Desert Magazine 1950 March
Desert Magazine 1950 March
Desert Magazine 1950 March
JUST PUBLISHED: "THE STORY OF JADE" by Herbert P. Whitlock and Martin L. Ehrmann at
$12.50 per copy.
MARCH 1950
Street scene in Silver Reef about 1880. In the background, the Elk Horn saloon,
J. N. Loader's general store and the postoffice. These buildings have long since
disappeared. From one of Alex Colbath's old photo collection.
Mining experts said that silver
did not and could not occur in
sandstone. And so the world
was skeptical when news went
out that a big silver strike had
Buckboard Days
been made in the sandstone re-
gion of southwestern Utah. But
before the reef was worked out
at Silver Reef
more than ten million dollars in
silver bullion had been taken By NELL MURBARGER
from the mines at' Silver Reef—
A pleasant tingle of antici- Utah's famous old mining camp. It was
and there is still at least one old- pation, I headed the car out a morning specially tailored for adven-
timer who expects the camp to the little dirt road which led turing. Cottonwoods along the creek
boom again. toward the foothills and Silver Reef, were tipped in October gold and the
Despite these crumbling walls, Alex Colbath denies Silver Reef is a ghost town.
MARCH 1950
it was a little upsetting to step through While I learned a great deal of Sil-
that door into a bright, warm kitchen, ver Reef's story from Alex and Mayme
tenanted by Alex and Mayme Colbath Colbath, I didn't get all of it from
—present owners of Silver Reef, and them. Some I gleaned from old timers
as unghostly a pair as one might ever at Leeds and St. George and Pioche.
find. While not all their stories agreed in
Vivacious Mayme hurried around all particulars, their main components
the oilcloth-covered table to draw out form a tale unique in Western mining
a chair for me. Almost before I had history.
my hat off, we were knee-deep in talk There are several versions regard-
of Silver Reef and its fabulous boom ing the Reef's discovery. Some claim
days of two generations ago. that the mine here had been worked
Very early in our conversation I by Spaniards long before the coming
learned that it was not altogether pru- of pioneer prospectors, and even the
dent to refer to Silver Reef as a ghost mine's discovery or rediscovery by
town. Americans is chronicled in several dif-
"Silver Reef's no ghost!" indignantly ferent ways.
bristled white-haired Alex Colbath Around Utah and Nevada mining
when I first made the mistake of term- circles, the version I heard most fre-
ing it so. "It's never been completely quently centers about one "Metallif-
deserted! Someone's always l i v e d erous" Murphy who operated an as-
here." say office in the boom camp of Pioche,
And, technically speaking, someone just across the Nevada line.
always has. Those who insist upon Murphy's assays, it seemed, almost
delving into vital statistics will find always showed high values, and very
that for the last 22 years the town's possibly he was a trifle more sanguine
permanent population has been limited than scientific. At any rate, miners
to Alex and Mayme. Alex lived at the of the Pioche district had reached the
Reef even before that. He wouldn't point where they didn't put much faith
say exactly how long—"mebbe 33 or in his reports.
34 years—" but folks in the nearby One day as a group of prospectors
settlement of Leeds seem to have the stood on a Pioche street corner discus-
impression that he arrived on the scene sing where they might obtain reliable
about the same time as the red bluffs He was "mayor" of Silver Reef's assays, a Mormon colonist from the
to the west of town. Chinatown during the boom days. Virgin Valley drove up in a farm wag-
Another thing I discovered early on and inquired if any of the mining
in our conversation is the fact that Even at the Reef, she said, her early gentlemen would be interested in buy-
Silver Reef occupies a very large place nurse training has been put to good ing garden produce, firewood, or per-
in the hearts of both Alex and Mayme. purpose in helping care for her lively haps a grindstone—grindstones from
On their tables and in their cupboards flock of grandchildren who live on a the Leeds quarry then being in common
are relics salvaged from the ruins and mountain ranch a mile away. use in many Nevada mining camps.
ore samples from the mines. On the "Over yonder was Chinatown," she He had started to Pioche with two
walls of Alex's office—the main lobby continued, waving toward a section of excellent stones, the colonist contin-
of the bank—hangs a galaxy of price- hillside as barren of buildings as it was ued, but one had unfortunately be-
less old wood cuts and early photos of Celestials. That some 250 Chinese come broken en route.
showing the town in its heyday. had once lived there, operating shops A broken grindstone—possibly the
As we sat around the crackling wood and laundries and cafes, and function- most worthless thing in the world . . .
fire in the kitchen, and later, as we ing under their own Chinese mayor, But wait! Sandstone—that was it! Ev-
wandered among the crumbled stone seemed almost past belief. Scarcely a eryone who knew beans about mining
ruins on the surrounding slope, Mayme stick or stone remains as evidence of knew that sandstone never carried
kept up a running fire of anecdotes; their one-time occupancy. metallic values. Okay! They'd just have
stories about this building and that, "Mother used to tell me how ex- a little fun with Mister Murphy.
of the Reef's quaint characters and citing it had been to come up to Silver Mortaring the broken grindstone in-
pioneer goings-on—all stories heard Reef and browse around the little Chi- to still smaller fragments to thor-
first hand from her parents and friends nese shops with all their strange merch- oughly mask its identity, the miners
who had known Silver Reef in the old andise and foreign odors," she went delivered the material to Murphy, ask-
days. on. "All the ladies in the towns around ing him to run an immediate assay on
Although not a native of the Reef brought their best dresses to the Chi- it.
she was born within sight of it in the nese laundrymen here to have their ruf- When Murphy's report showed the
little Mormon town of Leeds, a mile fles fluted because the special hand "sample" to run 200 ounces of silver
down the ravine by foot trail. After Outers the Chinese used did the work to the ton, perpetrators of the joke hit
graduating as a nurse at the L. D. S. so much nicer than an ordinary flat- the ceiling.
school in Cedar City, she went east iron. And what do you think! Not There seems to be considerable dis-
to practice her profession. long ago I was poking around in the agreement concerning Murphy's fate.
"But the East wasn't for me!" brush where one of the laundries used One story has him strung up to the
Mayme Colbath declared with a quick to be, and what should I find but one nearest tree; another has him ridden
little grimace. "I guess I have too much of those old cast-iron ruffle fluters! out of town on a rail. Others declare
Utah and sand in my veins to be satis- The date on it is 1866 and it's still that Murphy became so angered by
fied anywhere else! I came back to the just as serviceable as the first day it his townsmen's sarcastic jibes that he
hills." was used!" locked up shop, traced the grindstone
TOaUER- r
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WASHINGTON
MIDDLETON
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pon.ro*
to its source, and there discovered an ver been found in sandstone, and now When Barbee found hornsilver even
entire reef of sandstone rich in horn- despite what seemed concrete evidence in petrified wood, he lost no time in
silver. of such occurrence—mining experts staking 22 claims on the Tecumseh
Maybe Murphy discovered the reef; still clung stubbornly to the old belief ridge and wired back to Salt Lake for
maybe he didn't. But at least someone that silver did not and geologically supplies and mining equipment.
did. One published account relates could not occur in sandstone. In the Walkers' backing gave life to the
that the original discoverer found ore face of such skepticism it was only nat- camp and in a matter of weeks the
running $17,000 to the ton but was ural that potential developers were town of Silver Reef had been laid out
so afraid someone would jump his doubly cautious in loosening their and named, and a full-blown stam-
claim while he was away recording it purse strings. pede was under way.
that he filled his prospect hole to hide Successfully prospected as early as On foot and horseback, by mule
it from view. Upon returning to the 1866, it was not until 1870 that the and burro and Concord stage and
reef—according to this tale—he was reef was organized as Harrisburg Min- freight wagon, men streamed into the
never again able to relocate the rich ing District and the first claim re- new camp. Miners, lawyers, mer-
deposit. The Colbaths got a good corded. Development, however, re- chants, gamblers, boom-town camp-
laugh out of the foregoing yarn. In ad- mained virtually at a standstill until followers. Development was rapid.
1874 when Elija Thomas had the Soon a mile-long board walk was
dition to its obvious improbability,
bright idea of forwarding some samples flanked on either side by frame and
Alex pointed out that the richest ore of the ore to Walker brothers, Salt
stone business buildings—including a
ever known to have come from the Lake bankers.
plethora of saloons, d a n c e and
reef ran only about 400 ounces to the gambling halls. There was a volunteer
ton. High grade, to be sure, but still Walkers were opportunists of the
first water. All the mining engineers of fire department, a brass band, a school,
a far cry from $17,000! three cemeteries and a good represen-
the world might declare this reef an
Various factors kept the new strike impossibility, but what Walkers saw tation of lodges and brotherhoods.
from developing as rapidly as one with their own eyes, Walkers believed. The year 1877 found the Buckeye
might have expected. One thing which The samples looked good. So good that mine with a daily production of 1000
materially retarded a boom was the the Salt Lakers dispatched to the scene ounces of silver bullion, averaging 990
mining world's reluctance to credit the three of their ablest mining men— in fineness. During 1878 the Christy
new discovery. Never before in the Wm. T. Barbee, Thomas McNally and mill processed more than 10,000 tons
history of the civilized world had sil- Ed Maynard. of ore valued at $330,000. During the
MARCH 1950
five-year period beginning in 1875, Lake diocese. When Father Scanlan gold flowed with equal facility, Sil-
the Reef's production of silver bullion arrived in the roaring mining camp by ver Reef's decadence followed a famil-
reached 3,319,054 ounces, valued at muleback in 1877, he found a place iar pattern.
$3,808,890, and by 1880 five large with urgent need for both church and As silver deposits close to the surface
amalgam stamp mills were in operation hospital. Determined that both should were worked out and it became neces-
along the ridge. be built as rapidly as circumstances sary to go deeper for paying ore, pro-
While mining at the Reef was to permitted, the earnest young priest duction costs mounted. Water seepage
continue sporadically for several more circulated through the saloons, the in the mines further skyrocketed ex-
decades—until $10,500,000 in ore had gambling dens and houses of ill fame, pense of operation, and to partially
been taken out—it was in the years and from this strata of society least offset such increases, wages were slash-
between 1875 and 1880 that the Reef touched by Godliness, came funds for ed. The miners were called out on
knew its greatest prosperity. the undertaking. Actual work of con- strike; strike leaders were jailed, and
Strangely, it was never a town struction found Father Scanlan work- merchants who had extended credit on
marked by extreme lawlessness. While ing side by side with the laborers, lay- the assumption of continued paychecks
the inhabitants of Southern Utah were ing stones and sawing and nailing found themselves in financial trouble.
almost wholly of the Mormon faith, boards. Business failures multiplied. With sil-
tenets of that church did not sanction Impressed by the young padre's sin- ver prices nose-diving as results of
the mining of silver or gold. As re- cerity and industry, leaders of the Lat- world manipulation, original develop-
sult, Silver Reef existed as a Gentile ter Day Saints church offered him free ers of the Reef began to leave, salvag-
stronghold in a Mormon dominated use of the Mormon tabernacle at St. ing what they could.
land—a situation which one might ex- George as a place to hold services un- By 1891, practically all of the Reef's
pect to yield periodic fireworks. Such til erection of his own church was mines and mills were at a standstill and
was not the case. Some of the most completed. And because he had not the last decade of the 19th century
fascinating anecdotes of the Reef's ear- had time to organize a choir, Mormon yielded but 206,069 ounces of silver.
ly years concern incidents of Mormon choristers at St. George graciously vol- Closing of each mine further deplet-
and Gentile cooperation. unteered to provide music, even learn- ed the Reef's dwindling population
Doubtless no resident of the Reef ing to sing the difficult Catholic and resulted in still more homes and
enjoyed greater respect than the be- masses in Latin! business houses being left to the mercy
loved Catholic priest, Father Law- From a swashbuckling boom town of wind and weather. In time these
rence Scanlan, later bishop of the Salt of 5000 persons, where firewater and abandoned buildings were claimed by
Business directory of Silver Reef in 1886. Building in the center is the Harrison
House—once the camp's leading hotel. Copied from an old photo owned by
AlexColbath.
BUTCHERS.
A LEMMON.
„ AM
MARCH 1950
&M
MONTH...
DINNERTIME
First prize in Desert's Janu-
ary contest went to G. H.
Remmerde, Bishop, Califor-
nia, for above photo of
"Uncle" Stanford, an old-
timer residing near Kingman,
Arizona. Picture was taken at
11:00 a.m. with Zeiss Ikoflex,
1/25 at f.ll.
AZTEC RUINS
Ben Pope, Dinuba, Califor-
nia, won second place with
accompanying picture of In-
dian ruins at Aztec, Colorado.
He used a Medalist camera,
shot the picture at 2:00 in the
afternoon, 1/100 at f. 16.
He Named Lake Cahuilla
By J. WILSON McKENNEY The present Salton Sea in Southern California was formed when the Colo-
rado river ran wild in 1905-6-7. But the waters known today as Salton were
outstretched arm the Ca- not the first to fill this great below-sea-level basin. William P. Blake, geolo-
huilla Indian chief pointed first gist for an army engineering expedition, first identified this as an ancient
to the clearly defined horizon-
tal shoreline at the rocky foot of the lake bed in 1853—and named it Lake Cahuilla in honor of the Indians who
Santa Rosa mountains, then swept his had lived for countless generations on its shores. Here is a brief biographical
hand toward distant white salt flats sketch of a very modest man who played an important role in western his-
glistening in t h e bright sunlight. tory 100 years ago.
