196408 desert magazine 1964 august

8/14/2019 196408 Desert Magazine 1964 August

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T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E W E S T

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N U S U A L T R I P SO F B A J A

A N D D R I V I N G'

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A U G U S TP H O T O

CO NT ESTW I NNERS

. - . &*$*,* 1 *

M A I N S T R E E TTom Myers

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIATo capture the feeling of the California ghosttown of Bodie, Tom Myers used infrared filmand a wide angle lens for this exceptional photo-graph. Data: Leica 35mm, infrared film withdeep red filter at noon, 21mm wide-angle lens,f8 at l/3Oth.

C A C TU S W R E N H O M EHenry D. Teft, Jr.

DENVER, COLORADOCaught at just the right time, the sun highlightsthis home of a Cactus Wren, giving it theappearance of an unruly coiffure. Data: Rollei-flex, 122 at l/30th, Panatomic X, 3.5 Xenar lens.

P H O T O C O N T E S T R U L E S1Prints ior monthly contests must beblack and white. 5x7 or larger, printed onglossy paper.2Each photograph submitted shouldbe fully labeled as to subject, time and

place. Also technical data: camera, shut-ter speed, hour oi day, etc.3PRINTS WILL BE RETURNED ONLYWH EN RETURN PO STAGE IS ENCLOSED.4All entries bust be in the DesertMagazine office by the 20th of the contestmonth.5Contests are open to both amateurand professional photographers.6FIRST PRIZE will be $15; SECO NDPRIZE, 8. For non-winning pictures accep-ted for publication $3 each will be paid.Although not part of the contest. Desertis also interest in viewing 4x5 color trans-parencies for possible front cover use. Wepay $25 per transparency.

S e c o n d P r i z e


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CONTENTSVolume 27 Number 8

August, 1964This Month's Cover

Bristlecone Pine by John W. Kett l4 Books for Desert Readers8 Surviving and Driving in theDesert

By VINCENT ROTH11 Land of Wandering Waters

By DOROTHY ROBERTSON14 Me and the Santa Ana

By JOY CAPUTO15 Buried Treasure Man Can't Dig

By RALPH PROUTY17 I'll Take the Long Way

By ARTHUR ROULEAU19 Submarines in the Desert

By MARIE VALORE

20 The Santa RosasBy ROYCE ROLLINS22 Bewitched by Baja

By CHORAL PEPPEIR26 America's Cameleers

By JACK BRYSON30 Alibatesthe Prehistoric Treasure

By SAM ED SPENCE33 Scorpions

By JOHN GOODMAN34 Profile of Time

By LEON CALLAWAY37 Ghost Town

By LAMBERT FLORIN38 Desert Dispensary

By SAM HICKS39 DESERT Cookery

By LUCILLE I. CARI.ESON412 Letters From Our Readers43 The Desert's EndowmentBy MEL YOUNG

Vepp emm . . . . ty #ackBack in the "good old days" a prospector lived alone 25 milesfrom a small desert community and came into town only once a monthfor supplies. One day two other prospectors made camp five milesfrom the original old sourdough. The following day he appearedin town with all of his belongings on the back of his mule. Askedwhere he was going, he replied: "I'm gettin' away from all this crowdedland. Why the population out my way has increased 200 percentovernight!"For better or worse, the fact remains that the population of thewestern deserts is increasing, and will continue to increase along withthe "western population tilt." Gone are the days when the desertbelonged to "just us desert rats and God." This trend cannot be stoppedor ignored. The majority of the new people are learning to love andrespect the desert as do the pioneers. DESERT MAGAZINE plays animportant role in showing newcomers how to appreciate the desertand, most important, how torespect our areas and pre-serve their natural state. Weare constantly warning read-ers not to desecrate and de-stroy, but to marvel; not to

mar, but to enjoy; to shareand not to spoil and, aboveall, not to leave trash andlitter. Yet there are crimi-nalsand they are guilty ofcrimes since they are violat-ing legal lawswho, with noregard for their fellow man,spill trash and litter acrossthe desert, who throw tincans into springs and whoevidently derive a sadistic pleasure in the destruction of plants andwild life. These people, along with the egotistical perverts who defacepre-historic Indian writings and scratch their names and love markingson rocks and cliffs, are not only criminals, but sub-standard humanswith perverted minds.

Officers of the law and rangers cannot possibly cover all desertareas. We who love and respect the desert should help by reportingviolators and disposing of trash when we find it left by these insanedesecraters. DESERT MAGAZINE will help in any way possible andwelcomes suggestions as to how we can keep our desert areas safeand clean.AUGUST CALENDAR. Nevada continues to celebrate its 100th Anni-versary with too many events to list. For times and places write toNevada Centennial Commission, State Building, Reno, Nevada. SmokiIndian Ceremonials and Snake Dance, Prescott, Ariz., August 1. OldSpanish Days in Santa Barbara, Calif., August 12-15. 43rd AnnualInter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial, "Today's Greatest Living Tribute tothe American Indian", Gallup, New Mexico, August 13-16. Hopi SnakeDance, on Hopi Reservation near Winslow, Arizona, last 10 days ofAugust. (Editor's Note: If you want events listed they must be in twomonths in advance of date.)

DESERT is published monthly by Desert Mag azine , Palm D esert, Calif. Second Class Postage paid at Palm Desert, Calif., and at additional mail ingoffices under Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered No. 358865 in U. S. Potent Office, and contents copyrighted 1964 by Desert Magazine, Un-solicited manuscripts and photographs cannot be returned or icknowfedged unless fuil return postage is enclosed Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writing. SUBSCRIPTION PRiCE: $4.50 per year (12 issues) in the U.S.; $5 elsewhere. Allow five weeks for changeof address, and be sure to send the old as well as new address.

JACK PEPPER, Publisher CHORAL PEPPER, EditorElta ShivelyExecutive Secretary Al MerrymanStaff Artist Rose HollyCirculation Manager Marvel BarrettBusiness Manager

Address Correspondence To:Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, Calif. 92260 Phone: FI 6-8144

August, 1964 / Desert Magazine / 3


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THE DINOSAUR HUNTERSBy Robert PlateA fascinating book, this dualbio-graphy recounts the lives of twoswornfoes who probably hadmore in com-mon than anyother two menof theirtime.Othneil C. Marsh, America's firstprofessor of paleontology, was apro-duct of poor parents with a rich rela-tive. Hisuncle, the celebrated bache-lor whoendowed Yale's Peabody Mu-seum, believed only in helping thosewho proved themselves worthy. Aftera retarded start, O. C.Marsh set aboutproving his worthiness by winningacclaim as a scholar. Because Yaleoffered a professorship for a paleon-tologist, Marsh focused his energiesin that direction.Edward D.Cope, theviolent Marshantagonist, was reared by a dotingand rich father who encouraged in-tellectual activity. This young geniuswas recognized in a number of scien-tific fields and had had papers pub-lished by the Academy of NaturalSciences of Philadelphia by the timehe was 18years old. Unlike Marsh,his early struggle was not oneof sub-

sistence, but rather, one of morality.Darwin's theory of evolution chal-lenged his intense religious beliefsand precipitated a climatic inner frus-tration hefound hard tocompromise.Author Plate brings to his readersa lively account of these two scholarsin a determined fight byeach to winfirst place in a race for scientificrecognition. Much of their warfaretook place on Western plains wheretheir fossil hunts were plagued notonly by each other, but by Indians,stomping Buffalo, conniving guides,

weather and fatigue.One incident that surprised Marshwas the stir his work created in!Salt Lake City. Whereas most religi-ous groups stormed in protest at thisfossil hunter whose discoveries of pre-historic horses in North America bol-stered Huxley's theory of evolution,Brigham Young embraced him. Afterdetailed questioning on the part ofthe Mormons, Marsh finally discover-ed the answer. It seems the Book ofMormon had been challenged foralluding to horses in America duringthe prehistory erawhen everyone whoknew anything, knew that horses wereintroduced by the Spanish. Now,thanks toMarsh, Mormons could cor-

rectly retort that native horses had in-deed existed in America long ago andhad become extinct only recently.Most of the dinosaur bones thatadd importance to our museums to-day were discovered, uncovered, andreconstructed under the direction ofone of these two men. That theyhated each other while working to-ward thesame endissometimes amus-ing, sometimes pathetic. Nevertheless,it spurred them to heights as wellas depths and, because of it, thesedinosaur hunters were ascolorful andhuman as they were coldly scientific.Published by David McKay Com-pany, Inc., this hardcover 281-page

book is available for $4.95 and maybe ordered from theDESERT Maga-zine Book Department.

