195807 desert magazine 1958 july

8/14/2019 195807 Desert Magazine 1958 July

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National Park Service PhotoROSE-SWEET DESERT WINDBy T E X RE E S EPerris, California

A red, red rose has served for meTo tame the sand-waves tossing high,The boisterous wind, the laughing throngWhere sage the chipmunks sport among.Gay cactus and the song-birds freeAll share this freedom found of meBeneath the desert's golden sky.Each passer-by my rose may see,From golden dawn to fall of eve;May pause and read, in fragrant clime.

My paraphrasing some quaint rhymeAnd watch the wild life romp in glee,Or share a happy hour with me,Mayhap a crimson flower retrieve.In silence or when winds are high,By starry night or dewy dawnThis red rose planted here by meWafts love-like fragrance rich and freeTo charm and cheer each passer-by.Like ocean-tides when waves are high,My rose-sweet Desert Winds roll on!

THE OLD GHOST TOWNBy MRS. GLADYS THOMASFallon, NevadaLike a little old lady, is the old ghost town,Dozing and dreaming, in the fierce summerheat;Remembering the days when she was young,And had thousands of men at her feet.She had never had beauty, she regretfullysighs,But her wealth made her queen for a while.Men had hurried to her from all over theworld,And battled, and fought for her smile.

For some she had smiled, and poured outher gold,Giving life promise and zest;Others she'd spurned, bringing death anddespair,This wild, lusty queen of the west.Now she is old, and forsaken by all,Her treasure long since spent;But, clasped in the arms of the encirclinghills,With her memories, and dreams, she'scontent.

HIDDEN MAGICBy ANONA MCCONAGHYBellftower, California

The desert hides her beautiesFrom the casual eye,Small creatures are nocturnal,Desert birds are shy.The desert hides her treasuresFrom eager eyes of men,Rich veins of gold and silverFound, and lost again.The desert hides her magicWith blends of beige and gray.How often he who lingersGives his heart away.A KING DEPARTS

By ETHLYNE FOLSOM SPRINGERLa Mesa, CaliforniaAs for proud conquistadorTraveling on the Royal Way,Pomp and splendor mark the passingOf a Western desert day.Circling pine and ancient cedarSwing their censers, so that heMay depart in perfumed glory,While stars chant the Rosary.Desert winds in muted voices,Tell of all that was and is;Hills, like Cardinals in crimson,Watch above the obsequies.

By TANYA SOUTHHow deep then is your Faith? Doyou not knowThat every blessed thing that youbestowMust in full measure all return toyou?And if you give but love, love willpursueYour days and all your ways, andwill unlockAll doors, all barriers that ever block.

T h e S a g u a r o A r m yBy M RS. PAULINE HENSONFt. Huachuca, Arizona

Legion on legion,Encamped upon the sands.Each soldier a Goliath,The Saguaro Army standsArmed and at attention,Silent and still,Yet marching through the desert,Guarding on the hill.Sentries by the roadside,Battalions on the plainEndure the sun and wind and dust,Defy the lack of rain.Commandoes slip through canyon,Scouts climb upon the trail;Two giants hold the mountain passAnd know they must not fail.Spirits of ArmageddonNature has consignedTo stand the desert's burning watchUntil the end of time!WALK SOFTLY WHEN THEYUCCAS BLOOM

By MILDRED BREEDLOVELas Vegas, NevadaWalk softly when the yuccas bloomAssume a gentle air.For desert life is harsh and stern,And spring may not again returnTo yuccas and agaves thereFor many years.Salt cedar plumes may come and go,And cacti stage a brilliant show,But yucca spearsDo not, two springtimes in a row,Give way to such magnificence!So walk with reverenceWhen moisture comes to desert sandAnd yucca buds begin to swell,For angels must be close at handTo guard each bursting bell. SILVER PEACE

By CONSTANCE WALKERLos Angeles, CaliforniaWalk in the desert,Solitude has much to share,You will feel congenial warmthIn the balm of crystal air.Walk in the sunlight,Yearning eyes are sure to traceIn a glass of ether-blue,A familiar mirrored face.Walk in the silenceAnd a loving voice will comeFrom the whispering of sageIn the wind's persistent hum.Walk in the desertFor your heart will be awareOn a lustered path of moonlight,Silver-peace is waiting there.

HIGH DESERTBy ELIZABE TH L. SARGENTOntario, California

There's a cabin on a hillsideWhere the desert calls to me,And the nights are long and peacefulAnd my heart from care is free.There, the chaparral comes creepingSilver gray, up to the door,And the night winds whisper musicNo one ever heard before.I can close my eyes and listen,Lost in wonder and delight,Drifting off to dreamless slumberUntil morning brings new light.

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D E S E R T C A L E N D A RJuly 3-4 Gunnison Valley Days,Gunnison, Utah.July 3-4 Mounted Patrol Rodeo,Fort Sumner, New Mexico.July 3-5Bit & Spur Rodeo, Tooele,Utah.July 3-6Annual Fiesta and Moun-tain Spirits Dance, MescaleroApache Agency, New Mexico.July 3-6Cowhands Rodeo, Cloud-croft, New Mexico.July 3-625th Annual Hopi Crafts-man Exhibit, Museum of NorthernArizona, Flagstaff.July 4Independence Day Celebra-tions in most Southwestern com-munities.July 4 and 24 Ute Indian SunDance, Roosevelt, Utah.July 4-571st Annual Frontier DaysRodeo, Prescott, Arizona.July 4-62nd Annual Antelope Val-ley Rodeo and Roundup. Paradeon 4th. Palmdale, California.July 4-6Sierra Club's Desert PeaksSection hike to Wheeler Peak, nearLehman Caves National Monument,Nevada.July 4-6 Rodeo and Silver SpursAward Presentation, Reno.July 4-630th Annual Southwest All-Indian Pow Wow, Flagstaff.July 10-12 Ute Stampede, Nephi,Utah.July 10-13Rodeo, Santa Fe.July 12Fourth Annual Sun Wor-shipers Fiesta, Borrego Springs,California.July 12-14All Faces West Pageant,Ogden, Utah.July 14Corn Dance, Cochiti Pue-b l o , New Mexico.July 17-19Dinosaur Roundup Ro-d e o , Vernal, Utah.July 18-19Mt. Timpanogos Hike,American Fork, Utah.July 18-19 Square Dance Festival,Show Low, Arizona.July 18-19, 21-24Days of '47 Ro-d e o . Parades on 18th and 24th.Salt Lake City.July 19, 21, 23-24 Pioneer DaysCelebration and Rodeo, Ogden,Utah.July 23-24San Juan County Fair,Monticello, Utah.July 23-24Pioneer Days Celebra-tions: Snowflake Rodeo, St. JohnsRodeo, and Safford, Arizona;Bountiful Handcart Days, OremUtah Valley Days, Roosevelt Ro-d e o , Springville, Cedar Fort, Eph-

raim, Milford, Lehi, FountainGreen, Hyrum, Marysvale andMeadow, Utah.July 26 Corn Dance and Fiesta,Taos and Santa Ana pueblos, N.M.July 26-27County Fair, Los Ala-m o s , New Mexico.July 27 Sheriff's Posse Roundup,Flagstaff.July 27-August 3Navajo CraftsmanExhibit, Museum of Northern Ari-zona, Flagstaff.July 28-29Blue Mountain Rodeo,Monticello, Utah.July 29-August 7 1958 NationalSoaring (glider) Championships,Bishop, California.July 31-August 2 Harvest Days,Midvale, Utah.July 31-August 3 Eastern SierraTri-County Fair, Bishop, California.

V o l u m e 21 JULY. 1958 N u m b e r 7

C O V E RPOETRYC A L E N D A REXPERIENCESERVICEDESERT QUIZC L O S E - U P SL A N D M A R KTRAVELC O N T E S TSCIENCEG A R D E N I N GLETTERSH I S T O R YN A T U R EFICTIONF O R E C A S TA S T R O N O M YN E W SM I N I N GH O B B YL A P I D A R YC O M M E N TB O O K SP H O T O G R A P H Y

Monument Valley (see story on page 5)By JOSEF MUENCHThe Saguaro Army and other poems . . . . 2July events on the desert 3Where We Found HappinessBy SAVOLA FENLEY 4White Man's Medicine in Monument Valley

By NELL MURBARGER 5A test of your desert knowledge 10About those who write for Desert 10Guest Register in Stone, By H. N. FERGUSON . 11Back-Road on the Mojave

By ELIZABETH WARD 13Picture-of-the-Month contest announcement . . 16Roving Laboratory of the Desert

By RANDALL HENDERSON 18Roots in the WaterFronds in the Sunshine . . 21Comment from Desert 's readers 22Fort Davis, by JOSEF and JOYCE MUENCH . 23River of the Bitter Waters

By EDMUND C. JAEGER 24Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley 26Southwest river runoff predictions 27Big Eyes Among Desert Pines

By GASTON BURRIDGE 28From here and there on the desert 31Current news of desert mines 35Gems and Minerals 37Amateur Gem Cutter, by DR. H. C. DAKE . . 41Just Between You and Me, by the Editor . . . 42Reviews of Southwestern literature 43Pictures of the Month back cover

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Press, Inc., Palm Desert,California. Re-entered as second class matter July 17, 1948, at the postoffice at Palm Desert,California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered No. 358865 in U. S. Patent Office,and contents copyrighted 1958 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writ ing.RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor EUGENE L. CONROTTO, Associate EditorBESS STACY, Business Manager EVONNE RIDDELL, Circulation ManagerUnsolicited manuscripts and photographs submit ted cannot be re tu rned or acknowledgedunless full return postage is enclosed. Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility fordamage or loss of manuscripts or photographs al though due care will be exercised. Sub-scribers should send notice of change of address by the first of the month preceding issue.SUBSCRIPTION RATESOne Yea r S4.00 TwoYears $7.00Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra. Foreign 50c Ext raSubscriptions to Army Personnel Outside U. S. A. Must Be Mailed in Conformity WithP . O. D. Order No. 19687Address Correspondence to Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, CaliforniaJULY, 1958


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L I F E ON THE D E S E R TW h e r e W e F o u n dH a p p i n e s s . . .

