197010 desertmagazine 1970 october

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D e s e r t M a g a z i n e B o o k S h o pD U T C H O V E N C O O K B O O K by Don H o l m . W i l dl i fe editor of the Port land Oregonian, the authorhas spent his l i fe exploring and wri t ing aboutthe outdoors, so his recipes for prepar ing foodin a Dutch Oven corne f'om experience. If youhaven' t had food cooked in a Dutch Oven, youhaven't l ived . . . and if you have you wi l lfind these recipes new and excit ing culinaryadventuresas wel l as his style of wr i t i ng .Heavy paperback, 106 pcges, $3.95.A TRAMP ACROSS THE CONTINENT by CharlesLummis. First published in 1892, this is a re-pr int of the personal experiences of the westem historian who, in 1884, walked f rom Ohioto Los Angeles, covering 3507 miles in 143days. Lummis writes in a mat ter-of - fac t man-ner of adventures which make fascinat ingreading and give a keen insight into the peoplehe encountered. This is a classic of WesternAmericana. Hardcover, 270 pages, $8.50.BAJA CALIFORNIA BY ROAD, AIRPLANE ANDBOAT by Cliff Cross. Author of a popular t ravelguide to the main land of Mexico, Cross hascompi led a comprehensive book on Baja Cali-forn ia. The new guide is well i l lustrated withdetai led maps of the vil lages and bays alongthe 1000-mile route plus travel, history andf ishing information. Large format, heavy paper-back, 170 pages. $3.50.SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN ARTS & CRAFTS by TomBahti. Beautiful ly i l lustrated with 4-color photo-graphs, this book describes the arts and craftsof the Indians of the Southwest and offers suggestions on what to buy and how to judgeauthent ic jewelry, rugs, baskets and pottery.Large format, heavy paperback, 32 paqes$1 . 00 .INYO MONO JEEP TRAILS by Roger Mitchell.Author of DEATH VALLEY JEEP TRAILS, veteranexplorer Mitchell takes you on 18 di f ferent4-wheel-drive tr ips into the Sierra NevadaMountains , where he explores ghost towns, In-dian terri tory and scenic canyons and moun-tain passes. Paperback, 36 pages, r l lust. , $1.00.LOST LEGENDS OF THE WEST by Brad Williamsand Choral Pepper. The authors examine the' lore, legends, characters and myths that grewou t of the Old West in a sequel to their popu-lar f irst book, The Mysterious West. ln c !udedamong the more than 20 "lost legends' aresuch intriguing subjects as lost bones, lostladies, lost towns, and lost diamonds. Hard-cover, i l lustrated, 192 pcges, $5.95.NAVAJO RUGS, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE byGilbert S. Maxwel l . Concerns the history, legendsand descript ions of Navajo rugs. Full colorphotos. Paper, $2.50.

WHEN ORDERING BOOKSPLEASE

Add 50 cents PER ORDER(Not Each Book)

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ADD 5 PERCENT SALES TAXSend check or money order to Desert Maga-zine Book Shop, Palm Desert, California9 2 2 6 0 . Sorry, but we cannot accept chargesor C.O.D. orders.

micRELIC TRAILS TO TREASURE

By WES & RUBY BRESSIERelics which recently were consideredonly junk, today are collector items.This book lists hundreds of items withtheir current value, including arrowheads,dolls, kettles, posters, bottles or what-have-you. With this price-guide you willwont to take another look at the "junk"stored in your atticor judge the valueof your collections. Heavy paperback,191 pages, profusely illustrated.$4.50

SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN TRIBES by Tom Bahti.An excellent descript ion, history and currentstatus of the Indians of the Southwest, includingdates of their ceremonies and celebrat ions. Pro-fusely i l lustrated .with 4-color photographs ofthe Indian Country and the arts and crafts ofthe many tr ibes. Large format, heavy paper-back, 72 pages, $2.00.SOUTHWEST INDIAN CRAFT ARTS by Clara LeeTanner. One of the best books on the subject,covering all phases of the culture of the In-dians of the Southwest. Authent ic in every way.Color and black and white i l lustrat ions, l inedrawings. Hardcover , 205 pages. $15.00.GHOSTS OF THE ADOBE WALLS by Nell Murbar-ger, the well known "roving reporter of thedesert. An int imate chronicle of Arizona's once-booming mining towns, stage stat ions, armyposts, marauding Indians and fantast ic humancharacters. 380 pages, i l lustrated. Hardcover,$7 . 50 .TERRIBLE TRAIL: the Meek Cutoff, 1845 by Clarkand Tiller. Narrates the t ragic tale of the Meekemigrant train and lays the groundwork for asolution to the Blue Bucket lost gold. $4.00.THE WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP OF ANIMALSAN D MAN by K. L. Boynton. A book that shouldbe read by everyone interested in stay ing al ive,it tells the story of how life on earth developedthrough the ages by plants and animals work-ing together and how t f i is partnership mustwork today so man can cont inue to exist onthis planet. Large 8x11 format, heavy paper,48 pages, $1.00 . .After rea ding this book youwil l realize why it is really a "mat ter of lifeor breath. "1200 BOTTLES PRICED by John C. Tibbitts. Updated edit ion of one of the best of the bott lebooks. $4.50.

WESTERN CAMPSITE DIRECTORY by the Editorsof Sunset Books. Just published, this book l istsmore than 5000 pr ivate and publ ic camp-grounds in the 1 1 western states and BritishColumbia and Western Alber ta, inc luding hun-dreds of new campsites to care for the everincreasing amount of people tak ing to the openroad. Just r ight for p lann ing a vacat ion. Largeformat, sl ick paperback, i l lustrated, 128 pages,$1 . 95 .COLORFUL DESERT WILDFLOWERS by Grace andOnas Ward. Segregated into categories of red,blue, white and yel low for easier ident if icat ion,there are 190 four-color photos of f lowers foundin the Mojave, Colorado and Western Arizonadeserts, all of which clso have common andscientific names plus descriptions. Heavy, slickpaperback. $4.50.LOST DESERT BONANZAS by Eugene Conrotto.Brief resumes of lost mine art ic les printed inback issues of DESERT Magazine, by a formereditor. Hardcover, 278 pages. $7.00.A GUIDEBOOK TO THE SOUTHERN SIERRANEVADA by Russ Leadabrand. I l lustrated withgood photographs and maps, this volume coversthe Sierra region south of the Sequoia Nat ionalPark, including most of the Sequoia Nat ionalForest. Paperback, $1.95.NEVADA'S TURBULENT YESTERDAYS by Don Ash-baugh. The best book about Nevada's ghosttowns and the rugged indiv iduals who bui l tthem. 346 pages, $7.95.GHOST TOWNS AND MINING CAMPS OF CALI-FORNIA by Remi Nadeau. The on ly good , hard-cover book on the Cal i forn ia ghost towns. Werecommend it h igh l y . $5 . 95 .CALIFORNIA GOLDEN TREASURES by ChgrlesLaudier. Treasure clues for the Mother Lodecountry. Full of t ips and hints , paperback, $3.00.SOUTHWEST INDIAN COUNTRY by the Editorsof Sunset Books. A concise and comprehensiveguide covering the 48 reservations and Pueblovi l lages in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico andColorado. Includes what to see, how to buy,conduct, history, and ceremonials. Large format,colored i l lustrat ions, neavy paperback, 80pages, $1 .95.GHOSTS OF THE GLORY TRAIL by Nell Murbar-ger is a fast moving chronicle of Western boom-camp and bonanza. Rich in human interest aswel l as authent ic history, this book covers ghosttowns of Nevada, western Utah and easternCalifornia. Hardcover, 291 pages. Price $6.75.GUIDEBOOK TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUN-TAINS by Russ Leadabrand. Lake Arrowhead,Big Bear Lake and other mountain roads takeyo u to resorts, lakes and picnic areas. Paper$1 . 75 .A FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN BIRDS by RogerTory Peterson. The standard book for f ie ld iden-t i f icat ion sponsored by the Nat ional AudubonSociety. 2nd edi t ion, enlarged wi th new sectionon Hawai ian bi rds . 658 in ful l color. Hardcover.$5 . 95 .JEEP TRAILS TO COLORADO GHOST TOWNS byRobert L. Brown. An i l lus t rated, detai led, infor-mal history of life in the mining camps deep inColorado Rockies. Fif ty-eight towns are includedthe almost inaccessible mountain fastness of theas examples of the vigorous struggle for exist-ence in the mining camps of the West. 239pages, i l lustrated, end sheet map. Hardcover.$5 . 50 .FOR COMPLETE BOOK CATALOG WRITE TO DESERT MAGAZINE, PALM DE SERT, CALIFORNIA 92 26 0


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WILLIAM KNYVETT, PUBLISHERJACK PEPPER, EDITORW A LTER A REN D A LE, Advertising ManagerJACK DELANEY, Staff WriterJ O LEEN RO BI S O N . Woman's Viewpoint EditorG LEN N V A RG A S , Lapidary EditorK. L. B O Y N T O N . Naturalist

Volume 33, Num ber 10 OCT OBER , 1970

CONTENTSF E A T U R E S

THE COVER:Drenched by laic summertlumdershowers, cacti willsoon be blooming through-out the West. Photo byDavid Muench, Santa Barbara, California, shows ,iblooming barrel cactus,(.holla and saguaro in (litSonora Desert of Arizona.