THE OREGON DESERTBy E. R. Jackman and R. A.LongThere is no other book about theOregon desert, even though desert.comprises a good 25% of the state.But this book is more than just agood one about deserts (coveringIdaho, Utah and Nevada as well as

Oregon). Its chief talking point isit's ability to portray Western back-country lifehuman and animal, w ildand restrained.One of its authors, Reub Long, isa lifelong cowboy who thinks likea scientist and theother, E. R. Jack-man of Oregon State University, is ascientist who thinks like a cowboy.They write of wild horses, cattledrives, desert animals, geological pro-cesses, desert people and desert lore,and both arededicated conservation-ists.Jackman recounts an incident thattook place at a Grange meeting heldto solve a problem created by a poorclover seed crop. One practical bach-elor blamed the poor crop upon thelarge number of old maids. "Theyall keep cats," he said, "the cats keepmice in the fields cleared out; theskunks, unable to find enough miceto eat, turn to bumblebees for food;the bees pollenize the clover, hence,if we bachelors want good clover seedcrops, we've got to marry these oldmaids."Reub Long's humor is much likethat of the late Will Rogers' and hehas a knack for reducing a loftyphrase to a practical application.


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m oral yepp erAbout statistics, he says: If you getto be 80 years old, you needn't worrybecause statistics show that a verylow percentage of men die after 80.On thinking: Conversation is cheap;ideas are dear. They are seldom foundin the same place. On self-pity: If youmust be sorry for yourself, make itshort. Regrets: Have no regrets ifyou've done your best, even if youfailed.

Published by Caxton Printers, Ltd.this hardcover 406-page book is beau-tifully illustrated with both colorphotos and black and white. It com-pares in quality with much more ex-pensive books, but is priced at $4.95.May be ordered from DESERT Maga-zine Book Order Department.

ALL ABOUT CALIFORNIABy Thomas B. LesureRetiring to California has almostbecome a national habit, accordingto author Lesure. More people inthe retirement age bracket have set-tled permanently in California thanin any other state.Some of the better known com-munities Mr. Lesure recommends forretired living at a low cost with afavorable climate are Avalon, Car-mel, Laguna Beach, Monterey, PaloAlto, San Luis Obispo, Santa Monicaand Santa Barbara. Among the lesserknown places, he recommends CostaMesa, Dunsmuir, Escondido, Gilroy,Hemet, Kern City, Los Gatos, Napa,Pismo Beach, Santa Cruz and SantaRosa. The authors favorite appearsto be Avalon, a town on CatalinaIsland off the Southern Californiacoast. There no auto is needed andthe harbor is colorful with small

boats and yachts.For inland coverage, the book listsPalm Springs, among m any others, butneglects Palm Desert, Morongo Valley,Idyllwild, Temecula and some of thelesser known areas that retirees finddesirable. Nevertheless, the author'scompilation was an ambitious projectand well done. In addition to infor-mation concerning job possibilities,housing, and recreational activities,he suggests overnight accommoda-tions, trailer parks, eating places andfishing and hunting areas. Theprime purpose of the large, 105-pagepaperback is to ennumerate pleasantretirement locations, but it also serves

NEW BOOK ORDER DEPARTMENTThe books listed below and those which will be added in future issues ofDESERT MAGAZINE have been selected as outstanding volumes which wefeel will be of interest to our reade rs. In establis hing the DESERT MAGA-ZINE BOOK ORDER DEPARTMENT we have selected books for qualityand interest rather than mass volume. All of the books offered have beenreviewed in "New Books For DESERT Readers" or read by the editors ofDESERT MAGAZINE.

Since prices prohibit billing expense please include a check or moneyorder with all orders which will be filled immediately. California resi-dents must add 4 percent sales tax.O N DESERT TRAILS by Randall Henderson, foun-der and publisher of Desert Magazine for 23years. One of the first good writers to revealthe beauty of the mysterious desert areas. Hen-derson's experiences, combined with his com-ments on the desert of yesterday and today,makes this a MUST for those wh o re ally wa ntto understand the desert. 375 pages, i l lustrated.Hard Cover. $5.00.CORTES, By Francisco Lopez de Gomara, secre-tary to the famous conqueror of Mexico. A vividnarration of the exploits of Herman Cortes whocombined diplomacy, cunning and military mightto overcome his adversaries. 480 pages, illus-trated. Hard cover. $8.50.GHOSTS OF THE ADOBE WALLS by Nel l Mur-barger, the well known "roving reporter of thedesert." The author's just-published book is anintimate chronicle of Arizona's once-boomingmining towns, stage stations, army posts, mar-auding Indians and fantastic human characters.380 pages, illustrated. Hard Cover. $7.50.LOWER CALIFORNIA GU IDE BOOK by Gerhardand G ulick. The authors have revised the thirdedition to bring it up to date. Veteran travelersin Baja California would not venture south ofthe border without this authoritative volume. Itcombines the fascinating history of every loca-t ion, whether it be a town, mission or aban-doned ranch, with detailed mileage maps andlocations of gasoline supplies, water and otherneeded information on Baja. 243 pages withthree-color foldin g map, 16 detailed route maps,4 city maps, 22 illustrations. Hard cover. $6.50.THE HIDDEN HEART OF BAJA by Erie StanleyGardner. The noted creator of the best-sellingmysteries of our time has written several bookson Baja California and the desert areas of theWest. With his talent of combining adventureand mystery with facts, the author takes youwith him as he probes the mysteries of "TheHidden Heart of Baja" and tells how he dis-covered an archeological find of major impor-tance thus opening up a new concept regardingcave paintings. 256 pages, illustrated with colorphotos of Indian paintings. Hard cover. $7.50.THE DESERT IS YOU RS by Erie Stanley G ardner.In his latest book on the desert areas of theWest, the author again takes his reader withhim as he uses every means of transportation toexplore the wilderness areas and sift the factsand rumors about such famous legends as theLost Arch, Lost Dutchman and Lost Dutch Ovenmines. 256 pages, illustrated. Hard cover. $7.50.THE OREGON DESERT by E. R. Jackman andR. A. Long. This book is a hard one to define.A single paragraph may be a mixture of geo-logy, history, biography and r ich desert lore.The only complete book about the Oregon desert,the material applies equally well to other des-erts of the West. The humor and fascina tinganecdotes coupled with factual background andunusual photos, including color, make it excel-lent reading material even for those who maynever visit Oregon. 407 pages, illustrated. HardCover. $4.95.

THE NORTH AMER ICAN DESERTS by Edmund C .Jaeger. A long-time authority on all phases ofdesert areas and life, Dr. Jaeger's book on theNorth American Deserts should be carriedwherever you travel. It not only describes eachof the individual desert areas, but has illus-trated sections on desert insects, reptiles, birds,mammals and plants. 315 pages, illustratedphotographs, l ine drawings and maps. HardCover. $5.95.JE EP T R A ILS T O C O L O R A D O G H O S T T O W N S b yRobert L. Brown. An il lus*rated, detailed, infor-mal history of l ife in the mining camps deep inthe almost inaccessible mountain fastness of theColorado Rockies. F ifty-eight towns are include das examples of the vigorous struggle for exist-ence in the mining camps of the West. 239pages, illustrated, end sheet map. Hard Cover.$5.50.ALL ABO UT C ALIFO RN IA By Thomas B. Lesure.The author has compiled a factual report onthe attractions, cities and communities of Cali-fornia designed for "an auto tr ip or a vacationand for assistance to find a home or low-costretirement in pleasant surroundings." It alsoincludes a section on "Business Opportunitiesand Job Out look." 104 pages, 8 ' /4 x l l , du rablepaperback. $2.00.THE D INO SA UR HUNTERS, O thnei l C . Marshand Edward D. Cope, By Robert Plate. A dualbiography of the first dinosaur hunters whosebitter r ivalry split the scientif ic world for about25 years but whose exploits of the 1870s and1880s excited the public imagination and madedinosaurs a household wo rd. Easy reading , thebook is packed with action result ing from theintense feud between Marsh and Cope, bothwealthy men who exhausted their fortunes inthe arduous hunt for the creatures of the past.281 pages. Hard Cover. $4.95.PUEBLO GODS AND MYTHS by Hamilton A .Tyler. In this book the author draws interestinganalogies between Greek and mythological gods,not to show that one developed from the other,but to better explain the development and in-tention of Pueblo mythology. Then, like con-structing the House That Jack Built, he goes onto illustrate associated ideas which gave birthto the gods. The fascina ting fina l chapter re-lates Pueblo cosmology to contemporary West-ern thought. 313 pages, Hard Cover. $5.95.

DEATH VALLEY BOOKSPublished by the Death Valley '49ers thesefour volumes have been selected by '49ersas outstanding works on the history of DeathValley. All are durab le paperback on slickstock.A NATURALIST'S DEATH VALLEY (RevisedEdition) By Edmund C. Jaeger, ScD. _.__$1.50MANLY AND DEATH VALLEY. Symbols ofDestiny, by Ardis Man ly Walker $1.25GOODBYE, DEATH VALLEY! the Story of theJayhaw ker Party, by L Burr Belden $1.25CAMELS AN D SURVEYORS IN DEATH VAL -LEY by Arthur Woo dward _ $2.00


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T H E L A Z Y R L R A N C HDRAWER 1500-D

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as an exceptional California guide-book. Historical and current local in-formation appears accurate, but din-ing and lodging recommendations arequestionable. In one instance he refersto a notoriuosly over-priced nightclub as adining room with moderateprices. Another time he suggests aprivate club forovernight accommo-dations which isopen to thepubliconly upon recommendation of amem ber. Even so, we highly recom-mend this book fornewcomers andtravelers inCalifornia. PublishedbyHarian Publications, $2.00. May beordered from DESERT MagazineBook Department.

