THE

M A G A Z I N E

NOVEMBER, 1938 ANNIVERSARY NUMBER 25 CENTS

AUTHENTIC

IndianArt. .

Visitors are always

WELCOME

GIFTS CAREFULLYPACKED FORSHIPMENT= GIFTS OF THE DESERT

NAVAJO RUGS . . INDIAN JEWELRY . . BASKETS AND POTTERYNovelties and Unique Book Ends, Ash Trays, Statuettes . . . Thousands of Unusual Items

INDIANOYAINDIAN TRADING POST . . . in the heart of P A L M SPRINGS

FASCINATING DESERTHIGHWAYS LEAD from

n\\

DISCOVERamazing

IMPERIALVALLEYthis season

El Centra, "capital of the WinterGarden of America" admittedly hasthe finest winter climate in theworld. Rest and play in warm sun-shine here without the great expenseencountered at many other winterresorts.El Centra is located on U. S. Hwys. 80and 99, at the gateway to the new AnzaDesert State Park.FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION, SEND

FOR DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE

EL CENTROChamber of Commerce

EL CENTRO, CALIF.

sy

With a R

I Yourselfcfrcshing

It's part of the game

bottle

some

Right..Pause

ML.Delicious and Refreshing

to take "time out" for a

of ice-cold Coca-Cola . . . .

delicious. So t eam up with

a n d b e refreshed

pure, whole-

one yourself

D E S E R T

(2aLendaiCivic groups in the desert area are

invited to use this column for announc-ing fairs, rodeos, conventions and otherevents which have more than local in-terest. Copy must reach the Desert Mag-azine by the 5th of the month preced-ing publication. There is no charge forthese announcements.

OCT. 27-29—State Nurses associ-ation convention, Douglas, Ari-zona.

OCT. 27-29—Southwestern Medi-cal association convention at ElPaso, Texas.

OCT. 29-30—Annual convention ofArizona State Junior chamber ofcommerce at Globe.

OCT. 30—First annual CoachellaValley Horse Show at Indio, Cal-ifornia.

OCT. 30-31—New Mexico Healthassociation's convention at LasVegas.

OCT. 31—Nevada celebrates its74th birthday.

NOV. 1—Western States confer-ence of Water Commissionersand Engineers, J. C. Wanslee,chairman, Capitol b u i l d i n g ,Phoenix.

NOV. 1-5 — American Instituteof Mining and Metallurgical En-gineers at Tucson. B. R. Hatcher,chairman.

NOV. 7-12 — Fiesta del Sol atPhoenix.

NOV. 10-12 — Arizona Bankersassociation convention at Phoenix.

NOV. 11—Armistice Day festivi-ties in all desert towns.

NOV. 11-12-13—Sierra Club ofCalifornia to tour Lake Mead onchartered boat.

NOV. 12—Indian Corn dance,Jemez pueblo, New Mexico.

NOV. 12—Indian Buffalo dance atTesuque pueblo, New Mexico.

NOV. 14-15—Arizona Pharmaceu-tical association's convention atPhoenix.

NOV. 16-19 — Annual Hellzapop-pin rodeo at Buckeye, Arizona.

NOV. 19—Homecoming Week atUniversity of Arizona, Tucson.

NOV. 24—Thanksgiving Day.

NOV. 25-27—Rodeo and '48er atChandler, Arizona.

Vol. 2 NOVEMBER. 1938 NO. 1

COVER

CALENDARLETTERSPHOTOGRAPHYHISTORY

CAMERA ART

ADVENTURE

ARCHAEOLOGY

TRAVELOG

RECREATION

ENTOMOLOGY

GEMS

DEVELOPMENT

POETRYPLAY

HISTORY

ART

SHOP TALK

LANDMARKSPLACE NAMESMININGNEWSBOOKSWEATHERWRITERSCOMMENT

DESERT CHARLEY, Photo by Frashers Inc.,Pomona, California.

November events on the desert 1From readers of the Desert Magazine 2Amateur contest prize winners 3Navajo Gold

By MRS. WHITE MOUNTAIN SMITH . . . . 4"Feel" of the Desert

Photo by WM. M. PENNINGTON 7Rope Down and Swim Out

By RANDALL HENDERSON 8We Found the "Three Turkey" Cliff Dwellings

By RICHARD F. VAN VALKENBURGH . . . 11Hidden Forest of Nevada

By CHAS. L. HEALD 14Oasis

By JAMES L. CARLING 17Praying Mantis of the Desert

By CHARLES F. HARBISON 19Beach Combing on the Desert

By JOHN W. HILTON 20Water for a Desert Empire

By TAZEWELL H. LAMB 22Shack on the Desert, and other poems . . . . 25Fiesta del Sol

By OREN ARNOLD 2629 Cabbage Palmettos

By LARRY D. WOLMAN 28Twentynine Palms Oasis

Water color by CLIFFORD LEWIS 29First Year Along the Desert Trail 30Who can identify this picture? 33Compiled by TRACY M. SCOTT 36Brief notes on desert mine operations 37Here and There on the Desert 38Reviews of past and present books of the desert . 40Temperature reports 41About this month's contributors 42Just between You and Me, by the Editor . . . . 44

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Publishing Company, 697State Street, El Centre, California. Entered as second class matter October 11, 1937 at thepost office at El Centre California, under the Act of March 3, 1879.

Title registered No. 368865 in U. S. Patent Office, and contents copyrighted 1938 bythe Desert Publishing Company. Permission to reproduce contents must be secured fromthe editor in writing. Subscription rate $2.60 per year in U. S. A. or possessions. Singlecopy 25 cents.

RANDALL HENDERSON, EditorTAZEWELL H. LAMB, Associate Editor

J. WILSON McKENNEY, Business ManagerManuscripts and photographs submitted Must be accompanied by full return postage.

The Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility for damage or loss of manuscripts or photo,graphs although due care will be exercised for their safety. Subscribers should send noticeof change of address to the circulation department by the fifth of the month preceding issue.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3

n

:nbEl Cajon, California

Dear Mr. Henderson:Speaking of rattlesnakes! After spending all

but five of my 63 years in the West it wasnot until last week that I tasted rattlesnakemeat. I killed a young plump one. The meatwas white and tempting so we decided to tryit. Lacking a recipe we simply put it in thefrying pan with butter and a little white sageand fried it. But the result was uninteresting.The meat was juicy but tough, and lacking inflavor. Perhaps we cooked it too soon, ormaybe we should have pot-roasted it withherbs.

Bring on your desert cooks and give us agood recipe. And this suggests that you mightpublish a collection of recipes native to thebig Dry and Lonesome. For instance, how toroast grated green corn a la Navajo, how tomake piki bread like the Hopi, how to roastmescal and prickly pear—in fact somethingfirst hand to take our mind off of cannedgoods and cellophane packages.. Why man,we're getting so we think in cellophane and be-have like a label.

MAYNARD DIXON.

Beatty, NevadaDear Mr. Henderson:

Nestled in a hollow in the hills, just 15miles from the brink of Death Valley, lies thislittle mining camp of Beatty. Our nearestneighbor is Goldfield, 68 miles to the north.Las Vegas lies 115 miles to the south, and be-tween these points there is nothing. Nothing,did I say? Nothing but harmony, peace, quiet,vast distances and over all and permeating allthe inaudible symphony of the desert.

We who become attuned to the desert grow-to feel her heart throbs, to love her everypihase and mood. For this reason your wonder-ful Desert Magazine is beloved by us all. Itssentiments commingle with our own. Whenour local newsdealer receives his monthly con-signment there is a mad scramble to procurecopies.

VIRGINIA CASTILLO.

Pala, CaliforniaDear Sir:

In reading a recent issue of the Desert I findunder the heading of "Desert Place Names,"the name of Julian as an old gold camp. Whichis correct, but there is an error regarding themining of kunzite. Kunzite has been mined inPala in northern San Diego county, the onlyplace in the world where the deep coloredspodumene has been found, and named afterthe late Dr. Kunz.

Discovery of this gem in Pala was madein 1902-3 and I have mined kunzite andtourmaline here myself.

I wish to compliment you on your splendidmagazine. The very interesting articles youprint should be preserved in some way forfuture generations to read.

VICTOR RENE.P.S. Pala, Spanish for shovel, in local In-

dian language means water. The place wasmost likely named by the Indians as the vil-lage is located on the banks of San Luis Rey.

San Francisco, CaliforniaDear Sirs:

I write you about the cover of the Octoberissue—Monument Peak, California. Using afine tooth comb and a magnifying glass we areunable to find a word in the magazine aboutwhere Monument Peak is. Also, we haveworn out all our maps hunting, and with nosuccess either. Now don't do that again—it'snot fair. Of course you do run a picture puzzlecontest inside, but if this cover is one I certain-ly cannot solve it. Please tell about it in yournext issue.

P. K. McFARLAND.

Apologies to the McFarland fam-ily for our negligence. MonumentPeak pictured on the October coveris the northwest boundary corner ofthe Colorado River Indian reserva-tion, located across the Coloradoriver from Parker, Arizona, and notjar from the new Parker dam. In theFebruary number of the Desert Mag-azine was a story by Glen Dawsontelling about his efforts to climb thispeak. It is still unclimbed.—Editor.

Yucca Grove, CaliforniaDear Mr. Henderson:

The spirit of the desert and the hospitalityof desert people was so beautifully expressedto us at Yucca Grove by the hosts there, theNickersons, that I am writing this to you.

If I live to be 100 years old I will probablystill be a greenhorn and blunderbuss. Hopingto visit the old Turquoise mines as picturedin your magazine, we planned to camp over-night at Yucca Grove. Not knowing what wasthere we supposed we would have to pitchour tent among the cacti.

We were agreeably surprised to find an up-to-the-minute camp court and service stationwith a friendly invitation to pitch our tent intheir grounds with no charge for conveniences.

But here is the real story, and the joke ison me. Being dumb, I supposed those old Tur-quoise mines were Indian workings long sinceabandoned. The Nickersons gave me plenty ofhelpful information about how to reach themines and assured me I could find a few sam-ples of gem rock to take home. We returnedfrom the trip with some turquoise specimens—and then learned we had taken our samplesfrom old mines belonging to our Yucca Grovefriends. However, they assured me others weredoing the same thing—and they had no ob-jection. Fine desert people!

ROSS TILTON

Dear Sir:Barstow, California

Tel-Aviv, PalestineDear Sirs:

On request of the book and newspaper shopswe take the liberty of asking you to confer onus the sole agency of your magazine in Pales-tine.

For reasons of introducing your journal andin order to avoid returns kindly send us onlyfive copies for the beginning.

Our distribution and propaganda depart-ment are the best guarantees of saving yourinterest. Only in Tel-Aviv we are supplying70 kiosks, besides Jerusalem, Haifa and thecolonies.

Yours faithfully,International Newspaper Service.

Otto Klein, Manager.

It is indeed an oddity to find an entire mag-azine such as yours devoted to the desert coun-try, but when that magazine combines goodreporting with accuracy in its articles, we haveat last attained a perfect combination.

For the above mentioned attributes and forthe exceptionally good article on "OdessaCanyon in the Calicos" in your October num-ber I would like to extend congratulations ofthe Barstow chamber of commerce and to wishyour publication a long and healthy life.

R. H. KNAGGS, Secretary.

Los Angeles, CaliforniaMy dear Randall:

I have noted in the editorial of your de-lightful Desert Magazine that you are in searchof some ideas on cactus fruit. The earlySpanish settlers of California use the term"tunas," referring particularly to the fruit ofthe broad-leafed opuntia, which is so commonthroughout the state. Next to this the term"prickly pear" probably has the widest cir-culation. These were quite commonly used inSouthern California households when I was iyoungster and were regularly sold in the mar-ket.

My Spanish dictionary says that the wordtuna means an "Indian fig," but the term wasin such general use for the fruit of the opun-tia that the plant itself was frequently knownas tuna-cactus to the Gringos. The flavor anddelicacy of the fruit varies widely with thedifferent varieties of cactus plant. That of thegiant cactus is especially good and is knownto the Mexicans by the same name as the par-ent plant—saguaro—as also is the case withthe pitahaya, which is probably the finest ofall for table use.

The Indians of southern Arizona used tomake a saguaro syrup and the bright coloredjuice makes an interesting addition to colddrinks or to the lighter colored fruit jellies. Ithink the logical name for the fruit of eachspecies would be the commonly used Spanishname now generally applied to the well knownplant varieties. In English the root word isthe name of the fruit and we add the termtree, vine, or bush, as necessary, to indicatethe parent plant.

As to the methods of stalking and captur-ing the creature and preparing it for the table,touch not, handle not, until you have first pro-cured a branch bearing the terminal leaves ofthe white sage, if any is to be found, anddusting the tunas thoroughly with this whilestill in place upon the mother plant.

The tufts of tiny needles, a sixteenth to aneighth of an inch in length, which are themost troublesome feature of the defense, maybe completely removed in this way, as theyadhere to the slightly gummy velvet of thesage leaf. Other varieties of the sage may besimilarly used but the white sage is best. Thefruit may then be twisted from its mountingwith the hand, which is much less dangerousthan the common procedure of attempting tospear it off with a knife while it is still fullyarmed.

Just one more hint, if perchance any ofthese demoniac spikelets should get into thehand, the best way to remove the irritation isto rub the hand in the hair. Yes—that's right!These spines are so tiny that they cannot beplainly seen and any other mechanical methodof removal is likely to break them off orshove them farther into the skin. This methodhas been used for generations by the peoplewho gather tunas for the commercial market.

WILLIAM R. HARRIMAN.

T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

\

By BERT FAIRBANK509 W. Palm LanePhoenix, Arizona

Awarded first prize in Sep-tember contest for amateurphotographers. Taken with aSenior Six 20 with f4.5 lens.Time 1/25 second, stop fll,Agfa No. 3 filter, Panatomicfilm.

^m

Other meritorious photosin the September contestwere submitted by the fol-lowing amateurs:

Miss Louise Mosely, Red-lands, California "Joshua Sil-houettes."

Alfred Schmitz, Hollywood,California, "Smoke Tree."

Juanita Schubert, Azusa,California, "Bryce Canyon."

By J. G. SUTHARD832 Ohio Avenue

Long Beach, California

Second prize winning pic-ture in September contest.Subject is western MourningDove nest in Opuntia. Takenwith Rolleicord camera, ZeissMotor f4.5 lens, K4 filter, 1/50second fl6.

Rumors were current that rich veins of gold wereto be found somewhere on the Navajo reservation.Despite the warnings of government agents, pros-pectors secretly invaded the forbidden territory inquest of the treasure. Many went in—few returned.This was a half century ago. Henry Chee Dodge,venerable leader of the Navajos, was serving asan interpreter in the Indian agent's office at thetime—and it was he who finally solved the mys-tery of both the gold and the fate of the miners.Here is the story, dug from the records at old FortDefiance by Mrs. White Mountain Smith.

avcuoBy MRS. WHITE MOUNTAIN SMITH

< t J/ INERS, many of them, are going into our land toyyl hunt the forbidden gold. They must not go. Our

people will kill them and their soldiers will at-tack our women and children. You send for Agent!"

Nich-lee, a Navajo school boy, brought this appeal toTrader Mitchell at a remote trading post on the New Mexicoreservation late in the afternoon of June 24, 1890.

A few hours later, under cover of darkness, Nich-lee spedaway toward Fort Defiance bearing the following letter fromM'itchell to the Indian agent at the headquarters there:

San Juan County, N. M.June 24, 1890

"There are a hundred prospectors camped below hereon the Arizona side. One of them told me they are wait-ing for reenforccments from Gallup and Durango whenthey will proceed to the Carrizo mountains to prospectfor gold. The Indians are excited over this and are pre-pared for them . . . These miners will yet plunge theNavajos and whites into another war if something is notdone and at once. The Indians have made some prettystrong threats. I have been informed by friendly Indianwho will deliver this to you, that these miners are pre-pared as they think to stand off the Navajos when theyreach the Carrizo mountains. I think differently and willdo what I can to keep you informed."

Trader Mitchell was killed later by the Navajos and one ofthe pinnacles in Monument valley now bears his name.

But his message to Fort Defiance brought action. A troopof soldiers was dispatched immediately to the Carrizo moun-tains where 15 miners were found desperately trying to de-fend their lives against an attacking force of Navajos. Theywere escorted to the edge of the reservation and told to stayout of there in the future.

This merely was one episode in a series of clashes that hadbeen going on for years between white gold-seekers and Nav-ajos.

The miners came, sometimes alone, more often in parties oftwo or three or a half dozen. They would depart from therailroad towns along the Santa Fe for an unannounced desti-nation in the heart of the Navajo country—and that wouldbe the last ever heard of them. Officers seeking to solve themystery of their disappearance found only a cold trail.

Months later a horse, or a gun or perhaps the prospector's

"While Miner—stay away!"

pick or saddle made an appearance hundreds of miles fromwhere the miner was last seen.

"I trade corn and mutton for it!," the ready explanationwas always forthcoming. "I gamble with Navajo at sing andwin the gun and horse!" "What Navajo? Where is he?" Onlya contemptuous shrug answered.

Into historic old Fort Defiance, army post which hasweathered every storm for near a century, drifted the whisperthat gold lay to the north in Navajo mountain and in the highCarrizos. Gold in the Navajo country! Gold that the Navajosknew all about but refused to discuss with white men whohad robbed them of everything else worth while. Gold theythemselves did not value but kept concealed from bahannas,searching for it so madly.

The Carrizo mountains lie to the north of Canyon de Chellyand rise to a bleak height of 10,000 feet. White men, old-timers in that country, could not believe that gold was to befound in that formation. Nor was it likely that it had lainthere undiscovered all the years white soldiers had rangedthat territory searching out Navajos to be taken by Kit Carson.Prominent clansmen from Navajo mountain and the Carrizoregion were brought into the fort and questioned. Again ablank wall was encountered. The Navajos either looked calmlythrough their questioners, or showed uneasiness and fear.

A famous ethnologist declared learnedly that the reluctanceof the Navajos to speak of the gold had to do with their

T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

racial superstitions, dealing with theslundering of Mother Earth. The officialsnad never heard of that superstition, butneither had they heard of Navajo gold.It is equally certain that the Navajos<new of no such superstitious belief, but:hey readily grasped at the story so con-veniently put into words for them. Itwould, they thought, explain any acci-dents that happened to prospectors whosearched and dug for the forbidden treas-ure.

In 1884 a middle aged business manof Baltimore, Samuel Walcott, feeling:hat the time had come when he couldindulge his desire for adventure, con-certed a big part of his assets into moneyind prepared to go west. Paying all ex-senses of the journey, he chose as a com-Danion young Jim McNally.

They made a leisurely trip across therontinent and stopped at Flagstaff to lookiround the Indian country. When they;vere seen there no longer it was supposedhat they had resumed their wanderings.

Relatives Become Worried

Four months later authorities at Flag-staff received anxious letters from rela-ives in the east. The letters said thatleither man was familiar with desert ormountain and that deep anxiety was feltor them since they had gone on a goldprospecting trip. They had written their:amilies they were going deep into theNavajo reservation on the positive trackof a rich deposit. Their guide, a Navajo.was to meet them at dawn, and they were. eaving the town secretly as the Navajo

said they would be followed and robbedof the mines should their errand beknown. They were fully outfitted for atwo months' stay and would not writeagain until they had discovered the goldand protected their rights to it.

To Fort Defiance came the officers oncemore. But no information could be gottenthere. Then Navajos friendly to thewhites were sent out to mingle with theirred brothers at healing dances and in thegambling games which followed thesings, to see what clues they could gain.

Through Indian channels word trickledback into the fort, "Two Americans, oneyoung, one old, killed and robbed." Noone could say definitely who killed them,but the story was told of friendly In-dians visiting the camp of the whitemen. The latter became quarrelsome andthe old man was killed. The young manknew too much, and he was killed.

Chee Dodge Reveals StoryHenry Chee Dodge, from his hospital

bed at Fort Defiance a few weeks agogave me this story of what happened.

