194003 desert magazine 1940 march

8/14/2019 194003 Desert Magazine 1940 March

1/46

M A IB" A

MARCH, 1940 25 CENTS


2/46

tke

(Bpiphyllummacropterum)

By IVAN B. MARDISTucson, Arizona

This picture of one of thenight blooming cereus specieswas awarded first prize in theDesert Magazine's amateurphotographic contest for Janu-ary. Taken with an AvusVoightlander at f32, 3 seconds,with floodlights.

Special MetitIn addition to the prize win-

ning pictures, the following am-ateur photographers enteredpictures of more than ordinaryquality:

Dick Freeman, Los Angeles,California.

L. B. Dixon, Del Mar, Califor-nia.

R. B. Cadwalader, Los Ange-les, California.

Ancient MillBy ARLES ADAMS

El Centro, CaliforniaAwarded second prize in the

January photographic contest ofthe Desert Magazine. These me-tates were found under an over-hanging rock along the westernrim of the Southern California des-ert. Photograph taken with a Ko-dak R ecomar 18 with Plena-chrome film, 1/25 sec. at f8.


3/46

D E S E R T

M AR. 1 Miliza Korjus. star of TheGreat Waltz, in recital Plaza thea-ter, Palm Springs, California.

2-3 Motorboat racing on Salton sea,sponsored by Palm Springs-Coa-chella Valley Motorboat Racingassociation.

2-10 Impe rial County M idwinterfair,Imperial, California. DormanV.Stewart, secretary.

3 Third annual student rodeo,Ari-zona university, Tucson. Collegestudent competitors from5 south-west states.

3 Demonstration of pottery makingby Lulu Howard and Lena Mesk-eer, St. Johns Indian reservation,program of Arizona museum.Phoenix.

8-10 First annual Indian show and cere-monials, Phoenix, Arizona.

9-10 Hell Hole canyon in Borregoval-ley to be visited by Southern Cali-fornia Sierra club. LeadersMr.and Mrs. Russell Hubbard.

10-16 Annual spring music festivalatUniversity of Arizona, Tucson.Alec Templeton, featured artist,toappear March13.

12-24Flagellation of Los PenitenlesinRio Grande settlements, fromF.s-panolo north to Taos, New Mexi-c o . Not open to public.

13 Pinon nuts subjectof Dr. ElbertL. Little, ecologist, at Phoenix,Arizona museum.

15 Alec Tem pleton in piano recital

at Palm Springs Plaza theater.l()-24 Sierra club will visit central Ari-

zona and Grand Canyon, led byE. Stanley Jones,Al BaldwinandFrank A. Schilling of Los Angeles.

17-24 Holy Week celebrated withpro-cessions and ceremonies in Span-ish-American villages of NewMexico.

17 Win ter championship gymkhanaatPalm Springs.

17 Arizona Cactus and Native Florasociety meets at Phoenix,Mrs.Gertrude D. Webster, president.

13-19 New Mexico Cattle Growersas-sociation meets in Gal lup .

20 Bird banding topic of Natt N.Dodge, park naturalist. ArizonaMuseum, Phoenix.

2 2 Early Indians of Southern Cali-fornia subject of Edwin F. Walk-er, Southwest Museum archaeolo-gist, at Sierra club meeting. BoosBros., Los Angeles.

2 3-24 Ag ua Caliente spring s nea r Valle-cito setting for weekend of Sierraclub. Pat Carmichal leader.

28-30 Desert cavalcade, annual festivalof Calexico, California. Al Vier-h u s , association president;Mrs.Rose Brown, pageant chairman.

28-31 La Fiesta del Sol and horseshowat Phoenix. P. B. Murphy, secre-tary.

1..\ _ , Z. ~~

Volume 3 MAR CH, 1940 Num ber5

COVER Even ing Pr imrose , copyr igh ted pho tographbyStephen H. Wil lard , Palm Spr ings , Cal i fornia

PHOTOGRAPHY Prize winnin g pic turesin J a n u a r y . . . Ins ide coverLETTERS C o m m e n t f r o m D e s e r t M a g a z i n e r e a d e. . . 2HISTORY Slave Gir lof the Mojaves

B y OREN ARNOLD 3CAMERAAR T Ute. Photographby WM. M. PENNINGTON . . 9CONTENTMENT Montana J im's Utopia

B y MARIE LOMAS 10

PUZZLE Deser t Quiza tes tof y o u r k n o wl e d g eo f the dese r t 11DI ARY Fe b r u a r y at Ya q u i t e p e c