MARINE MOLLUSCAN GENERAOF WESTERN AMERICABy A. Myra KeenIncorporating the author's pre-viously published keys tothe Gastro-pod and Pelecypod genera, this bookalso includes keys for three otherclasses of marine mollusks. Particu-larly appreciated will bethe illustra-tions of thechitons, as there werenone previously available to students.Compiled with names, descriptive for-mulae and detailed illustrations, thishardcover 125-page book isorganized

in such amanner that it will serveexperienced malacologists aswell asamateur collectors inaccurately iden-tifying specimen shells.This is anadult book. Publishedby Stanford University Press, the p riceis $4.50 and itmay beordered fromthe DESERT Magazine Book OrderDepartment.

SPICE YDURSPANISH WITH

DICHDSBy Ricardo Castillo

"Dichos" are the pungent Spanishproverbs which add somuch colorand logic to theconversation andthinking of our Mexican neighbors."Quien todo lo quiere, todo lopierde."H e who wants all, loses all."Ser mas holgazan que lamandi-bulo dearriba"To be lazier than the upper jawmeaning that the lower jaw is theone that does all the work."Dime con quien andas y redirequien eres."T ell me who you run around with

and I'll tell you what you are."Bienvenidos loshuespedes, (porel gustoque dan cuando sevan."Welcome your guests for the plea-sure they give you when they goaway."Cuando seas el yunque resiste,cuando seas elmazo golpea."When you are the anvil, endure.When you are the hammer, strike.

"O h good! Now we'll get to seehis nest!"

DESERT BINDERSKeep your Desert Magazines foryears as a reference and guidetofuture trips. Special 12-issue bind-ers only $3.50 (inc. tax & postage )

DESERT MAGAZ INEP alm Desert, Calif. 92260

Give an interesting giftGive DESERTonly $4.50 ayear

GOLD RUSH!N E W M E T H O D G O L D M I N I N GTHE G OLD-DIVER 'S HANDBO OK

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S u r v i v i n g and D r i v i n g.,,.- t,.,.s-*\...& * ; *

SURVIVAL ON THE desert is de-pendent solely upon water. Hun-ger plays an insignificant part bycom parison. It is possible to die ofthirst before one even becomes hun-gry. In only a few hou rs of 110-115weather, a person without a canteencan expire. People have left theirbrok en down vehicles to h ik e 15 milesor more for help not knowing that5.10 miles is the most one can coveron a hot day without extra water.Some have reached help, others havedied. W ith a little k nowledge of des-ert survival they might have lived Th efollowing notes are written with thehope that they can help some "deser-teers" in trouble.

It is first necessary to understandthe need for water before we can dis-cuss saving it. When the body heatsup due to an outside temperature orexertion some means must be made tocool it. Th e only natu ral m eans isthrough evapo ration of water (per-spiration) . When our body tempera-ture rises above 98.6T . the heartpumps more blood to the skin surfacefor cooling. At the same time, mois-ture (persp iration) is excretedthrough thousands of pores on ourbody. Th is moisture cools the sk inand blood just like a water bag coolswater.

On the desert the body accumulatesheat in four ways:ConductionContact with hot ob-jects, such as leaning againsthot rocks.ConvectionThe flow of hot airover the body. This does coolbut it takes moisture for cool-ing.RadiationBy direct or reflectedsunlight.MetabolismThrough normal bodyfunctions. T he body at rest

produces enough heat to bringa quart of ice water to boil inan hour.This heat must be lost or bodytemperature will rise to dangerouslevels.High temperatures or heavy exer-tions will cause the flow of more per-spiration and a more rapid flow ofblood. If this persp iration is stoppedthe body tem perature will rise a brupt-ly, and death will follow.As man dehydrates, his blood be-comes more viscous or thickened andthe heart is placed under a strain tocirculate blood to the cooling surfaces.

This strain can only be stopped bywater, plenty of it All people remainmore or less dehydrated while onthe desert even though they drinkwhen thirsty. However, they usuallymake up their deficiency at mealtimes. For the best efficiency on thedesert it is best to drink often, evenwhen not thirstyyou need it.Water is saved only by preventingthe accumulation of heat. Th is isaccomplished by:Wearing loose, light colored clothesand a broad-brimmed hat. This caneffect a 20% saving in water overwearing shorts.Remaining out of direct or reflect-ed sunlight from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00p.m. during the warmer h o u r s .This can effect a 40% saving ofwater.Eating little or nothing requiringadditional moisture for digestion.Soaking the clothes or body withwater. In extreme emergencies un-palatable or contaminated waterfrom salt lakes or automobile radi-ators can be used.Some of this information can beused for everyday living in desert

regions. It can make the hot daysmore livable and keep up your effi-ciency when you are not surroundedby refrigeration.Desert Driving Is Easy.If You Don't Get StuckAn experienced driver can drivealmost anywhere on the desert withonly a few modifications to his ve-hicle.Before starting desert travel, informa responsible person of your destina-tion, route, and the time you willreturn, then adhere to the schedule,so if you become lost or stranded,searchers will look in the right area.

Make certain the radiator is full ofwater, preferably changed just priorto the trip so that, in case of emer-gency, it can be used as drinkingwater. A "bug" screen in front of theradiator is almost a necessity to keepleaves, flower-heads and brush fromclogging the radiators if off-highwaydriving is anticipated.Fill the gas tank with high octanegasoline, or be prepared to retard thespark on your engine. Once the en-gine is overloaded and begins to over-heat, it will also begin to knock andlose power. High octane gasoline canprevent this knocking and subsequentloss of power. Reg ular gasoline isusually adequate for most cars, butperforms poorest at high tempera-tures, low humidities or at low alti-tude, all of which are found on thedesert.Check your tires for tread. W hile"bald" tires are considered best fordriving on sand because they do not"dig," they are more susceptible todamage. Nylon 4-ply tubed or tube-less tires are considered best whereone is driving for long periods withsoft tires. The tubeless tires do notlose air when driven with low pres-sures. The tubeless tires on the


9/44

he D e s e r tb y V i n c e n t D . R o t h

- . < * . ,

author's convertible and pick-up havebeen driven for many miles, includ-ing one trip of over 100 miles, with12 pounds of air pressure in them,without trouble.The amount of water necessary totake on a desert trip varies with theseason, but it is advisable to havemore than enough in several con-tainers as a single container may de-velop a leak, break or turn over. Amap is valuable, but use it with cau-tion because maps of the desert areoften in accura te. It is good practiceto take along a notebook to includemileage, turn-offs, and interesting fea-tures regarding the roads you travel.In case you find it necessary towalk out of an area, you can locateyour positions by referring to yourmaps and notes. However, if youhave trouble, it's best to remain whereyou are until help arrives.

Extra food, blankets and matchesare insurance for those who intend totake a one-day trip, but get boggeddown and remain for two or more.An ax, shovel and gloves are standarditems for handling brush and diggingin sand.Before entering a sandy stretch of

road, reduce the tire air pressure to10 to 15 pounds, enough to allow theside walls to bow outwards slightly.Then drive through the sand withadequate speed, retaining momentumthrough excessively sandy areas, espe-cially those with high centers. In thesandiest areas drive as fast as yousafely can, keeping alert for any rocksor obstructions. Th ere is much dis-agreement over the best type of trans-mission for driving through sand.Actually all have their advantages, theautomatic transmission is best forpulling in sand without slipping therear wheels and the 4-speed trans-mission is good for the same reason.The 3-speed transmission is best for

rocking the truck when in sand. Ex-perience with any of the three is abso-lutely necessary and undoubtedlymore depends upon the driver thanon the type of transmission. Which-ever is used, the power should beapplied to the wheels slowly andevenly to prevent spinning. Some-times it is necessary to allow theclutch to slip where a combination ofpower and slow speed is required.

Make all turns gradual and withas mu ch speed as practical. In softsand a sharp turn of the wheels willcause them to push into the sandrather than turn, while the rearwheels will begin to slip and dig asthe car loses momentum.Once the vehicle has lost momen-tum or the rear wheels begin to jumpexcessively, STOP! When first stuckmost inexperienced drivers becomefrantic, step on the gas and rapidlydig the rear wheels down until thedifferential rests on the sand and thecar cannot be moved except by tow-ing, winching, or jacking it out of thesand. Relax and spend a little timedetermining why your car stopped. Itmight be that the front wheel droppedinto a gopher hole, or the frontwheels are in excessively soft sand. Itmight be best to back up, in this case.If you are determined to go ahead,straighten the front wheels, removethe sand from in front of all wheelsand let air out of the tires till theybulge outward, but not so they areflat. Usually by this time it is possibleto drive out of the hole you are in,applying power slowly to keep therear wheels from slipping. If youcannot drive out, try rocking the car.Let the clutch out in low gear untilthe car starts to move ahead andthen allow it to roll back, repeating

this action till the car is rocking backand forth. When at the back end ofa roll, shove the gears in low and

apply power slowly. The addition ofa path of brush in the tire tracks willaid in giving the wheels traction. Ifthe rear wheels bounce excessively,have someone stand on the rear bum-per or place some weight over therear wheels.