"Back around 1880 and during thefollowing years white men who venturedinto Monument valley and the Carrizomountains were murdered by the Nava-jos. Mostly the Indians killed in self-de-fense, they said, or because some of theirfamilies had been slain by white men andthey were avenging their wrongs. Butalways the white men so killed wererobbed and their horses stolen. In lessthan ten years 20 or more prospectors

were killed and robbed and their peoplewere getting very angry with the Indianagent because he did nothing about it.

"At that time I was the interpreter atFort Defiance and many times I knewthat another miner had been killed longbefore the white agent heard of it. Mypeople whispered it among themselvesand sooner or later the news came to me.But the miners had no business up inthe Indian country hunting gold that didnot belong to them, and I had lost nothing up there so I wasn't going to tellthe agent about it and maybe get sent upthere to look for trouble!

"But after Mr. Walcott and Mr. Mc-Nally were killed there was such a bigfuss stirred up something had to be done.An old outlaw by the name of Osh-ka-ni-ne, which name means somethingabout war, was known to have been theleader of the killers. He went over andhid among the Pahutes but others of hisparty, Ten-nai-tso-si (Slim Man), Tug-i-yezzy (Little Whiskers) and Osh-ka-ni-ne-begay were rounded up. They told thestory of the murder, all except the in-formation as to how the miners came tobe in there looking for gold. That storywas learned later.

Son Tells How Death Came"The son of the murderer told me

this: 'My father and I rode close to Nav-ajo mountain and saw a smoke. Goinghigh on the mountain we could see thecamp of two Americans. My father leftme to watch and he went down into thecamp. They gave him tobacco and coffeeand he sat and smoked. Then he cameback and said they wanted to buy cornand mutton and we would take it to themin the morning. We found two friendsand an old man who told us that thesemen had come to dig for gold and theymust not find the yellow metal in ourcountry. The old man said that only oncehad a party of white men reached thePlace of the Ola (gold) and that theywere leaving with big sacks of it whenthe Navajo Gods caused them to die.And no other white man must find thegold. But the next morning my fatherand I took the mutton and corn over tothe camp. We hid it in the bushes andwent in and drank coffee and smoked thetobacco they gave us. The young man,McNally, went to get the five fine horsesstaked out from the camp, and my fathersaid, 'We are ready to trade.'

Wait, wait until my friend comesback,' the old man answered.

We waited and while we waited welooked around the camp. There was an

Typical Navajo family group inthe Carrizo mountain region. Theyhave no quarrel with the white man—/'/ he will mind his own business.

N O V E M B E R 19 3 8

ax tied in a sack. And a Winchester gunleaning against a rock. I picked up thegun to look at it and Walcott was angry.My father started to take the ax from thesack so he could see it and Walcott saidangry words to him and tried to hit him.My father had to hit him in the back ofthe head so he fell down dead. ThenMcNally came with the horses and sawthe old man dead. Our friends werearound the camp and they came runningto help us because the young man tiedthree horses together and from behindthem he tried to shoot us. It was necessarythat he be killed because he shot our oldmedicine man in the head and made theblood come. But we took the old man tohis hogan and tied up his wound andcame back to watch the young American.All day we watched him and in the nighthe slipped away and we had to followhim for hours before we found him dead.We buried him, and never will we show awhite man where he is under the rocksand sand. He would have died anywayand we took the things the miners had.Our medicine man said to kill the youngman because white men would kill us ifwe let him go.'

Bad Trip for Navajos

Chee Dodge paused to make sure I wasfollowing his narrative. "Well, the agentsaid to go and get the bodies of the whitemen and to bring in the killers. Wewent, soldiers and Navajo guides and I.I would have stayed at the fort willinglybecause I had not lost any white men orany mean Navajos, and the Pahutes saidthey would kill us if we came for thedead men or the living ones. And thatwas in the Pahute Strip in those days.Still we went. And we found the body ofMr. Walcott and brought it back to thefort on a pet mule. The mule wished tostay close to the Navajos who were incharge of the dead man. The Navajoswished to stay away from the dead manand when the mule came close to themthey threw stones at him. But 11 dayslater we came to the fort and from therethe American, Walcott, was sent back tohis people in the east. The body of youngMcNally never was found. Only the Nav-ajos who buried it know where it lies."

But while the body of Walcott was re-covered, the mystery of the Navajo goldremained unsolved.

Matters came to a climax in 1893 whenthere came to the agent at Fort Defiancea letter from St. Louis, Missouri, askingfor information about a Mr. Field of thatcity who was missing on the Navajo re-servation. He had been seen last in Flag-

staff where he purchased some pack ani-mals.

"Going prospecting?" an acquaintanceinquired.

"Just that!" said Field and his tonepermitted no further questioning. Had hedisclosed all he knew he could have toldof a Navajo lurking in out-of-way cornersuntil he attracted the attention of theeasterner. Then specimens of rich gold-bearing quartz were shown and a cautiousagreement was made to meet at dawn,Field to have full prospecting outfit, food,tools and equipment for a long stay in themountains. "Plenty gold, but no otherwhite man must know. They follow, may-be kill and rob. You come with me andI show you gold, and when you have whatyou want you give me money and horses."

Field went secretly before daylight tomeet his guide, and with him rodeDeath. Into the old fort strange storiesdrifted and Chee Dodge, a Navajo him-self and official interpreter heard them.Most of them he pondered and kept tohimself.

Through circuitous channels, however,information was obtained which led tothe finding of the body of Field partlycovered with rocks in a dry wash manymiles to the north.

It was quite definitely known that Osh-ka-ni-ne was the murderer, but he hadfled to the Ute reservation. In the recordsat Fort Defiance is this brief note ad-dressed to A. P. Camp, St. Louis, Mo.,and signed by E. H. Plummer, actingagent at Fort Defiance at the time:

"Dear Sir: I cannot get away nowto arrest the murderer of Mr. Field,but he will be turned over when heis arrested."

As far as the records show no one evercould get away long enough to arrest thismurderer and the game of "you-come-get-gold, I-get-you" went merrily along withdeath for the losers.

"I Called His Bluff"

"Chee, is there gold on the Navajoreservation?" I asked. Henry Chee Dodgewas silent a moment, and then helaughed. And here is the story he toldme:

"I will tell you. After many white mencame for gold and were killed the agentsaid I must learn about it. So I went outand stayed with my friends far in themountains. When a healing sing washeld I was there and I saw lots of clothesand guns belonging to white men ex-change hands in a gambling game orwhen the horses raced. Always the storyof where the belongings came from wentback to Osh-ka-ni-ne. When a miner dis-appeared his horses and goods found theirway to the hogan of Osh-ka-ni-ne. And

by and by traders came to the fort tocomplain that Osh-ka-ni-ne had de-frauded them. He had agreed to bringthem pack-mule loads of rich gold ore ifthey would give him loads of food andsupplies with which to go out and getthe gold. They gave the goods but gotno gold.

"When he could fool no more tradershe began to hang around the railroadtowns or send some of his gang to showrich ola (gold) ore to foolish easternmen. The newcomers, eager to have thegold for themselves, would equip them-selves for a long stay away from civiliz-ation and slip out into the reservationunder cover of darkness, following aguide who led them into a trap. Three orfour weeks later Osh-ka-ni-ne or his clans-men could be found innocently hangingaround town again.

"Even in those days I was not exactlypoor, and I got word to Osh-ka-ni-ne Iwished to have a share in the gold heowned. But I must know that gold wasreally there before I parted with anymoney or supplies. He sent word to bringa pack train and meet him in the Carrizosand he would lead me to the mine. Icalled his bluff, but instead of a packtrain I took ten soldiers and went a weekbefore he expected me. The soldiers hidthemselves and I went into the camp. Hewas not pleased to see me and kept stall-ing about where the gold was.

Rogue Admits His Guilt

"At last I said to him that he did notspeak with a straight tongue. His story ofgold in the mountains was a lie.

'You know of no gold in the Carrizosor in Monument valley or Navajo moun-tain. This gold you show me is from awhite man's mine up north. Sometimeyou have murdered a miner and stolenthis gold. Soldiers are here,' and as Ispoke the soldiers rode into the camp—to take you and your followers into thefort where you will be hung for murder-ing white miners. It is time to tell thetruth.

" WHERE DID YOU GET THATGOLD?'

"He answered 'It came from Coloradoas you said. But we will never hang forkilling the white men that came into ourcountry to steal gold which is nottheirs!'

He was correct. Not one of his mur-dering thieves paid for their deeds. Hisson lives today and boasts of watchingthe two miners, Walcott and McNally,meet death.

But white men still go into the forbid-den land and sell their lives to the Nava-jos because to them the lure of goldis sometimes greater than love of life.

T h e D E S E R T M A C 4 A 7 T W F

PRIDE Photo by WM. M. PENN1NGT0N

reel on

the Uelett

By JOHN STEWART MacCLARY

Navajo! No student of the Southwestern Indians would hesitate in identify-ing this man as one of the tribesmen who call themselves Dinneh — "ThePeople." When applied to an individual the word means "Man."

Courageous warriors, bold raiders, brave hunters—the history of the raceas known today is packed with accounts of valiant conduct. Navajos whoknow the origin of the name by which white men call them are tolerantlyamused by its original significance. The word "navajo," according to the Mu-seum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, is the corrupted form of a Spanishword meaning "planted fields." But tribal lore contains no evidence that "ThePeople" ever tilled the soil.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8

Here is the story of a group of Southern Cali-fornia desert hikers who found adventure close byone of the main traveled roads. They undertook tomake a downstream traverse of Deep canyonwhich parallels the Palms-to-Pines highway in theSanta Rosa mountains. Down between the pre-cipitous canyon walls they found deep poolswhere it was necessary to swim, and waterfallsthat could be descended only on ropes—but therugged grandeur of the setting was ample compen-sation for the difficulties of the trip.

opeana. Swim Out

By RANDALL HENDERSON

rr IC OWNBY says there are several falls with anoverhanging drop of from 50 to 100 feet with deeppools below and it is necessary to swim out when

you reach the bottom. The canyon walls are perilously steep,with poor footing."

This was the message that came back to me when I sentword to friends in the Santa Rosa mountains of Southern Cali-fornia I wanted to undertake a trip down Deep canyon.

It was not a reassuring prospect. But for years I had beentraveling up the winding route of the Palms-to-Pines highway from the floor of Coachella valley to Pinon flats—andwondering what scenic treasure might be in the depths of thegorge which drops away so precipitously on the left side ofthe road. The desert's most striking beauty spots often arefound in such places.

I had been told there were native palm trees in Deep can-yon—and since the Washingtonia filifera is a lure that at-tracts my camera to all sorts of remote desert nooks, therewas nothing to do but explore Deep canyon, waterfalls or nowaterfalls. I could always turn back if the going became toorough.

And so the trip was arranged. Our rendezvous was theroomy cabin of F. F. Taylor, high up on the mountain slopeoverlooking the upper gorge of Deep canyon. The party in-cluded Fred Taylor, Jr., his 12-year-old son Freddy, Vic Own-by, Charles Olson, Wilson McKenney and the writer.

Ownby and the Taylors had made previous attempts to godown the canyon. They had roped down over two of thewaterfalls they encountered, and on one occasion Fred andhis son found themselves trapped in a narrow sector of thecanyon with insufficient rope to go either down or up. Theyspent a chilly night in the gorge and climbed out the nextday when more rope was lowered to them from above.

But Ownby and the Taylors had never gone beyond a pointwhere the little stream in Deep canyon disappeared over theedge of a smooth granite dike and dropped an unmeasureddistance to a green pool of water that could be seen far below.They had worked down the canyon to this point on one trip,but lacked the equipment to undertake the descent of a preci-pice of such height. This was one of the obstacles to be over-come on the July day when we met at the Taylor cabin for anearly morning start.

Our equipment included four 100-foot ropes, a couple ofdrill bits, and some short pieces of iron pipe to be drilled

Four members of the Deep canyon exploring party.Left to right—Fred Taylor, Jr., Fred Taylor 111, VicOwnby and Charles Olson. They used 400 feet of rope inmaking the trip and had to drill iron pipe into therocks for belay purposes.

into the rock for belaying purposes if necessary. None of usknew what difficulties might be encountered beyond the pointwhere the Taylors had turned back.

It was an easy hike down the slope below the Taylor cabinto the floor of the upper canyon, a drop of approximately 600feet. Our starting point was at an elevation of 3500 feet. Thesandy floor of the upper canyon provided a good trail at firstbut we had not proceeded far before the grade became steeperand there was an increasing number of huge boulders to besurmounted.

Deep canyon in July is a chasm of a thousand blue-greenpools. Only a small stream of water was flowing on the sur-face, and in some places this disappeared entirely, but thesands evidently earned a generous supply of moisture for wefound it necessary to wade or swim or detour one pool after

3 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

another. However, it was no hardship to dive into a pool ofcool crystal water, for the thermometer in Coachella valley afew miles away was above the 100-degree mark.

Deep canyon is clean. Desert dwellers will know what Imean. The arroyos which empty into the desert valleys areclean or brushy according to the frequency with which greatfloods of storm water come down from the slopes above.Floods of cloudburst proportions carry away the smaller vege-tation and even uproot native palms and other large trees.Deep canyon evidently has many such floods.

The predominating tree in this canyon is the cottonwood.There are about 150 of them along the 10-mile route of ourtraverse. I was disappointed in the number of palms—only41 of them including both veterans and young trees. I hadexpected more, but evidently the storm floods come too oftento permit them to multiply. Those we saw were growing upon the sidewalls, some of them 500 or 600 feet above thefloor of the canyon. It is mystifying to see native Washing-tonias clinging to the rocky sidewalls of a canyon with novisible supply of water. But water is there—a hidden supplythat never reaches the surface. Otherwise there would be nopalm trees.

Our first climbing problem was a waterfall with a sheerdrop of 75 feet. But there was an easy detour so we did notuncoil the ropes. Further downstream we came to a 12-footdrop where it was necessary to dive in and swim a 40-footpool. We arranged an overhead tramway with the ropes forthe transportation of knapsacks and equipment.

No serious difficulties developed until we reached the junc-tion where Hidden Palms canyon comes in as a tributary fromthe west. Palms-to-Pines travelers who have never stoppedalong the highway for at least a glimpse of the Hidden Palmsoasis have missed one of the desert's most enchanting surprises.

Like Bandits Trapped in a HideoutTo see these palms from the highway it is necessary to park

the car at the Adair cabin located by the side of the roadat the top of the winding grade which comes up from Coa-chella valley. A sign marks the location of the palms. Thevisitor takes a short walk along the trail which leads from thecabin to the top of the ridge above the palm group. They maybe seen far below, huddled together like a band of outlawstrapped in their hideout. A path leads down to the palms andthe little spring which flows in the midst of them—but this isnot a trip for high-heeled shoes or overfed tourists.

Two healthy cottonwood trees on the floor of Deep canyonmark the junction where the Hidden Palms tributary comesin from the west.

We did not stop long at this point for the canyon wallswere closing in and we were eager to know what those tower-ing cliffs held in store for us.

The answer was not long delayed. Just around the nextbend we came suddenly to an abrupt drop of at least 60 feet.Below was an inviting pool of deep green water. There wasno detour here.

The Taylors had roped down this waterfall on a previoustrip and the iron pipe they had drilled into the rock at thetop for belay purposes was still there. It was a case of ropedown and swim 30 feet across a deep pool to reach firm foot-ing. Again we arranged an overhead tram to shuttle the knap-sacks and extra clothing to the dry sandbar beyond the water.

We were in the most precipitous sector of the gorge nowand our progress was sharply downgrade as we scrambledover boulders and swam and waded through crystal poolsthat followed one another in close succession.

Less than a quarter of a mile from our last rope-down wecame to major fall No. 3—a 50-foot vertical drop over aface of rock that was decorated with great hanging gardens offerns.

We found a rock at the top around which to belay the rope

^-COACHELLA

TO PALM SPRINGS

VALLEY

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8

It was noon and by unanimous consent we dug into theknapsacks for lunch—and while we ate we discussed thepossibilities of the descent. We had no way of knowingwhether one of our 100-foot ropes would reach the bottom.To make sure the first man down would not find himself atthe end of the rope dangling in midair many feet above thepool, we tied two ropes together. While the rest of us werearranging the ropes Vic Ownby was busy with his drill bitssinking a hole in the granite ledge in which to drive downan iron pipe for belay purposes.

Fred Taylor went down first, using a climber's sling whichenabled him to lower himself at will without undue strainon his arms. This sling is formed by facing the belay andrunning the rope between the legs, then around the left hip

Continued on page 34

At the bottom of most oj the waterfalls it was nec-essary to swim a deep pool of water before reaching solidfooting. This picture was taken from the top of the fallwith the camera pointed almost vertically into the poolbeloiv.

One of the hikers on the 100-foot drop at Fall No.4- A cooling spray of water shoivered the ropers as theycame down these precipitous rock faces. The rope wasdoubled around its belay and pulled through when thelast man had reached bottom.

and I think we all felt a trace of disappointment when CharlesOlson went down first and reported that the pool at the basewas only waist deep. It was nearly noon, we were nearing thefloor of the desert, and those refreshing plunges into deepwater were welcome variations in the program.

The big adventure of the day was still ahead—but not faraway. We had gone but a short distance when we arrived atthe top of a waterfall no member of this party had ever de-scended. This was the point where the previous Taylor expe-dition ended.

From the smooth granite slabs where we stood it was im-possible to see the face of the fall below, but far beneath usthe outer edge of a pool was visible. Vertical distances alwaysappear greater when looking down than when looking up—but it was quite evident we were facing a longer rope-downthan we had encountered before.

#*?"M

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

We found the'Three Turkey'Cliff Dwellings

By RICHARD F. VAN VALKENBURGH

Crumbling walls and foundations of literally thousands of prehistoric In-dian dwellings are to be found scattered over the desert area in southwesternUnited States. Most of them are well known to archaeologists who have ex-plored them and preserved artifacts recovered from the ruins. Recently a Nav-ajo medicine man led Richard Van Valkenburgh, ethnologist in the U. S. In-dian service, to a group of well-preserved cliff dwellings not previously re-ported. Here is the first published story of the rediscovery of these ancienthouses in an unnamed canyon in northeastern Arizona.

/ / IGH up in a wind and water worn/ / cove in the precipitous wall of an

unnamed and unmapped canyon innortheastern Arizona is a well preservedgroup of prehistoric cliff dwellings,which, as far as scientific records show,have never been entered by white man orliving Indian.

My first hint of the existence of thiswell-concealed habitation of ancient In-dian tribesmen came in 1934 when I wasdoing field work in Canyon de Chelly.With a party of Navajo companions, Iwas camped at the base of a sandstonewall across from where the well-knownWhite House cliff dwelling is located.

One day while we were lounging onthe floor of the canyon, catching thewarming rays of the winter sun, one ofthe Navajos mentioned a group of houseswhich he believed that no white man hadever seen. He said they could be identi-fied by three large turkeys painted inbrown and white pigment on one of theexposed walls.

When I asked him about the location,he gave an indefinite gesture with hisarm which might have meant east, south,west or north—and would talk no more.I knew this man too well to press thematter any further, but I made a mentalnote that this was a story to be followed.I was sure he was telling the truth.

During the next three years I made in-quiry among my Navajo friends, butgained not a single clue as to the locationof the mysterious house with the threeturkeys.

Then, one day in June 1937, Avoo'-anlh nezi, an intelligent old Navajo medi-

cine man whose hogan is far back in thelarge ponderosa pine area of the Navajoreservation, asked me to furnish trans-portation for a party of Indians whowished to get red and white pigmentsfor the sand pictures to be used at a MaleShooting chant—a Navajo "sing" heldfor healing purposes.

With Avoo'anlh nezi as guide, we fol-lowed the little-traveled road that led inthe general direction of Canyon de Chelly.We soon left the sun streaked shadowsof the dense pine forest. Below us laymiles of pifion and juniper clad mesaland. In the foreground only the gash ofthe high red walls of Canyon de Chellybroke the green sweep of the desert. Farin the background, rising in hazy blue,stood the Blue mountains near Blanding,Utah, and the Sleeping Ute close to Cor-tez, Colorado. No wonder these rangesare sacred to the Navajo.

We dropped off the mountain down asteep and rutty wagon trail. The trail be-came dim and soon we were bumpingacross rolling tableland covered withchemise and clumps of pifion. As wetraveled farther and deeper into the wildcountry, the terrain became more broken.Deep gullies forced us to leave our car.