WH EN M ICA TU RN ED TO G O LDSAGACIOUS SAGE GROUSE

LAND OF MANY PLEASURESF U N IN P H IN N EY CA N Y O N

PALAALONG THE BUTTERFIELD TRAIL

TRACKING THE TRILOBITESPEOPLE OF GRAN QUIVIRA

by Dorothy Robertsonby K. L. Boyntonby Ernie Cowanby Sam Pettyby Jack Pepperby Robert Likesby Joleen Robisonby Lois Terry

D E P A R T M E N T SA PEEK IN THE PUBLISHER'S POKE

BOOK REVIEWSRAMBLING ON ROCKS

WOMAN'S VIEWPOINTDESERT LIFE

LETTERSCALENDAR OF WESTERN EVENTS

by William Knyvettby Jack Pepperby Glenn and M artha Vargasby Joleen A. Robisonby Hans BaerwaldReader's CommentsClub Activities

EI.TA SHIVELY, Executive Secretary MARVEL BARRETT. Circulation Mat

ED I TO RI A L, CIRCULATION A N D A D V ERTI S I N G O F F I CES : 74-109 Larrea St., Palm Desert, California 92260. Telephone Area Code71-1 346-814 4. Listed in Standard Rate and Data. SUB SCR IPTIO N RA TES: United States, Canada and Me xico; 1 year, $5.00 ; 2 years,S9.5O; 3 years $13.00. Other foreign subscribers add $1.00 U.S. currency for each year. See Subscription Order Form in this issue. Allowfive weeks for change of address and send both n-.w and old addresses with zip codes. DESERT Magazine is published monthly. Secondclass postage paid at Palm Desert. California and at additional mailing offices under Act of March 3. 1879. Contents copyrighted 1970by DESERT Magazine and permission to reproduce any or all contents must be secured in writing. Unsolicited manuscripts and photo-graphs WILL NOT BE RETURNED unless accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelope.


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SEND FOR NEW CATALOG # 9SHIPLEY'SMINERAL. HOUSE

On Hwy. 160 in southwest Colorado, 18 mileseast of Durango or iy 2 miles west of Bayfield.Mailing Address:SHIPLEY'S MINERAL HOUSE, Gem Village ,Bayfield D, Colorado 81122Phone: 303-884-2632LOTTIE M. SHIPLEY

A P e e kj in theP u b l i s h e r ' s

T HERE ARE not many who havenot heard the expression onepicture is worth a thousand words."In many instances this is untrue, butcertain people do have the ability tomake the camera lens "speak". Onesuch man is Hans Baerwald, whoseworks will be appearing regularlyin DESERT Magazine under the titleof "Desert Life" (see page 39) . Dr.Baerwald, (a former veterinarian) hasa feeling for our desert creatures andspends hours wait ing for just the right

[lose or sett ing. The Baerwald's yard in nearby Desert Hot Springs is a sanctuarywithin a sanctuary, the city itself is a wildlife refuge, as they maintain a good supplyof food and water for their little friends. Many of his picture-studies are taken in theyard. Although he has a battery of 10cameras at his disposal he favors a 35mm single-reflex camera fitted with a 6()() millimeter telephoto lens, with a triple extension.With this awesome piece of equipment his photos bring you so close to the subjectit seems almost an invasion of privacy. Here's a man who loves his work and shows it.I'm sure you'll agree that he belongs in DESERT.

Another expression that hasspecial significance to DESERT readers is "goodthings come in bunches". It is with great enthusiasm that we announce the appoint-ment of Mary Frances Strong as Field Trip Editor effective with the November issue.Mary I-ranees' background is an envious one: Born in California, she spent her firsteight years in the mining towns of Colorado's continental divide country. Her back-yards were the mining dumps of Ophir , Tel lur ide, Cripple Creek, Ouray and Breck-enridge where her interest in our earth began and later led to a college major ingeology with a minor in journalism.

Exploring and mapping the southwest desert country has been her way oflife since her college days. In 19^3 she joined the staff of Gems & Minerals whereshe held the position of Field Trip Editor for 16 years. During this t ime shetraveled over 300,000 miles in California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Texas andOklahoma looking for gem fields, geological points of interest, old mines andghost towns plus archeological sites. Her travels on the Mojave desert have beenpublished as ''Treasure Mapof the Great Mojave Desert" and ''Desert Gem Trails."

The Mojave Desert is her home and there are few miles of it she hasn'ttrod. For eight years she was the only other woman besides Nell Murbarger whohabitually traveled the desert alone.

In 1961 she married Jerry Strong who shares her deep love of the desertcountry and does most of the photographic work accompanying her articles. Eachfall finds them loading their pickup with trail bikes, cameras and rock huntingequipment, hitching on a trailer and with "Lobo" their 100-pound Alaskan Malemute,head out on new desert trails. Trails that will lead to many pleasurable hours of read-ing for her DESERT family.

I'll close with one more familiar expression: "Who's watching the s t o re?"Jack and Bill are!Whi ch is my way of telling you our bookshop will be open Satur-days from 9 to 3:30 beginning October 3. Come by and visit with us.


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"Here's hoping your trail is a long one, etc."Merry Christmas...Good fr iend s, etc. C. M. Russell

Born to RunFree - Wishing youa Blessed Christmas and Happiness in the New Year S t e f l e n

CHRISTMAS CARDSOF THE WESTTOP QUALITY ART IN BEAUTIFUL FULL COLOR

Bright co lorful scenes fold tomake arich card 5x7.We can p rint yourname, orranch brand orBOTH inredtomatch thegreeting. Also, yourreturn address on hedeluxe white envelopes-extras included. Youwil l beproud to send these beautiful cards andyou'll like our "stam-pede service" onorders right up til Christmas.ORDER DIRECT FROM THIS AD ORSEND FORFREE SAMPLE ANDCATALOG

Memor ies of a Frontier Christmas - MerryChristmas andHappy NewYear Swanson

"B lessed are they that have not s e e n " - M a ythe Peace and Joy of Christmas, etc. EchoHawk

I Red R ibbon Roadrunners- Merry Chr is tmas andHappy New Year-Lau, ...&

Y u c c a C a n d l e s - M a y the Peace and Happinessof Christmas, etc. Vannerson

"Whisper of a Pine Tree, etc." Peace andGood Will at Christmas, etc. Lau

- Caroling Neighbors -f r iends make Chr is tmas . .

\ & *

Thoughts of treasured. etc. Fi t zS immons

NI-- r"Thou f i l l ' s ! the s o l i t u d e . " - P e a c e andGooWi l l at Christmas, etc. Barks

A Memory of Chr istmas May youhave a MerryChristmas in theold fashioned way, etc. Stah ley

" In the hear t of thewilderness" - Maythe Joyof Christmas he with you, etc. Swanson

A Good Day for Vis i t ing May the SpiritChristmas Abide With You, etc, Thomas

Hel lo there , fo lks , etc. Merry Christmas andHappy New Year Marks

. . .

Surprise on the Tra i l Merry Christmas and aNew Year chuck full of Happiness Thomas

Christmas Eve on the Desert May you havethe Spirit of Chr i s t m as, e t c . - Lau

POSTAGE FREE MONEY BACK GUARANTEE21 YEARS OF HAPPY MAIL ORDER CUSTOMERS

"With in an old log c h u r c h , e t c . " - M a y youhave the Spirit of Christmas, etc. - G o m e z

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H O W T O O R D E R : Circle total quantity and cost. Mix and assort at no extra cost.Order al l of one kind or as many of each as desired. Canada residents please remit in U.S.dollar values. Colorado residents add 3% sales tax. California residents add 5%. No C.O.D.Fill out coupon or order by letter and mail with check or money order.TOTAL Q UANTITYWITHOUT NAMEWITH NAME OR BRANDWITH NAME AND BRANDRETURN ADDRESS

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T114 i : L ' l -T>?:W_ir T^ |NAMES TO BEPRINTED ON CHRISTMASCARDS (ENCLOSE DRAWING OF BRAND)SEND CARDSAND/OR CATALOG TO- .. 2BRte., St., or Box No.City State

BOX 15OO BOULDFR


6/44

The delicatebalance betweenlife and itsenvi ronment . . .the relationship ofplant to animal, andof both to their sur-roundings .. . theecology of meadow,lake, marsh andforest, algae anddragonfl ies, deerand jays .. . the cyc li-cal progress of theseasons all a relovingly portrayed inbeautiful, simplelanguage and draw-ings by a sensitiveartist, who guides usabout her 40 acresof land, high in thethin, clear air of theColorado Rockies.BEYONDTHEASPENGROVEByANNZWINGERWith 208 l ine drawings.58.95, now at your book-store, or use coupon belto order fromRANDOM HOUSE ' J

To you r bookse l le r , o r 41668R A N D O M H O U S E ! M A I L S E R V I C E ,D e p t . D M - 1 0 . P . O . B o x 6 8 6 .L y n b r o o k , N. Y. 11563Please send me BEiYOND THE ASPENGROVE by Ann Zwinger, tor which I en-close check or money order for $8.95,plus 50tf for postage and handling (andapplicable sales tax if any)..1 Name.