Through an interpreter he talked to the
tall white man who stood attentively
beside him on a high outcrop of rocks.
"The waters of the great lake dried
up poco a poco and my father's people
moved their village down from the
mountains to hunt and fish along the
shore. Then the waters returned and
overwhelmed many of my f a t h e r ' s
people." The dusky chief turned to
point toward the northwest. "Many,
many of my people lived in abundance
beside the great sea. That is where
they made fish traps . . . " The old
chief's voice trailed away.
The place was on the crest of Trav-
ertine Point in n o r t h w e s t Imper-
ial county, California. The time was
a morning in the fall of 1853. The
white man was 27-year-old William
Phipps Blake, Yale '52, geologist and
mineralogist for Lt. R. S. Williamson's
expedition.
Blake was the first white man to ex-
amine with scientific eyes the great
below-sea-level basin now occupied
by Salton sea and the Imperial recla-
mation project. It was virtually dry
when he first saw it, but an inland sea
110 miles long and 34 miles wide had
once filled this basin. The story told
by the Cahuilla chief was confirmed
by evidence Blake found in many
places—travertine coated rocks along
the old shore line, millions of tiny mar-
ine shells in the sands. In his exhaustive
reports Blake paid a tribute to the
Indians who had once dwelt on its Photograph taken in 1906 at Travertine Point, when William Blake returned
shores. He called it Lake Cahuilla. to find the ancient lake bed he had named being refilled by flood waters
from the Colorado river.
The young geologist did not pretend
to be the discoverer of Lake Cahuilla. (modestly protesting efforts of friends also lectured on mineralogy at New
He knew that Sebastian in 1774, Anza years later who wanted to call it Blake York Medical college and organized
in 1775 and 1776, and the Sonora gold- sea), young Blake named the Colorado the mineral department of the New
seekers in 1849 had passed through desert (after the Spanish wording York World Exposition of 1853. In the
the great dry depression. Captain A. meaning red) for the red silt color of meantime President Pierce, mindful
R. Johnson, a member of Lieut. Col. the floor. of the need to bind the nation together
W. H. Emory's expedition in the late Born in New York City in 1826, with steel rails, ordered the army to
'40s, had written: "At no distant day Blake received his early education "locate a feasible route for a railroad
this place which is now a dry desert there and earned his doctor of philoso- from the Mississippi river to the Pa-
was once a permanent lake." Emory phy degree from Yale in 1852. An cific ocean." Lt. Williamson was se-
himself had reported that "the sink outstanding student with robust good lected to command the survey party
contained a basin three-quarters of health and premature gray hair, his and he accepted Smithsonian Institu-
a mile long and a half mile wide in services after graduation were eagerly tion's recommendation of William P.
which water had receded to a pool." sought. Employed by the New Jersey Blake as official geologist and miner-
In addition to naming Lake Cahuilla Mining and Exploration company, he alogist. Blake readily laid aside his
MARCH 1950 11
opportunities in the city to turn toward ploring to the mouth of the Colorado. Beale for a survey of a wagon road
the West. He discovered fossils above sea level across northern Arizona. This adven-
In June the wagon-train left San at Carrizo creek, prehistoric oyster ture involved the famous experiment
Francisco, traveling south through San shells a foot in diameter on Yuha plain. with a camel herd imported by Secre-
Joaquin valley. Engineers set transits He concluded that the basin had at tary Davis. Unlike others in the party,
in Walker pass, the Tehachapi, and one time been a prolongation of the Blake did not report his dislike of
San Gorgonio pass while Blake roamed Gulf of California, that the glacial age the evil-smelling ruminants but con-
at will with his geologist's pick and had caused the river to deposit a great fined his writing to a gleeful descrip-
specimen bags. The company tested amount of silt in the delta, forming a tion of the discovery of ancient Chal-
each opening in the ranges which natural dike. Only the mightiest river chihiutl (turquoise) mines of the Az-
barred the way south, like a fox seek- floods broke the dike. He named New tecs.
ing a way through a picket fence. river from its unexpected appearance He completed a survey of the rich
That Williamson and his men did flowing from Volcano lake, at the sum- Comstock lode at Virginia City, Ne-
a thorough job was attested years later mit of the dike, northward to Salton vada. In 1861 he accepted a commis-
when great railroad companies laid sink. sion as mining engineer for the Japa-
steel rails along their line of stakes. Four years later Blake had com- nese government. After establishing
Railroad engineers noted the gradual pleted his learned and exhaustive "Pre- the first mining college in the empire,
approaches and relatively low eleva- liminary geological report of a recon- he appeared the next year in Alaska.
tion of San Gorgonio pass and pressed naissance and survey in California" Ascending the Stickeen river, Blake
their endorsement of a southern route. (House Executive Document, 33rd pursued the studies of the Alaskan wil-
For topographical reasons the route Congress). Its conclusions withstood derness which he described glowingly
east from Yuma lay in Mexican ter- the test of time and experience, estab- to Secretary of State William H. Sew-
ritory. Before the end of the year Sec- lishing a reputation for thoroughness ard. President Grant sent the Blake re-
retary of War Jefferson Davis and and soundness which continued to be port to congress and it swayed that
Minister to Mexico James Gadsen had reflected in dozens of his articles pub- body's decision in favor of the pur-
negotiated the Gadsen Purchase, which lished in scientific and technical jour- chase of "Seward's Folly". That Blake's
added 45,000 square miles of desert nals. name is virtually unknown in connec-
to the south edge of Arizona. He had the world for his workshop. tion with United States acquisition of
As the expedition moved slowly to- When he had completed his field work Alaska is evidence of modesty and un-
ward Fort Yuma, the young geologist for Lt. Williamson the government sent selfish reticence regarding his personal
made an exhaustive study of the great him to the gold fields to make scien- achievements which continued through-
desert bowl, traveling by horseback tific reports on the Mother Lode. out his entire career. He might have
down the east and west sides and ex- In 1857 he joined Lt. Edward F. capitalized heavily on the subsequent
world-wide interest in the golden Yu-
kon if he had shown more self-inter-
then began a long period of intensive inventor of the carriage spring; and Haven Lord of South Berwick, Maine,
activity which revealed to the world his father, Dr. Willam Blake of New died in 1905, the year he became pro-
the West's great mineral resources York, a leader in development of mod- fessor emeritus and geologist of the
through skillfully arranged exhibits at ern dental technique. state of Arizona. His six children in-
great expositions. However, he found In 1906, 53 years after he had heard cluded Dr. Joseph A. Blake, prominent
time in 1871 to act as the scientist the Cahuilla's story on Travertine New York physician.
member of an exploration group to the Point, Professor Blake, 80 years old During the sunset years of his life,
island of Santo Domingo. Two years and with hair and flowing beard pure Professor Blake seasoned his early ob-
later he visited the Vienna exposition white, stood again at the same spot.
servations with the wisdom of long ex-
for studies which contributed to the He came back to see the Colorado
success of the Independence Centen- perience. His bright eyes and genial
foaming through man-made levees to smile endeared him to students and
nial exposition of 1876 at Philadel-
phia, which he headed for a time as threaten the existence of the pioneer associates. Gatherings at his home in
executive director. agricultural empire in the Imperial val- the evenings became stimulating adven-
ley. He saw men fight with shovels. tures for his admirers as the profes-
During his world-wide travels, Blake He saw the Southern Pacific pour sor's clear ruddy face glowed with his
made a large collection of mineral trainloads of rock into the gaps where own keen interest in what he was say-
specimens which became the nucleus water rushed to form the Salton sea. ing. One of the few personal descrip-
of the present collection at the Nation- Great newspapers around the world tions of Blake was the memorial by R.
al Museum in Washington, D. C. He were covering the story. Quietly, Blake W. Raymond, secretary of AIME, who
also continued active collaboration filled in the background story, reviewed wrote: "He told a fact as though he
with Smithsonian Institution. In 1878 his old report and amplified it with had only just discovered it and had
he received the Chevalier of the Legion additional information which is still an unusual capacity for delivering an
of Honor decoration from France af- considered the basic text on Imperial oral abstract with grace, directness,
ter winning the Grand Prize at Paris. county's geology. and lucidity."
Not yet content to rest on his laurels, From 1895, when he became pro- If a biographer of his day could
Blake returned to the West where fessor of geology and mining at the have caught the solemn wisdom, the
his services were in demand as a prac- University of Arizona and Director of sly humor, and spirit of high adven-
tical geologist. In 1890 he invented the School of Mines, until his death ture of this restless intellectual, Wil-
a new revolving calcining furnace, fol- in 1910, Professor Blake made his liam P. Blake, what a great story of
lowing the precedent set by his mater- home in Tucson. His wife and compan- peaceful conquest could have been
nal grandfather, Capt. Jonathan Mix, ion of 50 years, the former Charlotte left to us!
MARCH 1950 13
With their jeep pickup, the Weights camped at the base of the chocolate-colored
cliffs near Rock Springs. Black petrified wood is scattered over these slopes and
can be found in place in the Chinle clay behind the massive cliff in the back-
ground.
habited plateau wonderland of south- a rollercoaster. But we were glad that it. Part of our route followed the
eastern Utah. we had been polite. While there are trail of Mormon pioneers of 1879-80
But my attention was soon fixed places on the grade where two cars who founded Bluff. Not even this
in the west. Down there, light in color could pass without scraping, there are savage land could stop these people
against the reddish plateau mass, was longer stretches where they couldn't. who brought wagons and supplies on
an intricate filigree of branches and And in any head-on meet, the car an incredible march from Escalante,
tendrils, looking as if a part of the coming up would have the right-of- cutting their way down through Hole-
world's network of nerves might have way. Not that I can't back up a moun- in-the-Rock, fording the Colorado and
been laid bare. That was White can- tain if I have to, but my ideas of fun conquering the plateau cliffs in a trek
yon—our destination. I knew that in have changed since high school jalopy unmatched in pioneer history. (Desert,
reality those delicate traceries were days. May, '47). At 6.5 miles from Maver-
sheer-walled gorges, some of them The San Juan country is definitely ick Point we passed a wooden sign
hundreds of feet deep, cut into the road-resistant. From above its plateaus marking the point where this long-
Permian sandstones by millenniums usually have a deceptively smooth ap- a b a n d o n e d Hole-in-the-Rock trail
of erosion. And those shadowed can- pearance. But try to cross them di- winds southerly into the Clay hills.
yons were the home of the great nat- rectly, even on foot, and you will find We reached the place where the
ural bridges, of ancient picturesque there are more up and down than hori- Natural Bridges road branches north-
cave dwellings—and of black petrified zontal yards in almost every mile. ward to the edge of Armstrong can-
wood. Erosion has licked out canyon-tongues yon, 9.6 miles from Maverick Point.
Sometimes you need only look at everywhere, and with the cliff-forming Until recently, the Monument head-
a land to feel its fascination, and you tendencies of the weathering sand- quarters was the end of tourist auto-
sense a strange inexplicable kinship stones, most of the up and down is mobile travel in this area. Then the
with it. Even from our eagle's view- very steep. road was carried on down White can-
point, I felt the fascination of White It adds up to a country beautiful to yon to the Colorado river opposite
canyon. And it wasn't the anticipation the eye but difficult to tame. Much of Hite, a spot known as Dandy Crossing
of rocks to be hunted out. We hadn't it will always remain wilderness be- in the early days. When a ferry was put
driven to this isolated corner of Utah cause it would not be profitable to into summer operation at the crossing
just to collect petrified wood. We thread it with roads. For that we can (Desert, February, '47) it became
came because we wanted to see the be thankful, but we should be no less possible for adventurous motorists to
fabulous San Juan country. But Ran- thankful for the limited number of ac- drive through from Blanding to Capi-
dall Henderson's report of the speci- cess roads being worked into it. Those tol Reef National Monument and west-
mens to be found in White canyon who cannot afford the expense of pack ern Utah.
(Desert, Oct. and Nov., '49) may trips or the time required to make The state has put up a sign where
have hastened our coming. them, often need the peace of our wil- the Hite road joins that to Natural
The blue car was well up the grade derness areas even more than those Bridges. Motorists — desert veterans
now, and the road down there looked who can. and beginners—are not likely to be-
very slender. We decided to wait where Indicating the resistance of the pla- come involved in dangerous troubles
we were. When it had come around teaus to road-building, Natural Bridges if they adhere to the advice on this
the last curve and past us, I started National Monument was set aside in sign. Summed briefly, it advises driv-
down. It's a good road, even if it does 1908, but not until 1928 was an ac- ing at reasonable speeds; carrying
look a little like the last big dive on ceptable automobile road extended to ample water, gas and oil; use of low
MARCH 1950 15
of White canyon. They also will miss
a new road which has been cut to with-
in about a quarter-mile of Katchina
bridge. This auto-trail cuts off to the
right 3.1 miles west of the road junc-
tion. It joins a foot trail, marked by
painted lines on the sandstone, which
leads down a promontory to the spot
where Katchina arches across White
canyon at its junction with Armstrong.
Before the new trail was laid out, it
was necessary to hike or ride horse-
back three miles to glimpse this mas-
sive and beautiful stone bridge,.
The scenery became more colorful
and spectacular as we continued west-
ward. The road dipped and curved
around the bases of great reddish cliffs.
Ahead we could see a broad valley,
spotted with the green of juniper and
pinyon. Its north wall was a massive
chocolate-red cliff, topped here and
there with picturesque buttes. Its south
wall was an even higher series of
double cliffs. Down the center of the
valley, glimpsed now and then in all
its awesome depth and breadth, was
the twisting inner gorge of White can-
yon.
