198408 desert magazine 1984 august

8/14/2019 198408 Desert Magazine 1984 August

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D E S E R T Q U I Z H er e' s a bit ofgeology and mineralog y, Indian life and le gend,history and archeol ogy, geo gra phy , plant and animal life. Ifyou donot know the correct answers off -hand , you might dooneof two things start reviewing your Desert Magazines ormake some lucky guess-e s . If you score 10right answers you are asgood asthe average person inter-ested inthe Southwest. Quiz editor will rate you a "Desert Rat." Ifyou answer12 ormore cor rectl y, you belong toS.D. S., that exclusive fraternity whichdraws somany of its members from among Desert Magazine readers. Answers on page2 4 .

1 M e t e o r s a re f ou n d in Volcanic areas only Anywhere onearth Just inthe desert.....In temperate zone only2 L a g u n a , o ne ofthe Rio Grande Indian pueblos inNew Mexico, is located on

Rio Grande River Rio Puerco River San Jose River Pecos River....,3 M o n u m e n t toHadji Ali (Hi J o l l y ) , camel driver for Lt. Edward F.B e a l e ,is

located inwhich Arizo na town Ehrenberg Quartzsit e SalomeTucson

4 W h e n Roadrunn ers are first hatched they are Soft and white with nofea-thers ordown Semi-covered with speckled feathers Covered with whitedown Black and almost naked

5H ual pai Indians live In a deep Arizona Canyon On level plain near baseof Shiprock, inNew Mexico On land adjoining Papago Indian reservationOn plateau northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona.....

6 C h r y s o c o l l a is Colorful variety ofquartz crystal Silicate of copperIron oxide Sulphate ofstrontium

7 M o n t e z u m a ' s C a s t l e is Remains of a "bonanza king's" home in a Nevada ghosttown Relic ofnorthernmost point of Aztec civilization inthe Southwest

A reminder ofCoronado's expedition in1540 "Apartment house" con-structed by unknown Indians inS o u t h w e s t . . . . .

8 P a p a g o I n d i a n s of southern Arizona are called "Bean Peopl e" because Beansare principal commercial crop ofthe tribe It istranslation oftheirIndian name Certain steps intheir tribal dances require a jerking motionwhich white people jokingly compare with the Mexican jumping bean Aspecies ofbean iscommon native plant ontheir reservation

9 J e t isfound in Coal deposits Volcanic strata Saline lake bedsLimestone country

10Lee's Ferry, famed way-station for r iver explorers is located on Shores ofLake Mead Colorado river Li t t le Colorado river San Juan r iver. . . . .

11Lowest elevation in United States is foot of Bright Angel Trail in the depthsof Grand Canyon. True False12Crystals found in geodes usually are of quartz. True False13Franciscan Father Garces was murdered by Indians at Yuma in 1781. TrueFalse.....1 4 T h e r o a d r u n n e r , or chaparral cock, is a member ofthe Cuckoo family.

True False1 5 E a r l i e s t A m e r i c a n s to come tothe Southwest were seeking gol d. True

False


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DW GRANTHAM, EditorM. BANDINI, Photo EditorP. RICHARDS, CirculationL. GARNETT, Advertising

Volume 48, No. 4August-September 1984ISSN 0194-3405

C O N T E N T SM O N U M E N T V A L L E Y

D E S E R T Q U I ZM I N E , M I N E R , M I N U S- T H E S T O RY OF H A R Q U A H A L A

T H E G O L D E N T R E A S U R E OF P A D R E LA RUEP A I S A N O , THE D E S E R T ' S C U C KO O B I R D

E XP L O R I N G G H O S T R A I L R O A D S - T H E M O J A V E M O N O R A I LE X P L O R I N G THE U N K N O W N C O L O RA D O ( 1 8 2 6 )

T H E P O N Y E X P R E S S IN N E V A D AF O R T OJO C A L I E N T E , NEW M E X I C O

C A L E N D A R OF W E S T E R N E V E N T SB O O K S FOR D E S E R T R E A D E R SJ U S T B E T W E E N YOU AND ME

R H Y O L I T E , N E V A D A

FRONT COVER24121620253035394043

REAR COVER

D e s e r t S t a f fD e s e r t S t a f fD W G r a n t h a mD r . D a v i d R e d dG e o r g e B r a d tC . A . K e a g l eD e s e r t S t a f fB a n d i n i and G r a n t h a mD e s e r t S t a f fD e s e r t S t a f fT h e D e se r t B o o k s t o r eT h e E d i t o rD e s e r t S t a f f

D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E ( U S P S 5 3 5 2 3 0 ) is p u b l i s h e d e v e r y o t h e r ( e v e n n u m b e r e d )m o n t h . S e c o n d C l a s s P o s t a g e p a i d at J o s h ua T r e e , C a l i fo r n i a 9 2 2 5 2 .O f f i c e s l o c a t e d at 6 3 7 3 E l w o o d , J o s h ua T r e e , C a l i f o r n i a . T e l e p h o n e( 6 1 9 ) 3 6 6 - 3 3 4 4 . P l e a s e a d dr e s s all m a i l to P o s t O f f i c e Box 1318,P al m D e s e r t , C a l i f o r n i a 9 2 2 6 1 . S u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e s : $1 5 . 0 0 USA, $ 1 8 . 0 0f o r e i g n , per y e a r . See s u b s c r i p t i o n f o r m in t h i s i s s u e . P O S T M A S T E R :S e n d c h a n g e of a d d r e s s by F o r m 3 5 7 9 to D E S E RT M A G A Z I N E , P.O. Box 1318,P a lm D e s e r t , C a l i f o rn i a 9 2 2 6 1 . C o p y r i g h t 1984 by D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E .A LL r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . No p a r t of t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n may be r e p r o d u c e di n any m a n n e r w i t h o u t s e c u r i n g w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n f r o m the p u b l i s h e r .C O N T R I B U T I O N S : The e d i t o r w e l c o m e s u n s o l i c i t e d m a n u s c r i p t s andp h o t o g r a p h s but t h e y can be r e t u r n e d O N L Y if a c c o m p a n i e d by a f u l l yp o s t a g e p a i d r e t u r n e n v e l o p e . W h i l e we t r e a t s u b m i s s i o n s w i t h l o vi n gc a r e , we do not a s s u m e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for l o s s or d a m a g e . W r i t er sG u i d e is f r e e w i t h l a r ge S . A . S . E . , w i t h s a m p l e c o p y of m a g a z i n e ,$ 2 . 0 0 . P l e a s e h a v e a n i c e day.


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by D. W . Grantham

Where in Arizona can one find amine that provided its ownersars each, sold for $1,2 50,00 0,

To answer these quest ions ,

e of Dick Wick Hal l andlom e Su n. A goo d friend of

ewspaper with enthusiam thatmust have given the YumaCounty Supervisors, one of hisfavorite target, many sleeplessnights. The Sun als o featured a 7year old "stranded in Salome"frog who had not learned toswim. Through his newspaper,Dick Wick Hal l became one ofArizona's most belovedhumorists.As early as 1869, it was re-ported that a Pima Indian hadmade a big gold strike in the"Harquehila Mountains".Sometime later, around 1886,Horace E. Harris moved a 5stamp mil l from Prescott to hisclaims near the town of Orville,by then renamed Centennial.Orville was a short l ived placermining settlement, locatedtoday abou t 5'/2 m iles Sou th andEast of Salome along theSalome-Buckeye Road.

Thirty-degree inclined shaft of the Harquahala Extension.


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He named his new townctive mining and trading center

due to a nearby rich golddiscovery and the establishmentof Salom e as a railroad shippingcenter, Harrisburg faded fromthe sce ne. The former site of thismining town is located east ofthe Socorro Mine wh ose ore wasprocessed at the HarrisburgMill. The Socorro is possibly thefirst gold mine extensivelyworked in the area.To answer our initialobert Ste in, and Harry Watton,and the events of November 14,1888. The three were dry-washing in a gulch west ofHarrisburg when Wattondecided to take a break andclimb a hill nearby. Spotting apiece of rock lying on top of apalo verde root, he kicked it outof his way. His foot must havehurt as the rock was heavy. Tooheavy for such a small rock so hepicked it up. It was a nuggetcontaining gold worth $2,000-at 1888 prices of less than$20.00 an ounce. There is norecord of how long a break hetook from his dry washing, but

he and his partners picked upabout $25,000 worth of nuggetsover the next three days. Thenthey found the Ledge and whatwas to be known as the GoldMountain Claim or Harqua HalaBonanza.In a letter to a friend, RobertStein wrote: ". . . the new strikehas never been equalled inArizona. The Gold MountainClaim is an immense body ofextremely rich ore. Boulders of

float weighing from one to fivetons assay out at $50 to $1000per ton. We have picked upthousands of dollars in puregold ranging from an ounce toover $200 . . . all this laid on thesurface below the ledge and indigging we found the most won-derful rich ore hanging togetherwith gold".The rush was on. Harrisburgbecame a boom town. EvenWyatt Earp staked a claim nearthere.

"T

US Highway 60 near Salome

Ruins of a Stone Building near Vicksburg


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Salome of today is a quiet town alongthe Santa Fe Railroad tracks.

An example of boundry markers for amineral claim near the Golden Eagle.

The area around HarguaHal a is coveredwith Saguaro and Ocotillo.

US Post Office building in Salome. Roadto the Mines is just to the left.The partners tried to sel l themine. Watton andSullivan soldout for a reported $35,000. Steinwanted more money. Later hesold his interest to a Hubbardan d a Bowers, 2 men fromCalifornia. These men then paid$ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 for the interest thatWalton and Sullllvan had soldfor $35,000. Thus they gained a100% ownership of theBonanza and Golden Eagle

c la ims .


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There are a number of uncovered shaftslike the above in the area.

This mine entrance i s just to thenorth and east of the old townsite.

Quickly, they made plans tobuild their ownmill. Until thatt ime, the old 5 stamp mil l atHarrisburg hadbeen processingtheir ore. Notonly was themillinefficient, itwas expensive .A new 20 stamp mill was builtnear themine and wascapableof crushing 60 tons of ore perday. Awaterline wasbrought infrom Centennial Creek. A newmining camp, Harqua Hala,began to grow up around themines .The Bonanza mine proved tobe very rich. Inone 28day run, a309 pound bar of gold wasproduced. At today's price of$342 per ounce, that would beworth $ 1,2 60 ,72 0! Large bars ofgold were the rule at HarquaHala. To discourage theft , thegold was delibrately cast intovery heavy bars prior to ship-ment, the assum ption being thata robber would find itmost diffi-cult to carry away a 200poundbar of gold on horseback. Itworked beca use there never wasa robbery oreven an attemptedone.Other mines in the areaproduced some gold , but not inthe quanti ties of the BonanzaThe Golden Eagle, the GoldenKing, and Yum Yum Mines wereactive, but production inform-ation isnot avai lable.

