197009 Desert Magazine 1970 September

8/14/2019 197009 Desert Magazine 1970 September

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SEPT , 1970 50c


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T h e O l d W e s t L i v e sA g a i nAt Larry Alderman's GHOST MOUNTAIN RANCH, you' l l "step intohistory!" Walk the boardwalks of this authentically reproduced frontiertown . . . Visit the Blacksmith Shop . . . Livery Stable . . . Wells FargoOffice . . . Jail . . . Barber Shop . . . and Post Office! Explore the GeneralStore! Browse through a collection of old west antiques valued atthousands of dollars.

Larry Ald erm an, Ow ner Developer of 300-acre G host Mountain Ranch, is a formercat t leman. He knows and unde rstands the real we st. You II like his brand of we sternhospital i ty. (Pictured here on prized Stal l ion, "Tone"!)

That cowboy you bump into on the boardwalk may be none other than, SHEB WOOL-EY! MG M Recording Art ist and star of TVs "HEE HA W " and "RAW HIDE "! Sheb, afrequent visitor to the ranch, is seen here as MC of annual KRAK Radio Country MusicPicnic!

PAN GOLD at the "Glory HoleMine" !SEE the Indian Village!RENT a horse or pony!HUNT and FISH! RIDE along miles of scenic wilderness t ra i l , in adjoin-ing El Dorado National Forest!CAMPING BY RESERVATION!

l o m n u x M U C H LOCATED 45 MILES EAST OFSACRAMENTO AT POLLOCK PINES

RIDE a Stagecoach!DANCE nightly under the stars!ENJOY a moonlight hayride!

P. 0. BOX 111, Pollock Pines, CaliforniaPHONE: (916) 644-2415


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D e s e r t M a g a z i n e B o o k S h o pA TRAMP ACROSS THE CONTINENT by CharlesLummis. First published in 1 892, this is a re-pr int of the personal experiences of the west-ern historian who, in 1 884, walked from Ohioto Los Angeles, covering 35 07 miles in 143days. Lummis writes in a mat ter-of - fac t man-ner of adventures which make fascinat ingreading and give a keen insight into the peoplehe encountered. This is a classic of WesternAmericana. Hardcover, 270 pages, $8.50.LOST LEGENDS OF THE WEST by Brad Williamsand Choral Pepper. The authors examine the"lore, legends, characters and myths that grewou t of the Old West" in a sequel to their popu-lar f irst book, The Mysterious West. Includedamong the more than 20 "lost legends ' aresuch intriguing subjects as lost bones, lostladies, lost towns, and lost diamonds. Hard-cover, i l lustrated, 1 92 pages, $5.95.BAJA CALIFORNIA BY ROAD, AIRPLANE ANDBOAT by Cliff Cross. Author of a popular travelguide to the mainland of Mexico, Cross hascompiled a comprehensive book on Baja Cali-forn ia. The new guide is well i l lustrated withdetai led maps of the vil lages and bays alongthe 1000-mile route plus travel, history endf ishing information. Large format, heavy paper-back, 170 pages. $3.50.SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN ARTS & CRAFTS by TomBahti. Beautiful ly i l lustrated with 4-color photo-graphs, this book describes the arts and craftso f the Indians of the Southwest and offers sug-gestions on what to buy and how to judgeauthent ic jewelry, rugs, baskets and pottery.Large format, heavy paperback, 32 pages,$1 . 00 .INYO MONO JEEP TRAILS by Roger Mitchell.Author of DEATH VALLEY JEEP TRAILS, veteranexplorer Mitchell takes you on 18 di f ferent4-wheel-drive tr ips into the Sierra NevadaMountains , where he explores ghost towns, In-dian terri tory and scenic canyons and moun-tain passes. Paperback, 36 pages, i l lust . , $1.00.D U T C H O V E N C O O K B O O K by Don H o l m . W i l dlife editor of the Port land Oregonian, the authorhas spent his l i fe exploring and wri t ing aboutthe outdoors, so his recipes for preparing foodin a Dutch Oven come frori experience. If youhaven' t had food cooked in a Dutch Oven, youhaven't l ived . . . and if you have you wi l lfind these recipes new and excit ing culinaryadventuresas wel l as his style of wr i t i ng .Heavy paperback, 106 pages, $3.95.NAVAJO RUGS, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE byGilbert S. Maxwel l . Concerns the history, legendsand descript ions of Nava o rugs. Full colorphotos. Paper, $2.50.

WHEN ORDERING BOOKSPLEASE

Add 50 cents PER ORDER(Not Each Book)

for handling and mailingCALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ALSO

ADD 5 PERCENT SALES TAXSend check or money order to Desert Maga-zine Book Shop, Palm Desert, California92260. Sorry, but we cannot accept chargesor C.O.D. orders.

GOLD RUSH COUNTRYBY THE EDITORS OF SUNSET BOOKS

A revised and up-dated pract ical guidoto California's Mother Lode country. Di-vided into geographical areas for easyweekend tr ips, the 8x11 heavy paper-back new edit ion is profusely illustratedwith photos and maps. Has special fea-tures and anecdotes oi historical andpresent-day act iv it ies. F~our- color cover,96 pages.$1.95

THE WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP OF ANIMALSAN D MAN by K. L. Boynton. A book that shouldbe read by everyone in+erested in staying al ive,it tells the story of how life on earth developedthrough the ages by plants and animals work-ing together and how this partnership mustwork today so man can continue to exist onthis planet- Large 8x11 format, heavy paper,48 pages, $1.00. After reading this book youwil l realize why it is really a "mat ter of lifeor breath. "SOUTHWEST INDIAN CRAFT ARTS by Clara LeeTanner. One of the best books on the subject,covering al l phases of the culture of the In-dians of the Southwest. Authent ic in every way.Color and black and white i l lustrat ions, l inedrawings. Hardcover , 205 pages. $15.00.1200 BOTTLES PRICED by John C. Tibbitts. Up-dated edit ion of one of the best of the bott lebooks. $4.50.GHOSTS OF THE ADOBE WALLS by Nell Murbar-ger, the well known "roving reporter of thedesert ." An int imate chronicle of Arizona's once-booming mining towns, stage stat ions, armyposts, marauding Indians and fantast ic humancharacters. 380 pages, i l lustrated. Hardcover,$7.50.TERRIBLE TRAIL: the Me e k Cuto f f , 1845 by Cla rkand Tiller. Narrates the t ragic tale of the Meekemigrant train and lays the groundwork for asolution to the Blue Bucket lost gold . $4 . 00 .SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN TRIBES by Tom Bahti.An excellent description, history and currentstatus of the Indians of the Southwest, includingdates of their ceremonies and celebrat ions. Pro-fusely i l lustrated with 4-color photographs ofthe Indian Country and the arts and crafts ofthe many tr ibes. Large format, heavy paper-back, 72 pages, $2.00.

JEEP TRAILS TO COLORADO GHOST TOWNS byRobert L. Brown. An i l lustrated, detai led, infor-mal history of life in the mining camps deep inColorado Rockies. Fif ty-eight towns are includedthe almost inaccessible mountain fastness of theas examples of the vigorous struggle for exist-ence in the mining camps of the West. 239pages, i l lustrated, end sheet map. Hardcover.$5 . 50 .A GUIDEBOOK TO THE SOUTHERN SIERRANEVADA by Russ Leadabrand. I l lustrated withgood photographs and maps, this volume coversthe Sierra region south of the Sequoia Nat ionalPark, including most of the Sequoia Nat ionalForest. Paperback, $1.95.GUIDEBOOK TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUN-TAINS by Russ Leadabrand. Lake Arrowhead,Big Bear Lake and other mountain roads takeyou to resorts, lakes and picnic areas. Paper,$1.75.NEVADA'S TURBULENT YESTERDAYS by Don Ash-baugh. The best book about Nevada's ghosttowns and the rugged indiv iduals who bui l tthem. 346 pages, $7.95.GHOST TOWNS AND MINING CAMPS OF CALI-FORNIA by Remi Nadeau. The only good, hard-cover book on the California ghost 1uwns. Werecommend it highly . $5.95.LOST DESERT BONANZAS by Eugene Conrotto.Brief resumes of lost mine articles printed inback issues of DESERT Magazine, by a formereditor. Hardcover, 278 pages. $7.00.CALIFORNIA GOLDEN TREASURES by CharlesLaudier. Treasure clues for the Mother Lodecountry. Full of tips and hints , paperback, $3.00.SOUTHWEST INDIAN COUNTRY by the Editorsof Sunset Books. A concise and comprehensiveguide covering the 48 reservations and Pueblovi l lages in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico andColorado. Includes what to see, how to buy,conduct, history, and ceremonials. Large format,colored i l lustrat ions, heavy paperback, 80pages, $ 1 95.COLORFUL DESERT WILDFLOWERS by Grace andOnas Ward. Segregated into categories of red,blue, whi te and yel low for easier ident if icat ion,there are 190 four-color photos of f lowers foundin the Mojave, Colorado and Western Arizonadeserts, all of which also have common andscientific names plus descriptions. Heavy, slickpaperback. $4.50.GHOSTS OF THE GLORY TRAIL by Nell Murbar-ger is a fast moving chronicle of Western boom-camp and bonanza. Rich in human interest aswel l as authentic history, this book covers ghosttowns of Nevada, western Utah and easternCalifornia. Hardcover, 29 ] pages. Price $6.75.A FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN BIRDS by RogerTory Peterson. The standard book for f ie ld iden-t i f icat ion sponsored by the Nat ional AudubonSociety. 2nd edi t ion, enlarged wi th new sectionon Hawai ian bi rds . 658 in full color. Hardcover.$5 . 95 .WESTERN CAMPSITE DIRECTORY by the Editorsof Sunset Books. Just published, this book listsmore than 5000 pr ivate and public camp-grounds in the 1 1 western states and BritishColumbia and Western Alberta, including hun-dreds of new campsites to care for the everincreasing amount of people taking to the openroad. Just right for planning a vacat ion. Largeformat, sl ick paperback, i l lustrated, 128 pages,$1 . 95 .FOR COMPLETE BOOK CATALOG WRITE TO DESERT MAGAZINE, PALM DESER T, CALIFORNIA 92 26 0


5/52

WILLIAM KNYVETT, P U B L I S H E RJACK PEPPER, EDITOR

JACK DELANEY, Staff WriterJOLEEN ROBISON, Woman's Viewpoint EditorGLENN VARGAS, Lapidary EditorK. L. BOYNTON, Naturalist Volume 33,Number 9 SEPTEMBER, 1970

CONTENTSFEATURES

THE COVER: .Skeleton remains of origi-nal buildings of theMother Lode Country aresilent reminders of Cali-fornia's Gold Rush daysand the Argonauts wholived-and diedin theirsearch foi the GoldenFleece. Jack Pepper photo.