A dim foot-trail wound through thepinon pine ahead of us. My Indian com-panions evidently had been over the trailbefore. Within a half mile we cameabruptly to the rim of a deep canyon,gashed in the floor of the tableland overwhich we had been traveling.

Our path zig-zagged down a precipi-tous sandstone cliff and led to a desertedhogan in a little amphitheater formed by

the canyon walls. Surrounding the oldNavajo dwelling was a tiny meadow ofgreen and violet beeweed.

Then we climbed out of the canyon onthe opposite side and soon came to theplace where the medicine men were toobtain their pigments.

The Indians got down on their handsand knees and scraped the colored sandsinto red and white piles. Then they tookflour sacks from their belts and scoopedup the pigment and placed it in theirbags. Soon these bright-hued sands wouldbe used for the picturization of Navajofolklore. Avoo'anlh nezi, with the master-ly skill of a veteran medicine priest,would be drawing intricate designs withit on the floor of the hogan of a sickNavajo.

With sacks well filled we took the backtrail. The day was warm and the Indiansperspired under the heavy loads theywere carrying. When we reached the oldhogan in the little meadow at the bottomof the canyon we stopped in the shade torest and smoke.

After a while Avoo'anlh nezi took hiscornhusk cigarette from his lips and saidto me: "Hosteen, hidden around the bendthat lies under the red cliff one will findthe opening to a deep and narrow canyonwhich leads to an old cliff house. Fewwhite men, if any, have seen this place.The sun is still high—shall I lead youthere?"

I told him I would like to see the cliffhouse, and we started immediately. Wewere soon in a deep and narrow canyonhemmed in by sheer 500-foot walls.

Clumps of mountain oak bordered the

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 11

bed of the dry meandering wash. Oldhogans were perched high on inaccessibleand defensible points. Avoo'anlh neziidentified these as the homes of his rela-tives, who as fugitives, had hidden in thecanyon to escape the scourge of Kit Car-son's Utes and Mexicans in the Navajowar of '64.

The canyon grew deeper and the shad-ows broader. Springs began to seep outof the banks and small pools of waterbcrdered by lush vegetation replaced thearidity of the upper canyon. Highamong the cliffs swallows appearedagainst the sky. The shrill cry of hawksand the grinding of our shoes in the sandwere the only sounds to break the silence.

Hairpin turns in the canyon every fewhundred feet restricted our view both for-ward and backward.

The blue sky lay above us in a narrowslit. The trip was becoming dull by themonotony of this limited view and in-cessant meandering. Ascending a steepwash bank, which stretched our musclesand took our wind, we reached the sum-mit of a low oak-covered knoll.

My guide was gazing toward the topof the opposite wall. I followed his up-ward glance—and there in a vast covein the horseshoe bend of the canyon wallwas the most perfectly preserved groupol: cliff dwellings it has ever been myprivilege to see.

In the shade of an oak I sat down tostudy the picture before me. There were20 houses as nearly as I could determine,built of sandstone slabs. The circularwalls of a plastered kiva stood above thecluster of buildings. And there on anupper wall were three turkeys painted inbrown and white pigment.

This was the legendary Tatazih bekin—the House of the Three Turkeys!

I judge the turkey figures to be at leastsix feet in height. They were groupedclose together and the pigment whichwas put there perhaps 800 years ago isin a fine state of preservation.

Consider the industry of the hundredor more tribesmen whe built these cliffdwellings long before the white mancame to America. Every stone had to becarried up the 50-foot vertical hand-and-toe trail from the floor of the canyon tothe cove. Probably notched logs withyucca fiber guide-ropes were installed tomake the task easier—but even with thesecrude facilities the building of thosehomes required months and perhaps years

Avoo'anlh nezi, Navajo medicineman, with Richard Van Valkenbergh,writer of the accompanying story ojthe rediscovery of the legendaryThree Turkey House. Photo byMilton Jack Snow.

of gruelling labor under extremely haz-ardous conditions.

Why did they select such an inaccessi-ble spot for their homes? Presumably fordefensive purposes. If this is true, theymust have had a devout respect for theprowess of their enemies because in ad-dition to the protection afforded by a wallwhich is unscalable to an ordinary climb-er, they erected a stone parapet on thesloping edge of the cave floor just belowthe dwellings.

I asked Avoo'anlh nezi for his expla-nation of the extreme defensive measuresadopted by these prehistoric tribesmen.He answered:

"These old people whom the wind,rain and lightning destroyed and whomwe call the Old Strangers lived in thiscountry before the Navajos. Only ourGods and Holy People lived here then.Also the Enemy Monsters. These Mon-sters would come and sit at the base ofthe cliff and try to charm the old peopleto come down or catch them when theywere working in their fields. That is whythey built high in the cliff."

It was difficult to realize that this per-fectly preserved cliff settlement was adead place. Wood smoke should havebeen coming from the roof vents. Up onthe flat mud covered roofs, naked chil-dren should be playing. Burden-ladenwomen should be climbing the sheer

n F S F R T M i T. 5 7 I M F

hand-and-toe trail while little brown menpulled their stone hoes through the grow-ing corn in the fields in the canyon below.

The old medicine man's casual offerhad unexpectedly brought me the long-wished-for experience of viewing a pre-historic cliff dwelling in pristine condi-tion.

Presently we moved nearer to inspectthe dwellings at close range. Before longwe were at the base of the red sandstonecliff in which eons of wind and waterhad carved out the cave. Sheer wall stoodabove us. The only breaks were two nar-row shelves. Scaling the treacherous sand-stone slope which led to the lower partof the trail, we found the worn concavitiesof the old hand-and-toe trail.

Standing against the wall between thefirst and second benches was an oak pole20 feet long. It had been hewn witha sharp metal object and not by the bluntstone axes of the old people. I suggestedthat a Navajo at some time had attemptedto make the ascent but Avoo'anlh nezistated definitely that none of his peoplehad ever entered the houses.

I spent the rest of the afternoon tryingto scale the cliff while the Navajos layunder a tree and laughed at my clumsyefforts. The deepening shadows of sunset

Apparently as intact as when theirprehistoric oivners deserted themperhaps 800 years ago, the ThreeTurkey House dwellings are in aninaccessible cove 50 jeet above thefloor oj the canyon. The three tur-keys in brown and tuhite pigmentmay be seen on an upper wall in thebackground. Photo by Milton Jack

Snow.

drove us from the canyon that day withTatazih bekin still unconquered.

While Three Turkey House was oftenin my mind, it was over a year before Icould again visit the site. Harry Chandlee,a visitor from the west coast, and my in-terpreter, Scotty Begay, helped me carry100 feet of rope over the tedioustrail into the canyon and to the foot ofTatazih bekin. We tried to swing the ropefrom a high overhanging ledge above thecave in which the houses lay but our hardwork proved fruitless. The upper lip ex-tended too far out and a man making thedescent down the rope would find himselfdangling far over the canyon instead ofthe houses.

We discovered that the old oak polewhich we found on the ledge on our firsttrip was rotten. New green ones were cutbut were neither long enough nor strong

enough to insure safe ascent above thedangerous jumble of talus that lay below.Again we were stalemated and as westruggled out of the canyon that evening,no Penitentes could have felt more pain-fully the increasing weight of that snakyburden of rope. Tatazih bekin lay aboveus, serene and unexplored.

Two weeks later Milton Jack Snow,companion of many an archaeological ex-pedition in the Southwest over the pastten years, returned with me to obtain pic-tures, some of which are shown as illus-trations in this story.

Fearing the site might be accidentallyfound by some wandering outsider andits remarkably preserved architectural fea-tures despoiled, the location of the dis-covery has been made known to the Mu-seum of Northern Arizona at Flagstaff.

Recently, I learned that I was not thefirst white man to view Tatazih bekin.Sam Day II and his brother Charley wereguided to this place by Hatalli nezh, aNavajo medicine man, 40 years ago. Theytook pictures of the well preserved struc-tures.

Others may have visited the place. It isthe opinion of the Navajos in the vicinity,however, that Three Turkey House hasnever been entered in modern times evenby their own tribesmen. The remote cliff

Continued on page 57

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 13

Deserted cabin in Hidden Forest where Heald andHayden camped while exploring the area.

s-i N the heart of the desert fifty miles northeast of Las\ l ^ e g a s ' s a secluded area known as the Hidden Forest

•—•* of Nevada. It is not a forest of cactus nor desert shrubsas one might suppose, but a fine stand of timber covering themiddle section of the Sheep mountains. Within the depths ofthe forest and standing high upon a mountain side is a mag-nificent natural amphitheater of vari-colored sandstone which,according to legend, may once have been an Indian templeof sun worship.

Hidden Forest appears on many maps but when I inquiredabout roads and other details I could get no information. Andso, with Jim Hayden as companion, I started out to see theplace for myself.

Approximately 40 miles from Las Vegas on a seldom usedroad between Corn creek ranch and Alamo a dim trail leadsoff to the southeast toward the cactus covered slopes of Sheeprange. Written in pencil on a small stake at the junction pointis the legend "Hidden Forest."

The road wound through a sparse growth of cactus up thegently sloping alluvial plain for three miles, then a suddenturn brought our car to a stop on the edge of a boulderstrewn wash in which a thriving forest of Joshua trees wasgrowing. Could this be the Hidden Forest? Was it possiblethat someone with a grim sense of humor had led us on amerry chase of 350 miles from Southern California for noth-ing more than a view of a forest of Joshua trees of which wehad so many back home?

Forest Has Natural GatewayThe road, if such it can be called, entered the wash. Our

car, threatening to balk at every turn, picked its way over theboulders and through the Joshuas, and finally reached an areaof sand and sagebrush surrounded by vertical walls of rock.Ahead was a narrow gap—a natural gateway. As to what laybeyond, we could only guess. At any rate it was an invitingprospect. Unconsciously I pressed down on the gas, sendingthe car bouncing over the rocks. After covering a few hundredyards we reached the bottom of a narrow canyon with highwalls of limestone on both sides. The vertical walls of thecanyon soon gave way to steep mountain slopes covered withjuniper and pinons. Great outcrops of limestone jutted hereand there in odd formations.

Soon scattered pines began to appear, and as the car slowlywound its way up the canyon, the number of trees increased

The road to Hidden Forest is rough and rockyand seldom used, but for the desert explorer whohas the equipment for such a trip the remote tim-bered oasis described in this story holds generousreward.

Hidden Forestof Nevada

By CHAS. L. HEALD

until we were surrounded by a dense forest of yellow pine.We were in the mysterious Hidden Forest of Nevada. Thecanyon widened and in a little clearing we came to a logcabin. It was a neat little place, but showed no evidence ofhaving been occupied for some time. Inside there was a smallstove and table with two short sections of a log to serve aschairs. Just the place for us to live during our stay in theforest.

We unloaded our blankets and provisions from the car andcarried them into our newly acquired home. It wasn't longuntil a fire was roaring in the stove and dinner was on theway. Later we lolled around on our soft pine needle beds andmarveled that such a wonderful place should be visited by sofew people.

A wide variety of pines and other conifers grow in the Hid-den Forest. Pinons and junipers are found in the lower alti-tudes, while in the upper portions, cedar, yellow pine, whitepine, fir, and the rare foxtail pine are seen. The animal life ofthis locality, probably due to lack of water, is limited mainly towild horses and bighorn sheep, with a few birds and rodents.Included among the birds, the woodpeckers, towhees andhummingbirds are the most prominent, while the smalleranimals include chipmunks, rats and mice.

Snow Used to Operate MillIn 1895 a sawmill was built on the eastern slope of the

range, opposite the Hidden Forest, by John Thomas and W.V. Perkins of Overton, Nevada. As there were no streams,the boilers were supplied with water by melting snow, whichmeant that the mill could be operated only during the win-ter months. This did not prove satisfactory and the projectwas abandoned. A few years ago the remaining machinery andequipment was removed to a more favorable location insouthern Utah. Previous to the building of the sawmill, theMormons had produced small quantities of lumber from theforest by hand operations.

In the morning we started out on an exploration trip, luredon by the legend of the Indian Sun Temple. A mile up thecanyon the road ended at another cabin, also deserted. Atthis point, which is about eight miles from the turn-off on theAlamo road, the canyon divides. One water-course continuesthree miles to the foot of Hayford peak, while the other goesto the right about half a mile where it encounters a wall of

14 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

blue limestone underlain by white quartzite. The blue lime-stone has weathered to form huge pinnacles. Above this wallof limestone, what might be called the Upper Hidden Forestcanyon extends several miles, ending at the foot of Hayfordpeak at a point northeast of the other canyon. Hayford, knownto the old-timers as Niggerhead peak, is the highest moun-tain in the Sheep range, having an elevation of 9,730 feet.Southwest of Hidden Forest canyon, Sheep peak towers to anelevation of 9,706 feet.

On the north wall of the canyon great outcroppings of lime-stone and conglomerate occur. The tops of the peaks are main-ly of badly jointed and weathered blue limestone, although afew are of sandstone. Between Sheep peak and Hayford peakthe country is badly faulted. Some of the strata are tilted tonearly vertical position while others are practically horizontal.The vertical outcroppings are found high on the west bank of acanyon leading off to the northwest of the Hidden Forestcanyon. Higher on this same bank, the limestone takes on theshape of a huge wall, on which the corners have beenweathered round and many caves have been developed. Inone place a natural bridge has been formed. Under the northend of the bridge is a large cave with stalactites hanging fromthe ceiling and stalagmites on the floor. The bridge wasformed by the collapsing roof of a limestone cave, leaving aportion still standing to form the arch. To the south and westis an outcropping of conglomerate of sandstone, quartzite, andblue limestone. Below this to the south is another outcroppingof limestone with a number of caves, in front of which arethe remains of crude shelters evidently built by the Indianswho inhabited this region hundreds of years ago. Inside thecaves we found charred wood.

Quest for Indian Sun TempleFollowing our discovery of the evidence of prehistoric cave

dwellers, the mystery of the so-called Indian Sun Templeagain became uppermost in our minds. A short distance north-west of the Indian caves we came upon a natural amphitheatercarved out of the rocks. The formation is high above the can-yon floor and is in the shape of a large crescent with vertical7 5-foot walls. Inside of the crescent and extending down tothe floor of the canyon, great quantities of broken rocks coverthe mountain sides. This amphitheater was formed bythe breaking off of portions of the wall, leaving the crescent-shaped structure of red, yellow and white sandstone. Onemight imagine this to have been a natural temple of sun wor-ship. There is no evidence that the place was ever frequentedby the Indians, however.

Although snow can be found in the sheltered places nearlyall year, there is no running water in Hidden Forest. A smallspring is located about a hundred yards northwest of the endof the road where the canyon divides. Motorists going intothis area should carry plenty of water and should also beequipped with shovel and axe. Fire precautions are especiallyimportant here. This area is too fine to be despoiled by care-less humans.

As Jim and I stood on the jagged ridge midway betweenHayford peak and Sheep peak, we could see below us the fullextent of the Hidden Forest canyon with its many varieties oftrees. In the late afternoon the outcropping pinnacles of rockcast queerly shaped shadows across the canyon walls. The deepsilence is broken only by the calls of the birds and the whisperof wind in the pines. There is peace and mystery in the soli-tude of this remote forest-oasis in the Nevada mountains.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 15

I -

-c

«"#^

Qy OME time ago—a matter of aj hundred and fifty years or so—

there tramped wearily through thesand dunes of what is now the ColoradoDesert a gentleman bent on covering him-self with dust and glory. That he noblysucceeded in both purposes is forever tohis credit, but not to the interest of thisparticular story. The adventurer was theillustrious Captain Juan Bautista de Anzain the service of Charles of Spain, and hewas on his way to Monterey, on the coastof California.

Juan has no legitimate place in thistale; we mention him merely because hewas the first white man to appear in eventhe remote vicinity of Palm Springs.Whether or not he actually honored thedesert oasis with his presence is a mat-ter over which historians disagree. Thelog records the fact that he found the In-dians of the district not particularlychummy. This in itself is significant.Even then those simple souls were awareof their particular place in the scheme ofDestiny, and they just couldn't bebothered with a lot of colored beads andsecond-rate hardware.

In the ponderous course of events DonJuan has passed on to a well-earned re-ward and a place in history's stuffy ob-scurity, but the little palm-fringed water-hole on the desert has shown the worldit held a much livelier fate in store. DeAnza had neither the time nor the in-clination to tarry, due to the pressing na-ture of his business, but the palefaces tocome were under no such compulsion.They moved in, bag and baggage, like aflock of long-lost relatives. To their sur-prise, they found they liked the place,and a few of the farthest-sighted decidedthat in all probability others would like

P A L M S P R I N G S

aa5i5By JAMES L. CARLING

Art Sketches by Bee Nicoll

it. With this thought in mind they ap-propriated all land visible to the nakedeye, and the boom was on. Lo! (the poorIndian) found himself hustled uncere-moniously over on a small portion of hisown back yard, where he was allowed tosit and simmer, meditating on the mag-nanimity of the white brother.

Thus, say the wise ones, was born theincredible village of Palm Springs, Am-erica's Foremost—if one is to believe thefurther assertions of these sages—DesertResort.

As a resort, it must be admitted thatPalm Springs is a strictly seasonal prop-osition. During the summer there is noone there but the lizards, snakes, andscorpions, and their contemporaries, thefew year-round villagers. The thermome-ter soars joyously, now and again ringingthe bell at a 115 degrees or so. Indianponies roam the streets, houses andmansions alike lie stark and broodingunder the sun. The stores, except for gro-ceries and drugs, present the blank sur-

PalmPhotograph reproduced on op-posite page taken by Frank

Bogert of El Mirador Hotel.

faces of boarded-up windows, and all ispeace and quiet and heat.

But along about September first theannual minor miracle takes place. Thethermometer begins to have sinking spells,the scorpions look at one another in con-sternation, and with one accord start tohunt up nice cozy hibernating places forthe winter. The hardiest of the desertfanatics come creeping back, and thetown, revitalized by the infusion of newblood, pulls itself together and knocksthe sand out of its jeans. There is some-thing about the ceremony of opening ahouse after a three or four months' va-cancy on the desert that is reminiscent ofthe unsealing of a Pharaoh's tomb. Theintrepid adventurer opens his front doorwith a grinding of gritty hinges andblinks in the semi-gloom of the shutteredinterior. The accumulated heat of thesummer slaps him in the face. After hiseyes have grown accustomed enough tothe dingy room so that he can walk with-out risk of annoying any of the blackwidows which have taken up residenceduring his absence, he staggers to a win-dow and throws open the shutters, ad-mitting the blessed light of a brand newseason. From then on, it's merely a mat-ter of elbow grease.

After a period devoted to renovation,actual business begins again at the oldstands and a few new ones. Goods areordered and things prepared generally forthose wariest of birds, the Tourists. Andwhen the first of the species arrives, thescout preceding the mass flight, what aprodigious rejoicing is heard! He is theharbinger of winter, lovely, lovely Win-ter, and the season is on.

Make no mistake, eager as the localmerchant may be to "sell" the tourist, and

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 17

however fancy the price he sets, PalmSprings has a number of things whichcome free of charge, and which are hardto duplicate anywhere else in the world.The sunshine, for one thing, in all itsnever-failing glory, and the air, dry andheady as a fine wine. The desert itselfmust possess some tonic quality, for old-timers drop years off their ages when theywiggle their toes in the sand, and becomeskittish as young colts. As for the young-sters, the brief shorts outfits revealingbronzed bodies attest to the fact that thesun-god finds no lack of worshippers.Sunbathing is practically obligatory inPalm Springs. No matter who you maybe, statesman or stenographer, Mahara-jah or mechanic, star, script-girl, butcher,baker—yes, even if you make candlesticks—you bake, sizzle or parboil, accordingto your respective dermatological reac-tions.

To the traveling observer, it would ap-pear that all the world and his brotherfeel the urge, at some time or other, tocome and see what Palm Springs has thatthe other resorts haven't. However, itisn't as easy to define as all that. Whetherthe visitor is disappointed or not dependspretty much upon his own personal capaci-ty for enjoyment. And it must be pointedoul: that the desert's appeal is such that adissatisfied "guest" is a very rare duck,indeed.