In June 1893,Hubbard andBowers annou nced that they hadsold their claims for$1 , 250 , 000 cash to a MinnesotaCorporation which turned out tobe front for a group of Englishinvestors whocalled their company the Harqua Hala GoldMining Comp any, Ltd. ofSurreyEngland. During their ownershiof the mines, Hubbard andBowers had produced aroun$1 , 600 , 000 of gold with expens e s of $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 andcapital investments of $275,000, leavina profit of $1 , 175 , 000 to whicwe must add $1 ,000,00 0 astheinet proce eds from the sale of thcla ims, or over $1 million tea ch p artner. And they really dibetter than thth UnfortunatelyGeorge Bowers died shortly aftethe sa le , but he left an estavalued at $4 , 000 , 000 . 00 , nobad for a prospector who, a feyears before, was drypanning foa few dollars aday.

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The English company hadtheir own ideas about how torunan American mine. Inshort suc-cession, they: 1) fired theMexican miners and replacedthem with higher paid AngloSaxon miners , who frequentlybecame s ick and lost valuablet ime , 2) fired the experiencedmine forman, Charley Picken-back, andreplaced himwith anEnglishman named Oxman, 3)Lost most of thewater pipelinedue to a sudden large rain, thusnecessitat ing expensive andtime consuming repairs, 4)wereforced toshut down themilldueto a boiler accident, 5) wereforced to sink a newmain shaftwhich caused a three monthshutdown of the mine, 6)discovered that the rich upperlevel ores were playing out, 7)discovered that only low gradeore could befound on the lowerlevels of themine , 8) discoveredthat theGolden Eagle Mine onlycontained lowgrade orevaluedat from $2 to $12 a ton, and 9)had their taxassessment raisedfrom $40,000 to $1 ,250 ,000 bythe County Board ofEquilization. Thus it becameobvious that the English com-pany was introuble.In desperation, Jthey installedcyanide vats andprocessed thetailings. They even cutdown thepillars in the s topes andprocessed theore. This caused agreat cave-in at Bonanza. Thehugh cavity created wasnamed"The Harqua Hala Glory Hole."Then inOctober 1895, thecom-pany announced that the orebody was exhausted andoperations would cease. It hasbeen est imated that theEnglishcompany lost at least a milliondollars ontheir venture.In the summer of 1899, themine was sold at auction. Thebidder-none other than Anth-on y G. Hubbard, whorepurch-ased the mine for $7 ,000 . Heheld on to the mine andsold itfor $40,000 in May1904. Sincethen, several smaller attemptshave been made to mine theproperty, but without much suc-ces s. But who really knows whatsecrets theHarqua Hala Mount-ains hold for the miner ortreasure seeker .

Harqua Hala's cemetary can be identi-fied by the piles of rock coveringthe graves.

One of the abandoned mining buildingsrests high on a hill.-

The authors 5 year old son,Edward,points out an antique bottle.


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Settling pans, like giant crucibles, lie below the clayey silt dump of what may havebeen a flotation-type mill, no longer existing.

10Martin M ountain (right) and the famous Harquahala glory hole which resultedfrom the collapse of tunnels and stopes. Drifts honeycomb this once famous peakfollowing fabulously rich veins of almost pure gold.


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Today, avisit to thedistrict iseasy and can be done in apassenger car. To get there,travel to Salome, Arizona onHighway 60. Turn South on theroad next to the Post Office. Ashort distance beyond the LaPaz County Sheriffs station, theroad forks. To theleft isSalome-Buckeye Road. This road passesthe sites of Orville, Centennial,and Harrisburg. To the right isHarquahala Road which wemust follow to ourdestination.The former tow nsite isapprox-imately 8 miles from the junc-tion, over a mostly gravel androck road. The scenery is greatwith vast stands of Ocotillo andSaguaro.At the townsite, only a fewbuildings remain, ghostlyremainders of another era. Agraveyard on the north end ofthe townsite next to the road,with itspiles of rock, is avisiblereminder of foregone times.Themines are posted as privateproperty, so permission shouldbe obtained before entering anyposted area. Please be cautiousas there are open shafts in thearea andthey are dangerous.Rockhound s w ill find th is areavery rewarding. While theHarquahala Mountains consistof crystalline rocks, mostly pre-Cambrian but including somePaleozoic strata, it has beentilted in various directions andintruded by dark-colored basicdikes. Veinlets of quartz andcalcite arefound throughout thearea. Ore shoots occupied zonesof shearing betw een asediment-ary series of limestone, shale,and quartzite with the basalgranitic formation. Pyrite wasdeposited along brecciatedzones that are now filled withsericite. Som e of thequartzite isconglomerate. Many very at-tractive samp les of thecolors ofrocks of the area can be pickedup around the dump sites. Wealso found a trash dump andwere able to salvage some veryattractive oldbottles.

Harqua Hala, with itspeacefuland scenic location, is worth avisit, if for nothing else than toenjoy the rocky desert and itsbeauty. It is anarea wewill lookforward tovisiting again.

The current facilities at Harqua Halatown site.

An overview of the Harqua Halamining district looking west.Compare this to the picture onthe previous page taken in 1940.

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T H E G O L D E N T R E A S U R E O FP A D R E L A R U E

BY DR. DAVID REDD

THE PADRE Leaned closer t o t h e lipsof t h e dying m a n , so that he might hearthe Lowspoken w o r d s . " I n t h e Sierra d eL os O r g a n o s , t h e r e i s g o l d ! I have seenit with m y o w n e y e s . I t i s n o good f o rme t o know o f i t , n o w . Padre...our p e o -pLe a r e starving...take them a n d g o t ot h e O r g a n s . S ur e ly t h e y , t o o , will findt h e g o l d . "

G o l d ! T h e padre w a s still young e -nough t o feel a n upward surge o f d e s i r eand hope a s h e heard t h e w o r d s . T h e o l dsoldier surely couldn't b e wrong,for h ehad traveled over that whole wild north-ern part o f N e w S p a i n . T h e n , t o o ,t h e i n -credible wealth o f t h e Aztecs w a s stillr e m e m b e r e d , f o r t h e year w a s only 1 7 9 8 .Padre L a R u e looked o u t through t h e w i n -dow t o where h i s little flock were t r y -ing desperately t o wrest a living fromthe drying fields o f corn . Perhaps thiswas t h e answer t o h i s ' p r a y e r s .

The m a n o n t h e c ot stirred a n d o p e n -ed h i s tired e y e s .

"This gold," t h e padre reminded h i m ,"how c a n w e find i t ? Where a r e t h e s eO r g an M o u n t a i n s ?"

"You must travel t e n days until y o ucome t o t h e place where t h e R i o G r a n d ecuts i t s w a y through t h e mountains.Theycall it El Paso d e l N o r t e . T w o d a y s 'journey farther north a n d y o u will s e ethe stone pipes o f t h e O r g a n M o u n t a i n s ." E x h a u s t e d , h e again wearily closed h i se y e s , rousing only with a n e f f o r t . " A tthe north e n d t h e r e is a p a s s , a n d t h eSpirit Springs.Nearby y o u will find t h eCueva V e g a s , Cave o f t h e Meadows,at t h efoot o f a high cliff.The gold i s t h e r e .G o , padre...go where t h e gold lies b u r i -ed . You c a n s a v e . . . o u r . . . people .

With these words t h e o l d m a n died.The padre performed t h e Last rites ina thoughtful mood. G o . . . where t h egold Lies burie d. . .It seemed madness.Yet i n a f e w months' time h i s peoplewould b e dying from t h e drought a n dproverty o f this place. Where n o w werehis early dreams? H e remembered t h e d a yin France when h e h a d been told that h ewas o n e of t e n lucky young priests t obe chosen f o r missionary work i n t h e N e wW o r l d . H e recalled t h e zealous thrillwith which h e h a d faced t h e long tripfrom France to this desol ate little colonyof hardy souls in Northern Chihuahua.Hehad l e d h i s people wis ely, becoming morethan a mere prie st, more like a real f a -ther t o h i s little family. A n d then t h emeager stream that h a d irrigated t h e f e r -tile fields i n t h e valley slowly dwindled,l e a v i n g t h e c r o p s t o d r y a n d burn i n t h edesert s u n . Something h a d t o b e done soon.

Resolutely Padre L a R u e called h is p e op l e t o g e t h e r .

"There a r e b u t t w o t h i n g s w e c a n do.Itis impossible f o r u s t o remain here untilthe drought is passed. Certainly w e wouldall d i e o f s t a r v a t i o n . W e either c a n g oback t o Mexico a n d find homes among o u rf r i e n d s . . . or w e c a n g o t o t h e OrganM o u n t a i n s . P e r h a ps w e shall find t h e goldof o u r good friend. Perhaps w e shall findnothing . Which shall i t b e ? "

There w a s among h i s people only o n e a n -s w e r , " G o l d . "

It didn't take them long t o prepare f o rthe journ ey. Their mean little hovels heldf ew p o s s e s s i o n s . O n e fine morning t h e c a ravan moved o u t o f t h e v i l l a g e , l e av i ng itquiet a n d d e s e r t e d . A n d t h e Camino R e a l ,that Royal Highway between Santa F e a n dMexico,was trod once more by a hopeful bantoiling slowly northward.

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To you who would "Go Where theGold Lies Buried" this ma p isnot the key toyour fortune. But it is as accurate as legend canm ak eit. The story of the golden treasure of Padre La Rue and his 18thcentury colony in the Organ mounta ins is commonly known insouthern New Mexicobut you will hear a different version at eachstreet corner . For almost 250 yea rs men hav e searched for the cav eof gold bullion. There are today men who have spent most of theirl ives in a vain search . At leas t one man is certain he has definiteclues that he is on the right trail.

I f Hl/tCO MOUNTAINS -'.' ' |rrr-;-'NORTE . -

"Seilor, the mine does not belong to me . . . the goldbelongs to my people . . . I would suggest that you

return to Mexico City and forget us."

