Desert Magazine 1981 February
Desert Magazine 1981 February
Desert Magazine 1981 February
•
EBRUARY, 1981 $1.50
DEATH V
A COMPLE^
COLOR-FIL
BRING
THE DESERT
HOME WITH YOU
Relax and browse among our books of the
southwest (more titles at minimum prices
than anywhere else), and view our gallery of
vivid desert oils by Kathi Hilton, Carl Bray,
K.O. Harris and other well-known artists.
See the famous Pegleg nuggets on display.
Look through back issues of Desert Magazine
for that story you missed. We have collector
copies saved for you dating back 44 years to
Volume 1, Number 1, and the complete set is
also available on microfilm.
Remember, friend or stranger, you are
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Oh, for wings like a dove, to fly away and rest! I would
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Departments
EDITORIAL 5 TRACES IN THE SAND 38
LETTERS 6 THE SECOND TIME AROUND 40
DESERT PRODUCT OF THE MONTH . . . . 24 CHUCK WAGON COOKIN' 41
DESERT ROCKHOUND 34 THE LIVING DESERT 43
DESERT CALENDAR 35 DESERT BOOK SHOP 60
Our Covers
For our front cover this month, David Muench Our back cover, also by Mr. Muench with the
faced his Linhoff 4x5 with 135mm Symmar lens same camera and film (f28 at 1/ 10th sec., 360mm
west from Dante's View in Death Valley to Rodenstock lens), shows a portion of Salt Marsh
capture the morning light on distant, snow- Springs, looking north across the Valley's vast
shrouded Telescope Peak. Settings with Daylight salt flats toward Grapevine Mtn. at midday.
Ektachrome, E6 Process, were f22 at 1 / 10th sec.
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DESERT
Wildflowers PUBLISHED MONTHLY SINCE 1937
of the
Editor/Publisher
DONALD MACDONALD
Art Director
West
THOMAS THREINEN
Production Director
BARRY BERG
Managing Editor
MARY EILEEN TWYMAN
Ass't. Managing Editor
KATHRYN KRAHENBUHL
Associate Art Director
JANE DIVEL
Garden in harmony with nature Art Associate
and declare your freedom from JOHN B.THOMPSON
high-maintenance water loving land- Contributing Editors
scapes. Carefree meadows of colorful CHORAL PEPPER, Special Projects
KAREN S A U S M A N , Natural Sciences
wildflowers and beautiful lawns of rugged native grasses save WAYNE P. ARMSTRONG, Natural sciences
water and energy as well as time and money. Treat yourself to JERRY AND LUISA KLINK, Baja California
bountiful harvests of fresh organic vegetables as well. Send for our MERLE H . GRAFFAM, Cartographer
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advance to insure continuous Six BARBARA WHEELER
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subscription. Attach the mailing dedicated to the CHESTER M. ROSS
label for your old address and write horse. From early Greek
in your new address below. to modern times.
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FEBRUARY. 1981
See America's Most
Unusual Exposition
The Great Water Caper at Indio, California
February 13-22
OME SAY THAT Los Measure A which calls for a See camels and ostriches race on the
DF.SRRT 5
LETTERS inscriptions found in the 1800s have
POWER HUM ADDLES those, like him, who want to lean
BRAINS their heads against transmission only recently been deciphered; it is
While visiting a friend in San Diego poles for whatever reason. He noted only in this Century that we have
County recently, I attended a three types of head-to-pole leaners: translated ancient Egyptian,
meeting of the California Public those with the usual three pounds of Phoenician and Celt. That would
Utilities Commission, the San Diego brains sitting firmly on their seem to eliminate the possibility of a
Gas and Electric Co., and brain-pans and fitting their cranial hoax as no one could write these
landowners (among whom was my cavities perfectly who should be inscriptions at the time they were
friend) affected by the utility's provided with comfortable niches; discovered. And I remember a
desire to acquire a 330-foot wide those with thick skulls who needed German language professor of mine
right-of-way on private lands for a the bare pole to absorb the full who mentioned to my class fifteen
multi-million-volt transmission line. effect; and those with large cranial years ago that the Hungarian
The P.U.C. had previously refused cavities and small brains who would language was very similar to
permission for the utility to run the require a fully-cushioned pole to Navaho.
lines across adjacent, state-owned prevent potentially lethal Dr. Peter Cyrog, D.V.M.
land on the grounds that they would brain rattle. Los Angeles, Calif.
be "ugly." The witness, looking straight at
The protest of the landowners was the committee members, suggested GOOD VEGETATIVE
long, loud and educated. Then, just that the small-brain types, without MANAGEMENT
as the meeting was about to adjourn, suitable protection, might be I have never before in my life written
a haired-over individual said he rendered into a state of sleep to a magazine, but your editorial in
wished to address the group. (I wherein their decisions might be this month's issue (Desert,
learned that when he had spoken at worse than now. December 1980) made me so mad, I
their meetings in the past — and it What was supposed to have been just had to say something. You made
was so now — that the newspaper the final meeting on this subject was it sound like those kids did a great
and TV cameras focused on the long adjourned until sometime the next service to the state of California by
hair as he spoke and weaved back month without any action having burning off the dead brush. As you
and forth). been taken. put it, "good vegetative
In his youth, he said, he had many J. Joseph Shatney, Jr. management." I doubt very much if
times placed his head against the Truth or Consequences, N.M. you or a loved one had risked his life
power pole near his home and felt to help put out the fire, or if you'd
the rumble down the pole jar his BARRY FELL FANS lost your home in the fire, that you
brain. Though it was only 440 volts, Those intrigued by "Terra Calalus, would say "good management" and
he said it hypnotized him and that U.S.A." (Desert, December 1980) "they've suffered enough."
caused him to dream of many things can read further on old world settlers Sylvia Lyon
he might not have dreamed of in the Americas. Two sources are Re do ndo Beach, Calif.
otherwise. He said that he had America B.C. and Saga America,
researched the effect of rumbles both books by Barry Fell. Another It was those who did "risk their
caused by three to five million volts, resource is the Epigraphic Society, lives," U.S. and California forestry
and that the forces moved down 6 Woodland St., Arlington, MA officials, who described the overall
more than they moved up. Thus, he 02174. Prof. Fell is a founder of that results of the fire as "good vegetative
said, anything down below was group. management," not us.
going to absorb something very Allan B. Martin
strange. Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif. RECURRING RING
He predicted rattlesnakes would The July, 1968 issue of Desert had an
become confused by the sensory Dr. Barry Fell suggests in his book, article by Gale R. Rhodes entitled
elements of their tongues moving to America B.C., that the Celts may "Spanish Treasure of the Unitahs."
the roof of their mouths and they have been trading with American In it the author mentioned an old
would strike out at something not Indians prior to the birth of Christ. Indian finding a small brass mule bell
there; that the upset metabolism of He further suggests that the reputed which had the inscription: "1878 —
cows would cause milk to be given wealth of Gaul (furs and copper) Saicnelegier, Chiantel, Fondeur."
down when it wasn't milking time; which stimulated the Roman The bell also had two Spanish
that lizards and birds and mesa mint invasion of Britain was probably crosses on it.
and everything in the area that the coming from America. There also
state now protects would flee or dig exists evidence that the Egyptians,
deeper; and that the jack rabbit Phoenicians and others may have
would come to consider it his influenced the languages of various
profound duty to go out at night and American Indian tribes. Studies
insist the coyotes eat him. have shown remarkable similarity
The witness pleaded that between Egyptian and the Micamac
something safe be provided for Hieroglyphics. Stones bearing
6 FEBRUARY, 1981
Well, the other day an old
prospector wandered into my
service station and guess what,
among other items, I bought from
him? A bell that exactly matches the
one described in your article.
Doug Smith
Essex, Calif.
FLORAL WHIMSY
I should like to tell you how
delighted I was with Wayne
Armstrong's article, "Curious
Wildflower Names" (Desert,
November 1980). I enjoy words,
respect and like Latin, adore plants
and appreciate humor. Unifolium
bifolium, indeed! How many times I
walked three-quarters of a mile to
the lab at Cornell memorizing Latin
names! And the "wait-a-minute"
bush — I've expounded on it in
several letters to friends already.
Dorothy Sherk
Pdtzeuaro, Michoacdn, Mexico
LONELY IN ILLINOIS
Sure wish you had more poetry to
match all the wonderful desert
magic. Sure wish you had a Desert
Pen Pals Club where friends could
exchange ideas.
Raymond Krum
Northfield, III.
EYE PROBLEMS
I have been subscribing to Desert LAKE POWELL, LAKE MEAD AND LAKE MOHAVE offer Westerners what others come cross-
Magazine for the past 25 years, but country to enjoy...a combined 2,700 miles of scenic shoreline on which to beach, explore and
the last few issues have been in finer camp. And 230,000 surface acres of clear, sun-drenched water on which to boat ski, swim
print and I was unable to read them and fish.
without a magnifying glass. There These gorgeous Colorado River lakes, surrounded by Arizona, Nevada and Utah, are served
are so many good articles, I don't by 6 Del Webb marinas (National Park Service authorized concessions). Our services include
want to miss any of them. rental houseboats, powerboats and sailboats, boat tours, motels, housekeeping units, restaurants,
Bertha Sherman stores, RV hookups and campgrounds. All are open year-around. Not all locations offer all services.
Montclair, Calif.
For reservations, call TOLL-FREE 1-800-528-6154
Since our December, 1980 issue, we
In Arizona, call 1-800-352-6508 or 602-264-8466
have printed Desert in 9-point Times
Roman. The Clarion uses 9-point
Goudy Old Style. Both of these faces
are more readable than type we have
used in the past. In this issue, we have
gone one step further and moved up
Lake Powell: WAHWEAP • BULLFROG • HALL'S CROSSING • HITE
<e Mead: CALI.VILLE BAY ,M
Lake Mohave: C 0 T T 0 N W 0 0 I
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Run-off (opposite) evaporates
into pleasing patterns on the
Valley floor.
VISITOR CEN
Skidoo
FURNACE CREEK
INN & RANCH yXZABRISKIE POINT
Devil's Golf
Course
Mahogany Flat
\
C8
Telescopy Pk. aUpaV< °'
Ibex Pass
Saratoga Spr
DEATH VALLEY A
by Don MacDonald
NATIONAL MONUMENT \
JOHANNESBURG _• _ ,. . „ .,
w To San Bernardino 103 miles
D
ESERT MAGAZINE; that day forward the characters in
v now in its 43rd year, is the drama, the humans who had
I only four years pioneered the Valley, were first
f younger than Death harassed and then preemptorily
Valley if you count ordered to leave. Let Burro Bill
back to when the latter Price and his wife, Edna, who
became a U.S. National Monument. chronicled this period, put it in their
Then, too, we can look behind us 132 own words, as found in Edna's
years to another significant date, book, Burro Bill and Me *:
that when an unnecessarily terrified, "But also there was, we had
though perhaps genuinely heard, a new person abroad — a
discomfited, female 49'er gave the custodian of the newly-made
Valley its wholly inappropriate National Monument. The Indians
name. However, these events span could not believe that they were no
very little time as history is longer to hunt the mountain sheep,
measured, still less the way the rabbits, the ducks, on this, their
geologists count. own land from the beginning of the
During this brief period, world. What would they do for food?
nevertheless, legends have been " 'Well,' said Indian Tom, 'that
generated, told, and retold, by man is only one. He no can be
countless writers to the extent where everywhere at once. Me, I will eat.'
their words surely outnumber the We, too, were dependent on game
total set to paper on any other for food, so, like the Indians, Bill
western subject. And the words continued to hunt, as silently and
continue to flow, even though the warily as they. He learned to creep
generating of legends stopped on upon a rabbit so stealthily that he
about that day in 1933 when the
Valley was taken over. •Strawberry Valley Press, Idyllwild,
The reason, simply put, is from Calif. — $4.95
well-written guides are furnished at
Today's ranger contingent in Death Valley no cost to the government by
volunteers from the Death Valley
is composed of young, college-trained Natural History Association.
Once practically deserted in the
men and women. summertime, even by the native
Indians, Death Valley now hosts a
significant and growing number of
rarely missed a shot and, from Valley Scotty who lingered on in international visitors, primarily
necessity, developed a "his" castle under the influential Germans and Japanese. Everybody
marksmanship that could clip a shield of the real owner, Chicago is happy about this except the
quail's head neatly from its body or millionaire Albert Mussey Johnson. rent-a-car companies, whose
catch a duck as it rose in flight." Shorty Harris and Seldom Seen Slim maintenance programs fail to cope
But truce by default couldn't last. were off in Ballarat; borax mining with the unique combination of
Edna and Bill, their friend Mac, John was more and more restricted; there drivers exuberantly experiencing
the Duke of Luxembourg, Neighbor was nothing the pioneer in the Valley open spaces unknown in their home
George, Shorty Borden, Bill could do to sustain himself except countries and the extreme
Corcoran and the others mentioned capitulate and work for the temperature. Their hard driving
in this delightful little book, knew government or Fred Harvey, Inc., keeps the rangers' walkie-talkies
r
their days in the Valley were the tourist concessionaires. buzzing with reports of cars in
numbered: "Soon the brooding trouble.
stillness would give way to a buzz of ODAY, ALL THE And that recalls a legend. Mac, the
activity as the new Park Service set natural wonders and Prices' friend, used to line the steep
up its smoothly efficient machinery, the most dramatic grade into Wild Rose Canyon with
and forever put a stop to the hunting scenic views in the shiny five-gallon water cans, crudely
and mining by which we lived. Valley are neatly spun lettered: "Help Yourself and Bring
'"Alley Oop! On delay! Get up, together by a network the Can to the Next Water, 3 Miles."
you long-eared bastards!' yelled Bill. of paved or graded roads. Visitors, When asked if anyone ever stole his
The burro bells jangled a response who now number around 700,000 cans, he replied: "Why no, it says
and we were on our way to the most annually, are directed to these right on the sign to bring 'em here."
primitive land left in America — the attractions by discreet sign-boards Today's ranger contingent in
Arizona Strip." and once there, they may read about Death Valley is composed of young,
That was 1933. No character left a the spot upon which they are college-trained men and women who
stamp with a later date less you standing by extracting a descriptive are smart in dress and mind. They
consider the dubious ones of Death folder from a nearby kiosk. The are dedicated to their careers; I've
never heard any complain about
their assignment, despite the relative
hardship and high cost of living in
THE RESURRECTION OE DEATH VALLEY the area. Home for most is a stark
pre-fab on stilts, in unshaded,
military-like clusters.
