195708 Desert Magazine 1957 August

8/14/2019 195708 Desert Magazine 1957 August

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B u r r o P r o s p e c t o r . . ."This old prospector was campedout in the Verde River country nearQuartz Mountain, north of Phoenix,and it looked as if there was goingto be a beautiful sunset so I askedhim if he would pack up his outfitand pose with his burro for a picture.This is the result." That is how R. T.Payne of Pinetop, Arizona, describesthe taking of this month's first prizewinning photo. Camera data: 4x5Bush Press Camera; pancro presstyp e B film with red filter; 1/25 sec.at f. 22.

" O c t o p u s " S a g u a r oThe twisted arms of this Saguarocactus growing north of Scottsdale,Arizona, reminded Ryan O'Brien ofPhoenix of an octopus, and he re-corded the impression on filmthismonth's second prize winner. O'Brien

shot the picture on Panatomic X filmwith light yellow filter, 1/25 sec. atf. 14.D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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DESERT Cf l lLEnBBRAugust 1-3Burro Race, Apple Val-ley to Big Bear Lake, California.August 2Old Pecos Dance, JemezPueblo, New Mexico.August 2-4Rough Riders and Cow-boys' Reunion, Las Vegas, N.M.August 3 Smoki Dances, Prescott,

Arizona. (See page 11).August 3-4Billy the Kid Pageant,Lincoln, New Mexico.August 3-4Horse Show and Gym-khana, Pine Valley, California.August 3-September 15 HubbellCollection (Indian Portraits), Mu-seum of Northern Arizona, Flag-staff.August 4Corn Dance, Santo Do-mingo Pueblo, New Mexico.August 7-10Harvest Days, Midvale,Utah.August 8-10Black Diamond Stam-pede, Price, Utah.August 8-11 Inter-Tribal IndianCeremonial, Gallup, New Mexico(See back cover).August 9-10 Northern ArizonaSquare Dance Festival, Flagstaff.August 10 Western Saddle ClubGymkhana, Phoenix.August 10Fiesta de San Lorenzo,Pfcuris, Laguna and Acoma pue-blos, New Mexico.August 10-11 State ChampionshipCutting Horse Contest, Santa Rosa,New Mexico.August 12Annual Fiesta and CornDance, Santa Clara Pueblo, N.M.August 13-1572nd Annual Rodeo,Payson, Arizona.August 14-17V-J Day Rodeo, Ar-tesia, New Mexico.

August 15Assumption Day Fiestaand Corn Dance, Zia Pueblo, N.M.August 15-17County Fair and Ro-deo, Logan, Utah.August 16-18Horse Show, Santa Fe.August 17 Barber Shop QuartetAssociation Harmony Jamboree,Prescott, Arizona.August 17-25 Pony Express Daysand Nevada Fair of Industry, Ely.August 18Tour to Gran Quivira,from Alamogordo, New Mexico.August 22-24Annual Fiesta, Hol-brook, Arizona.August 24South Phoenix, Arizona,Riding Club Gymkhana.August 24 Becker Lake Regatta,Springerville, Arizona.August 28San Augustin Fiesta andDance, Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico.August 29-30 County Fair, Du-chesne, Utah.August 30-September 2 AnnualFiesta, Santa Fe.August 30-September 2County Fair,Elko, Nevada.August 31-September 2 MohaveCounty Fair and Elks Rodeo,Kingman, Arizona.August 31-September 2Kids' Rodeo,Cloudcroft, New Mexico.August 31-September 2Nevada Ro-deo, Winnemucca.August 31-September 2Rodeo, Fal-lon, Nevada.Late AugustHopi Snake Dances atWalpi and Mishongnovi, Arizona.(See page 29.)

Volume 20 AUGUST, 1957 Number 8

COVERPHOTOGRAPHYCALENDARINDIANS

POETRYGARDENINGFICTIONCEREMONIALCONTESTTRUE OR FALSEWATERHOLEEXPLORATIONEXPERIENCELETTERSHISTORYPERSONALITYNATURECLOSE-UPSNEWSMININGLAPIDARYHOBBYCOMMENTBOOKSINDIANS

"Mike" and Harry Goulding of Monument Valley(see story on page 4) By JOSEF MUENCHPictures of the Month 2August events on the desert 3With Harry Goulding in Mystery Valley

By RANDALL, HENDERSON 4The Cholla's Deceit and other poems . . . . 8Red Blossoms in Your Desert Garden

By TED HUTCHISON 9Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley 10When the Smokis Dance at Prescott

By THOMAS B. LESURE 11Picture-of-the-Month Contest announcement . . 12A test of your desert knowledge 14Yaqui Well, by WALTER FORD 16We Found a Way into an Ancient Cliffhouse

By JOYCE ROCKWOOD MUENCH . . . . 17Prayer Stick Vengeance, by D. D. SHARP . . 21Comment from Desert's readers 22Mission San Xavier

By JOSEF and JOYCE MUENCH 23She Paints With Gem Stones

By NELL MURBARGER 24Parasites of the Desert World

By EDMUND C. JAEGER 27About those who write for Desert 30From here and there on the desert 30Current news of desert mines 34Amateur Gem Cutter, by DR. H. C. DAKE . . . 37Gems and Minerals 38Just Between You and Me, by the Editor . . . 42Reviews of Southwestern literature 43Gallup Ceremonial back cover

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Press, Inc., Palm Desert,California. Re-entered as second class matter July 17, 1948, at the postoffice at Palm Desert,California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered No.358865 in U. S. Patent Office,and contents copyrighted 1957 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writing.RANDALL HENDERSON, EditorBESS STACY, Business Manager EUGENE L. CONROTTO, Associate EditorEVONNE RIDDELL, Circulation ManagerUnsolicited manusc ripts and photographs submitted cannot be re turned or acknowledgedunless full return postage is enclosed. Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility fordamage or loss of manuscripts or photographs although due care will be exercised. Sub-scribers should send notice of change of address by the first of the month preceding issue.

SUBSCRIPTION BATESOne Year $4.00 Two Years $7.00Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra , Foreign 50c Ext raSubscriptions to Army Personnel Outside U. S. A. Must Be Mailed in ^Conformity WithP. O. D. Order No.19687Address Correspondence to Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, California

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Full Moon arch, one of more than 30 natural windows found in the MysteryValley sector of Mon ument Valley.

W i t h H a r r y G o u ld in gi n M y s t e r y V a l l e y . . .

Perhaps the way is now open for Monument Valley in northernArizona and southern Utah to become a national parka NavajoNatio nal Park. A ny w ay , that is the dream of Harry and M ike Gouldingwho have lived with the Indians in this remote sector of the Navajoreservation for more than 30 yea rs. This story will give a g limp se ofsome of the fantastic formations and prehistoric ruins which are foundin this regionand of the descendants of Chief Hoskaninni and thelittle band of rebels who fled to this arid land in the early '60s.By RANDALL HENDERSONMap by Norton Al len

MANY years i t has beenthe dream of Harry Gouldingthat the colorful buttes anddomes, and the golden sands of Mon-ument Valley astride the Arizona-Utahborder, would become a nat ional park.Many of those who have visitedMonument Valley share Goulding'sfeeling that this land of fantastic stoneformations, prehistoric Indian ruins,and primitive Americans would easilyqualify for national park status. Bu tthere were obstacles, the most seriousof which is that Monument Valley isalmost entirely within the reservationof the Navajo Indiansa reservationestablished by a treaty which forbidsthe disposal of any Indian land with-out the consent of the tribal owners.Perhaps the Indians themselves have

a solu tion for this difficulty. In 193 4the Navajo Tribal Council passed aresolution providing ". . . that all areasof scenic beauty and scientific interestwhich require preservation be herebyreserved as Navajo Parks, Monumentsor Ruins, to be managed by the Nav-ajos themselves with the cooperationof the Indian Service, and other help-ful agencies . . ."

At the time the resolution waspassed, the Indians had no funds withwhich to undertake so far-reaching aprog ram. M ore recently, with the tribaltreasury enriched by $33,000,000 inoil and mining leases and royalties, theNavajos have taken steps to implementtheir prog ram . In Febr uary this year,by a vote of 63 to 0, the Tribal Coun-cil instructed its chairman, Paul Jones,

to name a commission of five mem-bers to survey potential park and mon-ument sites and make recommenda-tions to the Council.Many times in the last 20 years Ihave toured the more accessible areasof Monument Valley with HarryGoulding who, with his attractive wife,Mike, have operated the GouldingTrading Post for more than 30 years.The Trading Post, now enlarged toinclude well-furnished guest accommo-dations, is as much a part of Monu-ment Valley as are the hogans of thehundred or more Navajo families, whowith their ancestors, have herded sheepin this remote desert region since theearly 1860s when Chief Hoskaninnifled with a little band of irreconcilablesinto this remote region as a hideout.This happened at the time when KitCarson was rounding up the Indiansin Canyon de Chelly for removal to aconcentration camp at Fort Sumner.Most of the Indians in Monument Val-ley today are descendants of the Hos-kaninni band.The only access to this region todayis over Highway 47 which crossesMonument Valley as the motoristdrives south from Monticello, Utah,to Kay enta, Arizona. This sector ofHighway 47 is a graded gravel road,fairly smooth on the Utah side, corru-gated on the Arizona side. Side roadsextending across the floor of the Val-ley are sandy, and unsuitable for theconventional cars of today.

During many trips into the ValleyI have in some measure learned toshare Harry Goulding's deep attach-ment to this land and its native Ameri-can inhabitants. I have confidence thatD E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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Mike and Harry Goulding, as an 19 24. They lived in a tent

ime were Flagstaff, 200 miles to thebout the same distance in Utah.

The Indians were shy at first, butbefore long the young cowboy and hisfriendly wife were recognized asfriends. Har ry and Mike both learnedto speak the language.There were practically no roads inthe region, but Harry began breakingtrails across the desert floor that liesaround the great monoliths which givethe Valley its nam e. Ven turesom etravelers began coming into the Valleyand the Gouldings provided modestaccommodations for them.