T r u e to t h e o l d s o l d i e r ' s w o r d ,a f t e r 10 a r d u o u s d a y s t h e y c a m e toa b r o a d g r e e n v a l l e y w i t h t h e t o w e r -i ng O r g a n M o u n t a i n s on its e a s t e r nh o r i z o n . H e r e w a s t h e a b u n d a n t w a t e rof t h e R i o G r a n d e , a n d t h e l i t t l eI n d i a n V i l l a g e ofT o r t u g a s t r a d e dt h e m p r e c i o u s f o o d f o r t h e b i t s off i n e r y w h i c h w e r e r e m n a n t s of b e t t e rd a y s .

A f t e r a b r i e f r e s t and a layingin of f o o d , t h e y l e ft thel u s h v a l l e ya n d c o n t i n u e d up to t h e p a s s at then o r t h end f t h e O r g a n s . A g a i n t h e yw e r e t h a n k f u l to f i n d t h a t the olds o l d i e r ' s d i r e c t i o n s w e r e a c c u r a t e .

T h e r e w e r e t h e S p i r i t S p r i n g s g u s h -ing frcr.-. t h e r o c k s , and h e r e w a s theC a v e of t h e M e a d o w s . N o w , w h e r e ast h e g o l d ? E a g e r l y , t h e m e n s c a t t e r e di n t o t h e a d j o i n i n g c a n y o n s , u nm i n d fu lo f d a n g e r f r o m l u r k i n g A p a c h e I n d i a n s .S o o n t h e y s t u m b l e d o n t o c h u n k s of m i l kw h i t e q u a r t z w i t h e v i d e n t g o l d c o n t e n t .T h e y hadf o u n d t h e r i g h t p l a c e !

" T h i s is to be o u r h o m e , " P a d r e LaR u e t o l d t h e m a f t e r he hadp e r f o r m e dmass'." We m u s t m a k e it as safe asp o s s ib l e a g a i n s t a t t a c k f r o m w i t h o u t , ands t r i f e f r o m w i t h i n . G o l d is a g o o d t h i nw h e n it is u s e d w i s e l y . I ask y o u to m e m b e r ourp r o v e r t y , a n d t h a t we a r e h e

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y God's grace.To prevent tro uble^i re-q u e st t ha t a ll g o l d b e b r o u g h t t o m e . Ishall buy all supplies and equipment weneed from the valley settlements andf ro m E l P a s o . W e mu s t k e e p t h i s g ol d as e c r e t . If o t h e r s l e ar n o f i t , ma n y s h a l la s p ir e t o p o s s e s s i t . "

M o n t h s p a s s e d . . . a nd y e a r s . T h e r ic hvein of ore was found far back in thecanyon where they could tunnel into itwithout detection from prying e y e s . Ahigh stone wall was erected about thev i l l a g e , and a constant guard was keptat t h e g a t e . I n s i d e , t h e l i t tl e h o u s e sof stone were beehives of activity andc o n te n t me n t . A r r a s t r a s , o r o r e c r u s h e r s ,were built and adobe smelters arosewhere once the mountain goat had heldd o m i n i o n . S t e ad i l y t h e g o l d b u l l io np o u re d i n to Pa d r e L a R u e 's t r e a s u r e -h o us e t h e o l d C o v e o f t h e M e a d o w s .

B u t , a s h e h a d o n c e w a r n e d h i s p e o -p l e , g ol d u s u a l l y b r o ug h t t r o u b l e . . .

The first hint of disorder was causedby P a d r e L a R u e ' s o w n n e g l ec t o f c l e r i -c al d u t y . W he n h e f i r st h a d c o me t o h i sc o lo ny i n C h i h u a h u a , h e ha d w a n t e d t owait until his mission was well estab-lished before he reported to the Churchin Mexico City. But the drought camea nd t h e c l i ma x i n g k n o w le d g e o f t h e g o l d .In the excitement of preparing for thej o u r n e y , th e q u e s t i o n o f h i s r e po r t t oMexico City was forgotten and when hedid remember it , after reaching SpiritS p r i n g s , h e d e e m e d it u n w i s e t o l et t h eChurch know about their good fortu ne.The revelation of the gold would onlyb r in g a n a v a l a nc h e o f g r ee d y t r e a s u r e -s e e k er s d o w n u p o n t h e i r q u ie t v i l l a g e .So the matter of his report graduallyw as f o rg o t te n b y P a d r e L a R u e .

But it wasn't forgotten in MexicoCity. The Church was intensely inter-ested in the progress of each of thepromising young pri est s. Reports camein r e gu l ar l y f r om n i n e o f t h e p r i e s t s ,b ut f r om t h e t e n t h o n e in C h i h u a h u a . . .o nl y s i l e n c e!

One Senor Maximo Milliano was sentnorth as a representative of the Churcht o f i n d a s o l ut i o n t o t h e p u z z l e . A f te ra journey of many days he arrived atthe site of the colony to find onlycrumbling adobe walls and sand-driftedb a r re n f i e l d s . S e no r M i l l i a n o w as d e e p -ly vexed . Finding his way to a nearbyI n d i an V i l l a g e , he f a c e d t h e d a n g e r o fbribing the natives to reveal theirknowledge of the colony. He receivedf o r an a n s w e r , " Th e y g o . . ."

After reporting back to Mexico Ci ty,M a x i mo M i l l i a n o , w it h t h e a id o f t h eChurc h, organized an expedition tosearch for the whereabouts of this co-lony which had so strangely disap pear-e d . A f t er s e a rc h i ng f o r a n e n t i r e y e a r ,t h ey s t u m b l e d , by c h a n c e , o n to t h eI n di a n v i l l ag e o f T o r t u g a s . H e r e t h eIndians told Milliano of the colony inthe Or ga ns t ol d him of the gql'd thath ad b e e n t r a d e d f o r t h e i r f o o d . At t h es ig ht o f s o m e o f t h i s v er y g o l d ,Milliano's eyes widened in surprise.Nowonder the Church had heard nothingf ro m P a d r e L a R u e! Q u i c k l y , he t r a v e l l -ed to the colony.Barred from entering the stone por -t a ls o f S p i ri t S p r i n g s , Mi l l i an o d e m a n d -e d t o s ee P a d r e L a R u e .A f ew m i n u t e s l a t e r , wi th s i n ki n g

h e a r t , the good padre appeared on topo f t h e w a l l n e a r t h e g a t e ." F a th e r L a R u e , a s r e p re s e nt a t i ve o ft h e C h u r c h , I d e m an d t h at y o u i m m e d i a t e -ly deliver possession of the mine anda ll g o l d b u l li o n o n h an d t o t h e c h u r c h ,to whom it belongs." The padre gazedsteadfastly down into the greedy facebelow him." S e n o r , the mine does not belong to

m e . Consequently it cannot belong to theChurch. God led a dying soldier to dis-close its existence to us and God hashelped us to develop it. It has been ouro n ly s o u r c e o f l i ve l ih o od t h e s e y e a r s .S i n c e t h e go l d b e lo n g s to my p e o p l e , Irefuse to deliver over one small portion


15/44

to you or to the Churc h. I would s ug-gest that you return to Mexico Cityand forget us."

In an ger , Maxim o Milli ano LeftSpirit Springs to return again toM e x i c o . Padre La Rue knew that hisLittle colony no longer would be safehere in the shadow of the Org ans .Soon would come the throng s of goldseekers and the worldl y. Corru ption ,gre ed, and growth would come anddestroy his colon y. He sank to hisbed that night with a heavy heart.He knew trou ble would come and hemust now decide how to handle it.

But trouble came sooner than he hadanticipated. The wild Apaches ' hatredhad been smouldering since the dese-cration of their holy springs by thewhite men . One dark night soon afterMilliano's vi sit , when thunder wasbooming over the peaks and lightningthrew weird shadows on the canyonw a l l s , they swooped down upon theunsuspecting vil lag e, showered itwith deadly a rro ws, tossed firebrandsupon the thatched roo fs, overcame theg u a r d s , and rushed into the treasurehouse . Brave to the las t, Padre LaRue stood guard over the accumulatedtreas ure of gold . But he was soonovercom e and died in the room wherehe had guarded the gold for s o, somany years.

After the padre f e l l , those of thecolonists still alive fled to theshelter of the canyons and the pea ks.Rain poured down in mad torrents andthe Indians soon found themselvesthreatened by the wate r. The pursu-ers became the purs ued. The Indiansfled in all directions. Half-drownedpeople clung stubbornly to theirrocky shelters and listened withfearful hearts to the tumbling watersthat were flooding and dashing downthe canyons.

As morning dawned , the storm ended.Wearily, hopelessly, a small group ofsullen colonists collected where once

had been the village of Spirit Springs.The mine was go ne , covered now by tonsof rock and rubble . During the storm amighty stream had flowed through thevil lag e, leaving only a few rock wallsto show that man had once called it hish o m e . Padre La Rue's cave was hidden,its entrance covered with rubb le, rock ,and stones that would take years toremove. It was as if God decided tohandle the situation for the Padre andhis decision was to oblite rate thecolony . The colonists found littlesatisfacti on in that the storm hadprobably saved them from the attackingIndia ns. Filled with des pai r, therefugees made their way down the valley.The re, they were welcomed among theMexican people who had newly colonizedalong the banks of the Rio Grande. Butthe gold was not forgotten

Each generation since has had itstreasu re s eek ers. Today this land is nolonger in Chih uah ua, Me xi co , but liesin Southern New Mex ico . Like all lege ndsthere must be a grain of truth in thisstory of Padre La Rue.

It is locally told that in 190 7, aprospec tor visited t he mountain home ofone Teso Aguirr e, a descendant of oneof the original Spirit Spri ngs Co lony,and was shown the old cave and formers i t e . But he was not shown the treasure,nor was it discussed. And the area didnot show any signs of mining activity norexplorat ion. Aga in, Colonel A.J. Fountainof Las Cruc es, New Mexic o, claimed tohave found an old record in either theMesil la Mission or the Dona Ana Missiondescribing the richest mine in the SpanisAmericas, located near the present town oO r g a n , N e w M e x i c o .

At a later dat e, a band of Spanish refugees on their way from Mexico to Spainstopped over in El Pas o. They were repored to have found a church record inMexico Cit y, giving the exact location othe Spirit Springs m ine . Could this havebeen Milliano's report of his discovereyto his superiors??

Who really knows? But maybe someo ne,sometime will find the Padre's GoldenT r e a s u r e .