City S1ate_

R e v i e w sCALIFORNIA TRAVEL GUIDESBy the Editors of Sunset Books

For presentation purposes, the editorsof Sunset Books have divided Californiainto two parts for their newly-revised andup-to-date travel guides to the GoldenState.An imaginary boundary line was drawnbeginning at the ocean near San Simeon,continuing across the Coast Range andthe southern tip of the Central Valley,and then turning northward across theSierra Nevada range south of YosemiteNational Park.

A G O O D B O O K F O R T H EL A P I D A R Y H O B B Y I S T

' ratBUNt

A S S E M B L I N G QB A R O Q U E J E W E L R Y / ?

" T U M B L I N GT E C H N I Q U E SA N DA S S E M B L I N GB A R O Q U EJ E W E L R Y "2nd Edition( B y G . L. D a n i e l )

This comp lete i l lustrated book takes astep-by-step approach to the techniquesof tumbl ing gemstones and assembl ingjewelry. Very clear, very well orga nized .+ Tum bler Types * Speeds * Prepara-t ion of Material * Charging * Gri ts,coarse, f ine Pol ishing + Cem ent ing* Eipoxy Sett ing + Wiring * Layout Packaging + He lpful HintsOrder direct orpick one up atyour loca l RockS h o p .

GORDON'SP.O. BOX 4073 D LONG BEACH, CALIF. 9080 4$250

Calif, residentsadd 13c sales tax

The two areas differ dramatically inclimate, history, topography and tempera-ment. Both books are well illustratedwith black and white photos and containexcellent, detailed maps. In addition tosuggestions of where to go and what tosec, the editors furnish historical back-ground of the areas.

Travel Guide to Southern Californiacovers the Los lAngeles Area, San D iegoand Over the Border, Palm Springs andthe Southeast Desert, Mojave Desert andDeath Valley, The Sierra and the Valleysand Santa Barbara and Up the Coast.

Travel Guide to Northern Californiaincludes San Francisco, The East Bay,Nor th Bay Counties , Nor th Along theCoast, South From San Francisco, Mon-terey Peninsula, Central Valley, SierraNevadas and the No r thern M ountains .

Both are large S x 11 format, 4-colorcover , heavy paper . S i .95 each. W H E NO R D E R I N G S PE C IF Y W H I C H B O O K .F OU R W H E E L D R IV E H A N D B O O KBy fames T. Croxv & Cameron Warren

Two veteran back country drivers haveput together a long overdue book on howto drive, what to do, and what to takewhen you are headed for the wilderness.

Whether you are a neophyte or a vet-eran, you' ll f ind valuable information inthis book information which mightcave your vehicle or your life.

The material packed into this volumewas gathered from actual experience inthe field and is presented in a detailedmanner so it can easily be followed andunders tood.

Included among the many chapters areWhy Four Wheel Dr ive?, Options andAccessories, Driving Techniques, TireTroubles, Ignition Troubles, Cautionsand Precautions and many others.

There is one chapter on the variousmakes of four-wheel-drive vehicles onthe market and their performances. Al-though this reviewer has spent 20 yearsdriving the back county of the West, heis not a vehicle test driver (although Ihave owned most of the popular 4 W Dvehicles) so will not comment one wayor the other on this particular chapter .

This book is highly recommended foranyone who has been bitten by the bugof back country driving . . . and onceyou have been bitten, there's no cure!Paperback, illustrated, % pages , $2.50.


7/44

LOST M INES AND BURIEDTREASURES ALONG THEOLD FRONTIERBy John D. Mitchell

The second of John D. Mitchell 'sbooks on lost mines in the western hemis-phere, which were out-of-print for manyyears, is now available again.This book, and Mitchell's first, LostMuwy of the Great Southwest, (see BookReviews, Sept. '70), have been reprintedfrom the original copies by The RioGrande Press, Inc., of Glorieta, NewMexico. Both are available through theDesert Magazine Book Store.

Mitchell spent the majority of his lifeliving m Arizona and traveling through-out the West tracking down and investi-gating legends of lost mines. He was notonly an exhaustive researcher, but alsohad a flair for presenting the material ina dramatic way.

Many of the lost mine articles (eachone is a cha pte r) in his second book, ap-peared in Desert Magazine 20 years ago.Since these magazines are no longeravailable, lost mine buffs now have achance to read the legends first-hand. Anoriginal map. tirst published with thebook, and one pinpointing the areas ofthe lost mines, has also been reproduced.

Although current readers of DesertMagazine will be familiar with many ofthe lost mines listed by Mitchell, he pro-vides additional first-hand informationon these, and describes many others whichare not as well known. Hardcover. 240pages. $7.50.I 200 BOTTL ES P RI CEDBy John C. Tibbitti

After 10 prin ting s of the origin al, theauthor has completely revised and broughtup to date his popular 7200 BottlesPriced. Tibbitts is author of eight bookson bottle-collecting and is a charter mem-ber and was first president of the AntiqueBottle Collectors Association.

The two major anil important changesin this revised edition is that every bottlehas been repriced to the 1970 market,and a complete index added. The 1200bottles listed are classified and brieflydescribed as to color mil form. Generalcategories of the bottles are illustrated.Slick paperback, 171 pages, S4.95.

N O W A V A I L A B L E ! ! !T w o G r e a t L o s t M i n e B o o k sb y J O H N 0. M I T C H E L L

LOST MINES ANDBURIED TREAURES

ALONG THEOLD FRONTIER

Along the Old FrontierJOHN D.MITCHELL 7 5 0

PostpaidCalif, residents add5% state sales tax

LOST MINESOF THE

GREAT SOUTHWEST

$750Postpaid

Calif, residents add5% state sales tax

of theGR EAT

JOHN D. MITCHELL

ORDER FROMD E S E R T M A G A Z I N E B O O K S H O PPALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92260

Please send check or money order


8/44

W h e nM i c aT u r n e dt o

G o l d !by Dorothy Robertson

The ghost town of Hayden Hillis located in scenic Big Valleyin Northern California near Las-sen Volcanic National Park. Themain ghost town is accessibleby passenger car, but back-country vehicles are needed toexplore surrounding isolated

areas.

HAYDEN HILL'S genesis began whena group of well-armed Yrekanswent into the Big Valley country in theearly fall of 1869 to hunt for the LostCabin Mine. The party kept close to-gether as they combed the primitive wildnortheastern California region for theIndians were actively hostile.

On the last night in the region theycamped on the slopes of a high hill,close to a spring seepage. It was Rever-end H. D. Haskins' turn to cook thenext morning. The men decided to makeone last search in the higher reaches ofthe hill upon which they were camped.

After the men had left camp, Haskinsdecided, as his last good turn of theday, to clean out the muddy spring forthe benefit of any others who might bepassing that way. While he was shovelingout the wet mud he noticed a great dealof shiny material which he thought wasmica. Yet, as he examined the glitteringspecks, excitement mounted. Could itpossibly be gold?

As the rest of the party returned to

camp, Haskins called them over to ex-amine his find. But no one else couldhazard a guess either. All agreed it hadtoo much glitter to be real gold. It mustbe mica. However, some prudently gath-ered up some of the shining material totake back to Yreka for assay.

Once home, the assay reports showedthe specimens were tiny bits of gold!Immediately the men rushed to gathersupplies , enough for a protracte d stayon the hill bordering the Big Valley tothe east . There they spent the entire win-ter, despite the cold and snow, miningfeverishly, and at the same time, fightingoff Indians.

By spring, J. W. Hayden and SenecaLewis had arrived and located severalclaims on the north and east slopes ofwhat the miners called The Hill. Shortlythereafter the fast-growing sett lementwas called Providence City.

Hopeful miners began to pour intothe burgeo ning diggings. Soon Provi-dence City boasted several saloons, a rest-aurant, a hotel , a postomce and school,


9/44


10/44

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Exploring andlooking for artifacts andbottles, the author's party spoil twodays in theHayden Hill area. Sear theNevada border, thesite isseldom visited.

10

Ironically, it had been Seneca Lewiswho haddiscovered theBrush Hill Mine,only to sell out for a paltry sum to G. F.Hoes and thebrothers Lee L. and W. F.Harbert , owners of the nearby EveningStar. These three partners then proceededto take out inexcess of onehundred thou-sand dollars in gold from theBrush Hillproperty. Though both Hayden andLewisdiscovered many good mines in their day,both died poor men.

Today Hayden Hill is listed as an his-toric ghost town of pioneer days. Visitorspass through some of the most sceniccountry to be found in Lassen County a land of green meadows, cool mountains,lakes andstreams teeming with trout. Atsunset and early morning, travelers willencounter deer and antelope. There arc-gray honkers, swans and pheasant andducks seen in watered regions.

Al though the Hayden Hill country isoff the traveled ways, it is an interestingand scenic place to visit. Its old weather-worn gray buildings still stand, includingthe oldmill up on the brow of thehill .

Bottle collectors find numerous olddumps scattered over the Hill worth-while, while rock collectors are interestedin the colorful Wonder Stone of the re-giondelicately tinted and beautifullypatterned in shades ranging from cream

to yellow-mto-orange and reds, andswirled in browns. Larger, heavier slabsof this material are ideal for steppingstones in gardens, or up-ended, as borders for flowerbeds.