B y MARSHAL SOUTH 13WILDLIFE Whi te Sa tan of the Deser t

B y VANCE HOYT 14GEMS Crysta ls Along the Shoresof Sa l ton Sea

B y JOHN W. HILTON 17LEGEND Story of the Humming Bird

A s told to HARRY C. JAMES 20POETRY DESERT TRAILS, an d oth er po em s 21LOST T R E A S U R EDea th Va l l ey Go ld

B y JOHN D. MITCHELL 23BOTANY

Ba s k e t ma k e rof the

Deser tB y MARY BEAL 24HOBBY CactiBy LUCILE HARRIS 26N E W S Here and Thereon the Deser t 28LANDMARK El Morro

B y MRS. NELSON GRAY &C. F. SAUNDERS 30CONTEST La n d ma r k a n n o u n c e me n tfor Ma r c h 31PRIZES Contes t announcemen t fo r ama teu r pho tographe rs31PLACE N A ME S Origin of n a m e s in the Sou thwes t 32MINING Briefs from the deser t region 33HOBBY G e m s and MineralsBy ARTHUR EATON . . 34WEATHER J a n u a r y t e mp e r a t u r e son the dese r t 39FICTION Hard Rock Shor ty

B y LON GARRISON 40BOOKS Re v i e ws of current deser t l i te ra ture 42CONTRIBUTORSWriters of the Deser t 43COMMENT J u s t B e t w e e n Y o u a n d M e b y t h e E d. . . 4 4

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Publishing Company, 636State Street, LI Centro, California. Entered as second class matter October 11 1937 atthe post office at El Centro, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registeredNo. 358865 in U. S. Patent Office, and contents copyrighted 1939 by the Desert PublishingCompany. Permission to reproduce contents must be secured from the editor in writing.

RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor.

TAZEWELL H. LAMB and LUCILE HARRIS, Associate Editors.

Artverti im, I A l D e V o r e ' 3 1 7 S ' Central Ave., Los Angeles, Calif., Phone MI 6441Advertising \ B u g e n e A. LaMont, El Centro, CaliforniaManuscripts and photographs submitted must be accompanied by full return post-

age. The Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility for damage or loss of manuscriptsor photographs although due care will be exercised for their safety. Subscribers shouldsend notice of change of address to the circulation department by the fifth of the monthpreceding issue.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 1 year $2.50 2 years $4.00 3 years $5 00GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS: 1 subscription $2.50 two $4.00 three $5.00

Canadian subscriptions 25c extra, foreign 50c extraAddress subscription letters to Desert Magazine, El Centro, California

M A R C H , 1940 1


4/46

Monrovia, CaliforniaDear Mr. Henderson:

Desert Magazinefor February just to hand.T he 12 '39s are in regular order in the nicebinder you sent to me upon the renewal ofmy subscription. Thankyou.

Am pleased to note that Marshal Southisto be a contributor. I read his "Desert Re-fuge," in the Saturday Evening Post.

In one of my scrapbooks I have his essay,"The Rule of Power," published in The LosAngeles Times many yearsago. Have alsothree stirring verses, "America,"which I com-

mitted to memory.It was in the American MagazineI believethat I found that wonderful poem, "Progress,"wri t ten by Mr. South during the Wor l d War.In some way the magazine was lost before Icopied it but fragments remainedin my mindfor years after and finally I wrote to Mr. Southat Oceanside and asked him if he would kind-ly take the t rouble to send me a copy of thepoem. By return mail camea letter with theleaf taken from the magazine. He apologizedfor the somewhat worn condition, sayingitwas the last one he had. At once I made acopy and returned the leaf with my thanks.Promptly came backa reply thanking me fori ts return. I have made many copies sinceforfriends who appreciated the poem.

Perhaps some day I may have the oppor-tunity to meet Mr. South in person, at leastI hope so.

W . H. M ARQUI S .

Morongo Valley, CaliforniaDear Editor:No author tells aboutit in the famous Desert

"Mag."Like they do 'bout other places when they

want to boast and brag.But Morongo never grumblesnor complains

about its lot.For the Master-Mind remembers what most

wri ters have forgot;And the beauty of the valleycoming from

the hand of H i m Shall delight the eyes of thousands whenthe

printed page is dim.Joshua trees with arms a-pointing northand

south and east and west.Yucca's flaming candle lightingup the hill-

side's rugged breast,Spanish dagger's warning challengeto the

stranger passingby,A coyote's dismal howling wherethe deep-

scarred canyonslie,Wild birds practicing their musicthese tell

more, in Nature 's way'Bout the Valley of Morongo than what writ-

er s try to say.

