Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OCTOBER, 1942
An Invitation to Summit . . .
Gcdew&ab
SEPT. 27-OCT. 4 New Mexico state fair,
Albuquerque.
SEPT. 29-30 San Geronimo fiesta, tra-
ditional harvest festival of Taos
Indians, and Taos county fair and
livestock show, Taos, New Mex-
ico.
OCT. (first week) Navajo Indian agency
fair, Shiprock, New Mexico. Volume 5 OCTOBER, 1942 Number 12
OCT. 1-25 Indian Country as shown in
color photography of the late COVER Native American (Navajo), photograph by Hubert A.
Harry G. Steele of Pasadena, at Lowman, Kansas City, Missouri.
Museum of Northern Arizona,
Flagstaff. LETTERS C o m m e n t from Desert Magazine readers . . . 2
4 Feast Day of St. Francis de Assisi;
procession on eve of St. Francis CALENDAR C u r r e n t e v e n t s o n t h ed e s e r t 3
Day. Santa Fe, New Mexico.
PHOTOGRAPHY Prize w i n n i n g p h o t o g r a p h s i n A u g u s t . . . . 4
4 Annual fiesta, Nambe Indian
pueblo, New Mexico. INDIAN LORE T r a i l t o t h e H e a l i n g W a t e r s of T o s i d o
4 Annual fiesta, Ranchos de Taos,
New Mexico.
By RICHARD V A N VALKENBURGH . . . 5
10 Sierra club to weekend in Pinyon QUIZ True or False—A test of your desert knowledge . 9
Flats-Asbestos mountain area,
guests of Mr. and Mrs. P. S. POETRY "Do You Understand?" a n d other p o e m s . . . 1 0
Shumway at their summer home.
L. J. Arnold, leader. HISTORY The Saga of John Searles
16-17 Searles Lake gem and mineral so- By ORA LEE OBERTEUFFER 11
ciety hobby show, Trona school,
Trona, California. PROSPECTING River Gold, by CHARLES KELLY 15
• • •
PALEONTOLOGY Thumbmark in the Book of Time
HUNTING SEASONS By JOHN HILTON 18
Arizona—
Deer: North of Gila river, except LANDMARK Great Sanctuary
Pinal mountains in Gila and Pinal By FRANCIS H A P G O O D ELMORE . . . . 23
counties, Oct. 16-Nov. 15; south
of Gila river and including the TRAVEL Signposts on Desert Trails 24
Pinal mountains, Nov. 1-Nov. 30
on white tail deer; Nov. 16-30 on RITUAL Devil Dance of the Apaches
desert mule deer. By MARGARET STONE 26
Turkey and Bear: Open north of
Gila river only; corresponds to WEATHER August temperatures o n thedesert 28
deer season.
Antelope: Sept. 19-Oct. 3 in 8 ART O F LIVING Desert Refuge, b y M A R S H A L S O U T H . . . . 29
special areas. Permits from license
dealers, game wardens, fish and LOST MINES T h e F r e n c h m e n ' s Lost G o l d M i n e
game commission. By J O H N D . MITCHELL 31
Dove: Sept. 1-Oct. 12, sunrise to
sunset. NEWS Here and There on the Desert 33
California— MINING Briefs from the desert region 36
Dove: Sept. 15-Oct. 12 in Impe-
rial county; other counties start HOBBY Gems and Minerals
Sept. 1.
Nevada— —Edited by ARTHUR L. EATON 37
Deer: Opens Oct. 4, closes Nov. CRAFTS Amateur Gem Cutter—By LELANDE QUICK . . 40
2, except Nye and Esmeralda clos-
ing Oct. 30; Pershing, Oct. 3 1 ; HUMOR Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley
Clark, Nov. 2; Lincoln north of
Union Pacific tracks, Oct. 18, and By LON GARRISON 41
south of tracks, Oct. 18-Nov. 2.
New Mexico—
INDEX Complete index to Vol. Five, Desert Magazine . 42
Dove: Sept. 1-Oct. 12. COMMENT Just B e t w e e n Y o u a n d M e — B y the Editor . . . 4 6
Pigeon: Sept. 16-Oct. 15.
Utah- BOOKS "The Changing Indian," and other reviews . . 47
Deer: Oct. 17-27. For special The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Publishing Company, 636
State Street, El Centro, California. Entered as second class matter October 11, 1937, at
post-season hunting and antlerless the post office at El Centro, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered
deer permits, write fish and game No. 358865 in U. S. Patent Office, and contents copyrighted 1942 by the Desert Publishing
commission, 329 State Capitol Company. Permission to reproduce contents must be secured from the editor in writing.
Bldg., Salt Lake City. RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor. LUCILE HARRIS, Associate Editor.
Duck: Oct. 15-Dec. 23. Also Manuscripts and photographs submitted must be accompanied by full return post-
age. The Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility for damage or loss of manuscripts
wood duck, coot, geese. or photographs although due care will be exercised for their safety. Subscribers should
Elk: 820 permits to be issued; send notice of change of address to the circulation department by the fifth of the month
applications must be filed with preceding issue.
State Game Board by Oct. 3. Nov. SUBSCRIPTION RATES
8-17. Drawing Oct. 10. One year $2.50 Two years $4.00
Canadian subscriptions 25c extra, foreign 50c extra.
Address correspondence to Desert Magazine, 636 State St., El Centro, California.
OCTOBER, 1942
r •
Woman
By FRED H. RAGSDALE
Los Angeles, California
Second prize winner in the monthly photographic con-
test was taken in Taos Indian Pueblo, New Mexico, with
a Rollieflex camera on E. K. Plus-X film, G filter.
Special Men.it
The following photos were judged to have special
merit:
"Shadows of the Past," by Doris Priestley, Pomona,
California.
"Gila Monster and Saguaro," by Glenn R. Knight,
Tucson, Arizona.
"Baby Burro," by Fred H. Ragsdale, Los Angeles,
California.
rfeaLinq Wa.tet5
Tosido, the healing spring of the Navajo—called by the tvhite men Pagosa Spring, Photo b y J. R. Lynn.
When Old Warrior, the aged Navajo, got a swelling in his knee and you to carry me to Tosido, the Warm
was too crippled to take part in a Purification sing, he asked his friend Water."
Richard Van Valkenburgh to take him to Tosido, the magic spring of heal- I hid my jubilation. TOSIDO! One of
ing waters. And here is the story of the trip to the legendary spring of the the water-shrines I had been hunting for.
Indians—a place you and I know as Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Navajo story-tellers had often mentioned
this spring. During the "World Fire" set
By RICHARD VAN VALKENBURGH by mischievous Coyote, the water boiled
up from the Underworlds. It was also here
- / HE STACATTO bark of Licha'ii,
• : me on Telli, the burro. We sent for Hathli that the Twin War Gods purified them-
I the Camp Watcher, broke the hush Tsosojih, the Star Gazer. He looked into selves after purging the world of the 84
of the summer evening when I ar- the heavens through his crystal. There was Ana!it, or Enemy Monster People!
rived at the camp of Hastin Hashke'e's. the a bloody scalp across the moon trail. From I gave no hasty answer—this would
Navajo, perched on the sandy hummocks this omen he divined that the Chindih of a have been irregular to Navajo routine. Just
above Todilil, the Smoky Spring. South- Mexican I once killed was causing this before stretching out to sleep on the goat
ward the sacred mountain of El Huerfano sickness. pelts I said, "La! We leave for Tosido in
was a dusky lavender block rising above "The proper cure for this trouble would the early morning."
the sun-tanned plains of Gallego in north- be an Aaana'djih, or Enemy Purification The screeching of Yanibah, the Old
ern New Mexico. Rite. This is what you call a Squaw Dance. Warrior's wife, stirred us out into the
Welcoming me with the formal greet- But such a sing would be too rigorous for early dawn. While Elder Sister poured us
ing reserved for old friends, Hastin Hash- me—one who has lived 10 winters beyond k'oway under the ramada I watched the
ke'e, the Old Warrior, bade me enter. one old man's life. I have thought of some- older woman work. A calico-clad dynamo,
When I finished stringing out another ten- thing else. she jawed and jostled the baaing sheep
dril of the "grapevine news" from Win- "Far to the north under the blue peaks out of their corral. Following the tinkling
dow Rock, he told me why he had sent for of the Sierra San Juan, there is a sacred bell of the lead-goat, they trailed upward
me: spring called Tosido. When I was no to range on the mesa top.
"In the season of the last 'Crusted Snow' higher than a willow shoot I rode there When Elder Sister finished brushing
my knee began to swell," he said. "People with my sick grandfather. He was cured. I and tying the old man's thin white hair
laughed when my old woman had to sit am too crippled to ride that far. I want into a neat queue we were ready to start.
OCTOBER, 1942
Mesa Cibola sheers off like a great spur,
the Old Warrior grunted, "Ashiina'aa,"
and went off into a jumble of Navajo. Tuli
explained, "He say Salt Point. Long time
ago—before white traders came, old time
Navajo got salt up there."
Our trail led down the main Largo. Salt
Point was behind us—a buff colored
wedge jutting upward in the white flecked
sky. Innumerable barrancas biting into the
crumbly earth made travel hazardous.
There was a gradual widening of the can-
yon floor. We made an abrupt left turn—
the road jumped off into the main arroyo
bottom!
The Old Warrior insisted on a "look-
see." He had lost a fine burro "right there
under the bank." To the east thunderheads
were rising above the Continental divide.
Without warning an avalanche of mud-
laden water could burst into our sunlit
v/orld. They could as easily wrap us in
their vortex as they do the barrel-sized
mud balls they churn and cast out on the
Largo delta.
Low gear growled as we broke the crust
of the bank. We bounced across a quiver-
On the way to Pagosa, Van Valkenbmgh and the old Navajo stopped to inspect the ing bed of quicksand. Our tires spun and
ruins of one of the 18th century watchtoivers of the Navajo tribesmen. threw a spray of mud. With a jerk we
gained traction in the two tracks that
The schoolboy Tuli. was to go with us as the east came the Canyon Campanero, wound across the powdery sand. Wide
interpreter. With a wave of his arm the th; south, the Canyon Largo, and from the open we gunned across the quarter mile of
Old Warrior directed us down the wagon west, the Canyon Blanco. We were at the the ill famed Largo crossing.
trail to the north. point where all join to drain off some 100
After passing through the gap where square miles of northern New Mexico. Following the east side of the canyon
the white sands of the Canyon Blanco From here comes the bulk of the silty red we soon reached the cobbled upper terrace
grind through the shelving scarps of the water that eventually settles in Lake Mead of the San Juan river. The wide delta of
Mesa Cibola and Quartado, we came to back of Boulder dam. the Largo was a vast triangle forcing its
the juncture of three box canyons. From Pursing his lips upward to where the dirty brown base into the sparkling blue
WSMDO %\
PAGOSA SPRINGS) s, i
C O L O ,< R A D O
'•'-.ViYsHIPROCK
The good-luck mountain bluebird on the redbud was sacred Ch'ool'i'i, part time home of First Man and
shows that it is summer time (1). One cloud in the vault First Woman, and the birthplace of White Shell Woman
of heaven carries rain (2). One crippled Navajo, a young (9). In the mountains east of Cabresto, Mexican Killer
Navajo, and a White Man leave Todilil, the Cloudy once killed a big buck and got a sacred buckskin (10).