16/44

Roadrunners belong to theFamily Cuculidae, which alsoincludes the Cuckoos and Anis.The roadrunner really is aground cuckoo. Some of theEuropean species of cuckoosare notoriously parasitic, layingtheir eggs in the nests of otherbirds. The American species arenot so inclined. The roadrunnershould be protected, for al-though he at times does stealeggs and young birds, these for-ays seldom are of harmful pro-portions. As a unique memberof cur Southwestern bird life heshould be given every consider-ation. Egg dates for Californiaare from the middle of Marchjnto July.

Here he is call him roadrunner, chaparral cock, snake-killer, chtnra, groundcuckoo, correcamino. lizard-bird, paisano or what you will.Paisano, The Desert'sCuckoo Bird by George BradtHave you ever seen asmall, two-

legged clou d ofdust racing down adesert road? Or a large featheredlizard dashing through thedesertthickets? If you have you've seen aroadrunner . If not-you've missedthe most fascinat ing bird of themal l .You probably won't bel ieve thef irst one you see. "There just ain'tno such b i r d . " He'shalf tai l , halfbody, and all of him about two feetlong. His unbirdl ike wings areshort and rounded, his pale bluelegs long and t h in . Almost directlybehind a pinocchiobeak arebr i l l iant yel low-brown eyessur rounded byareas of naked blueand orange sk in . A dark, bristlycrest adorns his head. Brown,black, ol ive, purple and whit ishfeathers, all of a course quality,clothe hissl im body. He ooks likea bird whose mother had beenbadly fr ightened by a large stripedsnake wh en he was but an egg.

16

The roadrunner's feeding andnesting habits are qui te as out-landish as his personal appear-ance. Pract ical ly omnivorous, hisdiet consists of about everythingfro m snakes and mice to tarantulasand bird's eggs. Occasionally it isvaried with insects, fruits andseeds. But whatever the fare itusually is swallowed whole. Thishabit makes the ingestion of asnake or a l izard a lengthy andspectacular process. A swornenemy of desert reptiles theroadrunner accounts for many asmall but deadly rattler. But thestory that hebuilds acactus corralabout theunlucky vipers, whereinthey wear themselves out and fal leasy prey to their captor, is a pure" y a r n . "

The roadrunner's strange mealsare captured on foo t , for seldomdoes this fantastic bird take to theair. Heprefers to reamain on theground, to run about the desert onhis skinny legs, and save hiscapable wings for instant f l ight incase of danger. Hestalks hisprey

over the sandy cactus wastes assilently as a cat. Cautiouslsneaking up to within a fewyardof his proposed victim he suddenlmakes a f inal, fatal sprint whicusually ends with thequarry helf i rmly inhis stout be ak. A l itt le effcient hammering on the harground renders the captiveunconscious, and the swallowinprocess is begun.Whi le a roadrunner's physicaappearance and fo od tastes mayblearned from a l itt le quiet observation beneath a shadmesquite, a knowledge of thbird's nesting activities can bacquired only byconsiderable fielwork and much patience. This wlearned after tramping manysandy mile among the spiny yuccaDur ing twodesert nesting seasonwe discovered theoccupied nestof three pairs of these elusivcreatures. Since roadrunners rangfrom Kansas westward to northerCalifornia and south into centraMexico, ournotes ontheir nestinhabits apply fairly generally to thspecies wherever found.


17/44

Below left Six large ivhite eggs layon the nest's thin lining of drygrasses. Right It's hard work break-ing out of a shell. Note tiny wingsand large foot typical of terrestrialroadrnnner.

The discovery date of our firstnest was March 30. It was wellhidden am ong the prick ly leaves ofa low yucca about four feet abovethe desert floor. The rough struc-ture was made of small twigs, deadleaves and rootlets. Six large w hiteeggs lay close together on a thinlining of dry grasses. Hurriedly wephotographed the nest and left thearea to let the adults return to in-cubate their precious roadrunners-to-be .So far from home was the nest andso rough part of the road, it was notuntil April 15 that we had anyucca. So instead of the shinywhite eggs the nest now containeda half dozen black-skinned babybirds. They were probably about aweek o ld . Their pale blue-grey feetand legs were extremely weak,their eyes stil l were closed, theiroily-looking black skin naked ex-ceDt for stiff white hairs and a few

blood quills in wings and ta i l . Theywere far from pretty babies butthere was something appealingabout them. Perhaps it wasbecause they were so helpless andalone. The only protection theyhad from the enemies that roamedthe desert day and night was theirhome's secret location.Two days later we returned. Ofthe six babies only one remained!Here was a pathetic example of thestruggle for survival o n the desert.Ano ther t w o days passed and weagain visited the baby roadrunner.As on all previous visits we failedto see an adult b ird , howeverquiet ly we approached.On the 26 th , we found the l i t t lefellow already sprouting softbrow n and wh ite feathers on wingsan d ta i l . The mo me nt he sighted ushe tr ied to hide by f lattening him-self in the nest and"freezing." Nota feather or muscle moved.

Although we watched fo r f ive lominutes not once did he take hdark, unblinking eyes off ours. Hcolor pattern was an admirabexample of avian camouflagThanks to his mottled plummahe lost all semblance of shapHad we not kn ow n of his existenI do ubt if we could have seen himOur last tr ip to the nest wmade four days later, one monafter the discovery o f the eggs. Olitt le fr iend was now well f ledgand about ready to leave homWhen he saw us approaching thlast time he did n' t bo ther to hidethe nest but nimbly hopped oBelow left Where white shiningeggs had been now black-skinnedwhite-haired baby roadrunners hud-dled together. Single survivor of adesert tragedy. Well-feathered bird-ling almost ready to leave nest.


18/44

Adult roadrnnner incubating. Beneath warm feathers the baby roadrunner theauthor later photographed in the process of hatching lies ivell protected.

Roadrunner tracks in the sand; canyou tell which way he was travelling?

and landed in a feathery heap othe sand. Apparently, slightly skeptical of the efficacy of camouflaghe had decided to trust to his lonlegs instead. The moment he hthe ground he scrambled to his feeand disappeared headlong into thmass of dead yucca leavesurrounding the base of the plant.Before endeavoring to retrievhim we set up the camera. Thenbegan to pull him backwards ou

of his prickly hide-away by his thilegs. Although he didn't struggmuch he did let out one harsh, rattlrasping sound of such unexpecteand startling nature that I almothrew him bodily from me in meagerness to put as much desert apossible between me and thunearthly sound. I've handlesome funny things in my desewanderings but that was the firsand I hope last, time I ever hagrabbed a noise covered witFeathers. As he continued thracket until he had beeredeposited in his nest we weable to find out that he made thuncanny sound by rubbing hhard mandibles together.

When we started to take his finpicture we faced a problem. Swell did his queer plummage blenwith his surroundings it wouhave been a photographic imposibility to have shown just wheroadrunner began and nest left ofThe problem was partially solveby placing the bird on an old glovto give the proper separation btween subject and back-ground. Asoon as we had the picture we lenest and birdling for the last timAlthough we returned a week latfor a final check and to look foother nests we did not expect find the nest occupied. It wasn't.

This final trip did net uanother roadrunner nest howeveNot more than three miles frothe first we found this second onalso in a low yucca. It was completely hidden from view by tplant's cruel leaves. We happento find it only because we flushean adult from the nest. Since thonly way to reach it was from thground directly below it was quiimpossible to photograph without first removing the greatpart of the protecting foliage. Wcontented ourselves with a peek the nest and its occupants. It cotained one young bird almost fulfledged and ready to leave thnest, one tiny black baby, and onun hatched egg. We had read abothe staggering laying of troadrunners, but this was the firtime we had seen an example of i

18


19/44

The third nest of our study was

for m of a short noteread: "we 've a hawks t for yo u . "While hiking on a nearby mesa

d i t a dark b ird had

ich contained fou r white eggs.Except for the mention of the

it's in an old shed near aI knew something was

f the area complete wi th in -The nest had been discovered

ped fo r the cattle that fre-wel l -

was covred with a rustedn roof, an d housed aAs we approached the shed we

. Each prin t resembled aletter " x " . (See photographnying this artr ic le). I t wasmpossible to tel l from looking at

maker had been travel ing. Fromhis foot-pr ints you couldn' t tel lhether he was coming or going.hey were the yoke-toed feet of anadu lt roadrun ner. His fou r toes arepai redtwo point forward, twobackward.

O n reaching the shed we peeredaround one corner to try to f indthe nest wi th ou t f lushing the adu l t.It took some few minutes to ac-custom our eyes to the semi-darkness wit hin , and a few more tolocate the nest. Little more than aplatform of course sticks wedgedbetween a couple of old beams, itlay only a few inches below thesun-baked roof. On it say a largedark bird--an adul t roadrunner.While the brooding bird had seenus long before we had discoveredi t, we approached to w i thin six feetof the nest before it hopped offand dispappeared through a holein the back of the shed. The nestcontained three eggs and one babyroadrunner. Since it was impos-sible to photograph the nest'soccupants because of it inacces-sible posi t ion we decided to con-centrate on a picture of an adul tbird at a later date. To get i t wewould need our remote controlset-up plus a good many freedayl ight hours in the vicini ty.

Sunday, May 2, found us againat the nest-shed. When we arrivedwe crept in quietly to get anotherlook at the incubating parent. Butneither ad ult was to be seen. In thenest now were two baby road-runners, and two unhatched eggs.No wonder the adul ts were not onthe nest. Hungry infants such asthese had to be fed often andnecessary l izards were to be foundonly far af ield. For a few minuteswe watched the l i ttle blackcreataures stretch the ir th in necks,open pink mouths, and cry un-avail ingly for f o o d .Just before we left to set up ourcamera equipment a faint t ickingsound r iveted our attention on thenest. A second later a thin blackcrack appeared in one of theremaining eggs. Fascinated, wewatched the crack iengthen andwiden unti l we w ere able to see thenaked birdl ing within. At this pointthe l i t t le pr isoner took t ime out-i t 's hard work breaking out of ashell, especially i f you're nostronger than a baby roadrun ner.