If a car is bogged down to the dif-ferential, jack up the wheels and fillin under the tire, using sand andbrush, until the underparts of thevehicle are clear of the ground. Anunder-axle type of jack may be ap-plied directly to the rim of the wheelwhen it is impossible to place it un-der the axle. After the wheels havebeen jacked out of the sand, addbrush, rocks, grass or debris in frontof the wheels for as far as necessaryto pick up speed. After leaving thesandy area, pump up the tires to therecommended pressure.For the serious desert driver, a sandbuggy or a 4-wheel-drive vehicle isthe best kind of transporta tion. How-ever, for those without this specializedequipment, there are a number of re-latively inexpensive modifications pos-sible to make a standard car or a pick-up "desert worthy." The first changeis to larger tires. The largest sizecommonly used is a 8:20x15, which isquite satisfactory for desert driving,but the large size mak es steering moredifficult on paved roads. As a com-promise, 7:60x15 tires for the frontand larger tires on the rear haveproven satisfactory.

A method used to widen the tires,usually used in conjunction with thelarge tires, is to have the rims splitand widened with the addition of aband of steel. In this manner, therims which are normally about fiveinches wide can be increased up to11 inches. An eight or nine inchwidth appears to be the most satisfac-tory, since some drivers have had tiretrouble with the larger widths. The


10/44

addition of these wider rims on thefront wheels will cause additionalspindle wear, so some drivers usestandard tires and wheels in town,switching to their wider wheels onlywhen driving on desert roads.A non-slip differential, optional onsome cars and trucks, is quite usefulfor desert driving. It is simply a setof gears which transfer the power tothe wheel still having traction. Onmost cars, if one wheel spins, theother stops, or at least loses power.A heavy-duty radiator is valuablefor desert driving and should be or-dered when purchasing a new car orpick-up. Overload springs are almosta necessity if any equipment is beingcarried to raise and support the rearend of your vehicle so that it doesn'thang up when crossing washes. Safetybelts provide safety andcomfort whendriving on rough roads andenable thedriver to keep control of his vehicle.A block and tackle with 100 feet ofnylon rope is useful. Nylon towing

rope is' light, but must be handledcarefully since it is easily frayed orcut.With "sand panels" it is possible tobuild your own road across the softestsand. A setconsists of sixpanels aboutsix feet long and 12" to 15" wide.Lay them on the road and as youdrive forward, move the exposed onesat therear to the front. Three peoplecan move a car across sand quiterapidly by this method. The panelsare most easily made from chainlink fencing.Never follow tire tracks blindly.

Often a car can travel over a sandyarea when it is damp, but will bogdown seriously when the same areais dry. Salt flats should also be avoid-ed until one is certain the flats aresolid. Often the surface is dry andhard, but below this layer is soft,almost bottomless mud.Never stop in a depression wherean uphill run has to be made toget out. It is extremely difficult if

the sand is soft. Watch for groundsquirrel or gopher activity. Theirholes and tunnels will cave in easily,dropping your wheels 8 to 12 inchesin the sand. This is especially bad ifthis occurs when one is almost stop-ped. Learn beforehand what sizerock s your car can clear andpass overthem slowly. Once a rock is hit, itoften will tip on end and cause dam-age. In the event your oil pan ispunctured, it is possible to plug thehole by applying a "compress" con-sisting of a folded handkerchief ap-plied to thehole and tied with a ropeto provide pressure. Don't drive overwoody plants, as your tires may bepunctured bybits of drywood. Creo-sote is especially bad in this respect.Dead batteries caused byleaving theradio, lights or ignition on can and dooccur, and are a serious matter whereone cannot get a push because ofrough or sandy country. The en-gine can be started (except in cars

with automatic transmissions) byjacking up one wheel and wrappinga rope two turns about the peripheryof the wheel. Block the front wheelsso they cannot move forward orback, shift to high gear, turn on igni-tion and pull the rope. It takes apowerful pull on the rope for oneperson, but two can easily spin theengine over. Do not wrap the ropearound your hand in case the ropecatches on the wheel once the enginestarts.Desert courtesy should be practicedby everyone, if only with the hopethat youmight benefit from someoneelse some time. Refill holes after youhave dug out your car, stop for any-one who has car trouble and driveslowly when passing parked or camp-ed groups. And last, to preserve ourdeserts for future enjoyment, travelon roads whenever possible to preventunnecessary damage to desert flora.

/ / /

The unique hydraulic mechanism which raisesthe camper top can be safely operated even bya small child. Locks prevent accidental lower-ing. The top is lowered quickly by the simpleturn of a valve.

The Alaskan Camper is quickly transformedfrom its compact low silhouette on the road toroomy walk-in living quarters. Drive safely atany speed with minimum drag and sway.Moments later, enjoy the comfort and conven-Write today to the factory nearest you for free folder describing the most advanced camper on the road.

R. D. HALL MFG ., INC.,9847 Glenoaks Blvd., SUnValley (San Fernando Valley),C alif., Dept. DCAMPERS, INC., 6410South 143rd Street, (TukwOa), S eattle, Washington, Dept. DPENNACAMP, INC . , 401West EndA ve., Manheim, Penna., Dept. DCANADIAN CAMPERS, 77 Pel ham Ave., Toronto 9, O ntario, Canada, Dept. D

ience of a weather t ight , h igh ce i l ing , home awayfrom home comple te w i th three burner s tove ,s ink , cab ine ts , ice box, beds , and many o therl u x u r y f e a t u r e s . E V E R Y NEW A L A S K A NC A M P E R C A R R I E S A W A R R A N T Y .MOBILE LIVING PRODUCTS (B.C.) LTD., P.O. Box 548, RedDeer, Alberta, Dept. DMOBILE LIVING PRODUCTS (B.C.) LTD., 50020th St., NewW estminster, B.C.,Dept. DR. D. HALL M FG., IN C ., Texas Division 5761C ullen Blvd., Houston, Texas, Dept. DFORT LUPTON CAMPERS, 420 Denver Ave., Fort Lupton, Colorado, Dept. DU . S. P A T E N T NO.2B791O3

10 / Desert Magazine / August, 1964


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J u a n d

W a i e f i s

ftwefikon

SOME HIKERS park their cars atone of the short roads leavingU.S. 395-6 and hike up trails tothe high Sierra's mountain lakes. Butnot us. We're the kind who go allthe way. When my husband read inDESERT about a hiking trip in Utah,he took off his glasses, leaned backinto his chair and said, "Every able-bodied American ought to backpackinto the wilderness at least once inhis life."

"Okay," I said, "Let's go!"We went abou t it sensibly. TheSierras are closest to our SouthernCalifornia home, so we plotted a 10-day, 80-mile excursion into them forthis able-bodied adven ture. Each eve-ning we astonished neighbors by set-ting forth on a two-mile hike, alwaysbreaking into a run on the last quar-ter. By summer we were ready.Because our loop trip includedsome decidedly rugged country to theWestern Divide and back, we decidedto fly to Temple Meadows over theSierra Crest. A pilot named BobWhite, who maintains an Aero Servicein Lone Pine, accommodated the twoof us in his plane for $35 and within20 minutes we had landed and were

waving him a hearty farewell. Onthe cleared airstrip were two otherplanes flown in by parties who comehere regularly to fish.

My pack, weighing 35 pounds, feltheavy at first, but an exhilarationwhich grew boundless with flower-starred meadows and fragrant pinessoon had it floating along with myspirits. Up here the country is rug-ged. Wind-tossed pines are widelyspaced, ridges bare. But the meadowssparkle with glacial streams meander-ing through wild iris, yellow, blueand white, and bushes laden withruby currants. Th is is the heart ofthe summer deer country. It is alsowell-stocked with Owens Valley ranchcattle out to pasture.The High Sierra Trail led us downthrough Ramshaw Meadows where,surrounded by gaunt, wind-scoured

granite hills speckled with wind-bentpines, we decided to try our luck fish-ing, then make camp for the night.This was Golden Trout country. Hereevolved the four famed species fromthe ancient family of Salmonadie,native to this particular region: theKern or Gilberti Rainbow, SouthFork Golden, White's Golden and theRoosevelt Golden.Our first supper was dried potatoesmixed with water, cooked over thecampfire and mashed, with goldentrout 10 inches long and a fresh-gathered salad of watercress. Dessertwas fresh-picked ruby currants. Campchores over, we searched for arrow-heads on the hillside slope. The area


12/44

At lower Funston Me adows, the turbulent Ke rn is wide and de ep .

was strewn with patches of obsidianchippings. For hundreds of years thePiutes from Owens Valley on the eastside of the Sierra had toiled over thesteep passes to summer in this stringof mountain meadows, hunting, fish-ing and pine-nutting. Our camp wasupon one of their old campgrounds.Main east-west trails from the desertside follow the old Indian trails.

Nak ed crags of Mt. Muir and Mt.Whitney puncture the sky.