Spring shown as a turtle (3). Turtle is Old People's sign At Dulce we talked with our cousins, the Jicarilla
Apache (11). Beyond there we crossed the Old Spanish
for water. Looking down from Dzilna'odzili, the sacred mule trail (12). Ye'ii dancing the first Night Chant in the
mountain, are First Man and First Woman (4). Antelope Blanca Basin (13). The sun was in the sky when we left
once were common here (5). The Ute, our old enemies Todilil (14). The moon was up when we reached Tosido
(6). Salt Woman carrying bags of salt at Salt Point (7). (15). Mexican Killer was cured for the Water People were
At Ojito Cabresto Hdsidih Yazzi (Van Valkenburgh) still in the spring (16). Around all is the long rope of the
broke Navajo taboo by killing a snake (8). Southward Rainbow People (17).
waters of the river. Far below the 'dobes rocky grade that flattens in the wide bot- up pottery sherds. There was a whirr like
of Blanco village were white cubes set in tom of the Canyon La Jara. The usually the wind blowing through dry milkweed
the borders of deep green. dangerous sand-crossing was easy. The pods!
Going eastward on rough New Mexico bed had been moistened by a freshet. On
State Highway 17 we climbed a series of the north bank the Old Warrior motioned Coiled at my foot was a small rattle-
tablelands that shelved upward towards me to stop by a grooved pine log catch- snake!
the dim blue heights of the divide. Bare- basin overflowing with moss fringed Just as I was picking up a rock to finish
foot Mexican children shyly waved at us water. him off, the Old Warrior and Tuli came
as we passed the lonely ranchos of San Refreshed by a drink of the cool spring around the rock. Tuli placed his hands
Rafael. As we rattled across the cattle- water the Navajo rested under a shady over his eyes and quickly turned back.
guards of Gobernador, white faced cattle ledge while I scouted around. Just above The old Navajo eyed me for a moment.
hoisted their tails and stomped away. the spring there was a crumbling 18th cen- Then he reproached me, "Doyachonda!
After an hour we dropped down the tury Navajo watchtower. I started to pick Snake People get even. Bad luck for Tuli
OCTOBER, 1942
After the 100 miles of bumpy trail the
pavement seemed feather cushioned. We
breasted a low divide. Below lay the val-
ley of the upper San Juan. While I
watched the play of the deep shadows of
the mountains on the blue river, I thought
of what Captain J. F. McComb the explor-
er had written 90 years before:
" . . . there is scarcely a more beautiful
place on earth!"
Trout fishermen were poised on rocks
as we followed the grassy banks of the
river towards the lower end of the sylvan
vale. The stream took a southward sweep
and faded into a gap in the low hills. We
passed through pine-clad spurs. In the
opening of the west the resort village of
Pagosa Springs sloped upward from the
rock bound north bank of the San Juan.
We crossed to the south side of the
river. A grassy meadow swelled upward
to a gentle cone. In the center a great cloud
of steam rose and faded into the sky.
Drawing nearer we could see that it rose
from a pool of deep blue water that bub-
This first picture of Pagosa Spring was made by the artist who accompanied the bled and seethed in a great crater of white
McComh expedition from Santa Fe in 1859- rock.
"La! Tis Tosido, the Warm Water! Too
many houses around. Name changed. Bad!
to see. His wife have hard time with new Afttr skirting the southern flanks of Maybe good spirits in spring have run
baby. Good Navajo never kill snake!" the Rockies they came to the Green river away?" grunted the Old Warrior as we
From the spring which the Navajo crossing. Here they paid tribute of mules pulled to a stop to make camp under the
call the Ojito Cabresto the road clung to to Walkra, the Ute chief. Between the Rio cottonwoods.
the shady south wall of the Burn's canyon. Virgir and Las Vegas the whitened bones
By the time supper was finished the
Beyond Vallecito we passed into the pine of many marked the trail across the dread
clouds were agate spars floating in the
clad knolls and grassy parks of the Jicarilla "Jornada del Muerto." Beyond the west-
blue half-light of twilight. Dodging the
Apache. A wide arc to the north brought ern sierra lay the flowered vale of San
clutch of the dusky peaks of the San Juans
us to the crystal waters of the laguna Gabriel. Here they would rest and trade
they faded into the jet curtain rising in the
gleaming in the canyon above the historic for California wines and China silks.
north. After the Navajo rolled up in their
Apache agency of Dulce, New Mexico. Soon after teaching the foaming waters Pendeltons I went over to the spring to
Copper-hued Jicarilla, in their bright of the Rio Navajo, the Old Warrior called seek information.
shirts and with braided hair dangling for another halt. Breaking through the wil- Ute tradition supported by white his-
down below their 10-gallon hats, eyed us lows fringing the stream he hobbled to a tory tells that they fought and won the
curiously as we drove up before the trad- stalky shrub tasseled with yellow flowers. spring from the Navajo over 100 years
ing post. While I bought lunch squat Plucking the waxy green leaves he placed ago. The Old Warrior's ancient name of
women in blowsy calico mother-hubbards them in a flour sack. A species of nicoti- Tosido is now only in the memory of a few
hackled over prices. The Old Warrior and ana, they would be dried and smoked in old Navajo. Today, it retains the name
Tuli got the news. cornhusks at some future ceremonial as given by early explorers, Pagosa, the An-
Both were bursting with information as Dzilnatoo, or mountain tobacco. glicised compound of the Ute word "Pa-
we wound northward over red adobe hills. kosaa," the Healing Waters.
"Yes! Those Baxaih, or Always Winter At Chromo, just across the Colorado
People, have changed a lot since the line, our river road faded into the well The Great Pagosa is now owned by J. F.
World Fire had separated them from the graded Colorado State Highway 17. To Lynn. Some 25 years ago he perpetuated
main Navajo tribe. They look funny, talk the east the bald face of the 11,000 foot the Indian tenure by purchasing it with
too fast, and backwards!" basaltic dome of Cerro Navajo towered Osage Indian Oil money. Anasazih ruins
above the uneven swell of the indigo for- in the vicinity as well as very ancient Na-
On the iow divide between the Dulce est. It was in this majestic mountain coun-
and the Rio Navajo, the Old Warrior vajo remains evidence that spa has been
try of the ''Rio de Nabajoo" that the his- used by man well over 1,000 years.
stopped me. He pointed to a shallow, torian, Father Zarate-Salmeron found the
grass covered barrow that bisected our Navajo in 1600. I told Lynn the occasion for my visit.
road. Sweeping his hand from east to west, Guiding me down to the river bank he
he said, "Old Mexican's trail to the west- Beyond the river the Old Warrior led us showed me two reed lined pools. In these
ern sea." upward through tangled thickets of moun- seepages of the main spring, Navajo, Ute,
The old Spanish Trail! Partially broken tain mahogany and oak to the crest of a and Jicarilla Apache still come from great
by Fathers Dominguez and Escalante in rocky ridge. Pointing eastward to where distances to bathe. Indian taboo is still fol-
1776, it soon became the major trade the Rio Navajo cuts a white scoop in the lowed in that the men bathe in one pool
route between New Mexico and Califor- mountains, he told, "The Canyon de while the women bathe in another.
nia. Each fall great mule caravans packed Chelly in Navajoland took the name By certified laboratory analysis the
with Navajo and New Mexican blankets Tsegi, In the Rocks, from this place. Here beneficial components of the Great Pagosa
left Abiquiu in the canyon of the Rio Cha- also our ancestors held their first Night exceed that of the famed Sprudel spring
ma. Chant, the masked dance of the Ye'/i!" at Carlsbad, Germany. When the 165 de-
OCTOBER, 1942
Photograph by Ed. Read, Glendale, California.
THE DESERT SPEAKS 2>a
By W. EARLINGTON W H I T N E Y
Anza, California MADGE MORRIS
PRAIRIE BACKFIRE
Perhaps you may not know my strange allure— By SANDY KELLY
Where stars are brighter and the air more pure; "Have you slept in a tent alone—a tent La Mesa, California
Where sunshine heals, and Promise beckons Out under the desert sky— Oh give me a home on the prairie,
wide, Where a thousand, thousand desert miles Where the coyotes yowl 'round my door.
With thrill and satisfaction side by side. All silent 'round you lie? Where the lizards and beetles tarry,
The dust of the AEON of Ages dead And the rattlers sneak up through the floor.
Far lovelier than artist brush portrays; And the PEOPLES that tramped by.
My scenes endure, yet, changing as the days, Have you looked in the desert's painted cup, Where the hoot-owl hoots just at night-fall,
I bring anew to tired heart and soul Have you smelled at dawn the wild sage And the dove does a note all forlorn,
Enchanting raptures of the azured bowl. musk, Where the scanty shade of the mesquite,
Have you seen the lightning flashing up Bids you sit down, on a thorn.
Within my portals lie intrinsic worth,
Where Man may meditate on primal birth; Have you heard the song in the desert rain, Where the wind blows and sand flows about
And in my long deep silence he may plan (Like the undertone of a wordless rhyme) you,
The right regard for all his Fellow-man. Have you watched the glory of colors flame And you pick out the burrs from your hair.
In its marvel of blossom time? While the pack rats come without warning
Oh weary soul, if you should wish to seek Have you lain with your face in your hands
Sweet solitude and beauty unsurpassed, To steal what you've got put away.
afraid
I bid you come where Nature is supreme Face down—flat on your face—and prayed, Oh give me a home on the prairie,
And realize a blessing that shall last. While the terrible sandstorm whirled and I love it the best of all places.
swirled 'Neath a cactus I'd lie, when I die bye and
TRIBUTE TO TRONA In its sandy fury, and hid the world, bye
By R U T H MCANALLY And quenched the sun in its yellow glare, Way out in the wide open spaces.
Trona, California Just you and your soul and nothing there?
I love the Trona desert If you have then you know, for you've felt THE STRONG ONE
Its every bush and rock, its spell By LELA M. WILLHITE
I even love the Potash dust The lure of the desert land. Garvey, California
Within my curly locks. And if you have not, then I could not tell, The mountains have no hold on me
The salt spray on the window For you could not understand." Ah, but what of a desert land!
That dims the bright sunshine, Spaces, golden silence, no tall tree
Can never dim the happiness To cast a shadow on the sand.
Or health that here is mine. CREED OF THE DESERT The cities have no hold on me;
The lights and noise of the mill But any land in purple shown
Are my companions true, By / U N E LEMERT PAXTON
Yucca Valley, California Where mountains, bare and jagged, flee
I love the friendly attitude
Like swallows in a headwind blown.
Of all the people too. Keep the wildness of the desert;
Within my heart tthere's no regret Keep its mysteries secure; Across some unknown distance flung
That my home is right here, Keep it from this hellish conflict In vast, majestic mould!
For work and health and happiness That its peace may long endure. A voice that has no sound has sung
Make heaven seem quite near. On a silver lute, of the desert's hold.
Seatl
By ORA LEE OBERTEUFFER
]obn W. Searles—he came to California to hunt gold, and made a fortune out of borax.
/ / IGH up in the mountains which vation to reach the California gold fields of the lake and took them to San Francisco
'/ / overlook Searles lake, at the head by way of the wagon train in 1849. De- for analysis. At first he was told they con-
of a tortuous, rocky trail, lie the
scending from ancestors who won renown tained borax. But after more trips to San
ruins of the old homestead of John Wem-
ple Searles. In the march of time over 75 with the American army in the Revolu- Francisco and more analyses had been
years have passed since that home was tionary war, the courage and fearlessness made, he was told that they contained not
built, but in the still of the desert the deep which he had inherited were his only pos- a single trace of borax. Disappointed, he
canyon seems to echo the chant of Chinese sessions when he joined his brother Den- returned to the desert where he devoted
coolies as they picked and shoveled away nis at Indian creek, Shasta county, Califor- the next few years to working his mine
at the rocky hillside to build terraces and nia. The two brothers cast about for a few and developing his homestead in the
walls and develop a water supply. years in farming and mining but eventual- mountains.
Time and cloudbursts have almost ob- ly disposed of their holdings, and in 1862 One day in 1873 a man drifted into the
literated the trail, and the buildings have acquired and began operating mining Searles mining camp with some samples
crumbled away, but the mammoth fig trees claims in the Slate range, just east of the from a new borax discovery in Nevada.
and grape vines, still flourishing and bear- present Searles lake in central California. Realizing that they were the same type of
ing fruit, are living memorials to the cour- Their camp looked out on a vast dry lake crystals as the samples he had previously
age and faith of one of the most colorful of what was thought at that time to be salt taken to San Francisco, Searles' interest in
characters of early desert history. and carbonate of soda. his own discovery was aroused once more.
