195702 Desert Magazine 1957 February

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THE DESERT EVENING CALLSBy GEORGIA JORDANOcean Beach, CaliforniaThe Desert Evening calls, with siren's charm,And draws me toher drifting sand,Forgetful of the furnaced day's alarmWhen Death was hidden inher hand.The Desert Evening, casting shadows, callsTo welcome night. I catch her pleasantmood,And breathe thepure, cool air as twilightfallsAnd stars appear toshare my solitude.

By TANYA SOUTHVague isthe purpose ofour faring,Dim our vision, small our scope,And puny isour highest daring.The problems with which wemustcopeAre so minu te: And yet the ant,Scarce seeing us as en it trods,Will unto us high powers grant,And think usgods.

GOLDEN EAGLEBy JULIA BROGANKansas City, MissouriUp hesoars tobreathless blue,Crggs and rocks beneath him spread,Clouds that dazzle overhead.He dips and turns, then lifts anew.In the boundlessness ofspace,With sun-bronze wings he hovers near.Nothing indepth orheight tofear,He floats, with ageless, silent grace.Soon two more join him inthe fun.O'er peaks too steep for man toclimb,Infinitesimal, sublime,They disappear into the sun.

I'D RATHERBy EDNA M. NEW MANSan Bernardino, CaliforniaI'd rather sleep on the ground 'neath atamariskThan lodge inthe finest hotel.Bask inthe sun on the desert,Than live where the city folks dwell.

I'd rather see stars up inheaven,Than lights on he great white way.Or listen to thenight bird call hismate,Than tohear the finest band play.

By IRENE WELCH GRISSOMSan Gabriel, CaliforniaA lily true totype and fairAs if it grew with hothouse care,If lifts above the burning sandAnd lava rock ofarid landTo bloom where little else will grow,Beset by bitter winds that blow.A lovely flower that lends its graceTo light abarren, lonely place.In every landscape something fairFor beauty breaks ineverywhere.

BACK TO THE DESERTBy REN A OAKLEY L EWISRoseburg, OregonI want togo back tothe desert;I feel lonesome and weary and old,I am lost inthe maze ofthe city,I am sick ofthe rain and the cold.

I want tosee distant horizons,Feel the urge oftheir beckoning han ds;Hear again the voice ofthe desertAnd the tales ofthe whispering sands.I want tohear coyotes yapping,Watch bright desert blossoms unfold,Climb to ahilltop atsunsetTo gather aheartful ofgold.I want tosleep out inthe open,Gaze up at the fathomless stars;The walls ofthis room inthe cityEnclose me like cold prison bars.There, day is asermon inliving,And night is ahymn and aprayer;I want togo back tothe desert,God seems closer to people out there.

MY LOVE FOR ROCKSBy MILDRED A. COWANNorth Bend, Oregon1 love the rocks, their colors and theirformsGifts of warm, high deserts of ocean'sstorms;The polished offerings ofglacial flow;The prints offronds that swayedeons ago,I love these rocks to search for themamongThe hills, or on thebeach, with knapsackslungReady toreceive each cherished stone . . .I love towork with themcontent, alone.I love the rocksbut may I neverbeSo held by them that Ino longer seeThe white crests onthe waves, the wheelinggullsThe desert's vastnessa woodland's miracles.These charming rocks I will not love thelessFor taking time towatch clouds opalesce,Or to cultivate old friends, who may notfindA m essage in ageode, crystal-lined.My wealth inrocks I do not count inweight,Bu t inthe joy they give mewhich isgreat,

s PRIVATE DOMAINBy ADELAIDE COKEROjai, CaliforniaBeneath the desert willow, the poolBeckoned tome, limpid and cool.

Thirsty, I bent my head todrinkNever really stopping tothinkUntil I met the golden eyesOf two indignant dragonflies.DESERT MAGAZINE

Lily of the Wasteland

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DESERT CflLEnDflRFeb. 1-3Parada Del Sol, Scottsdale,Arizona.Feb. 1-317th Annual Imperial Val-ley Tomato Festival, Niland, Calif.Feb. 2Candlemas Day Dances atSan Felipe, Cochiti and San Ilde-fonso Indian Pueblos, N. M.Feb. 2-317th Annual Palm Springs,California, Rodeo.Feb. 3-Dons Club Tour of Jeromeand Montezuma Castle NationalMonument, from Phoenix, Ariz.Feb. 3-5New Mexico Wool Grow-ers Association Convention, Albu-querque.Feb. 3-27Exhibition of Oil Paintingsby Milford Zornes, Addingtqn Gal-lery, Desert Hot Springs, California.Feb. 4State Pancake Race, Clayton,New Mexico.Feb. 7-10-Tucson, Arizona, OpenGolf Tournament.Feb. 8-10 10th Annual ImperialValley Carrot Carnival, Holtville,

California.Feb. 8-10Dons Club Tour of ZionNational Park and Hoover Dam,from Phoenix, Arizona.Feb. 9University of Nevada Win-ter Ski Carnival, Reno.Feb. 9-10Jaycee Silver Spur Rodeo,Yuma, Arizona.Feb. 9-10 Western Saddle Club1957 Stampede, Phoenix, Arizona.Feb. 10Desert Sun Ranchers Ro-deo, Wickenburg, Arizona.Feb. 12-13 Tri-State HerefordBreeders Show, Clayton, N. M.Feb. 12-17Arizona Sports, Vaca-tion, Boat and Trailer Show, Phoe-nix.Feb. 15 San Juan Pueblo, NewMexico, Dances.Feb. 16-17 Sheriff's Posse Cham-pionship Rodeo, Chandler, Ariz.Feb. 16-19Air Force Pacific CoastConference Ski Championship Meet,Reno, Nevada.Feb. 16-24Riverside County Fairand National Date Festival, Indio,California.Feb. 17Bandollero Tour to KofaPalm Canyon, sponsored by Cham-ber of Commerce and Parks De-partment, Yuma, Arizona.Feb. 17-24 10th Annual CactusShow, Desert Botanical Garden,Phoenix, Arizona.Feb. 21-24La Fiesta de los Va-queros, Parade and Rodeo, Tucson,Arizona.Feb. 22-23 10th Annual SquareDance Festival, Phoenix, Arizona.Feb. 23-24Arizona Ski Cup Races,Flagstaff.Feb. 23-24 Arabian Horse Show,Scottsdale, Arizona.Feb. 27Desert Sun Ranchers Rodeo,Wickenburg, Arizona.Feb. 28 Annual ThunderbirdTennis Championship Tournament,Phoenix, Arizona.Feb. 28Indian School Open House,Phoenix, Arizona.