When the silver stars began toglitter through the pine needles, wezipped ourselves into our mummy-bags. Oh, this was the life! Sometimein the night I awoke, uneasy. Imme-diately above me, a hunk of cowbreathed into my face. I froze. Myhusband said very softly: "Lie stilland don't move!" Centuries later thecow moved away and I began tobreathe again. "Just curious!" Al saidsmugly, and turned over on his side.At dawn the shrill, hysterical voicesof hunting coyotes awakened us. Welay listening to the blend of sound:keening coyotes, twittering birds,swift-flowing water and morningbreeze. Our only worries were: shallwe fish first or eat oatmeal cookedwith mixed-dried-fruit-and-brown su-gar? We were not bothered withweighty packages. We had pre-packedevery bit of food, putting up eachmeal's allotment in individual plasticbags sealed with rubber bands. Webrought some fresh fruit for the firstday and we did carry two cans ofbacon. You need some fat in the cold,

high country.The tra il to Tunne l M e a d o w swound steeply up heavily boulderedvolcanic country spotted with gnarledpines. Waterfalls cascaded down dullrocky escarpments. Soon we came toa stream above the falls where dam-happy beavers had built their lodges.The water was so clear we could seeevery darting fish, each grain of sandin the bottom.Immediately above Tunnel RangerStation, the headwaters of the SouthFork of the Kern and Golden TroutCreek are but a few hundred feetapa rt. Here , in the late '80s, a groupof South Fork cowmen began a tun-

nel to divert the Golden Trout watersinto the South Fork waters. In trueWestern style, this venture was op-posed, successfully, by the KernCounty Land and Water Company.A shooting war was barely averted.At the Tunnel Meadows Fork weturned west down Golden TroutTrail, crossing and re-crossing thiscreek at least five times. We passed

Groundhog Meadows with its perfectlittle arcadian campground, thenLittle Whitney Meadows and theTourist Pastures, where we glimpsedthe only other people on this down-trail.Throughout this scenic country, inmountain laps and dimples, emeraldmeadows crossed with innumerablelittle streams were the rule. We hadbeen told that bears and other wild-life in this wilderness were harmless.Nevertheless, when I glimpsed a half-grown brown bear and his mother

dining on blackberries a few bushesaway, I did not wait to see how harm-less they were.This Golden Trout descent wasreally an experience. The 1000-footdrop was a scree-chute of switchbacks.Running springs had completelywashed out the trail in several spots.We scrambled over the crumbling,slippery-wet slope balancing ourselvesagainst the steep bush-held mountain-side. As our good deed for the day,we removed our packs and repairedthe trail.From a natural arch of brown lava,we saw the rainbow of Golden Tr ou t'srushing waters cascading over thegranite slope of Volcano Falls. West-ward, the blue-misted cliffs of KernRiver Gorge shimmered behind a veilof sunlight. I have never seen any-thing so beautiful. Arizona has itsGrand Canyon, but California has theKern River Gorge!After break ing camp the next morn-ing we closed the stock gates behindus at Lower Funston Meadow, and

startled four grazing deer. Both riverand feeder streams were swollen frommelting snows. Some of these highstreams were bridged with logs; overothers it was necessary to find boul-ders above water to take us across.These west-side streams were deepand fast-flowing.Beyond Upper Funston Meadowsthe gorge narrow ed. Golden cliffstowered above knife-like passes in thegreat canyon. Then the trail crossedthe Kern, now traversing the gorge onthe east side. We came to 1,600-foothigh Chagoopa Falls, a tumbling sil-ver thread spinning off pine-clothedChagoopa P lateau named in 1881after an old Piute chief. These falls


13/44

there were actually three of themwere really impressive. Then a signread: "Kern Hot Springs" and therea concrete tub beckoned with irresist-ible luxury!Around 9000 feet the cool, whisper-ing forest opened into sunlit glades.Manzanita clumps skirted the tall,straight pines, and the forest floor wassoft and sandy and clean. Here wemade camp.At the Kaweah-Kern River ju nctionwe yielded right of way to two packtrains, then crossed an ascendingslope. The Kaweah River shootsdown the massive, precipitous granitewalls of 12,000-feet high Colby Pass.South of Bighorn Plateau, the JohnMuir Trail meets with the HighSierra Trail. We switched trails, as-cending Muir Trail eastward alongrugged Wallace Creek Canyon. Fromthis top-country above the formidablegorge, the Kaweah pinnacles unfoldedinto the misty blue western skyline.In every direction the panorama glit-tered with patches of snowfields,small, sparkling, incredibly blue tarnsand frowning jagged peaks.That night we camped at 11,000feet but were snug in our mummy-bags. The western skyline grew in-creasingly red. Smoky clouds billow-

ed above. Forest fire! I k new panic.A trail crew hurried by on horses.They reassured us. The fire was along way off; over in the MiddleFork country, safely across the greatgorge.Between-meal hunger we conquer-ed with snacks of Hi-Proteen choco-late-flavored tablets, non-melt choco-late bars, raisins and salted sunflowerseedsall nutritious and light-weight.Above lavishly flowered WallaceMeadows the alpine winds blew cold.Now we could see the northwestwardsweep of the Great Western Dividewith its magnificent panorama ofpeaks, each over 13,000 feet.The trail to Sandy Meadow, asparsely grassed plateau, p a s s e dthrough twisted, wind-torn timberclinging stubbornly to the slopes.Crabtree Meadow, with its dancing,blue Whitney Creek, was a welcomesight after the grueling climb. That

night we camped with a view of Mt.Whitney's naked, pinnacled flanks.With no firewood above timber-line, we cooked a potful of chili beansand saved some to carry with us.Early next morning we began theclimb to Trail Crest, 1500 feet above

(Continued on Page 36)The Inyo Cre st unfolds into the distant Panam ints and Death Valle y'sthreatening pe aks .

v


14/44

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F O R I N F O R M A T I O N AND M A P S , W R I T EW H I T E M O U N T A I N

R E C R E A T I O N E N T E R P R I S EP . O . B O X 2 1 8W H I T E R IV E R , A R I Z O N A

by JOY CAPUTO

J

A SK A DOZEN people, "What isa Santa Ana Wind?" and you'llhear a dozen answers. As an a t i v e Southern Californian, Ithought I knew all about these hot,dry winds that plague our locale.Glibly I tossed out pieces of misinfor-mation about how the proper spell-ing was "Santana," how it was hotbecause it came from the desert, howother desert areas also suffered from"Santana" winds. And so it was withchagrin that I found myself in error,not only regarding these three facetsof the wind, but several others aswell. I was, in the well-known ver-nacular, full of hot air.

When I first decided to check intothis gusty question, I opened my largeWebster's dictionary and found:Santa Anaa strong, hot dry foehnwind from the north, north east, oreast in Southern California.I was astounded! Was it possiblethat I, of all people, could possibly be

in error? And what was a foehn wind?In a book called World of theWind by Slater Brown, I learned thatthe foehn wind derived its name froma Latin word meaning South Wind.It was named many years ago inSwitzerland where they thought itwas peculiar only to certain valleys ofthe Swiss Alps, and the meteorologistsof the day tried to explain its hot, drycharacteristic by dreaming up a con-nection of currents sweeping acrossfrom the Sahara desert. Later, how-ever, they discovered that this typeof wind is found in almost every partof the world, always near a mountain-ous region, not always coming fromthe south, and in some instances,passing over ice fields rather thandeserts. After scientists solved themystery of why the wind is hot anddry, the term foehn wind became abasic category for all wind, regardlessof its local name, which derives its heatin this most unusual way. For it isnot the sun nor the desert sands whichgive the foehn its warmth. The foehnwind generates its own heat.

When air expands, it cools, andwhen it compresses, it heats. Thissimple law of nature is alone respon-

sible for the unique quality of thefoehn; for the wind, as it descends thesides of the mountains, compresses theair and the temperature rises. Asidefrom damage caused by the velocity ofthe wind, there is also created aserious fire hazard, and there seems tobe a direct bearing on the tempera-ment of the unfortunate recipients ofthe hearty blow. In 1959 six firefighters were burned to death and 20others injured when a Santa Anawind trapped them southwest of El-sinore.The Santa Ana is a foehn windwhich sweeps through San Bernar-dino Valley by way of Cajon Pass. Be-sides being hot and dry, it is alsoladen with dust.In California Deserts by Edmund C.Jaeger, it is noted that Santa Anasoften come abruptly following rain-storms. Being very dry, they imme-diately dissipate the moisture bearingclouds. Because air currents are de-

scending, turbulence or vertical con-vection, so essential to cloud forma-tion, ceases.As a final blow to my erroneousthinking, the Encyclopedia Americanalists the following: Santa Ana (Sou-thern California) a foehn type wind,a hot dry northerly or north westerlywind, blowing from the Mojave Des-ert into the Los Angeles Basin; a win-ter phenomenon responsible for verywarm winters in Southern California.I surrender. I capitulate. I apolo-gize to the mighty Santa Ana! Buteven as I proved myself wrong rightdown the line I couldn't help but feela wry amusement at a statement fromWorld of the Wind. This book waspublished in 1961 and in describingthe effect of the Santa Ana upon theresidents of the area, Mr. Brownquotes a contributor to the WeatherBureau who states that when theSanta Ana blows, the natives are com-pletely prostrated by the heat and"lie on the floor like wilted cabbages."In a thoroughly chastened mood, I

say to you, "Fellow wilted cabbages,arise! Cast off the shackles of theSanta Ana. It's time we got a littlefoehn out of life!" / / /14 / Desert Magazine / August, 1964


15/44

TH EB U R IED TR EA S U R E NOB OD Y CA N D IG

FORTY-ODD MILES east of Flag-staff there is an enormous cavityin the Arizona desert. This stu-pendous scar in the earth's skin islocated in Coconino Coun ty. It isroughly a mile in diameter and 600feet in depth.