Today visitors come from all overthe nation, by auto and plane, to siton the veranda of the spacious lodgeat the base of a 1000-foot cliff andenjoy a landscape picture that extendsfor 100 miles and more. Jack andMarge Sleeth, who manage the guestaccommodations and provide jeepguide trips for guests, have made it

Harry Goulding stands beside the ruins of one of the ancient cliff dwellingswhich he hopes to see protected by including the area in a national park.possible for the Gouldings to relaxafter their many years of pioneering.

But Harry still finds time to keepclose contact with his Navajo friends.He is a welcome visitor in every ho-gan, for there is no family in Monu-ment Valley which at some time hasnot been helped by his interest andgenerosity.In May this year I had an oppor-tunity to return to Monument Valley,and with Harry as guide, extend myexploration into some of the remoteareas I had not yet seen. Actually,Monument Valley covers an area ap-

proximately 40 by 50 milesmost ofthem roadless miles.Early one morning we left the trad-ing post in one of the jeep stationwagons Harry uses for guided tours,and headed toward the Mystery Valleyarea.We stopped briefly at the SeventhDay Adventist Mission Clinic whereMarvin and Gwen Walter are contrib-uting magnificently to the health andeducation of the Navajo families inthe region. The ir little group of mis-sion buildings, erected on a site do-nated for the purpose by the Gould-

Prehistoric Indians created this room by building a rockand mud wall in a crevice. It probably was a storagevault.Wind and water down through the ages have carvedmany strange formations in the De Chelly sandstoneof Mystery Valley.

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ings, is serving the same role in Mon-ument Valley as is the PresbyterianMission Hospital, for many years un-der the direction of Dr. Clarence G.Salsbury, at Ganado on the reservationfarther east.Our destination was a sector ofMonument Valley which has beengiven the name Mystery Valley becausecontinued exploration constantly re-veals new and unexpected rock forma-tions and evidence of prehistoric occu-pat ion . Th e great rim- roc k cliffs whichpartly enclose this area are serratedwith lovely coves where prehistoricIndians found overhanging shelter fortheir mud and stone cliff dwellings.

While there is no road into this area,the sandy floor of the valley is criss-crossed with jeep tracks, and Harrytold me there has been considerablevandalism at the cliff ruins in recentyears. How ever, many of the wallsare still standing, and whether or notthis place is to be designated as oneof the Navajo parks, it is to be hopedthat funds will be available for Indianpolice to patrol the ruins.

Mystery Valley could have well beennamed the Valley of the Arches, forthe visitor motoring along the floor ofthe desert is nearly always within sightof one or more of the many stone win-dows which millions of years of ero-sion have carved in the cliff walls.There is Waterfall arch, Stout arch,Full Moon arch, Double archover30 of them altogether, some verticaland some horizontal. The cliffs them -selves are fantastically eroded . Th ereare spires, turrets, domes, castlesallthe work of erosion in the colorful DeChelly sandstone of the region.

Botanically, this is the zone of the

juniper and pinyon, and while the landis too arid for a dense growth of thesedesert trees, they are sprinkled overthe horizon in every direction. Grow -ing in the sandy floor we saw hedgehogcactus, desert holly, lupine just com-ing into blossom, and yellow bee cloverin full bloom.Once Harry pointed to a cliff rosewhich the Navajos call Awai-itsa, orbaby bush. The inner bark of thisshrub is twisted and fluffed and usedby Indian mothers to absorb the mois-ture in the baby's cradle boa rd. It hasa silky talcum feel and keeps the baby'sskin from chafing.As we rode along Harry talked muchabout his friends the Navajos, andtheir problem s. The tribe now has anable administrative organization, theTribal Council. It is composed of fourrepresentatives from each of the 18districts into which the reservation isdivided. He especially prais ed thework of Frank Bradley, one of thetribal representatives from the 8th dis-trict which includes Monument Valley.It was largely through his efforts thatthe Bradley boarding school at Kay-enta now makes it possible for all theMonument Valley children to attendschool within easy travel distance oftheir homes. Th at is, they are closeenough that their parents may visitthem occasionally. Also , Bradley is amember of the newly appointed Nav-ajo Park Commission.As we drove along Harry stoppedoften to pick up a discarded bottle ortin can which a thoughtless motoristhad tossed to the sands. "Th e Indiansdo not litter the landscape," Harrysaid. "These cans and bottles weredeposited here by motorists who donot share the reverence for the good

earth which is part of a Navajo's re-ligion."Occasionally we passed a flock ofsheep, attended now by children tooyoung for school, or by elders beyondschool age. Ha rry always stoppe d toexchange a few words in their ownlanguage, and give them oranges froma crate he carried in the jeep. It iseasy to understand the deep affectionthese people have for the man who asa neighbor has shared their problemsfor over 30 years.Harry Goulding has complete con-fidence that the Navajo Indians cancarry out the park program they haveinitiated, if the Bureau of Indian Af-fairs and the U. S. Park Service willgive them friendly cooperation.However, in undertaking the pro-gram they have announced, the triballeaders will welcome the cooperationof both the Bureau of Indian Affairsand the National Park Service. TheIndians realize that in such a programthey have much to learn from the ex-perience of their white neighbors, andit is their hope that they can maintaina cordial relationship with the federalagencies.One paragraph of their tribal reso-lution read s: "Th e Navajo Tribal ParkCommission shall not have authorityto deprive any Navajo Indian or hisheirs of the right to continue to useany area of Navajo tribal land in thesame manner he was using such areaat the time a Navajo Tribal Park orMonument was established embracingsuch area."While the parks and monuments onthe reservation are to be establishedfor the use and recreation of all Ameri-cans, and in fact their profitable oper-ation will in large measure depend on

Double Arch created by millions of years of erosion in a remote sector ofMonument Valley.

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making them attractive to their off-reservation neighbors, Harry Gouldingfeels that there will be no conflict ofinterest. He is hopeful tha t the visitorsfrom outside the reservation will en-courage a revival of such Indian craftsas weaving, silverwork and basket-making. The Navajos, like the Paiutes ,are adept at making the old-time waterbaskets .Monument Valley will not muchlonger be isolated by bad roads to theextent it was in former years. TheState of Utah is now black-toppingHighway 47 from Blanding to Bluff.While I was in Monument Valley acontractor's representative was there tomake a preliminary report for the ex-tension of the paving from Bluffthrough Mexican Hat to the Arizonaborder. Com pletion of this sector willleave a gap of approximately 25 milesfrom the Utah border to Kayenta yetto be paved to provide Monument Val-ley with a good through highway. TheTndian Department is reported to bemaking plans for the black topping ofthis corrugated link.Rusty Musselman, who has a trad-ing post at Bluff, Utah, recently beganthe operation of a 3-times-a-week stageline from M ontic ello to Flagstaff providing public passenger facilitiesthrough Monument Valley for the firsttime in history.There are other road plans whichwill add greatly to the accessibility ofthe Monument area. The Navajo TrailAssociation, of which Robert Ayers ofDurango, Colorado, is president, isworking diligently to secure the im-provement of a road which extendswest from Highway 666 in the FourCorners region, roughly parallel to theArizona-Utah border, and connectswith Highway 47 at Kayenta. Thepaving of this highway would completea scenic triangular route through theNavajo reservation from Shiprockthrough Monument Valley and Kay-enta to Tuba City, thence through Or-aibi, Ganado and Window Rock toGallup, and back over Highway 666

to Shiprock.Undoubtedly such a road would verysoon become popular with Americanmotorists, and it would make schoolsand hospitals more accessible to greatnumbers of Navajo and Hopi Indiansin the northern part of their reserva-tions.Harry Goulding feels that there area number of scenic and historical siteson the Navajo reservation which areentitled to national park or monumentstatus. He mentioned Shiprock, CoalCanyon and areas in the Lukachukai

Mountains, in addition to the greatMonument Valley region.Late that evening when Harry and

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I wound our way back over the floorof the valley to the cliff house whichhas been the home of Harry and MikeGoulding for nearly a generation, themen tal cabinet where 1 keep picturesworth preserving was loaded to ca-pacity with visions of golden sanddunes, fantastic natural arches, pre-historic Indian dwellingsand of dark-

J ) - ' a\CHILC HINBITD T.R4. \skinned and bright-eyed youngsterswho perhaps will have a better oppor-tunity to develop their latent abilitiesif they can have more contact with thebest in the white man's civilization. Ishare Harry Goulding's hope that somedaynot too long distantMonumentValley will become a Navajo NationalPark .


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The C holla's Deceit

Photo by Don OllisTHE CHIEFTAIN

By GRACE BARKER WILSONKirtland, New MexicoThe chieftain rests. Forages all unnum-beredIn this dim place his quiet bones have lain;But never think hisrestless soul hasslum-bered;He stalks abroad on desert, mesa, plain.Though archeologists oflate have spied him,And bared his remnants tothe pu blic view,He haunts the trails of those whooncedefied him,And shouts avoiceless battle cry anew.The ruins ofhis home are tourist treasures,Explored and photographed just for aday.But riding on the wind to martial measures,He leads what spirit warriors, who can say?

CONVERSIONBy SALLY HARVEYMonrovia, California

At first I could not seeThe beauty inthis landBut sparse, unlovely growthAnd cactus-studded sand.Then I saw the hillsTurned rosy by the dawn,A nd asoft purple-blueWhen night was coming on.Golden flowers spreadAs far asone could seeDesert colors ofspringHave made a fan ofm e!

JOSHUA TREEBy SALLY HARVEYMonrovia, California

So lonelyA stark figure against the sky.And twisted,The black thick limbs awry.How whiteThe blossom inthe spring,IndomitableOf all the desert, king.