John Searles was among those intrepid One day Searles, confiding in no one, With a pack outfit he went to the south
pioneers who endured hardship and pri- gathered samples of crystals from the bed end of the lake and located 640 acres.
OCTOBER, 1942 11
The highly chemicalized brine from beneath the dry surface
Later this acreage was increased to over of Searles lake has created a town of 2500 people at Trona.
2,000.
Then he made another trip to San Fran-
cisco with samples. When he was told and carried it to a large boiling pan where hardships and lost its way. Though de-
again that his crystals contain no borax he it was boiled for 36 hours. The solution prived of her help and companionship he
became suspicious. When he left San Fran- was then run into vats so that the crystals continued, with the aid of a faithful old
cisco for Los Angeles he was followed, but could form on the sides. After drying it Chinese cook, to keep his small son with
while in Los Angeles he formed a part- was put into 70-pound bags, loaded into him and carry on his enterprises.
nership with Charles Grassard, Eben M. 20-mule-team wagons and hauled to San In the operation of his borax works
Skillings and his brother Dennis. While Pedro, California, where it was transport- Searles had accumulated considerable real
the other three gathered simple equipment ed by water to San Francisco. Thus the and personal property—land, buildings,
for starting operations, Searles went in an borax industry on the now famous Searles wagons, mules, horses and other equip-
opposite direction, camping and prospect- lake was born. Those wagons, built and ment. On one occasion he had gone with
ing, still being followed. When he was operated for Searles by Oso Viejo, who, at the mule team shipment to San Pedro,
able finally to elude his followers he the time of this writing is still living in leaving Dennis, then four years old, in the
joined his partners at the claims. Los Angeles, were the first 20-mule-team care of the Chinese cook. A few days after
When word reached the outside world borax wagons ever put in operation. It the wagon train had left camp there sud-
that there was borax in Searles lake, hordes was one of the Searles wagons that Salty denly appeared in the distance, like a
of men came to stake out claims. Claim Bill Parkinson, Searles' foreman, later plague of locusts, a band of hostile Indi-
jumping and murder knew no law on that drove across country for exhibition at the ans. Sensing the danger the old Chinaman
frontier but in time most of the claimants St. Louis exposition in 1904. quickly gathered some food and fled with
starved out and the claims were aban- On January 1, 1873, Searles married Dennis into a nearby canyon in the moun-
doned. One or two small organizations at- Mary Covington in Los Angeles, Califor- tains. The Indians closed in on the camp,
tempted to produce the borax as a paying nia. On February 27, 1874, a son, Dennis, burned everything that would burn, and
industry but for one reason or another was born to them. But those were difficult drove the stock over the Slate range into
faded out of the picture. years for the city-bred girl. Never inured the Panamint valley.
With crude equipment Searles' little to the rigors of desert pioneering, her Sand storms in all their deadly fury are
band collected borax in cowhide baskets mind wandered in the maze of primitive as nothing compared with the anger of
Night pictures of the American Potash and Chemical plant at Trona, California.
OCTOBER, 1942 13
History does not record whether those try- In addition to a great many medicinal uses lons of brine flow through pipelines into
ing years proved to be a death struggle for lithium chloride is used in air-condition- the plant every 24 hours. From this brine
the processes previously used or labor ing units for de-humidifying, in metal- approximately 1,260 tons of chemicals are
pains of the new Trona which was about lurgy for copper refining, in the red fire extracted. To carry on this herculean
to be born, but finally, in 1916, a plant to of fireworks, and for many chemical ex- chore, with loading and shipping, requires
produce potash and borax by what was periments. Bromine and the bromides are about 1,250 employes, who, with their
known as the Grimwood process was com- largely used in modern industrial arts. It families, constitute the entire population
pleted and placed in operation. is a vital constituent of Ethyl gasoline as of Trona, numbering about 2,500.
well as a fumigant for preventing weevils
Ten wells, about 85 feet deep, were and damage to stored supplies of grain. With Trona products taking such an im-
drilled through the salt crust and into the The bromides are used also in the photo- portant place in the scientific and indus-
brine. A pumping plant was installed and graphic industry. In a national emergency trial world, it is not surprising that the
a pipeline constructed to carry the liquid the photographer and his supplies as well interesting little city has gathered unto her
to the plant where the chemicals were ex- as the Ethyl gasoline used in aeroplanes bosom a most unusual class of people. It
tracted by means of evaporation. This become of utmost importance. boasts some of the finest chemical and
plant was the real beginning of the pres- engineering brains in the country.
ent Trona. Production of salts from the And the end is not yet! The axiom in Houses, administration buildings, store
brine by the American Trona company, the old riddle "the more you take, the buildings and dormitories for single men
and its successor, the American Potash and more you leave" must have been said of and women are all air-cooled—almost sin-
Chemical corporation, has been continu- the brine in Searles lake, for, in spite of fully comfortable in the hottest summer
ous since that time. the enormous amount pumped out each weather. It's a far cry back to those pio-
day, scientists claim that it constantly is neering days when there was no relief
The variety of the uses for Trona prod- being replaced and that there is no indica-
ucts seems to be as unlimited as the uni- from the dancing, baking heat waves of
tion that the supply will be diminished for the lake basin.
verse. The coarse grade of potash is used at least 100 years. And so, judging the fu-
chiefly in fertilizers. The finer grade is ture by the past, who can say what addi- John Wemple Searles, son of George
used in the manufacture of soaps, textiles, tional wonders for the benefit of all man- and Helen Wemple Searles, was born at
matches, medicines, dyes, glass, photo- kind are still lurking in that brine? Tribes Hill, Montgomery county, New
graphic preparations, and many other York, on November 16, 1828. Though
things. The village of Trona resembles, to some the glittering, shimmering borax crystals
extent, an army post. Where once there in the bed of the lake which now bears his
One grade of borax finds its way into was a pitiful little handful of rude cabins
heat-resisting glasses, ordinary bottle name were not the yellow gold which he
on the edge of the salt beds there are now expected to find at the end of the covered
glass, and vitreous or porcelain enamels, hundreds of modern comfortable homes
glazes for ceramic ware, leather, paper, wagon trail, they made him a rich man
on well-laid-out streets. There is a fully- and left a legacy of benefits and blessings
adhesives and textiles. It is used as a sol- equipped grade and high school, a public
vent for casein, as a flux in the brazing and to be enjoyed by the whole world for
library, a modern up-to-the-minute hospi- generations to come.
welding of metals, to retard the decay of tal with two doctors, a corps of nurses and
citrus fruits, and to prevent the growth of a dentist; a moving picture theater, an 18- History records that in his early pio-
certain fungi which cause sap stain in num- hole golf course, and a completely-
erous types of lumber. neering days, while on a deer-hunting ex-
equipped tfapshooting ground. It also pedition into the mountains of Kern coun-
Boric acid (technical) is used in the boasts an airport with hangars for a num- ty, Searles had a gruelling, breath-taking
manufacture of vitreous enamels, heat- ber of privately owned planes, as well as fight with a huge grizzly bear which left
resisting glass and glazes for ceramic one of the finest open-air swimming pools his shoulder and one side of his face per-
ware. It is also used in electro-plating and in the West. manently mangled. Companions on the
the manufacture of electrolytic condensers. hunt managed to get him to Los Angeles
More highly refined boric acid goes into A large and commodious retail store
carries food, dry goods and drugs. In the where surgeons miraculously saved his
various pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
early mining days of John Searles it was life. Grim reminders of the incident today
Soda ash is probably the most versatile necessary for him to drive his mule team are a bottle containing 21 pieces of broken
of all the products obtained from the over 100 miles to Tehachapi for his sup- bone and teeth and an old Spencer rifle
Searles lake brine. It becomes baking soda, plies and feed for his stock. Later he ran a with many bear-teeth dents in it. Perhaps
drugs, dye-stuffs, caustic soda, and other small store of his own for the benefit of only the kind of pluck and courage which
salts containing sodium as the base. It the employes in his borax works. The ruins saw him through that encounter could
softens water, helps in the refining of of that little store building are still stand- have fought off claim jumpers and
lubricating oils, is an ingredient in wood ing on the shore of the lake.
preservatives and is a useful element in the marauding Indians in his early borax days
manufacture of paper. In contrast to the 20-mule-team wagons and establish for posterity one of the most
which groaned and creaked their way important industries in America today.
Salt cake (sodium sulphate) is largely across the desert in the early days of John
used in the manufacture of kraft paper, John Searles died on October 7, 1897,
Searles, the American Potash and Chemi- and his body lies in the purple shadows of
plate and window glass, dyes, chemicals, cal corporation now owns and operates
tanning, cattle dopes and pharmaceutical the little cemetery at St. Helena, Califor-
its own railroad between Trona and nia. But to watch the sun sink behind the
products.
Searles station, a distance of 31 miles, hills at Trona and the short twilight fade
The youngest brain-children of the re- where it connects with the Southern Paci-
search department are the recovery of lith- into night, with the silhouette of the huge
fic railway. Two huge engines, piloting an industrial giant outlined in black against
ium from the process foams and slimes average of 35 cars, now puff out of Trona
which formerly were wasted and the re- the desert sky—then suddenly a million
every day starting about 1,300 tons of electric lights rivaling the long jagged
covery of bromine and alkali bromides products on their way to every corner of
from the potash. Heretofore lithium has points of the stars—one feels that his spirit
been obtained by mine production of min- the globe. has come back that the desert may claim its
erals. As prepared at Trona it constitutes There are now 19 wells operating on own; that here indeed death has been
the highest grade lithium ore yet known. the lake and an average of 2,700,000 gal- swallowed up in victory.
wet
OCTOBER, 1942 15
money and labor had been spent in trans-
porting and erecting the wheel, but op-
erations apparently had been abandoned
after a short time. We cooked supper that
night over a fire of old dry boards brought
in on the back of a mule.
Next day we dropped down to Califor-
nia bar, which seems to have been the
I richest spot in the canyon. Near the lower
I end we saw a tent-covered float and
•
•»,._
Camp of Charles Gearhart and son, Albert, on California bar. With this outfit constructed
mainly of junk, the Gearharts make a living where thousands of other placer miners have
failed.
OCTOBER, 1942 17
John Hilton went to Utah's Monument
valley in quest of semi-precious gem
stones and colored photographs, and by
chance fell in with a crew of bone-
diggers—paleontologists is the correct
Irmatk
umvmat name—from the University of California.
And here is the story of what happens
when a rockhound goes galavantin'
around with the scientific men.
JIJ Y ACQUAINTANCE with Dr. Charles Camp everything—and he'll argue the point
/y{_ began on the porch of Harry Goulding's trading with you.
post in Monument valley, Utah. He handed me the small bone, and Dr.
I had walked out on the porch at sunset to watch Camp continued explaining why its dis-
the changing lights and shadows on the colorful covery was so important.
cliffs and monoliths of one of the deserts most gor- "We must search for more of these
geous landscapes. In another corner of the veranda bones," he was saying. "I am sure they
'/////TTJTTt.'f.-; Harry Goulding was in conversation with a stranger. represent one of the earliest reptiles on
V//SHINARUMP "Yes, I would say it is at least thirty million years the American continent—perhaps the
older than the earliest dinosaur . . ." first vertebrate life to leave the water and
This remark caught my attention. It was said dwell on land."
with an earnestness and conviction that The bone itself was not impressive. It
told me the speaker was not just another was a vertebra and might have been part
EI-HOSKININi; tourist on vacation. of a dead lamb if one failed to note that it
I walked across to where the others had turned to stone, with particles of
were seated. Harry Goulding was turning Monument valley red sandstone clinging
over in his hands a small bone. to it.