This vast pit marks the spot wherebetween 25 to 50 thousand years agoa meteor collided with the earth. Itsmeteoric metal would yield $50.00 atona fortune beyond belief. Andyet, science has not yet figured out away to get it.What happened when the meteorstruck? Dr. Harvey H. Nininger, cur-ator of the Denver Museum and anoted authority on meteorites, says:"The human inhabitants of the re-gion, if any such existed, probablynoticed a brilliant light in the north-ern sky, if the meteor appeared atnigh t. If the fall was in the daytime,such a large meteor would be visible.The sound of its passage would not

be heard in front, as it traveled tento twenty miles per second, muchfaster than sound."Since the natives would not havebeen able to hear the sound of the

meteor, would they have tried toflee? Dr. Nininger answers thus:"These inhabitants undoubtedly wereseeing their last sight. When thegiant meteor struck, the resultantconcussion extinguished all life with-in at least fifty miles. A wall of in-tenseley heated air rolled out in alldirections, scorching the earth's sur-face and burning everything com-bustible."Indians of the region still relatelegends of a wicked god who wasthrown out of heaven. Falling tothe earth in flames, he landed so hardthat he bored a hole deep into theearth. Meteor Crater, the legend goeson, marks the place where he fell.The Indians have many superstitionsabout the crater. To this day they

B Y R A L PH PR OU TVwill not go near it, nor will theyhandle a piece of iron they know tobe from it.

While the Indians had knownabout the crater for hundreds ofyears, its existence was first revealedto the white man in 1871, when somearmy scouts visited it. Mexicansheep herders in the vicinity gave ironfragments from it to the first rail-road contractors to come through.Some of these fragments were sentEast in 1886 and were for the firsttime identified as meteoric material.

Once the white man knew whathad caused the great holes in thedesert, he was not slow to think aboutturning it into money. Scientistsestimated that the meteor weighedsomewhere between one million andten million tons. That quantity ofhigh-grade ore would be worth severalfortunes. The mystery is that no onehas ever made so much as a nickelfrom mining the meteor. Why?


16/44

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This new brochure,fresh off the presses, isa v a i l a b l e w i t h o u tcharge to rock hobby-ists and r eader s ofDesert Magazine. Spe-cial sections on sharp-ening, reversing andinstallation of diamondblades for better lapi-dary cu t t in g. . . a lsoincludes useful tips oncoolants, lubricants,speeds and feeds, andother suggestions onhow to get longer and better wear fromyour cutting equipment. Compact andeasy-reading, well-illustrated. Writetoday for your copy.Please mail me your f ree brochure, "Do's& Don'ts for Lap idary Cut t ing . "N a m eAddressC ity, S tate..Dept. D-8 M K D I A M O N D P R O D U C T S12600 C hadron,Hawthorne, Calif.M K D IA M O N D SINCE 1866

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The first interest in mining thecrater was displayed by an engineer,Donald M. Barrington, who filed aclaim shortly after 1900. Actualefforts to locate the meteor itself be-gan in 1905. The first test holes, sentdown from the crater's center, showedabsolutely nothing. This develop-ment puzzled everyone until a scien-tist figured that the meteor hadstruck at an angle and thereforewould most likely be found at oneside of the depression.

Another observer, noting that thesouth rim was higher than the northrim, theorized that the comet hadtraveled from north to south. Assum-ing that it had struck at an angle ofapproximately 45 degrees, it shouldhave come to rest somewhere beyondthe south rim. When drilling wasshifted from the center of the craterto the south edge, a hard metallicmass was struck at 1,376 feet. It wasthe meteor at last!

Assays showed that the metal con-sisted of 93.3% iron and 6.4% nickel.This is nature's equivalent of armorplate. It is almost the identical for-mula of the hardest steel alloy manhas been able to develop. It is so hardthat it cannot be blasted, chipped ordrilled into fragments in the approv-ed techniques of mining. It has to becut with an acetylene torch.One research company in NewYork secured a six-pound lump ofthe meteor and sawed it in half ontheir cutting machine. The cut wasas smooth as marble and resembleda highly polished surface of nickel orsteel. It was so hard, however, thatthey could not get a drill through it.They gave up, reluctantly, since themeteoric metal would have yieldedabout $50 a ton.Since 1905 a score of unsuccessfulshafts have been sunk. Over half amillion dollars has been spent ontest boring and drillings. However,

not only was the metal too hard, butthe drillers ran into quicksand andwater, which rendered further drill-ing well-nigh impossible. The diffi-culty of breaking off pieces of themeteor was demonstrated by the num-ber of drill bits that were broken inthe process.So there the meteor still rests, afortune buried in desert sand. Yet,if there is no feasible way to get atit, no means to break it up, what isto be done? Unless someone comes

along with a revolutionary and eco-nomical means of mining the meteor,it is likely to remain there for an-other 25,000 years. . / / /16 / Desert M a a n w n o / A n n u a l 1PRA


17/44

trip of themonth

W e'll T aketheLong W ay

To Kane Spring!4 U.S. Hy. 99

Diego

by A rthur R ouleau

W ERE IT NOT for a physicalfactor rendering it impossible,callous motorists might de-scribe Ju lian as a "one-blinker" one blink and you're through it. How-ever, if approached from the northfrom Highway 79, a blink at at thewrong moment and the motoristwould miss the sharp right turn onMain Street and wind up in a grassymeadow.Midway between Mt. Palomar andMt. Laguna in eastern San DiegoCounty, Julian is surrounded by In-dian reservations and historic goldmines, some still in operation. Thetown boasts a population of 500,000,a figure, however, that includes itssubu rb, San Diego, 60 miles southwestvia California Highways 79 and 80.Within its actual town limits, residesomething under 500 persons, al-though the residents of lofty perchesand valley hideaways, to a radius ofthree miles or so, swell the figure toa neat 1,500. But don't scoff at itssize. Julian just missed becoming theSan Diego county seat by a mere threevotes when that contest was heldyears ago.My wife, Barbara, and I left ourhome early on a Friday morning toexplore the Julian country. Trafficwas light and we rolled along, enjoy-ing every minute of the drive. At Te-mecula we turned onto 76 and specu-lated on scenes of the past. The But-terfield stages passed this way.A few miles north of Julian, atWyanola, a one-room country schoolattracted us and we stopped for pic-tures. The Spencer Valley School,one of the few such schools remainingin southern California, still conductsclasses as it has since 1870.Mrs. Evelyn Stanley, who teachesits 12 students in six grades, invitedus in to observe the school in action.Noticing a large heating stove in thefront of the room, I asked Mrs. Stan-

ley it it didn't teel good to standclose to on a cold, snowy day."Yes," she replied, "but do you re-mem ber the scent of ho t wet wool? I'mtreated to it each time my childrendrape their wet coats and mittensnear the stove to dry."But don't feel sorry for them. Thekids love it and so does she, and shehas no problems with absenteeism or

failing students. We left this dedi-cated teacher and her charges withthe feeling that the popularly accept-ed educational equation ( b l a n ksquare feet, plus blank text books,plus blank athletic equipment, plusblank cultural extras, plus blank de-grees, plus one child equals an edu-cation) ain 't necessarily so.As we entered the town on MainStreet, the library building caughtour eye. Along the edge of its tileroof a sparrow population had settleden mass and from each open end tile

peeked a nesting mother. It seemedimpossible to maintain a decoroushousehold, however, as each apart-ment looked alike and the male spar-rows couldn't seem to rememberwhich one was which. Th is causedquite a commotion on Julian's MainStreet, but thanks to the birds we metMrs. Myrtle Botts, the librarian.From her and from material shemade available to us, we learnedsomething of Julian's history. At theclose of the Civil War, five Confed-erate Army veterans, Drury, Frank,and James Bailey, and their cousins,Michael and Webb Julian, left theirGeorgia homes in the desecratedsouth to seek new homes and for-tunes in the West, if they could findthem.In Julian country they found both."This is the most beautiful placeI've seen since I left home. Let's eachof us locate a home here." Drury Bai-ley said, when they reached the valleyin 1868.


18/44

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B Y M A R I E V A L O R EI T WAS MID-SUMMER in 1923when my father came toCoachellaValley. The fronds of the giantWashingtonia Palms along the mudfoothills ofChocolate Mountain hungbrittle and dry. Clumps of devilgrass popped from the sun-bakedsand.