What Price Peace?By TANYA SOUTH

What price peace, of wrongscom-pounded?Greatness ison struggle founded!Peace isbu t aphaseno more.For the pendulum will swing,And we grovel orwe soar,Or we're mute, orshout or sing,As we earn and as we learnAll the things for which we yearn.Ah, attainment is a raimentNot acquired without full payment.Be itpeace or be itwar,Man can only learn tosoarThroug h his striving with each grainWhich isalways pain.

By DARWIN VAN CAMPENPhoenix, ArizonaOld man ofthe desert?White from ageing years?Give you cause no longerFor intruder's lingering fears?Has your vengeful cactus spiritLost the vigor of its prime?Do you let your home's intrudersGo unpunished for their crime?Aid you not your brothersIn defense ofyour own land?Have you atlast desertedTheir staunch defending band?Ouch! I've found you outYou masquerading fake.You held your barbs inwaitingTill I caused the ground toshake.Then with youthful quicknessYou hurled them atmy feet,And your beguilement was effectiveBecause you've caused me toretreat.

TWILIGHT DREAMSBy MARLENE CHAMBERSBloomington, Indiana

The desert sunlight haunts my dreams today;Before itscatter all the dull delights.Their feeble radiance fades within the rayWhose brilliance drives their half-light intonight.How tired and dull, how worn and pale thedreamsThat seemed so fresh andbright an hourago!Like tumbleweed before the wind, theirbeamsAre driven afarbanished by desert glow.But ghost ofsun isfickle inits flight;And though myfamished sight bids it re-main,The vision vanishes. The heavy nightDescends. I call the phantom backin vain,An alien amid the northern snows.My dreams will always seek the desert rose.

V A GA BON D SBy MARIE H. EUBANKLa Verne, California

Let's go down the winding road,Fear and care abandon.Choosing for our day's delightLovely paths atrandom.

Let's seek hilltops few have trod,Or roam through meadows green.Pausing inour joyous flightTo praise apower unseen.Let's test the lure ofdesert land.From toil let's find release.Scuffing our feet through drifted sandAs we bask inquiet and peace.Let's catch the beams ofsunlightFiltering through the trees.Or cast afly nshimmering pools,Nature's gift toseize.Let's not shrink from the raindropsLowering clouds would send.Ecstatic vagabonds let'sbeTo our journey's end.

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It's much easier to grow thesecolorful desert natives in your gar-den than you think and thismonth the dean of desert nursery-men, Ted Hutchison of Calico,tells you how.

R e d B l o s s o m si n Y o u rD e s e r t G a r d e n

By TED HUTCHISONN THE California deserts growfive red - blossoming perennials

that are easily adapted to thehom e garden. All that is required is alittle understanding of their simpleneeds.These plants are Chuparosa, MojaveClaret Cup, Ocotillo, Scarlet Buglerand Scarlet Locoweed. They rangefrom sea level to 7000 feet and mostare easily grown from seed. Some canbe started from cuttings or trans-planted, but laws of the Southwesternstates prohibit the removal of nativevegetation. Therefore, these plantsshould be obtained from nurseriesand it is not against the law to collectseeds on the desert except within Na-tional Parks and Monuments and StateParks .While desert plants are very drouthresistant after they are established, theyneed plenty of moisture to start fromseed or to resume growing after trans-planting. They also like a bit of ferti-lizer and apparently are not particularwhich kind you give them.Once established, these plants dobest with a few long thorough soakingseach year. Water several feet awayfrom the crown of the plant to train theroots to spread out. Continuous mois-ture is not good for the plants andshort surface sprinklings are especiallybad.Seeds can be started directly in theground or in containers for later trans-planting. Tin cans or glazed pots arepreferred to red clay pots which dryquickly on the desert. Milk carton sserve well, too, but whatever type con-tainer you use, be sure to shade it fromthe hot sun or the tender roots may becooked by the heat.Above Blossoms of the Ocotillo.Below Mojave Claret Cup orMound Cactus. Photo by Roy Miller.

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Plants need not be removed fromcartons or cans when you want toestablish them in permanent locations.Merely slit some holes in the bottomand sides of the containers and placethem in the planting hole. When re-moving plants from pots, first givethem a good soaking to eliminate thedanger of roots sticking to the con-tainer. An d once in the ground, keepyour plants damp until they are grow-ing well.

Best time to transplant larger plantsis when they are in their dried out ordormant phase. They should be keptmoist until re-established.Here are some planting hints on thefive plants mentioned above:Chuparosa (Beloperone californica),found on the Colorado Desert inwashes and among rocks in the warmerareas. A reedy bush, two to six feettall with tubula r, flaring flowers. Thisis a heavy bloomer and in mild winters

may flower all year arou nd. Seed podsare club-shaped with four to six BBshot-like seeds which are hurled whenthe ripe pods burst. To collect seeds,cover the green pod with a small pieceof cloth or tobacco sack.

Temperatures of 15 degrees Fahren-heit or lower may damage this plant,but it will come up again from theroots. Sow the seed in the spring andby fall the plants will be large enoughto begin flowering. The flowers varyin shades of red and sometimes cut-tings can be started from plants thathave a particularly fine color. Someof the most spectacular specimens ofChuparosa I have seen were at theBorrego State Park Headquarterswhere they had been shaped into col-umns three feet in diameter and sixfeet high. In the spring these columnswere solid masses of red.

Mojave Claret Cup or MojaveMound Cactus (Eschinocereus Majav-ensis) is found in high altitudes. Clus-ters of two inch heads medium toheavily spined, the clusters up to twofeet across and one foot high. Bloom sshaped like stemmed wine glasses inbrilliant burn t red colors. Seeds small,black, in a juicy berry very muchrelished by pack and kangaroo ratsand chipmunks so they are ratherscarce when ripe.

This is a plant for cold to mediumlocations which can tolerate tempera-

R o c k $ f a t t yof Death Valley

It was mid-summer, and fromthe leanto porch in front of theInferno store the dust devilscould be seen whirling acrossDeath Valley's salt flats.The dude prospector who hadstopped at the store for a colddrink, ambled out on the porchwhere Hard Rock Shorty wastaking his afternoon siesta."They look like miniature tor-nadoes," he remarked, by wayof conversation. Shorty openedhis eyes and asked, "Did you saysomething abou t tornadoes?""Oh, I was just watching thoselittle whirlwinds stirring up thedust. They are small-scale mod-els of the big tornadoes we havedown in Texas.""Only difference is them Texascyclones do a lot o' damage,"Shorty answered, "an' these littledust devils is harmless."Fact ol' Pisgah Bill put 'emto work one summer," Shortywent on. "Bill wante d to build

a corral fer his pack mules, an'he figured he'd let them windwhirligigs do the hard work."He put a couple o' windwings on the top of his post-holeauger, and then he'd set theauger in the ground a few inchesand wait in the shade until oneof them dust devils came alongand drilled the hole fer ' im. Tooka lot o' time that way, but timemeant nothin ' to Billhe had allsummer to build that fence, sohe jest waited."Scheme wuz workin' all right,an' Bill had about three-quarterso' them holes dug. Then along inSeptember the weather changedan' them whirlwinds got bigger 'nstronger. They'd turn that augerso fast it would bury the drill inthe ground, handle an' all. Billnever could figger out a schemefer puttin ' a brak e on it. Finallyran outta money buyin' new mail

order augersan' he never didget that corral finished."

tares as low as zero degrees Fahren-heit. For planting on warm desertareas, keep under lath or in shade ofan open tree. This plant is easilytransplanted but hard to start fromslip and growing from seed is for spe-cialists. In transplanting care shouldbe taken not to bruise the plant or itmay rot.Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) isfound on the warmer deserts in well-drained soil. Clusters of long thornybranches to 10 feet or more in height.Spikes of red flowers at the tips of thebranc hes. Th e plant grows its foliageof green leaves only after rain andflowers if that rain is heavy enough.Seed pods are straw colored with halfinch flat seeds covered with white"cot ton ."This is a plant for warm to mediumlocations and will withstand tempera-tures of 10 degrees Fahre nheit. Itgrows very easily from seed, slipseasily and transplants well. Plant seedin the spring after soil is warm and ifkept damp will grow rapidlyas muchas 15-inches the first yea r. Cutting sor transplants should be kept dampuntil growth starts. This plant, grownas a hedge, has long been used as acoyote-proof fence on the desert.Scarlet Bugler (Penstemon centran-thifolius) is found in the western des-ert areas and on over into the coastalside of the mou ntains. It is almost aherbaceous perennial, the long spikesdying back after flowering. It has tu -

bular red flowers on spikes up to twoand a half feet long, a foot and a halfof the stem being in flower at onetime. Clusters of seed pod s full ofbrown seed follow the flowers.This is a plant for warm and mediumareas and can tolerate temperatures aslow as 10 degrees Fahrenheit and pos-sibly lowe r. It is very easily startedfrom seed in the spring and will flowerthe second year. Oftentimes seed scat-tered by the wind will sprout aroundthe garden. In Yucca Valley there isa border of this plant around a cactus

garden and volunteers are coming upamong the cacti and adjacent desert.Scarlet Locoweed {Astragalus coc-cineus) is found in high desert alti-tudes growing up to eight inches inheigh t. It has a fuzzy gray pea-likefoliage with clusters of red flowers.The pea-like pods also are fuzzy andthe seeds are small, brown and flat.This is a cold to medium weatherplant. Possibly it could be grown inwarmer locations if planted in shadyplaces. Start seeds in September or inthe spring. One year I started some inSeptember and one plant flowered inmidwinter, the container it was in oftenfreezing solid at night.

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L a s Voladoresara ancient Aztec rite is performed by Smoki dancers atop a50-foot pole. Photo by Al Cirou.