I N MEMORY OF "MR. DESERT"G R A F T O N , UTAH

DESERT SPEED KINGGOLD LAKE . . . FACTOR FANTASY

TH E MOTHER LODEMINERS ONLY

VOLCANOTREE RINGS AT SHOWLOW

MADAME MOUSTACHEVASQUEZ ROCKS

by Jack Pepperby Ernie Cowanby K. L. Boyntonby Helen Walkerby Jack PepperMining Glossaryby Robert C.Likesby Janice Beatyby Marion Holbrookby Helen Walker

DEPARTMENTS

A PEEK IN THE PUBLISHER'S POKEBOOK REVIEWS

RAMBLING ONROCKSWOMAN'SVIEWPOINT

CALENDAR OFWESTERN EVENTSLETTERS

by William Knyvettb y J a c k P e p p e rby Glenn and Martha Vargasby Joleen A. RobisonClub ActivitiesReader's Comments

ELTA SHIVELY, Executive Secretary MARVEL BARRETT. Circulation Manager

EDITORIAL, CIRCULATION AN D ADVERTISING OFFICES: 7 1-109 Larrea St., Palm Desert, California 92260. Telephone Area Code71-i 346-8144. Listed in Standard Rate and Data. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: United States, Canada and Mexico; 1 year, $5.00; 2 years,$9-50; 3 years $13-00. Other foreign subscribers add $1.00 U.S. currency for each year. See Subscription Order Form in this issue. Allowfive weeks for change of address and send both nsw and old addresses with zip codes. DESERT Magazine is published monthly. Secondclass postage paid at Palm Desert, California and at additional mailing offices under Act of March 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1970by DESERT Magazine and permission to reproduce any or all contents must be secured in writing. Unsolicited manuscripts and photo-graphs WILL NOT BE RETURNED unless accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelope.


6/52

T R E A S U R EF U N ! 'M e t a l e r t tu r n s a no r d i n a r y w e e k e n d in t oa f a m i ly a d u e n t u r e .

Going to thebeach? Orhunting, fishingor camping? You can add extra fun toyour next family outing by taking alonga Fisher "Metalert" Treasure Detector.Who knows, you might bring home avaluable lost relic;even silver andgold! Unsurpassed power and sensitivitywith solid state circuits. Easy to use; adjusts and operateswith onehand! Superb physicalbal-ance; arm support. Waterproof sensing head completelysubmersible. Telescoping shaft forcompact storage and transportation. Replaceable transistor battery avail-able everywhere; built in tester.Built to thesame exacting standards asFisher precision instruments for indus-try and science. Se nd forcomplete freeliterature. Also, collectors' editionguidebook "Discoveries From the Past"sent if youinclude 50cpostage."Metalert" . . . th e Finest You Can B U Y

F IS H E R T R E A S U R E D E T E C T O R SDepartment DM Palo Alto, Calif. 94303

A P e e ki n t h eP u b l i s h e r ' s

NO T MAN Y of us achieve our goalsin life and it is a rare case whendreams comes true. This magazine is theresult of a man's dream that DID cometrue. Tha t man, Randall Henderson, hasleft us a legacy of literature and ideals thatshall be carried on. W i t h his passing, thedesert, desert dwellers, desert lovers andDesert Magazine lost their very finestchampion. (See opposi te page) .

Mother Natur e has provided her crea-tures that inhabit the desert with theinstinct to stay out of the sunlight dur ingthe searing summer season, but humansdo not seem to be so endowed. Eachyear the desert claims those that arefoolish or unprepared to challenge thesuperheated air. A motorist and his wifetried to walk for help in theBarstow areaand only one survived; two young Mar-ines lost their lives exploring a mine nearWinterhaven, Calif., when the tempera-ture was 150 at the level where theirbodies were found. Last summer threepersons died in the Saline Valley. Thisparticular tragedy prompted the placingof sealed canisters of water with markersidentifying it as "survival water" foremergency use only. The sheriff's officeat Bishop, Calif., reports that during thepast winter season, these canisters hadbeen dug up and r iddled with bullets.It's just a little fr ightening when youread about things like that.

This month's Desert Safari is on theMother Lode Country and we had somany interesting articles that we decidedto expand it into a special edition. Wewere fortunate in acquiring the servicesof George Mathis, of Coloma, Calif, whohas done a fine job of illustrating for usand produced an excellent map for themain story. Another issue is on the standsan d T've got a Lode off my m ind .

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7/52

I n M emory of"Mr. Desert"RANDALL HENDERSON, founder o fDeser t Magazine and a man whoinfluenced and enriched the lives of un -told thousands of desert dwellers, passedaway July 4 at the age of 82.

His death ended an active career ofmore than 60 years during which hecovered the deserts of the Southwest as aroving reporter . He described his ex-periences in incisive and poignant articleswhich appeared in the magazine hefound ed 33 years ago at an age whenmost men are planning to retire.

When he reached his 70th year in195K, Randall sold Desert Magazine todevote his time to writing books andparticipating in conservation and desertprotective projects.

His two books , On Desert Trails an dSun, Sand and Solitude are considereddesert lore classics. At the time of hisdeath he was writing a book on the Coa-chella Valley and Palm Desert area.

As editor of Desert Magazine, Randallwas a creator of writers. He worked pa-t ient ly with people whom he thoughthad talent and a feeling of the desert.Well-known authors and artists whosebylines first appeared in Desert includeJohn Hil ton, Russ Leadabrand, John D.Mitchel l , Dr . Edmund Jaeger , WalterFord, Harold Weight and Nell Mur-barger among many others. He was apersonal fr iend of Senator Barry Gold-water whose byline has also appeared inDeser t Magazine.

He was known th r oughout the Wes :as a compassionate man whose only in-tolerance was of those who desecratedor maligned the desert he so loved. Oneof his favorite quotations was from Na-tural is t John Muir :

Everybody needs beauly a s well a:,bread, places to play in and pray in,where N a t u r e way heal a nd cheer andp i p e strength to body and soul alike.

Commenting on the above passage for

byJackPepper

a profile I did on Randall in the March,1964 issue of Desert, he said:

"That was true when John Muir lived.It is a truth of even greater significancetoday, for these are confusing times.While humans push and crowd and burnthemselves out in a crazy stampede formore profits and higher wages and thesatisfaction of personal vanities, Naturegoes along in her own serene way, un-disturbed by the petty bickerings of thepassing parade of homo sapiens."

An insight into Randall Henderson,the man and philosop her, is best gainedfrom his now famous editorial, ThereAre Two Deserts, which appeared in thefirst issue of Desert Magazine in Novem-ber, 1937.

One is a grim d e s o la te w a s te la n d . Iti.\ the home of venomous reptiles a ndstinging insects, of vicious th o rn - b e a r in gplants dtnl trees, and o f u n b e a r a b l e heat.This is the desert seen by the strangerspeeding along the highway, impatientto be "out of this damnable country." Itis the desert visualized by those childrenof luxury to w h o m any environment isunbearable which does no! provide allthe comforts and services of a pamperingcivilization. It is the concept fostered byfiction writers wh o dramatize the trage-dies of the desert for the profit it willbring them.

But the stranger and the un it idled seeonly the mask. The other Desert th ereal Desert i s n o t for the eyes of thesuperficial ob servor, or the fearful soulor the cynic. It is a land, the character ofwhich is hidden except to those whocome with friendliness and understand-ing. To these the Desert offers rare gifts:health-giving s u n s h in e a sky that isstudded with diamonds a breeze thatbears no poison-a landscape of pastelcolors such as no artist can duplicatethorn-covered plants which during count-less ages have clung tenaciously to lifethrough heat and drought and wind an dthe depredations of thirsty animals, andyet each season send forth blossoms ofexquisite coloring as a symbol of couragethat has triumphed over terrifying ob-stacles.To those who come to the Desert withfriendliness it gives friendship: to thosewho come with courage, it gives newstrength of character. Those seeking re-laxation find release from the world ofman-made troubles. Tor those seekingbeauly, th e Desert offers nature's raresta r t i s t ry . This is the Desert th a t men andw o m e n learn to love.

The name of Randall Henderson willcontinue to be synonymous with the RealDesert as long as there are shifting sandsof time. D


8/52

M o t h e r L o d e B o o k sC O L O M ALittle-known talesand anecdotes aboutthe lives and some-times violentdeaths of the peopleof Coloma, whereCalifornia'sGold Rush started.50c

CROSLEY BOOKSBOX 62 AMADOR CITY, CALIF. 956 01

Calif, residents add 5% sales tax

C A L I F O R N I A ' SM O T H E R L O D EContains an 1851map and dozens ofhistoric photographsof places andpeople taken at thetime the MotherLode Country wasin its full glory.