SOUTHERN
California Marcy theorized that evaporation from And they tend to think in a
bursting its seams, with attendant this new body of water, eventually military pattern. Oft-recurring in any
energy crises and waste disposal covering the approximately 200 square conversation with them that may
problems, we wouldn't be too surprised miles of the Valley that lies at or below question existing concepts of
to see a resurgence of the "E. L. Marcy sea level, would change the desert
Plan." Marcy was an engineer who in the climate. Forests would spring up, other
protection and enforcement is
1960s envisioned an idea so improbable lakes would form, and Death Valley reference to "our mandate." This
and provocative that ecologists in would revert to the semi-tropical jungle it relates to the role of the Park
particular thought he ought to be once was 2,000 or so years ago before a Service, outlined by the Act
locked up. great upheaval turned it into a desert. establishing it on August 25, 1916.
What Marcy proposed was to set aside The painted, sun-baked hills would be Section 1, 39Stat-535, says: "The
Death Valley as a natural reservoir to coated with green grass, legendary lost Service shall conserve scenery and
reclaim waste water from Southern mines would be buried in vinery, all the natural and historic objects and
California. The effluent, presumably old clues and waybills (and old Desert wildlife therein and provide for the
after some prior purification, would be Magazines) would be useless, and that
carried by gravity through gently sloping use and enjoyment of same in such a
wouldn't do at all. And, needless to say, manner and with such means as will
tunnels or tubes to be dumped into Death U.S. National Park Service personnel
Valley's 282-feet-below-sea-level basin. disapprove unanimously of the Marcy leave them unimpaired for the
And that was but a part of his scheme. Plan. enjoyment of future generations."
He envisioned a tube large enough to We checked with KABC-TV's genial This mandate, as we learned from
include besides the water, a rapid-transit weather expert, Doctor George Edna Price, was effectively applied
system to whisk people and freight Fischbeck to see if these imaginings in Death Valley from its beginning as
between the two destinations, thus could really come to pass, and he said a Monument in 1933. Further
inhabiting the "empty" Death Valley indeed they could if Mr. Marcy's scheme intrusion by man, other than
area and relieving the strain of were ever adopted. We wonder what visitation, was progressively
over-population in Southern California ever became of Mr. Marcy?
cities. prohibited, and the language was
Choral Pepper soon translated to read expulsion of
WHERE TO GO AND
WHAT TO SEE IN DEATH VALLEY
FURNACE CREEK INN AND CHARCOAL KILNS: THE RACETRACK:
RANCH RESORT: A true oasis in Eight-and-one-half miles above Wild Approximately 26 miles south of
Death Valley. In its setting of Rose Station, these kilns were built Ubehebe Crater on a dry lake is this
mountains and valleys this resort in the 1870s to convert pine to area known for its moving rocks.
offers you the choice of charcoal which was needed for the Looking carefully, you can see the
accommodations at either the Ranch Modoc Mines in the Panamint tracks from the movement of the
or the Inn. Each has its own special mountains. Shaped like giant rocks. Scientists say this occurs as a
charm. The Inn features gourmet beehives, the restored kilns are result of high winds forcing the rocks
dining at the Oasis Supper Club, approximately thirty feet in across the ground when it is at the
while the Ranch offers more modest diameter. proper moisture level.
restaurants and has its own general
store for gifts and souvenirs. Both MESQUITE SPRINGS: This HARMONY BORAX WORKS:
locations offer swimming, tennis, excellent site for camping is located Located about one mile north of
golf, horseback riding and many at Death Valley Wash in a large Furnace Creek Ranch is one of
areas for exploring. grove of mesquite trees near a several sites where borax was
continuously flowing spring. refined. The old vats and boilers and
STOVE PIPE WELLS VILLAGE: some of the structure have been
Centrally located so you can visit all CHLORIDE CITY: A typical Death restored.
of Death Valley's points of interest, Valley ghost town which has had two
this resort offers comfortable booms, the last in 1910. Above the RHYOLITE, NEVADA: If you are
accommodations along with a saloon city is Chloride Cliff which provides interested in ghost towns, this is a
and dining rooms. There is a general one of the best views of Death good place to go. You can still see
store, service station and a heated Valley. the ruins of the town along Golden
mineral pool. Street. The famous bottle house and
UBEHEBE CRATER: This colorful railroad depot are open to the public.
DANTE'S VIEW: A view unequaled crater from an extinct volcano is Food and souvenirs are available.
anywhere in the world. From here approximately five miles beyond
you can see the lowest point in Scotty's Castle, measures one-third
Death Valley at 282 feet below sea BADWATER: This pond is 279.6 feet
of a mile across and is 880-feet deep. below sea level and several miles
level against a backdrop of the
14,000-foot peaks of the High Sierra. east of the lowest point on the
TITUS CANYON: On the road to American continent which is 282 feet
Scotty's Castle, this is a side trip below sea level. It is the habitat for
PUPFISH: One of the Valley's well worth the time involved. Six species of insects found nowhere
smallest creatures, they live in tepid miles up the canyon is Klare Spring else in the world.
streams and salty pools in various and about 2Vi -miles further on is the
areas of Death Valley. Usually they ghost town of Leadfield. This is a
don't exceed two inches in length. good canyon for exploring. NATURAL BRIDGE: A few miles
They are believed to have survived north of Badwater, a remarkable
from the Ice Age lake when arch rises fifty feet above a wash.
mastodons roamed the valley. DEVIL'S GOLF COURSE: About Beyond you can see a chute where
six miles north of Badwater you can water drops over the canyon rim and
find this vast bed of rugged salt cuts into the wall. From here you
TWENTY MULE TEAM crystals. They take shape in various can also see the former levels of
CANYON: Near Furnace Creek, this forms such as ridges, edges and the wash.
is where borax was mined. It once spires of pure sodium chloride
contained the first frame house in (common salt).
Death Valley which has since been If you want to learn more about
moved to Furnace Creek Ranch and SCOTTY'S CASTLE: Near the Death Valley, check the many books
is now occupied by the Borax mouth of Grapevine Canyon lies a listed on pages 60-61. These titles
Museum. palatial Moorish mansion. and more are available at Desert
Construction was started in 1924 by Magazine's Book Store and Art
TELESCOPE PEAK: The highest Albert Johnson. The castle has Gallery, 74-425 Highway 111, Palm
point in the Panamint Range. The eighteen fireplaces and a 260-foot Desert, California. Hours:
base is below sea level and it reaches swimming pool. Guided tours start Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
to 11,049 feet above sea level. on the hour. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Death Valley has lost its most precious
resource, its special kind of people.
those already there. Where a large corporations, their employees
privately owned artifact was deemed and stockholders. Taking their side
"historic," it was acquired, often by is akin to being against motherhood,
methods that did not consider the or for pollution. As worded above,
wishes of the owner. restricted as it is to two highly visible
Various mining regulations, activities, she lays upon us a
culminating in the Mining in the compelling argument.
Parks Act of 1976, were and are
B
rigidly enforced. This latter, in UT WHAT about Edna
effect, required that operations be and Bill Price, who
conducted at a profit. Those that once accidentally
'HOLESOME weren't were considered frivolous made camp on a spot
and one by one, closed down, by used similarly by the
\ESS OF THIS court order if necessary. 49'ers and, horrors of
_ OUS FRUIT The argument for this is perhaps horrors, promptly erected a souvenir
COMES, TO YOU AND best expounded by Ruth Kirk in her stand to hawk the relics they found
YOUR FRIENDS FROM book, Exploring Death Valley.* there? What about Shorty Harris,
LEE ANDERSON'S Writing in 1956 and presumably Shorty Borden and the others who
VALDA GARDENS. updating her statements in the third gave birth to the legends that draw
edition, published in 1978, from people to Death Valley today?
HAVE A WIDE which this is taken, she says: "Over Didn't they in their time qualify at
SELECTION OF DATES 2,000 claims are staked in the the least as "historical objects" to
AND DATE PRODUCES, National Monument, only a fraction be left unimpaired for the enjoyment
FROM BULK TO FANCY feasible as mines." of visitors?
GIFT PACKS. GIFT Continuing, she reports: "Those True, they'd all be gone by now,
PACKS ARE PACKED ON that do operate are strip mines. A but a measure of their spirit could be
ORDER TO INSURE single borate pit and dump in upper preserved if a crack were left in that
FRESHNESS AND Furnace Creek sprawl across more mandate to allow in younger men
QUALITY. than 300 acres of landscape, yet the and women of the same mold. "Gold
total life of the mine until the ore was mines pock-marking the
COME SEE OUR DATE expected to give out was only six mountains," complains Kirk,
years. Overall, similar modern "hardly any of which could possibly
PRODUCTS IN OUR borate mining has consumed one prosper."
NATURAL FOOD STORE acre of Death Valley's surface for Old Bill Thompson took nothing
AT 51-392 HWY. 86, every 10,000 tons of mineral out of his Lost Burro Mine in the
COACHELLA, CA, OR produced; in the southern Panamint foothills of the Cottonwood
WRITE US FOR DATE Mountains where talc is strip-mined, Mountains. Bill, who acquired the
LITERATURE AND OUR the rate of surface destruction is six claim in the 1940s, ran a fruit stand in
PRICE LIST. times greater. Desert Hot Springs. He knew his
"Yet these particular deposits are predecessors had never gotten more
not needed. Borate and talc exist than $5,000 out of the Lost Burro,
NO PESTICIDES abundantly elsewhere in the but he dreamed he could.
NO CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS country. Unique scenery has been And he'd go to the Lost Burro
NOFUMIGANTS fed into the manufacture of whenever he could steal time. He
fiberglass, ceramics and paint which tried alone in a mine that had once
would have been produced worked sixteen men, and he wasn't
anyway." successful as measured by the
Ruth Kirk's husband, Louis, is a Mining in the Parks Act of 1976.
career naturalist in the Park Service. There's valid question as to whether
She, reflecting their mutual he ever intended to be which, in
interests, is an eloquent turn, could draw the valid answer,
spokesperson for the "mandate." who cares? Perhaps Bill Thompson
And, too, the only empathy involved just wanted to be alone with
Box 908 in whether borate and talc his dreams.
.9223 operations continue or are shut Anyway, the government cared
/.86, down is the financial interests of and Old Bill was inexorably
Coachella pressured out. He had what is called
* Stanford University Press, Stanford, an unpatented claim, wherein title to
Calif. —$3.45 the land remains forever with the
1 A C C D D I 1 A D \7 1 f»O 1
United States. The validity of his
claim was due to be questioned in f f*^
Luxury on
Luxury on aa»«
Baja Beach
court, but Old Bill cheated them. He
died of a heart attack early last year.
Now, the matter can be resolved,
/in econhorel
Av. Mlsion de Loreto No. 148 • Apdo. Postal No. 190 • S»n Febp.. B«|« California. M«lco • Tdrfonoi: 7-1094 al 7-10M
without emotion, by his executor.
This is what I miss when I visit
Death Valley today. Nobody that
belongs there lives there. Even the
feral burros, descendents of those
without which man could not have
made it in the Valley, are marked for
removal. They cause dire harm, it is
claimed. They wear trails in the land,
foul watering holes, consume rare
vegetation and are a hazard to
motorists. If enough people won't
"adopt" them under current
programs, there is only one
unspoken, hush-hush alternative —
they'll be shot. Discover the Other Mexico When You Visit
One can't really blame the Beautiful San Felipe, Baja California
government for this predicament, if Whether you're after that telephones and bath. Restaurant, bar,
you view it further afield than just record-breaking corvina or simply swimming pool, tennis, gift shop.
the Valley. It was the cattlemen and getting away to a quiet, friendly place Discotheque, too. Bring the whole family.
sheepherders who hunted predators with ocean breezes and luxury
accommodations, you'll love the For Information and Reservations
such as the lion and wolf to village of San Felipe and your stay at Call Your Travel Agent or
. extinction and thus left nature Econhotel. Overlooks a superb beach
without its controls. for sunning, swimming, surf fishing.
Or can you? Burro Bill and Edna 120 air conditioned rooms with /fi\econhotdles
came to the Valley in a Ford and 7488 La Jolla Blvd. • P.O. Box 3335, La Jolla, CA 92038 .Telephone (714) 459-0251
soon traded it for four burros. The California Toll Free: (800) 542-6028 • Nationwide: (800) 854-2026 Telex: 695444
animals were precious then; their
livelihood in the Valley was
impossible without them. And they
took them along when they were run
off because they were going to a
place even more remote. Others in
their turn just set their burros loose.
That's how it started, the
government.
It is still possible, of course, to AND LOUNGE
lose one's self in today's Monument,
both by Jeep and on foot. But you in Indian Wells, Calif.
can't stay. I heard, for example, a Phone:(714)345-2581
ranger describe how one weekend he
had climbed, hand over hand, to a
spot he was certain no one had been
before but while resting, he looked
around. There, sure enough, was a Hence:
marker. Someone had once claimed 1. All Vegetables will be Fresh, all 3. Major Credit Cards will be honored
that remote peak. Fish Newly Captured, all Breads and, under Special Conditions, Cash
It was an odd paradox, I thought, Freshly Baked and all Meats Properly will be accepted as payment for all Ac-
the ranger thinking he had pioneered Prepared to your Taste. If not, RAISE counts.
and Indian Tom saying, "that man HELL!
is only one. He no can be
everywhere at once . . . " It's true, 2. Service will be Prompt and Pleasant 4. Above All, no Man shall leave this
sooner or later,' 'that man'' would as the Pleasing of our Patrons is Establishment with unsatisfied Hunger
be everywhere, one place at a time. Paramount. If not, see Above. or undiminished Thirst.