Hayden Hill is easy of access andeasyto find. It is only 14 miles south ofAdin in BigValley, California, off State1 3 9 . The Hill turnoff itself is signed.The Hayden Hill mountain road climbsin a westerly direction for four miles tothe diggings. A word of caution to visit-ors with dogs and youngsters. The mine'hafts arevery deep andsome notcover-ed. Also, remember that there is nodrinking water available andHayden Hillis remote, so fill upwith gasoline at Adinbefore venturing out into the ruggedback country!

Once you reach this fascinating regionyou will be amazed at the scenic beauty.Far below The Hill lie vast valleys andbeautiful Sylvie Lake in the middle dis-tance. In the farthest distance rises glit-tering, snow-draped Mt.Lassen, andovera hundred miles northwestward is spark-ling Mt. Shasta.

Today the only sounds heard amongth e old weathered relics of buildings ofHayden Hill arewinds blowing up memories of a hustl ing sett lement of daysgone by.


11/44

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DESERT MAGAZINEPALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

9 2 2 6 0

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12/44

a4acius

DESERT DWELLER since ancient times,the stately sage grouse is lord ofthe high places. His is a desolate king-dom of vast and windswept plains andbuttes, of sub-zero blizzards in winter, ofparched and shimmering heat in summer.Big and powerful, supremely confident,he knows how to live in this most for-midable desert land.

He is also a most satisfactory birdfrom the scientific standpoint. Ecologists,greatly impressed with his success, viewhim as a beautiful illustration of theworking of a most important kind ofplant-animal relationship: the climaxcommunity."Climax" here is the top of the ladder,12

so to speakthe last step upthe stageat which an area, after undergoing along, long series of successive changes,finally reaches a fairly stable situation.Certain plants have become the dominantvegetation; certain animals, the dominantinhabitants of the community.

So well established are these particularplants and animals, so well in tune withall their interacting environmental con-ditions that they successfully keep otherplant and animal competitors from gain-ing a significant foothold, and hencefrom changing the status quo of the cli-max community. Barring any great dis-asters such as geological unheavals, fire,flood or man poking his nose in and up-

sett ing things, a climax community wilremain essentially the same.

In the high deserts of the Great Basin(that vast area lying between the Rockyand Sierra Neva da Mo untain s) a sage-brush vegetation climax evolved about 30mill ion years ago under changing geologi-cal conditions, most of them bad. Sage-brush weathered them all. It developedinto an exceptionally hardy plantstunt-ed, even prostrate on the ground in ex-tremely poor soil, but growing some 10feet high where there is water. It is thedominant plant of the area, an evergreenshrub, the only one to flourish the yeararound, snow or not. Evolved under suchharsh environmental condit ions, sage-


13/44

brush today is tough and well equippedfor survival.

So is the sage grouse. For, as the plantevolved to stand the desert's high eleva-tions, long sub-zero winters, its windsand drif ting snow, so did this grouse. Abig bird - some 2-1 inches long andweighing as much as 7 pounds in to pform, he can meet every demand putupon him. Capable of long flights insearch of food, shelter or water, he isequally well adapted to cope with howl-ing blizzards, and blasting heat. H e is atrue dominant inhabitant of the sage-brush climax community.

Key to the bird's welfare is sagebrushitself. While many small mammals andsome big game eat this plant at certainseasons, none is so dependent upon itthe year around. Sagebrush provides theadult grouse with a minim um of 80 % (ifits sum mer food, almost 100 r r in winter .The birds consider the leaves, tenderrhoots, f lowers most tasty. They couldn' teat anything more nutritious.

Recent analyses show that some 16 %of this plant is protein, 46 r'( carbohy-drates, and an astonishingly high [4%fat. (Five times more than any other des-ert plant tested.) The heavy fat contentof sagebrush is the grouse's life-saver inwinter , keeping him warm, and stocking

him up to prime weight and conditionfor the coming arduous breeding season.

Besides furnishing the groceries, sage-brush comes in a wide variety of stylesperfect for grouse shelter. Snow encrust-ed, a clump makes a f ine winter wind-break. For summer midday siestas, thetaller, thicker growth is the best sunshield. Shorter sagebrush, widely enoughspaced to allow a quick getaway if wild-cats come prowling, is best for squattingunder at night, as these grouse do notroost.

The bird's association with the plantstarts early in life. In fact, probably thefirst thing a chick sees upon steppingdamply out of his shell, is sagebrush. Thenest he's in is under a low tangle of it.his mother (a hen of discernment) hav-ing selected the spot ideal for egg-hiding.

Sage grouse chicks arrive in a ready-to-go fashion. They've spent 25 days in theeg g putting the f inishing touches onnervous systems, bones and musculatureeyes and the like, instead of taking halfthe time, but being only half-done athatching as are song birds. Bright eyedanil warmly dressed in soft down, pat-terned in blotches of greyish black, sagegrouse chicks dry quickly in the desertair.

Biologist Ciirard reported seeing abrood leave the nest only 17 minutes.liter the last chick hatched. Trekkingalong sturdily after their mother, theyheade d for a small hollow w ith freewater in it some 162 yards distantalong walk for a hatchling. Here was tobe found a good ly supply of insects, thisheavy protein matter making up aboutI'S''< of chick diet the lirst month. Ten-der sagebrush leaves account for most ofthe rest, the percentage reversing quicklyin favor of the plant as the weeks go on.I t took the brood two hours to travel thedistance, the hen having her troubleskeeping the chicks from wandering off tosee the big world r ight away.

Straying chicks continue to be a prob-lem. It is essential they stay close to thehen, for it is from her that they learnwhat's good to eat and how to get it.Also, until their own internal warmingmachinery get to working properly, theymust be brooded periodically during theday, and they sleep under her wings atnight .

The hen is also their first line of de-fense. From the moment of hatching, thechicks know instinctively how to run andhide at her command while she creates adiversion. Hers is the old phony broken-

When just one-dayold, sage grouse

chicks start toddling.much to the concern

of the mothergrouse who has a

difficult time keepingthem under the

protection ofsagebrush.

tC *(?*% - u ^

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13


14/44

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wing-routine, flopping along the grounduntil almost caught, and then zoomingoff in flight. But when all is safe, thescattered chicks have to be rounded upagain. Clucking and calling, the hen goesto a sagebrush dump or small moundwhere she can best be seen, and thechicks, whistling plaintively, come strag-g l i n g in .

The whole job of incubating and fam-ily raising is carried on by the hens alone,the cocks staying far, far away from thehard work. Theirs is a more stellar rolein the sage grouse domestic drama, playedearly in the spring. Zoologist Scott wasthe first to describe the performance, andPatterson's work supplied more detailsand interpretation.

About the middle of March in the highdesert, in snow or not, the curtain goesup on THE GREAT SAGE GROUSESPECTACULARa super colossal woo-ing season of some two months durationinvolving a cast of hundreds. It is also anelaborately staged affair, held in openplaces reserved for courtship and usedyear after year . . . arenas that may varyin size from a few hundred square feet toperhaps several acres. Even in drier sec-tions where the population is low, thereis an arena about every five miles. Theshow is marked by a highly evolved cere-mony, and it is put on by a complexhierarchy of master cocks, sub-cocks andguard cocks, each with his special role toplay.

Rammed full of protein and layeredwith fat from a winter's eating of super-nutritious sagebrush leaves, perhaps asmanv as 6() cocks assemble in one of

these bare arenas to battle each other forthe major roles. Yearlings are driven offat once. Then the others, with muchclucking, hissing and threatening, finallysettle down to fighting it out. The strong-est and toughest becomes star of theshow, the cock who will do three-quartersof the mating in this arena. The sub-cock,next in line, handles the rest. Next comeseveral guards who keep intruders out ofth e arena, and act as marshals for thehens. By early April, when the hens be-gin coming, the roles have all been deter-mined, and everybody knows his lines.

Winning the batt les and hence thestellar role is just the beginning, for themajor cock must then captivate the hens,since in sage grouse circles, wooing isdone only at the invitation of the ladies.W h a t has proven to be most successfuldown through the ages, is a struttingCakewalk accompanied by sound effects,staged in the witching hour of pre-dawntwilight, when the desert is silent, waitingfor day.

Clad in full nuptial plumage, thema gnificent big cock is a symp hony inblack and dazzling white. He hoists hislong black tail feathers up into a stifffan, raising the trailing filiplumes on thesides of his neck into a lyre-shaped crown.But still more splendor is to come.

Gulping in air, and inflating enormousair sacs that lie either side of his wind-pipe, he produces his costume's piece deresistance: two great orange colored bal-loons of bare skin that appear suddenlyamong the stiff white feathers of hischest. A tasteful splash of color to theformality of his ensemble, these sacs are

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15/44

also responsible for his show's orchestra-tion, for his pompous Cakewalk is doneto music.

Now the cock begins his strutting,hunching up his wings and swishingtheir edges along the feathers of his capeas he takes a few steps forward. Hisorange sacs, fully inflated and bouncingon his chest vibrate like skins of a drumand out rolls a booming plopping soundof such resonance it carries for at least 3miles.

Naturally no hen within earshot canresist this compelling overture music. De-murely dressed in brownish grey andwhite speckles with touches of black, theyslip through the sagebrush into the arena.Gathered in small admiring groups, sur-rounded by the guards, they watch thecock strut his stuff, until dazzled by hismagnificence, overcome by such beautifulplopping and booming, they succumb tohis charms, one by one.