$1.00

R e v i e w sby Jack Pepper

LOST MINES OF TH EGREAT SOUTHWESTby John D. Mitchell

Dean of the lost mine authors, JohnD . Mitchell spent his entire adult life in-vestigating reports and legends of lostmines of the Southwest.

Lost Mines of the Great Southwest wasfirst published in 1933 and from March,1940 to Augu st, 1953 a total of 43 ofhis articles were printed in Desert Maga-zine. Majority of the lost mine legendsappearing in publications today are basedon his original articles.

Out-of-print for many years, this bookhas been reproduced from an originalcopy by The Rio Grande Press, Inc. , ofGlorieta, New Mexico. It contains a total

YOU AREINVITED TOVISIT IN THE HEART OF

CALIFORNIA'S GOLD RUSHCOUNTRY

P. O. BOX 596BJACKSON, CALIFORNIA 95642

of 54 articles on lost mines and hiddentreasures, many of which are based onaccounts from people Mitchell interview-ed . All, according to the author, havebeen "verif ied and authenticated."

Naturally, any lost mine legend is acombination of fact and imagination.Whether you will use this book as a leadto search for lost mines, or as eveningentertainment, it makes for fascinatingreading. Hardcover, illustrated, 175 pages$7.50.G O L D M I N E S O F C A L I F O R N I Aby Jack R. Wagner

This is an illustrated history of themost productive mines of the MotherLode Country with descriptions and anec-dotes about the people who owned themines and the roles they played in thedevelopment of California.

Although nearly 2.5 billion dollars ingold was dug from the earth in Califor-nia from 1849 until W orl d W ar II , ex-tensive gold mining is a thing of the pastand probably will never again be revived.

Profusely illustrated with rare historicphotographs, the book describes in detailthe major mining operations, and theproblems and tragedies involved. Theauthor has chronicled California's great-est and most exciting eragone but notforgotten. Large 9x 11 format, heavy,slick paper, 300 photographs and maps,hardcover, 259 pages, $10.00.N E V A D A G H O S T T O W N SA N D M I N I N G C A M PSby Stanley W . Paher

Although Nevada is known today asthe only state in the Union where gam-bling is legal, its early claim to fame wasthat of a territory that produced manymillions of dollars in gold and silver.

A native of Nevada, Stanley Paher hasspent four years collecting photographsand interviewing people for this exhaus-tive and fascinating book.

Covering all of N evada's 17 counties,he has documented 575 mining camps,many of which have been erased fromthe earth. It contains the greatest andmost complete collection of historicphotographs of Nevada ever published,which, coupled with his excellent writ-ing, creates a book of lasting value. Large,9x1 I format, 700 photo graph s, heavy,slick paper, hardcover, 492 pages, $15.00.


9/52

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16 DUTCH FLAT HOTELMatches nos. 4 & 5, print $25.00

HISTORY BUFFS FIND:George Mathis surroundedby the resiults of 25 years ofsketching the Mother Lodeand the West. His Gallery,FRIDAY HOUSE, bulges withhis famed prints and litho-graphs of people, places andthings . . . the how, whereand why of the robust 49erdays.

17 BRUSH CREEK MINE SENTINEL DOME, YOSEMITE 19 ST. JOHN'S CHURC H,Matches nos. 4 & 5 $35 10 "x 13 " pr int $1 18 Coloma. 10"x13" pr int $1r START YOUR COLLECTION TODAY

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10/52

HONK YOUR horn for the next stopand prepare to drive out of thisspeeding century into Grafton, Utah.Cross a little rickety bridge over theVirgin River and leave most of the 20thCentury behind. Bring a camera and yourimagination and let 's tike a walk.

Today G rafton is a ghost tow n, butone that enjoyed a brief revival a fewyears ago when portions of the town wererestored for use as a movie set.

Located on the south side of the Vir-gin River about two miles west of Rock-ville on Ut ah 17, Grafto n is a historicpart of "Utah's Dixie." Tf you are visit-ing Zion National Park, save a few hoursfor this interesting side trip.

Grafton was the product of the dedi-cated Morm on m ovement a century agowhen their people settled areas for farm-ing. The result of that settlement todayis a restored church and several interestingold split- log and adobe cabins.

In the 1850s settlers moved into theRio Virgin valley at the gates of ZionCany on. A few unsuccessful attemptswere made at growing cotton, but priceswere low, growing costs high, and MotherNature a constant adversary.

With the coming of the Civil War,however, cotton became more importantsince all supply was cut off from the east.Efforts to grow the f iber were renewedsuccessfully and cotton became an im-

10

portant crop in southern Utah. It wasthis industry that led Southern Utah tobecome known as "Dixie ."

The road to Grafton today goes southacross the Virgin River at Rockville,crossing an old bridge. But a more ad-venturesome way is crossing an old sus-pension footbridge near the point wherethe town can be seen from the highway.This bridge is not recommended forchildren or weak-hearted adults.

Grafton can be seen from the highwayas you are heading east into Rockville.Look for it on your right. A dirt roadturns off here on the west side of a lowhighway bridge and takes you to theriver 's edge and the suspension bridge.

Grafton's renovation for use as a movieset makes some the buildings look well-kept for a ghost town. The re is enoughof the old town, (hough, to give youauthentic flavor of the place.

Being located on the river, the littleMormon town was subject to periodicfloods. In fact the present Grafton is thesecond town of that name. The oldGrafton was washed out in 1862.

During the f lood, waters surroundedthe home of Natham Tenney, whose wifewas expecting a child. Several men pickedup a wagon box along with Mrs. Tenneyand moved it to higher ground where shegave birth to a baby boy. The baby was

Some of the oldbuildings of theMormon community ,including the church,are still standing.Original communitywas destroyed b yflood in 1862.

appropriately named Marvelous FloodTenney.

After the flood, Grafton was rebuilton the south bank of the Virgin, furtherups tream and on higher ground. Th enew town was surveyed and laid out inresidential lots and fields. It was one


11/52

4 GRflFTBNof many small settlements in the VirginRiver Valley, including Adventure, Rock-ville, Shunesburg, Northrop, Virgin Cityand Springdale. An 1864 census by theMormon church showed 129 familesalong the upper Virgin River. Grafton

Narrow foot bridge (above)crosses the Virgin River whichbecomes a roaring torrentduring flash floods. Grafton

has been the site for severalm o v i e s so combines oldan d new buildings.

ha d a population of 168 people in 28families.

Life in the Virgin River settlementswas difficult at best, and intolerable atworst. Many of the Mormon settlers gaveeverything they could to answer "thecall." In some cases this meant life itself.On some of the grave markers at Graftonthere is a name ami the brief statement"killed by Indians."

In 1866 Indian troubles resulted in anorder for the settlers to concentrate intowns of at least 150 families. Thismeant the smaller settlements like Graf-ton, Duncan, Northrop, Springdale andZion were abandoned. Crops at theabandoned towns still had to be cared for,however, so armed groups of workers

made daily or weekly trips to the fields.The concentration lasted into 1868. W i t hth e end of the Indian war against thePaiutes a general reoccupation once againpeopled Grafton.Farming prospered for the next fiveyears and the Rio Virgin sett lements con-tinued to grow. In 1873 a national finan-cial crisis spread over the nation, para-lyzing much of Utah. There is little his-toric account of Grafton after this date.

Today Grafton is privately owned, butit is not closed to visitors. Some of theold buildings are boarded and postedagainst trespassers, so respect these signsThere are no signs of vandalism in Graf-Ion. If you visit there, don't leave behindthese signs of the 20th century.


12/52

by K. L. Boynton 1970

A N OB L E B E A S T is the dashing pronghorn speed champion of deserlan d high arid pla ins Horn to the b o u n d -less space of a vast and o p e n l a n d , hecan ou t run a n y t h i n g on l o u r lees. Aler ta n d w a t c h f u l , he's trigger last in react ionS m a l l , c o m p a c t and t r i m se e mi n g l y fraile as he s t ands po i s ed on his l o n g ,slim legs and dainty h o o v e s he's actual lyt o u g h and h a r d y

H e ' s at h o m e in his k i n g d o m of sageb r u s h and s a n d , for his anc ien t c l an hadits b e g i n n i n g on this con t inen t . S t r i c t lya n A m e r i c a n p r o d u c t , the pronghorn tribemus t have evo lved a l o n g i n d e p e n d e n tl ines e x c e e d i n g l y ear ly . F o ss i l r e m a i n s ofhis ancestors, dat ing back at least ^o million years, look much like today's models.12

C o m p a r e d to t h i s f ami ly record , mem ber sI the deer t r ibe and b u f f a l o .ire j o h n n y -

mmf l a i e lvs , irrivinc as i mmi g r a n t s f romthe Old World perhaps as recently assun.oo() years ago.

T h e p r o n g h o r n is also a very specialpiece ol m e r c h a n d i s e . R e s e m b l i n g ana n t e l o p e and l o o k i n g l ike a goat , it isn e i t h e r a l t h o u g h its scient i f ic n a m eAntilocdpra mnericanci (antelope -goat -American) is a nod in that direction. Sodifferent is this animal from others ofthe uivit brotherhood of cud-chewers ithas mi close relatives anywhere, and henceis classed by itself.

A different placenta starts matters offai (he beginning, for example, and thereire many other differences both in inside

works and outside anatomy.Hor ns decorate the heads of other

kinds ot hoofed animals and come insome pretty fancy styles, but they all fallinto two types: the hollow horn, and thesolid bone type. Cattle, sheep and goatshad hollow horns made of hardenedI issue, com plem ents of growth layersdeep in the skin. These animals keeptheir hollow horns throughout their lives,for, as they wear, they are constantly re-newed from within. Hollow horns arenever shed.

