196507 Desert Magazine 1965 July

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Y O U H A M I IT!

The DESERT reader who identifies the above photograph and writes themost interesting story about it wil l receive a cash prize of $10.00. The manu-

script should give the location, ownership and accessibil i ty of the area and

as much detail regarding history and geology as is possible within 500 words.

Entries must be postm arked prior to July 20. The winning ar ticle will be

published in the October issue. As a hint, these eerie rock formations appear

in southern Nevada. Entries should be addressed to:

CONTEST EDITOR, DESERT MAGAZINE, PALM DESERT, CALIF. 92260



D e a e n i W k q u p m w t Ik Hto ue

C O N T E N T S

28 NUMBER 7

JULY, 1965

This Month's CoverBoy's Tree at Organ Pipe CactusNat ional MonumentBy DON VALENTINE

2 You Name It Contest

4 Books for Desert Readers

6 Profile of a MountainBy RALPH LEBEC

7 California Fantasy LandBy WARREN and BARBARA TRANSUE

8 A Lake RebornBy VI CHAMBERLAIN

9 The Terrible TarantulaBy TIM ST. G E O R G E

10 When Laziness is a Good FaultBy ISABEL DUNWOODY

12 The Kachina TodayBy SAUNDRA COMFORT

14 A Wilderness AwaitsBy HELEN GILBERT

1G Cave Paintings of BajaBy CLEMENT MEIGHAN

20 Colorado Bottle TrailBy KAY LAMSON

22 Arizonas History-haunted ValleyBy ELIZABETH RIGBY

23 Las Vegas' Ghost TownBy ALLEN HAGOOD

26 Where the Highway Turns AwayBy LUCILE MARTENS

28 Bill Moyle's Lost Mine

By MILO BIRD

30 Pegleg's Gold Lies Here

32 The Desert and ArcheologyBy CARLOS MARGAIN

33 Desert DispensaryBy SAM HICKS

34 DESERT CookeryBy LUCILLE CARLESON

35 Ghost Town, OregonBy LAMBERT FLORIN

39 Letters from our Readers

By the time this issue is off the press, the editorial, business andadvertising offices of DESERT Magazine will be operating from ournew building just one block from our present site. The offices ofDESERT have been in the large white stucco building in Palm Desertsince 1948 when Randall Henderson, founder, moved here from ElCentro. Today, however, there just isn't enough room in the oldbuilding to take care of our growing pains. In the past year ourcirculation and operation have expanded and enlarged tremen-

dously and our retail book shop has met with spectacular success.In our new quarters we will have room for our expanded staff andan attractive book and gift shop. Our advertising office and artdepartment will also be moved into the new quarters, along with anewly created promotion department. The actual printing of the pub-lication, which has increased from 36,000 to 48,000 copies in twoyears, is handled by Los Angeles .Lithograph Company in LosAngeles.

Soon after I purchased DESERT Magazine two years ago westarted plans to combine the August and September issues into adouble SPECIAL TRAVEL EDITION which would be used as a guideand reference for vacations. Our first such issue will be off the pressthe middle of July. It will be the largest and most comprehensiveissue published since DESERT was founded 28 years ago. During

the coming months we will continue to add additional pages andincrease our color content as we take our readers to unusual placesof The West. Our success is due to our subscribers, and advertisers,all of whom I wish I could personally thank for their individualsupport. Without them we could not continue to publish DESERT.For 28 years DESERT has brought enrichment, enlightenment andentertainment to hundreds of thousands of people who might not other-wise have learned to love the outdoor areas of The West. On an everexpanded scale, we will continue that policy.

I would like to thank the following concerns which made itpossible to move our operation from one building to another withoutmissing or delaying an issue of DESERT Magazine: L. A. Perry & Sons,Morongo Valley; Fred Hathaway Construction Co., Palm Springs;

Hammer Electric, Palm Springs; Jack Swafford, painter, Palm Desert;Pepito Sign Co., Indio. We are all elated over our new home andhope all of you will visit us. Even our overworked editor has caughtthe light-hearted spirit. She just handed me the following bit of verse:

There's a tiger in the tree,And he's looking straight at me.Don't jump, Mr. Tiger.Please don't jump!

She tells me it's simple and beautiful and I've promised to pub-lish a whole book of them if she can raise 1,000 advance orders onthe strength of this one!

Summer has come early to the desert this year. It's alreadyover 100°. I think I'll go out now and look for that tiger's tree!

JACK PEPPERPublisher

JACK PEPPER, Publisher CHORAL PEPPER, Editor

Elta ShivelyExecutive Secretary

Al MerrymanStaff A rtist

Rose HollyCirculation

Marvel BarrettBusiness

Lois DouganSubscriptions

Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, Calif. 92260 Telephone 346-8144

DESERT is published monthly by Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, Calif. Second Class Postage paid atPalm Desert, Calif., and at additional mailing offices under Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered

N o . 358865 in U.S. Patent Office, and contents copyrighted 1965 by Desert Magazine. Unsolicitedmanuscripts and photographs cannot be returned or acknowledged unless full return postage is enclosed.Permission to reproduce contents must be secured from the editor in writing. SUBSCRIPTION PRICF:S5.00 per year in U.S., Canada and Mexico. $5.75 elsewhere. Allow five weeks for change of address.

Be sure to send both old and new address.

July, 1965 / Desert Magazine / 3



CAPE TOWN TO CAIROThe fantastic adventures of American fami-lies driving from South Afri ca to theMedi-terranean Sea towing self-contained trailersas homes for theseven-month journey. Howthey found food, built roads, tended the sickand repaired equipment on this incrediblesafari. Complete with maps and 60pictures.Published byCaxton,

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THE TRAILS OFPETE KITCHENBy Gil Procter

In searching for aglimmer of truthin fantastic tales, Gil Procter hasfound that what appears onthe sur-face as fool's gold wasoften put thereby awise man tocover his riches. Asa vehicle totake the reader througha wonderful maze ofhistory and leg-end, hefollows the trail ofArizona'smost famous pioneer, Pete Kitchen,who battled Apaches for over aquar-ter of a century and established thePete Kitchen Ranch, where the au-thor now lives.

The story isvivid. It tells of liv-

ing in thefirst adobe house builtby a white man inArizona when arifle stood in every corner of thehouse. It tells of thelost virgin ofthe Remedios Mission andhow theauthor tracked it down for a photo-graph.

But most exciting ofall is achap-ter containing the author's discov-eries in regard to the treasure ofTumacacori. Between Coronado's ex-pedition in 1540 andFather Kino'sentry into southern Arizona in 1691,history draws a blank. And yet, evi-dence strongly suggests that mininghad taken place inthis region duringthat period and theauthor pointsout good reason tobelieve amissionmight have been established thereprior toKino's arrival. It's a fasci-nating story and one this authorhandles with brilliance. Treasureseekers will find a lot ofmeat here!

Hardcover, 215pages, illustratedwith interesting photos. $4.95.

A GUIDEBOOK TO THESUNSET RANGES OFSOUTHERN CALIFORNIABy Russ Leadabrand

This well-illustrated andmappedguidebook covers the SanJacinto,Santa Ana and SanDiego Countymountains and will bepopular withSouthern California desert dwellerslooking for cool summer retreats.The author hasmade recent treksinto each of the areas and hisinfor-mation regarding campsites, wild

life, and back country trails isup-to-date and reliable. Paperback, 144pages. $1.95.

SHELLING IN THESEA OFCORTEZ

By Paul E. VioletteHere, at last, is a shell collectingbook we can recommend toeveryone.Most of those in thepast have beeneither too scientific for theamateurcollector, or toojuvenile for evenmost juveniles. Theauthor focuseson the Guaymas, Sonora area ofMexico's Gulf ofCalifornia, but theshells identified, described and clearlyillustrated arewidely applicable tothe Gulf coast ofBaja as well.

This light, but fact-packed book isdesigned to introduce the amateur

as well as advanced conchologist tothe various kinds of shells occuringon these shores, the marine life thatlives inthem, how tocook and eat itand facts about finding, collecting,cleaning, andpreserving theshells.With more than 215 detailed drawingsand maps by C. Randolph McKusickand clever narrative by theauthor,this 96-page book will please every-one and certainly enhance any tripsto Mexico's Gulf ofCalifornia coast.Paperback. $1.50.

Books reviewed may beorderedfrom the DESERT Magazine BookOrder Department, Palm Desert/California 92260. Please include25c for handling. California resi-dents must add4% salestax.Enclose payment with order.

GHOST TOWNS AND MINING

CAMPSOF

CALIFORNIABy Remi Nadeau

Another ghost town book. Thisone concentrates onthe well knownmining camps and towns of Califor-nia and doesn't reveal anything newin their history, but itscoverage ex-tends from Grass Valley inthe northto Julian inthe south and is agoodrundown of thestate's early miningactivity. There's an area map for eachsection ofthe state locating the ghosttowns included in the text of thebook and it is illustrated with some

rare old photos. Theauthor's re-search was extensive. Hardcover, 278pages, $5.95.

4 / Desert Magazine / July, 1965



A brand new book just off the

M r s . Farnsworth's tales are all

,|2.95.

Book Catalogue now available at Desert

Magazine Book Shop, Palm Desert, Calif.

ERNIE PYLE'S SOUTHWEST

A collection of some of Ernie'stimeless word-pictures describing hiswandering trips through the desertcorner of the Southwest he loved somuch. Clever illustrations, in linedrawing, are executed by Ernie's"favorite nephew" Bob Bales and theforeword is written by Ed Ains-worth.

Many, remembering the late ErniePyle as America's most popular warcorrespondent, forget that prior tothe war he was world-famous for hishuman, sensitive columns that gavehope to readers throughout the de-pression years and led many into soli-tary places of the Southwest desertwhere he went to seek solace in thebasic principles of life both for him-self and the rest of the world.

Ernie writes about folks in backcountry towns of Nevada, the FourCorners country, Barstow, Death Val-

ley, Palm Springs and Phoenix. Andhe tells of people we all know—likethe late Norman Nevills, HarryGoulding, Charlie Farrell—and peoplehardly anyone knows — like an oldprospector in Winnemucca, a deadIndian in Monument Valley and aservice station operator in Arizona.

This is a good book—a sentimentalbook—and will bring back a numberof not-so-long ago memories to anumber of no t-so-very-old peop le.Hardcover, 105 pages. $5.00.

AN HOMES OF TODAYVerna and W arren Shipway

Another marvelous book by theTheand

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cellent guide with information slanted towardretirement locations. $2.00.30,000 MILES I N M E X I C O By Nell Murbarger.

An entertaining travel book that takes you to

places you'd never have known about withoutit . $6 .

YELLOWSTONE N A T I O N A L ' PARK By Hiram M .

Crittenden. All-encompassing history and geo-logic explanation of this fantastic Western va-cationland. $1.95.

S T A N D I N G U P C O U N T R Y By C. Gregory Cramp-t o n . Best book ever written about Utah-Arizonacanyon country. Superb color. $15.JEEP TRAILS T O COLORADO GHOST TOWNS byRobert L. Brown. An il lustrated, detailed, infor-mal history of l ife in the mining camps deep inthe almost inaccessible mountain fastness of theColorado Rockies. Fifty-eight towns are includedas examples of the vigorou s strugg le for exist-ence in the mining camps of the West. 239pages, i l lustrated, end sheet map. Hard Cover.$5.50.

T HE OREGON DESERT by E. R. Jackman a nd

R. A. Long. This book is a hard one to define.

A single paragraph may be a mixture of geo-logy, history, biography and r ich desert lore.The only complete book about the Oregon desert,the material applies equally well to other des-erts of the West. The humo r and fascina tinganecdotes coupled with factual background anduTusual photos, including color, make it excel-lent reading material even for those who maynever visit Oregon. 407 pages, i l lustrated. HardCover. Third printing, $6.50.

DtittiL Magazine Book Dept.PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92260

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yj NIQUE AND impressionable, itstirs the soul, fires the imagination,and creates an aura of reverence.

Its physical description borders therealm of fantasy.

Your first view of Mount Babo-quivari, (Ba-vo-KEE-vree) gives youa feeling of strangeness, a spiritualand mysterious awareness. On cer-tain days great clouds hover silentlyabove its 8000-foot crest. On others,its winds sing a lonely dirge.

A Papago Indian once told me theword Baboquivari means "small inthe middle." Later I found the Anglocorruption is taken to mean "neckbetween two heads." When FatherEusebio Kino entered Southern Ari-zona, his chronicler described it as atall ship situated on the top of a high

ridge—for years afterwards it wascalled "Noah's Ark."

Padre Kino, in 1692, was the firstwhite man to pass within its shadow.Since then many have fallen underits spell. J. Ross Browne, in 1864,was so fascinated he drew the sketchpublished in his book A Tour

Through Arizona. -

The Baboquivari range forms theeastern boundary of the Papago In-dian Reservation. It runs north andsouth and traverses our southernfrontier into Mexico. Expansive Al-tar Valley, with ever-changing colorsand sprawling catties ranches, slopesaway from the mountain range on the

opposite side from the reservation.Tales of gold, lost mines and buriedtreasure abound when men gather totalk of this mountain.

An ancient native of Altar Valley,with whom I shared a glass of fierymescal, told me a story of San Xavier

Mission. When Jesuit Fathers wereexpelled from Southern Arizona in1 7 6 7 , so goes the tale, Papago Indianconverts gathered gold and silver or-naments from the church and, in thedark of night, carried them to Mt.Baboquivari and hid them at its base.They were then sworn to secrecy onpenalty of death by the tribe.

As far as he can recollect, my agedfriend said, this treasure hoard stilllies hidden in a dark cave located inone of the mountain's ravines.

Tales attached to Baboquivari arecountless; its very existence is legend.Tucson, Arizona is only 50 milesnortheast of the peak, yet few peoplein that city have seen its great heightdominating the surrounding desertlandscape. Some who have call it the"spooky" mountain. All tribes in thearea claim it belongs to the Taw-haw-no Aw-o-tahm, meaning the "de-sert people." Papago Indians believeit is the center of creation and thehome of the great spirit. Pima In-dians, another desert tribe, believe itis the home of Wind Man and his

brother, Cloud Man. Many years ago,when I viewed the mountain for thefirst time, I too felt that here was a

symbol. A mountain that emanatesmystery is bound to create spiritualsignificance.

To the Paleface, the creation ofBaboquivari is legend, but to the In-dian it is a belief passed on by theOld Ones from generation to genera-

tion. I once listened in amazementwhile the old man of a village re-peated the story "From his body, theGreat Spirit Ee-e-toy took a grain ofsand and placed it in the center ofthe void and the foundation of theearth was wrought," the old man be-gan. Then he took a handful ofclay and made man in his own like-ness. He also created a mountain andnamed it Baboquivari and, he said,its crest shall be my home. Fromthere I will watch over my people.

A gas lamp flickered in the primi-

tive hut where weird shadows dancedon adobe walls and the old mandroned on with the story. My amaze-ment centered on the fact that theirlegend was so similar to the book ofGenesis in our Bible. Perhaps theirGod is also our God, and he sits onthe mountain watching us all.