W h e n t h e S m o k i s D a n c e at P r e s c o t t . . .Each August the ancient andsacred rituals of the American In-dians are faithfully re-enacted in

Prescott, Arizona, by the SmokiPeople white men and womenwho donate many hours in s tudy,rehearsal and work to make thesepresentations as nearly perfect aspos sible . Here is the story of thisp ra i s ew orth y c iv ic organ iza t ionwhose purpose it is to preserve forall time the ceremonies of the rap-idly integrating first Americans.By THOMAS B. LESURE

7H E E V E N I N G sh a d o w s ha dturned to thunderous cloudsover the picturesque pueblo.Forked lightning streaked the sky inall directions, and torrents of rainwhipped by a strong wind all butturned the plaza into a quagmire. Yet,despite the storm, the steady beat ofan Indian drum and the rhythmic chantof snake dancers continued unabated.Snakes in hand and rattles clacking,the dancers stepped their serpentineway around the plaza, never stopping,never missing a beat, never slipping.It was an amazing performance, madeeven more impressive by the weather.That was my introduction somefour years agoto the Smoki PeopleA U G U S T , 1 9 5 7

Smoki drummers use authentic cowhide drum to rap out the beat for thedancers. Photo by Al Cirou.

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The mark of a Smoki Chief. The tattoo and the silver and turquoise ringbearing the same markings symbolize a past chief of the Smoki People.Photo by Al Cirou.

P i c t u t e - o f - t h e - m o n t h C o n t e s t . . .For the photographer, the desert offers a wide and interestingvariety of camera subjects: Indians in colorful costumes, sunsets,plants, animals, mountains, insects, rivers, clouds, strange rock for-mations and people enjoying themselves in the desert environment.And for the photographer whose picture is judged a winner in ourmonthly photo contests, Desert Magazine offers cash awards. It's aneasy contest to enter andthere is no limitation on your photo subjectso long as it is ofthe Desert Southwest.Entries for the August contest must be sent tothe Desert Magazineoffice. Palm Desert, California, and postmarked not later than August1 8 . Winning prints will appear in theOctober issue. Pictures whicharrive too late forone contest areheld over for thenext month. Firstprize is $10; second prize $5. For non-winning pictures accepted for

publication $3 each will be paid.HERE ARE THE RULES1Prints must be black and white. 5x7 or larger, on glossy paper.2Each photograph submitted should be fully labeled as to subject, timean dplace . Also technical data: camera, shutter speed, hour ofday, etc.3PRINTS WILL BE RETURNED WHEN RETURN POSTAGE IS ENCLOSED.4Entries must be in the Desert Magazine office by the 20th ofthe contest month.5Contests are open to both amateur and professional photographers. DesertMagazine requires first publication rights only ofprize winning pictures.6Time and place of photograph are immaterial, except that it must be from thedesert Southwest.7Judges will be selected from Desert's editorial staff, and awards will be madeimmediately after the close ofthe contest each month.

Address AllEntries to Photo EditorZ>e4c*t t7HaQ4$i*e PALM DESERT. CALIFORNIA

of Prescott, Arizona, who are notedthroughout the country for their color-ful and faithful presentations of Indianceremonial dances. And it set me towondering.Who are these people? How didtheir tribe begin? What goes on be-hind their annual ceremonials? Howdo they become so proficient in theirdances? These andother questions.Last August, I again had an oppor-tunity to see the Smoki People. Mywife, Nan, and I drove to Prescott afew days before the Ceremonials,talked with themembers of the tribe,watched their preparations for thedances andonce again saw a memor-able performance. But even moreim-pressive were the People themselvesand the work they accomplish.The Smoki People are not, as onefamous encyclopedia erred, "an almostextinct tribe of Arizona Indians." Themistake wasunderstandable, though,since a Smoki in paint and costumeoften is indistinguishable from a realIndianso authentic and completearetheir transformations at Ceremonialtimes. Actually, theSmokis arewhitemen and women from Prescott whohave dedicated themselves to the pres-ervation and presentation of ancientIndian ceremonials, mystic rites andlegends. There are now about 300active members. Another 300 personsw h o , "once a Smoki always a Smoki,"have moved from Prescott but stillretain their status in thetribe.They come from all walks of lifeand are of allages. We met bankers,shoemakers, doctors, merchants,den-tists, public utility officials and evena U. S. Senator. "I guess there isn'tany business or profession that is notrepresented among the Smoki People,"one member told us. "And wehavehad performers ranging from babes inarms to 80year olds."Though usually well-known amongPrescott residents, the Smoki Peopleare reticent about personal publicityand their bylaws expressly forbid in-dividuals publicly being called byname. They feel that the tribenotits membersis the important thing,and they carefully retain an air ofanonymity when you ask for publicidentification. That is why there areno names inthe captions of the photo-graphs accompanying this article. In-deed, itwas only with great persuasionthat we were even able to obtain pho-tographs of individuals before theyas-sumed their Indian roles.However, there is one way youcanalways tell a Smoki: look for a tattooon the outer edge of his left hand.Men are marked with four dots in arow . . . . , while past chiefs have acrescent added . . . . ) . Womenare

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hav e an adde d dot / / . .The Smoki People originated in

est." Pa rt of the fun was a Snake

following year. But,

pi legend. By 1924 , the spirit of

tic and artistic dances Th e Smoki Ceremonial be-itself. And through

Now each Augustusually on the

first or second Saturdaythe Smokisstage a one night performance of aboutfive dances ranging from 15 to 35minutes each. The re may be the ZunivShalako, Hopi Buffalo, Navajo Fire,Shoshone Banda Noqai , Eagle, Corn,Feath er, Sun or other dances. Bu talways the program is opened with themaking of a huge Smoki sand painting,and is closed with the Smoki SnakeDance .A permanent pueblo stage in the in-field of the County Fairgrounds, ashort distance from downtown Pres-cott, is the Ceremonial setting. Fromthe grandstand it presents the appear-ance of an authentic Indian villagecomplete with trees, ramadas and out-door ovensall backed by the pine-clad hills that encompass the town.Behind scenes the pueblo is an orderlymaze of make-up rooms and storagesheds.

In addition, the Smoki People main-tain two rustic stone buildings on aknoll on the east side of Prescott.Known as the Smoki Museum and

Pueblo, they are the showplace andhome of this unusual tribe. Both werebuilt entirely by Smoki members, andare authentic reproductions of ancientIndian architecture.The Pueblo, however, is not opento the pu blic. It is the center of Smokisocial and tribal life with rooms likethe Sanctum decorated in an Indianmotif and the important fireplace-backed Coun cil Tab le. Her e, too, isthe Smoki libraryone of the mostextensive specialized sources of Indianceremonial lore in the country. Fo rthose who are privileged to visit it,the Smoki Pueblo is a quietly imposingplace steeped in the traditions andlegacies of ancient culture.The Museum, open daily from Junethrough September, is a treasure houseof Yavapai County and Smoki relics.Huge Zuni Shalako figures stand guardover a faithful ladder-crowned repro-duction of a Hopi kiva at Oraibi thatfills the center of the large room.Around the edges of the pine and sap-ling beam-ceilinged room and in nu-

Before and after Two Smo ki tribesmen are transformed intomake-up, costumes and wigs. P hotos by Al Cirou. "Indians" with

A U G U S T , 1 9 5 7 13


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merous show cases are thousands ofartifacts.The museum also is the repositoryfor most of the costumes and para-phernalia used in the ceremonials.Though this section is not usuallyshown to the public, we were fortunatein having a look behind the scenes oflast year's Ceremonial. Although about75 percent of the material had beenremoved for the day's performance,we counted more than four scoreboxes, each marked to show their con-tents, dozens of Hopi Kachina masks,and hundreds of buckskin and clothdresses, bells, rattles, prayer sticks andother items.

To try to estimate the amount of

work these costumes represent is vir-tually impossible. None of the Smokipeople with whom we talked couldeven begin to figure the total value oftime, material and effort, but all agreedit amounted to thousands of hours anddollars. One costume might take sev-eral months to produce, another onlyone day. All are mad e during hoursfreely donated by tribal members. Thecostumes, as authentic as possible, aremade for durabilityto be used timeand time again for appropriate dances.

An idea of the tremendous amountof work put into each annual Cere-monial can be had by citing the ex-ample of last year's chief and one ofhis ceremonial priests. Together, they

T R U E O R F A L S E . One way to become acquaintedwith the interesting facts aboutthe Great American Desertwithout spending money for gasoline and tires is to devote an hour oncea month to Desert Magazine's quiz lesson. Yo u'll not answer all of thesecorrec tly, but it is no disgrace to be wro ng. Twelve to 14 is a fair score,15 to 17 is excellent, 18 or over will send you to the head of the class.The answers are on page 36.1A chuckawalla lizard is more venomous than a gila monster.True False2Beaver trapping is still an important industry along the ColoradoRiver. Tru e False3 The Rainbow Bridge National Mo nument is in Arizona. TrueFalse4 He matite is an iron ore. True False5The man who killed the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid was Pat

Garret t . True False6--Desert mirage s are seen only durin g the sum mer m on ths. Tr ueFalse7The old Spanish trail known as Camino del Diablo crossed theColorado River at Yum a. True False8 Greasew ood or creosote bush never grows below sea level. TrueFalse9The site of old Fort Calville normally is buried beneath the watersof Lake Mead . True False10 Charleston P eak may be seen from La s Vegas, Nev ada. TrueFalse11Indian symbols incised in rock with a sharp tool are known aspetroglyph s. True False12Stalactites form on the ceilings of caves, stalagmites on the floor.True False13Roadrunners have been known to attack and kill rattlesnakes.True False14 The capitol of New Mexico is Albuquerq ue. True False15 The leaves on Asp en trees turn yellow in the fall. TrueFalse16Certain species of woodpeckers drill holes and raise their young incavities in Saguaro cacti. True False17Havasupai Canyon where the Supai Indians have their reservationis in the Panam int M oun tains of California. True False18 Hank sville is the nam e of a town in Utah . True False19The reservoir behind Davis dam in the Colorado River is known asLake Mea d. True False20Imperial Valley in California is irrigated with water from the SaltonSea. Tru e False