For this is a canyon within a canyon,
and the story of its creation is an in-
teresting one. The history of the world
—even that of its human inhabitants—
seems to be a constant building up
and tearing down, over and over. So
it was here. After the great layered
plateau had been built and elevated,
the process was reversed. Streams of
water cut down through the buff and
red Wingate, through the clays and
marls of the Chinle and the shales of
the Moencopie. Cliffs formed as sec-
tions of the Wingate broke away. The
Chinle collapsed into mounds, forming
a step. The Moencopie, more resistant,
weathered into a series of cliffs and
steep slopes.
By the time the water was cutting
through the bottom of the Moencopie
formation, it was an old stream in an
old valley. It had reduced its own
grade until it was sluggish, and it
looped from side to side in the broad
valley it had worn away. As it cut
slowly into the harder and underlying
sandstone of the Permian age, it still
followed the broad loops and meanders
of its course. Then something hap-
pened. Probably the whole plateau
Above—This crumbling outcrop is a huge log of petrified wood in place was elevated again. Perhaps it rose
in the Chinle formation above Rock Springs. Size is indicated by the pros- slowly—perhaps swiftly. The renewed
pector's hammer below. The fossil wood is black. grade caused the stream to run faster
Below—Along the trail into White canyon at Soldiers Crossing Lucile found and cut deeper. But the course it must
a miniature natural bridge resembling Owachomo bridge opposite the head- follow was already cut into the hard
quarters in the National Monument. sandstone. The rushing waters were
gear on grades; low or second gear in confined to a winding channel. They
We zeroed the speedometer at this
sandy areas and no stopping in sand; sign and headed on west. Travelers could widen it, especially at the bends,
sounding of horns on curves and dug- who turn back after visiting Monument but straightening it was a long, slow
ways; no parking in washes and stop- headquarters will have no real con- process.
ping only on high ground. ception of the beauty and grandeur Most of the natural bridges of the
MARCH 1950 19
IRoad
By Lois ELDER ROY
Palm Desert, California
I have seen Catalpas
Lashed by knotted roots
To boulders strewn;
A bulwark formed
To push aside the churning floods
That crowd the age-old highways
Of a desert wash.
I have seen Catalpas—
Gnarled and twisted boles
Like human forms;
Benign old hands
Outspread, to gather in the sheen
Of purple haze that filters down
Into its pulsing heart.
I have seen white magic
Fused in fairy light;
Soft, whispered winds
Shake elfin music
From the tinted bells that merge
Into the moonglow radiance
Of a desert night.
I know, now, that heaven
Lies beyond the road
And clamorous day.
This silent realm
Sun-seared and charred, God called
His own. I saw Him in the moonglow
Where Catalpas bloomed.
• • •
NUGGET
By RUBY CLEMENS SHAFT
Arlington, California
The native willow of the desert is really a catalpa. It Dull brown of sand dunes,
Bright blue of sky,
is found only in the arroyos. This photograph taken Gray green of sage brush,
by George Roy. Clouds floating by.
A little lone hut
OLD FLIRT WEST WIND Wide open door—
By ADELAIDE COKER By MARY BOYD WAGNER The hope that sang high
Los Angeles. California New York, New York In a nugget of ore.
(Conversation With A Donkey) The breeze that drifts in from the East is Skillet all rusty,
Dozing in the sun was a charming fellow, mild, Coffee pot black—
And his happy snoring was deep and mel- Scented with blooming orchard trees in So-long little hut,
low. spring, Don't look for me back.
I gently tweaked his long tan ear, Mellow with ripened fruit at harvesting. • • •
And whispered softly. "Now listen here, The wind that sweeps in from the West is DESERT HEALING
Wake up and tell me where you have been, wild
What you have done, and what you have As sagebrush, loaded with the zest By MURRAY SKINNER
seen!" Of scents so tangy that they almost sting . . . Los Angeles, California
He just stood there in his desert stall; Why is it that I love the West wind best? A stranger in a foreign land, one came
I thought he hadn't heard me call. e • • To view the desert with dyspeptic eye.
Then he switched his tail, (and this I did GEOGRAPHY Its brown monotony seemed dull and tame,
see.) And ugly underneath a winter sky,
He opened one eye and winked at me! By PAUL WILHELM With cold harsh winds, and dark clouds
• • • Thousand Palms, California drifting by.
West of the Pecos hills
A WOMAN STILL The desert and the sky; A victim of the city's stormy ways,
By ELIZABETH MOORE TRACY East of Jacinto range One sat, alone, breathing the desert air,
Long Beach, California The wind—and coyote's cry. Watching spring's still advance through
changing days . . .
The desert wind is a harridan, Thus, gravely grew to think the desert fair,
Shrivelled and brown and old. To see the desert's lure and feel its dare.
Her banshee shriek in the dead of night
Would freeze the blood of the bold. Then, suddenly, like a blast of trumpet note.
By TANYA SOUTH This desert bloomed in rainbow-hued design,
She stumbles along in her billowing rags Bringing a swift, heart-choking to the throat
Her thin hair streaming down, Love holds a torch to all on earth:
To rich and poor, to those of worth As flowers spread to the far mountain's
Muttering curses and chanting spells line . . .
On the new-born desert town. Or sinners all. How vast and far
Its influence! No soul can bar Now city-mind found desert lands divine!
The desert wind is a wicked witch, Love from its inmost core, nor fight • • •
Yet once I saw her pass Successfully against its might. DESERT SUNSET
Tenderly over a fragile nest By MYRTLE M. PEPPER
Couched in dry desert grass. All evils can it overcome. Los Angeles, California
Though grim and hard the Path we
She hurls the sharp-edged granite sand, tread, When sunset bathes the gorge in gold,
Gnashing her teeth in rage; And doubtful issues wait ahead, All of the brilliant colors hold
Yet a thistle's fluff is her powder puff Love is the substance and the sum. Me in a maze of strange delights—
And she perfumes her breast with sage. Fabulous days and mystic nights.
Are Windows on the vermillion sands. Heat waves sent the enchanted
buttes on the distant horizon into a shimmering dance.
The desert was at its best, but none of the speeding mo-
torists in the cars appreciated the glorious world about
them. Each was going at top speed . . . except the car
Marjorie Tietjens began her art career in Europe. ahead of us!
Later she made a new start in New York. Then
circumstances brought her to the New Mexico des-
ert—and now she has found a fascinating new field
for her creative talent—in the forms and colors and
moods of the desert landscape. If you see her at
her easel along the roadside sometime you'll know
her by her silver-gray hair, her kindly smile and
her British accent.
MARCH 1950 21
It was a decrepit vehicle of doubtful In spite of his apprehension, it was The next stage in Marjorie's life was
vintage and ancestry, with an out-of- his stories that eventually led Marjorie as romantic as every artist's life should
state license plate. Impatiently 1 pull- to the colorful desert country. The be. She went to Rome to study in the
ed up close behind, waiting a chance to firm her father was connected with was British Academy, and there she was
slip around. financed from a New Mexican mine. fated to meet Paul Tietjens from St.
Suddenly the driver of the car ahead Often, as father and daughter rode Louis, Missouri. He was a musician,
lunged at his brake-pedal. The tires through the trim English lanes, he en- noted for composing the lilting musical
screached and the car lurched to a stop. tertained her with the strange story score of the original opera, "The Wiz-
Only by lucky maneuvering did I avoid surrounding the mine. ard of Oz." They were married, and
a crash. It seems that an Englishman, in New for four years their life together was
Naturally, I was somewhat dis- Mexico for his health, was out hunting an idyll of happiness. They followed
gruntled. I pulled to the side of the deer one day in the mountains near Sil- the gypsy trails of Europe from Italy
road, and got out of my car. ver City. After wandering far into the to sunny France, from England to gay
forested peaks, he finally shot at a Vienna.
Then I saw the apparent reason for buck, but succeeded only-in wounding A tiny echo of nostalgia crept into
the other driver's abruptness. A woman it. Determined not to lose it, he began Marjorie's husky voice as she told us
sat beside the road, busily dabbing at a tracking it. The trail left by the wound- about those years together. "We didn't
canvas propped on an old easel. The ed animal eventually led into a narrow have so much in the way of material
inquisitive fingers of the desert wind box canyon. There the Englishman possessions, but they were the happiest
ruffled strands of silver-gray hair about found something that made him lose years of my life!"
her sun-browned face. When she threw all interest in the buck. It was a
us a startled glance, I saw that her soft While Majorie painted, Paul accom-
seam of ore shining in the sun. He panied her with his inspiring music.
eyes were gray also, and kindly. picked up a lump of the mineral and In England, where her success came
The man was humble and most hurried back to Silver City. At the quickly, her pictures were hung in
apologetic. trading post, he threw down the lump many important competitive shows.
"I never seed a real, live artist be- of ore on the table and remarked to the There, too, she gained a nation-wide
fore," he explained to everyone in gen- trader, "There's a whole mountain of reputation for her lovely flower. ar-
eral. gold where I was today. It's yours if rangements, which were lithographed
An artist painting by the roadside is you want it. It won't do me any good, for popular enjoyment. "When I went
not such an unusual sight in New Mex- because I have no family or friends, back to England later, I still found
ico. It was only when the lady spoke and I'll probably be dead within the prints of those pictures for sale in the
with a decided English accent that I year anyway . . ." stores . . .," she said.
grew interested. I'm always curious to The trader looked carefully at the Those were indeed halcyon days.
know what it is that brings people ore. It wasn't gold, but it was almost But as in every fairy tale, there must be
halfway around the globe to our par- pure copper. He grubstaked the Eng- a witch, working an evil spell. The
ticular patch of parched and desolate lishman and upon his death came into depression came. For Paul and Mar-
earth! I glanced hurriedly at her pic- possession of the valuable mine. This jorie the gay, carefree life was over.
ture . . . stopped short . . . and tobk was the fortune that indirectly support- They decided their rainbow might still
another look. Then I really was inter- ed Marjorie's family. be shining across the Atlantic. At
ested. Here was no ordinary dabbler
in paints. The beautiful desert vista When I asked Mrs. Tietjens about least conditions seemed better in Amer-
gradually forming on her canvas was her earliest display of artistic ability, ica than in Europe, so they moved to
the work of an accomplished artist! she recalled an incident that happened New York.
when she was hardly more than five Marjorie now had to make a new
The fairy-tale revelation came later years old. She and her elder brother start. She turned to portraiture, and
when Louise and I interviewed Mar- were given the task of drawing a highly by steady endeavor soon built up a
jorie Richardson Tietjens in her quaint ornamented fish-knife, while the gov- good connection for her work.
little studio apartment just outside of erness left the room. When the gov-
Las Cruces. The strange thread of cir- And then, when everything was look-
erness returned, Marjorie's sketch was ing brighter, Paul became ill. Soon
cumstances which brought this English- so well drawn that she was accused of he was a complete invalid. His illness
woman from the snug security of the having her brother draw it for her.
British Isles to the expansive freedom stretched into long, long months, and
of the desert is truly fantastic. "I don't think I'll ever quite forgive Marjorie was forced to give up her
"It's all quite interesting," she as- that governess," Marjorie told us, "I painting to care for him.
sured us with an expressive gesture. "I was furious about it!" Finally, one day, she found herself
was born in New York, and at an early At twelve, she entered the Royal alone . . . The rainbow of happiness
age was taken to England. My father Drawing Society, a sort of educational wasn't in New York at all . . .
was the European representative of an experiment. Children were sent to the But after shadow always comes sun-
American firm. His work kept him Society whether they showed any ar- shine. With typical western hospi-
shuttling back and forth across the At- tistic promise or not, on the theory that tality, Paul's New Mexican cousins in-
lantic, but I wasn't allowed to visit self-expression would develop their per- vited Marjorie to come and recuperate
America until I was grown. sonalities more fully. The instructors in the desert sunshine. Thus the thread
"My father had a fear that I would were all excellent artists in their own of fate wove its complete pattern.
fall in love with an American and leave rights, and the Society did much to en- As she drove up the Rio Grande
home," she told us with a chuckle. courage artists. "Among the famous valley from El Paso to Las Cruces, the
"Finally, I found a chance to cross as English artists of today," Mrs. Tietjens long thoughts of childhood returned to
the companion to a girl. I quickly got informed us, "I've noticed that many her. These mountains were not strange,
my clothes ready, bought my ticket, trace their early training back to the but familiar, for they had been waiting
and then told my father I was going. old Royal Drawing Society." for her all these years. The sunbaked
He was a good sport. He said that I At this school, Marjorie quickly be- adobe houses warmed her heart. After
was just a chip off the old block, and came a star pupil, and took many her sojourn in Italy, even the Latin
I did get my trip to New York!" prizes and medals for her work. tongue sounded sweet to her. There
was a peacefulness here in the land of brilliant turquoise shades into green voice. It will be Marjorie Richardson
the sun that took the edge from her and saffron." Tietjens recording another bit of our
sorrow and brought back hope. She is particularly interested in the enchanted desert land to thrill some
Most artists drift to the northern life of the cowboy and his mounts on stranger who had passed the same
part of the state with its pleasant sum- the cattle ranches that dot the lower scene with an unseeing eye!
mer climate and its Indian subjects. foothills of the mountains. I com-
But Marjorie was thrilled by this des- mented on the fact that her pictures
ert country. The long vistas of shim- are not merely beautiful scenes . . . that
each one of them tells some vivid, in- EXPLORING EXPEDITION
mering sand and mesquite were wait-
ing to be painted. The enchanted tur- teresting story. IS BEING ORGANIZED
quoise outlines of desert mountains "People like animals in landscapes," Charles Larabee and Harry Aleson
were begging to be included. Soon she she explained. "And as for me, I just of Richfield, Utah, are making tenta-
had her paints out and was at it again! can't keep them out. I especially love tive plans to guide an exploring party
And so Marjorie Tietjens has made to paint horses. I'm planning now on on a 90 to 125-mile trip down an un-
another start, just as she has started spending some time on a cattle ranch surveyed sector of the Escalante river
before in Europe and again in New near Hachita where I want to paint the in southeastern Utah during the sum-
York. Truly, talent knows no defeat! different stages of the roundup." mer. Pilot runs were made in 1948 and
Now, wherever she goes, she makes The reality and movement of her 1949. The 1950 party expects to carry
dozens of sketches, sometimes in pen- cowboy scenes against desert back- mountaineering equipment to enter and
cil, sometimes in oil-colors. From grounds is most gratifying. She also photograph a number of Indian cliff
these she composes her pictures in the has the rare ability to capture the great dwellings that have been inaccessible
studio. Contrary to modern theories distances of the southwest. Her can- to previous explorers. No excavating
concerning retouching, she works on vases are windows through which your will be done. According to Aleson the
her canvases until they satisfy her. eyes can actually travel out across the journey will include visits to several
"The whole trick," she says, "is in leagues of sunlit sand. little-known natural arches and bridges
knowing just where and when to stop. If, someday, you are travelling a estimated to exceed 800 feet in height.
