195803 desert magazine 1958 march

8/14/2019 195803 Desert Magazine 1958 March

1/44

M ARCH,1 9 5 8 . . 35 Cents


2/44

Zion Canyon . Great White Throne, left of center. Ph oto by George E. Barrett.

DESERT SUNSETBy GEORGE I. LACEYKingfisher, Oklahoma

I often linger along the trail,As the setting sun drops low.

To watch the gleaming, golden raysTurn the mesa rim to a golden glow.

Now the changing lights on the distant peaksThat were copper and red and gold-

Hade to violet and mauves, before my eyesAs the shadows of night unfold.

Then the shimmering lights on cliffs andbluffsGleam with a thousand tints and hues,

Now change to more somber grays andbuffs

[n the fading light, their colors difuse.

Could an artist paintor a poet write?Coutd either ever completely cope?

As the desert changes from day to night;With this beautiful, natural kaleidoscope?

The light fades fastthe sun has set.And all is well, and we understand:

That the Great Creator did not forgetThis wonderful, desolate desert land.

Now the day is done and the night is nearAnd out of a wash comes a coyote's wail;

And out of the heavens the stars appear;And we hurry homeo'er the desert trail.

Z i o n C a n y o nBy MILDRED BREEDLOVE

Las Vegas, Nevada.1 came unto a place where scarlet peaks,Like hewn cathedrals, rise a thousand feetA solemn place where silent grandeur

speaks.Where God and man, and earth and heaven

meet.The Great White Tower might have been

designedAs mute petitioner throughout the yearsFor those who come, who see, and yet are

blind,The Weeping Rock sheds constant streamsof tears.

The Great White Throne, a tree for everygem

Atop a thousand-foot vermilion base,Remains a matchless royal diademWhose patterns only wind and rain can

trace.And it was there I came to understandMy kinship with the lowly grain of sand.

DESERT WIND ANTICSBy LAURA W. DUN LAPSanta Ana, California

The wind god sweeps the desert floorUntil he feels the task well done.And then from chore to play, he combsThe sides of sand dunes just for fun.

OLD INDIAN POTTERYBy JEAN HOGAN DUDLEY

Inglewood, CaliforniaThis piece of pottery has tales to tell:Here mountain goats were hunted, here

boyBrought sheep to drink at his small des

well.And here a father fashioned a rude toyFor his dart-eyed and laughing little childHere mother's hands ground corn with p

tient care.And here a family has lived, and smiledAt the warm, everyday love they cou

share.

P a t hof W i s d o mBy TANYA SOUTH

Let us not judge another, then.Ourselves, too, may be judged.

For common mortal is our grain,And all of us have trudged

Along the weary path of sin,With desolation marked.

Till we have caught the light within,And to the Small Voice harked.

The plight in which I see anotherWas once my own. And were 1

wise.Each man would be my long-loved

brother.Thus should 1 rise.

D E S E RT M A G A Z I N E


3/44


4/44


5/44


6/44

MAIN PETRIFIED V/OOO ' gfe *AREA

(Seernset;

^ ^ i ^ JASPER \

ebftATE MINERALS

i - - D U M P : :; (Op#r) on ly fa efubs with prior( ( W ' l l i s s i o n f o r c o l l e c t i n g } !

Edwards...Estates .North i

Muroe

t Rogers /':_ KDryLuha EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE

T ' "

1 pn Tri p

gan is one of America's foremost min-eral collectors.

Currently head of the AmericanFederation of Mineralogical Societies,Morgan has been a director of theCalifornia Federationfor 10 years andwas its president in 1956. And asimportant to him as the above posi-tions and titles is the fact that he hasbeen several times presidentof thelocal Mojave Mineralogical Society-

one of 1000 such organizationsin thecountry.Almost every weekendof the win-

ter months will find this good-humoredquick-thinking 49-year-old worldau-thority on the borate familyof mineralsout with the amateur collectors, cheer-fully devotinghis time and energyasguide, mineralogistand local historian.

His invitation to tour the Boronfields wasone I eagerly accepted.Wemet in town and drove 11 mileswest on Highway 466, which bisectsthe community,and then turned northtoward the open deserton Clay Mine

Road, This route followsan aislethrough a group of rounded beehive-shaped hills. They rise abruptlyoutof the flat desert floor, dottedas faras the eye can see with scraggylowplants, mostly creosote.A few Joshuatrees are prominenton this plain.

These silent darkred knolls are ofvolcanic origin,but before they wereformed this was a land of windingstreams and blue lakes bordered withlush vegetation reeds, grassesandstrange palm trees. Volcanicashcrushed and buried these lakesideplants, and Nature, taking centuries

to do her work, turned their once-living fibers into beautiful stones.And

here they lie today in the many playassurrounding these hillssomeof themost vivid petrified wood foundany-where. The close-grained specimenscome in all colors from whitetoblack and including greenand much-prized red. Some of the outstandingpieces contain fine picture patterns.Cu t and polished, Boron Wood takeson a mirror-like finishto reveal in allthe beauty and wonder of Naturethe

ancient plants' molecular composition.A clay mine nearthe end of thefive-mile long paved roadis a lonesymmetrical hillock bearingthe scarsof excavation on three sideswest,north and east. These portalsare un-safe to explore.

Actually the mine was a tufa work-ing and the material it yieldedwasused by oil refineries in their filtrationprocesses. The mine has been inactivesince the war.

Immediately westof the abandonedworkings is L-shaped Boron Dry Lake,the main petrified wood locale.

The dry lake's borders resembleashell-blasted battle field,for the bestwood specimensare found fromtwoto five feet belowthe hard pan surface.Some of the holes dug by collectorsare 10 feet deep,and findingthe woodis a combination of hard workandluck.

Boron Dry Lake, rimmedon threesides by a low barren ridge,is a favor-ite camping placefor mineral clubs.Not only doesit offer some protectionfrom the wind, whichcan be bitterlysearing on the Mojave, and a chanceto find petrified wood underfoot;it isconveniently locatedto the othercol-

lecting fieldsin the area. There is nowater or fire wood at the playa.

As we walked over the moundsofturned earth, Morgan explained thait was he who discovered this areain1938.

"I t was easy pickings then,"he re-called widi a grin, "wood was lyingall over the groundbut there's stilplenty here." He picked up a smallred-brown stone. "Look! Here's somright on the surface," he said, hand-ing me the specimen. "It's not thebest piece in the world, but it certainlyindicates that thisis a rich fieldfor theambitious rockhound."

From the playa we doubled backtoward Boron overa sandy but well-packed trail parallelingthe main high-way. This back countryis crisscrossedwith trails,for there was considerablehomestead activity herein the pre-waryears. The northbound roads wanderoff to Castle Butte, Randsburg, Cantand Mojave; the southbound to thehighway.

Four miles from the playa, our trailcurved around prominent LookouHill, still anotherof the reddishvol-canic peaks scattered about this regioand then climbedto its summit. Nearthe top the sandy desert soil giveswayto a malpais of loose red volcanicstones resembling shattered piecesofSpanish tile roofing.

An agate field stretches fromthetop of Lookout Hill downits westernflanks to a group of athel treeson theplain below markingthe site of anabandoned homestead;and from thepeak northwesterly acrossa deep gullyto another arm of the mountain.Onthe higher groundthe agate specimens

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


7/44

Some of the holes dug by rockhounds in search of petrified wood buried along theedge of Boron Dry Lake are 10 feet deep.

lie in the cracks between the tile-likesurface stones. Sharing the open spaceswere thick growths of stiff dead wild-flowers which had bloomed in thespring. Most prominen t plant waspunctured bract which characteristic-ally had turned red in its old age. Itsstems pass through the center of broadrounded bractslike miniature arrows

shot through targets.After an hour's search along thepeak's flanks, we compared notes.Lookout Hill contains fortification,

sagenite and moss agate, as well as ge-odes. Most of the stones are lightin color. The few that are darke rhave attractive plume designs. Theagate specimens take their names fromtheir appearances. Fortification agatehas zigzag bandings which look likedrawings of Civil War fortificationand battle lines. Agate with acicular

(needle-like) inclusions is called sage-nite because the mineral sagenite isacicular rutile. When an agate showsdendritic (branching like a tree) pat-

terns usually it is described as mossagate. These are the treasures of Look-out Hill. There are two other agate-jasper areas nearby, one on the hillbehind the company wells north ofthe Pacific Coast Borax Mine, and theother on Saddleback Mountain north-east of Boron.

Rising 400 feet above the 2300-footaltitude desert floor, Lookout Hill wasused for an aircraft observation postduring the war, and the view from itssummit is marvelous.

The rich borate collecting fieldoverburden and waste from Pacific Coast BoraxCompany's huge new open pit mine.

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8


8/44

To the south was the white shim-mering surface of Rogers Dry Lake,heart of Edwards Flight Testand De-velopment Center. Alongthe horizon

stretched the deep purple San GabrielMountains which separate the Los An-geles basin from the Mojave.

Westward, the red cones surround-

D e s e r t Q u i zHow wise are you in the lore of the desert,its geography, history, place names, naturalsciences? Hereis an opportunity for you to

answer that questionfor yourself. These 20 questions are based partlyon a practical acquaintance withthe desert Southwest,and partly on theknowledge that comes from reading.The test coversa wide field of sub-jects andif you answer 50 percentof them correctly you are better informedthan the average person.A score of 13 to 15 is good, 16 to 18 is excellent,and it is a rare student who will answer over18 correctly. The answersare on page 34.

1One of the following desert trees hasa deep blue or purple blossom.Joshua tree Mesquite Ironwood Smoke tree

2An Indian kivais used for: Gathering saguaro fruit Cerem on-ial purposes Carryingthe papoose on its mother's backCharming snakes

3The annual Inter-Tribal Indian ceremonialis held in August at:Prescott Kayenta Window Rock Gallup

4Deglet Nooris the name of a: Famous Paiute Indian ChiefSpecies of date palm in Coachella Valley Mountain peak over-looking Death Valley Bridgein the Natural Bridges nationalmonument .... ..