Some day the last of the Old Oneswill die and there will be no oneleft to enthrall integrated childrenwith the story of how the GreatSpirit created the mountain. But themountain will remain. And theSpirit Ee-e-toy, though sad and aban-doned, will wait there while thewind wails a lonely dirge and hispeople are lost forever. / / /

t / Desert Magazine / July, 1965

Profileof a Mountain

B Y R A L P H L E B E C



TU NEEDN'T go to Egypt to

see a sphinx. There 's a giantone tucked away in California 's

Alabama Hills and it 's only one ofmany fantasy forms visible to imagi-native visitors in this Lone Pinearea.

Named for a Civil War action in-volving the Union ship Kearsargeand the Confederate 's Alabama, Ala-

bama Hil ls is reputed to be one ofthe world's oldest rock formations.As a result of ancient volcanic up-heavals, the upthrust knobs and an-gular pieces have assumed the bizarreshapes of ponderous giants of theanimal kingdom. Desert l ight andshadow, playing magica lly u p o ntwisted stratas, t ransform them intoa mysterious sphinx, a leering cobra,

a monstrous elephant , and eerieskeletons. On e needs only a roadmap, a case of wanderlust and a dis-cerning eye to capture them.

Lying paral lel to Highway 395 and6, which points northward to Bishopand south to Mojave, the AlabamaHills may be reached by turning westat Lone Pine toward Whitney Portal ,

the gateway to Mt. Whitne y. Pic-nickers, campers and rockhounds areinvariably delighted to discover thisuntouched paradise where rock giantsslumber in the sun. Less than twomiles from the charming village ofLone Pine, these mo nsters — someamusing, some frightening — are toooften by-passed by travelers hurryingto popu lar Mt . Whi tney resor ts . / / /


C a l i f o r n i a F a n t a s y L a n d

by Barbara and W arren Transue



A LAKE REBORNby Vi Chamberlain

±. HE MAGIC of Colorado Riverwater splashing and leaping to fillthe dry bed of California's Lake El-sinore pumped new life into the sur-rounding community last spring.

According to Frank Pasquale, thennewly-elected councilman, "We planto make Elsinore a better city andmore modern than Palm Springs!"This is quite a project, for a lakeresort that has been out of commis-sion since 1950.

Once reputed to be the largestnatural lake in Southern California,scanty rainfall and heavy water useupstream emptied the lake, leavinga ragged border of cottages to staregauntly over the dry, empty dust bowl.

The lake, according to a Guide Bookof 1888, was six miles long and twoand one-half miles wide and very,very deep.

Lake Elsinore is part of La LagunaTract, granted June 7, 1844 by Gov-ernor Manuel Micheltorena to JulianManriquez. Called "Laguna Grande"on early day maps, it was fashionablefor the smart set of Los Angeles andvicinity to go clattering and joltingvia the Butterfield Stage through or-ange groves, cottonwood and syca-mores along Temescal Canyon to

the hospitality of Don Machado'sranch house. Here the traveler, bone-weary from his dusty journey, couldenjoy excellent food and lodgingwhich included a bath in mineral

waters thought to possess great healthvalue.

In 1883 or 1884, the lake waschristened Elsinore by Wm. Collier,D. M. Graham and F. H. Heald who,according to their first brochure,thought the name had a pleasantsound.

Gradually, as lake water receded,visitors sought health and recreationelsewhere. In 1930 the ornate Vic-torian bathhouse, which had shelter-ed so many great names, was aban-

doned. Sun and wind had almostpummeled it beyond endurancewhen, in 1950, Mrs. Bonnie Goughpurchased the rundown building andconverted it into an antique shop.Another colorful house high on ahilltop among eucalyptus trees is theformer summer home of the lateevangelist, Aimee Semple MacPher-son.

Loyal residents of Elsinore foughtvaliantly to bring water back to thelake. Many braved financial hard-ships as property values dropped

lower and lower. Always they hopedsome day the Great Drought wouldend. Bulldog persistence and a con-stant flow of letters to politicos re-questing the lake be refilled finally

paid off last year. Thousands cheeredalong the banks as water funnelednew life into the dry bed and landvalues rose right along with the waterlevel.

State Park Marina is the hub ofactivity at Lake Elsinore. Last sum-mer over 10,000 well-wishers perweek splashed, boated and sunbakedon its shores. This summer thelake should reach a new high, asSpring rains permitted ColoradoiRiver water to be released to LakeElsinore a good week in advance ofschedule. Fees of $3 a day plus $2for launching and parking are collec-ted. Picnicking and swimming feesare 50c per day. There are other gra-duating charges for annual, semi-an-nual and quarterly occupancy.

Perhaps now there will be nomore "downs" for this blue, blue,lake with the romantic name. TheState hopes to prevent a water leveldrop of ever more than two feet. Atlast the benefits of Lake Elsinore arerestored. Its future is most assuredly"up." / / /




T H E T E R R I B L E T A R A N T U L Ab y T i m S t . G e o r g e

JL HE DANCE of the Tarantella

legend. And fear andgnorance perpetuated the base can-

f the tarantulas.

No doubt these hairy arachnidsare somewhat creepy-looking, but the

fact is, the North American tarantulabite is seldom administered until thetarantula has been plagued beyondendurance by someone interested inmeasuring a spider's patience. Thereis said to be one variety in SouthAmerica big enough and deadlyenough to capture and feast on smallbirds, but ours are friendly, usefulbug eaters.

Tarantulas love to primp and en-joy being stroked or combed with asmall, soft brush. Youngsters occa-

sionally match them for harnessraces, a thread being tied about thespiders' bodies to keep them on thetrack. Squeamish teachers have dis-patched the author's son when histarantula accidentally popped outfrom a matchbox on the school roomfloor. (Dead, some boys chop thebody hair and use it as itching pow-der. It is an irritant and used by thespider in defending itself.)

But such youngsters and tarantulasneed all the friends they can get. Thespider, not the boy, has a Nemesis

in the form of a wasp, the "Taran-tula Hawk" (Pepsis thisbe) whichwill take on a tarantula several times

its size simply to lay one egg and per-petuate the hawk's clan.

Once contact is made, the spiderand wasp circle warily, looking foropenings. Then one or the othermakes a lunge. Engaged, the taran-tula tries to sinks its hypodermic-likefangs into the wasp's abdomen. But

there are armor-plated scales whichseldom are penetrated. Meanwhile,the wasp has inserted its stinger intoa vital area, always where nerveganglia are located. The effect isdramatic in that the stricken taran-tula staggers and shudders in truemovie fashion as he goes limp, preyto the Tarantula Hawk.

The wasp is just as efficient in pre-paring the cadaver as a birthplace forits young. She first cleans herself ofany remaining tarantula venom, thenflips the tarantula over and drags it

into either the spider's own home, ora nearby burrow. The wasp care-fully scrapes away the irritating hairon the abdomen, then lays one whiteegg, and leaves, after carefully plug-ging the entrance with dirt and debristo insure a safe, large meal for thewasp when it hatches.

Though being host for a parasite isits last act, the tarantula gobbles upnumerous harmful insects and gener-ally minds its own business withoutharm to man. Deserving a betterpress than it receives, the tarantula

should be recognized as harmless andhelpful, rather than hirsute andhorrendous. / / /

illiami

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LONE PINE, CALIFORNIA

k O S T C A L I F O R N I A N S k n o wthat beneath the surface of theirstate lies a maze of faults. The long-est of these is 600-mile long San An-dreas which extends from Cape Men-

docino to the C olo ra do D e s e r t .Long-t ime residents shudder whenthey remember the Long Beach orBakersfield earthquakes, bu t consid-ering that thousands of quakes occurin the world each year and that only11 major ones have occured in the last150 years, California still presents aUtopia , compared to the cyclones,tornadoes and hurr icanes of otherstates.

Sometimes an e ar th q u ak e f a u l tsighs in its sleep or releases a snore-l ike rumble to keep the respect of

the populace, but mostly it is contentto shake a little and go right back tosleep. One tha t has been peacefullysleeping right out in the open since1790 and appears content to sleep onwithout st i rring is the "Ea r t hquakeFaul t" of the Lake Mammoth areain Inyo National Forest .

Driving north on Highway 395 to-ward Lake Tahoe , Reno, or Sacra-mento, you may safely view this geo-logical phenomenon by taking a U.S.Forest Ranger new self-guided tour.All you need is a pai r of walking

shoesand a

spiri tof

adventure .At one vantage point the giant

earth crack looks like the spot where

W H E N L A Z IN E S S

I S A G O O D F A U L T

Paul Bunyon's famous axe sl ippedand wedged the ear th 50 feet apartwhile he was splitting logs. So per-fect is this split that if another PaulBunyon could squeeze the side backtogether, they would fit like a jig-saw puzzle.

The faul t is easily reached fromMammoth Lake Vil lage on the eastside of the Sierra, three miles west ofHighway 395, by driving throughspectacular alpine country on theM amm oth Lakes road. Ta ll trees,snow -capped mounta ins , rushing

streams, sparkling lakes and a foam-flecked waterfall make this minarettecountry the most beautiful concentra-tion of picture-book scenery in theSierra Nevadas.

The fault itself lies at the end ofa half-mile dirt road off the high-way. Whether you ride or walk isu p to you, but the walk throughfragrant pines over a pine needlecarpet is refreshing after a long drive.

At the fault is a parking area with




A tour to the fault begins when

e leaflet. As you proceed along

"Please do not throw objects

Y e s , you may go down into the

A natural ladder leads down

w and ice. In the old days these

ood cool and even in summer snow

s available to make ice cream.Of special interest to rock collec-

tors is the great quantity of pumicen the ground. This frothy volcanicaterial that showered the earth

about 10,000 years ago was formedwhen violent explosions hurled mol-ten material high into the air andcooled before it pelted the earth, thusretaining its air spaces.

On the fissure walls, steel insertsare visible. These are the work ofseismologists installed for measuring,if possible, the rate of expansion or

contraction of the fissure. Multi-colored plants growing on the barewalls are lichens which century aftercentury slowly break the rocks intosmaller particles.

To those adventurers taking thetour who are superstitious of the num-ber 13, don't let this worry you. Itsimply means the tour is concludedand you have seen this under-ground wonder that occured a verylong time ago—a permanently lazyfault that anyone can see from snowmelt to snow fall. Californians ho pethat all its faults will remain as do-cile as this Inyo National Forest one.

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H ere's how to

flavor your modern decor

with a distinctive dash

of the Southwest.

R ight: Kachina dolls are mounted oncactus slabs for display. Below:Others add interest to stark walls.

T HE K A C H IN A T OD A YB Y S A U N D R A L . C O M F O R T

A HOPI rel igious doll has becomea popular i tem with Southwest in-terior designers. Kach ina (ka-CHEE-nah) dolls adorn bank lobbies inArizona cities and home owners dis-play them as ornaments or conver-sation pieces, but surprisingly fewadmirers of these little wooden fig-ures know their true significance.

To the Hopis, the word kachinahas three meanin gs. It may refer tosupernatural beings, to male dancerswho impersonate these beings, or topainted wooden dolls which are rep-resentat ions of the masked dancers.The Hopis bel ieve the kachinas arespirits of birds, animals, insects,places, objects, or people who live inthe San Francisco Peaks of north-eastern Arizona.

Each of the 250 kachinas has a

name, usually that of the item it re-presents, owl, snow, thunder, orl ightning . Some have well-defined

functions: they may be wa rriors,hunters, or clowns whose antics con-trol social behaviour by subjectingvillagers who have violated social rulesto public ridicule.

Acording to Hopi t radit ion trans-mitted orally from ancient times, the

spirit kachinas come down from themountains each December to visi t thevillages. They bring well-being to thepeople, gifts for the children, andrain for the crops.

Rain is a source of concern tothese Indians who live on three wind-swept mesas overlooking the valleyof the Lit t le Colorado River and thePainted Desert. Their land is rockyand sandy and the rains they dependupon to water their crops are unpre-dictable. Village water supplies comefrom natural reservoirs and springs.A constant need for water is the mo-tivating force behind the religiousceremonies which they schedule ac-




The rites are dances perform-

Kachina dances are staged from

tor. Groups ol kachina dancers

Kachina dancers are always men.

collar or ruff of evergreen twigs,

Kachina costumes consist of a kilt

woven design. The kilt and sash

ried in the right hand and an ever-green sprig or bow and arrow carriedin the left. Turt le shell rattles are

often tied under the right knee to

emphasize the beat.

Female kachinas (kachin-manas)

also are impersonated by Hopi men.

Their costumes are the traditional

garb of Hopi women—black dress,

shoulder blanket, woven belt and

white buckskin boots.

The dancers appear in groups of

15 to 30, all singing and dancing in

unison. The basic step is to raise the

right loot and stamp the ground in

rhythm with the music. Variations

accompanied by gestures of the arms

and head occur with changes of

rhythm. Singing is continuous and

the songs may be composed by any-

one. Usually they express a desire

lor rain, good crops, and the well-

being of the people and are repeti-

tious.

While the kachina concept is very

old, the kachina doll is not. It has

existed probably lewrer than 100

years. The dolls are not idols; neither

are they worshipped nor prayed to.

Their function is similar to that of

the Christian statue to be used in

the religious training of small chil-

dren to teach them the characteristics

and names of the individual kachinas.A comparison of the kachina dolls

with Christian statues is appropriate

because the functions of saints and

kachinas are parallel in their respec-tive religions. Each serves as a go-

between for mortals and the more

important deities.

Kachina dolls are made by Hopi

men who carve them from the root

of the cotton wood tree by using a

knife and rasp to form the figureand a small piece of sandstone to

smooth it. Th e figures are then

covered with a light coating of kao-

lin (white clay) and painted in the

likeness of kachina dancers. They

may be simple, flat-slab forms, usu-

ally given to infants, or elaborately

decorated figures in dance poses held

together with tiny pegs.

Kachina dolls are usually hung

from the rafters of Hopi homes to

provide a constant reminder of the

kachina spirits, especially when thesupernaturals have returned to the

mountains after the July rainy sea-

son. Although the dolls are not toys,

children are not scolded for carrying

them around and older children often

swap them at the trading posts for

socla and candy—which provides a

ready supply for designers and private

collectors. / / /

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Wilderness

Awaits

S O U TFORK

i PUBLIC".»* Q A M P

b y H e l e n G i l b e r t

HILE MOST high primitiveareas are accessible only by horsebackor packtrain, Big Bear Loop overOnyx Summit passes within fourmiles of the largest wilderness areain Southern California. Remarkablyfree from traffic, it penetrates virginforests and unspoiled back countryfew motorists have seen.

This 16-mile extension of StateRoute 38 is a connecting link be-tween Mill Creek and Santa Ana

Canyon resorts and highways al-ready existent in the Bear Lake area.Beginning at Redlands, California,Highway 38 passes through chaparralcountry into the southeastern flankof the San Bernardino mountains.Rich in legend and history of goldrush days, it is a . pleasant trip inany season.

Physical aspects of the country aremuch changed since the first settlerstraveled to Bear Valley. Long a fav-orite picnic spot, Mill Creek canyonwas once heavily wooded where now

are only acres of boulders, due to adisastrous flood in 1938. Mill Creekacquired its name in the early 1800s

when the lower canyon abounded inBigcone Spruce—one of the "falsehemlocks," and two lumber millsoperated to suppy lumber for SanBernardino, as well as beams for theSan Bernardino mission Asistencia.