And therefore, Death Valley has lost
its most precious resource, its OPEN FOR BREAKFAST * LUNCH * DINNER
special kind of people. 0 Fabulous Sunday Champagne Brunch, 10 to 2
Entertainment in the Lounge Tues. through Sat., beginning 8:30 p.m.
(Publisher's Note: Both books referred to in
this article are available through Desert Situated in the luxurious Indian Wells Hotel
Magazine's Book Store. See pages 60-61 for (Built by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez in 1957)
ordering information.)
Run-off from spring-fed pool (right)
is used for irrigation. Furnace Creek
Inn (below) beckons travelers day
and night at the intersection of two
main enter roads to the monument.
AN
OASIS
FOR THE JET SET
The Story of How the
Furnace Creek Inn Came to Be
PHOTO COURTESY OF FURNACE CREEK INN!
rm \
.ell
wings extending on either side of the came to seek. To its eternal credit,
By Maty Eileen main building.
The accommodations, food
the Furnace Creek Inn stands on its
own and doesn't rely on the
Tivyman and service were pure luxury. It was notoriety of its visitors for publicity.
this deluxe treatment, combined Just as the Inn operates on
HEN THE 49ERS passed with the desert magnificence and tradition, it has become a tradition to
W through Death Valley, terrified,
worn in mind and body, certainly not
solitude of Death Valley, this perfect
blend of contrasts, that caused the
many families. It is not uncommon
for the children and grandchildren of
one of the party would have popularity of the Furnace Creek Inn former guests to vacation at the Inn,
predicted that someday, people to grow with a speed that amazed sometimes in the same rooms used
would come there for enjoyment. even the farsighted Nellie Coffman. by their parents and grandparents.
The idea that a resort hotel would be Automobile travel to the Inn Many people are also married there,
built was unthinkable. Yet, records began to increase in spite of the poor in the Oasis Garden where the slope
show they rested and replenished roads, and on either side of the of the lush grass-coated ravine rises
their water supply on the exact site parking areas five terrace rooms gently around shadowed pools. For
where, 77 years later, construction were added by fall of 1927. Ten more 46 years Deglet Noor date palms and
started on the plush Furnace were completed in 1928, and 1929 fan palms have reached proudly
Creek Inn. saw the building of a seventeen- skyward from this garden, spreading
As early as 1851, pioneers were room annex for the hotel help, and broad, fluted leaves against the
coming to Death Valley in search of the 87-degree spring fed a new withering rays of the desert sun;
minerals and some decided to stay. swimming pool and dressing rooms. allowing this little space of green to
The Pacific Coast Borax Company In 1930 a two-story, 21-room north flourish splendidly and boldly and in
was quite aware of this untapped wing was built and joined by an spite of the crushing environment.
potential for tourism, and also, they enclosed bridge to the main building. Owned by Fred Harvey, Inc., an
owned the Tonopah & Tidewater Another building, completely of Amfac company since 1969, the Inn
and Death Valley Railroads. The stone, was also built for the kitchen offers a modified American plan,
only thing missing was help at this time. In 1934 the lower air-conditioned rooms, swimming
accommodations for the travelers. lounge and recreation room and the pool, tennis, badminton, a supper
Much discussion resulted. Some beautiful oasis garden were added in club with entertainment and a
executives of the Company were the ongoing expansion program. cocktail lounge. It also offers Death
fiercely opposed to the idea of a With no more space on top of the Valley National Monument,
grand hotel on the Valley floor. butte for the proliferating Inn to 2,000,000 acres, more or less, of
Nevertheless, Frank Jenifer, who at stretch out, it began to reach capsuled history.
that time was vice-president of upwards. In 1935, the enclosed There is a paradox, a certain
Pacific Coast Borax, invited Mrs. bridge was removed and a four-story sadness, to Death Valley now. While
Nellie Coffman to evaluate the tower containing an elevator and 24 the Furnace Creek Inn is in the
situation. Knowledgeable, direct and rooms replaced it. The kitchen and process of planning even more
blessed with a lot of foresight, Mrs. lobby were also enlarged, as was the expansion, what made Death Valley
Coffman drew on her many years of dining room by removing the walls of a place of such historical significance
experience running the highly ten of the original bedrooms. During is no longer even allowed. While old
successful Desert Inn in Palm this time several buildings were built enterprises like the Harmony Borax
Springs and squelched adverse away from the main hotel and further Works, the Ubehebe Lead Mine and
opinions very quickly with her up Furnace Creek Wash for the help. the Lost Burro Mine are all looked
strong, positive input. She even By 1937, employees had 56 rooms set upon as shrines, and the people who
went one step further and suggested aside for their use. brought them about are lauded as a
the hotel be built at Furnace Creek. stout-hearted, lost breed, if a
Plans for the hotel were drawn up
by architect Albert C. Martin. The
board of directors grumbled at the
T HE SAME COMBINATION
of impeccable hospitality,
backdropped by an unconquerable
throwback to that breed would show
up with pick in hand and burro on
lead, he would be thrown out of the
$30,000 price tag on the entire wilderness, that attracted people to Valley, by law.
project, but they proceeded anyway. the Inn 53 years ago in numbers that The burro, whose strong back and
So in February of 1927, sitting atop forced a ten-year expansion program ability to live any where, made it
a small butte which had been an to begin the very year it opened, still possible for prospectors to survive in
Indian ceremonial ground, and fills the Inn with guests during its Death Valley, is now scorned. If an
situated near the mouth of Furnace October to May season today. unlikely pair such as Albert Johnson
Creek, supplied with water from the Although attendants aren't as and Walter Scott announced plans to
same spring that had revived the starched and uniformed as they were build a castle in Death Valley, the
49ers, and facing the Panamint then, they serve you with the same Park Service would lock them up
Mountains, the Furnace Creek Inn graciousness. Famous authors over and throw away the key.
was open for business. the years have written books in the The Furnace Creek Inn is more
Quick-growing tamarisk trees seclusion of the Inn, while movie than a resort hotel. It is a private
were planted on the grounds to stars and politicians have sought business, surviving on a small patch
supply fuel for the fireplaces which refuge for less creative reasons. All of private property within a saran-
were in each of the twelve rooms. know this same graciousness that wrapped public domain. The
All of the rooms opened out onto a invited them would respect their Furnace Creek Inn is Death Valley's
veranda, and were contained in two privacy and protect the solitude they last pioneer. @
Light-Hearted Proof
that Death Valley
|wajs Misnamed
e Happy WaM
by M.C. JUHREN
ATE IN THE summer of
1861, in Lida Valley, Nevada,
ii hopeful young man stood
watching the loading of mules for a
long trip and struck up a
conversation with the two men in
charge. They intended to go to San
Francisco by way of Death Valley.
They had four mules, two horses, a
stock of provisions and thirteen
dollars. He asked to go along.
It would slow them down to take
him, for he had no horse and must
walk unless one of the men would
spell him. Furthermore, he wanted
to take along a large bundle of
boards. This, as the leader
understated, would be "unhandy."
But they must have liked him, and
they all shared a liking for the desert
and a refusal to believe in the
fearsomeness of Death Valley. They
agreed to take him on as a member of
the party.
Death Valley at this time was at
the depths of its bad repute. It had
been eleven years since the Bennett-
Death Valley has many unique Moorish architecture rising from the publicized stunts. Johnson's money,
attractions which include Badwater, floor of one of the world's harshest for example, chartered the Santa Fe
the lowest point at 282-feet below deserts, where in summer ground train which, with Scotty helping at
sea level on the North American temperatures of 165 degrees have the throttle, attained speeds up to
continent, ruins of ghost towns and been recorded. Even on the 106 miles per hour to make the
famous mining works, magnificent relatively high ground of Grapevine record run from Los Angeles to
views and peculiar desert plants. But Canyon, it seems an illogical place to Chicago in 44 hours and 50 minutes.
the goal of most visitors is Scotty's build a palace. It was likewise Johnson's money
Castle high up the draw of Grapevine that Scotty used in San Bernardino
I
Canyon at the north end of the valley. T'S WELL KNOWN that and Los Angeles to light 500 cigars
With wide pavement all the way, Scotty's Castle didn't belong to with $10 bills and throw silver
it's easy to get there. During daylight Scotty at all. It belonged to dollars around when John D.
hours seven days a week, except Albert Johnson, a millionaire Rockefeller was tipping dimes. Once
perhaps in the dead of summer, the Chicago financier who had taken a when asked about his connection
parking area across from the dry shine to the colorful Walter Scott, with "Scotty's" castle, Johnson
moat, originally intended to become one-time bronc buster for Buffalo replied, "I'm only his banker."
one of the world's most eleborate Bill Cody's world-famous wild west You can take a self-guided tour of
and elegant swimming pools, will be show, and made the then obscure the fifteen acres of grounds and walk
lined with cars and tour buses. Death Valley prospector his partner. up the hill behind the castle to where
The castle comes upon you It was Johnson's $3,000,000 that Scotty was buried in 1954, and there
suddenly. For miles there is little but built the castle in the 1920s just as it
rocks and sand. Then around a sharp was Johnson's grubstake that Scotly's Castle (above) was opened to
bend there stands this masterpiece of financed all of Scotty's well- tourists even when it was privately owned.
freeze), enough to last.•1.00 years with
the opulent castle, narrated by a every fireplace going day and night.
National Park Service ranger. Furnishings are ornate, either
made to the Johnsons' design or
22 FEBRUARY, 1981
\
DESERT 23
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
Preserving the
Ancient Pueblos and water often seeps through the
The stone walls at Salmon Ruins stand like a ground into the walls making
child's block city, partially built, then abandoned moisture a challenge to the
stabilizers.
when interest waned. They are graphic reminders The walls themselves are largely
made up of stone veneer on two
of a bustling past when Pueblo Indians made this sides between which was poured a
soupy adobe mix, a combination of
sophisticated apartment complex in northwestern mud, clay, stone, pottery chips and
other debris. An analogy in modern
New Mexico their home. The walls reach architecture is poured concrete walls
with the rubble core corresponding
skyward, chopped off by the hands of time and in function to the poured concrete,
weathered by wind and moisture. Baker said. The analogy falls down,
though,he said,because today the
A crew of fifteen Navaho masons allow archeologists of the future with forms are removed from poured
headed by stabilization director their presumedly better techniques concrete while back then the
Larry Baker are repairing those to learn more about the complex and masonry veneer on both sides of the
walls. Baker is also director of the its culture. rubble core remained.
Puerco Ceramic Lab at Eastern New However, removing sand that The masonry veneer expressed
Mexico University, Portales. His filtered into the ruins for 700 years the builders' sense of artistry as they
stabilization assistant is Norman left the uncovered walls vulnerable made patterns of different stone
Nelson. Following the axiom of to erosion, particularly from sizes, with large stones having bands
make it last but make it look like it's moisture. Like a home, it always of smaller stones running between
1,000 years old, Baker has spent needs repairing somewhere. But, them to form their patterns. Known
summer months since 1974 unlike a home, this ruin is almost 900 as chinking, the small stones provide
supervising putting the walls back years old and has no roof to protect a designer's touch to the walls.
together. the walls. It is partly because of this style
The ruins, located two miles west "It needs preserving," said Baker. that Baker insists on taking pictures
of Bloomfield, New Mexico, on U.S. "They're just not building any more of each wall before it is stabilized.
64, is a pueblo structure built by of them. Our orientation is to Then, using the pictures as a guide,
Chaco Canyon Indians beginning in maintain and preserve the original modern Navaho masons attempt to
the year 1088 A.D. It was inhabited architecture without making an replicate the banded pattern.
off and on until the early 1300s, first exact duplicate, for that would take Most Navahos, because of their
by the colonists from Chaco too long and be too costly." cultural beliefs, will not work at a
Canyon, a trade center fifty miles to In Baker's work with the Salmon ruins site. But, says Baker,
the south with contacts as far away Ruins architecture he has developed stabilizing a ruin is different in their
as Central America, then by Mesa a respect for the early day masons. eyes than excavating one. With
Verde Indians who farmed the area "The walls were built to take stabilization you're not disturbing
nearby before moving into the stress," he said. "They're wide things and releasing malevolent
deserted complex. enough at the base and strong forces, you're restoring them.
Excavation at the ruins progressed enough to take a second story." The masons pay special attention
in 58 of the estimated 200 to 250 When the apartment complex was to stone length, width, color, grain
rooms from 1972 to 1978 under the inhabited, it did indeed have a size, make-up of the mortar joint and
direction of Dr. Cynthia second story. the style of chinking. Once the
Irwin-Williams of E.N.M.U. Other The ruin sits on the alluvial terrace photographs are taken and the
rooms were left unexcavated to of the San Juan River's flood plain deteriorated portion of stone and
by MARGARET CHEASEBRO
DESERT 25
UNDS FOR THE PRESERVA-
tion of Salmon Ruins are provided by the U.S. Heritage Conservation and
Recreation Service, New Mexico Historic Preservation Program, the San
Juan County Museum Association and the San Juan County general fund.
26 FEBRUARY, 1981
A SHORT HISTORY OF NATIVE INDIAN
JEWELRY-A VANISHING DESERT APT
Somewhere West of Denver, and South of the Great Salt Lake, an old man sits in the morning desert^
sun, patiently grinding bits of coral and turquoise into tiny hescke beads. Although he's old, and
as wrinkled as the canyoned hills that surround his pole hogan, his craft is older.
When the Spaniards, relative late-comers to the Indian country, brought the coral from their
sea voyages, silver had long been mined in the hills, or traded out of old Mexico. And precious'
turquoise and bits of shell had been tribal currency for centuries.
Later this day, or perhaps another, the old man
will build a hot fire of pinon and mountain oak, and
with crude leather bellows and a primitive forge
smelt down lumps of silver or old coins and then
hammer them into thin silver sheets.
