195712 Desert Magazine 1957 December

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TUMBLE WEED CHRISTMASBy GEORGIA JORDANSan Diego, CaliforniaNow little Bill, just past three,Was wishing for a Christmas T ree.But Dad's homestead, ondesert land,Was outamong the dunes of sand.The firs andpines were far away,And tomorrow was ChristmasDay.

Billy sadly gazed about,Then gave a jump andhappy shout!A tumble weed, so big andround,Pushed by thewind along theground,Had come to rest bytheir front gate,As though they had an evening d ate.

"Oh Mother, Mother!" Billy cried,"A Christmas Tree is right outside."Dad sprayed itwhite, with quick-dry paint,And topped itwith a tin-foil Saint.Now little Bill, just past three,Was happy with hisChristmas Tree. C OOL S HA D OWS

By ELIZABETH L. SARGENTOntario, CaliforniaAs far aseye can see thedesert sandLies hotbeneath thebroiling copper sun.No breath of airstirs thebrown chaparralNor hints thehumid day isnearly done.Then suddenly theblazing sungoes downAnd twilight spreads cool shadows near andfarA picture for anartist's hand topaintRe d sunsinking b eneath theevening star.

TOGETHERBy ELEANOR JORDAN HOUSTONPut-in-Bay, OhioThe smell of pine is in theairThe tang of autumn weatherScented gusts blow through your hairFrom off thesage andheather.

The mountains rise inpurple haze;Bright aspens dance andquiver,And cottonwoods bend all ablazeAlong thegolden river.Our spirits and our hearts are tuned

To song of spur andleather.Our voices blend in joy andloveAs we ride ontogether.

By TANYA SOUTHSan Diego, CaliforniaWho says wecan't? We can andwill!The innate Light procures it!The faith andpurpose weinstillEach struggling effort lures it.There are noheights wewould attain,No brilliant gleam afar,Bu t if we strive with every grain,We'll overcome each bar,And rise toward it. Though when wewinStill rests upon ourstrength within.

By GRACE R. BALLARDSanta Barbara, CaliforniaStarkly against a sullen skyA bearded monarch lifts gaunt armsIn grotesque attitudewhere sandAnd wind have, without mercy, scornedAnd tortured them; as though there wereNo need for beauty inthis barren land.But see, upon each bristling branchThe pale-green blooms of Joshua cling;Their fragile waxen bells held closeBy spiny growth, surrenderingTheir frail delight to early spring;Swayed gently by thedesert wind.Lending their grace tothis lonely spotSeemingly, even God forgot. WHAT DOES A MODERNSHEPHERD THINK?

By MABELLE B. M C G U I R EVentura, CaliforniaWhen desert sounds arestilled upon the air,And light isdrenched inearly morningfog,I hear thebleat of lambs andewes upthereUpon thehill, a fitting epilogueTo night's lone cries. Thesheep our landsinvade.They come byhundreds every year to graze,Then pass onwhen they eat thetender blade,And shepherd, sheep anddogs all go theirways.But while they're here, we bring out glassto seeMore clearly that vast army on thehill.We conjure shepherds of oldGalilee,And David with hisflocks andpoet's skill.What does this modern shepherd think today,When hebeholds our town? What does hesay?

THE DESERT SANGBy EVAN DUNNAVANTRiverton, WyomingThe desert sang soft song last night,Sweet-silken serenade shesent,And when thedulcet rhyme took flightIts winging spanned thecontinent.

A yielding cornfield heard it come,Warm humming from the tepid sand,And shyly stirred stilt-stalks to strumA tribute to thesun's homeland.Along a nightbound eastern coastThe mesquite's music sifted deepAnd told a sodden fishing boatThe ecstasy of dryground sleep.A cock-proud mountain pricked itsearsTo catch thefree, far-flinging bliss,And sensed that all itstowering yearsCould notcompose one note like this.Beneath theamber lamp of moonThe desert ceased hersong andslept.Within whose form thetune was kept.Shaft shadows tossed thesilver dune

AT THE CANYON'S BRIMBy ALI C E TENNESON HAW KI NSSan Pedro, CaliforniaDeep, deep below, thedesert river winds.The moon slips down between thecliffs andfinds