The inhabitants of this lowerdes-ert region ofSouthern California suf-fered miserably. Temperatures oftenrose to120 degrees in theshade, andthere wasn't much of that.My father pulled his creakingjalopy into Indio and, almost inpanic, requested escape from the sear-ing heat. Hewasdirected to a hotelnear therailroad tracks. Or,at least,it wascalled a hotel. In reality itconsisted of only a small group ofone-room, oddly-shaped houses. These,with their rounded roofs, resembledsmall NewEngland barns. Theirwalls were made of tin and a hardliber and their roofs were coveredwith burlap orpalm fronds overhungby asort of trellis.When asked why thehouses wereso constructed, the proprietor ex-plained that they were called"sub-marines" and were the only arti-ficially cooled houses in America."How do they work?" my fatherasked, "and why submarines?""We call them submarines becausethey're usually under water," theowner answered. "When thetopsarewet down, it makes theinside of the

rooms as much as 15 to 20degreescooler. As the water evaporates, itabsorbs theheat inside.""Impossible," my father retorted,but in hismisery hewas willing totry anything. Paying theman 50c inadvance, he moved inwhile the ownerproceeded towetdown the outer bur-lap walls with ahose. Soon the roomwas, indeed, cooler.Grateful for themarvelous ingenu-ity of man, myfather continued hisjourney, butbefore leaving Indiore-

solved that someday he'd return andmake it hishome.The first submarines were builtbyPop Boomer in 1921 to house theSouthern Pacific Railroad workers.Air-cooled rooms then rented for $25per month. PopBoomer probablyconceived this revolutionary ideafrom studying the food coolers ofearly settlers, which inturn, werepat-terned after thewet, clay ollas usedby desert Indians. Thecoolers con-sisted ofburlap covered boxes with acan poked full ofholes resting on top.

Water, poured into the can,slowlydripped down its sides to keep theburlap moist. Perhaps BobBoomerhad dreamed ofcurling up in acoolerwhen hewas struck with hisbrilliantidea.Today onehas only toflip aswitchto cool his home, but this mightnever have happened had it notbeenfor ingenious desert pioneers like)Pop Boomer, who introduced sub-marines to thedesert. / / /

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20/44

S u n d a y i nI T WAS HO T. Th e pool deckscorched our feet. Air-condition-

ing provided comfort inside, butwe'd spent all week inside. We want-ed out for a change, in the light ofday."What did people on the desert dobefore air-conditioning?" my husbandsighed."Randall Henderson used to hikein the Santa Rosas," I recalled, hav-ing recently reread one of his earlyarticles in a 1939 DESERT.Without another word, we hoppedacross the searing patio to the house,

packed a lunch and put on jeans.A Santa Rosa Mountain sign indi-cated the turn-off from the Palms toPines Highway. Opposite it andabout a mile toward Palm Desert isthe public Pinyon Flat Campground.A number of campers and traveltrailers were parked there, but thedirt road to the Santa Rosas, almosthidden by ribbonwood bushes, wasfree of traffic. As ou r road climbedhigher, the thick ribbonwood growthchanged to a picturesque terrainstrewn with giant-sized boulders. Wepassed an abandoned mine, whichdidn't amount to much, and thenwound upward into an area of liveoak . Already the air grew cool enoughto turn off the air-conditioner.

Stopping at a cedar-studded crevicebetween two barren peaks, we indulg-ed in a veritable orgy of sniffing. W e'dsmelled nothing but heat waves forso long. It was great to stretch ourlimbs, unsnarl muscles cramped fromdays of inactivity and feel cool earthand stone benea th our feet. Rocksworn smooth by a cascading waterfallcut a slash through the thick cedar,but at this time of year the springsthat fed it were dry. We had noidea how much farther the road would

carry us, but knew this wasn't theend.Randall Henderson had writtenabout Steve Ragsdale's cabin atopSanta Rosa Peak and about the ad-jacent taboo-ed Toro Peak, which theCahuilla Indians feared to climb.Toro was his own favorite summerspot, in those hot summer days withno artificial relief. He would campthere overlooking a panorama thatstretches as far south as the penin-sular range of Baja California. Ithas been reported elsewhere that ona clear day one can see Catalina fromToro Peak, but there are few, if any,

high spots in Southern Californiathat don't make that claim and mostof them have never known a day soclear!Our wonderful cedar crevice gaveway to desert again as we climbed theserpentine road. Then we came backinto p ine. Two young couples strolledalong the road. We though they'd hada breakdown and were walking backfor help, but from a sheer dip theypointed below to a lovely campingspot beside a spring where they'd lefttheir automobile. This is reached byan off-shoot from the main road thatjuts to the left slightly beyond whereanother off-shoot makes a completereverse on a higher level and leads tothe Ragsdale cabin. We followed theone to the righ t. It is 9.3 miles fromthe highway.

In a treehouse on the tip-top ofSanta Rosa Peak that Steve Ragsdale,perhaps, built to raise the altitude ofhis peak to that of Toro, we met aresting hik er. Pau l Ricci, a physicsinstructor from Fullerton College,still had enough steam after a hiketo Toro Peak to ascend the steep treadof this lookout. Sturdy enough towithstand an earthquake, Ragsdale'streehouse, which could be called a


21/44

cutct

"cloudhouse," must be the envy ofevery boy who sees itand it makesevery man who visits it feel like aboy.Paul had left his car at the StumpSpring Campground and followed thetrail among pine and underbrush tothe tip of Toro by crossing alongthe spine between it and Santa RosaPeak. We were shivering and wishedwe'd brought sweaters, but after hislong hike, Paul welcomed the coolbreeze that rustled the pines.The log cabin, as sturdily con-structed as the tree house, was builtby Ragsdale some 30 years ago. It

was he, Desert Steve they call him,who painted poems in all the burnedout stumps along the road to hishideaway. An outspoken protector ofwildlife, his ENJOY BUT DON'TDESTROY signs are posted every-where. Doors hung agape from hisabandoned cabin, but its walls androof remained tight and the wall-sized stone fireplace spoke of manya cozy evening when wind howledthrough trees and snow piled on theground. Outside in the sunlight Isat on a rock upholstered with pineneedles and listened to a pair of bluejays squawk from two stunted trees.

TZoUut i .Here on top of the Santa Rosas, pinetrees appear to grow from the topdown, their heavy limbs clutchingthe earth in a determined effort toprevent their enemy, the wind, fromuprooting them.

Surrounded on three sides by des-ert, but more than 7000 feet above itsfloor, the air is always dry and cool.Part of the area belongs to the SantaRosa Indian reservation, but it is un-likely that it will ever be developedfurther because its few springs do notprovide enough water to serve apopulation.' In his article written 26years ago, Randall Henderson statedthat it was possible to reach the sum-mit in an easy hour-and-a-half hikefrom the end of the road of the Tororidge. Today this road, maintainedby the U. S. Forestry Service, is bar-racaded with chains a few miles abovethe Ragsdale cabin cut-off, so it isbetter for hikers to follow the ridgebetween the two peaks, along PaulRicci's trail. It is an ambitious hike,but rewardingin spite of the Indiantaboo.

This taboo has never been put intowords, so its curse remains as greata mystery as the location of the fam-ous emerald mine in the Santa Rosas

which, according to legend, producedprecious jewels to fill the coffers ofcentral Mexico during ancient times.It was marked by a great rock in theshape of a wolf's head atop a cliff.The late Marshall South wrote thathe had found the head of the wolf(DESERT, Dec. '48) but an earth-quake had toppled it to the bottomof a gully and he was unable to lo-cate the legendary mine. He did finda small emerald, however.More recent "legends" tell of goldpockets in the Santa Rosas which pro-duced several rich findings, but werelost when their discoverers were forced

to leave the "holes" for various rea-sons and unable to find them again.Indian trails are liable to be a clueto the emerald treasure, as trailsusually lead to something. After lunchwe hiked along some that still criss-cross the mountain. Deer are plen-tiful here and among the pinon,oak, agave and cacti at decreasinglevels early Indians, as well as wild-life, found a prolific source for food.Indian ruins have been found on theslope of the Santa Rosas, but themountains provided a summer refugefor those desert Indians, rather thana year-round home. Today's visitorsshould not intrude upon the part ofthe forest that belongs to the reserva-tion, but there is still plenty of roomin the cool Santa Rosas to provide awondrous retreat for desert dwellers.And, surprisingly, the area is littlechanged since the Indians first foundit.We hope that Civilization willtake no toll on its charm so that thosewho follow may breathe deeply ofits pine-scented air, listen to its chat-tering blue jays, and relax in itsromantic treehouse just as we did ona lazy summer afternoon. / / /


22/44

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-T/ie Serpent Cave of Baja

S AN IGNACIO IS one of the most charming of allBaja villages. This fact offset our disappointmentat finding the man who could lead us to the caves,Frank Fischer, away for the day, and learning that thecave we wanted to explore might require a six-day roundtrip into back country by mule rather than a six-hourcircuitthe difference between our having time to makethe trip or not."Three times you can't trust a Mexican," fumedUncle Erie, "are when he says 'La salsa no es pica, elcaballo es manso, and la distancia no es lejos.' " (The

sauce is not hot, the horse is gentle, and the distance isnot far).Actually, Francisco Munoz, Erie Stanley Gardner'strusted pilot, had alerted us to this latter possibility be-fore we departed Conception Bay, but we were tooexcited over the prospect of seeing the painted cave withthe prehistoric map in it to listen. W e'd passed most ofthe day exploring Scammon's Lagoon, but now with afew hours of daylight remaining before our caravantraveling by land would arrive at San Ignacio, we launch-ed upon a tour of the town.The main point of interest is the mission establishedby the Jesuits in 1728 and finished by the Dominicansin 1786. It is still in use today and its bellkeeper proudlyled us into the belfry for a lofty view of the town. Thecarved stone and wood angels that fill niches and peerfrom corners of the vaulted ceiling betray their Indian

W I T C H E DB y Choral Pepperancestry. Apparently the early artisans who createdthem accepted the belief that they were children of thewhite man's God. Or, perhaps, they visualized the novelconception of heaven as a place populated with angelscast in their own images. Quien sabe?