"Meet Dr. Camp," he said. "The doc "Note how primitive it is." said the
has found something new in Monument doctor. "See where the nerves came
valley. For years I have been told there through. It is just one step above the
were no fossils in this area—but they Cotylosaur."
DE CHELLY were wrong. I have always said there is I could see the indentures he referred
just about anything you want to find in to, but for the life of me I could not tell
this corner of Utah, if you know what you why it was so primitive, or related to a
are looking for and work hard enough at beast with such an odd-sounding name.
it." But paleontology is a fascinating study,
Harry is that way. He constitutes the of- and so I tried to look as intelligent as pos-
ficial guide and one-man chamber of com- sible. And that is the trouble with profes-
merce for this part of the desert. As far as sors. When they find I am really inter-
he is concerned, Monument valley has ested, they take it for granted I under-
stand everything they are saying—and I
soon get tangled in a hopeless jungle of
words that are utterly meaningless as far
as I am concerned.
I asked how many bones he had found
so far. The doctor shook his head thought-
7-—. CEDAR MESA "Z^BE-zE^^f^ovo RIVER BED fully. "Not nearly enough," he answered,
THE NEW THUMB MARK "but we are going to keep looking. This is
our third trip into this country, and each
time we are able to piece together a little
more of the story. I have a good crew of
students this year. They are no less inter-
ested than I in getting a good picture of
these creatures, and the kind of country
this must have been at that early time."
I asked if there was any chance of find-
Artist's cross-section of the geological formations in the Monument valley area. The ing a complete skeleton. He shook his
Cedar mesa stratum is estimated to be 300,000,000 years old. Other sandstone for- head doubtfully. He explained that the
mations have been laid down during the intervening years. few bones the1: had found were along the
OCTOBER, 1942 19
SHINARUMP CONGLOMERATE
(CONTAINS PETRIFIED fYOOOj
M4DST0NE /
HOSKININI
"SANDSTONE
^^ *S
. CEDAR MESA'-
(ABC, APPRJOX. 300,000,000
r
: FtICO LIMESTONE
HALGAITO
MfUlen ARINE FOSSILS)
p -
around us as we traveled along the sandy nearly as impressive as the skeletons of the ancient riverbed his crew had been
road, dodging brush and boulders. We dinosaurs I have seen in museums. But the following through the hills. Closer inspec-
came to a point where we left the road doctor had said it was worth a dozen dino- tion bore out his statement. We were
and headed off toward a towering mass saurs to science. And he knows more about looking at a cross-section of an ancient ar-
of red rock crowned by great pinnacles it than I do. royo that traversed the area before the sedi-
like the fingers of some giant. The coral As he began to explain, the 28-inch mentary rock was laid down on it.
red sand dunes seemed to hedge us in on reptile skeleton began to take on added The doctor gave us an interesting dis-
all sides, broken here and there by patches importance. The spinal column was in- course on geological history as disclosed
of the bluest sagebrush I have ever seen. tact, with the ribs in place on both sides. in the strata of sandstone to be seen in the
Even the color camera failed to find any There were four tiny patches of white Monument valley pinnacles. I finally be-
green in the leaves of this strange plant. spots which the doctor assured us were came lost somewhere between the Upper
A bright sprinkling of yellow and white the foot-bones. I wondered about the size Permian and the Triassic ages, so he
flowers against the almost artificially red of the tracks compared with the small feet promised to make me a cross-section sketch
sand, the vivid dark green of juniper trees of this specimen. He reminded me that of the whole thing. His sketch is repro-
against the flaming red cliffs and the blaz- reptiles, even adults, vary greatly in size, duced in the clean lines of Norton Allen's
ing blue sky with fluffy white clouds made since they grow as long as they live. And art with this text.
a fellow wish he had brought more color anyway, even the skeleton of a human be- While the boys were loosening the 800-
film along. The way Harry was running at ing looks small compared with a living pound slab in which the skeleton occurred,
those sand dunes and plunging over them, person. the doctor got out his brush and can of
we thought he would drive us right to the I deplored the fact that the head was shellac and with the care of a true scien-
spot where the fossil was lying. But the buried in the sandstone and could not be tist painted a protective coating on the
deep gullies became too numerous to seen. Dr. Camp replied that this was a for- fossil.
dodge and finally stopped us. tunate circumstance. The head, so impor- Floyd and I uncased our cameras and
The boys in the party said it was just "a tant in identifying a new species, will be went to work on the professor, the terrain,
hop, skip and a jump" from this point to better preserved than the exposed portions the bones and the diggers. The boys kept
the fossil skeleton. But by the time we of the skeleton. It can be uncovered by bringing up the subject of that steak din-
older members of the party had pulled our- delicate tools and months of patient work ner they were to get.
selves over the last ledge of red sandstone at the museum. I had backed up over a rough mass of
and climbed the last talus slope, we knew Across from us on a sheer cliff could sandstone talus to get a color shot of the
the boys' estimate was an under-statement. be seen a well-defined line between a fine- proceedings when I happened to glance
I'll admit I was a little disappointed grained sandstone and a coarser stratum around. You can imagine the thrill when
when I first saw the curled conglomerate below. The doctor pointed out a curious my eyes rested on another jumble of bones
of bones embedded in a boulder. It wasn't marking on the cliff and told us it was embedded in a rock. There were not as
many of them exposed as in the previous we have been seeking. He was more darned thing it was my job to get it back
skeleton, and there was more evidence of primitive than the Pelycosaur. In fact, he to camp. I promptly quit-claimed all in-
water wear, but they undoubtedly were was more like a big salamander, and prob- terest in my discovery in favor of science—
reptile bones similar to the ones now be- ably was amphybious. John, you've really and went on with my photography.
ing shellacked. made a perfect day of it for our expedi- That night after the others had gone
I called Dr. Camp, and the entire crew tion." to bed, Dr. Camp and I sat in Mrs. Gould-
came over to inspect the new find. The I'll not deny that the incident gave me a ing's kitchen. The table was covered with
doctor examined the fossil for a minute, big thrill. It was a lucky break for a rock- drawings and diagrams. It had been a big
then turned to me with a happy expres- hound who knows almost nothing about day for both of us. He had acquired im-
sion. paleontology. A couple of the boys start- portant new specimens, and I was get-
"It is a Cotylosaur," he said. "See the ed good-natured beefing about the job of ting the final details of a story for Desert
difference in the vertebrae? This is an al- getting two rocks down the hill. One of Magazine.
most complete skeleton of the other lizard them suggested that since I found the "Here," he said, "is the juncture be-
OCTOBER, 1942 21
tween the Organ rock and the Cedar mesa
formation where we found the bones. The
strata above at De Chelly sandstone, then
Hoskinini, Moencopi, and the Shinarump
100,000 MILES conglomerate in which petrified wood
often is found. That is the highest forma-
tion in the valley."
FROM YOUR CAR "But doctor," I asked, "that is still very
ancient rock isn't it?"
"Yes it is," he answered. "In other parts
of the plateau the Shinarump is overlaid
with Chinle clays, and above them are the
Wingate and Kayenta sandstones, and
finally the great thick mass of Navajo
sandstone in which Zion canyon has been
carved."
I knew something about Navajo sand-
The average car will last 10 years, but most of them don't! stone. The park ranger at Zion had spent
Why? Well, more cars have gone to the junk yard be- some time impressing on me the extreme
cause of poor lubrication than because of poor driving! age of this formation, and the countless
years required to deposit it as windblown
We used to be able to replace these neglected cars. But
sand. My head was in a whirl, trying to
today we can't. No car owner can afford anything but
grasp the tremendous spans of time in-
responsible and guaranteed lubrication service.
volved in the formation of the earth's crust
as we know it.
Finally I asked the doctor to give me an
estimate of the age of the Cedar mesa for-
mation.
"In round figures," he replied, "those
bones we found today were probably
300,000,000 years old. They belong to the
Lower Permian period in the earth's his-
tory, and are just above the upper car-
Stop-Wear provides, in addition to factory-specified lubrica- boniferous where the first primitive fos-
tion, regular and continuing 1,000-, 3,000-, and 5,000-mile in- sil reptiles occur."
spections, plus written reports by Union Minute Men. You need It is very difficult indeed for mere hu-
not keep track of mileage since Stop-Wear is operated from mans to grasp the concept of time as it
control cards which give the life history of your car—its condi- applies to geographical history. It prob-
tion and needs. Stop-Wear is done by trained men with spe- ably required a longer period of time for
cial tools, using a minimum of 9 exclusive lubricants. Nature to lay down any one of the strata
in the doctor's geological chart than the
entire span of years in which man has
been on earth.
I looked down at the table, and there in
one of the doctor's diagrams a pattern
seemed to take form. It reminded me of a
big dictionary, and the drawing with the
cross-section of ancient riverbed with an
initial "R" in it looked like the thumb in-
denture which marks the letters of the al-
phabet. I called Doctor Camp's attention
to the simile. He smiled and pushed the
So thorough and effective is Stop-Wear that every job is guar- papers aside to go to bed.
anteed in writing for 1,000 miles against faulty chassis lubrica-
tion. The guarantee is good at any Union Oil station displaying "That is just what it is, John," he said.
"A thumbtnark on the pages of time, the
the Stop-Wear sign. Have the Minute Men give your car
one thing any good paleontologist spends
Stop-Wear, today.
most of his life trying to establish. When
we can find these thumbmarks, it makes
UNION OIL COMPANY the book' of time more easily understood
for those who follow."
• • •
Accommodations at Las Vegas . . .
Las Vegas chamber of commerce has
urged that motorists planning to visit
L U B R I C AT I O southern Nevada during the weekends
from September 27 to October 25 should
make reservations well in advance as horse
racing events planned for the five Sundays
EXPERT CARE TO SAVE CAR WEAR will bring large crowds to that area.
OCTOBER, 1942 23
It Was fun to Explore
the desert in the good old days when there were plenty
scenic canyons and gorgeous sunsets. In the meantime
it is relaxing to recall .some of the exploring trips of
the past.
Just to help jog your memory, here are some of the
of tires and our desert trips were limited only by avail- signs you have encountered on vacation or weekend
able time and the family budget. Well those days aren't trips to the desert country. How many of them do you
gone forever. One of these days when we have disposed recognize? Look them over carefully and identify all
of Herr Schickelgruber and the Mikado, the open road you can—and then check up your answers at the bot-
will be calling again and we will be following strange tom of the next page. You'll find these two pages, and
and mysterious trails that lead out into the land of the memories they recall, good tonic for war nerves.
m ATLATL
3—At the top of a desert pass . . .
2—Ancient home of the Cahuilla Indian 5—To crumbling ruins on an old trail 8—Honoring an old desert rat .
24 THE DESERT MAGAZINE
> BEAVEBCRfiUESTBCH
• SODA SPK GpEST BCH
)• MONTEZUHA HELL I 7
ON MARCH 1 6 , 1 7 7 4 , JUAfl BAUTISTA re ANZA, INDIAN
0- RIMROCK G)JEST RCH FIGHTER, EXPLOSER.AND COLONIZER,LEI) THROUGH THIS
PASS ( NAMED BY HIM SAN CARLOS) TBE FIRST WHITE
• CORMVlUE PO EXPLORERS TO CROSS THE MOUNTAINS INTO CALIFORNIA,
THE PARTY TRAVELED FROM TUBAC.ARIZONA.TO HONTEiHM
CALIFORNIA. ON DECEHBER 27.1773.0N A SECOND
••
EXPEDITION INTO CALIFORNIA, ANZA LM
ROCK
n.TREES
nouns/
12—Signs to the waterholes
LE ROUTE 91
and of colorful rock . . .