No matter what your favorite sport,Palm Springs offers the opportunity toindulge in it. Whether it be bouncingover desert trails on the hurricane deckof a strong-minded horse, cleaving theblue waters of the town's numerous pools,chasing the elusive white ball over thegreensward, or conducting wholesalemassacres of defenseless clay pigeons—it'sall there. Even to the latest and most

modern of sports, flying. Planes zoom inand out of the airport all day long, andthere are amiable gentlemen who willteach you how to ride herd on a sky-bug-gy in practically no time at all.

Down the valley are the Date Gar-dens, if you insist, where you may actu-ally see that dates do grow on trees andnot in cellophane-covered boxes. Hereyou will be regaled on the slightest prov-ocation with an interesting little biologi-cal summary entitled "The Sex-Life of theDate." To those misguided souls whohave always considered the date a fairlystodgy and unimaginative fruit, this is aptto be somewhat of an eye-opener.

Native Palms in Background

The canyons around about PalmSprings are justly famous for their beau-ty. In most of them grow the magnificentWashingtonia filifera palms, which arereputed to be prehistoric and found no-where else except on the desert of theSouthwest. Don't get the idea from thisthat there are likely to be any other formsof Paleolithic or Mesozoic life bargingabout at loose ends. You won't find anydinosaurs snuffling into the lunch or miss-ing links swinging through the fronds.The nearest thing to Stone-age man whichyou may see will be the movie companieswho occasionally use the palm "forests"as a natural setting. All the canyons areoperated by the local Agua Caliente tribeof Mission Indians, who charge a nomi-nal admission fee.

The Indians themselves are interestingto those who take the trouble to seekthem out. They are definitely unspectacu-lar in everything except size, lack all ofthe show and color of the Plains Indians.However, their legends and ceremonialsform an obscure but bizarre background

to the sophisticated life of the rest of thevillage.

Probably nowhere else in the world arepeople more informal in manner or dress.Semi-nudity is calmly accepted in thissmall community. Week-ends, whenHollywood moves in more or less enmasse, all the typists and script-girls, ex-tias and stars descend to a common levelof halter and shorts. Of necessity, thelevel is in some instances more commonthan others, but altogether the effect isuniformly entertaining. Only when themore buxom of the matrons cast cautionand girdle to the winds are the resultsapt to be disastrous. These ladies must beseen to be appreciated. No poor wordscould do them justice as they cruise ma-jestically along the main promenade.

The male element is also interesting, ifonly as specimens. They may be classedinto three distinct groups: first, the Tar-zan, or He-man, type, tanned and decor-ative and a distinct asset to the localscene. Second, the genus Homo Homarus,or Lobster type, which may be had in anybody style, but only the standard sun-burn-magenta color. Third and last, theBartlett, or Pear-shaped contingent, overwhich we may draw the kindly curtain,in print, if not in the too, too solid flesh.

The above-mentioned lads and lassiesare, of course, vacationers, on the desertfor a few days or a few months. They canhardly be called tourists; the dyed-in-the-wool tourist is the "Let's drive down nextSunday" fellow, and when he comes hebrings his friends and relatives. He isubiquitous. He clutters the streets, hepops from behind bushes. With his bot-tles and his cans and his empty Kodakfilm boxes he is in the hair and under the

Continued on page 43

18 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

The accompanying photo of oneof the Praying Mantids was taken byR. C. Proctor at Phoenix.

tauinq

At ant 15

'PelettBy CHARLES F. HARBISON

f/ EVERAL years ago when I wasj living on a ranch near Seeley on

the Southern California desert anodd-looking insect was attracted to thelight from our sitting room window oneevening in late summer.

A little seven-year-old guest first no-ticed the visitor and exclaimed: "There'sa funny looking bug on the screen. Whatis it?"

We went out and with little difficultycaptured the insect and brought it inside.Our little friend was right, it was astrange looking creature. Since it waseasily identified as one of the Mantids,we promptly gave it the nickname ofMantie.

Adult Mantids may be winged or wing-less. In some species the males are fullywinged, the wings extending beyond thebody, while the females have very shortwings. The front pair of wings are leath-ery in texture and protect the larger hindpair, which fold fanlike under the forewing when the insect is not flying.

The insect we had brought into thehouse that summer evening was one ofthe praying Mantids, Stagmomantis sp.These Mantids are also called Sooth-sayers and Devil's Rear Horses. Thereason for these common names is evi-dent if one observes the insects closely.At rest the insect raises its front pair oflegs in a prayerful attitude. The habit oflifting the first part of the body at anangle to the rest of the body has giventhis insect its name of Devil's RearHorse. Another common name is Mule-killers. In certain sections of the south itis believed that the brownish fluid exudedfrom the mouth is fatal to live stock.

The Mantids for a long time have been

listed with the orthoptera of the insect or-der. This order, the "straight winged"insects, includes grasshoppers, crickets,cockroaches, walking-sticks and Mantids.But some modern authors place the Man-tid group in an order of its own whichthey call Mantoidea, Mantodea or "Man-tid-like" insects.

Mantids are found distributed through-out the world. In tropical mantids thewing covers sometimes resemble leaves ofplants in form and color. A species fromJava so simulates the flower of a localorchid that at first glance it is difficult totell which is flower and which insect.This coloration is both protective andaggressive. These Mantids must escapetheir enemies and they must obtain liveinsects for food. Because of their resem-blance to the flower they are hidden fromenemies and the insects on which theyfeed approach without fear, within strik-ing distance of the ever hungry Mantid.

Our Mantie thrived on our window sill.She captured all kinds of insects whichwe placed before her. She stood by thehour, her four rear legs widely spread andthe first segment of her body raised. Thefore limbs were held in their character-

istic praying position. But let a lucklessmoth approach within reach of the mo-tionless Mantid. Mantie would spring in-to action. The moth was quickly graspedby her front legs and drawn up to hermouth much as a man does with a longear of com. She then proceeded to biteoff and swallow great pieces of the body.After completely devouring the body ofher victim, she dropped the wings andlegs of her prey to the floor.

One day Mantie surprised us by layingabout 30 eggs covered with tough brownmucus. The egg case, about twice as longas wide, was firmly glued to the sill.

Mantie lived until early winter. Thenone morning we found her dead on thewindow sill. Her story was finished butthe next spring from the egg mass cameher descendants. These small insectslooked very much like their mother, ex-cept for size and lack of wings. Theygrew up by a series of molts. After eachmolt the developing wings were a littlelarger in proportion to the length of thebody. The latter part of summer the in-sects went through a final molt and cameout winged adults. The life cycle wascompleted.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 19

Above picture is a close-up oj the ancient beach pebbles as they lie on the desert today.

Beach Combing on the DesertBy JOHN W. HILTON

E of the finest speci-mens of fossil agate Ihave ever seen was picked

up on the seashore — but notalong the Pacific shoreline, orany other ocean we know abouttoday.

It came from the desert—from one ofthe ancient beaches formed countless cen-turies in the past when the face of theearth presented a different picture fromthat of today.

Those old shorelines are in manyplaces, and for the collector of gems, fos-sils and other curios they offer a richfield for search. The modern beach comb-er on the desert will find a greater vari-ety of agate, jasper and other preciousstones than can be obtained along theshoreline of any existing ocean. Withouteven the risk of wetting his feet, the visi-tor may find shells, coral and plant formsimprinted in stone millions of years old.

Fossils found among these pebbles rep-resent several geological ages, some ofthem dating back to the time when therewere no vertebrates in an ocean bed whichlater was raised and perhaps became thetop of a mountain.

Rivers and streams carried bits of rockfrom these mountains back to the shore-line of still another ocean where theywere worn into smooth round pebbles

Agate and jasper are to be found in almostunlimited quantities along the ancient beachlines at certain points on the desert, says JohnHilton. Collectors should know their rocks be-fore they start looking for this gem material,however, because during the countless agesthese beach pebbles have been exposed to thesun they have acquired a uniform coating of"desert varnish" which conceals the true color-ing of the stone.

and cast up on another shore. In oursouthwestern desert, after many such cy-cles, eventually these water-worn rocksfound their way to the bed of a tremend-ous river or gulf which drained much thesame territory as the Colorado does today.

High on the tablelands and hillsidesabove the course of the Colorado are theancient beaches of this great prehistoricwaterway. Sometimes they parallel thepresent river and at other points they aremiles away from it. They extend along aplainly marked basin from the Mexicanborder to Nevada and perhaps farthernorth. Some of the pebbles found on thisold beach can be traced to fossil beds asfar north as Montana and it is believedthat others were brought from northernCanada by the movement of the glaciersin the ice age.

The visitor will not be greatly im-pressed at first sight of one of these an-cient beaches, for the reason that theircolor and variation are concealed beneatha uniform coating of "desert varnish." Ithas never been fully explained why rocksexposed on the desert for a long period

take on this shiny brown surfacecoating. One theory is that it iscaused by the action of the ultraviolet rays of the sun on the ironcontent in the rocks, bringing athin coating of limonite or iron

oxide to the surface. Another suggestionis that the coating is the waste matter leftby the growth of certain desert fungi overa period of centuries. The fact remainsthat the pebbles along the old beachlineare quite uniformly coated with the brownsubstance, and that some of them arestones with no iron content whatever.

While to the superficial observer thepebbles appear to be all alike in sub-stance, close study will reveal the factthat under the surface there is a greatvariety of color and pattern. Brilliant redand yellow jaspers vie in beauty withcarnelians and banded agates. The dili-gent collector may even find water-wornpebbles of amethyst, topaz and quartzcrystal. Even gold bearing ore has beenfound among these beach pebbles—butthe veteran collector knows that gold willnever be found in paying quantities insuch deposits.

One stone generally overlooked onthese beaches is black onyx. This gem wasvery popular in former years as a setting

20 T h e D E S F R T M A n A 7 ? W

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PALOWALLAX I,V II '

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for diamonds. Fashions being fickle, itmay return to vogue.

Black onyx merely is a trade name for anearly jet black chalcedony. Much of thatused during the period of its popularitywas artificially colored. Pieces of agate orchalcedony with a somewhat porous sur-face were selected by German gem dealersand steeped for months in hot sugarwater. This treatment was followed bysoaking the stone in sulphuric acid. Theacid decomposed the sugar imprisoned inthe pores of the stone and left a blackresidue of carbon. The blackest of thesestones were then sold to the trade underthe name of black onyx.

Here on the desert beaches can befound enough pebbles of natural blackcoloring to supply the world with its"black onyx" if that gem should againbecome a popular favorite.

The carnelians in these beach depositsusually are small but some of them are ofvery fine color. Occasionally moss agates

are found, but the stone of outstandinginterest is the fossil agate.

Until the collector becomes familiarwith fossil agate pebbles he is likely topass them by as their beauty is concealedbeneath an uninviting exterior. Most ofthem have a white lime-like coating un-der the brown varnish surface. They ap-pear to be opaque until they are cut. Thencomes a surprise, for the stone that ap-peared to be merely a dirty piece of lime-stone often turns out to be translucent,with light tan or pink body and white orblack markings. These marks may be theoutline of a seashell, a bit of coral, or theflower-like design of the cross-section ofa crinoid stem. Some of them containfossil prints of prehistoric plants. Amicroscope will bring out hidden beautiesof fossil design in all of them.

The ancient beach lines I have beendiscussing are accessible to the public atmany points, without going far fromthe paved highways. With mile after mile

of the old seashore exposed under thedesert sun, the supply of gem rock fromthis source is practically inexhaustible.Readers should not get the impression,however, that they may walk out on thedesert at random and pick up nicely col-ored gem stones. The desert does notflaunt its jewels. They are there—but onlyfor the painstaking student and collectorwho knows what he is seeking and whois willing to devote time and work to thesearch.

The sector of the old beachline shownon the accompanying map is one of themost accessible of the many places whereancient beach pebbles may be found.Another point where the old shorelinemay be readily followed is above Topocon the Arizona side of the river. Farthersouth, Highway 80 crosses the beach onlya short distance west of Algodones Junc-tion in eastern Imperial county, Califor-nia.

An exceptionally fine deposit of peb-bles is on the Arizona mesa bordering theChemehuevi valley between Parker andNeedles.

As a result of the building of Parkerdam, the Chemehuevi valley is now beingfilled with water and will become LakeNeedles. By odd coincidence, the easternshore of the new lake will follow veryclosely the coastline of the ancient seawhich once occupied this area. Whentransportation is available on Lake Need-les it will be possible for the collector togo by boat directly to the places wheregem pebbles may be picked up.

For readers who are not expert col-lectors of gems or fossils, but who areinterested in the natural phenomena ofthe desert, the places mentioned in thistext offer worthwhile objectives for apleasant desert excursion. Desert beacheshave no splashing surf to offer as an in-ducement — nor are they crowded withungainly human shapes, or littered withhot-dog wrappers.

Fossils exposed by cutting throughone of the agate beach pebbles. Thisreproduction is natural size.

N O V E M B E R 19 3 8 21

To the ranchers on 450,000 acres of irrigatedfarmland in the Imperial valley of California theColorado river has been both an angel of life anda demon of destruction. Once the river brokethrough and threatened to submerge the entirevalley. At other times when there was notenough water for all, it was necessary to proratethe supply. Always there existed the hazard ofmaintaining a main canal which flowed through aforeign country. But now the days of uncertaintyare over. Boulder dam has been regulating theriver-flow for the last three years, and this monthwater is being turned into the new All-Americancanal. Imperial valley is celebrating the fulfill-ment of a 20-year dream. The experience of Samand Ann Truesdell—those are not their real names—is the story of hundreds of Imperial valleypioneers.

U/atat ot a

£-mpheBY TAZEWELL H. LAMB

Secretary o\ Interior Harold L. Ickes

HEN Sam Truesdell came toImperial valley in 1906 the olddevil of a river was pouring in-

to the Imperial basin through a tremend-ous hole in its banks and threatening todrown the whole country. Nobody seemedto be able to stop the flood. Calamityhowlers said the valley was ruined. "Bet-ter not stop here," they advised the youngsettler. It was his first experience withthe wild vagaries of the unruly Colorado,but he was to see more of them in thenext 30 years.

Sam decided to stick. He filed on ahomestead, a place full of sand dunes,near the Alamo river. Leveling the landwas a tough job. Sam put up a tent andmade a shade with arrow-weeds andbrush. Soon he had 80 acres planted inalfalfa and a little later he bought cowsand started a dairy.

Two years after he filed his homestead,Sam married Ann and Mrs. Sam movedinto the tenthouse and made it a home.When they set their first window withglass in it, she sewed curtains to hang atthe window. It was a grand day whenthey bought the door with a knob on it.

The valley was filling up with settlers.Land was to be had for the asking. Itwas a young country, its pioneers wereyoung men with the ambitions of theyouthful. Many of the youngsters under-

took too much, ran into financial disas-ter ; many had their fingers burned,learned caution. Some failed and movedaway, but others came to take their places.Roads were built and improved, schoolsbegan to dot the valley here and there;the sprawling desert was changed intoa farming community, villages took form,the irrigated district was organized, thesettlement became of age.

"Water shortages were the bane of ourexistence," Sam said a few days ago, ashe sat in the comfortable living room ofhis modern, well planned farm home.There were flowers on the table. Throughthe windows could be seen date palmsand grapefruit trees, graceful eucalyptusand a flower-bordered lawn. Across thedrive, beyond the row of athols, greenfields of alfalfa stretched away in the dis-tance. Sam and Ann have come a longway since the day of the first windowwith glass in it and the door with a knob.

"Everything we have now has comefrom the land," he added. "Always thevalley's problem was how to control theriver. We were dependent on it for everydrop of water. Our lives depended on it.Between flood and drought we were injeopardy all the time.

"We knew we had to have a dam onthe river and a canal on American soil.We started the fight for Boulder dam.

Imperial Dam and the All-Americancanal were part of the plan. When some-body asks me what Imperial dam and theAll-American canal mean to us, I haveto tell him that some things are too deepfor words."

As this number of the Desert Maga-zine comes from the press, Sam Trues-dell and Mrs. Sam will be among thethousands of persons assembled at theImperial damsite for dedication cere-monies marking the completion of theproject which is to mean security againstflood and drought for all future time.

Secretary of Interior Ickes will pressa button. Electric motors will raise thebig roller gates and the Colorado's waterwill surge into the biggest irrigation ditchthis nation has ever dug to carry water todry land.

The folks responsible for the struc-ture across the river 15 miles north ofYuma, and for the $33,000,000 All-American canal — and for Boulderdam, too—are Sam Truesdell and theother settlers of Imperial valley. Theycame to the desert to establish theirhomes—and it was necessary that thesehomes have security both against toomuch water and too little.

"We were happy in our first tent-house home," Sam reminisces today. "Allour youthful experiences are happy mem-

22 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

ories and we enjoy them. But we enjoynew things too, and the dam and canalopen a new vista to all of us.

"The desert's charm is not lost for mewhen the green of cultivated fields re-places the tans and browns, when treesand shade give material form to the des-ert mirage. Here we have both pictures.Imperial valley is home. To folks like meit is the fairest spot on earth and Im-perial valley is full of folks just like me."Sam is a poet as well as a farmer.

Not only to the Truesdells and theirvalley neighbors is the new dam import-ant. The structure is dedicated to serviceof an area as large as the state of Con-necticut, an arid region big enough tomake two states each the size of Dela-ware, a land in which Rhode Islandcould stretch to three times its dimensionswith room to spare.

To the farming and urban communi-ties in a sweep of desert half as largeas the cropped land under Aswan dam inEgypt, Imperial dam will divert waterwithout which life would be impossible.

When President Roosevelt dedicatedBoulder dam on September 30th, 1935,he said:

"The farms, the cities, and the peoplewho live along the many thousands ofmiles of this river and its tributaries, alldepend for their permanence in value up-on the conservation, the regulation, andthe equitable division of its ever-chang-ing water supply."

Three dams have been built to con-serve, regulate, and distribute water fromthe Colorado to the river's lower basinlands. First is Boulder, the world's high-est dam, storing a supply sufficient togive 5,000 gallons of water to every in-habitant on earth. One hundred and sev-enty-five miles downstream, Parker, theworld's deepest dam, stores and divertswater for 13 cities of the Metropolitandistrict in the Los Angeles region, com-

This Reclamation Bureau photo-graph shows the overflow sector ofthe neiv Imperial dam—looking eastfrom the California headgate.

munities which require one billion gal-Ions of water daily. Below Parker 137miles, Imperial dam will divert water toImperial and Coachella valleys in Cali-fornia, to the Gila and Yuma valleys andmesa lands of Arizona and water passingthis point will supply also the Sonoranmesa and Mexicali valley in Mexico.

In size, Imperial is not a great dam. Itwas built to divert, and not to store water.It will raise the river level only 21 feet.Its length is 1770 feet from Arizona toCalifornia abutments. But under this damthe potentially irrigable area has been es-timated at the amazing total of two andthree quarter million acres.

At the east end of the dam, on theArizona shore, are headworks for theGila project, planned to irrigate eventu-ally 650,000 acres. An initial unit of150,000 acres is now being developed.

At the west end of the dam, on theCalifornia side of the river are headworksof the All-American canal, which will re-place the present channel supplying Im-perial valley with water through Mexico.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8

There are four roller gates at the canalintake, each gate 75 feet wide. Throughthree of these gates water will flow tochannels leading to desilting basins,where the river will be cleaned, its loadof silt removed before the clear waterpasses into the canal proper. The fourthgate opens on a channel directly into thecanal.

Route of the AIl-American canal windsthrough mountain cuts, towering sanddunes, across desert mesas and overrocky gulches, 80 thirsty miles to Imper-ial valley. Branching at a point 40 mileswest of the river, a junior section extends130 miles northwesterly, skirts Salton Seaand crosses Coachella valley, where dategardens and citrus groves and grapesthrive in a fertile district under theshadows of the Santa Rosas, with loftySan Jacinto guarding the pass to thecoastal plain.

The main canal is practically cora-pleted. Digging is under way on the Coa-chella branch.

Nearly all of the 3,000 workers whosweated through five torrid summers un-der a blazing sun on the shadeless desertand in the bed of the muddy river tobuild the dam and canal have gone nowto ot.Ver jobs. Only a handful of thebuilders will be there to see the dry canaltake its baptism.