The desert was so new, so vast so magnificent. From the firstmoment they laid eyes on the startling Indian Wells Valley and itsbordering mountain ranges, the Fenleys knew that this was theirpromised land. Here they grew to love every phase of desert living,and here they found peace and contentment.By SAVOLA FENLEY

N OCTOBER, 1943, a messagecame from my husband's brotherwho was on the Mojave Desert.He urged my husband to make nodelay in coming out to stake a claimadjacent to those on which he hadfound "rich tungsten and gold indica-tions." Tungsten then was a very im-portant war mineral and "we all mightbecome rich." It sounded good, sowe made the trip.This very first visit to the desertwas the beginning of life for us. Thetungsten and gold on our claim didnot pan out too well, which was a

deep disappointment to my husband,but we soon learned that finding goldin the truest sense is to find it withinone's self.During the early war years the Navyhad established a base near our claimsat Inyokern, and since we could notmake a living at mining, I suggested tomy husband that he get a job at thebase. Prospecting could be a sidelineSo he returned to the desert. I re-mained at our home on the coastuntil I could join him, for there wasno available housing at Inyokern.My husband made plans to build ahome on a site overlooking the vastIndian Wells Valley. To this day,when visitors arrive for the first time,there are always exclamations over themagnificent view from our homethepanorama of the valley below, thetowering Sierras and Mount Whitney'ssnow-clad peak, the arid El Pasos, andthe massive ranges guarding DeathValley.Our home is remote, being two milesfrom the highway and eight miles fromthe base. Over the years we havehauled every precious drop of water

for domestic use and for the birds,rabbits, chipmunks and the many otherlittle animals which steal in at night.

These denizens we have loved as wehave loved everything about this des-ert. Even the wind, so annoying tomost, has been like a therapy to ussoothing as it sings in the greasewoodwhich only those attunded to things ofthe desert can hear.Recently, a young woman visitorwho has been at the base since 1944,remarked that she had lost her formerawareness of the wind, but the memoryof the desert in those early days is al-ways with her.In a way, we were pioneers. Whenwe moved here all that one could seeon the floor of the desert was the hogranch, a dairy, and the few housesoccupied by old-timers. A gas station,grocery store and postoffice made upthe business district. Now peoplecoming to visit me at night see a myr-iad of lights below from the city thathas nearly every modern convenienceand facility.

The best of life has been lived inthis small home. I doubt if it wouldhave been the same had we settled inthe boom town adjoining the base. Westill would have gone out on thosewonderful treasure hunts for gemstones, pretty rocks and old bottlesturned to roval purple by the sun'srays. We still would have gone downthe many roads we traveled, lookingfor old camps or merely browsingalong on tranquil days! The rain wouldhave been the samethe marvelousrain which permeates the air with thatheavenly pungent aroma of creosote.But, our isolated home gave us evenmore. . .

Today I had very special visitors,and in my guest book they wrote: "Ahighlight in our lives, a great privilege,and today we have found in this homewhat all the world is seekingpeaceand contentment." ,., ,

And so, where in all the world couldmy husband have left me to better be-gin the reconstruction of my lifethelife of which 33 years were spent withhim than here in this little housewhich serves as study, studio and liv-ing room, every window looking outto my everlasting and everchanginghills and mountains!He passed away in February, 1957.As I write, the sun set only minutesa g o . In the east hangs the pale moonsurrounded by the still rose coloredclouds of the sunset. It is all mauveand rose toward our old Red Moun-tain, too.Th e air has the chill of winter, birdsare on the wing, flitting happily by inthis moment before dusk, going wher-ever birds go for the night.Fading now are the colors of themagnificent desert sunset. But, as Ilook toward the El Pasos. there,brushed out across the southern hori-zon, are even more beautiful rose andgray clouds in this last moment beforetwilight.A DIPLOMATIC MESSAGESTRAIGHT TO THE POINTAugust 3, 1853. . . . The excite-ment occasioned by the threats ofWalkara, the Utah chief, continued toincrease during the day we spent atParawan (U tah ). Families flocked infrom . . . small settlements and farms,bringing with them their movables,and their flocks and herds. Parties ofmounted men . . . patrolled the coun-try . . . During our stay, Walkara senta polite message to Colonel G. A.Smith, who had military command ofthe district . . . telling him that "theMormons were fools for abandoningtheir houses and towns, for he (Wal-kara) did not intend to molest themthere, as it was his intention to con-fine his depredations to their cattle,and that he advised them to returnand mind their crops, for, if theyneglected them, they would starve, andbe obliged to leave the country, whichwas not what he desired, for thenthere would be no cattle for him totake."Gwinn Harris Heap's CentralRoute to the Pacific, Journal of E. F.Beale, published in 1854.

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W h i t e M a n ' s M e d i c i n eM o n u m e n t

Buildings of the Mon ument Valley Mission Hospital and living quarters for staffmembers are situated in a deep and scenic canyon a short distance west of theGoulding Trading Post.New hope for a better way of life has come to the scattered Navajoand white residents of the vast 10,000-square-mile Monument Valley.It stems from the Mission Hospital operated there for the past few yearsby a handful of dedicated medical missionaries working under theauspices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

By NELL MURBARGERPhotographs by the authorold medicine man, Gray Whiskers,whom we had come to see.That he had been a handsome manwas obvious; but now his saddle-brown face was etched with the wis-dom and weariness of more than 80years. Across his upper lip lay a mus-tache as thin and gray as the stragglinghair bound back by the black cottonheadband; he was clad in an odd-assortment of cast-off garments. Theold eyes, however, still mirrored astrange keenness, and the thin hand

THE ragged canvascovering aside, we passed singlefile through the low door of thehogan. As the warm bright glare ofthe desert morning gave way to thegloomy half-dark of the dwelling's in-terior, it was a moment before I couldsee the three persons in that room.On a worn sheep pelt spread uponthe red-sand floor, sat a young Nav-aio woman, her arms cradling a baby;across the hogan, closer to the smol-dering juniper-wood fire, squatted theJ U L Y , 1 9 5 8

extended to us in greeting was firm andsteady.Speaking in his native tongue, thepatriarch fell easily into conversationwith my companions, Maurice Knee,who has spent most of his life amongstthe Navajos, and Marvin and GwenWalter, who have been ministering tothe tribe for over 15 years.Examining Gray Whiskers' band-aged foot, which he had broken severalweeks earlier, Gwen explained to theold man that the bones had healedwell, but that he must stimulate circu-lation by massaging the foot and al-ternately soaking it in hot and coldwater; also, that he should graduallyresume walking without the aid of hiscrutches.Then Gwen switched her attentionto the sickly baby girl in the arms ofthe young mother, one of Gray Whis-


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On the hospital steps, from left, Dr. J. Lloyd Maso n and his w ife, Alice;Gwen Walter and her husband Marvin, M ission Hospital director.kers' several daughters. Suspectingthat the infant needed some food ele-ment lacking in her mother's milk,Gwen gave the young woman a bottleof vitamins and explained their use.A pair of laughing tousle-haired grand-sons of the old man came racing acrossthe dunes from their nearby tent home.They had no ailment so serious thata handful of red and yellow lollipops,which Maurice produced from a boxin the jeep, could not cure.

With Gray Whiskers and his prog-eny clustered about the door of thehogan waving farewell, we againclimbed into our jeep and started offdown the rutted sandy trail towardthe next isolated family on Gwen'sroster of Navajo out-patients.Not until after sunsetseven hoursand numerous calls laterdid we re-turn to the hospital, tired, hungry andwind-burned, but with the good feel-ing that comes from doing a worth-while task.This was my introduction to the

wonderful program of the MonumentValley Mission Hospital, a Seventh-day Adventist institution administeredlocally by the Rev. Marvin Walter,director, and his wife, Gwen, a regis-tered nurse, and ably assisted by Dr.J. Lloyd Mason, resident physician,and his wife, Alice, also a nurse. Uponthese four good-natured hard-workingpersons, some 4000 othersboth In-dians and whitesare dependent fortheir around-the-clock medical assist-ance. The fact that these potentialpatients are thinly scattered over 10,-000 square miles of desert, is but oneof the unique features of operating aclinic in Monument Valley on theArizona-Utah border, 175 miles fromthe nearest railroad.As Maurice Knee skilfully pilotedthe jeep through treacherous blowsand, up and over dunes, and aroundand among the great sandstone mono-

liths which give Monument Valley itsname, I had the opportunity that dayto learn from Marvin and Gwen Wal-

ter the story of this humanitarian proj-ect which is so close to their hearts.Before the Mission was establishedeight years ago, residents of the areawho were seriously injured or severelyill had three possible alternatives: Ifthey were whites they bumped overthe then rough road to the hospitalat Monticello, 100 miles to the north.If they were Navajos they weretaken over an equally rough road tothe Indian hospital at Tuba City, Ari-zona. The third alternative was to callin the medicine man. Although trainedin the ritualistic sings and sand paint-ings, and familiar with the curativeproperties of native herbs, these na-tive practitioners know virtually noth-ing of surgery, antibiotics, or othermodern life-saving processes.Realizing the urgent need for bettermedical facilities in Monument Valley,Harry Goulding and his wife "Mike,"

veteran traders in Monument Valley{Desert Magazine, August, '57), hadtried for years to interest one of thechurch organizations in establishing amedical mission in the Valley. Theyoffered their moral support plus a re-newable 99-year lease on 10 acres ofland with water available.It was the Seventh-day AdventistChurch which accepted the challenge,and in September, 1950, establishedMon ument Valley's first hospital. Itsheadquarters was a small house trailerlocated at the base of a towering red-sandstone cliff a short distance from