At the approach to the canyon isan open, stone-lined water ditch.This is the old Zanja which, accord-ing to historian George Beattie, wasbuilt by Guachama Indians underChief Solano, their only implements

being shoulder blades of slain cattle.Mill Creek was tapped approximatelyseven miles east of Redlands and theZanja brought water to Crafton, Red-lands, and the flatland below, irriga-ting crops of the Indian village atGuachama mission rancheria.

It was in a Iitie shack in this canyonthat Harold Bell Wright wrote, "TheEyes of the World. Neighboringpeaks were the locale of the story.

High on the face of south w all,known as Sheep's Cliff, is a trestle-

supported pipeline which carrieswater to the hydro-electric powerplant downstream, replacing the old

wooden flume over which hikers usedto walk a plank.

The cross-roads cafe now known asMill Creek Trading Past was onceIgo's Store, the starting point for theold stage route to Big Bear Lake.This narrow, steep, winding, one-wayroute followed Mountain HomeCreek canyon to the summit nearCamp Angeles and the junction withtoday's highway. From there the roadplunged steeply down to the Santa

Ana river at a point a mile and ahalf below Seven Oaks. This was theroute used by horse and wagon andearly automobiles, but it's a far cryfrom today's high-gear road!

Cars lined up at "the gate" waitingfor the starting hours—two, five, eightand eleven—when the chain was low-ered and motorists began the long,hot, dusty trip to Bear Valley for aweekend of bass and trout fishing.Dudley Glass, son of a pioneer whoowned a section of land near SevenOaks and whose father built the first

road to Barton Flats, told us, "TheMill Creek control road was begun in1913 and completed as far as East

14 / Desert Magaz ine / July, 1965



From there the work was sub-

There are many who remember

en the case with old-time cars, you

The trip was hard, but it had the

Continuing on Highway 38 past

(Camp Angeles) and the headwaters

Located up the valley of the Santa

New state highway 58 passes within jonr miles o/ largest wilderness area inSouthern California.

for improvements, will be open thissummer.

Within the Wilderness area are 65

miles of foot and horse trails and 20primitive campsites. Here roam deer,brown bear and mountain lion, allprotected by legislation. It is here,along Cienaga Seca Creek and includ-ing the Hearst Bar Ranch, that theDivision of Beaches and Parks hasacquired lands for the new Big Mea-dow State Park. Included is the im-

Old cars awaiting turn to enter control road.Tom Phillips photo.

portant viewpoint known as "CoonCreek Jumpoff."

The massive bulk of Sugarloaf Peak

lies to the north and new Big BearLoop encircles it by an easy gradefollowing the two-lane mountain roadwith excellent visibility and align-ment which at last makes accessiblethis high back country never beforeopen to motor travel.

The highway climbs easily overArrastre Divide to Onyx Summit(el. 8,420), marking the divide be-tween the Santa Ana and the Color-ado Basins. Below lies a spectacularview of all major peaks in the Wild

area. The road then descends throughpinon pine and juniper forests tothe east end of Big Bear Valley inthe vicinity of Baldwin Lake, a totaldistance of 52 miles from Redlands.

Several return routes are open tothe motorist. Especially recommend-ed is a splendid loop trip along High-way 18 through Cushenberry Can-yon to Lucerne Valley, then east toOld Woman Springs, returning byway of the High Desert.

Either way, with ease you havevisited a truly beautiful part of ourstate and have known, in some mea-sure, the peace and solitude that adesignated Wilderness provides. / / /




H ere is the first published

authoritative account

of the discov ery

of Baja's painted caves

as experienced by a brilliant

U. C. L. A. anthropologist

who was first on the scene.

b y C l em e n t M e ig h a n

JL HE PREHISTORIC remains ofBaja California have attracted muchattention in recent years and a pow-erful stimulus to further explorationhas been the work of Erie StanleyGardner in his books on Baja Cali-fornia. So much has happened withnew reports and discoveries that it isworthwhile to review some of theearly findings with regard to the

rock paintings of the central partof Baja California.

Early in 1962 I received a phonecall that was to lead me to one ofthe most exciting archaeological pro-jects of recent years in the desertareas. The caller was John Straubelof the Hiller Helicopter Co.; he hadjust returned from an explorationtrip with Gardner and was checkingup on a find of Indian rock paintingsthey had discovered in a remote andinaccessible canyon in the middle ofthe peninsula. As the paintings were

described to me over the phone, thefigures included life-size humanspainte d in red and black. From thisdescription, I immediately assumedthat the party had discovered, orrather re-discovered, the site of SanBorjita, inland from Mulege. Thisis a spectacular cavern with over 70great painted figures on its roof, butnot an original discovery. It wasvisited many years ago by various ex-plorers and came to scientific atten-tion with an article (with colorplates) in the pop ular M exican maga-zine Impacto (for March 11, 1950).

This publication had actually beenpreceded by a year in the DESERT

T h e P a in t e d C a v e s of B a j a

On walls and ceilings of this cave and others like it are found Baja's famous

cave paintings.

article by E. H. Davis (Feb. 1949)but this article did not arouse theinterest of U. S. explorers. It verylikely attracted the interest of theMexicans, however, and may wellhave been the stimulus for the sever-al visits and publications that beganwith the Impacto "discovery" of 1951.

In any event, when I got the phonecall I told Straubel to come aroundand I would look at his photos. Mean-while, I got off the shelves the variousMexican publications and the DES-

ERT article which discussed San Bor-jita, convinced that Gardner and hisparty had revisited this striking cave.How wrong I was! The first pictureStraubel showed me had in it a life-size and most realistic deer, paintedin black, and it was clear immediatelythat a most important new site, ap-parently never before reported, hadbeen found. More and more largeand life-like animals appeared in thephotos taken by the Gardner party,and all these were new to scientificreporting. The well-known San Bor-jita cave, although it has dozens oflarge stylized human figures, has onlytwo very crudely done animals, no-

thing like the cave paintings thatwere being shown to me. I was ex-cited and impressed beyond words.In spite of the early explorations andand later reports on archaeology inBaja California, I knew that therewas nothing in the scientific litera-ture but brief mention of these paint-ings and not even an adequate photo-graph of them had yet been printed.

On the basis of my opinion thatthe photographs represented a realdiscovery of great artistic and scien-

f'fic interest, Gardner organized asecond expedition to the area andoffered to fly me in to do a surveyand preliminary study of the cavepaintings. Th is was a fabulous offer,since it was giving me an organizedexpedition and the assistance of thosewho had discovered the paintings. Inthe ordinary course of events, itwould have taken months of prepara-tion and many thousands of dollarsto set up such a research trip, andhere I was able to leave in a few dayson a completely p l a n n e d and

thoroughly worked-out expedition,even including helicopters necessaryto reach the remote canyons rapidly.

16 / Desert Magaz ine / July, 1965



In order to comply with the an-

ropology and History. T h i s

We made our applica-

ew days time. Even so, ou r pe rmit

Gardner and most of the field

ons. I left with the helicop-

Vanaken. Flying alongside

The expedition included a photo-Life Magazine, and his

Life (1962, vol. 53, no. 3) are

Gardner's book, The Hiddenrecounts the story of

study of the paintings is still under-way but a preliminary scientific re-port will appear in American Anti-quity for January 1966.

From a base camp at W ilson Ranchwe flew into the Sierra San Borja tothe canyons of the painted caves.These are more properly rock-shel-ters since they seldom penetrate intothe rock any distance, but are simplyrock ledges with huge overhangs of

cliff above them . In the course ofsome thrilling flying up and downthe narrow gorges in a region thatlooks like a little Grand Canyon,nine of the painted rock shelters wereobserved a n d photographed. Ofthese, four were visited on the groundand recorded in detail.

The largest of the painted rockshelters, named Gardner Cave afterits discoverer, is 600 feet long alongthe cliff and averages 30 to 50 feet

Cactus spine hook was used

were found tied with nativeTop right: Fire making

from Gardner Cave.

3 4 5 cm.

in width. Th e walls are painted with136 figures of humans and animals,the latter including deer, mountainsheep, eagles, rabbits, one whale, andseveral fish. Th ere are 59 hum anfigures, 69 paintings of animals, and

8 geometric designs in this tremen-dous array, and since most of thehumans and animals are life size orlarger (the biggest human figure isnine feet tall) , a fantastic effort wentinto this assemblage of primitive art.Note that this single shelter containsalmost twice as many paintings as themuch-publicized site of San Borjita,and as mentioned previously the 69animal figures add a whole new di-mension to the rock art of this regionsince San Borjita lacks such paintingsand the early explorers, while theymention the existence of animal fig-ures, do not present adequate illus-trations of them.

After clambering up to this large

painted shelter, I told Gardner he hada winner in this discovery and thenset out to do the recording of thesites. I knew I had only a few daysto work at a task that could have re-quired at least a month, so I did mybest to make every minu te coun t. Icrawled out of my sleeping bag everymorning befort it got light, shavedin the creek by the light of a flash-light, and as soon as it was light

enough to see got going on the rec-ord keeping. For the four cavesvisited, I took several hundred photo-graphs, made a 16 mm. movie, andtook many pages of notes enumerat-ing the figures present, recording theinstances in which one painting wasdrawn on top of another, and draw-ing individual elements of style. InGardner Cave the paintings were notevenly distributed, but were clusteredin three main locations from one endof the shelter to the other. In oneday's recording here, I estimated that

I walked five miles inside the shelteras I went back and forth many timesrecording and photographing differ-ent aspects of the paintings.

It was very important for us to ob-tain some objects made by the Indianswho had lived in these shelters andmade the paintings, since such itemswould be the only way we could datethe paintings and identify the abori-ginal people who did this elaboratework. Except for Gardner Cave, theshelters all have bedrock floors sothere is no chance of recovering ma-

terials made by the ancient inhabi-tants. Gardner Cave, however, hadsome pockets of soil in crevices ofthe boulders and on the last day weexcavated the small amount of soilin the cave and recovered from it 139objects used by the Indians, includingsea shells, animal bones, wooden ar-row parts, basketry, and other smallitems. This collection was then de-scribed and later returned to theMexican National Museum.

The specimens found all belong to

an archaeological culture which hasbeen called Comondu by Dr. Masseywho has done much of the recent ar-chaeological work in Baja California.This identifies the occupation of thecave, and presumably the paintingsas well, as relatively recent—withinthe last thousand years or so. As acheck, a battered wooden peg (per-haps used in a trap of some kind)was sent to UCLA's Institute of Geo-physics Radiocarbon Laboratory.Th is implement was dated by theradiocarbon method as having an

age of 530-80 years. On this evidence,the shelter was occupied, and thepaintings made, some time between1352 and 1512 A.D.




With some not ion of who madethe paintings the next question ofimportance was, "Why?" Since thereare no living persons who can an-swer questions about the purpose ofthe paintings, we must try to get ananswe r from ou r know ledge of thecustoms of recent primitive peoplesand from analyzing the content of thepaintings themselves. A number of

plausible explanations of the paint-ings can be given, but the most clearevidence is that the paintings wereintended to serve as hunting magic—the notion being that the painter, increatin g an image of an anim al,would also by magic create a real ani-mal that could then be obtained bythe hu nte r. Evidence of this in thepaintings is shown by the fact thatmost of the animals portrayed areshown with large arrows sticking outof the m. In some cases of unf inish edpaintings, where only the outline of

a figure had been done, the arrowwas also drawn showing that it wasa fundamental part of the picture.

The studies at this t ime are onlybeginning exploratory ventures—manysites remain to be found and muchaddi tional inform ation is neededbefore we can be certain of our factswith regard to the age and meaningof the paintings. On the other hand,a discovery has been made and abegin ning is accomplished. Upon ourreturn from Baja California andGardner 's publication of the article

in Life (and soon after his book Th eHidden Heart of Baja) , there wasthe usual flood of critical commentfrom professional debunkers whowere unwilling to believe that such

Campsite below Gardner Cave.

a discovery could be made by thewrite r of mystery stories. Most ofthese people assumed without read-ing the articles that the Gardner ex-pedition had revisited the site of SanBorjita, even though that site is manymiles to the south and very differentin its pain tings . Oth ers believed tha tthe French explorer Diguet had re-corded all these sites in the 1890s, and

one critic felt that the paintings were"known" because of a brief mentionin the work of the missionary Clavi-gero (first published in 1789).

However, both before and after ourtrip I made an intensive search ofthe published records on Baja Cali-fornia, and so far as I have been ableto discover only one of the nine sitesrecorded by the Gardner expeditionhas ever been mentioned in print.(This is one of the sites found by Di-

guet) . In other words, Gard ner Caveis really Gardner's discovery—not that

lie is the first man to see the cave orset loot in it, but that his report isthe first publication and his picturesarc the first photographs of this im-pressive site. This is what constitutesdiscovery in the scientific sense andwe are obliged to him not only formaking the initial discovery, but forfinancing and leading a second tripfor purposes of detailed scholarlyrecording.

As the archaeologist accompanyingthe recording party, I have to recordthese sites as a find of unusual inter-est and excitement for any archaeolo-gist. Hav ing spent a large part of myfield time looking at archaeologicalsites vandalized, looted, disturbed,or destroyed by the ignorant, it is im-

Artifacts found at Gardner C ave.

possible to express the thrill for mein being taken to these great cave shel-ters and getting there first. To findsites like this without initials scratch-ed on the wall, a litter of beer cansand trash on the floor, and pot-hunterholes here and there is a rare experi-ence even in Baja California, and any-one who has visited Indian sites inthe desert West can appreciate the

feeling of discovery at seeing one ofthese locations without even a foot-print in the dust—untouched sincethe disappearance of the aboriginalpeople who once lived there.

Of the many letters I received afterthe trip, not all were negative and asa result of the publicity from Gard-ner's article in Life, many valuableadditional records have been suppliedby persons who have traveled in BajaCalifornia. Many knew of additio nalplaces where Indian rock art occurs,and some have contributed photo-

graphs and other original field ob-servations to the scientific record.John Knowles of Laguna Beach hadmade an excellent record of paint-ings near the Cape region, and EllaFootman of San Francisco sent mephotographs of additional paintingsin the area of the caves described here.G. K. Slocum of Culver City also visi-ted and photographed some of thecaves in central Baja California, andmany others reported locations ofsites, contacts in Baja California, andsimilar information which helped inbuilding up a more complete f ile ofinformation.

The office of the ArchaeologicalSurvey at UCLA is maintaining a s iterecord file of all reported Indian re-

Canyons in same area.



California and wouldmost grateful for any photographs

remains in Baja California

ied and much less known. Anya is likely

nce. A few minutes with cam-

great value for scientific

r the whole of Baja California,

re are only two rules. First, Mexi-

There is no law against looking,

alifornia. In this way your find be-omes part of the scientific record

and contributes its value to the search

for new knowledge. Travelers oftendo not bother to report archaelogicalsites and discoveries because theythink that what they have found iseither unimportant or already well-known to the scientific world. Theexample of the painted caves describ-ed here shows that even things thatappear obvious and spectacular haveoften not been visited nor describedby any scientific reporter. The localpeople, of course, have known aboutthese things for years, yet they arestill new to science until an adequate

documentary record of them has beencompiled.

The archaeological knowledge re-sulting from the Gardner expeditionsreveals an unusually striking nativeart without close parallel in NorthAmerica, but the sites reported fromthis work are not the only ones tobe found and recorded, and my hopeis that we will be able to piece to-gether many isolated discoveries ofindividual travelers (like the reporton paintings of serpents by ChoralPepper in the August 1964 DESERT)to construct a more or less completehistory of the ancient inhabitants ofBaja California. / / /

Eagles with three-foot wing spans in red and black decorated Gardner Cave.