Oh! there is no author living who can pic-turize the scene

Like the Master-Mind has writ it on the des-ert's age-old screen.

CASSIE WILLIAMS.

Lemon Grove, CaliforniaDear Mr. Henderson:

In the quiz of the last issue of the Desertthere is a question (19) deal ing withoco-lillo and hedionilla. 1 have always heard thatthe word hedionilla appliedto the creosotebush. The use of the word to mean ocotillois new to me. Can you give me any informa-tion in this regard?

FLETCHER A. CARR.

Yo u are right. Hedionilla is the Mexi-can name for creosote bush. Quiz editorapologizes to you and all the other Quizfans. R. H.

n

Las Vegas. NevadaGentlemen:

I wish to thank you for the binder for 1939;I consider my Desert Magazine invaluableandI treasure the copies that I have.

May I offer a suggestion, or even make arequest, that at some future timeyou publishan article on the prehistoric flaking of arrowpoints, daft points with an authentic expla-nation of the method used by the prehistoricIndian in flaking these implements.

As a desert rat and an amateur archaeolo-gist, I am both interested in and grieved atthe ignorance of the tourist on this subject.

Thank you for your attention and wishingthe Desert Magazine unlimited success,I am

W . S. PARK.Thank you lor the suggestion. Dr. Park,

and I assure you such an article willap-pear in the Detert Magazine a little later.

R. H.

Santa Maria, CaliforniaGentlemen:

I was interested in the article "MassacreCave" by Richard Van Valkenbergh in thelast issue of your magazine.

The author may have wondered why therewere no skulls in the cave. I got nearly thesame story as printed from a man whose fath-er ran a boarding house in that part of Ari-zona many years ago. The Indians told himabout the cave.

He said he and his brothers, probablybe-fore 1900, visited the cave and took awayseveral sacks of skulls which they sold,or atleast offered for sale, to the Smithsonian In-

stitute. This will probably clearup why therewere no skulls among the bones in the pic-ture.

H . B. TAKKHN.

Chloride, ArizonaDear Editor:

At the end of the year 1939 there is onething that 1 am very thankful forand thatis the grand Desert Magazine. Havethe firstissue, and wouldn't part with it for manytimes the price offered for it today.

If I ever remain in one place long enough,I want to order the few issues I have missed.I have been out in the sticks for two yearsand have been unable to get to town oftenenough to get the full set.

To make sure that I get all of them in thefuture I am sending in two subscriptions,formyself and my daughter. With best wishesforthe success and continuance of a real maga-zine.

MRS. IVA M. IRELAN.

Gentlemen:Sunland, California

1 have been around the desert since 88.N ow at the newsstands there are so manyit is difficult for a person to find the maga-zine he is looking for.

My advice to you would be to keep as apermanent cover the burro picture on DesertMagazine of January 1940. There is no penthat can write it so wellthe cactiand burrotoo.

EBERT.

Bolivar. MissouriGentlemen:

Through a friend of mine I have receiveda year's subscription to the Desert Magazine.I have received two numbers of it and haveread them from cover to cover. What a de-lightful publication it is and what fascina-tion its pages have furnishedme.

I have been through much of the desertcountry of the west, and to me there wasnothing but sand, sage brush, prairie dogsand cacti, scorched by a burning hot sun.Nothing at all that appealed to me or gaveme any thri l l . But your splendid magazinehastaught me one thing in particular. There isa thrill, and things to appreciate, in anycountry where you learn to live and to seewith your eyes and hear with your ears,thebeauties of the scenery and the charm natureha s in store for you.

From my home here in the Ozarks I canreadily appreciatehow much I would like tobelong to one of those desert societies thathas for its purpose the study of the variouskinds of sand and rock formations and plantlife of the desert. It is so strange and so dif-ferent from the life and earth formationsofother parts of the world.

All people seem to love the environment inwhich they have lived for a long period oftime, whether it be on the sands of the des-

ert, in the towering mountainsof the Rockies,the broad prairies of Kansas or the Dakotas,the corn belt of Iowa or the hills and hollowsof the Ozarks.

H ow we love our Ozarks! High mountains,covered with beautiful forest trees that rolland sway in the breeze like the restless oceanwaves. Deep canyons, rich fertile valleys, fineorchards and vineyards, and best of all, clearcool mountain springs that burst fromthemountain sides and form rushing mountainstreams that go dancing and singing betweenmoss covered banksand over miniature water-falls down to their home in the sea. To mymind there is no place in all the world sofull of genuine joy and pleasure as a walk bythe side of one of these little clear bubblingmountain streams.

