of

mesqui te in To-me-sha, they call thatplace Death Valley. It was at SurveyorWell . From the earliest time I can re-

member we would move away in the

summer to the high cool country amongthe juniper and pinon trees. There we

would stay until the pinon nut harvestwas over, returning to the valley whenthe snow came.

When there was plenty of meat everyone was happy, even E-shev-ipe the coy-

ote and Wo-te-ah the fox smelled the

meat cooking over the hot stones and

came for their share. When every one had

eaten all he could hold, there was storytelling and dances. Sometimes we played

the hand game and sang the gamblerssong all night long. Those were happydays with our people .

Cold winter evenings we sat about the

camp fire, in the shelter of the mesquite,th e old men told stories of days thatwere gone . Ourwomen worked at basket-making, some baskets were made for

gathering seeds and pinon nuts, othersw e re for beauty. It was a gift of our

women to make good baskets.

Old Kaw "thecrow" was thebest storyteller, he told the stories over and over,so that the boys would know and remem-ber, and he went away back the life time

Sho'shone Johnnie — cousin oj In-

dian George.

of many old men. He told of the Mojavesan d how our young mendrove them fromthe valley. They came in from the southto steal our pinon-nut caches and carryoff our women. We did not like thesepeople, we were high above them. Al-

ways after a fight they built a big fireand burned their dead ones. Long afterthis when I was a young man, that is,

after the white man came, the Mojavescame back and killed white men and

made much trouble. This time we helpedthe white men who were good to us.

W hi te men gave us guns and went withus on the war path . We found the Mo-

javes near that place Mojave where the

railroad is now and killed many and

brought back the white man's stock.After that we never saw the Mojavesagain. They were not our kind of people.

My father Inyo (P lace-of-the-S pirit)was head man at that t ime, what the

white man calls a chief. W h e n our peo-

p le had trouble they came to him, and he-

listened, and what he said to them was

right. In my father's time I heard of the

animal the white man calls buffalo but

we never saw that animal. We tradedwillow baskets, salt and arrow heads for

the buffalo hide from other Indians who

came down from the north. Our peopleused this hide for moccasins and madewarm blankets from rabbit skins cut in

strips and twisted them sewed together.

This way the hair was on both sides andvery warm in winter time.

W h e n I was a little boy I wanderedover the desert far from home, alwayslooking for something to eat. I learnedho w to snare rabbits and quail and huntCuc-wata the chuckawalla. Cuc-wata was

quick, he would run and hide in thecrack of big stones and blow himself fullof wind, so he could not be pulled out.

For this hunting I carried a sharp stick,I catch hold of his tail and punch a holeto leave out the wind, then I could easypull him out. This meat was very good.

W h e n I found the track of To-koo-vi-

chite the wild cat, I would trail him tohis den, and later tell my father who

would smoke him out and kill. This meatwas very sweet.

Sometimes when I would start out to

hunt, Woo-nada-gum-bechie (Dust Dev-

il) would cross my pa:h, then I wouldalways return, for that was a bad sign.T he old men say that is the ghost of one

who died and maybe that is so.

When Oot-sup-poot , the meadow lark,came back that was a good sign that coldwind had gone. Then I could travel far

with my bow and arrow and some times

bring home big birds that were goingnorth . I was becoming a big hunter and

brought much meat to my mother'swickiup. I learned to track and use the

bo w and arrow when very young. My

father made the arrows from a hollowreed that grows in the canyons. You can

find that kind of reed over there in the

canyon where this water comes from. We

placed a sharp stick about as long as a

hand in the end, this stick we burned in

a fire and scraped with a stone to a hardsharp point. Some arrows we pointedwith black stone (obsidian) that camefrom the Coso hills. That time there was

many Wa-soo-pi (big horn sheep) onSheep mountain and all over the Ky-e-

guta (Panamint range) . No Indian boy

today could hunt them like we did withbo w and arrow. Some time I trailed Wa-

soo-pi for three, four days. When I see

him lay down, I crawl close slow, slow,like a fox, from rock to rock, alwayswith thewind in myfact;, when he wouldraise his head to smell the wind, I lay

flat without a move. When I get close,I raise up slow, slow, and drive the arrowinto meat.

W h e n I was about as high as that

wagon wheel, (pointing to an old wheel

The DESERT MAGAZINE



Spence air photograph of Death Valley looking south fro/;/ the Furnace creek ranch.

leaning against the corral fence) may be

about ten or 12 summers, a big thinghappened in my life.This I must remember well, and in

the telling, tell it straight. Snow was onSee-umba mountain (Telescope peak)when this happened.

A strange tribe of other people (theJayhawker.-Manly- Benn ett Party 184 9)came down Furnace creek, some walking,slow like sick people and some in bigwagons, pulled by cows. They stoppedthere by water and rested. When otherIndians see them, they run away and tellall other Indians at other camps.

Our people were afraid of this strange

people. They were not our kind andthese cows my people had never seenbefore.

Never had they seen wagons or wheelsor any of the things these people had,the cows were spotted and bigger thanthe biggest mountain sheep, with longtails and big horns.

They moved slow and cried in a longvoice like they were sick for grass andwater.

Some of these people moved down thevalley, some moved up, and they stoppedat Salt creek crossing. Them that moved

down the valley stopped where Indian

Tom Wilson has ranch at Bennett's well.

When it came night, we crawled close,slow like when trailing sheep. We sawmany men around a big fire. They killedcows and burned the wagons and madea big council talk in loud voices likesquaws when mad. Some fall down sickwhen they eat the skinny cows. By andby they went away, up that way whereStove Pipe hotel is now, they walk veryslow, strung out like sheep, some menhelp other men that are sick. One man,he can go no more, he lay down by abig rock, that night he went to hisfathers. As they go, they drop things allalong the trail, maybe they are worthless

things, or too heavy to carry.After they go we went to that place

at Salt creek and found many things thatthey left there. Because some died, wedid not touch those things. When theyburned the wagons some parts did notburn, that was iron, and we did notunderstand this.

Those people who went down the val-ley to Bennett's Well stayed there a longtime. They had women and children. Byand by they went away, all go over Pana-mints and we never see them again.

The hearts of our people were heavy

for these strange people, but we were

afraid, they had things that m ade fire

with a loud noise and we had neverseen these before.After this happened we were afraid

more of the strange ones would come.We watched Furnace creek for a longtime, but no more come.

May be about three or four summersafter this, I was on the trail with myfather in Emigrant canyon, when we seeman tracks that was not made with moc-casins, my father, he say: "Look, notmade by Shoshone."

We followed these tracks and whenwe come around by big rock we saw awhite man there, very close. When we

see him we stop quick, I run. away, maybe that is why they call me "Boy-Who-Runs-Away."

This white man made peace sign to myfather and give him a shirt, when I seethat, I come back. That place was nearEmigrant spring.

I think that white man was scared asmuch as we were. He talked in a strangetongue and made signs with his hands.He was not white, he was same color asa saddle and because of this color Ithought he looked like a sick Indian, hehad long hair on his face, not like our

people.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0



After this meeting from time to time-other white men come into ourcountry.They were rock-breakers looking for the

yellow-iron. Mostly they come in pairswithout their women, this we thoughtwas strange for it is not a custom of our

people to go that way. There werestrange stories coming to us of manywhite people, in thevalley of the river(Owens valley) by thehigh mountains

west of here that made war on ourpeo-ple and killed many. Hearing this we

were afraid there would be trouble.

(The old man shifted his seat tothrowa stick at a yelping dog)

By this time I was married andlivingnot farfrom Wild Rose spring, and againa big thing happened in my life. Thistime many white men with Mexicans andChinese came to the Panamints and all

go up that way in what thewhiteman

calls Surprise canyon. They built manyhouses andthey all stop there.

I did notknow there were so manypeople and somany different kinds, they

brought horses, mules, burros andcows.They called that place Panamint City.

They made roads allover the desert tothat place where they all lived. Youcan

see the road now inSurprise canyon, thatwas a long time ago. I think most ofthose people have gone to their fathers.

These white men allcarried gunsand

some times they fight among themselves.At the time I worked with Hungry

Bill, mybrother-in-law, for a Mexicanpacker, cutting and packing pinon timberfor the mines. He had many burros, thesewere the first we ever saw. (The old manlaughed tohimself). It was notlong be-

fore we had burros of ourown. HungryBill was good at finding things that werelost and I think some of those burroswere not "lost."

Learns Mule Skinner's Language

First I learned to speak a little Mexi-can, it was easier tolearn, then I learneda little American, at first only thewordsthe mule skinners called themules whenthey were mad.

Later I learned to prospect andfindthe metal those white people wanted so

badly. I didvery good butnever receivedanything but grub and promises from

those people. One man he gave me acheck, when I showed it toanother whiteman he laughed. May be that was a

white man's joke. Onewhite man I

packed for, his name wasGeorge. We

prospect all over theKy-e-gutas. Whenwe go out I tell him, "You stay back of

me, this is mycountry," when we come-back to Panamint City where they all

live, I tell him, "Now, you go first, thisis your country."

Lots of white men have fun,they say,"Hello George, heyour son?" After thatevery onecalled meGeorge, that's howI got that name.

Another man who was a "governmentman" gave methat name "Hansen," he

said I must have a name for thebooks,at Washington so Uncle Samwouldknow me. (The old manlaughed). I

don't know this Uncle Sam, but I guesshe is all right, forwhen my son Mike or

daughter Isabel is sick hesends amedi-cine man from theagency.

Too Many Beans lorBill

"Hungry Bill" he got hisname fromthe white people at Panamint City. He

was always hungry like a coyote, and a

pretty bad Indian. I guess thegovern-ment man did not give him another namebecause hewas notmuch good, may be

Uncle Sam didn't want him onthe books.One white man atStone Corral put somemedicine in beans. When Hungry Billeat all hecould hold, he gotsick. Afterthat he never liked beans anymore.

About that: time they made anotherplace at Kow-wah andcalled that placeBallarat. When they come in from out-

side they stop there onway toPanamintCity. Pretty soon some horse soldierscome and stopped at that place, the chiefof those soldiers had aKa-naka (Negro)who worked for him. When Ifirst sawthat black man I thought hewas awhiteman burned black.

Hungry Bill, he was smart Indian.One time he made camp by the road,two white mencome along, they haveguns, when they seeHungry Bill theyshoot atground, they say "Dance, Injun,dance." Hungry Bill hedid that, hedanceclose by sage brush by his gun,whenwhite menmake a big laugh, quick,Hungry Bill he pick up hisgun, pointat white men, he say "Now youdancesame me." This time Hungry Bill had a

big joke onwhite men.After all those people go away from

Panamint City they leave many things,that iswhere I gotmany things you see-about this ranch. One man he broughtthose stage wagons and hesay: "George,I leave them here with you, some day I

come back and get them." He nevercame back, that was a long time ago.

Long time after they allgo away, more-white men come, this time to Sheep

mountain. They call that place Skidoo.Me and mycousin Shoshone Johnnie we

packed wood and timber to that place.After they have a bigfight, Joe Simpsonhe shoot JimArnold, other whitemen

hang Joe Simpson byhis neck, after thatwe stayed away. One white man he give-to my daughter Isabel a picture ofSimp-son hanging by hisneck. That wasnot

good, maybe Simpson wasdrunk whenhe shot Arnold. It's bad way todie, man'sspirit cannot get outwhen hedies withrope around theneck.

In this telling I must not: forget my

friend John Searles.

Across themountains to thesouth of

here there is a drywhite lake, where in

the old days ourpeople went for salt.There is a town there now and a big

mill. They call that place Trona. I go

there often, andhave many friends at

that place. When I go there for grub,every one say "Hello George, how are

you?" With myfather andHungry Billwe went there for salt long ago, that is

where I metthis man. He had a campand horse corral by thelake. When we

saw this, we stayed away. That nightSearles hecame to ourcamp andmade-signs forwork.

My father and I worked there a longtime, weliked theChinamen, they werelittle bit like our people. Some whiteman told to me "Chinaman and Injunall same." May beso, but I do not be-

lieve that.

When wewent away, Searles hesaid:"George, you are always welcome and

any time you stop here, China boy willfeed you, but notHungry Bill, youtellhim tostay away."

"Take Mule Home, Eat ' e m "

Then he say: "Co:me here," and he-

showed me old mule in the corral, he

said: "Youtaken home, make jerky,plenty good meat. You nokeep him, youeat, sabe?" We did this, for in the old

days any kind of mea: was good. JohnSearles was a good man andknown to

our people as "Bear Fighter." When he

was ayoung man hehad abig fight witha bear in Tehachapi mountains, that is

how he gotthat name:. He had bigscaron neck from that fight, when hetalk to

me he hold hishead this way (the oldman bent his head slightly to the leftshoulder).

Many times after that I thought ofJohnSearles and thegood meat we eat at his

camp. Some people say hekilled Indians,but that is not true.

That time Hungry Bill would go awayfor a long time south of Mojave, whenhe come back, he always bring horsesand mules, then all the Indians wouldhave plenty meat. This was not good andcaused lots of troubk- with the whitemen. I think that is whySearles told

him tostay away.

The lean dogs sniffed the air and ran

off barking. It was Molly, granddaughterof Bah-vanda-sava-nu-kee bringing in the

goat herd to theshelter of thecorral for

the night.

Old Woman threw astick on the dyingfire, the flames litup the old Indian's face,"My son, the fewthing I have told youare but the flutter of acrow's wing inmylife. Soon I will go to the land of my

fathers along with all these other peopleI have told you about.'

The DESERT MAGAZINE



Avicularia californica, one of the so-called tarantulas of the Southwest. Among the uninformed it has a bad name— but it

really is quite harmless.

My Attend

—the i&tantula

One of the popular fallacies of the Southwest isthat the black hairy spider-like creatures frequent-ly seen crossing the highways are tarantulas—andthat they are very poisono us. Neither conclusionis correct. Here are the facts about one of the mostinteresting denizens of the desert—told by a manwho has known them intimately for many years.

By RAYMOND W. THORP

Photographs by the au thor

URING the past seven years I have handled—and Imean literally handled with my bare hands—morethan 20,000 of those black furry creatures known in

the desert region as tarantu las. Instead of finding them fero-cious and deadly, as most people believe, I have learned thatthey are tame and harmless.

Actually they are not tarantulas at all—not even remotelyrelated to the tarantula species. They belong to the bird-spiders.

W e have them for pets in my home. My children know

them as playthings. True, I have been bitten by them—volun-tarily on my part in order to observe the reaction—and while

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0

the sensation is not pleasant, it is not as serious a thing asan ordinary bee sting.

The dread which most people hold for these inoffensivecreatures may be traced to several possible sources. Accord-ing to legend the Lycosa tarentula was once the scourge ofEurope, destroying tens of thousands of lives by its "deadly"bite. This legendary spider epidemic began in the village ofTaranto—also called Tarentum. No one knows whether thetown was named for the spider or the spider for the town,but we do know that a species of deadly spider was oncerampant in Europe.

My method of catching tarantulas is simple. From Aprilto November the tarantula is "in season." That is, during



these months they may be captured easily with a jar of water.Simply pour the water in a den of the spiders during the dryseason—and the tarantula, scandalized by the idea of rain atthis period of the year in the arid Southwest, will come forth.It is a simple matter then to place the spider in the jar, takingcare to see that air holes are punched in the lid.

During the rainy season the spiders hibernate, sealingtheir 15-inch perpendicular tubes and tunneling uphill. Ta-rantula dens usually are on the south side of a hill or eleva-tion, so the water cannot drown them. The tarantula is thelongest lived of all arachnids, sometimes reaching the age of

30 years.It is a fact that Mexicans who have lived practically side

by side with the tarantula for centuries, stand in deadly fearof the creature. This no doubt is due to Spanish superstitionhanded down for more than 300 years. More peculiar still isthe attitude of some very highly educated people. Conversingwith a professor of natural science I casually asked the gentle-man if he had ever been bitten by a tarantula. He smiledgrimly and shook his head, saying: "I am still alive am I not?"Pursuing the subject further, I asked him if he could give,offhand, the physical characteristics of the male tarantula—any species.

"Oh yes," he replied. "I have handled literally hundredsof them." Fearing that I had not heard his answer correctly,I repeated the question and received the same reply. Thegentleman must have been spoofing me for had he lived to bea thousand years of age, and pursued the amiable spider 365days each year, he would be unable to say truthfully that hehad "handled hundreds" of male tarantulas. They are thatscarce.

An Indian agent in New Mexico once told me he knewof at least 20 men who had been killed by the bites of tarantu-las. Further, he said that a tarantula once jumped at him froma cottonwood tree—from a distance of six feet—and "almostgot me." The truth is that the tarantula cannot "jump" sixinches. Another man, a garage mechanic in west Texas, wasvery emphatic in his recital of a narrow escape he hadfrom a tarantula. "Only by putting spurs to my horse did Iescape an awful, lingering death by spider-bite!" he said.And a toddling tot could outdistance the fleetest tarantulathat ever lived! When I took him to task about this story hesaid, "Oh, well, Texas tarantulas are not like those of Cali-fornia." The genus is identical, and the species the same.

While engaged in making a professional motion picture ofthe life of the tarantula in the field, I had marvelous luck inobtaining a record of every phase of its actions—and noneof it was synthetic. The cameraman was interested in ob-serving the many "cute" traits of the Old Lady of the Desert,one of which consists of making her toilet.

The tarantula sheds her old skin from two to four timeseach year, and the one under observation at the time wasvery ragged in appearance. The upper part of her posteriorabdomen was entirely void of hair, and the cameraman won-dered aloud as to the cause of this. In reply I touched the

spider upon the bald part, and immediately she raised one ofher rear feet and carefully brushed the place. Setting thisfoot down, she repeated the operation from the other side.

"The female tarantula is very fastidious," I explained. "Sheis actually the most cleanly of all spiders, and wears the furaway continually brushing herself down."

I have had many odd requests from persons in various partsof the world. A man in West Virginia ordered several spidersfor use in voodoo work in the swamps of the deep south.He said: "I want very large and ferocious tarantulas—thenegroes of the swamps are very superstitious, and believethem to be emissaries of Satan." As I came originally fromthat section, I know that the fellow made a truthful state-ment. A man in Worcester, Massachusetts ordered a black

Carroll Thorp admires at close range the black "fishhook" jangs of the taran tula. The fangs tire curved andmore than a half inch in length— but their po ison is less

potent than that of an ordinary honey bee.

widow spider from me, and used the creature in an effort tocommit suicide. The Toronto national exhibition in Canadaobtains tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions and trapdoor spidersfrom me for its natural science department, as do many othermuseums, colleges and schools.

The three most commonly found tarantulas of the westernUnited States are Eurypelma californicum, Eurypelma hentzii,and Aviailaria californica. The most vicious of all large spi-ders is that imported from South America in bunches of banan-as—Heteropoda vevaloria. This spider delivers a far morepainful bite than the tarantula, but it is not deadly. In factthe only deadly spider in the world is the black widow, rep-resented in all lands and by many species.

In my years of field research I have endeavored to fix theblame for the many false superstitions that are continuallycirculated concerning the so-called "dangerous" qualities ofthe tarantula, and there is little doubt in my mind that themantle fits squarely upon the shoulders of pulp magazinewriters. Literally thousands of stories have been written inwhich the tarantula has been held up to public condemnation.The majority of such stories were written by persons whohad no information on the tarantula beyond hearsay—personswhose only incentive has been to make a living by playingheavily upon a popular fallacy.

When the layman runs across a tarantula—and they arefrequently seen during the fall season crossing the deserthighways—his usual reaction is to destroy the inoffensivecreature. There really is no justification for this. They areinteresting little creatures when you know them — andeven if you don't admire their looks, you might rememberthat a lot of us humans never won any prizes in a beautyshow.

T h e D E S ER T M A G A Z I N E



Kathryn and Jake McClure./J

(I know why Jake McClure ties those calves so fast,"V W ill Rogers once drawled as he sat under a torrid

Tucson sun watching New Mexico's claimant toworld champion calf roping honors wrap up a kicking, bawl-ing calf. "It's so's he can hurry up and sit down again."

Easy-going, good -natured McClure grinn ed sheepishlywhen the words of his friend were later repeated to him. Hestudied the toe of his boot thoughtfully and then calculated,"Reckon that's right. It is good to sit down again."

McClure, who has been acclaimed time and again theworld's champion calf roper, is soft-spoken, unassuming, andso deliberate when he moves that one hardly knows he'saround—until he starts roping. Then the New Mexico cow-

boy goes into action with amazing speed and precision.Thirty-seven years old, McClure is considered an "old-

timer" in the rodeo game. For 13 years, he has been a "tops"performer on the big-time circuit, a record which far sur-passes that of any other rodeo star the world has ever seen.Eight months out of each year he is "making the shows."Through Arizona he goes his roping way, to California, upto Canada, back through Wyoming to Texas, and then to theMadison Square Garden show in New York in the fall forthe climax of the year's work.