14

devoted more than 3000 hours or 3740-hour weeks eachin addition totheir regular jobs!According to Mrs. Bernice Insley,curator of the Smoki Museum andauthor of Indian Folklore Tales, mem-bers of the tribe begin talking aboutthe next ceremonial almost as soon asthey put away the costumes of the cur-rent year's dances . A new chief is

elected in the fall, and by the first ofthe year the Smokis have chosen thedances to be performed in August.A director and cast are appointedfor each dance, and the intensive re-search begins. Especially importantare the Bureau of Ethnology reportsmade in 1879 for the Smithsonian In-stitution. Thes e are com plete in almostevery phase of the dancefrom sym-bols on the costumes to the order ofdance steps. Still further re search ismade to insure complete detail andauthen ticity. If the chosen dances still

are being performed by Southwesterntribes, the chances are members of theSmokis have seen them, and they arecalled on for first-hand reports.The womenand men, toobeginmaking the needed costumes. Some-times old outfits can be made over, butmore likely a completely new one iscreated . Bells, rattle gou rds, shieldsand other accessories, of course, re-main standard except for changes insymbols. But, even here, small repairsand changes add up to many man-hours of work.The Smokis chosen for the dancesbegin to practice their steps monthsbefore the performance date. Not onlymust they learn the sequence of steps,they also must perfect their interpre-tive knowledge of the dance and itschant. As in real Indian cerem onials,everything must be as perfect as hu-manly possible.Meanwhile, the make-up men studythe required markings and collect theneeded paints. Other committees swinginto action, doing their appointed tasks,until the wh ole group is active. It is,

in truth, a year-long job.The Smoki People begin collectingsnakes in April or M ay. Instead of therattlers used in the Hopi dance, theyuse non-poison ous bull snakes. Thereptiles are deposited in a snake pitbetween the pueblo and museum wherethey are kept until just a few hoursbefore Ceremonial time."Snakes are getting scarce aroundhere, though," one past chief com-plained, "and we're thinking of keep-ing them from year to year. Of course,that presents a problem in feeding,but we're learning from zoos how toraise rats, and supply other food tokeep them happy."

As Ceremonial day approaches lastDESERT MAGAZINE


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inute touches are added to costumes,dances are brought to a peak of per-ection, and the pueblo set is refur-ished. The degree of cooperationeven from outsidersis amazing. TheSanta Fe Railroad, for example, runsits regular daily train from Phoenix toAsh Fork through the city half-waythrough the perform ance. Instead ofblowing the train's whistle, the engi-neer quietly proceeds past crossingsmanned by torch-burning members ofthe Smoki People.

It may seem that nothing ever goeswrong at a Smoki Ceremonial . Atleast, that usually is the impressionfrom the grand stand. But mishaps dohappen.About two years ago one of thesnakes swiped the black wig right offa perform er's head. Luckily, he wasnear enough to the pueblo to duckinto it, reset his wig, and rejoin theline of dancers without anyone in theaudience being aware of it .Not too long ago, Mrs. Insleywho was given the name "Nokomis"meaning grandmotherplayed the partof the Spider Woman, famous in South-western Indian legends. In the courseof the ceremonial, two smoke pots weresupposed to have been set off at inter-vals to create a mystic smoke screenwhile she prod uced the snakes. In-stead both accidentally went off at thesame t ime."Why," she laughingly recalled, "I Make-up man applies ceremonial paint to Smoki snake dancer. Photo byAl Cirou.Smoki snake pit with some of the dozens of reptiles used in the snakedance. Photo by Mel Compton.

r :

*

&

was in an awful mess. My eyes andnose were running from the smoke, andI couldn't wipe away the tears for fearof ruining my mak e-up . I was sup-posed to get two snakes, but I couldn'tfind them at first, and then when I did,the threads holding them in placewou ldn't break. W e had a terribletime, but finally managed all right.The only trouble was the man whoset off the smoke pots couldn't hearfor a week!"Devotion to a worthy cause? Yes!And you can see the notable resultsyourself by attending a Smoki Cere-mon ial. It begins as the sun sinks be-hind the Yavapai Hills. The pueblocomes to lifechildren romp aroundits perimeters, women cook dinnersover open fires, and one by one thecolorful dances thrill the audience.The Smoki Peoplewho turn everypenny of the proceeds back into thejob of making the next year's per-formance even betterare truly civicminded and less concerned with their

own pleasure than in bringing to thepublic an integral and vanishing partof native Southwestern culture.A U G U S T , 1 9 5 7 15


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ITze author dips a drink from Y aqui Well. A section of concrete pipeserves as a casing for the well, and the wood cover keeps the water cleanand pure.HISTORIC DESERT WATERHOLES VIIIYaqui Well

Forever mixed with the waters of Yaqui Well are the undying talesof the Lost Pe gle g Gold. Is this the waterho le that holds the ke y clueto the lost treasure? Will man ev er know ?

By WALTER FORD,E S , SIR, I'm convinced that ifPegleg Smith's mine is everfound, it will not be far fromthis waterhole. I don't know wherethe mountain is where he found thewater, and which they later calledSmith Mountain, but there's no doubtin my mind that the spring was YaquiWell."

The speaker was one of the peren-nial searchers for the Lost Pegleg Minewhose quest of many years had, accord-ing to his belief, supplied every essen-tial clue short of the ac tual black scaledgold nuggets with which Pegleg Smithis supposed to have filled his pocketson the Southern California desert.

I was camped at Yaqui Well onelate spring evening and after the dinnerchores were completed I joined severalother camp ers arou nd a fire. The eeriemoonlight setting among the smoketrees supplied just the right atmospherefor recounting the many tales and leg-ends surrounding Yaqui Well, and itwas not long before the conversationdrifted to the subject of lost mines.

Yaqui Well was once an importantCalifornia watering place on the oldJulian to Imperial Valley road, via theNarrows and Kane Springs. The wellderived its name from a Yaqui Indianwho formerly lived there and who, ac-cording to Philip A. Bailey in hisGolden Mirages, figured very promin-ently in the Warner's Ranch Indianepisode of the Lost Pegleg Mine.San Felipe Wash, in which YaquiWell is located, is the boundary linebetween the two regions where the lostmine is thought to exist. Ma ny oldtimers stoutly maintain that it couldbe in no location other than the Valle-cito-Carrizo area. Others contend withequal firmness that only the Badlandsof the Borrego region hold the secretof Pegleg Smith's fabulous wealth.Henry E. W. Wilson, of the latterschool and dean of the Pegleg search-ers, told me that during his 57 yearsearch for the mine he rarely came asfar south as Yaqui Well, except to visit

his friends, the Sentenac brothers, afterwhom Sentenac Canyon is named and

who had a cattle ranch nearby. Henrysaid that the Sentenacs raised someof the finest cattle he had ever seen,but many were lost to cattle thieves.He told me of one occasion when hevisited his friends and found Paul Sen-tenac excitedly jumping up and down,waving his arms, and shouting overand over, "He came in the night andtook my cattle!" naming the culpritbut seemingly unable to do anythingmore about it.Since the area adjacent to YaquiWell has had such a prominent place inthe search for the Pegleg Mine, it is ofinterest to note what Major HoraceBell had to say concerning PeglegSmith in his 1870 manuscript, editedand published by Lanier Bartlett in1930. Bell wrote :

"The author has little faith in theactual existence of the Pegleg Mine,because it was reported by that artis-tic old liar, Pegleg Smith, whom he hadthe honor of knowing in the palmydays of Pegleg's lawlessness . . . In-deed Pegleg was a magnificent thief onthe wholesale plan and the most super-natural liar that ever honored Califor-nia with his presence. In the later daysof the 50s, dilapidated and played out,he found his way once more to LosAngeles. He sat around the old BellaUnion Bar, telling big lies and drink-ing free whiskey, the latter easy to pro-cure when he would begin on the sub-ject of his alleged mine of fabulousriches somewhere on the borders ofthe Colorado Desert. Ever since theold man died people have been search-ing for the Pegleg mine, but they willnever find it in spite of the certain orewhich he procured somewhere and ex-hibited, because it is a myth, a Pegleglie."

It is not to be expected that theforegoing would deter an ardent Peg-leg searcher to the slightest extent, orcause him to lose faith in his ultimategoal, which is as it should be. It ismerely one man's opinion, againstwhich a true Pegleg believer can pro-duce much published evidence to sup-port his own convictions.John S. Brown, in his Water SupplyPaper, 490, published in 1920, statedthat there was usually some poor butdrinkable water at Yaq ui Well. It issuspected that the poor quality of thewater at the time Brown made his re-port may have been due to contamina-tion rather than natural causes, becausethe water at the well today is of verygood quality. There is ample shadearound the well, which makes it apopular spot for campers. Yaqui Wellis located a few hundred feet to theright of Highway 78, approximately

15.3 miles west from Ocotillo or Ben-son Dry Lake.D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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Across a narrow canyon in the Rough Rock country of northeastern Arizona,members of the exploring party look down at the lovely ruins built and desertedby prehistoric Indians hundreds of years ago.

W e f o u n d a W a y i n t on A n c i e n t C l i f f h o u s e . . .