Was there ever a scene so enchantingOr a fairyland filled with such thrillsAs an evening by the clear crystal watersOf a creek that flows down throughthe

hills?T o me there is none, and your magazine

has taught me to have a profound respectforthe love that all people have for their nativesoil. I shall look forward witha lot of pleas-ur e to each of the remaining numbersof yourfine magazine.

W . S. W H I T E .

San Bernardino. CaliforniaDear Sirs:

Enclosed please rind two poems which Ioffer you to publish. I'm a prospector andhave a fourth interest in a Death Valley goldmine, from which we have taken SI 7,000since 1934, and most of which went backdown the hole to find more ore. I come to SanBernardino quite often so 1 keep a mail boxthere if you choose to use either or both ofthese. Your autograph on a check wouldsur-prise me most pleasantly.

LEON NOYES.

Thanks, old-timer. I like )our rerses,bu t the Desert Magazine is like your goldmine. We are taking out some good orebu t it is all going back in the hole.1 hope one of these days we will strikearich leadand then w e'll start payingthePoets. Just now all we can offer them is

"Thank you.'' R.H.

The DESERT MAGAZINE


5/46

OLIVB BEfOBE THE INDIAN COUSCIL

Slave Ght off the MojaveiIn the bitter conflict between Indian and white emigrant for the possession

of the southwestern territory there was treachery and cowardice but therewas also courage and honor. Perhaps in no other episode in the history of!western America are these opposing traits in human nature brought so con-spicuously into the foreground as in the tragic story of the Oatman familywhich attempted to cross the desert plains in 1851-2. Here is a story of savagecrueltyand of a white boy whose loyalty and devotion deserve a finer trib-ute than has so far been given.

By OREN ARNOLD

O OYCE OATMAN had been warned repeatedlyofl \ the grave danger of traveling acrossthe Arizonades-

ert. In 1852 it was a hazardous undertaking evenfor astrong wagon train witha military escort.And he was travel-ing with his family alone.

But he scoffed at the stories of Indian depredations.Hewas determined to reach California, and with a courageborn of ignorance he plodded ahead. It was on the trekfrom the village of Pimole, Arizona to Fort Yuma, thathepaid the penalty for his foolhardiness.

Young Lorenzo Oatman firstsaw the danger that day, andtouched his father's arm.

MARCH, 19 4 0

"Whoa!" The father halted his oxen. Then to his wife"There is a movement yonder.It may be redskins!"

To keep from revealingher terror Mrs. Oatman beganre-arranging thingsin their food box. Olive, the oldest girl,wasstanding wide-eyedon the opposite sideof the wagon, andlittle MaryAnn was holding the line that controlledthe oxen.

The suspensewas not long. Hideously painted, nude savefor G-strings,the Indians suddenlylet out deafening shrieksand came swinging theirwar clubs. Oatman'sone rifle couldnot stop them. Lorenzo Oatman,the 15-year-old son, was

struck first on the head. As his knees folded he caught aglimpse of mother reachingfor her baby, heard Olive scream,


6/46

four children mentioned, there were Lucy,C. A.Boyce, Jr., and a babe in arms, seven childreninall, crawling westward in an unescorted coveredwagon along the dangerous Mexican frontier. Lessthan a thousand whites lived thenin all of Arizona.

I have here omittedthe horror detailsof the mas-sacre itself. That was only the beginningof the storyanyway.

When young Lorenzo Oatman regained conscious-ness the moon was gleaming in his face. Efforts atrising were haltedby extreme pain and he neverknew how long he took in gaining his hands andknees. He sat there trying to think. Blood was allover him now. Blood! . . . . Memory of the attacksurged back strong!

He looked aroundand presently saw the familywagon silhouetted,a black skeleton of itself, on arock bluff 20 feet abovehim. Evidently he had beenthrown overfor dead. But he had fallen in soft sand.

He climbed backup there. Mutilated bodiesof hismother, father, brothersand sisters lay around all but Olive and Mary Ann. These two girls werenowhere to be found. The wagon had been ran-sacked, burned.The oxen were missingas was ev-erything else of value. Lorenzo was almost crazed

with horror and pain. He knew not where to go,yet he couldn't just sit there and wail. He startedwalking. He found water in the Gila river, but near

then knew nothing more. Thatwas in mid-after-noon.