McClure has been roping in the big shows since he was 24.H e has "burned" the famous McClure loop before cheeringcrowds in Europe, has set the world's official record of 12seconds flat in calf roping, has hobnobbed with celebrities

from coast to coast. He has been honored at extravagant socialfunctions in cities from San Francisco to New York, but still

In the rodeo circuit Jake McClure is a champion.At his home town in New Mexico he is regardedas a successful rancher. Mrs. McClure declaresthat as a husband "he is a dear." Altogether, thatis a pretty high score for a man who started asa dollar-a-day cowhand. You can read this storyand decide for yourself whether or not Jake isworthy of all the success that has com.e his way.

Mc&Lute

—Champion wi th a R opeBy KATHRYN BOMAR

remains just plain Jake McClure—a bashful, retiring fellow,who doesn't claim to be the country's best roper, but willmatch anyone who does make the boast.

McClure has won countless medals, saddles, bridles,

watches, and dollars in the rodeo arenas, but he prefers tobe considered a rancher, rather than a champion roper.

Into their modest, comfortable ranch home near Loving-ton, New Mexico, the McClures have poured the small for-tune Jake has won. The roper and his attractive wife, Kath-ryn, are owners of 15,000 acres of land on which they grazethousands of head of cattle each year. When Jake began hisroping career, he was a dollar-a-day ranch hand. He hadnothing more than a fairly good horse, a larkt, and a worldof ambition. Today he is considered a well-to-do-rancher.

Lovington is immensely proud of its world champion. Boysof all ages of that region may be seen any day nonchalantlystrolling about the town's square, slinging loops at tin cansand scurrying cats—a definite outgrowth of tine McClure in-

fluence.Several months ago McClure almost died following anoperation for a ruptured appendix. For five weeks he hoveredbetween life and death. All Lovington was tense with worryand fear that Jake wouldn't make it.

It was after the roper had undergone two operations thata delegation of Lovington ranchers and businessmen arrivedat the hospital where Jake was ill, and asked to see his doc-tor. Puzzled, the physician agreed to talk with the men.

When the doctor confronted the group, one sunburnedindividual, the spokesman for the lot, rasped out, "Lookhere, doc. We just want you to know Jake has got to getwell. This outfit couldn't do without him."

McClure says he considers this the highest tribute he hasever received.

Jake captured the calf roping honors at the Madison SquareGarden several months ago, winning more than $4,000. Whenreporters asked how he did it, the roper answered in typicalMcClure fashion: "The calves were light and I was justlucky."

Mrs. McClure complains that her husband takes his ranch-ing duties too seriously. "He's up early every morning and Idon't see him until night. And if he doesn't have work ofhis own to do, he always can think of some neighbor whoneeds help doctoring a sick calf, or in branding."

That the roper is a hard worker is indicated by his appear-ance. The McClure who returns to his ranch home in theevening, dusty and grimy, is a far cry from the nattily attiredperformer who puts on the show for the eager rodeo fans

during the roping season.McClures popularity among the ranchers of his communi-

F E B R U A R Y , 1940



ty is to be expected, for he is a favorite of the cowboys withwhom he works.

"He's any roper's worst competition," a fellow performeronce said of McClure, "but he's the best guy in the world."

So many good things are heard about the rancher-cowboy,in fact, that one wonders if he doesn't have at least one fault.Mrs. McClure was able to expand on this point.

"Jake is the world's biggest dear, and all his faults areminor ones. He abhors red nail polish and too much lip-stick. Also, he's cranky when I forget to turn off the water

in the yard and use too much of it. But that's about all thereis to be charged against him."The McClure home is as modern as any city residence. A

special power plant furnishes the electricity, and a huge wind-mill takes care of the water question. The only item lackingin the home is a telephone.

"We'd rather folks come see us than call up," McClureexplains as he chews on his ever-present pipe and makes hisguests feel completely at home, despite his aversion to talk-ing.

The McCIures spend their spare time working on theirlawn. Mrs. McClure was the former Kathryn Matthews, prom-inent in Dallas social life, but she is now "all ranch woman."Her main interest is in having a pretty lawn to set off thenew home they completed last year. The task of painting the

picket fence which surrounds the white stucco home fell toher.

McClure, who probably has won more rodeo money thanany other performer, doesn't get excited over the prospect oflosing large and tempting purses. "I've lost them before,"he grins.

It is safe to state that Jake is the best-liked rodeo perform-er in the United States. His fans are loyal, refusing to be-lieve that some day he will be replaced at the top by a youngerroper. One explanation for his popularity may be found inthe gentle way he treats his mounts.

"Legs" was McClure's favorite horse. When the faithful"Legs" became too old to use, Jake retired him to the greenpastures of his ranch to rest. The roper turned down a fancy

offer for the horse, saying he had earned a vacation.Mrs. McClure can recall only once that she saw her hus-band upset. That was one summer morning when "Legs"came running to the ranch house at dawn to pound on theporch with his front feet, setting up a terrific clamor. TheMcCIures rolled out of bed to see what was wrong. Thepanic-stricken "Legs" had been snake-bitten.

"Jake was so frantic over the horse that I thought I'd haveto doctor him, too," his wife said.

"Legs" recovered from the bite, but died a few months

M ine*, oj the,Most folks have heard about the "Lost Pegleg"

gold mine, the "Lost Dutchman," and the "Brey-fogle." But there are many other "lost mines" andtreasure caches in the desert Southwest not sowel l known.

The stories may be true—or they may be fiction—no living person can say for sure. But they are

fascinating tales nevertheless, and in order thatDesert Magazine readers may become better ac-quainted with them, the March number will carrythe first of a series of these lost treasure records.They wil l continue to appear in these pages eachmonth through 1940.

The series has been written by John D. Mitchell,author of the book "Lost Mines and Buried Trea-sures of the Great Southwest." For many yearsMr. Mitchell has been delving into old recordsand tramping over the desert in quest of informa-tion regarding these real or legendary treasures,and some of the material appearing in the DesertMagazine series will appear in print for the firsttime.

later from natural causes. "Silver," the horse which waspresented with the Prince of Wales trophy for being theworld's best calf roping mount, was killed about a weekafter "Legs" died. "Silver" jumped the fence and was struckby a truck.

McClure has roped for and won purses amounting to asmuch as $5,000, but it was the winning of a $300 purse ina little Oklahoma show that gave him his biggest thrill.

"There were 13 of us roping," he remembers, "and therewasn't a second's difference in our time. I won the pot by afraction of a fraction of a second. That was real competition."

Jake has a sense of humor. He has been injured only oncein his career and that was several years ago in the New York

Garden. He roped and tied a steer in 53 seconds, but the steerwas obstinate and broke three of McClure's ribs, split hisforehead, and broke four of his fingers. Later, when the doc-tor named over his injuries, McClure grinned, "All that in53 seconds? That calf sure worked fast."

As for how long McClure will rope: "I think I'll retire inabout three years, just to loaf on my ranch," he drawled. Buthis friends say Jake McClure will quit roping along aboutthe time he quits breathing.

Which probably is right.

The McClure ranch near Lovington, Neiv Mexico.

Ill T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E



The desert wears a grim and forbidding mask—but to those who get a gl impse of the beauty andstrength behind the mask it becomes a place ofnever-ending fascination. Mora McManis Brownwas afraid—until she conquered her fear, andthen—

, -H aoo, -Have.By MORA McMANIS BROWN

/

HERE was a time when I found our great southwest-ern desert ugly and fearful; a time when I could notget across it fast enough, when I dreaded to go back

to it again. I recall vividly that gaunt confusion of mesa,sage, and hills sprawling endlessly across Nevada, across Cali-fornia. I recall two everlasting days of glare and dust andcountless gravel miles; two twilights stalking grimly up be-hind us; two November nights crowded against the road in

two black unbroken walls; and now and then, caught in theedges of our beams of light, twisted ghost trees careening onthe edge of Hades.

Rarely we saw a light. Rarely we passed a car. There seemedto be no other people in the world—just our weary familypressed closer to this loneliness by an overloaded sky. LasVegas late the first night, and Barstow late the second, werereprieves from ruin.

But that was 13 years ago. That was before Amon, myhusband, felt the lure of cactus, before he discovered thesecret beauty concealed in desert stones, and before I learnedthat from the start the desert beckoned him.

And so inevitably there came an autumn when he draggedme to the desert for a weekend—it doesn't matter where. Iremember a surfaced highway, a graveled turn-off, and a des-

ert road which wandered vaguely off to meet a mine. I remem-ber a maze of giant piled-up rocks, a little ranch tucked in,somehow, among them, and by the road a rock-bound covewhich looked far out across a sloping wilderness.

It was sunset when we reached the cove. Amon shaded hiseyes and gazed into the west. "It's sure beautiful," he said.

I deigned one glance and saw clouds in streaks across thesun, saw rose tints on the hilltops, saw blue mountains anddark shadows. But I was not to be fooled. A sunset meantonly that a hateful night was tagging at its heels. I noticedthe silence, though. Such utter silence! Not the twitter of abird, not the hum of an insect, not even a small breeze in thesingle tree. Our sounds—the snapping of our campfire, therattle of tins, our voices, splintered like glass against it andfell clattering to earth.

There was little to do. We made our bed upon the sand.We ate our stew and fruit. We washed our few tins with adole of water. And that soon, there was Night held from meonly by the firelight, and Fear leashed only by the wakefulpresence of my huband.

But already he was yawning, already he was saying, "Well,we want to be up early in the morning." And almost beforeI could think up delays, he was snuggled in the covers soundasleep. Miserably I lay in my sleeping bag and watched thefire fade to embers, watched the embers die, watched N igh ttake possession. Didn't coyotes, I wondered, sneak up silentlyto kill? Hadn't I heard of desert fugitives? And of rattlesnakescrawling into people's beds? I pulled the covers tight about meand covered my head.

I longed for my Idaho mountains where timbered hills

w&2. mcurved like protecting arms, where night winds, joined thestreams in night-long lullabies. And then unwillingly I re-called my first nights in the mountains, when it seemed thatall that saved me from destruction was the white wall of atent. It had not been until later that I could lie, calm, upona mountain's grassy breast and recognize as song the strangenight sounds. It was when I no longer feared the mountainsthat I loved them.

Was it then, not the desert, but fear, which shook me now?After hours, it seemed, I dared to expose an eye. I saw first aslice of moon, then stars sprinkled like salt across the sky, thenOrion lying on his side atop the cove. I released my nose andcaught the smell of desert sage. I freed an ear and hear noth-ing but Amon's steady breathing. Certainly he was not afraid.Nor was he, I realized, afraid for me. Finally I pulled thecovers from my entire face and felt the night rest cool uponit. Cautiously I extended my hand and found the sand be-neath it faintly warm. I listened again, but there was nothingto hear.

Nothing — to — hear!Nothing except my fearful thoughts; no danger but that

which my fear created. Was not this the same kind night andthese the same bright stars, which hung above my northern

mountains and above my southern home?Almost with the thought I fell asleep.The sun awakened me—a housewife sun, dusting the hills

with sunbeams, sweeping the desert floor with long greyshadows, dressing the chubby clouds about her in red andpink and gold. My thoughts rushed back to last evening whenwith unhappy eyes I had seen that same warm sun retire be-hind a Venetian blind of orange-red clouds, when the desertmounds and desert hills had gleamed like amethyst crystalson a rumpled scarf of grey, when I had seen the far-offpeaks dissolve into the sky.

I shook Amon's shoulder. "Wake up," I urged, "it's sun-rise!"

He yawned, stretched out his arms, and then sat up to look.

"My," he marveled, "it's sure beautiful, isn't it?"For one grudging moment I held back. Then "Yes," I ad-

mitted, "it is beautiful."

It was!

That was the beginning — the beginning! There can neverbe an end, for in every visit to the desert I find new lessonswaiting. From the twisted Joshuas I am learning more of forti-tude. From the yucca — expectancy. From the saguaro — dig-nity. From the rugged hills — steadfastness. From the smallgreen strugglers on the desert floor — courage and persistence.And in the desert's vastness and in its silence, as in the moun-tain's song, I am learning how to discard the clutter of myman-made world, and to sense more clearly the ever presenceof the Source of Peace.

You see, I too, have learned.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 011



Group ofgypsum crystals found inseams in thesedimentary rock near Lake Mead

7ieldthe H ouldet

tospectoti

th.

Most folks go to Boulder Cityto see the world's largest damand perhaps take a boat tripinto the scenic gorge of lowerGrand Canyon. John Hilton dis-covered last month that the Ne-vada region bordering LakeM ea d is also an interesting re-gion for mineral collectors.Here is the story of John's fieldtrip with the Boulder City Pros-pectors' club—and the findingof specimens of a rather raremember of the quartz familyknown as pl a s m a .

By JOHN W. HILTON

/ V had been hearing about the ac-V tivities of a little group of rock

hunters at Boulder City, Nevada,and so when Anita and Don Scott in-vited me to join their organization on aweekend trip to one of the nearby min-eral fields I was glad to accept. Mrs.Scott is secretary of the rock club there.

Of course a visit to Boulder City isnot complete without a trip through thedam, and when Don suggested that Iaccompany him on an excursion into theheart of the great concrete wall whichreclamation bureau engineers have erect-

edin

Black canyonI was

gladto ac-

cept his invitation. As a federal employehe is intimately acquainted with theproj-ect.

It took a fine knowledge of geology tobuild Boulder dam, and the geologistsare still active in its upkeep andprotec-tion. Diamond core drills are constantlytaking samples of theadjacent rock abut-ments, testing for evidence of pressurestrain or water action. Delicate instru-

ments keep careful check of the slightestearth movements, or changes in the in-ternal temperature in therock of the damitself.

In the construction of the dam therewere a number of problems which are ofmore than passing interest to gem andmineral collectors. Of course it was nec-essary to select gravel of a fine and uni-form standard of hardness for the con-crete mix. The gravels and cobbles ofthe riverbed nearby did not meet the re-quired specifications. For a time it wasthought that the rock would have to befreighted in from some distant part of

the country.Finally, however, a large gravel bar

was found upstream where by somestrange quirk the river currents hadsorted out the harder materials and de-posited them in a convenient pile. Therewas enough rock andgravel at this pointto build several dams.

Since only the hardest stone has ac-cumulated in this bar there was a pre-ponderance of quartz minerals. Many ofthese were of the agate and jasper fami-ly andsome of them were of gem quality.Workmen often found samples of moss

agate, banded agate, carnelian and othervarieties of semi-precious stones in thegravel that went into thecement. One ofthe men in thecontrol room told methata conservative estimate: of the value ofgem quality stones poured into Boulderdam would be $50,000.

Until my excursion into the heart ofthe big damwith Don Scott I had re-garded this structure as just a big con-crete plug in the canyon, put there tocheck the flow of the stream and form agreat reservoir. But my guide soonshowed me it was much more than that.Boulder dam is a throbbing, living thing

—the workhouse of a small army of tech-nicians—a factory where spinning gen-erators turn out millions of kilowatts ofelectrical energy. As we followed whatseemed to be miles of passageways wewere always conscious of the vibrationcaused by thousands of tons of waterpouring through giant penstocks. I soonforgot all about that $50,000 worth ofgem stones sealed forever in theconcretewalls.

I spent hours in the dam—and sawonly a small part of the workings of theproject.

Early Sunday morning I met themem-

12 The DESERT MAGAZINE



bers of the Prospectors' club of BoulderCity. This group of collectors completedtheir organization less than a year ago,but they have a lively and enthusiasticclub. At first they considered adoptingone of the conventional titles, "Mineral-ogical Society of Boulder City." But someof them thought the name too dignifiedfor their "gang." And so they simply callthemselves "Prospectors."

They have brought together an inter-esting and likeable group of hobbyists.Among them are engineers, geologists,paleontologists and business executives.But as rock collectors they are all justamateurs in the sense that they seek nocommercial profit from their activitiesin the club. Some of them have homelapidary outfits and all are inveteraterock hounds and traders.

Under the leadership of Bob Sedgwick,president, and Anita Scott, secretary,their group is growing in size and in-terest. Harry Fuller, a graduate of theColorado school of mines, is starting nightclasses under a Nevada state plan ofadult education, and most of the mem-bers plan to attend the classes. Nevadais a mineral state, and is encouraging itscitizens to learn more about its mostvaluable resource—rocks.

Thirty of the "Prospectors" gatheredat the postoffice, ready and eager to beoff for a day of collecting in the desert.We took the road toward Las Vegas. AtMidway, we left the paved road, takinga sideroad on the right. A few hundredyards along this road we made our firststop to gather a few chalcedony roses.

The desert floor is scattered with themfor some distance, and although most ofthem are of the common white or cream-colored variety, a few showed a trace oforange or red coloring.

Presently we left the graded road,turning left on a desert trail that wasrough but passable. One of the partymentioned some ancient Indian camp-sites on the left of the arroyo we werefollowing and we stopped to relocatethese. In an outcropping of buff sand-stone just a few feet from where our carswere parked were several fine Indian

grinding mortars.The float around this campsite con-

tained several types of agate and jasperbut none of these materials seemed to bein place.

Soon we were on our way again, turn-ing right into Vegas wash. Here the roadbecame narrow and bordered on bothsides with a dense growth of screwbeanmesquite. Another left turn brought usinto the mouth of the canyon which wasour objective. Ahead was a striking land-mark which one of the party laughinglydubbed "Hitch-hiker butte." The profile

of this odd formation looked for all the

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0

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3 K I D S M I N E - (MANGANESE) A

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13



world like a giant thumb in the custom-ary salute of the highway itinerant.

W e stopped our cars in a canyonwalled on both sides by upturned sedi-mentaries. One of the occupants of thecar in which I was riding was PaulBrown, electrical engineer in the controlroom at Boulder dam. No sooner hadwe parked than Paul was out with hisprospector's hammer picking at the bank.

Soon he returned displaying a block ofsandstone on which were perched twinbutterflies of crystallized gypsum or sele-nite. This was the cue for the rest of usand we all spent a little time securingspecimens from the parallel seams in thesediments where it probably had beendeposited on some prehistoric dry lakebed.

Leaving the canyon we hiked to a lowmesa on the left where the formation wascapped with a recent sedimentary con-glomerate of pebbles of all sorts cementedby a soft limestone into the type of rock

commonly called "pudding stone." Ac-cording to E. T. Schenk, paleontologistin the national park service, who was amember of our party, some of the peb-bles weathering out of this sedimentaryare of great geologic age. They containcrinoids and corals of the paleozoicperiod. I recognized some of these peb-bles as probably coming from the samesource as the fossil cherts and agatesfound farther down the river near Blythe.These were described in the Desert Mag-azine of November, 1938, under theheading "Beach Combing on the Des-ert."

As we approached the base of the hillsto the left of the cars we began findingpieces of agate and jasper float. One ofthe Prospectors picked up a crystal-linedgeode and later several others werefound. Farther up the hill we foundgeodes weathering out of the motherrock. What first appeared to be greenjasper turned out to be a slightly trans-lucent variety of green quartz known asplasma. Here and there we found smallpieces of the type known as bloodstone.They contained small blood red mark-ings. The most common type found in

this area, however, is a green plasma inwhich the markings are purple or wine-red. Some of these markings were in theform of wavy bands, and in others thecolored spots are the orbicular or birdseye type. Here and there the birdseyeswere grey or white, and in some placesthey were spheres of translucent agate.All of these types make very nice cuttingmaterial and are by no means common

among collectors' items.About two-thirds the way up the hill

the plasma began appearing in largepieces, some of them as much as a footacross, and higher up the slope we foundit in place, occurring in bands and seamsof varying widths.

While all of the plasma is not goodcutting material, there is an abundanceof this gem rock in the field— certainlyenough to supply all the amateur col-lectors and cutters who may come thisway for many years. The surroundingarea appears to have good geode possi-bilities and there is an old manganesedeposit called Three Kids mine in thevicinity.

Gypsum appears to be a widespreadmineral in this locality and some of thecollectors in Boulder City have crystalsseveral feet in length. The finest of theseare found on the shore of Lake Meadand can be reached only by boat. This isnot a handicap to the local collectors,however, as some of them have boats oftheir own and use them as much forprospecting as for fishing.

Although there are not many mineraldeposits in the immediate vicinity of the

dam which may be classed as valuablefrom a commercial viewpoint, there isa great variety of small mineral outcropsthat will bring joy to the heart of a col-lector.

Following the field trip I had the goodfortune to accompany E. T. Schenk of thepark service on the trip up the lake inone of the fine motor launches operatedby Grand Canyon-Boulder Dam Tours,Inc. It is 115 miles from the dam to thehead of the lake, and never in my lifehave I viewed so much rugged beauty inso short a time. Such a trip is a double

pleasure with Mr. Schenk as a compan-ion. To the average visitor on Lake Meadthe rugged canyon wa"ls are fine scenery—but to my guide on this trip they arethe open pages of a geology book. Hisexplanation of their origin and composi-tion is a fascinating story.

No foliage hides the beauty of line orcolor on the slopes and precipitous cliffsbordering Lake Mead. At one point my

companion called attention to a largemass of sedimentary hills on both sidesof our course. These, he explained, areintermountain sediments of the Plioceneage and were formed originally muchthe same as the small valleys which nowappear between low mountain ranges inthe Mojave desert. The onlv difference isthat erosion has crosscut them and ex-posed their entire structure for study.

As we progressed through this areawe could see these sediments change fromthe fine silts, clays and saline depositstypical of the low point on dry lake, tothe coarser marginal gravels of the slopes.