Goulding's, and its staff consisted ofone registered nurseGwen Waltertall, slender, soft-spoken, 41 years ofage, and the mother of two boys anda girl."When we began our work, therewere only 600 persons, six pickuptrucks, and not one paved road in allthe 10,000 square miles we were toserve," recalled Gwen. "To day, dueto uranium and other developments,the population is probably close to5000."Last year we gave medical care to

over 3000 persons. Since our hospitalis the only established medical facilityin the 200 miles between Tuba Cityand Monticello, many of these patientscame to us from points as far as 50miles away."For several years the PresbyterianMission at Kayenta, 25 miles to thesouth, had a registered nurse, andvisiting doctors came periodically fromthe splendid hospital at Ganado tohelp serve the medical needs of thatarea. Today , however, the regularnurse is gone and the Public Healthnurse does what she can for the com-munity."As we went from hogan to hoganthat day it was obvious that the Wal-

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Vivian Christensen, standing, and som e of her pupils in the Mission school.ters are held in deep respect and af-fection by everyone in MonumentValley, Indians and whites alike.That evening the Masons invited theWalters and I to visit their comfort-able cottage on the canyonside abovethe hospital, and there I learned moreabout the fine work these medical mis-sionaries are doing at this remote des-ert outpost.Knowing the reluctance of some ofthe tribesmen to accept missionaryteachers and modern practices, I askedGwen if they had encountered muchopposition to their work. She answered"no.""Even when we first came to Mon-ument Valley," she said, "the peoplecame to us readilyonly the medicinemen were reluctant to accept us. AfterHarry Goulding explained to them thattheir medicine was good, and our

medicine was good, too, and that com-bined they made a really powerfulmedicine, they began calling mebutnot until after they had conductedtheir sing. We told them that if theywould call me sooner, the patientwould not become so ill; and beforetoo long, they began calling me at thesame time they came in to get ma-terials for their sing."Old Gray Whiskers was the lastmedicine man to accept us, but evenhe gradually lost his prejudice, andnow permits us to administer our med-ication at the same time his ritualisticceremony is in progress."Harry tells us that nowadays hesells very little material for singsthat the people come to get us instead."The ministrations of the medicinemen are not confined to superstition.According to Gwen some of the older

medicine men have great knowledgeconcerning the use of native herbs."They have one potion for haltingtooth decayand it really seems to dothe job!" she said. "They also com-pound a snake-bite medicine that isvery effective; and they have somenative herb to stop vomiting which isbetter than anything I know!"This live-and-let-live attitude andwillingness to accept the other man'sbeliefs at face value, is partially re-sponsible for the high regard in whichthe Monument Valley Mission Hospi-tal is held by everyone familiar withits work.Actually the institution is a hospitalin name only. Down the canyonsidea short distance from the present build-ing, is the foundation and partially-erected walls of what eventually willbe the hospital. Due to lack of funds,Marvin Walter, kneeling, and Maurice Knee explainproper course of treatment for his injured foot tomedicine man Gray W hiskers.

Gwen Walter discusses health problems with twoNavajo travelers while her hu sband M arvin, left, andMaurice Knee look on.


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Nurse Gwen Walter plays with a happy Navajo baby while his motherlooks on. White cloth in backgroun d is a bedsheet canopy fastened to thehogan's ceiling so san d will not fall into the ba by's eyes.all work on the building is now at astandstill. Since present facilities donot meet requirements set for Indianreservation hospitals, the operation islicensed only as a clinic, and as such,can hold a patient for a maximum of24 hours, after which the ill or injuredperson must be transferred either tothe Monticello or Tuba City hospital."In obstetrical cases, we are per-mitted to keep the mother and childuntil we feel they can return home insafety," said Gwen. "In some in-stances, this is less than 24 hours, butrarely over 30."After traveling the 100 miles ofbadly corrugated road between TubaCity and Monument Valley, it seemedto me that a person ill enough torequire hospitalization would be seri-ously endangered by a ride over thatwracking course. Marvin agreed."It would be a terribly hazardoustrip, but we have a Good SamaritanTommy Frakawho has given us in-calculable aid. Tommy is a miningcontractor who has worked at variousuranium mines in the vicinity. He flieshis own plane, which he keeps atGoulding's airport. In the past twoyears he has provided air-ambulanceservice for dozens of critical casessometimes making as many as threeround-trips to Tuba City in a singleweek. He cheerfully donates his timeand expenses, and many lives havebeen saved as a result of his efforts.Other contributors have been ex-tremely open-hearted, too," said Gwen.

In addition to operational fundsbudgeted by the Seventh-day Advent-ists, the hospital receives much helpfrom persons outside the churchoneof its important income sources beingvoluntary donations made by guests ofthe Gouldings, who see the work beingdone and have been generous in theircontributions.Besides medical assistance, the hos-pital crew also distributes used clothingto needy familiesone room at theclinic is maintained as a clothing supplydepot where contributed garments aresorted for type and size and storedaway on clean dry shelves. Esta b-lished sources provide all the usedclothing they can absorb, and readerswho have garments they wish to con-tribute to the Navajos should sendthem to other recognized agencieswhere the need may be greater.Watching the neighborly manner inwhich Marvin and Gwen Walter dealtwith their Indian clients the next day,exhibiting neither drippy sentimental-ity nor the impersonal coldness of afiling-card system, it was evident thatthey are ideally suited for this exactingwork. Their home originally was atSt. Helena, California, and their firstmission work was with the MaricopaIndians near Phoenix. In November,1941, they were transferred to Hol-brook, Arizona, and began working inthe southern and western portions ofthe Navajo Reservation, remainingthere until they were able to obtain

living quarters at Bitahochee, an In-dian trading post 40 miles to the north.Any young wife and mother notcompletely dedicated to a missionary'slife might have found cause to com-plain, for their living quarters at Bita-hochee consisted of an abandonedNavajo hogan, 16 feet across at floorlevel. In this single room the Waltersand their three children resided for22 monthsduring which time Mar-vin was obliged to jack-knife his six-foot-three-inch frame through a frontdoor that measured only 48 inchesfrom sill to top!

In 1945 the Walters returned toHolbrook and secured land for theerection of a boarding school, whichthey helped to build and operate. To-day the Holbrook Mission School hasmore than 100 boarding Navajo andHopi students, and is teaching up tothe 10th grade.Moving to their present post inSeptember, 1950, the Walters estab-lished their home in a small housetrailer and carried on their clinicalactivities from a second trailer. Forthe first six and a half years, the Mis-sion Hospital's entire medical programwas the sole responsibility of GwenWalter, the first resident physician notbeing assigned there until the springof 1957. After four months, thisphysician was obliged to resign due toillness, and again Gwen took over ona round-the-clock basis. In Februaryof this year, the hospital staff was ma-terially augmented by the arrival ofDr. and Mrs. Mason, who came to themission from Bishop, California, wherehe had been engaged in private prac-tice.

The M onument Valley Mission H os-pital has charged no fees for medical,surgical, or nursing services renderedto the Navajos, or for medicine pro-vided."As a missionary nurse, I did notcharge for my services. I did accepttheir free-will offerings, and some ex-pressed their appreciation in that man-ner. However, now that we have adoctor, we will be making chargesbased on ability to pay. The Navajospay their medicine men very well, andwe feel that those able to do so will beequally willing to pay us," Gwen said.The mission staff includes Miss Viv-ian Christensen, a graduate of PacificUnion College, who teaches all gradesand all subjects at the day school.Vivian appears but little older thansome of her pupils. Before coming toMonument Valley she taught for twoterms at an Adventist school in Africa,where her parents are engaged in mis-sionary activities.

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Starting in a small way, it has grownsteadily to an enrollment of 20 stu-dents, including six white children and14 Navajos. As bus service is notavailable, even little first and second-graders walk as much as two miles toschool in the morning, and two mileshome at night."They're strictly on their own,"said Marvin. "No one forces them toattend school. If they don't want tocome, they don't have tobut most ofthem want to."The mission school provides a stand-ardized curriculum, plus Bible study."In order to meet all requirementsfor our world program, we set highscholastic standards," explained Mar-vin. "We meet all local standardsplus."That the Monument Valley schoolis well regarded is evidenced by thefact that the county superintendent ofschools recently cited it as the best-equipped one-room school in San JuanCounty.In addition to its program in Monu-ment Valley, the hospital staff conductsclinical work two afternoons each weekat the small town of Mexican Hat, 25miles to the north, where one of thelargest uranium mills in the West islocated.

"I should think all this would keepyou busy about 26 hours each day,"I said.Gwen laughed. "It does. But it'sa lot of satisfaction and fun. We getmany laughs out of our work," shewent on. "Especially from some ofthe notes that are delivered to us."One day a medicine man sent anote saying he wanted me to cometo his camp to 'give shots for thespring fevers.' One girl sent a mes-sage asking me to come to her hoganand help her. 'My sister,' she wrote,'is going to have a baby tonight, orevery night.' Another woman wrote:'Please come to our camp. I guess youcan sew his head up . Sonny cut ityesterday'.""Did you sew it up?" I asked.Gwen nodded. "We sewed it up ."Speaking in her soft pleasant voice,Gwen told of Navajo babies she hadhelped bring into the world, and ofaged tribesmen whom she and Marvinhad buried. She told of the seeminglycruel Navajo custom of banishing fromthe hogan the hopelessly ill so theimpending death will not render thedwelling taboo for future residence.She told of eerie spells laid on personsby the medicine men; and of the oldshaker women who, while in their

trances, are capable of performingphysical feats far beyond their ordinarystrength.It all added up to a strange and re-markable culture, and made me realizethat in my incidental visits to the Nav-ajo country I had seen only the baresurface of that culture.In our field trip over MonumentValley that day, I had seen how theNavajos live, with large familiesin-cluding grandparents, mothers, fathers,children and in-lawsall crowded intoa single hogan no larger than an aver-age-size bedroom. I had seen smokyopen cook-fires blazing in the center ofthese hogans, and quarters of darken-ing mutton hung to dry on cordsstretched across the interior from wallto wall. Seeing these things I hadwondered how it would seem to live allone's life with only the loose red sandfor a floor, with no windows to admitthe fresh air and sunlight, and withouta single stick of furniture, or any visi-ble source of water; without any sani-tation facilities, or any opportunity to

Typical Navajo summer camp in M onument Valley.