What happened therewas virtually inevitable.Itwas, moreover, symbolicof the march of empirewhich seems everto have advanced in tragedy andblood. The Oatman episode was not the greatestdrama in the Indian troubles,and not necessarilythemost tragic,but it was the one that ultimately mostinflamed people everywhere.It commanded firstre-gional, then national attention,due doubtless to thefact that the central figures were lovely OliveOat-man and her little sister, MaryAnn. Their true story

became the best-seller bookof its day, and even in1940 is a veritable saga, althoughto our modernshame not even a suitable markeris on the spot ofthe massacre.

The attack occurred nearthe Gila river in whatwas then the territory of New Mexico, laterAri-zona territory. It is almost as wild looking todayasit was in 1852, although it may now be reached bya 20-minute side trip from paved Highway80, turn-ing at the village of Sentinel. On modern trips,Agua Caliente is nearest white settlementto thesite.

The Oatmans werean eastern family with morecourage than discretion,an independent partyof

California gold seekers. Besidesthe parents and the (. 'I i: I: S /.


7/46

the next midday he realized that hewould soon die of hunger if food couldnot be found.

Help came unexpectedly. He hadtrudged aimlessly, suffering acutely andfighting the most terrifying of hallucina-tions, when he was terrified in reality bythe appearance of two Indians. Theywere mounted, and coming directly to-ward him.

Miraculously, these proved to befriendly hunters (probably Pima or Pa-pago) not Apache as the killers hadbeen. They carried him safely back tothe white village of Pimole from whichthe Oatmans had started their desert trek.

Alone, penniless, and attracting muchattention and sympathy, Lorenzo beggedfor an expedition to try to rescue his sis-ters. Sympathy, however, was all thatcould be given him. To arm 50 men andstart searching in the wild hills would besuicidal, the settlers declared. It wassound reasoning from their standpointbut it did not satisfy Lorenzo. Fury andyearning settled within the lad. He beganthen and there to devote his life to asearch for his sisters.

Another party of travelers camethrough the village and offered to takeLorenzo on to Fort Yuma, his originalgoal. He went with thembraving thesame hazardous journey as beforeand

Il lustrations accompanyingthis story are copies of etchingsm a d e by an artist named Fel-ter in 1857. T he portraits of O l-ive and Lorenzo are said to beexcellent l ikenesses. The tattoomarks were put on Olive's faceby the Mojaves. The picture ofthe massacre was drawn fromthe detailed account told by

Oliv e and Lorenzo. T he FortYuma scene shows the com-mander greeting Olive on herreturn with Francisco, her res-cu er, im m e d ia te ly b e y o n dthem. Francisco points to theIndian maiden who helped himget the white girl away fromthe tribesmen. In the recordsthis Indian girl is referred to as(he "princess."

re-visited the place of the massacre. Bonesof the dead were buried but no trace ofOlive and Mary Ann was found. InFort Yuma Lorenzo went at once toCommander Hcintzleman as friends hadsuggested.

"Your sisters have probably been killedby this time," the officers assured theboy.

"But they weren't killed with theothers!"

"Well, the redskins just wanted totorture them and kill them that night,probably, son. That's Apache fashion,you know."

"No!" Lorenzo insisted. "Other In-dians, friendly Pimas, say they haveheard rumors of two white captives inthe Apache camps."

The officers smiled, in fancied kind-ness and wisdom."Hardly," one of them said. "Of whatvalue would two mere girls be as cap-tives? Especially one just seven? "

Lorenzo saw it was hopeless to arguewith soldiers. He told his story to miners,prospectors and others who drifted in.Considerable interest was aroused after afew weeks and finally a group of menmet one night and discussed the matterthoroughly. Other rumors, bearing outthe reported captivity of the girls, hadsifted in by then. The men armed them-selves and took provisions, determinedto set out on a rescuing expedition. Thesoldiers stepped in again.

No," ordered the commander. "Itcannot be permitted. To begin with, allwe have to go on is the word of a scaredboy. Second, you are not strong enoughin numbers and equipment to make thelong trip that would be necessary. You

d considered theceramic output of this Indian stock inferiorto the better known Puebloan.The author statesthat although the design is piimitive and un-skillfullv applied, the best examples exceedthe Puebloan in thinness and hardness andequal it in symmetry of form. To comDarethequantity of production with the Puebloanwould also give an erroneous impression,forthe differing social customs were largelyre-sponsible for the scant remaining specimensofYuman pottery.