Cold nights of the desert winter will find him
before his fire, patiently fashioning the silver;
filing, shaping and soldering
until he has formed tiny intri-
cate fixtures and ornaments to
complement the summer's
hescke beads. When he's finished,
astute collectors will count the
product of his patient ancient toil
worth more than its weight in gold.
He will die soon, and a bit more of this
ancient art will die with him. The prices
will rise a bit more for the hand-made
pieces, and the unsuspecting will be sold a few more "fac-
tory" pieces in place of the old man's ancient art.
Of such sad events are values made. And the wise person today buys
value with beauty when possible.
Desert Magazine is one of today's values, with beauty. Each full-color
page is an enchanting exercise in bringing you the desert as it is today, or as
it was in past glory. While Desert can't bring you into direct contact with
the ancient crafts, it can and does bring you the real desert with each and
every monthly issue. For lasting value we suggest you enter your subscrip-
tion today—the desert's beauty is truly timeless. This special offer is not!
Mail to: Desert Magazine, P.O. Box 28816, San Diego, CA 92128
Please enter my subscription to DESERT. I have read and I understand your
guarantee below, which applies to every future issue I am to receive as part of my
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4116
Baker said his crew makes a test tell what rock and chinking pattern
briquet each time they receive a new was used, "I won't fudge it," he
The walls are made up supply to make sure the mortar color said. He will not rebuild the veneer
matches what they have been using. but will, instead, stabilize the rubble
The ratio has never exceeded eight core. It not only allows accurate
of stone veneer on two pounds of mortar color to 94 pounds stabilization of the wall but lets
of Portland cement, he said. That is visitors see what rubble core
sides between which the manufacturer's specifications to looks like.
keep from adversely affecting the Nor will he stabilize walls that are
cement's bonding properties. not deteriorating. Focus of the
was poured a soupy Once masonry sand is added, that stabilization is on preserving areas
too can change the color of the that are badly deteriorated. To add
mixture and must be tested if the an authentic touch, when masons
adobe mix. sand source changes. In 1979 finish the masonry veneer, they
workers at the site quarried the same stipple the still wet mortar with
type of sand that original masons whisk brooms to obliterate the
rubble core removed, the search used to make the adobe. That trowel marks. Then they dust the
begins for the right sandstone to use. allowed an even closer color match, mortar with dirt from the floor of the
The original masons were particular, Baker said, but in 1980 they received room in which they are working.
too. They went as far as three miles their sand from another source, so But, warns Baker, dusting alone will
away to get the type of sandstone further experimentation in ingredient not insure an "adobe look." That
they wanted. What is believed to be proportions was required. must come in the mixing of the
one of their quarry sites was found The mortar mixture is weaker than mortar ingredients.
three miles from the ruins, Baker that used for a sidewalk, said Baker. If a wall is in good condition
said, but neither it nor closer That's because moisture plays such except for adobe mortar that needs
locations may be quarried today a large role in wall deterioration. A repointing, masons will remove that
because, ironically, they are sidewalk mixture is so hard it will loose or deteriorating adobe, then
considered archeological sites and not allow water to seep through it. wet the joints, the spaces between
cannot be disturbed. Therefore, when it is used in a wall the stone, to reduce shrinkage and
Baker is currently getting his and moisture seeps through from the cracking during drying. Then they
stones from material that ground, the only way it can get out is add the cement mortar, use a whisk
accumulated in and around the through the stones. However, when broom and dust the finished mortar
rooms after the apartment complex water leaches through the stones it with room dirt.
was abandoned and began to fall brings with it the salts that bond the Present-day ingenuity also adds
apart. Even here, however, he must stones together, causing the stones strength to various wall features.
choose carefully, for only to deteriorate faster than normally. Wall niches, pockets in the wall
undeteriorated stone may be used in Baker points out walls at the possibly used for storage, carried the
the wall. Baker said sandstone ruins whose upper portions were weight of the upper wall without
outcroppings where ancient Indians stabilized in 1973 by a National Park added support when Indians first
gathered some of their stones occur Service crew before they became built them. Today, Baker and his
on the mesas surrounding the ruins, aware of how harmful a strong crew install reinforcing rods above
but the exposed rock is deteriorating cement mixture can be. Water that those niches which are hidden from
and cannot be used for building. would normally seep through the view. "They add more strength, and
Once the stones are chosen, entire wall leaches through the we hide them for cosmetic reasons,"
masons shape them with metal tools stones on the lower, unstabilized Baker said.
to conform to the original wall. Then portion, causing them to deteriorate Reinforcing rods are also used
they build up the stone veneer like twice the normal rate. Making the above lintels in doorways, above
laying brick. cement mixture weaker than the ventilator shafts and windows, and
They use a special mortar mixed stone itself allows moisture to leach as structural ties at the corners of
to look like the adobe of the original through the mortar rather than second-story and high first-story
builders. It is a combination of Ideal the stone. walls. The rods are integrated into
Portland cement, Tamms desert tan Once the masonry veneers have the wall caps and joined around the
mortar color No. 3621, washed been stabilized, masons pour a corners to keep the walls straight
masonry sand and water. The mortar soupy combination of mortar mixed and strong. They are always placed
color takes the grayness from the with rocks between the two walls to so they cannot easily be seen to
cement and makes it look more like bond them together. This mixture, conform to the theme of make it old
the original adobe, and the modern called rubble core, is crowned on top but make it look like it's 1,000
mixture will last a long time. to allow moisture to drain off the years old.
The cement and mortar color are wall. Pieces of rock are also Today, though many ruins walls
mixed dry before adding the imbedded in the mortar at the top to still need to be stabilized, the
masonry sand and water to insure discourage visitors from walking on complex is turning into a solid, safe
getting the proper color and mix. the wall. replication of the Pueblo ruins, a
That mix varies every time a new The walls are rebuilt only to their place through which visitors can
shipment of cement or mortar color existing height. If Baker finds a safely walk and, in the summer
arrives, because different shipments portion of wall where the veneer has months, watch stabilization work in
sometimes vary slightly in color. fallen away so badly that he cannot progress first hand.0
CCHDIUDV 1QO1
THE NOSIEST NEWSPAPER IN THE WEST
=== VOL. 2 NO. 2 MARY EILEEN TWYMAN, EDITOR FEBRUARY, 1981
HISTORIC JACUMBA
RESORT ALIVE AND WELL
by Gregg Prosor then what were described as
Jacumba, Calif. —Time didn't "wild women" and even, it was
forget this once thriving town said, gambling.
atop the Mountain Springs Vaughn sold the town in
Grade on the old Butterfield 1944 at what seems today like
Stage route about eighty miles the bargain price of $250,000
east of San Diego. What was to one W. A. Hansen of Fuller-
once called the "Hub City of ton, California. Then followed
the Mountain Empire" had a succession of owners, Hansen
been the victim in part of the taking it back several times in
opening of Interstate Route 8 the interim, until it was ac-
and more directly, the inven- quired by Henry and Jeanne
tion of air conditioning. La Zare.
This gentle decline, how- The La Zares developed a
ever, is about to reverse itself. large clientele for the now
Jacumba Associates, a San aging hotel, but the burden of
Diego-based group of investors, continuous maintenance was
have re-opened the historic too much for them.
sixty-room hotel and as- i about 1967 shows the Hotel Jacumba much as it appears today, While Jacumba Associates
sociated motel and simultane- although businesses adjacent to it have changed.
have ambitious plans for their
ously, there has been an influx across from the hotel where however, servicemen and property, the project is better
of artists and writers to aug- Sunday evening concerts were workers stationed in the sur- called a restoration than a
ment the hardy 400 souls who staged. The Fourth of July was rounding mountains added modernization. There will be
have stuck it out through good observed with speeches, music, some tarnish. T h e hotel no television or telephones in
times and bad. fireworks and ice cream cones. opened a cocktail bar, Jacum- the rooms, and some adjoining
Jacumba, the community, During World War II, ba's first, which led to dancing, accommodations share a bath.
was first acquired as a package Hot springs, a Jacuzzi and a
in 1919 by Bert L. Vaughn. In Finnish sauna are housed
1923 he began construction of within the hotel but the new
the four-story hotel which
opened its doors to guests on
SIDEWINDER LURKING managers, Jim Carman and
Dave Baze, emphasize that the
Memorial Day, two years later.
During the excavation for
the building, workmen found a
IN STOLEN TOOL BOX operation should n o t be
thought of as a "fat farm."
The re-opened restaurant,
small green jade Buddha which Blythe, Calif. — A local thief expected the tools, he also got serving gargantuan meals three
today is cemented to the fire- probably. got the shock of his a bonus—in the form of a live times a day to guests on the
place in the hotel's lounge. life when he opened a tool box (and probably angry) side- American Plan, precludes los-
Where it came from and how it he took from a pair of truck winder rattlesnake the truckers ing much weight. Breakfast
came to be buried in that spot drivers. kept in the box. and lunch are also available to
is still a mystery. They were asleep in their Police have relayed the in- the general public. Jacumba
Jacumba in the 1920s re- motei room here when some- formation to officials at Palo may be reached via a marked
minded observers of a small one entered their truck and Verde Hospital, just in case turn-off on 1-8 or directly on
town transplanted complete took a tool box containing someone suffering from a snake old U.S. 80.
with its culture from the mid- $550 worth of tools. bite shows up there.
west. There was a bandstand While the thief may have - P a l o Verde Valley TIMES —Desert New* Service
OWiie Olttn
DURABLE COACH A WORK OF ART
/ry Raymond Smith Genoa at the edge of Carson
Gardnerville, Nev. — Many Valley and then on into Carson
present-day roads began as City. Stories of runaways, rock
trails or toll roads, only later slides, holdups and hazards
becoming part of our system of concerning staging in this area
paved highways as we now were common.
know them. Hank Monk was generally
And the ruler of the high regarded as the best of the
desert transportation routes coach drivers. His ability, often
was the Concord. These fa- combined with a certain reck-
mous coaches were built to less daring, was said to be re-
carry passengers for long dis- lated to his prodigious ability
tances in minimum time. They to consume rotgut alcohol. It
were true "queens of the road." was Monk who was involved in
The Concords were also perhaps the greatest coach feat
works of art. Although they of record on the east side of the
weighed up to 2,500 pounds, Sierras.
they did not look it, being fully In the early winter of 1862,
as trim and tidy as Chippen- with Monk driving, an iron
dale chairs. They generally had shoe which had been placed Quite a few Concords survived, this one owned by the Wells Fargo Bank.
straw-colored running gear, under the wheel slipped out
while the body was painted a and the team bolted, although Sickle Station in Carson Valley that and died not long after-
bold red, often with somewhat no one inside was aware of it. some five-and-one-half miles wards.
gaudy landscapes or other The brakes were useless. A Mr. from the summit (on the old Stages and staging in Carson
paintings on the doors. W. F. Bennet of Wells Fargo grade), complete with two Valley declined considerably
If the Concord was the was with Monk that day, and switchbacks, in the record time after the advent of the Virginia
queen, the driver was king. As both soon realized that it was of sixteen minutes. & Truckee Railroad in 1906,
he sat on the "box," he was impossible to stop the stage; all Hank Monk was in stages but stages did continue to run
recognized and admired as the they could do was to try to thirty years with only one upset over the mountains to Lake
captain, which he was. He had guide it around the familiar which happened when he was Tahoe and southerly towards
to be (and was) an exceptional curves. hurrying from Glenbrook Bridgeport until the introduc-
man who knew his profession Monk held on as long as he (Tahoe) to Carson, while try- tion of the automobile coach
completely and was able to could, the lines shredding his ing to. make a train connec- in about 1912. After that the
prove it every day, since he fine brown-colored gloves, but tion. Just east of Saint's Rest many liveries in Gardnerville
risked death at every turn of finally he had to give up. The the stage overturned, spilling were converted to garages and
the road. This was especially horses were so well trained and driver and twelve passengers, the queens of the road were
true for the famed east side of familiar with the road that they eight of whom were on top. No no more.
the Kingsbury—from Friday's kept to the track by instinct one was injured, but Hank
Station at Lake Tahoe to and arrived safely at the Van never was quite the same after —The RECORD-COURIER
ELK TRANSPLANT
SUCCESSFUL
Owens Valley, Calif.—A total
Prison Hill stands at the narrows of the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona. Very few of the wooden buildings in this old photo are still standing.
The wind came up an hour old brigand which twisted and Arizona Territory, wide- a prison. Bonds totalling
before dusk and moved the plundered its way past the open in the 1860s, made law $30,000 were authorized, Yuma
sand into small hummocks town and through the valley. books more at home behind a was chosen as the building site
under mesquite and along the Proud, perspiring citizens .45 than in a court of law. and as labor was scarce, seven
edges of the bluff. Drying slumped back down the fill to- Human life didn't mean very prisoners from the local jail
stacks of adobe brick chan- ward their businesses and much and many people clam- were used to begin construc-
neled the powdery dust south homes. They had watched ored for a prison. tion.
to a steep pitch of granite. Mayor A.J. Finley trowel the One editor demanded some- Law enforcement officers at
April 28, 1876, had begun cornerstone into place and thing be done, "to permit a few that time were convinced that
as do most days over Yuma, they rested well in the knowl- of our citizens to live until they prison was meant for punish-
Arizona, clear and sunfilled, edge that the Yuma Territorial die a natural death, so as to ment, and they wasted no time
and had promised another bril- Prison was to become a reality. show the world what a magnif- worrying about rehabilitation
liant sunset. New evidence of For 34 years, this institution icent, healthy country it is." and reform. The idea was to
construction puckered the would house some of the worst As a result of majority de- make the penitentiary so unin-
earth atop the bluff overlook- criminals of the most lawless mand, the Territorial Legis- viting that the very thought of
ing the Colorado River, that period in American history. lature voted funds to build it would prompt a person to
think twice before he acted
outside the law. And if he did
persist in carrying out a lawless
act and then was caught, one
stay in the prison was all he
should need to convince him
his decision had been wrong.