Mid-FebruaryMid-Winter Ski Car-nivals at Santa Fe, Taos, and Al-buquerque, New Mexico.

Volume 20 FEBRUARY. 1957 Number 2COVERPOETRYCALENDARHISTORYTRUE OR FALSEPERSONALITYMEMORIAL

WILDFLOWERSFICTIONFIELD TRIPNATUREGHOST TOWNCLOSE-UPSCONTESTPHOTOGRAPHYGARDENINGLETTERSRECREATIONEXPERIENCENEWSMININGURANIUMHOBBYLAPIDARYCOMMENTBOOKS

Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus BlossomsBy JOSEF MUENCH

Lily of the Wasteland, and other poems . . . 2February events on the desert 3The Great Diamond Hoax of 1872

By H. N. FERGUSON 4A test of your desert knowledge 6Jim Mahone, Hualpai Scout, by MAY E. YOUNG 8He Would Preserve the Primitive Wilderness

By WELDON HEALD andRANDALL HENDERSON 9

Flowering Predictions for February 10Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley 10Green Garden Stone Above Old Ravenna

By JAY ELLIS RANSOM 11Beetle that Stands on Its Head

By EDMUND C. JAEGER 15Only the Sidewalk Remains at Gold Creek

By NELL MURBARGER 17About those who write for Desert 22Picture-of-the-Month Contest announcement . . 22Pictures of the Month 23When Desert Dweller Plants a Tree

By RUTH REYNOLDS 24Comment from Desert's Readers 26On Desert Slopes with the Sierrans

By LOUISE TOP WERNER 27Arizona Homestead in 1913

By CARRIE S. FRAIZER 28From here and there on the desert 30Current news of deser t mines 34Latest developments in the Industry . . . . 35Gems and Minerals 37Amateur Gem Cutter, by DR. H. C. DAKE . . 41Just Between You and Me, by the Editor . . . 42Reviews of Southwestern Literature 43

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

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

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T h e G r e a t D i a m o n d H o a x o f 1 8 7 2 . . .The great jewel fraud was brief, explosive and tragic in its conse-que nce s. It w as a remarkable demonstration of what can happ enwhen shrewd, sensible men allow avarice to distort their natural judg-ment. It stand s as a monu ment to the eternal gullibility of man.

By H. N. FERGUSONDrawing by Don Phil l ipsMap by Norton Allen#ILLIAM C. RALSTON, headof the powerful Bank of Cali-fornia and financial autocratof the Pacific Coast, stood at thewindow of his office on a morning inearly February, 1872. He glancedcarelessly at two roughly dressed min-ers who were crossing MontgomeryStreet carrying a heavy canvas bag.They entered the bank and Ralston

turned back to his desk, little realiz-ing the fantastic influence these twomen were to have on his life.Philip Arnold and John Slack ap-proac hed the cashier. "W e'd like todeposit this bag in your vault," an-nounced Arnold."Yes sir," replied the cashier. "I'llgive you a receipt for it, but first I'llhave to know what it contains."For answer Arnold tilted the sackallowing the contents to spill out onthe tablea bewildering cascade ofuncut diamonds, raw rubies, sapphiresand emeralds.

The cashier suppressed a whistle.Behind him, bug-eyed clerks exchangedsurreptitious glances. Within minutesRalston had been informed of the bi-zarre deposit."Bring them in!" he demandedquickly. "I want to talk to them ."But the miners had already disap-peared.Shortly thereafter, George D. Rob-erts, a former Army general, learnedof the pouch full of gems and recalledthat Arnold had once been an em-ployee of his. Th e general lost notime in renewing his acquaintance.Arnold appeared happy that he hadfound someone whom he could trustand poured out the whole story. Heand Slack, he said, had stumbled upona mountain filled with precious stonesof every description. Vagu e abo ut theexact location, he hinted that the minemight be in Arizona.Roberts, who was a friend of Ral-ston, induced the two men to go with

him to see the ban ker . A t first theywere exceedingly cautious, with all themanner of a couple of simple-mindedfellows who had stumbled on some-thing good and, bewildered with theirgreat fortune, were afraid to trust any-one with the secret. But Ralsto n,suave and persuasive, soon set the menat ease. He dangled before them thepromise of lavish offices with solidwalnut desks, rich homes with servantsand great power. The miners began tounderstand the advantages of a part-nership. After a period of cautiousnegotiation the two men agreed to sella part of the claim to Ralston.

"Of course," warned the banker,"before we go through with this, it willbe necessary for us to inspect theclaim."The men, obviously pleased thattheir troubles were over, agreed. Theydid insist upon one stipulation, how-ever. Whoever inspected the minemust be blindfolded upon approachingand leaving the area. Since this wasa reasonable request, Ralston acqui-esced. Tw o agents, one of whom wasGeneral David Colton, were selectedto make the journey. The emissariesreturned with rose-colored reports ofthe genuineness of the properties andwith another bag of diamonds to bearout their fabulous richn ess. One of

w Y / O M i...

TO SALT LAKE CITY

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respectable jeweler. ItHe confided to friends that

The banker began dreaming of cre-ting a West Coast empire . He plottedhe removal of the whole diamond in-ustry to San Francisco, planning tomport miners from South Africa andapidaries from Holland . He envis-ioned himself as controlling the world'sgem market, and immediately swunginto action.As the opening shot he sent a cable,costing $1100, to his friend and part-ner, Asbury Harpending, who was inLondon. The cable set forth in minutedetail the great diamond find and re-quested Harpending to hurry home toact as general manager of the project.Harpending was reluctant , however,and a brisk exchange of cablegramsfollowed. Then rum ors of the discov-ery began to float into London. BaronRothschild became interested and vis-ited Harpending for further informa-t ion. Harpending was dubious, andsaid so. "D o not be too sur e," repliedthe Bar on. "Am erica is a large coun-try and has furnished the world withmany surprises already. It may haveothers in store."

This remark, from the keenest fi-nancial wizard in the world, made upHarpending's mind. Ignoring a tinybell that seemed to be ringing an in-tuitional forewarning of disaster, Har-pending sailed for homewhether totake his place in a new financial hier-archy or to act as ringmaster for a$50,000,000 circus, he didn' t know.In the meantime, Slack and Arnoldhad made Ralston a proposi t ion thatseemed to reveal their good faith be-yond a doub t. They offered to go tothe diamond fields and bring to SanFrancisco a couple of million dollarsworth of stones and place them in thepossession of the financiers as a guar-anty of good faith. Th e offer wasaccepted.Some weeks later Ralston receiveda telegram from Arnold at Reno, stat-ing that he and Slack were on the wayhome and urging that someone meetthem at Lathrop, California. Harpend-ing, who had arrived in the meantime,was assigned this mission. He ar-ranged with his associates to meet himat his home on Rincon Hill after hehad kept the Lathrop rendezvous withArnold and Slack.