Mexican children at fuel slop were impressed with Hiller helicopter that

carried Gardner expedition to painted caves. Below: Life-sized human and

animal figures make this cave distinctive from caves previously reported.



N E W

B O N A N Z AFOR OLD

v

BOTTLESWITH

'ALLTH E

"NTENSITYr0P THE BYGONEPROSPECTORSt

THE VIGOROUSBOtTLE COLLECTOROF THE WEST EEKS

W T TH E DAZZLINGTREASURES

JLJEFT BY THOSE

HEARTY

FRONTIER MINERS.

by Kay Lamson

JT AIT HF UL TO its ancient patht h r o u g h the tower ing Coloradomountains, the Animas River stub-bornly resists a loss of identity to thewaters of the San Juan. On its bankremains the only living town of Col-orado's historic San Juan County—Silverton.

While the glitter of Silver Lake,Sunnyside and Eureka fades from themem ories of old - timers, years slipthrough feeble hands that link uswith the past. Finally only bottlesare left—thousands of them, waitingto give up their secrets to the West'smost recent addition to the field ofantiquities, students of the lowlyglass bottle. These back-country col-

lectors jot down bits of informationthat will make their hobby a sophis-ticated member of the "antique"


L

family. A jargon apropo ^to the hand-made bottle epoch might̂

1 stump mod-ern machine-bottle makers, but theyknow what they're talking about

when they trade a black, three-piecemold with a high kick-up and shearedlip for a turn-mold, blob-top lady'sleg or a cobalt, embossed and whittle-marked pop!

Imported foods, liquors, perfumesand toiletries were a vital part ofexistence for an immigrant miner andhis family of the 1870s. Their dis-carded bottles now serve to remindus that our frontiers were molded inpart by men who had but recentlycrossed the ocean to seek a living un-der the free skies of the Rockies.

Those days of wine and rosewaterare gone, but the bottle remains,bright and shiny as the morning it

was cast away, and bubbling overwith intrigue for the bottle collector.

Each night in old Silverton scantilyclad enchantresses of Blair Street

spun their webs with Palmer's per-fumes, Espey's Fragrant Cream andNyal's Cold Cream. Arnicated EurekaCream or Haswell's Witch HazelCream was applied to soft feminineskin to insure against the howlingwinds.

Raw appetites were whetted withToneco Bitters or Prickly Ash Bit-ters. In mining country the threat ofchest disease was omnipresent. If thehack were contacted, a miner wasleft to the mercy of Piso's cure or Dr.King's New Discovery for Consump-

tion. For internal disorders, he soughtrelief from the shelf of the nearestApothecary, but the Bitters with the



he bid. To help them all forget,

tout were consumed by the donkeyload. As new bottles appear, the pastlowly unveils and ghosts of a dead

time parade in the reflections of old

On one crisp July morning, wesank our shovels into the old Silver-ton dump and immediately struck a

bonanza in bottles. Some shoutedtheir attributes in embossed glass,others, enigmatic and silent, waitedto have their secrets taken from them.What did "Gun Wa's Chinese Reme-dy" remedy? Which years did Taftand Cunningham fill their drug bot-tles in Silverton? What did Personeniof New York sell in that cobalt bluebottle? While questions arose, manyanswers became evident. After an ar-ray of Lash's Bitters from variousdepths and several places we con-cluded that, from the bottle making

methods and increased veracity forcedupon the medicine men and distill-ers, "Lash's Kidney and Liver Bit-ters" was older than "Lash's LiverBitters" and the latter older still than"Lash's Bitters." What liquid delightwas poured from the long, gracefulneck o f t h e olive - green bo ttle in-scribed with G. Buton and C. Amaro

di Felsina? This lady's leg was resur-rected with the first shovelful at theSunnyside ghost. There, among ashes,lay 15 inches of delicate old glass,nine inches of which were elongatedneck. How did it survive?

Leading to Silver Lake Basin fromSilverton, we followed an exiguouspack trail through Arastra Gulch.This precarious thread was cut fromgranite in the 1870s. Laboring up the

steep trail, we pondered the feasibil-ity of mining activity at that 12,500loot site. It took determination, thekind that is found in mighty huntersand bottle collectors, to push up thelast switchback leading to the top.The summit revealed a lake true toits name; and reflected in it were theimages of three old mining campsdefunct since 1900. In minutes wewere scratching the surface of thenearest tailings dump while curiousPtarmigans watched. The skeletonstair-case of an old four-story build-

ing hung suspended as if by a thread.As evidence of luxury indigenous tomining towns of that age, we un-earthed a black Ferro China Bislerifrom Milano, Italy. It was crude andfull of lovely irregularities. Blue andpurple coffin flasks lay buried in ash-es beside purple Toneco Bitters anda highly-prized bubbly, emerald green

Pepsin Caliaaya Bitters, But wonderof wonders was a small bottle whichhad once contained "Texas Won-der." We're wondering yet!

Soothing syrups and rectifyingmedicines were taken to keep fit forthe mining tasks. "The Great Dr.Kilmer's Swamp-Root Kidney, Livera n d Bladder Cure, Specific" musthave helped, only if psychologically.More forthright was Hirsch's Malt

Whiskey for Medical use. Kodol forDispepsia, Pepto Mangan Gude,Paine's Celery Compound and Foley'sBlood Purifier were used with temer-ity. Messrs. Hamlin, Humphrey, Eno,Eliman, Ayers, Wyeth, Hankins, Gif-ford and Gombault might well haveretired on volume sales. Few of thesegrand old medicines have survivedthe test of time and the pure foodand drug purge of 1906.

The list of elegant bottles we recovered from ghost camps surround-ing Silverton varied f r o m Wh itall

Tatum's curious tipped neck nurserto Radam's Microbe Killer. The thinair forced us to move slowly, but theprofusion of bottles made the effortworthwhile. Bottle sleuthing in thisarea is merely begun. Some expertson Antique Bottles predict thatSouthwestern Colorado will be thescene of a bottle rush by 1966. / / /

\




A R I Z O N A S H I S T O R Y - H A U N T E D V A L L E Y

b y e l i z a b e t h r i g b y

HEN YOU stand on the west

rim of Sunset Point lookout just offBlack Canyon Highway (State 69),about 60 miles north of Phoenix,Arizona, and scan the convolutedvalley at the foot of the slope betweenyou and the mineral-rich BradshawMountains, you will, if you knowwhere to look, discern a half-dozensmall white buildings which makeup the community of Bumblebee.

Watered by a number of creeksand prolific springs, rare in this semi-desert land, the valley was once afavorite haunt of Yavapai Apaches.

In fact, one version of the origin ofBumblebee's curious name wouldhave it that a troop of U. S. Armyscouts from Fort Whipple, sent outto reconnoiter the area, reported thatthe Indians were "thick as bumble-bees."

To reach this picturesque history-haunted valley, which is an Eden forrockhounds and hunters of Indianrelics, turn west just beyond thecommunity of Black Canyon, or, ifapproaching from the north, atCordes Junction. For 20 miles be-

fore returning to the highway, thenarrow, winding dirt road (notrecommended in wet weather) fol-lows a portion of historic WoolseyTrail (later known as Black CanyonRoad), which was once the stage-

coach route and the only access fromthe south into northern Arizona.

In the 1880's the trip was a hair-raising experience, and not only be-cause of lurking redmen. The steep,one-way grade of Black Canyon Hill

was a favorite ambush spot for high-way robbers, who would lie in waithere for the immense Concord stageson their way between Prescott andPhoenix, or vice versa. If two stagesmet on the hill, as often happened,

it was impossible for them to passone another. Then the team coming

upgrade had to be unhitched and,with two men holding fast to thetongue of the coach, the stage wouldbe rolled down hill to one of severalturnout points. During such an op-eration the passengers were sittingducks for the robbers.

Today the route offers no unduehazard to careful drivers and is re-warding with its magnificent viewsof mountain and desert. Abandonedmines everywhere recall days whenquick fortunes were made and lostin these rugged hills.

The Yavapais, too, left remindersof their residence here. Of these,none is more intriguing than "Sig-nal Rock," an isolated eminence nearthe center of the valley. From thisspot Indian sentinels were posted towarn their tribe of approachingenemies. The meaning of petro-glyphs carved on the rock is now ob-scure, but it has been theorized thatthese were messages either of warn-ing or direction. Possibly they wereprayers. Then again, they may havebeen nothing more than doodles

scribbled by bored guards in an in-terim of peace.

One reason for the valley's popu-larity may have been the abundancethere of saguaro, or giant cactus, thefruit of which was food and drinkto the desert Indians. It is compara-tively rare to find young, unbranch-ed specimens of these slow-growingplants (a 20-year-old saguaro may beconsiderably less than three feet tall,while a fully-grown giant may reach50 feet toward the sky). This is be-cause giant cactuses, so formidable in

adulthood, in infancy are extremelyvulnerable to the trampling hoovesof ranging cattle or deer and to thegnawing teeth of desert rodents. Yet,there are a startling number of youngsaguaros in the valley of BumblebeeCreek.

Since the giant cactuses, whengrown, may weigh several tons apiece,a secure anchorage is important toprevent their being blown over byfierce desert winds. The youngsterpictured here seems to have discov-ered a niche as secure against this

fatal eventuality as one could im-agine. So a new life today battensupon a relic of the old. / / /

2 2 / Desert Magazine / July, 1965



Few back-country travelers are aware of this pic-

turesque ghost town right on the fringe of Las Vegas.

by Allen Hagood

Y v EST END ghost town lies nearLas Vegas, Nevada in an elongatevalley bound by great , upendedlayers of yellowish rock that pokethrough erosional ruins l ike sinkingships. Muddy Mountains jag across

the northern skyline and a multi tudeof lesser rang es an d de sert basinsspread southward to the hidden shoresof Lake M ead. It is a land of unex-pected geologic surprises where evenexperienced geologists are impressedby the complexity of earth movement.In this setting is the AnniversaryMin e, a secluded an d oft-forgottenmining development on the easternMohave Desert .

Although the mine is only a fewmiles from Las Vegas and Lake Mead,it lies in a region remote from the

traff ic mainstream. Most automo-biles may be driven to West End, butonly intrepid backcountry driversventure over the 13 miles of gravel

road. The old road, which beginsat a modern gypsum mining opera-tion about eight miles north of VegasWash, meanders eastward across thedesert floor, then ascends a wide un-named wash to a low but spectaculardivide at the southern edge of the

Muddy M ountain s. At the divide, aquaint old "slow" sign admonishestravelers to beware of curves ahead.Although shot up by vandals, the signis strongly reminiscent of the '20swhen archaic trucks, heavily ladenwith borate ore, ground along thiswindy route. In descending thecurves from the divide, vistas unfoldto reveal the gravelly floor of WestEnd Wash.

After turning east from West EndWash, the road climbs into BoraxWash . A mile and a half farther, in

a confined gulch, you enter upperBorax Wash and lonely West End.Old shacks covered with corrugatediron sheeting line the road leading

to l iving and administrative quartersand maintenance and mill sheds. Oldrusty machinery, nostalgic of a bygoneera, is scattered among the buildings.

On o ur first tri p, early in 1964, wefound Sam Klopier , the watchman,in the old mine foreman's quarters.

The weathered frame house rests onthe brink of Lovell Wash, the arroyothat provides access to the Anniver-sary Mine. Sam informed us that thepresent mine owners decided to dis-mantle West End because of a taxburden on the surface property. Thebuildings and equipment had beensold if) promoters who planned to re-erect much of it as an Old West ex-hibit in Las Vegas. The borate oreis far from exhausted and the com-pany intends to hold its exclusivemining rights until it is economically

feasible to reopen the mine.In telling of local wildlife, Sam

ment ioned seeing moun ta in l i o ntracks at the exit to a high level of


Southern Nevada's

New Ghost Town



the mine. This was interesting, butnot surprising, because cougars hadbeen seen the year before in adjoin-ing Muddy Mountain.

A tour through West End revealedthat the camp had changed very littlein the preceding 40 years. Altho ughbuildings and exposed equipmentwere rusty, the camp gave the ap-pearance of having been abandonedsuddenly. Sam confirmed our sus-

picions. He remarked that the dis-covery of enormous borate depositsnear Kramer, California, led theWest End Chemical Company to payoff the miners at West End and shiftthe boron economy to the westernMohave Desert, almost 200 milesaway.

West End has the trappings ofabandonment that epitomize realghost towns; certainly, lesser bygonesettlements have been dignified bythe title "ghost town," although per-haps we should coin the term "ghostcamp" to describe West End accur-ately. Two rusty trucks stand readybelow the mill and a bevy of oretrailers with ancient, decomposed rub -ber tires futilely await the next loadof processed borate ore. Some of themetal covered buildings, clutteredwith domestic and industrial tools,hardly seem to have weathered nearlyfour decades of severe wind, rain andtemperature variations. In an explor-atory tunnel near the camp we foundready-for-use shipping tags of theAmerican Borax Company, another

borate producer that had operatedmines about 15 miles to the north-east. Some shipments were destinedfor Liverpool, England, and Ander-nach, Germany; we wondered howthe tags had gotten to West End andif Anniversary borates were exportedtoo.

By modern standards, life musthave been unpleasant here. In fact,according to employment informationcards found in the abandoned ad-ministration building, it was unbear-able. On one card was the printed

query, "Reason for termination?"The answer, nearly 40 years old, "Toodamned hot!" And so it was. SamKlopfer pointed out hand-dug tun-nels high in the arroyo bank over-looking the mine and explained thatthe outdoor and night workmen"holed up" to escape the blisteringmid-summer sun. Winter tempera-tures, of course, were pleasant. Now,as then, the best time for a WestEnd visit is during the cooler months.

Despite the razing of the old camp,a trip to West End and the Anniver-sary Mine continues to be worthwhile.The mine has been blasted shut inthe interest of public safety, but the

spectacular walls of Lovell Wash andthe surrounding terrain offer muchto the photographer, rockhound, andcasual desert naturalist.

Most of the rock layers at WestEnd, including those of the HorseSpring Formation which contain thecolemanite borate ore, were foldedon a grand scale in the ancient past.Subsequent erosion has sculpturedthe sides of enormous folds into pro-digious broken ridges which havebeen cut by major drainageways.

An excellent illustration of ori-ginally flat-lying sedimentary rocks,now seen as the inclined limb of atremendous fold, is in Lovell Wash.A short hike from West End millto the Anniversary Mine entrancealong the ore bucket cables is a never-to-be-forgotten experience. The pathis steep, in some places uncomfortablyabrupt . On the east wall of thearroyo, set against contoured layersof ore-bearing rock, are the buildings

and workings of the main portal tothe mine . Dip ping layers of borateore are exposed to view along thesides of the gully and across the floorof the wash where they form bedrockriffles athwart the stream bed.

Chemically speaking, colemaniteis a calcium-bearing borate mineralthat contains water; it first was dis-covered near Death Valley. Geolo-gists believe that the colemanite atWest End was formed as a sediment-ary mineral about 25 million yearsago in the Tertiary Period. At that

time, the climate was arid and it isbelieved that basins of internal drain-age occupied this region. Boronweathered from nearby rocks of pro-bable volcanic origin and was de-posited with calcium and other ele-ments, as colemanite, as the lake

W e amused ourselves splitting"goose-eggs" from rocks.

water evaporated. Layer on layer oflimy borate mud accumulated as thelake basin filled with sediment. Th eresulting 2000 feet of limestone, shaleand colemanite-bearing rock is calledthe Horse Spring Formation.