5Indians who call themselvesDine, meaning "the people," are the:Yuma Hualpai Nav ajo- Mojave

6Death Valleywas given its name by: Jedediah Smith DeathValley Scotty Bennett-A rcane party Pacific Borax com-pany

7The Wasatch mountainsmay be seen from: Tucson Nee-dles Flagstaff Salt Lake City

8The most common ingredientof the sand generally foundin thedesert arroyos is: Quartz Manganese Gypsum .Limestone

9The astronomical namefor the north star is: Venus Jupi-ter Polaris Mars ___10The main dam which storesthe water for Salt River Valley farmers

in Arizona was namedin honor of: Coolidge Teddy Roose-velt Hoover. ... Wilson

11Javelina is a Spanish word commonly usedin the Southwestfor:A spear-like weapon usedby the Cocopah Indians Speciesofwild hog foundin southern Arizona. . Birds that nestin fissuresin the rocks Memberof the lizard family

12Joshua trees belongto the botanical familyof: Palm Cacti .Conifer Lily

13-Nameof the frontiersman who established a stage line acrosstheSouthern California desertto the La Paz gold fieldsin the 'sixties:Bradshaw Butterfield Banning Weaver

14The famous Mormon Battalion was recruited to: Aidin the conquest

of California Colonize Utah Opena new Northwesttrail Gua rd the Santa Fe trail15McNary, Arizona,is known for its: Gold mines Lumber

industry Indian crafts work Scenic rock formations16The San Juan River is a tributary of the: Colorado. Rio

Grande Green River Gila17The famous "Rockof Ages" in a western national parkis at:

Zion Grand Canyon Carlsbad Caverns..., MesaVerde

18Ed Schieffelin wasthe name of the man credited withthe discoveryof: Rainbow Natu ral bridge Casa Grande ruins Silverat Tombstone Potashat Trona

19The careerof Billy the Kid is associated withthe state of: Ari-zona New Mexico Utah Nevada

20Piper's Opera Houseis a landmark at: Tombstone Rands-burg Virginia City Rhyolite

ing Boron Dry Lake now appearedflattened out and more massivelikefrozen swellsin a great sea that threat-ened to roll over our island peak.Be-hind them stood majestic CastleandDesert buttesimmenseand classicallandmarks.

This is the Mojave Desert whichhasinspired man since the first nakedwanderers crossed its wide expanse.Its very vastness makes time stopthe rumble of 20 Mule Team boraxwagons, the whine of jeeps and theroar of rockets are all one to theMojave.

Eastward was Boron,a desert boomtown of nearly 4000 residents. Impetusfor its rapid growthare the two indus-trial operations clearly seen fromourvantage point.

Northwest of the community is Pa-cific Coast Borax Company'snew$20,000,000 plantand open pit mine,the latter looking likea gouge in achild's sand box from Lookout Hill.The PCB operation, which began herin the late 1920s,is Boron's backbone.Six hundred menare employed by thisconcern at present.

South of town and highon the rim-rocks of dull-colored Leuhman Ridgestand several massive concreteandsteel test standsof the Rocket EngineTest Base, a component of the huge30,000-acre Edwards AFB whichex-tends from Boron 30 miles west toMojave, and 20 miles south to Lan-caster, with Highway 466 roughly serving as its northern boundary.TheRocket Engine Base, begunin 1949with 250 employees, todayhas nearly2000.

The storyof the desert communitiesin this region is largely the story ofEdwards, originally knownas MurocAir Feld. Luredby a climate thatal-lowed flying 365 daysa year; a regionso thinly populated thatthe chancesof an airplane crashing intoa dwell-ing were remote;and a 65-square-miledry lake em ergency landing field whosefine clay and silt surface can supportpressuresup to 250 poundsper squareinch, the air corps arrived in 1933.And since that day, aviation, Edwardsand the southwestern Mojave Deserthave grown handin hand.

Morgan took a canteen out of thecar and we sat down on the rockyground. It was my opportunity tolearn more aboutmy host.

He was born in Los Angelesandarrived at college age during the de-pression. It took 10 years for Morganto earn his bachelor's degreein chem-istry at U.C.L.A. for he had to dropout of school almost every otherse-mester to financehis education.

In 1937 he moved to Boron andwent to work for Pacific Coast Borax.

DESERT MAGAZINE


9/44

He and his popular wife, Midge, amember of PCB's personnel depart-ment, have three sons, the eldest anelectrical engineer living in Hollywood,and the two at home in high schooland grade school. The family lives ina comfortable house on five acres ofdesert land near Borontheir homefor the past 20 years.

Recreation to the Morgan family iscentered around the desert"sort oflike a busman's holiday," he mused.Although the current job of gettingthe laboratory at the new plant inoperation is demanding seven days aweek and often 12 hours a day of histime, when the situation returns tonormal the Morgans hope to strikeout on another camping - explorationtour of the desert.

"We like to see what the countryis like on these trips," he explained."We always take the secondary high-ways and on our most recent Utahtrip we covered 2000 miles and hardlysaw a paved road."

Of course the urge to collect min-eral specimens follows wherever theygo. Morgan, whose interests tend moreto serious collecting than gem stonepolishing, has published several papersin scientific journals on minerals. Hismost recent achievement was the dis-covery of the newest borax mineralwhich he named Lesserite after Fed-erico Lesser, late director of BoraxConsolidated, parent company of Pa-cific Coast Borax. He also discoveredthe new non-borate mineral Gerstley-

ite, named in honor of James F. Gerst-ley, president of U. S. Borax andChemical Company.

What does the titular head of Ameri-ca's 40,000 gem and mineral societymembers think of the future of rock-hounding as one after another of thecollecting fields become exhausted orclosed to public usage?

"The answer," said Morgan withouta moment's hesitation, for this prob-lem has occupied his attention foragreat many years, "is educationdirough the local gem and mineralsocieties.

"Rockhounds are no different thanmost folks, except, perhaps, for a gen-erally greater appreciation of the out-doors. Most collectors are reasonablyconscientious, but some are greedy.We must teach conservation and mod-eration to all mineral collectorsandthe instrument for that educationalprocess is the local club."

The American Federation whichMorgan heads is a federation of thenation's six regional federations, theCa l i fo rn ia , Nor thwes te rn , RockyMountain, Midwestern, Eastern andTexas. Because each of these organi-

zations is autonomous, the AmericanFederation's chief function is advisory.

Dave Stankard of S an B ernardino is freeing a cluster of calcile crystalsfrom this colemanite boulder in the dum p area.

It is at the regional level that pressurecan be brought to bear against knownviolators of collecting ethics. Loca lclubs which permit such violations canbe expelled from the regional federa-tion if all else fails to correct thesituation.

And the regional federations arebest equipped to direct the educationof rockhounds along desired lines. TheCalifornia Federation, for instance, re-cently inaugurated a program wherebyfield trip chairmen of local clubsgather for seminars in which discus-sions are held on such topics as properbehavior of members in the field; proc-ess for obtaining permission to collecton private ground; how to set upcamp and clean up afterward; safety;etc.

Morgan believes three main reasons

are responsible for the increasing scar-city of good collecting fields: 1, thebest areas have been picked over byrockhounds; 2, population encroach-ment; and 3, military land grabs.

He gives these solutions: 1, educa-tion will deter the cleaning out of fieldsby collectors; 2, clubs officially arebeing encouraged to file claims on goodcollecting areas to head off the en-croachment problem; and 3, militaryland grabs could be a blessing in dis-guise for rockhounds. Some bases nowallow groups with prior permission tocollect minerals within their borders,and Morgan feels that with the rightapproach more military reservationswill be opened to mineral societies."The government will regulate andrestrict collecting on their lands whichmeans that there is going to be ma-

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8


10/44

terial to collect on military bases muchlonger than in other areas," he pointedout.

Our next stop was the new PCBplant on Suckow Road, named for Dr.John Suckow upon whose homesteadnear the open pit, well drillers first dis-covered colemanite, a borax ore, in1913.

The Boron deposit is a flat tabularmass of nearly pure borax and kernitetwo miles long, half a mile wide andover 200 feet deep. Before the openpit was excavated at the southwesternend of the ore body, the deposit wasworked by underground mines. Butthis was wasteful, for half of the orehad to be left behind in the form ofpillars and columns to support the tun-nel, and this fact, combined with asteadily increasing demand for the ver-satile material, decided the company todevelop its huge open pit mine andconcentrator-refinery. This facility willincrease the Free World's productionof boron by 40 percent.

We parked at the southern rim ofthe awesome 1400-foot wide and 215-foot deep pit where PCB has madetentative plans to erect visitor facili-ties. The 25-acre excavation is ter-raced at 50-foot intervals, and thesebroad benches are connected by anaccess road which has a maximumgrade of seven percent.

Modern society has come to dependheavily on borax, the principal com-mercial boron compound, but its util-ity dates back to the days of theBabylonians who used it in the goldrefining process. Most oxides becomehighly soluble in easily-fused borax,

and for this reason it is useful in themetallurgical and ceramic industries.It also is employed in the manufactureof pa ints, plywood, glazed paper, soaps,cosmetics, disinfectants, preservatives,weed killers, glass, welding fluxes,abrasives, dehydrating agents, fire re-tardants, fertilizers and many othercommodities. M ost recently publicizeduses of the wonder element are as anadditive to automobile gasolines, andas high energy fuels for rocket and jetengines.

We drove into the two-square-milearea immediately west of the open pitwhere 10,000,000 tons of waste ma-terial from the mine was spread. Thedump's irregular surface is a crum-bling mass of boulder-to-pebble sizestones and porous earth. A dike hasbeen built along the north border todivert flood waters from the pit.