I think I've spent more time studying rain-washed, lonesome trail and sud- As the party has not been completed
the skies than anything else. These denly come upon a lady with silver- yet Aleson stated that he and his as-
desert skies are so elusive. In Italy the gray hair, busily capturing an intrigu- sociate will correspond with men qual-
skies are soft, shading into lilac or ing scene, don't be astonished if she ified for a rugged outing who are inter-
mauve at the horizon, but here the speaks to you with England in her ested in joining them.
MARCH 1950 23
"dicine men, assisted by rela-
1
//je design. The pigments are
kle down between the thumb
3 The sand painting nears completion. It is of intricate pattern of
white, blue, reddish brown and black pigments. An error is never
erased, the painter merely sprinkles common sand over the mis-
x finger. placed color and starts over.
Following the completion of the sand painting The patient is then seated on the painting. At
the medicine man with a brush of feathers goes
through the ritual of cleansing the spot by
6 intervals she drinks an infusion of herbs and
sprinkles her face and limbs from the same
dispersing any evil spirits which may be lurking vessel. She remains here from 30 minutes to an
about. hour while the singers chant their prayers.
CASA GRANDE NATIONAL MONUMENT—A. T.
Bicknell, superintendent, reports from Coolidge, Arizona,
that there is no indication of a break in the dry spell and
that the flower display "probably won't be very spectacu-
lar." Cactus will bloom normally, but annuals, such as the
poppies at Picacho peak, will not be out in the profusion
that they were last spring. Hedgehog cactus is about all
that will be blooming in late February and early March.
Continuing cold weather and below-normal winter rains LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATIONAL AR-
over most of the desert Southwest make it impossible to
EA—From Boulder City, Nevada, comes another report
promise, this early in the season, anything approaching
the spectacular display of wildflowers with which the arid of below-normal rainfall and cold weather, which leads
hills and valleys were blessed last season, but if the rain Maurice Sullivan, park naturalist, to predict there will be
gods smile on the desert country in March and April there virtually no wildflowers blooming in February. But down
can still be a profusion of colorful blossoms. near Davis dam the lupines and desert lilies have already
Conditions over most of Arizona, the Colorado and Mo- appeared above the surface in sheltered sand dunes, so
jave deserts in California, Nevada and Utah are much the these lovely and graceful flowers will be out to welcome
same—cold nights and light winter rainfall. Warm weather desert visitors. Brittle bush, Encelia farinosa, was still
and showers in February could still bring a fair display quite dormant around the first days of February.
of blossoms to the lower levels of the desert. The higher DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL MONUMENT—In
altitudes generally get more moisture, and will have some California's Death Valley the success of blooming depends
late flowers regardless of rainfall on the desert floor below. upon a combination of timed moisture and warm tempera-
Reports from over the Southwest describe local condi- tures, according to T. R. Goodwin, superintendent. Since
tions as follows: there was only a small amount of rainfall during the fall
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL MONUMENT—Writ- and winter the flower season "may be late," he concludes,
ing from Twenty-nine Palms, California, Monument Supt. but warns that early predictions can be changed when
Frank R. Givens points out it is "extremely difficult" to warm sunshine and rain combine at the right time.
predict the prospect for spring flowers based on weather ANTELOPE VALLEY—It's a different story in this
conditions during December and January. Rainfall has region, where Jane S. Pinheiro predicts—after several on-
been below normal, but Superintenden Givens adds that the-ground surveys—that there will be a better-than-aver-
"we have observed excellent displays of flowers with al- age flower season and that it will be very early. From Lan-
most no rain during the early winter months." He points caster, California, she writes that the period of bloom will
out that precipitation immediately preceding the flower- not be long unless there is more rain. But by February 1
ing season is far more important. If rains come in March there were already many California poppy plants in evi-
or April, there will be an abundance of flowers. And, Giv- dence, and by early February many gilia, both tri-color
ens concludes, "we always have some flowers." and birdseye, were up. Filaree were blooming before the
end of January, indicating how early the season is. Hills
around Antelope valley were getting green with miniature
lupine and oher plants. Different winter seasons seem to
favor development of different flowers, last year there was
hardly a poppy to be found, even in the Fairmont hills,
one of the more famous poppy fields. But this year pop-
pies and lupine are up in profusion.
SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT—Unless there
is additional precipitation during March and April, the
smaller surface blossoming plants will not be "very spec-
tacular" in this area, according to Samuel A. King, super-
intendent, Tucson, Arizona. Rainfall has been below nor-
mal, but there is still hope since it is impossible, King
points out, to predict what conditions may be expected
during the next two or three months.
COLORADO DESERT—Unless rains and warm wea-
ther come very soon, the sand dunes which were a mass
of verbena and evening primrose last season will remain
bare this year. Although January was very cold, a few
"GRUB'S OX" sprouts of these two colorful wildflowers were showing in
A true replica of the picturf^ue -Chuck WL B ™
looking today as it ha-, for K^neralions »ul on the
sheltered places and along the roadside, but the prospects
(he cowhovs crowded around the "Chuck Wa^on" for are dim for such great fields of blossom as are seen in years
beefsteaks and pan bread.
This "Chuck Wagon" con*trucl...i, k.l is of the hiirhe^t
quality to mcri (he demands of the most di-criminat
of heavy winter rains. The common perennials, encelia,
in B hobbyist
All wood parts are accuratel; machined lo insure
agave and the yuccas, which grow on the hillsides and at
easy assembly and working brake |( art. are fully
formed so that no -.|)iii:il tuoN are reiiuired tn build & higher levels, generally blossom regardless of the rainfall
truly professional model
Fully assembled wheels of seasoned birch, miniature
pots and pans, turned harret and bucket together
on the floor of the desert, and may be expected to give
with a completely assembled chuck box . I'holo-
\ Lsuat recognition of parts make this kit so easy to
color to the slopes in the late season. This is true also of-the
assemble.
Each kit is packaged in a beautifully lithographed cacti.
hox in Ihree colors, -*ith separate compartments to
protect each part MOJAVE DESERT—"Our Mojave desert season is
about a month later than that on the Colorado desert, and
we haven't had enough rain to encourage seeds to sprout
—so far I haven't seen a single hopeful sign of new plant
life." This was the early February report of Mary Beal,
desert botanist, from Daggett, California. But she added
that she would send in a report near the end of February.
MARCH 1950 27
Goldfield, Nevada . . .
Supt. William J. Frank of the Gold-
field Deep Mines company has con-
firmed discovery of a wide ledge of tel-
luride ore assaying $22 to $35 a ton
Moab, Utah . . . Goldfield, Nevada . . . gold in the White Rock claim, oper-
ated by the Red Hill Florence lease.
A group of seven uranium-vanadium Development work at the Deep The strike is said to have been made
claims in the Temple mountain district Mines operation has revealed a deep- in a raise 30 feet above the 470-foot
have been sold by Lawrence Migliac- seated continuation of the main ore level, at a point where a rich streak
cio for a reported price of $250,000, body, and local observers say that dis- broke into the fault zone. The ore is
according to Jack Turner of Moab, covery of gold ore at this depth indi- said to be similiar to high grade ore
who had been operating one of the cates that operation has only begun to taken from the Combination, Florence,
claims under lease. The mines are tap potential reserves. From a winze Mohawk, Red Top and other famous
known as the "Vanadium King" No. put down to about the 455-foot level, mines in the early days of Goldfield.—
1 to 7. Reported purchaser is the Ne- drifting is underway on a large scale. Humboldt Star.
vada Mining, Milling and Engineering Mine officials are secretive about ac-
company. The Nevada firm plans to tual values, but it is reported that
erect a concentrating mill either at the enough ore has already been exposed
mines or in Greenriver, it is said.— to keep the 100-ton-per-day mill run- Salt Lake City, Utah . • .
Moab Times-Independent. ning for six months.—Goldfield News. Operations of the New Park Mining
company properties at Keetley have
climbed back to 95 percent of normal
White Pine County, Nevada . . . since last summer's shut-down. High-
Phoenix, Arizona . . .
The Vanadium C o r p o r a t i o n of Filing of oil leases on the eastern Ne- grade ore is being mined on the Pearl
fissure, according to W. H. H. Cran-
America is behind a campaign to ob- vada public domain has continued una- mer, company president.—The Min-
tain a federal fund of 10 million dol- bated in recent months, and latest map ing Record.
lars for construction of a modern high- of the lease area shows more than 400 • • •
way between Denver, Colorado, and individual leases on more than a mil-
Phoenix, Arizona, through the Four lion acres. Interest centers in White Little Lake, California . ..
Corners country where C o l o r a d o , Pine and Elko counties.—Goldfield This small community between Mo-
Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet. News. jave and Lone Pine is the site of a new
The proposed new route through the mining activity based on a deposit of
Navajo Indian reservation, according Tonopah, Nevada . . . volcanic building ash. It is believed
to D. W. Viles, general manager of the to be one of the few commercially ex-
firm, would provide access to an area Sale of the Kay Cooper tungsten ploited deposits on the west coast.
containing many known uranium-bear- mine by Cooper and Peterson of Gabbs Building blocks made of the ash are
ing ore deposits. Uranium resources to J. L. Dougan of Salt Lake City has light, but strong. They present an at-
sufficient to make this nation indepen- been recorded. Purchase price was re- tractive burnished red color for both
dent of any foreign supply "are known ported at nearly $100,000.—Times- interior and exterior work, are resis-
to exist" in the Four Corners area, Bonanza. tant to earthquakes and provide natur-
Viles declared. Almost a complete lack • • • al insulation, it is claimed. The ash is
of transportation facilities has preven- Battle Mountain, Nevada . . . mined from flats around the volcanic
ted development of the deposits.—The hill cone which, geologists believe,
Mining Record. There is an undeveloped copper de- spewed forth one of the latest lava
posit in an isolated section of Church- flows in that part of the desert.—Los
ill county, Nevada, but development Angeles Times.
may follow release of a report made
Washington, D. C. . . . by the bureau of mines after a year's
The house public lands committee investigation by the bureau. Already
Beatty, Nevada . . .
has approved a bill extending the time a private company has taken a lease
in which claim owners may take ad- and option to buy property at north- A pilot plant utilizing a new princi-
vantage of the assessment work mora- ern end of the Stillwater mountains ple for gold ore reduction is being built
torium declared last year, and passage where bureau engineers worked for on northern outskirts of Beatty by O.
by congress is awaited. Last year's more than a year. Poor roads and rug- E. Walling, Seattle, and associates. If
moratorium bill provided that claim- ged topography have hampered earlier the principle proves to be practical,
ants wishing to take advantage of the development, according to the bureau. Walling has indicated, a larger plant
provision must file notice of intention —Battle Mountain Scout. will be built.—Humboldt Star.
by last August 1. If the new bill be- • • •
comes law, deadline for filing the no-
tice of intention will be extended to Beatty, Nevada ... Santa Fe, New Mexico . . .
July 1 of this year. Ore of shipping value is being ex- New Mexico's natural gas industry
• • • posed by development work at the has received a wildcat boost with dis-
Lucky group of claims, 33 miles south covery of a probable new pool in the
Golconda, Nevada . . . of Beatty in the Lathrop Wells district, San Juan basin. The new well gauged
Manganese production from t h e latest reports indicate. The crew has 1.4 million cubic feet a day when it
Black Diablo mine in Pompernickel cut deep into a promising ore body topped the Mesa Verde formation, ac-
valley, 21 miles south of Golconda, is which latest assays indicate contains cording to the state oil conservation
reported ranging from 450 to 600 tons 14 percent copper and 4 ounces of sil- commission. The well was drilled by
of ore per month. The Black Diablo ver to the ton. In charge of operations Herbert Herff, Memphis, Tennessee,
was an important manganese producer is Tom Beard, Las Vegas, who has the independent operator.—Gallup Inde-
during the war.—Humboldt Star. ground under lease.—Humboldt Star. pendent.
