195008 Desert Magazine 1950 August

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AUGUST, 1950 35 CENTS


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Y o u W i l l B e W e a r i n g R a i n b o w sWhen you wear jewelry set with TITANIA. After years of experiments, syn-thetic Rutile is now av aila ble in facet cut brilliants. This magnificent substa ncehas been given the name of "TITANIA."W hen viewe d und er proper l ight ing, round br i l liants of TITANIA ap pe arto be pol ished b i ts of ra inbow s . Cer ta in rem arka ble opt ical proper t ies m ak ethis extreme refraction of light possible.

H E R E A R E T H E F A C T SSUBSTANCEAMETHYSTEMERALDRUBY, SAPPHIREDIAMONDTITANIA

INDEX OFREF RACTIO N1.544 - 1.5531.564 - 1.5901.760 - 1.7682.4172.605 - 2.901

CHROMATICDISPERSION.013.014.018.063.300 (APPROX.)

The ability of a gem to br ea k up light into its com pone nt colors an d pro du cea rainbow effect is measured by its chromatic dispersion. Note that TITANIAh a s 525 t imes more ability to produce this RAINBOW EFFECT than any ofthe f irs t f ive natural gems in the above lis t .Everyone to whom you show this new jewelry will wish to purchase a ringor pair of earrings. A free circular is available which gives you all the factsabout TITANIA JEWELRY. This circular outlines a discount plan that will per-mit you to own one of these magnificent stones at no cost to yourself.

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This is a 192-page book 9" xl2 " in s ize. The re are at leas t 60 pa ge s of in-structive articles by auth ors of nat ion al fame. There ar e new articles by EMILKRONOUIST an d LOUIS WIENER on jewe lry makin g. The 15-page articleon jewelry casting by the LOST WAX METHOD using the new KERR HOBBY-CRAFT CAST ING UNIT is al on e worth $1.00. "ROCK DETERMINATIONSIMPLIFIED" by Mr. E. V. Van Amringe with il lustrations and charts helpsyou to identify your field tr ip discov eries . Two excellent field tr ips ar e m ap pe d.Everything you need in MACHINERY, TOOLS, SUPPLIES and MATERIALSis illustrated, described and priced for your convenience.VISIT OUR SHOP AND SECURE YOUR COPY OF THIS UNIQUE BOOKSent Postpaid in U. S. A., its Territories and Canada for only $1.00.

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D E S E R T C A L E N D A RAug. 1-13Northern Arizona Artists,recently organized society, will ex-hibit for the first timeat Museumof Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.Aug. 2Fiesta de Santiago, Old Pe-cos Bull dances at Jemez pueblo,New Mexico.Aug. 2-5Sanpitch Pow Wow andCounty fair, Manti, Utah.Aug. ASummer Corn dance andfeast day, Santo Domingo pueblo,New Mexico.Aug. 4-6Twelfth annual CowboysReunion, Las Vegas, New Mexico.Aug. 5-6Annual Smoki Snake danceand Indian ceremonials, Prescott,Arizona.Aug. 10Corn dance and feast dayat Picuris pueblo (San Lorenzo);Corn dances at Laguna and Aco-mita pueblos; Corn dance at Nambepueblo, New Mexico.Aug. 10-1329th annual Inter-Tribal

Indian Ceremonial, Gallup, NewMexico.Aug. 11-12Millard County fair andDays of the Old West, Deseret,Utah.Aug. 11-12-Annual Silver Jubilee,Eureka, Utah.Aug. 12Celebration of Santa Claraday and Corn dance at Santa Clarapueblo, New Mexico.Aug. 15 Fiesta exhibition opens,State Art Museum, Santa Fe, NewMexico.Aug. 15Civil Air Patrol Air show,Winslow, Arizona.Aug. 15Feast day and Corn dance,Zia pueblo, New Mexico.Aug. 17-19Cache County fair, Lo-gan, Utah.Aug. 17-30Western Navajo Artsand Crafts, second annual exhibi-tion, Museum of Northern Arizona,Flagstaff.Aug. 18-20National ChampionshipHigh School Rodeo, Santa Rosa,New Mexico.Aug. 18-20Sheriff's Posse Rodeo,Tucumcari , New Mexico.Aug. 18-20Annual Tesuque ValleyHorse show, Santa Fe, New Mex-ico.Aug. 19-20Pinto Bean festival andRodeo, Mountainair, New Mexico.Aug. 23-26Salt Lake County fair,Murray, Utah.Aug. 24-26 Summ it County fair,Coalville, Utah.Aug. 25-26 Davis County fair,Farmington, Utah.Aug. 25-27 Nevada Horse Showsassociation, Reno, Nevada.Aug. 28St. Augustine's feast dayand dance at Isleta pueblo, NewMexico.Aug. 28-31Renewal of Galena Dayscelebration, with parade, miningcontests. Bingham, Utah.

Aug. 31-Sept. 2Box Elder Countyfair, Tremonton, Utah.AugustSpecial exhibit of rare oldIndian baskets, Southwest Museum,Highland Park, Los Angeles.

V o l u m e 1 3 A U G U S T . 1 9 5 0 N u m b e r 1 0C O V E R

C A L E N D A RCEREMO NIALFIELD TRIPP O ETRYINDUSTRYF ICTIO NB O T A N YART OF LIVINGC O N T E S TN A T U R EM I N I N GH ISTO RYQ UIZLETTERSCLO SE-UP SM I N I N GI N D I A N SN E W SH O BBYLAP IDARYC O M M E N TB O O K S

N A V A J O W O M A N . P h o to b y D o n O ll is S a n t aBa rb ar a , Cal i fo rn i a . F i r s t p r i z e p i c t u r e i n 1949c o v e r c o n t e s t .A u g u s t e v e n t s o n t h e d e s e r t 3W h e n t h e H o p i s D a n c e f or R a i nB y M Y R T L E M A E S I M E R 4T r a i l s t o R o c k h o u n d R i s eB y H A R O L D O . W E I G H T 9D es er t W a t e rh o le , a n d o th er p o e m s . . . . 14L i q u i d W e a l t h f ro m a D e s e r t D r y L a k e

B y A L H A W O R T H 15H a r d R oc k S ho rt y of D e at h V a l l ey . . . . 18T h e y P e r f u m e t h e N i g h tB y M A R Y B E A L 2 0D i a r y of a J a c k r a b b i t H o m e s t e a d e r

B y C A T H E R I N E V E N N 2 1C o v er c on te st w i n n e r s a n n o u n c e d . . . . 22F u r r e d D e n i z e n s o f t h e D e s e r t

B y G E O R G E M . B R A D T 2 3C u r r e n t n e w s of d e s e r t m i n e s 2 6H e C o u l d C r a c k a B u l l - W h i p

B y M A R I O N B E CK L ER 2 7T e s t y o u r d e s e r t k n o w l e d g e 2 9C o m m e n t b y D e s e r t ' s r e a d e r s 3 0A b o u t t h os e w h o w r it e for D e se rt . . . . 30M o r e P r o f i t a b l e t h a n G o l d

B y R A N D A L L H E N D E R S O N 3 1I n t e r - T r i b a l D a n c e s a t G a l l u p 3 4F ro m h e r e a n d t h e re o n t he d e se r t . . . . 35G e m s a n d M i n e r a l s 4 1A m a t e u r G e m C u t te r , b y L E L A N D E Q U I C K . 4 5J u s t B e t w e e n Y o u a n d M e , b y t h e E d i t o r . . 4 6R e v i e w s of S o u t h w e s t l i t e r a t u r e 4 7

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Press, Inc., Palm Desert,California. Re-entered as second class matter July 17, 1948, at the post office at Palm Desert,California, un der t he Act of March 3, 1879. Title regis tered No. 358865 in U. S. Pate nt Office,and contents copyrighted 1950 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reprodu ce con tentsmust be secured from the editor in writing.RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor AL HAWORTH, Associate EditorBESS STACY, Business Manager MARTIN MORAN, Circulation ManagerE. H. VAN NOSTRAND, Advertising ManagerLos Angeles Office (Advertising Only): 2635 Adelbert Ave., Phone NOrmandy 3-1509Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs submitted cannot be returned or acknowledgedunless full ret urn po stage is enclosed. Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility fordamage or loss of manuscripts or photographs although due care will be exercised. Sub-scribers should send notice of change of address by the first of the month preceeding issue.

SUBSCRIPTION RATESOne Year S3.50 Two Years $6.00Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra, Foreign 50c ExtraSubscription to Army Personnel Outside U. S. A. Must Be Mailed in Conformity WithP. O. D. Order No. 19687Address Correspondence to Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, CaliforniaA U G U S T , 1 9 5 0


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Chief Joe Se-kak-u-ku, high priest of the Hopi Snake clan.Early in August the priests of the Snake and Antelope clans inthe Hopi pueblos in northern Arizona will gather in one of their cere-mo nial kivas and set the date s for their ann ual Sn ake d an ces . Sixteendays later visitors to the Hopi mesas will witness one of the most amaz-ing religious ceremonials held in the world. Three dances are to beheld this yearand here is a story that tells both the details and thesignificance of these strange rituals.

By MYRTLE MAE SIMERPhotogra phs courtesy of the Author, Walter Olds and Dr. A. F. Switzer. The pictureswer e taken at W alpi in 1911, before the Hopis put a ban on camera s at their rituals.

Snake dances are held at the pueblosof Shipaulovi, Shungopovi and Hote-villa in northern Arizona late in Au-gust this year.The ceremony is performed by mem-

AGAIN the tom-tom-torn ofthe Hopi tribal drums will beatout the legendary and immemo-rial prayers to the gods of the rainclouds when the world-famed Hopi4

bers of the Snake and Antelope clansand the exact date is set 16 days be-fore the dance occurs, when it is for-mally announced. The preceding nightthe chiefs gather and engage in cere-monial smoking and commission thetown crier to call out the date on thefollowing sunrise. The message usu-ally is brought to Winslow by one ofthe members of the tribe who travelsby truck to this city for supplies. Thusthe news is released to the press andbroadcast by radio throughout theUnited States. Scientists, educators,scholars, writers, artists, designers, In-dian cowboys, native Arizonans andinterested visitors from every state inthe union respond to this announce-ment by travelling the unpaved high-ways to reach and witness this religiousceremonial.