OCTOBER, 1942 25
and the ceaseless chant of the medicine
man in charge.
a nee "Tell me something of the significance
of this dance," I asked Violet, and she
looked around cautiously before she be-
gan to talk. You see she is not exactly a
favorite with her tribe because she has a
OCTOBER, 1942 27
I went with my hostess to her native dwell- men, women and children sit around it, with cornmeal and pollen from cattail
ing. It was a dome shaped hut made of drinking with gourd dippers until they rushes and they drooped with weariness.
willows set in a circle about 12 feet in di- have consumed all this "white-water" they Only one fourth of their ordeal was over.
ameter and brought together at the top, can manage. The effect is just what might But I had seen enough of the dancing, and
where a place was left for the escape of be expected. wandered away among the wikiups to
smoke. Over the willows was a covering Violet assured me that this Coming- learn more about basket making.
of Johnson grass and reeds woven in and Out ceremonial and the accompanying Since the Apaches have never been pot-
out among the supporting frame until the Devil dance would not be accelerated by ters they depend upon basketry for storage
whole thing looked thatched. Then pieces this beverage as all the reservation police- vessels, for waterjars and for dishes and
of canvas had been stretched tightly men would be on hand to suppress it, and mats. Their work is artistic and beautiful,
around the side that would receive the to do what they could about bootlegging. and they utilize willow, yucca fibers and
most driving of summer rains. There were The dance began with dusk. Fires were the black outside covering of the devil-
no chairs or beds and the floor was hard built around a circle with a huge one in claw to develop their designs. I found one
beaten dirt. the middle. Here the unmarried girls of old lady making her woven water jar tight
I was glad when Violet suggested we sit the tribe circled around and around with by smearing it liberally with melted pinon
outside while she finished a basket she was the men visitors. Married women could pitch. The jar had a narrow neck and a
making for me. It was an old time burden only sit on the side lines and make the handle woven on one side through which
basket, woven of willows and grasses, and young couples blush with their sophisti- she tied a string of deerskin by which to
would hold perhaps three gallons. The cated banter. I was much more interested hang it. She told me she would paint the
pattern was worked around it with red in the scene presented by the four debu- vessel four or five times with the pitch be-
dyed willows, and the whole thing was tantes inside the big wikiup. fore it would be entirely water tight.
elaborately trimmed with buckskin fringe They knelt like small East Indian devo- There is something pathetic about the
loaded with tinkling bits of copper and tees before some temple god, their eyes Apaches, tamed and dispirited, earning
tin. A broad band was added which slips downcast and their slender hands linked their bread by hard work here in the beau-
across the forehead and supports the loosely in front of them while the god- tiful mountains where they hunted and
weight of the basket on the shoulders. mother talked to them in Apache. Then played and lived in complete freedom be-
This type of basket was at one time quite there was silence until one of the medicine fore the coming of white men involved
plentiful among the Apaches but the pre- men, seated tailor-wise on the ground took them in one of the longest and most bitter
cious art of basket making is dying out in up a home made drum and began to strike of all Indian wars. They are tamed but not
that tribe. The lovely smooth plaques and it gently. The singers began the chant and reconciled to the mode of American life.
the huge storage baskets holding a bushel one small figure glided to the end of her The women still dress in long full skirts
or two of shelled corn, acorns or pinon deerskin in front of them and began a sort and their short blouses. Their gleaming
nuts are not to be found in the wickiups of tap dance that never faltered. Backward hair is worn unbraided and tied at the
and trading posts as they were a few years she went to the extreme end of the skin neck with a bit of deerskin string. They are
ago. and while I held my breath thinking she shy and modest and fine friends when they
Beyond the wikiup extended one of the would step off of its sacred precincts, she have learned to trust.
most beautiful and fertile of Indian Reser- poised like a butterfly and started forward • • •
vations, the White Mountain Apache again. All at once she sank down on the
home. skin and the third girl in the group took
After many war torn years the Apaches up the dancing. This went on and on. I
were divided into four groups and placed would drift out to watch the dancers out- FROM PHOENIX BUREAU
on good reservations. They have not made side then back into the tent. The tempo Temperatures— Degrees
as much of their opportunities as they never changed; the singers never faltered Mean for August 88.8
might, but thousands of fine cattle and and the dancers never lost step. Normal for August 88.5
sheep graze on their land, and the men, High on August 3 108.0
Outside, wild shouting announced that Low on August 30 66.0
when they choose to work, are splendid the Devil dancers had arrived. Seven Rainfall— Inches
road builders, miners and woodsmen. hideously painted Apache men with gro- Total for August 0.68
They work in the sawmill set up in the tesque masks were dashing around like Normal for August 0.95
midst of their forest. The whole tribe prof- dervishes from another world. These were Weather-
its from the timber sold to the white man. the protectors of the innocent maidens Days clear 19
Many thousand bushels of wheat and corn within the wikiup. By their frightful Days partly cloudy 6
are raised each year and much good hay looks and actions they were driving away Days cloudy 6
sold from their meadows. Percentage of possible sunshine 79
all evil spirits and bad influences lying in
E. L. FELTON, Meteorologist
But let it be known that a gathering is wait for the girls. And while they per-
to be held some moonlight night and the formed this chivalrous service they were FROM YUMA BUREAU
men and women forget that Uncle Sam has having the time of their lives scaring the Temperatures— Degrees
forbidden it, and leave everything to join white visitors and poking fun at the fat Mean for August 91.0
in the carnival. Corn is dampened and mammas on the side lines. Normal for August 90.4
sprouted in sacks on a sunny hillside or High on August 2-3 112.0
Around two o'clock there was a break Low on August 30 63.0
under deerskins in the wikiups. Then it is in the outside dancing while coffee was Rainfall— Inches
pounded into mush on the metates and put boiled and from a neighboring stand erect- Total for month 1.08
into containers with tree barks, the leaves ed for the duration of the dance hotdogs in 73-year-average for August 0.50
and roots of several herbs including their buns dripping with mustard were provid- Weather-
wild tobacco weed. After it has fermented ed. The tired hungry little girls inside the Days clear 26
sufficiently loco weed is added so that tent must have suffered as the aroma of Days partly cloudy 4
visions will come quickly, and then the food reached their quarters. But they kept Days cloudy 1
whole mess is heated and left to settle. The on dancing until dawn. Then they were Sunshine 94 percent (388 hours of sunshine
liquid is drained off and more herbs added out of a possible 4l4 hours).
led by their protecting godmother into a
and the most deadly and potent drink small wikiup for a little rest before they Release from Lake Mead averaged around
14,000 second feet. Storage during the
known among Indians is ready to do its began the morning race with their brothers month decreased about 330,000 acre feet.
duty. Tulip/ or tul-le-pie it is called. The and cousins. Their faces were smeared JAMES H. GORDON, Meteorologist
OCTOBER, 1942 29
burros were out at pasture, far away. But I did not regret not fire hazards this summer having been much worse than usual
having them. For packing up the mountain they did nobly. But in our desert mountain region. So we took Conchita and Juan-
it was always hard for them to transport loads down. The trail ita along, building them a tiny pen on an overhanging extension
was too steep. A man can do better, as a burden carrier, than an of the trailer. And, after many days, having stored our load, we
animal, on precipitous trails—as the carriers of mountainous brought them back with us. For there was no one at the other
China and of other sections have demonstrated. I used my own end to look after them either.
shoulders and made sometimes six round trips each day. There And when we had come to the foot of Ghost mountain again
was a lot of stuff to move. And an amazing amount of books. we had cause for thankfulness that we had not left any of our
The books were the heaviest. For some of the articles that were little family at home. For around our land the desert was an in-
too large to be carried by back-pack we made a sort of litter, ferno of smoke and flame. Roaring over desert ridges, seeming-
with two long poles. Tanya took one end and I the other, while ly barren, an ocean of flame was tossing to the sky. Smoke hung
Rider stayed atop the mountain to look after Rudyard and Vic- over everything in a terrifying pall. A huge mountain not far
toria. A iong, hard job, the carrying. But eventually it was all from Yaquitepec was a seeming volcano of rolling smoke and
finished. soaring flame. For a week it burned. Perhaps the first time with-
Came then the equally staggering job of transportation. How in centuries that fire had ravaged it. And when the last coals
was this carefully selected mass of essential property to be were dead it was a blackened, lifeless mass. But the flame-
moved? The old car could not begin to hold it. We cast eyes on furies spared Yaquitepec. By a miracle our goods were safe.
an old two-wheel trailer which we had discarded years ago. Yes,
perhaps it could be fixed. Its tires had been left on the wheels. So we loaded the last load—an even more staggering one
For over six years they had been standing flat and bleaching in than the first had been. And we put Conchita and Juanita back
the desert sun. Dubiously we brought the pump and pumped into their tiny pen on the trailer. And we climbed into the old
them up. Astoundingly they seemed to hold. We went over the car, with Rudyard sandwiched into a little niche all his own,
old trailer with a monkey wrench and tightened up bolts in among the books and boxes, and set out. Slowly, down the
desert-shrunken timbers. Then we began to load. rough stretch of home trail, between the creosotes and mescals
and yuccas we lurched our laboring outfit and with bated breath
There was far too much—even by the most dangerous over- turned down the treacherous sandy wash for the last time. On
loading of car and trailer—to be transported in one trip. We its further edge we paused and looked back. Ghost mountain
saw that we would have to make two. But to where? Our des- shimmered in the sunlight. Lonely. And somewhere behind its
tination was unknown—still is. What should we do? rim rocks we knew the little house stood. Silent. Lonely too.
We solved the problem by hauling a first load away to a dis-
tant desert point where we stored it; solving also another prob- Our eyes were misted a little. There was a tight clutch at our
lem, that of our two pet goats. We could not leave them behind hearts and a little sob in our throats as we waved a last fare-
at Yacjuitepec, unattended. And we did not want to divide our well. Then we went on, heading down the road, our heavily
family by having someone stay behind to look after them— loaded trailer creaking behind us.
To where? Not yet do we know. But we know as surely as
we knew that evening, when the sun sank in a glory of crimson
and gold behind the hills and the grey, silent night hawks be-
gan to flit above the desert creosotes, that it is to a greater, bet-
ter location. For Life moves onward. And though the old is be-
hind there is always the new ahead . . . new vistas, new experi-
ences, new promise and new hope. Perhaps Rider is right—per-
haps it will be very soon that we shall come upon the place that
is to be our new desert home. When we come to it we shall
know it. But for now we go on through desert dawns and star-
light—seeking. Perhaps by next month we may be able to tell
you of something found.
• • •
NEW DAWNS
Lure of the desert's farther reaches,
Vaster horizons for my goal,
Where glinting sunlight burns and bleaches
And neiver vistas lift my soul.
By JOHN D. MITCHELL desert in the direction of the Eagle Tail well marked trail through the Tenhachape
Illustration by JOHN HANSEN mountains. Many of the male inhabitants pass came upon a large pile of rich gold
OCTOBER, 1942 31
ing through the Harqua Hala country he Sears seemed to be the same kind from the exhibit room Alfred Buranek, geolo-
came upon three Frenchmen who were which the Frenchmen pounded their gist for Utah state department of publicity
working a prospect nearby their camp and $8,000 worth of gold and is said to be the and development, gave a lecture on
seemed to be doing well. However, on the same kind of ore that was found by King "Utah's Famous Mineral Localities."
return trip to Yuma Peeples found the Woolsey and his men in the Tenhachape At the business meeting which conclud-
camp burned and the skeleton of what pass country while out to lift Apache ed the morning program, the following
seemed to be a white man. Some Maricopa scalps for the bounty money. officers were elected: A. L. Flagg, Phoenix,
Indians were then in the vicinity and • • • Arizona, president; Dr. Olivia McHugh,
were believed to have been responsible for FLAGG OF ARIZONA IS Salt Lake City, vice-president; M. Barrie
the killing. PRESIDENT OF FEDERATION Berryman, Salt Lake City, secretary-
Experienced miners of that time point- Second annual meeting of the Rocky treasurer.
ed out that it was very unlikely that the Mountain Federation of Mineral societies
two Frenchmen would have packed their Luncheon at the historic Lion House
held in Salt Lake City August 29-30 was was followed by a trip to the Utah Cop-
ore all the way from the Harqua Hala attended by nearly 100 federation mem-
country to the Tenhachape pass when it per company open pit mine at Bingham.
bers. The annual dinner, held in the Art Barn,
would have been much easier for them to
have taken it to the Hassayampa river and The session opened with an informal was attended by 85 members, delegates
ground it in arrastras. meeting Friday evening at which motion and guests. A lecture and demonstration on
pictures and natural color views of Utah the subject: of fluorescence by Dr. H. T.