Harpending met the train and foundthe two men, both of whom were ex-ceedingly travel-stained and weary.Slack was sound asleep but Arnoldsat grimly erect, rifle in hand and abulky package by his side. They told

Philip Arnold and John Slack salted the "diamond field" by thrusting aniron rod into the ground, dropping a few near-worthless stones into theholes and then filling them over. Rain eliminated a ll evidence o f thechicanery.a lurid story. After gathering whatthey considered two million dollarsworth of gems they ha


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The report, when made, gave avaluation of $150,000 on the samplelot. On this basis, the gems in thecompany's possession were worth $1,-500,000. There now was no elementof risk involved.Then came the selection of a miningexpert to examine the property. Onlyone name was considered HenryJanin. His knowledge of mining andhis skill as a consulting engineer hadlong marked him as the top man inhis field. He had the reputation ofhaving examined over 600mines with-out once making a mistake or havingcaused the loss of a cent on any ofthem.At this point Arnold became restive.He demanded a further guarantee incold cash. He asked for $100,000but agreed to let it remain in escrow,

pending Janin 's report. This detailtaken care of, the group set out forthe diamond fields.The party left the Union PacificRailroad at Rawlings Springs, nearwhat is now Green River, Wyoming.They outfitted and struck out throughthe wilderness. A rnold and Slack ledthem on an erratic four day trekthrough wild and inhospitable country.The men, unaccustomed to hardship,grew quarrelsome. Finally, however,they pitched camp in the middle ofthe famous diamond area. It em-braced a small mesa of about 30 or 40acres at an elevation of 7000 feet. Asmall stream of water ran through it.Fatigue was quickly forgotten aseveryone grabbed pick and shovel andset to work. Diamonds were turnedup at will, together with occasional

T R U E O R F A L S E Here's another of those brain-twisters for the desert fans. Ifyou know all the history, geog-raphy, botany, mineralogy and general lore of the desert country youwillscore 100 percent. But no oneknows that much, so give yourself a pat onthe back if you even come close to it. The law of averages should give you10 correct answers even if youhave never seen the desert. Fifteen correctanswers indicates better than an average knowledge of the desert. If youge t 18 you can attach an S.D.S. to your nameSand Dune Sage. Theanswers are onpage 36.1The Chuckawalla lizard has four legs. Tru e False2Scotty's Castle in Death Valley is a reconstructed prehistoric Indianpueblo. Tru e False3A line drawn east and west through Reno, Nevada, would pass southof Salt Lak e City. True False4Wild burros now roam many parts of the Great American desert.True False5The date palm is a native of the Am erican desert. Tru eFalse6 O ne of the desert lizards iscalled a vinegarroon. True False7An arrastra was used by prehistoric Indians to kill buffalo.True False8Ferns are found in many desert canyons. True False9California's Salton Sea nowcovers a much smaller area than in 1900.True False10Chief industry of Ajo, Arizona, is cattle raising. True False11A calcite crystal will scratch a quartz crystal. True False12The Hassayampa River in Arizona is a tributary of the Gila River.

True False13Joseph Smith led the original Mormon Trek to Utah. TrueFalse14The door of a Navajo hogan always faces east. Tru e False15Chimayo, home of the handspun weaving industry is in California.True False16Bright Angel Creek flows into the Colorado River. TrueFalse17Both Stalactites and Stalagmites are found in the Carlsbad Cavernsof New Mexico. True False18Clyde Forsyth is an artist who often paints the desert landscapes.True False19Breyfogle is a name associated with a lost gold mine in Californiaor Nevad a. True False20Coyotes are vegetarians. True False

rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Janinwas exultant that his name should beassociated with the most momentousdiscovery of theage; the others experi-enced the intoxication that comes withsudden accession of boundless wealth.Two days work satisfied Janin ofthe genuineness of the diamond fields.Wildly enthusiastic, he felt it uselessto spend more time on the property."Twenty laborers could wash out amillion dollars worth of gems permonth indefinitely," he declared.Now that its value had been deter-mined, the party was reluctant to leavethe field without someone watching it.Slack and Harpending's friend AlfredRubery were assigned the guard de-tail and the rest of the party departed.Later, Rubery returned to San Fran-cisco, but Slack wasnever seen again.When the men reached San F ran -cisco and Janin's report had been di-gested, a company was immediatelyorganized called the San Francisco

and New York Mining and CommercialCompany with a capital stock of $10,-000,000. Twenty-five men, represent-ing the cream of the financial interestsin San Francisco, were permitted tosubscribe for stock to the amount of$80,000 each. The House of Roths-child was to act as foreign agents.Slack and Arnold were paid a totalof $660,000 by which their interestswere completely wiped out. The mon-ey was turned over to Arnold person-ally since he had a properly executedpower of attorney to act for Slack.The public was keyed up to thepoint of a speculative craze such aseven the Comstock never saw. If thestock had been placed on the marketmillions upon millions would havebeen invested.Handsome offices were engaged anda large map of the property was dis-played on the wall. It showed the po-sition of the various locations whichhad been given such suggestive namesas Discovery Claim, Ruby Gulch,Dia-mond Flat, Sapphire Hollow, etc.Then, on November 11 , the blow

fell. The president of the diamondcompany received a wire sent from asmall station in Wyoming. It read:THE ALLEGED DIAMONDMINES ARE FRAUDULENT.THEY ARE PLAINLY SALTED.THE DISCOVERY IS A GIGAN-TIC FRAUD AND THE COM-PANY HAS BEEN PITIFULLYDUPED.The telegram was signed by Clar-ence King, a name commanding highrespect in engineering circles. King,who was later to establish the U. S.Geological Survey, had surveyed the40th Parallel and reported to Wash-ington that no gems existed in this

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region. He was chagrined to leam ofthe great diamond find and determinedto make a personal investigation.From information picked up he hada fair idea of the mine site and finallylocated it in Utah, just over the ter-ritorial bord er of Wy oming. He setto work and soon uncovered vastquantities of gems; he also brought tolight things that had hitherto beenoverlook ed. On several stones hefound the plain marks of lapidarytools. Several of the gems were fou ndwedged in the crevices of flat rocks.Evidence indicated that an iron rodhad been thrust into the ground inhundreds of places then pulled out anddiamonds dropped into the holes. Theopenings had been sealed by tramp-ing on them with a boot heel. Rainshad washed away all surface evidenceof the chicanery but beyond a doubtthe entire region had been meticulouslysalted.In San Francisco the company offi-cers were completely stunned . A hur-ried conference was called and thegrim-faced men rushed Henry Janinback to the field to verify King's state-men t. It was all too true.The details of the adroit swindlenow began to unfold. It had succeedednot because of the cleverness of theprincipals involved but because of theirineptness. Their casual cooperationwith every suggestion made by thecompany officials tended to disarmrather than arouse suspicion. Theaudacity and nerve of the two minersaccomplished the rest. Throughout allthe negotiations they were always ser-ene, ready, confidentmade not onebreak. They had been almost exultantwhen Tiffany agreed to value the dia-