In Hopiland there are nine principaltowns, three each on three mesas. Onthe first mesa are Walpi, Sichomoviand Tewa (commonly called Hano).Atop the second mesa are Mishong-novi, Shipaulovi and Shungopovi. Onthe third or westerly mesa are Oraibi,Old Oraibi (the oldest continuouslyinhabited village in the United States),Bakabi and Hotevilla. In even yearsthe dances are held at Shipaulovi,Shungopovi and Hotevilla. In odd yearsat Mishongnovi and Walpi. In theolden days the Hopis built such townson high mesas as protection againsttheir enemies and there they still livecontent with their lot. Often theycome down from their villages tomake their way in the world of thewhite man at Winslow, Flagstaff, Hol-brook and Gallup, New Mexico, butsooner or later they return to theirnative land. Although some have diedin a modern hospital in one of thesecities, always the body is returned tothe reservation for final rites.Leadership comes through clans andclan membership and kinship is in-herited through the maternal side ofthe family. Clan affinity is strongerthan all other ties with the Hopi. TheSnake and Antelope chiefs receivetheir commissions through inheritanceand those chosen to honor and repre-sent their villages at the present timeare: WALPI: Steven Ya-ee, Snakechief, and Luke Ho-vay-lo, Antelopechief. M IS H O N G N O V I : Loma-naq -sur, Snake chief, and Sing-yaw-ma,Antelope chief. S H IP A U LO V I : J oeSe-kak-u-ku, Snake chief, and NedL o m a - y e s - t e w a , A n t e l o p e chief.SHU NGO POV I: W adsworth Nu-va-qoi-tewa, Snake chief, and Louis Tu-wa-ni-ma, Antelope chief. HOTE-

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ILLA: Les ter Kwa-nimp- tewa,Snake chief, and George Na-si-wi-sia-ma, Antelope chief. The ages of thesechiefs vary, with Steven Ya-ee andester Kwa-nimp-tewa being theyoungest at 57 and Loma-naq-sur theoldest at 80.One of the leading attractions of thedance at Shipaulovi will be the appear-ance of five-year-old Howard Dennis,Hopi son of Mr. and Mrs. ChesterDennis of Winslow and Shipaulovi.Although Dennis is his adopted Ameri-can name, his Hopi appellation is Lo-mah-be-va, meaning Good SmokingTobacco. Young Dennis' father is amember of the Tobacco clan, so LillieDennis gave her son a name from hisfather's clan. On previous occasionsboys 8 or 10 years of age have partici-pated in the ceremonies, but Howardis considered the youngest child yet totake an active par t. He is a nephewof Chief Joe Se-kak-u-ku.

Chief Joe, as he is generally known,spends much time in Winslow operat-ing an Indian curio store on Highway66 across from Hotel La Posada. Amember of the influential Bear clan,he was born 60 years ago at Shipauloviand was selected by his uncle, FrankMa-saw-quip-tewa, in 1944 to succeedhim as Snake chief in order that thetradition of the Hopi might be upheld.Joe is known in every city in Arizonaand in many parts of the United States.With his young nephew, he will leaveWinslow early in August for the Hopireservation to prepare for the sacredceremonies.The Hopis are an intelligent, indus-trious people living in almost a perfectsociety. Theft, crime and the evil waysof living were almost unknown tothem until the influence of the whiteman was felt. They a re a very inde-pendent tribe and this spirit of self-reliance was especially noted whenthe leaders expressed disapproval ofthe Navajo-Hopi aid bill which wasrecently passed by congress. They areknown as the peaceful ones and theiroccupation is the tilling of the soil.Their achievements in arts and craftsare symbolized by exquisite pottery,the carving and painting of the Kachinadoll, cotton weaving, rug weaving andbasketry. Their religious ceremoniesare of two types: those taking placein public, usually dances, and thoseheld in the underground ceremonialrooms called kivas. The second con-sist of the acting out of dramas basedon legends and supplemented with

Pictures showing the "carrier"who holds the snake in his mouth,and the "hugger" who uses abunch of feathers to distract theattention of the reptile.A U G U S T , 1 9 5 0


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witnessed the Snake dance, they willclaim it to be one of the most unfor-gettable revelations they have experi-enced and, no doubt, difficult to be-lieve that they could travel such ashort distance from modern livinginto an ancient Indian village wheresuch ancient religious customs are stillpracticed. To this ceremony, which isour religion and the religion of ourancestors, my people have always wel-comed visitors and our only request,when attending, is that you respect itas a religion."Many people cannot understand,"he went on solemnly, "why we willnot allow pictures to be taken duringour ceremonies. Perhaps they couldunderstand our feelings better if theyanswered my quest ion:

"Just how would they feel if hun-dreds of Indians invaded their churcheson a day of worship and attempted totake pictures of the clergymen deliv-ering their sermons, the congregationin prayer or partaking of holy com-munion, and the choir singing hymns,and later put the results of their photo-graphic efforts on the market forsale?"

Close-up of Walpi pueblo.H O W H O P I S M A D E R A I NF O R NAVAJO TRIBESMENDrouth conditions on the NavajoIndian reservation this spring and sum-mer recall an old Indian legend. It istold by Scott Preston, Navajo head-man from Tuba City, Arizona.

Many years ago a long drouth drovethe people away from their homeranges to seek water elsewhere. Someconcentrated along rivers, but othersmoved inuninvitedupon the Hopipueblo of Moencopi. The Hopis be-came increasingly alarmed as moreand more Navajo families appearedwith their stock. They asked the Nav-ajo to leave. They replied that theycould not go back home until itrained it wouid mean starvation.They pointed out that they wouldgladly return home and leave theHopis in peace if the Hopis wouldmake it rain.

Hop i leaders held a council. Theydecided to put on a ceremony, eventhough it was out of season. The cere-mony was duly performed. It hadhardly come to an end when the skieswere darkened with rain clouds. TheIndian country was drenched with

rain. Waterholes were filled and therange revived, so the Navajo tribes-men withdrew from Moencopi andreturned to their homes.DR. HERBERT E. BOLTONW I N S B A N C R O F T P R I Z E . . .Dr. Herbert E. Bolton, professor ofhistory at the University of Californiaand autho r of books on early Southwesthistory, has been awarded one of thetwo 1950 Bancroft prizes for distin-guished writings in American history.The other prize went to Lawrence H.Gipson, research professor of historyat Lehigh university, Easton, Penn-sylvania. The prizes carry stipends of$2000 each.

Bolton was honored for his latestbook, Coronado. He is particularlywell known for his close study andwritings on the exploration and colon-izing expeditions of Capt. Juan Bautistade Anza. Anza's overland treks fromMexico to California in 1774 and 1776resulted in establishment of San Fran-cisco.D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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Trai ls to R oc k h ou n d R i s e . . .By HAROLD O. WEIGHT

Photos by the AuthorGOOD ROCKHUNTER, will-ing to hike and prospect, sel-dom finishes the day empty-

Twentynine Palms, California. This

Desert Magazine in Decem-

We hit just such a neglected spotMost of the rocks in the fa-

s, the fortification agate, jaspers

When adventuresome rock-hounds start out on an explor-ing trip, they don't always findthe desert trail or the collectingarea they are looking forbutsometimes they discover excit-ing new country and maybean entirely new field. That'swhat happened to the HaroldWeights in their search for aback-door route to a remote re-gion in the country northwestof Twentynine Palms, Califor-nia. Eventually they were ableto map the routebut they stillface the job of relocating agood blue agate area they oncevisited.

and carnelian either weather fromtongues of dark lava which lick out ina hundred places from the bases ofthe Bullions, or are found in the moun-tains themselves. But this collecting

area is a large low sandy riseRock-hound Rise we call itjust northeastof Pinto Mountain. And judging fromthe quantity and variety of rocks scat-tered over its slopes, it must representerosional gleanings from many sectionsof the Bullions.Rockhound Rise is but 25 milesfrom Twentynine Palms as the crowflies. But unfortunately, rockhoundsare not crowsand those who wouldvisit this area must make a choicebetween two roads, one of which istoo sandy for any vehicle not havinga four-wheel drive, and the other israther circuitous.The sandy route, as shown on theaccompanying map, leads out pastMesquite dry lake and across thenorthern end of Deadman dry lake.There was a military air field hereduring the war and the road is pavedas far as the camp. Beyond that pointthe trail is too heavy for an ordinarycar.We are indebted to our friend Dick

On the lo w sandy rise (right center) is collecting area described in th is m onth'sfield trip. Pinto Mountain in the background. Many agates and geodes have beencollected from bajada in foreground. Jet plane vapor trails add to beauty of thedesert back of Twentynine Palms.

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TWENTYNINf

J O S H U A T R E E N A T ' L . M O N U M E N T . , '

Davis for showing us the other routeinto the collecting areaa route thatis rough, but feasible for the averagecar.Dick, besides being local agent forthe maps of the U. S. Geological Sur-vey, the Army Map Service and theCoast and Geodetic Survey, is some-thing of a pioneer at TwentyninePalms. He first came to the area in1 9 2 9 , and camped all over the valley.By the spring of 1930 he had pickedhis spot and was homesteading a milenortheast of the present TwentyninePalms airport, living there in a tentfor three years. Ignoring what othersmight have considered physical handi-caps, he proceeded to nose into the

Bullion back country and surroundingdesert in a series of air-cooled Frank-lins.Dick still believes in the Franklinsfor desert travel, and operates a bigold seven-passenger model which hehas festooned with gadgets, includingwater-injection for the carburetor anda war-surplus Sperry turn-indicatorand gyro-compass. The advantage ofthe Franklin for desert travelingbe-sides large wheels and comparativelylow gearingis the air-cooled motorwhich requires no water."Of course they get so hot we callthem waffle-irons, and you could cookbreakfast on them in no time," Dickadmits. "But they keep running."