Members of the deer tribe, on the otherhand, have bony horns, which areout-growths of the skull. After the breedingseason, these bony antlers weaken at theirbases and break off new ones growing


13/52

out from the stumps on the skull in timefor the next matrimonial season.

The pronghorn ' s are hol low, but un-like the normal hollow horn, are shedand renewed each year as are the bonystyle, a combination of circumstances notfound elsewhere. The curved and prong-ed parts of these horns are only sheathsmade up of hardened tissue and hair .They fit like gloves down over the twofinger-like spikes of bone projecting somethree or four inches out from the animal'sforehead over each eye. After the breed-

Clad in his homeland's seared and drycolors, he is highlighted by splashes ofwhite with touches of black that breakup his body outlines, creating a camou-flaging effect. Th e resulting patchworkof buffy brown, black and white disap-pears into the desert scenery.

Being able to spot danger at a dis-tance is of prime importance to a plains-dweller . The pronghorn has developedextraordinarily good eyes that are far-sighted and have a retinal set-up espe-cially good for catching move ment. They

Plants provide some moisture, cactusbeing especially succulent, and manyvarieties have spines far enough apart forthe pronghorn to get his dainty muzzlein between . Th e animal can also drinkbitter alkaline water , a great a dvantageconferred by ancient association with thedesert.

Th e prong horn is a gregarious fellow,liking the company of his own kind. Hiswhite rump patch is his clan badge, arecognition mark seen from afar and eventhrough darkness that helps keep the herd

Pronghorn horns(opposite page)play an importantpart in the survivalof the unusual desertanimal. The whiterump of the prong-horn serves as asignalling device incase of danger.

ing season, the horny sheaths graduallyloosen at their base and from their bonyspike cores and drop off.

The core remains, hidden in the longforehead hair and covered by a mem-brane which thickens and develops intothe new horny sheath. Gro wth starts atthe tip of each core, working in bothdirections: downward to the base, andupward and outward to make the curvedhorn with its prong. In about four monthstime, the new horns are fully grown andready for business. Th e horns of the fe-male are small, standing short andstraight over their bony cores.

Smaller than a deer , the pronghornstands only about three feet at the shoul-der , weighing about 100 to 125 pounds .

are very large, providing a big visual sur-face and they protude slightly from theirsockets, giving him a wider angle ofvision. Since they are set to the sides ofhis head, he can see quite a bit of sceneryaround to the rear without turning hishead . Gra zin g, he can still see betwe enhis legs, raising his head between crop-pings for a quick overall glance around.

Grass, f lowers, weeds, bitter worm-wood, sagebrush, Russian thistle areamong the desert plants on his menu,most of which are hard, tough and gritty

- bad news to teeth ge nerally. But notto prong horn molars. Standing like sky-scrapers, they have a grinding surface thatis flat, but ridged and patterned intomany cutting edges.

togeth er. It is also a fine signall ing de-vice whereby the herd is informed ofdanger and united for action.

The hair here is longer than elsewhereon the body, and usually lies flat. Buun dern eath is a broad shee t of fast-actingmuscle fibers which, connected to thhairs, jerk them upwards and out into twogreat rosettes when the animal is alarmedSo sudden is this movement and so glistening white the fur, that the patch nowbecomes a f lashing signal.

F.very pronghorn that sees it flashehis own , and so the alarm is quicklyspread . Spread, too by scent, for in thmid dle of each rosette is a gland whicwhen exposed, emits a strong muskodor. Prong horns a mile away can pic

1


14/52

BEAUTIFULM E R C E RC A V E R N S'Showpiaee of

the Sierras"

'ANGEL'S WINGS"

One mile north of Murphys,Calif., just off Highway 4,the Ebbetts Pass Highway toCalaveras BIG TREES.

TrulyA

Must-SeeAttraetion!

up this smell news, fortheir sharp nosesare equipped with highly developed olfac-tory surfaces. Away they go r um ppatches flashing, as oneold prospectorput it poetically: "Like sunlight blazingoff tindinner plates."

The pronghorn early evolved as aplains-dweller, built for speed. His is arunning leg, long andslim, with thefootbones so pulled out and long that heactually runs on the tips of his thirdand fourth toes, theothers having dis-appeared long ago. Horny shoes coverthe toes, resulting in a double hoof oneach foot. Built-in shock absorberscushion the foot's impact with the hardground andother devices adjust thehoofto uneven surfaces, making the pronghornvery sure-footed, indeed, even at highspeed.

T h e leg joints work in a tongue andgroove system - greatly increasing thepower andfreedom of forward andbackmovements. Driving hisfast geared legs,are outsized upper limb muscles and abackbone whose action catapults the ani-mal forwa rd. Stretched out and reallyr unning , hecanhitabout 34to38milesper hour forashort distance making himprobably thefleetest of Nor th Amer icanmammals .

What happens in the face of a wolfattack seems to depend on howmanypronghorns arc in the group. Tf about12 to 15,they form a tight unit and thebucks fight off attackers. If theband issmaller, they rush off in all directions -a tactic which, while il confuses pursuers,makes theslower ones quite liable to becaught.

This small band defense problem isrelatively new to the pronghorn, for itbegan only with thewestward movementol the white man,which resulted inaspectacular decline in pronghorn num-bers. At one time hundreds of thou-sands of these handsome animals roamedFREE-CATALOG

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METAL DETECTORSGOLDAK, WHITE'S, DETECTRON, RAYSCOPE

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the plains as far east as the MissouriRiver. There was a very old associationwith bison herds beginning, probably,when the buffalo arrived from the OldWorld. Both animals benefited, forasthey grazed the alert and exceptionallylong-sighted pronghorn were quick tospot danger f irst, warning the entirecommunity. Buffalo brawn then de-fended them all pronghorn young in-cluded.

October is pronghorn hoe-down sea-son. Each buck, once hehascollected hissmall harem, sets up a territory which hemarks with scent glands located just backof his jaws, and which territory he de-fends against rivals. The erritory is onlyabout Il\6 to1/8square mile, butabout.ill .i fellow canhandle, since he notonlyhas to keep hisfour or five giddy wivesfrom wandering off, but must preventlocal bachelors from stealing them.

First indication that theterritorial buckexpects tokeep hisharem is plainly seenwhen hestands, head up,eyeing thechal-lenging buck. N ext he starts walkingvery slowly towards him, lowering hisears andneck toalmost horizontal, turn-in g now and then to show his full sideand height. At this stage, most of thewould-be r ivals depart, apparently re-membering important appointments else-where. Amore doughty onemight stayam i be treated to thenext stage: a veryclose approach by the territorial buck,who by this time has his head lowered,horns in position.

The r ival, if still determined, lowershis head. They touch horns in mutualchallenge. T h e n W H A M B O ! w i t h aclashing of horns , the f ight is on! Andhere theprong on thehorn shows whatit's for. It serves as a defensive hilt,parrying thrusts; it also is a very lethalweapon, for, as Seton pointed out,whenused with swift anddeadly precision, itslips past the guard to rip open therival'sthroat.

Actually, f ighting seldom occurs,thanks to theancient ritual, for thechal-lengers almost always give upearlier,andif they indicate subordination, areevenallowed tograze on thebuck's terr itory,but never to lienear thedoes, even whencud-chewing. All this saves wear andtear oneverybody. It keeps thebucks off(he casualty list, anil everybody in thegood oldherd frame of mind found es-sential fordefense down through the ages.


15/52

Gestation takes about 71/) to


16/52

GOLD DIDN'T mean much to CalebGreenw ood - at the mom ent atleast. In 1849, while others were frenziedwith excitement at Slitter's Millrace, O ldGreenwood was content. Grizzled, sunscorched and in the sunset of his years,his needs were simple. He only asked toshare a spot in the California sun, timeto hunt, good whiskey to drink, andsomeone to spin a yarn with. Caleb hadbeen everywhere, and seen more than hecould remember. When he told of it, hespoke with assurance and austerity. Ifmemory lapsed, there was an impro-vision, without hesitation.

Sutter 's str ike did not make an im-pression on-old Caleb, but he was meshedinto the intoxication of the swelling pop-ulace. He drank with them, listened totheir illusions, and watched as they ex-hibited their nuggets and f launted pokesof gold.Caleb had taken Indian wives andlearned from them the lore, dialects andhunting skills of the tr ibes. But mostsignificant to Caleb were the ancestrallegendstales handed down from gen-erations. The legend of the Golden Lakesurfaced his memory frequently thesedays. The story clearly portrayed a lakewhere wind-swept waters washed againstthe shore. It cleansed the cobbled strand,revealing the gliste nin g rocks gold incolor and brilliant to the eye. Theyformed a lining of gold silt and gravelat the bottom of the lake. The reflectionwas golden, and to all appearances, it was.1 Golden Lake.

Fantasy merged with reality in Caleb'smind. He thought of the small lakewhere his wife and their young hadmade a summ er home. H e recalled therocks they had collected and how theyhad glistened in the sun.

N ow , when he related the legend ofthe Golden Lake, people were captivated."Where," they asked, "was this lake, withits shore of gold nuggetscould he leadthem to it? How soon could they start?"Old Greenwood, whose body was spentof its energy, declined to make the trip.However, he offered tc back his state-ments with the offer of his son, John, asa guide. That is, he told them, if theywould put up the grub stake, and allowhim his cut before they left. After all,he had no need for wealth, he justwanted contentment!

News spread. Interest focused on old16

by Helen Walker

Caleb as he stood in the dusty street wav-ing his weathered hand toward the nor th-east, and shouting, "Fortunes are await-ing the lucky ones, go, go!" John, hisson, spoke sincerely about his recollectionsof having played with the shiny rocks.