The second section of the 50-page reportconsists of comparative studies in which theYumans are divided geographically into West-

ern. Colorado desert, Colorado riverand East-ern groups . Ethnological background generalprocesses and descriptions form a basis forcomoarisons.

Bibliography; color plate and black andwhite photos. M'p of Yuman and Shoshoneandistrict c. 1800 A. D. $1.25.

NEW GUIDE BOOK ISSUEDFOR SOUTHWEST TRAVELERS

Twenty-six southwestern national monu-ments are described and illustrated in aGUIDE issued by the Southwestern Monu-ments association, DaleS. King, editor.

Frank Pinkley, who supervises the monu-ments from headquarters at Coolidge,Ari-zona explains in the introduction the differencebetween a national monument and a nationalpark. A monument is an area set aside by thepresident primarily for its educational value,with secondary recreationaland insnirationalvalue. The purpose of a national park, whichis proclaimed by congress, is reversed, therecreational value being foremost.

A double-page map shows location of themonuments in Arizona, Utah, ColoradoandNew Mexico. Full informationon each monu-ment follows: personnel, locationand area.date established, season, facilities, descriptionand history. All are illustrated with excellentphotos. Reading list,50 pp. 30c.

SETON VILLAGE PRESSPUBLISHES POETRY BOOK

P ICTOGRAP HS OF THE S O U T H W E S Tis a small volumeof poems issued by the SetonVillage Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Thecontributors, called the Seton Village Poets,include writers of international note as wellas such native-sounding namesas Wazininaand Watonka.

Many moods and reactions to the desertareexpressed in varied form. From the effectivecouplet style of Clark Brown throughthePueblo drama-poem of Hartley B. Alexanderto the free verse of Witter Bynner, the versescrystallize the feeling of the poet for theSouthwest.

Also presented are Ernest Thompson Seton,Loren Baum, Madge Hauger, Alice Heap,La

Rue Paytiamo, Arthur Pfaff, Lester Thomasan d Roy A. Keech. 50 pp. Si .00 .

BACKGROUNDOF E ST E VA NAND CABEZADE VACA

Although the historical novel GALLEONSS AIL W E S T WARD, by Camilla Campbell,isnot strictly a book of the desertits two lead-ing characters, Cabezade Vaca and the Moor-ish slave Estevan, played significant partsinSpain's first attempted conquestof what isno w the desert region of the United States.

With three companions,all shipwreckedsur-vivors of the ill-fated Narvaez expeditiontoFlorida, Cabeza de Vaca and Estevan spentnine years traversing the swamps alongthegulf coast and the arid region of westernTexas before reaching a Spanish outpostatCuliacan, Mexico. Mostof the time they livedand traveled with wild Indian tribesmen.

It was during this long painful trek thatthey heard of the fabulous Seven CitiesofCibola, and Estevan became imbued withtheidea of reaching theman idea whichled to

his violent death later in one of the Z',in


45/46

i/te 2>edeitVANCE HOYT, psychologist and naturalist ,

spent many months in the desert securing ma-terial for his coyote story Song Dog whichwas published in book form last year. Andout of that same experience with desert wild-life he has written "White Satan of the Des-

ert" for this number of the Desert Magazine.Hoyt is a psychologist and naturalist, nowteaching in the Los Angeles schools and writ-ing the syndicated nature column "Walks andTalks with Nature" for coast-to-coast news-papers.

At present he is working on a biographyofhis grandfather, "Buckskin Joe," scout andfrontiersman in the early days in Kansas, In-dian territory and Colorado. Vance Hoyt wasraised by his grandfather after his father waskilled in the land rush in Oklahoma, and itwas from "Buckskin Joe" that he acquired hislove for the outdoor life of the plains andmountains.

When not occupied with his teaching, writ-ing and lecturing Dr. Hoyt is pursuing hisother hobby which is geology and fossil-col-

lecting. His companion usually is his son whois majoring in geology at the UniversityofCalifornia, Los Angeles.

Whit:; Mountain Smith will leave Arizonathis spring. Superintendentof Petrified forestnational monument for past10-^2 years, hehas been transferred to Grand Teton nationalpark, Wyo ming. Thomas W hitecraft , formerchief ranger at Glacier national park in Mon-tana will take the Petrified forest under hissupervision. Charles Smith and his wife spentnine yeirs at Grand Canyon, where Smith waschief ranger, before going to the Petrifiedforest. Mrs. Smith has written widely knownbooks dealing with the southwest and is aregular contributor to the Desert Magazine.