ROAD LOG00.0 Leave highway at Joshua Treeand head north, following GiantRock Airport signs.08.2 Crossroad. Turn left.08.8 Follow main road right at Y.16.1 Giant Rock Airport. Keep tothe right (Northwest) whenleaving Giant Rock.18.8 Crossroad. Continue- North-weststraight ahead.19.0 Road Y. Turn rightNorth.20.5 Crossroads. Keep going ahead North on main traveledroad.20.6 Road Y. Keep left.22.6 Road Y. Keep right. Leftbranch goes to old adobe ruinat mill site.24.6 Claim stakes and General LandOffice marker in Emerson drylake. Turn at right angles atmarker and head for gap indark hills to the Northeast. (Donot attempt to cross lake inwet weather.)26.8 Pass through gap between hillsand head East, following roadto edge of dry lake, then North-

east up bajada and throughpass to the Northwest of PintoMountain.30.2 Road Y at edge of small drylake. Keep right, followinggeneral line of northeast baseof Pinto mountain.34.6 Old ruts, right, leading ontohill. Collecting rocks may befound among alluvial depositsscattered on all slopes of thelow, sandy hill.NO TE : Field trip areas described inDesert Magazine, December, 1938,and January, 1940, may be reachedfrom this point by following roadon East, keeping to right at Y at35.5 miles, and turning north atY at 38.5 miles. Return trip viaDeadman and Mesquite dry lakesto Twentynine Palms is possiblewhen the sand washes are packed.

Even with Dick's help, it requiredseveral expeditions and a number offalse starts before we found the backdoor to Rockhound Rise and wecannot recommend it in wet weather.By this route we left the TwentyninePalms highway at the booming com-munity of Joshua Tree, turning northat the Giant Rock airport sign and fol-lowing the airport direction markersto Giant Rock itself, 16.1 miles fromJoshua Tree.We stopped briefly at Giant Rock,and visited the big room hollowed outunder it. The Van Tassels are livingat the airport now, and maintain alittle refreshment stand there. Twodaughters of the family travel 64 milesa day to attend high school in Twenty-nine Palms, driving half of it them-selves in a big army truck. A thirddaughter attends school in JoshuaTree, a 32-mile round trip.We took the right-hand road north-west from Giant Rock. Crossroads,divisions and Y's multiplied. Fortun -ately Dick recognized most of them.

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We would come to a crossroad and hewould say: "Well, I think that to theleft goes to the Lost Padre mine. Bet-ter take the right." Or: "If we go thatway we'll end up in Lucerne Valley."Even with his usually correct judg-ment, it became an increasing con-fusion for Lucile. Sliding and sway-ing in the bouncing truck, she wastrying to keep track of each turn andcrossing and compass direction, andthe various mileages. Dick shook hishead about the mileages. "No matterhow careful you are, any person fol-lowing your log will have a differentmileage after spinning and bouncingalong 20 miles of desert road. Eventhe thickness of the rubber on yourtires will make a difference!"

Twenty-four miles from Joshua Treewe came out on the huge flat playawhich is Emerson dry lake. Dick hadtrouble recognizing his surroundings,even after we visited the old adoberuin on the southwest shore of thelake and climbed to the foundationsof what had once been a stamp mill."The mill and all the buildings werestanding when I was here last, 20years ago," he explained, "and it cer-tainly made a difference."From the hillside the whole vast ex-panse of Emerson Lake was visible.Our route led northwest directly acrossit and through the gap in the darkhills on the far side.Emerson is a very big dry lake andthis route across it is not recommendedin wet weather. But when we crossedit in May, its dry surface made a goodroadbed. Once through the gap be-tween the dark hills we headed eaststill on the dry lake. Reaching its edge,the road swung back up the slope

To p The "back-door" route tothe rock and geode fields of theBullions leads across Emerson drylake and through the gap betweendark hills (center) then rightthrough a pass at northwest endof Pinto Mountain. Foundationsof o ld gold mill in left foreground .Center Strange pa rasite plantsof the desert, the Pholisma aren-arium or scaly stemmed sandplant, found near Surprise Spring.Relative of the Ammobroma so-norae, a food of the Papago In-dians, Pholisma also reportedlywas eaten by Indians of SouthernCalifornia.Bottom This usually meteoriclizard the Gam belia wislizeniior leopard apparently was en-joying a lazy May siesta on thedesert hillside and even permittedhis portrait to be taken before hescampered for the bushes.

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Giant Rock (in top photo) appeared on the skyline the rock co llectorsknew they were near end of the circuit from Twen tynine Palms and wereback to well-traveled desert roads near Giant Rock airport.Dick Davis, long-time Twentynine Palms resident, standing beside his oldair-cooled Franklin with which he has explored much of the desert back-country.

toward a pass northeast of PintoMountain. The road through the passwas rough and a little twisty, but Dickassured us that he could maneuver hisFranklin through it without trouble,so we considered it safe for mapping.Through the little pass, the roaddropped rapidly and came out on asmall playa. Here it branched and we

headed right southeast close toPinto Mountain. And at a little morethan 34 miles from Joshua Tree, wereached the edge of Rockhound Rise.In the variety of material we foundwere a sort of brecciated red moss,black moss, maroon and gold-mottledjasper, gold and honey moss. Othersamples included tiny shapes of palegold and flesh tones in a chalcedonymatrix, a white agate bordered withbanded maroon, sard and a small pieceof flower agate.The prizes of Rockhound Rise, so

far as I am concerned, are two piecesof green moss in clear chalcedonyone of them containing flecks of redwhich make it a sort of moss blood-stone.Rockhunters who wish to do a littlecollecting in the geode area will haveno trouble reaching it from RockhoundRise. Not far east of the rise, the roadbranches. The left-hand branch wan-ders over the lava tongues of the ba-jada and eventually comes out at thegeode area sign. There is interestinghunting area all along it and, except

for one bad twisty bit up onto one ofthe lava tongues, it is a fairly goodroad. The right branch can be fol-lowed down to the point where itjoins the Mesquite Lake-geode arearoad, where a sharp left turn and aneasy run back up the bajada will bringyou to the geode area sign from thesouth.There is good material still to befound . In fact, it was the search forone particular tongue of lava on thatbajada which brought us to RockhoundRise. Not long before the war I hadlocated some beautiful blue and whitefortification agate on that lava tongue,and I wanted to relocate the spot.But now there were half a hundrednew trails and the old ones had beenwashed away. By late afternoon Ihad to admit that I had no idea wheremy blue agate area was hidden . No rhave I discovered it in two trips sincethen. But I'm going to try again. It'svery pretty stuff.On Rockhound Rise we came uponthe first leopard lizard Gambeliawislizeniiwho seemed willing to posefor a portrait without being put underrestraint. Maybe it was the hotweather, but he permitted two shotsbefore he streaked for the bushes.And not far from Surprise Spring,



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Dick Davis and Lucile examine specimens picked u p from the slopes of RockhoundRise. Geod e Butte, land mark for an earlier Desert Magazine field trip, is the whiteoutcrop in the Bullion M ountains, right foreground .we stumbled onto our first specimensof Pholisma arenarium, a root-para-site relative of Ammobroma sonorae.Ammobroma, found in the sand hillswest of Yuma and around the headof the Gulf of California, was a favor-ite food of the Papagos and Pholismareportedly was eaten by Southern Cali-fornia aborigines. Six to ten incheshigh with its odd club-shaped headcovered with many scores of tiny pur-plish, white-rimmed blossoms, it lookslike a Disney Technicolor version ofa fairyland toadstool.

Besides these special treats, wepassed through miles of profuselyblooming flowers, a display we can-not hope to see again for many years.Thousands of desert lilies already hadbloomed and matured, as had most ofthe verbena and dune evening prim-rose. But their associates geraea,pincushion, phacelias, baileya, apricotmallowstill flowered. As we climbedabove 2000 feet, the dwarf creosote,burroweed and galleta were inter-spersed with ephedra, golden-floweredcassia bush, and purple and violet-flowered dyeweed and indigo bush.Higher still, the Mojave yucca oftendominated the landscape, its clustersof heavy date-shaped fruits indicatingan unusual early blooming. At thiselevation we found the greatest pro-

fusion of flowers. Yellow tackstem,desert dandelion, gleaming-white rafi-nesquia, bladderpod and krameriawere common. But most numerouswere the blossoms of the lavenderDesert Gilia whose botanical namemeans "lonely desert dweller"andthe dainty little spotted Gilia. Andamong the yuccas we found the sky-blue flowers of the beautiful Mojavesage.Oddities and beauties to see, the

glory of the flowers, the wonders ofplants and animals and mountains andsky these things make our deserttrips successful, even when rocks androutes elude us. No desert road isdullno trip a waste of timeunlessyou think it so. But we are glad whenat last we find a field with sufficientrocks and good enough road to justifya field trip, so that we can tell ourfriends known and unknown about it.Beautiful blue and white fortification agate (enlarged) from a lava tongueat the base of the Bullion Mountains, northwest of Twentynine Palms.

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^

Waterhole in D eath Valley near Bennett's W ell. Photo byD. C. Morgenson

By HOSSHU HARRYLos Angeles, CaliforniaThink you, I'mjust a hole in thedesert floorFilled with brackish water, nothing more,Circled with whitish crust of alkaliTo which critters come to drink, then die?Believe you this, then you be the fool.Those who know, see me as a jewelThat sparkles in thedesert sand.Giving life andhope to beast andman.Freely I give of myself to all who come,Stung by thestrength of the desert sun.So, you see I have both heart andsoul,Though I'mmerely a humble waterhole. SUNSET AT MESA VERDE

By ELSIE CONOVERSutter, IllinoisFar across the canyon, above the SleepingUte, the sun was setting;On that great rim of rock we stood togetherYou and I, andwatched it as it slippedBehind the mountains; and the purple mistDrew over mesa, plain, and canyon.Wrapping all in stillness, peace, and beautyunbelievable.

WEE HOUSEBy GRACE S. BELLThousand Palms, California1 own a crooked little houseThat boasts no flowers, nor fountain,But guarding my wee house instead,A purple, snow-crowned mountain.

The breeze isnow mysymphony,A horned toad is my pet;Red roses may bewhat I want.But sand is what I get!