Asbury Harpending, Ralston's part-ner. His published account is oneof the few authentic records of thehoax.

monds. "That will settle everything,"Arnold had exclaimed.The fact that diamonds, rubies, em-eralds and sapphires were found incommon association should have givenan inkling from the beginning that allwas not well, but this was entirelyoverlooked by Tiffany, Janin, theHouse of Rothschild and the best busi-ness and mining brains of the west.The only excuse for Tiffany makingsuch an appalling error in appraisingthe gems was undoubtedly due to hisunfam iliarity with ro ugh stones hewas used to dealing with the finishedprod uct. As for Henry Janin, he hadconsidered that Tiffany's valuationdefinitely established the genuine char-acter of the stones; his mission wasmainly to estimate the extent and prob-able value of the field.But how did a couple of ordinary

Baron Rothschild, world's leadingfinancier who acted as foreign agentfor the diamond mining company.prospectors secure the necessary fi-nances to pull off such a glitteringfraud? It came out later that they hadpreviously sold a pair of mines forsome $50,000. Arnold had made twotrips to Europe to purchase stones.He visited the various gem-cuttingestablishments, buying many coarsestones known as "niggerhe ads." Theywere handsome enough but of littlecommercial value. In all, Arnoldspent about $35,000 to secure theproper stage props for salting the mine.He and Slack thus realized a neatprofit of more than $600,000.Unhappy days settled upon the di-rectors of the company when the giantswindle was confirmed. Jeers and cat-calls accompanied them whenever theyappeared in public. Ralston started anationwide search for Arnold andSlack. He located Arn old in Hard inCou nty, Kentuck y. Th e state refused

Wm. C. Ralston, president of theBank of California and first dupein the diamond fraud.to extradite the prospector and itscourts stood solidly behind the manwho had outwitted the Yankees attheir own game. However, in returnfor immunity from further litigation,Arnold surrendered $150,000 of themoney. But he was to have only ashort while to enjoy the fruits of hislabors. He opened a bank in HardinCounty and was killed the next yearin a gunfight with one of his competi-tors .Slack, who had received only asmall fraction of the original money,was never heard from again . It islikely that he died somewhere in thewest without participating further inthe profits of the diamond fraud.As for the investors who had put$80,000 each into the venture, Ralstonand Harpending paid them off in full.Henry Janin, his professional stand-ing ruined through his one error injudgment, went abroad to rehabilitatehimself.Harpending, disgusted with life ingeneral and with business in particular,liquidated at great sacrifice all his vastholdings in San Francisco and left forKentucky where he invested in landand settled down to play the part ofan obscure country gentleman.

Three years later the great Bank ofCalifornia, of which Ralston was thehead, suddenly closed its doors, facedwith insolvency. Ralston promisedthat all his resources would be usedto mak e up the ban k's deficit. Twodays later his body was found floatingface downward in the Bay just offNorth Beach. As he bowed out , hisvast financial empire was disintegratinginto ruin. The unlucky venture hadbrought disaster to all connected withit.

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Jim Mahone , Hua lpa i Scou t . . .You have read about the Indians,Their cruel and scalping ways;I will tell you of an IndianWho guarded my childhood days.

By MAY E. YOUNGS HUALPAI Indian name wasMahoynavie. The army changedit to Jim Mahone when he en-listed as an Indian Scout in 1873, asa young man of 23. I do not remem-ber his parents. His father died atan early age from a rattlesnake bite.

In those days food was scarce andthey used every means of getting it.According to the story told by thetribesmen, the father was reaching intoa hollow stump for a rabbit when hewas struck in the face by a rattler, anddied a few hours later. Jim's motherlived to old age, and he had two sistersand a brother. His youngest sistermarried Jeff, the man who led thewhites to the rich White Hills mine.

After Mahone's discharge from thearmy in 1878, he bought his wife,Betsie, from her parents in MineralPark. He had to pay a Navajo blanketand a pony for Betsie, who was justa young girl at the time. Jim hadquite a time keeping her. She keptrunning back home to her parents andeach time she did he had to buy herback again. She finally became rec-onciled and made him a faithful wife.They had two sons, Frank Mahone andJim Mahone, Jr. Frank passed awaywhen he was 15 and young Jim diedin 1937, the same year Betsie passedaway. Mahone married again in laterlife.In 1876 my father, Edwin Imus andhis brother, Charley, drove a herd ofcattle from California to Arizona. Theycrossed the Colorado River at Eldo-rado Canyon and settled in what isnow Mohave County. They boughtCamp Willows, a former army encamp-ment. After locating their cattle, myfather returned to California and mar-ried his sweetheart, Rose Hunt. Heand his young bride came to CampWillows to make their home and hereI was born on January 7, 1878, theeldest of a family of eight children.

One of my earliest memories is ofJim Mahone. He was hired by myfather and my uncle to guard theirfamilies when they were away fromhome. Jim made regular trips backand forth between the two places tosee that we had plenty of wood andwater and were not molested by any-one.

Jim Mahone

In those days, women and childrenwere taught to be afraid of men walk-ing the roads. We called them tramps.I afterward learned that many a goodman was forced to walk because hehad no other means of transportation.One day, a strange man came to ourhouse. Mother gave him a meal in theearly morning and after eating hewalked out and lay down to rest be-

hind the corral. There was a hugepile of rocks about a mile from thehouse and after lying down an houror so, he walked over to it. Mahone'scamp was on the hill in front of ourhouse and he had been watching allthe while. He came down and said tomy mother, "I don't like that man.""I don't like the way he acts, either,"mother answered."You say so, I kill him," he said."No," replied mother. "Don't killhimjust watch him."When evening came, the man moved

on.Jim was the only Hualpai who owneda mule. The animal was so old it had

begun to get gray-haired. One of thecowboys asked him one day, "Mahone,how old is your mule?""Oh," he said, "I don't know. ButGeneral Crook come here, me littleboy, mule little boy, too."He rode this mule on hunting trips.A mule has a keen sense of smell andthis one always gave warning whenthey were close to deer. Jim under-stood his signals and would get downand slip up on the deer.On one of his hunting trips, he killedan antelope illegally. Someone reportedhim and when the game warden cameto investigate, he found the hide onMahone's mule. Mahone pretended tobe so blind that he could not distin-guish an antelope from a deer hide.So convincing was his story that thewarden could not understand how hehad been able to see well enough tokill the animal in the first place.Mahone's declining years were spentin Seligman. He was now too old towork and had retired on a governmentpension. He was quite a favorite withthe people there. With their help andhis small pension, he existed. Heowned his home, a dirt-floored shantybuilt of a hodgepodge of corrugatediron. It was home to him and he pre-ferred it to the Hualpai Reservation.