Seasoning the first section of the bigditch will lead the water from Imperialdam to Pilot Knob, 21 miles. A smallflow will be increased gradually, to pre-vent washing away canal banks, to insure

sealing bottom and sides with slow mov-ing silt.

After the first section has been sea-soned, water will be introduced into thesecond section of the canal and the seal-ing process will continue from the riverto a point west of Calexico in Imperialvalley.

How long will it take? Your guessmay be as good as anybody's. Govern-ment engineers believe it will be finishedbefore New Year's day 1940. There areno precedents to serve as guides. Onehundred and sixty feet wide, and inplaces 100 feet deep, the All-Americanpresents new problems.

One of them is the ten-mile stretchthrough the sandhills of eastern Imperialcounty, where many famous movies of theFrench foreign legion and kindred sub-jects have been filmed. This is where cuts100 feet deep were made. Here diggersfound, 40 feet below the mesa floor, ahuge tooth, nearly one foot long, identi-fied as belonging to a mammoth whichlived here before this region was a des-ert, in an age when the world was young.How well will this sandy stretch holdwater in the canal channel?

Another problem is blow sand. Highwinds sweep desert regions and then sandmoves across the dunes in a stream flow-ing as water flows. One board of engin-eers favored concrete lining for the canalin the dunes area, with slope sufficient tocarry off inblown sand to a settling basin.Later, federal engineers decided to leavethe waterway unlined, to combat moving

sand recommended (1) growing vege-tation in a zone on each side of the canal,(2) spraying sand with crude oil, (3)covering sand dunes with coarse material;(4) excavating a berm 15 feet wide oneach side of the canal.

Surrounding development of new landsunder the dam are many unknown fac-tors. Approximately 400,000 acres on theCalifornia side, which will some day beopened to entry with preference to menwho served in the armed forces of theUnited States, must first be surveyed andsystems for water distribution and fordrainage must be installed. Surveys havebeen ordered by the reclamation bureaufor a first unit of 10,000 acres on theImperial East Mesa.

Hydro-electric development along theAll-American proceeds under federalfinancing for a power system owned bythe people of the Imperial Irrigation Dis-trict. Revenues from this system will beused to repay the government the cost ofbuilding the canal.

When Secretary Ickes is in Imperialvalley he will throw a switch at Brawleystarting service over a 600-mile rural elec-trification project and an interurbanpower system linking the valley's cities.

The night of October 17 there will bea time of celebration in Imperial valley.The Truesdells and their neighbors havedreamed and battled for the Imperial damand All-American canal for 20 years—and now that their dream has come trueit is natural and proper they should cele-brate.

\

400iSO

100100 150 200 250

MILES UPSTREAM FROM RAILROAD BRIDGEAT YUMA, ARIZONA

UNITED STATESDEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

DAMS ON THE LOWER COLORADOColorado River Profile with reservoirs

shown at high water elevationACCESSION NO. 38 -364

JULY 1938

24 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

^777^7777777777/2

Ik

RAIN IN THE DUSTBy RUE MARQUIS

Los Angeles, California

After the long hot summer, following dustytrails

Waiting in vain for showers, when everyrain sign fails;

I watch the clouds come drifting, and hearthe wind at last,

Feel my seared lungs bursting, and smell therain in the dust.

Heat waves dance and flicker, mirages comeand go,

Under the sun's red fury, parching thefields below;

Days that taunt and stifle, nights withoutsleep or rest,

All is past and forgotten when I sn>el! therain in the dust.

Gone is the thirsty choking, eyes smartingfrom sun and sand,

Blistering feet, and chafing, from ridingover the land;

Water for withered grass roots, burned by thesummer's lust,

I breathe its cooling freshness, and smellthe rain in the dust.

New courage for desert dweller, food for thehungry herds,

Drink for the leafless treetops, shelteringsongless birds;

Faith in tomorrow's promise, works that arewise and just,

I lift my face to the heavens, and smell therain in the dust.

SOUTHWEST CORNERBy GRACE MEREDITHSanta Fe, New Mexico

With the acequia-madre running close byAnd a fragrant yard under a patch of blue sky,Four thick adobe walls stand firmly around,Making a house on a corner of ground—Five airy rooms wherein sun and moon roam—•That dear ones have blessed with the spirit of

home.

ShookBY VIRGINIA CASTILLO

Beatty, Nevada

O give me a shack on the desert,Away from the turmoil and grind,

Where mountains and distances beckon.Where peace and quiet I may find.

What value this mad rush for baubles,This quest for amusement and thrill;

The gain that's bereft of enjoyment;The pace that must shatter or kill.

So give me a shack on the desertWhere the cloud tints at sunset are gay

Where night comes with bright spangledheavens

And I live close to God every day.

THE CUREBY GRACE SAYRE

Pasadena, California

Oh, every man is a vagabondOn desert sands and hills

And every wind the physicianTo blow away his ills.

Oh, every day is a holidayAnd every sun that fills

The heart of a desert roamer,Can be the cure it wills.

Oh, every man is a vagabondTo roam the desert space,

Communing with stars of Heaven,Glimpsing beauty's face.

And every day is a memoryOf treasured bits of time.

For in the desert's open graceIs rhythm for a rhyme.

REMEMBERING YOUBY HAZEL LYONS PARKER

Los Angeles, California

I walked the way we used to goInto the desert dusk together.Not a thing was changed — pale duneAnd dark mesquite, the crescent moon;And dream-drenched in the afterglow,The old beloved sweep of space!And when I reached our secret place,I found the sagebrush whisp'ring leafTo leaf, as if recalling, dear,The tender things you used to speak.And there was once, across a reef,I thought a small bird came to seekThe happy sound of your swift laughter.You will say my heart conferredThis loneliness on leaf and bird,But as I walked, 'tis certain, dear,I heard an errant wind sigh, "SheIs here — but where, oh, where is he?"

MY LITTLE CACTUSBy THELMA IRELAND

MCGILL, NEVADA

The cactus, a deceiving plant,Its flower, sweet and fair,Its foliage, barbs that seem to say,"Just touch me, if you dare."My dear, you are the cactus type,Your face a flow'ry thing,But, Ah, your lips are like the barbs;Your words have such a sting.

CREED OF THE DESERTBY JUNE LE MERT PAXTON

Each Smoke Tree and Willow,Cactus and Shrub

Is holding his cup out today;For the thunder god rides on

billowy clouds,And drinks will be given away.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 825

Dates of the annual Phoenixfiesta this year are November7 to 12.

Two o\ the dancers who entertained visitors at the Fiesta del Sol last year

Fiestadel Sol

By OREN ARNOLD

QUOTE . . . . You will knowthat The Desert Magazine isnever interested in chamber ofcommerce ballyhoo, Mr. Arnold,but if your Phoenix Fiesta is real,if it touches the hearts of our des-ert people, then we certainlywant an article about it, andphotos UNQUOTE.

Jl/ Y Dear Mr. Editor:/y\_ Thanks for your good letter. I

accept its challenge.Come with me now to Library Park.

It is past midnight but— see the crowd?Look, there under the brightest light. Itis Alita. I think her full name is MariaGuadalupe Esperanza de la Montoya yMontes, but we call her Alita. In hergreat golden sombrero, her figured skirtthat flares in countless ruffles, and flouncesup with just the right peekaboo—isn'tshe sweet! She is just 15, is Alita. Notethe perfect grace and rhythm of her mo-tions. You can understand every wordof her song, even away out here!

Senoritas singing,Dancing everywhere;Happiness is ringingThrough the autumn air.All the people callingOn the old frontier,Neivs oj celebration—What is it we hear?"Viva-a-a-a, La Fiesta!"

But let's move on to that little plazadown near the railroad freight depot. See,there's another crowd. Listen:

Arizona maidens,Beautiful and gay,Hold a welcome for youWhen you want to play,heave your cares behind you—

We won't pause here, though; we'llmove on to the business street corner,there by the sign that says "Botica." From

26 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

it and its surroundings you will know weare still in "the Mexican district."

You can find ]uanita,Colleen or Sassy Sue,Girls of all the nationsWaiting here for you.Cowboys on their horsesRiding in to toum;Shooting, laughing, singing,Yelling all around:"Viva-a-a-a-a, La Fiesta!"

It is the same melody, Mr. Editor. Thesame simple tune, with a hundred or sopeople singing. Look at the old manswaying and smiling. And the group ofmiddle-aged women clapping their hands.It is a love song; a heart song. We couldhear it tonight in perhaps 50 places aboutPhoenix.

For this is a Fiesta night. I know, forI was also here last autumn, when thefirst Fiesta del Sol was roaring. I saw ahundred thousand people drop theirworries of one accord and set out happilyto play.

I do believe—come to think of it—thatthe local chamber of commerce had a tentsomewhere, with an imported Hollywooddance band. And to be sure, a fewcouples who know no other way but tobuy their pleasures found some sort ofrelease there, and so God bless them. Butthe rest of us, the mass of us, danced andsang with complete freedom and we didnot spend a thin dime unless we justwanted to.

It may be that the chamber had somethought of making money. I do not know,nor care. What thrilled me—and theothers of us who truly love the Southwestand its people—was that a Spirit of Playhad suddenly suffused the desert's largestcity, and had spread many miles beyondits limits to exalt all manner of folk,humble and proud. We needed a Spirit ofPlay in 1937. We need it again in 1938;in fact we need it every year. It helps usto forget such cosmic phenomena as dic-tators and strikes and wars and burden-some taxes, it helps us to approach thatsentimentalized but highly significantBrotherhood of Man.

This region has a very fine heritage ofPlay.

It was here, as a matter of fact, that aplay-loving people pioneered this nationjust four centuries ago. The United Stateswas not founded on the Atlantic seaboardas histories erroneously declare, but byromantic Spaniards in the languid, lovelyold Southwest.

About the first thing they did whenthey arrived here was to kneel in thank-

"El Charro" goes to the fiesta.Photograph by Claude Bate of LonMegargee's painting.

fulness to God, and the second thing wasto shout "VIVA, Let's have a Fiesta!"And, Mr. Editor, when our pioneers setout to make whoopee a la Espanol, theyreally had a celebration!

Everybody, literally everybody, came.Juanita, Colleen, Sassy Sue, yes indeed.Such Anglo-Saxon families as had driftedin were there en masse. The families ofminers, trappers, hunters, farmers, ranch-ers, soldiers, friendly Indians. Everybody.Care and worry were ostracized, enmitiesforgotten. Such words as "depression"and "recession" existed then only as syno-nyms for laziness. People who work areentitled to play, and did so. Theme oftheir fiestas was singing and dancing,love making and comedy, as always.

Knowledge of this heritage has lingeredin our Arizona people. They were readyand anxious to revive the fiesta spirit.Last year thousands and thousands of peo-ple, rich and poor, donned Spanish cos-tumes and set out to have fun. Communi-ty spirit has never been finer in this des-ert town.

Last year's parade was the grandest everheld in this state—and had not an ad-vertising or business float in it! Thisyear's program promises to be even better.People do love a parade. The street decor-ations—great Spanish shawls (18 feetsquare) and banners — will be every-where. Costumes will be more colorful,more numerous. At least 20 orchestras

will be playing night and day, on thestreets, in the parks, in the hotel andbank lobbies, in the stores. Wanderingminstrels will be singing, senoritas willbe dancing here and there, and we willpause to sing and dance with them.Caballeros will ride into town as in thepioneer days. Blanketed Indians will besquatting on paved curbings, in friendlypowwow. Cowboys will indeed be "shoot-ing, laughing, singing, yelling allaround." The same themes will dominatethis year.

The Phoenix fiesta is not a big doingsin the money sense (I have inspected thechamber of commerce books.) Some threeor four thousand dollars only has to bespent, for such public items as decorations,lights, music. The elaborate parade floatsare all private enterprises of enthusiasticclubs and other organizations. The musi-cians are mostly willing volunteers. Thecostumes are private pleasures.

The grand thing is that the peoplethemselves, the workaday folk, Mexicanand Saxon alike, react spontaneously tothe spirit of relaxation and play. This willnot show on the financial statistics, but,among the imponderables it certainly isone of the most valuable things in Ari-zona.

(The fiesta song is copyrighted 1938 byOren Arnold and Elizabeth Quillin. All rightsreserved).

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 27

29 Cabbage PalmettosBY LARRY D. WOLMAN

ICK PROPHET who lives in anold adobe house near one of thesprings told me the story of the

29 palms. Dick isn't an old-timer on thedesert, but he is one of those inquisitivemortals always delving around for infor-mation.

When he went to the TwentyninePalms settlement on the southern edge ofthe Mojave desert of California for hishealth a few years ago he did what everycurious newcomer does—he went out andcounted the palms.

They didn't check out right. He found21 mature trees which probably have beengrowing in the oasis for a hundred yearsor more — and more than 200 youngpalms which evidently had sprouted fromthe earth in recent years.

From various sources Dick was able topiece together the story of the original 29palms—and the fate of the missing trees.

First white man to note the existenceof this oasis was Col. Henry Washington,U. S. surveyor who established the SanBernardino base and meridian in 1852.Colonel Washington and his party foundexcellent water at this point and estab-lished a camp here. In his log book thecolonel recorded the fact that there were"29 cabbage palmettos" in the vicinity.

Emory Saw Them First

Colonel Washington was not the firstwhite man to call them cabbage trees.Lieutenant W. H. Emory who was amember of the Kearney expedition toCalifornia in 1846 saw familiar trees inthe Carrizo gorge region and wrote inhis diary: " . . . at the head of the creekseveral scattered objects were seen pro-jected against the cliffs, hailed by theFlorida campaigners, some of whom werealong, as old friends. They were cabbagetrees, and marked the locale of a springand a small patch of grass."

Since Colonel Washington's time eightof the original 29 palms have fallen. Twoof them, according to hearsay, were cutdown between 40 and 50 years ago byminers who used them to make an ar-rastra for grinding their ore. Two morewere cut down during the same period toconstruct a bridge over a narrow canyonin the nearby mountains. The frondlesstrunk of one of the old veterans stillstands 40 feet in the air, a victim ofwoodpeckers, according to the story.

That leaves but three of the originaltrees to be accounted for—and their fate

remains a mystery. Perhaps Dick Prophetwill find the answer sooner or later.

Fifteen of the old trees bear the scarsof fire which swept away their naturalskirts. Indians camped at this spot longbefore the white men came. Those longskirts of dead fronds were the abidingplaces of evil spirits according to the leg-ends of the Cahuillas—and that probablyexplains the fire damage to these trees,as it does the fire scars on the trunks ofmany veteran palms found on theSouthern California desert. The red mendispersed the enemy spirits by burningthe fronds.

Washingtonia jilijera is the scientificname of this native palm of the SouthernCalifornia desert. The classification wasgiven by Hermann Wendland, a Germanbotanist in 1879, as a remembrance ofthe Great American.

The Washingtonias at TwentyninePalms are believed to mark the mostnortherly appearance of the native palmof this species in America.

Several springs of good \vater arefound along the arroyo in which thesetrees grow. At the eastern end of the oasisis a historic adobe building, occupied bythe first permanent settlers of Twenty-nine Palms. This building is said to havebeen erected in 1877 by two prospectors,Billy Neves and Jack Rankin, and was oc-cupied by the Reverend Baldruss of SantaAna and a miner named Gilmore.

Old Campsite for Indians

Indian relics recovered from the regionof the oasis are now in possession of theSouthwest museum in Los Angeles. Theold Indian trails extending across thedesert in the direction of Cottonwoodsprings to the south and other springsfarther north on the Mojave may still betraced. Indians camped at this place aslate as 1913.

The young palms which have sproutedin recent years are being well guarded bythe present owners of the land andTwentynine Palms will remain an oasisof native Washingtonias long after theveteran trees found here by ColonelWashington and his surveyors have re-turned to earth.

Under the impetus of an active cham-ber of commerce the village of Twenty-nine Palms today is assuming the pro-portions of a modern well-groomed town.Its main assets are the health-giving sun-shine of a rolling desert plateau, and the

Sez HardRock Shorty

"A feller was tellin' me the otherday about this fish over in Arizonythat got so used to dry weather hedrowned when it rained there a yearor two ago."

Hard Rock Shorty hitched up hisgallus straps, lit his pipe, and settleddown to take life easy.

"It's a lie—yes sir, no truth inthe durn story at all. Couldn't betrue. An' the way I know it's wrongis that it ain't never rained overthere. Not in forty-five year, any-way.

"An' speakin' o' rain, I recollectone time over by Ubehebe that Iseen one o' the durndest thingsever happened in this country. Hadme a prospect over there, with mytent by a water hole, an' right out-side the tent was a empty barr'l.How come the barr'l was there? Idunno—some guy'd been haulin'water in 'er I guess, but there shewas layin' on 'er side, both endsknocked out, an' the bungholepointin' up at the sky.

"One day come one o' themcloudbursts — a reg'lr gully washerlike they has now an' then. I wassettin' there in my tent watchin' itpour down when all of a suddenquite a stream o' water begin run-nin' by. I went out to see what itwas, an' it was that barr'l—bigstream o' water runnin' out. Do youknow, it was rainin' in through thatbung hole faster'n it could run outboth ends, an' while I was watchin'the water got so deep around thebarr'l it floated 'er away."

ancient oasis of native palms. It is butnatural that the villagers are looking for-ward to the time when the strip of landoccupied by the stately Washingtoniaswill be set aside as a community park andone of the most charming oases on theSouthern California desert preserved as areminder that nature, rather than man,was the creator of the desert's most im-pressive monuments.

28 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

1

t

' „ . . • • '.

• ':

.

* * ~ ' -ad* . , *"<#

• . -

s , •

sew-Twentynine Palms Oasis

l/e5ett In Watet (lolot

LIFFORD LEWIS of the class of'36 at Pomona College, Clare-mont, California, is the painter of

the Twentynine Palms picture reproducedin halftone on this page. The original isin water color.

Lewis spent last season in the Twenty-nine Palms area, and plans to return tothe same sector of the desert to continuehis work this winter. His studio is a lighttruck in which he also carries his campingequipment, and he sleeps under the starswherever he happens to be painting.

His boyhood hobby was ship modelsand his interest in art was the outgrowth

of the pencil sketching which was a nec-essary part of his hobby.

He studied with Millard Sheets and F.Tolles Chamberlin after completing hiscollege work, and later was associatedwith Milford Zornes in the painting ofthe murals which decorate the newlyconstructed postoffice at Claremont. Lewishas done some sculpturing but the deserthas a strong attraction for him and theform and color of desert subjects morereadily lend themselves to the tools ofbrush and easel.

Several of his water colors will be ex-hibited in Los Angeles and Pasadena thisNovember.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 29

theIjean "We would like to feel that these pages will impart to

our readers some of the courage, the tolerance and thefriendliness of the desert—that this issue and every issuewill be like a cool spring of water at the end of a hardday's trek—and that you will go with us along the deserttrail and find the journey worth while."

—From the Desert Magazine, November, 1937.

TO DESERT MAGAZINE READERS:—

We've been on the trail a year now—this is the first anni-versary number of the Desert Magazine. It has been a pleasantyear—made so by the interest and loyalty of an ever-growingcircle of readers and contributors.

When the No. 1 issue of our magazine came off the pressa year ago we were venturing into a new field. Nothing justlike the Desert Magazine ever had been published. We didnot know much about the magazine business. But we hadgained a rather intimate knowledge of the desert throughmany years of close association, and we felt there was a fieldfor such a publication as this.

And now, after 12 months of operation, we are glad to re-port tfhat our progress during the first year has been greatereven than we had anticipated.

The Desert Magazine was not a project hastily conceived.The plan had been taking form many years before the firstnumber was printed. We wanted to issue a magazine that wasdean, and true to the desert. It was a rather idealistic enter-prise as we planned it—and we were aware that such pro-jects do not always thrive in the materialistic atmosphere pre-vailing in the world today.

Starting from zero, our paid subscription list has grownto 2450—and another 3,000 copies are being sold each monththrough newsstands and other agencies. This has been ac-complished practically without paid solicitors, and with onlya small expenditure for promotional work. Today the DesertMagazine goes regularly to 44 of the 48 states, to three of theterritories, and to five foreign countries. The list is growingmore rapidly now than at any time since the magazine wasstarted.