This man-made mineral collectingfield is the third major Boron rock-hound area, one rich in borate-familycrystals and minerals. Collecting hereis restricted to gem and mineral soci-eties which obtain permission in writ-ing from the company's office at Bo-ron. Collecting is not permitted inthe pit.

Unlike the commercially valuablebut unattractive chalky borax orestockpiled south of the dump, the over-burden is a rich harvest ground forrare and beautiful specimens. Nowherehave I walked over a more fascinatingterrain. The soft earth sparkled withcrystals and every step brought me toan interesting stone.

While nearly 100 naturally occur-ring elements have been found in this

deposit, Morgan pointed out that thamateur collectors concentrate othese five:

1. Colemanite crystals. These cacium borate crystals are razor-shaand sparkle like diamonds. They acolorless to deep brown.

2. Borax crystals. Perfectly formespecimens are not too common becauof the brittle nature of the materiaColor is white, but sometimes grabluish or greenish,

3. Calcite crystals in a variety oforms and colors.

4. Ulexite. This is satin spar antakes a brilliant polish. Occasionclear specimens show an unusual otical quality which has prompted dcommon name, "TV Rock."

5. Inderite. A rare colorless to gramineral (magnesium borate) whichas been found in only three placon earth, and only at Boron in itcrystal form. It has a very pronouncecleavage and is somewhat glassy iappearance.

Vincent Morgan, who directs a 24man laboratory responsible for thhourly analysis of crude ore, tailingand products for one of America's moimportant mining operations, is thoriginator of the dump collecting ideAnd when the rockhound clubs arrivearly Sunday morning after campinout at Boron Dry Lake and a quicscouting trip to Lookout Hill, it iVincent Morgan who volunteers tlead them into the field in search orare borate mineralsexplaining in hfriendly way the nature of each piecof material brought to his attention.

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

When open pit m ine was dedicated last November, a 20 Mule Team hauled a loadof ore to the top. Photo by W. H . Wamsley.


11/44

FAIR TO EXCELLENTM A R C H WI LD F LO WERDISPLAYS PREDICTED

February storms following a dryJanuary may have provided the mois-ture needed for outstanding wildflowerdisplays during the month of Marchin many sectors of the Southwest.Desert Magazine correspondents gen-erally agree that possibilities of a col-orful flower showing are better thanthey have been in several years.

Death Valley National MonumentNaturalist M. B. Ingham said the win-ter rains have been sufficient to bringout a good displaybarring a suddenspell of warm weather or a freeze.Desertgold blossoms should reach theirpeak during March.

Bruce W. Black, park naturalist atJoshua Tree National Monument, rec-ommends that March visitors makethe drive from Twentynine Palms orJoshua Tree through the Monument toHighway 60-70 . They can expect tosee these flowers and shrubs in blossomalong the way: brittle-bush, creosote,chuparosa, desert alyssum, purple mat,brown-eyed primrose, blazing star,coreopsis, woolly marigold, lupine,verbena, pincushion, mallow, desert-star, gold-poppy, dandelion, yellowc u p , forget-me-not and several speciesof phacelia.

Several hundred acres of wildflow-ers were coming into bloom along theBaseline Road, 23 to 25 miles east ofTwentynine Palms, reported LucileWeight of that community. Includedwere evening primrose, geraea, baileya,verbena, spectacle-pod and pholisma.Conspicuous flower showings are pre-dicted for the Colorado Desert areafrom Highway 60-70 to Niland viaBox Canyon and Highway 111 alongthe north shore of Salton Sea.

Chances are good that the Coach-ella Valley flower show will extendinto March, although the Februaryrains may have come too late to savethe rather stunted plants whichsprouted after the fall precipitation.Drainage ditches along roadways inthe valley can be counted on to showblossoms in March, especially verbena.

Clyde E. Strickler, supervisor ofAnza-Borrego Desert State Park, re-ports that Borrego Palm, Sheep andCoyote canyons have water in themand there should be some good bloomsby March in these areas.

One of the best wildflower displaysin historyprovided no late Febru-ary freeze occursis forecast for LakeMead National Recreation Area byPark Naturalist James W. Schaack.These plants are expected to reachtheir peak of bloom in March: ground-cherry, aster, burrobush, beavertailcactus, brittle-bush, mallow and rock

H E B E C A M E A M O U N T A IN E

A. K. WHIDDEN OF CORONA,California, started climbing moun-tains for recreation at the age of 70, and within four years had scaled100 pe ak s over 5000 feet high, all in Southern California. This pho towas taken on 8418-foot Mt. Hawkins in the San Gabriel Range.Whidden, a retired bee keeper, is Conservation Chairman of the River-side Ch apter of the Sierra Clu b. Tod ay at 77 he is still one of themost active climbers in an organization of mountaineers.

Author Weldon Heald, a frequent contributor to Desert Magazine,initiated the "Hundred Peaks Game," as he called it, by listing 192peaks over 5000 feet high in the Santa Barbara-Los Angeles-San Diegoarea ranges, and then becoming the first person to climb 100 of them.

Scores of folks in the four southern chapters of the Sierra ClubSanta Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego and Riversideare playingthe Hundred Peaks Game; 42 have climbed 100 or more of the peaks;and two, Sam Fink of Santa Ana, and Freda Walbrecht of ShermanO a k s , have climbed all 192PHO TO AND TEXT BY LOUISE WERNER

daisy. Schaack also reports that thefollowing plants may be in excellentdisplay in the Lake Mohave area: fila-r e e , lupine, rock daisy, verbena andcreosote.

A wide variety of wildflowers shouldbe visible along the nine-mile CactusForest Loop Drive in Saguaro NationalMonument in southern Arizona, pre-dicted Ranger Robert J. Heying. In-cluded are mallow, heliotropium, fila-r e e , larkspur, aster, milkwort, paper-flower, mariposa, fairy duster, owlclover, hyacinth and jojoba.

Marigold will be in blossom alongthe Florence to Tucson highway, fore-cast Earl Jackson, naturalist at theSouthwest Archeological center at

Globe, Arizona. March visitors to thisarea will be rewarded with fair to out-standing flower displays by makingthe drive from Globe to Tonto Na-tional Monument; and from Globe toCooh'dge Dam.

Sheltered places in Casa GrandeNational Monument near Coolidge,Arizona, should see the blossoming ofglobe mallow, pepper-grass and brit-tle-bush, predicted Archeologist AldenC. Hayes.

The desert is green and fresh atOrgan Pipe Cactus National Monu-ment in southern Arizona and ChiefRanger John T. Mullady says thechances for an above-average Marchdisplay are good.

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8 11


12/44

Peter Slade inspects cholla cactus skeletons,

J e w e lr y f r o m th e C h o llaHere's an interesting way to combine two pop-

ular hobb ies: woodworking and lapidary, Chollawood jewelry, set with gem stones, is truly "of thedessrt."

By RONALD J. CRISTYPhotographs by Win. Eymann

RAFTSMAN PETER SLADE of Mento Park,California, has found that the perforated woodenskeletons of cholla cactus provide an attractive

setting for polished or rough desert gem stones.

Although most of the steps involved in creating thehighly glazed effect on the wooden settings still are in the

The cholla rings are cut apart to form individual blanks.Next step is to shape pieces on belt sander, then clean.

experimental stage and constantly being improved uponSlade has produced some pieces of outstanding beautin the pastel shades of the desert.

Here is the procedure for making the gem settings:Saw the cholla wood sections into rings from one t

two inches in thickness, depending on desired size ofinished product.

To form individual blanks from the hollow slices, cuthe rings apart (see pho tograph ). The most attractivpieces are those centered with one of the many holes founin the skeletons. If round, rather than square or quadrangle, shapes are desired, a power plug cutter can bused on the cholla limbs, eliminating the first step in sawing the wood into sections.

After the blanks are cut, final shaping and finishing idone on a belt sander.

Next Slade cleans the pieces on a motorized wirbrush. This is a slow and somewhat tedious process anhe hopes to replace this step with a tumbling barrel whiche believes will automatically clean hundreds of pieceof wood at the same time.

Following cleaning comes the drilling of holes on thback and sides of the square-donut-shaped pieces for thear-mountings, screw-eyes, clasps, etc. These are inserteafter the wood is painted.

Next step is one in which the hobbyist can use hown favorite compounds, secret formulas and imaginatiocoloring the cholla forms. After the first coat is drSlade's technique is to apply a contrasting color to thform edges.

Final step is the insertion of the gem stonesrougor polishedinto the cholla wood holes. Sometimemerely pressing the stones into an undersized hole in thsoft wood will hold them in place, other times the stonmust be held from the rear or sides with special arrangments. Pieces showing one large hole will take only onstone, pieces with many smaller holes will hold severstones.

Worn as earrings, the weight of the wood is negligibin proportion to the size of the ensembles.

After screw-eyes, clasps, etc., are in place, cholla ipainted. Final step is insertion of the gem stones



13/44

Landscape Arch in the Devil's Garden of Arches National Monument, Utah. Theslender span is 291 feet long and 118 feet high. Photo by H ubert A. Lowman.

O v er th e T o p o f L a n d sca p e . .ockclimbing is an adventuroussport calling for the utmost inphysical fitness, climbing skill andteam cooperation. Here is thestory of how three young menmade the second known ascentand traverse of Utah's LandscapeArch, the world's longest naturalbridge and one of its most chal-lenging climbs.

By CECIL M. OUELLETTEMap by Norton Allen

T LOOKS impossib le!" ex-claimed Mike Borghoff. JimEslinger and I nodded agree-

ment. We were huddled around apamphlet on Arches National Monu-ment which the ranger had just givenu s . On an inside page was a pictureof one of the most fantastic formationson earth: Landscape Archand to atrio of ardent rock climbers the pho-tograph was electrifying.

Believed to be the longest naturalstone span in the world, LandscapeArch has a length of 291 feet. To getup to the arch would be difficult anddangerous, the ranger said, and travers-

The author, center, and fellow rock-climbers Jim Eslinger, left, and Mike

Borghoff.