Yuma was ideally situated for
such a purpose. Summer tem-
peratures in the southwestern
corner of Arizona run as high
as 120 degrees in the shade,
and with tin roofs, surrounded
by a high wall which effectu-
ally cut off all breezes, the
prison became, literally, an
oven. Then, no heat in the
convicts' cells during winter
months sent the thermometer
to the other extreme. Frequent
dust storms blew in from every
direction, providing still an-
other kind of torture.
Walls eighteen-teet high,
eight-feet wide at the bottom
and tapered to a four-foot
width at the top, made a per-
fect walkway for guards who
patrolled from lookout posts at
Prisoners were relatively well treated and many worked daily at projects outside the prison grounds. each corner. Over the years,
by RICK MITCHELL
Collecting Sites: In the large, but some spectacular ent patterns are available, and discovered in Colorado and
November, 1980, issue of Des- seam material, as well as small- those of your own design can Wyoming but, so far, no
ert, a letter was published from er crystals, can be obtained by also be produced. For more in- diamonds. The Geological
Dick Rayner, Chief Ranger at walking the canyon. As you formation, write Plastic Tech- Survey of Wyoming has been
Death Valley National Monu- hike, you'll see many remnants nics, 13000 Saticoy St., Dept. given a one year extension,
ment. In it, he corrected my of earlier mining days—aban- D, North Hollywood, CA though, to continue its exami-
statement that all roads into doned equipment, old rails and 91605. nation of the pipes and as-
the Owlshead Mountains were even collapsed buildings. At p^^^Zick Enterprises is now sociated sediment to determine
closed and pointed out that one time, this area was among manufacturing a new line of if diamonds do exist. Kimber-
there is, in fact, one still open. the prime gold and silver pro- faceting laps. They are made lite is the only known primary
I was referring only to those ducing locations in the state. by taking 3/i6-inch aluminum source of diamonds that can be
going to the vicinity of the and machine-flattening it both economically mined. Quan-
smoky quartz collecting site. t/t
$i P.««ott
on the top and the bottom. A tities of the kimberlite have
There is one bright spot in piece of copper sheet is bonded been removed from the two
this confusion, however. The
road mentioned by Mr. Rayner
End)
To Wolff
Cfk Camp
around^
if ^ - " T o Ml. Union
ti.il Bug Meu
to the aluminum, under ex-
treme-pressure, for ten hours,
most recently discovered pipes
and will be thoroughly exam-
does lead to some very nice - ^
and then re-machined flat be- ined this winter.
sagenite deposits. To get there, fore being charged. They also Warning: Rockhounds often
take the still open road, which
is about 5Vi miles west of the
Saratoga Springs turnoff, and
SENATOR MINE
£\ make a zinc lap for use with
cubic zirconia. Both are ex-
tremely true, allowing very
use acid for cleaning their min-
eral specimens and frequently,
this cleaning is done in wash
travel thirteen miles. Turn GALtNA
smooth faceting. Contact Zick basins near where bleach is
north and continue to the site, To
Crown
Enterprises, 1608 Booth Drive, stored. If the acid should come
another five miles. By combing •p Not to Sett* Km 9
Sebring, FL 33870 for more in- in contact with the bleach,
the hills in any direction, you New Equipment: Coving- formation, telling them you poisonous chlorine gas will be
can find a wide variety of mate- ton has just introduced their saw it mentioned in Desert emitted. Breathing this gas can
rial and even some nice new six-inch, all-diamond Magazine. cause death in a matter of min-
geodes. I am told that smoky lapidary machine. It is a com- Instruction: The Gemologi- utes .and there have been in-
quartz can also be located in plete workshop in one compact cal Institute of America is now stances of just that happening.
the area, but it can't be much. unit, including a trim saw with offering what they call their There are also records of rock-
vice, two Metal Bond diamond "Doorstep Programs." These hounds trying to clean speci-
OWLSHEAD *
V I
DMth
wheels, three Flex Diamond are classes covering a variety of mens with a combination of
MOUNTAINS V»fky Jet.
sanding and polishing wheels, subjects, scheduled in thirty bleach and acid. This, obvious-
a diamond polishing disc, a different cities around the ly, is foolhardy.
1
;
"••••• o
Coll quick speed changer and a United States, Canada, Japan Helpful Hint: When in the
SAG NIT! To
water system, all encased in an and Hong Kong. Courses in- field, a quick way to tell if a
\
aluminum framework. The clude diamond grading, gem piece of agate or jasper will
price of the deluxe unit is $749 identification, jewelry arts, take a good polish is to wet it.
If the water soaks into the
A and there are other models,
with fewer accessories, at a
lesser cost. For more informa-
stone setting, jewelry repair,
jewelry design, gem cutting
and wax carving. Those in-
stone and quickly dries, it will
not take a high polish. If, on
»•» tloSerfe
tion, contact Covington Engi-
neering Corp., P.O. Box 35D,
terested should write the Gem-
ological Institute of America at
the other hand, the water stays
on the surface, does not soak
^ Some very nice hematite Redlands, CA 92373. 1660 Stewart Street, Santa in, and takes some time to dry,
and galena specimens can be c===^Plastic Technics is intro- Monica, CA 90406. an adequate amount of chal-
picked up south of Prescott, ducing plastic investment pat- ( ^ ^ L a r r y Stiers of Phoenix, cedony is present and the stone
Arizona, in Crooks Canyon. terns for casting. These are Arizona, is currently conduct- in question will probably pol-
To get there, take the old Sen- claimed to be superior to the ing classes on "Gold Finding ish well.
ator Highway out of Prescott popular wax varieties, and pro- Secrets" for Phoenix College. Hope Diamond: The Na-
and travel 8.1 miles from duce castings that require very It is a field class and usually is tional Jeweler notes that the fa-
where the pavement ends., At little finishing. In addition offered on weekends or Fridays mous, blue Hope Diamond in
the proper mileage, there is a they cost less, can be made on Lynx Creek, near Prescott. the Smithsonian will glow red
canyon to the east, and the more exact and tend to be For more information, phone in the dark after it has been
minerals can be found along much more stable. They can be Joyce Kress, Community Serv- exposed to ultraviolet rays. Ex-
the hillsides, in the wash, and burnt-out exactly the same as ices, Phoenix College, (602) perts say this property is not
in the dumps of the many wax, can be used with standard 264-2492. found in any other diamonds, a
mines that dot the area. .The tools, and even in combination Diamonds In Wyoming: fact which makes this famous
crystals are not extremely with wax. A variety of differ- Kimberlite pipes have been gem even more mysterious.
JIDESERT CALENDAR
Listing for Calendar must be received at least three months prior to the event.
There is no charge for this service.
WANTED
Jan. 31-Feb. 8: 22nd Annual Tubac and Gem Club, c/o 2314 Baker,
Festival of the Arts, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Everett, WA 98201. SUBSCRIPTION REPRESENTATIVES
daily from Saturday, January 31 through lor DESERT MAGAZINE
Sunday, February 8. Visit Arizona's old- Ongoing: Wildlife World Museum, lo-
est European settlement during the fes- cated in Monument, Colorado, 20 miles NEED MONEY? Housewives, retirees,
tival. Resident and invited artists and north of Colorado Springs. Lifelike dis- students, anyone with a few hours to
spare each week, here is YOUR oppor-
craftsmen will be exhibiting and dem- plays of mounted birds, animals and tunity to make EASY EXTRA DOLLARS!
onstrating fine arts and crafts through- marine life, plus hundreds of wildlife Be our exclusive Desert subscription
out the village. Southwest foods and paintings, carvings and sculptures. representative in your area. We need
drinks will be available. You can see Open Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.—5 p.m.; Sat. you NOW — in cities and towns, and
on farms and ranches everywhere.
historic village studios, galleries and the 10 a.m.—5 p.m. and Sun. 12 p.m.—5 OUR GENEROUS COMMISSION RATE
State Presidio Museum. For more in- p.m. Admission: Adults $1.00, 50 cents will surprise you and we pay IMMEDI-
formation contact: Tubac Village for children. For further information, ATELY! Write SUBSCRIPTION REPRE-
Council, Inc., P.O. Box 4004, Tubac, call (303) 481-2220. SENTATIVE, Desert Magazine, P.O. Box
AZ 85640 or call Lorraine Mitchell 1318, Palm Desert, CA 92261, enclosing
stamped, self-addressed No. 10 enve-
(602) 398-2163. Feb. 10,11.12: Major desert paintings lope, for full details by return mail.
of Kathi Hilton will be exhibited at the
Feb. 1: Operatic arias by Soprano Re- Riverside District Office, Bureau of
nata Scotto. Palm Springs Opera Guild Land Management, 1695 Spruce St.,
of the Desert. This program is presented Riverside, CA. Public showings will be
at the Palm Springs High School Audi- from 2-8 p.m. For details, contact De
torium. Prices for admission is $5-$25. Loris "Pete" Palmer at (714) 787-1424.
Starting time is 8:15 p.m. For further
GARAGE
information, call (714) 325-6107. Feb. 13-22: Indio, California's Na-
tional Date Festival. This huge annual
SALE
Feb. 7: Annual Shovel Race Cham- event in the date capitol of the world
pionship held in Angel Fire, New will run for 10 days, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
HTIQUES
Mexico. Over 50 entrants ride grain Some activities are the Queen ANTIQUES*
scoops in single-elimination heats; 20 Scherazade stage show, and other varied COLLECTIBLES*
wacky modified entries in dual competi- entertainment, rides, camel and ostrich ART*
tion. Entry fee is $2, show runs from 1-4 races. Displays in crafts, date and citrus, FURNITURE*
p.m. For more information call (505) rock and minerals and showing in the ORIENTAL*
377-2301. agriculture department and photo salon ANTIQUES
MEMORABILIA*
will also be available. A junior fair of
Feb, 7-8: Photo Adventure Workshop, livestock will be fun for the youngsters. 74-435 HIGHWAY 111
held at Anza-Borrego State Park, Calif. Grounds admission is $3, 12 and over; PALM DESERT, CA. 92260
This workshop has been developed by $1, children 3-12; children under 3, (714) 346-1713
Ernest Wright and Fly Jarzabek. It con- free. Group discount rates are also
sists of instruction in nature photogra- available. For more information contact
phy for amateur and working photogra- Bob Maxwell at (714) 342-8247.
phers. Lectures, demonstrations, work-
ing field sessions and photo critiques are Feb. 14-16: Mid-Winter Rendezvous
emphasized. Programs are designed to held in Gallup, New Mexico. A gather-
n Jeep
encourage development of a person's ing of mountain men will be in full "our only business"
own artistic skills. Workshops will be regalia. Firebuilding, skillet-throwing
held outdoors. Participants must furnish contests, primitive weapons shoot and SALES-LEASING
own transportation, camping equip- tee-pee village will be some of the fun PARTS - SERVICE
ment or lodging arrangements, food, activities. The events are sponsored by We Service What We Sell
cameras and film. The fee is $35 for a Red Rock Muzzleloaders. Admission is
weekend workshop. For more informa- free. For more information, call (505)
tion contact F. Jarzabek, 3630 Geary 722-5564. JOHNSON'S 4WD CENTER
Place, Riverside, CA 92501 or call 7590 Cypress Ave. at Van Buren
(714)683-4366. Riverside, Calif. 92503 (714) 785-1330
Feb. 21-22: Second annual "Small
World" miniature show and sale will be
Feb. 7-8: Everett Rock and Gem Club's held at El Paso Civic Center in El Paso,
28th annual gem and mineral show, to Texas. The show welcomes commercial READ ABOUT
be held at the Everett Masonic Temple craft shops and dealers of miniature cre- TODAY'S GOLD RUSH
on Everett Avenue, Everett, Wash- ations. A special contest featuring
Articles and news items about
ington. Gems from around the world single box room or display box entries prospecting, mines and mining, both
will be shown. Lapidary dealers will not will be held. Hours: Sat. 10 a.m.-8 large and small operations. Pictures,
only show their wares, but will have p.m., Sunday 12 noon-6p.m. Dona- hints, tips, advertisements for ma-
demonstrations as well. Free hourly tions: adults, $2; children under 12, $1. chinery, mines and claims. Published
drawings will be held for handmade For more information contact Jane monthly. $5.00 per year. Send for
jewelry by club members. Light lunches Adams, Chairman- Ways and Means, sample copy.
and refreshments are for sale. Times are Assistance League of El Pasq, P.O. Box
9 a.m.-10p.m., with free admission. For 13294, El Paso, TX 79912, or call (915) Western PROSPECTOR b MINER
Dept.D
more information write: Everett Rock 751-6975. Box 146, Tombstone, AZ 85638
Jayco
A full-line recreational vehicle manutacturer
TRACES IN THE SAND
The Mesquite Flat Dunes, Death Valley National Monument.
DESERT PICTURE
The desert is a sculptured land
Shaped by restless waves of sand;
Its vaunted loneliness is false —
By moonlight creatures fight and waltz,
And leave their tracks from bush to weed
For just the desert-wise to read.
Helen Castle
Announcing An
Every-Month-of- TEE
the-Year Gift for AROUND
Your Favorite Family by Nyerges
40 FEBRUARY, 1981
CHUCK WAGON COOKIN'
The National Beef Cook-Off
by Stella Hughes
boneless brisket, seasoned simply with
plain old salt, pepper, onions and garlic
and served up with gravy made from the
drippings? You could hardly have called
this dish original, and its appearance was
so-so, yet barely thirty minutes after the
last dish was presented to the judges,
they had agreed almost unanimously on
the winner.
New York's Mrs. Aline Ballentine
lives in the small town of Ellenville, 100
miles from New York City. Her entry
titled Chick-Chuck won second place,
earning her $750.
Aline gave me some good tips on
cooking. One was to use a small amount
of sugar in the water when boiling
corn-on-the-cob. Then she said to take the
fresh green husks and cover over the
roasting ears and let them steam in the
kettle. This method imparts a
wonderfully different taste to sweet
corn. Another was to place a fistful of
fresh green alfalfa on top of fresh ham to
was Carol Anderson of Kingman, better had they stuck closer to the rules.