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plant and grow a garden. Gardensdon't thrive in a restless land wherethe sand that is here today may begone with the wind tomorrow.Not being a Navajo it is impossible,of course, for me to think as a Navajodoes; therefore, I have no means ofknowing how these people feel about

the way in which they live. It seemslogical to suppose that some of themabhor the way of life that environ-ment and custom have forced uponthem. Others probably accept that lifepassively and resignedly; and I don'tdoubt that there are many older Nav-ajos who prefer their mode of living

D e s e r t Q u i z Desert Quiz is published both for those whoare already well acquainted with the desertSouthwest and for those who would like toimprove their knowledge of this fascinating region. The questions includegeography, history, botany, mineralogy, Indians and the general lore ofthe desert country. Regular readers of Desert find their scores improvingfrom month to month as the answers to the questions appear sooner orlater in these pages. Twelve to 15 is a fair score, 16 to 18 is excellent,over 18 is super. The answers are on page 32.1Asbestos isM ined from the ground Fabrica ted from cot-ton Grown on bushes Ma de from coal tar2The Mountain men who trapped the western country in the middleof the last century derived their income mostly fromFox furs

Mink Beaver Coon3Breyfogle is a name often mentioned in the Southwest in connectionwithA n unsealed mountain peak Volcanic crater Ghosttown Lost mine4One of the following plants might be mistaken for NolinaCats-claw Yucca Indigo bush Creosote5Albuquerque, New Mexico, is on the bank of the San JuanRiver Colorado Rio Grande Pecos6If you traveled west on the Southern Pacific you would cross theColorado River at Yuma Needles Parker ^Blythe7The Southwestern state having the smallest population per squaremile isArizona Utah Nevada New Mexico8Early American Indians ground their meal in anArrastreMo rtar or metate Mescal pit Atlatl9The approximate age of prehistoric pueblos is determined byTreerings in the roof timbers Indian legends Nearby petro-glyphs on the rocks Pottery shards10The most conspicuous coloring in the fossil wood found in the Petri-fied Forest National Monument is White GreenRed Orange11-If you were entering Death Valley from Beatty, Nevada, you wouldgo through El Cajon pass Raton pass Emigrantpass Daylight pass12The mineral-in-solution which forms travertine is QuartzCalcite Feldspar Manganese13The late John Wetherill for many years ran an Indian trading postatShiprock Cameron Keams Canyon Kayenta14Going from Tucson, Arizona, to Guaymas, Mexico, you would crossthe international border at Calexico El Paso No-gales Douglas15The Havasupa i Indian reservation is inUtah ArizonaCalifornia New Mexico16 The metal obtained from a galena mine isLead IronAluminum Zinc17Indians living on the White Mountain reservation areNavajosPimas . Papagos Apaches18The river about which this rhyme was written: "And if you quaffits waters once, it's sure to prove your bane. You'll ne'er forsakethe blasted stream, nor tell the truth again," is theGila RiverVerde River Hassayam pa River Virgin River19The color of chalcedony roses generally is Deep redOrange Creamy white Indigo20The species of cactus generally regarded as the best source of water

for the thirsty traveler isC holla Prickly pear Beaver-tail Bisnaga

and would be quite unhappy and mis-erable if they were made to live as wed o . These are matters I simply can'tknow; but of one thing I feel certain.From the expressions I saw on Navajofaces in those drab hogans and in theclinic on this visit, I am confident thatthe native Americans of MonumentValley feel real trust, loyalty and af-fection for Gwen and Marvin Walter,and are thankful to have them asfriends.It is only logical that they shouldfeel so, for good neighbors are popularwith people in every landand that'sthe kind of neighbors the Walters andMasons are.

Gaston Burridge of Downey, Cali-fornia, has wide interests in scienceastronomy, ground water, energysources and space flightwhich hiswritings reflect. Over 20 pub licationscarried his stories last year.His "Big Eyes Among Desert Pines"appears in this month's Desert. Bur-ridge was born in Tecumseh, Michi-gan, in 1906, and has been a residentof Southern California since 1927.* * *"Guest Register in Stone" is H. N.Ferguson's second Desert Magazinestory. His "The Great Diamond Hoaxof 1872" appeared in the February '57issue.Assistant General Manager of thePort of Brownsville, Texas, by trade,he spends evenings and weekendswriting articles, fiction and fillers. Todate several hundred of his pieces haveappeared in print in a wide range ofpublications. He began his freelancecareer at the University of Oklahomawhere "I practically wrote my waythrough college," he states.* * *For Savola Fenley, author of thismonth's "Where We Found Happi-ness," the desert is a way of life. "Ispend my time puttering around myhilltop home, doing dried floral ar-rangements, collecting bits of drift-wood, studying wildflowers, reading,visiting friends . . ."A large purple glass display is Mrs.Fenley's special hobby . When she andher husband were newly arrived onthe desert, they visited the old campsites in the Ridgecrest area and there

found many lovely glass pieces, "eachwith a history and romance all itsown."10 D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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El Morro . Inscriptions of hundred s of travelers ring the base of this famous NewMexico landmark.Guest Register in Stone.. .Down through the centuries, In-dians, conquistadores, soldiers andemigrants have camped by thewaterhole at the base of El MorroRock in New Mexico, and m a n y ofthem have left a permanent recordof their sojourn here by incisingtheir autographs on the great stonelandmark.

By H. N. FERGUSONPhotos courtesyNational Park ServiceQUARELY ASTRIDE the leg-endary trail to the fabled "SevenCities of Cibola" rises a massivemesa-point of sandstone. A hundredmillion years ago this strange regionrested under the waters of a primevalsea. Today, climbing 200 feet abovethe valley floor, El MorroInscrip-tion Rockis a striking landmark inthis sun-washed land.This "guest book" of solid rock hasbeen collecting signatures since thefirst Spanish explorers tramped thisway in search of treasure. And evenbefore that, undated inscriptions wereleft by Indians who lived in pueblosatop the cliff. It became a regularcamping spot for the conquistadoresand, later, for American travelers tothe West.In 1598 Juan de Onate, a wealthySpanish grandee equipped with sixcomplete sets of armor, set out with130 families, 270 single men, the first

wheeled carriages to enter the region,and 7000 animalsthe ancestors of avast cattle and sheep empire. Thecolonists settled in San Gabriel delYunkue, the first Spanish capital ofNew Mexico. But Onate was a nomad

at heart, and in the next several yearsroamed the western country.His was the first dated inscriptionon El Morro. Disillusioned, he andhis men were returning from the Pa-cific Coast where they had learned

The ca tchment basin at the ba se of El Morro , once an important watersupply for desert travelers.

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Some of the autogra phs left on Inscription Rock by travelers who have passedthis way.there was no truth to the legend thatthe Gulf of California was overflowingwith pearls. Racing against starvation,his party had been forced to eat itsspare horses.

While the gaunt men shed theirarmor and rested before a fragrant fireof pinyon boughs at the base of In-scription Rock, their exhausted leaderlaboriously etched a message that ig-nored disappointment, and immortal-ized his triumph: Passed by here theAdelantado Don Juan de Onate fromthe discovery of the Sea of the South,the sixteenth of April, 1605. It wastwo years before the founding ofJamestown, and 15 years before thePilgrims were to step ashore at Plym-outh Rock.Almost a century later anothercourageous man inscribed a messageon the rock which succinctly points up

the spirit of that remarkable era: Herewas the G eneral Don Diego de Vargas,who conquered to our Holy Faith andto the Royal Crown all the New Mex-ico at his own expense, year of 1692.On the very top of El Morro lieruins of Zuni Indian pueblos aban-doned long before the coming of theSpaniards. Broken pottery is strewnabout. Largely unexcavated, theseruins are covered with the growth ofcenturies. Here and there a bit ofstanding wall speaks of the culture thatonce nourished. Carved on the rockitself are hundreds of petroglyphs left

by these ancient people.The majesty of this jutting yellowishcliff is not lost at close range. The

lure of El Morro through the centur-ies, however, has not been its emin-ence; but a pool of fresh water at itsbase. Here Indians, gold-hunting ad-venturers, and United States Cavalry-men have refreshed themselves andproudly signed the living rock.The first American Army officer tovisit Inscription Rock was Lt. J. H.Simpson in 1846. With him was theartist R. H. Kern who copied theearlier inscriptions.

After S impson's visit, an intermittentstream of emigrants, traders, Indianagents, soldiers, surveyors and settlersadded their names to the rock. Ofspecial interest is the signature of Lt.E. F. Beale. It was he who com-manded a caravan of camels, importedas a transportation experiment in thearid Southwest, in a journey fromTexas to California in 1857. Beale'suse of the route past El Morro popu-larized that trail, and emigrant trainsbegan to use it. The first such partyreached the area on July 7, 1858, andcamped overnight. On the rock ap-pears many names carved by its mem-bers.Inscription Rock, 53 miles south-east of Gallup, New Mexico, becamea National Monument in 1906. Eachyear 7000 visitors take the Inscriptiontrail under the supervision of a parkranger.