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8

Landscape Arch in the Devil's Garden of Arches National Monument, Utah, Theslender span is 291 feet long and US feet high. Photo by Hubert A. Lowman.


14/44

7b Crescent JetS Salt- Loh* City

ing it would be even a greater hazard.Some years ago, two men made thefirst ascent of Landscape Arch by us-ing rock climbing methods. On tryingto traverse the arch one of them hadslipped over the side! Only the quickaction of his companion in anchoringthe safety line had saved his life.Time has obscured this early climb,and nothing was known about the routeor its difficulties. Since then , Land-scape Arch was left alone; nobody haddared to invade its lofty domain.

My intended question was unneces-sary, for I could feel the excitementbuilding up within my two compan-

ions. We were going to attempt thechallenge of Landscape!

The park ranger granted us permis-sion to climb in the monument for wewere well experienced in the art ofmountaineering. Jim Eslinger hadmade many ascents of high peaks in

the Sierras; Mike Borghoff had climbedin the Alps, Tetons and on precipitous

pinnacles in Colorado; and I had justfinished a summ er of good rock climb-ing in three states.

The sun was setting behind a hugesandstone cliff as we left ranger head-quarters and headed for the DevilsGarden in the northern end of the



15/44

Jim Eslinger, right, is on belay while the a uthor climbsupwa rd on the south buttress of the arch. The author starts off across the snow-spotted arch.the far end the passage narrows dangerously.At

monument. It is in this area that Land-scape is located. In the oncomingdusk of this early December day Inoticed small patches of snow lying inthe sheltered spots.

We continued north from Moab,Utah, on U.S. 160 for 12 miles, thenturned east on State Route 93 . Afteran hour's drive over a dirt road, weentered the Devils Garden and founda bivouac site.

We were shouldering our climbingpacks as the morning sun flooded thesandstone country with its light. Inthe packs were two nylon climbingropes, karabiners (oblong steel ringswith spring openings), pitons (thinwedge-shaped spikes with a circularhole or ring at the driving end throughwhich the rope is passed, or to whicha karabiner carrying a rope is at-tached), piton hammers, expansionbolts (small bolts placed in a drilledhole in the rock, with the same func-tion as pitons) and a small amount offood and water.

A trail marker near the end of theroad points the way to LandscapeArch, The narrow mile-long trail

passes through a weird wonderland ofgigantic formations, and down avenuesdwarfed by pinnacles that toweredover us like huge skyscrapers. Pinyonand juniper trees dotted the ruggedregion. At our feet were bits of flintchipped from stone implements whichprehistoric Indians fashioned here.Deer tracks cut across our path. TheDevil's Garden is an enchanting won-derland!

Then looming above us was a stripof sandstone that seemed suspendedin mid-air! It was the massive struc-ture of Landscape Arch, resembling ahuge thread across the sky. We turnedoff the trail and passed under its thinshadow. Looking upward, the stonebridge towering above us seemed re-mote and far away.

To attempt an ascent of the rightside of the arch appeared futile, so wemoved to the left and searched thebuttress for a route to the summit. Wetried going up a crack or rift in therock face, but it became too treacher-ous to climb. Moving around to the

south face, we found what seemed tobe a feasible route to the top.

We tied on to the common line andMike led up a short crack. He climbedwith perfect rhythm and balance to asmall platform 35 feet above us. Wewere keeping the distances betweenus short because of the inadequate protection found in climbing sandstonewhich, because of its softness, doesnot always offer a secure hold forpitons.

Mike and Jim belayed me as Iclimbed upward, then I stemmed upanother crack on the next lead andfound a drilled hole for an expansionbolt. We were on the same route usedby the first party years before. SlowlyI inched my way higher up the southface, using the lone expansion bolt forprotection. I stopped on a ledge thawas large enough for my feet and wenon belay.

Mike brought Jim up, then climbedpast me on the third and longest leadI watched as he searched for handand footholds, clinging like a fly to asmooth wall as he worked skywardHe wriggled up through a tight chim

ney, hammered in a piton and at-tached the rope with a karabiner, then

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8 15


16/44

Coming down was easier. Jim Es-linger rappets down the north but-

tress of Landscape Arch.

scurried over a 30-foot friction pitchand past an overhang to the summitof the buttress. He belayed me up,and Jim followed.

Surrounding us was a sculpturedcountry of beautiful natural creations.Coves carved in the rock, arches, col-ored cliffs and balanced rocks filledthe sweeping pano rama. In the dis-tance the massive white towers of theLa Sal Mountains glistened in the sun-light. And Landscape Arch shot awayfrom the buttress across a 300-foot ex-panse of dizzy depth. Here before uswas the long traverse a traverseacross the sky. It was only 300 feetlong, but from our airy perch it seemedlike miles over that void.

A gentle breeze tugged at our heels

as I started across the arch. The pas-sage was covered with crusted snow ina few places, and the walking spacewas scarce. Half way out on the arch,1 sat down and belayed Jim who wassecond on the rope. He moved slowlyand delicately to my belay spot. ThenI started on the last leg of that longand suspended traverse. Snow dottedthe top of the arch which narrowedconsiderably. I hesitated before aplace on the ridge where its widthevaporated to a mere six inches. Oneside was a shear drop, the other slopeddangerously away into space. I ad-justed my rucksack and tip-toed acrossthe narrow 10 feet of stone. The pas-sage was only wide enough for myboots. The lead was finishedI wasstanding on the far end of the arch.

I signalled to Mike and Jim, andthey moved into action. Mike climbeddown from the far buttress and care-fully tested every footstep in the snow.Suddenly his right leg shot over theside of the arch! Mike threw his weighton his left knee as he fell and miracu-lously held his balance. He had slippedon verglas, a thin coating of ice hiddenbeneath snow which is dreaded by allclimbers.

Jim waited for Mike's signal andthen edged forward to the narrow

pitch, wavered uncertainly, collectehimself, and spurted across.

Mike went off belay and startetoward us. He halted before the 1foot tightrope near the end of tharch and stomped his boots to knocthe snow off the narrow passage. Thsound echoed like a clap of thundeThen quickly he moved across.

The next few minutes were takeup with handshakes, backslapping anverbal cong ratulations. We were thsecond party to climb and traversLandscape Arch, and we had done safely.

We ate a meager lunch and sippesome water from the canteen whithe tension of the last few hourdrained from our systems.

Then we set up a piton anchor andescended off the side in one long 11foot rappel. I looked back at Landscape Arch, now glowing in the solight of late afternoon. In my imagintion I saw the three of us on that lonand suspenseful traverse, and I feagain the freedom of that two-poicontact on rock.

As we walked back to the car ouspirits were as free as companions the wind. The conquest of LandscapArch had been an exciting and thriling adventure.

H a r d R o c k S h o r t yof Death ValleyShorty was in a talkative

mood, and the dudes lounging onthe lean-to porch in front of In-ferno store were enjoying hisyarns about the hot weather. Hetold them about the summer itgot so hot Pisgah Bill's chickenswere laying hard-boiled eggs, andabout the July day when thetemperature went so high thewater in the spring up in EightBall creek started boiling.

"If Pisgah and me hadn'tstretched a tarp over that pool tokeep the sun from hittin' it thething probably would o' boileddry and we might o' died ofthirst," Shorty explained.

"But doesn't it ever get coldhere in Death Valley?" one of thetenderfeet asked.

"Sure it gets cold," Hard Rockreplied. "I remember the win-ter a flock o' ducks landed onthat little pond where we waterthe burros. Next morning it wasfroze solid an' them birds couldn't

fly away. Their feet wuz in acake o' ice. We had duck meatin camp all the rest o' the winter.

"The coldest spell we everseen was back in '93. Really gotcold that winter. Pisgah starteda bonfire near the pool so wecould get water fer makin' cof-fee . But it got so cold themflames froze right there in theair.

"Then Bill got one o' themsmart ideas o' his'n. He got thesledge hammer and started bust-in' 'em up . 'They'll make goodkindlin' wood fer the cabin,' heexplained.

"So he stacked 'em in onecorner of the shack 'til theythawed out. But one day inMarch it suddenly turned warm,and while Bill and me was downin the mine shaft they startedburnin' again and when wecame outta the hole that evenin'we had no cabin."



17/44

Papuan's Lost Placer MineThe Mohave Indian Chinkinnow

always had gold with which tobuy supplies from the white trad-ersgold that came from a con-cealed diggings supposedly in thedesert mountains west oi Blythe,California. Although ma ny mentried, none ever learned the secretChinkinnow inherited from his fos-ter father, Papuan . This is the taleas recorded by Legend only a fewyears after Chinkinnow's death.

By DOROTHY ROBERTSONMap by Norton Allen

T WAS IN 1926 while on a pros-peering trip along the ColoradoRiver in the Needles to Blythe

vicinity that my husband first heardthe story of Papuan's gold diggings.

The legend of this lost treasure stillwas unfaded, for as recently as 1921and perhaps even later, Chinkinnow,Papuan's adopted son, came regularlyto Blythe and nearby Ehrenberg forsupplies-and he always paid in gold!

When Chinkinnow visited theselittle desert settlements on oppositesides of the river, he was warmlygreeted and followed about in the hopethat he might let slip a clue to the lo-cation of his foster father's gold dig-gings.

The story of Papuan's gold goesback to the early 1860s when he waschief of a small band of Papagos liv-ing in the wild mountains of south-western Arizona. In the continuingstruggle for existence against the ma-rauding Apaches, all of Papuan's fol-lowers eventually were killed. Know-ing that he could not survive amonghis enemies alone, Papuan fled to thecamps of the Mohave Indians on theColorado River in Yuma County. TheMohaves were the only tribe in theterritory that had treated his peoplewith anything approaching friendship.