Arizona, National Chairperson of the Any recipe calling for as many as fifteen CHICK-CHUCK
1980 Cook-Off, who asked me. different ingredients—everything from Mrs. Aline Ballentine
This affair, which is sponsored by the frozen phyllo leaves, cream cheeses, Ellenville, New York, 2nd Place
American National CowBelles, Inc., is slivered or whole almonds, sugared
for non-professional cooks. Winners parsley, Mandarin orange sections, fresh 3 pounds beef chuck blade steaks, cut 1
from state levels flew in from 49 states to strawberries or white seedless inch thick
vie for $3,250.00 in prize money. The grapes—couldn't be considered practical 2 tablespoons butter
scene of the contest was The Registry, a by any stretch of the imagination. Nor 1 can (16 ozs.) garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
posh resort which covers about as many could a dish be described easy to prepare 1 can (10% ounces) condensed tomato soup
acres as a Texas county and those when the directions took up one whole 2 cups chopped fresh orfrozen rhubarb
assigned rooms in the south forty needed page of fine print, and required hours of V* cup chopped onion
rapid transit (or at least a fast horse) to fussing. Erwin Schumacher's Raisinated 1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
get back and forth to the ballroom, where Ginger Peachy Roll-Ups may have been 1 beef bouillon cube
26 electric stoves and work areas were original, but called for twelve pineapple 2 tablespoons sugar
outfitted for the contestants. spears, ajar of peach preserves and ajar 1 tablespoon chili powder
The judging job was a difficult one. of ginger preserves, as well as a Vz teaspoon salt
Contestants were allowed to use any half-pound of golden seedless raisins. % teaspoon paprika
recipe containing beef chuck, round, Then there were three red or green Brown steaks on both sides in butter in
rump, fresh brisket or ground beef. (You peppers, carrots, onions, soy sauce and large frying pan. Combine garbanzos,
will note all are the more economical mustard. All this, mind you, to go with tomato soup, rhubarb, onion, garlic,
cuts.) The recipe had to call for at least two pounds of boneless round steak. bouillon cube, sugar, chili powder, salt and
two pounds and not over five pounds of Hardly a very thrifty or practical dish; I paprikain Dutch oven. Heat, stirring to
beef, with no other kinds of meat guesstimated its cost to be over $13 at dissolve bouillon cube. Add steaks, cover
allowed. Total cooking time could not Arizona prices for six servings. and cook slowly 2 to2V% hours or until meat
exceed four hours. Garnishes oh the dish Is it any wonder Lucille Roach, of is tender. Turn meat occasionally during
were permissible, but accessories such Florissant, Missouri, won first prize of cooking. Cut meat into serving-size pieces
as placemats, flowers, figurines, etc. $1,500 with a simple dish called Baked and serve with gravy, on slices of thin rye or
were not allowed. The dishes were Beef Brisket, using four pounds of French bread, if desired. Makes 8 servings.
DESERT 41
CHILI-BEEF RELLENOS
WON-TON
Edna King
New Mexico, 3rd Place
NEMDA BEEF-'N'-CABBAGE
CASSEROLE
Maxim Brown
An Annotated Bibliography New Hampshire
42 FEBRUARY, 1981
Clues To The Black Beetle Mystery
by Susan Durr Nix
(Curiously, although eleodes beetles
have been observed digging burrows,
they don't seem to use them for
protection from the sun. Instead they
invade the burrows of kangaroo rats and
round-tailed ground squirrels, often in
groups of thirty to forty, which they
seem to identify through an acute
sensitivity to temperature differences at
burrow entrances. Double occupancy
doesn't seem to bother either the beetles
or their hosts.)
Where otherwise scarce shade is often
cast by small plants and rocks, small size
is another valuable advantage. On the
other hand, such a small body dries out
more quickly. A beetle has neither an
insulating layer of fur nor the ability to
sweat and thus cool off by evaporation.
Typically, insects prevent water loss by
extracting the moisture from waste
material in the intestine, and eliminating
uric acid in solid form. The hard outer
T
HE MYSTERY OF the Black stands on its head. Its many common cuticle of a beetle's body also retains
Beetle" sounds like vintage names other than the Greek—pincacte moisture. In an unusual but instructive
Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie, beetle, tumblebug, circus bug, acrobat experiment, several stink bugs
but this mystery has more to do with beetle, stink bug—are well earned. inadvertently went through the dryer
survival ingenious than murder most Pinacatl is the Aztec word for ground along with my laundry without becoming
foul. Evolution authored a puzzle that beetle; tumblebug and circus bug completely dessicated.
still, after 100 years of scientific describe both its clownish somersaults But surely this mysterious survivor
investigation, has no certain solution. and gawky efforts to turn right-side-up must contend with damaging ultraviolet
The crux is this: Why are black beetles and its splay-footed gait as it makes its rays? For a long time, biologists thought
black? If dark pigmentation makes them way across dunes and driveways; that black's ability to block ultraviolet
more conspicuous to predators and acrobat beetle refers to the hand-stand was the solution to the black beetle
absorbs more heat, why this coloration? posture it assumes when disturbed; and mystery. But it seems that insect cuticle,
In the desert where the terrain is stink bug comes from the oily, smelly regardless of its color, acts as an
usually shades of white or tan, even a fluid it squirts out to repel predators. ultraviolet shield. Back to square one: a
small brown beetle is easy to see. A These shiny black, hard-shelled dark beetle gets hotter than a light beetle,
large, pitch black one like the stink bug insects are darklings, a large and given equal exposure to the sun, so
(Eleodes) sticks up a sore thumb. Then predominantly western beetle family in why black?
even if visibility to predators weren't a North America, although related forms Maybe heat gain is an advantage,
problem, heat would be. These aren't are found in almost all parts of the world, Watson. If so, it would, according to
strictly nocturnal beetles, darkened to including your flour canister and cereal William J. Hamilton, III, of the
blend into nighttime shadows; they are boxes. Desert varieties, especially University of California at Davis, explain
commonly seen at midday, when the eleodes, are among the insects best the significance and evolution of black
temperature of the sand is several dozens adapted to arid regions. Even in the coloration. When body temperature
of degrees hotter than the air. They bleakest and most desolate sands where rises, metabolism and locomotion speed
routinely take a double-dose of life is sparse, they are relatively up. As long as an animal has enough food
sunlight—directly from the sun and common. At high altitudes and low, in energy, it will grow faster and reproduce
reflected off the ground—that ought to washes and backyards, west of the more often than its lighter counterparts.
be lethal. Normally, so much of the Mississippi but particularly in California, Other things being equal, the darker
success of desert plants and animals has Arizona, Northern Mexico and Baja beetle has the edge on survival.
to do with heat avoidance and California, these beetles are survivors. Since stink bugs eat dried vegetation
camouflage that a nonconformist like the Obviously, then, being black can't be of which there is an overabundance in
stink bug is a challenge to our that much of a disadvantage. One secret the desert, food energy is no problem.
understanding. of the stink bug's success is its beetle They often visit the nests of their
Everyone who has spent any time in body. Long legs elevate it above the successful neighbors, the harvester ants,
the desert knows eleodes, the beetle that ground and enable it to run and dig. to feed on discarded seeds and flowers.
DESERT 43
Like many ants, they take advantage of
Would It Pay You ' accidental food sources such as dead
to Advertise in insects and other carrion, fecal material
and the occasional baked bean.
Desert Magazine? University of California, San Diego,
biologist Philip Martz has recently SAN FELIPE, B.C., MEXICO
Do you have a product or
discovered that they eat the new growth
service that would appeal to on tumbleweeds as well. Eleodes holds The Sea of Cortez is world-
mature, outdoor loving, active bits of food down with one foot and famed for its succulent shrimp
travelers who have a special gnaws at it, like a little dog with a bone.
kind of affection for all the and our village of San Felipe on
If you disturb one at dinner, it may run its shores is called the "Shrimp
west, and especially our away with its meal between its front feet.
western deserts? This past year Capitol of the World."
nearly all (95%) of Desert's The ability to take on extra heat is also
an advantage in deserts where nighttime You'll taste why when you try
subscribers traveled for
and winter weather is often quite cold. our Camaron Natural or Cama-
pleasure around the west and
beyond — camping, fishing, Eleodes beetles regulate body ron Ranchero! Early each morn-
hiking, hunting, rockhound- temperature by sunning and shading ing we meet the boats and
ing, prospecting and more. (A themselves or, in mid-summer, by choose the best of their catch for
few even took time out for a confining activity to cooler hours. our tables. Camaron Natural is
few rounds of golf.) However great the possible shrimp sauteed in a delicate gar-
physiological dividends of dark lic butter. Ranchero is shrimp in
If this sounds anything at all coloration, a black beetle is still highly
visible to predators. Eleodes' a zesty native sauce.
like your kind of customers,
Desert could be a productive foul-smelling discharge doubtless Our house is your house when
place for your advertising. discourages some, and after trial and you are in San Felipe. We are
error, teaches others, like scorpions, to across from the El Cortez Hotel
Contact us for more avoid dark beetles with elevated
information from our 1980 abdomens. At least one animal has on Av. Marde Cortez.
Desert Subscriber Study, plus solved this problem, however. The
rates and deadlines. Your Host,
carnivorous grasshopper mouse jams the
beetle's hindquarters into the sand to George Tejada
Desert Advertising thwart the discharge and consumes it
OPEN 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. • 7 Days a Week
P.O. Box 1318 headfirst. Desert Indians believed stink
PRICES MOST REASONABLE
Palm Desert, CA 92261 bugs put their ears to the ground to hear
BEER AND WINE
k (714) 568-2781 / the gods speak. One story tells how
BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER
Eleodes escaped being eaten by Coyote.
The beetle claimed the gods were going
to punish all the animals that had
Balloon Flights befouled their highway. Coyote, who In the Heart of Beautiful Coachella Valley
had just relieved himself on the road,
raced off to cover his spoor, forgetting Plan To Stay At The
Eleodes in his hurry. Sands Hotel of Indian Wells
(1/4 mile east of Palm Desert)
Another notion has it that black is a
warning color, shared by numerous
distasteful or poisonous animals such as • Open Year-Round
bees, flies, spiders, skunks and snakes. » Children Welcome
Theoretically, once a predator learns a • 4 8 rooms & suites
small black creature is unpleasant, it will (kitchens available)
avoid anything that resembles it. Since • Large Heated Pool
black could be assumed to be easily Color Television
recognizable, it should be an effective
advertisement for "hands off." But there Individual Air
CHARTERS • PILOT TRAINING • SALES
is no positive proof that black repels Conditioning
Sunrise Balloons
* Est. 1976 •
rather than attracts predators, or that
stink bug evolution has favored
blackness for protection. And, too, many
Moderate Rates
P.O. Box 571, Palm Desert, CA 92261
CALL OR WRITE FOR
(714) 346-7591
animals are partially or wholly RESERVATIONS
color-blind.
Many desert animals besides darkling
Water Witching and Drilling beetles are black, including ravens and
No Water . . . No Charge ants, and studies of their bodies and
Also, we Dowse behavior may help solve the mystery of
the black beetle once and for all. Desert
for Minerals and Oil animals collectively, in fact, are the least
studied of all animal groups. Great
CHARLES W. numbers of species are little known, or
not known at all. One of the functions of
SHAW the Living Desert Reserve is to pass on
some of the odd and wonderful facts
Phone (714) 262-2260 about the few that are familiar 75-188Highway 111,
or leave message 262-5483 inhabitants of our arid landscape. B] Indian Wells, Calif. 92260
1205 46th St., San Diego, CA 92102 Phone (714) 346-8113
44 FEBRUARY, 1981
Guardian of
Apache Pass:
FORT BOWIE
T HE BUGLE'S silvery call rang
through the clear mountain air.
It echoed off the stone and
adobe walls of the frontier fort,
reverberated among the
crumbling ruins of Fort Bowie recall
that violent, formative chapter in the
history of the desert southwest. The
remains of the fort and the
surrounding environs of Apache
cactus-studded crags of the Pass are now part of a National
surrounding peaks, and was swept Historic Site. They can be reached
away to the north on the back of a only by following a narrow, twisting
stiff afternoon breeze. one-and-one-half-mile foot trail.
A shuffling mass of soldiers drawn
I
up on the fort's sloping parade T WAS WATER, trickling from
ground snapped to attention. In the a crack in the rocks, that first
midst of their formation was a circle drew people into this isolated
of wagons and a cluster of Indian and forbidding land. The fierce
prisoners. Only the popping and Chiricahua Apaches moved to the
snapping of the American flag area in the 16th Century, giving their
whipping in the breeze and the name to both the pass and the
snuffling of the mule teams hitched springs. For more than 300 years the
to the wagons broke the tense Chiricahuas roamed the territory
by silence. The soldiers in blue and around Apache Pass, living on the
their sullen captives glared at each meager bounty of the desert and on
Joseph E. Stevens other with undisguised hostility. plunder seized during raids into
Suddenly, incongruously, there was Mexico.
a clash of cymbals and the military Following the discovery of gold in
band arrayed around the flagpost California in 1848, Anglo-American
struck up "Auld Lang Syne." prospectors and settlers began to
The date was pour into Arizona. These westbound
September8, travelers soon made Apache Springs
1886. The place a landmark on the overland trail.
was Fort When John Butterfield laid out the
Bowie, a lonely route for his St. Louis to San
army post Francisco stage line in 1858, Apache
located in Pass was selected as a station site. A
Apache Pass in stone building and a corral were
the rugged erected a quarter mile from the
desert country Springs and coaches stopped there
of southeastern twice a week.
Arizona. The At first the Apaches grudgingly
Indian prisoners tolerated this intrusion into their
were Geronimo homeland. Their leader, Cochise,
and his band of was friendly toward the Americans
renegade and for three years the Butterfield
Apaches, the stagecoaches were permitted safe
FORT BOWIE AS IT AP- last group of Apaches to violently passage through the Pass. It was an
PEARED IN 1894, SHORTLY resist the authority of the United arrangement that might have lasted
BEFORE ABANDONMENT States government. They were about indefinitely but for a tragic and
BY THE ARMY.
to be shipped off to imprisonment in avoidable incident.