He also owned an ancient car but hadto trust some of the younger generationto drive as he was completely blind fornearly 10 years. Befor his death, heregained his sight which gave him agreat deal of pleasure.While in the army, Mahone hadserved under General Crook. One ofhis most prized possessions was a writ-ten recommendation signed by "M.George Elliott, 2 Brig. Infantry, U. S.Army." He carried it until it wasbadly worn but still legible. It read asfollows:

Prescott Junction, A. T.10 June, 1889To whom it may concern:This . . . Jim Mahone of the HualpaiIndian Tribe is a trustworthy and in-telligent man. He is an old scout,having served under General Crookin the years gone by. Of him, theGeneral says, "no braver man evertrod shoe leather."Jim Mahone passed away on Au-gust 6, 1949, and the citizens of Selig-man gave him a fitting burial. Thusanother colorful character of the earlypioneer days of Arizona has gone,leaving only his vanishing footprintson the shifting sands of time.

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Wrote Aldo Leopold: "In human history we have learned (I hope)that the conqueror role is eventu ally self-defeating. Wh y? Beca use itis implicit in such a role that the conqueror knows just what makes thecommunity clock tick, and just what and who is valuable, and whatan d wh o is wo rthless, in commun ity life. It al w ay s turns out that heknows neither, and this is why his conquests eventually defeat them-se lves ."

By WELDON HEALD and RANDALL HENDERSONN A HIGH grassy mesa alongHighway 260, 12 miles south ofGlenwood, New Mexico, standsa monument erected in 1954 to thememory of a man who through hiswork and writings gave Americans anew concept of recreation and conser-

vation.The man was Aldo Leopold, who formany years was associated with the

U. S. Forest Service, and later becamethe head of a department for wildlifemanagement at the University of Wis-consin.Leopold's career as a naturalist andleader in the conservation movementended tragically in 1948 when he diedfighting a grass fire near his home inWisconsin.He left two books, published after

his death, which have had a profoundinfluence on the thinking of all con-servation-inclined Americans in thisdecade. A Sand County Almanac an dRound River reveal the philosophy ofa man who had a deep love for every-thing that grows and lives on this earth.He was an advocate of the develop-ment of recreational areasbut evenmore important, in his opinion, is thedevelopment of the perceptive qualityin human beings. Men and women,he taught, must recognize that the hu-man species merely is one element inthe life of the planet, and that allplants and animals were put here bythe Creator for a purposeand notmerely to supply food and clothingand the economic purposes of man-kind.Leopold felt that the "balance ofnature" figure of speech commonlyused by conservationists who wouldpreserve the integrity, of the naturallandscape, is inadequ ate. Rath er, hepreferred to use an image employed

in the study of ecologythe bioticpyramid, clarified as follows:"Plants absorb energy from the sun.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 5 7

He Would Preserve thePrimitive W ilderness


10/44

The GILA WILDERNESS AREAFirst National Forest Area So Designated, embracing the MogollonMountains seen in the distance, exists in lasting tribute to the mem ory ofALDO LEOPOLD

pioneer in wilderness preservationwho here initiated the establishment of aNational Wilderness System

The Wilderness Society Forest Service, U.S.D.A., 1954

Inscription on large signThis energy flows through a circuitcalled the biota, which may be pre-sented by a pyramid consisting of lay-e r s . Th e bottom layer is the soil. Aplant layer rests on the soil, an insectlayer on the plants , a bird and rodentlayer on the insects, and so on upthrough various animal groups to theapex of the layers, which consists ofthe large carnivores. . . . Man sharesan intermediate layer with the bears,raccoons and squirrels which eat bothmeat and vegetables ."

Leopold wanted Americans who goto the outdoors for recreation to be

something more than mere trophy-hunters, and he denned the term in thefollowing paragraphs quoted from ASand County Almanac:"The disquieting thing in the mod-ern picture is the trophy-hunter whonever grows up, in whom the capacityfor isolation, perception, and husban-dry is undeveloped or perhaps lost.The trophy-hunter is the caveman re-born. He is the motorized ant whoswarms the continents before learningto see his own back yard, who con-sumes but never creates outdoor satis-faction . . .

R o c k S h o t t yof Death Valley

"Must have taken those treesa long time to grow," remarkedthe tourist by way of opening theconversation. He nodded towardthe grove of tamarisks on theflat below Inferno store.Hard Rock Shorty got up fromthe bench under the lean-toporch and sauntered into thestore as if he had not heard therem ark. A few minutes later hereturned with a broom straw and

started poking it through thestem of his corn cob. "Thin gkinda gets stopped up some-times," he explained.The cleaning job finished, heturned to the newcomer. "You'reall wrong about them trees,stranger. They're the fastestgrowin' things in the world.Somebody brought a few cut-tin's over here from Africa afew years ago, an' now they'regrowin' all over the desert jestlike cactus."You outta ask Pisgah Billabout them trees," Shorty chuck-

led. "Pisgah went down to Ba r-stow one summer an' bought alot o' tamarisk fence posts. Thatwas the year he got the notion o'breakin' wild burros fer packanimals. Burros brought goodmoney in them days, an Pisgahoffered the Injuns two dollars ahead fer all the animals they'dbring in."The Shoshones would drive'em up dead-end canyons andthen lasso 'em an' soon Pisgahhad more donkeys than his oldcorral'd hold. So he brought inthem fence posts an' strung 'emwith barbed wire, an' had roomenough in his pasture fer all theburros in Dea th Valley. 'Forelong he had the lot full of 'em."Then one night we had oneo' them August showers. Rain edsix inches in three hours. Nextmornin' when Pisgah went outto count his burros them fenceposts wuz all full-grown trees.The barbed wire fence wuz eightfeet in the airan' there wuzn'ta jackass in sight."