The nest building-brooding season isnow underway and the grouse, althoughbasically convivial birds, are all too busyfor socializing. The hens have familychores, the cocks have gone off by them-selves to recuperate and loll away the hotsummer, feeding early in the morning,early evening and beating the heat byinactive resting under a sagebrush dur-ing the day.

Except for occasional meetings atspecial feeding places, the hens andchicks see neither hide nor feather of thecocks until it is time later in the fall forthe whole f lock to gather and f ly downto the lower elevations to escape the ex-tremely deep snow of the high deserts

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that completely covers their food supply.Even in the lower deserts the winter is

tough, but the grouse are well dressed forit with thick layers of down and water-shedding top feathers. They even havespecial snowshoes, comb-like fringes thatgrow out in the fall along each side ofall three toes, spreading the birds ' weightso that they can walk over the snow. Likeall members of the grouse tribe, theirnasal open ings are comp letely feathered,but in addition, they have a shut-off valveinside that closes up the nostrils and keepsout blowing snow. Hence they can feedunconcernedly even on windswept r idgesduring heavy winter storms.

Dependent one hundred percent onsagebrush with occasional insect larvaeand eggs from plant galls, the grouse hastrouble if the snow is too deep. Fortun-ately pronghorn antelope (see Desert,Sept. '7 0) also eat this shrub .at this sea-son, and in paw ing away the snow , ex-pose leaves for grouse to get at, too.

By January, the cocks start practicingtheir strutting in private. It will soon becurtain time again, and that show ofshows must go on ! D

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16/44

Landof

Swimming and fishing for trout in the river are favorite pastimesat the San Luis Rey River Campground of U.S. Forest Service.

There are many places of interestand excellent public and privatecampgrounds for vacationing

families in the Palomar Mountainarea of Southern California.

T H F . FOREST Service refers to theirnational forests as "The Land ofMan y Uses," but I like to call Califor-nia's Palomar Mountain area the "Landof Many Pleasures."

On a lazy summer Jay you ran enjoya mu ltitude of pleasures from sharin g16

a picnic lunch with a squirrel to studyingthe stars at the home of the world'slargest optical telescope, or enjoying astroll through a natural garden f illedwith fragrant azaleas. If you are a fisher-man there is a trout pond, a large lakewith a variety of fish, and a scenic streamwell stocked with trout.

The Palomar area offers trails to fol-low, cool mountain springs to sip from,wildflowers to smell and billowy whiteclouds to enjoy while resting at the edgeof a soft moun tain m eado w. This loftyhighland is part of the Palomar Distr ictof the Cleveland Nationial Forest in

northern San Diego County. State 76east from U.S. 395 to County S-6 willtake you to this scenic sierra.

You can spend a day, a weekend, orlonger on the mountain since there arefacilities for picnicking, camping, andcabins available.

On the west side of the mountain isPalomar Mountain State Park, one of thefinest and most scenic campgrounds inSouthern California. Within the park,Doane Pond is kept stocked with scrappylittle trout that eagerly respond to thefisherman's offerings.

State park rangers offer interesting


17/44

Pleasuresby Ernie Cowan

A fisherman displays a string of fish he caught during a day'sangling at Lake Henshaw. Lake and campgrounds open all year

campfire programs and nature walksalong some of the many srenic trails dur-ing summer months . The Doane Valleynature trail is a self-guiding path withpoints of interest and natural landmarksmarked to correspond to a pr inted guideavailable at the trailhead. This scenictrail crisscrosses lazy Doane Creek, thenopens into a big meadow and loops backto the Doane Valley Campground.

Just west of the state park on a highoverlook is the State Division of For-estry's Boucher Lookout. From this viewpoint the visitor cm see forever on aclear day.

The high point of Palomar Mountainis the home of the world famous 200-inch Hale telescope. Here visitors canenjoy an educational tour through themassive silver dome. The view of earthfrom atop Mt. Palomar is also impressive,with pine covered hills and green mea-dows laying below.

In addition to the state park, the For-estry Service has two campgrounds in thePalomar area. The Observatory Camp-ground is located in an oak-studded mea-dow below Palomar Observatory, and theSan Luis Rey Campground offers riverbank camping on the San Luis Rey River

at the base of the mountain on State 7near Lake Henshaw. Since there are onlya few units at the river camp, it usuallyis full, especially on summer weekends.

A new commercial campground andpicnic area, called Oak Knoll, was openedat the intersection of State S6 and Stat76 just as this issue of Desert Magazinwas going to press.

If you are planning a tr ip to Palomaryou might take the scenic loop whichoffers the best look at the area. After taking S-6 to the mountain top and enjoyinthe many attractions there, take Count

Continued mi page 31


18/44

The Phinney Canyon roadbecomes a little more dif-ficult near the crest, butthose reaching the tophave a spectacular view ofDeath Valley and the High

Sierras.

Text and color photo by Sa m P e t t y18

N THE HEAT of thesummer, one of mygreatest pleasures issearching for seldom-traveled roads whichleave the desert floorand reach into the cooler mountain ele-vations. Most of these attempts raisefalse hopes. Many well-meaning rutssnake up an alluvial fan and dip into acanyon mouth, only to come to a dis-appointing halt.

Happily, diligence is eventually re-warded with the discovery of a road thatnever quite gives up the ghost, but keepsclimbing between canyon walls, from onenear washout to the next.The road up Phinney Canyon is oneof these, climbing from the flat expanseof Sarcobatus Flat to the 7600-foot crestof the Grapevine Mountains in the north-east corner of Death Valley NationalMonument. Since this road is approachedfrom the Nevada side of Death Valleyfew visitors come here, and the canyonstill appears just as the miners must haveleft it.Phinney Canyon is reached by takingU.S. 95 north from Beatty, Nevada.

After 11.5 miles, take the well-traveleddirt road to Sarcobatus Flat which angles


19/44

'

~-***- V

F,: - * '


20/44

ioff to the left. Sarcobatus Flat is a vastdesert plain r inged by mountains onthree sides. The uninterrupted miles ofuniformly spaced sagebrush found heremake a beautiful sight for the deserttraveler who appreciates open expanseStill undisturbed by civilization.

As the road passes eastward acrossSarcobatus Flat, the mouth of PhinneyCanyon can be seen slightly to the right.From now on, you will be in Death Val-ley National Monument, so be sure tobring your own fuel for cooking andwarmth.

Seventeen miles from the highway,the road dips into the canyon wash andstarts climbing into a green forest ofpinon pine and juniper. Unless con-ditions have changed, owners of two-wheel-drive vehicles will have to doshovel work at occasional washouts ifthey are to proceed further up the can-yon (an absolute must! ) .

Three miles after entering the canyon,a road branches to the right and stopsafter only thirty yards. The PhinneyM ine is a half-m ile hike furthe r up thisnarrow side canyon. The small cabinhere w.is in fairly good condition; therats and the ram having accomplishedthe majority of damage thus far. The oldnewspapers inside dating from the1920s and 5


21/44

IN THE verdant valley of Pala just of fthe highway between Riverside andSan Diego, California, is an Indian mis-sion and school that refused to die. T hestory of Mission San Antonio de Pala ison e of compassionate Franciscan priests,friendly Indians and the changing attitudeof white men.

Despite floods, earthquakes, wars andgreedy gringos, this comparatively smallmission has survived for 156 years andtoday is the center of the social andspiritual activities of all of the residentsof the community.

Its doors are also open to visitors andtravelers who find relaxation under thecools trees in the picnic area in front ofthe mission and solace in visiting thechapel. Only six miles from the- speedingtraffic on U. S. 39s), the secluded valleyof Pala has remained virtually unchanged.

Th e possibility of estab lishing a mis-sion in the area was first recorded byFather Juan Ma riner in his diary in I 79 ^:

"In the afternoon before sunset wepassed a rancheria which is called Pale:'(Pa le is Indian for wate r.) "It has agreat deal of running water which caneasily be taken out. It also has very muchgood soil . . . there is a level plot onwhich to place the mission. There is anunlimited amount of good timber, plentyof stones, firewood and good pastureland. It also has five rancherias that speakthe language of San Juan Capistrano."

Despite Father Mariner 's glowing re-port, it was decided to establish the Mis-sion San Luis Rey de Francia near Ocean-side in 1798 as the first of the inlandmissions of California, and Pala wasdesignated as an asistencia, or a subsidi-ary to the "Mother Mission" of San LuisRey.

A granary was built at Pala in 1810and other buildings soon followed withthe chapel opened on June 13, 1816 byPadre Antonio Peyri , who, al though in

byJackPepper

Original bellin the Mission

campanile has beensummoning the

faithful for156 years.

charge of the San Luis Rey Mission, personally directed work at Pala.

A sister asistencia of Pala was built atLas Flores but fell into ruin and neglectwithin 35 years. Unlike Las Mores, Palarefused to die and has served Indians andwhite man continuously for 156 years.But they were not all peaceful years.

The Franciscan fathers soon discoveredthe Pala Indians which are of the Sho-shonean group -we re of a "superior"level of the aboriginal culture and wereintelligent, peaceful and made beautifulbaskets, pottery and stone implementsand were quick to learn the arts of thewhite man. Also, their religion includedthe idea of a Supreme Being, Chinig-chinch, so the transition from their re-ligion to Christianity was not difficult.