After a short siesta he fell twork again. Before he stopped second time he secceeded ipoking his blunt beak through thshell. Then appeared in rapid succession the rest of his blin d, scantilhaired head, one shoulder, a tinclaw-l ike wing, thigh, leg, anbluish foot. This maneuver acounted fo r the better part of half ahour. The shell was hard and thprotecting membranous lining tougAt this point I gently lifted the littfellow out of the nest and placed himon my hand. I shot his picturreplaced him, and left the shed arrange for photographing a parebird.In the sketchy shade of an omesquite we watched the undebrush about the windmill, shed antank for signs of an adult roadrunneTwo hours passed before our vigwas rewarded with a distant view an approaching "Paisano," as he affectionately known in northeMex ico. Over the hot sands he racehis head and tail held low in straight line with the rest of his bodA few yards from the windmill hhalted and carefully reconnoiterethe little strip of no-man's-land btween him and his shed. Comparewith his reptilian appearance whrunning he now looked like a totadifferent bird. His head was hehigh and the course feathers of hcrest stood on end like the plumes an ancient helmet. Every second two he flicked his long tail, whho lding it at a rakish angle.Satisfied that no enemy lurked his path, he lowered head and tand dashed for the shed. As tcamera was focused to incluonly a brooding bird we were forcto wait until the feeding was copleted before releasing the shuttBut as soon as the adult settled onthe nest we shot the picture.

This wound up our business wthe roadrunner family. Knowing tby late afternoon the adults wohave three babies to feed we left area to give them a free han d. If thwere going to capture enough fofor their hungry offspring they wohave little time for cameras.


20/44

You might say Thunder andLightning are responsible for itthat is, the curiosity of travelersin the Mojave desert when thgycome upon the stilt-like ruins of aroad bed east of Trona where an"elevated" has no right to be. Butwhen Thunder and Lightning,Prospector Joe's two burros, dis-covered the healing qualities ofthe white dust near their camp-site they inadvertently startedthe Epsom salts mining industryover beyond Wingate pass, withthe consequent building of theelevated mono rail which servedto haul the salts out of the desertmountains. Now only the skel-eton of the road bed remains, toevoke questions from those whopass along that way.

T H E M O J A V E M O N O R A I LB y

C . L . K e a g l e

The hot September sun hung lowover the jagged peaks and canyonsof the Slate range to the west. It casta coppery pink glow over the dustydesert spaces of Panamint valley.Joe Ward, prospector, poet andsinger of desert songs, wasmigrating from the north to spendthe winter in Death Valley. Thesparrows might wait for the frost toyellow the leaves before startingsouth but Thunder and Lightning,Joe's two frisky young burros, hadno wings and Joe had to allow fortheir step-by-step progre ss. The lureof the desert and the search for itsprecious minerals led him over thevast spaces of California, Nevadaand Arizona but the Mojave desertclaimed most of his time.His desert songs and salty rimeswere favorite quotations amongfellow prospectors and miners. Heleft bits of poetry or caustic com-

2 0

Like a great thousand legged worm the m ono rail road crawls up through Laytoncanyon. View of construction work taken by unknown photographer.ment along the trail for over 50years. His letters were addressed inrimes that were sometimes imbar-rassing to the recipient. His claimstakes bore such rimes as:

"Move on, my friend,This claim is mine,I drove this stakeIn 1909."His filing notices in the recorder'soffice at San Bernardino bear thesecomments and many more:"Witness: God or nobody, unlessthe other fellow was there in thevolcano."Witness: Two fools and another

o n e , myself, a crook. Also JanSmuts of Joburg and other nuttsand a few sick Communists, alsofrom Job urg, S.A.

"Witness: None. It was too ctut. Coldest day I ever saw avind enough to run all the rstate m ills in Los Angeles."Another of his filing notilescribed the locator as: "JosVard, Explorer. Partner to ColuAs the trio plodded on and iroached Wingate pass, Thunind Lightning pricked up thlusty ears. They evidently rem>ered a favorite camping place ni little spring. They had bvithout water all day and it still lot on the Mojave desert in the Mlave desert in September. Just ohe pass Joe led the way south to>ld cam psite. The spring was a m>oze at this season but Joe, exp:nced in camp lore, used a rustyan for a shovel and soon had a leservoir into which the wtrickled. The burros drank thirst


21/44

Cars and locomotive operating on the mono ra il carrying timber for the extensionof the elevated road bed. Thos. H. Wright, founder and president of AmericanMag nesium compa ny, is fifth from left, in black suit.Joe pulled the pack saddles off theirbacks and left them to their owndevices while he gatheredgreasewood for his campfire andput the coffee on to boil.As soon as the packs were off,Thunder and Lightning ambled overto a whitish deposit on the hill slopeand rolled in the chalky dust tosooth their sweaty backs. Afterrolling, grunting and kicking totheir hearts' content they struggledto their feet and wandered back tothe campfire, looking in the twilightlike two burro ghosts. They werewhite all over except where theirdark eyes peered out from underfluffy white pompadours.

-"" f w . ~ > R ; \

Joe remembered that on previotreks the burros had gone to same spot to roll, so with a prpector's curiosity he walked ovand took a sample of the white dwhich he sent to an assayer in LAngeles. It proved to be magnesiusulphate or, in plain words, Epsosalts. The burros hadn't heard the healing properties of the spasEpsom, E ngland; but they knew twhite dust healed-and cooled thsore backs. Joe told other propectors that the white patch wnothing but plain Epsom salts, thwith his burros passed on down tsteep eastern slope of the pass .

TO


22/44

Remains of mono rail road bed east oj Searles lake, showing type o\ earth surfaceover which it was constructed.

Years passed by. Other pros-

Thomas H. Wright, a los Angelesrist who se hobby was prospecting

when he ran out of water for

On the return trip with the

m on the deposit.Wright took some businessinto his confiden ce. There

Stock was sold and plans made

Some mode o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n w a s t h e first necessity.A railroad would have t o b e built from t h e Tronarailroad o u t through Layton Canyon i n t h e Slater a n g e , east across Wingate Valle y, through Wingat ePass i n t h e Panamint Mountains t o t h e deposit southof t h e p a s s , a total distance o f 2 9 m i l e s .

After many meeting a n d discussions with theire n g i n e e r s , t h e corporation decided, because o f t h esteep grades encountered i n t h e Slate range, t oexperiment with a monorail type o f railroad. T h epresident a n d some o f t h e directors were much i n -terested i n t h e monorail exp erimen t. They vis ual -ized i t a s a m e a n s o f interurban transportationaround L o s A n g e l e s a n d a s applicable t o difficulthauling j o b s .

Wright applied f o r a patent o n t h e monorailequipment which h e a n d t h e e n g i n e e r , R . V . L e e s o n ,had designed. A patent w a s issued June 23 , 1923 .The corporation decided t o a s k t h e American TronaC o r p o r a t i o n t o build a spur from i t s railroad a -cross t h e difficult Searles Lake b e d t o connectwith t h e monorail o n i t s eastern shore. T h eAmerican Trona C orpor ation , after consulting witht h ei r m a i n t e n a n c e e n g i n e e r , M . C . C o c k s h o t t , a -greed t o build a spur from Magnesium east acrossthe lake b e d .

2


23/44

Construc tion must havebegan as soon as the pa -tent was issue d, for En-gineering N e w s , S e p t e m b e r2 7 , 192 3, has this item:"A magnesium s ulphate de -posi t, owned by the Amer i-can Magnesi um Co mpany andLocated near the Death Val-ley Desert in Sou ther n C a l i -for nia , is to be tapped by amonorail railroad twenty -eight miles long , extendingover the Slate Range to thePanamint R ange. Of thisline about sixtee n miles hasbeen completed and is carry-ing construction trainswhich are delivering mat eri -als for continuing the road.

"Although detailed costsare not ava ila ble , the typeof construction selected ,which was chosen because ofthe fact that it would re-quire very little gradingand would permit sh arpc u r v e s , is estimat ed to costabout $7,000 per mile inrough , mounta inous countryand about $5,000 in the de-sert with no rock work orsharp curves involved .

"The construction con-sists of standard 6"x8" t i e s ,8 f t. long, placed on 8 ft.centers and braced on eithers i d e . The plumb posts carrya 6"x8" str inge r, which inturn supports the single 50I b . steel r a i l . There arealso two side rails of tim -ber , carried by the br ace s,which act as guide r ail s,their vertical faces makingcontact with r ollers oneither side.

"The engine and cars aredesign ed like pack saddlesand are suspe nded on twowheels from the single r a i l ,m o t o r c y c l e f a s h i o n . E q u i l i -brium is main tain ed by therollers on either side whichcontact with the timberg u i d e r a i l s . "

The first prop ellin g powerwhich was used durin g part ofthe construction per iod , wasa battery driven moto r. Thisfailed to deliver enough p ow-er and was replac ed by aFordson motored locomotivebuilt on the same generalplan . At first the power wastrans mitte d by rigid rods butthese were twisted on thesharp curves and were soonreplaced by chain drives onboth front and rear wh eel s,This Fordson en gine was usedduring the latter part of theconstruc tion and for sometimeafterward but many locomotivedifficulties were encountered.

The braking system was a-nother headac he on the steepgrades . An engineer in a re-cent letter about the mono-rail says,"I had one ride onthe monorail as far as Win -gate Pass and was rather re-lieved to get back with asafe ski n, keeping a watch-ful eye on the brakingarrangements all the time. "

As the elevated road bedcrept out across the desertfrom the east si de of S earlesLake bed , timbers cut to theproper lengths to conform tothe contour of the land werecarried on the cars andlashed to the side of theengine . There were 10 per-cent grades and 40-percentcurves so only five tons oftimbe r could be carried at at i m e . A cottage for the su-perintendent and a laboratorywere built at the mine siteand the corporatio n begano p e r a t i o n s .

In the spring of 1924 JoeWard , followed by Thunder andLigh tnin g, now sedate oldbur ros , climbed the westernslope of Death Vall ey. Theold prosp ector had wanderedover Arizona and Nevada thenspent the winter in the val-ley. As he looked back on the

valle y it never had seeed more b eautif ul, withdesert sunflowers carpeing great patches andthe sand reflecting thblue of the sk y. Butthere was a threat ofsumm er heat in the airand it was time to mi -grate north.

As they followed thetrail around the brow othe hill Joe paused inama zem ent . It was hisfirst glimpse of themonorail writhing throuthe pass like a monsterthous and-le gged worm. Athe old campsite werebuildin gs and a bustle activity. Around the cafire that night Joe tolhow Thunder and Lightnifirst discovered theEpsom salts.

Early the next morniwhen Joe had loaded tburros and started on wa y, one of the workerpicked up an old envelon the trail addres sed

"This letter goes tHarvey West,

A miner with gravyon his vest,

He's living now,to escape the la

At Little Rock,in Arkansaw."