By TANYA SOUTHMan cannot see nor comprehendThe glories that are still to come.The greatest fail to understandThat vast, eternal, final sumAnd substance of ourevolution!We seek, wequestion and weknockTo find thewisdom andsolutionOf Life and Truth, which queriesmock.And how can it be otherwise?Since tiny vessels cannot holdWhat has been meant for larger size;Nor can man all theTruth enfold.

THE SMOKE TREEBy AMY VI AUSanta Ana, CaliforniaIt is thedesert's masterpieceAn etching from its heart.Like a thousand strands of clean, whitesmokeIs its beauteous branching part.

THE FOUR WINDSBy PATRICIA NAVISCaldwell, IdahoTimid and sweet is theSouth wind,Fragrance blooms in her hair,She croons a rocking lullaby,As lovely as a prayer.

Glistening in frosty diamonds,Regal and un-afraid,The North wind, blessed with a beautyN ot for woman or maid.Sultry and m oody, the East wind,Changing her garb in vain,No sunlight ever around her,A breath that's filled with rain.Thunderheads loom in thedarkness,Wonderful at its best,Creator of flashing splendor,Awesome wind from theWest.

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Brine from far below the surface of California's Searles Lake is piped in a con-tinuous flow 24 hours a day to this multi-million-dollar plant wh ere by evaporationand fractional crystallization pure chemicals are obtained. From 20 to 25 wellsare pump ing to supply the plant with 3 million gallons of brine per day.

Liquid Wealth froma Desert Dry Lake

By AL HAWORTHPhotos by George Stur tevant/ 7 O H N W. SEARLESprospector ,H- grizzly bear hunter and Indianf fighterwas not the first whiteman to see California's Searles Lake.In the winter of 1849 the emaciatedsurvivors of the Jayhawker band ofgold-seekers topped bleak Slate Rangeto the east of Searles Lake and sawwhat appeared to their burning eyesto be a shimmering expanse of coolwater.

Momentarily revived, they hurriedas best they could down the rockyslopes. Their disappointment was keen.What they found was a vast expanseof nothing but saltthe lake was dry.A little weaker and even more thirsty,they struggled on across California'sMojave desert and eventually reachedSan Fernando Valley. Eager for goldand quick riches, they had turned theirbacks on one of the world's greatestdeposits of mineral treasures, a fabu-lous stock pile of wealth stored up byNature through the centuries and fromwhich man may eventually take asmuch as $2,000,000,000 in refinedmineral products.

Today that mineral wealth is being

mined. Nature's treasures are beingsucked up from 70 feet beneath thelake's dry surface and processed in amulti-million-dollar plant which sup-ports a community of 3000 peoplewho live in modern comfort summerand winter in what was once consid-ered the most desolate part of thegreat Mojave desert.This village of modern homes whichboasts that it has more college gradu-ates per capita than any other townin the nation, is Tro na. Tro na sits atthe edge of Searles Lake in the north-

ern part of the Mojave desert, about165 miles northeast of Los Angeles.To the east is the somber Slate Range,to the west is the Argus Ran ge. Al-most due east25 miles away overthe Slate Range, across burning Pana-mint Valley and through the lowerPanamint Rangelies the southern tipof Death Valley.When I visited Trona in Marchthere had been recent spring rains onthe Mojave desert and the rocky hillsaround Randsburg, Johannesburg, RedMountain and Atolia all roaring

mining camps producing gold, silver,lead and tungsten in the days beforethe vastly greater riches of SearlesLake had yet been discoveredwere

T he d e s e r t y i e l d s m a n ytreasures both material andspiritual to those wh o knowwh ere to look. Buried for thou-sands of years beneath the for-bidding salt-caked surface ofSearles Lake at upper end ofCalifornia's Moj ave desert, mil-lions of dollars in rare mineralslay unnoticed by prospectorsa n d miners. How this wealthwas finally tapped and howthe people who are "mining" itl ive in modern comfort on aonce barren waste is told inthe accompanying art ic le .

carpeted with the green of myriads ofdesert plants and wildflowers andgrasses. But in Searles Valley itselfwith its 12-mile-long lake bed therewas hardly a weed or bush, except atTrona where men and women havebuilt a huge industry and a thrivingvillage.This amazing town in which the artof desert living has been developed toa high degree of perfection was con-ceived, planned, built and is ownedlock, stock and barrel by the AmericanPotash and Chemical Corporat ion. A.P . & C. C. research engineers h avethrough the years by trial and errordeveloped what is called the Tronaprocess. They take brine from deep

beneath the dry surface of SearlesLake, run it through an intricate proc-ess of heating, cooling, condensing andfractional crystallization, and in 24A U G U S T , 1 9 5 0 15


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Plant Manager A. J. (Andy) Anderson at his neat desk.hours undo what Nature took 20,000years to accomplish.What the huge plant with its $25,-000,000 worth of baffling vacuumpans , hydrators, coolers, settling tanks,centrifugal separators and miles ofpipes and conveyors does is to takefrom the concentrated lake brine thed ive r s i f i ed c rys ta l l ine s a l t s w h ichthrough the ages have been depositedthere.

By the time the mother-liquorbrine as it comes from the lakehas completed its flow through theheaters and coolers and filters it hasgiven up to man its values in potash,borax, soda ash, salt cake, lithium,bromine. The list of products in whichthese basic chemicals are utilized isvirtually endless. They go into clean-ers and detergents; into paper, printinginks and starch products; into explo-sives, glass, chinaware and enamelkitchen ware ; into glazed brick andtile, cement, adhesives, pigments, dvesand roofing granules; into textiles,leather, sugar, metals and fertilizers.Virtually every commercial mixed fer-tilizer uses potash.

Geologists say that Searles Lake is"the result of a long-time dessicationof a series of fresh water lake s." Th elake's drainage basin probably extend-ed to the northern end of OwensValley. Water flowed southward, fedby extensive glaciers covering the HighSierras. The deposit began to beformed, it is believed, during the lateTertiary period.After the ice-age glaciers had dis-appeared Searles Lake was, some 20,-000 years ago, one of a chain oflakes below Owens basin, a chainwhich extended as far inland as an-cient Bonneville Lake, which hasevaporated down to what is todayUtah's Great Salt Lake. Overflow fromthe shallow Owens basin passedthrough mountain divides and valleysand overflowed into Searles Valley.Searles Valley was the deepest basin,it is estimated the lake was at one time800 feet deep. Today its old watermark is clearly visible on the Slateand Argus ranges 600 feet above thepresent shore line of salt deposits.It was because this inland lake hadno outlet to the sea that it began to

store up potential treasures. The ex-tensive saline deposits at the bottom ofthe lake were brought from milesaway, leached out by water from theextensive drainage area east of theSierra Nevada. They formed an im-mense mass of solid crystalline saltsin concentrated brine.A fte r t he c l i m a t e h a d b e c o m ewarmer and the ice caps disappeared,still another change took place. Rain-fall in the area decreased, springs andstreams dried up, forests on the sur-rounding hills died for want of water.The region became a desert. Then thehot desert sun began its work of evap-oration. It is estimated this took about200 years and that Searles Lake hasbeen dryon the surfacefor from4000 to 5000 years .

It was in 1862 that John W. Searlesvisited the region. Like others, he wasseeking gold and silver in the adja-cent mountains. But, unlike most ofthe others, he had read about tronaa white chemical dpuble salt whichchemists label N a 2 C O 3 N a H C O 3 -.2H2O. He concluded that the spongyreefs around edge of the lake weretrona, a compound of neutral and acidsodium carbonate. But he, also, missedthe real riches. What he did was toset up a small plant to reclaim a semi-refined grade of borax found on thesurface. By 1874 he had organizedthe San Bernardino Borax Companyand was hauling borax nearly 200miles to Los Angeles in huge high-wheeled wagons and trailers pulled by20-mule teams. He sold it for $700a ton. He sold out 12 years later toFrancis Marion Smith and his PacificCoast Borax Company, which madethe 20-mule team a household trademark. When richer deposits werefound in Death Valley, Smith sus-pended his Searles Lake operationsin 1895.

It wasn't until 1905-06 that an-other prospector, this time an engineernamed Clinton E. Dolbear, became in-terested in the lake. He definitelyestablished the fact that the lake con-tained trona, and this discovery ledto exploratory work in 1912 that atlast revealed the lake's true wealth.It was found that the most importantcommercial values did not lie on thesurfacebut were in the brine 60 to70 feet down.

During this period it had been Brit-ish money which had financed thesinking of wells and construction ofa plant to extract the chemical valuesfrom the lake. More than $ 7,000,000had been poured into the venturenoprofit had been taken out. British in-vestors discovered they had the cheap-est mining process in the world, butthe most intricate and expensive re-fining process. The research, engi-16 D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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neering and production experts hadno precedents to go by, an entirelynew process was required. In additionto the natural disadvantages of loca-tion and climate, there were countlesstechnical set-backs.In the meantime the American TronaCorporation had been formed and anexperimental plant constructed in 1914.Later events proved this to be a for-tunate move. Germany had been thechief source of domestic potash andGermany was at war. German potashwas not available. After two years offeverish work, the first shipment ofpotash, an essential war material, wasmade in October of 1916and a fewmonths later this nation was in theWorld War.Those were troublous times and theexpensive venture on the desert wasno exception. By 1919 the British in-vestors were ready to quit. It was Dr.John E. Teeple, a chemical engineerwith a new process and a persuasivemanner, who went to London andtalked the British into risking anotherquarter of a million dollars in the hopeof saving what they already had pouredinto the Searles saline deposits.The new process worked. The plantbegan to pay. And the British, prob-ably glad to get out, sold to a Dutchsyndicate for $12,000,000. Every-thing appeared to be open and above-board and the Dutch owners left theBritish and American technicians andmanagers in complete charge of oper-ations. Then the truth came out. TheGerman potash cartel had put up themoney to buy out the British investors,and the Dutch had merely been front-ing for the Germans. Here the UnitedStates Alien Property Custodianstepped in. The company was reor-ganized. Distribution of its stock tosome 4500 Americansincluding 126employesmade the firm 100 percentowned by U. S. citizens.It became what it is today, theAmerican Potash & Chemical Corpo-ration. And little by little the amazingmodern city on the desert evolved.Today it is difficult to realize thehardships undergone by those whopioneered this industry on the desert.Today Tronans live full, interesting

To p People of many denomina-tions join for Sunday worshipservices in Trona's Communitychurch.Center Justly proud of this mod-ern school are the people whomake their homes and raise theirfamilies in Trona.Bottom Varied activities arecarried on in the recreation cen-ter here the Gem and Mineralsociety has its clubroom s.