Many of the old time prospectors and collecting fields were shown. Plumb, special lecturer for the General
desert rats around Yuma have looked for Electric company concluded the Saturday
Following registration Saturday morn-
the rich outcropping from which the two program.
ing Prof. R. E. Marsell of the University
Frenchmen took their ore. Most of the Sunday was devoted to a field trip to
of Utah gave an illustrated lecture "The
searching has been done in the Tenhach-
Geology of Our Back Yard." After an in- Pelican Point on the west side of Utah
ape pass country where the pile of rich ore-
termission of an hour which was spent in lake.
was found by Woolsey and his men.
The firm of W. B. Hooper and com-
pany was later changed to Hooper, Barney
and company, but is now out of business.
The late George Sears of Ajo and Gun- The Desert Trading Post
sight fame vowed there was plenty of gold Classified advertising in this section costs jive cents a word, $1.00 minimum per issue—
in the Eagle Tail mountains and George Actually about l'/2 cents per thousand readers.
had about 25 pounds of rusty looking gold
quartz to prove it. It seems that Sears was
on his way from Phoenix to Ajo one time OPPORTUNITY MISCELLANEOUS
and decided to pass through the Eagle FOR SALE—Famous and profitable oasis and 12 BEAUTIFUL perfect prehistoric Indian
Tails. He carried with him on his pack acres in the desert on Highway 80. If you like Arrowheads, postpaid for a dollar bill. Cata-
animals a small roll of bedding and grub. independence, dignity, serenity, security, and log listing thousands of other relics free.
freedom from the crowded world's worries, Caddo Trading Post, Glenwood, Arkansas.
He spent the night after a hard rain
plus a home and business in the desert, here Spanish on a Bookmark! Graphic outline of
near a small depression on the side of a it is. Built and operated by present owner, Spanish grammar, including the irregular
wash in the Eagle Tails and the next who has made enough to retire. Very unique, verbs. 10c. Hy. W. Jones, Twentynine Palms,
morning while getting breakfast noticed artistic, spacious and comfortable. Easy for California.
his hobbled jacks drinking water from two people to operate. Profit is 50%. Now
Bust of Uncle Sam—handpainted on Vi-ind1
what looked like a shallow prospect hole paying better than ever and will continue so plywood—6 inches high—$2.50 postpaid.
and that there were some loose rocks on throughout war period. This outstanding The Arrow and the Song Studio, J. R. O'Con-
the small dump below the hole. After property has never before been offered for nor, Jr., 12 Sayward Street, Dorchester,
sale. A real chance for a couple to acquire Mass.
breakfast he packed up and when passing something solid and to enjoy desert life
by the hole filled his canteen and threw while amassing a little fortune. Price, TIRE PRESERVATIVE
some of the rusty looking pieces of rock Sl0,000; $5,000 down. Write Box 1377,
into the pack box with his grip to more Yuma, Arizona, for full details. RUBBER FLEXOLENE is an especially formu-
lated product for the preservation of auto-
evenly balance the load. mobile tires, inner tubes, industrial and
As his food supply diminished he household rubber articles. Helps to conserve
HELP tires by putting life and flexibility into the
found it necessary to balance his load sev- rubber surface. Checks sun cracking, retards
eral times by picking up rocks along the WANTED: Man for profitable Rawleigh oxidation, corrosion cracking, weather check-
way. When George finally reached the Route. Must be satisfied with good living at ing, heat wear cracking, reduces wear on
Gunsight mine 16 miles east of Ajo there start. Write Rawleigh's, Dept. J-101-DSR, tire and tube, fights against bruising, scraping,
Oakland, Calif. as it impregnates the entire surface. Rubber
was not much left in the grub box, but in Flexolene is not a paint, lacquer or wax
unloading the pack box he discovered dressing which covers up cracks and surface
that the rocks he had put in first in the LIVESTOCK faults. It is a rubber lotion, it softens the
Eagle Tail mountains were chock full of rubber below the surface cracks and keeps it
flexible under all weather conditions. Easy
free gold. Sears was never quite sure KARAKULS producers of Persian Lamb fur
to apply. Excellent side income to gas sta-
whether he could find the place where he- are easy to raise and adapted to the desert
tions, tire repair shops. One pint sufficient
picked up the golden rocks that morning, which is their native home. For further in- for five tires costs 85 cents. F. O. B. New
formation write Addis Kelley. 4637 E. 32 York. Rudolf Fritsche, 37-15 72nd Street,
but he had the rocks to prove to any doubt- Place, Maywood, California.
ing Thomas that thars gold in the Eagle Jackson Heights, New York, N. Y.
Tails. KARAKUL SHEEP—James Yoakum nation- REAL ESTATE
Whether the shallow hole from which ally recognized as authority and leading
breeder of Registered Karakuls. Largest For Imperial Valley Farms —
old George Sears took the rusty chunks of
wholesale and retail dealer in the United W. E. HANCOCK
rich gold quartz has any connection with States. California Karakul Sheep Company,
the Lost Frenchman mine would be dif- "The Farm Land Man"
1128 North Hill avenue, Pasadena, Cali- Since 1914
ficult to say. However, the ore found by fornia. EL CENTRO — — CALIFORNIA
BARST0W
will be taught English to familiarize them dam on the Colorado river 40 miles above
with military terms at a series of two-month Moab have been completed and the project
preparatory courses, it has been announced awaits only the okay of the war production
by George Boyce, educational director of the board to be placed in actual construction, re-
Navajo agency. ports John C. Page, commissioner of recla-
mation. Building of Dewey dam is a "likely , . . California.. •
War Affects Ceremonial . . . prospect," he said.
GALLUP—Because of a 25 percent de-
crease in the number of Indians attending
the 21st annual Inter-Tribal Ceremonial,
white men for the first time in history took
part. A rule against pale-face participation
was relaxed to provide additional pieces for
the All-Indian band, previously cut by the
if you're traveling—
draft.
No Silver for Jewelry . . .
ALBUQUERQUE — Government restric-
PLEASE TRAVEL LIGHT
tions on use of foreign silver will force New
Mexico silversmiths to abandon their trade
within a short time, according to Jack Michel-
sen, of the Bell Indian Trading post. All sil-
ver used in jewelry in this country including
that used by Indians is imported because the
cost is lower than on domestic metals.
NEVADA
Horse Population Declines . . .
CARSON CITY—Need of good horses for
war by the federal government is rapidly de-
pleting Nevada's horse population and is
even cutting into the prospector's burro,
state officials have revealed. With most full length lounge cars discontinued and lounging
Camel Fossils Revealed . . . space on trains consequently reduced you will be more comfort-
WINNEMUCCA—Dr. Charles H. Falk- able while traveling if you don't have a lot of baggage piled
enbach has obtained some rare specimens of around you.
camel bones from the North Antelope valley
fossil field north of Battle Mountain. The Therefore, it's more important than ever that you check all
bones, taken out in blocks of limestone, were baggage not needed on your train journey. Wise travelers put the
forwarded to New York. Dr. Falkenbach is
a paleontologist at American Museum of things needed on the train in one bag and check the rest. Check-
Natural History, New York City. ing privileges are liberal, so in most cases there is no added cost.
Nevills Plans New Trip . . . It's a good idea to mark your bags in some distinctive man-
BOULDER CITY—Norman D. Nevills, ner so you can identify them quickly at your destination.
veteran Colorado riverman, ending his fourth
trip through the Grand Canyon from Lees
Ferry to Boulder City, announced that he is
already planning a new trip through Cataract
canyon from Moab, Utah to Lees Ferry. On
SP THE FRIENDLY SOUTHERN PACIFIC
his last expedition, Nevills was accompanied
by six men and two boys.
OCTOBER, 1942 35
Reno, Nevada . . .
Mito&i G4id . .
Hardrock miners are needed for duty in
Hawaii, federal civil service officials have
announced here. Those employed will have
full civil service rating with civil service
benefits. Pay is $1.25 per hour with time
Carson City, Nevada . . . Lovelock, Nevada . . . and a half for overtime. Pay starts at time
the men embark from this country and all
Nevada's production of vital war materials Rich ore is still being encountered on the transportation expenses are paid from wher-
could be increased by one-third if 2,000 300-foot level at the 70-foot point of new ever the miner may be.
skilled miners needed by the more than 600 development work in the east drift of the • • •
mines operating throughout the state could be Buck and Charley mine at Lower Rochester,
found, according to Matt Murphy, state mine according to Kent Maher, superintendent. Bishop, California . . .
inspector. One of the larger operations has The ore vein is 12 feet wide, Mr. Maher Ten and one-half miles of road to the H. A.
found the shortage so acute that it has start- said. Van Loon and J. E. Morhardt scheelite claims
ed a school for miners. is being built by the federal government at a
• • • cost of $50,000. About one mile of the road
Phoenix, Arizona . . • Washington, D. C. . . . leading from McGee Creek resort, 40 miles
northwest of Bishop, has already been com-
To give relief to financially hard-pressed pleted.
Special emphasis on war-time problems to mine owners and to encourage mining of
aid Arizona miners, will be given by officials strategic nonferrous metals, the senate silver • • •
at the new office of Mineral Production Se- committee has recommended special tax legis- Winnemucca, Nevada . . .
curity divisions, U. S. bureau of mines, re- lation. It suggested that in tax returns filed
cently opened in Phoenix. Three mining en- Nevada's top-ranking gold mine—The
gineers are included on the staff, Albert Kon- by mine owners there should be adequate al- Getchell—has gone into production of tung-
selman, D. W . Jaquays and John Harmon. lowance for return on capital, and that there sten now that its new 250-ton mill has been
should be no curtailment of such allowance placed in operation. The Getchell is also pro-
• • • as proposed by the treasury. It also urged ducing arsenic, a poison used for gas and also
Las Vegas, Nevada . . . that there should be no federal tax upon the for use against cotton boll weevils in the
proceeds of strategic mineral or metal mining south. Thus Getchell is now aiding in pro-
The first car of liquid chlorine, a by- operations until the capital investment is re- duction of gun cotton and cellulose as well
product of Basic Magnesium, has been covered. as in the production of tungsten.
shipped from the company's plant to an east- • • •
ern point. The company soon to be world's
largest manufacturer of magnesium, will Boulder City, Nevada . . . New York, N. Y. . . .
produce as a by-product the second largest Five factors determining whether mining
volume of chlorine in the western hemi- Basic Magnesium, Inc., destined to be the lessees are to be considered employes or
sphere. world's greatest magnesium producer is al- bona fide independent operators include: les-
ready employing 13,618 workers although it sees must not work under a supervision of
has not yet reached peak production. This is lessor as would indicate an employe-employer
8,368 more than were carried on the Boulder relation; the relationship is subject to special
dam payroll at peak production. At full ca-
Now Available... pacity the plant will produce 30 times more
magnesium than world production six years
scrutiny where lessor furnishes all or most of
the equipment; lessee must select, hire and
fire his own employes; lessee must be free to
COMPLETE V O L U M E S ago. dispose of his ore without undue disadvan-
OF DESERT MAGAZINES tage, and the lease must be for a definite
period of not less than six months and not be
Indio, California . . . arbitrarily cancellable by lessor in case of a
lucky "strike," according to L. Metcalfe
The Southern Pacific has launched survey Walling, administrator of the wage-hour di-
work to locate the 60-mile proposed ore rail- vision of U. S. labor department.