In his quest for new picture subjects, Joe Muench of Santa Barbara,California, finds his way into many odd corners of the desert Southwest and som etimes his trail lead s to unexpe cted adventure. Here is thestory of an unreported group of cliff dwellings on the Black Mesa of theNavajo reservationand of the hazardous means by which Muench'scompanions g ained acc ess to it .By JOYCE ROCKWOOD MUENCHPhotographs by Josef MuenchMap by Norton Al len

EVER AL MONTHS ago , Joeand I were out on the NavajoIndian reservation in northernArizona. This 16-million photogenicacres of the Southwest is one of ourfavorite hunting grounds for picturematerial. As usual, our search for newA U G U S T , 1 9 5 7

places to photograph offered a pleas-ant excuse to drop in on friends andwe stopped at Rough Rock TradingPost to see the manager, Bill Greene,and the Grahams, Peggy and Sprague,who operate it.We were pleased to find Art Greene,

Bill's father, (who runs his excursionboat up the Colorado River in GlenCanyon, Desert Magazine, Jan. , 1957)there, as well as another guest, GeorgeParke r. The latter was making a leis-urely tour of the Colorado Plateau ina power wagon and had been makingthe post headqu arters while he exploredthe Black Mesa.That night after dinner we sat beforea crackling fire in the big open hearthand it was a perfect setting for tellingtales of past adventures and for dis-cussing new ones.Bill 's voice broke through the incon-sequential observations on the weatherand roads, how poor the sheep looked,and what a big crop of pinyon nuts theIndians were harvesting. He told abouta recent flight he made from Gallup,New Mexico. In the late afternoon,through a narrow slit in the canyonwalls, he caught a glimpse of a lovelylittle prehistoric ruin nestling in ashadowy cave.As he related this experience myhusband sat upright and I saw aneager look cross his face."Well," Bill continued, "none of theNavajos at Rough Rock had ever men-

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tioned this ruin, and I was curious tolearn more about it. "A few days laterI flew back over the same route, circledthe spot where numerous canyons playout into the open desert and the sand-stone shows ages of erosion. Afterseveral tries, I finally got the rightangle and caught sight of the ruinsagain."

Art Green, who had accompaniedhis son on the flight, took up the story."It was a neat little group," he said,"bu t not even Joe Muench will ever getinside of that cave to take pictures.Those houses are located under anoverhang at least 150 feet below therim of the cliff, and it is another 100feet straight down to the floor of thecanyon."

An hour and two rounds of coffeelater, we were still trying to talk ourway into the cave, and miles of slick-rock that guard it were keeping us out.Bill had some objection to offer forevery plan that was suggested.It seemed to boil down to these hardfacts: From below, supposing onecould get to the canyon, there was noway up the face of the cliff withoutmountain climbing equipment and ex-perience. That was out, for we werenot qualified even if we had the tools.From above, the overhang would takea man on a rope out much too farjust swinging in air, with nothing toland on. Anyway, where on that slick-rock could you anchor a rope? A carcouldn't climb over that expanse of

rolling, irregular sandstone, even if itproved suitable as a "deadman."Then George Parker spoke up. "Ifyou really want to get those pictures,Joe, I think we could do it with mypower wagon and winch. I have 1000feet of steel cable."Sprague threw another log on thefire and our enthusiasm flared up withthe flames. By midnight, we hadworked out a plan of action to the lastdetail.Next morning Bill, George and Joetook off in the plane to scout out anoverland route from the post to theruins. At strategic points along theway they threw out rolls of paper, andthese "bombs" opened in mid-air andspread a long white trail on the ground.Then, in the clear, cold air an hourlater, the whole party started off, armedwith thermos jugs of coffee, ropes,lunch, some old tires and immense en-thusiasm. We went in two cars, thelumbering power wagon and our ranchwagon.The road toward Chinle is crossedby num erous tracks. Some lead todistant hogans, some are trails bull-dozed for a hydrographic survey andothers just wander off in this or thatdirection. There were a number offalse starts before we hit one thatlooked promising. Joe recalled seeinga wooden house, minus part of its roof,from the air; Bill had three emptyhogans on a hill in mind, and Georgewas watching for a conspicuous knobon Black Mesa to come into correct

perspective. With these landmarks welocated our white markers and headedtoward a point, about 20 miles fromRough Rock, where the sandstoneswells up to a series of rounded domes.When the ranch wagon had gone asfar as possible in the rough terrain, weall got into the power wagon and droveanother five miles to a sweeping over-look. It took another hour on foot topin-point the canyon and the cave.George maneuvered the truck intoa rock hollow, hoping to find someshelter from a sharp wind that hadsuddenly sprung up, but there was noescape from the biting gusts. I can'tremember when I have been colder.During the balance of the day wereconnoitered the area, finding that itwould be possible to head the canyon

Top photograph, opposite page George Parker's power wagon isparked on rolling slickrock highabove the distant desert floor. Nearhere is the prehistoric ruin.Bottom George Parker begins hisdescent into the canyon of the ruin.Tires prevent the steel cable fromcutting into the soft sandstone.

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A U G U S T , 1957 19


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and reach a point directly across fromthe ruin. We also discovered a slopingledge which offered a possible route onthe level of the ruinif and whensomeone could be lowered onto it.More satisfying, we had an oppor-tunity to look at our cameo-like cliffruin, sheltered in the arched cove. See-ing it so quiet and desolate, it was hardto believe that at one time the narrow

canyon echoed to voices and stonehammers, and that busy figures some-how clambered down to the canyonfloor where a seep suggesting a nowburied spring supplied water for thelittle community. The locale seemedmore suited for an eagle's nest thana human habitation.No roof poles showed and portionsof the cave ceiling had fallen, smash-ing the walls of the houses. What mayhave been a round kiva or ceremonialchamber was conspicuous at the front,more as an excavated pit than a room.Even with field glasses we could not

distinguish a sign of man-made foot-holds or a sloping approach whichmight have served as a path over thewallsnot even a break in the rockswhere such a path could have fallenaway.That night after dinner we sat beforethe fire at Rough Rock and plannedthe final assault. In Commando-raidfashion, every member of the partyreceived an assignment to a specificduty, and every possible mishap wasconsidered.By mid-morning of the next day wewere in position at the canyon rim.The power wagon was on the peak ofa rock swell 500 feet above the edge.Art Greene warmed the engine thatoperated the winch while George fast-ened himself into the boatswain's chairat the end of the line, and then slowlyretreated down the sloping slickrock tothe rim.Old tires, cut in half and wired to-gether, were suspended over the softsandstone to keep the cable from cut-ting into it. Two guide ropes werelooped over a projection of rock tohold the cable straight.

Joe was posted across canyon wherehe had started taking pictures andcould watch George's descent and sig-nal for the cable to be raised, loweredor stopped as necessary. Bill, at thepoint where the descent would bemade, was to relay Joe's signals to Artand me high above him.George was slowly easing towardthe edge. I stood at the winch whereI could watch the uncoiling wire andstill see Bill's hands. Raised above hishead, they were moving in a continu-ous circle which meant "let it down,"

and across the gorge, Joe's handsmoved with the same command.Slowly the cable played out, the

20

Going down! George Parker, low-ered over the cliff on a steel cable,has just reached the ledge which hewill traverse to the cave of the ruins.

motor growled noisely and George dis-appeared over the red rim.Our first relayed report was thatGeorge had reached the ledge. Thewinch was stopped and from Joe weknew the boatswain's chair was loos-ened and secured to a rock and ourexplorer was proceeding cautiouslyalong the ledge toward the cave.We waited for half an hour, assured

by Joe that all was well, but impatientto have our curiosity satisfied. Duringthe interlude I saw a solitary Navajofigure standing out on the desert floorand I considered what a puzzling sightwe must have made for him. In an-other moment he disappeared, nodoubt shaking his head over the un-fathomable ways of the white man.At last George told Joe he was readyto come up and the long slow pullbegan. The cable did not roll smoothlyon its drum, and there were momentswhen the guy ropes seemed to be slip-ping uneasy moments they were but finally George's head appearedover the rim where Bill took him bythe arm, and he was up and over.When we had all returned to thecar George told us what he had seenin the cave below. He found no clueas to the route by which the prehistoricdwellers in this cavern high up on thesidewall had gained access to theirmud and stone pueblo. A lightlyscratched date on the cave wall "1926"deepened the mystery. Thirtyyears ago a non-Indian had somehowgotten into the canyon and, according

to George, "had gone through the placeas though with a bulldozer." Certainlyno authorized expedition or trainedarcheological party had been respon-sible for such depredation.There were about 20 rooms, somebuilt to the very ends of the opening.All were one-story and the highestwalls were six feet high.But, our adventure was not over.Just as we started to leave, five Navajopolicemen appeared over a rocky swell,coming in our direction.The Navajo I had seen earlier in the

day apparently notified the officers ofthe strange activity he had seen fromthe desert floor and they were here toinvestigate.In a way this gave us great satisfac-tion for it showed us that even in thisuninhabited corner of Navajoland, theIndians knew when visitors wereabroad and were prepared to see thatruins were not molested except underproper authorization from the Tribe.We explained how we had been re-cordingnot destroyingstill anotherfascinating wonder of Navajoland.Adventure, I can assure you, stillwaits on the desert and you can find itin the air, on the ground, or in between.

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LIFE ON THE DESERTP r a y e r S t i c k V e n g e a n c e

The ancient Indians had hidden their religious fetishes in can yonniches where they would remain undisturbed. But the authorlikemany other pot-hunters before and s incedesecrated the sacred cachesby removing the b ow ls and prayer sticks. Was the misfortune whichfollowed themanifestation of angry gods?By D. D. SHARP

THE summer of 1928 Iwas sent as relief agent to anisolated railway station about amile and a half from an Indian pueblo.Here the railway winds through a deepgorge with an eroded tableland so highabove it that the full moon seemedto be a brazen shield resting on therimrock, while deep in the canyondrums throbbed throughout the night.Mysterious desert nights and theendless beat of pueblo drums have al-ways mesmerized me with a sense ofunreality, as do painted priests chant-ing ancient prayers as they emergefrom the round-walled turrets of under-ground temples.Nightly I listened with interest, but1 had no belief in thepower of a medi-cine man's curse or benediction, norin the sanctity of prayer sticks or effi-cacy of sacred meal. With usual whiteman brashness, I invaded forbiddenareas and pilfered relics I consideredabandoned.Across the tracks from the depotwas such a place. Here a sandstonewall towered from a talus of dirt andrubble where the Ancients had dweltin primitive caves. I often exploredthis place and gathered many artifacts.One day my wife and I found a steeppath to the tableland above and weclimbed it with clandestine caution.The flat mesa was cleft by many deepnarrow crevices and in most of themwe could dimly see beautiful bowls,some containing prayer stickssmallround pieces of wood bound withfeathersand meat offerings.Vaguely we had heard that therewas a curse against anyone who dis-turbed them, but to us it was super-stition and nothing to worry about .With a fishing line of string and hairpinwe lifted the bowls out of the ground.We secured a nice collection of potterythat day and many prayer sticks. Of

course this was in the early days be-fore enactment of laws restricting theremoving of artifacts.We packed our new treasures andexpressed them to Albuquerque wherethey were received and taken to ourhome in the Sandia Mountains.When myrelief duties at the railwaystation were completed, we returnedto our mountain home andmade a newniche in the adobe walls to displaythe newly acquired artifacts, while Iboasted of the ingenuity we had usedto recover these trophies.Soon after my return I was suddenlyand unexplainably stricken. The rail-way doctors gave me a hopeless ver-dict. I was finished, incapacitated. Iwas ordered to go home and drag myco t out in the shade and become apermanent invalid. I refused their de-cree, but soon discovered there is alimit to the power of the human will.