Then as we neared the pre-Cambrianrocks that once formed the mountainrange, now almost buried in sediment,we could see large angular boulders im-bedded in the cliffs, much as we wouldfind if we were to take a cross-section ofa desert alluvial fan today.

Finally we reached a point which Mr.Schenk informed me is the probablesource of the fossil pebbles we had foundon our field trip the previous day. Herea giant uplift of Paleozoic limestone andchert is weathering away, exposing fos-sils of crinoids and many other ancient

life forms.Presently the cliffs of Grand washcame into view, and I was informed thatthese mark the western end of the greatColorado plateau.

We stopped for lunch at beautifulEmory falls. Here I encountered a strik-ing example of the erosive power of Na-ture. In the December number, 1939,the Desert Magazine carried a picture ofthese falls, showing the water pouringover the top of the cliff and droppingvertically to the surface of the lake. Since

Continued on page 27

Boulder City "Prospectors" tramp the desert hills in quest

of rare specimens of rock arid mineral.

This huge Indian mortar in sandstone was found at one

of the ancient campsites near Lake Mead.

14 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E



By

JOHN STEWART MacCLARY

Photograph By

WM. M. PENNINGTON

r ENDERFOOT visitors callhis race Hop-eye, Ho-pie,or 'most any other vari-

ation possible to these four let-ters. This man and his clans-men refer to themselves asHopitu, pronouncing the wordcrs hoping with the last two let-ters omitted.

Early Spaniards and laterwhite Americans referred to therace as Moqui — "the deadones." That name arose fromthe similarity existing betweenthe pueblos they inhabit andthe ruins which dot the regionwhere these people live. Untilnear the beginning of the pres-ent century the name Moquiwas used on maps and inbooks which referred to the re-gion and people. These peopleare considered t h e world'sgreatest dryland farmers.

The tribal name literallymeans "the Peaceful Ones."Surrounded by raiding Navajo,this name was at least a dis-tinction. But the greate st dis-tinction enjoyed by this tribe

comes from the custom of danc-ing annually with snakes intheir mouths.

No swing music an d jitterbugsare included in this pagandance. And, although observersfrequently have seen the strik-ing fangs of the rattlesnakepierce the bare skin of thedancer, no lethal effects are ex-perienc ed. The secret of this(act is jealously guarded.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 015



'nnouncina D E S E R T D I A R Yj

When the early years of the depression broughtfinancial disaster to Marshal South, he and hiswife Tanya loaded their few belongings in anold car and turned their backs on the coast citywhere they lived.

They followed a trail that led out into the

Southern California desert, and when the roadended at the base of a mountain along the west-ern rim of the great Cahuilla basin they climbedto the summit — and that was their new home.Yaquitepec they called it.

There was neither shelter nor water on the topof Ghost mountain—but they built a crude campof the materials at hand and carried their waterfrom a spring at the base of the hill. During thefirst few months they virtually lived off the coun-try—as did the Indians before them.

Today they are still living on Ghost mountain

Yaquitepec on Ghost mountain. This

is a reproduction from a water color

painting by Marsha l South, and

shoivs his mountain-top home as it

will appear when finally comple ted.

—but gradually through the years a substantialado be cabin has been taking form. And nowthere are two little brown-skinned lads;, Rider andRudyard, who have never known aught but theclear air and freedom of a secluded dssert moun-tain retreat.

Both Marshal and Tanya are writers. Thestory of their experience at Yaquitepec appearedin the Saturday Evening Post more than a yearago under the title of "Desert Refuge" and at-tracted widespread interest. Later it is to be pub-lished in book form.

During 1940 Marshal South will write for theDesert Magazine. His DESERT DIARY, starting inthis issue, is to be a month by month story of anAmerican family virtually living a RolDinson Cru-soe life on a desert mountain top within 200 milesof Hollywood.




rHERE is always something tre-mendously exciting about be-

ginning a New Year. Especiallyin the desert. Here at Yaquitepec wedon't make "resolutions"—out in thebrooding silences of the wastelands onedoesn't need to bolster confidence withsuch trivial props. But every time Janu-ary first rolls around we greet it withjoy. It is the beginning of a new page;a page of some fascinating, illuminedparchment. An ancient page, but to us,still unread. W hat will it hold? Thedesert is full of mystery and surprise.No two years are ever the same.

And New Year's Day is always anevent. Perhaps it is because it draws

added lustre from the recent memoriesof Christmas trees and the mysteriousvisit of Santa Claus. Yes, Santa comesto Yaquitepec. Silently, in the dead ofnight, his gold-belled reindeer speed be-tween the swaying wands of the ocotillosand the tall, dry stalks of the mescalsand whisk his gift-laden sleigh to thesummit of Ghost mountain. And always,when the old saint comes to stuff thestockings of the two little tousledheadswho dream on expectantly, he finds adecked Christmas tree awaiting him. TheChristmas trees of Yaquitepec are care-fully cut branches of berry-laden moun-tain juniper. They are never large—forwe are jealously careful of our desertjunipers. But what they lack in size theymake up in beauty. The white clustersof berries glisten against the dark,bunched green of the tiny branches. Andthe silver star that does duty every yearat the tree tip sparkles in rivalry withthe shimmering, hung streamers of tinsel.

The little desert mice, which scampertrustfully and unmolested in the darknessof our enclosed porch, explore timidlythe rustling crepe paper and greenerypiled about the base of this strange,

glittering spectacle. And I am sure thatthe old Saint, as he busies himself at histask of filling the two big stockings hungbefore the old adobe stove, must pauseoften to glance at the gay tree and tosmile and chuckle. Yes, Christmas is aglad time at Yaquitepec.

And New Year is somehow a joyousfinale of the glad season. A wind-up anda beginning. And it doesn't matter muchwhether the wind is yelling down fromthe glittering, white-capped summits ofthe Laguna range and chasing snowflakeslike clouds of ghostly moths across the

bleak granite rocks of our mountain crest

By MARSHAL SOUTH

or whether the desert sun spreads a sum-mer-like sparkle over all the stretching

leagues of wilderness. New Year's dayis a happy day just the same. The young-sters, eager in the joy of a lot of newtools and possessions, are full of plans.Rider, desert-minded and ever concernedwith the water question, is usually fullof ideas concerning the digging of cis-terns. Or perhaps with the manufactureof a whole lot of new adobe bricks. Rud-yard, with all the imitative enthusiasm oftwo whole years, follows eagerly in bigbrother's lead. He is fond of tools, too.

One of his cherished possessions is anold wooden mallet . . "wooda hammah,"

which he wields lustily upon anythingconveniently at hand. And prying intoRider's toolbox and helping himself topunches and hammers and ,sawS andnails, is his favorite indoor sport.

"Don't you get lonely, away up hereon the mountain?" visitors ask sympa-thetically at times. And they stare whenwe laugh at them. Lonely! How is itpossible to be lonely in the desert? Thereare no two days the same. Always, onthe mighty canvas of the sky and the

Tanya gives Rider and Rudyard a lesson in the art oj weaving baskets from the

shredded fiber of m escal which grows plentifully on G host mountain.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 17



stretching leagues of the wasteland, theGreat Spirit is painting new pictures.And constantly, through the tiny thor-oughfares and trails of our world ofmescals and rocks our wild creatureshurry. The flowers have gone now andthe chill of winter is in the air. But lifegoes on just thesame.

Coyotes range their beats with nightly

regularity. Wehave been officially placedupon the coyote highway system and al-most every night they come to sniff aboutour cisterns and to nose over the ashdump in search of possible eats. Andsometimes grey foxes wander in onfriendly calls. Thesnakes have holed upand the lizards are mostly all hid out.But owls come and sit on the corner ofou r ramada at night and regale us withwoeful discourse. And the white-footedmice arealways with us. There is some-thing amiable and companionable abouta white-footed mouse. Long experience

with us has given them confidence. Theyslip in and out in theevenings like cheerylittle grey gnomes; squatting on theedgeof the great adobe stove and nibblingtidbits, held daintily in their forepaws,while their big, beady, black eyes watchus attentively.

We have ourbirds too,though not thepopulation of spring and summer. jButquail whistle at times from the distanceof the rocks and shrikes chatter advicefrom the summits of dead mescal stalks.The world moves on slowly but surelytowards spring. The newgrass is green

in sheltered nooks and, already, some ofthe early fishhook cacti are putting outtheir flowers. The fishhooks are tempera-mental. If they feel like it they v/illflower, in defiance of seasons or regula-tions.

The house is bigger this year than itwas last. Yaquitepec grows slowly. Al-most everything in thedesert grows slow-ly ; and,like all therest, ourhousegrowthis controlled chiefly by water. Whenthere is water in plenty there is adobemud for walls. And when the cisternsare low, building necessarily has to stop.

But theheavy walls areslowly replacingall the temporary ones. And we have anew window on the desert this yearthrough which thewinter stars can shineby night and through which, each dawn,we can watch the winter sun come up,red andswollen like thegilded dome ofsome great mosque, across a dimhorizonthat is studded by thephantom shapes ofthe Arizona mountains.

We like to sit in our window seats atdawn andsunset. It is then that the des-ert is most beautiful. The old sea bed,where once rolled theheadwaters of the

Vermilion sea, is still a ghostly memory

of its former state. And a memory not

too dim,either. At dawn all thehollows

of the badlands swim, with misty haze

that startlingly suggests water. Andwhen

sunset flings the long blue shadow of

Coyote peak far outacross the dryreaches

the effect is breath taking. There they

are again, all those ancient bays and

winding gulfs and lagoons. Andbeyondthem the purple grey of the great sea.

It is not an illusion that is part of our

own make-up.

Recently we had a visitor, a young

scientist from the east whose pet study

is desert insects. He sat with us oneeven-

ing andgazed out over the lowland des-

ert, andmarvelled. "It's a real sea," he

said in puzzled bewilderment. "Why, I

can see theplay of thewind on thewater,

and thestreaks of tide-rips!" Truly mys-

tery broods in the desert. It is not hard,

gazing out across the phantom bottoms,to give credence to the story of the an-cient Spanish galleon that legend has itlies rotting parched timbers somewhereamidst thesand dunes.

Desert mystery—and a new year inthe dawning. "It will be a good year,"Tanya says confidently, as she proudlytakes a huge tray of golden-brown whole-wheat biscuits out of the great oven."Rudyard is twoyears oldnow, and Rid-er is six. Thegarden is ready for springand the cisterns are full. It will be agood, happy year for work and for writ-ing." And shesets aside her pan of bis-cuits to cool while she snatches up apencil to scribble the first verse of a newpoem. Fleeting inspirations must bepromptly captured—and she is a con-scientious poet as well as a desert house-wife.

But she is a good prophet also. Yes, itwill be a good year.

SIDEWINDER SAM By M. E. Brady

"Quick Doc, thebicarbonate! I just swallowed a China egg bymistake.

L8 The DESERT MAGAZINE



Once each year the gods ofthe Hopi Indians come downfrom the high San Franciscopeaks in northern Arizona tovisit the mesa pueblos and im-part knowledge to certain cho-sen leaders of the tribesmen. Thegods are invisible, but theirspirits are symbolized by weird-ly costumed dancers who takepart in certain tribal ceremo-

nies. They are the Katchinasand are known to the whitepeople mainly through the gro-tesque little wooden imagessold at all Indian curio stores.No one, not even the Hopi them-selves, knows how many Kat-chinas there are—new ones arebeing created and old ones dis-carded in each generation—butthey have a deep significancein the life of this Indian tribe.Here is a story of the Katchinasas told to Mrs. White MountainSmith by one of the craftsmen

who makes Katchina "dolls."

Ka-W ah-Yu, Katchina craftsman, and his wife, Lena Blue Corn,who is a skilled pottery maker. Photograph by Frasher.

uetaeiec By MRS.WHITE MOUNTAIN SMITH

y o N the ancient village of Hano,(I perched on the Mesa of Walpi,— * where the Hopi Indians built theirhomes so many centuries ago no one cansay just when it was,Ka-Wah-Yu patient-ly rubbed a small wooden image witha rough stone. As he worked he tried totlel me just what a Katchina means tothe Hopi people.

We were sitting on the low doorstepof his modest dwelling in the ancientpueblo overlooking the northern Arizonadesert.

Ka-Wah-Yu is Hopi for watermelon,and in school he was called Victor

Watermelon. He is famous as a makerof the little wooden "dolls" which playsuch an important role in the daily life ofthe Hopi. Small and quiet, with a seriousface and steady eyes and hands, there islittle to attract attention to this modestartist until he speaks. His voice carriesthe strength, the determination and thetragedy of the Indian race.

"When I was a little boy my father andmother died with smallpox brought toour country by white people, and I hadonly my old grandfather to care for me.He made the Katchina dolls deep in thekiva, and no white person ever saw them

being made. Very few children sawthem,either, because the little painted dollswere given to good children by Katchinadancers and were supposed to be mysteri-ous gifts from our gods. But I sat al-ways with my grandfather in the kiva,and when he went out into the desertplaces in search of cottonwood roots, theonly wood used to make these images, Iwent with him. He dug deep into thesand to find dead roots and loaded themon the back of a burro an d brought themback to the mesa with us;. All about ourmesas the cottonwoods are hard to find.Why, for these Katchinas I'm making

F E B R U A R Y , 1940



now I drove all waydown to the LittleColorado river and then I found only afew roots that are fit for the gods!"

Then he went on to tell me howdroughts killed theyoung trees before theroots were large enough to be useful.

"Tell me," I asked him, "just what areKatchinas. The white people who buythese little figures aretold they are 'luckydolls' andthey tie them in their cars likesouthern people do rabbit feet. I want toknow what your people think a Katchinais!"

"They are 'pictures' of those whohavelistened to the gods," he answered.

"Yes, but tell me more about them.W ho are those who have listened toHopi gods, and what part do they playin your daily life?"

"To begin with, Katchinas are Hopigods wholive on top of the SanFran-cisco peaks, andthey watch over theHopipeople every hour of the day and night.Their spirits talk to certain chosen menof each clan andgive advice about every-

thing. Part of the year these gods cometo the Hopi country and personally in-spect things. Since they are invisible toordinary humans, their earthly spokes-men dress up like them and dance andfeast and receive the homage belongingto the real gods. They listen to theolderpeople tell whether the children havebeen good or not, and in July before theydepart to thepeaks to stay until the fol-lowing January, they bestow thesepainted replicas of themselves upon thechildren. Each household has one or

r

more Katchinas tucked away among theage-old rafters as a sort of guardian ofthe peace andhappiness of those under itscare. When a Hopi child is taken awayto school it is given a Katchina as a goodluck companion. Katchinas are to us whatwhite people call Santa Claus."

Victor seemed to have exhausted hisfund of information, so I watched silent-ly while he went on manufacturing oneof these pseudo gods. He had made it

plain to me that there is nothing of areligious nature attached to the dolls.

With a sharp jackknife heroughly out-lined theshape of a human figure in thesoft light wood. Then carefully he whit-tled out the arms, usually folded acrossthe breast. Only a knife and a roughrubbing stone are used in shaping theKatchina.

Victor said the first K atchinas he sawhis grandfather make were painted out-lines on a smooth surface. Many yearslater he obtained a knife andthen he cutout the outline and painted it, but still

the doll was flat. Before his death, how-ever, his grandfather learned how tomake a rounded figure and shape thefeatures. The little images could not bebought in those days. They were madeonly for the gods to bestow on worthychildren.

After thedoll wasshaped Ka-Wah-Yutook an oblong piece of sandstone andrubbed the figure until it was compara-

tively smooth. It was ready then forpainting. He told me that he had nopaints mixed, and that each figure musthave six colors on it.

"In the days of my grandfather hemade his own paints. The black was corn-smut, and the white kaolin (clay). Thereds were pulverized iron ores, the greenfrom malachite or copper and theyellowa pigment found on the desert.

"The white coat which covers the en-

tire image is put on first. My grand-father would fill his mou:h with themix-ture of water and white clay and spraythe coating on byblowing it through hislips.

"But now I get dry paints and mixthem with oil from watermelon seeds.They do not peel or rub off like theywould if mixed with water."

"What do the symbols on each Kat-china mean?"

"Sometimes the symbols show whatclan the Katchina belongs to. These areusually butterflies or clouds or rainbows

or rivers or snakes, or maybe mountains.Squash blossoms andcorn stalks are fre-quently used. I belong to theCoyote Clanand mywife Lena to the Katchina Clanso I uselots of our symbols. And you seeI always put a little green watermelonon thebottom of each Katchina I make.That is as if I signed my name. Every-body knows then that Vicror Watermelonshaped and painted the Katchina. You

Hopi Katchina dance asreproduced jor theMilwaukee Public Museum.Photograph courtesy of theMuseum.




s e e , too, on nearly every Katchina, apainted kilt. Katchin a dancers alwayswear these kirtles of cotton, woven andembroidered by the priests in the kivas.The Katchinas are given to the childrento illustrate the legends of our people sowhen the time comes for them to takepart in the dances they will know thewhole story. They join the dances whenthey are seven or eight years old."

Victor did not tell me this, but fromother sources I learned about a very spe-cial Katchina presented in rare cases toHopi women. A childless wife can appealto the gods for children and when the"going away" dance is ending she ishanded a little wooden figure, carved torepresent either a boy or girl as she maydesire. She is to keep this always withher until her child is born and then theKatchina is considered to be the veryheart of the baby and is carefully pre-served in order that it will not be lost ordestroyed and thus bring misfortune onthe infant. Should the child die, the

wooden doll is wrapped in the shawlwith the little corpse and buried amongthe crags of the mesa.

Another type of Katchina is the veryfine little figure made to decorate thegraves of eaglets killed to procure downfeathers with which all Katchinas andprayer sticks are ornamented. The youngeagles are caught in the spring beforethey leave their nests and brought to thevillage. At a certain time they are killedby pressure on the breastbone to preventbloodshed, and every feather is strippedfrom the body. Then the carcasses are

buried in a private cemetery kept forthat purpose, and each grave has its ownKatchina.

Eagle down feathers and Katchinas areclosely connected with the ceremonial lifeof the Hopi. Never a prayerstick is placedon a shrine without its bit of down float-ing in the breeze. Upon these bits ofdown are borne the souls of the departedas they wend their way to the under-ground home of souls in Grand Canyon,so it behooves the Hopi people to treatthe dead birds with proper respect.

Victor told me he helped his grand-

father find wild honey to feed the eagleswhen he was a small boy.

"Honey? Where in this desert wouldyou find honey? I never see a bee aroundthe mesas except at peach drying time!"

"Ah, and that is just the time we findthe honey. We watch the bees until wethink they are about ready to leave thedrying peaches and then we toss a hand-ful of very fine meal or flour on them.They make haste to get away and theylook like tiny snowballs as they wingtheir way homeward. We boys used torun like scared rabbits to keep them in

sight and locate their hive in some dis-

tant ledge of rocks. Then we stayed thereuntil the slower old men arrived. Theylighted twisted hanks of wild cotton andlet it smoulder in the entrance to thecrevice until the bees were stupid, thenwe dug the soft clay aside and carefullylifted out a slab or two of comb filledwith dark sweet liquid. The rest we leftto keep the bees from starving duringthe winter. When we returned to thekiva with the honey it was mixed withsacred pollen and meal and rolled intolittle balls which we fed the eaglets just

before they were killed. It makes theirdown feathers much more effective!"

"How can one tell the "good luck orsafe journey' Katchinas from the others?I want to send some to my friends."

"They are all good luck Katchinas. Wedo not have a Katchina that representsan evil thing or thought. Our gods arekind and benevolent!" he said.

And I left him there, painting with in-spired fingers the tiny dolls, emissariesof benevolent gods watching over theHopi people.

T R U E O R F A L S EOne of the New Year resolutionsadopted by the Puzzle Editor of theDeser t Magazine was to make h is

que stio ns eas ier dur ing 1940. So her e is the first installm ent of "ea syone s . " The test includes the same wide range of subjects, however—bota ny, zoology, geo gra phy , history, minera logy an d Indian lore. Ifyou c an a nsw er 10 of these correctly you a re a well- informed studentof the desert. A score of 15 aut om atic ally initiates yo u into the fraternityof dyed-in-the-wool Desert Rats. There should be a few extra well-in-formed pe rso ns who will m ak e a score of 15 or better, and th ereb y ac-

quire the degree of S. D. S. (Sand Dune Sage) . Answers are on page 29.1—Horned toads are not toads at all, but belong to the lizard family.

True False2—The north rim of the Grand Canyon is higher than the south rim.

True False

3—T he burro is a native of the Southwest desert. True False

4—Native Joshua trees of the Southwestern desert are found only in California..

True False

*>—Elephant Butte dam is located in the Colorado river. True False

6—Historians generally agree that the first white man to set foot in Arizona

was Marcos de Niza. True False

7—First soldiers to be stationed at the Yuma crossing on the Colorado river

were from the U. S. army. True False8—The gem mineral known as Kunzite generally is lilac in color.

True False

9—Squaw cabbage is the name of a vegetable cultivated by the desert Indians.

True False

10—Tally rock was used by the Apache Indians as a calendar stone.

True False

11—Roosevelt dam was named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt.