"The trophy-recreationist has pecu-liarities that contribute in subtle waysto his own undoing. To enjoy he mustpossess, invade, appro priate. Henc ethe wilderness that he cannot person-ally see has no value to him. Hencethe universal assumption that an un-used hinterland is rendering no serviceto society. To those devoid of imagi-nation, a blank place on the map isa useless waste; to others the mostvaluable part."It would appear, in short, that therudimentary grades of outdoor recrea-tion consume their resource-base; thehigher grades, at least to a degree,create their own satisfactions with littleor no attrition of land or life. It is theexpansion of transport without a cor-responding growth of perception thatthreatens us with qualitative bank-ruptcy of the recreational process.Recreational development is a job notof building roads into lovely country,but of building receptivity into thestill unlovely human mind."The New Mexico plaque dedicatedto the memory of Aldo Leopold in1 9 5 4 , was placed there by the Ameri-can Wilderness Society and this spotwas selected because it is just insidethe boundary of the Gila National For-est. In this region, through Leopold'sinterest, was established the first ofthe 78 Forest Service primitive areasin the United States.As one of the fruits of Leopold'slife-long endeavors, there were intro-duced in the last session of Congressmeasures designed to extend the prim-itive wilderness areas throughout thesystem of National Forests, and thesemeasures are scheduled to be re-intro-duced again in 1957.FEBRUARY WILDFLOWERO U T L O O K D I S C O U R A G I N G

The prospects for a lavish wildflowerdisplay in February are almost nil, re-port Desert Magazine's Southwest cor-respondents. The area's prolongeddrouth has extended into the new yearand unless generous rains are receivedin late January and February, this willbe a poor year for wildflowers.Only from Joshua Tree NationalMonument on California's high desertcomes encouragem ent. Bruce Black,park naturalist, reports that his areareceived light rains in October and De-cember and at the very least, visitorsshould find bladder-pod, desert laven-der, desert alyssum, chuperosa, rock-pea and thamnosma blooming in Feb-ruary.M. B. Ingham, Jr . , park naturalis tat Death Valley National Monument,said that during February any flowersvisitors can expect to see there wouldbe at elevations below 1500 feet.

10 D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


11/44

Green Garden StoneAbo ve Old Raven n a

Collecting stones for the home rock garden and for path and driveborders is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding phases of the gemand mineral hobby. Recently Jay Ransom made a trip to Soleda dCanyon on the edge of Southern California's Mojave Desertnot forgar den stone , but for m oss a ga te a lso found in this area . So beautifuland accessible, however, was the emerald green waxy quartz vein ofrock garden material he discovered, the quest for the much-prizedagate b ecam e s econ d ary .By JAY ELLIS RANSOMPhotographs by the authorMap by Norton Al len

THROUGH an old Cal i -fornia guide book recently, If came across a description of thecommunity of Ravenna in SoledadCanyon four miles southwest of Acton:"Ra ven na: popu lation 32 , an old set-tlement, quaint and hospitable, famousfor its moss agates and grizzly bears!"Recalling the mountainous countryaround Mint and Soledad Canyons,almost devoid of vegetation, I couldnot imagine what a hungry grizzlywould feed on. M ore likely, in thedays of the Spanish land grants, thecreatures were predators feasting onthe herds of long-horn cattle. Today,if even a ghost of a grizzly bear re-mains in the neighborhood, it mustbe holed up in the rugged mine-gougedmountains that rise so steeply fromboth sides of Soledad Canyon.

But moss agates are bears of an-other breed! I've tramped along the

Cono ver Mine loading chute overlooking Soledad Canyon . Detritus pile is richin green quartz gem quality material, and green waxy quartz vein is on the steepslope above the chute. Canyon stream bed is source of moss aga te.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 5 7 11


12/44

3 0 MILES TOSAN FERNANDO

10 MILES TOPALMDALE

- ^ " ^ - " " - - ' ^ ^ ! - ? : RAVENNAil;,,, vyoi/.c-- ...-........- nvu.H ..- ' ....J,\ ^,,$AD CANYON $*m


13/44

and Fannie Frauenb erger in front of their Acton store and postoffke.It was he who told us about the Con-over Copper mine up the steep slant ofthe mou ntain from Raven na. Wedrove south and west 2.2 milesabouttwo-thirds of the way to Ravennaover the new Soledad Canyon road.This is a very fine new paved highwaythat replaces the old winding Soledadaspha lt. The old road crosses the rail-road tracks just south of Acton and,circling past a county honor farm, re-crosses the track onto the new high-way at mile 2.2, almost in front of theentry road through the fence ontoConover Mine property. At the en-trance, from which any gate that mighthave hung at one time had long van-ished, we turned in and drove up thedim tracks one-tenth of a mile.Parking is easy along the lower por-tion of the roa d. Fro m there, the hikealong the old deeply eroded tracks tothe Conover Mine was not difficult.Mines in the Soledad area were bestknown for their production of gold,copper and silver found in bull quartzveins. Th e basal rocks exposed in theregion appear to be andesite of lateMesozoic age associated with Mio-cene sandstones and quartz monzonite.It 's true rock hunting country.All up and down the precipitousslopes we found chunks of green silicafloatmassive quartz deeply stainedwith an emerald translucence, waxylike jade and cool to the touch . Aswe hiked upward, Ransom, Sr. , con-tinually picked up specimens and

in erratic flight, only to crouch behinda distant bush where he surveyed uswith beady, suspicious eyes.The Conover Mine was nothing

tested them with his prospector's ham-mer, sometimes exclaiming over thecolor and texture. Pausing frequentlyto take a breather gave me an oppor-tunity to look over the country.Below us Soledad Canyon wound !in a tremendo us gorge through the ' jmountains, hardly more than a quartermile wide. We looked almost straightdown upon the county farm and thecommunity of Ravenna strung outgreen with shade trees along the rail-road tracks and the highway. In thebright morning sunlight the valleyscene was peaceful. Beyond, the rag-ged bulk of the mountains lifted alongthe ancient San An dreas fault. Theystood etched in soft pastel blue hazethat pervaded the morning air fromrailroad engines which had chuffedthrough the canyon spewing theirsmoke and exhaust into the crispdawn.On all sides the mountains whirredwith the quick darting movements ofquail. Some scuttled deeper into thecreosote bushes at our approach whileothers, mottled in gray and brown andstartled by our sudden appearance tookwing and circled out over the canyondepths with wildly beating ruffedwings. An occasional jackrabbit lifted

Four foot wide Conover copper vein.All of the material below the ham-mer is beautiful deep green waxyquartz, ideal for the home rockgarden.F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 5 7


14/44

'. . * ~

/ay Ransom, Sr., examines copper-silver specimens in main tunnel ofConover Mine. Vein strike is visible above framing.much to look at. In production forseveral years, it was a patented minewhich belonged to the Tonopah Mill-ing and Mining Company in 1927-28.Later, two men, Crawford and Gage,secured the right to reopen it andthey took out ore at various times, thelast mining being done in 1949. Nowthere is nothing left but the loadingchute, a few horizontal tunnels thatwander off into the depths of themountain, and the narrow railroad bedleading to the slag dump. Even thetracks have been taken up and sold.Remaining, however, is an abundanceof beautiful green copper quartz scat-tered everywhere. And, to our pleas-ant surprise and delight, on the almostvertical declivity immediately abovethe lower tunnel we stumbled acrossa massive outcrop, as deep green em-erald in color as the farms veiled inthe canyon haze.