The America n MagnesiCompany had hoped to hlong strings of cars order to work a refineat full capacity.But tmotors developed only nough power to pull thloaded c a r s . This diffculty led to a contracwith A.U. Harr ison , oL o s A n g e l e s , a n a u t o mtive engi neer, who pled a gas-electric traconsisting of an engiand a generato r to sudriving power for boththe engine and the c a


24/44

By the time the gas-electric t ra in , a heavy af-fair , was completed thedesert heat had splinteredthe timbers and loosenedthe bolts of the elevatedroad bed . The wheels onthe wooden guide rails hadworn them to shreds. Thestructure would not carrythe weight of the newly-assembled tr ai n, And theold lo comot ive would notfurnish enough power tohaul paying loads.

Down at the Wilmingtonplant they found that thedeposit was nearly 50 per-cent san d, debris andother sa lts , not then de-sired. As the product wasrefined and mad e into bathsalts the debri s piled uparound the pla nt. The cityauthoritie s stepped in andobjected to the accumula-tion of wast e inside thecity Limits.

There were legal trou-bles as w e l l . The mineralclaims in the Panamin tshad been extended to cover1440 a c r e s . These claimswere a source of disp utes ,suits and counter suits.Slick promot ers had obtain-ed control of much of thestock. Although more thana million dol lars had beeninvested, it became evidentthat the min e could not beoperated at a profit. Thepromoters and directors whohad heavily invested them-s e l v e s , made every effortto salvage something fort h e s t o c k h o l d e r s . B ut t h e r ewere too many factors a-gainst them. Operationswere suspended early in1 9 2 8 . The property was of -fered for bids April 2 8,1 9 2 8 . There we re no buyers.M r . Wright turned his in-terests over to the com-p a n y .

The monorail line was a-bandoned and the timbers be-gan to feed the campfires ofprospec tors. Junk men carri-ed off the steel rails andpart of the stretch thr oughLayton Canyon was carried a-way by a cloudburst. Thebuildings at the mine be-came headquarters for thehunters of wild burros whoshot the burro s, dried thecarcasses and shipped themto fox farms all over thecountry. These burros werethe descendants of animalsturned loose when prospec-tors adopted automobiles asa quicker means of transpor-tation. This practice wassoon outlawed.

A few of the dire ctorskept the taxes paid in thehope that the governmen tmight become interested inthe magnesium sulphate andin some deposits of alumi-num sulphate from which a-lum is mad e. San Bern ardin oCounty records show thatthe taxes were reduced from$3000 annually to $28 in theearly 1930's.

In Layton Canyon few ofthe upright ti mbe rs, whichonce supported the mono-r a i l , still are standing.Bolts and nuts sc attere dalong the route are gat hei ed as souvenirs by trophyhunt ers. If Joe Ward andThunde r and Lightnin g couldcome back to their oldcampsite now they couldcamp for weeks without be-ing distu rbed. Thus thefirst monorail to be builtin California quietly p a s s -ed from the sc en e. It wasTechnology that defeatedt h e m o n o r a i l t h e us e o fwood that cannot withst andthe desert extre mes alongwith an engine that was nottested before construction.

A N S W E R S TO T H E D E S E R T Q U I1. Anywhere on earth.2 . Laguna pueblo is on the

bank of the San JoseRiver.

3. Quartzsite4 . Skin of newly hatched

Roadrunners is oily-blac k, with a few stiffwhite hairs.

5. On a plateau northwestof Flagstaff.6. Silicate of copper7 . "Apartment house" con-structed by unknownIndians of the South-west .8. It is a translation

of their Indian name(Papah-oo-tam).9. Coal Deposits

1 0 . The Colorado River1 1 . False. Lowest el eva-tion is at Badwaterin Death Valley.1 2 . True1 3 . True1 4 . True1 5 . False. First to comewere "Mountain Men"who were mainly trap-pers. Some came asearly as 1820's, longbefore the discoveryof gold.


25/44

Adventures Along theUnknown(1826)

Coloradoby the Desert Staff

The y ear was 1826. The place: theunexplored waters of the Gulf ofCalifornia.In command of the 25 tonBRUJA, sailing northward towardthe mouth of the Rio Colorado(Colorade River) was Lt. R.W.H.Hardy, an Englishman "engaged inthe capacity of a commissioner bythe General Pearl and Coral FisheryAssociation of London" to findbeds of pearl oysters. His employersalso gave "great latitude in my en-deavors and urged my greatest alert-ness for sunken ships or gold andsilver min es."However, Lt. Hardy was morethan the typical nineteenth centuryEnglish businessmanhe was awonderfully alert, amazinglycurious and humorous person. It ispossible to reflect on his life andtimes because of a book heauthored, TRAVELS IN THE IN-TERIOR O F MEX ICO, 1825,1826,1827, and 1828.Of his shipmates, Lt. Hardy said:"Our crew was composed of themost wretched set of people, in theshape of men and sailors, that everset foot on the deck of a vessel. Thecaptain was an Englishman. Twoseamen . . . were also Englishmen.Two were Italians; one a Mexicanservant; one California Yuma Indian,who was the diver, and two Indiansfrom the Manilas . . . These were allthe living souls, except fies, fleas,bugs, etc., on board theB R U J A . "Navigating without chronometer,sextant, or even a nautical almanac,Lt. Hardy had only the very incom-plete "Chart of the Gulf and WestCoast of North America,"

Cocopas (above) were less-warlike than their northern cousins, the Yum


26/44

Map Hardy drew of the ColoradoRiver m outh. His "Rio Gila" isthe east or main channel of theriver today. West channel wasnamed Rio Hardy in his honor.

V~ t Ihcm AwwrV*Timing * IfW.

A few miles upstream, the tide

rudder was carried away. They hadto work fast. A new storm fell uponthem, and in a slashing rain, Lt.Hardy ordered the ship secured inthe middle of the channel. A newrudder was quickly constructed andHardy tied a rope around his chestand dove under the ship to examinethe damage.

"We waited . . . in the hope that,at slack water, we might be able toship our rudder, but, in the RioColorado, there is no such thing asslack water." However, the worstwas yet to com e."Before the ebb had finishedrunning, the f lood commenced,2 6

boiling up a full 18 inches above thesurface, and roaring like the rapidsof Canada."The BRUJA was caught in theColorado's tidal bore. Thisphenomenon, only known to a fewrivers in the world, took Lt. Hardyby surprise. He let the BRUJA driftwhile all hands attempted a lastdesperate effort to secure the rudder.The vessel went fast aground, andbefore he could order his men topole the ship off the sand, the tidefell just as rapidly as it had risen.The BRUJA was left 200 yards fromthe water's edge.All was m ade ready to ride out thenext tide, but to Lt. Hardy's greatamazement, high water found themstill 150 yards from the river. Theywould have to wait for a full moonand its crest tide. He consideredabandoning the ship, but decidedagainst it for he did not want somefuture explorer to encounter such a"monument to our misfortune asour abandoned vessel would havepresented."Now the BR UJA 'S crew preparedfor a danger equal to that of the RioColorado: Indians. They were in

Cocopa territory. This small tribe

had reached its peak of culturagreatness and strength some SOyears earlier. In 1775, they numbereabout 3000, but by 1826, they werin steady decline. These tribesmechiefly subsisted on a diet of cornmelons, pumpkins, and beanwhich they cultivated. They werthought to be less warlike than thecousins to the north, the Yum as, buwhen the occasion called for it, theturned into savage fighters.The morning after the ship habeen caught in a gale, Lt. Hardy sabefore him what he supposeto be the mouth of the great RiveBoldly he sailed forward-only find a bay on the coast of SonorThe lieutenant had served in thRoyal Navy from 1806 to 1815, anhis training as a British officer lehim with excellent qualifications fomaking and recording scientific oservations. He mapped the area annamed it "A dair Bay "- th e namebears to this day.Two days later, after bucking new storm, the Bruja found the RColorado's delta. Lt. Hardy reporte". . . we saw an opening aheawhich appeared to be the mouth o

the river; and both seas we


27/44

covered with a delicate green,arising from the herbage growing onthe banks . . . the river had clearlytwo, if not three mouths, and theland on either side was very low . . .having now lost all apprehension ofdanger, we were proceeding forwardcarelessly, when, to our astonish-ment, we observed breakers closeunder our bow. We immediatelyhauled our wind on the starboardtack, and, having cleared this newdanger, we again bore up, andreached the entrance to the RioColorado . . . here we came to ananchor fo r the n ig h t . . . "

Before retiring for the night, Lt.Hardy sounded four fathoms ofwater below the BRUJA .The next morning he received hisfirst lesson in the river's treac hery.To his consternation, there wasjust enough water for the ship tomaneuver in. The range and vio-lence of the tides at the mouth of theColorado were to further plaguehim as his tiny ship moved inlan d.He took time off to name the twoislands at the river's mouth: "thelargest . . . I have named after myearliest, best, and most honoredpatron and friend, Admiral SirGeorge Montagu, G.C.B. (note:today it is called Isla Mantague).The other I have called GoreIs land . . . "

Lt. Hardy knew little of theCocopa, in fact, he did not at firstdistinguish between them and theYumas who occupied both sides ofthe Rio Colorado in the vicinity ofpresent day Yuma, Arizona.Masters of the only safe fordingplace on the lower Colorado, theYumas had revolted in July 1781and wiped out the Spanish fort andmission at the crossing. Hardy gavethese Indians credit for their standagainst the Spaniards-despite thefact he was in immediate danger ofsharing the same fate.As the tides continued to drop,Hardy reconnoitered the area in acanoe. Relying on a compass forbearing, and dead reckoning andestimation for distances, he chartedthe mouth of the Rio Colorado,complete with low water readings.

The Arrowsmith map was con-fusing and it caused him to makeone glaring error in his map. Heshowed the Gila River joining theColorado at the head of the funnel-shaped estuary. Actually, this wasthe east (now main) channel of theColorado. The west fork, whichHardy called the Colorado andwhich very likely could have beenthe main channel of the river at thattime, bears the name Hardy Rivertoday.Hardy's description of the river'smou th would still apply tod ay:"On the western side of the riverthere are forests of the thorny shrubcalled mesquite, an inferior speciesof quebrahacha . . . on the banksthere was a profusion of stems andlarge branches of the willow,poplar, and acacia, which had beenbrought down by flood . . . on theeastern bank, where we wereaground, there were also wrecks ofthese trees; but there was no othervegetation but a dwarf sort of reed .

He told the men who accom-panied him on these explorations tobe on a sharp lookout for cattle.Provisions on the BRUJA weredangerously low.