MARCH 1950 29
'49er Pageant in Death Valley . . .
Reseda, California
Desert:
I am inclined to think your editorial
respecting the Centennial pageant in
the January issue, is a little too severe
on so worthy an endeavor. Considering
the tremendous obstacles to the task of
presenting a pageant in such a place,
we thought the result very good—the
three-ringed circus, the bare legged
majorettes, the stubborn oxen, and
Jimmy Stewart's dramatization.
We were in the bumper-to-bumper
line the six miles from Furnace Creek
ranch to Desolation Canyon for five
hours. The grandstand was packed, so
we sat on the rocks on the hillside be-
hind and overlooking the grandstand,
along with thousands of others who
would not be denied what they had
come so far to witness.
Behind us on the hillside, sitting on
a rock, with a powerful pair of field
glasses scanning the performance, was
a critic of critics. He complained that
the oxen were the wrong type; that the
Indians were too red; that the hills were
too bare and the sky too blue. At last
his glasses came to rest on the heroic
rescue mule, and in triumph exclaimed,
"Why, they even got the wrong mule,
that one has two eyes."
We will long cherish the memory of
the pageant and the wonderful weath-
er; the tolerance of the over-worked
police trying to maintain traffic; the
kindness of the personnel of Furnace
Creek ranch in aiding the thousands
in some small way. It was all wonder-
ful, even the bumper-to-bumper trek to
Desolation Canyon, which would have
been much more enjoyable at the time
had we any assurance that we would
MARCH 1950 31
Mountain to be Named . . .
SAFFORD—Residents of Graham
THE D€S€RT TRADING POST county expect soon to find out the
name of the 40-mile-long range of
Classified Advertising in This Section Costs 8c a Word, $1.00 Minimum Per Issue mountains to the south of here which
extends through part of Crook National
FRED AND JESSIE PORTER welcome you to forest in Graham county. The moun-
INDIAN GOODS SHOOT!!! your pictures of "Ghost Town oftains have been there for a long time,
DEAR CUSTOMERS: Sorry we have no catalog. Calico" and mountains in miniature, at the
Because we handle Indian Artifacts and each "POW-WOW" Trading Post, Hiway 91, Yermo.but they have been called by a variety
piece is distinctive, cost would be prohibitive. Calif. The hub of Rock-hounds Paradise. of names, including: Graham moun-
We have lots of old and new rugs, baskets, Crystals, cutting material in rough or slabbed.
jewelry and ceremonial things. Plenty of tains, Mount Graham, Pinaleno moun-
Uranium, highly fluorescent, and specimens.
rocks and minerals, gold specimens and nug- Miniature cactus, gifts and souvenirs.
gets. We also have Chimayo blankets, coats DESERT WOODCRAFT—Fine gift items made tains, Pinaleno range. Locally, Mount
and purses. We will be glad to ship. Tell us from Ironwood, Mesquite, Cactus. Bowls Graham has been most popular with
what you want and send the money. Daniel's 8 x l'/ 2 , $6.00. Beautiful color and grain.
Trading Post, 401 W. Foothill Blvd., Fontana, Other
Graham mountains running second.
bowls of various sizes and design.
California. But now the board on geographic
Cactus book-ends $6.00. Table lamps $8.00 to
FOUR VERY FINE ancient Indian Arrowheads, $12.00 including special matching shades,names in Washington is going to settle
$1.00; 4 tiny perfect bird arrowheads, $1.00; postpaid. Also coffee tables, end tables and
1 ancient stone tomahawk, $1.00; 2 flint skin- floor lamps. First time offered anywhere—I
the matter. And the board will also
ning knives, $1.00; 1 large flint hoe, $1.00; 2 have a special treatment which brings out
spearheads, $1.00; 10 arrowheads from 10 name the three highest peaks in the
the natural yellow color in the cactus. Finely
states, $1.00; 20 damaged arrowheads, $1.00; finished in Lacquer. Anything made to order.
10 fish sealers, $1.00; 10 hide scrapers, $1.00; See display in Palm Desert Book Shop or eight-mile-wide range which lies be-
4 perfect saw edged arrowheads, $1.00. The write to D. R. Jones, Craftsman, Palm Desert,
tween the Santa Teresa mountains on
above 11 offers $10.00, postpaid. List Free. California.
Lears, Kirby, Arkansas. EARTHWORM BREEDING. Valuable bulletins
the north and the Dos Cabezas moun-
HAND MADE MOCCASIN: Soft "Buck Tanned" tains on the south. Tallest peak is 10,-
on successful methods mailed free. Earthmas-
leather trimmed with nickle silver conchas set ter Publications, Dept. 11, Sun Valley, Calif.
700 feet high, has been popularly called
with turquoise color stone, wool shearing THREE DIMENSION, Cactus framed desert land-
insoles—for indoor or outdoor wear. Women's G r a h a m peak.—Graham
scape pictures, size 6 x 8 x 2 , $3.00; 8 x 13 x 2, County
sizes 4 to 9, $5.95, Men's 6 to 12, $6.95, pre-
paid, cash with order. Satisfaction guaranteed. Guardian.
$5.00. The Special 10 x 20 x 2'/2, $10.00.
Make ideal gifts with name embossed in gold Diorama Studios, 1225 N. Anita, Tucson, Ariz.
on sole if desired at no extra charge. Photos UNIQUE CHOLLA NOVELTIES: Suitable for • • •
on request. Mohave Gem Shop, Kingman, pendants, charms, key rings etc., on chain.
Wild Turkeys Are Planted . . .
Arizona. Fashioned from Cholla cactus hard finished
KINGMAN—Wild turkeys are be-
in the natural wood. 50c postpaid. State type
of chain desired. Chollacraft, Box 124, Palm
ing live-trapped by the Arizona game
BOOKS — MAGAZINES Desert, Calif.
BOOK OF CACTI for the amateur collector. SHIRT SLEEVE PROTECTORS: Pull them over and fish commission in a number of
Describes and classifies over 500 varieties, areas where surpluses exist to restock
your sleeves when tinkering with your rocks.
over 200 photographs. Subjects on care, their Saves laundry and getting out of the dog
culture, how to plant in rock gardens and Ft. Huachuca, the Santa Rita moun-
house. Black cloth. Elastic at both ends. Pulls
pots. Sent postpaid $1.00. Discount to dealers. up past the elbow. $1.00 pr. Postpaid. K-Guard
Published by M. Nowotny, 1401 Broadway, tains and the North Kaibab National
Products, Dept. D, 607 Market St., San Fran-
San Antonio, Texas. cisco 5, Calif. forest. Ft. Huachuca and the Santa Ri-
BOOKFINDERS—Scarce, out of print, unusual GHOST TOWN ITEMS: Sun-colored glass, ame- tas once carried good populations of
books quickly supplied. Send wants. Clifton, thyst to royal purple, gold scales, gold pans,
Box 1377d, Beverly Hills, California. wild turkeys, but no evidence has been
limited odd items from camps of the 60's.
Write your interest, Box 64-D, Smith, Nevada.
found to indicate that turkeys ever
"GOLD PANNING FOR PROFIT." Healthy out-
door hobby. Beginners big illustrated instruc- BEAUTIFUL HEAT COLORED hand wrought ranged the North Kaibab area. Surveys
tion book—$1.00. Miners' gold pans, $2.00. steel coffee tables, glass top. 16 x 30 inches,
Prospectors' powerful magnifying glass, $1.00. by rangers lead officials to believe that
height 16 inches. Price $45.00 and $55.00. C.
Package black sand and real gold, $1.00. E. Lyons, Box 73, Pray, Montana. turkeys will do well there, however.—
Desert Jim, 627 Lillian, Stockton, California.
SILVERY DESERT HOLLY PLANTS. One dollar Mohave County Miner.
PALM SPRINGS PICTORIAL: 21st Annual Issue, each postpaid. Greasewood Greenhouses, RFD,
45c by mail, or ask your newsdealer. Pictorial, Barstow, California. • • •
465 No. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs,
California. REAL ESTATE Beavers Invade Town . . .
URANIUM PROSPECTOR'S Handbook, $1.00; 30 ACRES near Hiway 80. Spacious 4 bedroom, CLIFTON — Attempts of beavers
non-technical, complete, Dept. T., Craft- partly furnished home of natural stone in a
Connor Publishing Co., 601 S. Vermont, Los who call the San Francisco river their
rustic setting of rocks and giant oaks. Semi-
Angeles 5, California. enclosed patio with barbecue. Inspiring view
home to occupy this eastern Arizona
from all windows. Abundance of good, soft
PALM SPRINGS and the desert. Articles, pic- town have been thwarted. The river
water. Fog free, beneficial for asthmatic or
tures, information. Sample 45c. Subscription bronchial troubles. Desirable neighbors, chur-
$3.50 a year. Villager Magazine, Palm Springs, divides the town of Clifton, and the
ches, schools, R.F.D., electricity. Priced $9,250.
California. OCOTILLO Desert Resort: in a beautiful set-
fur-bearing animals began to invade
ting of mountains and desert. Business loca-
MISCELLANEOUS the city limits. Residents b e c a m e
tions on Hiway 80. Residential lots with abun-
dance of soft pure water in mutual water Co.
alarmed that the busy beavers would
$2.50. Send for circular. John C. Chalupnik,
FLUORESCENT TURITELLA and other type Ocotillo, via Plaster City, Calif.
Paperweights, $2.50 each. Exclusive pattern. cut down all the trees along the river
Letter Openers $2.50 to $3.50. Clay Ledbetter, POR SALE: One isolated, beautiful, desert acre
banks. Plan of the state game and fish
2126 McKenzie, Waco, Texas. with all utilities. View in four directions. This
LADY GODIVA "The World's Finest Beautifier." commission was to eradicate the rare
is a rare one for $750.00. Write Ronald L.
Johnson, Realtor, Thermal, Calif.
For women who wish to become beautiful, for animals, nine were trapped in three
women who wish to remain beautiful. An COLORADO RIVER RANCH: 80 acres, electrici-
outstanding desert cream. For information, nights within the city limits. But sports-
ty, abundant supply of well water, hunting,
write or call Lola Barnes, 963 No. Oakland, fishing, boating, desert sunshine, near town,
men have protested and ask that the
Pasadena 6, Calif, or phone SYcamore 4-2378. highway and railroad. Dan Zans, Vidal, Calif.
COLOR SLIDES—Travel, Nature, Geology, etc.
beavers be transplanted to streams far-
HOPI HOUSE: A charming Desert Home in a
Free list (with sample 30c, three for dollar). ther north.—Graham County Guard-
setting of an acre of full bearing dates, citrus
Kelly D. Choda, Box 5, Los Alamos, New and other fruit trees. Home has large living-
Mexico. room with rock fireplace. Apartment over ian.
20 OLD WESTERN outlaw photos, $1.00. 20 dif- two-car garage. Priced for quick sale at • • •
ferent Old West, Pioneer, etc., photos, $1.00. $12,500. Carl Henderson, Realtor, Box 201,
10 different battle of Wounded Knee 50c. Palm Desert, Calif. Reservation Permits Required . . .
5 different Lincoln 25c. Lists 5c. Vernon Lem- BELL: A Ranch or Patio Bell with Your Own HOLBROOK —Both regular Ari-
ley Store, 302 Dallas Ave., Mena, Arkansas. Name or Name of Ranch on one side and Date
zona hunting and fishing licenses and
on other; Made of finest bell bronze and hand
finished. Individually sand cast. Made JUST
special Indian permits must be obtain-
FOR YOU. Weight about 10 lbs. Diameter
ed by persons wishing to hunt or fish
S'A". Complete with bracket leader cord, name
FURNACE CREEK RANCH EUROPEAN PLAN and date $37.50 postpaid in U. S. A. A won-
derful Wedding or Anniversary Gift. As these HOT MINERAL WATER: Heated by Nature.
are entirely made JUST FOR YOU, please al- Temperature 110 degrees to 179. Five acres or
U "Rtwuuttic DEATH VALLEY low about six weeks for delivery. Finished more. Arthritics particularly should investi-
Luxurious desert oasis. 5unny days . . . cool nights. Riding
in an exclusive oxidizing and verdegreen fin- gate. R. H. McDonald, Box 21, Phone 143, Des-
. , . swimming . . . golf . . . tennis . . . e x p l o r i n g . Contoct
ish which as it ages, takes on a distinctive ert Hot Springs, Calif.
weathered charm. SEND FOR OUR FOLDER
travel agents or Death Valley Hotel Co., l t d . , 510 West
OF UNUSUAL GIFTS. KREWSON'S CURIOS, HOME SITE near Borrego Springs for sale by
6th Street, Los Angeles, MAdison 2511.
GLENSIDE, PENNA. owner. R. Lee Stowe, 1648 Cota Ave., Long
Beach, California.
MARCH 1950 33
Arizona Ruling is Fought . . . Historical Pageant on Border . . .
OSS? 7 JEWELS! NEEDLES—There used to be reci- CALEXICO—Commemorating the
3 Year SERVICE GUARANTEE procity between California and Arizo- exploring and colonizing journeys of
• Sweep Second Hand <T
• Radiant Dial * na in the matter of fishing and hunt- Capt. Juan Bautista de Anza, who in
• Chrome Case
• Leather Band
^
% # Add ing licenses along the Colorado river 1774 and 1776 made the first overland
• Shock, Water Resist
Special! Ordel today! Money Back
60c Tax boundary between the two states, but trips from Mexico to California—
if not satisfied. Sorry, no C.O.D.'g. a recent ruling of the Arizona Game which resulted in the founding of San
EICO PRODUCTS C0..3805Braadwn, K.C.2Mo. and Fish commission has changed all Francisco-— the border communities
that and a series of arrests has raised a of Calexico, California, and Mexicali,
boiling controversy in the two states. Mexico, will join March 17-19 in the
Tub Canyon Guest Ranch Arizona contends that sportsmen from 11th annual presentation of the Inter-
California must obtain Arizona fish- national Desert Cavalcade of Imperial
BORREGO VALLEY ing and hunting licenses if they want to Valley.