Even during those long bleak hoursof meditation and worry as I lay in

bed, it did not enter my head that myillness might have been caused by apagan curse.That same year mywife took ill, farmore grieviously than I. In the monthsshe lingered with me, the 1929 finan-cial panic hit the country. Hospitalsand doctors were costly, the value ofmy property fell. I sold some acreagefo r a tenth of its original value, butthere was no alternative.One quiet night when all the cabinlights on the slope were out, I sat withmy head on her bed. "You know," shesaid, "I have been thinking of thoseprayer sticks. I want you to get ridof them."Coming from her these words gaveme a jolt. She was the calm sensibletype. I lifted my head and met hersweet serious eyes, and my gaze fellto her pale cheeks, hollowed with greatsuffering. I wondered if she was ra-tional, or speaking from fright of somenightmare or delirium.I tried to smile at her, but couldn't."Sure," I promised.Next morning I lifted them fromtheir niche in the wall, but I didn'tdestroy them. It came over me thatI must not do thisnot because theywere beautiful and valuable, but be-cause I had become afraid of them,afraid to surrender to superstition lestI be assailed by another and anotheruntil my whole life would be riddenwith one taboo after another. So Ireturned them to the niche and ex-plained my reasoning to my wife. She

did not protest."We're not children," I assertedgrandly, "it's against all reason to be-lieve those inanimate sticks have causedour troubles."A few weeks later, she who was somuch to me, passed away. And whenI was alone I began to doubt, to be-lieve, to feel recurring futile remorse

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fo r not havings done. what , she hadasked. :'.::.'_..:: :Y et I didnot, even then, destroy thesticks. I defied them to do anythingworse to me than they already had.I lost my home, became bit teragainst old friendsevery decision Imade waswrong. If I turned left, es-cape was to the right. If I waited, Ishould have hurried ahead. And so Isank deeper and deeper into disaster.The bank, where I had deposited mysmall remaining cash, failed. The manwho had promised me employmentthat myphysical abilities were capableof performing, suddenly died of a heartat tack. And finally, the irrigated gar-de n I relied on for sustenance wasflooded and ruined by a neighbor's

negligence.N . Howard (Jack) Thorp, whowrote "Little Joe the Wrangler" andother cowboy songs, offered his help."Everywhere you turn," he said, "youare reminded of your losses. I havea cabin on thebeach near Port Isabel.Go down there. Get away from hereand begin all over with new factors,new friends."I left Albuquerque on August 20,1933. On September 4 the worst hur-ricane in history carried off Jack'scabin and I escaped without a changeof clothes.The next day as I stood on the des-olate wreckage-littered beach search-ing for intimate keepsakes and findingnone, feeling overwhelming helpless-

ness, a thought struck me that liftedmy spirits to a remarkable degree.Thebowls and prayer sticks! The sea hadtaken them too! If indeed my misfor-tunes had been their curse, now I wasfree!From that hour to this, losses havebeen made up to me. I have a nicerhome in the Sandia Mountains and alarger acreage. I am married again,and very happily. My decisions arelargely fortunate. My friends have beentested by adversity. Life is good andfilled with promise.Oh yesIndian bowls, baskets anddolls decorate our new houseandthey are beautiful, but they were pur-chased from Indians who made themfor sale.

L t T T B SProtests No Campfi re Rule . . .Chula Vista, CaliforniaDesert :With all respect to our CaliforniaState Park system and its efforts topreserve the natural beauty of ourdes-erts , I find it extremely agitating as aperson who has camped in the out-doors most of mylife, to be confrontedby a Park Ranger in some isolatedspot and told that campfires are notallowed.What makes an outing complete? Afire to gather around in the evening,to sing by, chat with your children,roast wieners, warm yourself on anespecially cold evening, or to sit quiet-ly, looking at the dying embers afterthe children are all tucked safely awayin their bed rolls, meditating on therichness and fullness of the great out-doors.What good is camping without acampfire? Can you gather a group ofpeople around a gasoline stove andexpect the same results that a campfire

produces?A nd the park authorities will noteven let you bring in your ownwood!Heaven help us if the state park systemis extended over to the Colorado River.R E Y B A R N H A R TDear Rey: I am afraid you are go-ing to have to begin adapting your-self to a changing world. The oldrules were all right in the days whenpopulation wassparse and few peo-ple camped on the desert. But thosedays are gone probably forever.The statisticians are predicting200 million Americans by 1975.And that inevitably will mean in-creasing regimentation for you andme. One person can live on an

island in perfect freedom. But if999 more move in, then there has tobe some rules tosafeguard the rightsand privileges of all of them. Put100,000 on the island and thatreally will be rough on those ruggedindividualists who cannot adjustthemselves.We are heading in that directionin the good old USA, including thedesert. Sojust thank the park rangerfor being so courteous about itand next time go a little further outon the desert beyond the ruleswhich the ranger must enforce toinsure protection for you and me.R.H. Desert Treasure Awaits Him. . .Haverford, PennsylvaniaDesert :In the mid-1920s I used to prowlaround the desert in Imperial Valleyan d the pull of the desert has neverleft me. When life reached the pointwhere tempers were short and theworld took on a bluish tinge, I went tothe quiet lonesome places where hu-mans hadn't left their disturbing marks.I was always healed and when I re-turned to myfellows theworld seemeda lot different, but no better. Here inPennsylvania I still dream of the day

when once again I will renew myspiritout there.In those days there were no rock-hounds and when one roamed he hadthe feeling that it had been many yearssince a human had been there beforehim. From what I read in Desert, itis not like that nowyet there is oneplace I stumbled on that I hope noone has gotten to. It has remained inmy mind for the past 30 years.Out on the desert in a wash bank,tw o men had made a dug-out in thedry hard clay. Inside was a smallcrude table which was set for twoknife and fork, a tin plate and cup,on each side of the table. When Ipicked up one of the knives the

wooden handle turned to dust . Undera very small iron stove was a pair ofold high-topped shoes which were sodried out the leather broke off insmall pieces. Inside the oven weretwo dried ears of corn.U p the ravine I saw why these menhad lived here. The clay sides of theravine were laid bare to gray rock. Ipicked up a piece and it was heavierthan common rock. I found no oldtools lying around.For the past 30 years I havedreamed of returning, hoping thatno one followed my earlier footsteps.I am 62 years of age and in threeshort years I will be getting my socialsecurity checks. My wife and I havebeen making plans to live somewherein southern Arizona. When that dayarrives we will get settled and thendrive over into Imperial Valley and Iwill seewhat has happened to my dis-covery.I wish to express my gratitude formaking it possible to keep fresh in myheart the wonders of God's greatd NELSON B. P O W E L L Directions to Four Corners . . .Riverside, CaliforniaDesert :Recently, my companion LarryDecker and I drove to the Four Cor-ners Monument where Utah, Colorado,Arizona and New Mexico meet .Thanks to an increase in uraniuman d oil prospecting there are manygood roads in this area today. Westarted from Tes Nos Pas, Arizona;drove east for 1.2 miles then turnedleft. At 3.5 miles we made anotherleft turn onto the unmarked road toFour Corners.Four hours and 20 miles later wefound the marker a two-foot highcement pillar on a flat area the size ofa city block. J A C K H A R R I S

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HISTORIC PANORAMAS VI

M I S S I O N S A N X A V I E RBy JOSEF and JOYCE MUENCH

Father Eusebio Francisco Kino founded

It stands on the Papago Indian Reserva-

The mission was abandoned severalbecause of hostile India ns. Restoredtyle and was built largely by Indian work-

It is an amazing structure, consideringUnlike most of the missions of itseriod, it still is serving the Papagos underhe rule of the Franciscan Order.

Located only seven miles from Tucson,t is one of the most widely visited land-marks in the area.

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She Paints With Gem StonesBy NELL MURBARGERPhot ographs by the au t hor

OF desert stone,shaped with a pair of pliers andfixed to a plywood foundation,may not suggest an art form worthyof blue ribbons, butJosephine Roberts 'great sense of artistry and endless pa-tience have made it just that. For thepast nine years, the unique "Studiesin Stone" created bythis Nevada ranchwoman have been claiming first awardswherever shown in competition; andin 1955, at the exhibition of the Cali-fornia Federation of Mineralogical So-cieties in San Francisco, her exquisite

The beauty in stones hasbeen admired by man from thebeginning of time. And now aNevada ranch woman, Great-Grandmother Josephine Roberts,has combined the ancient artsof sandpainting and mosaicsetting with modern art formsto create a striking new methodof illustration.

arrangements not only carried off firstaward for special exhibits, but literallystole the show!

Each petal and lea] in this elaborate bouquet was hand-shaped from nativeNevada agate and gem stones by Josephine Roberts.