JOHN D. MITCHELL whose ser iesof losttreasure stories is starting in the Desert Maga-zine this month, is a Kentuckian who has spentmany years in the mining industry of th eSouthwest. His profession is mining engineerand the collecting of tales of buried treas-ure and lost mines has been a hobby for manyyears. He is author of the book "Lost Minesand Buried Treasures of the Great South-west."

DESERT QUIZ ANSWERS

Continued from page12

1Nickel.2--Canyon de Chelly.3 --Cahui l la .4--Lower Sonoran zone.5--Department of Interior.6--American Indian.7 --Deer hun ters .8-Arizona.9- Prehistoric Indian ruins.

10Hopi .11--Po t tery.121540.13-Lieut. Beale.14-Mormons.15Cattle trail from Texas to Kansas.16-Santa Fe.17-Quechan.18Yuma.19--Death Valley.20Salt Lake City.

D 6 S C R T B O O K. . . that add charm and mystery to America's lastfrontier. Books that will fascinate both young andold . . . historical books . . . desert yarns . . . guides. . . Indian lore or desert botany.

Order a book today to enrich your library or as a

gift for a friend.

CACTI AND BOTANY

SUCCULENTS FOR THE AMATEUR,edited by Scott E. Haselton. Beautiful-ly illustrated handbook for collectors andstudents, paper Si.5 0, cloth $2.00

F IE L D BOOK OF W E S T E RN W IL DFLOWERS. Margaret Armstrong. Hand-book for both amateur and advancedbotanists. Illustrated with pen sketchesand 48 colored plates. 596 pages.. $3.50

CACTUS AND ITS HOME, ForrestShreve. A readable book for cacti andsucculent hobbyists. Illustrated.195 pages $1.50

DESERT CACTI, A. T. Helm. New edi-tion of a unique booklet, illustratedwith sketches 50c

CACTI FOR THE AM ATEUR , S. E. Has-elton. By a ranking cacti authority. Col-or illustrations. Paper cover $1.00board cover $1.50

INDIANS

INDIAN TRIBES OF THE SOUTH-WEST, Mrs. W. M. Smith. A vividuseful handbook on the desert tribes.160 pages $1.50

GUIDES

DEA TH VALLEY, A GUID E. New pub-lication of Federal Writers Project. Verycomplete and beautifully illustrated $1.00; cl ot h _____ $1.75

WHERE SHALL WE GO, A Guide tothe Desert . Will iam Mason and JamesCarling. 17 trips in Southern Californiadesert out of Palm Springs with mapsand mileage. Brief description flora andfauna 50c

GRAND CANYON COUNT RY, M . R .Tillotson and Frank J. Taylor. A thor-oughly accurate handbook of informa-tion covering geology, wildlife, historyand recreation. 108 pages $1.00

DAYS IN THE PAINTED DESERT andthe San Francisco mountains, a guide,by Harold S. Colton and Frank C. Bax-ter. Maps, flora, fauna, geology andarchaeology. 113 pages $1.00

HISTORY AND GENERAL

I MARRIED A RANGER Mrs. W. M.Smith. Amusing experiences at GrandCanyon. 179 pages $1.00

CALIFORNIA DESERTS, Edmund Jae-ger. Comp lete information on Coloradoand Mojave deserts. 209 pages,illustrated _ $2.00

BORN OF THE DESERT, C. R. Rock-wood. Story of Imperial Valley's con-que st - __ 50c

DATES AS FOOD, Dr. Marko J .Peti-nak. Information for those seeking thefoundations of correct living 25c

BOOKS OF THE SOUTHWEST, MaryTucker. 105 page bibliography. Paperbound _ 75c

DEATH VALLEY, W. A. Chalfant. Au-thentic history of the famous sink. 160pages, illustrated $2.75

DESERT OF THE PALMS, Don Admiral .Scenic wonders of the Palm Springsregion. 56 pages 50c

DESERT ROUGH CUTS, Harry Ol iver.Short yarns about Borrego Desert char-acters, 61/4x91/2, 64 page s. Illustra tedwith cuts made by the author. Boundin boards, cloth back $1.50

CA RTO O N G U I D E S

CARTOON GUIDE OF CAL IF ORNIA,Reg Manning. Accurate and informative.Cartoon map . 138 pages $1.00

CARTOON GUIDE OF ARIZ ONA, RegManning. There's a laugh in every mileas you tour Arizona with this humorist.M a p . 122 pages $1.00

CARTOON GUIDE OFT HE BOULDERDAM COUNTRY, Reg Manning . Map.50 pages 50c

CARTOON GUIDE OF NE W M E XICO,T. M. Pearce, with illustrations by JamesHall. 108 pages of amusement about thisfascinating state $1.00

Prices above postpaid in U. S. A.3 % sales tax added for buyers in

California.