Guest accommodations by reservation
only. fish or hunt on the Arizona side of the Feature of the three-day fiesta and
Exclusive homesites S750 and up. Domes- middle of the main channel of the river. celebration will be presentation of
tic water. Liberal terms. To fight the case through, Californians the Cavalcade pageant, a night out-
Write Noel and Ruth B. Crickmer along the river have organized the door historical pageant that traces his-
Borrego Star Route Colorado River Sportsmen's Protec- tory from before the first white man
Julian P. O., California
No Telephone tive league and have employed legal through the early explorations, days of
talent.—The Desert Star. the stage coach and covered wagons,
• • • reclamation of the desert and the dis-
Power for the Desert . . . astrous Colorado river flood and up to
ADVENTURE!! TWENTYNINE PALMS — Steps the present.
Here's real vacationing. Adventuring with are being taken to form an electric The pageant will be presented two
cataract boats in the Canyons of the cooperative which it is hoped will bring nights, Saturday and Sunday, March
Green River in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah! the conveniences of electricity to this 18 and 19. The big international pa-
Forget the outside world and live as pio- desert area and the greater Morongo rade will be Sunday afternoon, while
neers! Now booking June, July, 1950, res- basin. William Letcher, field represen- the traditional international banquet,
ervations. tative of the R.E.A., has made a sur- with governors of four states from two
Reynolds & Hallacy vey and formal application to the nations attending, will be on Friday
GREEN RIVER EXPEDITIONS government for a loan is to be made, if night this year. The Cavalcade will
Phone 422-W P. O. Box 774 a sufficient number of potential users open with a parade on Friday afternoon
Green River. Wyo. in remote areas not now served by a in which school children of Mexico
At The Head of the Canyons private utility will signup to use power. and United States will march across
—The Desert Trail. the border. Residents on both sides of
the border get into costume for all of
Cavalcade week.
• • •
BY BOAT through the heart of the Southwest's
most scenic canyon country. Fear Mullet Extinction . . .
NILAND—Continued 'commercial
Reservations are now being made for our 1950 expeditions down the fishing in Salton sea may make extinct
San Juan river a n d through Glen Canyon on the Colorado to Lee's Ferry the famous mullet which annually pro-
—191 miles in seven days. Stout river boats. Skilled boatmen. Good vide unequalled sport when they crowd
up the fresh water rivers emptying into
food. the sea to spawn. A resolution protest-
Trip starts from Mexican Hat, Utah. Side-trips include Crossing of the ing commercial fishing has been sent
Fathers, Music Temple, Mystery, Twilight and Hidden Passage Can- to the state division of fish and game
by the Imperial County Fish and Game
yons, Outlaw Cave and the Famous Rainbow Bridge. For schedules Conservation association. Mullet will
and rates write to: not bite ordinary bait, as they are veg-
etarians. There is no closed season for
J. FRANK WRIGHT Blanding, Utah sport fishing, as only time the fish can-
be taken on hooks is when they con-
centrate for their annual trip up the
river. Then fishermen snag them. Com-
mercial fishing is with huge nets. Only
a few fish were caught by sportsmen at
mouth of the Alamo river last fall, and
the conservation group is worried.—
Imperial Valley Weekly.
• • •
SAN FRANCISCO Basketmaker Artifacts Shown . . .
KING
SINGLE... $2.50 TO $3.50 LOS ANGELES—A special exhibit
of Basketmaker artifacts will be on dis-
DOUBLE... $4.00 TO $6.00 play at the Southwest museum, High-
land Park, Los Angeles, during the
IJ^-C TELEVISION IN GUEST ROOMS month of March. They were excavated
in 1930 by Arthur Woodward and are
displayed through the courtesy of the
Los Angeles County museum. The ar-
MARCH 1950 35
NEW MEXICO Young Folks Stay on Ranches . . .
Re-Vamped Indian Bill . . . SANTA ROSA—Ranch life m New
WASHINGTON—Passed by con- Mexico must be good. At least a sur-
gress at the last session but vetoed by vey by Guadalupe county soil conser-
President Truman, the 88-million dol- vation officials indicates that young
lar Navajo-Hopi rehabilitation program people raised on ranches are not de-
is again in the congressional hoppers serting the soil and range for the al-
and has received approval of the house leged lure of the city. They are going
public lands committee. In its present off to school in many instances, but
form the measure contains a clause they come back and take over opera-
which would require the government tion of the ranches on which they were
to bear about 80 percent of social se- raised, or acquire ranch homes of their
curity costs for reservation Navajos own.—Santa Rosa News.
and Hopis. This had been one of the • • •
most controversial features of the leg- New Areas Electrified . . .
islation.—Gallup Independent. COLUMBUS—Rural homes in sev-
eral additional sections of New Mexi-
co are to have electric power for the
first time, following approval of a grant
to extend lines of the Columbus Elec-
tric Cooperative to a new area where
some 400 members will be added. The
new communities to be served are Ro-
GREATEST DESERT deo, Hachita, Animas, Antelope Wells
in New Mexico, and Cave Creek in
DATE SHOW Arizona.—Lordsburg Liberal.
• • •
At Russ Nicoll's world-famous Tourist Travel High . . .
SANTA FE—Although a drop had
been anticipated, tourist travel in New
Mexico increased two percent in 1949,
but the actual number of persons in
*Date the visiting automobiles was down
"In the Valley of the Palms" about three percent below 1948, ac-
cording to Joe Bursey, tourist director.
Featuring our delicious, exclusive The tourist industry is New Mexico's
confection top-paying business. The 1948 figure
for passengers was a record, the 1949
Vate-TUt total of cars was a record.—Gallup In-
dependent.
fresh baked in our own ovens • • •
ALSO . . . Coal Big New Mexico Asset . . .
Candy of the Palms SILVER CITY—Coal is the largest
Date Loaf Sticks assured source of energy in New Mexi-
Date Butter co, according to Charles B. Read, in
Date Crunchies Daily
£ Mm flight «romand
Spring,
L
T
La. V*™ charge of a U. S. geological survey of
"Alldate" Syrup coal over the last three years. The
Brandied Dates study placed coal deposits in the
Creamy Soft Dates state at more than 61 billion tons. Al-
"Chewey" Dates though coal mines have been operating
All kinds of Stuffed Dates in New Mexico since, the coming of
DATE MILK SHAKES railroads in the 188O's, many of the
Jumbo Calimyma Figs coal field areas are relatively unex-
Stuffed Turkey Figs plored.—Gallup Independent.
Preserved Spiced Figs
Giant Ripe Olives
Visit us and you'll see why
we receive write-ups in the
Reader's Digest, Coronet and a-f tvartn. <&t>y, he, <tf+k -fu
other national magazines.
You are always welcome to
free ice water and desert maps.
If you can't come in person % A # L J V have people invested over $1,- SAN DIEGO COONTV, CAUF.
to taste these delicacies, write W n I 253,000 in Borrego land? 1$
this an opportunity YOU may want to in-
for complete folder. vestigate for future profit? Free folders
mailed on request. Or DRIVE DOWN SOON.
BORREGO INFORMATION BUREAU
ON HIWAY 99. 11 MILES 5478 Wilshire Blvd., LA (WE. 6356)
SOUTH OF INDIO
In Palm Springs Contact Robert Ransom, The Plaza—"Worlds Finest Desert Development"
P. O.. Thermal 6, Calif.
36 THE DESERT MAGAZINE
Ideal State for Rain-Making . . . will be placed on display in the Utah
SOCORRO — New Mexico is an Field House of Natural History in Ver-
ideal place for experiments in artificial nal. And to get the bones back, resi-
rain-making, according to Dr. Vincent dents of Uintah county have raised the
Schaefer, cloud expert. He is research money to pay costs of the return—a
scientist for General Electric. Last sum- total of $3400. Although for 50 years
mer "seeding" clouds with dry ice out-of-state museums, universities and
dropped from airplanes p r o d u c e d scientists have collected fossil material
heavy rain on the east slope of the in the Uintah basin and taken it away
Manzano mountains, he reports. Only for study and exhibit, not one dinosaur
the clouds artificially seeded developed has been retained for local educational
into rain storms. The U. S. army signal or scientific purposes according to
corps and the U. S. navy cooperated, Judge Henry Millecam, chairman of
in the experiments. Dr. Schaefer said the committee to raise the $3400. The
that clouds in New Mexico have all committee wants to see this situation
the requirements for precipitation ex- corrected.— Vernal Express.
cept sublimation nuclei. These nuclei
are supplied in the form of dry ice, cre- SALT LAKE CITY—Improvement
ating a situation favorable to the re- or new construction of 147 miles of
lease of rain. Another advantage is that state primary and secondary highways
in New Mexico clouds often occur as has been scheduled for the fiscal year
separated groups, rather than as a gen- beginning next June 30, the state road
eral overcast.—Gallup Independent. commision has announced. — Salt
• • • Lake Tribune.
Ben Alfred Wetherill Dies . . .
SANTA FE—One of the discover-
ers of the now-famous cliff dwellings
at Mesa Verde, Colorado, Benjamin
4M RANCH
Serving spectacular and color-
Alfred Wetherill, died January 5 at ful San Juan and Grand Counties
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ben and his brother of Southeastern Utah. Old-Fashioned Hospitality
John, who was widely known through- Guest accommodations on an
operating cattle ranch.
out the western Indian country, were
Unusual pack trips into Colo- ...New-Fashioned Comfort!
riding after cattle on Mesa Verde when rado River area, the Needles, Salt
they discovered the cliff dwellings. The ("reek Canyon, Indian Creek Can-
ancient cliff homes have been pre- yon and Junction of Green and
served and the area is now a National Colorado Rivers, LaSal Mts.,
park.—Moab Times-Independent. Castle Valley, Fisher Towers and
Arches Nat. Monument section.
• • • Auto camping trips to Monu-
Rain Gods Smile on Valley . . . ment Valley, Xavajo Land, Goose "CITY OF
CARLSBAD—In a boom year aid- Necks of the San Juan, Dead
ed by near-record rainfall throughout
Horse Point, Indian Creek Can-
yon etc.
LOS ANGELES"
the Pecos river valley, farmers and Horseback service and Pack 393/4 Hours to Chicago
ranchers of Eddy county enjoyed a trips thru Arches National Monu-
gross income of nearly $12,000,000 in ment and Court House Towers.
NO FASTER TRAIN EAST
1949, according to Dallas Rierson, Chuck wagon trips, riding the
county agent. Cotton, beef cattle, hay range, ranch life.
and hay seed were leading sources of Especially qualified to serve in- Private rooms and berths in Pull-
cash income.—Eddy County News. dividuals, family groups and boys mans. Coaches with individual
and girls.
• • • reclining seats —reserved.
A paradise for Rook Hounds,
UTAH geologists, archaeologists, writers, Club Lounge Car featuring radio,
photographers, artists, students
Fossil Bones "Coming Home" . . . of wild life and those seeking an refreshments, barber and Valet
VERNAL—Prehistoric fossils from unusual vacation experience. service.
the Uintah basin, now at the Carnegie ROSS S. MUSSELMAN
museum in Pittsburgh, are going to be New Dining Cars—new Cafe
Moab, Utah Lounge for Coach patrons.
brought back where they belong and
on the six cutting and polishing units avail- Box 453, Alpine, Texas
LAPIDARY ENGINEERS
able. The club meets in Omaha. REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA
MARCH I 950 39
AMONG THE
A D V E R T I S I N G R A T E
GEM MART 8c a Word . . . Minimum $1.00
ROCK HUNTERS
MINERAL SPECIMENS, slabs or material by CUTTING FIRE OPAL—We now have in stock
the puund for cutting and polishing, RX Units, a wonderful selection of Australian Fire Opal, YOUTHFUL COLLECTORS
Felker Dl-Met and Carborundum Saw Blades,
Carborundum wheels Cerium Oxide. Mount-
at the following prices: $2.00, $4.00, $6.00,
$8.00, $10.00, $20.00, $30.00 per oz. Please
WIN ESSAY PRIZES
ings. Approval selection sent upon request. remit by Post Office Money Order. WEST Two youthful mineral collectors in Colo-
You are welcome. A. L. Jarvls, Route 2, Box COAST MINERAL CO., 1400 Hacienda Blvd., rado and Michigan carried off top prizes
(State Highway 39), La Habra Heights, Calif.
125, Watsonville, California, on Salinas High-
way.
in the first earth science essay contest spon-
BRAZIL: Amethyst and Citrain, green Tourma- sored by the American Federation of Miner-
GOLD NUGGETS! Beautiful, solid Bold speci- line, golden, green and white Beryl, Aquama- alogical Societies. Fred F. Meissner, 18,
mens, SI.00 each or 3 for $2.00. special col- rine, Chrysoberyl. Australian gems: Fine Opal, Denver, won first place with his article on
lection 12 nuggets from California, Oregon, blue Sapphire, Zircon. Burma: Pigeon Blood
Nevada and Alaska, $5.00. Desert Jim, 627 Ruby, Balas Ruby, Zircon. Africa: Fine Tour- "An Epsomite Occurrence in the Tintic
Lillian, Stockton, California. maline, spec. Emerald, Tigers Eye, black Star District, Utah."