Th e population of Baja is no longer Indian . Otherthan a few scattered and small tribes existing in remotevalleys, the original inhabitants of Baja were exterminated by disease after the arrival of the Spanish. Thepeninsula's current population is one that immigratedfrom Mexico's mainland . Th ere is almost no he reditaryconnection between the people found in Baja by earlymissionaries and those living there today.A river that rises from mountain springs above SanIgnacio meanders through the village, but soon fades

und erground . During its brief run, it fosters date groveswild palms, and other lush vegetation that separatesthis verdant patch from an infinity of surroundingdesert. Am bling along sleepy lanes, we came upo n a22 I Desert Magazine / August, 1964


23/44

photo by Klaus Sulzm ann

Fourth in a series featuring the adventuresof DESERT's Editor and Publisher on arecent expedition to Baja California withauthor-adventurer Erie Stanley Gardner.

Swine exist at a minimum in Baja because there islittle to feed them. It is also reported, as related inJourney of the Flam e, that an old Indianon contributed to their unpo pularity. Wh en

It was growing dark when we turned a corner and

perched on the side of a hill near the fringe of town.Seated at a makeshift table in the center of the room, wewere joined from the sidelines by curious, but friendly,Mexicans who sat on benches placed along the walls.Erie ordered beer for the house and everyone had afiesta, in spite of the cuisine which didn't quite measureup to any we'd previously enjoyed in Baja. But, asmentioned before, San Ignacio is not yet tourist savvy,although it's highly recommended as a place to camp.One of the local gentlemen present offered us anempty house next to his farm. Its owner's spirit h addeparted and a black crepe cross was posted above thedoor to signify the mou rning period . A wooden crosswas also planted on the hill above the house to assureprotection for the family, although the house was un-occupied and sealed up tight. To avoid disturbing anyspirits yet in the process of departing, we chose to spreadour sleeping bags outside under the veranda's palmleafroof rather than inside on the casa's dirt floors. Th en ,with camp established, we called again at the house ofSenor Frank Fischer to see what could be learned aboutthe cave.

By this time Mr. Fischer had returned and we sawthe photos that had so excited Sam Hicks on his previoustrip through San Ignacio. A long, serpentine figure waspainted in red and black along the craggy surface of arock shelter. Above and below it were teddy-bear-menpainted half-red and half-black, arms outstretched.Above and below the serpentine figures were occasional


24/44

Jean Be thel treats children to candy.life-sized figures of animals, possibly deer, also striped.To the left of the "head" of the serpent were a tall anda short pair of giant figures painted entirely red, withthree similar figures to the left painted totally black, andothers of the striped variety below and to the right. Overthe heads of the black ones floated a red figure somewhatin the manner of a modern Chagall.

The striped figures are found in a number of Bajacaves; it was the serpentine figure that intrigued us. Th is,to our knowledge, was entirely unique as a motif inBaja's preh istoric art. Although its body was crossedwith black lines, giving it a snaky look, its curvaturedid not follow the orderly rounded curves of mostprimitive renditions of snakes. Furthermore, it appear-ed to have large wedge-shaped ears, although its head wasindistinct d ue to erosion. Its tail was forked. Mr. Fischerdescribed other caves in the same region, but no otherheld the figure of a serpent nor did those formerly ex-plored by Erie. We imagined that this might have beena sort of "temple" for prehistoric people and, perhaps,the strongly contrived serpentine motif held the key totheir ancient migration.

The photos Frank Fischer showed us were taken bya physicist from San Diego named Klaus Sulzmann. Twoother Americans had also visited the site, we learnedfrom Mr. Fischer. They were Michael Shard of Oregonand Mr. William Stockdale of Putnam, Connecticut. Thefact that others had already investigated the site mayhave dampened our enthusiasm a bit, but not enoughA lady and p et p ig beside a lazy San Ignacio stree t.

to have kept us from making the trip if it had beenpossible within our limited time. However, FrankFischer was adaman t. Six days would be m in im um -three there and three back, without allowing so much asa day to poke around.Frank Fischer reported that those who had seen thecave all agreed that the serpent represented the canyonin which the cave shelter was located. Th is, at least, wecould ascertain one way or the other by comparing asketch of the serpent with a topographical sketch of the

canyon as seen from the air.Early the next morning, after being awakened bythe crowing of cocks and the visitations of childrencurious to see what those crazy gringos were doing sleep-ing in a farmyard, we picked up Frank Fischer at hishome and all drove to the airstrip. One member of ourparty made a copy of the shape of the serpent fromFischer's photograph while Sam, Munoz and Fischerflew over the canyon to sketch it and take pictures. Whenthey landed, we compared the two. Entirely different.If the figure painted in the cave represented a map,we're convinced that it wasn't a map of that particularcanyon.Since we hadn't time to explore further, our partyagain split forces and headed back to Mulege. Jack a ndI, anxious to arrive early and spend the day on horse-back there , flew with Erie. I welcomed the flight for the"thinking" time it provided as I had a lot of loose-endthoughts about cave paintings bouncing through myhead.

We slep t under a farm yard veranda.Although the subject has never been fully explored,these paintings are not newly discovered. One of thefirst articles to be published about them appeared inDES ERT Magazine 15 years ago (Feb. 1949). Thisarticle described a cave found by Edward H. Davis, acollector for the Heye Museum of the American Indianin New York . On an expedition to Baja in 1928, Davislearned of a legend that hinted of a vast painting hiddenin a cave. His guide had never seen it, but by followinglandmarks established in the legend, he and Davis pack-ed into the San Baltazar mountains west of Mulege andfound it. Fu rthe r research on the par t of Mr. Davis re-vealed no more about its artists than is known today.However, there had been material published in

France that Mr. Davis missed. Th is was brought to ourattention by Campbell Grant, whose exhaustive studiesof California's painted caves near Santa Barbara appear-ed in this year's May issue of DESERT. Mr. Grant loaned


25/44

us a Zerox copy he had obtained of a report written bythe French archeologist, Leon Diguet, who explored andmade his report about La Pictographie de las Basse-Californie around 1873. This is the most extensive pro-fessional report on Baja caves that has so far beenpublishedand it is written in French.Loosely translated, Diguet reported that the figuresof Baja's cave paintings display an art highly developed,with motifs suggestive of a spiritual idea or belief. Thecaves he illustrated and explored were all between the

27th and 28th parallels. Elsewhere petroglyphs werefound, bu t no pictographs. He described the figures asdistinctive, life-sized or more, with arms elevated at rightangles above the head and bodies divided vertically andpainted red and black. He mentioned one cave witha figure painted entirely white. Some figures are prone,he wrote, and m any are pierced with arrows. On theirheads the figures wore masks or heads of animals bearinghorns, and sometimes deer and pum a (mountain lion)mingled with the figures of people, often painted oneover the other. Diguet was familiar with the picto-graphs of New Mexico, Arizona and Upper California,but denied any association of those with these.The Baja caves he identified were more in the order

of cave shelters than caves. Diguet noted that most werelocated near extinct water sources and the cave shelterswere formed in washes where storms had excavated thefaces of cliffs. Because they were too high for any manto reach, he believed the murals were executed fromplatforms constructed of boulders, later removed.This brings us up to the present and the most recentexpedition to explore Baja's cavesthat of Erie StanleyGardner's in 1961. Accompanying the Gardner partywas Dr. Clement Meighan, an archeologist from U.C.L.A.Incorporating the use of helicopters, Gardner was ableto explore areas heretofore unvisited by modern man.The caves he discovered were decorated by the sameschool of artists as those found by Diguet and Davis, but

were not the same caves. Gardner and Meighan believethere are still many caves yet to be discovered. T he newone with the serpent seems to bear this out.As for artifacts, they are almost non-existent at thesites of the caves. This might indicate that the caveswere used for ceremonial purposes only and campingdone elsewhere. Dr. Meighan dug up one object witha Carbon-14 dating of about 600 years ago, but it mighthave belonged to Indians who occupied the cave shelterat a later date. At DESERT's request, Dr. Meighan haspromised a forthcoming article with more informationon this subject.

Diguet reported th at the artifacts he found (over 90years ago) could be identified as belonging to th e Co-chimis, Guaycuras and Pericues who later sought refugefrom the cold in these caves. However, he was able toobtain a small collection of relics found in a missionafter the padres had departed which was labeled ashaving originated in the painted caves of Loreto. Theseconsisted of an axe of polished flint, similiar to onesfound in Upper California, two balls perforated at theircenters, a rowel carved from rock, and a serpe

196408 desert magazine 1964 august

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