12—A majority of the cliff dwellings found in the Southwest are made entirely

of adobe mud. True False

13—The Navajo Indians started their sheep herds by domesticating the wild

mountain sheep native of the Southwestern mountains.

True False

14—The author of the book Mesa, Canyon and Pueblo was Chas. F. Lummis.

True False

15—T he Arches national monument is in Utah. True False

16—John Wetherill, now living at Kayenta, Arizona, led the first party of

white men to visit Rainbow Natura l bridge. True False

17—The four states which meet at the famous Four Corners are Utah, Colo-

rado, Arizona and Texas. True False

18—Mexican Hat, Utah, derives its name from an odd-shaped rock formation

in that region. True False

19—The Mexican name for Ocotillo is Hediondilla. True False

20—The present Salton sea was filled by flood waters from the Colorado river

in 1911. True False

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 21



Tioii Tell*the Stotu

n Al&55G.c teBy RICHARD VAN VALKENBURGH

Illustration by Charles Keets ie Shirley

Navajo Artist

" i f O L A ! Ay doya ch'onda!"f l Old Hosteen Tsosi, the Very

Slim One, muttered as he-peered through the firelight into theblack hole that yawned in the face of theCanyon of Death. Red glow of the firemade his age-furrowed face shine like adried apple cast in bronze. There wasfear in his quavering voice.

"He says that he don't want nothin' to

do with that cave up there. He don'tknow nothin' about it . . . only that it's

a bad place for Navajo to be foolin'around," said Chee Anderson, my Nava-jo interpreter.

Chee and I had left Fort Defiance,Arizona, the evening before. After a45-mile trip through the Ponderosa pineforest of the Defiance plateau, we had

camped under the cotton woods at ChinLee. Early in the morning we had pickedup Ranger Doug Harrett and HosteenTsosi, the Shooting Chant Singer.

W e had followed the shifting channelsand deep sands of the main Canyon de

Chelly for six miles. Here, at the junc-tion of the canyons, we swung left and

entered the towering red portals of Can-

yon del Muerto. Fifteen continuous milesof hairpin turns brought us to Mummycave. Then, parking our car we walkedthree hard miles through a canyon bot-

tom slashed by deep arroyos. It was duskwhen we made camp under a large cot-

tonwood tree at the foot of Massacrecave cliff.

The deep silence of the vast canyon

The Mexican version of theMassacre cave episode in 1805has long been a matter of rec-ord. Unfortunately, the Navajoside of the story has been pre-served only as a tale repeatedfrom generation to generationin the ho g a ns of the Indiantribesmen. Before his death lastM ay at the age of 138, Tsosi toldthe details of the massacre as

they were repeated to him byhis grandmother many yearsa g o . The story is presented herewith the author's own conclu-sion as to its authenticity.

was shattered by the chant that brokefrom Hosteen Tsosi's thin lips:

Tcindis, Evil Spirits of theDead

Go Away!For with me

I carry the Holy Power

Given the NavajosBy the Enemy K illersTo Drive away Evil Spirits.

"He sings for protection against thedevils in that cave up there. I'm glad hechants Evil Way.' I'm a little jittery my-self," said Chee.

Our trip up the canyon had been tire-some. It had been hot in the boxed walls.Doug and I soon rolled into our blank-ets, but Hosteen Tsosi arid Chee sat likegraven images, except when their eyeswould shift and stare up to the dark slitof Massacre cave. Drowsiness came from

the monotony of the wsird rhythm ofHosteen Tsosi's song, and I fell asleep,to the sound of Chee's deeper voice join-ing the falsetto of the old medicine man.

The reflected rose-glow of sunriseawakened us. After a quick cup of coffeewe were ready to start up the forbiddingtalus and slick rock ascent to the cave.We hurried, for we wished to get abovethe still air of the canyon bottom beforethe sun started to beat directly down up-on us.

"Ask Hosteen Tsosi if he is going upwith us," I said to Chee.

"D o taa ya!," grunted :he old man.

"He says, NO! Why should he payother medicine men for a Devil Drivingceremony to drive out the evil spirits ofthose dead Navajo up there? But I'mgoing up . . . even if I am a little bitscared."

The climb was stiff. There was no trailover the tricky talus and smooth sand-stone. Sharp weeds snagged us. Whenmy lungs were about to burst and blackdiamonds began to dance before my eyes,I rested under the shade of a stuntedjuniper tree. Hosteen Tsosi, watching usfrom the top of a large rock, was singing




a Blessing Way song that drifted faintlyto our ears:

On all four sides of usLies DangerAbove and Below usEvil Spirits await.

Holy PeopleGive your blessingTo guide our feet

In the blessed Path of Beauty.Doug was in front breaking trail when

he turned and called back, "Van, here'sa grave under this pile of stones."

I moved up. Sure enough, it was aNavajo grave. A broken saddle pommeland a few faded fragments of red andblack blanket were mixed with chalkybones un der the rocks. •

Chee had climbed by a detour and saton a rock far above us. He wanted no partof the grave. Eight years at AlbuquerqueIndian school had not completely erasedhis inbred Navajo superstition of the

dead.Before long we sat at the base of thesheer and overhanging wall that formsthe north rim of Canyon del Muerto.Hosteen Tsosi was a tiny black speck farbelow us. The south rim was a line be-tween the black-streaked red canyonwall and the crystal infinity of the tur-quoise blue sky. Back of us was a shallowlong cave or rock shelter. The view to thewest was blocked by a sharppromontory jutting out intothe canyon.

We moved into the shad-ow of the 100-foot long caveand threaded our way throughlarge boulders. Powdery dustcrackled at every footstep. Myfoot caught on something. Ilooked down. It was a humanthigh bone. We had beenliterally walking on humanbones. The whole cave floorwas lined with broken skele-tons. But 135 y e a r s of

weather and pack rats had done theirwork of destruction.

I glanced above me. Where the cavewall sloped inward, I saw rough con-cavities strongly contrasting with thenatural red of the sandstone. I said toDoug, "Those look like musket ballmarks to me."

Dou g had been scratching in the floordust. From his crouched position, he

answered, "Van! Look, I have one, herein my hand that I just dug out. Boy!They used large bored muskets. Thoseballs ricochetted down into those poordevils. The angle of the marks indicatesthat they were shot from that projectingpoint in the west. They must have slaugh-tered them like cattle."

Fragments of tiny moccasins, cradleboards and squaw dresses brought to usthe stark horror of the massacre. Thesewere not men's things, they had belongedto women and children. As we wentdown the cliff, we were quiet. We couldnot joke about Hosteen Tsosi's dread ofMassacre cave.

The old man had moved off his rockand sat under a tree smoking a com huskcigarette. When we came up he said witha soft voice, "Now, that you have beenup there, do you want me to tell youwhat really happened?"

"Of course I do," I answered.

"Djii ni, old grandmother told me this.She was there. It happened more thanone-old-man's-life-ago.'

"Many Navajo lived around here then.Late in the fall, or about time the bigwinds came, the men would go on a deerhunt in the Lukachukai mountains. Theywould have important Blessing Way cere-monies while they made the hunting gear.When they arrived at the hunting

grounds, great corrals were made of logsand the deer driven into them.

"It was early winter. The snow wasjust starting to crust. All of the able-bodied men were away hunting. Only thewomen, children, and a few aged orcrippled men were in the hogans.

"Early one frosty morning, an oldwoman came screaming up the canyon,The Mexican soldiers with Zunis are atCh'inle!' (present Chin Lee, Arizona)"Mothers clutched their babies in theircradleboards. The young and stronghelped the crippled and aged. They all

started up the canyon to hide in that caveyou just visited. In those days the Navajocalled it Hiding cave. They knew thatthe Mexicans were afraid to enter themouth of the canyons at Ch'inle andwould follow the rim.

"By evening everyone was in the cave.The leaders told them not to build firesor make any noise. Young women were

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 23



posted intherocks togive thewarningif theMexicans appeared.

"When themoon started tosink, mygrandmother heard theMexicans cursingtheir mules asthey drove them over the

rough rocks along therim. Then she sawtheir black figures strung outagainst the

lemon-yellow moon glow. They passedon toward Spruce creek.

"Morning came. The Navajo thought

that their enemies were gone. Just whenthey started to take full breaths, the

Mexicans appeared at thefoot of thecliff . . . right here where wewere sit-ting."

"But howdidthey getdown into thecanyon, Grandfather?" I asked. "The

only trail that I know uphere isthe BadTrail, and noMexican would dare comedown that."

"That is something that most whitesdon't know. TheMexicans followedhorse andsheep tracks tothehead of asmall canyon afewmiles above here,andworked their waydown over a hidden

horse-trail. That's the trail weNavajotoday call "Where theMexicans CameDown.' Of course nowtherocks havefallen anda horse can't make it. It's

even dangerous foraman."Hosteen Tsosi continued his story:"The Mexicans started to climb the

cliff. TheNavajo rolled stones down up-on them andshot arrows. Remember,Hosteen Van, that Navajo women inthose days were warriors.

"After the Navajo drove back theMexicans whowere attacking them fromthe canyon bottom, anoldwoman, who

In Canyon delMuerto, looking from Massacre cave toward the rimfrom whichthe Mexican attackers, guided byZuni scouts, slaughtered theNavajo.

had been a slave to theMexicansgotaway and ran out of thecave yellingcurses inSpanish. Oneparty ofMexicanshad hidden ontherim, andjust as she

yelled they came out on that point tothe west of thecave.

"They looked closer and sawall the

Navajo huddled together. Taking carefulaim, theMexicans fired into theNavajo.The balls could not hitthem directly;sothey started glancing them off. For a

long time they fired, 2ndonly stoppedwhen there was no movement in the

cave below. Then theparty from downin the canyon came up and finishedthe wounded with their lances and gun

butts.

"Old Grandmother was lucky. Theycould not find herbecause she hid undera large rock. Itwas two days beforeshe

dared sneak out. Shefeared to goback

MASSACI :

KAYENTA-75MI NTELOPE"'WMJ

H O U S E >..a. l i t * ; * » ! » > ; • • . ^ L I V E W A T

CANYON DECHELLY

NATIONAL MONUMENT

R A N GE R S T A T I O N

U.S.66 AT C.HAMBERS-85MI

GALLUP, NM. - 95 Mi.

V

- " M O N U M E N T S

FT . DEFIANCE- 45 Mi.




victims were women and children. I be-lieve this is the first time the story hasbeen written of what really happened atMassacre cave in the Canyon of Death.

After 135 years, grim evidence of the tragedy enacted in M assacre cave still is

found. Note the m arks left on the overhead rock, presumably by the musket ballsof the Mexican attackers.

into the cave, for she knew that all ofthe Navajo were dead.

"Two days later the men came backfrom their hunt. They chased the Mexi-cans and caught up with them near WideRuin. A great many Mexicans and Zuniswere wounded, but because the Navajoarrows would not travel as far as themusket balls of their enemies, they couldonly wound them.

"Near 70 murdered Navajo womenand children lay in the dust of that cave

floor, Hosteen Van. Now you know whyit is so evil to the Navajo. It is one of themost dreaded places in Navajoland."

Doug and I were silent as we drovedown the canyon. We, too, felt that wewere driving away from a place of hor-ror. Now, we knew why the Navajo didnot like to talk about Massacre cave.Who could blame them? It is one of thememories seared deep into the minds ofthe de Chelly people, for not a familyescaped the loss of a child, wife, or rela-tive in the Massacre of 1805.

After returning to Fort Defiance, Hos-teen Tsosi's story keep nagging me. Istarted searching through the copies ofold Spanish records kept there. I won-dered if the commanding officer had re-ported what had happened in the Can-yon of Death. I finally found a footnoteof Bancroft's "History of Arizona andNew Mexico," as taken from the SantaFe archives:

"January 25th, 1805, Lieut. Narbonareports from Zuni a fight in the Canyon

de Chelly, (Canyon del Muerto wasnamed after the massacre), where hekilled 90 men, 25 women and children,besides capturing 36 women and chil-dren; also 30 horses and 350 sheep. Nar-bona had only one Indian chief killedand 64 wounded."

Thus Navajo unwritten history con-tradicts the written Spanish record. Withthe evidence at hand from our visit toMassacre cave, I am inclined to acceptthe Navajo version. The only men killedwere the aged and crippled. All other

V I L L A G E ,(THE

OASISTRACT)

Enchanted Valley — Towering Palms — CleanPure Air — Healing Violet Rays at 2100-foot

" ^ ^ elevation — Mildness all year — Good healtha natural result — in the midst of thriving

29 PALMS VILLAGE. Large home-sites as low as $250.

Three easy hours from Los Angeles through scenicvalleys and Joshua Tree Forests.

T R A C T W I T H T H E O A S I S

ROY M. ROPP, Res. Mgr.

TWENTYNINE PALMS

Hard

Rock Shortyo f . . .

Death

Val leyBy LON GARRISON

Hard Rock settled himself com-fortably in his battered old rockeron the Inferno store porch andgazed out over the landscape. A

rapidly moving cloud of dust ap-proaching over the backroad caughthis eye.

"Dude comin'," he commented,"an' don't ask me how I know it'sa dude cause I'm just about to tellyuh."

He delved back into his memo-ries a minute before he went on.

"It all goes back to the first carthere ever was in this country. Adude comes in an' was goin' ourway so Pisgah Bill an' me rode outto Bill's ranch with 'im. He drove

like the sheriff was after 'im, tearin'along the old dirt road, climbin'sand dunes, an' leavin' a cloud o'sand an' dust behind 'im for fourmile. Bill an' me set there abso-lutely petrified. Bill swallered hischaw o' tobacco, an' me—I didn'tdast to spit. Tried to oncet an' itmet me 10 foot ahead so I quit. Itwas close to 30 miles out therean' we made it to the cabin in 30minutes flat.

"Bill an' me stood up to get outan' danged if we didn't bust right

through the floor boards an' get alltangled up.

" 'Well, I'll be ding-danged!'sez the driver. 'That never hap-pened before!'

"We gets unscrambled and looks'er over, an' do you know, thatguy'd drove so fast the sand'dsandpapered the bottom o' that car'til them floor boards was thin aspaper! Yes Sir—that's a fact! That'show I know a dude's comin' far asI can see 'im. Folks that lives heredon't drive so fast."

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 25



r

Here is Hav-Cho-Cha at work at her potterybench on the Yuma reservation, and above,three typical pieces oj her craftsmanship.

Y u m a P o t te r y o n E x h i b i t

Tom Worthington probably has thefinest collection of contemporary Yumapottery to be found anywhere in theSouthwest. Forty-odd pieces from theWorthington group will be on exhibitduring February at the Desert Maga-zine building in El Centro, California,where they may be seen by readerswho find it convenient to call at theMagazine office.

Most of the pot:ery made byYuma Indians is of the inferiortype sold to tourists during trains tops at the Yuma rai l road s ta-t ion. But Yuma women have thenat ive ski l l necessary to creategood pot tery — and a few ofthem are doing it despite thefact that their market is verylimited. Here is a brief historyof the Yuma pot tery industry ,

wri t ten by a man who has l ivedamong these t r ibesmen for manyy e a r s .

the UamaiBy TOM WORTHINGTON

>UECHAN (Yuma) Indians cremate their dead, and since thehighly ritualistic ceremony includes the burning of all personaland household effects, archaeologists have found it difficult to

trace the development of the pottery craft among these tribesmen.Such few specimens of old pottery objects as have been uncovered from

ancient caches or from earth burials made when cremation was not possi-ble due to emergencies of war or pestilence, show but a moderate de-velopment of this phase of their culture.

It would seem that the Quechans were never far advanced in the dec-orative or artistic manipulation of clay artifacts. Their whole desire ap-pears to have centered in the utilitarian motive.

Pots and jars of symmetrical form used by ancient members of the tribefor cooking or for the storage of liquids, grains and seeds are sometimesbrought to light but these give no evidence that pride in the art of decor-ative design ever held a place in their culture comparable with that ofthe ancient and modern pueblo tribes of Arizona and New Mexico.

With the coming of the whites the Quechans were quick ro adopt metaland glass utensils as ot more practical use in their domestic economy.Hence the art of manufacturing even the plain utilitarian pottery of theirancestors deteriorated until generally speaking, pottery making amongthem at this time has but one objective, the sale to tourists and others ofsmall pieces such as can be easily carried away as souvenirs.

These facts might lead one to assume that the Quechan women havebut limited artistic ability. Such is not the case. Proof is found in thebeautiful work turned out by several tribeswomen who have, to an ex-tent, revived the ancient art. Perhaps inspired by the artistry of the womenof the pueblo tribes these modern Quechan potters are now producingdecorated pottery of a grade and design comparable to that found among

the more experienced pottery makers of the pueblos.Outstanding among these modern artists is Hav-Cho-Cha, the 46-year-old wife of Lincoln Johnson who, like her husband is a full blood Que-chan, born and raised on the Yuma reservation. Not in the best of health,this native artist finds time, in addition to her many household duties, togo into the desert hills and procure the necessary types of clay, screenand blend the rough earth, and from the selected product, shape by handand without knowledge of the wheel, vases, bowls, pitchers and jugs offine quality.

Properly proportioned, symmetrical in form, painted with a harmony ofcolor in background and design, her work is technically excellent. No twopieces are exactly alike in painted design although it is possible to ob-tain a matched series of her ware which blends into a perfect set forcabinet display.

After the utensil is formed, dye and paint pigment is applied free-

26 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N



hand with the aid of a sharply pointedreed shaped somewhat like the old quillof our forefathers.

Design is applied from memory andwhile it is symbolic in its ancient mean-ing the symbolism has been lost and itsexact significance is unknown to any ofthe present tribe. Some of the designsare borrowed from other tribes though allare but memory copies of the ancient art

of the southwest.With the hope of but a few cents re-

ward, long hours are spent in preparingthe clay, forming the piece, applying thedesign and firing the finished product.Soft warm colors, blending in perfectharmony, give an effect seldom acquiredby white artists even after years of studyand training.

That this is art in its purest sense goeswithout saying. It knows no convention-ality nor does it follow any "influence"or school of technique. Primitive, it ex-presses the inherent urge for beauty and

harmony of design and color born of"lose association with Nature-

FIELD DAY ATBOULDER CITY . .

Continued from page 14

that picture was taken early in Septem-ber, a record cloudburst visited this reg-ion and carried an estimated 100,000cubic yards of rock, sand and debris overthe edge of the falls into the 100-footpool of water in this scenic cove. Thetop of the cone formed by this hugevolume of wash material now showsabove the surface of the water and formsa 20-foot bar at the point where Emoryfalls pours into the lake.

From this point we continued upthe lower Grand Canyon. I shall makeno effort to describe this part of the trip.Not even the best photograph does jus-tice to the beauty and grandeur of thisregion. One simply has to see it.

W e passed the cove where the caveof the ancient ground sloth is locatedhigh up in the limestone wall. Mr.

Schenk did much of the original researchwork in this cave and gave me an ex-

cellent account of what was found in thetest pit sunk by excavators. This is re-garded as one of the most remarkabledeposits of sloth remains found in theUnited States and its exploration hasscarcely been started. The cave is sealedagainst intruders pending the time whenscientists can complete their work here.

The lake was glassy smooth as we re-turned in the late afternoon and reflected

a perfect image of the canyon walls a-bove. Added to this were the beauties ofan unusually colorful sunset. It is nowonder that the little harbor at LakeMead is dotted with the craft of privatesportsmen and nature lovers, and thatmore and more people are taking thescenic boat trips provided by the GrandCanyon-Boulder Dam Tours.

There are fertile fields for the rockcollecting fraternity in every section ofthe desert region—but the Prospectors'club of Boulder City has the unique dis-tinction of being able to take its fieldtrips either by automobile or by boat and

I am grateful to my hosts for one of themost enjoyable outings in my experience.

T H R E E D f l V S TO R E f l l E f f i B E R. . . WITH A GIFT PACKA GE OF VALERIE JEAN DATES

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Sweetheart . . . mother or friend — what a grand way to

remember her on one of these days. Shipped postpaid any-

where in U. S. A. in attractive Valerie Jean package.

ORDERS MAY BE

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FRESH DATE

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KHADRAWI DATES

3 poun ds $2.656 pound s $4.75

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SAMPLER PACK

3 poun ds $2.656 pou nds $4.75

Our GIFT SAMPLER (centerabove) filled with dates, datecake, date candy and stuffeddates. A delicious EASTER treatfor her.

PALM RIPENED

3 pound s $2.65

6 poun ds $4.75

SIX VARIETIES finest Calif-ornia dates. Due to size and soft-ness these are packed in indivi-dual cups. (Right pkg. above)

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F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 27



It looks like Verbena — andevery one calls it that—but itreally isn't Verbena at all. How-ever, it is a beautiful and fret-grant little flower, and it lovesthe desert sand dunes. In the ac-companying text Mary Beal tellsus some interesting facts abouta blossom every desert visitorhas seen.

By MARY BEAL

II OT one bit shy and retiring is

_ / ( / Abronia, Sand Verbena to mostof her friends. She dominates awide area andoften chooses to dwell bythe side of the road where the worldgoes by. Not all go by. Many linger tofeast their eyes—and their noses—on thefragrant gorgeously-patterned carpets shehas woven and flung over thesands withbeneficent prodigality. So generous isher largess of beauty that most folks,visioning thedesert in bloom, see in theirmind's eye a riot of Sand Verbenas.