This growth is due to the loyal support given by desert-

minded people. We know only a few of them personally, butwe are grateful to every one of them. We feel very deeplythe obligation to keep our magazine up to a standard whichwill continue to justify their confidence.

It is a stimulating experience to sit here in the office dayafter day and read the letters coming in from all parts of thecountry. When the same mail that brings us a note of approv-al from a scientist of high standing, also brings a friendlyletter written in the scrawl of a veteran prospector at someremote corner of the desert—then we feel that we are keepingto the trail along which we started. This has happened morethan once.

On the business side, we have not yet reached the pointwhere the magazine is operating at a profit. But that is notour primary goal. We have refused to accept liquor or otherobjectionable advertising. Our reward has been a wide circu-lation in schools and in homes where ideals are high.

Our staff at the El Centro office consists of the four mem-bers whose pictures appear on this page. But we are deeplyobligated to many others—to Tony Endres, our advertisingrepresentative in Los Angeles, to Norton Allen who has sup-plied much of our art, and to scores of writers and artists andphotographers whose work has appeared on the pages of ourmagazine.

While we are pleased with the progress of the first year,we are entering the second 12 months with appreciation of thework we must do to reach the high standard we have set forthe Desert Magazine.

We hope our companions on the trail this first year—thefolks who have bought and read our magazine—have foundenjoyment and profit from their association with us.

Very cordially,THE STAFF.

Lucile HarrisCirculation Manager

J. Wilson McKenneyBusiness Manager

Randall HendersonEditor

Tdzewell H. LambAssociate Editor

30 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

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N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 31

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Betty Safford Belding of El Paso,Texas, won the cash prize offeredby the Desert Magazine for the

best identification and description of the landmark shown in the accompany-ing picture. This photograph was taken in the Chiricahua national monu-ment in southeastern Arizona. The winning manuscript is printed below.

The Sniffs. . 21 years ago came to the Coa-

:hella Desert to grow fine dates.7or 15 years we have sold "the:ream of the crop" from our ranchsalesroom.

. . the date to most people is "justa date." As we select and ship itthe date is a most delicious con-fection.

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SNIFF DATE GARDENSROUTE l INDIO, CALIF

By BETTY SAFFORD BELDING

r HE striking rock formation pic-tured in the September issue is of"Balanced Rock," the most fam-

ous of many balanced rocks in Chiricahuanational monument.

This national monument is in south-eastern Arizona and may be reached byleaving U. S. Highway 80 at Benson,Tombstone, Bisbee, Douglas or Rodeo—from Benson about 75 miles east overState Highways 86, 81 and 181; fromTombstone and Bisbee 65 or 70 milesnorth and east over roads connecting withState Highways 81 and 181; from Doug-las about 65 miles north and east over 81and 181; from Rodeo, the shortest road— about 30 miles — west and norththrough Cave Creek canyon and the verybeautiful Coronado national forest withmany glorious mountain views. There areother approaches from towns on StateHighway 86, connecting with U. S. 80 atSteins or Benson.

This wonderland of rocks was dis-

covered by Neil Erickson and Col. Staf-ford in 1886. In 1924 it was made anational monument. Its geological storyextends back some millions of years.

Part of the rocks may be seen froman automobile and a splendid system oftrails has been developed. One of thelongest trails, nine miles, which leadspast "Balanced Rock," may be hiked ortaken on horse-back. Horses may be se-cured at Faraway Ranch, Neil Erickson'shome, which lies at the entrance to themonument. Here food and lodging alsomay be had. For those preferring to campout, campsites are maintained in the mon-ument by park service. This monument isopen all year.

Chiricahua (cheery-cow) was namedfor a tribe of Indians whose stronghold itwas. Indian legends abound and it haslong been regarded as a "Holy Place" bythe Apaches. It is a spot well worth in-cluding in any trip that brings one intothis section of the Southwest.

32 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

Here's a Southern California Landmark!Can you identify the picture?

CASH PRIZE IS OFFEREDFOR THE BEST ANSWER

Somewhere on the Southern Californiadesert the above rock is located. It is apopular location for campers and picnicparties. Also, there is some legendary his-tory connected with it.

Readers of the Desert Magazine willbe interested in knowing more about thisspot, and in order to get the best possibleinformation the publishers are offering a$5.00 cash prize to the person who sends

in the correct name together with allavailable information as to the location,highways, distance from nearest settle-ment, and any historical or legendary ma-terial available.

The manuscript should be limited to400 words, and addressed to LandmarkDepartment, Desert Magazine, El Centro,California. The contest closes on the eve-ning of November 20, and the winninganswer will be published in the Janu-ary number of this magazine.

Monthly c Ga+tteltEach month the Desert Mag-

azine offers cash prizes to ama-teur photographers of d e s e r tsubjects. These contests a r eopen to all readers of the mag-azine regardless of residence.

The first award is $5.00 andthe second $3.00. The picturesmay include any desert subjectphotographed on the desert.Close-ups of plant and animallife, unusual personal pictures,well-composed landscapes andscenic effects, rock formations,water holes, oases and recre-ational pictures are among thesubjects suggested.

Following are the rules gov-erning the contest:

1—Pictures submitted in the Novem-ber contest must be received at the Des-ert Magazine office by November 20.

2—Not more than four prints may besubmitted by one person in one month.

3—Winners will be required to fur-nish either good glossy enlargements orthe original negatives if requested.

4—Prints must be in black and white.2^4x3^4 or larger.

5—Pictures will be returned onlywhen postage is enclosed.

For non-prize-winning pictures ac-cepted for publication $1.00 will bepaid for each print.

Winners of the November contestwill be announced and the pictures pub-lished in the January number of rhc*magazine. Address all entries to:

CONTEST EDITOR,DESERT MAGAZINE,El Centro, California.

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Rope Down and Swim OutContinued from page 10

and up across the front of the body andback over the right shoulder. The lefthand grasps the rope as it dangles behindthe body. The right hand holds the ropein front as it comes from the belay. Wherethe rock face to be descended does notoverhang too much it is proper technic towalk down the vertical wall, releasing therope in short hitches with the left handas the descent is made.

The rope is doubled around the belaypoint, and then pulled through after thelast man is down. For added security an-other rope is knotted around the waist ofthe climber and kept taut from a secondbelay as the descent is made.

We found a 100-foot rope just touchedthe surface of the water in the pool below.The descent was made in a small streamof water which trickled over the fall andgave the roper a cool shower as he de-

scended. The face of the fall was wet andslimy with moss, making it impossible tokeep a footing on the vertical wall, andmembers of the party had to hang freeand lower themselves as they would onan overhanging cliff.

The surprising fact at the 100-foot fallwas that the water at the bottom was justknee-deep—the shallowest pool we en-countered all day.

Below this major fall we found morepools and a few vertical drops of 10 to 12feet, but only once during the remainderof the trip was it necessary to uncoil therope.

At the top of the big fall our altimetershowed an elevation of 1650 feet. A halfmile farther down the canyon walls be-gan to spread out and a hot blast of airblowing up the channel served notice we

SIDEWINDER SAM . . .

"I can remember when you never saw them water snakes out on thedesert - - "

were approaching the floor of Coachellavalley.

Pools became less frequent and thendisappeared entirely and soon we weretrudging along on the sandy floor of awide arroyo. We followed the Deep can-yon fan to an elevation of 900 feet, andthen, rather than continue through fouror five miles of heavy sand before reach-ing the highway beyond we took a short-cut climb of 900 feet up to the Palms-to-Pines highway where we had arrangedfor cars to meet us.

We estimated the total hike from theTaylor cabin at 11 miles. The time waseight hours.

For experienced climbers the Deep can-yon traverse is not difficult. It should notbe undertaken, however, without plentyof rope and some knowledge of its use onvertical walls.

Veteran Leads the Party

None of the members of our partycould be classed as expert in the art ofrock climbing, and yet we made the tripwithout serious hazard. On the long de-scents we used a special sling for 12-year-old Freddie Taylor. Vic Ownby, 63 yearsof age, whose experience as a hard rockminer served us well when it came timeto sink belay irons in the rock at the topof the falls, was out in front leading theyounger members of the party much ofthe way. His agility at an age when mostmen have given up all thought of hardphysical exercise is the reward of an ac-tive life in the outdoors.

We left the iron belays in place for fu-ture climbers.

The Deep canyon trip should be under-taken only at certain times of the year,preferably during May and June. Unlessthere are summer showers to refresh thepools they may become green with scumin late summer. A trip in midwinter whena larger stream of water is flowing downthe canyon would be exciting—but fre-quent plunges in chilly water at that timeof the year might involve much discom-fort before the day was over.

Deep canyon offers an adventure —•tame, perhaps, according to the standardsof professional adventurers—but withenough thrills to satisfy any ordinary ex-plorer of the out-of-the-way places.

The rugged splendor of Deep canyonis reward enough for any physical hard-ships encountered along the way. It is awild rocky gorge, and while I have de-voted most of this story to the physicalproblems of traversing the canyon, I wantto record my opinion that for sheer rug-ged grandeur Deep canyon deserves rankas one of the most impressive scenic areasin the Desert Southwest. And I am sureit will never be crowded with traffic.

34 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

m calexico coui»-reFor those u?ho seek SUTlSHinE

and ITULD CLIITIATE in the XDin-ter,Calexico offers ample provisionfor comfort and entertainment.

Come to Calexicofor a restful vacation this season

Just across the line is Mexicali, col-orful and fascinating capital ofLower California, Mexico. Its quaintshops and cabarets are a source ofnever-ending interest to Americanvisitors.

pdUfd.cH/P

palm/ ^)i*ouj wildon the de/ert

CALEXICO

Hunting and fishing areas lie atCalexico's doorstep. Dove, quail, andducks abound on the Mexican deltalands. At San Felipe on the Gulf ofCalifornia is the haunt of the greatsea-bass, waiting for the hook of thedeep-sea angler.

In desert canyons only a few hoursdrive from Calexico are virgin palmtrees and vistas of rare beauty forthose who enjoy short excursions.For Illustrated Pamphlet and Complete Information

1DR1TE the

" O H T H E " B O R D E R " CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Calexico, California

F I N E S T H O T E L A C C O M M O D A T I O N S N M P E R I A L V A L L E Y

"DESERT STEVE"invites you to stop at

DESERTCENTER

On the shortest route between Phoenix and Los An-geles—on U. S. Highways 60-70-93. Everything for youand your car day and night.

Hotel service, cabins, cafe, store.Garage, tow service, good mechanic.Free swimming pool and showersLarge plane landing field.Real western hospitality.

S. A. "DESERT STEVE'' RAGSDALE.OWNER AND OPERATOR

STANLEY RAGSDALE, Manager.

We Have Lost Our Keys—We Can't CloseThe sky is our limit, hell is our depth,

We have sunshine the whole year round.If you wish to get jat, or wish to be lean,

D. C. is the best place to be found.

DESERT CENTER, CALIFORNIAMAIN STREET 100 MILES LONG

50 MILES W E S T OF BLYTHE50 MILES EAST OF INDIO

MATERIAL COSTS Arc LOWERthan they have

been in 15 years

BUILD . . .Your Home NOW!

T UMBER and building materials cost less now.L than they did when permanent modern homeswere first built in the desert country.

Combining the sturdy lines of early California andMexican design with the conveniences of modernliving, you may now have the ideal desert home atmoderate cost.

We have complete planning and building servicesin one organization and can arrange easy-pay FHAterms.

BRING YOUR HOUSING PROBLEM TO SONES1

FOR ESTIMATES AND ADVICE.

SONES LUMBER COMPANYEl Centro, Calif.Phone 136 135 So. Fourth St.

T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E 35

Eventually.whi) not now VISIT

DEATH VALLEY"Jhn Valley of life"

STOVE PIPE WELLSHOTELa"' LODGESPO. death Valley Junclion.Calif

lei Oflitt t" >. Ivinq ft. ml. VAndihi •• 2937 \

Please send me free, "Lure of Death Valley"

Name

Street

City State(Please print name and address)

PHONE

VANDYKE 2937

CHRISTINA V. FORSYTH607 S. SPRING ST. LOS ANGELESfor better reservations — travel information

HIKING AND CAMPING

BASS BOOTS AND SHOESParticularly carried for the needs of theSIERRA CLUB and Other Mountain

and Outdoor Clubs.

SLEEPING BAGSLight weight for Back Packing.Heavier ones for Auto Camping.

Materials of Eider Down, Goose Down,Duck Down, Wool and Kapok.

KNAPSACKSNorwegian and Swedish Packs, TraderHorn and Trapper Nelson Pack Racks.Scout Racks, Swiss and American Light

Knapsacks.

MOUNTAINEERINGEQUIPMENT

Ice Axes, Crampons, Climbing Ropes,Carabiners, Pitons, Swiss Edge and Tri-couni Nails, Alpenstocks, Parkas, SternoCanned Heat, Food Bags, Mountaineer-

ing Books, Etc.

VAN DEGRIFT'S

SKI AND HIKE HUT607 W E S T 7TH STREET

Phone VANDYKE 6275 Los ANGELES

MRS. A. S. C. FORBESManufacturer of

Church BellsAND CALIF. MISSION SOUVENIRS

335 W. 31st STREETRICHMOND 4732LOS ANGELES

DESERT PLACE NAMESCompiled by TRACY M.SCOTT

For the historical data contained in this department, the Desert Magazine is indebted tothe research work done by Miss Scott; to the late Will C. Barnes, author of "ArizonaPlace Names"; to Frances Rosser Brown of New Mexico and to Hugh O'Neil of OgdenUtah.

ARIZONAALPINE Apache county

At head of San Francisco river. Ele. 8,000feet. In September 1880 Will C. Barnes washere, he writes, scouting with Troop E, 6thCavalry, Capt. Adam Kramer commanding.Indians under Victorio had gone throughthis valley ahead of the soldiers and hadkilled several men and women who wereburied by the troopers as the bodies werefound. It was then known as Bush valley,after Anderson Bush, first settler. CalledFrisco later by the Mormons. About 1882name was changed in recognition of alti-tude. Jacob Hamblin, early Mormon mission-ary who died Aug. 31, 1886, is buried here.

AMERICAN RANCH Yavapai countyEarly day stage station on road Ehren-

berg to Prescott. According to Orick Jack-son, "Owned by J. H. Lee, who ran a storeand station here. Indians attacked the sta-tion, killing Lee. A man then leased theplace, took a sack of flour, placed strychninein it, left the store open and the sack handyfor all comers. Some soldiers under DanLeary, the scout, came along and found 24dead Indians and 14 more very sick in anearby camp. The affair raised an awfulfuss among the Indian lovers of the east."

BEAR SPRINGS Navajo countySo called, says Barnes, because on a round-

up about 1885 a bear was killed here byroping him. Ranch here located about 1886by James Stott, a boy from Massachussetts,who started a horse ranch, the "Circle Dot.""Because of his alleged affiliations withquestionable horse dealers, he was takenfrom his cabin in August 1887, by a vigi-lance committee, and hanged, with two othermen, near where the Holbrook-PIeasant val-ley trail crossed the Verde road."

CALIFORNIA

CRAFTON San Bernardino countyTo honor Myron H. Crafts, who was born

in 1816, came to California in 1861 andsettled on what was then known as East-berne valley. He named Mts. Lincoln, Gar-field and Harrison and was active in civicaffairs. A personal friend of Indian ChiefCabazon, he once gave the old Indian a suitof clothes and a stovepipe hat trimmed withbright ribbons, "which he wore with a lord-ly air." Crafts died September 12, 1886.

TELESCOPE PEAK Inyo countyFirst climbed and named by W. T. Hen-

derson in 1860. So called because of the vastarea visible from this point. Ele. 11,045feet, in the Funeral range, Death valley.Henderson was the man who later helped todispose of Joaquin Murietta, the bandit. Healso established the first mine law in Inyocounty (1860).

TRONA (tro'nah) San Bernardino countySp. "royal throne, a high place of im-

portance."• • •

NEW MEXICO

TAJIQUE (tah hee'kee) Torrance countyProbably the Hispanized Tewa name of

Tashi ke. The Tigua name was Tush-yit-nay.A mission was established here. Formerly aTigua pueblo.

ALAMEDA (ah lah may'dah)Albuquerque county

Sp. "grove of poplar trees," or publicwalk.

BUEYEROS (boo ay yer'os) Union countySp. "ox drivers," referring to an early

encampment of stock men.JICARILLA (hicka ree' ya) Lincoln county

Mountains and town. Sp. "chocolate cup";a gourd or gourd tree. Also refers to one ofthe Apache tribes who used the gourds forcups.

MIMBRES (meem'brays) Grant countyRiver and town. "The willows." Mim-

hrenos, willowy or like willows was thename of an Apache tribe.

NEVADA

BUFFALO MEADOWS Washoe countyEstablished in 1865 on the Western Pa-

cific railroad at former site of buffalo graz-ing grounds.

ELY White Pine countyFrom John Ely, native of Illinois, who

rose from poverty to great wealth throughfortunate mining projects. In the early 1870she became interested in promoting mines inFrench Guiana, in which he lost all of agreat fortune. He regained it in part, buteventually died a poor man in Montana.

HASTINGS CUTOFFA short cut over the mountains made

popular at the time by Lansford W. Hast-ings, a guide, who advised emigrants to trya shorter route to California by going aroundthe south end of the Great Salt Lake, asearly as 1846. This route had been partlyexplored previously by Fremont, and whenproperly followed down Weber creek usual-ly resulted in great saving of time and life.However, the illfated Donner party late in1846 took this cutoff and due to lateness ofthe season and unusually heavy winter, metwith historic tragedy.

UTAH

CASTLE GATE Carbon countyEstablished in May 1893 and named from

a peculiar castellated formation of the moun-tains forming a gateway to the valley inwhich the town is located.

DESERET (des er ette')Town and name frequently used in Utah.

From the Book of Mormon; means "honeybee." The beehive is one of the importantsymbols of the Mormon church.

PROVO Utah countyFrom the Provo river. Name origin some-

what in dispute. Probably from EtienneProvost, member of the Ashley expeditionsent to explore for the Missouri Fur com-pany in 1822. Was probably first white tolook upon the Great Salt Lake. Anotheraccount says the Provo river was named byGeneral Fremont in 1845. He had purchaseda horse from a pioneer named Proveau andgave the horse the name of its former owner.When the horse died on the "banks of thestream to the southwest of the Great SaltLake" the name of Proveau was given to theriver. This latter account is not generallyaccepted. City incorporated January 21, 1864.

36 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

Min&b andSalt Lake City, Utah . . .

From Grand county comes the story of aminer who had an oil and gas prospectingpermit for 2,560 acres of public land in theHarley Dome region. He sank a well andencountered gas of exceptional value. Buthe couldn't sell it or give it away—becauseit carried a high content of helium, and hisprospecting permit reserved to the govern-ment all rights to any helium that might befound.

Goldfield, Nevada . . .Tests are now being made over 15,000

acres of placer ground and lake bottom landsin the Rawhide district, Mineral county,preparatory to extensive operations if satis-factory values are found. The Gabbs Valleycompany has been erecting a 400-yard plantfor gold recovery. The concrete and SteelPipe company of Los Angeles has sunk 90test holes in search for indium, a rare metalsaid to be worth $400 a pound.

Hawthorne, Nevada . . .First shipment to leave the famous Lucky

Boy mine in 12 years, a 31-ton car of silverore was shipped to a Salt Lake smelter re-cently. The Lucky Boy formerly was wellknown as the producer of fabulously richore in a bromide formation. Two groupsnow have leases on the property and whilethe present ore is being taken from the up-per levels, it is planned later to go belowthe 900-foot level where high grade ore isknown to be located.

Tucson, Arizona • . .Arizona is highest among the states in the

production of copper, and the United Statesleads the world, according to the report ofthe U. S. Bureau of Mines. More than35,000 men are employed normally in theproduction of copper. Montana ranks nextto Arizona in total output.

Winnemucca, Nevada . . .A first dividend of $75,000 was paid to

stockholders of the Getchell Mine, Inc.,September 21. The 600-ton mill installed atthe property 43 miles east of here is one ofthe most modern in the state. It has been inoperation only since February but is now atfull capacity. George Wingfield is presidentand Noble H. Getchell manager.