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lives. Their activities move at a pleas-ant tempo in contrast to the rush andstrain of metropolitan industrial cen-ters. A few years ago keeping em-ployes on the job was one of manage-ment's biggest problems, personnelturn-over was as high as 500 percent.Today it is down to 3 percent andless, recognized as a low figure evenin more favorable surroundings.How this change has been accom-

plished is the real story of Trona.The story was revealed as I talkedwith A. J. (Andy) Anderson, plantmanager; with George Baker, admin-istrative assistant; with George Sturte-vant, editor of the town's newspaper,the Trona Argonaut; and with plantemployes and their wives. I talkedwith laborers, chemists, research en-gineersand waitresses in the coffeeshop.

OF DEATH VALLEYDriving wind slammed shut thedoor of Inferno Store after thetourist who had slipped inside to

escape momen tarily from the furyof its blast. Turning to look outthe window he could barely seehis once-shiny new car parkednot more than 10 feet away, andhe shuddered as he thought ofwhat the flying Death Valleysand was doing to the beautifulpaint job.Hard Rock Shorty, who hadbeen snoozing in an old chairtipped back up against the coun-ter, roused himself to greet thestranger.."Whew," said the dude as hespat sand and dust from hismouth, "do you often have windsas hard as this?""Why, this ain't no real winda'tall," Hard Rock assured him."Yuh oughta be out here sometime when we have an honest-to-gosh wind. It warn't more'nthree months agojust this pastspring when we had a blowthat was worth talkin' about."Shorty apparently consideredthe topic had been exhausted,but the visitor prodded him intofurther conversation."You mean it actually blowsharder than this.""Harder'n this?" echoed HardRock. "Why, man, me 'n PisgahBill got caught out in a storm inMay that I sorta hate tuh tellabout. Afraid yuh might notb'lieve me."We wuz up in the canyonabove Eight Ball Crick when shehit. We cud see the clouds o'sand comin' at us from off thedesert below and knowed we'dbe cut to ribbons in a jiffy. Wewuz lookin' for a handy boulder

to git behind when we heared aroar behind us from up the can-yon."We didn't need no one tuhtell us what that meant. Therewas a cloudburst up in the hillsand a flash flood was a'boomin'down that gully. There ain't nohuman can stay in the path ofone of them flash floods andlive."Hard Rock looked uncon-cernedly out at the swirling sand.The dude was impatient. "Well,"he urged, "what happened?""Oh, nothin' much," answeredHard Rock, "except that thereain't no canyon there any more.The wind blowin' up from thedesert and the water roarin'down the narrer canyon met ex-actly where we wuz a'standin'.They hit each other so hard theyboth bounced back about a footand left me an' Pisgah Billstandin' in a vacuum. Not adrop o' water or a grain o' sandtouched us."There we wuz, with a wall o'sand buildin' up higher andhigher on one side of us, and asolid wall o' water on the other.

Bill had his prospector's pickwith him, so he begun cuttin'steps in the packed sand. Wedumb up the steps fast as wecud and just as we reached theridge above the canyon the durnwind stopped as quick as shestarted."We wuzn't a second too soon.Them two walls of sand andwater come together with a jarthat was reported by the scientistfellers as an earthquake."Walk up there today and yuhwon't find a sign of a canyon.She's full brim to brim withpacked sand."

I learned that Tronans are proud oftheir village. They are particularlyproud of their modern unified school,which educates their children fromkindergarten through eight grades andfour years of high school. The schoolhas a faculty of 40. Scholastic stan-dards are high, the secondary systemwon a citation from the University ofCalifornia this past year for the ex-cellence of its graduates.Every other phase of living is almostequally well provided for. There aretwo churches, a Community churchand a Catholic church, with a FourSquare Gospel church a mile away inArgus and a Latter Day Saints churchsoon to be built at Pioneer Point, newhousing development just outsideTrona. For the women there arechurch societies and a UniversityWomen's club, a branch of the na-tional organization.There is a chess club, a tennis club,an 18-hole golf course. Focal point of

most activities is the recreation cen-ter, where there are bowling alleys,facilities for badminton, dancing, astage for local-talent plays, clubroomsand refreshment bars.Outdoors there are tennis courts,lighted for night playing in the sum-mer months. Here youngsters alsoroller skate on summer evenings andwatch free motion pictures.Trona offers far more than the av-erage American town of 3000 to 5000.In addition to its modern grocery store,department store, drug store, pool hall,service station, barber shop and post-office, the town's 24-bed hospitalserves not only company employes,but all of Searles Valley. There aretwo medical doctors, a dentist. Thehospital is equipped with X-ray equip-ment and a busy nursery.Everything, of course, is company-owned. But all the businesses areoperated on a profit-rebate systemthe profit is returned to the consumers.Trona even has its own "money."Employes may buy script which theycan spend in any Trona establishment.At regular periods they receive theirshare of the profit made by the gro-cery store or department store, accord-ing to how much script they havepurchased. Grocery prices are com-parable to super-market prices in LosAngeles, the drug store sells items suchas a 50-cent tube of toothpaste for39 centsjust as do the big city cut-rates. The system is the next thingto a consumer cooperative, except thatthe stores are company-owned.The second day I was in Trona thedesert sun was warm by 10:00 o'clockin the morning. George Baker and Ished our coats as we made a tour ofthe extensive processing plant. Whenwe finally emerged at noon from the



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Looking east across Searles Lake toward bleak Slate Range.bulk storage rooms where the air wasso fogged with dust we could hardlysee, we were perspiring and our hairwas powdered white. "Don't worry,these salts are all soluble in water,"George said. So after lunch whenGeorge Sturtevant offered to drive meout to Valley Wells, about five milesfrom Trona, where there is a tree-ringed swimming pool as big as a foot-ball field, I gladly accep ted. H ere , inaddition to the huge pool, there arepicnic tables, an outdoor concretedance floor, barbecue facilitiesandmiles of free open desert.

It was here that the 1950 state con-vention of the California Federationof Mineralogical Societies was heldJune 17 and 18. Most of those attend-ing camped at Valley Wells, for motorcourt accommodations were limited.It was the first outdoor convention inthe history of the state Federationand no better place could have beenchosen than California's Mojave des-ert. Tr on a is literally in the center ofone of the best collecting regions inthe West, numerous field trips in questof rare crystals in Searles Lake and

to the surrounding mountains andcanyons were arranged.Visiting rockhounds collected opalsand onyx in the Argus Range, bluechalcedony at Moonstone beach atsouth end of Searles Lake. They wenthome with fluorescent hyalite opal andfluorescent aragonite, agate nodulesand geodes. And from the depths ofSearles Lake itself they obtained rarecrystals brought up in drill cores fromtest holes sunk by company rigs. The

list of these crystals is lengthy, somecannot be found any place else. Hank-site, for instance, comes only fromSearles Lake. It varies from black tonearly transparent, is brought up from15 to 20 feet below the lake's surface.Darkness in the hanksite is caused byimpurities. A few lucky enthusiastscame away with specimens of sulfoha-lite, found only in one other lake inEast Africa. Ther e are others : gay-lussite, pirssonite, tychite, thenardite,glazerite (rare), nahcolite (very rare),t rona and burkeite and northupite.Some of these come from as deep as250 to 500 feetwould not be avail-able to rockhounds were it not for

drilling operations of the corporation.But the gem and mineral hobby isjust one phase of life in Tron a. "T hesocial life here," declared one trans-planted easterner who in two shortyears has come to love the desert inall its mo ods , "is terrific." Th ere a recultural groups and activities, endlessopportunities for camping trips orhunting and fishing for the outdoorlovers. There is a baseball field where32 teams of youngsters play organizedhardball. And over it all there is theserenity of a desert night, the fresh-ness of a desert morning, the beautyof a desert sunset.

James M. Ewing is a man who hasretired twice. He retired first as abattalion chief on the Los Angelesfire department. But he wasn 't readyto quit. So he came to Trona in April,1934, as the town's fire marsh al. OnNovember 1, 1949, he retired again.But he isn't leaving the Mojave desert.He has homesteaded his own piece ofdesert just north of Trona and is build-ing with his own hands the little housethat suits him. Th ere he will live outhis remaining days.A U G U S T , 1 9 5 0 19


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Above Wide-open blossoms of SerpentCactus or Cereus serpentinus. This speciescomes from Mexico, but has been extensivelyintroduced into our own areas, is well knownto most cactus fanciers.BelowFlowering Serpent Cactus, showinghabit of growth.