Near the ore is a peculiar type ofwhite, impure limestone. It formsshale-thin crinkled and contortedlayers that peel off in nodules that

were called "eggshells" by the miners.During our visit we amused ourselvesby splitting paper-thin "goose eggs"from the rock.

Government reports show that un-derground workings of the Anniver-sary extend over half-a-mile to theeast into the side of Lovell Wash.Several levels of tunnels were ex-cavated to facilitate stoping and re-moval of the ore from the nine-foot-thick borate-rich zone. Only one-fifth of the estimated half-milliontons of ore has been removed.

From the mine entrance near thebottom of Lovell Wash, Anniversaryore was hoisted in buckets to thecalcining plant at the edge of thecamp. The colemanite-rich rock washeated in large rotating kilns, a pro-cess that drove off excess water andleft a powdery residue of silicates,lime and boric oxide. Borate-rich ashwas bagged, loaded on truck trailers,and hauled 26 miles to Lovell Sidingon the U. P. Railroad northeast ofLas Vegas. Im pure fractions of cal-cining were dumped over the side of

Loveil Wash; the huge, conical tail-ing pile, attractive in color and strik-ing in symmetry, can be seen for miles.

Dr. Chester Longwell, veteran fieldgeologist of southern Nevada, has ex-plored the Muddy Mountain countryfor many years. He tells us the follow-ing about West End and the Anni-versary Mine:

"John Perkins, a prospector in oldSt. Thomas, made the original dis-covery of borates in White Basin in1921 (St. Thomas, a Mormon com-

munity covered by the rising watersof Lake Mead in 1936, is an under-water ghost town when the lake ishigh) tha t touched off a wave ofprospecting, and 1 knew one of themen, then a cowpuncher in MuddyValley, who made the big discoveryat West End. As I recall, his namewas Hartmann. He and a fellowprospector, Lovell—whose name is onthe big wash—had a long season ofsystematic prospecting climaxed bythe big discovery. They were in p artgrub-staked by the Gentry family inSt. Thomas and by Pete Buol, who

was well acquainted with borate op-erations aroun d Death Valley. Heknew "Borax Smith," who had gone

24 / Desert Magazine / June, 1965



Anniversary ore w as hoisted in b uckets to the colcining plant.

• •

quar ter of a mi l l ion dollars . . . I t

being disma ntled. I knew the

1921. It was goin g stron g u n-8, wh en dev elop me nt of the

out of business . . . I visi ted the, when produ ction

at its height. Th e foreman,

unde rgroun d labyr in th , and i t

My last visit to the place was

Although romant ic o ld West End

In less tha n half a

i st an t l imes tone of t he H o r s eForm ation. A trek th rough

is brea thtak ing. A close-hand

ion summ it confronts the

The new Northshore Road of theNational Park Service, now underconstruction, will pass to the southof West End. Although this excel-lent paved road will lie within twomiles of West End, because the mineis privately owned no access roads willbe built . How ever, the desert hikerwould have little difficulty in cover-ing the ground between the new road

and West End.For motorists, the only way is over

the 13 miles of unim pro ved gravelroad previo usly describe d. It is dif-ficult to say whether West End or

the drive through rugged, polychro-matic landscapes is the most impres-sive. There are two init ial approach-es, both over paved, but privatelyowned roads that lead to an activegypsum mine. One road branchessoutheast from U.S. 91 about 10 milesnortheast of Las Vegas, but it is tra-veled by heavy mining equipment andmay be shut off to public access. Themore favorable route branches from

the rur al (Lake M ead) extension ofLake Mead Boulevard, and continuesnortheasterly about four miles whereit joins the other paved road nearthe aforementioned gypsum mine.Turn r ight, continue a half mile tothe gates of the mine and skirt thefenced processing and loading areauntil the unsurfaced road just east ofthe enclosure is reached. T he n driveeastward on a somewhat confusingnetwork of dirt roads until the mainWest End road is underw heel. Be-cause of surface mining of gypsum

in this area, roads cannot be expectedto remain in the same place withina mile radius of the mine . T he roadsthus far described are privately ownedand judgement used in passing overthem should be tempered with cau-tion. The 13-mile road between thegvpsum mine and abandoned WestEnd is seldom traveled and may berough. With care, however, manypassengers cars can be driven the en-tire distance, al though the road tendsto have a high gravel center. Also, itfollows washes and may be altered by

storms and heavy runoff. With care-ful driving, however, the backcountryaficionado should have a reasonablycarefree excursion through magnifi-cent ter ra in . / / /

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July, 1965 / Desert Magazine / 2S



W here the highway turn away

I BAD Highway 80'S TOOturned away.

When Bert Vaughn built his Des-ert Tower in the mid-20s, CaliforniaState Highway 80 hugged it closely.For many years eastbound travelerspassing through San Diego County'sback country were stunned with apanoramic view visible from a pin-nacle of the Laguna Mountainswhere the highway began its precipi-tous 3000-foot descent to the desertfloor. W inding throu gh sinister rockformations, writhing, turning, diving

dangerously into wild canyons, theroad suddenly straightened a n dstretched into an eternity of desertbrush and burn ing sand. All of thisand more were seen in minute detailfrom the site upon which BertVaughn, former California Commis-sioner of Highways and owner of thetown of Jacumba, built his land-mark.

In the spirit of the rugged pioneersto whose memory the structure wasdedicated, his grim tower rose bit bybit, block by block, stone by stone.

Without grace of level or slide rule,rocks of the massive four-foot wallswere dumped or heaved into placeand bound together with hand-mixed,bath-tub cement designed to matchthe permanence and indestructibilityof the mountain on which the towerstood.

Here and there the builder con-ceded to the wisdom of modern waysand interspersed practical materials-such as a row of jutting beams ex-tending from the circular tower likespokes of a hub-heavy wheel. Th isarchitectural oddity suggested a me-dieval fortress, but its real purposewas a practical one. Those beams con-sisted of discarded screed boards fromthe highway and were incorporatedin the Desert Tower to support aproposed stairway—a spiderlike struc-ture intended to coil around thebuilding and reward dare-devil

climbers w ith one of the world'struly superb views.

Some days the fine, light moun-tain air was still and clear. At suchtimes the brilliant sun and vivid skybrought remote mountains into sharpfocus and even cast reflections in thedistant waters of the Salton Sea. Fad-ing land-marks and ancient trailsleaped from their time-worn patternto thread a path from yesterday tothe present. But when the howlingeast winds came, as they sometimes

did, the landscape was smothered in

by Lucille Martens

a dark cloud of cutting sand and crea-tures of the desert ran for cover un-til the fury of the gusts had abated.These mighty winds suited the char-acter of the Tower and the highwaythat it served, and lent it the excite-ment and zest of danger. But theoutdoor stairway never materialized.

By 1939 Highway 80 was resurfaced,widened, and its route was modified.The strain of an ever-increasing flowof visitors from the east, coupled withthe growing stream of traffic betweenImperial and San Diego counties, had

left its mark on the old highway andimprovements were im perative. Whenthe construction was complete, th eDesert Tower had lost nothing ofits prominence and had gained in ac-cessibility.

Then came the great world con-flict. Highway travel dwindled andthe flow of tower visitors almoststopped. During this lull in touristinterest the Desert Tower served itsparent highway as a look-out towerand regular crews of men were as-

signed duty there, scanning the skiesfor signs of the enemy. By the mid-40s the tower had gained in ugliness,but also in dignity and stature. Itnow commemorated not only earlypioneers, but heroes of World WarII as well.

Early among post-war visitors was



Visitor lunnriers ij JacumSfl minds,loosened teeth of this unlovely crea-

ture carved into network of tunnels.

A. Newman, veteran flyer,had for several years unhappilythe freedom of the skies

r an Italian prison camp. Throughheexamined

he

to be an intricate part of

anduntouched domain.s hiseyes surveyed thedesert valleyr a key to thepast, hismind en-

the site as a museum for

and Indian artifacts.

His dream did notcome true overIn theyears that followed his

of the Desert Tower, heand systemmatical-

and adding to the

He built a sturdy spiralled to theturret top.

a priceless collection of

and other relics. He

to his mountain, he

and leveled the ground for

and roads,off the famous caves and

Hebuiltto mark the

and to frame the picture

heprovided a restaurant forwel-

The prodigious monsters which sur-andastonish visitors werecon-

by adying artist who regainedin the twoyears required

to chisel the amazing beasts fromsolid rock. Children especially lovethese monsters—and they aresafe to

play with.

Mr. Newman knew for severalyears that Highway 80 would leavethe Tower and that aperiod of lonelyisolation might ensue. But the forceof progress is a merciless one and re-

sistance is useless when a highwaydemands a newright-of-way.

So he bargained — yielding onlywhat was necessary, protecting and

retaining allthat hecould. But when

after a long period of construction,the first newsection of thehighwayopened to thetraffic, theformer siteof Desert Tower hadsuffered a gashacross its face. Instead of passing in

close proximity, the new highwaydived through achasm 125 feet deep.In its plunge it usurped 10acresof

land, gobbled up theentrance towerand restaurant and eliminated the

well andaccess roads. But theownerand proprietor, resourceful enoughto have once escaped from an Italianprison camp, remains undaunted by

this newturn of thehighway. A re-building process is nowwell under-way and,even nature hasrespondedby unexpectedly yielding a new well.

Approaching from the east, you

catch a fleeting, buttempting glimpseof thevenerable Desert Tower longbefore newsigns begin to lure you

onto itsnew access road. Thefinish-ed highway is torn into widely sepa-rated lanes for eastbound andwest-bound traffic, but it's unlikely thisold landmark will ever fade away.The newroute, S8, in cutting inside

the mountain has lost its view butthe Desert Tower remains firm on

its lofty perch and can nowboast ofa newattraction — an unobstructedpanorama of the ingenious highwayabout to join other famous roadsthat have spanned thepages of Cali-fornia's history. / / /

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W hen it's 120° on the desert, here's a

nice cool place to look

for a real cool lost mine.

B i l I M o y l e ' s L o s t M i n eb y M i l o B i r d

IN READING stories of lost minesI find it difficult to separate factfrom fiction. I know of a lost min e

that was rediscovered by a Swisscheese maker and a man who hadretired from the Salvation Army, butthe story of how they found it is soincredible that I would hesitate toretell it. To go one step further, Idiscovered Bill Moyle's mine a yearor more before it became lost, andnow 60 years have passed I couldn'tfind it again if my life depended onit. But let's begin at the beginning.

The hills around the town of Me-lones, California, had more prospec-tors than rattlesnakes. Th ere w ere so

many, in fact, that Bill Moylecouldn't find a place to dig. There-fore, he went in search of less crowd-ed quarters. And apparently hefound it. By his own admission, hefound an outcropping that suited himperfectly. A short distance below theoutcropping he drilled a tunnel intothe hill to tap the vein.

Bill's exuberance knew no bounds.But since the hills were full of pros-pectors who expected to hit it richsome day, people in Melones didn't

pay any more attention to Bill's wildstories than they did to those of theothe r prospectors. Even Bill's ownfamily wouldn't listen to him. Theythought he was loafing out there inthe hills. Oth er p eople in townagreed. Everyone just naturallyassumed that he was spending eachday out there somewhere under acascara sagrada bush fabricatingstories about a fabulous high gradevein right on the surface of the earth.

To keep people from knowingwhere his claim was, he always varied

his path. One morning he wouldstart down the river from town. Th enext he would go up the river. Nexthe would start up over Carson Hill

behind town. Or he might wanderalong Main Street just gassing withthe saloon keeper or the grocer orthe postmaster or with us kids onthe way to school. Then he woulddisappea r. Even while people werewatching him, he would simply meltfrom the scene to be gone all day.

After Bill lost his mine nobodycould say for a certainty what routehe took to get out of town. None ofthe other prospectors had ever seenhim going to his claim nor comingfrom it. And people didn't realize hewas back in town until he showed upin Baldy's Bar for a shot of Three

Star Hennessey before going home tohis wile's boarding house.

Y e s , Mrs. Moyle ran a boardinghouse. She always had from six toa dozen boarders who would rathereat home cooked meals than the grubshoved at them in Ben Nam's restaur-ant. She didn't charge much formeals in those days but she clearedenough to keep Bill grub-staked. She,alone, must have had faith in him,for the Lord knows he wasn't the bossin his home and no amount of wheed-ling could have gotten a grubstakeout of her if she didn't have thatfaith.

After Bill had been disappearingfrom town every day for well over

a year people noticed him gettingitchier and more fidgety every day.

Angels Camp

Approximate Locationof

BILL MOYLES MINE




hewas get-towhat he an-

be his Golconda.

fed up with his loafing and

tocontribute tothe familyThe increasing vehemence

to

Any doubt people mayhave had

asudden de-e one afternoon when hepopped

theback door of Baldy'shis pockets bulging with the

oreeven seen in that part ofNuggets the size ofpea-

"an' what's more," Bill ejacu-as he spread hissamplesout

the bar, "thare's tons of it

I blew into th'vein."

Miners andloafers alike, believersinthe saloon

onthe shoul-foreverybody.y thetime thetreating ended some-

hadfallen toandwas in a deep stupor.

he fell orhequit drinking. One less man

the bar would never have beenby those men anyway.

Bill never fully recovered from his

he lived for manys afterward and was able towalk

he could neverhis prospect was.

recalled, however, that beforethediggings with hispockets

of nuggets he had carried allthe tunnel and

the dump and theof the tunnel with brush so

not be found.

Since he had been so secretiveits location, hadnever taken

of hisfamily to it, had notevenhis claim and had been

not to make any tell-taleon thehillside, allsearches for

to naught.

Now here is thepayoff. I also lostIt came about this way.

oneSaturday morning I wentup the river much farther

go. Oblivious of time and dis-I hadwandered

of therivermycreel was sofull I couldn't

it. I was thenI hadever been

I was carrying suchof fish, I didn't relish

of having to scramble over

of huge boulders andthe

After orienting myself aswell as Icould by the sun, I headed up an

animal trail and hadcrossed severalridges ofhills before concluding thatthis didn't seem to be the shortestroute back to town. As I stopped to

reconnoiter, myattention was calledto a movement less than a hundredyards ahead. I froze in mytracks to

watch through the chaparral, for I

had heard stories of mountain lion

in those hills.

In a moment Bill Moyle, comingtoward me,stepped off the trail I

had been following and turned up

another animal trail into a gulch. I

thought nothing of it at thetime be-cause I was soglad to know that I

was on a path which would takeme

back to civilization. Later, however,I realized that Bill's claim must be

in that gulch orclose to it.

During allthe years that Bill lived

after his stroke I kept my councilabout having seen him on that hill.And then I left the hills to go tocol-lege and towork invarious partsof

the world. During all that time I

never once gave Bill's mine a passingthought. But alter reading aboutlost mines in DESERT Magazine I

began towonder if I could find BillMovie's lost mine.