Florida, and with their departure an This incident occurred on
era was coming to an end. February 4, 1861, when a young,
Today, almost a century later, the inexperienced Army officer named
FORT BOWIE AS IT AP-
PEARS TODAY. IT WAS
HERE THAT GERONIMO
(STANDING RIGHT IN THE
PHOTO BELOW) AND
NACHEZ, SON OF CO-
CHISE, WERE HELD
AFTER THEIR FINAL
SURRENDER IN 1886.
A peace treaty was finally
For the Latest News
(Sunrise to Sunset)
FORT BOWIE
George Bascom wrongly accused
negotiated in 1872, but it was
doomed to failure before it was
Cochise of leading a raid on a white signed. Raiding was an integral part
settler's ranch. Bascom tried to of the Apache's nomadic lifestyle
arrest Cochise, a violent and it was only a matter of time
confrontation ensued, and the before settlers and Indian war
enraged Apache chief had tofighthis parties were battling again. In 1876
way to freedom. Following his the U.S. government abrogated the
Local
narrow escape, Cochise declared peace treaty and ordered the Army
Regional
war on all whites. to remove the Apaches to the barren
The "Bascom Affair," as this San Carlos Reservation in the Gila
National
unfortunate episode was called, led River Valley of central Arizona.
International to a bloody reign of terror for settlers Not surprisingly, many of the
Business in southern Arizona. The situation Chiricahuas refused to go. Led by
was made even worse by the Nachez, the son of Cochise, and by a
Weather evacuation of many frontier forts squatty, scowling chief named
and departure of their garrisons for Geronimo, they fled into the Sierra
Sports the east, where the Civil War had Madre Mountains of northern
You get it first on begun. The Butterfield stage Mexico and began a savage
service was discontinued in March, campaign against the border regions
the Coachella Valley's of Arizona and New Mexico.
1861. The Apache Pass station was
only all news station. abandoned and the Chiricahuas once Once again Fort Bowie became
again held undisputed sway over the the bustling command center for a
KCUY desert peaks and canyons, and over war with the Apaches. General
the precious waters of Apache
Springs.
George Crook, an unorthodox and
highly talented Indian fighter,
NewsRadi<y Their control was short-lived. On dispatched columns of Indian scouts
I17OAN July 15, 1862, an army of volunteers and tough Army regulars out of
from California, marching to New
Mexico to head off a Confederate
Apache Pass in pursuit of the crafty
Geronimo and his elusive warriors.
Broadcasting daily from
invasion, entered Apache Pass. For ten grueling years the soldiers
Palm Desert, California. Waiting for them, concealed behind chased the Apaches across some of
boulders on the high ground above the roughest and driest terrain on the
Apache Springs, were several North American continent.
hundred warriors led by Cochise and Finally, on September 3, 1886,
his ally, Mangas Coloradas. The Geronimo and his band surrendered.
warriors opened fire and drove the They were escorted to Fort Bowie,
soldiers back but after several hours then taken in wagons to a railhead to
132 PAGE CATALOG
BIG PICKUPS • MINI-PICKUPS • 4 WD • VAN OWNERS
of hard fighting, the Californians
wheeled up a battery of mountain
begin their long journey east. The
defeat of Geronimo marked the end
CAMPERS • HIKERS • HUNTERS • FISHERMEN
howitzers and blasted the Indians of the Indian Wars on the American
out of their defensive positions. frontier. It also marked the end of
General James Carleton, the Fort Bowie's usefullness as a
experienced commander of the military post and on October 17,
California Volunteers, instantly 1894, the Fort was officially
grasped the strategic importance of abandoned.
Apache Pass. Unless it was fortified Today, 86 years after the last
and patrolled, every column of trooper departed, Apache Pass is a
EVERY ON-OFF ROAD TIRE KNOWN TO MAN! reinforcements and every supply place of wilderness solitude. The
OFF-ROAD LIGHTS — WARN HUBS &
WINCHES - ROUGH COUNTRY SHOCKS
train would have tofightthe rocky peaks of Bowie Mountain and
& SUSPENSION KITS - ROLL BARS — Apaches for water. He quickly Helen's Dome loom like twin
G.I. SURPLUS GOODIES — BOOKS & authorized the establishment of a sentinels over the lonely parade
REALLY UNIQUE ITEMS!
post to be known as Fort Bowie and ground where blue-clad soldiers
5302 Tweedy Blvd.
Dtpt.D
ordered its commander to keep the once marched. A dramatic and tragic
South Gate, CA. 90280
pas's clear of hostile Indians. struggle between two cultures
„ (213)566-5171 played to its end here. But now
(~
FREE CATALOG-SEND TODAY!
. Same ,
1 2 . U.S. CURRENCY
, '
B OWIE WAS destined to become lizards skitter across the dust where
the focal point of the Apache
wars. For the next 25 years it
soldier and Indian stood, grass
covers the scars of old wagon ruts,
would serve as the base for punishing and desert breezes sigh in and out
"search and destroy" missions among the ruins, mere ghosts of the
' Address „__ ,j
against the wiley Apaches and as powerful winds of history that once
City 1 _ _ , raced through Apache Pass and
home, at different times, for
State -Zip. hundreds of soldiers and their buffeted the sturdy walls of
families. Fort Bowie. @
RBRBirAPV 1O81
The best way to learn a foreign language is to live where it's spoken
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TOP" BAJA
Pedro Martir. Built by Spanish
Article and *-ENSENADA
0 10
MILES
20 30 Jesuits in 1794 for the purpose of
converting a tribe of Indians known
Photographs by as the Quilihuas, the Mission was
abandoned in 1806 after several
John Putney years of disease and Indian raids.
Unlike many other missions in Baja,
INE THOUSAND FEET this one was constructed of adobe
W
PHILE HIKING THROUGH
- Easily installs in streams that descend the western the park, one might come
minutes slope of the range. The most easily across what will look like a
reached is La Grulla, which involves crude shelter of sticks and tarpaper.
- N o tools needed a hike of several hours. The stream, There may be an old steel drum
which flows through a grassy serving as a stove, and perhaps a
clearing, produces Nelson rainbow rusty set of bedsprings. Nearby
Money Back Guarantee! up to twelve-inches long. Those who there will probably be an equally
send $7.95 plus Si.OO don't wish to walk can take a guided primitive-looking corral fashioned
shipping & handling to: fishing excursion on horseback from dead tree limbs. This is one of
offered by the Meling Ranch, a the camps of the vaqueros, Mexican
Emergency Products long-established guest ranch in the cowboys, who can sometimes be
11514 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City. CA 91604 foothills west of the park. seen riding across the open
In the early 1900s this section of grasslands tending the herds.
Baja was a magnet for big game Although the cattle compete with
hunters who came to take advantage deer and other wildlife for grazing
of Mexico's virtually nonexistent land, the range will remain open to
fish and game laws. They came in them since the high-country
How to Find Maps of search of mountain lions, bighorn meadows are vital to area ranches
during dry seasons.
Remote Places Not Shown sheep and pronghorn antelope. In
more recent times, some of the large To reach the park, one must drive
on Ordinary Road Maps: game have enjoyed a comeback as a along Baja's Route 1. Eighty-five
Start by ordering the latest edition of the result of the enactment and miles south of Ensenada and about
Official USGS State Topo Map Indexes, enforcement of laws to protect it,
available by mail from WESTSIDE MAPS
eight miles south of Colonet is a dirt
CO., Western Map Headquarters since and the development of national road leading off to the left. It is
1935. parks. Now safe from all but marked by a sign that says
Large size State Indexes give you names poachers, the bighorn sheep are "Observatorio.'' After turning here,
of each quad you need for exploring seldom seen, but a lucky hiker might the traveler will bump along a road
remote places. Helps you select from get a glimpse of one silhouetted in that follows the Rio San Telmo.
29,000 available topo quads showing the distance on a lofty turret of
back roads, trails, mines, cabins,
After crossing the river for the
streams, landmarks, elevations and stone, or making its way along the second time, the road begins a steep
contours. An indispensible reference. edges of the eastern escarpment ascent into the high chapparal
where the granite cliffs and boulder country. As one gains altitude, vast
Yes, please rush the following fields form a fortress that shields the panoramas unfold of the rolling
Map Indexes @$1.00 ea. postpaid: sheep from both man and natural foothills with the Rio San Telmo
California
• Arizona Washington
• Hawaii • Montana predators. The mountain lions are appearing as a sandy ribbon in the
D
Nevada • Utah • Oregon
Alaska also elusive. They can be hunted valley far below. As the ridge of the
• New Mexico • Colorado
D
• outside the park only with a special Sierra comes into view it still will
D Wyoming •
D Idaho permit granted by the Mexican look barren but, as one approaches,
D Also, send Color Booklet on HOW TO READ TOPO
MAPS. $1.00 ppd. Department of Wildlife and issued tall pines standing along the edges of
Amount enclosed $ according to current census figures sheer cliffs become visible. This is
NAME of the population. the perimeter of the plateau. After
ADDRESS
No hunting or even the possession passing the Meling Ranch, the road
7IP
of firearms is allowed within the again starts upward with the
CALIF. RESIDENTS ADD 6% SALES TAX. NOTE: TO
ORDER INDIVIDUAL TOPO QUADS, ATTACH park. However, there is currently a countryside becoming greener and
SEPARATE SHEET WITH REQUIREMENTS. $1.75 problem with amateur poachers who cactus and sagebrush gradually
EACH. ADD $1.30 SHIPPING PER ORDER.
come in on horseback to take mule giving way to small evergreens and
WESTWIDE MAPS CO. deer. Although fish and game scrub oak. Soon the traveler will
114 West 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 violations are a felony in Mexico, arrive at the ranger station, in the
Walker S. Clute, Prop. (213) 624-2679 poaching is difficult to discourage shade of tall trees. He will have
J
covered almost fifty miles from
where he turned off the paved road.
Most of the year the road is
passable in an ordinary car, but
those traveling in the spring or early
summer should inquire about road
conditions at the immigration check
point in Maneadero, below
Ensenada. The road occasionally This is
washes out from the winter rains and
in 1979, during exceptionally heavy Holiday Country
rains, it washed out in more than
fifteen places. There is no official For over a quarter of a century
date when the park closes but during Holiday Realty has been serving
the winter, deep snows make the the Real Estate needs of desert
road treacherous and often lovers. Whether you are interested
impassable for long periods. The in Residential, Commercial,
observatory, however, remains open Agriculture or Industrial.
all year because in the winter the
Make your desert connection
cold air makes the skies even
clearer. with the firm whose professional
There is a bright future ahead for expertise is the result of 25 years'
the Sierra San Pedro Martir. The experience right here in
park has come under the the great American Desert.
management of a new ranger, an
educated, young and ambitious man
named Jaime Ferrer. He has no
intention of commercializing the
Holiday
park, but he is making some Realty Corporation
changes. He plans to have maps 73-700 El Paseo, Palm Desert (714)346-6168
made of the area and he is busily at Dick Coffin, President
work establishing campsites. His
assistant, Francisco Mayoral, is a
man who knows the Baja
backcountry as well as anyone. He
served as a guide to the entire
WITH CRIME ON THE INCREASE
peninsula before there was even a Are You Worried about the Loss of Your Valuables?
road. Together they intend to more Don't let increasing burglaries keep you awake at night
clearly mark the trails leading to the or prevent you from leaving home with peace of mind.
park's many attractions. As this is
written, workmen are busily Now, McWelco Products introduces a rugged,
improving the road, putting in heavy-duty line of security vaults designed to
culverts and constructing drainage guard your valuables with the worry-free
security you can depend on.
ditches. Constructed of 10-gauge reinforced steel with
There are a few who will hardened, pick-proof locks and a pry-proof
remember this place as only being door, these vaults are designed to secure your
rifles, shotguns, handguns and ammunition
reachable by foot or horseback, or from theft or wrong use (excellent for keeping
by four-wheel drive vehicle. To guns out of the hands of children). Also
those adventurous few, the clearly protects jewelry, cameras, electronic and
marked trails and established office equipment, important papers and other
valuables when using optional racks in place of
campsites may come as a rifle racks.
disappointment. Because the park is
Built to last a lifetime, there are 36 years*
becoming more accessible and of experience that go into McWelco quality
widely used, the danger of forest products. Innovative designing allows the
fires is increased and without finest quality at the lowest possible prices.
guidelines to follow, too many With four models to choose from, there is a
people could easily pollute the McWelco Vault just right for your home or
business.
fragile yet vital streams of the area.
Prices start at $425.00 plus shipping, pr Buy
However, developing the region Factory Direct and Save.
along the pattern of a well-run
national park will bring about better Write or Call Today a n d ask for
enforcement of game laws and better "Free McWelco Vault I n f o r m a t i o n "
management of wildlife. That, for McWelco Products Inc., Dept D-2
the long term, may be the best way 6730 Santa Fe Ave., Hesperia, CA 92345
to preserve and protect this unique Rugged affordable security by the manufacturers of quality steel products.
place on the top of Baja.0 (714) 244-8876 *McKinley Welding Co., Inc., in business since 1944.
SKY
DETERMINES an appreciation by
DON MACDONALD
•--•-.,
st*
1
#•"*',
JEFFGNASS
QfiOLLA PATCH, Joshua Tree National Monument, California
*'< ;Vi
tiki
breathing spaces of the west and
there is just enough life in exactly the There is GOLD in
forms needed to sustain one another.
And, on the average, nature doles
should be preseved forever." Calvin,
on the other hand, was inclined to
them 'thar hills!
out sunshine and rain in proportion welcome his fellow man to a n d it is
to maintain this balance. Sky the desert. b e i n g found
determines. There is another key difference,
with the
too. Van Dyke rode into the desert,
That is the thesis. To arrive at it,
Calvin began a log when he was not knowing or caring as to his help of . . .
twelve years old. When presented to destination, for three years with only
the University of New Mexico
Library in 1964, it represented sixty
his horse and a dog for company.