A place toview herown reflection.The stream so farbelow, nosound isheardExcept ourpounding hearts, your whisperedword,And one wild foxthat barks a question.2 DESERT MAGAZINE

When Gray-BeardMonarchs Bloom


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D E S E R T C A L E i l D R RNov. 30-Dec. 1 Junior Parade,Florence, Arizona.Dec. 4-6Southern California OpenGolf Tournament, Indian WellsGolf Club, Palm Desert, California.Dec. 6-7, 13-14Gaslight Gaieties,Palm Springs, California.Dec. 6-8Dons Club Bus Tour toGuaymas, from Phoenix.Dec. 7Dog Show, Fair Grounds,Yuma, Arizona.Dec. 7Christmas Parade, Lancaster,California.Dec. 7-8Commercial Rabbit Show,Phoenix.Dec. 7-8Christmas Flower Show,Valley Garden Center, Phoenix.Dec. 7-8Cat Show, Tucson.Dec. 7 and 14Rag Doll Parade on7th, Dog Show and Parade on 14th,Bisbee, Arizona.Dec. 8 Imperial Valley KennelClub's All-Breed Dog Show, Holt-ville, California.Dec. 10-12Pilgrimage by Tortugas

Indians, Las Cruces, New Mexico.Dec. 11 Achones Procession AfterVespers, Taos, New Mexico.Dec. 12Matachines Dance, JemezPueblo, New Mexico.Dec. 12Feast Day of Our Lady ofGuadalupe, Santa Fe and Taos,New Mexico.Dec. 12 and 15 Miracle of theRoses Pageant, Scottsdale, Arizona.Dec. 14Formal Opening of ArizonaSnow Bowl (dependent upon snowconditions), Flagstaff.Dec. 14-Jan. 3John Hilton Exhibit,Desert Magazine Art Gallery, PalmDesert, California. (See page 7)Dec. 15"The Messiah," UniversityAuditorium, Tucson.Dec. 15Dons Club Travelcade toFt. McDowell, from Phoenix.Dec. 19Christmas Party for WinterVisitors, Mesa, Arizona.Dec. 20Christmas Parade, Barstow,California.Dec. 22Oratorio Societys AnnualPresentation of "The Messiah,"Salt Lake City.Dec. 22 and 29Desert Sun Ranch-ers Rodeo, Wickenburg, Arizona.Dec. 24Ceremonial Dance, San II-defonso Pueblo; Procession of theVirgin, Taos Pueblo; CeremonialDances after Midnight Mass inmission churches at San Felipe,Laguna and Isleta Pueblos, N. M.Dec. 24Christmas Eve in Spanish

Villages of New Mexico celebratedwith little bonfires for El SantoNino, lighted before houses, instreets and before Nativity Scenes.Dec. 25Ceremonial Dances at Taos,Jemez, Santo Domingo, Tesuque,Santa Clara and other New MexicoPueblos on Christmas and threedays following.Dec. 26 Turtle Dance, San JuanPueblo, New Mexico.Dec. 26-Jan. 1 23rd Annual SunCarnival, El Paso, Texas.Dec. 31Deer Dance, Sandia Pueblo,New Mexico.Late November or Early December Shalako Dances, Zuni Pueblo,New Mexico.Month of DecemberArt show onArizona Themes, Phoenix Art Cen-ter.

Volume 20 DECEMBER, 1957 Number 12COVERPOETRYCALENDARPHOTOGRAPHYWILDLIFEFIELD TRIPCONTESTARTFICTIONEXPERIENCEBIRDLIFECLOSE-UPSLETTERSCONTESTWATERHOLEHISTORYNATURETRUE OR FALSENEWSMININGLAPIDARYHOBBYINDEXBOOKSCOMMENT

San Ildefonso Pottery Maker, by HARVEY CAPLINWhen Gray-Beard Monarchs Bloom

and other poem s 2December events on the desert 3Pictures of the Month 4Burro Sanctuary on the MojaveBy RUSS LEADABRAND 5Gem Stone Trails in the Pancake Range

By NELL MURBARGER 8Desert Story Contest announcement . . . . 12Harrison BegayNavajo Artist

By W. THETFORD LeVINESS 13Hard Rock Shorty of Death Valley 14My Desert Awakening

By EDITH M. HOCKEY 16Cave Dwellings in the SkyBy DOUGLAS and ELIZABETH RIGBY . . 17