The leisurely walk around the baseof the cliff takes about an hou r. Thenbegins the ascent to the top over theeasy loop trail, through small grovesof ponderosa pine, scrub oak and jun-

iper. The latter was used a great dealby the Indians for firewood, and wasthought to have spiritual and medi-cinal values.Scattered along the trail are theruins of two and three story dwellings,their roofs collapsed and walls caved-in. Sand and grass have almost ob-literated them.Half way up is a beautiful tree-linedbox canyon, invisible from the valleyfloor. A little farther on is a smallseam of coal that was laid down inwhat was a swamp 50,000,000 yearsago.On the mesa atop El Morro is thedeserted site of Atsinna. It occupiesan area equal to a city block, and isterraced to provide a southern expo-sure. Visible are the outlines of oldreservoirs carved out of solid rock be-tween the ruin and a grove of trees.Atsinna was occupied during the12th and 13th Centuries. No oneknows why it was abandoned.The view from the top of El Morrois spectacular and rewardinga pan-oramic vista of canyons and mesasspread out along this natural landroute.Down through the centuries hun-dreds of travelers from all parts ofthe world have left their signatures onthis huge "guest book" of the desert.But today the book is closed; the ParkService takes a dim view of anyoneadding to the list of names. Happ ily,most visitors respect the historicalwritings, and realizing that they cameto the party too late, resist the urgeto add to the register.



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Near Marl Springs in the Mojave Desert area newly opened for the desertmotorists who like to explore new lands.

B a c k - R o a d on the M o j a v e ...Thanks to the interest of a progressive highway department in SanBernardino County, California, a vast new area of desert terrain on theMojave desert has been opened for the exploration and enjoyment ofthose who would seek recreation out beyond the traffic of the pavedboulevards. The new ly completed highw ay from Baker to Amboy is notpavedbut it is a well graded hard road that involves no hazard forthose who carry plenty of water and exercise the ordinary precautionsof desert travel. Here is a glim pse of the scen ic variety a long this newroute.By ELIZABETH WARDMap by Norton Allen

E DROVE OVER the newBaker - Amboy road, whichthrough 80 miles of scenic des-ert grandeur links two major highways,one crisp sunny day in mid-January.Although this journey can be madein one day, it is more fun as a week-end camping trip, entering the highMojave by way of Baker on Highway91, or near Amboy on Highway 66.Choosing the latter route, we foundour turnoff five miles east of Amboy.Here a new bladed county road leadsnorth, providing easy access to a fas-cinating land of vari-colored moun-tains, inspiring views, ever-changing

sand dunes, Joshua tree forests, andnear Bakeran almost unbelievablecluster of large extinct volcanoes.Maintained in good condition, thisnew gravel road climbed gradually,after we left the main highway. Themountains on both sides of the roadare silhouetted against the turquoisesky like colorful painted backdrops ofa tremendo us stage. Three miles fromthe highway, one sees evidence ofhabitationa mine where the opera-tors live in modern trailers and sleepoutdoors the year around. They aresurrounded by the Bristol range, andfor several miles the pink, upended

granite towers run parallel to the road,where a few hardy cattle forage amongthe rocky ledges.Proceeding northward beyond theacres of stunted yuccas are the jaggedpeaks of the Marble mountains. Num-erous dim roads lead into these hills,evidence of early mining activity, and12 miles from the highway are greatscars cut across the desert's face bya big pipeline from northern NewMexico, bringing gas to the metropoli-tan areas of California.To this point, the bladed road hadbeen very comfortable, allowing aneasy speed of 45 miles an hourfast enough to travel where there is somuch to see. But very soon after thepipeline crossing, we encountered thefirst of a series of steep roller-coasterdips. Although the deep washes areunexpected, the road is entirely nego-tiable, but care is necessary in drivinghere, especially if pulling a trailer.Beyond the dips the route windsuphill, through strange and interestingrock formations. Cholla cactus growsthickly here, with gray ephedra shrubsJ U L Y , 1 9 5 8 13


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TO DEATH VALLEY JCT. TO LAS VEGA S HJ- :

and green greasewood dotting thelandscape.Twenty miles from Highway 66,the distant serrated mountains to thenorth form a contrast to the softlyundulating Kelso sand dunes, spark-ling white in the foreground. Theseare the highest and the most spectac-ular of all California sand dunes, al-though not the widest in extent. Thesands reveal a merging panorama asthe light and shadows change, mostsurprising in this rocky land. Thedesert winds meet here, eddying be-tween the mountain passes, and de-posit their burdens of sand in varyingpattern s. In late spring, we knew thedesert floor surrounding these duneswould be covered with a carpet ofdesert flowers.

TO TWENTYNINE PALMS

We followed the bladed road, skirt-ing around the sand formations 15miles, wishing there was a side roadwhere we could drive in closer, butno entrance to the dunes presenteditself, except an unimproved road outof Kelso. Perhap s in the future thearea will be developed into anotherWhite Sands Monumentbut only forthe peaceful purposes of a winter play-ground!An unexpected stretch of pavementmet us, four miles from K elso. Thisbit of civilization is due to the war-time energies of Henry J. Kaiser, whodeveloped the old Vulcan Iron minesin nearby mountains, and constructeda paved road to his property. Themines are shut down now, but thepaved road remains in excellent shape

and offers a side trip of unusual inter-est.The little green oasis of Kelso ison the Union Pacific. It seemed faint-ly incongruous to see gleaming railsflung across this vast empty space, butour road crossed them here, and pro-ceeded north by slightly west. How-ever, we digressed the short distanceinto Kelso, where food and refresh-ments are available, to ascertain thelocation of the historic site of an inter-esting early military outpost, MarlSprings. Being directed to proceed .6of a mile north on the pavement, andthen turn slightly left and follow thetelephone line maintenance road 14miles, we crossed the Baker-Cima cut-off road halfway up, and found theancient Springs with no trouble.

Here, good water has bubbled up toprovide an oasis in the desert sincewhite men first came this way. It wasa famous watering place on the oldgovernment road, running from LosAngeles to Ft. Mojave on the Colo-rado River, and a favorite ambush forthe savage Paiute Indians until the re-doubt was established to protect cara-vans crossing the desert.This marvelous spring is fenced into provide water for a homesteader'scattle, but a portion of the old rockwall of the fort remains, and the deepruts of the old road are plainly visible.The evidence of many Indian battlesmarks this area, and arrowheads andother relics of those exciting days maystill be found.The surrounding slopes are coveredwith staghorn cactus along with bea-vertail, strawberry, hedgehog, andpincushion cacti, while large speci-mens of bisnaga or barrel cactus standout boldly on the hillsides. The loca-tion is silent and isolated. A lone des-ert hawk swooped in wide circles, be-fore alighting on a stunted ironwoodtree. This is a wilderness, an impres-sive reminder of our pioneer heritage,and we ate our lunch in the warm sun,thrilled with the historic environment.

Traces of the old abandoned road canbe seen around the low mountains eastof the Springs, winding down the broadslopes to Cima and Paiute Springs.In the distance, we could see thespectacular red volcanic rock forma-tions east of Cimathe eroded anddeeply colored gorges, and picturesqueflat topped mesas, stretching away toinfinity, over which remains a part ofthe great lava sheet said to have cov-ered the whole desert in ancient times.Now there are colorful layers of vol-canic ash, sandwiched between thickfolds of lighter colored lavas, remind-ing us of chocolate parfait in giantbowls. The picture is enough to makeone's senses reel; there is too great a



15/44

The Cinder Cones now under consideration as a new California state park. Oncethis area was in violent eruption and today vegetation is just beginning to makeits appearance on the surface of the great lava flow.sweep of grandeur, too much of color,for the human eye and mind to graspin one sitting.For the view alone, Marl Springsis well worth the extra time andtrouble involved in exploration . Ifthere have been no recent floods orwashouts, the telephone line road while rough in places is perfectlysafe for ordinary cars. And it is notnecessary to return all the way to

Kelso to rejoin the county road; theBaker -Cima cutoff, seven miles belowthe Springs, intersects the county roada few miles west.Our feeling is that remote desertroads are a challenge; they reveal muchto those who dare. The side roadsinvite rockhounds to explore new ter-ritory, and only the usual precautionsof desert travel need be observed.There is enough travel on this road to

reassure the stranger, but not enoughto spoil the thrill of discovery and ex-ploration the visitor is bound to ex-per ience.Following our detour, we picked upthe regular county road toward Baker ,and drove on through a section ofprimitive high desert, where there isno habitation, and tranquility seems tobe reflected even in the sunlight. Th esilence was so intense that we couldSandy arroyo through the cinder cone area. Wind and water erosion graduallyare breaking down the hard basaltic rock spilled on this landscape during itsperiod of volcanic action.

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Approaching Kelso from the south the Kelso dunes are seen glistening whiteagainsta backdrop of volcanic mountains.feel it, and our eyes unconsciouslyswept the rocky peaks for the Paiutesmoke signals that surely belongedthere!We were climbing gradually, andsoon the nature of the vegetationchanged. A giant Joshua, theunusualYucca Brevifolia Jaegeri so namedin honor of the famous desert author-

ity, Dr. Edmund C. Jaeger stoodsentinel beside the lonely road, andyucca elata and Spanish bayonetcov-ered thewide sandy sweep of the val-ley. In late spring the creamy spiresof the white flowers are inspiring intheir majesty. But the yuccas weresoon dwarfed by a veritable forest ofthe magnificent Joshuas, well spaced

C a s h f o r U n u s u a l P h o t o g r a p h s . .If you are a photographer, undoubtedly there areamong the photosyou have taken several which you feel are suitable for reproductionin Desert Magazine. Orperhaps you areplanning a vacation tripandhave inmind an exceptional desert scene youwant to capture on film.These are thephotographs we would like you to send us for judgingin our Picture-of-the-Month contests. Winning entries receive cashawards.Entries for the July contest must be sent to the Desert Magazineoffice. Palm Desert, California, andpostmarked notlater than July 18.Winning prints will appear in the September issue. Pictures whicharrive too late for one contest are held over for the next month. Firstprize is $10; second prize $5. Fornon-winning pictures accepted forpublication $3 each will bepaid.