Working together, the missionariesand Indians made thousands of adobebricks, hauled lumber down from Palo-mar Mountain and started building. By1 820 they had built a quadrangle missionsite covering more than 25,000 squarefeet with living quarters for the fathers,dormitories, classrooms, shops and gran-aries, plus an aqueduct for water. Al-though still called an asistencia, by this

t ime, Pala was actually a full-fledgedmission.

For a dozen years the Pala Indiansworked on their mission, built adobhomes to replace their former reed hutand decorated the chapel, while makingpottery and baskets. They were unawareof the conflict between the CatholicChurch and the Mexican governmenwhich ended with the secularization ofthe missions in 1834.

The end came on August 22, 1835when the Franciscans surrendered theMission of San Luis Rey and all itsproperties to Pio Pico, the Mexicanofficial. By 1846, the Franciscans wereforced to abandon all of their California missions, with the exception ofSanta Barbara, opening the way for ex-ploitation by Mexican rancheros andthe newlv arrived white settlers.

Many of the Pala mission buildingstell into disrepair, but the Indians kepthe chapel open for worship, despite thefact there was not a priest in residenceThe Reverend fose Mut, of the MissionSan fuan Cap istrano is said to havewalked barefooted to Pala where he bap-

CuHtiuued >n page 321


22/44

OAK GROVEEO IN 1 8 5 8 . 8

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STATE REGISTERMARKER PLACE

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3 0 0 822

by Robert C. LikesThe Southern Emigrant Traillater called theButterfield Overland Stage Routestretchedfrom St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco.Probably the deadliest section of the trai l wasthrough thedesert areas of Southern California.


23/44

GRE AT T ROUGH in the Anza-Borrego desert area of San Die-

go County winds through the desolateCarrizo and Vallecito Valleys and thenrises into the cool, green coastal'hills ofSouthern California. This natural pas-sageway is the legendary Carrizo Cor-ridor.

Along its course of rutted and sandywashes flowed a steady stream of Cali-fornia history, for this was the last leg

BUTTERFIELD OVERLANDMAIL ROUTE

THIS PASS PUE RTA, BETW EEN THE DESERT A ND THECOOLER VAL I EY5 TO THE N ORTH, WAS USED BY.T H E M O R M O N B A T T A L I O N , K E A R N Y ' S A R M Y O FTHE WEST, THE BUTTERFIELD O VER LAND MA IL STAGESAND EMIGRANTS WHO EVENTUALLY SETTLED THE WEST.THE ERODED SCAR ON THE LEFT WAS THE ROUTE OF f HE.,BUTTERFIE1.0 STAGES 1858-1861 THE ROAD ON THE RIGHTSERVED AS A COUNTY ROAD UNTIL RECENT YEAR SCALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICALLANDMARK NO. 647

PLAQUE PLACED BY THE CALIFORNIA STATE PAR* COMMISSIONIN COOPERATION WITH THE: SIERRA CLUQ CF CALIF ORN IA. SAN

in the journey along the Southern Emi-grant Trail and the colorful ButterfieldOverland Stage Route.

Kit Carson passed this way in 1846,guiding General Stephen Watts Kearnyand his dragoons through the corridorwhen i t was nothing more than a wilder-ness between waterholes. One year later,Colonel St . George Cooke and his Mor-mon Battalion followed Kearny's routeand established the first wagon roadinto Southern California. This wagonroad became known as Cookes Road, or

Sonora Road, until the discovery of goldbrought a flood of Americans westwardin 1849. From this date on, it was calledthe Southern Emigrant Trail .

In 1850, great herds of sheep andcattle were driven across the old trail tofeed the exploding population on thewest coast. Because thousands of ani-mals perished and left a trail of bleach-ing bones from Yuma to the CarrizoCorridor, the Southern Emigrant Trailwas called the Jornada del Muerto Journey of Death.

By 1856, the United States Govern-ment realized i t had a growing com muni-cation problem with this far-flung em-pire on the Pacific coast. A mail contractl inking San Antonio with San Diego wasawa rded in 18 57. T he first mail crossingthe Colorado Desert and through theCarrizo Corridor on mule back wasknown as the "Jackass Mail ."

A second and larger contract wasawarded to John Butterfield in 1858.23


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The first mail pouches were loaded aboardthe departing Butterf ield Stage in St.Louis, Missouri, and in exactly 23 days,23 hours and 30 minutes, the mailpouches were safely delivered in SanFrancisco, California, more than 2800miles away.

Exploring the Butterf ield OverlandTrail from the vanished Carrizo SpringsStation to the old Warner Adobe revealsthe least spoiled section of its entireroute in California. Although this sec-tion was the gateway to the promisedland, it is doubtful that the travelerlooked forward to making the passage.With its annual rainfall of somethingless than five inches, this lonely landsupports only an arid growth of ocotillo,

Carrizo Springs. This section of the oldtrail crosses a Navy bombing range andspecial permission is required beforeentry. The stage station at CarrizoSprings has completely vanished.

After leaving Carrizo Springs, the oldstage road followed the Carrizo Washeast until it reached the junction of theValleci to Wash. Turning up the Valle-cito Wash, the trail plowed through thesand to a point nine miles from the Car-rizo station where it left the wash toreach Palm Spring, a short distanceaway. The f irst native palms, Washing-tonid filifera, seen in California by anon-Indian were the ones at PalmSpring. Pedro Fages first described thepalms in 1772. Sixty-five years later,

1m

cholla and indigo brush, though there-are stands of smoke trees and mesquitein the washes. In 1847, Colonel Cookedescribed the eroded hills and rockys lopes as " . . . the wors t L5 m i le s o froad since we left the Rio Grande."When the Overland Stage established aroute through the corridor, it was theepic battle of man against the elements,with a succession of Indian raids, hold-ups and accidents thrown in just to makeit interesting.

The Car r izo Gap, through which theCarrizo Wash passes, is the eastern en-trance to the Carrizo Corridor. Follow-ing this route, the Butterfield Ov erlan dStage located the first way-station at24

Colonel Cooke reported a clump of 20to 30 palms at the spring, but by 1853,after a steady stream of gold seekers,the number of palms had dropped tothree or four.

When the Butterf ield line built ananimal changing station at the springm 1858, the majestic grove of palmshad been reduced to a few burnt stumps.Today the site of the Palm Spring sta-tion is marked by a mon ume nt standingin a clump of green mesquite, and threesmall palms. The spring still -provideswater at this small oasis, and the seren-ity is in marked contrast to the flurry ofactivity that took place when this was avital oasis along the Butterfield Trail.

Traces of theOld Southern

Emigrant Trail(above and below)

can be seen alongpres en t-da y Califo rn id

State Route S2 inSan Diego County.

One of the bestviews is at Box

Canyon rest stopwhere the trad can

be seen from alookout platform.


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Historians do notagree as to whetherthe Butterjield Stageslop at Warner'sRanch was the largeadobe building(lower right) on theranch or the smallerbudding (oppositepage) about amile away. Anotherwooden buildingis near thesmaller adobe.

* ;

After leaving Palm Spring, the oldroad continued following the shiftingsands of the Vallecito Wash until itreached one of the most famous waystations along the route. Vallecito wasthe first oasis with an abundance ofwater and green grass, providing wel-come relief for the weary passengersafter days of exposure to the heat andglare of the desert.W. L. Ormsby, a passenger in 1858,commented, " . . . a perfect oasis," thenwent tin to say, " . . . a most ref reshingrelief from the sandy sameness of thedesert." The Vallecito station was orig-inally constructed of sod-bricks with aroof of hand-hewn beams, pegged andtied in place with rawhide, then covered

Using the coach for cover, Ol' Biland his armed passengers continued tohold off the bandits, forcing them to retreat. After another volley of gunfirethe bandits rode off into the nightSoldiers who had been stationed at Vallecito and who had heard the shootingcame riding up just as Bill was cuttingthe dead animal out of the harness. Aftea brief exchange of words, the soldierrode of f in pursuit of the outlaws andBill headed the stage toward Vallecitofeeling sure the bandits would be caught

The next morning, Ol ' Bil l was astonished to see there were no prisonersWhen questioned about this, the corporal in charge of the detail of soldiersmiled, and then replied, "Well, let'

with willow poles and tules before afinal topping of sod. The famous stationwas reconstructed in 1934, and today itis a San Diego County Park.Many colorful stories centered aroundthe Vallecito stage station. One suchaccount was the night "OF Bill," one ofthe drivers, was held up a few milessouth of the station. Five men on horse-back engaged in a running gun battlewith the passengers on the stage as Ol'Bill had his team going "hell-bent-for-leather." Just when it looked as thoughthe stage might reach the safety of theValecito station, one of the animals onthe team was shot and the stage came toi terrifying halt.

look at it this way, Bill. Vallecito has naccommodations for prisoners.outsidof the graveyard, that is."

From Vallecito, the road went wesgradually gaining elevation untilreached the upper end of Vallecito Valey, where it turned and entered a narrow canyon. This was the only passageway between Vallecito and San FelipValleys, and it was here that ColoneCooke and his men were almost defeatein their attempt to blaze a wagon roainto Southern California.