Sapphire. Ceylon: Fancy Sapphire, 7 carat
ATTENTION ROCK COLLECTORS. It will pay average, Spinel. Moonstone. Local: Peridot, Paul S. Hurd, 13, St. Joseph, Mich., won
you to visit the Ken-Dor Rock Roost. We buy. Montana Sapphire, Yogo Sapphire, Mexican second place with his article on "Fulgur-
sell, or exchange mineral specimens. Visitor* Topaz. P. O. Box 1123, Encinitas, Calif. Visi- ites," sometimes known as petrified light-
are always welcome. Ken-Dor Rock Rimsi. tors contact postoffice.
419 S. Franklin, Modesto. California. ning. The contest was open to all boys and
ARIZONA AGATES richest colors in moss, ferns, girls under 20 who had not yet enrolled
MINERAL SETS—24 Colorful Minerals (identi- plumes, flowers, inlays, curly, picture, calico, in a college or university.
fied) in l x l compartments — Postage paid, scenic, banded, iris, variegated moss and hun-
S3.50. Prospector's Set of 50 Minerals (identi- dreds of designs; Sawed slices 50c to $5.00 • • •
fied) in l x l compartments in cloth reinforced each: orders filled in 30 to 60 days; Approval
sturdy cartons. Postage paid $5.75. Elliott's orders now filled. Arizona Agate Mines, Cave
"First Aid on Field Trips" was subject
Gem Shop, 26 Jergins Arcade, Long Beach 2, Creek, Arizona. of a talk given by Charles Herbst, Beverly
California. Hills high school, at January meeting of
"ROCKHOUNDS:" Beautiful specimens for your
KUTILE, brilliant cut, at ii new low price. Com- collection! Desert Roses; also pure carbon cal- the Santa Monica, California, Gemological
plete stock of all gem stones. Complete pro- cite for paper weights, book ends, etc; judged society. Fred Bitner showed colored slides
fessional lapidary service. Ace Lapidary, Box
67, Jamaica, New York.
finest specimens by American Smelting and
Refining Co., El Paso. Roses and specimens
of the Southwest, National parks and Na-
25c to $1.00. Vista Carbon Calcite Products, tional Monuments. January field trip was to
BRAZILIAN AGATE, Specimen pieces, also good Box 370, Wilcox, Ariz. Last Chance canyon. John Hall was in
for coloring, $1.00 a pound. Pieces run from charge.
one to ten pounds each. Black Onyx Blanks, A LARGE COLLECTION of Arizona quartz
16x12 and 14x12 size—$2.50 dozen. Mail orders crystals of fine QUALITY. Singles $1.00 doz. • • •
filled promptly. JUCHEM BROTHERS, 315 W. and up. Also fine quality clusters with singles
Fifth St., Los Angeles 13, California. with inclusions. Harry P. Williams, Quartz- Election of new officers was scheduled
site, Arizona, P. O. Box 15. at the January 24 meeting of the Yuma,
MINERAL SPECIMENS and cutting material of $3.00 BRINGS YOU a selection of individual Arizona, Gem and Mineral society. For
all kinds. Gold and Silver jewelry made to
order. Your stones or ours. 5 lbs. good cutting
crystals, all different. These assortments have the program Thomas Goff, La Jolla, Cali-
ten large crystals, a crystal collection that is fornia, exhibited fluorescent minerals he
material $4.00. J. L. James, Box 117, Carson nice. $5.00 brings you a nice fluorescent as-
City, Nevada. sortment. Ask for list of other specimens etc. has collected. On January 15 members went
IF YOU ARE A ROCKHOUND you need the Jack The Rockhound, P. O. Box 86, Carbon- on a field trip in the desert area back of
dale, Colo.
Lapidary Journal. Tells how to cut and polish
rocks, gives news of all mineral-gem groups.
the army air base.
Tells how to make jewelry, carries ads of FINE FLOWERING OBSIDIAN at $1.00 per • • •
dealers in supplies, equipment, gems, minerals pound plus postage. BLUE-GRAY & RED "Fifteen Years in Alaska" was subject
from all over the world. Well illustrated, CHALCEDONY AGATE at $1.00 per pound
beautifully printed. Subscription $2.00 a year plus postage. SNOWFLAKE JASPER at $1.25 of the talk given by Ora Schoonover at
—back numbers 50c. Sample Copy 25c if you per pound postpaid. TUCSON THOMPSON. January meeting of the Oklahoma Gem
have never subscribed or been sampled. 10016 North Seventh Place, Phoenix, Arizona. and Mineral society, Oklahoma City.
LELANDE QUICK, Editor, P. O. Box 1228,
Hollywood 28, California. OBSIDIAN: Mahogany or black, 75c lb. postpaid. • • •
Art Lanfear, Box 448, Burns, Oregon. "Collecting and Collections" was subject
TEXAS AGATES—Five pounds selected from of a talk given by John F. Mehilcic. secre-
all locations, including plume, iris, fortifica- SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER! For $1.00
tion, scenic, opal assortment, etc., postpaid, we will ship you an unusually interesting col- tary of the Midwest Federation of Geologi-
$5.00. Visit. 20 tons to select from at 25c lection of gem materials. You will be able to cal societies, at January meeting of the Chi-
per pound. El Paso Rock and Lapidary Sup- have dozens of fine cabs and your address
ply, 2401 Pittsburg St., El Paso, Texas. Phone will also be placed in our mailing file to re- cago Rocks and Minerals society. Out-of-
5-8721. ceive bulletins and price lists. State whether town rockhounds are always welcome at
you prefer slabs or rough material. This is an the Chicago meetings, held the second Sat-
MONTANA MOSS AGATES in the rough for introductory offer so we cannot ship more
gem cutting $1.50 per lb. plus postage. Also than one lot to a customer. Include 20c pack- urday evening of each month, 8:00 o'clock,
Slabbed Agate 25c per sq. in. (Minimum order aging and postage please. Catlins, Box 876, at Greenbriar Field House, 2650 W. Peter-
$1.00). Elliott's Gem Shop, 26 Jergins Arcade, Coalinga, California. son avenue.
Long Beach 2, California.
FIFTY MINERAL SPECIMENS, 34-in. or over,
ROCKHOUNDS SOUTHWESTERN HEAD- boxed, identified, described, mounted. Post-
GUARTERS: Lapidary, prospecting equipment paid $4.00. Old Prospector, Box 21B-365 Dutch "MOTHER LODE" GOLD: "Natural form" gold
and supplies. Custom sawing, cutting and Flat, California. from the heart of the "Mother Lode." Crys-
polishing, practical instruction, specimens, cut- ATTENTION URANIUM PROSPECTORS: "PAY talized gold—gold in rock—water worn placer
ting material, silver work, Geiger Counters, DIRT" INFORMATION about Utah, Colorado, —natural leaf gold. Specimens $1.00 & up.
Mineralights, the "original" Desert Scenic Arizona latest Uranium strike area. Send for Tell us what you want—if it is gold; we have
Stone, $2 pound—30c inch. Buy - Sell - Trade, informative, colorful non-technical prospectus it; and the price will be right. LODES O'
Laguna and Rio Puerco agates. New Mexico about Uranium deposits and where to look. GOLD, Box 335, Sonora, California.
Minerals, 2822 N. Second Street, P. O. Box Geological and geographic data of those areas
6156 - Station B, Albuquerque, New Mexico. by a rancher-prospector who located and work- ROCK CRYSTAL QUARTZ STARS: % in. to
ed Uranium claims. Includes topographic 1-% in. diameter, unmounted or mounted as
LOVELY GYPSUM rose crystals, fluorescent, sketches, directive maps, climatic information earrings % in. Stars sterling silver mountings,
50c, $1.00. Agatized Dinosaur bone, wood. and other vital text pertinent to staking plush lined plastic box $7.00 pair. Star pen-
R. Hadden, Aldersyde, Alberta, Canada. claims, field equipment with additional refer- dants with 18 in. sterling silver chain and
ence to mining regulations. "Pay Dirt" ex- clasp in plush lined box % in. diameter $4.50.
PENTRIMITES, size W X % " 10c, % " x % " perience for only $1.50. Write: Knox Tracey, 1 in. $5.00. 1-Vi in. $5.50. 1-% in. $6.00. Post-
25c. 56 1" x 1" minerals, many in XL form, P. O. Box 1066, Vallejo, California. age 25c extra. If interested in Genuine and
each on card, identified and classified, put up Synthetic Gems ask for information as to
in neat box, price $2.75 plus postage. Good size, shape and prices. H. STILLWELL &
THE MOST COLORFUL FLUORESCENT MIN- SON Rockville Centre, N. Y.
specimens Wavelite, also Fluorite in cubes. ERALS. Collection of 9, size H i x l ' / i " in com-
Octahendrons of Fluorite, 1" 35c. Have many partment box 6x9". Price $2.00 prepaid. Col-
museum specimens of various minerals. Write lection of 15; size l'ixl'/b" in compartment HERKIMER DIAMONDS (quartz crystals). These
your wants. Harding Rock Shop, West Fork, box 9x12". Price $5.00 prepaid. Booklet, In- matchless natural gem-like crystals are prized
Arkansas. troduction to geology for the Layman 50c. by collectors everywhere. We can supply them
We specialize in mineral sets for gift shops in variety, freak formations and fine matrix
JUST RETURNED from one of the most color- specimens. Assortments $2.50, $5.00, $7.50,
ful Agate fields in the world. Have a fine and mineral supply stores. Dealer's inquiries
invited. Write for free catalogue. ECKEUT $10.00 postpaid in U. S. H. STILLWELL &
selection of clean cutting material. True SON, Rockville Centre, N. Y.
Carnelian, mosses, banded, patterns in many MINERAL RESEARCH—DEPT-D, 110 E. Main
colors, tubes, plume, Texas red and black Street, FLORENCE, Colorado.
PANNING GOLD — Another hobby for Rock
plume. Rickolite and Honey Onyx, fine for FOR SALE: Beautiful purple Petrified Wood Hounds and Desert Roamers. A new booklet,
book ends, spheres, etc. Also some beautiful with Uranium, Pyrolusite, Manganite. Nice "What the Beginner Needs to Know," 36 pages
white Aragonite, fibrous masses and crystals, sample $1.00. Postage. Maggie Baker, Cam- of instructions; also catalogue of mining books
all shapes and sizes. Make your next rock eron, Ariz. and prospectors supplies, maps of where to go
hunting trip in our yard and save money. and blueprints of hand machines you can
Good material as low' as 25c lb. Geo. C. Curtis, PLUME, BANDED and Moss Agate for sale at build. Mailed postpaid 25c, coin or stamps.
The Agate Man, 645 First St., Hermosa Beach, Ranch. Write or come. J. A. Anderson, Box Old Prospector, Box 21 B 335, Dutch Flat,
California. 182, Alpine, Texas. California.
MARCH 1950 43
HAROLD D. MARYOTT & CO.
Manufacturing Jewelers
Wholesale Exclusively
Miami, Arizona
AMATEUR GEM CUTTER
• By LELANDE QUICK, Editor of The Lapidary Journal-
MONTH we promised to ac- Two photos present this; one showing the
quaint you with the facts regarding prospecting for loose gems on a mountain-
the mineral and gem display in Amer- side; another depicting prospecting by in-
ica's newest museum. This is located in the ference. Limited text explains the methods.
State Exposition building in Exposition Park Then comes a series of seven large koda-
in Los Angeles. chrome photos with copy inserted, explain-
For many years visitors could go to this ing in detail the careful steps in gem mining.
building and see displays of the products Beside this exhibit is a cross section of a
from the mills, farms and mines of Califor- gem mine showing a miner at work on the
nia. It was always the first place we headed pocket zone. Hunks of the types of rock en-
MINERALIGHT for when we had a visiting easterner in tow countered are on a shelf beside the section,
with arrows indicating the location in the
for it was so easy to get that chamber of
Model SL Ultra-Violet Lamps commerce spirit once you entered the doors. cross section. While these exhibits are sta-
• Vivid fluorescence • Much lower There you were confronted with the great tionary the observer may touch them to aid
prices • Weight 16 ounces • Stream- relief map of California where you could in his understanding and appreciation. Hav-
point out the vastness of the state, the to- ing thus reached the actual gem material
lined • Short Wave • Long Wave pography of the mountains, sea and desert. the graphic design leads from the pocket
• 110-Volt • Battery In wending one's way to the basement zone to a statement that less than one per-
through simulated grottoes, one saw a win- cent of the mined material is of jewelry
After two years of research, the dow display of polished beach stones. This quality. The balance is usually used indus-
finest Mineralights ever produced, was not a display of cabochons but just pol- trially and its use in that field is shown.
are now here—at unbelievably low
prices. ished whole beach stones. The display, orig- The west wall: Behind a broad glass front
inally intended for atmosphere only, became a 13-foot shelf contains choice specimens
MODEL SL 2537 - one of the most popular exhibits in the mu- showing the wide range of gem materials
Short Wave - $39.50 seum and that is why the authorities de- found in California. Beside each of these
MODEL SL 3660 - cided to give polished stones and minerals specimens will be displayed a finished stone
more thought when they planned to re- of the same mineral. The location of each
Long Wave - $29.50 build the museum. gem mineral will be indicated on a map
Modernized, light weight, low-priced field
accessories. Write for catalog SL 2. See The museum has been closed for nearly above the exhibit. Forty-three types of Cali-
your Mineralight Dealer. fornia gems are thus shown.
two years now and it is about ready to open
again after being rebuilt. The visitor will The center fixture: Coming down from
ULTRA-VIOLET PRODUCTS, INC. never recognize it. A couple of months ago the beams across the ceiling are tapered fins
SOUTH PASADENA, CALIF. supporting seven glass cases with panels
we took Dr. Frederick H. Pough, curator
Some Dealerships still available of physical geography and mineralogy at above. Four of these cases tell the story of
the American Museum of Natural History the industrial application of gems. To the
in New York, out there for a visit. He ap- left is a 7 Vi -foot panel broadly covering the
plauded manv of the ideas that were being history of gem minerals from the early
developed. The work has been undertaken preparation of pigments by cave men for
bv Herbert L. Kornfeld with the assistance wall painting to the first turquoise beads
of Art Posner and Richard Wolford. Early of the American Indian. On the south side
in the revamping stage Mr. Kornfeld visi- of this fixture are three cases. Two of them
ted us for advice. The result of this visit house small lapidary machines in continous
was that a concrete plan to bring the art operation in the preparation of cabochons
of the lapidary before the people of Cali- and faceted stones. The basic gem cuts are
fornia every day was originated. This idea discussed and the gems shown. The third
was presented to the Los Angeles Lapidarv case is devoted to the colors of gems. Above
society and R committee was apoointed, the case a panel explains refraction, reflec-
headed by J. Howard McCornack, with Mrs. tion and dispersion in gems.