They Perfume th NightBy MARY BEAL

ERE ARE plants that beautify the desert with enchantingblossoms on very scanty rainfall. The gay annuals that makeup a spectacular spring flower display need well-timed rainsto produce liberal blooming, but the cactus family can be reliedupon to flowerrain or no rain.All the members of that spiny clan are blessed with showy blos-soms, but the most fascinating of them are those that save theirloveliness for the hours of darkness, the prized night-bloomingCereus group. You may know them only as cultivated treasures, fortheir native range above the Mexican border is not extensive, butif you have once seen a night-blooming Cereus in bloom, you'll everafter welcome other chances to watch its unfolding and inhale itsperfume.The first glimpse impresses you with the appropriateness of thename Reina-de-la-Noche or Queen-of-the-Night. In early days itwas a delightfully anticipated occasion when the Queen-of-the-Nightwas due to open up her heart and permeate the desert air withenticing fragrance. Late in the afternoon the long buds begin toexpand, the tips bursting apart by dusk, the long petals graduallyspreading wide to a span of several inches, fully open in an hour or

so . They lend enchantment to their environment all night long, theirperfume scenting the air for a surprising distance.Each blossom lasts only one night and by sunrise begins to foldup, is entirely closed and drooping before mid-morning. This flower-ing may occur as early as late April but usually in May or June.Quite often one or two blossoms appear and from time to time otherflowers open, for a period of several weeks. I've seen 7 open flowersat once on a plant and authentic reports number 2 dozen openblossoms making one plant a memorable spectacle.The Organpipe cactus, Saguaro and Senita are Cereus speciesbut we are by-passing these plants of large size to focus interest onthose that are inconspicuous except when putting on their night show.There are two species native to our southern desert areas, the mostwidespread being our Queen-of-the-Night, known botanically asCereus greggiiThe plant is low and easily overlooked, the strongly-angledslender stems of a blackish-green color, usually a foot or two long,although sometimes 2 or 3 times that length. The very short stiffspines are finely barbed and closely pressed against the 4 to 6 prom-inent ribs. The fleshy tuberous root is beet-like or turnip-shaped,buried deep in the ground, ordinarily weighing 5 to 15 pounds butsometimes grows to the huge size of more than 40 pounds, and thereare reports of even more enormous ones. The Indians didn't misssuch obvious food possibilities. Sliced and roasted or fried, theMexicans as well as Indians found the roots appetizing and nutritious.Freshly-cut slices of the tuber were credited with therapeutic valueas poultices for the relief of chest congestions.Now it is the esthetic value that is of more importance, affectingall who share in the beauty of its flowering. The exquisite blossoms

have a petal spread of 5 or 6 inches, atop a slender tube 5 to 8inches long. The white petals have tinges of pale lavendar or pink onthe back, the sepals more strongly so. The fruit is bright red whenripe in the fall, 3 to 5 inches long and egg-shaped, with a long beak.Usually growing under shrubs or small trees, such as Catsclaw andCreosote bushes, the dull-colored stems blend into the general back-ground. They are found ordinarily in the valleys but sometimes onhillsides, up to 4000 feet elevation, over much of the southern halfof Arizona, southern New Mexico, western Texas and northernMexico. Another similar species with inconspicuous stems and thesame manner of growth, about the same size and general aspect isCereus diguetiiThe stems have 6 to 9 very broad flattened ribs and the flowersare smaller. It grows in the extreme southern. part of Arizona,

Lower California and Sonora. The fleshy roots look much likesweet potatoes and the older plants produce quite a crop of thetubers, sometimes 2 or 3 dozen.20 DESERT MAGAZINE


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High up on the 8000-foot summ it storm clouds gathered. The wind rose tochallenge the moisture-laden invaders from the Pacific. And a wild, elementalbattle ensued. Photograph by Harold Weight.

D i a r y o f a J a c k r a b b i t H o m e s t e a d e r . . .The wind blew the shingles off her roof, th ecoyotes invaded her commi ssa ry , and an irre-

sponsible p l u m b e r left her stranded without heator fuel but this red-headed city gal wouldn't quit.Last month Catherine Venn told how she got herhomestead and moved a l i ttle cabana out there tol ive in . Here is the story of her first two nightsalone on the desert.By CATHERINE VENN

7HAT FIRST NIGHT on my jackrabbi t homesteadwas one of the longest nights of my life.The light of the lamps from my windows gave mean uneasy, target-like feeling, so I turned down the wicksand puffed out the flames. I held my cold hand s to thechimneys, clinging to such warmth as they gave as theunheated cabana was fast taking on the atmosphere ofan ice box.A U G U S T , 1 9 5 0

It quieted my uneasiness to peer out the windows tosee what I could see. Faintly discernible in the pallidlight of the new moon, the shrubbery moved in wraith-like forms in the breeze, and I could fancy all sorts ofgrotesque figures in the rocks and cacti. In the stillnessthe creaking noises of the cabana as it settled on itsfoundation did not soothe my city nerves. I thought ofstaying up all night, but was soon driven to bed for warmth.

I mu st hav e been nearly asleep when I was startledby a strange sound. I jumpe d up and peered out thewindow. There was a stealthy movement on my littlerock hill. My heart beat loudly as I waited for somesound that would identify the curious visitor out therein the darkness.Then I heard two sharp yelps. I moved to the otherwindow and saw what looked like a couple of wolvesmilling about. Thinking a light might frighten away thebeasts I set a lam p in the windo w. Th e shaft of lightcaught two animals pawing my thermos bottle around as if

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it were a football. Then I remembered I hadleft thesupper snack mother hadprepared for me on a rockoutside. Inthe excitement ofmy first night in thecabinI had forgotten about eating.I rapped and banged loudly about the cabana, and theydisappeared. I stood watch until I was numb with coldafraid they would returnand disappointed when theyfailed to do so. Next day at thenearest gasstation Ilearned that my reception committee was hungry coyoteson a nocturnal forage. But they were still wolves tome!It was near dawn before I finally went tosleep.I had thought I would bebraver, but I discovered thatwhen a city woman transplants herself to a solitary,un-tested environment, it is too overwhelming an experienceto be conquered overnight. Often I amasked "Aren' tyou afraid?" and "Don ' t you get terribly lonesome?"But conquering fear and emotions have been just part ofthe challenge ofmy adventure.Next morning when the sunwas up I drove to thenearest town for a tank offuel gas and aman toconnectmy gas stove. Hearrived later, looked atmy stove, andtold me hehadn' t brought theright wrench andfitting.Nevertheless I paid him $3.00 perhour portal-to-portalpay as requested. He said he would return inthe morning,which was a Saturday. But hefailed to do so.Saturday and Sunday nights were bitterly cold. Snowhad fallen on thehills above. Monday I was afraid toleave my place for fear thegas man would come whileI was going after him again. Tuesday I decided somethinghad tobe done about that stove. I rummaged inthe toolcompar tment of my car andfound a pair of pliers, awrench and some gummy stuff. And without aunion cardI somehow connected up that little stove with whatgadgets were on it. Themeanest part of the job wasbending the copper tubing to fitproperly. When I finallyturned on thevalve and struck a match totest for leaksI wasmore surprised than not that there wasn' t anexplosion.I had just settled down toenjoy a comfortable eveningin the luxury of a heated domicile when a sharp gust ofwind slapped the thin walls ofthe little cabana. It cringedand quivered. Successive gusts became increasingly se-vere. The wind grew angry. Itwould strike and run awayas if topick upmomentum before it raced back howlingfor another blow.Tha t was toomuch for me. I decided I preferredcoyotes towind. I extinguished the gas and thelamps,gathered upblankets , and fled by flashlight to my car.I t was a long night of suspense. I waschilled andmiserable, huddled in thefront seat of my carfearing italso could not withstand such anonslaught. Bymorningthe storm had spent itself. But it returned with renewedfury todrive me out for thesecond night.O n the second morning itwas still blowing and mostof the composition shingles onone side ofmy roof werestanding straight up. Theornamental shutters lookedlike crooked postage stamps stuck on a letter. I wasafraid theroof would be gone with thewind before Icould save it. Then a jeep bobbed out of the wash. Thedriver looked like anangel tome, and she was. She andher family lived half a mile away at themouth of thecanyon.She asked if I hadshingle nails. I showed her thehardware assortment father had packed formeand hemust have anticipated this. Using her jeep and me for astepladder she climbed tothe roof and was almost blownover the top in a heavy gust. I tacked thelower flaps,

an d in that frosty-cold gale wehammered down every-thing that was loose. Not until then did it occur to us

that this might cause theroof toleak. But it never has.I arranged to have mygood Samaritan's soncomeover after high school andanchor the cabana at thecorners with angle irons buried incement and rock. Hejeeped down a small tank of water from the canyonstream and I hadhustled up a broken sack of cementnear the welding shop where I went for thestrap irons.My young cement mixer laughed when he saw meuse both hands to lift a five-gallon can of water, andthen drop it on mytoes. But I learnedit wasn' t longbefore I could tote a five-gallon can of water in eachhand for a number of yards.I told himabout mycoyotes and he said that oneevening at dusk several of them stalked him through thesection. Hesaid hewalked and whistled as if hewasn'tconcerned because ifhe had run he was afraid they wouldhave taken him for a giant jackrabbit andgiven chase.His mother told methat while they were building theircabin she was sleeping in a tent and upon seeing the eyesof ananimal gleaming in theopening, turned herflash-light right into the face ofone surprised coyote.

There were many tales in thearea of bold coyotessingly and inpacks which made me afraid tostep outofmy door after dark. And little did I know then that twomonths later I would be onspeaking terms with a largecoyote I called Boy, who was never late inkeeping hisrendezvous with me on the first night ofevery new moon .He loved chicken bones and always sang his thanks beforedaylight, a poignant wail as if to a lost mate far off incoyote heaven. One has missed something who hasnever heard a far-off coyote serenade. Boy was a fre-quent lone diner atRock Hill and never failed tochastenme in aggrieved tones when hisfare wasn't up to thatbecoming a star boarder.

Rock Hill isthe baby toe on a foot ofgraduating hillsthat rise to theflank of mountains which separate thecoastal plain from the desert. Itwas upthese hills that Iset out onmy first hike. A tag-along wind dogged methe first since the cabana was securely anchored.High up onthe 8000-foot summit storm clouds gath-ered. Thewind rose to challenge the moisture-ladeninvaders from thePacific. And a wild, elemental battleensued. Time and again the rolling m ass ofclouds plungedover the mountain backs determined tocarry their mois-ture tothe desert goal. Each time they were driven backby the defensive tactics of the wind fighting tohold thedesert line. Unknowingly, I hadwitnessed the thrilling,spectacular phenomena that occurs up on thehigh rimwhen the rain-laden clouds encounter the dry blasts fromthe heated desert floor. It was a vivid revelation. Nolonger could I despise thewind. It hadbecome some-thing heroic, glorious inbattle, the battle ofholding backthe clouds towin the victory of the desert.