Desert Crafts Shop636 State Street El Centro, California

M A R C H , 1 9 4 0 43


46/46

uit between

By RANDALL HENDERSON

E cannot live closeto the desert withouta growingsense of appreciation and reverence for both the ar-tistry and utility with whichthe Great Spirit planned

this world of ours.Consider for instance, the Evening Primrose which Mary

Beal has written about for this number of the Desert Maga-

zine. The rains and sunshine bring forth a luxuriant plantthat spreads exquisite white blossoms overthe sandy land-scape. When the flowering season endsthe tips of the spread-ing branches slowly draw together forminga spherical"bas-ket" which is caught by the wind and rolled over and overacross the desert like a tumbleweed. Thusthe seeds are dis-tributed in preparation for another life cycle.It is just a prac-tical little plan Naturehas devised for perpetuatingthe Even-ing Primrose.

$ $ *There's a big pile of mail to be answered everyday, and

manuscripts to be readand 1 cannot go out into the desertas often as I want to go. The rocky trails havea fascinationthat gets into one's bloodandI miss them.

But my artist friend Johnny Hiltonhas helped me out.

He brought the desert into my office. All last week he wasdaubing withhis palette knifeon the wall abovemy deskJohn never usesa brushand now when I get mad at thepoets, and these four walls becometoo confining, I can pauseand spend a few moments loafingin the peaceful atmosphereof Seventeen Palmsin the Borrego badlandsof Southern Cali-fornia.

We selected Seventeen Palmsas the subject for our muralbecause Johnand I both love the place. To me it is the typicalAmerican oasissymbolicof all the mystery and beautyandcourage of the desert.

No road leads to these palmsonlya pair of sandy rutswinding up the washa trail that vanishes with every rain-fall.

I think this paintingin the new Desert Magazine buildingis a masterpiece.The purple haze overthe Santa Rosa moun-tains in the background,the pastel strataof the clay hills,thevivid coloring of the palmsthe entire pictureis about asnear as man can ever hope to copy the landscape whichtheGreat Artist createdin this remote desert region.

* * *And now that we have the mural on the wall, the next

problem is that rock garden in front of the office, I've beenworkingon itbut I ran out of rocks. Oneof my friends sug-gested I try the old gag Huckleberry Finn usedto get the

the progress of the one and only Desert Magazine.And be-sides, it would saveme a lot of backaches!

# * *Will M. Pennington, whose rare photographsof Indian

life have appearedin every number of the Desert Magazinesince this publicationwas started, diedat his home in Alham-

bra, California, duringthe past month. He was 65 yearsofage.The best testimonialto the character of Will Pennington

is that grizzled Navajo chieftains withan inborn distrustforwhite men accepted and posed for him without hesitation.They knew he was genuine. Readersof this magazine willshare with membersof the staff a sincere regretin his passing.

* * *In the editorial columnof a Nevada newspaperI read this

rather amazing paragraph, quoted froma veteran miningman:

"The best investment the State of Nevada couldmake would be for the legislature to appropriatesufficient funds to plough under every ghost townin the state . T oo much em phasisis being placedon

failure and not enough on opportunity and suc-cess."May heaven have mercyon the soul of the man who said

that. I know there are people in this worldlotsof themwhose only yardstickfor measuring successand failure is thealmighty dollar.But I really did not expect such a proposalto come from a man who has lived for many years on thedesert.

Those ghost townsare not a symbol of failuretheyaremonuments to the faith and hope of courageous men andwomen. They were builtby red-blooded pioneerswho cameinto the desert wildernessto seek wealth with whichto erectschools and churches and highways. The wealth they minedfrom the earth hasnot been lost. It was used to build hospitalsand reclaim desert watersand to bring learning to American

children.And it is still serving that purpose. Thereis no fail-ure in that.Those roofless cabinsand paneless windows no longer

yield a cash incomeit is trueneither do the ancient Indianpueblos of Arizona and New Mexico which were abandonedby their original inhabitants becauseof drought or epidemicor enemy hordes.But is that any reason why they be de-stroyed?

Nevada's ghost mining townsare priceless relicsof one ofthe most virile periodsin American history. They stand today,

194003 desert magazine 1940 march

Documents