Yumas were the much-feared mters of the lower Colorado Riv

Presently they came upon sohorses quietly grazing. "They wnot in the least alarmed at the pearance of strangers-from whcircumstance I knew that they mbe tame, and belonging to humc r e a t u r e s . . . "On the left ba"nk of the river thfound a hut occupied by six old mand two old women who showgreat displeasure in seeing the whmen. By sign language and degrunts the Indians conveyed to Hardy that he had better departquickly as possibly because country was sarming with Indiwho would chastise him for this welcomed intrusion.Undismayed, Hardy made speech-beginning it in Spanish aending in English-finding olanguage as unintelligible as other.But there were two otlanguates all Indians understoforce and barter. Hardy chose bter. Whipping out tobacco andfew printed cotton handerchiefs,traded them to the Indians for fand other food.


28/44

Indians, Lt. Hardy knew, almostwas killed, it w as years before

's world toNext day, two Indians approached"One of them had also a small

h he had com e."So far, so good. The word wast. Hardy was a trader. As

which could only be fired onceatches were lighted and

Next morning 13 Indians visitedard . They showed great curiosityll, masts and rigging.

whom Lt. Hardy judged to besub-chief, cried out lustily,More Spanish than this, however,

nterpreter . . . In reply to my

ts were explained to hi m ."

Before the party departed, Lt.Hardy shot off a cannon, hoping itwould leave a lasting impression onthe curious visitors-one that theywould convey to their CapitanGrande.A few hours later another partyappeared. They explained that theCapitan had dispatched them tomanifest his expressions ofwelcome, and to embrace thevisitors and to offer to them thegreat Capitan's protection. Thecannon shot had not been wasted.One of the Indians, whom Lt.Ha rdy recognized as having been onthe ship earlier, came forward andconversed with them in Spanish."This circumstance," Lt. Hardy,wrote, "awakened a little suspicion,and I determined to be very cautiousin my future dealings with hist r ibe . "The next day brought an incred-ible scene to the BRUJA'SLt. Hardy, the cultured Englishgentleman stranded 200 yards fromthe raging Colorado, was host to thepowerful Capitan Grandewhoused the tiny craft as a speaker'splatform to address the hundreds ofIndians who sat in the sand com-pletely encircling the vessel.After the talk, Lt. Hardy casuallyinquired as to the import of theoration just delivered.

Fishing village of San Felipe onthe east coast of Baja California.Hardy 's charts indicate he sailedhis small vessel near this beach.

The interpreter answered that tCapitan had made a "war speecto his people, reminding them ththe Great Spirit had given the caof the nation to the safe keeping its chiefs; and that these were tleaders around whom the Indiashould assemble with submissiand a fixed determination to abiby their counsels.As the Capitan was taking hbows, Lt. Hardy ordered his men begin trading. Commerce erassome of the tension. That night, LHardy suggested that the Capitand his interpreter remain on boa runder the charge of sentinels.Next day, the Capitan did LHardy one better. Instead making war speeches, he held council of war on the BRUJAdeck with several of his sub-chiefsDuring the afternoon hundreds Indians swam across from the othside of the river. Several more suchiefs and an old woman joined tcouncil."Her age could not, I think, habeen less than 120, and her bowas more shriveled than I had suposed possible in a living creatuHer face was painted yellow . . . "The deliberation gained impetwhen the chief-of-chiefs, the greand powerful C acique, joined it. LHardy had to move fast. He traintwo blunderbusses on the warrio


29/44

This had a "magic effect" on them,for the council immediately brokeup. The Cacique departed with allexcept Capitan Grande, the inter-preter, and the old wom an."Soon after this I ordered dinneron deck, and invited the remainingparty."An Indian whom he had metsome days earlier, joined them." . . . finding his friends seatedround a tablecloth, and quietlydevouring the good things whichhad been laid upon it, he thought hetoo might look out for a spare berth,which he attempted to do in the firstplace, by putting his foot, whichwas still covered with mud, on themiddle of our tab le."This enraged Lt. Hardy, but hisguests went on eating as if nothinghad happened.Soon after the meal, all the In-dians who had departed earlierreturned, the great majority of themstill unarmed as ordered by Lt.Hardy.Capitan Grande pointed out tohis colleagues that they outnumberedthe white men 500 to 1; that it wouldbe a simple matter to drive theforeigners into the ship's cabin un-der a hail of arrows; and once inthat position, the Indians couldenter the vessel at its stern andsecure the prisoners.The great Cacique grunted hisapproval to Capitan Grande's planand called for the interpreter.And now, for the trap: It seemed,he told Lt. Hardy, that a neigh-boring nation of Indians had at-tacked the tribe the precedingevening, and besides killing a greatnumber of men, had carried awayseveral women and children. Torevenge this outrage, the great chiefwas determined to march all hiswarriors against the aggressors. But,before he started he had a favor toask of Lt. Hardy: could the Indiansplease assemble, equipped with theirarms, in front of the vessel? In thatway, he hastened to a dd, they couldmake a formal and friendly farewellto the BRUJA and its crew.

Lt. Hardy, suppressing a greatdesire to laugh out in astonishment,replied with calmness:"I desired the interpreter to tellthe Great Chief that I wished himevery success in expedition againstthe Yumas; but that I could notsuffer the assemblage of armed mennear our vessel; and that if such ameasure were attempted, I shouldconsider their intentions as hostiletoward myself, and should certainlyfire upon them ."Lt. Hardy's answer obviouslydisappointed the Great Chief.Sulking, he departed from the ship.That night no one aboard theBRUJA dared sleep. Next day theIndians assembled as usual, and "sogreat was their number that they ex-tended along the banks of Ithe rivernearly s far as the eye could reach .. . "Tlie great CA CIQU E did notmake his appearance, but theCAPITAN and his interpreter werebusily forming plans" to lure Lt.Hardy away from the ship.Lt. Hardy ordered the Indians outof the area, and also suspendedtrade for six days. He needed thistime, for his calculations told himthat the crest tide would be in then.The old woman who had been adinner guest on the BRUJA, beganshaking a leather rattle, accom-panying this sound with a low hum .Hearing her song, the despairingIndians became excited. They werebeing lulled into a w ar sp irit!Lt. Hardy acted quickly. He fixedhis guns on the medicine womanand the CAPITAN, and sternlyordered them to leave.As the old woman turned to go,Lt. Hardy, the diplomat, gave herfour leaves of tobacco and a narrowstrip of red cloth which she immedi-ately tied around her head to bindtogether her muddy hair.Apparently, the gifts touched theaged wom an." . . . with the expression of a sortof smile on her haggard counten-ance, she took my hand, and said,"Adios, adios!"

The Englishman Hardy, oneof ihe earliest explorers of theupper Gulf of California andthe mouth of the ColoradoRiver, left an invaluable recordof his New World adventuresin a book pub lished in 1829, theyear after he returned to Lon-don. Clear thinking and capa-ble, Hardy twice escaped dis-aster on the Colorado: from theriver itself, and from the Coco-pas who dwelled on its banks.

An armed youth stepped in. fronof the departing woman and presented her with his arrows."She gazed at him an instanthen seizing the proffered arm s, shmuttered something between heteeth, and threw them on the grounwith the violence, apparently to thgreat chagrin of all the Ind ian s."Their strategy spent, the Cocoparetired.The tide was steadily rising, and oJuly 29,1826 (Lt. Hardy entered thColorado on the 20th), the shimoved into deep wa ter.The commercial consequences oLt. Hardy's explorations werfruitless. He found neither ricpearl waters, sunken vessels oprecious metals. His journal is threal treasure to come from this adventure.

2


30/44

by Desert Staff

Thundering across the west

ders of the Pony Express

hat w ill live forever.At the time the Pony Expresswas inaugura ted, April 1860, theonly states west of the MissouriRiver were California andOregon, the remainder of theCountry embraced withinseveral territories. One of thelargest of these was UtahTerritory, usually referred to as"The Great American Desert".Extending some 600 miles fromthe California line to thewestern boundry of NebraskaTerritory, Utah Territory in-cluded not only the presentstates of Utah and Nevada, butalso large portions of Wyomingand Colorado and part ofArizona.

Then, as no, this was the leastexplored region of its size in ournation, excluding Alaska, andone of the most sparselypopulated areas. In the wateredvalleys north and south of theGreat Salt Lake, a few determ-ined Mormons had beenstruggling for a dozen years toestablish homes and farms, andthe mining men were beginningto collect at the new camp ofVirginia City where silver hadbeen discovered the previoussummer. Otherwise, settlerswere few and far between, andeven those few lived in a state ofjeopardy, constantly threatenedby hostile bands of Ute, Paiute,

and Goshute Indians, whoresented this foreign intrusionby the white ma n.In conseq uence, the 500 m ilesfrom Salt Lake City to the Car-son Valley became the mosthazardous Link in the 1,966 milesystem. On this Utah Territorytrail were the longest unbrokenstretches without water.Our appreciation of historynever comes into full view untilwe stand on the spot where thathistory was made. For thisreason, if possible the historybuff should try to visit the site ofhis interest. Many of us like toread about Ghost Towns, buthow many of us have ever spenta day or two (and a night)camped in an abandoned cabinin an unoccupied Ghost Town?It is an experience that is diffi-cult to express except to saythat we can experience a little ofwhat it was like then as com-pared to now. This is especiallytrue of the Pony Express. Theroute it followed in Nevada isnot always easy to get to andsometimes harder to follow.Station sites are unknown orremote. Ruins are difficult tolocate. We have travelled over orclose to most of the Pony Routein Nevada. Even the surroundingcamps and towns are deeplysteeped in history.

It is an interesting experienceto travel from Dayton(Chinatown) down along theCarson River towards Cliftonand Fort Churchill and imaginewhat it was like 124 years agowhen the Indians were hostile,the country untamed, and thePony carried the m ail.

The following is a list of thPony Express stations iNevada and what remains thacan be found. Our list starts othe west at the present daWoodfords and proceeds east tthe Utah State Line. In somcases, we have listed stationbuilt for the Overland Stage thaare suspected of having beeused by the Pony.

WOODFO RD'S STATIONShort term station, April 3 29, 1860. Station was at CaryBarn. Post Office known aCary's Station later WoodfordOnly a historical marker idenifys the site. Actually in CalifoFRIDAYS STATIONLocated one mile east stateline at Lake Tahoe. OriginBlacksmith's shop remainNamed after a Mr. "FridaBurke who operated this statiand resting place along the MDonald toll road.