(Catherine Venn's story will be continued next month)

7 ( J iH* t& u . . .Winners of first and second prizes in Desert Magazine'sannual Cover Contest were Harold O.Weight, Pasadena,California, and Bob Leatherman, San Bernardino, Cali-fornia. Weight, who is a regular contributor to Desertwith his rock and gem field trips, won first prize of$15with aclose-up of adesert lily. Leatherman was awardedsecond prize and $10 for anight picture of ababy screechowl perched on thelimb of an oldpepper tree. These

will appear onfuture covers ofDesert Magazine. Judgesconsidered entries and awarded prizes June 20.22 DESERT MAGAZINE


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ROC K SQU IRREL: Anyone familiar with the large, bushy-tailed Gray Squirrelmight at first sight mistake the ground-loving Rock Squirrel for its distant, tree-climbing relative. But the two squirrels are quite different. Rock Squirrelsinhabit canyons and mountain slopes adjacent to desert areas. They are oftennoticed sunning themselves on some prominent point where they can get a goodview of the surrounding country. When startled they emit a sharp whistle-likecall, and disappear among the rocks.

F u r re d D e n iz e n s o f th e D e s e r tBy GEORGE M. BRADTPhotographs by the AuthorWe who live in the desert regions of the great South-west must learn to accept the unalterable facts of heatand drouth. Unlike our furred, feathered and scaledneighborsthe desert 's rightful homesteaderswe cannotchange our bodies or living habits to meet the conditionsset by our ch osen hab itat. It is impossible for us todevelop the pocket mouse's ability to live without water,or the owl's night-eyes for nocturnal activity. We mustchange the natural enviroment to suit our needs and tastes.

But in so doing we often adopt measures which closelyparallel the habits of many desert creatures.Just as numerous inhabitants of the cactus and thorn-

bush wastelands, the rattlesnakes for instance, wait untilsundown to hunt and travel, we often postpone the begin-ning of long, hot desert trips until the cool of evening.Like the abundant ground squirrels or "gophers" thatlive in deep earthen burrows, we build our own homesfrom the selfsame materialand call it adobe! Rocksquirrels retire for a few hours during the hottest part ofthe day: the sensible hum an takes his siesta. An d thecommon cottontails and jackrabbits doze away blisteringsummer hours in the shade of shrubs and trees, just asdo we when we can.The accompanying photographs are of five desertdwellers which succeed in surviving the rigors of desertsummers without the aid of air-conditioners, refrigeration,electric fans, tropical worsteds, or mint juleps.

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~ ; , : ^

3 ym*iA "* *' t*

v . . . , . . . -GR AY FOX : This small, pretty fox is found throughout the arid regions of theSouthwest. It is occasionally seen hurrying across desert roads at night. It huntsnocturnal rodents and cottontails but also dines on cactus fruits and vegetables.Daylight hours are usually spent in sunless caves or hollow trees. This fox

measures about four feet in length and averages eight pounds in weight.

HOG-NOSED SKUNK: Thishandsome animal shares with itstwo close relatives, the Stripedand Spotted Skunks, the devas-tating ability of spraying unwaryenemies (and photographers) witha burning, pungent scent. Its in-sect, small rodent, and cactusfruit fare is hunted at night, andwith the aid of its pig-like rootingnose. This skunk makes its homein the desert areas adjoining theMexican Border.


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YOUN G GROUN D SQUIRREL: Here is the common "gopher" of cactus flatsand the edges of desert highwa ys. It has a high, trilling call. It is often observedsitting erect near the mouth of its burror with its "hands" crossed on its tummy.Ground Squirrels provide tasty meals for hawks an d owls, and many four-footed,furred hunters. This "gopher" is Citellus spilosoma.

BABY JACKRABBIT: Likeits parents this young fellow hasbig feet and long ears. During theday it hides m otionless in a shal-low "form" or nest-like cavityscooped out in the soft sand be-neath the dense branches of adesert bush. When startled itjumps from its hiding-place anddashes away at a tremendousspeed as high as thirty or thirty-five miles an hour. Jackrabbitsare usually common and con-sidered a pest. But by furnishingthe larger meat-eaters with foo dthey do keep coyotes, foxes andowls from dining exclusively ongame birds. Jackrabbits arereally not rabbits. They arehares. This young one belongsto the Genus Lepus.


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Pcmguitch, Utah . . .Little plants which died by the mil-lions many millions of years ago maybring new wealth andprosperity to theupper Sevier River valley. The skeletalremains of diatoma, a genus of dia-tomaceae, make up the recently-dis-covered white deposits of Kieselguhrdiatomaceous earthwhich has manyindustrial uses, including the makingof dynamite. Gale Wilcock of Hatchmade the discovery and now 10 res-idents of H atch and Panguitch havejoined in a partnership for developmentof the deposit, expected to run wellover a million tons. They have com-bined under the name of Antler Mine.The microscopic plants which form-ed the deposit were an algae, the frondsof which secrete silica (silicon di-ox ide) . The new find is said to bealmost pure silicon, unpolluted byl ime.Usually diatomaceous earth is foundin combination with lime, necessitatingexpensive refining. Test diggings asdeep as 15 feet have been made with-out reaching limit of the deposit. Dia-tomaceous earth has many uses in bothindustry and chemistry. It is one ofthe best filters obtainable, is unsur-passed as an insulating material, isused by the oil refining industry, incleansers , in soap and insecticides. Aroad ha s been constructed to the moun-tainside mining site. GarfieldCounty News.Greenriver, Utah . . .The Vitro Manufacturing companyof Pennsylvania may build its projecteduranium mill at Greenriver rather thanGrand Junction, Colorado, accordingto reports. Final decision will dependprimarily on where ore can be obtain-ed. Attention is now centered on T e m -ple Mountain and the rest of SanRafael reef, where important discover-ie s of uranium ore have been reportedrecently. One shipment of select orefrom the reef by Smith Brothers andClay Asimus, is reported to havebrought $600 per ton in Denver.The Mining Record.Ton op ah , N evad a . . .A two-foot width of good gradeshipping ore has been opened up ina new drift on the Green Gold pro-perty at Gilbert, 23 miles west ofTonopah, according to Jack Hansen,one of the owners. The Green Goldwas discovered by Chris Hansen ofReno in 1 9 3 1 , and considerable goldore was shipped from the propertypr ior to this latest find. PiocheRecord.

Winterhaven, California . . .Announcement that the HolmestakeMining company will handle customore at themill it is rebuilding followinga fire in 1947, has sparked a renewalof activity in the Cargo Muchachomining district of e a s t e r n I m p e r i a lCounty. Work on the 500 and 600-foot level of the Muchacho mine hasdisclosed virgin ore of good mill grade,with some spots of high grade. TheMuchacho mine was discovered soonafter the Civil War, reportedly has pro-duced several hundred thousand dol-lars worth of gold bullion. There are a number of small mines in the district. Imperial Valley Weekly.Washington, D.C.A compromise bill opening up formining nearly 300,000 acres of JoshuaTree National Monument in Californiahas been passed by the house of rep-resentatives. The legislation, sponsoredby Congressman John Phillips, of Ban-ning, is designed to end a disputebetween conservationists and mininggroups over granting prospectors entryto additional portions of the monumentin San Bernardino and R i v e r s i d ecounties. The bill reduces the protectedrecreational and scenic area to 549,-000 acres, safeguarding themost spec-tacular s tands of Joshua trees, andalso straightens borders of the monu-ment . On the land which will beopened to prospectors there are alreadymany small private claims establishedbefore the monument was established. Lo s Angeles Times.Tonopah, Nevada . . .A commercially feasible process hasbeen envolved for recovery of goldfrom activated carbon, it is reportedby James Boyd, director of the statebureau of mines. Research in the newmethod started in 1948. Key to thenew process is that it permits re-useof activated carbon which is ex-pens ive and thus will make eco-nomically feasible the processing oflow-grade mine ore. The processwas tested on a commercial scale atthe Getchell mine at Redhouse. Apilot plant there has been in operationsince March, 1949. Tonopah Times-Bonanza.W i n n e m u c c a , N e v a d a . . .A thousand tons of ore a day isreported being hauled from the Ogee-Pinson gold mine at Granite Creek tothe Getchell mill as operations atthe mine have been resumed. It hadbeen shut down since January, 1949.Humboldt Star.

Marysvale. Utah . . .New Park Mining company becamethe second Utah mining company tostart prospecting foruranium orewhenit opened exploring work in Paiutecounty recently. The work followspreliminary studies in the area, actualmining operations are scheduled soon. Salt Lake Tribune. San Francisco, California . . .Bulletin 162, Geologic Descriptionof the Manganese Deposits of Califor-nia, is now ready for distribution,according to Olaf P. Jenkins, chief ofthe state division of mines. The bulletincontains a detailed description of man-ganese deposits, is a supplement toBulletin 125 issued in 1943. In Cal-ifornia at least 800 deposits from 675localities are known, during World WarII the state was second in productionin this country. The book containsmaps of several hundred individualmanganese deposits ; geologic maps;vertical sections; index maps and top-ographic maps. In a pocket at theback are 20 plates . Th e bulletin (clothbound) may be purchased for $2.75.

Benson, Arizona . . .Full production was scheduled tobe resumed this month at the JohnsonCamp mine of the Coronado Copperand Zinc company. The mine closeda year ago because of the drop in theprice of copper. San Pedro ValleyNews. Wickenburg, Arizona . . .Development of a large low-grademanganese deposit at Artillery Peak,10 miles northeast of Alamo Cross -ing, has been started by the Bureauof Mines. Output of this strategicmineral for the nation's steel industryis being encouraged by the federalgovernment. The deposit is on theBill Williams River about 40 milesnorth of Salome. Bureau engineershave estimated the deposit at more than50,000,000 tons of manganese ore.Wickenburg Sun. Washington, D. C.A house bill authorizing establish-ment of a $750,000 rare and preciousminerals experiment station in R e n o ,Nevada, has passed both houses ofcongress and gone to President Tru-m an for consideration. A sum of$25,000 annually isprovided for main-tenance and operation expenses.Pioche Record. Reno, Nevada . . .The Mackay School of Mines at theUniversity of Nevada will become aseparate college beginning September1, 1950. Tonopah Times-Bonanza.