There Papuan married an outcastMohave woman and in time both heand his wife gained a more stable po-sition in the Mohave society. His wifevalued the newly-secured honor whichcame with marriage, and to show herappreciation she told Papuan a secretwhich she alone knew.

Slipping away in the night, the In-dian couple went into the mountainrange west of Blythe which later cameto be known as the McCoy M ountains,after Bill McCoy who ran a Govern-ment post store at Ehrenberg in the

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8

1860s. When they returned to camp,Papuan and his wife had much goldwhich they shared with the other In-dians. The tribesmen bought suppliesfrom the white traders with it and theovernight spending spree created aconsiderable stir in the area. But Pa-puan and his wife kept their secretwell, outwitting any and all who triedto follow them about.

More trips to the mountains followedand during this period storekeeper Mc-Coy amassed a modest fortune$75,-000 in gold nuggets.

Although the trader and many otherstried cajolery, bribery, fire-water andthreats, the Indians remained uncom-municative, and eluded pursuit when

placering in the mountains, success-fully covering their tracks and all tracesof digging.

The others of the Mohave tribecould not sell the secret even had theywished, for they too were unaware ofthe exact gold site. McCoy even sentmen to trail the Papago, but that alsofailed. The Indian and his wife weretoo clever.

In 1886 the Apaches descendedupon the Mohaves. Although he wasan old man, Papuan, as befitting awarrior, took up arms for his adoptedtribe and was killed in the battle. His

wife escaped.Twenty years later a brawny middle-

aged German named Hartmann wan-dered into Ehrenberg. When he heardof Papuan's lost gold site he method-ically began collecting all the availabledata pertaining to the tale. And whenhe learned that the Papago's wife stillwas living at the river settlement andknew, supposedly, the mine's location,he proceeded with great excitementto lay his trap.

Hartmann sought out the old womanand craftily began a campaign to winher friendship. He told her she waslike his own mother who was longdead, and he waited on her hand andfoot. His service to the womanstretched out over a period of severamonths.

In the meantime he found out thatthe Mohave, Chinkinnow, who alsolived near the settlement, was theadopted son of Papua n. Sensing apossible rival for the inheritance ofthe secret, Hartmann proceeded todiscredit the man. But, the old womanturned a deaf ear to his blandishments

One cold winter day she took ill.Hartmann begged her to tell him thesecret before she died, pointing out althe good he had done for her.

Relenting, she told him all shecould: she and Papuan had camouflaged the mine too wellHartmannwould never be able to find it fromspoken directions which no longe

17


18/44

were clear in her mind; he would haveto be taken there.

"But who can lead me to the mine?"he demanded.

"Chinkinnow," she whispered, "he knows."

Hartmann smouldered with blackrage. Now he would have to buy hispeace from the man he had discredited!Following the old woman's death,Chinkinnow coldly refused to haveanything to do with the Germ an. Intime, however, he accepted some ofthe presents Hartmann offered, butwith one excuse or another he keptthe secret of the gold site tohimself.

His most frequently used reason fornot telling was that the departed spir-its would hold him responsible and bedispleased!

In the ensuing years Chinkinnowmany times took gifts to lead prospec-tors to the site, only to pretend forget-fulness when he neared the mine. Onother occasions he dribbled away pre-cious water forcing the party to giveup the search and return to the river.

And during all this time, despite thefact he was under surveillance, Chin-kinnow always had a good supply ofgold with which to pay for his supplies.No one ever followed him to the dig-gings.

Some people formulated their ownideas as to where Papuan's gold diggings are situated, going so far as tinsist the wily Indians backtracked iorder to throw pursuers off, and thathe placer mine actually is on thother side of the Colorado somewheron the southwest side of the CastlDome Mountains.

My husband prospected the mountainous terrain along the river and hfavors the McCoy Mountains as thmost likely site of the gold. Althoughe and other prospectors have mada few minor strikes in this range, sfar the mystery of Papuan's treasurhorde remains unsolved.

S o u th w e s t W a te r-S u p p ly P ro s p e c t

F a v o ra b le , R iv e r R e p o r ts S h o wWater - supply outlook for majorstreams of the Desert Southwest isgenerally favorable, the Weather Bu-reau reports. Most of the headwaterregions received generous fall andearly winter rainfall.

UPPER COLORADO BASINFlow of the Colorado River near

Cisco, Utah, at year's end was 136%of the 1938-52 average. From 90%to average water - year (Novem ber,1 9 5 7 , to June, 1958) streamflow is

forecast for the headwaters of the Col-orado above Glenwood Springs, Colo-rado . Streamflow for the GunnisonBasin is expected to be from 115 to1 2 0 % of the 1938-52 average. Slight-ly above average runoff is forecast forthe Dolores Basin.

The Green River Basin's water-sup-ply outlook varies from near averageto 120% of average for streams inColorado; near average for Wyomingtributaries; and in Utah, near averagefor the lower Duchesne and Pricerivers, 110% of average for the upperDuchesne R iver and Huntington Creek .

Outlook for the San Juan Basin isfor 105% of average for Coloradotributaries; 95% of average for themain stem at Farmington, New Mex-i co .

LOWER COLORADO BASINPrecipitation averaged above nor-

mal over the Verde River and TontoCreek basins; near normal over thelower Little Colorado Basin; and be-low normal over the upper Gila andSalt River basins. Runoff forecastsa r e : 50% of average for the LittleColorado atWoodruff, Arizona; 50%for the Gila; 96% Verde River; 92%

Tonto Creek; and 57% Salt Riverabove Roosevelt, Arizona.

GREAT BASINFall and early winter rainfall over

the Great Salt Lake Basin was check-ered, resulting in these runoff fore-casts: 95 % of the 1938-52 averagefor the Bear River; 105% for theOgden; 110% Weber River; 114%inflow to Wanship Reservoir; near av-erage for the Six Creeks near SaltLake City; 107% Provo River at Vi-vian Park; 98% American and Span-ish Forks; 95% inflow to Utah Lake.

Favorable precipitation resulted inabove average water-supply prospectsfor the upper Sevier (105-120% ) andlower Sevier (90-111%) basins; andfor the Beaver River (118%).

The Humboldt River at Palisade,Nevada, will have a 72% of averagerunoff, the Weather Bureau predicts.Precipitation was much heavier overthe northwest portion of this basinand the runoff forecast for MartinCreek near Paradise Valley, Nevada,is for 129% of average.

Precipitation averaged near to slight-ly above normal over the watershedsof the Truckee, and below normal overthe Carson, Walker and Owens rivers.Inflow to Lake Tahoe is predicted at9 0 % of average. Carson River stream-flow is expected to be near 70 % ofaverage; West W alker R iver near C ole-ville, California, 90 % ; and OwensRiver near Bishop, California, 90%.

Water-supply outlook for the Mo-jave River Basin in California is forless than 75% of average.

RIO GRANDE BASINSeptember - December rainfall over

this area was above normal. Stream-flow for the Rio G rande and its tribu-

taries in Colorado is forecast to benear or slightly above average. Water-

year inflow to El Vado Reservoir onthe Rio Chama in New Mexico is expected to be 90% of average, whilnear average inflow is forecast for Elephant Butte Reservoir. Runoff of th

Rio Grande at Otowi Bridge is expected to be near average.November-June streamflow of th

Pecos River is forecast to be fromnear to 125% of average. Predictedinflow to Alamogordo Reservoir i1 2 3 % of average.

Public Facilities Being AddedTo Mitchell Caverns State Park

According to information receivedfrom the California Division of Beacheand Parks, Mitchell Caverns StatPark in San Bernardino County wil

be opened to the public as soon as anadditional water supply is developedand improved facilities for the publicompleted.

The Caverns, located at the base oProvidence Mountains 23 miles northwest of Essex, came into state custodNovember 9, 1954, but owing to legacomplications resulting from the deatof Jack Mitchell while negotiationwere in progress, the ownership of thproperty did not pass to the stateuntil January 4, 1956.

State Park Rangers Orville G. Shorand Walt Palmer are stationed at the

Caverns making the improvementwhich are regarded as necessary beforthe public is invited to visit the newpark. In the meantime negotiationare in progress to acquire federal landwhich will increase the size of the parfrom 82 to 16,000 acres.

Largest of the two caverns is 200feet long and averages 35 feet inheight. In both caves are spectaculaexhibits of flowstone and dripstoneEvidence has been found that theChemehuevi tribe of Shoshonean Indians once occupied the caves. TheUniversity of California is now in thprocess of classifying artifacts foundthere.



19/44

Four Squadron jeeps hah on roadside awaiting orders that w ill be radioed bysearch planes overhead.

M i n u t e M e n. . . I n J e e p sReady to serve at any hour

when emergency demands, the 41-member Washoe Jeep Squadronof Reno is an invaluable compon-ent of the Civil Air Patrol. TheSquadron's main mission is to helplocate downedaircraft and airmenin the trackless west central Nev-ada and adjacent California des-ert regions, but its work does notstop there. Hauling feed to starv-ing deer, relocating a pioneer trailor cleaning up a campsite are allin a day's work for members ofthis volunteer service organization.

By NELL MURBARGERPhotographs courtesyWashoe Jeep Squadron

N DECE MBE R, 1951, SwedishAir Scientist Karl Ovgard tookoff in a glider from a point near

Lone Pine, California. The windswere right and in moments the ill-fated craft soared out of sight. Whenthe eminent airman failed to returnafter a reasonable length of time, theCivil Air Patrol flashed an alert toReno asking for help of the WashoeJeep Squadron in the search that ithad ordered.

Before the crashed glider and dead

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8

Thomas C. Wilson, squadron commander, does his own camp cookingwhen the patrol is out in the field.

19


20/44

Part of the squadron camped in Smoky Valley while on a rescue mission.

pilot were located, the Reno jeepstersparticipating in that mission logged10,000 vehicle miles on a quest thatcovered Death Valley, Panamint Val-ley and the Amargosa Desert.