road to open Eagle Mountain iron deposits • • •
northeast of Indio. Iron from the property,
declared to be of almost inconceivable mag- Salt Lake City, Utah . . .
nitude, will be shipped to Henry J. Kaiser's By next April, first units of the $150,000,-
steel mill, Fontana, California. Following an 000 steel plant being erected by Columbia
investigation of iron deposits throughout the Steel corporation at Geneva, Utah, will be in
Southwest, the federal government author- production, predicts E. M. Barber, vice-
ized an expenditure of $50,000,000 for president of the company. Mr. Barber has es-
Kaiser's plant and now is considering an ap- tablished executive offices in Salt Lake City-
Construction schedule, he said, calls for com-
propriation of $75,000,000 for expansion. pletion of first blast furnace about April,
We have a limited supply of COMPLETE The Eagle Mountain-Fontana project, first with others to be brought in at 30-day in-
VOLUMES of Desert Magazine now- steel mining development west of the Rocky tervals.
available. These are not new maga- mountains, will accelerate full development
zines but are mostly newsstand returns • • •
of western mining. Upon completion of the
and are in good condition. Volumes and Azusa, California, mill to be erected by the Reno, Nevada . . .
prices are listed below. Pacific Coast Iron corporation, ore from In an effort to increase production of cop-
Eagle Mountain will also be shipped there. per at the Rio Tinto mines, representatives of
Without With
Binder Binder Proposed railroad construction entails sev- the war production board recently met here
eral major engineering problems, most dif- with operators and labor representatives to
Vol. 1 (Nov.'37-Oct.'38) $ 6.50 $ /.00 ficult of which is the grade up 1800 feet to form labor-management committees. It is the
Vol. 2 6.50 7.00 Eagle Mountain from sea-level Coachella val- intent of the federal men that owners and
Vol. 3 4.00 4.50 ley. Preliminary survey work is under direc- workers will share equitably in any increased
Vols. 1, 2 & 3 15.00 16.50 tion of J. A. Gibbons, chief location engineer production due to increased zeal on the part
Vols. 1. 2. 3, & 4 16.50 18.50 for the Southern Pacific. The company now of the organization.
Vols. 1-5, Inc _ 18.50 22.00 is building a railroad yard at Fontana for • • •
the Kaiser plant. Development of Eagle Kingman, Arizona . . .
MAGAZINES WANTED Mountain property and other desert iron Mines Development company, headed by
November '37 $3.00 mines results directly from national defense M. B. Dudley, president, and J. H. Hoffman,
needs, but federal officials point out that secretary, plans to reopen the old Copperville
now and after the war manufacturing will de- mine near here, it was announced late in
velop west. Ship yards on the Pacific coast August. The mine was located in 1907, but
rnoGflzmE will be in a position to compete with eastern was later abandoned due to the low price
concerns, having access to steel supplies un- of copper and the difficulty in mining and
hampered by long cross-country or water treating the ore. The vein varies from six to
636 State Street — El Centre California 25 feet in width and there are said to be 150,-
hauls.
000 tons of ore in sight.
OCTOBER, 1942 37
Prize specimen in the gem collection of Al-
AMONG THE bert L. Hubert of St. George, Utah, is a mala-
chite crystal which he describes as IV2 inches
ROCK HUnTERS long and three-fourths inch thick. It is so well
protected in the vug in which it occurred as to
have a perfect natural polish. Hubert has picked Oi a Rockhound
up many fine petrified wood specimens in Utah.
W. G. Clark, 1203 North Harrison street, • • • By LOUISE EATON
Stockton, California, has recently been appoint-
ed secretary of the Stockton gem and mineral It would be interesting to hear from various • Some things is importanter than
club, to succeed Marvin W. Brain, resigned. rock clubs about any games or other entertain- others. When war grips a country, trivi-
ment developed to take the place of field trips. alities is recognized as such, or com-
• © •
Here is one used by Imperial Valley gem and pletely forgot. Rockhouns is humbly
Los Angeles mineralogical society held its mineral society. It might be called "Arm Chair thankful that they lives in a land where
July meeting in the picnic grounds of Clilao, field trip." Each member brings a specimen little things still counts; where it seems
James C. Arnold, president, presiding. The with which he is willing to part. Sevens, aces important an' wunderful that a thunder-
meeting was turned over to Leo Moir, field trip and kings are removed from each deck of cards egg don't turn out a dud, or that it don't
chairman, who talked on his new idea of col- to be used. Other cards are placed face up. One rain on a field-trip day; where bird
lecting and studying Los Angeles county min- suit to a player. Shake two dice and turn down songs an' desert flowerz means a lot, an'
erals. He showed a map covering the exact lo- card indicated. (Double sixes for queen, double where rockhouns can discuss grits an'
cation of all the 47 minerals reported in Los ones for deuces.) When a throw cannot be used laps, not powder an' guns, 'n where their
Angeles county. This was passed around and next player takes dice. First to turn all cards hearts 'n souls ain't froze into cold knots
it was decided to have prints made for each wins. Players progress as in other games. Win- uv fear inside uv 'em. God bless and
member of the society. To make it more inter- ner (others in order of lowest points left) has keep America.
esting, a contest was proposed, with a prize for choice of specimens on his table, each move.
the best collection of these minerals. Play stops and players progress as soon as any
• • • one succeeds in turning down all of his cards. • Queer, ain't it, how peace uv mind is
Santa Monica gemological society has When play is terminated each contestant keeps necessary for accomplishing eny wurk
aroused much local interest and favorable com- the specimen then in his possession. properly, whether th wurk is did by
ment with its exhibits in the main hall of the hand or by head. There's no place to find
Santa Monica library. These exhibits have been peace like out on the desert under low-
appearing during thte months of June, July Southwest Mineralogists of Los Angeles is to hangin' stars, or hikin' over rocky hills
and Aueust. Informal meetings at the homes hold its annual mineral show at Harvard play- till bodily exhaustion crowds out mental
of members, and short trips in the immediate ground October 17-18. In deference to dimout unrest. Then important things stands out,
vicinity have been substituted for regular ex- regulations the hours will be one to five p. m. an' what-makes-no-matter is recognized
cursions. Guest speaker at the August meeting Saturday and ten to five Sunday. The club mem- an' put into its place; worry fades away.
was Victor M. Arcienege, who gave a lively lec- bers were scheduled to be guests of Mr. and After huntin' speciments for a day or 2
ture on outstanding features of the geology of Mrs. Marion Speers at Western Trails museum rockhouns can return to their tasks with
Southern California. in Huntington Beach September 6. clear heads an' calm hearts.
• • •
John Weldon, vice-president of Santa Maria
rocks and minerals club, has found a new ma-
GEM MART terial near the mouth of Tepesquet canyon, 15
miles east of Santa Maria, which he has named
San Fernando Valley mineral society met
August 8 at the home of junior past: president,
Adv. rate, 5c a word—Minimum $1.00 William D. Taylor, for an outdoors garden din-
"Tepesquite," from its location. Ernest Edwards, ner for all members and their guests. The regu-
secretary of the club, writes that tepesquite is lar business meeting was held afterwards, fol-
found in only one location as far as can be dis- lowed by an auction of gem and mineral speci-
$2.50 brings you prepaid, six rare and beautiful
covered. It lies in veins between shale, much of mens, to raise money for the club treasury.
crystallized Arizona minerals. Yanadinite,
it being botryoidal on the top surface where the
Dioptase, Wulfenite, Willemite, Linarite,
shale does not cover it. It is a rich brown mate-
Azurite. Specimens lVix2 or larger. Wiener
rial, about four to five in hardness. It fluor- Dr. and Mrs. D. H. Clark, of Cypress circle,
Mineral Co., Box 509, Tucson, Arizona.
esces and phosphoresces under both black lamp Redlands, California, acted as hosts to the Or-
and cold quartz light and shows a silver green ange Belt mineralogical society on July 19.
ZIRCONS—OPALS—CAMEOS — 3 Genuine fluorescence. It polishes readily and adapts it-
diamond cut Zircons (total 2i/2 carat) $2.75. Forty-five members and friends partook of a
self to jewelry fashioning. The polished mate- covered dish supper. Howard Fletcher spoke
Twelve Genuine Opals $1.50. Twelve Genu- rial is a very rich dark red-brown.
ine Cameos $2.50. B. Lowe, Box 311, St. on his recent trip to Colorado, and Dr. Clark on
Louis, Mo. • • • the petrification of wood. A feature of the eve-
ning was Dr. Clark's display of his magnificent
Major Wilfred Dressor of Fresno, California, collection of polished woods and mineral speci-
10 Tiny perfect Indian bird arrows of translu- member of Sequoia mineral society, also for-
cent chalcedony for a dollar bill. 100 ancient merly a charter member of Imperial Valley gem
arrows $3.00. List Free. Lear Howell, Glen- and mineral society, has moved to 341 North
ivood, Arkansas. Stoneman avenue, Alhambra. He is now con- The war department has announced that dur-
nected with the U. S. Army recruiting station ing the years 1942 and 1943 a net saving of
Palm woods, jaspers, chalcedonys, agate nodules in Los Angeles. more than 62,000,000 pounds of critical metals
and geodes, also polished and unpolished will be effected by the substitution of steel,
slabs, a few cabochons and other gem rocks. silver and plastics for aluminum and tin in the
Valley Art Shoppe, 21108 Devonshire Blvd., Searles Lake gem and mineral society, dur- manufacture of various ordinance items. The
Chatsworth, Calif. ing the month of October, is to sponsor a two- department said that 35,000,000 pounds of
day hobby show. Outstanding exhibits by mem- aluminum by the end of next year, the largest
AGATES, Jaspers, Opalized and Agatized bers of the organization and other hobbyists single saving, would be effected by using plas-
woods, Thunder eggs, polka dot and other and a guest speaker from outside are to be
events. tics for trench mortar fuses. All of these sav-
specimens. Three pound assortment $1.50 ings are to be effected, according to the gov-
postpaid. Glass floats, price list on request. ernment announcement, without allowing the
Jay Ransom, Aberdeen, Wash. use of substitutes to reduce the efficiency of
Northern California mineral society held a
laboratory night, July 10 for its lapidaries, jew- the manufactured articles.
100 GOOD GRADE Prehistoric Indian Ar-
rowheads $3.00. Mixed shapes and material. elry makers, micro-mount enthusiasts, blow • 00
Ages old. List free. Lear Howell, Glenwood, pipe artists, etc. A feature of the meeting was
a discussion on crystals, illustrated by numer- Almost 38,000,000 gross tons of iron ore,
Arkansas. highest for the date since the association began
ous crystals of unusual interest, by president
Soper. The monthly field trip went to the San keeping records, is reported by the Lake Su-
INDIAN RELICS, Beadwork, Coins, Min- perior iron ore association at iron furnaces and
erals, Books, Old Buttons, Old Glass, Old Jose area for cutting material, crystals, pyrite.
and fluorescent hydrocarbons. Lake Erie docks on August 1. At the current
West Photos, Weapons. Catalog 5c. Vernon rate of consumption, these supplies are suffi-
Lemley, Osborne, Kansas. • • •
cient for more than five months' operation of
W. Scott Lewis gave an educational lecture the steel industry. During the year which end-
200 JEWELRY STONES removed from rings, on Death Valley, illustrated by kodachrome ed August 1, the record total of almost 50,000,-
etc., assorted $2.00. B. Lowe, Box 311, St. slides, to San Fernando Valley mineral society, 000 tons have been melted, compared with 43,-
Louis, Mo. July 9. Fifty-eight persons attended. 000,000 tons for the like period last year.
DflOfl (IGfiZIRE
Texas.
can breathe.