The audience, eager and easy to con-vince, were willing to face the hardships,and impatient to reap their reward. For-tune hunters vied for the privilege to paytheir money and sign on. Qualificationwas simplelay your money down, andsign your name. Caleb collected themoney. John stockpiled supplies andmade a feeble attempt at organization.Included were city slickers, a sailor witha shady past, the young seeking adven-ture, and the old making a last desperatetrek.

Those left behind declared a holidayon the departure date. Saloons were emp-tied as John led his party toward theirultimate fame and fortune. Horses rear-ed as shots cracked the air, and mingledwith the exuberance of the crowds. As

the dust settled, old Caleb stood in thestreet, clutching his share of money inone hand, and directing them with theother. "Travel northeast," he told them,"over the r idges, each valley gettinghigher. Keep the faith, 'cause behindthose craggy mountains you will f ind thelake sunken from view." "Gold," heshouted, "nuggets the size of your fist,everywhere . . . " H is voice cracked, as hebecame a blurr in the drif ting crowd. Heturned with the others, and moved to-ward the saloon.

The new page on the calendar had notcollected dust when the hungry and dis-gruntled party returned empty handed.Their fury had been spent on John. Lakesthey had found - - but no color. O ldGreenwod was now the object of theirunleashed malice. He listened to theiraccusations and threats. His only com-ment to them was, "John had been justa young'n. The color was thereyou justmissed it, somehow."

It would have all ended there. But


17/52

these resolved men, even in fare of de-feat, were not wholly convinced Caleb'slake was only imagination. They whis-pered their theories in confidence, re-viewing possibilities over flickering fire-light. Small parties were secretly outfittedand slipped away in the cover of dark-ness.

Some sought more concrete reasoning.Maps were pored over, but th e fewavailable only added to the confusion.Having been published prior to I860,their details were sketchy, and many lo-cations printed on mere hearsay. Prime-example of this shows in the numerouslakes qualified to fit into the catagory ofthe mythical lake. Included were Webber,Independence, Lake of the Woods andothers. All had shorelines of exposedrock their locations obscured by mo un-tains. Each had been tagged as TruckeeLake by the mappers of their day.

Thrice told tales of success and fail-ures filtered through the camps fromscattered points in the northeast. Thomas

Stoddard claimed to have found the lake,collected his gold, and returned. Stod-dard, like old Greenwood, spoke withconvincing tones. He related how he hadbeen wounded by Indians, but escapedwith his life. He showed scars from hiswounds and flaunted pokes of gold toprove his story. Stoddard succeeded inenlist ing enough people will ing to gam-ble money, life and time. Those whosigned on agreed supplies were to becarried only as far as the lake. At theend of the trail each was on his own tocarry out all gold he could manage him-self. They could travel faster with halfrations.

As they trudged through the valleysand over the summits, they were joinedby poachers along the trail. Stoddard be-came bewildered and confused. His re-sponsibility was more than he could copewith, or perhaps he was attempting toavoid spreading so thin, his once covetedsource of wealth. As his erratic coursemaneuvered the group from one dis-

appointing lake to another, he began tosense the unrest of his followers.

Out of this futility and desperationhe perhaps said, "this looks like theo n e ! " The mob of impatient men swarmed the shores. They dug at the moswhich had encrusted the sun baked rocksThey found no color just sculptu re otime and weather. They forced Stoddardto prod onward, in blind search of theigoal. As the days passed, Stoddard beganfearing for his life. At the first opportunity, under the protection of darknesshe slipped away.

Stranded, exhausted and confused ato their location, the men fought for survival. The stronger grabbed the supplieand horses and sought shelter in thvalley where familiar patterns of mininled them to the rivers and the source othe gold the Mothe r Lode.

The Yuba and Feather Rivers, each owhich supported multiple tributariescarried gold into the streams. The discoveries stampeded the transition fromwilderness to flourishing mining settlements. The famous mining camp nameof Poker Flat, Whiskey Diggings, anthe Eureka Mine were only a few amonthe many. Not a bit unusual were nuggets ranging from $100 to $1000 eachTent camps were replaced by board anbat cities. Merchants and leeches followed the strikes. Families were sent foand comforts soon replaced the hardshipCold was spent at the same pace it wamade fast and easy.

The northern Sierra had reached imaturity and Caleb's tale and Stoddardmarch had passed into a memory by thyear I860. However, their illusions haforced the opening of the gold countrFortunes were made in the next decadand the lucky ones stepped out of thbitter cold and into the warmth of luxurRelief was sought in lush resorts, anchampagne picnics on the grassy shoreof high mountain lakes.

Who is to judge Caleb's mythical lakwas only a fantasy? Or, if Thomas Stoddard did find Caleb's lake and reap hgold nuggets on the shore? So, just icase you still ponder this possibilitwatch as you step along the cobbleshores of the High Sierra tarns, and dyour fingernails deep into encrusted moon the rocks at the shore of Gold LakThe discovery is yours to make. Was thCold Lake factor fantasy?


18/52

THERE WERE an estimated 15,000 in-habitants of California when it wasceded to the United States at the endof the war with Mexico in January,1848. If they had known what was tooccur exactly one year later, the LatinAmericans might have continued thestruggle for their landand possiblychanged the course of history.

For five years later there were225,000 people in California of which120,000 were either searching or dig-ging for gold in a confined 226-milearea along the western slope of the SierraMountains. Called the Mother LodeCountry, it was the site of the world'slargest population explosion and landboom.18

Although the historical hysteria onlylasted some 20-odd years, during thattime hundreds of millions of dollars ingold was torn from the earth. Today,the Mother Lode Country is once againboomingthis time with tourists, fisher-men and hunters.

The erawhose drama equals that ofa blood-and-guts fiction novelstartedon a cold day in January, 1848 whenJohn Marshall, while examining the tail-race of John Sutter's partially completedsawmill on the American River, pickedup a yellow piece of metal. The find,which changed the course of westernhistory, was described by Henry W. Big-ler, a sawmill worker:"Monday 24th this day some kind of

The Wells Fargo office inColumbia no w a CaliforniaState Parkhandled87 million dollars in goldduring the Gold Rush days.Photo by David Muench,Santa Barbara, California.mettle was found in the tail race thatlooks like goald first discovered byJames Martial, the boss of the mill."

Although his spelling was not exactlyaccurate, Bigler did record the incidentthat started a stampede which wouldbring Argonauts into the then pastoralCalifornia from the eastern UnitedStates, Australia, China and Europe tocompete with the native Yankees andMexicans in the feverish and savagestruggle for gold. But it was a year beforethe stampede started.

Not being a miner, Marshall took hisyellow metal to Sutter, who had estab-lished the first inland settlement in north-ern California at the confluence of theSacramento and American Rivers.


19/52

M o t h e rDtAtflL SAFARI

The discovery of gold in theMother Lode Country and theensuing Gold Rush thatchanged the history of theWestern Hemisphere an dwas felt throughout theworld are covered in thismonth's Desert Safari.

The St. Francis XavierCatholic Church at ChineseCamp was built in 1855and restored in 1949.Majority of the 49ers buriedin the cemetery were fromIreland. Photo by Jack Pepper.

L o d eby Jack Pepper


20/52

1AfVGI IS (.AMP

Marshall arrived at Slitter's Fort onJanuary 28 and after numerous tests,Sutter decided the metal was gold. Thiswas on February 2, L848, the same daythe United States and Mexico signed thetreaty of Guadalupe Hildago, ceding theterritory of California to the UnitedStates. (On September 9, 1850, largelydue to the discovery of gold, Californiawas admitted into the Union as the 31ststate.)

Meanwhile, back at the sawmill, whilehonoring their pledge to secrecy aboutthe yellow metal, workers were takingmodern day "sick leave" and sneakingoff the job to pan for gold.

Although finished on March I I. 1848 ,the mi l l wa s sho rt l ived. I t was tor ndown f i ve years later b y m i n e r s w h owanted the l u m b e r fo r g o l d - p a n n i n gs lu i ce boxes . T o d a y , a c o m p l e t e rep l i caof th e nul l is on e ot th e ma ny touristattractions at C o l o m a diid t he Marsha tTGold Discovery State Park the sitewhere the California Gold Rush began.( See ma p )

Realizing the value of Marshall's dis-covery, Sutter sent ( harles Bennett on.i secret mission to Monterey to securethe land rights at Coloma. However ,Bennett was a loud mouth and toldeveryone he met about the discovery.

^ - ' '

1 he Angels Camp Museumon State Route 49 housesone of the best collectionsin the Mother Lode Country,including a fine rock and semi-precious gem exhibit.Few believed him. Even when the firststory oi the discovery was printed in aSan Francisco newspaper on March 15,little attention was paid to the article.

Gradually, however, as reports of more-spectacular finds came down from themountains, the gold fever gripped SanFrancisco an d on |une 14, 1848, the lastol the city's newspapers temporarily sus-pended publication for lack of readers.The leaders and non-readers had allheaded for the gold infested hills.

At the same time, newspapers in theeastern United States, Hawaii andEurope were printing stories on the goldbonanza. T he world's greatest exodusand boom was underway.

Spurred by the newspaper accounts,steamship and overland stage promoters(the forerunners of today's travel agents)rumors and just plain imagination, menof every race, creed and color literallypoured into the Mother Lode Country.There are many rivers andcreeks along the Mother Loderoute affording opportunitiesfor boating and fishing in theclear and cold waters.Boaters float down the rivers.


21/52

Pony Express Days are held everyJuly 4th in the Placerville area.As they did 120 years ago,

riders deliver mail to Pollock Pines,one o] the few remainingoriginal Pony Express stations.

They were called 49ers or Argonauts,the latter from the Greek legend of themen who sailed with Jason in search ofthe Golden Fleece.