Although not ordinarily called uponto render service so far from its homebase, activities of this remarkable jeepservice group have included a widerange of emergencies quite apart fromits primary function of searching forlost aircraft and rescuing crash sur-vivors. During the eight years of itsexistence, the Squadron's 18 jeeps and41 members have searched for missingchildren; rescued injured hikers, hunt-ers and flood victims. Periods of heavyand prolonged snow found Squadronjeeps transporting emergency hay ra-tions to starving deer herds; fish andgame conservation work has beenaided; historical trails retraced andmarked; landmarks explored; and goodoutdoor sportsmanship practiced andpromoted.

Many of these meritorious activitieshad come to my attention through newsstories. Friends had mentioned otherlaudable but unheralded Squadronservices, and editorials in Reno news-papers testified to the fact that thisorganization enjoyed the respect andapproval of its home town. It was notuntil last summer that I had the op-portunity to meet Thomas C. Wilson,founder, present commander and per-ennial mainstay of the Squadron.Owner of Nevada's largest advertis-

ing agencyas well as director of thisand chairman of thatTom Wilson isone of the busiest men in Reno. Butlike other busy men, he seems to pos-sess a magical formula by which hecan "make" time for any interest orcause that lies close to his heart. WithTom Wilson, that means the WashoeSquadron,

My arrival at the Wilsons' attractiveranch-style home in the southwest out-skirts of Reno found Tom and hiswife relaxing on the lawn. Tom couldhave passed for any prosperous subur-banite anticipating a peaceful weekendof golf or other respite from the strainof office and business affairs. But forhim and other members of the Squad-ron there is no assurance that a week-end or any other period of time willpass peacefully and uneventfully.Emergencies don't give a hang whoseplans they disrupt!

Squadron members, like volunteerfiremen, are on call around the clock.Even as we sat on the Wilsons' pleas-antly cool lawn and talked of old trails,ghost towns and other topics of mutualinterest, Tom's jeep was standing inthe driveway like a Minute Man'shorsesaddled and bridled, as it were,and ready to go.

Painted in the prescribed yellow andblue Squadron colors and bearing alarge number on its top to affordidentification from the air, the sturdylittle vehicle was in A- l mechanicalcondition, fully fueled and completely

outfitted. If an emergency had ariseduring our visit, Tom and his jeewould have been rolling in a matteof moments. Elsewhere throughothe city, said Tom, 17 other yellowand-blue jeeps also were prepared fany eventuality.

In view of file successful manner which it functions and the commenable nature of its work, it is surprisinto note that except for a similar bulater organized group at Fallon, Nvada, the Washoe Jeep Squadron the only one of its kind in the UniteStates, True, there are numerous othworthwhile civilian jeep groupssomof them affiliated with sheriffs' officand other official and non-officiagenciesbut the two Nevada squarons are the only ones in the natiooperating under the direct orders anauspices of the U. S. Air Force anits auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol.

As a lieutenant colonel in CAPTom Wilson felt there was a definitneed for admitting to membership ithat organization not only workinpilots, but men who had never beepilots or who no longer wished to flThe services of such men would bvaluable, and he felt that these indviduals, in turn, would benefit frommembership in CAP . Since CAmaintains land rescue teams whosservices are coordinated with air-bornunits, the Reno advertising executivconceived the idea of a volunteer jeemounted ground force to aid air searcof rough terrain.

Tom's plan eventually was approveby the Washington, D. C , headquarters of the Civil Air Patrol, and i1950 the Washoe Jeep Squadron waborn.

Fourteen of the Squadron's chartemembers still are affiliated with thgroup. Although any adult male citzen of Washoe County is eligible fomembership, there are certain basrequirements. Not only must a propective member be in position to drohis work at any time to join a hastilrecruited search party; he must bwilling to have his past and presenactivities minutely investigated by thFBI. The candidate also must betrained, and agree to abide by all ruleand regulations of both the Squadroand CAP . Any man meeting thesrequirementswhether he works foday wages or is a millionairebecoma squadron member upon payment othe $6 annual CAP membership fe

Ages of Squadron members rangfrom 21 to past 70, and trades anprofessions currently represented iclude radio and telephone companexecutives, school teachers and students, former president of the WashoCounty Medical Association, retirelawyer and judge, real estate broke



21/44

motel and coffeeshop owners, morti-cian, civil engineer, construction fore-man, roofing contractor, carpenter, ac-countant, gunsmith, truck driver andhandyman.

Learning that a plane has beenforced down in rough mountain ordesert country within a 200-mile radi-us of Renoor even farther away un-der extreme circumstancesthe CivilAir Patrol or Air Force may summonthe Squadron into service. Imm edi-ately upon receipt of the alert, theSquadron's operations' officer mobil-izes every available member tele-phoning each at his home, office orplace of business.

Upon arriving at the p re-determinedassembly point in the presumed vicin-ity of the crash, each jeep, by meansof its assigned number and two-wayradio hookup, is under constant ordersfrom scouting CA P aircraft. Thesepilots direct every phase of the search.

One jeep crew may be dispatched toa sheeptender's camp in quest of apossible lead; another may be sent toa lone mining camp which the search-ing CAP plane has spotted on theother side of a ridge; a third jeep maybe directed into a willow-screenedwash to search for traces of the miss-ing aircraft. A nd , of cour se, when thewreckage is located, it usually is thejeepsters who reach the scene first andrender aid to survivors.

Although most searches are com-pleted within two or three days, thelongest sustained mission in which theWasho e Squadron participated thesearch for Karl Ovgard extendedover an entire week.

Time and effort of Squadron mem-bers are given freely and withoutthought of remu neration . Only theexpense of gasoline and lubricatingoil consumed in the course of an offi-cially-ordered search is reimbursed by

the Civil Air P atrol. Th e vehiclesandother equipment used by the Squadronare supplied and maintained at thepersonal expense of each memberEach jeep must be painted in prescribed colors and have its officiaSquadron number displayed on its topin large black numerals; otherwise itbody style may follow individua

choice. Of the jeeps in current useby Squadron members, six are stationwagons, five pickups, and seven standard jeeps. All are four-wheel-drivevehicles, and each is equipped with two-way radio.

When on official duty each jeep carries, in addition to its driver, one ortwo observers or specialists assignedto that vehicle by the mission comman der. Insofar as possible, the jeepare paired off on assignments so onwill be available to render aid in casof breakdown or bogging in sand omud by the other. Since grou p trave

Squadron mem bers are briefed during recent search mission. From left, standing,Professor Shepherd of University of Nevada; high school teacher Oliver Morgan;Dr. S. W. Landis, who served as a flight surgeon in Korea; b iologist S. S. Wheeler;and civil engineer Home r Bronnecke. Seated on ground are Dr. Wesley Hall,

surgeon; and Squadron Com mander Tom W ilson (back to camera).


22/44

is not always feasible, however, eachjeep carries adequate tools, water, fuel,food and equipment to operate inde-pendently.

To expedite emergency departureseach vehicle must be kept loaded at alltimes with the mandatory gear, whichincludes a shovel, axe, rope, tow chain,

tire chains, tools, five gallons of water,10 extra gallons of gasoline, tent, tar-paulin, maps, first aid kit, ground sig-nal panels, and three days food supplyfor two person s. Occ upan ts of eachjeep make their own food selectionand do their own cooking, most ofthem carrying gasoline, Primus or char-coal stoves for this purp ose. Besidesthe foregoing list, it is suggested thateach jeep carry a saw, winch or heavy-duty jack, tent warmer, flares andspotlight.

Personal equipment required of eachmember includes a sleeping bag, can-teen, knife, matches, compass, first aidand snake-bite kits, extra socks, heavyclothing, sun glasses, waterproof bootsand pocket mon ey. Suggested, but notmandatory, personal articles are fieldglasses, extra maps, camera, largeknife, flashlight, Air Force fatigues anda yellow cap.

In addition to its search missions,conservation work and communityservice, the group meets monthly fora field training session which usuallyinvolves problems in navigation, res-cue and first aid.

Of particular interest to me is thehighly commendable work these mendo in historical research. Besides ex-ploring ghost towns and locating andmarking pioneer landmarks and Indianwritings, they have retraced early emi-grant trails across Nevada.

Considerable controversy, for ex-ample, existed over the exact courseof the Applegate Emigrant Trail fromthe point where it left the HumboldtRiver Trail, to Rabbithole Springs,about 30 miles distant. Interested inthis lost section of the famous routeblazed in 1846 by Jesse and Lindsay

Applegate, 10 members of the Squad-ron, riding in five jeeps and carryingfull camping gear, left Reno in July,1952, to explore the area. Using astheir guide the journal of J. G.Bruff,written in 1849 and published a cen-tury later by Columbia UniversityPress under the title,Gold Rush, th ejeepsters established a base camp inthe disputed section and began theircareful search of the ground betweenthe Humboldt River and Rabbithole.

"We found Bruff's records to beextremely accurate," said Tom Wilson."Driving up the same dry wash whereBruff had led his wagon train 103years before, we came to our first

majo r enig ma : Wh ere had Bruff leftthe wash?"

After lengthy conjecture and recon-noitering, the party climbed to thesummit of the Antelope Range for abetter look, and there decided uponthe larger of three gullies as the mostfeasible course for the trail to havetaken.

"The gully bore faint traces of whatcould have been wagon tracksbutwe knew any sheep tender's wagoncould have made those markings.Neither was there much chance offinding any iron or wooden relics toprove location of the trail, as sucharticles would have been washed awayor buried by the heavy summer cloud-bursts for which this area is noted.

"As we slowly worked our waydown the wash, we found a placewhere the gully cut through a dike ofshale rock, and we knew that here

was our chance! If hun dreds of ironwagon wheels had crossed this dike,it was certain that they would haveleft some mark.