This outcrop does not appear tohave been mined, although the smallexcavations about it seem the sort am-bitious but ill-equipped rockhoundsmake. The four-foot vein strikessteeply into the mountain flank. It is

a mineral vein which would interestall gem stone collectors, but becauseof the mass of rock present, it is ofevn greater interest to rock gardenenthusiasts.We scrambled up the rugged slopehand over foot, slipping and sliding.A misstep could have sent us tumblinghundreds of feet down the smoothslope. Although the nearby mountainsare ringed with high basalt cliffs topped

by Parker Peak, we found outcropsof massive green quartz beyond theConover. Weathered and fracturedgranite surfaced here and there. Thecul-de-sac valley that rises steeply bysharp narrow canyons and ragged hog-backs to the forbidding cliffs was char-acterized by the deep red lava colora-tion.Exploring along a well-defined foottrail from the Conover Mine up theslant of the mountain by easy stagestoward Parker Peak, we searched forfloat. We found plenty of green silica

but little else. A road, scarcely morethan the weathered remnants of awheeled track, climbed below us,slanting up a hogback toward the

bluffs where additional mine workingsexist. Below the cirque of cliffs to ourwest lay the rusty, broken segments ofa water line reaching for the cotton-woods and willows that disclosed aspring.There are gem stone minerals inthe upper reaches of the cul-de-sac;not only green quartz from the mines,

but agate, chalcedony, chalcopyrite,spar and possibly a little serpentine.Indian Tom of the Oasis Ranch inLawndale, an old time prospector whohas explored every foot of this canyon,showed us some head-size rock gardenchunks he had picked up at the baseof the Parker Mountain cliffs. He saidthe Conover vein was as nothing com-pared to the emerald quartz at thehead of the canyon.Parker Peak and its sister knob,connected by a high rocky saddle thatbreaks sheer in undershot cliffs, is a

source of copper. The old mines werelocated along a feldspar-like contact.Not truly feldspar, this is some veryhard white rock which, while not quartzeither, makes good rock garden ma-terial. In the immediate area and ofinterest to the gem stone savants, therehas also been found here some goodgrade blue bornite mixed with pyrites.Some years ago a mining firm re-moved four or five thousand tons offeldspathic material for use in surfacinggolf courses. This is a beautiful blue-green mineral easily obtained by grav-

ity feed down the steep slopes on thenorth side of the Conover Mine butte.The trail shown on the map leads tothe excavations. This green rock isexcellent for rock gardens, and thereis plenty of it left. As Frank Frauen-berger reported to us, it is one of thefinest decorative rocks for gardens inthe country. Our observation is thatsome of it also would cut into cabo-chons. Although we did not look forit, there is a road reaching the sitefrom Acton. Inquiry is necessary tolocate it.About a half mile north of the Con-over Mine at the base of Parker Peakis a 500-foot tunnel penetrating themountain and cleaned of debris sev-eral years ago. One can walk all theway in with safety. Immediately abovethe tunnel entrance is an outcrop ofpure bead copper, scattered throughthe matrix like shiny metal pin heads.It would have taken several daysand gallons of drinking water to ex-plore all the gorges and hogbacks. So,returning to the car laden with colorful

specimens, we drove back to Actonto say goodbye to Frank and to showhim our samples of rock gardeners'delight.14 DESERT MAGAZINE


15/44

ON DESERT TRAILS WITH A NATURALIST -- XXXIVBeetle That Stands on its Head

The ways of the persevering Eleodid Beetle are largely a mysteryto naturalists. They cannot explain how a creature with such a heat-absorbing black shell can thrive in the arid desert where seeminglymore adaptive denizens sometimes perish. And these interesting in-sects are a source of wonder to Indians, too, who explain some of theirstrange ways with ancient legends.

By EDMUND C. JAEGER, D.Sc.Curator of PlantsRivers ide Munic ipa l MuseumSf TH E AU TU M N of 1815 theRussian exploring ship Rurikcame into San Francisco Bay ona round-the-world voyage of discovery.On board were two ardent scientists,the youthful botanist, Adelbert VonChamisso and his intimate friend, nat-uralist-surgeon Dr. John Frederic Esch-scholtz.

The two men rambled over thepeninsular hills where San Francisconow stands and among the new plantsthey collected was an attractive poppy-like flower which Chamisso namedEschscholtzia Californica in honor ofhis com panion . Little did they realizethat 88 years later this Golden Poppywould be adopted as the official flowerof California.Dr. Eschscholtz primarily was inter-ested in zoological specimens andamong the amazing new insects hecollected were some large black beetlesof peculiar behavior which later hedescribed under the generic nameEleodes, derived from the Greek wordelaiodes, "like an olive." It was aname aptly chosen. The insect theDoctor had found was the commonTumblebugs now so familiar to deserttravelers, and whose body does indeedresemble in form, texture and color ashining black ripe olive.The big slow-moving eleodid beetlesso frequently seen on the Coloradoand Mojave deserts of California andthe Yuman Desert of Arizona andadjacent Sonora, often are caled Pina-cate Beetles by the desert people, anda region of picturesque mountains withmany colorful craters and extensivelava flows in northwestern Sonora isnamed the Pinacate Range because ofthe prevalence there of these beetles.Pinacate is a Spanish variant of theAztec word pinacatl, "a kind of in-sect ." The Papago Indians pictur-esquely called this beetle "the bug thai:stands on its head."

One cannot long be on the desertbefore one or more of these large ro-bust always perfectly harmless insectsslowly comes plodding into cam p. Tome they are always welcome visitorsand their presence I consider a heraldof good luck even as did certain of theIndians who dwell in the arid Pina-cate country.