The more I think about it. themore I believe thesearch would bein vain. After a lapse of 60years Ican't recall howmany ridges I had

crossed when I saw Bill on thetrailnor howmany I crossed afterwardbefore getting back tothe river abouttwo miles above town. Even if I couldrecall the necessary details, wouldthe same animal trail be there afterall the storms that have ravagedthose hills? Trees wouldn't be the

same. The older ones would bedeadand gone. Trees which were smallthen would now behuge. Fires haveraced through those hills while land-slides have changed thephysiographyof every ridge and gully. Inaddition,Bill undoubtedly had to t i m b e rhis tunnel with small trees cut nearbyand during this long lapse of timethey would have rotted andallowedthe tunnel to cave in, obliteratingall evidence of itsmouth.

And what's more, only a muchyounger manwould tackle the two

miles of boulders and brush alongthat section of the Stanislaus River toget to thepoint where I came downout of thehills. As far as I'mcon-cerned, Bill Moyle's mine will remainlost. But maybe someone e lse—afisherman or camper, will inadvert-ently stumble upon it someday. Afterall, it'sthere! / / /

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July. 1965 / Desert Magazine / 29



HERE LIES PEGLEG'S LOST GOLD

Photo of Pegleg Hill taken b y finder of black gold nuggets.

Because it's imposs ible to print all of the inquiries relative to thec l a i med recovery of the lost Pegleg black gold by an anonymous finderwho told his story in the March and May, 1965, issues of DESERT, here'sa round-up of comments. Other letters are printed on the Letters From OurReaders .

To t he Man Who Found

Pegleg's Black Gold . . .

Many are the speculators as to youridenti ty. Larry Dubral l of Los An-geles and the Glen Rices of Palmdale ,among others, credit famous mysterywriter Erie Stanley Gardner with thegolden horde. A prospector from Ari-zona believes it 's none other than

Randal l Henderson, founder of DES-ERT Magazine. Occasional visi torssuggest it 's desert rat Harry Oliver'sprank and a girl up the street whosells us topographical maps swearsit 's her rich uncle. A Mr. Reed ofSan Diego is sure it 's Horace Parkerwho wrote the wonderful Anza/Bor-rego guidebook and DESERT'S LostMine authori ty , Kenneth Marquiss ,thinks you're a woman.

A few readers have chatised us formaking no effort to identify the RealMr. Pegleg. Our stock answer is that

it isn't our business who you are.You've been good to DESERT—yoursis a great story and you produced theevidence to back it up—and if youdesire anonymity, there 's absolutelyno one with whom we would cooper-ate in any effort to "flush him out,"to use the words of a popular news-paper columnist who has just thatin mind.

In addition to letters that have ap-peared in past issues and in this one,there have been a number of sugges-tions as to how you should part withyour money. One reader laments thatthe East coast has the Statue of Lib-erty, but the West coast has nothing.

He suggests a statue of Christ on aturntable. Wilber Hil l of San Jacintobelieves a mining project conductedbv the eye bank of Los Angeles onthe site you could reveal would con-tribute to their efforts for restoringvision by transplanting corneas fromdeceased persons. Larry O'Malley ofRamona, who some years ago foundseven black nuggets in the 17 Palms

area of the de Anza desert, but quitlooking when he found he was fol-lowed, suggests y o u s e n d $10,000worth of nuggets c/o DESERT Maga-zine to be contributed anonymouslyto the United Fund, Heart Fund, etc.And then there's the man who wantsto start a big gold mine employingonly cripples, epileptics and alcohol-ics so they may be assured of steadywork in an understanding atmo-sphere. Or, you could support severalseasoned travelers who would like atrailer and funds to travel across the

country spreading the word of Godand Americanism. A number of oth-er ideas, similarly worthy and imprac-tical, escape me at the moment, butyou are wise to remain anonymous.In addit ion to t h e above reasons,there might be a few ruthless goldseekers who could give you a heap oftrouble.

Thank you for the nugget on achain for me. It has made mine themost interesting neck on the desert!Preparing manuscripts is t ime con-sumi ng a n d w e apprec ia t e t hethought you have put into answer-ing letters from our readers. Theblack nuggets are prominently dis-

played in the new Home of DESERTMagazine and we hope you wil l beamong those to visit our new quar-ters.

We do not publish private address-es, but if you wish to personally re-spond to any of the letters we've pub-lished, please telephone the office andI will give you the addresses, provid-ed you can answer a question I'll askto establish yourself as our Mr. Peg-leg.

Now for the letter in which youhave answered reader 's quest ions

printed in the May issue of DESERTMagazine . . .

Dear Choral Pepper:

X HIS TI M E I 'm sending two ofthe black nuggets. The extra oneis mounted on a chain and is for youpersonally.

I, too, want to make it perfectlyclear that other than print ing mystory and displaying the nuggets Isent in, DESERT Magazine has hadabsolutely nothing to do with the

Pegleg black gold. They don'tknow who I am, and I 'm sure theyc;:n confirm the fact that each timeI've written in I've mailed the letterfrom a different post office in a dif-ferent town so they couldn't possiblytrace me by their subscription list.Now the letters in the May issue:

Bill Knyvett 's letter poses an in-terest ing quest ion. While I am noexpert on the subject nor a metallur-gist, I do know that air is presentunderground for some distance, espe-cially in sandy or rocky soil, whereassomething like clay would tend tokeep the air out . The nuggets on thesurface definitely had a heavier coat-




g of oxidation than those found un-I discovered this when I

to remove it. After trying allto aqua

I finally used a variety of "pick-in-

the oxidation.of the acids and solu-

the black coat-the amount of time to do the

a great deal. Also, as Iin the story, some solu-

the blackand still leave the nuggets a sort

and leaveetc.

Because of the hazard of acidI finally settled on several of

the solutionshot. The black oxida-

and disappear infew minutes from the underground

but would take about threeas long on the heavily oxidized

Ifound

on thesurface. PartDr. Brauer's questions are answer-

too, and it is obvious that hehe is talking about. To

I did try nitric acid,

hot. After a while the nitric

and would not clean the nug-as well so I would discard it anda fresh solution. I might mention

is one of the moreand when I discovered

and less harmful solutions Iit.

I thank Mr. Doty for his fair andbut will decline for

set forth in my letter inaswell as reasons listed

on in this letter.

Howard Clark makes a couple ofAs Choral Pepper

out in her forward toin the March issue, it is up

to decideI found Pegleg's

or not. It really means

to me one way or the otherit or not.lark is also right about Pegleg firstoming to California in 1829. It is

later accounts that put the dateround 1850 when he found theblack

nuggets.

I remember the incident in Nomethat Mr. Clawson speaks of, althoughI did not bother to get his name atthat time. He tried to draw me outabout the nuggets—as everybody whoever saw any of them did—but natur-ally I wasn't talking. If he bought

a nugget from the jeweler, he cer-tainly has one of the cleaned Peg-leg nuggets. I might mention here

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that, among other things, I tumbledsome of the nuggets, which removedthe black coating on the high spots,but left it down in the cavitiesand made the nuggets look likenatural stream-tumbled nuggets. Ibelieve this was the year after Claw-son got his cleaned nugget. Also, Isold a lot of nuggets in various partsof Canada too, and on a few occa-sions I had the nuggets smelted downin Canada and refined into pure bul-lion, but this was before I realizedthat it was unlawful to possess bul-lion in the United States, so I sold itin Canada.

Perhaps it is time to be more ex-plicit about my reasons for remain-ing anonymous, so let me make thesepoints:

1. With the black gold I found, I

certainly didn't need the money thatDESERT might have paid me forthe story, which probably would havebeen less than $50.00.

2. Publicity or "glory" for havingfound the black gold is something Ineed even less for this reason: Someyears ago a friend of mine and hiswife won $57,000.00 on the IrishSweepstakes. They thought it was awonderful thing to have their pic-tures in the paper and the story

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The Desert and ArcheologySecond in a series prepared especially for DESERT Magazine

by Mecico's foremost anthropologist, DR. CARLOS MARGAINof the University of Mexico.

V J E QUESTION students alwaysask, when considering the enormousamount of artifacts recovered by ar-cheologists, is how did we select aparticular site—the Tehuacan Valleyfor instance— to inaugurate an exca-vation?

Selection of such is not a matter ofchance, although luck helps a greatdeal. A long time before work in thevalley of Tehuacan began, during1948 and '50, excavations were insti-tuted at Bat Cave in New Mexico.Among items carefully dug up weretiny corn cobs about one inch long.Radio carbon dating technique, usedwith associated suitable material,dated these small cobs back to 3600B.C.

In 1949, the great American arche-ologist, Mr. R. D. McNeish, was dig-ging in north-eastern Mexico at LaPerra cave. The earliest corn hefound there was dated 2500 B.C. andidentified as an ancestor of a stillexisting corn or maize-race. Five years

later, in 1954, he excavated caves insouthwestern Tamaulipas, Mexico.Instead of finding older corn speci-mens, as he hoped, he discovered onewhich could be dated back "only"2200 B.C. However, the find wasimportant in that the corn belongedto another new, or unknown, maize-race.

At about the same time, investiga-tors were working in other places.One, R. H. Lister from Colorado Uni-versity, was digging the SwallowCave in Sonora, Mexico. Others, E. S.

Banghoorn, M. K. Wolfe and K. H.Bisby, from Harvard University, werealso making important discoveries-one, they identified "as pollen grainsof maize, some fossil pollen isolatedfrom a drill core taken at a depth ofmore than 70 meters (more than 200feet) below the present site of Mexi-co City." This proved contemporarywith the last inter-glacial period "esti-mated by geologists to have occurredabout 80,000 years ago" and thoseare the facts which finally settled thequestion about the American origin

of maize.In 1958 MacNeish was digging

again in Honduras and Guatemala,

with not much luck. One year later,in southern Mexico, he uncoveredcorn and other vegetal material, noneof which was older than the materialsalready found years before in north-ern territories. By this time, after 10years, he had narrowed down the ter-ritories where he eventually couldfind what he had been methodicallyand tirelessly looking for: the begin-ning of agriculture in America. Theterritory he still had to survey andstudy was an area between the Valley

of Mexico and the State of Chiapas.In explaining his selection of the

desert Valley of Tehuacan for furtherexcavating, he said, "Botanical evi-dence showed that (the original an-cestor of) corn was a highland grassand therefore only the highlandswere pertin ent. Finally, specimenssusceptible to study were to be foundmainly in dry caves in a dry region.We recognized that caves often hadone floor on top of another and re-mains from such a succession offloors might show the evolution fromwild corn to domesticated maize. Ergo,one must look for a highland regionhaving caves suitable for occupation,a dry climate for the preservation ofcorn cobs, located between southernand central Mexico.

"A careful study of rainfall, cli-matic, topographic and geographicmaps revealed only three likely re-gions (located between the Valley ofMexico and the State of Chiapas) :southern Oaxaca, the Tehuacan Val-ley, and the Rio Balsas area. Here

one might find the original home ofcorn. Archeological dates from pre-vious work indicated it should beolder than 5000 years ago and botani-cal studies indicated that it shouldbe like the most primitive cobs foundin Bat Cave, New Mexico. In thewinter of I960, in the Tehuacan re-gion, a test in a stratified cave re-vealed tiny, primitive corn cobs in alayer which could be dated about3600 B.C. At last it seemed we hadthe correct region in which to con-centrate our investigation."

Although mankind, in general, hasnever been interested in establishinghimself in such aggressive and lonely

looking places as deserts, one of theoldest and most impressive civiliza-tions Man ever produced, originatedand developed during thousands ofyears in the desert. This, theEgyp-tian civilization, is commonly consid-ered an exception. But in Americalies another extraordinary exception.Thousands of years ago, at least 3000,in the completely desertic coastalareas of what is now Peru in SouthAmerica, Man lived, developed andreached high cultural and intellectual

levels long, long before Europeansarrived . Some of the most fascinatingexamples of highly refined, sophisti-cated and interesting civilizationsman has ever produced are slowlybeing unearthed in the moonscapecoastal areas of Peru.

But let us focus again upon thesmall, unimportant-looking Tehua-can Valley desert. It is hard to ima-gine that such a place, full of cacti,spiny bush and typical desert floraand fauna, could be, as it is, a place

permanentlyand

uninterruptedly oc-cupied by Man during more than9000 years (further evidence willdoubtlessly demonstrate that perma-nent and uninterrupted human occu-pation is dated back to 10 or 12,000years B.C.).

Nevertheless, it does not take longto realize that such aggressiveness ismore apparent than real. And, it doesnot take long to become incrediblyattracted to the unique characteristicsof the desert. The minute you fallunder its "spell," or whatever term

you wish to use, such places becomemore appealing than others actuallybetter suited to permanent humanoccupation.

So, it could have been the invisible,but intellectually effective challengeto the human spirit of enterprise thatprompted people to settle here. Or,it might have been a softness behindthe apparent harshness and gruff as-pects of the deserts. The fact remainspeople once arrived and did settle inplaces such as the Tehuacan ValleyDesert. And, because of those hardypeople, we are now able to delve intothe origins of America's civilization.

Ill




DtSBRT DISPENSARYb y S a m H i c k s

Part of a series of articles relating Sam Hicks' first-hand observations

fo the uses made by primitive peoples of nature's products.

Most Mexican ranchers have herb

Ruda, a medical herb, Alantro,

and a chili pepper tree.

UANITA NEJO, who lives nearthe Pechanga Reservation out of Te-

80s, customarily takes

misbehaving. She tells

e side-effect from this con-

I have a friend in Alpine, Texas,

bookeeper for

Smithers went to Mexican

peak Spanish fluently.e then came to Texas with his par-

He has always been friendly with

f his sincerity, has been given infor-

Pancho Villa'sthe following para-

"The purpose of this story is to

able that could cure, and there werea few (curanderos) who knew all ofthem and for what each would beused. Also, that today's drug manu-facturers are using some of theseplants to make medicines. There pro-bably would be more of them used ifthey could reach the laboratories inthe same condition as when theywere gathered. Some have provenvery successful, from my personal

knowledge, but of some there aredoubts, as this writer is not a medi-cal authority and did not know if thepatient had the ailment for which hewas being treated, but the odds arein favor of the Curandero.

Mr. Smithers tells of an inci-dent wherein a woman picked up a.22 calibre rifle by the end of thebarrel and the hammer caught in aquilt and discharged, causing a fleshwound three inches long in the low-er part of her right arm. "A neigh-

bor stopped the bleeding bv applyingsoot to the wound, then spider webs.That was their standard remedy tostop bleeding, even serious knifewounds of those wild dance fights.Mexicans never destroy a cobweb un-less they need it for a wound.

"Much can be learned from study-ing animals and birds in arid regionsof the border country. Notice thespecies of cacti that animals havegnawed into to get moisture. The spe-cies they select is the best one for

you. To locate water, watch the doves.When numbers of them fly towardsa canyon or a draw in the moun-tains, follow their course and youwill find a spring. Animal trails alsolead to water.

"To relieve swelling of sprainedankles or wrists rural Mexicans makea poultice of sunflower seeds, as Am-ericans do with flax meal. Yellowlaundry soap mixed with sugar willdraw the pus from sores and boils.Poultices are made from cacti, somefrom seeds and plant leaves mixed in

oil made from goat or deer fat. Vari-ous ones are used for burns, bruises,sprains, or other ailments." / / /

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COOKERY

\BEAN RARE-BIT

1 tablespoon minced onionVi cup butterVi cup flourV2 teaspoon salt

V2 teaspoon prepared mustard1 % cups milkVi teaspoon Worcestershire sauce1 rounded cup thinly sliced or

grated cheese1V2 cups drained kidney beansCook onion slowly in butter. Addflour, salt and mustard. Mix well andcook slowly a few minutes. Addmilk, stirring constantly, until thick,then add Worcestershire sauce andcheese. Cook over very low heatslowly until cheese is melted. Addbeans, cover and heat through. Serve

over toast. Serves 4.