"Falling to work with our shovels,we carefully cleared away the accumu-lated overburden and uncovered tworuts deeply worn into the solid rock!They were spaced slightly farther apartthan our jeep tracks, were about nineinches wide and a foot deep, well-rounded on the bottom, and verysmoothly worn . Since it would haverequired considerable wagon traffic tocut troughs of such depth, we knewfor certain that we had found the oldtrail. Now that we had knowledgeof exactly where the route crossed theAntelope Range, it was easy to followthe weathered ruts down the west slopeof the mountains and on to Rabbit-hole Springs.

"We learned later that the wagonruts in the rock had been known tolocal prospectors, geologists and min-ing men, but evidently no one asso-ciated them with the Applegatecut-off,nor had the appropriate historicalagencies been informed of their exist-ence."

In addition to its official rescue workand unofficial historical research, oc-casionally the Squadron members takejaunts just for plain fun and relaxation,

"We look for gem and mineral spe-cimens, and schedule a few huntingand fishing camping trips each year,"said To m . "W e practice as well aspreach conservation, and any of ourmen who made a habit of disregard-ing traffic safety or fish and game reg-ulations soon would find themselvesthoroughly unpopular with the others."

I asked Tom what he thought aboutthe validity of the often heard com-plaint by some conservation groups

against the use of jeeps for mountaintravel, contending that their terrificpower causes them to dig up theground, thereby despoiling the land-scape and giving the forces of erosiona foothold.

"Only in extreme cases does a goodjeep driver tear up the ground," he

answer ed. "M ost of the damage isdone by immature drivers who areshow ing off. Yo u won 't find any ofour people deliberately tearing up thegroundfor one thing we think toomuch of our jeeps to mistreat them insuch a manner.

"Person ally, 1 think we have a finegroup of men in our Squadron," saidTom Wilson. "We're affiliated withDesert Protective Council and try tolive up to its prec epts. We also striveto be good American citizens and goodsportsmen . Wh erever we go we cleansprings, repair trails and burn litter

left by camp ers and picnickers. Thisisn't an important phase of our pro-gramwe just like the good feelingthat comes from leaving a place inbetter condition than we found it."

Despite the important and humani-tarian service being performed by theWashoe Jeep Squadron, I have a feel-ing that this last mentioned phase ofthe Squadron's programdismissed byTom Wilson as "not important"maybe its most rem arkable activity. Ifeveryone would strive to leave eachplace in a little better condition thanhe found it, I suspect that most of theold world's ills would automatically becured, and the law courts could closetheir doors.

ARTISTS McGREW, REEDPLAN PALM DESERT SHOWS

California Artist R. Brownell Mc-Grew is scheduled to exhibit his paint-ings at the Palm Desert, California,Art Gallery from March 1 to 23 . Th eartist is recognized as one of the South-west's foremost contemporary paint-ers. "His skill," wrote one critic,

"verges on the dazzling."McGrew studied at the Los AngelesArt Institute under Ralph Holmes,and began painting the desert land-scape in 1949.

Another prominent California art-ist, Marjorie Reed, plans a Palm Des-ert Gallery show during the month ofApril. Theme of Miss Reed's exhibitis the historical background of thePalm Springs area.

The admission-free Palm DesertGallery is in the Desert MagazinePueblo on Highway 111 mid-way be-tween Palm Springs and Indio, and isopen daily including Sundays duringthe winter season from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

22 D E S E RT M A G A Z I N E


23/44

HISTORIC PANORAMAS XIII

C r o s s i n gof t h e f a th e r sBy JOSEF and JOYCE MUENCH

In the same month that the American Declaration of Indepen-dence was signed, a Spanish party of exploration set out from NewMexico in search of an overland route to the Pacific Coast andMon terey. It was led by two Franciscan padr es, Silvestre Escalanteand Francisco Dominguez.

Marching north and west, the Spaniards crossed the GreenRiver and entered U tah Valley in Septem ber. Th e threat of winterwas upon them as they turned southward, and finally, after failingto strike a likely trail to California, they pointed their steps east-ward toward Santa Fe.

Beyond the Virgin River they entered the rugged Southern Utahcanyon lands and on November 7, 1776, the expedition forded themighty Color ado Riverfirst white men in history to do so. This

feat was a fitting climax to the rugged journey.The Crossing of the Fathers is 40 miles above Lee's Ferry and

will be inundated by the waters of the Glen Canyon Reservoir.

Still visible on the swirling sandstone are the footholds cut bythe Spaniards jor their horses. At right the rock drops o ff to

the creek leading to the Colorado River.

This plaque, set in the red sandstone walls ofGlen Canyon, marks the narrow cut in thecliffs where Escalante's party forded the river.Mem orial is accessible only by boat. Waterbacked up by the Glen Canyon Dam will

inundate the Crossing.


24/44

H e re A re D e s e rt 's C o n te s t W in Alphine Renslow's touching story of a dauntless

Navajo boy, Lennie Begay, and his Christmas gift toher, is first prize winner inDesert's 1958 Life-on-the-

Desert Contest."Lennie Begay's Priceless Gift," which won outover 54 other entries in the contest, appears below.

M r s . Renslow is a Tracy, California, high schoolteacher. Her first teaching assignment was at a remoteNavajo outpost where the incident with Lennie oc-curred . This too, was the setting for her January, 1957,Desert Magazine story, "My Pupils Were the Peopleof Navajoland."

"These children," wrote Mrs. Renslow, "gave memy deep love for the teaching profession."

The members ofDesert's editorial staff who werethe judges, awarded second prize to Helen DuShane's"Enough for Two," the true experience story of anencounter with a group of Mexican Wetback laborers

on a remote desert trail. The incident revealed to theauthor that while these men were breaking the secularlaw regarding entry into the United States; they faith-fully served the greater and more fundamental conven-tion evoked by the desert: never take a person's lastdrop of water.

M r s . DuShane's story will appear in the AprilDes-ert Magazine. She is a resident of Altadena, California.Her "Marine Treasures from the Beach at Punta Pen-asco" was published in the October, 1957,Desert.

In addition to the prize-winning stories many of the55 manuscripts submitted in the contest are worthy ofpublication inDesert Magazine. The authors of thesehave been given honorable mention awards and themanuscripts will appear in future issues ofDesert.They will bring to these pages in the months ahead agraphic cross section of life on the desert storieswhich reveal many of the fine facets in human character

as it reacts to the often difficult problems of frontierliving. Following are the authors whose stories havebeen accepted for publication in future issues ofDesert:

"A Sing for Atsa Gay" by Joe Kerley, Winslow,Arizona."Mr. H orny-Bee" by Gerald Kincaid Street, Coach-

ella, California."Pinyon Jays for Pets" by Laurence M, Huey, San

Diego, California."Before I Went Away to School" by Chester Yel-

lowtail as told by Mrs. H al Kelley, Riverside, California."Night in Gate Canyon" by Barbara Hammen,

Missoula, Montana."Navajo Hospitality" by Martha Shaw, San Ga-

briel, California."Feathered Friends" by Betty Lipscomb, Thousand

Palms, California."Second Ch ance" by M argaret Reynolds A rensberg,

Riverside, California."Chinde Sickness" by Inez H. Goss, Prescott, Ari-

zona."Death Valley Saga" by Eva Nidever, Borrego

Springs, California."Quicksand and Locoweed" by Billie Williams

Yost, Flagstaff."Life on the Colorado Desert" by Maud A. Min-

thorn, Northridge, California."The Desert Is Our Friend" by Dorothy Hitt, Mo-

desto, California."Emily of the Desert Trails" by Dorothy Robert-

son, Ridgecrest, California."Life on the Desert" by Savola Fenley, Ridgecrest,

California."First Day at School" by Elizabeth White,Flagstaff."My Friend, Packy" by W. I. Lively, Phoenix.

Lennie Begay's Priceless GiftHe was tattered and unwanted, but his classmates rejoiced In hismerrimentand his teacher learned from him the worth of love.

By ALPHINE RENSLOWOST BOYS whom we meet in

our lives affect us only briefly but there are those mo-ments of rare magic when a small boy,like an irresistible puppy, wriggles hisway into our hearts, and stays forever.

Lennie Begay was a little brownsausage of a boy, with sprightly mo-lasses colored eyes. When I first sawhim, his straight black hair was cutshort and bristly. He was wearing atattered pair of faded blue jeans, onepant leg torn off at the knee . His oncered plaid shirt boasted only two brokenbuttons which long before had lost thestruggle to keep Lennie's round littlestomach from view.Any self-respecting scarecrow would

have scoffed at his forlorn wardrobe;and yet after one look at those alertinquisitive eyes and that wise youngface, his apparel was no longer of anyimportance.

The auditorium was crowded withNavajo parents busily enrolling theirchildren at the Chinle governmentboarding school in the heart of theNavajo Indian Reservation. Lenniewas standing beside a tall slender manregistering two shy little girls whopeered solemnly at me from the foldsof their mother's voluminous skirts.When he finished giving the list ofclothing that the girls had, the man

roughly pushed Lennie forward, toldme his name, and added that the clo-

thing the boy was wearing was theextent of his worldly possessions. Healso said he thought that Lennie wasabout five years old because he wasborn when the corn was so high. This

last remark was complete with ges-tures."Is Lennie your son?" I asked, at-

tempting to fill in the remainder ofthe long government form. Heshrugged his shoulders, and then saidsomething in Navajo. The Indian boywho was my interpreter, laughedloudly.

"What did he say?" I asked impa-tiently.

"The boy is a squaw dance baby,"the interpreter answered scornfully.

As this was my first day as ateacher, I had not yet become ac-

quainted with the Navajo customs, andI had never heard of a squaw dance



25/44

My interpreter explained that Lenniewas an illegitimate child,and thereforewas shuffled backand forth from onerelative to another, his mother notbeing particularly interested in hiswelfare.