But these Argonauts were not search-ing for a legendary Golden Fleece. Theywere after the solid gold of Californiawhere they would make their fortunesand return home as conquering Jasons.So they left their families, businesses,ranches and farms and headed for theland of golden promises. They were

joined by crooks, con-artists, outlaws,murderers, gun-slingers and other charac-ters of either higher or lower repute.

Like Jason's, their search was not easy.Unable to cope with the severe weatherand the rugged mountain terrain, thou-sands returned home after only a fewm onths futile search. Thousands of othersmet either natural or violent deaths andwere buried in unm arked rocky graves.Only the most capableand luckysur-

An exact replica of Sutler'sMill (above) where gold wasfirst discovered, is one of themany attractions at Coloma.

I odaj . modem Argonuun ( right)still find gold.

vived, and of these only a few thousandfound the Golden Fleece.

To follow the trail of the GoldenFleece and relive the days of the '49ers,take California's State Route 49 whichstarts at Mariposa on the south and endsat Downieville on the north. Known asthe Golden Chain Highway, it parallelsU.S. 99 from Fresno to Sacramento andMarysville. (Or you can go from northto south. )

The paved highway snakes throughthe Mother Lode Country for 266 mileswith an average altitude of 1 500 feet. Itcurves through scenic mountains, dropsdown to cross cool streams and rivers

levels out across verdant valleys and isdotted with hundreds of historic monu-ments, plaques, museums and 500 townswhich popped up l ike mushrooms dur ingthe 20-year Mother Lode boom.

You will recognize only a few of thetowns as the majority are either com-pletely leveled or off the many interestingside roads which lead to the east andwest veins of the Mother Lode.

Although too numerous to mentionthe major side tr ips should include Hor-nitos, Columbia, Moaning and MercerCaves , Murphys and Volcano. These area MUST to capture the feeling of thMother Lode.


22/52

MinersOnly!

R a n g i n g f rom thes i m p l e o ne-m a n g o l dp a n n i n g m e t h o d to theco m pl ex ha rd-ro ckqua rtz o p e r a t i o n , t h e r e w e r e v a ri o us m e a n so f ex tra ct i ng g o l d f rom theMother I .ode-C o u n t r y . F o l l o w i n g ares o m e of the t e r m sused byt h e m i n e r s .

M O T H E R L O D E . The main vein ofg o l d - b e a r i n g q u a r t z e x t e n d i n g f rom Mari -p o s a n o r t h w ar d an d i r o n w h i ch t am e n u g -g e t s an d "f l o ur" mild .

P L A C E R G O L D . Go l d w h i ch , thro ug hw e a t h e r ande r o s i o n , hasbeen f reed f ro mi t s quar tz mat r ix ami is f o u n d e i t h e r inb an k s or in s t r eam s and rivers w h e r e il hasb een w as h ed d o w n f r o m its parent l o d e .P l ace r or " f r e e " g o l d can be e i t h e r largen u g g e t s or fine particles ot "f l o ur" co l d .

P A N N I N G . The s i m pl es t and easiestm e t h o d u s ed (o s ep a r a t e g o l d from thed i r t and rocks . Go l d pa nni ng techni quesa r e cen t u r i e s old thro ug ho ut (he w o r l d .T h e M e x i c a n s w e r e e x p e r t s at t h i s m e t h o d ,cal l ing thei r g o l d pan a l>aU.i. D u e to itss lowness , th i s method w.i s soon rep laced byt e am s w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r .

R OC K E R . A l s o ca l l ed a cradle, it w as ar e c t a n g u l a r w o o d e n b o x , se ! on a s lope andm o u n t e d on r o ck e r s . A ser ies of rifflesw e r e at the b o t t o m . D i r t was po uredt h r o u g h a s i ev e at the top and then ab u ck e t of w at e r . T h e m i x t u r e w as agitatedby r o ck i n g the crad le whic h forced thed i r t to w as h d o w n and out of the- rockerw h i l e the heavy g o l d wascau g h t in theriffles or cleat s .

T h i s m et h o d w o r k ed lor coarse g o l d ,but fai led lo catch (he f ine particles t>f

f l o u r ' g o l d , so s m a l l am o u n t s ot mercuryw e r e put on (he b o t t o m of (he c r ad l e .W h i l e r e f u s i n g o t h e r particles , mercurywil l trap t i n e g o l d . The m i ners w o ul d thenh ea t the m er cu r y w h i ch w o ul d v a po ri zean d leave (he t rapped gold f ree .

L O N G T O M . An enl a rg ed rocker , (heL o n g T o m w a s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 20fee! longan d a foo l wide M\y\ w as o p e r a t ed usually

by three men. Two s ho v el ed di r t whi le thethird kept the dirt and rocks m o v i ng , Si nceK n eed ed a c o n t i n u o u s s u p p l y of fast mov-ing water , theLong Tom was on ly used ms t r eam s or rivers.

S L U I C E B O X . An even l o n g e r versionol theL o n g T o m a n d o pera ted by a crewof men whow o r k e d on :he theory: them o r e riffle b o x es them o r e g o l d- T h e f i n ep a n i c l e s of g o l d w er e rem o v ed f rom thesluice boxby r ev e r t i n g (o (he p a n n i n gm e t h o d .

H Y D R A U L I C M I N I N G T h is was themost e f f i c i e n t - - a n d themost d e s t r u c t i v e -m etho d ot g e t t i n g g o l d out of (heearth.M i n er s u s ed h i g h - p r e s s u r e h o s e s and spray-ed (hegravel banks , fo rcing the m at e r i a llo w a s h down in to s lu ice boxes . Since th i swas the fas tes t method at that t ime of get -l ing go ld , the process rap id ly spread andby 1859 t h e r e w e r e m o r e than 5000 milesof canal s across theM o t h e r L o d e C o untrys u p p l y i n g w a t e r (o the big nozzle hosesw h i ch requi red 3 0 ,0 0 0 g a l l o ns of wafer am i n u t e to o p e r a t e .

M i n e r s w e r e not co ns erv a t i o ni s ts andfew knew (he m e a n i n g or ecology . Butw h e n the hy dra ul i c w as t e s t a r t ed (o clogth e rivers, inundate the farm lands and p layha v o c w i t h them er ch an t s , it wast u n e tocall a hal t . In 1893 a l aw was passed pro-h ib i t ing miners f rom hy dra ul i cki ng unlessthey could d i spose of thewaste . Since th i sw as i m p o s s i b l e , hy dra ul i c m i n i n g p as s ed in-to ob l iv ion .

Q U A R T Z M I N I N G . K n o w n as " h a r dr o ck " m i n i n g , (hism e t h o d was the mostpro f i ta bl e , yetil could on ly be acco m p l i s h -ed by l arge cap i ta l i nv es tm ents . As theplacer go ld p layed outan d h y d r au l i c m i n -i n g w as p r o h i b i t ed , c o m p a n i e s w er e f o r m edto b ias ! (beg o l d out of thequartz veinsand then pul v eri ze (he rocks ing i an t s t am pm i l l s . T h i s w as thef i n a l an d m o s t lucra-t i v e p h a s e of m i n i n g ill the Mo ther L o d eCountry.

Y ou canspend a weekend, a week,two weeks or a month tour ing the coun-try and you still will want to return tovisit other historical sites, or to fish inthe many mountain streams andlakes,d ig for oldbottles, barter for artifacts,pa n for gold or just relax.

Your time schedule can be adjustedeasily as there are many exit roads fromState 49leading back toU.S. 99 toLosAngeles orSan Francisco. While on theMother Lode route, don' t be in a hurry.It you don' t have time tovisit the com-munities and stop at the historical monu-ments , you should have stayed athom e.

F or those traveling in passenger carsduring the summer vacation season it isbest tostop early formotel reservations,or make them in advance. Majority ofthe motels are in the fewmain com-munities along the way and rooms aftersunset are at a premium.

F or travelers in campers State Route19 is a paradise. You can pick your spotalong thestreams or camp among thetrees on the many side roads. However,camping sites immediately adjacent toswimming beaches are usually filled dur-ing the summer season.

Since there are literally hundreds ofinteresting and historical sites alongState 49, only a few can be described.This does not mean those not mentionedar e notworth seeing. For an excellenttravel guide which lists all of the pointsof interest, I suggest the G o ld Rush(,'i/fiitr) compiled bythe editors of Sun-set Books. Forback issues of DesertMagazine with dramatic accounts of thehistory ofmany of the mining communi-ties, see the listing onPage 39.