Calvin spaced his experiences over a ALLIED
years of research in 1,260 pages. He
added to it until his death at age 91
lifetime, never roaming too far and
mostly by automobile from SERVICES
in 1970. civilization, and thus never losing his Over 6,000 square feet of
His obituary in the Albuquerque relationship with it. (he most complete stock
Tribune said: "Dr. Calvin would But most significant of all, Calvin of supplies for the professional
refer to himself as an ecologist, for was a scientist, or at least of that or beginner — plus, expert
his study of natural forms probed mind, whereas Van Dyke laid no guidance in the use and
deep into the very foundation of all claim to be. Van Dyke reported what selection of your equipment.
creation.'' And he did probe deeply, he saw and experienced and
into mythology for example. With no suffered, seldom probing the causes. « Gold Dredges • Wet Suits
apology to his Christian peers, he And he saw minutely for his pace
wrote: "Long ago one of the Greek was slow, sometimes painfully so. • Metal Detectors • Dry
sky gods stole the chariot of the sun.Calvin, in turn, painted with a Washers • Sluices • Gold
Unable to control the mighty broader brush, piecing together great
coursers of Apollo, he permitted chunks of his thesis at a time. But Pans • Tools • Topo Maps
them to approach too near the earth, that is as it should have been for the • Laboratory Apparatus
where the heat seared a broad band concept, sky determines,
across its middle. To this day the encompasses almost the universe in • Mineral Lights • Gold
scar of the burn remains. It is calledits scope. Scales • Lapidary
the Sahara. On the other side of the Calvin perhaps more so than Van
earth, somewhere near the same Dyke was sympathetic to his fellow Equipment • Books
latitude, another part of the same man anywhere, past or present, as • Magazines • And Much.
scar is visible, though less long and witness: "History has persisted in
less deep. It used to be called the misunderstanding the Apache. He Much More!
American Desert." has been viewed exclusively and
And unlike many ecologists, he is constitutionally as an enemy, a sort Over 1,600 different
sympathetic to man's presence: of rattlesnake among men . . . The publications in stock. Back
"The desert, exotic, terrible, fact is, that so far from being by issues of magazines
fabulous — what is it, and where? constitution an enemy to the rest of including Desert!
While the reality is no myth, its fangshis fellow creatures, the Apache was
have been drawn. With the first nature's supreme example of "If we don't have it in stock
highway, its terrors paled; and with adaptation to arid environment.'' . . . chances are you don't
the first automobile, an iron horse And again: "Nature, with a need it."
which neither drouth nor heat can mother love always tenacious,
conquer, they disappeared. Today, planted the Apache in the desert,
for the motorist speeding at fifty
miles an hour or better over a
and before any alien species not
specifically adapted could supplant ALLIED
resilient ribbon of asphalt, it is no
menace at all."
Here is one essential difference
between Calvin and Van Dyke. The
him there, it would be necessary to
modify, in some real sense, the
environment. Otherwise, it would be
as rational for a cornfield to supplant
SERVICES
Sales, Service and Rentals
latter cried out, "The deserts are nota patch of cactus." since 1969
worthless wastes . . . (they) should Why a lifetime expended to prove
never be reclaimed. They are the we evolve around the caprice of the Visit our showroom located 5
sky? Sky determines, as a two-word miles east of Disneyland, Wi
fact, lacks all hope. Calvin in his blocks south of Katella Avenue
' 'IN THE DESERT, WHERE PLANT LIFE IS book of the same name shows how (east of Orange Freeway, Rte 57)
SCANTY, EROSION GOES ON AT A MAD man can and has modified, and thus
966 North Main Street
PACE, BECAUSE FOLIAGE IS LACKING TO mollified, the despot.
(Note: Sky Determines, $4.95 pb, Orange, California 92667
INTERCEPT THE BEATING OF THE RAIN
and The Desert, $3.45 pb, are Phone (714) 637-8824
SHEETS..." available through Desert Magazine's Store Hours: Weekdays, 10-6;
ERODED CLAY FORMATION. Book Store. See pages 60-61 for Saturdays, 10-3.
Cathedral Gorge State Park. Nevada ordering information.)
DESERT BOOK SEOF
Gold
ELECTRONIC PROSPECTING WITH THE
VLF/TR/METAL/MINERAL DETECTOR by
Charles Garrett, Bob Grant, and Roy Lagal. A
handy reference for anyone using late-model
metal detectors, written by experts. Contains
many hints on how to find gold and other trea-
sure ores and artifacts with a good bibliography
and appendix. Pb., 86 pgs., numerous illus.,
$4.95.
BURIED TREASURE AND LOST MINES by metal detector selection and use, digging tools
Frank Fish. One of the original treasure hunters and accessories, how to dig, and the care and
ROADMAP TO CALIFORNIA'S LOST MINES provides data on 93 lost bonanzas, many of handling of coins. Newly revised, Ph., 231
AND BURIED TREASURES. Compiled by which he personally searched for. He died pgs., $6.95.
Varna Enterprises, 38" x 25" and scaled. South- under mysterious circumstances in 1968 after
ern California on one side and Northern leading an adventurous life. Illus. with photos HIGH MOUNTAINS AND DEEP VALLEYS by
California on the other. Contains detailed loca- and maps. Pb., 68 pgs., $2.00.
tion of place names, many of which are not on lew and Ginny Clark, with photographs by
regular maps. $4.00. Edwin C. Rockwell. A history and general guide
book to the vast lands east of the High Sierra,
DEAD MEN DO TELL TALES by Lake, Erie south of the Comstock Lode, north of the Mojave
THE GOLD MINES OF CALIFORNIA, TWO Schafer. Related to BURIED TREASURE AND Desert, and west of Death Valley, by oldtimers
GUIDEBOOKS. Fayette Robinson's guidebook, LOST MINES by Frank Fish, the author knew who know the area. Pb., 192 pgs., 250 photo-
originally written in 1849, is reproduced in this Fish for many years and claims he was mur- graphs, and many maps. $6.95.
book. Typical of the many books rushed to press dered. Her book adds other information on al-
to sell to the forty-niners, with its sensational leged lost bonanzas, plus reasons she thinks Fish
reports of gold discoveries. Franklin Street's did not die a natural death as stated by the TREASURE HUNTER'S MANUAL NO. 7 by
1850 guidebook, the second guidebook repro- authorities. Pb., illus., 80 pgs., $3.00. Karl von Mueller. The most complete, up-to-date
duced here, more objectively describes each guide to America's fastest-growing hobby, writ-
stream and mining camp in the gold country, ten by an old master of treasure hunting. Re-
without the "flamboyant optimism" typical of SUCCESSFUL COIN HUNTING by Charles !.. search techniques, detector operation, legali-
the 1849 guides. Hb., 225 pgs., $10.00. Garrett. A complete guide on where to search, ties and gold dredging. Pb., 299 pgs., $6.95.
Cookery
CITRUS COOK BOOK by Glenda McGillis. An
unusual and outstanding treasury of citrus cook- till
ery. Includes tips on freezing, juicing and ship-
ping. Pb., spiral-bound, $2.00. emu Cook Book
INDIAN
CALIFORNIA FAVORITES COOKBOOK com-
piled by Al Fischer and Mildred Fischer. This
delicious collection of over 400 California rec-
coon MEXICAN
WESTERN
ipes includes things like Gold Camp Rabbit, Old
West Beef Stew, Indio Date-Nut Bread, Borrego
BOOK (KTOKfl PRODUCTS
*A C T D D I T A T» V 1f»O1
Death Valley DESERT PEAXS GUIDE, Part I and Part II,
edited by Walt Wheelock. Descriptive guides for
mountain hiking. Part I includes the ridge lying
east of Owens Valley: the Mono, White, Inyo,
Coso, and Argus Ranges. Pb., 39 pgs., $1.50. Part
II includes Death Valley country. Pb., 48 pgs.,
$1.50.
graphs, maps, and extensive, index. Pb., 342 Credit Card No.
pgs., $7.95.
WILLIE BOY by Harry Lawton. The story of an Expiration Date MasterCharge
incomparable Indian chase and its unexpected Month/Year Interbank No.
conclusion, woven into an authentic turn-of-
the-century history of California's Twentynine
Palms country. This desert classic offers rare Signature
insights into Indian character and customs, as
well as a first-hand look at a colorful desert (charge not valid unless signed)
region as it was nearly a century ago. Historic
photographs and colorful maps, Ph., $6.50.
DESERT 61
THE TRADING F€)ST
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES GEMS Blvd., Marina del Rey, CA 90291 (213)
306-2737.
FOR SALE: DESERT Magazine, Volumes SHAMROCK ROCK SHOP, 593 West La
1-13. Inquire Robert Humphrey, 9211 E. Cadena, Riverside, CA 92501 (714) 686-3956. GARRETT METAL DETECTORS: Gold
Rosewood, Tucson, AZ 85710. Parallel to Riverside Freeway. Come in and Pans, Dredges, Drywashers, Sluices, Books,
browse: jewelry mountings, chains, supplies, Supplies. Roadrunner Recovery & Supply,
COSMETICS minerals, slabs, rough materials, equipment, 83-731 Ave. 55, Thermal, CA 92274 714/
black lights, metal detectors, maps, rock and 398-7114.
ALOE VERA Products. First Aide gel. Non- bottle books.
surgical face lift. Also complete line. Demon-
strations by appointment. ORGANIC DE- MAPS GOLD RECOVERY EQUIPMENT, all
POT, 38138 Sixth St. East, Palmdale, CA types, see demonstration units in operation.
93550 or (805) 273-3587. OLD STATE, Railroad, County maps, 70-110 Concentrators, amalgamators, small ball
yrs. old. All states. Stamp for catalog. North- mills, free catalog. Sierra Mining & Mfg.,
FREE LITERATURE AND SAMPLE of ern Map, Dept. DM, Dunnellon, FL 32630. 450 E. Chick, El Centro, CA 92243.
Aloe Vera Product, Suntan Lotion, Cosmet- (714) 352-8060.
ics, First Aide Gel, Face-Lift Kit. Write: MISCELLANEOUS
Aloe, P.O. Box 8418, Corpus Christi, TX TRY A DRYWASHER! Guarant;ed to re-
78412. WINNING BLACKJACK — Exciting work- cover minerals, gold. A hobby that pays for
able techniques casinos would rather you itself. Visa, Master Charge welcome. Write to
EQUIPMENT never learned. $5.00 D. Richardson, 590 Nick's Nugget, P.O. Box 1081, Fontana, CA
Eldon Dr., Warren, OH 44483. 92335 (714) 822-2846.
DRINKING WATER Trailers with/without
pumps. For rent or lease. Aquarius Water A LINK TO THE PAST. Sense the presence LOCATE OIL, GAS, Water and Gold. Amaz-
Equipment. Phone (714) 637-0078. of the ancient artisans when you wear this ing detector, rugged, sensible, reliable, accu-
unusual pendant made from pre-historic, rate, professional results. Detectors prepaid,
FOOD AND RECIPES 1,000 year old, Southwest Indian, coiled pot- $99.50 each. We make drilling locations and
TRAVELER'S WAFERS. Maintain good tery shard. Hung on a leather thong. $7.95 evaluate acreage for oil and gas. Have selec-
health away from home. Recipes $3.00. Te- includes postage and handling. SASE for tive good leases to farm out. SCOTT'S, Leoti,
na's Treasures, Box 903, Alamosa, CO 81101. other items. Galerilla de Anasazi, P.O. Box
804, Claypool, AZ 85532. KS 67861. Phone: (316) 375-2553; (316)
STORAGE FOOD — Dehydrated & Freeze 739-4571.
Dried for long shelf life. Many self-sufficiency INCORPORATE in tax-free Nevada! Details
items available. Write or call collect for free Free. CANI-DM, Box 2064, Carson City, NV REAL ESTATE:
listing. Visa/MasterCard accepted. VALLEY 89701.
FOOD RESERVE, P.O. Box 211, Scio, OR WANTED: Desert lover to caretake small
97374. PROSPECTING ranch. No electricity or indoor plumbing.
SOURDOUGH FOR THE SOUL. Make AUTOMATIC GOLDPANNER. Pan for Gold $100/mo. John Bolf, 429 N. Findlay Ave.,
yours. Recipes too. Only $2.00 to P.B. Inc., the easy way. From under $600. For further Montebello, CA 90640.
BoxG, Cima, CA 92323. information write: Goldhound, 4078 Lincoln
NEED 1-2 COUPLES as permanent resi-
dents. Lovely desert land, equidistant be-
tween St. George, Utah-Mesquite, Nevada.
We provide trailer site, water, sewer. Phone,
Y v l L J J x A X l could be run on this page at modest cost — propane available. No electricity, generator
only 750 per word per issue (1 or 2 issues), 700 per word per issue needed. We ask permanent residency; 3-5 yrs.
(3-5 issues), and only 65(2 per word for the same ad in six consecu- minimum. Our purpose: to have resident on
tive issues. land. Information write: Smith, Box 667,
Lay ton, UT 84041.
We need copy on the 10th of the second month preceding issue.
TREASURE FINDERS
TREASURE — Locate quarter mile away
with ultrasensitive locator, brochure free. Re-
search Products, Box 270270-BUC, Tampa
FL 33688.
Name _
Address WESTERN ART
City State. KINGSLEY OSMUND HARRIS, Artist. See
his beautiful original realistic western paint-
Zip Telephone (. ings displayed in Desert Magazine's Western
Art Gallery, 74-425 Hwy. Ill, Palm Desert,
Examples: P.O. Box 1318 counts as three words; telephone numbers as two words. CA 92261.
Abbreviations and zip codes are one word.
iUJindjammc/ BgieMblCruiser
RO. Box 120, Miami Beach, Florida 33139. 305/672-2213.
Cap'n Mike, Windjammer'Barefoot1 Cruises. P.O. Box 120, Dept. 1721, Miami Beach, Florida 33139
For Reservations Call TOLL FREE 1-800-327-2600
Send my free full-color 'Great Adventure' Booklet.
Address.
City/Slate/Zip.
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