Las Vegas, Nevada . . .A monthly gold output of $100,000 is re-

ported from the Chiquita mines, largest pro-ducer in the Goodsprings district of Clarkcounty. According to James Maxfield, mana-ger, the company mill is handling 75 tonsof ore daily. It is planned to double thiscapacity. Operators in the district are tryingto arrange to bring Boulder dam power intothe area.

Picacho, California . . .Preparatory to large scale operations at

the old Picacho workings along the Colo-rado river 25 miles north of Yuma, a 500-ton mill is being moved from Tonopah, Ne-vada, to a site near the mine. Announcementof the Picacho program was made by FelixD. Mayhew, veteran mining man who hasbeen active as a prospector and operator inArizona for many years.

SMOKE TREEVILLAS

Battle Mountain, Nevada . . .Manager E. L. Ralston of the Chemical

?nd Pigment company of Oakland reportsthat his concern has mined 8,300 tons ofbarium from its tax claims at Argenta thisseason. Bulk of the shipments went to LosAngeles. Barium is used as pigment forpaint and for oil well drilling.

Las Vegas, Nevada . . .The forming of Lake Mead has made

possible a saving of $10.00 a ton in thetransportation of mineral-bearing ore fromregions which formerly were almost inac-cessible, according to mining engineers.Prospectors are now combing the area bor-dering the lake shore pnd at least one com-pany is planning to install barges on thelake for transportation of mineral fromclaims now being developed.

Flagstaff, Arizona . . .As a result of favorable geological re-

ports, the United States government haswithdrawn 10 sections of land in north-western Arizona for naval oil reserve pur-poses. The structure is said to be similarto that found in the Virgin City area inUtah.

Austin, Nevada . . •Reporting rich values in ore recently taken

from the Berlin mine 50 miles southeast ofhere, William L. and W. M. Foster andR. Clemens recently exhibited samplesstreaked with free gold. The ore was takenfrom a 30-inch ouartz ledge near the sur-face, they reported.

Tonopah, Nevada . . .Assay reports showing gold values of

$2,854.85 a ton were received early in Sep-tember by Joe Clifford at a new strike onthe Verdi property. The samples were takenfrom a 10-inch vein at a depth of 12 feet.The assay also showed $19.85 in silver.

'Three Turkey' HouseContinued from page 13

where the dwellings are located is toowell hidden and the walls below are tooprecipitous to make the houses accessibleto the ordinary pot hunter.

Archaeologists equipped with facilitiesfor scaling the walls will have visitedTatazih bekin before this story appears inprint—and what they find there will bepreserved for the benefit of all Americancitizens who with the Navajo Indians areits rightful owners.

Whether or not Tatazih bekin yields awealth of loot, the scientific men willhave an exceptional opportunity to studythe architecture of the ancient buildersdown to the finest details for these cliffdwellings appear to be as intact as whentheir prehistoric owners abandoned theirhard won homes and departed on theirlast mysterious journey to an unknownland.

. \ HEALTH CENTER&ifranee to

Joshua Tree National Monument». C 1 t B U N K E R . n e t

TRUCK MENTraveling the

SOUTHWEST DESERTFor your cargo refrigera-tion we can furnish

CRUSHED ICE

in any quantity . . . load-ed in your equipment byconveyor.

Make this your refrigera-tion depot on the long runfrom El Paso or Phoenix toLos Angeles.

Pure Ice Company248 Main St. El Centra, Calif.

525 N. J*M0tiRd,L« Angela, CApitol 12121

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 37

T C R O S SGUEST RANCH k

Located 3 0 minutes drive from PalmSprings, 8 miles from Highway 99, in Miss-ion Canyon on the edge of the Coloradodesert.

One of California's newer guest ranchesoffering American Plan accommodations inunique stone cottages all with private bath.Rates are reasonable, ranging from $5 dailyand $30 weekly, per person.

Write for full details and reservations.

J. R. HOLLIDAY, Mgr.Star Route, Whitewater California

EMERSON'S

BRDMPSELTZEK

FOR

Before GoingTo Bed

TAKE

BROMO-SELTZER

Settles StomachSoothes Nerves

/

. . . of the desert

Since 1913

EL CENTRO, CALPhone 34

xel TahquitzMf?PALM SPRINGS CALIFORNIA 1 "J

EUROPEAN PLAN

...your neaaq'uarlers ivken

you come io

PALM SPRINGSthis Jail ana winter

An hotel of quiet charm. Excellent cui-sine in Azure Room, Outdoor DiningGrill and "The Buckboard" in the

"Saddle Bar X" Cocktail LoungeTENNIS COURT BADMINTONPING PONG . . . . HORSEBACK RIDING

SWIMMING POOL

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. LippsMANAGING OWNERS

f/ete and lliate. . . ON THE DESERT

ARIZONA

Peach Springs . . .Sparkling crystals cover the walls of Co-

conino caverns which are to be opened tothe public as a scenic attraction early nextsummer. The caverns are located 14 mileseast of Peach Springs near Highway 66.Under an agreement recently announced, thethree owners have deeded the cave to Co-conino county, but have retained for them-selves a lease under which they will erecta lodge and cabin accommodations for visi-tors. The three men are Walter Y. Peck,Stanley Wakefield and Edmund R. Cosgrove.

Tucson . . .A giant saguaro bloomed and bore fruit

in New York city this year according toword received by the University of Arizonafrom Stanley G. Ranger of the New YorkBotanical Garden. Last June, in response toa request for a specimen the universityshipped the cactus in full bud to the botani-cal garden where it was planted. The sagu-aro will be on display during the New YorkWorld's Fair.

Safford . . .Riley Shirley has killed three mountain

lions during the last 60 days, two of themin Rattlesnake canyon in the Klondyke coun-try, and one in the Galiuro mountains. Thelast one measured eight feet in length andweighed 200 pounds.

Clifton . . .With 19 charter members from the towns

of Clifton and Morenci, a new Rotary clubhas been formed here with W. A. McBrideas temporary chairman. W. R. Carty, gov-ernor of the 43rd district of Rotary Inter-national, was present at the organizationmeeting.

Window Rock . . .Jake Morgan, bitter opponent of the Col-

lier administration of Indian affairs, waselected chairman of the Navajo tribal coun-cil at the annual election held during thelatter part of September. More than 11,000tribesmen took part in the balloting, it wasannounced at the Navajo agency.

Flagstaff . . .Professional photographers are barred

from entry in a photographic contest spon-sored by the museum of Northern Arizonabetween October 26 and November 13. Thecontest is open to amateurs in Flagstaff,Williams and Winslow. Each exhibitor mayenter two prints, 8x10 or 11x14 inches. En-tries must be in by October 22.

Tucson . . .What is perhaps the only diary of a cow-

boy written in Arizona has been given theArizona Pioneers' Historical society by itsauthor, Evans Coleman. The faithfully-keptdiary was begun in April 1896 and recordsmany events of "outlawry" and long cattledrives. The society has also received a 60-year old gift of ribbon wire used on a corralfence in the Galiuro mountains in Grahamcounty. J. W. Buchanan of Tucson has giventhe society a stein bearing the signed namesof members of the first Arizona senate.

Tombstone . . .Late summer rains have resulted in an un-

usually fine display of fall wildflowers inthe ranching areas according to the reportof Mrs. Fred S. Bennett who spent her va-cation on the range.

CALIFORNIA

Needles . . .Preparing to take full advantage of the

recreational facilities provided by LakeNeedles, local outdoor enthusiasts haveformed the Needles boat club with GeneKey as first commodore. According to infor-mation received here water in the new lakebehind Parker dam will reach the maximumlevel before the first of November, and thiswill bring the northern tip of the lake al-most to Needles townsite.

Twentynine Palms . . ."Dauber Dan," formerly of the Antelope

valley, has opened a studio in the JoshuaTree Village and plans to devote his timeduring the present season to water and oilpaintings of the region in and around theJoshua Tree national monument.

NUond . . .With a pressure of more than 200 pounds,

the third carbon dioxide well to be broughtinto production this summer along the east-ern shore of Sal ton Sea has just been com-pleted according to Manager Carl M. Ein-hart of the Pacific-Imperial Dry Ice company.

Palm Springs . . .Famous in years past for her prize-win-

ning baskets, Mrs. Ezilda Brittan Welmasof the Cahuilla Mission band of Indians atPalm Springs, died recently. She was 70years of age and the mother of Indian Offi-cer Joe Welmas.

Mojave . . .Bones of a prehistoric elephant which is

believed to have roamed the earth between25 and 30 million years ago recently werediscovered 30 miles northeast of here accord-ing to the report of H. Flagler Cowdon,mineralogist. Cowdon said he uncoveredmassive rib bones, teeth and tusks whiledigging on a slope near the Mojave petri-fied forest.

Indio . . .With an estimated production of 7,000,-

000 pounds of dates in California and Ari-zona this year, the AAA is planning to di-vert 1,750,000 pounds of substandard fruitto livestock feed, alcohol and other by-pro-ducts. Growers will receive 3 ^ cents apound for their inferior fruit, according toF. R. Wilcox, director of marketing for theAAA administration.

NEVADA

Las Vegas . . .Snow fell on 11,910-foot Charleston peak

early in September this year according to thereport of rangers. Two forest fires werestarted by lightning during the storms.

38 T h e D E S E R T M A G A 7 1 M F

Boulder City . . .Remains of a giant ground sloth will be

one of the exhibits in the new nationalpark museum being installed here under thedirection of Robert Rose, naturalist. The mu-seum is one of many attractions planned forvisitors to the Boulder dam recreationalarea.

Searchlight . . .This old mining town is scheduled to be

on a paved highway before the winter isover. The new oil macadam road has beencompleted from Las Vegas to ivithin 17miles of Searchlight, and bids are to becalled on November 1 for the remainingsector, according to J. M. Murphy, divisionengineer for the state highway department.

Ely . . .As soon as funds are available explor-

ation work is to be started in a cave in theSmith creek area east of Fallon under thedirection of M. R. Harrington of Southwestmuseum, according to information from theU. S. Forestry office here. Harrington alsoplans to continue excavations at the Lehmancaves when cooperative arrangements can bemade with the national park service.

Reno . . .Dr. Leon W. Hartman has been named

acting president of the University of Ne-vada to serve until a new president is chosenby the board of regents. The appointmentwas announced after Dean Maxwell Adamsasked to be relieved of his duties as actingpresident due to ill health.

• • •

NEW MEXICOSanta Fe . . .

Bad roads cost Santa Fe $142,000 a monthduring the tourist season this year, accord-ing to an estimate of the chamber of com-merce highway committee. Of the six roadsectors needing improvement, the committeelisted the 10-mile link in Highway 285 be-tween Lamy and Kline's corner as the mostserious obstacle to tourist travel to Santa Fe.

Alamogordo . . .Scientists interested in the white mice

found on the White Sands national monu-ment, have had difficulty trapping the littlerodents. However, a recent expedition caughtseveral of them, and they are to be takeneast for a study of their protective coloring.

Santa Fe . . .An initial grant of $2,500,000 has been

made by the Public Works Administration tostart work on the $8,000,000 Arch Hurleyirrigation project. Work is to be started thisyear on construction which will reclaim45,000 acres of land, it is reported.

Lordsburg . . .An outgrowth of the Hildago county live-

stock show, the New Mexico Livestock andFair association has been formed to erectpermanent buildings and conduct the showannually on a broader basis, it is announcedby George Cureton, president.

• • •

UTAHSalt Lake City . . .

Asserting that Utah has nothing to gainand may lose valuable resources if the fed-eral government creates the proposed Esca-lante national monument along the Colo-rado river. State Engineer T. H. Humphreyshas aligned himself against the project. Sup-porting the park project is the AssociatedCivic Clubs of Southern Utah. George L.Collins, assistant director of the nationalpark service who is investigating the pro-ject, says it is not the policy of his depart-ment to force the issue.

St. George . . .Residents of Littlefield, located in the

northwestern corner of Arizona, proposedrecently that the little tip of Mohave countyin which their town is located, be takenaway from Arizona and annexed to Nevada.They have direct highway connections withNevada, but are cut off from the remainderof their own state by the Virgin river. Theproposed change in state boundaries waspresented at a meeting held in St. George,Utah, to consider plans for the developmentof Virgin river irrigation projects.

Cedar City . . .Visitors are going to Zion National park

in increasing numbers according to the re-port of Superintendent P. P. Patraw. Theregister showed 130,670 names on Septem-ber 1, an increase of 7.77 percent over lastyear. Utah led with 38,189 registrations andCalifornia was second with 36,049.

Delta . . .A desert mystery of long-standing was

solved recently when a party composed ofCharles Kelly, author of several westernbooks, Frank Beckwith of the Delta Chroni-cle, and Roderic Korns of Salt Lake Cityfound the 90-year-old camp of one of theparties which made the tragic crossingacross the Death Valley region in 1849. Fol-lowing the vague notes contained in thediary of Henry W. Bigler, one of the mem-bers of the gold-seeking party, the Utahmen discovered the rock on which Biglercarved his initials. The old campsite is nearthe Bowers ranch in Beaver Dam wash.

B e a v e r . . .The pinenut crop in this area is heavy

this year and old-timers say the Indianaxiom that a big crop of nuts means a longcold winter has never failed. Large quanti-ties of the nuts have been gathered both forprivate and for commercial use.

MAKE THE

DESERT WANDERER ONTHIS MONTH'S COVER

Desert Charley, whose home is whereverhe and his burros are camping for the night,is the subject of this month's cover. The Des-ert Magazine is indebted to J. A. Frasher ofthe Frasher studio of Pomona, California, forthe following information about this old wan-derer:

"He has traveled all over the United States.We met him first in Death Valley, thenmonths later he was up in the Sierras. Hecharges people for taking pictures of his out-fit, thus picking up the few quarters he needsfoi his meager way of living.

"At one time he made a few hundred dol-lars, quite a fortune for him, working in amoving picture. That gave him beans andbacon for many months. Also, he purchased afew more burros.

"He permitted us to take pictures of him inseveral different poses. In return, we sent hima few hundred cards gratis which he sold for25c or 10c or whatever he could get.

"At one time we received a pitiful letterfrom him. Some one had poisoned all but twoof his burros. He wished us to trust him fora few hundred cards until he could get on hisfeet financially again. Eventually he paid usfor the cards.

"About two years ago we met him near Al-buquerque. He had traveled through Coloradoand was on his way to Southern Arizonawhere we last heard from him. He then hadfour animals. The last information we havehad regarding him came from Phoenix wherehe was living in a deserted house and suffer-ing from rheumatism."

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N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 39

NEW 1938 EDITION

THE CALIFORNIA 4DESERTS 4

EDMUND C. JAEGER

A visitor's handbook that tells 4

Illustrated $2.00

k all about the desert and itsplants and animals.

r TllurtratsA .4? nfl

• Stanford University Press ^STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIF. ^

NEW BOOKS BY DAUSTINFOR BIRDBREEDERS: 'Fundamentals of

Raising Orange Canaries', 35c 'Feedingfor Color', 35c Breeder Secrets, 3rd ed.$1.00

FOR DOG FANCIERS: 'Kennel & BreederPractice' 2nd cd. $1.00 'Selling Pets byMail' 1st ed. 50c

Write WILLIAM C. DAUSTIN, PedigreedDachshunde and good Roller Canaries

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Selected Desert

BOOKSfor your reference skelj . .

DEATH VALLEY: THE FACTSW. A. CHALFANT

An absorbing account of the phys-ical and historical facts about thisfamous sink, told by the only manwho is qualified to write this book.

Illustrated, third edition,160 pages $2.75

INDIAN TRIBESOF THE SOUTHWESTDAMA MARGARET SMITH

If you have read Mrs. "WhiteMountain Smith's human and bril-liant articles in The Desert Maga-zine, you will want this book, avivid, picturesque, and useful hand-book on our desert Indians.

Maps and sketches,160 pages 1.50

THE CACTUS AND ITS HOMEF O R R E S T S H R E V E

Dr. Shreve, as Director of the Car-negie Institution's Desert Labora-tory, has produced a readable bookfor anyone with interest in desertplants.

Originally $3-00, now $1.50

O N SALE A T

Desert Crafts Shops597 STATE STREET

EL CENTRO, CALIF.

All prices postpaid but sales tax addedfor California buyers.

OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY—a monthly review of the best literatureof the desert Southwest, past and present.

THEY FACED THE DESERTAT ITS WORST—AND WON

When the Bennett-Arcane party ofgold-seekers sought a shortcut route toCalifornia in the winter of 1849 andnearly perished for lack of food and wateron the long trek across the Death Valleyregion they were saved by the courageand loyalty of William Lewis Manley andJohn Rogers.

Manley told the story of this tragicepisode in desert history in a book pub-lished in 1894. His narrative is an ab-sorbing tale of human fortitude and loyal-ty in which the writer, with commendablemodesty, minimized his own heroic role.

None of the members of the DeathValley expedition of 1849 is living to-day, but the human drama of that memor-able event is recreated with startling clari-ty by George Snell in AND IF MANTRIUMPH, recently from the press ofThe Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho.

Snell has taken the grim bitter detailsof that fearful journey and presentedthem in terms of human courage andsacrifice. With all the odds against them,the men and women and children in thatill-fated ox-train clung to life with atenacity almost beyond belief.

The movement of the book is rapid,but into the swift-moving action is wovena fine descriptive detail that gives thereader an intimate picture of the desert.

"I was so dogged out," said LewisManley, "that I fell asleep while it wasstill light and didn't wake up until thelight had come again. Dawn on that deso-late expanse was like nothing I had everseen. In that cool, breathless moment, ina silence complete, hushed, vast, thewhole earth seemed dead, or at least in ikind of deathlike sleep, for there was noliving thing anywhere, not even a cloudin the gray sky above. No leaves werethere to flutter, no small animal to scurryor squeal, no bird to wing through thelimitless distance. If ever a complete stop-ping of life was on earth, it was here atdawn."

Manley and Rogers, with no familiesof their own to depend upon them, mighthave escaped much of the torture imposedupon their companions. But when thetemptation came, these two remainedloyal to their self-imposed trust.

Manley and Rogers should not be for-gotten—and George Snell's book, asidefrom the fine artistry with which he haspresented his subject, will be a lastingmemorial to two of the most courageouscharacters in the winning of the west.

R. H.

AN ENGLISHMAN COMES TOTHE DESERT—AND LIKES IT

Not even the most gorgeous realestate folders have been able to exagger-ate the enchantments of the Arizona des-erts, writes J. B. Priestley after a winterspent with his family near Wickenburg.

The English author's impressions ofAmerica, and particularly that portionof it west of the Rockies, are given in anautobiographical volume, MIDNIGHTON THE DESERT, Harper Brothers,New York and London, 1937.

Priestley found the Arizona "air so crys-tal clear and persistently aromatic," andthe "stars as precisely defined as stars ina planetarium." When he visited the Mo-jave desert "a cold wind raked the dunes."Beside Salton Sea he was almost fearfulbecause there was something in the abso-lute silence which suggested the prehis-toric condition of the world, and whatit might be again when man disappearedforever. "One bumblebee could haveshattered the crystal quiet like a squadronof bombing planes." But near the littlehut he used for study in Arizona, therewas indescribable beauty, opportunity toview life in its proper perspective andeven to philosophize over the theoriesrelative to the "Universal Stream ofTime."

Mr. Priestley catches the romance ofthe west, the spirit of the past, when In-dians raided or the bad man "shot upthe town"; of the pioneers who died ofthirst on the desert and were buried underthe sand, and the padres who foundedthe old missions.

But there is romance in the presentwhich he does not miss: the endless milesof long cement roads stretching acrossdeserts and mountains and dotted withgasoline stations where he is greeted withfriendliness and courtesy quite in contrastto the gruffness of the service station menof England; grinning and healthy C.C.C.boys; transients thumbing their way; highpowered sedans and old Fords "festoonedwith bedsteads and frying pans"; andcountless small towns ablaze at night withneon signs and appearing to the authorlike blocks from Hollywood dropped intothe middle of the desert.