GENOAOriginally called MormStation. Station site is believto be where a picnic area located on the Ma in Street.CARSON CITYSite location unknowBelieved to be on Carson Str(US 395-50) between 4th and Streets.

30


31/44

STATION\VAUBURN

r1 ^ost. Joseph i LM 0 . \ i

ATTLE MOUNTAIN

if cV SCHILL CREE

' imvADAm^hUTAH'


32/44

DAYTONTown originally calledChinatown. Station was locatedfirst at Spafford Hall's Station.Later moved to site of UnionHotel . No ruins remain.MILLER'STATIONLater known as Reed'sStatio n. No ruins remain but siteis approximately 8 miles fromDayton along the old river road.FORT CHURCHILLSite now a state park. SeeDESERT, October 1983. No ruinsremain from the Pony. Located 8miles south ofSilver Springs.

Fort Churchill as itappeared in 1984.

32


33/44

B UCKLAND'S STATIONOnly a mile from FortChurchill. Used prior to theopening of the Fort. Site nowknown as Weeks. No Pony ruinsremain.COATES WELL (HOOTENWELLS)A station added in the laterdays of the Pony. Located 12miles east of Bucklands. rockruins rema in.CARSON SINKNamed for the area where thewaters of the Carson River"sink" into the ground. Was alarge station with 4 or 5buildings. Very l i t t le remainstoday-outl ines of walls arebarely v isible.SALT WELLSA station maybe. Listed inresearch by Nell Murberger, butnot by others. Site was east ofFallon approximately whereHighway 50 and the Pony routej o in .SAND SPRINGSNamed for the drift ingmounds of Sand located there.Sited location is unknown but issuspected to be just off High-way 50 at the Sand Mountainturnoff.MIDDLE GATEAnother possible station.Again listed by Nell Murburger.Located midway between SandSprings and Cold Springs. Actu-al site unknow n.COLD SPRINGSLocated about 1'/ miles eastof Highway 50 at a point 59miles east of Fallon. Some ruinsremain-a rock one 55' x 135'with 2 foot thick walls, corral,etc.EDWARDS CREEKAlso a maybe site. Nell Mur-burger says it was located be-tween Cold Springs and SmithCreek.

*.->.- ,

The Meadow by the CarsonRiver at Buckland's Station.

This building at present dayW eeks is near the site of thePony Station.


34/44

< JmMi

SAND SPRINGS "FAIRVIEW

" Q U A R T Z " >..MOUNTAIN

Located 14 miles north of the

on e xist.

Located just north of RailroadWas added as a station at

Station named after district

orerunner of Austin. Namehanged to Reese River. Station

orth of present day Au stin.S IMPSON PARKLocated 15 miles northeast ofAustin. Foundation ruins remainalong with a fast disappearingcemetary site to the north. Landis privately own ed.

DRY CREEKSite is on the Dry Creek Ranch4 miles north of Highway 50.Rock ruins remain on privateproperty. Also identifyable is thePony route to the west calledStreep's Cutoff.G RUBB' S W E L LStation was added to theroute in the summ er of 18 61. Noruins remain. Site is eight milesnorth of Highway 50.ROBERT'S CREEKSite is 15 miles north ofHighway 50 on the RobertsCreek Ran ch. No ruins remain.SULPHUR SPRINGS (GOOD-WINS)Was probably built for theOverland Stage in July 1861 andmonths. Site is on privatelyowned land now called theDiamond Star Ranch. Ruins areat the Springs which are fencedoff from access.DIAMOND SPRINGSWas added to the Pony routeat a later date. No ruins remain.Site originally consisted of astone cabin and hand dug well .

RUBY VALLEYNo ruins remain at sitesStation was moved to Elko fouse in a museum display.MOUNTAIN SPRING(S)

Not an original Pony ExpressStation. Built around July 186for the Overland Stage. Used bthe Pony for only 4 months. Noruins remain and site is oprivate property.BUTTE STATIONSite is on the east side of thButte Mountains overlookinButte Mountain. Some stonfoundations remain and thruins of a large fireplace thaserved the station.EGAN STATION (CANYON)Only stone foundations, fasdisappearing, rema in. Site is oprivate property. Was an activlocale for Indian troublLocated Egan Canyon.SCHELLCREEKSite later known as FoShellbourne and theSchellboume. Station site unknown but suspected to bonw of 2 log structures near thcreek. Numerous other ruinremain, but are on privaproperty.SPRING VALLEYSite is unknown. Was added a Pony Station after Octob1860.AN T F IO P E S PRINGSWa s a short lived station. Wburnt by Indians in June 18and not rebuilt by the PonLater used by the OverlaStage . Site is on private propeand some ruins remain althouit is not known if they were usby the Pony.EIGHT MILE STATIONIf this station existed , it woube the eastern most site Nevada. Supposedly wlocated 8 miles west of the DeCreek, Utah Territory Statijust inside the Nevada Bound


35/44

The Apache policemen hid in the adobe buildings, and whenGeronimo entered the parade ground he fell into their trap . . .

History h a s almost f o i gotten a small frontierArmy post a n d Indian Agen-cy i n t h e mountains o fsouthwest N e w M e x i c o . Itwas called Fort O j o Cali-e n t e . I n t h e spring o f 1 8 7 7 ,the wily renegade ApacheChief Geronimo w a s outrittedby a bol d, young a n d resource-ful Indian Agent b y t h e nameof John Clum. Here at FortO j o C a l i e n t e , f o r t h e firstand only time i n h i s rene-gade career, t h e Chiricahuaraider w a s captured an dclamped in chains.

Virtual obscurity h a s beenFort O j o Caliente's fate, a n dtoday t h e o l d fort lies f o r -gotten i n i t s remote mountainvalley location. F e w peoplevisit i t s decaying walls, r e -lics o f a turbulent a n d r o -mantic era. T h e site i s o nposted property s o permissionto enter must b e obtained.

To reach t h e site today,take 1 - 2 5 north o f Truth o rConsequences (shown a s H o tSprings o n older maps) t oState Road 5 2. This is legen-dary Apache country. Proceedwest o n this road. T h e firstsettlement y o u will come t ois Cuchillo,

Nine (9) mile s from t h ei n t e r s t a t e .

Cuchillo w a s a formertrading center midway b e -tween t h e mines o f Chlor-ide a n d Winston a n d t h erailroad stationCnow tornd o w n) at E n g l e . B e sure t ovisit t h e Cuchillo storeand examine i t s vast collec-tion o f m e m o r a b i l i a .The back country road

climbs rapidly o u t o f t h eRio Grande Valley a n d e n t -ers semi-desert country.North o f y o u will b e t h eSan Mateo Mountains a n d t othe west t h e Black Range.Sun-splashed sage gaveway t o rolling hills. T h egreen o f pinyon a n d scrubpine contrasted sharplywith t h e r e d e a r t h . It iseasy t o understand w h y t h e

Apache Indians h a d foughtso long a n d s o hard t okeep this land.

A small canyon carriesthe road across t h e southern t i p of t h e S a n Mateosinto a broad grassy valleystriped with swift mountacreeks and dotted withclumps of pine a n d cedar.This is cattle country.Ranch houses a n d grazingherds d o t t h e area.Twent y mi les fromCuchillo i s t h e town o fFairview, n o w known asWinston. This semi-ghostfeatures some photogenicbuildings. A n even bettersemi-ghost town t o visitis 2 . 3 miles further o u tForest Service Road 2 2 6 Chloride. There a r e numerous r uins, buildings, a n d


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ld have been the tar-

W h it e t h e f or t d e t e r -iorated rapidly after itsfficial abandonment in1882(?) several buildingswere repaired and used byfamilies for living quart-ers around the turn of thecentury. By the early1 9 2 0 ' s , these squattersleft and Fort Ojo Calie nte,n ow p l ai n O j o C a l i e n t e ,became the social centerof the area. Ranchers andtheir families wouldgather there for weeklys q u a re d a n c e s .During the depressiond a y s o f t h e e a r ly 1 9 3 0 ' s ,

residents of the valleystripped lumber from thefort building's roofs torepair their homes andranch buildings. The oldfort was a good sourceof free lumber as peopledidn't have enough moneyto buy building materialsin those depressed times .Ojo Caliente also has

its share of legendsstories that are hard top r o ve o r d i s p r o v e . O n etale concerns Geronimowhile he was a prisonerat the Fort awaitingtransfer back to Arizona .The Apache leader report-edly offered to fill aroom at the fort withgold within 24 hours inexchange for his free-dom. The Indians knewof a rich mine some-where close by and couldreward anyone who wouldgive them their freedom.No one knew these hillsand mountains as well asthe Apache and they toldtheir secrets to no out -sider.

Years later, an oldIndian came to the valleyof Ojo Caliente. Heclaimed he had been raisedwith Gero nimo , had knowno f t h e A p a c h e G o ld M i n e ,and no w, after the p a s s -ing of Geronimo and mostof his ban d, had return-ed to find it. The oldIndian described the en-t r a n ce t o t h e m i n e t u n -nel as being under awhite rock that lookedlike a white cow stand-ing in the brush of ahillside. He searchedfor several yea rs, butnever found the lostA p a ch e G o ld M i n e .Another legend has it

that a missing fortuneof gold lies buried nearthe fort six muleloads of gold buried byM e x i ca n v a q u e r o s . Int h e e ar ly 1 8 0 0 ' s , s othe legend g o e s , theMexicans were packingthe gold from Santa Feto Sonora when they wereattached by Apaches .After a running battle,t h e M e x i c a n s t e m p o r a r i -ly eluded their pursuersand buried the treasurein a shallow cave in acanyon near the ruins ofan Indian puebl o. Theyturned their mules looseand fled on foot .

O n ly o n e o f t h e v a -gueros lived to readS o c o r r o , n o rt h o f t h ef o r t , and on the eastside of the San MateoM o u n t a i n s . B e f o r e h ed ie d o f h i s w o u n d s , h eg a v e a m a p o f t h e t r e a -sure site to a man namedFlores who searched manyyears for the cachedgold, without success.

H o w e v e r , i n t h e 1 9 2 0 ' s ,cowboys reported findingsix old Mexican packsaddles in a cave nearthe fort. Many area re-sidents believe a for-tune in gold still liesburied in that caveor in the immediate vi-cinity. Who reallyknows? Fort Ojo Calienteis silent now, her se-crets slowly disappearinginto the soil and sandof New Mexico and thehistory books of anothert i m e .

Wa

198408 desert magazine 1984 august

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