Abronia takes first prize for boostingthe desert's reputation for wild-flower dis-play. Let's pay homage to her for an

obliging readiness to stage an off-seasonperformance any time of the year JupiterPluvius sees fit to surprise thedesert withample rains.

Did you know they are not reallyVerbenas? The flowers do resemble theVerbenas of our home gardens but arenot even distant relatives. The FourO'clock family claims them but they payno attention to the family schedules forblooming.

They foregather in impressive numbersbu t are also good mixers, in especiallyfriendly accord with the Evening Prim-rose clan and the Blue Gilias. I've never

found mention of any use made of thedesert species by native tribes but theyachieve such a grand success in splashingmarvelous color and charm over desertsands that we cantake them to ourheartsand be thankful that "Beauty is its ownexcuse for being." By the wayAbronia'sGreek derivation means "graceful."Among the several western species arethe following desert-loving ones:

Abronia villosaThis species spreads over many sandy

areas of the Mojave and Colorado des-erts, its range extending into Arizona,

' «̂

If *

INevada andUtah. Thesticky, hairy pinkstems sprawl over the ground from fourinches to three feet, forming flowerymats, sometimes as much as six feet a-cross. The thick, pale blue-green leavesare round-ovate, almost hairless, l

h to1 /2 inches long, with wavy margins. Thebright lilac-pink flowers, about % inchlong, areclustered in heads of 14 to 20flowerets. The fruit is usually brightpink, with three to five broad thin wings,the body netted by conspicuous veins.

Abronia villosa var. aurita has thesame general form and habits as thespecies. The flowers are usually longer,the wings of the fruit prolonged beyondthe body, which is only slightly netted.The striking difference is apparent atonce even to a novice, the deeper re-splendent color, a vivid rose-purple. But

I defy anyone to pin down to a singleword such elusive color. The warm sandsof the Palm Springs-Coachella-Meccaarea produce this brilliant variety. If youvisited that region last fall you knowwhat a lavish show they made, in re-sponse to the heavy rains of early Sep-tember. I made the rounds of their do-main in late October and found theAbronias holding such high festival that Iwas fairly intoxicated by the spectacle.Never have I seen them put on a moremagnificent display even in springtime.

Abronia pogonantha

This species tends to an erect or semi-erect manner of growth, its red or rose-pink hairy stems from six to 20 incheslong. Thebright-green leaves, one to twoinches long, are an attractive contrast tothe red stems. The flowers arevery pale

The DESERT MAGAZINE



Verbena prefers the sandy soil of the dunes.

lavender-pink or white and the fruit hasonly two wings, rarely three, with bodyand wings netted with veins. Not com-mon but may be found in parts of Inyoand Mojave deserts above 2500 feet.

Abronia turbinataThe stems of this species, six to 20

inches long, are sticky-hairy in youth,becoming nearly bald as they age. Thebright-green leaves are round-ovate toelliptic, about 3/4 inch long. The top-shaped fruit, about y 4 inch long has fivenarrow wrinkled wings or ridges. Lookfor it in Inyo county, through Nevada toNew Mexico.

Abronia e xa l t a t aSo like turbinata it is a questionable

species, the main differences being the

smaller flowers, less than l/i inch long,

broader involucral bracts, which are ovalor obtusely ovate, and the fruit only 1/6inch long with two thick ridges on oneside only. It is found from the Owenslake region eastward into Nevada.

Abronia nana

A mountain-loving perennial specieswith long-stemmed leaves, VJ to % inchlong, all crowded into a dense basal tuft.The white or pale pink flowers are aboutVi inch long, a dozen or two in a head,on erect stems only three or four incheshigh. The top-shaped fruits have thinpliable wings. This little mountaineerchooses an altitude of 6000 - 9000 feetin the Mojave desert, Inyo mountains,Charleston mountains, Arizona and Utah.

TRUE OR FALSEQuestions on page 21

1—True. 2—True.3—False. The burro was broughtinto the Southwest by theSpaniards.

4—False. There is a fine nativeforest of Joshua trees in Ari-zona northwest of Kingman.

5—False. Elephant Butte dam isin the Rio Grande river.

6—True.7—False. Spanish soldiers occu-

pied Yuma previous to theAmerican occupation.

8—True.9— False. Squaw cabbage grows

wild in certain desert areas.10—False. Tally Rock, according

tradition, was used by theTewa Indians on Hopi Mesa

to keep a record of the ma-rauding Indians killed by thedefenders.

11—True.12—False. Most of the cliff dwell-

ings are made of rock. Mudwas used only as mortar.

13—False. The Navajo got theirfirst sheep from the Spaniards.

14—True. 15—True. 16—True.17—False. The states which meet

at Four Corners are Utah, Col-orado, Arizona, New Mexico.

18—True. 19—True.20—False. The present Salton sea

was formed by the Coloradoriver flood of 1905 and 1906.

%/aiaete

ate• Th e desert is a magnificent array of

floral beauty this winter . . . wild-flowers are blooming everywhere . . .the purple hues of the sand verbenacover the sand dunes . . . the tallocotillo nods its scarlet plumes in thebreeze and the desert is dotted withwhite and yellow primrose and themajestic desert lily.

Cam e ta tlte2>ed,ebt

. . . The Desert Magazine will tell you

where to go and what to see. Or, if you

cannot come, let us bring some of the

peace and beauty of the desert country to

your home every month. Subscribe for—

D6S6RT

Published for keen-minded people wholove travel and the outdoors—who are in-terested in Indian lore and history, mines,gem fields, desert wildlife, colorful per-sonalities. It is less than ;i years old andthe Desert Magazine already has 40,000readers.

— Subscription Rates —

1 yea r $2.50

2 yrs. or 2 gift subscriptions $4.00

3 yrs. or 3 gift subscriptions $5.00

636 State Street El Ccntro, California

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 29



INVESTIGATE;the investment possibilities

in land andcommercialen-

terprises at Yuma, Ari-

zona. For complete infor-

mation write the

V U M f l C O U N T VC H A M B E R OF C O M M E R C E

D e s e r t P l a c e N a m e s

a b e a u t i f u l g i f t. . . FROM THE DESERT

A COMPLETE VOLUME

(12 issues)of

TH E

El Centro, California

bound in an attractiveloose-leaf gold embossedbinder . . .

V o l u m e 1 . . . $ 4 . 5 0

V o l u m e 2 . . . [ f 3 . 5 0

A W i n t e r P l a y R a n c h

A S u m m e r Pay R a n c h1 0 % to 12% Net on Your Money

400 acres. Just around the moun-tains (40miles) from Palm Springswith longer days and milderclimate.

• Free from high w inds and dusts torms.

• 275acres Thompson Seedless grapes.• First grape s to reach Eastern markets,

so they bring higher prices.

• 30 acres Deglet Noor dates .• 10 flowing wells. 325 incheswater .

• Sports—horseback, shooting, tenniscour t , swimming pool , etc.

Efficient foreman gives owner freedom

RANCH COST $225,000. PRICENOW $210,000.

T E R M S TO R E S P O N S I B L E B U Y E R

Excellent reason for selling and that rea-son is your big opportuni ty.

Income can be verified through CaliforniaFrui t Exchange

JOHn m.GATESSecurity B uild ing Pasadena

Far the historical datacontained in this de-partment t h e Desert

Magazine is indebted to theresearch work done by thelate Will C.Barnes,author of "Arizona Place Names;" toBetty Toulouse of NewMexico, to Mar-garet Hussmann of Nevada and Hugh F. O'Neil of Utah.

ARIZONA

A 1 (A One) mountain Coconino county

Solitary peak named after Arizona cattle

company of Flagstaff which ran the A 1(A One) brand of cattle in the early 90s.Captain Bulwinkle, former chief of the in-surance fire patrol of Chicago, was its man-ager at one t ime. His wild rides on bloodedrace horses from Flagstaff to the headquar-ters ranch near this mountain in Fort valleywere the talk of the ranges . Nine miles inabout as many minutes was his a im. He waskilled on a dark night in 1896 when hishorse fell on him. Some maps show themountain as Crater hill.

MARICOPA P.nal county

Station on SP 10 miles south of Gilar iver . When the railroad reached here in1880 the military telegraph office was open-ed at this location and gone was the

glory of the oldMaricopa wells stage stationthree miles south of the Gila r iver andseven miles northwest of present Maricopa.Barnes says Maricopa was a very lively vil-lage when he was there in 1880.There thechange was made by travelers for Tucsonan d the east. Travel to Tombstone was at itspeak. Huge 20-passenger stages rolled a-way with every seat, inside and out, filled.Great 24-mule freight wagons lined theroad to Tucson and Tombstone. Maricopawas also the getting-off place for Phoenix,Prescot t , McDowell and points nor th, towhich the military telegraph line ran. It wasa busy place, day and night, "with specialemphas is on the night life." Pest office es-tabl ished November 26, 1880, Perry Wil l -iams, P. M.

CALIFORNIA

WIL EY 'S WELL Riverside county

Near ly midway between Chuckawalla andMule mountains and at south side of Chuck-awalla valley. This well was dug by A. P.W iley of Palo Verde in 1908 and wasnamed for the digger . It has been a usefulwater ing place for desert travelers on theold, l i tt le-used prospectors ' road f r o mMecca to Blythe, by way of Dos Palmasand Chuckawalla wel l . A county signpoststands on the road about 50 feet south ofthe well, which is on the east bank of alarge wash through which a considerableterritory on the south slopes of the Chuck-awallas drains into Ford dry lake. Along

the wash there is a heavy growth of paloverde and i ronwood trees .

T H E C A N E B R A K E S San Diego county

Local name for small mountain stream oneast slope of Laguna mountains (T. 15 S.,R 7 E) . The creek disappears at the desert 'sedge after the water flows through a narrowcanyon whose bottom is choked with densetangles of grass, arrowweed, mesquite andcane. From the abundance of cane the streamtakes its name. Remains of a stone-linedaqueduct extend for some distance alongthe canyon. Mountain walls at the canyonentrance are sheared grani te, whitened, kao-linized and altered and there is suggestionof a fault line along the mountain f ront .Half a mile ups tream, by an almost impass-able trail, the traveler finds rocks much more

dense and unweathered. Above a small cab-in the canyon bed widens into a boggymarsh, beyond which rounded hills rise,their tops in places showing many pieces of

broken pottery. A pinto burro, something ofa rarity, was seen here in a herd of wildburros when the locality was visited notlong ago.

NEVADA

DUN GLEN (Somet imes Dunn Glenn)Pershing county

Near Unionville. Settled by James A. andR. B. Dun in 1863. They came from Cali-fornia with about 500 hsad of cattle, seek-in g new grazing land. The settlers werekilled and their cattle driven off by In-dians shortly thereafter, whereupon a mili-tary post was established at the place.

SMITH VALLEY Douglas and Lyon countiesSettled about 1859 by S. Baldwin, J. A.

Rogers and the Smith brothers, in whosehonor the valley was named. Their homeranch was located on west fork of W alkerriver and about 20miles south of the Masonranch. The Smiths built the first house inthe entire Esmeralda country. Their valleyis almost an extension of Mason valley,from which it is separated by a wild buteasily traveled canyon up which the rail-road passes. There are about 50 square milesof rich land. Elevation 4!>00 feet.

NEW MEXICO

O R G A N D o n a Ana countyT o w n and mountains . Named f rom themountains which have formations resem-bl ing organ pipes .

LA LUZ(lah looze) Otero county

S p . "the light," originally "Our Lady ofLight," referring to the beautiful sunsetsvisible from this place.

DA WS ON Colfax county

N a m e d for John B. Dawson who camefrom Kentucky and bought a ranch of23,000 acres. Later this Droperty was soldto the Dawson fuel company.

UTAH

H E L I O T R O P E (mt.) Sanpete county

So named because in early days a helio-graph station was established there by theUnited States Geographic: survey and thename " Hel io t rope" was ;i local corruptionof "heliograph." Now renamed Wasatchpeak by the geographic survey, after theWasatch range of mountains .

KIZ Carbon county

N a m e d for the first woman settler, Kiz-iah Dimick.

ENSIGN PEAK

From this peak

Salt Lake countyMormon pioneers un-

furled the American flag soon after theirarrival in Utah in 1847. A little later the

namewas

givenby

Brigham Young.




The

Cliata(A Hopi Legend)

As told to

HARRY C. JAMES

Illustration by

Po p Ch a lee

7 f OU will remember in the story ofl^ f the people coming up from theJ underworld how the two little

war-gods—Pookonghoya and Balonghoya—who are often called by the Hopi the"Pookongs," helped the people by hold-ing the tops of the reed and the pinetrees. These two little war-gods and SpiderWoman accompanied the Hopi on theirtravels and finally came to live near themon the high mesas where they dwell to-day. In fact, some of the old men eventoday believe that they have seen themtogether.

A long time ago there was a hugemonster called Cheta, who lived some-where in the west between Oraibi and themountains of the Katchinas, which by thewhite people are called San Franciscopeaks. Many times this monster cameright into the streets of Oraibi and carriedoff children and ate them. This awfulcreature became so fearless it even cap-tured women and men and tore them topieces for food.

The chief of Oraibi held many coun-cils to plan some way to rid the world of

Cheta. Finally, he determined to securethe assistance of the little war-gods, forat this time they were living close byOraibi.

The Pookongs listened to the chief'splea and then told him: "Make us eachan arrow feathered with the wing-feath-ers of the bluebird."

This the chief did and the little war-gods said they would go out and see ifsuch a monster as he described really didexist.

The Pookongs selected a place to watch

very near the village. They had not longto wait before they noticed something

coming from the east side of the mesa.They were frightened when they saw

how enormous the creature really was.As Cheta came closer, it growled: "I'll

eat you both!"

The Pookongs objected, but Chetawould not listen to them and swallowedfirst the older and then the younger ofthe little war-gods.

To their surprise the war-gods foundthat it was not dark inside the great crea-ture. They could see that they were on aqueer sort of trail leading down into themonster's stomach. They followed downthe trail into the cavernous stomach and

found there a regular little world to it-self with rocks, trees, grass and all kindsof animals and people which Cheta hadswallowed in different parts of the world.Although all of the people seemed to beliving comfortably, they were anxious tobe back in their own homes and so theypleaded with the war-gods to find someway to kill the monster so that they couldall escape.

The Pookongs then remembered thatSpider Woman had told them that theonly way Cheta could be killed was byputting one of their arrows through itsheart. There were many, many trails

leading about the great stomach. One daythey had gone a long distance along one

of these, when high overhead they saw ahuge something hanging. Pookonghoyashot his arrow toward it, but it was toohigh and his arrow failed to reach. Hisbrother shot and pierced the heart. AsPookonghoya had recovered his arrow bythat time he shot once more, and he, too,buried his arrow in the heart.

In a few minutes it began to get darkand the war-gods knew the monster wasdying. They called together all the peo-ple and led them to the mouth of thecreature. But its teeth were clenched fast.

They could not escape that way. Theywere in despair! Finally, the Pookongsfound a trail that led up the nostrils andout the nose. Through this all the peoplegained freedom.

The chief of Oraibi had seen the mon-ster die and had called to the people toassemble. Great was their joy when theysaw friends and relations emerge welland happy from their strange confine-ment. Those people who were not Hopisoon set out to find their own people,the Oraibi men and women supplyingthem with food and water for theirjourneys.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 31



QteetitUfi to-A/eat H eadend offthe 3)ed&U Maxfaytiie

Many hundreds of newreaders have been addedto theDesert Magazine fraternity during theChrist-mas gift season. Tothese new companions along the

desert trail, theeditorial staff extends welcome—andthe sincere hope that during 1940 theDesert Maga-zine mayimpart through itspages a generous meas-

ure of thepeace, understanding andcourage whichare thedesert's greatest gifts to mankind.

Each month the Desert Magazine carries manypages of authentic information in thefields of travel,recreation, history, mineralogy, Indian lore and the

natural sciences, and this material is accurately in-

dexed annually in theOctober number. A majority

of the readers of this magazine value this informa-tion sohighly they save their back copies as a per-

manent addition to their libraries.

In order to provide permanent covers for theseback numbers, the publishers award a gold-em-bossed loose-leaf gift binder to each renewing sub-

scriber whoremits to the office of publication theregular rate of $2.50 for a year's renewal at the ex-

piration of theyear's subscription. Readers who re-

new their subscriptions at special rates through clubor combination offers mayobtain these binders at

$1.00 foreach volume bywriting to theDesert Mag-azine, ElCentro, California.

In Sheath Valley . .

For theinformation of motorists seeking detailed informa-tion regarding roads andaccommodations in theDeath Val-ley national monument, thenational park service hasissuedthe following bulletin:

Approach Roads

From Southern California; via U. S. 66 toBarstow, U. S.

91 toBaker and state route 127 toDeath Valley; or, via U.S.6 through Mojave toLone Pine, thence onstate route 190 to

Death Valley. Alternate entrance from U. S. 6 is providedby wayof Trona or Olancha; former hasabout 25miles of

H ELLO, FOLKS! Let ' s get acquainted at oncefo r 1940. J am the newest employee of the

Nev-Cal and already feel at home as I havebeen working for more than a hundred power com-panies for several years, bringing to people in all

walks of life messages about theuses of electricity.

It is myhope to bring you important messagesabout thebenefits of electrical power andtelling you

of newelectrical ways that I have been able to dis-

close to mill ions of other people to their benefit.

N E V A D A - C A L I F O R N I A E L E C T R I C

unsurfaced road, well maintained. TheOlancha route has

about 19miles of unsurfaced road, well maintained.

From northern California; via U. S. 99 to Bakersfield,U. S.466or state route 178 tojunction with U. S. 6, thenceby wayof Trona, Olancha, orLone Pine. Or, viaReno, Ne-vada, thence byU. S.395 or state (Nevada) routes 3and5.

From theeast, entrance can bemade either byBeatty or

Death Valley junction. All the above roads arepaved ex-

cept where otherwise stated.

Death Valley Roads

Artist's drive Good gravel roadTitus canyon Temporarily closedUbehebe Crater road AllpavedScotty's Castle road - Allpaved except 3milesConfidence Mill and Saratoga springs Good dirt road

Camping

All modern camping facilities areavailable in Death Val-ley. Thenational park service maintains theTexas Spring

public camp ground near Furnace creek, 4l

/imiles from parkheadquarters. Water, tables and restrooms areavailable with-out charge. Firewood, however, must be purchased, or ob-

tained before entering themonument, for it isprohibited to

cut or inany way disturb trees orother plant life in the na-

tional parks andmonuments. Camping is permitted at Mes-quite spring. Camping is limited to 30days. Camp indesig-nated areas only.

At theFurnace Creek auto camp, campsites for trailersareavailable with electric outlets, toilet andbath facilities for a

nominal charge.Notice

Visitors must refrain from picking Desert Holly and all

other plants.Weather

Excellent weather still prevails in Death Valley. The tem-peratures range from the lower forties atnight toupper sixtiesin theday time.

Accommodations

Furnace Creek inn —American plan hotel, from $9-50single.

Stovepipe Wells hotel andcabins, restaurant, from $3.00single.

Furnace Creek auto camp—Cabins, restaurant, store, from$2.00 single.

Accommodations arealso available in thenearby localitiesof Death Valley junction; Beatty, Nevada; Panamint springsand Owens valley points.




WntieM, of t/te jbei&d . . .J. C. B O Y L E S , Jim Boyles to his friends,

is not a professional writer, but he probably isbetter qualified to wri te the story of IndianGeorge, which appears in th is number of theDesert Magazine, than any other living per-son.

For many years Boyles has been friend andadvisor for the Shoshone-Panamint Indians.These Death Valley tr ibesmen are under thejurisdiction of the agency at Stewart , Nevada.But Stewart is so far away the Indians haveto write a letter when they need advice fromtheir white guardians. Jim writes the lettersfor them. He also helps them sell their wooland solve the other problems involved intheir dealings with the whites .

N o one ever knew Indian George's Sho-shone name unti l the aged Indian one day re-vealed to his friend Jim that it is Bah-vanda-sava-nu-kee. Boyles lives at Trona, California,an d is interested in photography, mining, pros-pecting, and the exploration of out-of-the-wayplaces on the desert.

Collecting and shipping spiders is merely

on e of R A Y M O N D W. THORP 'S in te re s t ingsidelines. His main occupation is writing, andhe has supplied short fact features for manyhundreds of publications, including the taran-tula story in th is month 's Desert Magazine.

His home is in Los Angeles and he becameinterested in spiders when his son broughthome a tarantula in his hand. Until thenT h o r p had shared the popular fallacy thatthese hairy little beasts were highly poisonous.Since that first meeting with a tarantula hehas studied the habits of centipedes, scorpions,black widows and many other species of thespider family, and has made a motion pictureof them.

• • •

KATHRYN BOMAR, whose s to ry abou tJake McClure is in this copy of the Desert

Magazine, is a feature writer for the N e w s -Journal at Clovis , New Mexico. Mrs. Bomaris 22 years old, a native of Missouri , andwent to New Mexico five years ago. Her hus-band is manager of the J. C. Penny store inClovis.