Los Angeles is an unreality, as fictitiousas any film set of Hollywood; Santa Bar-bara is almost as unreal although morepicturesque; San Francisco is typical ofthe America Mr. Priestley loves; but inthese desert towns there is reality andtrue democracy. Here no one seems to bevery rich nor very poor, and "once youare through" you become "Jack and

40 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

Jmoky, Shorty and Hank" so that after afew months of this, to return to Englandi> like "dropping back into the feudalsystem."

The charm of this autobiography fortavers of the American southwest lies inthe author's appreciation and portrayalof familiar scenes and customs. It is in-teresting to see ourselves through the eyesof an Englishman, especially one whowrites with the literary style and criticalacumen of J. B. Priestley; and who lovesthe desert even as we do.

EMILY HOGAN.

• O •

A HAYWIRE HISTORYOF BOREGO VALLEY

Harry Oliver is now an art director inHollywood, but at one time he owned aranch in Borego Valley, California— oneof those desert ranches which grow a pro-lific crop of greasewood and burroweed.

In DESERT ROUGH CUTS, publishedby the Ward Ritchie Press of Los Angeles,Oliver has given a glimpse of some ofhis Borego neighbors—Uncle Tobe of theBusy Bee store, Screwbean Benny, Trap-door Lewis, Too-Honest Charlie, andothers.

Oliver created the characters, but hegave them personalities that sparkle withliumorous desert philosophy. The littlebook is "dedicated to the world's greatestoptimist—the Desert Prospector." It isi.rtistic in format and there's many alaugh in its pages.

The Desert Trading PostClassified advertising in this section costs eight cents a word, $1.60 minimum

per issue—actually about 10 cents per thousand readers.

REAL ESTATE

FOR SALE—Highly improved 20 acre ranch12 miles northeast downtown Tucson inguest ranch district on Tanque Verde road.Two adobe houses; one modern with Flamogas stove, ice-box, lights, water, concretefloors, insulated beamed ceiling, kitchenheater. Other used as tenant house. Twowells; one dug and other 350 foot 16 inchcase drilled, only 18 feet to soft Rinconwater. Gasoline pump, 1000 gallon storagetank tower, large uncompleted swimmingpool, ranch completely piped for irrigation.Plenty of shade trees, fenced, cattle guard,galvanized iron chicken houses with con-crete floors. Insured title guaranteed. Price$10,500.00; $8500.00 cash; $2000 mortgage.Address owner care of Desert MagazineBox 14.

DESERT VALLEY RANCH SALE—Ideal forrest haven, scenic resort site, agriculturalpursuits. In Kern county, 160 level acres.Two houses, double garage, well, trees, de-velopment. Any reasonable offer acceptedHIGBEE RANCH, Cantil, California.

HOME & INCOME. 6-rm. modern lodge onlot 150x260 ft. Plenty room for additionalrental units. Located in grounds of beauti-ful semi-desert all year Club and Resort.IV2 hrs. from L. A. Building boom andproperty values mounting. For Sale byowner on very easy terms or trade for cityproperty. Box 12, Desert Magazine, ElCentro, California.

NOVEL, NEW CABIN set on li/4 Acres rich,level land with abundance fine water. Adj.popular desert club 60 miles from L. A.All-year climate. $665, $25 dn., $10 mo.,

SEPTEMBER REPORT FROM including water rights & Club privileges.U. S. BUREAU AT PHOENIX Owner, 2397 E. Colo. St., Pasadena, Calif.

"amperatures— Degrees m r ^ T RA1MPWF*!Mean for month „._ .. 86.8 tjULbl KAJNOHtbNormal for September . 82.7High on September 9 107. CALLING ALL DUDE RANCHES within 50Low on September 13 67. m i ' e s °f Phoenix! (Palm Springs also note)

Rain— Inches • • • W e have a city fella who pines for theTotal for month T w i d e ° P e n spaces, who will trade hisNormal for September __ 0.75 $50,000 estate in Los Feliz district—(all

Weather— clear—12 rooms—6 bedrooms—4 baths—Days clear __.2O Mediterranean architecture) for dude ranchDays partly cloudy 6 °f e<5ual V i l I u e ( a ' s 0 clear). CompetentDays cloudy _. 4 appraisal invited. RECREATIONAL PRO-

G. K. GREENING, Meteorologist. M * * ™ 5 , J ^ D , D e v e I ° P e r s °f RanchoFROM YUMA BUREAU Mirage, 1201 Pershing Square Bldg, Los

Angeles...emperature— Degrees

Mean for month 87.4 RANCHO LOMA VISTA — Desert GuestNormal for September 83.6 Ranch. U. S. 80 highway at Aztec, Arizona.High on September 13 108. Rates $2.50 per day.Low on September 8 __ 64.

Rain— Inches NEW Palm Springs-Indio cutoff promisesTotal for month 0.35 wonderful business opportunities at RAN-69-year average for September 0 35 C H O MIRAGE.

Weather—Days clear 25 BOOKSDays partly cloudy 4Days cloudy 1 BOOKS—We have a stock of the best refer-

Sunshme 94 per cent (349 hours out of possi- ence books available on desert life. WriteWe 371 hours). your requirements or for quotations on our

Colorado river— combination offer. Desert Crafts Shop, 597September discharge at Grand Canyon State St., El Centro, California955,000 acre feet. Discharge at Parker JAEGER'S CALIFORNIA DESERTS Admir-530,000 acre feet. Estimated storage October al's DESERT OF THE PALMS and Chal-1, behind Boulder dam 23,180,000 acre feet. font's DEATH VALLEY—all to one address

JAMES H. GORDON, Meteorologist. for $5.00, postpaid.

MISCELLANEOUS

WANTED original poems, songs, for im-mediate consideration. Send poems toColumbian Music Publishers Ltd., Dept.R85, Toronto, Canada.

DESERT FORD—equipped with 7V2-inchtires and trunk rack. 1929 model coupe ingood running condition. Just the car forexploring the out-of-the-way places whereno roads exist. Car in garage at El Centro.Get in touch with owner by addressing theDesert Magazine, El Centro, California.

CORNELL'S INDIAN SHOP, Gallup, NewMexico. Sand pictures, Chimayo ties, Purses,Blankets, Runners, Silver, Rugs. Orders filledpromptly.

HAVE YOU MADE YOUR WILL?—Book-let of instructions and Will form blank forOne Dollar. Satisfaction or money back.Send dollar to Desert Crafts Shop, 597State Street, El Centro, California.

MAGAZINES

GIVE a subscription to the Desert Magazinethis Christmas. Sent monthly for a year tothree addresses in U. S. A. for $5.00. Sub-scription Dept., Desert Magazine, El Centro,California.

BACK NUMBERS of the Desert Magazine.Beginning Nov. 1 there will be an advancein price on some of the back numbers. If youmiss any copies from your Vol. 1 file, orderthem now at 25 cents a copy, except;Vol. 1 No. 1 (November 1937) 50cThe supply of this first edition is limitedbut remaining copies go at the above price.Complete file, first volume, November 1937to October 1938 in handsome loose-leafbinder, complete postpaid in United States,for only $3-50Complete file, first volume, in loose-leafbinder with one year subscription paid inadvance $5-00All prices above include sales tax andpostage.

A PAY AND PLAY

Desert RanchEarns $30,000 net per year

400 acres. Coachella Valley. Near PalmSprings but has a longer day, warmer win-ter climate. No frost, heavy winds, or duststorms. We grow and ship Thompson Seed-less, first grapes to reach eastern markets,bring highest prices. More bearing acreagenext year increases income.

10 wells, 325 inches water, master's bun-galow, 10 smaller houses, complete workingequipment.

PLAY: tennis, badminton, swimming pool,saddle horses.

SHOOT: ducks, quail, rabbits, skeet.Our efficient foreman makes ranch an

easy to operate investment for the inexperi-enced, non-resident or a woman.

COST $225,000. PRICE $210,000. TERMS.INVESTIGATION WELCOME

California Fruit Exchange handles crop,will show all records.

See it Now

JOHN M. GATESSECURITY BLDG., PASADENA

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 41

This Season Be Sure To Visit

MITCHELL'SCAVERNS

Essex, Calif. U. S. Highway 66

NATURE'SWONDERLAND

•EducationalEntertaining

Immenselimestonecaverns

present amagnificent

array offantasticfigures,shapes,

and forms.

BY AUTO: Drive on U. S. 66 to Essex,then turn north over good desert road tothe caves. From U. S. 91 turn south atWindmill Station.

CABINS, camp grounds, meals,guide service available.For Information and Reservations Write:—

Mitchell's Caverns, Essex, Calif.

Writers of the Desert . . .

CALL

PIONEERfor

ImperialValley

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W. H. Tyler, Jr. J. W. TylerComplete Insurance Service - RealtorsPhone 660 520 Main St.

EL CENTRO, CALIF.

Duck HuntingIn famed Imperial Valley offerssportsmen the best chance forlimit bags.Fresh Stock Winchester DuckloadsGuns and Hunting Supplies are offeredat competitive prices

Complete information at our 10 con-veniently located stores

IV. HARDWARE CO

If RICHARD VAN V A L K E N -BURGH learns to speak the Navajo lan-guage, one of his highest aims will be re-alized. He is working at it diligently overon the Navajo reservation at Fort De-fiance where he is on the payroll of theU. S. Indian Service as a research expert.

Van Valkenburgh's s t o r y , WEFOUND THE T H R E E TURKEYCLIFF DWELLINGS, in this issue ofthe Desert Magazine is one of many in-teresting experiences he has had in hisassociation with the Navajo. He has doneconsiderable work in the field as an ar-chaeologist and is making ethnology hisspecial study at the present time.

The Indians like him, and his closefriendship for them has given him a wel-come in hogans where other white peo-ple would be regarded with distrust.

Mineral collecting and pictorial pho-tography are the two pet hobbies ofCHAS. L. HEALD of Altadena, Cali-fornia, who wrote the story of his visitto HIDDEN FOREST OF NEVADAfor this number of the Desert Magazine.

He is a printer by trade and owns hisown shop, but steals away at every op-portunity to seek out the little traveledtrails in the desert country—looking formineral specimens and taking pictures.He is 26 years of age and plans to enterthe University of California as a geologymajor next year. He is a member of theMineralogical Society of Southern Cali-fornia.

• • •JAMES L. CARLING has watched the

passing parade of serious and frivolousminded human beings at Palm Springsduring the past five winters—and out ofhis observation has given the Desert Mag-azine the feature article OASIS which ap-pears in this number.

Carling is 23 years old, and accordingto his own confession is "just an ordi-nary fellow who wants to write." He livesat Palm Springs with his sister—the sis-ter being Bee Nichols, the young ladywho supplied the art work to go with thePalm Springs story. Her sketches have ap-peared in several Palm Springs publi-cations.

• • •Bugs are just bugs to the ordinary

human being, but to CHARLES F. HAR-BISON they are both a livelihood and ahobby. Harbison is entomologist at theSan Diego Museum of Natural History,and therefore was well qualified to writethe brief sketch about the PRAYINGMANTIS which appears in the DesertMagazine this month.

His special hobby is the Dragonfly or-

der, and he is building up a noteworthycollection of specimens at the museum.In addition to his other duties there heteaches groups of students and conductsnature walks. He has a degree in sciencefrom the University of California.

This month the Desert Magazine addsa desert cartoon to its features—thanksto the work of M. E. BRADY whose penline MEB is well known to readers ofthe monthly cartoon magazine FamousFunnies.

Brady has established his permanenthome at the Smoke Tree Villas in Twen-tynine Palms, California. While he is acomparative newcomer on the desert heand his young sons already have starteda mineral collection—which is merely oneof the first stages of becoming a con-firmed desert rat.

HUNTERS!Duck and GeeseOpen Season

begins Oct. 15California's shooting season onwaterfowl opens October 15 andcloses November 28. The bestplace in the state to get your baglimit is along the river-marshlands near Brawley. There's realsport in this desert paradise forsportsmen.

Plan to Make Brawleyyour Headquarters for

This Year's Trip

For latest information abouthunting conditions and scenic at-tractions, address Secretary,

BRAWLEY CHAMBEROF commERCEBrawley, Calif.

DESERT MAGAZINE BINDERSHold twelve copies—Attractive and Durable.

Delivered, each $1

Imperial Valley Bindery12? No. 6th St. El Centre, Calif.

42 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E

OASIS . . .Continued from page 18

f;et. For all that he is welcomed withopen arms. Your genuine Villager spends1- is Sundays home under the bed whentie voice of the tourist is heard in thehnd. The folks parade up and down thenain street in droves, their dark "cityclothes" making dismal spots against thebackground of sand and sun. Much astbey may look like a lot of unhappy fishcut of water, they imagine themselves tote having a heck of a time, so everybodyi> happy.

Palm Springs' roster of distinguishedquests is literally endless. Big-wigs ofevery sort, potentates and panjandrums,eventually find their way there from thefarthest corners of the globe.

Being only a matter of a hundred oddriiles from Hollywood, or a two and one-rialf hour automobile drive, the desert iseasily accessible, and Hollywood takesfull advantage of the fact. Numbers ofthe better-known stars have homes therein Palm Springs, and others spend all oftheir free moments at the beautiful hotelsend guest ranches. It is the sandbox ofmovie and Southland society, and anyweek finds the town filled with notablesof one kind or another.

So it goes, from September to May.Palm Springs seems to hold some indi-vidual fascination for all who go there,;.nd the world's sophisticates find pecul-iar delight in reverting to the simple state,to bask and play in sun and sand with allthe childish abandon of their infancy. Theinerry-go-'round of people, varied andcolorful as a crazy-quilt, snoop, squint,and shuffle happily about in bare feet;:nd sandals, reveling to their hearts' con-tent in freedom and the incredible joy ofliving.

The winter will, like all things, cometo an end at last, and the parade willmove on while the desert sinks again intoher summer siesta. But that never worriesIhe Villagers. They know that somehow,!;omewhere, a bit of fire that is an eternalpart of this arid, enchanted land has en-lered into the blood of each visitor, andI hat it will continue to draw him as ir-resistibly as a great magnet. Go where hemay, there is a single conclusion which isloregone:

He'll be back!

PALM SPRINGS MUSEUMTO BE OPEN NOVEMBER 15

Don Admiral, director of the PalmSprings museum, announced that the exhibitroom will be open to the public after No-vember 15. The museum is maintained bylocal contributors and there is no admissioncharge.

ic Wonderlandof Imperial Valley, California

With the Salton Sea on the north, Mexico on the south, the Colo-rado river on the east and the blue sierras on the west, ImperialValley of Southern California is a scenic desert bowl with a ver-dant agricultural empire at its center.

Seven cities on the finest pavedhighways serve the needs oftourists in Imperial Valley . . .every facility jor comfort isavailable in this land of westernhospitality.

mTo those who love the desert, here is beauty .. .

Do you want Mexican or Chinese fare in glamorousmanana land? Mexicali is just across the border. Doyou want old ghost towns of former mining booms? Pica-cho and Tumco beckon. Do you want to see the greatestcanal in the world? The all-American canal, $33,000,000project, is nearing completion. Do you want to see woodsink and stone float? Pumice and petrified wood are sideby side on the shore at azure Salton sea. Do you wantto stand on the brink of gushing mud volcanoes? TheMud-pots are a novel experience. Do you want to findbeauty and relaxation in the desert? Dozens of palm-lined canyons in rugged mountains are within easy driv-ing distance of the Valley.

Endless variety in desert's scenic attractions . . .

This fall or winter come to Imperial Valley . . . to enjoya weekend or a season in the "Winter Garden of Ameri-ca" . . . rest and relax at moderate expense . . . take youipick of long or short side trips as you visit the interestingscenic and historic spots of this desert wonderland . . .

FOR LITERATURE GIVING DETAILED INFORMATION ADDRESS:

IMPERIAL COUNTY BOARD OF TRADEEL CENTRO, CALIF.COURT HOUSE B. A. HARRIGAN, SECY.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 3 8 43

BY RANDALL HENDERSON

/ / yITH my good friend Harry Woods I spent a couple of\A/ days recently in California's Borego Desert state park.' " We hiked up Coyote canyon along the route JuanBautista de Anza and his colonists followed 163 years ago.Then we took a dim Indian trail into one of the gorgeouspalm canyons which extend back into the San Ysidro range.

Californians — and especially the people of the desert —should be grateful to those men and women who worked per-sistently for many years to have this area set aside as a publicplayground. One of these days the Desert Magazine will carrythe story of the origin of the park, giving credit to those whosponsored the plan.

At present, the finest scenic areas in the Borego region areinaccessible except to those who are willing to tramp longhours through sand and in boulder-strewn canyons. There aremany springs of pure water in the park, and more than 20canyons and tributaries in which native palm trees grow inoasis-like clusters.

Santa Catharina, where de Anza made an overnight campDecember 23, 1775, has the largest flow of water of any ofthe springs along the western rim of the Colorado desert. Alone palm stands on a little bench in the arroyo near thesprings.

The landscape along Coyote canyon has been little disturbedsince the de Anza caravan passed that way. Sooner or later nodoubt the state park department will build a highway alongthis route. Such a road is necessary if the park is to be openedto motorists. But the many canyons tributary to Coyote, wherethe real scenic beauty of the park is to be found, should re-main always as they are—accessible by foot-trail to those whoare interested enough to expend some energy in reaching them.

Some of our readers liked the sidewinder cover on theSeptember number of the Desert Magazine. Others didn't—and were quite frank about it. I am grateful for all the opin-ions—because those who differed were friendly in their criti-cism.

Here is my answer to one of those who objected:"The desert is not the hell-roarin' place depicted in the

pulp magazine and the movies—nor do we wish to presentit as a pink-tea sort of paradise.

"The real desert is an invitation—but it is also a challenge.It appeals to humans with vision and courage—but the ap-peal is not entirely in its colorful sunsets, its pastel shades andits quiet restful canyons. Consciously or unconsciously, thegrim forbidding aspects of the desert also have an appeal.Therein lies the challenge to courage.

"The rattlers are symbolic of that challenge. Also the heat,the catsclaw, the Giia monster, the aridity. They are a truepart of the desert. Without them it would not have the fas-cination it holds for men and women of imagination. The fear-

some aspects of the rattler, the tarantula and the scorpionhave been greatly exaggerated. They are hostile only whentheir security is threatened. And after all, are we humans anydifferent?"

All of which merely is my personal viewpoint—and is notoffered as a defense of the sidewinder cover. I am aware thatsome of the finest people on earth have a natural horror ofrattlesnakes. I hope they found enough beauty inside the Sep-tember magazine to compensate for their dislike of the cover.

At Twentynine Palms recently I asked several of thetownsmen whether they regarded their community as part ofthe Mojave desert or the Colorado desert. Local opinion dif-fered—and that leaves the question open to discussion. Iwould be interested in any authoritative opinions the readersof the Desert Magazine have to offer. The dividing line be-tween the two deserts never has been very clearly defined.

Twentynine Palms is interested in the building of a newhighway toward the east to connect with the MetropolitanWater district's paved road near Rice. The opening of thishighway link will provide a new inter-state route into SouthernCalifornia. Parker, Arizona, would become an important gate-way for transcontinental travel.

With the Joshua Tree national monument as its chief scenicasset, Twentynine Palms is growing steadily. The landscape issprinkled with subdivision signs. Many attractive homes arebeing erected.

There are two kinds of real estate men operating in thedesert country. One type sells the desert. They are men withimagination—they understand and appreciate what they areselling. The others are land hawkers whose only interest inthe desert is the dollars it will bring them. The real developerstake every opportunity to tell about the charm of their desertcountry. The others bore you with tales of the shortcomingsof their competitors. Twentynine Palms has both kinds. Sodoes every other community.

I have a friendly feeling for the members of the rhymingfraternity—but some days I wish they were not so generous.They've almost got me buried in verse. If William Shake-speare himself should return from the grave and offer one ofhis masterpieces I would have to turn it down or make one ofthose indefinite promises—and the good Lord knows I havemade too many of them already.

What makes the job really difficult is when one of the sub-scribers sends in a long letter of praise for the Desert Mag-azine—and then in the last paragraph adds: "I hope you canuse the enclosed verses."

Now what is a desert editor going to do in such a spot? Iwish I knew the right answer.

44 T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E