Belle Rugg and mvself as members. Numer- The east wall: This area will be treated
ous conferences evolved the following plan: solely for the mood effect, with mural paint-
ings. The active lapidary display will be in a
The museum will have an active lapidary corner of the exhibit.
display daily from about 1:30 to 4:30. This This account covers only the gem display.
will be a glass enclosed section where the The mineral display will take up an even
visitor can see all phases of the lapidary art larger area and it will include what we re-
being performed by members of the various gard as the best fluorescent display in any
ALTA TRIM SAW UNIT societies in Southern California. A schedule museum; a revolving and mirrored display
FEATURES: will be worked out where the year will be that can be seen by many persons at one
Hinged Plate Takes 6" and 8" divided among the participating societies time.
3 Splash Guards blades. so they will all share equally in the task. Many volunteers gave their time and
W arbor Measures 9>/2"
Visitors will be able to converse with the thought to this great project. The names of
Sealed ball bear- wide. 14'/2" long,
working lapidary and they will be encour- the dealers loaning the equipment will be
ings. aged to ask as many Questions as possible. given on cards. The preparation of the fin-
and 7" high. The shoD will be visited almost daily by bus
Price (less blade) $23.75 ished stones was undertaken by Ed Foeres-
loads of school children visiting the exhi- ter of J. J. Jewelcraft company of Pasadena.
Prices F.O.B. Pasadena (Calif. Purchasers bits.
add Sales Tax)
All technical exhibits were superivsed by
The purpose of the entire exhibit is two- Dr. Richard Jahns of the California Insti-
Send Postal for Free Literature fold: to present the story of California's tute of Technology.
Other Lapidary Equipment: Alta Ball Bear- wealth of gem minerals and how they are All Southern California people should
ing Belt Sander. Regular Alta Belt Sander soueht, discovered and prepared for jewel- see the new museum as soon as it opens
(plain bearings). Improved Alta 16-18 Pow- rv. The observer will also be made acquain- in April and other visitors as soon as they
er Feed Saw. Alta Drill Presses. Alta ted with the use in industry of many of our come to town. Los Angeles county societies
Grinding Arbor. minerals. To achieve this the observer is should plan an early visit (after May 1) as
directed through a series of panel and case an official "field trip." Excellent picnic fa-
ALTA INDUSTRIES exhibits, each devoted to one phase of gem-
ology. The continuity is as follows:
cilities adjoin the museum and the world's
largest rose garden will be in full bloom
915 E. Washington St.
Pasadena 6. Calif. The south wall: Here a 20-foot panel be- opposite the museum. // you like it will you
gins with the methods of gem prospecting. let them know about it?
By RANDALL HENDERSON
^OCCASIONALLY I get a letter from the captain of an day hiking, fishing, hunting for gem stones or taking pic-
\S °il tanker who has a tramp run between Yokohama, tures and exploring places they have never seen before.
the Persian Gulf, Guam and a score of other ports Some of them go out the previous day and camp overnight.
on Pacific shores. He lives in a world far removed from The Yuma folks really are getting acquainted with
the Great American Desert. His letters are always inter- their desert. Instead of rushing off to the nearest metropo-
esting and refreshing. Recently he stoped at Guam, where lis as many hundreds of desert people do on weekends,
many American lives were lost during the war. the Yumans are discovering the charm of their own desert
After the war was ended Uncle Sam paid the natives playground.
for the cocoanut trees and huts destroyed during the shel-
ling and for other damages to their homeland. Also, many With the exception of Palm Springs, where Director
of them have been on the payrolls of the American occu- Lloyd Mason Smith of the Desert Museum is conducting
pants. similiar excursions every week, and the Don's club Travel-
cades out of Phoenix, I know of no other community in
That brought too much prosperity to the Islanders. the Southwest where such trips are being sponsored. In
They have been neglecting their cocoanut groves and their Yuma the sponsors are the Yuma Department of Parks
fishing boats—and living out of tin cans. But there may and Recreation, and the County chamber of commerce. If
be hard days ahead, for Uncle Sam is considering plans more desert chambers of commerce became interested in
which may reduce Guam to a minor outpost. this kind of activity I would have to retract some of the
If this takes place the natives of Guam will have com- uncomplimentary remarks I have printed about lack of
pleted in one generation a cycle which takes hundreds of vision on the part of chamber secretaries.
years in more advanced civilizations. Wealth and ease
bring boredom and decay. And when the people grow soft, I think I can hear some of my desert neighbors say-
sooner or later a hard hungry horde of men come along ing: "That is all right for Yuma with all those interesting
places to visit, but we have no place to go—just barren
and take over. At least that is the lesson we learn from desert."
the history books. The natives of Guam in their own little
world are staging a fast-motion review of the historical And that perhaps would be a valid excuse if it were
cycle. true. But it isn't true. The charm of this desert is its infi-
• • • nite variety—and there is not a single desert community
in the whole Southwest that is not within range of literally
In the mail this week came a little four-page folder scores of fascinating places and rare natural phenomena.
from Yuma, Arizona, titled the Yuma Bandolero. My Not all of them can be reached on a paved road—but after
Spanish is very rusty and I do not know the translation all, there is no better recreation on earth than hiking and
of bandolero. But I can understand the English inside the there are no better companions for such a trip than a cam-
folder—and what I find there is so worth while I want to era, a botanist's manual, a prospector's pick or a micro-
pass it along to other desert communities. scopic lens. One doesn't really get acquainted with the des-
Someone in Yuma, with more than ordinary vision, ert until he or she acquires a microscope. For the broad
conceived the idea of weekend community caravans into scenic horizon is occupied and peopled with a billion tiny
the surrounding desert, to enable local people to get better entities—each of which is a world unto itself.
acquainted with scenic charm, the historic monuments, and • • •
resources of the land in which they reside and make their
living. The rain gods of the desert have not been generous
Two or three weekends each month during the winter this winter, and unless heavy showers come very soon the
season a caravan of Yuma motorists heads out along the spring wildflower display will not be up to normal. There
highway to the point selected for that week's excursion. will be some blossoms in favored spots, but the colorful
It may be the historic natural tanks at Tinajas Altas, the landscape of last year will not be seen—not this season.
famous ghost mining camp of Fortuna in the Gila range, But the floral show is not lost—merely postponed.
Laguna dam on the Colorado river, or a jaunt to the head- For billions of tiny seeds will remain dormant in the
waters of the Gulf of California. There are a hundred sands, awaiting the time when sufficient moisture will
interesting places to be visited within a radius of 125 miles start the miracle of germination. It may be one year or
of Yuma. three or ten—but they will blossom eventually. And if we
have to wait, perhaps we will prize them the more highly
The motorists take their picnic lunches and spend the when they do come.
46
THE DESERT MAGAZINE
BOOKS OF THE SOUTHWEST ...
that has ever been published, and it
represents a tremendous task on the
part of its editor.
Printed by Rydal Press, Santa Fe.
DR. COLTON TELLS STORY heads plus eight pages of color photo- 191 pp. Index. $4.00
OF HOPIKACHINAS graphs made by Jack Breed. • • •
Hopi children are taught to believe Three beginning chapters of the book
deal with the Kachinas' general make- Narrow-Gauges Disappearing . . .
in Kachinas just as small Anglo-Amer- At one time there were nearly a
icans believe in Santa Claus. But to up with chapter four identifying the 250
varieties. thousand narrow gauge railways run-
the elders of the Hopi Mesas the Ka- ning into the mountains and backwoods
chinas are dieties who dwell in the Chapter five describes the Hopi di-
eties which are oftentimes called Ka- areas of this country. Today there re-
San Francisco mountains and other main but five. And only three of these
high peaks. They play a role some- chinas but in reality are merely Indian
supernatural beings. Chapter six rounds carry passengers over rails once world-
what similar to that of the saints of the noted.
Christian religion, carrying prayers to out a comprehensive key to identifica-
tion of authentic Kachinas with a bib- The narrow gauge was often the
the Hopi Gods. means of bringing life and permanent
liography attached.
There are at least 250 different Ka- settlement to desert regions of west-
The author, Dr. Colton, is not new
china personalities—each in his own ern America. It served its purpose,
to the Southwest. He is probably the
colorful and very distinctive costume. now it is disappearing from the scene.
only man in the United States who
It is in an effort to clarify the role of But its history is fascinating, and now
holds two jobs a nation apart. He is
these pagan dieties, and to enable stu- Brian Thompson has compiled in Nar-
professor of zoology at the University
dents of Indian life to identify them row Gauge Railways in America a
of Pennsylvania and director of the
that Dr. Harold S. Colton, director of wealth of information for students,
Museum of Northern Arizona.
the Museum of Northern Arizona at historians, railroad fans and those in-
Flagstaff, has prepared the most com- A prolific writer, he has published terested in Americana. The new book
prehensive study yet published, under in the way of books: Days in the includes a reprint of Howard Flem-
the title of Hopi Kachina Dolls. Painted Desert and in the San Fran- ing's book originally published in 1875,
cisco Mountains, written with F. C. in which Fleming attempted to show
Dr. Colton said he wrote the book Baxter; Handbook of Northern Pottery the economic advantages of the nar-
in self defense for a double purpose: Wares, written with L. L. Hargrave; row gauge over the standard. The new
first to satisfy thousands of requests and Inverted Mountains, written with volume is edited by Grahame Hardy
for identification of at least 250 va- W. F. Heald and E. D. McKee. and Paul Darrell, includes a list of nar-
rieties of Kachinas and second to aid Thirty-one-year-old photographer row gauge railways from 1871 to 1949.
in distinguishing fake dolls from the Jack Breed has, besides a Harvard de- Profusely illustrated. 101 pp plus di-
genuine. gree, a million miles of exploring and rectory and foreword. Published by
To help identify the staggering list photographing largely in the Southwest. G r a h a m e Hardy, 2046 East 14th
of Kachinas, the author has devoted Published by University of New Street, Oakland, California. $5.00
53 pages of the 144-page book to au- Mexico Press. Nov. 1949. 144 pp. In-
thentic pictures of the Kachina doll dex. $7.50.
This book may be ordered from RUTH M. UNDERHILL'S
Desert Crafts Shop
Palm Desert, California HAWK OVER
• • •
STORY OF NEW MEXICO WHIRLPOOLS
IS TOLD IN PICTURES A story of Desert Indians—
The New Mexico landscape has and the inevitable clash of cul-
great variety—snow-capped peaks, tim- tures when the white man came
ber, mining, irrigated farms, orchards, to their lands. Out of her long
cattle range, prehistoric dwellings and association with the tribesmen
the Indians of many tribes—and all of the Southwest the author has
these resources are given a graphic pre- written a dramatic portrayal of
sentation in Pictorial New Mexico, just the impact of the so-called civi-
published by New Mexico Magazine lized culture on the primitive
and edited by George Fitzpatrick, its psychology of humans whose
editor. knowledge and religion came
Twenty pages of the book are de- from the arid earth where they
voted to color—and New Mexico has and their ancestors had dwelt
much of it. The remainder of the book for countless generations. The
is in black and white halftone engrav- characters in this book are fic-
ings with art decorations by Wilfred titious, but the picture is a faith-
Stedman. ful portrayal of the life of the
The pictures, taken by many pho- Desert People.
tographers, both professional and ama-
teur, have been accumulated over a $2.50 Postpaid
long period of years and include many California buyers
prints of historic interest as well as the Add 3% sales tax
best composition of contemporary cam-
eramen.
This is by all odds the most complete Palm Desert, California
One of the 250 Kachinas presentation of New Mexico in picture
MARCH 1950 47
The finest...
Royal Triton—the distinguished purple motor oil—affords the highest degree of
engine protection. 7600—the gasoline of the future—more than meets the power
requirements of today's highest compression engines. Both are available at the
sign of the seventv-six.
U N I O N O I L C O M P A N Y