• • •

LON GARRISON, national park rangerw ho has been enterta in ing Desert Magazinereaders during the last twoyears with his talesabout Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley , hasbeen transferred from Yosemite national parkto Hopewell Vil lage national monument atBirdsboro, Pa. The transfer is a substantialpromotion for Garrison. The Desert Maga-zine staff send congratulations. Lon says hisheart will still be in the West—at least longenough every month to spin another yarn

about his old pal, Hard Rock Shorty.

If the desert Indians of the Southwest weregraded according to their skill in the arts andcrafts, the Yumas would ra te far down thelist. In fact, no one ever regarded them asserious contenders for honors in this field—that is, no one except TOM W O R T H I N G -T O N . Tominsists that his friends the Yumasare capable of just as fine craftsmanship as anyother tr ibe—and that all they need is a littleencouragement from their white neighbors .As a long-time in timate of these tribesmen hehas done what he can to develop their art inpottery—and has acquired a very fine collec-tion of bowls and jugs and vessels which heexhibits as evidence of the skill of the Y u m a s .

It was only natural then, that when theDesert Magazine wanted a feature story aboutYuma craftsmanship , Tom was the man who

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0

should write it. Worthington l ives at Winte r -haven, California, close to the Yuma reserva-t ion. He has spent his entire life in the desertSouthwest—and a busy lifetime it has been.At various times he has been a newspaperpublisher, archaeologist, cowhand, prospectorand miner, real estate developer and t rader .His hobby is craft work in wrought iron. Re-cently he has shown symptoms of that popularmalady known as "rockhoundit is ," and hasbeen neglecting his i ron work while he buil thimself a cutting and polishing outfit.

Worthington 's s tory of Yuma pottery ap-pears in th is number of the Desert Magazine.

Another newcontributor to theDesert Mag-azine this month is M O R A M c M A N I SB R O W N of Riverside, California . When hertwo boys reached the age that they requiredless mothering, Mrs. Brown, according to herown admission "yielded to a long-represseddesire to write , and acquired the fundamentalsby a year's attendance in Riverside junior col-lege." Her "I, too, Have Learned" appearingin the Desert Magazine th is month is her

second sale. Like many other aspiring writers,sh e has a novel in the background. Her hus-band is chief deputy surveyor in Riversidecounty.

Weatken.

San Antonio Date Shop

D A T E STor price list

folder with newdate recipeswrite . . .

MRS. FRANCES GEORGE, INDIO, CALIF .

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DECEMBER REP ORT F ROMU . S. B U R E A U AT P H O E N I X

Temperatures— DegreesMean for month 57.6Normal for December 52.High on December 8 84.Low on December 27 31-

Rain— Inches

To ta l for month T.N o r m a l for December - 1.

W e a t h e r -Days clear 18Days partly cloudy 7Days cloudy 6

G. K. GREENING. Meteo ro log is t .F R O M Y U M A B U R E A U

Temperatures— DegreesMean for month 61.(Warmes t December in 62 years)Norma l for December 55.2High on December 8 82.Lo w on December 27 36.

Rain— InchesTotal for month 070-year average for December 0.53

Weathe r—Days clear 28Days partly cloudy 3Days cloudy o

Sunshine 96 percent (299hours out of possi-bl e 311 h o u r s ) .

Colorado r iver—December d ischarge at GrandCanyo n 311,000 acre feet. Releas e fromBoulder dam 680,000 acre feet. Estimatedstorage December 31 behind Boulder dam22,720,000 acre feet.

J A M E S H. GORDON, Meteo ro log is t .

CATALOG

SENT ON

REQUEST

Original designer and maker of thefamous Edward H. Bohlin HollywoodSilver Buckles and Silver-Mounted

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BOOTS , BELTS , JACKETS , S P URS ,S OMBREROS , S HIRTS , CHAP S ,

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E D W A R D H. B O H L I N5760 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Calif.T E L E P H O N E G L A D S T O N E 0275

G o i n g to P h o e n i x ?

Stop at the West-ward Ho when youvisit Arizona's Val-ley of the Sun. En-joy the fascinatingatmosphere of anArizona desert re-sort plus all the ad-vantages of a met-ropolitan hotel. 350luxurious rooms; de-lightful food; American or European

plan. Spacious lounges, tropical patio,deluxe sundecks, smart cocktaillounge. All resort sports and diver-sions. Near Phoenix' finest shoppingand theatre districts.

FRANK J. HABERL, Manager.

dt^OlESTUIRRD HOP r e m i e r H o t e l of the S o u t h w e s t

WHEN you think of the Desert

think of Twentynine Palms and

American Plan (with Meals)

Single $4.00 day up, Double $7.00

European Plan: Single $3.00 upEuropean Pla n: Double $5.00 up

MISSION INNMake this your home while staying on the des-ert. America's fastest-growing all-year desertresort. For reservations call Southern California

Auto Club, Los Angeles or write Box 318 orphone 331, 29 PALMS, CALIFORNIA.

33



2 9P A L M S

I N NTH E HOTEL AT THE

OASIS

FIREPLACE ADOBES* * *DELICIOUS FOOD

* * *SADDLE HORSES

BADMINTONPADDLE TENNIS

* * *AMERICAN PLAN

Single $6.50—Double $11

Gateway to Joshua Tree National Monument

Official Hotel—Automobile Club of S. Calif.Reservations — write Edith W. Thatcher,Mgr., 29 Palms, Calif., or call Los AngelesTKinity 1544; San Francisco GArfield 3505

TC R O S S

GUES T RANC H

KOffering the finest accommodations forthose seeking quiet relaxation in Westernranch life surroundings. American Plan inindividual stone cottages with private bath.Excellent food. Moderate rates from $500daily to $30 weekly per person.

Tucked away in Mission Canyon at theedge of the Colorado desert in SouthernCalifornia, 8 miles from Highway 99. Only30 minutes from Palm Springs.

—Write for Full Details and Reservations—

J . R. H O L L I D A Y , M g r .Star Route Whitewater, California

In the Center of Downtown

LOS ANGELES

FOURTH andSPRING STS.

D O W N T O W N

Right in thecenter of activities . .. . . . a quiet, comfortabJe hotelhome . . 200 roomsFrom $2 with from

Private Bath

$ 1 2 51

A n g e l u s De An z <i

C H U R C H R O C KJohn Stewart MacClary of Pueblo, Colo-rado, is winner of the $5.00 cash prizeoffered by theDesert Magazine in Decem-

be r for the best descriptive story of the natural monument shown in theaccompanying picture. MacClary's manuscript is published on this page.

H O T B L

By JOHN STEWART MacCLARY

Your Landmark photograph in the

December number of the Desert Maga-zine is Church Rock, a striking for-mation of red sandstone located alongU. S. Highway 450 in Dry valley,southwestern Utah, between the oldtimeMormon settlements of Moab and Mon-ticello.

Seen from an angle it looks like agigantic streamlined sphinx, and fromanother point it resembles a domed andsteepled church. It is necessary to leaveyour car andwalk a half mile to get thesphinx-like view. Examining the west-ern base closely you will find some

"stone saints" etched in the rock by

Nature.While natives of that area call this rock

monument "The Church," I believe the"Streamlined Sphinx of Dry Valley" isa more colorful designation.

Although thebulk of therock in thisformation is red sandstone, the upperlevel is of grey-buff, demonstrating twodistinct geologic ages.

The rock is nearly 200feet high andapproximately a quarter of a mile inlength. It once served as an importantlandmark in this desolate, waterlessregion.




Who knows the story of thismammoth excavat ion

i n N ev a d a ?

PRIZE CONTESTFor the February landmark contest,

the Desert Magazine has selected a Ne-vada mining project with which travelersin the desert country should be familiar.

There is an interesting story in thedigging of this huge pit. The tale wouldfill a book—but the Desert Magazineeditors want the most essential facts, in-cluding the location, ownership and ac-cessibility by highway, condensed intoa 500-word manuscript. A cash prizeof $5.00 will be awarded to the writerwho gives the most complete and accurate

information within this word limit.Entries must be in the office of the

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0

Desert Magazine by February 20, andthe prize-winning story will be publishedin the April number.

o • •

MONUMENT PEAK ISSCALED BY CLIMBERS

Another desert pinnacle which long hasdefied the efforts of climbers was scaledDecember 31 when four members of theSierra club of California reached the sum-mit of Monument peak in the Whipplemountains of California near Parker dam.

Successful climbers were Arthur John-son, Paul Estes and Ruth and John Men-denhall. Actual ascent of the 300-foot

pinnacle required four hours, and sevenpitons were used.

L E I S U R E C R A F T S

F O R L E I S U R E T I M E

Interesting! Educational! Fun! Useful!Make your own leather goods, moccasins,and hundreds of other useful items. It'seasy and inexpensive when you do the workyourself. Write for FREE instruction leaf-lets and 1940 Handbook of Handicrafts.

L E I S U R E C R A F T S1035A So. Grand Los Angeles, Calif.

Cregar's Indian Trading Post

PALM SPRINGSLargest collection of prize-winning Indianbaskets in United States. Fine assortmentof genuine Indian hand-hammered silverand turquoise jewelry. Fine selection ofNavajo hand-woven rugs. Rare collection ofold American Indian arts.

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R. B. CREGAR

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F O R A D A YOR

T H E S E A S O NEnjoy fun-drenched days in ElMirador's private park, dedi-

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W A R R E N B . P I N N E Y , Mgr.-Owner

Phone 251

P A L M S P R I N G SCALIFORNIA

"Americas ForemostDesert Resort"

35



"MINERALS AND THEIR STORIES"24 different economic minerals in very at-

tractive boxwith a 48 page booklet of storiesof these minerals at $1.25, postage paid.PROSPECTOR'S SET — 50 SPECIMENS

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R XS E T HEG e m

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W . A. FtLKER 35 21 Emerald St., To r r ance , C a l i fo r n ia

M I N E R A L I G H TS p e c i a l 6-Volt P o r t a b l e S e t s for f i e l d usea n d the p r o s p e c t i n g an d m i n i n g of . . .

S C H E E L I T EThis high power source of Black Lightcauses the fluorescence of more than 100minerals.—Send for new catalog and free list of

fluorescent minerals. Dept. G-17.

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Beautiful gems for collectors at priceswhich defy competition. Approvals sentagainst deposit.

Hundreds of fine minerals in stoc'k.Send 5c for catalog.

Ultra-violet lamps for collectors andprospectors. Circular free. Booklet"Fluorescent Minerals" explaining thephenomenon, 15c. Argon lamp andfluorescent mineral samples, $1.00.Educational monthly Mineral Bulletin25c a year. Sales tax on above 3 % inCalifornia.

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DEPT. EL

THE JOHNS COMPANYSappington, St. Louis County, Missouri

Q&tti G4idThis depar tment of theDeser t Magazine is reserved as a clearing house for gem and

mineral collectors andtheir societies. Members of the"rock-hound" fraternity areinvitedto send in news of their field trips, exhibits, rare finds, or other information which willbe of interest toother collectors.

-ARTHUR L. EATON, Editor-

BASANITEBasanite (first syllable pronounced bay)

is a fine grained velvet-black species of chalced-ony. Its superior blackness and toughnessrecommend it for necklaces, ring sets and

all other jewelry where a fine black stone is

required. It is better than all known artifi-cial substitutes. Found throughout theColora-do deser t .

BASSANITE"If Basanite is a velvety black silica, what

is Bassani te?" Note the difference in spell-ing. Several collectors have asked for a state-ment on this point.

Bassanite is a rare form of gypsum, or hy-

drous calcium sulphate. It is always white incolor, andoccurs either as slender needles, or

in a mass, with theneedles loosely connectedin paral lel ar rangement . Its hardness is only2. It was discovered originally in Vesuvianlava deposits.

• • •

Forty members of theImperial County Gemand Mineral society went on the recent ex-cursion to the Quartzsite region of Arizona.The par ty spent two days in a virgin fieldof literally countless geodes, chalcedony roses,agates, arrowheads, opal, fluorite of manycolors, galena, pyrite, etc. etc. Even thenewestrecrui t brought home a bagwith many finespecimens. All are planning another week-en d in thesame place!

• • •

Orlin J. Bell, president of East Bay Min-

eral society, Oakland, reports that the rapidgrowth of the year-old society is due, in his

opinion, to the friendly and sincere spirit of

its 130 members , and to thefact that it is ableto provide at t ract ive programs and outstand-ing speakers. Theorganization displayed one

of the most interesting exhibits at the Na-

tional Hobby Show last December. It con-

sisted of a large case of showy mineral speci-mens and cut stones; also two sets of lapi-dary equipment in operat ion.

• • •

Colorado Mineral society meets in the mu-seum of natural history, Denver, Septemberto June. Summer meet ings are field trips.Thesociety sponsors a course in rocks and min-erals at the Y. M. C. A., present ing promi-nent Colorado speakers on such subjects as

"Lure of GemStones ," "Dinosaurs ," "Fluor-escence." At the January meet ing of the so-ciety Chester R. Howard, pres ident , awardedprizes for snapshots showing material of in-

terest to mineral collectors.e • •

Death Valley was theobjective of the Jan-uary field trip taken by LosAngeles Mineral-ogical society. Members met 9 a. m. Decem-be r 30 in Beatty, Nevada, and spent threedays prospecting and collecting specimens,crossing thevalley from east to west .

• • •

The California Division of Mines wil l , for

15 cents, mail a monthly list of mineral prop-erties wanted and for sale. These publica-tions may be obtained from the SanFranciscooffice of theDivis ion of Mines or from the

Sacramento or LosAngeles offices.

Misnamed Minerals

"MEXICAN FIRE AGATE"A m o n g the poorest imitations ever perpe-

trated on the gembuying public is the so-

called "Mexican Fire Agate." It evidentlyoriginated as an imitation of the fire opal. It

is apparently glass, with artificial "fire" pro-

duced by inclusion of mica or small particlesof color in thevery bottom of each stone. It

is necessary only to look through the stonefrom the side to detect the imitation. It has

glassy fracture and loses its luster rapidlywhen worn.

HISTORY OF KUNZITEBY HOWARD KE GL E Y

Perhaps you are the proud possessor of a

Kunzite specimen, or maybe you are so for-

tunate as to have the gem in the form of a

piece of jewelry, but did youknow that for

years it masqueraded under erroneous classi-fication and had to be taken toNewYork be-

fore its true identity was discovered?

This jewel of the desert, one of the love-liest of our gemstones, wasdiscovered near-ly 40 years ago in the I 'ala Chief mine, not

far from Warner's ranch, in association withthe rather unusual mineral we know as lepi-dol i te. It may interest many to know thatthis mine is the country's foremost producer

of lithia.A Mission Indian was first to layeyes upon

Kunzite, and he took samples of it to Palawhere Char ley Magee, who was prospecting,jumped at theconclusion it was cinnabar. Af-

ter going out and staking several claims he

took samples of it to an assayer who couldn' tfind cinnabar in them and overlooked the

lithia, with theresult that Magee allowed his

claims to lapse.

A year or two went by, and a Mexican whoheard of thedeposit paid it a visit, filing on

the most important claims under the impres-sion that he had discovered a fine marblequarry. In the course of time he learned of

his mistake, andlikewise let hisclaims lapse.

Near ly a decade rolled bybefore two pros-

pectors opened up themine andshipped sam-ples to a jeweler in New York . It wastherethat a gemologist by the name of Kunz prop-erly classified the material. In the course of

time it wasnamed in honor of him.

T he gem really deserves to be listed amongthe rarities because it is found in but few of

San Diego county's marvelous gemmines, and

no t in quantity even there.

The color range of ths gorgeous stone is

from white with pink shimmering through, to

several distinct shades of pink, andalso frompink to lilac and on up into deeper tones to

a dark lilac.

Tiffany in NewYork is reported to havebeen the first gemdealer to exploit this re-

markable stone after it was 'classified by

Kunz.

The DESERT MAGAZINE



BIRTHSTONESF e b r u a r y — A m e t h y s t

Amethyst is a purple or violet va-riety of quartz . Its color varies in in-tensity. The crystals are hexagonal andusually well formed. They are foundwidely distributed over all continents .Amethyst may be cut cabochon or facetand makes fine intaglios.

NE W GEM CLUB TO BEFORMED AT BARSTOW

Persons residing in a radius of 75 milesfrom Barstow, who are interested in mineral-ogy and geology, have been invited to meetat the Beacon tavern in Barstow at 7:30 p.m.,January 20 to participate in the organizationof a newmineralogical society. Notice of themeeting has been sent to many known col-lectors who have been requested to inviteothers interested in the hobby. Sponsors ofthe proposed society hope to take in the Bar-stow, Randsburg, Daggett and Y e r m o dis-tricts. Anyone interested should communicatewi th TomWilson at Beacon tavern in Bar-stow.

The various earth science groups and min-eral collectors of W y o m i n g met in Novemberat Rawlins to found a state-wide unit. TheWyoming federation is on a basis similar tothat of California.

G E M M A R TAdvertis ing ra te 8 cents a word,

$1.60 minimum an issue.

M I N E R A L S P E C I M E N S AND B O O K S onmineralogy, gem polishing, fossils etc. Cat-alog .05. The GemShop, BoxR797, He-lena, Montana.

GEMS, MINERALS, fluorescents, crystals,

cutting material. Lists and big mail hobby,swapper offers with sample copy "Gemsand Mineral Trader." Dime. D. M. Mc-Campbell, Calexico, California.

GEM CUTTING—S end you r rough dese r tgemstones to F. H. Wallace, Box 344, ElCentro , Calif., for expert facet and cabo-chon cutting and polishing. Gems and gemminerals for sale. Assaying. Prices on re-quest.

ALL CRYSTAL COLLECTION. Five crysta lgroups including Spearhead Marcasite andEssonite Garnets. Five crystals includingcorundum and terminated black Tourmaline.A real value. Price $1.00plus 9c postage.Gem Touris t Court , Redlands, Calif. 4Vimiles west of Redlands on Highway 99.

CHOICE HORNS ILVER S P ECIMENS , f romCalico. Prices $1.50 and up. Postpaid .Mon-ey back guarantee. Larry Coke, Box 47,Yermo, California .

• PETRIFIED W OO D GEMS

• MINERAL SPECIMENS

S T O N E S CU T AND P O L I S H E D

—Large Saving—Special 5c per sq. inch—Indian Curios and Jewelry

R A I N B O W G E M C O .NO W IN OURNEW LOCATION

546 W. Mission Dr. San Gabriel, Calif.

ENHYDROS AGATES

B Y W I L L L. GRIGSBY,

President Newport, Oregon, Agate Society

Among gem stones found in beach gravel,there is none that gives the finder a greaterthrill than does thewater-bubble agate (enhy-d r o s ) . It is estimated that out of a thousandagate pebbles, one is an enhydros—unless theseeker is unusually lucky, or has found atechnique through experience with the stone,its characteristics and places of likely occur-rence.

Theoretically, all silica geodes at one t imecontained water, carbon dioxide, petroleumor whatnot, as the medium from which wasdeposited the silica that forms the walls ofthe geode. It is assumed that most of ouragate was formed by silic;-bearing magmaticwaters in cavities in rock, sand, clay, shellsand wood or weed stems. Cavities which thesilica-bearing solution enter :d through a largeopening, built up from th< bottom and sidesas a solid mass. Where the entrance was small,the silica from solution defosited on all sidesof the cavity, ultimately closing the passagethrough which it entered, ;tnd sealing, withinthe cavity, a filling of silic; in solution. Timepassed, and the silica was deposited from theimprisoned solution, and there remained only

water .It is obvious that all cry:talline geodes have

ha d a liquid filler. Also, unless the hollowagate or geode was in contact with moisture,in time it lost the water. This line of reason-ing accounts for the grea«r frequency of en-hydros agates in localities :hat have abundantmoisture .

The re is a theory that witer mayhave beenforced into the cavity un ler great pressure.This theory is untenable is it takes no ac-count of the origin of th; cavity, and mustassume that the magmatic vater has been lostby the stone—not impossible but hardly prob-able. The re is, however, :he possibility thatenhydros agates which ha're lost their watercontent through evaporatioi. may have had the

water renewed byalternate heating by the sunas they lay in the sand a: the water's edge,then cooling as the waves passed over them.A ir in the cavity was expanded by heat, aminute portion escaping through the porouswa l l s ; as waves chilled t h; porous stone, theair again contracted and :he partial vacuuminduced drew in water to replace the air lost.Th is is the theory of the "tea-kettle" methodof restoring water to dry enhydros agates. Ithink it better to hold to the belief that thewater is the original ma 'matic water . Noother theory explains the formation of thecavity.

Most enhydros agates fomd are under threeinches. Larger stones ha\e water but it isdifficult to detect the transparent bubble in

the translucent stone. Best types are irregularchalcedony with unbroken surface. Carnelian,cloud, "turtle-back" and saganite enhydros arefound, but rarely agate of the fortificationtype.

It is stated that polished specimens go drymore readily than the rougi, because a "glaze"that sealed the pores of the agate has beenremoved. There is a possibility of an exteriorglaze on some agates, but . lot onbeach stones.

The re is no way to pret.ict how long waterwill remain in enhydros abates. Onespecimenhas been kept drymore than 25 years and isas good as ever. Another va s worn as a watchcharm for 15 years without loss of water . Yetsome lose their water in a short time. Thefinding, the polishing, the permanency of the

water, all depend on luck, pure luck.