HERE ARE THE RULES1Prints must be black and white. 5x7 or larger, on glossy paper.2Each photograph submitted should be fully labeled as to subject, time andplace. Also technical data: camera, shutter speed, hour of day, etc.3PRINTS WILL BE RETURNED WHEN RETURN POSTAGE IS ENCLOSED.4Entries must be in the Desert Magazine office by the20th of thecontest month.5Contests are open to both amateur and professional photographers. DesertMagazine requires first publication rights only ofprize winning pictures.6Time and place of photograph are immaterial, except that it must be from thedesert Southwest.7Judges will be selected from Desert's editorial staff, andawards will be madeimmediately after the close of thecontest each month.

Address All Entries to Photo EditorT>e&ent TfCafOfute PALM DESERT. CALIFORNIA

so that each fine specimen seemedmore impressive than the lastone.Broken black rock formations inthe distance were giving us an ideaofwhat to expect, and wewere soonre-warded with the sight of the fantasticcinder cones, orextinct volcanoes, thatdot this area. Fifteen miles after leav-ing the Marl Springs cutoff, a fineblack-topped road invited us to enterthe volcanic site. But a word of warn-ing is in order here: after crossing abad wash, wefound the wayblocked

by a forbidding sign of the Atomic En-terprises of Las Vegas, Nevada, which,we felt, would have been better locatedat the fork of the paving, since itnecessitated a return to themain road.We have since been advised that themine is not yet patented, and there-fore the road should be accessible tothe public, but it seemed the part ofwisdom to obey the sign's injunction.The black lava flow begins near thepaving. This sheer malpai wall can-not be ascended for five miles, andso the County road twists around an

easy grade until a sign "Char Rock,"points the way to a side road up thesandy wash below the malpai wall.This is the beginning of the proposedCinder Cones state park.Much work will benecessary beforethis can become a popular desert re-treat, as the present by-road to thecones is not easily negotiable by theaverage modern car. But, as in theattainment of many other difficultgoals, the reward far surpasses the ef-fort. By unloading some equipmentand a few passengers, we lightenedthe burden enough to permit passage

over the high centers, where sharpboulders can endanger a low-slungautomobile.DESERT MAGAZINE


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f/iaf marks the unimproved trail into the cinder cone area. Low clearancecars should not attempt this rockyby-road.Up the sand wash it is essential todrive carefully. The road is plainlymarked, leading up the high malpaiwall; but once on top, the far spread-ing magma almost conceals the tracksof previous vehicles. Here the surfaceof the earth is hidden; only a solidexpanse of black lava can be seen formiles. The visitor is unprepared, evenby the work of getting on top of themalpai wall, for the sight that reachesbeyond him. This is a never-neverland of fantasy, of erosion and solidmolten lava, of a black surface withjagged escarpments rising sheer froma malpai floor with so little plant lifethat it seems to h ave been lifted," in-tact, from some strange region fromouter space. Nothing grows in thescorched area, except sparse stragglingyucca and a few stunted shrubs incracks, where sand has collected andwater has seeped.Surprisingly, the road improved,after the first pause for our bearings.The Rainy Day Mine signs can befound for 4.5 miles, and although otherdim roads branch off toward otherhopeful mines, staying on the mainroad is not difficult. By keeping themost prominent cinder cone alwayson our left, and heading eastward,the main cluster of eleven large cindercones was achieved.This is the main region of the pro-posed park, and a wonderful campingplace for desert enthusiasts who arenot daunted by the first high malpaiwall. The crumbled valley floors,

separating the various peaks, are an"other world" atmosphere for picnicsor just plain relaxing. The stark gau ntextinct volcanoes, quiescent nowbutproviding much evidence of the formerviolent nature of the desertoffer greatscenic vistas, and many trails for hik-ing and climbing. Perfect obsidianspecimens can be found here, and anoccasional arrowhead reminder of pastvisitors to the region. It is safe tohazard a guess that the region wasnever occupied, even by the usual des-ert animals.The State Beaches and Parks de-partment has taken under considera-tion the plan of creating a desert park,to be called the Cinder Cones Monu-ment. This is the largest group of suchcones in the United States, totaling 27in all, and a site of much interest togeologists and volcanists. Most of the

cones are comparatively low and wide,providing easy climbing. The size andshape prove, according to authorities,that the explosions producing themwere of short duration but very vio-lent. The cones were built of cooledlava, layer on layer built up duringeruptions.The number and variety of the cin-der cones are startling proof of largescale volcanic action in the distantpast, but even in the present it is easyto imagine the drama of the eruptingvolcanoes and the fiery lava as it rolleddown the slopes. The black lava flowhas descended for miles beyond thestark outline of the extinct volcanoes,

to stop abruptly at the sheer malpaiwall.We climbed the basalt slopes, revel-ing in the isolation, stopping often forespecially fine vistas that sweep in alldirections from this elevation. In theearly twilight, the eerie effect was em-

phasized when we came back to thecar, hungry from the outdoor air andexercise.The desert stars came out in sharpbrilliance that dimmed only after themoon rose. It cast a luminous glowover the ruined face of the scorchedmalpai, softened the outlines of thepeaks, and illumined the rounded con-tours of the black cinder cones incurved relief. We built our campfire,and cooked our supper in the ethereallight, wishing we could stay on theMojave a week.Truly, one day in this world of de-lightful fantasy is not enoughbut ifthat is all you have, get an early startand don't miss it. There is great at-traction and exceedingly great rewardin its peaceful isolation and the result-ing freedom from pressuresa realpanacea to modern tensions.From the Char Rock entry into theCinder Cone park area, it is less thana half hour drive over the smoothcounty road into Baker, and the inter-section with Highway 91. But agreater contrast cannot be imagined,than between this busy traffic courseand the 80 magnificent miles we hadjust completed.

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This large house trailer has been equipped with all the essential instruments forscientific study of desert plants and animals in their native habitat.

R o vin g Laborato ry o f the De ser tBy RANDALL HENDERSONSUNNY DAY in February Ifollowed a winding sand roadinto an isolated cove at the baseof California's Santa Rosa Mountains and came upon a strange campscene.Parked at the end of the road wasa huge house trailer and the heavyduty truck which evidently had towedit to this out-of-the-way place . The re

was nothing unusual about this, for Ioften meet trucks and trailers on thedesert's by-roads. The detail thatcaught my interest immediately wasa little plastic box about the size ofa small bird cage perched in a tripodwhich straddled a pygmy cedar bush.Enclosed in the box I could see asmall branch of the shrub, and at-tached to the floor of the box wereflexible tubes which led to a portabletable on which was mounted a panelof dials in an instrument box resem-bling a portable radio.Seated at the table was a man, astop watch in one hand and a pencilin the other, his attention focused on

If you wonder what connec-tion there may be between apainstaking study of the lifeprocesses of a catsclaw bushon the desert, and the food sup-ply for mankind, you will findsome of the answers in thisstory. Here is a g limpse of thework being done by the men ofscience who carry on theirstudies in gyp sy fashion on theGreat American Desert.the dials in front of him as he jottednotes on sheets of paper which cov-ered the table.This was my introduction to theMobile Desert Laboratory maintainedby the California Institute of Tech-nology a gypsy outfit that movesfrom place to place and gathers infor-mation which at some future time mayhave a very important bearing on thefood supply of a world that has be-come over-crowded with human beings.I had gone to this camp at the invi-

tation of Lloyd Tevis, Jr., Caltech zo-ologist who is resident scientist incharge of the Labo ratory. Lloyd hasbeen my neighbor here in CoachellaValley for two years, for the homebase of the traveling laboratory is theRancho Senora del Lago, located be-tween Palm Desert and Palm Springs.Later that day I had lunch at thetrailer site with Dr. Frits Went, pro-fessor of plant physiology at Caltech in

Pasadena, the scientist whom I hadseen at the instrument panel earlier inthe day. The lunch was served on acard table in the shade of a Palo Verdetree by Lillian Overland, laboratorytechnician who helps Dr. Went rideherd on the array of dials and valvesinvolved in his studies.Dr. Went, widely recognized as anauthority in his field, spends muchtime at the mobile laboratory on thedesert studying the dials and recordingdata which will give human beings abetter understanding of the naturallaws which govern the universe.That day, Dr. Went had three of hisplastic cages working on pygmy cedar,



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Left to right Mrs. Austin McM anus, Frits W ent andLloyd Tevis, Jr., on location in the desert. Measuring the carbon dioxide intake and the watervapor and oxygen output of the ocotillo.creosote and catsclaw. Later , inMarch, I visited the Laboratory againwhen it was stationed in a remote can-yon in Joshua Tree National Monu-ment. This time the plastic boxes anddials were recording the photosynthesisand transpiration of ocotillo, jojoba,and Canterbury Bells, a species ofPhacelia.

Most people are aware of the factthat every living plant is a little fac-tory, using radiant energy from thesun, taking in carbon dioxide andmoisture, and converting them to su-gar and other compounds which havefood value for the plant and animalworld, and giving off water vapor andoxygen which help maintain an atmos-phere conducive to life on this planet.But it is only in recent years that thescientists and technicians have per-fected instruments which make possi-ble an intensive study of the exact roleof plants in the ecology of life in gen-eral. Dr. Went is doing importantpioneering in this field of study.