From Mariposa, which has California'soldest courthouse still inservice since itsopening in l


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STARTNJC AT MARI POSAZ7 7 Ml.EXPLORE,

HMOST OF ITS LEN&THTHEM CLIMBS OVERVUBA

was -round inSuch fabulous Quantityas tocstapuIt ^ ua wilderness -to1t

Q>tJards tarvip, adhere aRartyh

OocxJ 6bU mining i^d question of howucnm

AL0UG1speeds uwork out laterimurovementSled tosluice boxesrtvjuntdin truit..| ' _ _ - on APPLE HILLa t hfehiUtopgrdvsditepintsto the sceneoh his-famousdiscoverylAB0UTOJLLW/\mE GOP DSCOVERSITE

Jdires .Marshal I touched diqcunsasMoV thi? gwatesfc Gold Rushever recorded by pickingopatlateeotopldfrom Mdrshdlls'ydve.histhe tril l race ov Suttefe ^bin IS nearby,ptosxmill atGolonia ,Jan. me sawmill We built.?4 I I K Tens oVttw w- T i r e rriendly S1AIE

ierrd Netfado p? the ti-avethousands of.T I O U ^ l j ^ 4 o r 'nstable aead,one,W N S wounded...both robbed.- One robbe r shot

Cyanvê -ta\liny e wereudrried over th^ hi!)via60 R. D'arntH t- wheelsnd connecting -flume Amutda-a week1/weetesana 5 inas many days Wasan unpleasant- recordatl lAraiNci k i a

anij examination or od?outcrops showt h h tV * --

JÂRK WAIH STARTEP IT.ÂmBull Fttxjs-from allover ^/AKRASTRAb reduced j/ddbearing rcick th e world compete in ayearlyt o powder as Stones'uJere tuwr a classic.. me JUMPIUC. FPOC-around a circular cViantiel.If uouryold minmo inter- ,. .ast runs te Glory Holea, prodigioosW until 173!Dont miss ttie dne-iat ?vxe o\yold weighed

pthoroughly -theminers picfted,scrdpedid went andgongedevetycIs FaraD 3t 'd crevice.

j Spanishand widely cop ied, yo j canStill -Find -traces o f themal l along the cplJ country- carsonHill. Incredibly POUNDS troy.-, value:rich,these mines gave 43,534 $ in I&54. -

In I84fl ad ho\low.log wasa po\\tJbl6 improvementover pan ning, GxintlfibS

oVthese .deviceswere&r r aand creeksbefcte nWSoy histKB edA methodsX? vveve i[fddopted

Millionsofyeatsago,volcanos eastot"here covswcl thearea wiW hundredsteet of ash Gas l/eauvius buried VompThis event was tal owed by eruptions\a\ia ha t tol lowed the old river bedpushing th e ash aside. TVe ancientw e rbed carried lotsofc jold..-i' "but O3*fed vvith lava.Gonard'S Tabe Mo ntain i$ thf? Softer ash has been erafe'ex fî ir ^th e cardvcM Miners' reveo iooun+le 3 tun ne ls under t o minetiThe top of the lo w canbe exploi-e


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One of the Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County flexes his muscles a nd wonderswho started the whole thing in preparation for the a n n u a l event held every May.Lode Country. During its heyday,ouses one of the best gold nugget col-

lections in the country. Although he-charges 50 cents to see his museum, Pep-pers' (no relation to this writer) talltales are worth every cent.

From Coulterville the highway passesthrough scenic mountains to ChineseCamp an d Sonora, a modern city cater-ing to the lumber industry and cattleraising, lust before Sonora is the com-muni ty of Jamestown, located off thehighw ay a half m ile, but well worth thevisit.

North of Sonora a paved road leadsto Columbia, one of the most importantand best preserved towns of the Mother

its15,000 people lived in Columbia andproduced an estimated 87-million dol-lars in gold. Today it is the ColumbiaHistoric State Park. There are diningfacilities, many gift shops , a mote l andlots of attractions for the youngsters, in-cluding panning for gold and riding on.m old-fashioned stage coach.

A half mile from the State Park thereis an excellent campground for camping,trailers or tenting. Look for the sign thatdirects you to Yankee Hill . You caneither stay overnight or spend your entirevacation there. Th ere are com plete facili-

ties and rates are exceptionally reasonable.It is open the year-round.

The '49er Highway continues fromSonora over some mountain passes anddown to the Stanislaus River and thecommunity of Melones where 5000people took nuggets the size of melonseeds from the river. (Melones is Span-ish for melons.) By 1972 Melones andthis area will be covered with water froma new dam upstream. In the meantimethere is a small camping site where youcan launch your boat.

En route from Melones to AngelsCamp be sure to stop at the rest area atCarson Hill. It doesn't look like much,but Carson Hill in its heyday was con-sidered the richest of the Mother Lodecamps. The largest nugget in America'sgold history wa s taken from Carson Hill.It was 15 inches long, 6 inches wide and4 inches thick, weighing 195 pounds( P O U N D S ) troy a n d w a s w o r t h$43,000. Today, the same nugget wouldbe valued at $73,000. As you view thehistorical plaque look to the right andyou will see one of the heavily produc-ing quartz mines on the mountain above.

Continued on pu^e J8

COPPERCOVEATLAKETULLOCH. . . w h e r e l a n d a n d l a k ec o m b i ne t o c r e a tea n a tm o s p h e r etotal ly their own.

GREAT LAKES DEVEtOPMENT CO., INC.P.O. Box 1057San Andreas, California 95249

N a m e .Address.C i t y . ..Zip

24


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MAPS INFORMATION

FISHINGSWIMMINGCAMPING

On the Cosumnes River15 MILES SOUTH OF PLACERVILLE ON STATE HWY 49

BOX 96 PLYM OUTH , CALIFORNIA

PICNICSNACK BARSTORE

GOLD BEACH PARKA rare find for the out-of-doors recrea-tion-minded family. Above the fog andbelow the snow, there are 100 tree-covered acres with a mile of river front-age along the Cosumnes River on High-way 49, El Dorado County, 15 milessouth of Placerville. It is an enjoyabletwo hour trip from the Bay Area, oronly 40 minutes from Sacramento orStockton.

Phone (209) 245-6594

W r i t e f o i Lu

N u m pAddressCity

nplete i

Stntp

ifoi motion

HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDGOLD BEACH received its name fromour forefathers because of the glitter-ing golden sand on its river banks.The GOLD BEACH area was a rendez-vous for gold miners. There are manyabandoned mines remaining in thearea. In 1848, the first Gold Discoveryin California was made at Coloma, ElDorado County, only 21 miles north ofGOLD BEACH.


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Of the more than 500 towns that popped uplike mushrooms during California's Gold Rushera, less than 100 remain today and of theseonly a few dozen combine the past with thepresent. Typical of these unique communitiesand one that was an important stop in theMother Lode Countryis Volcano, only a fewmiles from State 49 and its sister city, Jackson.

by Robert C. LikesIllustrations b y George M atbis

26


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~fcuiutt


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Box SO Mokelumne Hil l , Calif 95245Calcweras CountyLusty uld "Muk Hill" asrich inhis-tory assh e once was ingold is thesetting for the colorful Hote l Leger,excitingly restored with authentic,priceless antiques. Handsomely fur-nished public and private rooms pro-vide for modem comfort amidst "thediggins." Explore fascinating vestigesof 49er days, antique shops, mini-galleries. Fine cuisine. Weekend andholiday entertainment in theG oldRush bar. Summer theater ( 'Genera-

tion" byWill iam Goodhart) . Swim-ming pool. Just ott Golden ChainHi-way 4y in the heart oi the SouthernMines . 1hr. from Stockton and Sac-ramento. Weekend reservations es-sential. Reduced room rates Mon.thru Thurs. Free descriptive brochureand walking tour map. Phone Mokelumne Hil l (209) 286-1312.

Aircraft Rental & SalesAir CharterFlight InstructionComplete MaintenanceAerial PhotographyScenic Flights

FoothillAviationPlacerville AirportP. 0 . Box 45Placerville, Calif.(916) 622 0459

The citizens of Volcano have main-tained their standard of living withoutburying their historical past under theblanket of commercialism. There are noshopping centers with eye-sore acreage ofblacktop parking lots, no modern businessestablishments with large windows glar-ing in the sunlight, and no motel com-plexes with neon signs advertising T.V.and heated swimming pools.

Volcano's small cluster of buildingsconvey the flavor of the gold rush days.It would come asnosurprise tosee astagecoach suddenly roll into town andbegin unloading passengers in front ofth e old St.George Hotel. The eventwould bejust as much a part of thescene asthe tall pines onthe surround-ing hills. Constructed in1862, the threestory brick hotel still provides lodgingand meals for the traveler, and invites the.visitor to"sit-a-spell" under vine-coveredbalconies.

A short distance upthe street is th erestored Adolph Meyer Cigar Emporium.Dating back toth e IKTOS, it now housesthe Cobblestone Gallery. Laurence Hos-mer and William Winkle, co-owners andcontributing artists, have captured thespirit of the Mother Lode country in theirpaintings.

The town's General Store is next tothe gallery. Built in 1850, itwas original-ly two separate stores. A. G Cassinelljoined the buliding together in the l


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H'sroh- Ktimff 10 ' ' i * v V | :VC~-L4KF TAMOt VIA ' "~~> A ^'J' WENTWORTH SFWM6S J~ < V - A * - ' ' ^ -


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> i t u j 'KONE Oi- THE ORIGINAL 1851

Fine Minerdl SpecimensPrc-Colunibidii Artifacts

Unusual GiftsFossilstree I ournt Intormah ,ii

P 0. box 12 Ph /09 29b /7 35VOLCANO, CALIFORNIA

A Sherriil

A comp le te yca i a lOui.d recrea-tion area lake Fishing. Boat ing ,Swimming, Horse-bdck n d i n g .and Shaded Campgrounds at reasonable rates Restauran t Reoication Room Located oi f Highway&&, neai lone Calif Write: Kt. 1 ,Bo x ^43. lone, Calif 9 5 6 4 0 .Phone- 2 0 9 / 2 7 4

year round

A M A D O R

tion. Across the street from the hall standsthe jail, a small building with boilerplatesandwiched between its wooden 2x12walls.

Volcano also has its ruins. The booksof the Hale Sash and Door Factory areclosed forever. The stone walls with theiriron shuttered openings are slowly beingdestroyed as time and neglect take theirtoll. The Wells Fargo Building is nottaring much better. A discarded safe-inside the ruins recalls the richer andbusier days of the past.

In order to appreciate the Volcano oftoday, you should know something aboutits past. Gold was discovered in 1848by tw o soldiers of a party from ColonelStevenson's Nc-w York 7th Regiment ofMexican War Volunteers. What theywere doing there at that particular time

still remains a mystery, for Colonel Stev-enson, in later years, made a statementthat none of his men had ever been inthe area. The fact still remains that twosoldiers didn' t survive the hard winter ,and were buried the following spring by.i gro up of M exican travelers w ho dis-covered their bodies.

Lured with stories of $500 from asingle pan of gravel, it wasn't long be-fore miners were pouring into the area.The young gold mining camp was calledSoldiers Gulch, but as it grew, the name-was changed to Volcano, possibly becauseof the crater-like valley in which thetown was located, although this takessome stretching of the imagination.