AT SANTA BARBARA

Annual convention of California Fed-eration of Mineralogical societies to be

held April 20-21.

S E A S H E L L S . . .

AND OTHER MARINE SPECIMENSNew sale catalogue just issued, 1400

illustrations only $1.00. Amount re-funded on first order of $10or over re-ceived. Handbook for Shell Collectors,2,200 illustrations, cloth, $2.!iO. Largeststock of classified recent rnollusca inworld.

W A L T E R F . W E B B202 Westminster Road, Rochester, N. Y.

Rock Collectors —ATTENTION !Tourmalines in Matrix $1.10postpaidInternational Surprise Pkg... $1.00 postpaid(Contains Cut Gems, Fossils, Minerals and

Sawed Slabs of GemMaterials)Special Offer to oneAdvanced Collector, 41-pound AMETHY ST GEODE $200.00

T H E R O C K O L O G I S T"CHUCKAWALLA SLIM"

824 N. 2nd St. Alhambra, California(Mail Address only)

D E S E R T G E M S M O U N T E DYour favorite stones made into a ring,brooch or bracelet with beautiful an-tique or polished STERLING SILVER

mounting.

CRESCENTJEWELRYCO.621 M ain S tre et E l C entro, C alifornia

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• S ILICON CARBIDE• P O L I S H I N G P O W D E R S

INTRODUCTORY OFFER

Mexican cherry , wa te r and fireOpa l s . $1. va l ue . 8 for 25c

GRAB BAG SPECIALS

Ten different facet and c a boc hongem s tones $1.Face ted Green Garne t 25c

Ten different loose crystals .... $1.

WARNER AND GRIEGER405 Nin ita Parkway Pasadena, Calif.

HILTON'S A*tand Qem

J O H N W. HILTON, Owner

ON U. S. Highway 99, TenMiles South of Indio

A C R O SS F RO M V A L E R I E J E A N D A T E

S H O P . P. O. A D D R ESS, TH ER M A L, C A LI F .

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 37



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ARIZONA

Window Rock . . .

More than 4800 Navajo children are

attending reservation schools, an increase of

1100 over 1938-39, reports E. R. Fryer,superintendent. Population survey indicates

30.8 per cent, or 13,860 of the Navajos

are children between 6 and 16, and 23.8

per cent or 10,710 are between 6 and 13.

Tucson . . .Trustees of the Carnegie Institution of

Washington, D. C, have turned over to

the state university the Desert laboratory

near here. State control of the $100,000

plant and its 840 acres of land will be

based on a program of cooperation with

scientists representing other educational in-

stitutions. Seeking data to aid the newcivi-

lization on southwestern deserts, the labor-

atory staff has worked 36 years. Dr.

Forrest Shreve, director, and his associates

gave up their posts under Carnegie spon-

sorship on January 1. University regents

have not announced staff appointments. Dr.

Shreve, predicting bright future for life

on the American desert, said, "Desert

dwellers of today have a rational and or-

ganized basis for living profitably on the

desert. The possibilities of a newer desert

civilization are large." Hewill continue his

work of 22 years for Carnegie with studies

in northern Mexico desert regions.

Tucson . . .

Photostatic copy of the church record of

the death of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino

has been presented to theArizona Pioneers

Historical society by E. D. Fulwood of

Winkelman. The document, dated March

15, 1711, is in the archives of the national

library at Mexico City. In ancient Castilian

it says Father Kino "died ingreat splendor

and edification in this house and town ofSanta Maria deMagdalena, aged 70 years.

He . . . .discovered the Casa Grande and

the rivers of Gila, Colorado, and the tribes

called Cocomaricopa, Iumas and Quicamasa

of the island. And in peace he is buried in

this chapel of San Francisco Xavier at the

side of the chancel where the second and

third seats fall."

Phoenix . . .Chicken Jim (Cil-Cua-Mah) is dead.

This aged Apache (relatives say he was

85) served as a guide to U. S. cavalrymen

in tracking down Geronimo. since the end

of theIndian wars lived at Fort McDowell,

where hedied in December.

Yuma . . .

Six hundred square miles of "no-man's

land" in southwestern Arizona is beingsurveyed by federal engineers. Eleven men

will spend at least sixmonths in heretofore

unmapped regions of Maricopa, Pima and

Yuma counties, extending west of Ajo to

the Gila mountains east ofYuma, andsouth

to the Mexican border. Purpose is to es-

tablish boundaries of approximately 50

townships. Bighorn mountain sheep range

in the area.

Tucson . . .

Fire, destroying $1,000 worth of propertyin the right wing of the 200-year-old San

Xavier del Bacmission, has delayed workof restoring theancient edifice. Priests had

raised $1,000 to repair damage caused by

lightning. Now they must ask for moremoney.

Yuma . . .

An average of 4C marriage licenses

daily has been issued i;i Yuma since Calif-ornia's newmedical examination lawwent

into effect. Licenses areavailable "24hourseach and every day," says Clark S. Mont

Smith, "magistrates, j . p.'s,superior court

judge, clergymen areready toofficiate at all

hours."

Nogales . . .Elders of thewarrior tribe of Yaquis in

Sonora are fighting Mexico's plan to re-

patriate Yaquis long exiled in Arizona and

California, according :o reports received

here. The "old people" object to possible

introduction of "American ways."

Phoenix . . .

Historian turns detective as Dr. V. Au-

brey Neasham of the rational park service

sets out to trail Coronado, Conquistador

captain-general, over the route that famous

explorer followed 400years agowhen he

crossed what is now theUnited States bor-der seeking the mythical seven cities of

gold. Dr.Neasham's assignment conies from

the U. S. Coronado commission and the

Arizona Coronado Cuarto centennial com-

mission. Uncle Samhas appropriated $10,-

000 for a monument at the spot whereCoronado first set foot on U. S. soil. The

doctor's job,with thehelp of eminentcon-

sultants, is to saywhere X marks thespot.

It's all a part of big preparations in the

southwest for theCoronado celebration, set

for later in thepresent year.

Phoenix . . .

Arizona Cactus andNative Flora societydedicated its new administration buildingin Desert Botanical Gardens January 21.

Mrs. Gertrude D. Webster, president, an-

nounced it as another step in theconstruc-

tive work of the society.

CALIFORNIABrawley . . .

Astonishing variety of bird life is dis-

closed in census repon: from Salton sea

migratory water fowl refuge. In December,

Luther C. Goldman, refuge manager, made

a survey by car, afoot and by boat. Then

he listed 84 species and 331,272 individual

birds he sawduring the census taking.

Calexico . . .

"Desert Cavalcade," Calexico's March

28-30 festival, with rodeo onMarch 31, has

been listed on the calendar of the U. S.

travel bureau. All-Year club of Southern

California and the Arrerican Automobile

association ,also are gving publicity to

these events to be staged in this colorful

community on the international border.

Barstow . . .

Three caverns off Highway 91 near

Wheaton springs will beopen to thepublic

in the summer of 1940, following explora-

tion disclosing interesting formations of

stalactites and stalagmite;;.

Palmdale . . .Where is the largest Joshua tree? H. W.

Mennig reports a giant Joshua more than40 feet high, its trunk three feet in di-

ameter, growing in Little Rock wash, eightmiles northwest of here. Editor of the

Antelope Valley Press prints these figuresas a mark to shoot at.




Blythe . . .P . D. Mclntyre of Blythe hasn't asked

for any medals , but surely he deserves aflock of them. Through all the politicalupsets of the past 30 years he has servedcontinuously as postmaster here. December26 , 1908 he took charge of the office whenit was established under President TheodoreRoosevelt. Old-timers made it a point tocall on Mclntyre the day after Christmas,to congratulate the postmaster as he startedhi s 31st year on the job.

Indio . . .S. H. W a l k e r of Indian well is huntingfo r a thief who stole 50 rattlesnakes.Walker says he had about 100 rattlers ina pit at his ranch, 50 of the snakes hiber-nating and in boxes. In one night hissnake farm was burglarized, the burglarsgot away with the 50 boxed reptiles.

Moiave . . .W o m e n of the Mojave mine, mill and

smelter workers union auxiliary abandonedin December their annual Christmas re-lief program after diligent search revealedthe fact they couldn't find enough needyfamilies in the community .

El Centro . . .Contractors will use 140,000 cubic yards

of clay to line the All-American canal,

Uncle Sam's biggest irrigation ditch, dugto carry water 80 miles to Imperial Valleyan d to Imperia l 's neighbors 120 miles tothe northwest in Coachella. Engineers saythe clay blanket will line the canal 14 milesin the Bard district near the Colorado riverpreventing seepage.

NEVADA

Tonopah . . .Wild-horse trappers caught and sold more

than 500 head of mustangs during the 1939season in lower Stone cabin valley, it isreported here. Springs were posted or closedan d the animals were trapped in a corralnear Pine creek well. Buyers paid an aver-

ag eof $5 for

each horse, hauled themin

trucks, generally to Los Angeles , wherethey were used for dog food or chickenfeed.

Fallon . . .U se of peyote, a drug made from a des-

ert cactus, figured in a coroner's inquesthere. Said to be widely used by Indians inseveral states, peyote's effects are said toinclude manifestations of religious frenzyand curious orgies. Said one Indian wit-ness: "God has sent peyote to the Indiansto help them. It makes us tell the t ru th ."

Searchlight . . .Carl Myers, miner, went down an 85-foot

shaft, calmly walked past 10 sputter ingcharges of dynamite to rescue his partner .Myers and Harry Reid had planted 11charges, lighted a fuse for each. One chargewent off prematurely, rock fragments toreinto Reid's leg and thigh, knocked him outbefore he could reach safety. Myers, perchedabove his partner in the shaft, went down.hoisted Reid on his back and climbed slow-ly up the ladder. He reached a safe placewith his unconscious burden just as theblast let go. Myers will be recommendedfor a Carnegie medal for bravery.

Boulder City . . .By July 1 an exhibit build ing will be

completed by the U. S. bureau of reclama-tion for convenience of visitors to Boulderdam. It will contain rest rooms and a hallto house a model of the dam, showing alsosuch features on the lower Colorado river

as Parker dam, the Metropoli tan aqueduct,Imperia l dam and the All-American canal.

Las Vegas . . .

Plans have been announced to build be-tween here and Boulder City the largesthotel in Nevada, with swimming pool andprivate bungalows on tree-shaded lawns.

NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque . . .Expansion of U. S. Weather bureau ac-

tivities has made the local station regionaloffice for climatological and hydrologicalsections embracing all of New Mexico, partsof Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma,Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California. Itreceives reports from 600 points in theUnited States and Mexico and from shipsat sea.

Gallup . . .Inter-tribal Indian ceremonial association

directors announce August 14, 15, 16 and17 as dates for the nineteenth annual cere-monial here. Erection of a steel stadiumfinished in native architecture is proposed,with exhibit space, offices and other facili-ties under the structure .

Santa Fe . . .Creation of an interstate park at the "four

corners" of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona

and Utah is suggested by Governor Milesin letters to governors of the other states.Miles says the national park service haspromised cooperation.

Deming . . .Beginning with one barrel cactus, Mr.

an d Mrs. Frank Nordhaus in 18 months de-

veloped a cactus garden now including 850

plants of 200 varieties.Zuni . . .

Thousands of neighboring Navajo anda few hundred pale faces in mid-Decemberbraved the desert winter cold to come tothis western New Mexico pueblo as guestsof the Zuni fathers at their annual NewYear party. Their hosts spent $5,000 onenterta inment at the feast of supplicationto tribal gods. And the gods smiled. Shaka-lo actors representing messengers of therain gods ran successfully the race fore-telling good times.

UTAH

Goulding Trading Post . . .Three hundred near-s tarving Navajo

gathered here Christmas for rations of whiteman's food, sent to them as a gift fromSalt Lake City merchants. Indians had re-ported crops killed by drought and livestockdying around dried up water holes .

Milford . . .

Scientists from the university of Utah aremaking a study of habits and life history

of the desert tortoise in the southwesternpart of the state. Near Beaver dam wash175 tortoises have been banded during thepast three years for observation. Completerecords of their travels and maps of theirhabitat are made. There 's a suggestion ofcommunity life in the report that as manyas 15 of the reptilians dig an undergroundapartment house for hibernation.

Salt Lake City . . .Discovery of teeth and bones of primitive

mammals which lived 80 million years agoin central Utah is announced by the Smith-sonian institution at Wash ing ton , D. C.They were "weird creatures," says the an-nouncement, "and became extinct long be-fore appearance of the direct ancestors ofmammalian fauna of today." Dr. C. Lewis

Gazin found the bones in a pocket beneath125 feet of blank rock.

A Ik

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omy travel . . . the west's only all-chair-

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Tuesdays and Fridays "fc Eivery seat re-

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S ANTA FE TICKET OFFICES14 9 No. Central Ave., Phoenix . 5th Ave.& B. St. and Santa Fe Stat ion, San Diego .743 South Hil l St., Los Angeles , 235Geary St. & 44 Fourth St., San Franci sco .

FEBRUARY, 194039



at The HaciendaCHANDLER, ARIZONA

For real Desert hamstringing of guitarswith a coyote chorus, ask Chuck Abbottand J im and Dusty his helpers withmaybe a steak wrangling contestthrown in. They are hibernatin' at TheHacienda, at C H A N D L E R , Arizonie fora spell.

P. S. A hoedown or two, justlo keep /he Misses in beauti-faction, is acceptible.

P R I N T I N GFOR THE DESERT

• STATIONERY• BOOKLETS• CARDS• MAILING PIECES

Suggestive of the desert.

W E S U P P LY A RT W O R K .ENGRAVINC; and PRIN TING

Dum mies and quotations gladlyfurnished,

ELITE PRINTING COMPANY636 State Street

Hi . C R NT R O. C AL IFOR NIA

LUCKY

CHARffl— FOR —

D E S E R T

T R A V E L E R S

A G E N U I N E

H O P I K A T C H M AMade by Ka-Wah-Yu on the Hopi Mesa

(His ''Waterme lon" mark on every doll)

Hang one of these hand-

carved little imps in your

automobile when you travelthe desert—a symbol of good

luck and safety. Four-inch

size postpaid to you for . . .

50 Cents

D e s e r t C r a f t s S h o pEl Centro, California

OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY—a monthly review of the best literatureof the desert Southwest, past and present.

NEW LIGHT ON SOUTHERNCALIFORNIA HISTORY

1 have often wondered why the old Butter-held stage coaches in Southern California

traveled by way of Vallecito and the Warnerranch instead of following the more directroute from Yuma through San Gorgonio pass.And now 1 know the answer. It was a caseof follow the line where most water wasavailable.

For this informa tion I am indebted toGeorge Wil l iam and his wife Helen Prui tBeattie. The story of the bitter three-corneredfeud waged between San Diego, Los Angelesand San Bernardino to gain a place on Ameri-ca's first transcontinental mail route in 1857-58 is told in one chapter of HERITAGE OFTHE VALLEY, wri t ten by the Beatties andpublished by San Pasqual Press at Pasadena,California.

There are 38 other chapters in this 460-page book and each of the chapters is an en-

cyclopedia of historic information covering theearly history of Southern California. The "val-ley" referred to in the title is San Bernardinovalley—bur the early history of San Bernardinois tied so closely to the desert region whichextends away to the east of the coastal range-as to make the volume a rare source book ofdesert information.

Th e span of the book is from 1772 whenthe first white explorer of record entered theSan Bernardino valley, to 1870 when the majortowns of Southern California had become firm-ly established.

The Beatties have done a masterly pieceof work, both in the years of research theydevoted to this task, and in the clear read-able presentation of their material. The volumeis illustrated with photographs, many of themof rare historic interest, and is indexed. $5.00.

— K. H .

STYLE TRENDS INPUEBLO POTTERY

Out of the turbulent centuries of Spanishoccupation of New Mexico and Arizona grew

changes in pottery styles which were to forma definite link between the late prehistoricand the modern Pueblo waies. A study of thetrends as they reflected tint unstable periodhas been made by H. P. Mera for the thirdvolume of the Memoirs of the Laboratory ofAnthropology at Santa Fe, published in No-vember 1939.

Little has been known of the ceramic de-velopment of the 16th to early 19th centuries.Most of the sites were continuously occupiedeven after the rebellion <:f the pueblos in1680, and hence there was almost no oppor-tunity for excavation. Enough specimens havenow been found and dated to present an out-line of the style trends.

A brief summary of the period just preced-ing the Spanish era shows five main groupsof distinct ceramic specializations. It is fromthese—the Biscuit ware of the Upper RioGrande, the polychrome of the Middle RioGrande, the black-on-white of Jemez, the red-ware of the Little Colorado and the yellowand orange colored pottery of the Hopi —that the later, more complex styles derived.

Analyses of characteristic examples fromthe late prehistoric to the middle of the 18thcentury have been made chiefly by drawingsand photographs covering 67 plates. Eachspecimen is analyzed by a line drawing of theshape, photograph of the vessel and repro-duction of the design on a flattened band incolor.

There is an explanation of the plates, in-cluding the region, date, decorative symbolsand influence indicated. 165 pp., bibliography.$7.50.

to

Each month the Desert Magazineoffers two cash prizes for the bestcamera pictures submitted by ama-teur photographers. The first awardis $5.00 and the second $3.00.

Pictures are limited to desert sub-jects, but there is no restriction asto the residence of the photogra-pher. Entries may include Indianpictures, rock formations, flowersand wild animals, canyons, trees,water holes—in fact anything thatbelongs to the desert country.

Following are the rules govern-ing the photographic contest:

1—Pictures submitted in the Febru-ary contest must be received at theDesert Magazine office by February 20.

2—Not more than four prints maybe submitted by one person in onemonth.

3—Winners will be required to furn-ish either good glossy enlargements orthe original negatives if requested.

4—Prints must be in black and white,2Vix3l/4 or larger, and nust be onglossy paper.

Pictures will be returnee only whenpostage is enclosed.

For non-prize-winning pictures ac-cepted for publication $1.00 will bepaid for each print.

Winners of the February con-test will be announced and the pic-tures published in the April num-ber of the magazine. Address allentries to:

Contest Editor, Desert Maga-zine, El Centro, California.

- 1 1 ) T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E



DATING PREHISTORICRUINS BY TREE-RINGS

Dendrochronology is a long word, but itanswers one of the first questions of the visi-tor to the Southwest Indian ruins. How oldare they?

For those who are interested in the archae-ological remains of Pueblo land, a recentbulletin of the general series published by theLaboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, offersa vivid and concise summary of the tree-ringmethod of dating prehistoric ruins.

W . S. Stallings, Jr. , in this 20-page b ulletin,discusses tree-ring character and growth, theestablishing of chronologies by matching pat-terns of tree-rings, and the construction ofplots by which a specimen of unknown datemay be identified.

More than 400 years ago Leonardo da Vinciin Italy recorded the observed relation of tree-ring growth to weather conditions. But it wasnot until 1901 that the system received seriousattention as a possible means of investigatingclimatic cycles, anad many years later that itwas applied to archaeological research. Itsuse today is due to the labor and genius ofDr. Andrew Ellicott Douglass, of the uni-versity of Arizona, who discovered and de-veloped the science of dendrochronology. Al-though its first contribution was to climatolo-gy, it has since involved botany, astronomy,

anthropology and geology. It is considered oneof the most important contributions ever madeto American archaeology.

The present bulletin is written for the lay-man and is illustrated with drawings andphotomicrographs. Bibliography. 50c.

HOPI USE OVER 200 NATIVEPLANTS IN TRIBAL LIFE

One of the functions of the Museum ofNorthern Arizona at Flagstaff is the publish-ing of short monographs on important phasesof northern Arizona science. Such a work ist h e r ec en t E T H N O B O T A N Y O F T H E H O P I ,by Alfred F . Whiting.

Northeast of the Painted Desert in Ari-zona live the Hopi, whose plant environmentis the subject of the present investigation.

There are more than 200 flowering species inthe Hopi reservation and there has been anintensive adaptation of these plants to allphases of tribal life. The first part of themonograph, in describing this utilization, givesan intimate picture of Hopi life and thought.It deals with the plants as used in agriculture,in construction, implements and decoration,in medicinal, ceremonial and magical ntes,and as symbols in social and ceremonial life.

The second section of the study consists ofan annotated list of all plants investigated ordiscussed in the first part. The botanical,common and Hopi names are given, togetherwith description, use and location. Supple-menting it is a comprehensive bibliography,index in both English and Hopi and a pho-netic key.

Mr. Whiting regards th is paper only as apreliminary study.E T H N O B O T A N Y O F T H E H O P I is i m-

portant in that it provides the future ethnolo-gist with an accurate handbook of basic termi-nology.

PRESERVING THE RECORDOF THE DEATH VALLEY 49ers

After several years of research, Carl I.Wheat has compiled as nearly as possible arecord of the names of the Forty-niners inthe Jayhawker, Bennett-Arcan and other par-ties which met tragic experience in attemptingto short-cut through Death Valley to the Cali-fornia gold fields. Over 100 names are in thelist, but Wheat does not regard it as com-plete. It is published in the December, 1939.