"There are a number of theories that have
Rockhoun's on the desert, here's agates red as never received much attention and these deal
wine, with the fusion of natural materials of the soil A Source of Accurate and Always
An' it looks like all creation was set up for by such agencies as lightning, forest fires, burn- Timely and Interesting Informa-
yours and mine.
No house to hamper vision, save a rancher's far
ing coal seams, burning petroleum and gas tion on the Absorbing Sub-
seeps. These theories contain their objections jects of...
away,
An' we'll camp wherever day ends, be it near in that tecktites do not contain recognizable
or far I say. grains of rock or sand. Then there is the im- • GEOLOGY
pact theory which suggests that they were
formed by the impact of meteorites striking the • GEMOLOGY
Are we lost or lonesome? Well, see the jasper
here! earth, fusing the surface rock, and splashing • MINERALOGY
'Twas put here just to please us, with colors it outward in droplets which solidify into the
made to cheer. queer shapes in which tecktites are found. In Subscriptions are $2.00 Yearly;
It's been waiting here for ages, through storm support of this theory is the fact that glass is Single Copies 20c
and summer sun, actually found about large meteoric craters.
An' it's ours just for the pickin' up, an' o!i TELEPHONE TUcker 6801
boy, ain't that fun! "The tecktite is recognized chiefly from its
flow structure which is usually visible from 428 Metropolitan Bldg.
Rockhoun's on the desert, bacon smell in sage- the exterior surface, this varies from straight LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
brush smoke, (as in obsidian) through curved to highly
You can't burn that wood Opal, put it in your
gunny poke.
It's a shame that some dumb looter used a stick
of powder there
And plundered all that Nature set in one
stone forest rare.
Discover Hidden
Values in SCHEELITE and Other
Strategic Minerals
with the 304 D. C. 6 Volt BLACKLIGHT
Some say rocks ain't pretty, but all don't see the Exclusive Outstanding Features . . .
light • A powerful generator ol invisible
On fields of flaked obsidian when sun or Ultra-Violet energy. Pure Fused
moon beams bright. Quartz burner, and special U. V.
There's rocks of every kind and hue, but do not filter.
get them mixt,
Or some of your'n will turn up when your • Laboratory and field tested to in-
neighbor's garden's fixt. sure its efficiency.
• Meets the requirements of the
Are we lonesome? Not a minute, 'cept when prospector and geologist in the
we're back in town, field, small, compact, light weight.
And hanker for another prowl on deserts — FIVE OTHER MODELS —
wide and brown. Send for Literature
Are we going back? Why, yes son, where the
rocks are flowing free; DALLONS LABORATORIES
So crank up that ol' Lizzie, let's get going, 5066 Sta. Monica Blvd., Los Angeles
you an' me!
OCTOBER, 1942 39
This page ol Desert Magazine
There has been a lot of discussion lately LAPIDARY HELPS AND HINTS . . .
among amateur lapidaries about jade and there Since the Chinese really "know how" when
RX—the complete is probably no gem material about which so it comes to polishing Jade, why not follow their
lapidary shop in much misinformation exists. There are two min- methods? They always use a lead lap and a
erals, distinct in hardness, specific gravity, etc., leather buff. "Ruby dust," probably a fine gar-
one small machine known as jade. The varieties are correctly net grit, is their favorite polishing agent and
Write for circular called Nephrite (silicate of magnesia) and tripoli is also widely used. If you want to carve,
and free working chart. Jadeite (silicate of alumina), and they should rig up a bow with a fine wire and keep it
be so named in collections and not under tine charged with grit, acquire some ideas, an artis-
W. A . FtLKER 3521 Emerald St., Torrance, California general term of Jade. tic sense, a million times more patience than
The word originally came from the Spanish you now possess, with a unique disregard for
"piedra de hijada" meaning "stone of the time and then in several months you can turn
flank," as it was worn over the kidneys by the out a mouse or a goat, such as I purchased for
THIS RING MADE IN South American Indians for certain ailments. $5 each.
STERLING S I L V E R Nephrite is from the Latin word for kidney, • • •
WITH YOUR STONE just as the medical term nephritis denotes in- A quick and safe way to determine hardness
$8.00 flammation of the kidney. Therefore, to use the of a stone is to mark it with an aluminum pen-
term "Nephrite Jade" is as superfluous as re- cil. The fainter the mark the harder the stone,
(plus Federal and sales and you will not harm the tested piece. No
taxes) ferring to a restaurant as a "coffee cafe." Jade
always has a waxy feel and it is the only gem aluminum mark can be made on a gem harder
material that will produce musical sounds than 7.
Jewel Craft
S. San Pedro, Los Angeles
when struck.
The term Imperial Jade is for the emerald-
» • •
Keep your felt and leather buffs away from
grit and dirt. I cover mine with a rubber bath-
green Jadeite, which is the finest. Jadeite is
ing cap (used to, rather) and then a paper
finer than Nephrite and both the Imperial and
sack. A friend of mine, whose polishing always
apple-green varieties are found only in Burma,
wins prizes, "cleans" his wheels with sanding
never in China, where they are the favorites of
cloth! I don't recommend it.
gem artisans for their carvings. Jadeite's color
MINERAL varies from white to dark green and sometimes • • •
it is brown, red or mauve. It is harder than Another friend of mine allows his grinding
IDENTIFICATION wheels to stand idle in water. "Don't you know
Nephrite (possibly a thousand times harder, or
SIMPLIFIED the estimated difference between 7 and 6 for they'll fly apart because they get heavy on
the two types respectively) which is found in one side? You'll get killed," I said one day.
By O. C. Smith. A.B., A.M. "Never heard of it," he said, "I think you're
New Zealand, Turkestan and Russia. Neither
"CLASSIFIES ALL Nephrite nor Jadeite has been found in situ in wrong." I hope I am.
MINERALS TO 1940" the Americas but now and then limited amounts • • •
Simplicity for the amateur, Completeness The sealing wax developed for the American
for the professional.
of Nephrite are found as float, especially in
Alaska. Kunz said that if Nephrite is ever found Railway Express Company's own use is the
Complete BLOWPIPE METHODS and best dopping wax there is—if you can get some.
in place in the Americas it will probably be
TABLES. • • •
found in or near the Mexican state of Oaxaca
Price — $3.50 — Plus tax in California Use Oxalic acid as an aid in polishing softer
where many prehistoric Nephrite ornaments
Order from - O. C. SMITH - Dept. D have been found. materials, such as onyx. Pour the powder into
SI6 7 Santa Ana St. — Bell, California water until no more will dissolve. This is
I am now cutting some Nephrite found as termed "saturated" solution. Then add two
float in Wyoming that compares very favor- more parts of water, pour on the surface to be
ably with some fine-quality Burma Jadeite that polished and hand-rub vigorously with a heavy
^ v m 0 t ^ LAPIDARY EQUIPMENT I have. It is rich apple green and is offered at
a very reasonable price in Los Angeles. I was
cloth or a piece of carpet. Follow with regular
tin oxide technique and you'll have the high
recently offered some supposedly "white Jade" commercial polish you see on those pen stands
FOR QUARTZ CRYSTAL WORK at too high a price for my impatient and clumsy in the stationery stores. Oxalic acid is poison;
butchering. It was beautiful material but I was wash your hands if you eat with your fingers.
Used by the U. S. Government suspicious about its "being found in a secret • • •
location in the Mojave desert." Tin oxide and acetone are practically unpro-
SPECIAL
SLOW-SPEED There is a lovely Idocrase, or Vesuvianite, curable without a priority number. Grits and
16-IN. LAP UNIT found at several localities in California, prin- grinding wheels also require a priority number
cipally at Happy Camp, called Californite and except that grits and wheels in stock, not used
designed for thin sec-
tion quartz crystal lap- sold as Jade. It is pale green and is only 5 in in war industries, may be sold without a num-
ping, has inclosed shaft, hardness. The green color is copper staining and ber but no more may be made for the duration.
ball bearing thrust and Most lapidary grits and wheels can still be se-
removable lap plate. is usually patchy. I know that Chang, the great
Chinese collector, bought many hundreds of cured but only as long as present stocks last. It
pounds of it in Los Angeles at a dollar a pound would be wise to stock beyond your require-
14-inch and said he would get at least $5 a pound for ments while these things are still obtainable.
Power This would not be unpatriotic hoarding as these
Feed it at the carving shops in China. A friend of
mine has found several pieces of pale Jade on things, with the exception of the acetone and
DIAMOND
California beaches which he has preserved in tin oxide, are not needed in the war program.
SAW
the rough. • • •
with Covington Swing Arm
insures maximum blade life Questions received too late for the Amateur
and prevents carriage and Then there is the so-called "Indian Jade," Gem Collector's department this month will be
bearing wear. Has 5-inch which is Aventurine, or a pale-green quartz. answered on this page next month. Lapidaries
slabbing area.
This material cut in cabochon makes a fine ring desiring information should address their let-
"OLD MISER"
Lapping Compound stone in good taste for men. It is hard ( 7 ) and ters to Lelande Quick, c/o Desert Magazine, El
Saves every grain of grit. will take a lot of punishment but it is not Jade. Centro, California.
Send for Literature to any of There are many other misnomers, such as • • •
our dealers or— "Swiss Jade" (chrysoprase), "Korea Jade" DID YOU KNOW . . .
(Serpentine), "Amazon Jade" (Microcline • There is a greater variety of green gems than
C^n^uPyu LAPIDARY ENGINEERING CO. Feldspar), "Transvaal Jade" (Massive Gros- any other color? Yellow is next, closely fol-
12 CAJON ST. • REDLANDS, CAL. sular Garnet), etc. lowed by red and blue about equally.
worst of it—the dust yuh eat along handed em to the lady an' run fer
Sez Hard the trails, an' the grasshoppers in
yer beans."
cover. Well—there really wasn't
much to it—the horse give about
Rock Shorty Hard Rock paused in his castiga-
tion of the great out-of-doors to
think up more mean things to say.
two good hops, one stiff legged
buck, an' the lady landed in the
horse trough hollerin' like a pig
of It didn't take him long.
"Yes sir—an' them guides! Their
caught in the fence. The horse bust-
ed through the gate an' lit out down
Death idea of a joke is to get some dude
set down in a cactus an' then laugh
the pasture.
"The foreman come runnin' over
their heads off. I visited one o' them an' he was madder'n a bear with a
Valley places oncet—a feller there owed
me some money. That mornin' they
cactus in his paw. He fished the lady
out o' the tank, wrung 'er out a bit
By LON GARRISON was all gettin' saddled up for a trail an' sent 'er back up to the house.
"Dude ranches is mighty inter- ride an' a fancy lookin' lady come Then he landed on the guide who
estin' business," commented Hard out all dressed up like a Sears an' was laughin' 'til his sides ached.
Rock Shorty after reading some of Sawbucks cowboy. She was purty as "'You jug-head — you contem-
the ads in the travel section of a a little red wagon! One o' the guides plated idiot—you hoorawed farm
magazine. "Ride — see Glorious led 'er over to a wormy lookin', hand! What's the matter with yuh?
Calizonexico—fish—hunt—swim— hammer headed horse that was You knowed that lady'd never been
hike! Yes sir—dude ranches sure eatin' post hay an' gettin' sort o' on a horse before!'
sound interestin' in the advertise- tired of it the way he acted. " 'Sure,' gasps the guide. 'Sure—
ments. They don't never mention "The dude wrangler held the I knowed it. That's why I give 'er a
the blisters on yer feet—the meals horse down while the lady climbed horse that'd never been rode before
yuh hafta eat standin' up from up on a rock an' crawled aboard. either. I figgered they'd just as well
spankin' a saddle an' gettin' the Then he gathered up the reins, start out an' learn together.' "
OCTOBER, 1 942 41
NOVEMBER, 1941
DESERT MAGAZINE
EL CENTRO, CALIF. FIFTH VOLUME INDEX TO OCTOBER, 1942