For instance, of the six desert shrubsmentioned above, he has ascertainedthat pygmy cedar probably is the mostuseful from the standpoint of mankind.And yet pygmy cedar is an insignificantshrub known to few people outsideof the botanical world. It is an ever-green two to four feet high which oftenis seen growing apparently withoutsoil in the cracks and crevices in thesidewalls where road-building crewshave blasted through for a roadbed.It is conspicuous along the Palms-to-Pines highway in Southern California.In areas of greater rainfall, plantsgenerally take in most of their watersupply from the soil through their rootsystems. But it is a characteristic ofmany desert shrubs that they dependalso on the pores of their leaves forabsorption of moisture:'While Dr. Went carries on his plantstudies, Lloyd Tevis is devoting hisresearch to the desert animal life. Hiscurrent study is ants and mites. Hismethod is to stake out typical colonies

of these tiny insects and study theirwork and social habits through theircomplete life cycles, keeping detailedrecords of his findin gs.And if you wonder what importanceattaches to the study of ant life, I canonly quote the conclusion of a leadingscientist who has stated that in thecourse of evolution the ants, the familyFormicidae, have attained a higher de-gree of organization than any otherform of life on earth except man . Theyhave farmers and nurses and police-men and baby-sitters, each function-ing in the role to which he is born.It has long been known that one ofthe main contributions of the ant worldto the success of other forms of lifeis in the pulverization of leaves anddeadwood . They supplement the workof sun and water in adding organicmatter to the soil. They help fertilizethe earth. A single ant colony wouldnot make an important contributionbut when it is realized that there arebillions and billions of ant colonies ofJ U L Y , 1 9 5 8 19


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Mrs. Austin McManus of Palm Springs whose interest made possible theequipping of Caltech's field laborator y.many hundreds of species scatteredover theface of theglobe, allworkingindustriously inthe service of mankind,it will be recognized that they play nosmall part in converting organic ma-terials to food for other forms of life.Stationed in tropical Africa duringseveral months of World War II, Ilearned about an odd by-product ofthe industry of ants inthat area. In theAfrican Gold Coast, now thedominionof Ghana, the ants, as in many othertropical lands, build hills six andeightfeet high. Tokeep these pinnacle-likestructures intact, they glue the grainsof sand together with a secretion whichthey manufacture for that purpose.The British had discovered that theabandoned anthills could be removedand pulverized, and then mixed withwater and used as surfacing materialfor tennis courts andpatios. One ofmy assignments was to build two ten-nis courts with this material. It is not

as permanent as cement, but servedvery well under the circumstances.And so, Lloyd Tevis is studyingants, their role in the ecology of thedesert, andespecially their reactions toextremes in temperature and changingweather conditions. The ants aregreatseed-gatherers, and in long periods ofdrouth their food supply is affectedjust as it is for human beings.Caltech's Mobile Desert Labora-tory iscarrying onmuch the same typeof research as was the Carnegie In-stitute's Desert Laboratory at Tucson.However, the Tucson laboratory wasdiscontinued after one of its mainbuildings was burned in 1939. TheEarhart Laboratory at Caltech alsohas been doing important research inbotany, butmuch of this kind of workcan bedone to better advantage in thefieldin the natural habitat of theplants andanimals.Dr. Went has long advocated the

construction of a laboratory whichwould be mobileone which couldfollow the rains from place to place,and move to the different life zones.His idea was realized in the summerof 1956 when Mrs. Austin McManus,whose father pioneered inPalm Springs70 years ago, and who is an activecivic leader in that community, pro-vided the funds for the truck andThese instrument panels are recording the photosynthesis and transpiration ofpygmy cedar, a branch of which is enclosed within the plastic box.

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house-trailer, and also for some of theneeded scientific instruments.On the truck is mounted a 4000-watt generator and an air-compressor,the power plant for the laboratory.It carries 500 gallons of water underpressure and 70 gallons of gasoline.The trailer has both refrigeration andevaporative air conditioning equ ipment.The big trailer is a biological labo-ratory with a maize of scientific appa-

ratus microscopes, balances, tubes,valves, tables and cupboards. Sincethe scientists may be out in remoteareas for extended periods, the facili-ties also include kitchen stove, refrig-erator, hot water heater and showera self-contained unit in every detailexcept sleeping quarters. Mem bers ofthe staff spread their bedrolls on theground outside, which is seldom ahardship in the desert.

The Mobile Laboratory operates notonly for the benefit of the faculty atCaltech, but its facilities and findin gsare available for scientific men andwomen all over the world. On oneoccasion when I visited the Laboratorytwo Australian scientists were presentover the weekend. At another timeDr. Jane Philpott, professor of botanyat Duke University, on sabbatical

R o o t s in t h e W a t e r - F r o n d s in t h e S u n s h i n eCalifornia's native palm, the Washingtonia filijera,more than any other tree in the arid world, depends onwater for its life and growth. The ironwood , the paloverde or the smoke tree may survive for years on thescant rainfall of the desert countrybut the palm willwither and die in a few months if there is no moistureat its roots. Its shallow root system requires either ahigh underground water table, or generous irrigation.This characteristic of the native palm, and the mannerin which it responds to a generous water supply, is wellillustrated by the two pictures above.These two palms are the same age. Both are nativevolunteers from Paul Wilhelm's oasis at Thousand Palms,California. At the age of three years they were trans-planted to the Desert Magazine's garden in 1950eachof them two and one-half feet high at the time.

The two pictures were taken seven years later. Thepalm on the left had been watered by irrigation once aweek during the summer months and less frequentlyduring the winter. It was four feet high when the picturewas takenafter seven years.The palm on the right, planted at the same time andirrigated from April through October by a constant streamof warm waterthe discharge from the Desert M agazine'sair-cooling plantgrew to a height of 10 feet in sevenyears. It grew over a foot a year, while its twin, withmuch less water, gained less than three inches a year.Both are healthy trees, planted in the same kind of soil,and with the same amount of sunshine. The difference isdue entirely to the water they receivednothing else.If you want your palms to grow faster, simply givethem more water.J U L Y , 1 9 5 8


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leave for a year with a A.A.U.W.Fellowship, was carrying on anatomicalstudies. When I entered the labora-tory she was looking through a micro-scope at the cross-section of an oco-tillo leaf. It resembled a tiny thread,barely visible to the naked eye, butwhen I looked through the lens ofthe microscope what I saw appeared tobe clouds of green chlorophyll sus-pended in a river of clear fluid. It ischlorophyll which directs food manu-facture in the plant and gives theleaves their coloring.

Present also on this weekend weretwo scientists with their families fromSweden. They had brought camp gearand were using every daylight hour totramp over the desert hills and arroyos,

making new acquaintances among theflora of the desert world.Frits Went and Lloyd Tevis areworking in the realm of pure science.It is the research of such men andtheir associates which back throughthe years has provided the basic datawith which technicians in the field ofapplied science have created the im-plements and formulas that have givento Americans the highest living stan-dards on earth.They and their kind are studiousmen, patient, painstaking scholars whobit by bit are revealing and interpret-ing the natural laws of the planet, andof the universe beyond.To these men, and to women withthe vision and understanding of Mrs.

Austin McManus, Americans owe agreat debt of gratitude for the servicesthey are rendering. I should mentionalso the cooperation of Ruth Rooke,who raises desert holly as a commercialenterprise on her Coachella Valleyranch . When the scientists were seek-ing remote campsites where they couldcarry on their studies uninterrupted bycurious visitors, she arranged for herranch equipment to build and main-tain a road to one of their hideouts.At a time when Americans are be-coming cognizant of the need for moreintensive school curriculums in therealm of science, the work being doneby such men as Frits Went and LloydTevis is opening new worlds for theinstruction of youthand adults too,for that matter.

L E T T E R SStatus of the Fish Traps . . .South San Gabriel, CaliforniaDesert:Recently my husband and I madea trip to the Coachella Valley to againvisit the Fish Traps, the mysteriousIndian pits along the ancient shoreline on the Santa Rosa Mountains'foothills.We were distressed to find that thesigns had been moved back towardthe public highway, and that the dirtroad which leads to the base of theFish Traps had been partly destroyed.This road has been used by thepublic for over 100 years. Can thepeople farming the land below theFish Traps close it off?WILMA SPANGLER

Dear Mrs. Spangler The propertyin question, including the FishTraps, is owned by Mrs. LloydRooke, a very public spirited personand one w ho I am sure fully appre-ciates the archeological value of theFish Traps. We sent your letter toher, and here are excerpts from herreply: "We have not moved signsat the Fish Traps we have addedmore signs. Any damage or changeto the signs has been done by hunt-ers. The road of which Mrs. Spang-ler speaks was destroyed by a flooddown the wash, and we are restor-ing it. How ever, we intend only tokeep the Fish Traps available to thepublic. The access to our farm fromthe Fish Tra ps road will be chained.If it were only desert lovers whoused the road, I am sure we wouldno t mind. However, we cannot beresponsible for p eople swim ming inour reservoir, driving over our rowcrops, etc., and I am distressed by

the u tter disregard the pu blic seemsto have for private property. I amsympathetic with those who deplorethe constant withdraw al of once freeland to private use; perhaps whenthere are more stringent laws en-forced against hunters, we can allrelax our vigilance." R.H. Taylor's Flag Outdated? . . .Desert" ^ o s Gatos, CaliforniaThe flag flying above the old townof Taylor, Nevada, (Desert, May '58)shows five rows of seven stars each35 stars.If Taylor's old-timer is correct indating the photograph 1881, could itbe that the flag shown was outdated17 years? The flag had 35 stars in1864 when Nevadathe 36th statewas admitted to the Union.GLENN HOLMES This Elephant Is a Mosquito . . .Desert: L o s A ngelesJosef Muench's May '58 cover pho-tograph is entitled "Mosquito Rock inthe Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada."I have always been led to believe thatthis fantastic formation is the "Ele-phant Rock."