Uncertain parentage, however,didnot seem to daunt Lennie. He wasgreatly interested in everything andeveryone. When he was part of agroup, the air was charged with ex-citement. The other children seemedto preface all their remarks with"Len-nie said" or "Lennie did." He hadan overpowering affinityfor mischief.He couldn't quite decide whetherornot to accept me until the fateful dayI opened my desk drawer and curledmy fingers around a wicked-lookinglizard while searching for an elusiveeraser. I didn't scream,so Lennie de-cided to like me. Somehow it is diffi-cult to scream or even gasp when yourjaws refuse to move from sheer fright.

After that he began bringing me anoccasional offering of "kneeling downbread," a delicacy whose unsavoryshade of green left much to be de-sired as a morsel of food. Usuallythere were large bites missing beforethey became my gift, but the smilethat accompanied them more thancompensated for the missing bits ofnourishment.

Lennie's favorite school day wasFriday when our class walked the twomiles to the trading post. The otherchildren who had spending moneyliked to buy loaves of white breadwhich they devoured rapidly,or bot-tles of bright red hair oil to use lav-ishly, smelling one another's hair with"oh 's" of pure pleasure.

One morning after suchan expedi-tion, Lennie was unusually silent onthe long walk backto the school. Hemoved along withhis small head bent,and kicked at the small rocks in thepath as he worried over his problem.That afternoon on my way back tothe classroom from the office, I sawLennie through the window, bobbingup and down like a cork in water,placing his hand on each child's head,and then in turn, on his own. When Iwalked into the room, he was sittingat his table grinning blissfully. Byusing a share-the-wealth plan, Lenniewas now enjoying the luxury of hairoil without the pain of financial outlay!

At times the confining school wallswould prove too much for this smallfreedom lover. The pungent smellofsagebrush, an inviting warm desertbreeze, and Lennie would stand forhours staring out the windows, like atiny caged bird, restlessfor the sky.

The next morninghe would be gone,running away barefooted throughthefriendly night, to whichever relativewas accepting him at the moment. He

always left his small scuffed shoesatthe foot of his bed, silent testimonyto shackles of unwanted civilizationleft far behind.

When Lennie was gone, the joy ofliving seemed to be dimmed. Thewalks and games lacked excitement.When it was time to sing there wasno high voice singing justa little offkey to give that special feelingof justhow wonderful music reallycan be.

Several days laterwe would hear ahappy cry from one of the children,an d the entire class, includingmyself,would run to the window, everyoneshouting, "Here comes Lennie!"

The recent runaway would comeinto the room, his grin irresistable,somehow knowing that staying angrywith him was impossible. O nce morehe was taken back into our schoolfamily, and everyone was happy again.

Lennie's last run away act was justbefore Christmas. The children wereterribly excited aboutthe prospect ofa Christmas treefor being the youngestones at school, they had never seeno n e . They chattered for hours aboutdecorating it. A few days beforeChristmas, the older boys broughtinour tree. It was perfect, shiny andfragrant. The small brown fingers

touched it and the large wistful eyesloved it.

The tree, however,was not the onlytopic of conversation at that time. Avery severe snowstormwas the tree'srival for attention. The outcome wasinevitableno Christmas mail couldbe delivered to us, as we were morethan a hundred miles from the nearesttown,

I was away from homefor the firsttime on my initial teaching assignment,and beginning to feel very homesick.Now there wouldnot be even a letteror gift to bring loved ones closer. Asthe children buzzed happily, decorating the gay cedar tree with bitsof cot-to n for snow (an i ronic reminder) , Iwas so homesick that traitorous tearswere trickling down my nose. As Ihastily brushed them away,I saw Len-nie looking at me, his usually merryface strangely solemn.He walked overto me, and placing his hand over hisheart and then overmy own, he woundhis fat little arms around me, feelingfor all the world like a small porcu-pine with his bristly hair rubbingagainst my cheek.

Lennie, who had known so little ofit himself, knew the only present worthhaving was the priceless gift of love.

C o n t e s tfor P h o t o g r a p h e r s...The rainfall of past months indicates that March will be a colorful

month on the desert, for chances are excellent that millions of wild-flowers will be blooming under the limitless spring skies. But, asmiraculous and beautiful as they are, wildflowers are merely one ofmany attractions-and potential camera subjectsawaiting the desertphotographer. If you tour the Southwest with a camera you shouldenter the best of your work in Desert Magazine's Picture of the MonthContest. You probably have many pictures either taken or in mindthat would make excellent entries.

Entries for the March contest must be sent to the Desert Magazineoffice, Palm Desert, California, postmarked not later than March 18.Winning prints will appear in the May issue. Pictures -which arrivetoo late for one contest are held over for the next month. First prize is$10; second prize, $5. For non-winning pictures accepted for publica-tion $3 each, will be paid.

HERE ARE THE RULES1Print* must be black and white , 5x7 or larger, on glossy paper.3Each photograph submitted shouldba fully labeled as tg subject, time and

place. Also technicaldata; camera, shutterspaed, hour of 0 07 , etc.3PRINTS WILL BE RETURNED WHEN RETURN POSTAGE IS ENCLOSED.4Entries must ba In the Desert Maqaiine oiiicoby the 20th of the contest month.

5Contests ore open to both amateur and professional photo graph ers. DesertMagai ine requ iresfirst publication rights only of prize winning pictures.

G Time and place of photograph ore Immaterial, except that it must be from thedesert Southwest

7Judaea will ba selected from Desert's editorial staff, and aw ard * will ba madeImmediately after the close of the contest each month.

A d d r e s s All Entries to Photo Editor

The DesertMagazine PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

M A R C H , 1 9 5 8 25


26/44

ON DESERT TRAILS W ITH A NA TU RA LIST -- XLVI

H e D i s c o v e r e d aR a r e C a c tu sint h e C h u c k a w a l l a s

Here is the story of thediscovery ofone of thedesert's rarest and most beautiful cactiin a re-mote area in the Chuckawalla Mountains ofSouthern California. The discoverer was AndrewHalstead Alverson,botanist who tramped the aridlands of the Southwest in quest oi cactus speciesmore than half a century ago.

By EDMUND C. JAEGER, D.Sc.Curator of Plants

Riverside Municipal Museum

N THE SPRING of 1919 I was given an assignmentto make a collection of desert plants for the UnitedStates National Herbarium. With a companion and

three burros I traveled for six weeks over some of theleast-known parts of the Colorado Desert of California.It was a journey of high interest because of the manywild places I saw, and the interesting people 1 met.

One warm mid-day we pulled into Mecca to re-outfit,and to have the five week's growth ofhair cropped from our heads. Wecached our packs and burros in ascrewbean thicket near the small two-room schoolhouse. Then while theanimals rested we replenished our sup-plies, mended our clothes and madepreparations for another trek into thewilderness. Screwbean pods were ly-ing under the trees in layers, in someplaces almost three-inches thick, andour burros had the time of their liveseating the nourishing tornilto pod s. Itwas indeed a time of comfortable lazi-

A.H. AIverson , early San Bernardino cactus fancier.

ness.On the afternoon of the second day

we had a strange visitor. We heardhim talking and shouting to his packburros long before he came into sight.When he entered the school yard andspied me sitting in the shade mendingmy saddle, he broke into words of wildbut warm greeting, and leaving his fiveanimals to fend for themselves, camerunning up. Without a word of intro-duction whatsoever, he declared: "Soyou're the professor that's come toMecca on a plant prospecting trip! Iheard about you at the postoffice. Well,wellso you're a prospector, but nota rock prospector like I am. But, I'll

bet you a meal of chili beans that youdon't know what an Alversonii is."

"I think I do," I answered,"butwho are you?"

To which I got the quick reply:"Frank Coffey ("Burro Man of theDesert," Desert Magazine, March,1951), a prospector of minerals anda good one. I've been in, town fromDos Palmas where flows the famousMilk Spring."

Before I could put in a word headde d: "So you know what an Alver-sonii is! To know that you must be areal professor. Now what is it?"

"A kind of cactus from the Chuck-awalla Mountains," I hurriedly an-swered.

"That's right!" Coffey boomed."And that being the case, I welcomeyou right heartily to our big Colo-rado Desert.

"You've got to bring yourself andyour jennies and jackasses to DosPalmas to have a big visit with me.Ye s , with Frank Coffey, the goodragged-pantsed prospector who knowshis rocks. Your burros can visit withmy burros; we'll make up some potsof coffee and a big stew and swap lies

and ideas for a week. Moreover, I'lltell you all you ought to know abouthow I first saw an Alverson cactus.Oh, what a pretty one it is!"

Coffey next launched into one ofthe long stories for which he was fa-mous, and for a while I thought hewas going to have his week's visit withme right there at the old Mecca school.

But all of a sudden and with noannouncement of his plans, he raninto the brush, rounded up his beasts,and with an, "Adios,I'll see you pro-fessortomorrow at old Dos Palmas,"left in the direction of his home andhis famous Milk Spring, so-called be-cause of "its velvety waters that feelas mildly warm as a mug of fresh milkfrom a jersey cow."

Andrew Halstead Alverson, throughhis interest in minerals, traveled exten-sively and took up mining claims in thePanamint Mountains on the MojaveDesert, and near Dos Palmas on theColorado Desert. It probably was atthe latter location that he met FrankCoffey.

The two set off on an exploratoryjourney to the Chuckawalla Moun-tains in April or May of 1893the



27/44

garrulous Coffey, who had establisheda reputation for knowing the desertwell, acting as guide, the sedate Alver-son collecting cacti. From near Meccathey traveled up Salt Creek Wash pastCanyon Spring, thence to the RedCloud Mine area , using Coffey's burrosto carry their blankets and provisions.Striking north and east along the toeof the Chuckawallas, they came toGranite Wells where camp was madein a flat sandy wash amidst smoke andironwood trees.

It was near there that they locatedthe handsome nipple cactus which wasto be described in scientific literatureby President John M. Coulter of LakeForest University, Illinois,

195803 desert magazine 1958 march

Documents