These restless beetles seem always

According to Zuni mythologyBeetle saved his life by dupingCoyote into believing that he hadoverheard a message from thegods under the ground. This ex-plains why the insect stands onhis head today, the Indians be-lieve. Drawing by Morris VanDame.

hungry and undoubtedly are in searchof somethin g to eat. Often I pu t downbits of melon, apple or other fruits towatch them feed. The ir choice of foodis wide, ranging from fresh to deador decaying vegetable matter theywill even crawl into my empty beancan to feed. I hav e marvelled at thisbecause canned beans are a food al-most all wild animals strangely shun;even my omnivorous donkeys will nottouch them, nor have I found coyotes,skunks or foxes molesting the beancans I've buried after breaking camp.

These beetles also exhibit a gooddeal of dexterity in eating. Tim e andagain I have seen them hold down a

F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 5 7 15


16/44

Eleodid Beetle. Ph otograph by Kenneth Middleham .morsel of food with a front foot, muchas a dog does while gnawing a bone.

These strong insects are most per-sistent. Often, fearing I migh t tram pleone underfoot when it came near mycampfire, I have repeatedly picked itup and carried it some distance awayonly to find it back in a few minutes.Once in the Gila Mountains I foundone trying to climb the loose soil ofa washside emb ankm ent. Each timeit got part way up the sand gave wayand it tumb led to the bottom . Butalmost immediately another trial wasattempted and with similar failure tomake headway. Determination andpersistence finally paid off, for after20 trials vit got to the top. A v aluableand unforgettable lesson in patienceand perseverance I learned that dayfrom a humble beetle.

In the spring and early summer Isee many Pinacate Beetles engagingin a sort of migration . It is duringthese times of mass movement that Isometimes come upon dozens of themcollected in old badger, coyote or tor-toise holes. I have also found scoresof them feeding together on the seedrefuse surrounding the nests of har-vester ant colonies.There are 123 species of these arid-land Eleodid beetles, all conspicuousbecause of their black bodies and oftenlarge size. Some are smooth bodied,others hairy; some have peculiar ridgesand pits on the back. Elodes armata,the Armed Tumblebug, is one of themost common on the Sonoran deserts.The biggest of all is the really robustGigantic Tumblebug, Eleodes gigantea,which measures up to one and one-half inche s in length. Th e individualsof any species vary much in size, de-pending largely on how much foodthe larvae are able to consume . Theadults, once they have emerged from

the pupal stage, never grow no matterhow much they eat.They have few enemies, due to the

oily malodorous and nauseating fumeswhich at times come from the oilysecretions of a pair of large anal glands.I suspect them to be long-lived. Aninvestigator named Labille once keptnearly related beetles of Europe alivein captivity for almost 10 years.It is the belief of the Hopi Indiansthat there are at least two animals thathave no souls of their own. Rathe rare their bodies the abode of the darksouls of wicked people as punishment.One of these unfortunate creatures isthe small gray nocturnal moth whichso often instinctively dashes into theflames of our campfire; the other isthe Pinacate Beetle. When these in-sects perish they are blotted out andwith them the souls that dwelt in them,the Indians believe.One day, say the Zuni Indians, Ele-odes was crawling about in the sun-shine along the path that leads aroundFat Mountain. Just then Coyote camealong. When he saw the beetle hepricked up his ears, arched his neck,and struck his paw forward. "H a!"he cried, "Beetle, I shall bite you."Eleodes, much frightened, stuck hishead close to the ground and whilewaving his antennae about begged formercy. "Don't bite me. Oh, pleasedon 't. Wait a bit. Hold on Friend, Ihear something very strange down hereon the ground," he said."What do you hear?" asked Coyote."Hush," cried the beetle, his headstill held close to the sand, "Listen!"So Coyote turned his head and listenedwith utmost attention. And Beetlelifted his head with a sigh of relief."The Good Souls save us!" sud-denly exclaimed Eleodes. "I have justheard that on the morrow the gods

will not only chase away but severelypunish all those who in any way havedefiled the trails of this country . An dI tell you they are making preparationsfor all this as fast as they can.""Souls of all my ancestors!" criedCoyote, "I've been loitering along thetrails this morning and have been guil-ty of this very sin. Beetle, I'll be goneright now ." And away he ran as fastas he could.In his gladness and excitement,Beetle again stuck his head into thesand.Thus in ancient times did he savehimself from being bitten by Coyote,and we have the Zuni explanation ofwhy Eleodes sometimes when disturbedstands on his head and kicks his heelsin the air.One day I became curious to learnwhat was under the high-arched black

wing cove rs. A dissection revealed alarge hollow air-filled space above theinsignificant flat abdomen an airspace which undoubtedly becomes ahotbox or oven when the noonday sunshines down on the black heat-absorb-ing wing covers of these flightlesswholly ground-dwelling creatures.Inconspicuous grays and brownsare the normal colors of desert ani-mals given to moving about in thebroad sunlight. Rarely do we finddiurnal creatures whose bodies aremostly black. Am ong these latter area few birds such as ravens and turkeybuzzards and in the Mid-East andAfrican deserts numerous species ofbirds known as wheatears and chats.Among reptiles with much black ontheir bodies are the American desert-inhabiting chuckawalla and in theAlgerian Sahara, the spiney-tailed liz-ard, Uromastix.Perhaps the most common and re-markable of black inhabitants of alldeserts are the Tenebrioned or Dark-ling Beetles, most of which are inten-sely black. Ou r Pinaca te Beetle is oneof these. One immediately asks, whatadvantages are gained by this darkcoloration? Certainly not protectionfrom predators for black creatures arevery conspicuous against the gray des-ert backgro und. It must be franklystated that we do not know; speculateas we will, we are still left to wonder.When on your next desert wander-ings you see a Pinacate Beetle, treathim with respect. M ake him feel athom e about your camp. Try to learnthe secret of his survival in a landoften harsh and barren where only thehardiest xerophytic plants and water-conserving animals eke out an exist-ence.

16 D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


17/44

O n l yth e S i d e w a l kR e m a i n sOnly this short length of cemen t sidewalk remains to mark the business districtof Gold Creek. Island Moun tain is in background. Photograph by the author.

Gold Creek lived and died in the '90s, its only records entombedin the yellowed pages of deceased journals, the memories of the fewold timers who remember life at this placer campand the short lengthof s idewalk upon which trod men and women who dreamed of a citywhich "in another year will be the largest town in Nevada . . ."By NELL MURBARGER

FINE of Elko, Nevada,first brough t to my attentionf the ghost town of Gold Creekin the northern part of her county."The old camp is about gone,"Freda had written me. "All that re-mains is one short length of cementsidewalk, lost in the sage . . ."

That a settlement once sufficientlyimportant to have had cement side-walks could have vanished so com-pletely was a circumstance to whet theinterest of any chronic ghost towner,Gold Creek, Nevada, in 1897. Photograph courtesy Nevada State HistoricalSociety.

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Documents

195702 Desert Magazine 1957 February