By IKTX the rich placer deposits soeasily panned from the streams were de-pleted, and the town turned to hydraulic


31/52

mining in the quest for gold. The popu-lation had grown from a few hundred toseveral thousand, hut its growth wa sshort lived, ami by 186") th e gold wa sgone and Volcano was left a practicallydeserted town after producing 90 milliondollars in gold.

These events are not unlike those ofscores of other mining towns, and bysimply changing the dates, you couldprobably make the story fit any numberof them. But a closer look at Volcano'srecord reveals a noticeable deviationfrom th e standard course ol events thatare usually associated with the rough andready, sometimes violent, but always ro-mantic history of the Mother Lode< ountry.

T he change begins to appear with asimple statement made in the 1 S6()s bya traveler spending a few nights at thehotel . He noted that most of the menwere congenial company, and some evenplayed chess with wooden pieces that hadbeen carved with their knives. It is alsonoted that Volcano had an unusual in-terest in the cultural side of life resultingin the first lending library and first little-theater group in the state. George Madera,mining engineer, built the first astronom-ical telescope-observatory, and "Horn ' sExaminer into the F.aws of Nature" waspublished in 185^ and was written byProfessor George Horn ot Volcano.Strange activities for a grou p of toug h,whiskey drinking, pick swinging, adven-turous people! T he picture continues tochange when we discover the story be-hind the 110-year-old bell that still ringsin every 4th of July Celebration in Vol-cano.

At (he outbreak of the Civil War,Californ ia had a choice of three roads totake: support th e unknown candidate.Abraham Lincoln, for president; jointhe Southern States and take up theirbanner: or declare ( alifornia an indepen-dent Republic and remain strictly neutral.

Thomas Starr King, the Unitarian min-ister and orator whose name became syn-onymous with that of Lincoln, wasgiving speeches throughout the state, urg-ing the support ot "Abe" Lincoln andthe Union cause.

After speaking in Volcano, the minersand other citizens were so moved by hisdram ati c oratory t l ie \ ' gave generousl y toth e collection that night. So generously.

V O L C A N OA M A D O U C O U N T Y !MOST PICTURESQUE OF ALL MOTHER LODE TOWNS"

B a n d s t a n d B o o k s h o pT h e J u g 8c H o s e C o n f e c t i o n e r y

C o b b l e s t o n e A r t G a l l e r y

urn ii 3


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in fact, Mr. King asked friends in Bos-ton to send a bell to Volcano for theMethodis t Church which had just beencompleted. On July 24, 1862, the follow-ing notice appeared in the SacramentoBe e newspaper :

"A cast-steel bell, med. size, manu-factured by Naylor Vickers and Co. ofSheffield, England, was placed on thelevee yesterday from the Schooner Wil-liam McGill. The bell is destined forVolcano, Amador County."

This wasn't the only time Volcanostood up to be counted. Probably themost publicized incident to occur in Vol-cano surrounds a 6-pounder, bronzecannon affectionately called "Old Abe."

In 1863, Northern and Southern fac-tions in the town were about evenly num-bered and armed. The home guard unit ,under the name of Volcano Blues, wasdetermined their gold was going to theUnion. The southern die-hards were justas determined to divert the gold ship-ments to the Confederate States. Uponhearing ot a cannon that somehow endedup in a San Francisco wharf warehouse,seemingly abandoned, the Volcano Blues

lost" no time in dispatching a rider to pur-chase it. The 800 pound cannon wasshipped by riverboat to Sacramento, thenhauled by freight wagon to Jackson whereit was transferred to a hearse belongingto the Volcano undertaker. The horsedrawn hearse departed Jackson and head-ed into the hills . Arriving in Volcano,th e undertaker casually delivered hisstrange cargo to the rear of Goodrichand Adams blacksmith shop, where it wassecretly reassembled and mounted. TheBlues now had an "ace-in-the-hole" andfelt the balance of arms power was intheir favor should a showdown with therebels occur.

Shortly afterwards, the Confederatesympathizers boldly held their first publicmeeting. The time had come to removethe only obstacle that would prevent themfrom taking over the townthe VolcanoBlues. With an impressive show in man-power and arms, the large band of angrymen began their march in the directionol the Blues armory. As the advancingRebels approached the building, thedoors slowly swung open, and out of thedark shadows rolled a sight that made

their blood run cold. With unbelievingeyes, the Confederates stared right downthe loaded barrel of "Old Abe."

Both sides stood silently facing eachother. The stillness was broken by thecommand "make ready to f ire!" TheSouthern line wavered, but Confederateleaders urged them on. The cannoneer 'storch was lowered. Suddenly the South-ern lines broke, and dropping their arms,they fled the scene in disorder.

"Old Abe" was kept in view as a re -minder that the Blues meant business,but as time passed and the initial shockwore off, rumors began circulating thatthe cannon was a bluff, and wasn' t cap-able of f ir ing. The home guard decidedsomething had to be done before thingsgot out of hand.

Many stores on the main street wereowned by Southern sympathizers. WithUnion storekeepers notif ied, the cannonwas loaded with black powder and wad-ded wet paper, then rolled into the posi-tion at the end of the street. On the pre-arranged signal, Union storekeepersclosed the iron shutters over their shop

Continued mi page 50Constructed in 1862, the St. George Hotel still provideslodging and meals for the traveler. Cobblestone sidewalks recall busier days when Volcanoproduced lJ0 million dollars in gold.


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r e e R in g s a t S h o w lo wby Janice Beaty

- ^e?Wooden timbers from t h e W u p a t k i r u i nI NDIAN RUINS in the Southwest havealways attracted wide interest. Earlysettlers believed they were built by theAztecs of Mexico, and gave them namessuch as Montezuma Castle. Archeologistslater proved the builders to be PuebloIndians but the age of th e ruins longremained a mystery.In 1922 a new and exciting theorywas advanced which seemed certain tosolve this final problem. Led by Arizonaastronomer. Dr. Andrew Ellicott Doug-lass, excavators attempted to date theruins by counting the annual tree ringsfound in wooden posts and beams takenfrom the ancient dwellings.

It was a well known fact that treesadded a new and distinctive layer ofgrowth every year. Already the rings ofCalifornia's giant sequoias had beencounted back to 1000 B.C. Douglass be-lieved that a similar calend ar, s tretchingfrom living forests back to the oldestIndian rums, might be formed it enoughold beams could be found.

And so the search began. Hundredsof borings were taken from every available piece ol wood. Giant stumps fromold forests, buried logs from puebloruins, carved timbers from Spanish missions nothing w as overlooked.

By I92S D r . Douglass had a tree ringcalendar stretching back t o the year 126(1

w ere r em o v ed in t he 1 9 20 s t o h e l p f o r m u l a t e t r ee- r i n g m et h o d o f d a t i n g ru i ns .A . D . Still this did not solve the agequestion of the really old rums. So thesearch tor old wood was resumed thist ime among the remains at Wupatki,Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.

The result was another, and entirelydifferent tree ring calendar covering 5


34/52

COURTESY CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY

6 P H K ' S A M I T E ' pretty gal!" Th e oldC J miner stand ing at the far edge of

the crowd voiced the thoughts of all whohad gathered in front of th e hotel towatch the arrival of the stage from Sacra-mento. T he year was L854. The townwas Nevada City, California. This smallcity of seven hills was still a rough min-ing camp that had originally been calledDeer Creek Dry Diggin's, named for DeerCreek which still flows on the bordersof the town.

The young lady who had stepped fromthe dusty Concord coach was a strikingbeauty. Abo ut twen ty-five, she was darkof hair and eyes, had olive skin, and alovely figure dressed in an elegant man-ner. She flashed a friendly sm ile as shewent into the hotel.

"Her name is Madame Eleanor Du-

T h e L a d y G a m b l e rmont, and she's French." The hotel clerkdivulged th e information later with animpor tant air. But where did she comefrom? And why was she there? T hetownsp eople seethed with curiosity. Theydidn' t need another schoolteacher; Elea-nor didn't look like the "likes of a dance-hall gir l," and no miner appeared to claimher as his prospective bride.

F or ten days this apparently well-bred,well-educated young lady went her waym a quiet, self-possessed manner. She-was friendly, but stayed close to the hoteland refused th e many inv itations offeredby young men who had romance in mind.

Then appeared a handbill that shockedthe town. It announ ced the Grand Open -in g of Madam e Dumont's gambling house-on Broad Street, where all were invitedto enjoy free champagne, and try their

luck at ving-et-nn ( twenty-one) , a gameof cards, in which the player's cards mustcount closer to twenty-one than those ofthe dealer . A woman gambler was un-heard of! Women had been known todeal occasionally to serve as a "com e-on." But to make a living at it? Unthink-able !

But the gala opening was well attend-ed . Even those who did not gamble en-joyed seeing .1 pretty girl , lo r the ratioof girls to men was about one to sevenin the small comm unity. Long-forgottengood clothes were unpacked from trunks.Those who had no fancy duds shinedtheir boots, tr immed their beards, put apoke of gold in their pockets, ami headedfor the party.Madame Dumont charmed them al l .She had a way of making each man feel

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COURTESY CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARYN e v a d a C i t y , 1 B 5Glike he was her special frien d just by hertouch on his sleeve. But she allowed nofamiliarities. A lady with an air of re-finement about her, she was treated assuch. Though she rolled her own cigar-ettes with ,1 deft hand and sipped winewhile at play, cursing and drunkeness inher place oi business was taboo. Mostimportant, she was a good sport am)knowledgeable in the ways of men andgamblers. "Zhee bhoyss" were all he r"1 [ren s."

Documents

197009 Desert Magazine 1970 September