"I came to the canyon and found much worse than I had been led to expect ," Cooke later repor ted , " . . . therare many rocks to surmount, but th

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worst is the narrow pass." All of theirroad building tools had been lost whenthe party forged the Gila River in Ari-zona, so axes were used to increase theopening. Even then, the chasm was toonarrow by a foot of solid rock, andCooke ordered the wagons to be takenapart and carried through. I t requiredtwo days for the men to work their wayout of the canyon. The pass was widenedfor the Butterf ield run, and was knownas Cookes Pass or Devils Canyon.

For some unexplainable reason, thepass now bears the name of Box Canyon,and for obvious reasons, it is by-passedby the paved highway. There is a histori-

the r idge became known as Foot andWalker Grade. Upon reaching the sum-mit, the course ahead became routine andallowed the coach and exhausted passen-gers to move swiftly through the lowerreaches of the San Felipe Valley. Thenext stop was the San Felipe Station. Th esite is located on private property justnorth and a little west of Scissors Cross-ing.The next \6 miles of the pioneer trailcontinued north through the increasinglyfertile San Felipe Valley and crossed an-other pass before it dropped down be-tween the rolling hills surrounding thestation at Warner 's .

The historic Vullecho stage stop offered palm trees and w ater for the wearypassengers. It is now restored as a San Diego Coun ty landmark and cam ping area.cal marker here, and a parking area fromwhich you can look down into this fam-ous pass. However, a far more rewardingexperience is to climb down into the nar-row defile and view it from the same per-spective that confronted Cooke in 1847.

Box Canyon was the end of the Car-rizo Corridor and the old stage route be-came easier as the team of horses follow-ed the rutted ribbon into more opencountry. After crossing a dry lake bed,the trail led straight up a rocky ridgewith a grad e so steep passengers had toget out and either walk up or push thecoaches up the incline. Because of this,26

The historical marker at the old Wil-son Store proclaims it to be the Butter-field Overland stage station, yet, accord-ing to historian William Wright, thisstructure had not yet been built when theButterfield Stage discontinued operationsin 1861. W rig ht claims the Wilso n Storewas one of two buildings constructed in1863 at a spot known as Kimbleville. Heacknowledges the Wilson store was laterused as a stage stop, but not for the But-terfield line. Instead, Wright says the oldWarner adobe, built in 1849, is the realButterf ield stage station. The Warneradobe is located one and a half miles

north of Wilson's store, and equidistantbetween the San Felipe Station to thesouth, and the Oak Grove Station to thenorth. How ever, both the W ilson storeand the Warner adobe are historic land-marks, and worth the time to visit.

,At Warner 's the trail branched, oneheading southwest to San Diego by wayof Santa Ysabel; the other pressed on ina northwest direction across the smallvalley and through the hills until itreached the Oak Grove Station ten milesaway. The store at Oak Grove utilizedthe foundation and ancient walls of theoriginal Butterfield Station. From herethe stage route generally followed whatis now State 79 until it reached Temecula,with a stop between at Aguanga.

With the termination of the Butter-f ield O verland route in 1861, the de-cline of the Southern Emigrant Trail be-gan. More northerly routes were beingdiscovered and used, paticularly the Ca-jon and San Gorgonio passes. New routeswere being used from San Diego toYuma via Campo and Jacumba, and eventhe discovery of gold in the mountainswest of the old trail in 1870 did little torevive its use.

In the early 1900s, the pioneer trailthrough the Carrizo Corridor lay almostforgotten. It was simply a road that "be-gan nowhere, and ended nowhere"asad epitaph compared to the addressColonel Cooke gave his men upon com-pletion of their assigned task.

"History may search in vain for anequal march of infantry," he said. "Wehave dug deep wells which the futuretraveler will enjoy . . . we hav e work edour way over mountains . . . hewed apassage through a chasm of living rockmore narrow than our wagons . . . andthus marching half naked and half fed,and living upon wild animals, we havediscovered and made a road of greatvalue to our country."

Much of this famous route lies withinthe boundaries of the Anza-BorregoDesert State Park, and so the areas ofhistoric interest are preserved for presentand future generations to see andappreciate.

Creek bed through Box Canyon waspart of the Butterfield Stage Route.Photo by David Muench, Santa Bar-bara, California.


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TRACKING THEF I N D I N G R E M N A N T S o f p r i o r l i f e isalways fascinating-whe ther it is acandle mold of the last century, or afossil of another geologic era. To find anantique of the 1800s, on e need only visitan antique shop. To find a fossil millionsof years old is another story. Usuallymuch leg work is needed to find theexact formation and then hours may bespent digging to find even a fragment ofprehistoric life.

At the Wheeler Amphitheatre inwestern Millard County, Utah, it is dif-ferent. Fossil trilobites are everywherein the rain-washed gullies, among thepiles of cardboard-thin Wheeler Shale,and hidden in the gray limestone wallsof the Marjum formation that surroundthe bowl-shaped area.

This desolate spot, just east of Ante-lope Springs in the House Range, is wellknown to paleontologists and rockhounds around the world for the abund-ance and variety of trilobite fossils. Be-cause of the arid desert climate the softshale erodes slowly, leaving completetrilobites weathered free from the matrix.In most climates the nonresistant shalewould be completely eroded in short time.

Trilobites are an extinct form of sealife that inhabited the oceans 500 millionyears ago. At that time, much of NorthAmerica was covered by warm shallowseas. Appro xima tely 20 different trilobitespecies are known from western Utah'sWheeler Shale. Trilobites found there28

Shale layers arc pried apart (above)with a chisel in search of trilobites. Ahandful of the fossils, millions ofyears old, (right) were found withinonly a few minutes in the Utah hunt-in g grounds.

range in size from microscopic juvenilesto an occasional four-inch adult.

Collecting trilobites from Utah's An-telope Springs area is great sport for allthe family. Those who want to take iteasy can drive to the area, sit on a moundof shale, and find enough trilobites tokeep them busy all afternoon withoutmoving more than a few feet in anydirection. Members who enjoy climbingcan chip trilobites from the limestoneledges and cliffs that surround the area.Hikers may be spurred on by knowingthat eight-inch trilobites in the Smith-

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TRILOBITES

Comm on trilobites found a t the Utah Wheeler Am phitheater are: A. Elrathiakingil; B. Peronopsis interstricta; (. . Asaphiscus wheeled. Although most are thesize of a coin, some measuring eight inches hare been found.

sonian Institution were collected from therocky slopes to the east at the turn ofthe century.

If you decide to try your luck collect-ing the supreme creation of the Cam-brian Period, take plenty of water andfood. It is about 40 miles to the nearesttown Baker, Nev ada, to the west andDelta, Utah, to the east.

The route to Antelope Springs isdearly marked on Utah highway maps.The gravel roads that lead from U.S.6-50 to the fossil area are in good condi-tion except when it rains. Then beware.Gravity carries the rain streams acrosslow spots in the road, cutting foot-deepgullies in a matter of minutes.

The locale of the original Antelope-Springs is easy to spot. Two huge deadLombardy Poplar trees rise from thesite. A pipe now carries the water to areservoir on the east side of the range.The most popular collecting area is

byJo leenRobisonabout 200 yards east of the originalspring. Black circles pock the ground onthe west r im of the bowl-shape am-phitheatre where past visitors have builtcampfires. It seems that someone is al-ways at the area collecting fossils.

Probably the first men to collect trilo-bites here were Indians. The Pachavee(Ute for little water bug) was worn formagical protection. A hole was bored inthe head of the trilobite and it wasstrung and worn around the neck as anamulet. In the early 1900s Indians stilltraveled long distances to obtain a Pa -chavee,

It may take a few minutes to find thefirst fossilbut soon they can be spottedeverywhere. The most common tr ilobitespecies found in the Wheeler Shale isElrathia kingii. It ranges up to two inchesin length and has a prominent head withtwo crescent-shaped eyes, a thorax of 13segments, and a small tail. Another com-mon tr ilobite is the tiny dumbell-shapedPeronopsis interstricta, which has a headand tail of equal size and only two seg-ments in its thorax. Brachiopods, mol-lusca, sponges, and less common tr ilo-bites also occur in the shale.

Trilobite (pronounced try-low-bite)means three lobed. The name refers tothe longitudinal body units rather thanto the head, thorax and tail. Trilobitesbelong to the diversified Arth ropo daphylum that includes modern-day lob-sters, spiders, insects, and centipedes.

Only the calcified parts of the trilobitesare found in the Wheeler Shale, but in29


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Th e old church wa s dedicated to San Isidro by fa/her Letrado in 1629. Ruins ofburial ground an d courtyard arc near church, Letrado wa s murdered in IG]2.

ON T O P of Chupadera Mes a, in the plants from undecorated brown pottery.

His village contained two or three fam-ilies. These Ninth Century dwellings arc-evidence of the earliest known inhabit-ants of the area which is now Gran Qui-vira National Monument.

Before Columbus left Spain for the

heart of New Mexico, a twenty-minute hike takes one back eleven cen-turiesto the time of Char lemagne.