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He Could Crack a Bull-WhipWestern writers have longglamorized the stage coachwith its galloping mustangs andthe dare-devil driver and shot-

gun messenger who travelledthe western trails before thecoming of the railroad. But therewas another group of men, noless valiant, who plodded alongin their own dust and campedwhere they were when nightcame. These were the freighterswho once supplied the armyposts in Arizona with food andother necessities. Here is a storyof those freighting days, asrecalled by one of the fewsurvivors.By MARION BECKLERNDER ARIZONA'S Novembersun Balls' freighters rumbledeastward, raising a cloud ofdust a mile long. On the forwardwagon, his tall figure swaying with thejolts, the "Old Man" kept his eyeson the jagged horizon. Of all the runfrom Wilmington, California, to Phoe-nix and Prescott, this Ehrenberg-Wick-enburg stretch was the least to hisliking . . . Apache country. Thingshappened.

But the freighters were seldom at-tacked by the Indians. Even an Apachewould think twice before he tangledwith W. H. Ball and the 30 to 40rough and ready mule-skinners whodrove the wagon train on this desertroute. Ball had a reputation for beinga sure rifle shot, quick on the triggerand the tough, alert men he pickedto wrangle the heavy freight loads onthis long run kept their rifles close athand. Often the train was accompaniedby immigrant wagons whose driverstrailed along for protection.The Old Man's face became grimas he recalled the last trip across thisstretch to Wickenburg. A likeableyoung chap named Boren had stayedwith the freighters this far. Then hebecame impatient with the slow paceof the freight wagons and hurried onahead. Next evening the freighterscame upon what was left of his outfit.Yes, this was a dangerous roadfor unprotected travelers. To the northwas Date Creek Reservation wherethe Apaches were coralled. But thetribe that had menaced neighboringIndians through the centuries was notchanging its ways now. Even thoughthe government was furnishing food,isolated settlers were still raided, stageA U G U S T , 1 9 5 0

Elmer Ball and the hands that cracked the bull-whip on the old freight run.27


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coaches and wagons still attacked.And General Crook's pursuit of theIndians, through huge canyons andlava beds where no slightest markwas left, had so far been unsuccessful.On this 5 th day of November, 1871,while Balls' freighters were pushingeastward, the stage coach out of Wick-enburg was speeding westward. Inanother two hours they would havemet.The stage driver, "Dutch John"Lanz, nervously gripped the reins.Was it his own fears that made thehorses skittish or did they sensesomething? Seven passengers werecrowded into the coach: importantbusiness men, a famous writer, andMiss Molly Shepard, the beautifuldance hall girl.But nothing was going to happen,Lanz told himself. Hadn't he driventhe stage once over this run and comeback alive? Still, he wished fervently

he had taken some precautions. Ifonly he hadn't let his passengers stacktheir firearms under the seat.Suddenly Lanz lashed the horses.The carefree voices from inside thecoach broke off. The air was filledwith the devilish whoops of Apaches!Two hours later, Balls' freightersrumbled to a halt beside what was leftof that Wickenburg stage. "The wagon

was still smoking. One man, scalped,was still alive," says Elmer Ball,grandson of W. H. Ball. 'Our freight-ers were the first to come onto themassacre. We were 24 hours ahead ofthe soldiers. Folks say the driver ofthe stage was new and lost his headand went for the hillsthe worst thinghe could have done. The Indians camein on both sides."General Crook reported the mas-sacre to the Secretary of War in thesewords: "Mail-stage on route fromWickenbourgh to Ehrenberg was at-

T R U E O R F A L S E This is a test for versatilepeople. The questions includea bit of history, geography,mineralogy, botany and some knowledge of the Indians and the lore of theGreat American Desert. If you read Desert Magazine month after monthyou will find your score improving, for all these questions have beenanswered more than once in these pages. 12 to 14 is a fair score, 15-16is good, 17-18 excellent, and 19 or 20 is super. The answers are on page39.1The Chuckawalla lizard is a poisonous reptile. True False2The lower end of Grand Canyon may now be reached by boat fromHoover dam. True False3Wasatch is the name of a mountain range in Arizona. True

False4Quaking Aspen trees shed their leaves in winter. True False5The Mormons observe Saturday as a day of rest. TrueFalse6Azurite is a form of iron ore. True False7Green River is a tributary of the Colorado River. True False8Sevier desert is in Utah. True False9The homes of Hopi Indians are known as hogans. TrueFalse10Catalina Mountains in Arizona may be seen from Flagstaff. TrueFalse11Rattlesnakes are most vicious when the weather is cold. TrueFalse12Some of the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest still use a stone metatefor grinding meal. True False13Desert lilies grow from bulbs. True False14Wild burros were roaming the deserts of the Southwest when the

Spaniards first came to this region. True False15Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico. True False16Indians living on the shores of Pyramid Lake in Nevada are Pimas.

True False17The tamarisk or athol tree widely used for windbreaks on the GreatAmerican desert is not a native of this country. True False18Ballarat is a famous ghost mining town in Nevada. TrueFalse19The trail to the top of Mt. Whitney on the desert side is known asBright Angel Trail. True False20The Gulf of California was once known as the Sea of Cortez.True False

tacked about nine miles from theformer named place. Driver, JohnLanz, and passengers, Frederick Sho-holen, Frederick W. Loring, R. M.Hanel, W. G. Salmon, and C. S. Ad-ams, killed, and Frederick Kruger andMiss Shepard wounded."Though wounded, Molly Shepard,with Kruger, escaped toward Wicken-burg. She reached her destination inCalifornia but died soon after.The Wickenburg massacre was givenwide publicity because of FrederickLoring, the well known young writerfrom Boston. His death stirred theEast to indignation over Washington'sdilatory policy regarding Apache atro-cities. However, it was not untileleven months laterOctober 2, 1872

that Crook's report, containingpages of just such incidents as theWickenburg affair, was sent to theSecretary of War. With it went therecommendation by Major Gen. Scho-field, commander of all the westerndivisions, that "Gen. Crook be givenample means and full authority to dealwith the difficult problem. . . . I thinkit must now be evident that forbear-ance toward the Apaches of Arizonahas reached its extreme limit, and thatno course is left us but a vigorous andunremitting prosecution of the warthey have so long invited, until theyare completely subdued."

And so Crook's army post at Pres-cott was strengthened, finally, and theApaches dealt with. But meanwhileBalls' freighters kept on, apparentlythe one formidable body in the West.Since 1857 they had hauled suppliesto the Arizona army posts. Duringthose turbulent years they kept vitalmaterials moving into Arizona's iso-lated communities which much of thetime were cut off from the East, com-munities which doubtless would haveperished but for Ball and his mule-skinners.

Much of the glamor of the oldWest comes down to us centeringaround the stage coaches, with theirsix galloping mustangs and their dare-devil drivers, and the shotgun mes-senger guarding the strongbox of gold.But not much has been written aboutthose old freighters, with their twelve,sixteen, or 20-mule teams controlledby a single jerk-line.

During the years the stage coacheswere speeding over the roads, thefreighters were plodding along in theirown dust, taking their timethree orfour months to Arizona's towns andback. They did not depend on stationsfor they carried their own supplies andwatertwo barrels to a wagon, lashedon the sides. They would start at 3:30a.m. and travel until 10:00 p.m.,making camp wherever they happenedto be. The mules they started with

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Monument erected along Highway 60 near Wickenburg in 1937 to commemoratethe tragedy of 1871 when a stage driver and his passengers were massacred byApache Indians.made the entire journey. They hauledfrom Wilmington to Prescott, Phoenix,Tucson.Their northern route crossed theriver by ferry at Needles. Their cen-tral route kept east from Whitewaterand crossed the river at Ehrenberg.This road went on to Wickenburg,t h en a m e r e s t a t i o n , a n d t h e r ebranched to Phoenix and to Prescott .Another route turned south fromWhitewater along what is now thenorth shore of Salton Sea, to cross theColorado at Yuma. St i l l another routefollowed the stage road east as far asWarner's , then up Montezuma Valleyand down Grapevine Canyon, meet-ing the stage road again at aboutPlaster Cityand on to Tucson."We never had Indian trouble be-cause we treated the Indians right ,"Elmer Ball told me. "In some placesthey brought feed, and they always gotpaid for it. If my grandfather told 'emhe'd do a thing he always did it.

"Up at Whitewater Station there'dbeen Indian trouble, so my uncle,Struthers Ball, took over the station.He could speak Indian and he gotalong with them. They'd bring ingrama grass on their backs for themule s and t he s tage horses . . . "A man now in his seventies, ElmerBall has for many years been a smallrancher in Escondido valley, in South-ern C alifornia. H e is tall, lean, quickmuch, I imagine, l ike the "OldMan" who dared start freighting in

A U G U S T , 1 9 5 0

the old wild West. His black eyessnapped with excitement as he wenton, "The pictures that are made now-days of 20-mule teams are all wrong.They hav e 'em all with bridles. Onlythe leaders and wheelers wore bridles."And a bull-whip! Folks now don'teven know what a bull-whip is. Butwhen I was a kid I practiced with onetill I could crack it like a pistol-shot.I've seen my step-dad pick a fly off amule's back with the bull-whip withoutever touching the mule."Kids nowdays drive their hot-rods.But when I was eleven I drove one ofthose 12-mule team freighters cross-country and back! We were all readyto pull out of San Berdoo where welived, and a teamster was missing. The'Old Man' said, 'AH right, sonny, getup there and take the jerk-line'!"There was yearning in Elmer Ball 'seyes for the old days of mule-freight-in'. Of climbing onto the high seatand feeling the heavy wagon rumbleunder him as the mile-long caravanstarted on another trek across thedesert.The Balls sold out in '84, when therailroad was put through San Bernar-dino. W. H. Ball died in Anaheim in'95. He had come out from Illinoisand had filled an important place inthe building of the early West.On the Wickenburg road is a monu-ment, built in 1937, to the victims ofthe stage coach massacre. And along-side the road at Death Valley Junction

stand some of those sturdy old freight-ersreminders of a brave past. R E D W O O D G R O V E N A M E DFOR JEDEDIAH SMITHJedediah Smith, p

Documents

195008 Desert Magazine 1950 August