RICE LOAF

V4 cup butter or margarine1 cup milk

1 V2 cups grated cheddar cheeseVi cup fine dry bread crumbs3 eggs slightly beaten

Vi cup chopped celeryVi cup minced onion1 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 teaspoon saltV2 teaspoon prepared mustard1 can mushroom soup

1/3 cup water1 small can sliced mushrooms

Hea t bu tter with_ milk until me lted.Add rice, cheese and crumbs to eggs.Stir in hot milk.Add celery, onion, parsley, salt andmustard. Turn into greased loaf panthat has been lined with greasedpaper. Bake at 350 degrees for 1hour, 15 min. Blend soup with wateruntil smooth. Add mushrooms with

liquid. Heat through when ready toserve. Pour souce over loaf. 6 serv-ings.

F o o d E d i t o r

VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

2 packages frozen green beans,cooked and drained

1 can drained bean sprouts1 can water chestnuts

1 can mushroom pieces1 small minced onionToss lightly together and spoon 1ca n or 1V2 cups cheese sauce overin casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for25 minutes. Cover with French-friedonions and bake 10 minutes longer.6 servings.

SCALLOPS SUPERB

1 package frozen scallops1 can frozen shrimp soup

1/3 cup thin cream or canned milk

1V2 tablespoons sherryThaw scallops and rinse with waterto remove bits of shell, then cookgently for 15 or 20 minutes. Drain.Heat the frozen soup in doubleboiler. Add cream, scallops andsherry, and heat, but do not boil.Serve on a mound of hot rice.

WELSH RARE-BIT WITH BEANS

1 lb. sharp Cheddar cheese1 tablespoon butter

V2 cup ale, beer, or cream1 V2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauceDash Tabasco sauceV% teaspoon paprika

1 well beaten egg2 cups cooked, drained Great

Northern white beansIn top of double boiler or in chafingdish, mix dry seasonings. P o u rin ale, beer or cream. Let standuntil hot. Add cheese, thinly slicedor grated. Stir, always in same direc-tion, until cheese is melted. Add eggwhich has been whipped with fork

and mixed with Tabasco and Wor-cestershire. Add beans and heat.Serve over toast. Serves 5 or 6.

HAM, YAM and BANANA

Place a serving size piece of ham inflat baking dish for as many as youwant to serve. Over this sprinklebrown sugar and dot with butter.

Over this lay a layer of split ban-anas . Cover this with brown sugarand dot with butter. Over this placea half medium-sized yam which hasbeen boiled with the skin on andpeeled. Over this add more brownsugar and butter. Pour V2cup fruitjuice in dish and bake in 375 ovenfor about 25 minutes.

If you are serving this for dinner,make the ham slice Vi-inch thick,if for a luncheon, slice the ham thin-ne r and use slices of yam instead ofthe half.

SHRIMP AN D SOLE

3 tablespoons butter or margarine3 tablespoons chopped celery3 tablespoons chopped onion2 slices bread, crusts removed

Vi cup chopped cooked shrimpSalt and pepper

1 tablespoon water4 sole fillets1 IOV20Z. can cream of celery

soup

1/3 cup milk1 tablespoon finely chopped

parsleyMelt butter. Add celery and onionand cook until tender but not brown-ed. Tear bread into small pieces andadd to onion and celery. Stir andcook until lightly browned. Stir inthe shrimp. Season to taste with saltand pepper. Add water. Spread Viof the stuffing in each fish fillet. Rolland fasten with wood picks. Arrangein shallow baking dish. Heat soupwith milk, add parsley, and if wish-

ed, more shrimp. Spoon this sauceover fish and bake at 350 degreesfor 15 or 20 minutes.




byof

Album,

and

S h a n i k o , O r e g o nBY LAMBERT FLORIN

SHOULD have been namedrem-

of a once roistering sheep and

eckau, immigrant from Germanyof the stage stop

to the site of the future town,by Indians thereabouts,

the Teutonic inflection of his

wasbeyond the scope of savageTo them, Scherneckau be-

and so did the town.

The stage stop was established inof two gullies

of a fine spring, byand Elizabeth Ward. In Aug-

1874 Scherneckau came along,in the lo-

and bought out the Wards.his benevolent management

he station remained free of Indianand prospered. By 1879,

the estab-

ishment of a postoffice named CrossHollows. Scherneckau, the beardedGerman, was the first postmaster.

bout 10 years later, though, heearned for a more desirable climate

than that of the Oregon "high desert"o sold out to a fellow countrymanamed Gustaf Schmidt and retired

to live in Astoria on the coast until1923, when he took a long deferredtrip to California.

Meanwhile, back on the old home-stead, great changes took place. Vast

areas of erstwhile desert lands aroundCross Hollows were converted to theraising of wheat and sheep. In 1898

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a railroad reached the flats above theHollows, the point of origin beingBiggs Junction on the Columbia.

The railroad was the brainchild ofbankers and financiers of The Dallesand Moro, nearby towns in the wheatbelt. They figured it would be agood idea to establish its terminusbeyond already established towns,tapping the area to its very limits.This point was just above the can-yon country where Cross Hollowslay, and close enough to that localityto take the name of Shaniko, thepopular name for the older village.The latter now died, its postoffice atCross Hollows closing even before anew one was established in 1900 atthe burgeoning boom town up thedraw.

The new Shaniko grew as fast asrails arrived bearing bricks and otherbuilding materials. A large hotelsprung up, along with stores andbusiness establishments of less repu-table character. Wheat elevators werebuilt and sheep sheds constructed tohandle inpouring floods of grain andwoolies. A jail for horse thieves andoverly boisterous celebrants was builtin combination with

acity hall

andfirehouse constructed across the streetfrom the brick hotel.

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M A C H I N E R Y — S U P P L I E S — E T C .

After a number of years of pros-perity it was learned that the rail-road was to be extended southwardto Bend, a central Oregon metropolis.This news started another boom, butthe way it turned out, Shaniko wasignored. The railroad, or rather tworailroads, were started in 1911 at thesame time, their routes lying in theDeschutes River canyon. One linewas James J. Hill's, the rival linewasHarriman's. The Hill rails success-fully reached Bend first, killing boththe Harriman project and the town ofShaniko.

Today Shaniko is a satisfactory

ghost. Its few residents fought public-ity as such for a time, resenting on-slaughts of vandals inspired by news-paper stories and a television pro-gram. Then came a more profitablephilosophy. "If you can't lick 'em,join 'em." The historic postoffice isnow a museum full of Shanikoana,the large vacant lot next to the cityhall is filled with a fine collection ofwagons and buggies. Stores have dis-appeared, but the hotel, shown above,still functions and the old "CityCen-ter" across the street still stands. Thetown is easily reached by a hard toproad from Portland via Maupin, andis worth a visit. / / /

ROCK & G I F T S H O P

Everything for the Rockhound

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C L A S S I F I E D S

H OW TO PLACE YOUR ADMail your copy and f irst-insert ion remit-tance to: Trading Post, Desert Magazine,

Palm Desert, California 92260

Classif ied rates are 25c per word, $5minimum per insert ion.

• B O O K S - M A G A Z I N E S

OUT-OF-print books at lowest prices! You nameit—we f ind it ! Western Americana, desert andIndian books a specialty. Send us your wan ts.No obligation. International Bookfinders, Box3003-D, Beverly Hil ls, California.

LEARN ABOUT gems from Handbook of Gemsand Gem ology. Writte n especially for ama-teur, cutter, collector. Tells how to id entifygems. $3 plus tax. Gemac Corpo ration, Box808J, Mentone, California.

READ "BURIED Treasure and Lost Mines" byFrank Fish, 93 bonafide locations, photos andil lustrat ions. Research done by Fish, treasurehunter who made it pay. Large 19x24" color-ed map, pinpointing book locations. Book$1.50, map $1.50. Special: both $2.50 post-paid. Publisher: Erie Schaefer, 14728 PeytonDrive, Chino, California.

NEVADA TREASURE Hunters Ghost Town Guide.

Large folded map. 800 place name glossary.Railroads, towns, camps, camel t ra i l . $1.50.Theron Fox, 1296-C Yosemite, San Jose 26,Cal i forn ia .

"THE BOTTLE Tra i l " vo lumes one through f ive,pioneer bott le histories, $1.65 each prepaid.May Jones, Box 23, Nara Visa, New Mexico88430.

"SUN-COLORED GLASS, It's Lure and Lore," 50pages, i l lustrated, $2.75 postpaid. Mary J.Zimmerman, Dept. D., Box 2641, Amaril lo,Texas.

HARD-TO-FIND Books located through world-wide contacts. All f ields Americana to Zoology.Book Lance, 6631 Hollywood Blvd., Ho l l ywood ,Calif . 90028.

GHOST TOWN Guide: Complete guide to over100 ghost towns in California, only $1.95. W.Abbott, 1513 West Romneya Drive, Anaheim,California.

BOOK HUNTING is our business, service is ourproduc t. No charge for search. Satisfactionguaranteed. D-J Book Search Service, P. O.Box 3352-D, San Bernardino, Calif . 92404.

"1200 BOTTLES PRICED"-well i l lustrated, com-plete descript ion, covers entire f i e l d , 164pages, by J. C. Tibbitts, f irst president ofAntique Bott le Collectors Associat ion and edi-tor of the "Ponti l," $4.25 post paid. TheLittle Glass Shack, 3161 56th St., Sacramento,Calif . 95820.

BOOKS: "Old Bott les and Ghost Towns/'many

sketches. See Desert, February '63 issue. $2.15prepaid. Mrs. Adele Reed, 272 Shepard Lane,Bishop, California.

WANTED: ARIZON A Highw ays magazines 1925to 1933. Write giving prices to W. Elmer, P.O.Box 875, Scottsdale, Arizona.

"REDIGGING THE WEST" for Old Time Bott les,close-up photographs of over 700 bott lesand art icles, 183 pages, wire bound. All em-bossing on bott les traced in black and whitefor easy, posit ive identif ication, size, color,pr ic ing, index. 22 X 17 (1897 reprint) mapof 9 western states. $4.25 postpaid. Old TimeBottle Pub. Co., 3915 Rivercrest Drive, Salem,Oregon.

GHOST TOWN Bott le Price Guide, 1965 revisededit ion, enlarged to 72 pages, $2.25 postpaid.Wes Bressie, Route 1, Box 582, Eagle Point,Oregon 97524.

• B O O K S - M A G A Z I N E S

"GEMS & Minerals Magazine," largest rock hobbymonth ly. Field trips, "h ow " art icles, pictures,ads. $4 year. Sample 25c. Box 687J, Mentone,California.

ARIZONA TREASURE Hunters Ghost Town Guide,large folded map 18 81, small early map, 1200place name glossary, mines, camps, Indianreservations, etc. $1.50. Theron Fox, 1296-EYosemite, San Jose, California.

"THE PAST In Glass" Newly revised. Identify theunknown bott les in your collect ion with thiscomplete book on bott le collect ing. Uti l ize thehints on how to collect, identify, and categor-ize your bott les. $3.25 from authors Pat andand Bob Ferraro, 465 15th Street, Lovelock,Nevada.

SUBSCRIBE TO Sports Afield or Popular Mechan-ics. Send $4, check or money order to Luther,719 Temple, Long Beach, Calif.

• D E SE R T S T A T I O N E R YDESERT LIVINGCOLOR , W ild life , Roadrunner,

Homestead and Flower notes, 12 assorted$1.50, illustrated brochure. 59 Desert Vari-eties $5.90. Art ist Henry Mockel, Box 726,Twentynine Palms, Calif .

• D U D E - G U E S T R A N CHE S

DESERT HILLS Guest Ranch, Lucerne Valley, Cali-fornia. Housekeeping cottages, single unitswith bath, meals available, beautiful view,heated pool , quiet, ideal for honeymooners,writers, art ists, etc. Write for brochure. Joeand Janice Horst, owners, P.O. Box 444,Lucerne Valley, California. CH 8-7444.

• E Q U I P M E N T - S U P P L I E SQUALITY CAMPING and mountaineer ing equip-

ment . Down s leeping bags, l ightw eigh t tents,boots. Free catalog. H ighlan d Outf i t ters, P.O.Box 1 2 1 , Riverside, Cal i f .

DESERThats,formatRoad

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110 VAC 60 cycle from car generator . Power,l ights , ref r igerator , t ransmi t ter , receiver , etc.Simple, easy to convert . Plans: $2 . Tedco,Box 12098B, Houston, Texas 77017.

ENJOY LIGHTWEIGHT camping. Free catalog o ftents, packs, sleeping bags. Gerry, Dept. 90,Boulder , Colorado.

• F OR W O M E NLADY GODIVA "The World's Finest Beautif ier."

Complete beauty treatment in one jar. Write:Lola Barnes, 963 North Oakland, Pasadena,California 91104.

• G E M S , D E A L E R S

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. We have everythingfor the rock hound, pebble pups, interestinggifts for those who are not rock hounds.Minerals, slabs, rough materials, lapidary sup-plies, mountings, equipment, black l ights. Whynot stop and browse? Shamrock Rock Shop,593 West La Cadena Drive, Riverside, Calif.OVerland 6-3956.

CHOICE MINERAL specimens, gems, cutting ma-terial, machinery, lapidary and jeweler's sup-plies, mountings, f luorescent lamps, books.Sumner's, 21108 Devonshire, Chatsworth, Cal.

• G E M S , M I N E R A L S - F O S SI L S

MINERAL SPECIMENS and Gem Rough, for thediscriminating collector or lapidarist. Abso-lutely guaranteed. Two free l ists, which doyou want? The Vellor Co., P.O. Box 2344 (D),St. Louis, Missouri 63114.

POCKET GOLD, $2. Placer go ld , $2. Gold dust,$1 . Attractively displayed. Postpaid. Money-back guarantee. Lester Lea, Box 1125D, Mt.Shasta, California.

• G E M S, R O U G H M A T E R IA L

SUPERIOR AGATES, V* to % inches , $1 Ib . 1/2 to1 % in. banded, $2.50 Ib. Tumble polished$3.50 Ib. Send postage. Frank Engstrom, GreyEagle, Minnesota.

• I N D I A N G O O D S

AUTHENTIC INDIAN jewelry, Navajo rugs, Chl-mayo blankets, squaw boots. Collector's items.Closed Tuesdays. Pow-Wow Indian TradingPost, 19967 Ventura Blvd., East WoodlandHills, Calif. Ope n Sundays.

SELLING 20,000 Indian relics. 100 nice ancientarrowheads $25. Indian skull $25. List free.Lear's, Glenwood, Arkansas.

RARE—TWO large, round steatite cooking pots,Chumash. Will sell or trade for coins. For par-t iculars and photo, send $1. Bob Defosset,Box 703, Alta, California.

FINE RESERVATION-MADE Navajo, Zuni, Hopijewelry. Old pawn. Many f ine old baskets,moderately priced, in excellent condit ion

Navajo rugs, Yei blankets, Chimayo blankets,pottery. A collector's paradise! Open daily10 to 5:30, closed Monday s. Buffalo TradingPost, Highway 18, App le Valley, Ca lifornia.