Gran Quivira National Monument en-compasses 61 1 history-rich acres. Its lo-cation, 26 miles south of Mountainair ,places it somewhat "off-the-beaten-path" New World, there'd been some changesbut since its establi shm ent in 1909 , the mad e on the mesa. A Fourteenth Cen-mon umen t has continued to attract a tury M ogollon would have been in-steady stream of visitors. The y come to fluenced by the Pueb lo peoples to theexamine the archeological and historical west and north. H is home migh t be aexhibits in the visitor center 's museum community house of gray-blue limestoneand to picnic amo ng the piny ons, enjoy- from th e ridge. He raised corn, squash ,ing the invig orating air at 6620 feet, and beans. He gathered saltbush seeds,But, mainly, they come to stroll the well- cholla pods, prickly pear cactus, andmarke d M ission Trail am ong restored yucca flowers, stalks, seeds and roots.reminders of three distinct long-ago cul- He hunted deer, prongho rn, quail, rab-tures. To stroll, and to study, and to bits, and rats. With the Plains Apache,wo nd er wh at wou ld it have been like he traded corn for bison hides and meat.to have lived here the n? Artistic and inventiv e, as well as prac-

A resident of (ira n Qu ivira 's semi-arid tical, the Mo gollo n of th at era cookedregion aroun d 800 A .D. wou ld have be- his food in sturdy pots, decorated withlonged to the Mog ollon (M ug-ee -yow n) coils of clay. H e ate from p ottery thatIndian gr ou p whose culture dates back was gray-w ith-black, or maybe black-on-to 400 A .D . He would h ave lived in a white. He wore sandals and carried bas-pit-house and eaten wild game and wild kets; both were made from yucca plants.

i2

P e o p l e o fbyLoisTerry

Bones and stones he used for knives,needles, axes, and arrowheads.Because water was scarce, the mesadweller dug deep wells in the sandyvalley and built basins by dam m ing thearroyos. When all else failed, he turnedto his religion.

Plants and animals, as well as men,had souls. A Mogollon believed that theforces of nature could be controlled byproper performance of ancient rites,passed from the spir its down throughgenerat ions . For "something new" onthe religious scene, there were under-groun d kivas, ceremonial chambers, whichmade their appearance after 1100 A.D.In religion, as well as in secular life,the Mogollon sought harmony withnature.

The site of his seeking can be visitedtoday in ( iran Quivira National Monu-ment. I t is the Pueblo de las Humananas ,which was named by Spanish explorerswho were next to arrive on the mesa.

Tales of vast wealth to the north hadinspired the Spanish to push up the RioGrande roadway from Mexico City to


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u i v i r amany parts of the Southwest. Coronado'squest for riches in "The Land of Qui-vira" had come to a disappointing climaxin L541 with the discovery of Quivira inwhat is now central Kansas. Instead oftreasure houses of gold, Coronado foundonly Indian teepees. But his expeditionhad come within 40 miles of the placewhich is now officially called GranQuivira.

In 1598, Juan de Onate, a wealthySpanish nobleman of Mexico, whosecharge was a chal lenging one: "ColonizeNew Mexico and convert the heathenIndians to the Catholic Faith," madethe first known visit to the Pueblo de lasHumanas .

The Spanish crown's approach to col-onization called for replacement of In -dian ways with Spanish wayseconomic,political, and religious. Franciscan padre svisited pueblos, introducing Catholicismand establishing missions which wereactually entire communities, includingindustrial and agricultural schools, farm-ing and grazing lands, weaving rooms,and religious instruction centers.

Archeologists recently reset th e original pine beam over the entrance to Sa nBuenaventura Mission. Visitor's (.enter contains exhibits and is open year-round

Onate's expedit ion, which he financedhimself under a contract with the viceroyof Mexico, included 83 wagons, 400men, women and children, 7000 headof livestock, 8 Franciscan padres and 4lay brothers. They began their northwardmarch in fanuary, 1598, and Onate hur-ried on ahead to explore the country. Itwas in October that he visited the Pue-blo de las Humanas. Exactly how long hestayed there is not known.

Records of Spanish missionary activityat Gran Quivira are also sketchy. It isfirst mentioned in 1626, as a visitationpoint of the mission of Abo, 20 milesnorthwest. In 1627, Fray Alonso deBenavides entered the Humanas puebloon the Day of San Isidro. Three yearslater, Father Letrado built an impressivechurch which he dedicated to San Isidro.Transferred to Zuni in February of I 632,Father Letrado was murdered one weeklater. The Zunis did not take kindly toconversion.

It was Father Diego Santander whoenlarged the facilities in 16^9 and re-dedicated the mission to San Buenaven-

tura. From 1666 to 1669, the missionwas served by F'ather Paredes. There isno record of any priest between that timeand the mission's abandonment in theearly 1670s.

If one had been a resident ol GranQuivira during the padres' period, hewould have learned some new wayswheat bread cooked in beehive ovenswool for weaving from cattle, sheepand goats; Catholic saints to add to hissupernatural spirits; an elective governosystem which never did succeed. An dit the saints and spirits were with himhe might have survived the drough(1666-70) and accompanying faminami pestilence; he might, also, have survived the increasing Apache raids tomove with the remaining Indians of thPueblo de las Humanas into the Socorraregion of the Rio Grande Valley, to liveamong friends who spoke his language.

He would not return to his ancestrahome on the Chupadera ridge, but hil ife would be long rememberedby thethings he left beh ind.

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R a m b l i n g

THE WESTERN po rtion of the Un ite d

States contains numerous areaswhere petr if ied wood may be found.The se are loosely termed petrifie d for-ests. Many of these are made up of trees,logs, etc., that are opalized, To the min-eralogist this is known as wood opal.Of the areas where wood opal is common,the state of Nevada has a large share.Many small desert valleys, remnants ofprehistoric lakes, are popular collectingareas. The Gabbs Valley, a dry lake nearthe town of Wellington; a large area atthe foot of the Charleston Mountains,and Virgin Valley are among the bestknown of these locations.

By far the most interesting is VirginValley, and it has been a M US T for manyavid mineral collectors. Surprisinglythough, only a few collectors have madethe trip to Virgin Valley as it is in a veryremote section of northern Nevada. Threeroads lead to the valley, and, until re-cently, only one was paved. The best

approach is through W innem ucca, and onetravels to the northwest. From Californiago through Cedarville, Calif., but it islong and arduous, and only recentlypaved. The third route is south throughOregon, over a little traveled area on veryprimitive roads. Virgin Valley is situatedon the fringe of one of the federal go-vernmen t's antelope ret ages. How ever,this offers no problem to the visitorsearching for wood opal.

The valley is an eroded flood plane,with the usual formation a soft siltstone.The sediments that formed the siltstonewere a fine volcanic ash washed in dur-ing one of the recent eras of geologichistory. Along with the sediments camemany trees and shrubs, and there is thepossibility that many smaller plants grewthere also. As the sediments piled one ontop of the other, native plants, as well asthose that were washed in, were buriedin what was evidently a shallow lake.Evidence of the lake are fish fossils foundwithin the confines of the valley. Certainlayers hold more plant remains thanothers, depending upon what and howmuch was being brought in at the time.Finally, the stream or streams bringingthis wealth of floating material subsided,and then ceased to flow. At this point,the formation of the wood opal began,following generally the process describedin an earlier column.

The greatest part of the material hereis simply wood opal, some very soft andfibrous. Such material was not complete-ly preserved, allowing the wood structureto rot away in recent years. The moundsand stream beds of the valley are strewnwith it. Many of the banks and promon-tories have piles of white or near white-wood that looks as it someone split logs

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into kindling wood. The fracturing alongthe wood grain is nearly identical to thatwhen ordinary wood is split with an axe.Sometimes the ends of these pieces aresoft and much resemble the tip of a paintbrush. This hair- like structure is the purestrands of opal that filled the cellularspaces and are now evident because thesurrounding wood has rotted away. Someof the wood has such faithful detail thatpaleontologists have found the area veryinteresting. Imagine a grape stem (prob-ably one of the native plants) , completewith tendrils and leaf scars, now preserv-ed with opal. Many other species of per-fectly preserved plants are also repre-sented.

An interesting relationship betweenundecayed and decayed wood occurshere. Any undecayed wood is usuallyquite faithfully preserved as statedabove, resembling the original wood intexture and color. If instead, the wood isdecayed to any extent, the remainingcavities were filled with a highly trans-parent opal. Most of this is lumps ofprecious opal. Virgin Valley preciousopal has a color range from red throughgreen and blue to purple and even black.Authorities state this precious opal, as faras color is concerned, is not surpassed byany opal found elsewhere in the world.In our minds this is an understatement!It is no wonder this opal field is wellknown.

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Many "I these fiery pieces arc perfectcasts of apiece oi wood that had entirelyrotted away before theopal wasintro-duced. Some were lir limbs about thesize of ashort pencil, with all leaf basesperfectly cast, and thewhole thing blaz-ing red andgreen opal. A number ofsmall fircones have been found, completewith all parts. andagain inprecious opal.In most cases, the precious opal is inchunks, sometimes above fist size, solidcolorful opal with orwithout thesurface-configuration of thewood that was orig-inally buried. Partial limbs ofbrown opalof a woody color, covered with trans-parent dewdrop-like lumps of precioushyalite opal arecommon. Wehavehadthe privilege ofcollecting some of these.

The opal contains .1high percentageofwater, and thus practically all piecescrack and fall apart as soon as they areallowed to dry. The only satisfactorymethod of keeping these beauties is toplace them in a jar of water. Manymethods of curing theopal have beentried. Slow drying in air orother liquidsis themost common approach. Slow dry-in g in air isprobably more successful tha

197010 desertmagazine 1970 october

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