Quarterly of the Historical Society of SouthernCalifornia.

BOOKS OF TH E DESERT. . . t h a t t e l l the s t o r y of t h i s l a s t f r o n t i e r

Here you will find a selected group oithe foremost books of the Southwest des-ert country . . . histories of America's new

frontier . . . desert guides and yarns . . .Indian life and desert botany.Choose a book today as a gift fcr a

friend or to enrich your personal library.

BOOKS SENT THE DAY ORDER RECEIVED

HISTORY AND GENERAL

I MARRIED A RANGER Mrs . W. M.Smith. Amusing experiences at GrandCanyon. 179 pages . . $1.00

CALIF ORNIA DES ERTS , Edmund Jae -ger. Comp lete information on Coloradoand Mojave deserts. 209 pages,illustrated $2.00

BORN OF THE DESERT, C. R. Rock-

wood . Story of Imperial Valley's con-quest 50c

DATES AS FOOD, Dr. Marko J . Peti-nak. Information for those seeking thefoun dation s of correct living 25c

CACTI AND BOTANY

S U C C U L E N T S F O R T H E A M A T E U R ,edited by Scott E. Haselton. Beautiful-ly illustrated handbook for collectors andstudents $2.05

F I E L D B O O K O F W E S T E R N W I L DFLOWERS, Margaret Armstrong. Hand-book for both amateur and advancedbotanists. Illustrated with pen sketches

and 48 colored plates. 596 pages.. $3.50

CACTUS AND ITS HOME, F o r re s tShreve. A readable book for cacti andsucculent hobbyists. Illustrated.195 pages $1.50

DESERT CACTI, A. T. Helm. New edi-tion of a unique booklet, illustratedwith sketches 50c

CACTI F OR THE AMATEUR, S . E . Has -elton. By a ranking cacti authority. Col-or illustration s. Paper cover- $1.00board cover $1.50

INDIANS

F I R S T P E N T H O U S E D W E L L E R S O FAMERICA, Ruth Underhil l . Life andcustoms of the Pueblos. 154 pages, pro-fusely illustrated $2.75

I N D I A N T R I B E S O F T H E S O U T H -WE ST, M rs. W . M. Smith . A vividuseful handbook on the desert tribes.160 pages $1.50

B O O K S O F T H E S O U T H W E S T , M a r yTucker. 105 page bibliography. Paperbound 75c

DE AT H VAL LEY, W. A. Chalfant. Au-thentic history of the famous sink. 160pages, illustrated $2.75

DES ERT OF THE P ALMS , D on Admiral .Scenic wonders of the Palm Springs

region . 56 pages 50c

DES ERT ROUGH CUTS , Har ry Ol ive r .Short yarns about Borrego Desert char-acters, 6y4x9V2, 64 pages. Illustratedwith cuts made by the author. Boundin boards, cloth back $1.5 0

GUIDES

DE ATH VALLEY, A GU IDE. New pub -lication of Federal Writers Project. Verycomplete and beautifully illustrated —$1 .00 ; cloth $1.75

WHERE S HALL WE GO, A Gu ide tothe Desert . Will iam Mason and JamesCarling. 17 trips in Southern Californiadesert out of Palm Springs with maps

and mileage. Brief description flora andfauna 50c

G R A N D C A N Y O N C O U N T R Y , M . R .Tillotson and Frank J. Taylor. A thor-oughly accurate handbook of informa-tion covering geology, wildlife, historvand recreation. 108 pages $1.00

CARTOON GUIDES

C A R T O O N G U I D E O F C A L I F O R N I A ,Reg Manning. Accurate and informative.Cartoon map . 138 pages $1.00

C A R T O O N G U I D E O F A R I Z O N A , R e gManning. There's a laugh in every mileas you tour Arizona with this humorist.Map. 122 pages $1.00

C A R T O O N G U I D E O F T H E B O U L D E RDAM COUNTRY, Reg Mann ing . Map .50 pages 50c

C A R T O O N G U I D E O F N E W M E X I C O ,T. M. Pearce, with illustrations by JamesHall. 108 pages of amusement about thisfascinatin g state $1.00

Prices above postpaid in U. S. A.3% sales tax added for buyers in California

D e s e r t C r a f t s S h o p636 State Street El Centro, California

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 4 0 41



G e m C o l l e c t o r s !Here are two sample sets that will be

invaluable for beginners in this healthfuland enjoyable outdoor hobby.

Young ProspectorsGEM AND MINERAL SET

Fifteen different gems and mineralsmounted in attractive case with labels. In-cludes: Copper ore, tourmaline, silver ga-lena, muscovite, vesuvianite, petrified wood,jasper, marcasite, turquoise, blue calcite,onyx, iron pyrite, opal, obsidian and goldo r e . Set includes small hand lens andfolder telling how to pan and where tofind gems and minerals with complete dir-ectory of gems and minerals.

$1.00Plus 3c tax in California.

NEW WONDER SET

Of gems and minerals includes jasper,obsidian, turquoise, gypsum, silver galena,asbestos, blue calcite, graphite, opal, cop-per ore, tourmaline, Iceland spar, marca-site, rose quartz, fluorite, onyx, petrifiedwood and gold ore.

Set contains streak testing block, bottleof mounting glue, small hand lens, 25printed mounting cards, and instructionmanual for gathering and classifying yourgem collection.

$1.50Plus 5c tax in California

BOOKS FOR GEM COLLECTORS

G E T T I N G A C Q U A I N T E D W I T H M I N -ERALS.G. L. English. Fine introductionto mineralogy. 258 illustrations,324 pages $2.50

LEGENDS OF GEMS , H. L . Thomson .Elementary principles of gems and gem-cutt ing . 13-6 pages $1.15

H A N D B O O K F O R T H E A M A T E U RLAPIDARY, J . H. Howard. One of thebest guides for the beginner gemcutter.140 pages. Good illustration $2.00

QUARTZ F AMILY MINERALS , Dake ,e t c . New and authoritative handbook forthe mineral collector. Illustrated.304 pages $2.50

DESCRIPTIVE LIST of the New Minerals1892 to 1938, by G. L. English. For ad-vanced collectors. 258 pages $2.50

F I E L D B O O K O F C O M M O N R O C K SAND MINERALS, by Frederic Brew-ster Loomis. Fine handbook for collec-tors. Beautifully illustrated. Includes 67colored plates for identifying gem crys-tals $3.50

Plus 3% sales tax in California

W e Pay Postage on all Items.

D e s e rt C r a f t s S h o p636 State Street El Cen tro, Calif.

Minel and Mining.Virginia City. Nevada . . .

Old and unsolved is the mystery of anancient mine discovered eight miles southof here. Workings indicate close to 800,000

tons of ore were taken from the location.Yet barely 300 tons of rock remain on thedump and there is no sign of trail or road.Samples from a 300-foot tunnel are said toaverage $7 in free gold. It is believed themine was worked by Spanish or Mexicanminers long before the Comstock lode boomand that the early-day operators carefullycovered all traces leading to the place.

• • •

Santa Fe, New Mexico . . .Value of metals from New Mexico mines

increased more than 100 per cent duringthe twelve months ended October 31, 1939.according to annual report by WarrenBracewell, state mine inspector. Total forthe period was $18,988,622, or $10,697,-575 more than the record for the preceding

12 months. Metal mines reported they spent$919,044 for improvements.

• • •

A j o , Arizona . . .Dr. I.. D. Ricketts, consulting engineer,

was named by unanimous vote the JamesDouglas gold medalist for 1940. Citation bythe board of directors of the American in-stitute of mining and metallurgical engi-neers reads: "For inspirational leadershipand distinguished achievements in the met-allurgy of copper." The medal will be pre-sented at the next meeting of the institute.Dr. Ricketts has been identified for many-years with Arizona copper industry.

• • •

Winnemucca, Nevada . . .

To treat 1,000 tons of ore daily, additionsare being made to the roasting plant of theGetchell mine, Nevada's largest producerof gold. Daily average has been above 800tons for some time, says the Nevada miningJournal .

• • •

Tucson, Arizona . . .Burrell R. Hatcher retired January I,

after 21 years with the American Smelting& Refining company, the last 10 years asArizona manager. He was succeeded by W.H. Loerpabel.

• • •

Quartzsite, Arizona . . .Two new mills, a 65-ton flotation plant

and a pilot mill are being installed to handle

copper-gold ore mined in this vicinity.There is a considerable increase in goldmining activity hereabouts.

• • •

Los Angeles, California . . .E. O. Slater has been elected president

of the Mining association of the southwest,succeeding Howard Kegley, who served aspresident of the association three years.

• • •

Fallon, Nevada . . .With increased demand for antimony, 15

tons were shipped recently from near Elyand other small lots have arrived at Love-lock. Investigation is under way at theThorpe property south of Austin, whereconsiderable tonnage was produced duringthe war of 1917.

Tucson, Arizona . . .Engineers from the strategic minerals ex-

amination section of the U. S. bureau ofmines began soon after Janua ry 1 prelimi-

nary survey in Arizona. They will study pro-perties for possible strategic minerals proj-ects. If examination shows the propertiesare favorable, examiners recommend devel-opment by the government. It is reportedthat three of eight properties now beinginvestigated in Arizona "look encouraging."This is a high average, according to a minesbureau division chief, who says that some-times it is possible to ^ct only one mine-out of 200 projects.

• • •

Las Vegas, Nevada . . .Survey of molybdenum property 50 miles

southwest of Goldfield is being continuedby Freeport sulphur company of New Or-leans. In Alum gulch 10 men are testingthe field by diamond drilling. Samples go

to the company's laboratory in Goldfield.The venture is first of its kind in Nevada.

• • ii

Elko City, Nevada . . .Inventories of copper accumulated by

Mountain City Copper company up to lastsummer have all been sold, and despite ac-celerated operations, it is reported the com-pany has made some sales for future deliv-ery. Last July the company had 20 millionpounds of metal on hand. Present produc-tion is said to average 2,400,000 pounds amonth.

• • o

Tucson, Arizona . . .Arizona small miners may learn now

the quality of minerals in ores without

paying the almost prohibitive cost of chem-ical analyses. New instruments at the stateuniversity have cut cost of analyzing an oresample to $2.50. Chemical analyses some-times cost more than $100, but the new spec-troscope equipment at the university givesresults almost as accurate. To test samplesrequiring preliminary fire assay, the cost is$3-50. Qualitative tests show elements pres-ent in a samp le. To be identified directlyfrom a sample with the spectroscope goldmust run about three ounces to the ton.Otherwise fire assay must be made first. Ari-zona miners or residents may send samplesfor analyses to the Arizona Bureau ofMines, University station, Tucson.

• • 4

San Francisco, California . . .A new map showing all known quick-

silver deposits in California has been pub-lished by the state division of mines, an-nounces Walter W. Bradley, state mineral-ogist. There are 2,000 quicksilver propertiesin the state, 200 of which have produced92 per cent of the total quicksilver minedin the United States. The map is 37x42inches, is a one-half scale reduction of re-cently printed geologic map of California.In the margin is information relating tomany phases of the quicksilver industry.Price of the map is 50 cents, plus 2 centsstate sales tax.

Beaverhead, New Mexico . . .Twenty mining engineers headed by M.

E. Volin of the U. S. Bureau of mines areexploring tin deposits near here.




BOULDER DAM PRODUCES

MILLIONS IN POWE R

Uncle Sam earned $4,321,000 from sale ofpower generated at Boulder dam during 1939.Secretary Harold L. Ickes turned in this re-port to the president, along with his yearlyreview of interior department activities. Ac-companying his review, Ickes sent a warningthat war profiteers may try to raid the nat ion'snational resources and to break down the ad-ministration's conservation program. Duringth e war of 1917, Ickes recalled "the misuse

of our resources was devastating." Today, hedeclared, the country is in stronger positionthan ever before, to withstand crises, particu-larly those of international nature.

Other matters emphasized by the secretary:Dependence on foreign sources of potash

has been lessened, due to discovery of im-portant deposits on publ ic lands; the reclama-tion fund, on which construction of projectsin the arid southwest depends, is decreasingand will be so depleted by the close of 1941that new works wi l l be threatened with sus-pension of operat ions; the U. S. Indian popu-lation is increasing and serious crowding ofexisting reservations can be expected. Thispressure is already felt on the Navajo reser-vation.

• • •

COLORADO RIVER POWERTO SERVE PHOENIX AREA

Electricity will be flowing soon over a140-mile emergency power line from Parkerda m on the Colorado river to the Salt rivervalley of Arizona, according to announce-ment by the U. S. reclamation bureau. Con-struction schedule called for completion of thel ine the latter part of January. Unt i l thepower house at Parker is in commission, thenew line will tap Metropolitan water districtlines served from Boulder dam. Phoenix terri-tory will benefit immediately, Tucson and othersouthern Arizona districts ultimately from pro-posed extensions.

• • •

INDIAN MEDICINEMAN

N O W G O E S TO HOSPITALPraise for the Indian medicine man is given

by Dr. Estella Ford Warner, district directorfor the U. S. public health service in Arizona,New Mexico, Eastern California and southernColorado. Says Dr. W a r n e r : "The medicineman is more than just a herb doctor. He is ageneral counsellor and guide. We find thatmedicine men are now bringing cases to ourhospitals and are coming in themselves fortreatments. Indians generally in the southwestgive us far better co-operation, have fewertaboos and are more intelligent about healthproblems than many groups of whites andcolored persons in out-of-the-way places.

• • •

SCHOOL BUSSES SPAN WIDEAREAS IN MOJAVE DESERT

School children living on the desert travellong distances to receive their education. Fif-teen busses of the Antelope valley high schooltravel 1164miles daily. Busses from the Bar-stow union high school pick up at Silver lakestudents who travel 140 miles every schoolday.

• • •

CONTRACTS AWARDED FORNEW MEXICO PROJECT

Contracts approximating $2,000,000 havebeen awarded by the secretary of the interiorfor construction of the first units of the$8,000,000 Arch Hurley reclamation project,near Tucumcari , New Mexico. About 45,000acres will be irrigated from the Conchas dam,completed in 1939-

NAVAJO TOLEARN FARMING

FROM PUEBLO INDIANS

Motion pictures will be used to make farm-ers out of Navajo herdsmen. Films will betaken, showing age-old irrigation practices ofthe Pueblo Indians, from the planting of cropsthrough all the processes of growth, cultivationand harvest. Land is being prepared north ofChin Lee, Arizona, where the Navajo wi l l betaught to raise beans, corn, wheat, alfalfa andtruck.

NEVILLS PLANNING 1940

TRIP DOWN COLORADO

Norman D. Nevills of Mexican Hat, Utah,w ho has piloted many successful expeditionson the Colorado river, states that a party isnow being made up for a trip during the com-ing summer from Green River, Utah, toBoulder dam. The trip will be primarily forbotanical purposes but will include photogra-ph y and exploration of some of the tributarycanyons.

The Desert Trading PostClassified advertising in this section costs eight cents a word, $1.60 minimum

per issue— actually about 10cents per thousand readers.

CRAFTS

SNAKESKIN BELTS, cactus candy, Tortugaopals, Indian and Mexican hand-made items.Free catalog. Clemans Specialties. Box236-D, Coolidge, Arizona.

N A V A J O R U G S — direct from an Indiantrader. Prices are now the lowest in history

of Navajo weaving industry. Rugs will besent on approval to responsible parties.W r i t e for prices and informat ion.—E. A.Daniels, 306 San Francisco St., Santa Fe,New Mexico. (Ment ion the Desert Maga-zine.)

P I U T T E B U T T E T R A D I N G P O S T

— REXJ O H N S O N , Manager —

• Rugs, Blankets, Curios, OilPaintings, Pencil Sketches, Hand-Tooled Leather Goods, at reason-able prices.— S A T I S F A C T I O N G U A R A N T E E D —

Mail Address: LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA

L A D I E 5

Handmade ,shoe size

Aioney

T H E

Bo x 692

f l l E X I C A N S A N D A L S

soft tan suede uppers. Sendoutline of foot, and $2.40.

returned if not satisfactory.

M E X I C O C O .

Calexico, California

NOVELTIES

W H E N IN MISSOURI, stop at MissouriMule Novel ty shop at Kohler City, nearBarnhart on Highway 61. Handmade novel-ties and jewelry. Berea college student pro-ducts. Minerals, toys, paintings, books, etc.

PIPE

Reconditioned and newpipe, casing, valves

rod fittings. Write for prices andbooklet

325N.MisaonRd,Los Angeles,CApitol 12121

POINTS OF INTEREST

CATHEDRAL CITY, Cal i fornia, is a smallnicely situated village; quiet and inexpen-sive, where you learn to love the desert.See W. R. Hillery.

BENSON'S Service Station. Headquarters forvisitors to Borrego desert region. Gas, oil,

water, meals, cabins, trailer space, informa-tion. On Julian-Kane Spring;; highway. P.O.Box 108, Westmorland, California.

MAGAZINES

ARCAD IAN LIFE MAG AZINE. Te l ls thestory of the Ozarks. Points i:he way to Pas-toral Living. $1.00 a year - copy 25c. 2c aword Classified. O. E. Rayburn, Caddo Gap,Arkansas.

BOOKS

BOOKS for gem and mineral collectors. Maybe obtained by addressing Desert CraftsShop, 636 State St., El Centro, California.See listing and prices on page 42 of thisissue of Desert Magazine.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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COURTESY TO BROKERS

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F E B R U A R Y , 1940 43



j&etween Ifou and M i

By RANDALL HENDERSON

/JS far as I am concerned, the New Year got away to aI J double-barreled start—and that ought to make it a

happy and prosperous year.New Years eve I was in camp with 60 members of the

Sierra club—mostly Los Angeles folks who had left the brightlights and the festivities of the big city to spend the weekend

exploring the desert hills.Our camp was in Arizona just below Parker dam, in a little

cove between the Colorado river and the Buckskin moun-tains. Our campfire that evening was the blazing dead logsof mesquite trees—that probably were in their prime whenLieut. Ives and his crew 82 years ago were pulling and push-ing their old iron boat up the Colorado to find out whetheror not the stream was navigable.

Because we were in Arizona we felt it proper to observe thecustoms and habits of Arizonans—and so when the NewYear arrived (moun tain time) we gave it a fitting serenadewith the limited facilities at hand—mostly automobile horns.Having thus helped Arizona celebrate the New Year, wewaited an hour until our California timepieces registeredmidnight—and then we gave 1940 another welcoming blast.If the New Year is a flop don't blame us campers—we did ourbest to get it started off right.

Then we crawled into warm sleeping bags, and awakenedwith the sun next morning, hungry for bacon and eggs, thank-ful for the privilege of a glorious day among the canyons andbuttes of a virgin desert.

Our guide for a trip into the hills was Tudea Esquera,Chemehuevi Indian boy who told us about an old trail usedlong ago by trappers and scouts and gold-seekers going fromLa Paz and Ehrenberg to Fort Whipple. We found the trail.I have no doubt it was trod more than once by Pauline Weaverand Bill Williams and perhaps Pegleg Smith. They were thefrontiersmen who first explored this country.

Among other interesting things, Tudea told me that thenew name given to the reservoir at Parker dam—Lake Hava-su—is spelled incorrectly. It is an Indian word meaning "bluewater." According to Tudea, the spelling should be "Ahvasu."

A new department in the Desert Magazine next month willbe a page devoted to the interests of the cactus and succulentcollectors. They've been asking for it, and I am glad to as-

Lucile and I are not going to take sides in any of the con-troversies over names or species and classifications. We justwant to pass along the kind of information that will interestthe folks who grow cactus for the fun of it—and don't takeit too seriously.

But we'll need some help. George Olin and E. C. Hummel

and Scott Hazelton and some of the other experts have prom-ised to give us a hand—and we are grateful for that, if theyare not too technical. We're just simple desert folks downhere at El Centro, and we don't want the DM to be too high-brow.

Some people fear and shun the desert-—others accept itgrudgingly. Occasionally you meet one of those rare soulswho regards it as the most fascinating place on earth. If youhave wondered how folks get that way I would recommendthat you read Mora McManis Brown's "I, too, Have Learned"in this number of the Desert Magazine. She was an unbe-liever when her husband first dragged her out into the landof rocks and cactus—and the story of her "conversion" is

charmingly written personal experience that will help youunderstand how and why people love the desert.

* * *

One night recently I camped out in the Borrego badlandswith my prospector friends, Henry Wilson and Carroll Hill.They were looking for the lost Pegleg mine—that mysterioushill with nuggets of black gold on top of it.

I don't know whether Pegleg Smith was a liar or not—butif I had all the cowhide that has been worn out in the questfor his lost claim I wouldn't care whether I ever found amine or not.

The quest for gold is universal—but I really believe thatthe men who spend their years in the hills in vain search forlegendary treasure, find more real wealth in the long runthan a majority of the mortals who wear out their shoe leatheron city pavements in a mad chase for dollars.

Verbenas are still blooming in profusion on the dunes,encelia and ocotillo and evening primrose are out in manyplaces, and a number of the less common blossoms are to beseen along the roadsides. You'll find the desert at its bestduring the next two months. Come out and share the sun-shine with us. It is good to camp in a secluded canyon oc-

Documents

194002 Desert Magazine 1940 February