SELLING INDIAN art ifacts: Pottery, boatstones,spearheads, ceremonial flints, axheads, maces,pipe tomahawks, baskets, also Aztec potteryand figurines. Vince's, 18 West Downs, Stock-ton, California 95204.

• J E W E L R Y

PRECIOUS JADE . . . Heart shaped Burmesejadeite pendant on sterling silver chain. Cutin the Orient. Excellent quality. $17.95 ppd.Satisfaction guaranteed. Farwell, Dept. DM,Box 175, Torrance, Calif. 90501.

EXQUISITE HAND carved mother-of-pearl dovependant in delicate detail, measuring IV2"—ear clips to match, $3. Sets of same qualityin garnet, citrine topaz, pure rock crystal,abalone, carnelian or dainty hearts of AuroraBorealis crystals, $3 set. All genuine. Freegift . Postpaid. Sample of other jewelery sets,$2 . A & A Rock Shop, 3930 South Wilton PI.,Los Angeles, California 90062.

• M A P S

SECTIONIZED COUNTY maps - San Bernardino$3 ; Riverside $1; Imperial, small $1, large $2;San Diego $1.25; Inyo $2.50; Kern $1.25;other California counties $1.25 each. Nevadacounties $1 each Include 4 percent sales tax.lopographic maps of all mapped westernareas. W estw ide Maps Co., 114 West ThirdStreet, Los Angeles 13, California.

/ Desert Magazine / July, 1965



M E X I C A N A U T O I N S U R A N C E • R E A L E S T A T E

ff i l iated service offices in El Centro, Yuma,Noga les, El Paso. Write for dail y insurancerates—and ask for free Mexico Travel-Aidpacket, very help ful in planning you r Mexicomotor tr ip. Sanborn's, McAllen, Texas 78502.

YS. COMPLETE, accurate, guarante ed. High-

est quality spectrographic. Only $5.00 persample. Reed Engineering, 620-R So. Ingle-wood Ave. , Inglewood, Cal i fornia.

had 35 years experience prospecting. TomShaw, P. O. Box 2012, San Bernardino, Calif.

O L D C O I N S , S T A M P S

79-80-81-82 S Mi nt, 18 83-S4-85-99-1900-01-04 O Mint uncirculated $3 each. 100 pagecatalog, Coins, 50c. Schultz, Salt Lake City,Utah 84110.

$ 8 . , in very good or better. Bril l iant uncir-

culated silver dollars before 1900, only $4each, my choice. The Coin Company, Inc., 315East Second South, Suite 308, Salt Lake City,Utah 84111.

P H O T O S U PP L IE S

Morgan Camera Shop "The complete photo-graphic store," 6262 Sunset Blvd. , Hol lywood-California 90028.

P L A N T S , SE E D S

ROGUE RIVER Valley, Oregon ranch sites nearGrants Pass and Medford, 5 to 40 acres low as$150 down and $35 monthly. Free catalog.Cal-Ore Ranches, 1054-DX South Riverside,Medfo rd , Oregon.

RETIRING? HERE is a quiet, secluded paradisein famous Alabama Hills, movie flats area inLone Pine, Calif. An all-year recreation land.Home, guest house, lovely patio-pool area.Orchard, mountain stream with waterfall.Mi ld , dry climate. Call: La Crescenta 249-5276.

• T R E A S U R E F IN D E R S

FIND LOST or hidden treasures with new tran-sistor metal detector, underwater metal de-tectors, scintillation counters, etc. Free litera-tu re . Gardiner Electronics, Dept 5 1 , 4729North 7th Ave., Phoenix, Arizona.

FINEST TRANSISTOR metal locators, $34.95 to$275. Find coins, souvenirs, treasure. Informa-tive folder, "Metal Locating Kinks," 25c.IGWTD, Will iamsburg, New Mexico.

POWERFUTMEFROTECH locators^etect gold,~siF-ver, coins, relics. Moneyback guarantee. Terms,free information. Underground Explorations,Dept. 3A, Box 793, Menlo Park, California.

TREASURE-FONE AUTOMATIC-a new principlein electronic metal detection. Patent pending.$129.50. Write: Highlander Co., Dept. 25,10308 Brenda Way, Rancho Cordova, California

FUN & PROFIT finding buried treasure, relicswith Transistor-M-Scope. Booklet, interestingcustomer comments free. Terms. Fisher Re-search, Dept. JX, Palo Alto, California.

healthy, pest free, evergreen. Excellent shadeand windbreak trees. Extremely fast growingfrom seed. To ten feet f irst year. Seed packet

$1.00. Eucalyptus, 1739 San Miguel Canyon,Watsonville, Calif.

ding plants. Hi-Desert's Smoketrees and othernatives. Hi-Desert's unusual ornamentals.Rancho Environmental Nursery, 71554 Samar-kand Drive, Twentynine Palms, Calif. 92277.

R E A L E S T A T E

cels for sale in or near Twentynine Palms,please write to or visit: Silas S. Stanley, Realtor,73644 Twentynine Palms Highway, Twenty-nine Palms, California.

states. Some low as $1 acre. 1965 report.Details, send $1 to National Land, 422-DM,Washington Building, Washington, D.C.

streets, $495 complete, $10 down, $10 month,no interest. Free pictures, map. Write: Box4 8 6 , Kingman, Ar izona 86401.

mountains meet. "Indian Springs" near LonePine, at foot of Mt. Whitney. Small ranchoswith paved roads, electr ic ity. For weekendhome, horsebreeding, retirement, investment.Great outdoor fun: f ishing, hunt ing, r id ing,exploring. Brochure, R. F. Oyler, Dept. H,124 Main Street, Lone Pine, Calif.

including full membership. Good terms. Box8 3 , Pinon Hills, Calif.

• T R E A S U R E F I N D E R SDISCOVER BURIED loot, go ld , silver, coins, battle-

field and ghost town relics, with most power-f u l , sensitive transistorized metal detectorsavailable. Two Year Warranty. Free literature.Goldak, Dept. DM, 1544 W. Glenoaks, Glen-dale , California 91201.

NEW TRANSISTOR instrument detects buriedcoins, firearms, treasures, go ld , silver. $19.95,u p . Free catalog. Relco A-18, Box 10563,Houston 18, Texas.

• W E S T E R N ME R C H A N D I SEGHOST TOWN item s: Sun-colored glass, amethyst

to royal purple; ghost railroads materials,t ickets; l imited odd items from camps of the' 6 0 s . Write yo ur interest—Box 64-D, Smith,Nevada.

• M I S C E L L A N E O U S

WILL PROVIDE trailer space and utilities inTemecula for refined couple in exchange foryard work and occasional care of dogs. Extrapay for odd jobs in antique shop. Phonecollect evenings, area code 714, 676-2303.

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P E G L E G G O L D(Continued from page 31)

printed. For a few days they baskedin the congra tula t ions and envy oftheir friends and neighbors , but soonit began to pall . People began toknock on their door at all hours ofth e day and night and the phone wentwild. People had all kinds of thingsto sell them, a million schemes to

invest their money in and suggestionson what to do with the money.Neighbors and others wanted them tomake big cont r ibut ions to a varietyof causes, both worthy and unworthy.The harassment increased and soontheir friends and neighbors turnedinto spiteful, jealous enemies. Th eydidn ' t have a minute 's peace. Final lythey had to move to another town,b u t it followed them everywhere. Onmany occasions I've heard them saythey wish they had never got themoney so they could still live in

their old home and have their samefriends and neighbors . This kind ofpublici ty and glory I don' t need norwant and this alone is more thanenough reason to remain anonymousfor the rest of my life. I still have allmy friends, an d when I qui t my jobI let the hint drop tha t I had in-heri ted some property which justbarely provided me with a livable in-come. I intend to keep it tha t way.Life is much more pleasant this way.T h i s is also why there is no point inresponding to any of the fair or sin-cere offers from anybody who wantsto go ahead and mi ne for the rest ofthe underground nuggets . I can'tsee how I could remain anonymous inan y of these proposals.

3 . I said in my last letter that ifbetter detectors were developed thatwould detect smaller nuggets furtherunde rground , I could go out andmake another harvest , but in reality,I'm satisfied with the a m o u n t ofblack gold I got. I've given reasonswhy I think it will be extremely diffi-

At last! An all-weather,completely enclosed lug-gage compartment foryour luggage rack. Travelwith safety and com-fort. No more flying,flapping canvas. Self-,contained reinforcedstraps. Just fasten downstraps to luggage rackrail and forget aboutrain-dust-sleet and snow!From $39.95. Write forfree brochure.

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RACK

RE

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NT

c u l t tn U o t c m y h il l m\m o u n d ,le t me also say plainly that if anyperson does locate the more deeplyburied black nuggets— or another out-cropping of them which I thinkexists—then they are welcome to itand I will never begrudge them forthey will have earned it.

4 . If I ever reveal the location oranybody else finds the rest of the

gold and it becomes public know-ledge, then the search will be overfor those who are looking for theblack nuggets. This brings me downto the letter of J. Wilson McKinneyand Choral Pepper's forward to myletter in the May issue. One of themain reasons why I chose to revealthe discovery of Pegleg's black nug-gets was clearly stated in my originalstory. It was t ime to give hope tothose countless hardy souls who havespent so much t ime searching forlegendary lost mines and treasuresin the desert . Apparently no one had

ever actually discovered a lost trea-sure in the desert and made it pub-l ic unti l I found the Pegleg gold, butI know that all the searchers havefound a full measure of heal th, hap-piness and adventure whi le roamingthrough the desert and, as we arepushed further into this socialistUtopia tha t is being prepared for us,health and happiness wil l becomeever more important , as well as ourfreedom to even roam in the desert.

J . Wilson McKinney paints the

picture quite well , and Chora l Pep-per's third paragraph is a master-piece. She has put into words oneof the main reasons for my anony-mous revelat ion of finding Pegleg'sblack gold.

Sincerely,

T h e Man Who FoundPegleg's Black Gold

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LETTERSFROM OUR READERS

Thank you for the article

C. L. BUCKLER,Los Angeles

Being a woman, I am curious. Is there

Mrs. Pegleg. I just

MRS. LOOS,Los Angeles

You said you'd like to see whatever is

es of Americanism and /or increase

e gold" could then be mined,

MILTON IRONFIELD,San Diego

Editor's Comment . . .

A point most of these charitable ideasoverlook is that at this present no mineactually exists. Mr. Pegleg himself cannotguarantee that under the surface lies a richmine. To ascertain this and to develop itwould involve a tremendous capital outlay.It is doubtful that any tax-exempt organi-zation would be permitted to speculate orwould be interested in organizing a non-profit mining company. However, shoulddevelopments occur which make it possiblefor Mr. Pegleg to make a tax-exempt con-tribution to the desert, we hope very muchhe will foster an idea that will bring peopleinto the desert rather than one which sub-stitutes the word "preservation" for "KeepOut."

We can't share the desert's spiritual bene-fits nor contribute to man's desperate needto flex his personal independence andstretch his ingenuity by prohibiting peopleand vehicles from following back countrytrails or, at least, from entering "take-off"points from where areas may be exploredfurther by foot. Few men today—especiallythose who work for a living—have the freetime to indulge in lengthv back-pack tripsor mule rides. Through education and trav-el articles presented in an informative andexciting manner, rather than through re-strictions and fustv haranguing, we can de-velop an educated interest in back countrvareas that will manifest itself in respectfulback country adventurers. This is DES-ERT'S philosophy and the reason we in-

sist upon a good solid background of bothlore and natural history in our up-to-datetravel articles. Readers who have expresseda desire to share their love for desert areascan do more by constructively getting be-hind this publication with subscrintions andby introducing it to new subscribers thanin any other way. DESERT Magazine isnot subsidized by a state government ororganization. Its subsistance is entirely de-pendent upon the support of loyal sub-scribers and advertisers. C.P.

Two H ead s Better than O ne . . .I would like to th^nk the man who found

Pegleg's gold for the added clue he gaveme to go with my own information. I wason the wrong tr?ck until reading his article.T too have found black gold, but only ninenuggets, the bieeest the size of a pea. Thesewere en or close to the surface and Ifound them with my metal locator. My lo-cation is barely on the map reprinted inthe March issue. One clue I will give, herethe boulders are as big as houses.

Name withheld on request.Lemon Grove

Editor's note: This letter would be moreeifective if the writer had produced evi-dence for inspection. DESERT, of course,H'ot/Id return it to him. However, the letter

had a ring of a uthenticity. W hen this issuegoes to press the DESER T staff is takingoff and we just might run into this manfrom Lemon Grove— on the right track!

C.P.

N e w M e m b e r oi theDESERT Family . . .To the Editor: I have been reading yourmagazine for some time now and think youhave a tremendous publication — the onlymonthly like it. I feel the time has comefor me to subscribe. It has a wealth of in-formation for those of us who enjoy desertwilderness. Most of my desert wanderingshave been concentrated in southern Utahso I particularly enjoy your annual Utahissue, but I enjoy your magazine regardlessof the area.

A. OSCAR OLSON.Salt Lake City

Order FREE Catalogue

DESERT MAGAZINE

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Palm Desert. California 92260

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Paramount California

seed is the recently rediscover-cd survival and proven vigorfood of our noble and tirelessIndians.

Chia is a cereal found to be especiallykind to the lower digestive system, and agree-able to abused stomachs, that no longertolerate medicines, unnatural foods, somebreads, or liquors.

Spoonfuls, whole as is, ground, or soaked,more or less daily, demonstrate its salientviitue to stem the torrent of exhaustion andreturn to usefulness, often with long-windedday long energy.

Chia is a real calming, pacifying appleamong the cereals that makes for easierrolling out of bed.

Great for flapjacks and nutty aroma inbaking.2i/ i LBS. $5. TR IAL 12 OZ. $2.

— W I T H C H I A ST OR YBird seed grade 5'/4 Ib. $6 postpaid.

POLLEN CHIA Commerce854-D N inth St., Santa M onica, Calif. 90403

JUST PUBLISHED!

1965 Four Wheel DriveParts and Accessories Ca talo g

Most complete publication ever printed, this34-page, illustrated, 8x11, slick paper cata-log is packed with detailed facts and priceson every part, accessory and safety devicemanufactured. To really make ycur 4 wheelertops in performance and appearance sendone dollar for catalog to

BRIAN CHUCHUA'SFOUR WHEEL DRIVE CENTER1625 S. Harbor Blvd.

Fullerton 7, California



C o m i n g f i o c t M o n t h . . .

The freshest, most exciting issue of

DuvSL Magazine to appear in its 28 years of publication.

T R A V E L * A D V E N T U R E - L I V I N G

This year we are combining the August and September editions to bring you a big,

oversized, special travel volume covering areas of the West missed by those who fol-

low mainstream traffic lanes through unfamiliar country. In t ime for your vacations,

either armchair ones or active ones, this grand, double-issue will introduce you to more

Western travel adventure than has ever been contained in a single volume.

You who read DESERT expect the unusual. Nex t month's color-packed issue will

will even surpass DESERT's established reputation. Buy it and SAVE it. You'll be re-

ferring to it for years.

W A T C H FOR IT ON THE NEWSSTANDS

Documents

196507 Desert Magazine 1965 July