Jo Roberts' idea of "paint ing" pic-tures without benefit of paint is theoutgrowth of her lifelong interest in themany attractive stones in the vicinityof Duckwater, Nevada, where her peo-ple have lived for over a centuryhergreat-grandparents having settled heresoon after the 1849 California goldrush. Josephine's mother was bornand reared in Duckwater Valley, aswas Josephine and her five daughtersan d two sons; and now, 10 grandchil-dren and sundry great-grandchildrenmake, in all, seven generations of herfamily which have lived in the Valley.Even as a child, Josephine was at-tracted to the colorful stones she sawwhile riding horseback after cattle,andthroughout her girlhood sheseldom re-turned from a desert ramble that herdress wasn't sagging with rocks. Afterher pockets were filled to overflowing,she even would rip a tiny opening inthe two-inch hem of her skirt and feedmore stones into this convenient stor-age spacea practice not wholly ap-preciated by her mother.In 1910,Josephine met and mar-ried Frank Roberts, a young engineerfrom Philadelphia who was runningthe survey for a projected railroad be-tween Ely and Tonopah. After theirmarriage Frank and Josephine settledon their present ranch in DuckwaterValley, and Jo initiated her new hus-band into the spare-time pursuit ofagates and arrowh eads. "Spare time,"however, is notexactly a surplus com-modity among folks who are rearingseven youngsters and operating a Ne-vada ranch 130miles from their coun-ty seat, and it was not until after theRoberts had become great-grandpar-ents several times over that Josephinefound time to fully indulge her love ofpretty stones. Oddly enough, it wasNancy Snyder, her youngest grand-daughter, who started Josephine onthe hobby that has since brought hermany hours of fascinating work, scoresof new friends, encouraging financialreturn, and commendation by art lov-ers throughout the country.

Since prehistoric times, the warmsprings that feed Duckwater Valleyhave made it a favorite haunt of Indi-an s who camped and hunted there ingreat numbers. As a result, arrow-heads were found in the valley in un-usual numbers, and on the walls ofthe Roberts' home hang several framesof beautifully-wrought 'points that theyhave collected. With time's passage,arrowheads became few, but still plen-tiful are the small flakings of agatecast aside by the 'point makers.

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Clean, translucent and of many hues,

mbrace all the vivid and pastel blend-ngs of desert noons and nights.Nancy's sandhill treasures one dayincluded a handful of bright yellowchips, and when she and the familywere looking at them that evening, hergrandmother idly arranged these littlerock slivers into a crude sunflower,with a round brown chip for a centerand two green leaves. Delighted with

the "flower" fashioned from her stones,Nancy insisted that it be glued to apiece of cardboard so that she mightkeep it .In that crude design made to pleasea child, the artistic eye of Jo Robertsglimpsed the germ of an idea and thenext day saw another "stone picture"fashioneda picture less crude thanthe first.Although her efforts continued toimprove with practice, Jo Roberts ' art-work remained essentially rough untilshe found that the agate chips could beshaped to her special requirements bytooling their edges with a pair of or-dinary cotter-key pliers. With this dis-covery, latent possibilities of the hobbyburst into full bloom, and no day heldso many hours that Jo couldn' t havefilled them all with experiments shewanted to try and pictures she hopedto create.In her first "Studies in Stone" ofprofessional quality, Jo arranged theshaped agate chips into sprays ofmixed flowers which were affixed topastel-hued cardboard and plywoodfounda tions. Artistically and neatlyarranged, even these early effortsgained for their maker several firstawards from the Nevada Fair of In-dustry at Ely, and the Nevada StateFa ir at Fallo n. As her skill increased,however, she found that not only themain subject matter but also the fullbackground of the pictures could bewrought in stone by pulverizing rockof the proper tint and then sifting itto assure uniformity.After the desired design has beenpencil-sketched on canvas or plywood,Mrs. Robertslike any artis t workingin m ore conventional m edia beginswith the most distant part of the pic-

Great-Grandm other Roberts with some of her prize-winning Studies in Stone.

ture and moves forward, creating firstthe sky, then clouds, distant moun-tains, hillsand then the main subjectma tter in the foreground. Taking eachsection of the scene in its proper turn,she coats that one area with a strongquick-adhering glue, and over this sur-face sprinkles the sifted rock powder.Many of the sand grains, naturally, fallbeyond the boundaries in which theyare wanted, but by turning the pictureface down and tapping sharply with thefingertips, all unattached grains areshaken free and only the glue-coatedsection remains covered. Soon as onecolor is in place, glue is spread uponanother area and powdered rock ofa different tint or shading is applied.

Upon reaching the main subject mat-ter in the foreground, where minutedetail is important, Jo Roberts turnsto the agate chips, shaping each tinypiece of stone to fill its individualneed, and fixing each individually inplace. When one considers that fewof these hand-shaped bits of agate arelarger than the head of a match, andsome no bigger than a pencil dot, thelimitless extent of this ranch woman'spatience and artistry becomes appar-ent.Working as slowly as the mills ofthe gods are reputed to grind, Mrs.Roberts has created pictures of almostevery subject except human portraits.One of her loveliest pictures, the sub-

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fFrank and Josephine Roberts enjoy a camp meal while on a desert outing neartheir home in Nye C ounty, Nevada .

ject of enthusiastic acclaim and winnerof blue ribbons wherever entered incomp etition, is of a Japanese azalia treein which each petal used in the manyscores of tiny flowers is hand-shapedfrom agate chippings in the same deli-cate shade of pink. Ea ch flower isfitted with its correct complement ofyellow stamensand even these arewrought from minute specks of stone.Mrs. Roberts devoted 1500 hours ofclose painstaking work to this singlecreation.Most difficult picture she has madeat least insofar as matching colorsis concernedis of a dwarf Japaneseplum tree in full bloom against a sky-blue back grou nd. Varying tints ofbrown petrified wood, arranged to giveshadings of natural appearance, formtrunk and branches of the tree, andeach petal in the many dozen tinyflowers is a clear milk-wh ite. W hiteflowers might seem a simple matter ina world full of white rocks, but agatechippings from Duckwater containmany shades of white, and for herplum blossoms Jo Roberts could useno sto ne havin g even the slightest off-color tint. As a result, she oftenrambled over the desert throughout anentire afternoon without finding enoughwhite chippings for more than one ortwo petals of the many hundredsneeded to fashion this lovely tree.

Other notable pictures she has madefrom rocks include one of brokenwagon wheels beside a desert trail,mallard ducks on a pond, a rearinghorse, water lilies on a mountain lakeand a jungle tiger.Some other stone colors are as hardto find as pure w hite. Sky blue, forinstance, is scarce, as is the clear brightgreen needed for leaves. Und er nocircumstance, however, does Mrs.Roberts resort to artificial coloring, andonly once did she use colored glass."Since it is made from silica sand,even man-made glass is a product ofthe earth, and I argued with myselfthat it would be all right to use it.

But I never felt right about it," laughedJo . "Every time I looked at that pic-ture and saw the colored glass I feltas if I had cheatedand I never usedglass in my pictures again."Jo Roberts' work enjoys the staunchsupp ort of her entire family. Everymember of the clan is firmly convincedthat Jo's work would be a challengeto any of the old masters. Hu sbandFrank and daughter Mabel climbedon the bandwagon several years agoby purchasing complete lapidary equip-men t. Installed in their hom e and op-

erated by gasoline-generated electricity,the outfit has produced some of themost beautiful cabochons and slabmaterial in the state.

Despite remoteness of its location135 miles from Tonopah and 65 milesfrom Elythe Roberts' ranch attractsvisitors from every part of the nationand from every walk of life. Reg ard-less of what they come seeking in theway of natural desert attractions, theDuckwater vicinity usually can supplyit. The 100-square-mile area aroundthe Roberts ' home probably containsa greater variety of gem stones thanany other in the country. Here arelocated jasper, opal, fluorescent chal-cedony, geode and crystal fields, fossilsof a dozen varieties, abandoned mines,ghost towns, volcanic craters and lavabeds, the eighth largest meteor craterin the world, Indian petroglyphs andgraves, emigrant trails and campsites,and dozens of other points of interestwhich Frank and Jo delight in visitingand exploring.

But, despite all their searching inthe past 45 years, the Roberts havenever succeeded in locating the sourceof the beautiful agate used in the arrowchippings still so plentiful in the val-ley. So long as this deposit rema inslost, Frank and Jo will have a wonder-ful excuse to ramble over the hillsand so long as she is able to makethese trips, Great-Grandmother Rob-erts expects to go on gathering agatechips and creating more beautifulStudies in Stones.D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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arasites ofThere are no villains in Nature'seyes, for all of her children mustlive as best they can. Plants thattake their nourishment from otherplants may not be regarded asa m o n g th e d e s e r t l a n d ' s m o s tpraiseworthy inhabitants, but theyare interesting and often beautifulmembers of the flora.

By EDMUND C. JAEGER, D.Sc.Curator of PlantsRivers ide Munic ipa l MuseumDrawings by the author

HUNDRED and fifty yearsago Sir Stamford Raffles, Englishgovernor of Sumatra, in com-

It was a fungus-like plant with nono leaves and but a singlehree-foot wide, 20 pound flower ly-flat on the ground. Th ere were no

Dodder

thick-lobed flesh-colored sepals sur-rounding a circular central cup a footin diameter, took their place. A strongodor like that of putrid flesh attractedflies which carried on the work ofcross-fertilization.Close examination revealed that this"all flower" plant was a parasite on thestems and roots of the tropical vinecalled Cissus. This amazing parasiteplant was named Rafflesia arnoldi tohonor its two discoverers and placedin a special family of its own, Rafflesi-aceae.An American botanist, George Thur-ber, found by contrast the smallestflowering plant in the world andstrangely enough it was a member ofthat same family, Rafflesiaceae. Thur-ber was collecting plants in arid south-ern Arizona below the Gila River nearits junction with the Colorado, whenhe noticed on the purple-gray stemsof a leguminous Dalea emoryi shrubnumerous small dark brown scaly nod-ules each about the size of a grain ofbarley . They we re stemless, leaflessparasites consisting almost wholly ofa flower made only of scaly sepalssurrounding a short club-shaped orsperical central part. The uniquepygmy among plants was named Pilo-styles thurberi.

This midget parasite which flowersin April has since been collected inwestern Imperial County in California.Recently Lloyd Mason

Documents

195708 Desert Magazine 1957 August