ARTHUR C. DAVISDear Mr. Davis Mr. Muenchwrites that the rock he photographedis three miles distant from the for-mation designated by signs as "Ele-phant Rock." The name "MosquitoRock" for the formation we repro-duced on our cover, was told to himyears ago by a friend. There hasnever been a sign, to his knowledge,at the Mosquito Rock.R.H. The Taste of Cardon Fruit . . .D e s e r t . Fresn o, California

In the April, 1958, Desert, in thearticle "Dirt Road Holiday," there ap-pears: "Evidently, the natives make

regular roads to pick the fruit. Splitopen with a knife, the magenta coloredpulp is revealed. This is eaten alongwith the seeds in the fruit's center . . .Cardon fruit is sweet and delicious . . ."But in the December, 1956, Desert,in the article "The Cardon, LargestCacti in the World" there appears:"The Indians who once inhabited thearea ground the fruit pulp and seedsinto a flour from which they made akind of tamale."Which statement is correct? Thereseems to be a contradiction. I'm no tbeing picayune, but would like toknow if the fruit is "sweet and delici-o u s " J. D. STEPHENS

Dear Mr. Stephens Dr. EdmundJaeger, in writing the cardon storyfor our December '56 issue, wasreferring to the use made of cardonfruit by the Jesuit padres and theIndians of that period over 150years ago. The "Dirt Road Holiday"story c ontained the o bservations ofNorte Americanos as of today. Ihave no doubt both observations arecorrect but they come from differ-ing races of people and from widelyseparated periods. Food tastes andhabits change through the years.Your question as to w hether cardonfruit is "sweet and delicious" is notso easy to answer. I can only sug-gest that some folks like tomatoes,but to my palate they are bitter andsour. The cardon fruit is somewhatsimilar to the sagu aro fruit in Ari-zona. The Indians who have beeneating it all their lives think it isdelicious, but I have found only afew white people who share thatliking for them. Too m any seedsfor one thing. If you will pick aripe tuna, or "cactus apple" fromone of the prickly pear cacti whichgrow in your area, you will get afairly good idea of what they arelike.R.H.

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k :

HISTORIC PANORAMAS XVII

F o r t D a v isBy JOSEF and JOYCE MUENCHTucked into a rocky amphitheatrein Jeff Davis County of West Texas,are the still impressive ruins of FortDavis. The adobe and brick build-ings, vainly attempting to hold theirown against time, tell a story of theonce-active post.Established in 1854 and aban-doned in 1891, the garrisons in theDavis Mountains all have answeredthe last roll call.No great battles or history-mak-ing conquests were recorded here,but every stone and weatheredadobe brick seems determined tostand as long as it can, awaiting thecall-to-arms which will never come.

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ON DESERT TRAILSWITH A NATURALIST - LIRiver of theBitter Waters

WITH THE'Mojave, the Amargosa (Ah-mahr-go-sah) River isone of the strangest streamsin the Southwest. Seen from high in the air, thecourse of its bed looks like a giant letter J, with thehook of the letter pointing toward the south. Like theperverse Mojave {Desert, June, '57), it is an erratic up-side-down river flowing much of its waybeneath its bedthe second longest underground river in the world.Instead of flowin g into a nother stream or the sea, theAmargosa empties into a salt-encrusted dry lake bedthe below-sea-level salt flats on the Death Valley floornear the lowest point in theWestern Hemisphere.This below-sea-level ending is a distinction sharedwith fewrivers onearth, among them theJordan in AsiaMinor, which empties into theDead Sea 1292 feet belowthe level of theMediterranean; and theVolga, Ural Embaand Kuma which end their courses in the salty CaspianSea, 83 feet below the level of the Black Sea.The Amargosa is a river only in the sense that it isthe main drainage channel for one of the largest inter-mountain basins in the West. Like the Mojave, it is anintermittent stream with little orno water flowin g over mostof its bed except in unusually wet years or after veryheavy summer cloudbursts.The drainage area of this river begins in the high,much dissected andpicturesque Paiute Mesa of westernNevada, 30miles north of Beatty. From this area severallarge andusually drychannels merge near the oldminingtowns of Rhyolite and Beatty to form the river proper.Here waters appear from springs in the hills andmoun-tain country to flow through a broad treeless brush-cov-ered valley five to eight miles broad and 50 miles long,lying parallel and east of theCalifornia-Nevada state line.This region usually is called theAmargosa Desert.For some distance south from the small oasis ofBeatty with itsattractive cottonwood trees, theriver chan-nel is for themost part marked by only a shallow, ratherbroad andsomewhat sandy wash. It proceeds west of thebeautiful high sand hills known as the Big Dune, thensouthward through the salt and alkali plains of AshMeadows where in ancient times its waters were im-pounded to form a broad but shallow lake. Here on theflats of AshMeadows are a number of springs aroundwhich grow bunch and salt grass, sunflowers and a fewleather-leaved ash trees (Fraxinus coriacea) from which To BAKER24 DESERT MAGAZINE

The long J-shaped Amargosa River is noordin-ary riverev en compared to other desert streams.It drains one of theearth's most arid basinsandempties its scant heavily mineralized water ontothe great salt flats on Death Valley's floor, lowestregion in the Western Hemisphere.By EDMUND C. JAEGER,D.Sc.Curator of PlantsRiverside Municipal MuseumM ap by Norton Allen


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The Amarg osa River, foreground, northwest of Sa ratoga Springs. Spence air photo.the Meadows received its namenotfrom the ashy appearance of the saltand alkali encrusted soil as is oftenassumed. From specimens taken here,this ash tree was first described bySereno Watson, author of the two-volume Botany of California, pub-lished in 1876.Five miles south of Death ValleyJunction, the Amargosa's channelpasses to the west of sublimely beau-tiful Eagle Mountain, an isolated peaklying in the center of the broad valleyfloor. This landmark is noticed byevery traveler passing north or southon the road between Baker and DeathValley.Just south of Eagle Mountain thestream bed of the Amargosa is so nearthe road I was able to see and hearthe water as I traveled this way inApril. Nearby I also saw the old road-bed of the torn-up Tonopah and Tide-water Railroad which runs beside theriver in many places.Near the village of Shoshone, set socharmingly amidst the greenery ofmesquite, tamarisk and screw beantrees, the numerous colorful terracesand smooth rounded or highly erodedclay beds give evidence that this isan ancient lake bed of considerablesize. The Pleistocene lake reached asfar south as Tecopa, was as much as400 feet deep, and covered an area ofat least 100 square miles. For manyyears Lake Tecopa discharged througha low lip between the hills at its south-

ern end. Finally, it cut a gorge sodeep in this spillway that its watersdrained away, leaving only the long-accumulated clay sediments. This claywas eroded away by wind and rainto form the fantastic fortresses andcastellated buttes seen along the roadas it crosses the old lake bed just westof the village of Tecopa.The T ecopa Lak e region was familiarto many early travelers. Captain JohnC. Fremont passed this way in thespring of 1844, stopping at the nearbyArchilette, a place of lively springswhich he afterwards called Agua deHernandez in honor of a lone Mexi-can he found there, the only survivorof a party attacked by Indians.

This cheerful spot of green willowslocated a few miles north of well-known Tecopa Hot Springs, later wascalled Resting Springs by a party ofMormons who camped here in May,1851, on their way to San Bernardino.It still retains that pleasing name.Tecopa came into being when theTonopah and Tidewater Railroad,built by the b orax interests, establisheda station here. A branch line, whichbrought ore and minerals from theGunsight and Noonday mines to theeast, joined the T&T at Tecopa.The name Tecopa was given inhonor of old Chief Tecopa, a PaiuteIndian long resident in the area. He

died about 1905.One of the old enginesabandoned,

rusting and stained with white alkalidustfor a long time stood in the sunat Tecopa, a sad picture of neglect. Iam told it finally was sold for scrap.Nostalgic memories go back to whenI first saw it in 1 928. My comp anionsand I had come down a long roughroad from the Kingston Mountainsduring a howling April wind storm.It was late evening and we came acrossthe old engine as we hunted for acamp site. An eerie sound fell uponour ears as the wind shrieked andwhistled through the pipes, wheels andglassless windows of the cab . Ex trastrong gusts frequently tipped thebell and made the clapper strike againstits sides.

An old chicken shed was the onlyplace offering a semblance of shelter,and there we bedded down. Allthrough the cold noisy night, the sturdyengine's bell lamentingly clanged away,and no one got much sleep.Just south of Tecopa is the grandTecopa Gorge. At its broad entranceare many acres of near-swamplandcovered with the cheerful green of lowmesquite and screw bean trees, cattails,rushes and other water-loving plants.Beyond, steep hills of clay and con-glomerate close in to form a narrowscenic gap through which the riverchannel passes. The Tonopah andTidewater built its roadbed throughthis pass.

Five miles down the gorge the un-usually beautiful cliff-bordered canyonJ U L Y , 1 9 5 8 25


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Amargosa stream near the Baker to Death Valley Road. The salt-laden river flowsfor miles through sere barren desert. Photo b y the author.streamlets spreading out on the valleyfloor like silver strands reflecting thelight of the setting suna beautifuland unusual sight indeed.

The Spanish word Amargosa meansbitter waters. The river is sometimesdescribed as a river of salt flowingthrough a desert. Where the littlestream flows under the Baker-DeathValley Road, the rocks on its bed areso salt and alkali encrusted that theyare cemented together into a solidmass, and can be extricated only withconsiderable difficulty.It is considered quite possible thatuntil fairly recent geological times, theflow of Amargosa River was not dis-connected as it is today. Furthe rmo re,

it may have been a tributary of theColorado River, a theory supportedby fish evidence. Some of the smallminnow-sized fish now found in creeksand isolated pools in the Amargosadrainage system show relationship toColorado River fish. Dr. Robert L.Miller reports three subspecies of cy-prinodont fishes and a local form ofdace (Rhinichthys) inhabit pools andstreamlets of Tecopa Basin. No fossilfish have yet been found to definitelyfix the age of the Lake Tecopa claybeds.East of Tecopa, between the Nopah

and Charleston Mountains, lies sprawl-ing Pahrum p Valley. It too once con-tained a fresh water lake, and there is

evidence that its overflow dischargedthrough Ash Meadows into the Amar-gosa River. It takes little imaginationto envision the Amargosa as a muchlarger stream, with lakes along itscourse and tributaries augmenting itsflow.I have found the exploration andstudy of arid region rivers a most fas-

cinating pastime. It is an especiallygood hobby for those who own Jeeps.Each desert stream has carved its paththrough charming country, and allhave individual peculiarities. Many o

195807 desert magazine 1958 july

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