About those who write for Desert 18Comment from Desert's readers 20Picture-of-the-Month Contest announcement . . 20Fish Springs in the Salton Sink

By WALTER FORD 21Calico, California

By JOSEF and JOYCE MUENCH 22Desert Plants That Give Milk

By EDMUND C. JAEGER 24A test of your desert knowledge 26From here and there on the desert 27Current news of desert mines 31Amateur Gem Cutter, by DR. H. C. DAKE . . . 33Gems and Minerals 34Contents of Desert for 1957 38Reviews of Southwestern literature . . . . . . 41Just Between You and Me, by the Editor . . . 42

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Press, Inc Palm DesertCalifornia. Re-entered as second class matter July 17, 1948, at the postoffice at Palm DesertCalifornia, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered No. 358865 in U S Patent Officeand contents copyrighted 1957 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writing.RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor EUGENE L. CONROTTO, Associate EditorBESS STACY, Business Manager EVONNE RIDDELL. Circulation ManagerUnsolicited manuscripts and photographs submitted cannot be returned or acknowledgedunless full return postage is enclosed. Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility fordamage or loss of manuscripts or photographs although due care will be exercised Sub-scribers should send notice of cnange of address by the first of the month preceding' issue.SUBSCRIPTION RATESOne Year S4.00 Two Years S7.00

Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra, Foreign 50c ExtraSubscriptions to Army Personnel Outside U. S. A. Must Be Mailed in Conformity WithP. O. D. Order No. 19687

Address Correspondence to Desert Magazine. Palm Deaert, CaliforniaE M B E R , 1 9 5 7


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O l d - T i m e r . . .Pop Clctnton (Desert, April '56) isa permanent fixture in the Arizonaghost city of Jerome. An old-timeprospector, he is one of the few menin the West who still carries his six-

shooters strapped to his waist. Thismonth's first prize photograph wastaken by L. D. Schooler of Blythe,California, with a Rolleicord cameraset at f. 22, 1/100 second on veri-chrome pan film.

P i c t u r e s o ft h e M o n t hM o j a v e W i n t e r . . .

One of Nature's most beautifuland paradoxical scenes is snow-fall on the high desert. A nearlyannual occurrence, the snow rarelylasts a week, however. Second prizethis month goes to William W. Phil-lips of Hollywood, California, whoshot this scene on the Mojave Desertof California near Pearblossom.Camera data: Argus C-3 camera; f.8 at 1/30 second; K2 filter.


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Young fowrro. Although not native to the Mojave Desert area, burros have madea very successful adaptation. Photograph by Cal Godshall.

u r r o S a n c t u a r y o n t h e M o j a v e . . .California recently took decisive steps to protect its feral burropopulationbut how effective this new legislation will be remains aquestion, reports Russ Leadabrand. Here is the story of the new 6000-square-mile burro sanctuary in the Death Valley country, and howsome of the state and federal officials most directly affected view thesituation.

By RUSS LEADABRANDMap by Norton Allen

ALIFORNIA'S melancholy-eyeddroop-eared wild burros weregiven new hope for survival inber when State Senate Bills 31nd 32 became laws. The formervast burro sanctuary inhe latter is an exten-

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sion of current protective legislation,with certain modifications.But, road blocks still stand in thepath of both laws, indicating that thestate's burgeoning burro herdat lastestimate approaching 3000 still isnot completely protected.

Burro proponents insist that thesanctuary exists in name only, andthat the second bill leaves the dooropen for renewed large-scale burroslaughter.The plight of California's burros{Desert, June '56) came into publicfocus in 1953 when numerous reportsof brutalities against the half-wild ani-mals appeared in desert area news-papers. Section 1403 of the Califor-nia Fish and Game Code was enactedthat year to correct this situation. De-spite protests of farmers, Fish andGame Department game managementexperts and National Park Servicenaturalists that the animals were beingover-protected at the expense of other


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The burro, traditional partner of the lonely prospectors who first exploredthe desert country, has wide sentimental support from Southwestern citizens.Others advocate controls against burros which allegedly are crowding-outother wildlife species, including bighorn sheep. Photograph by Wm. A.Oberlin.wildlife species, the law was re-adoptedfor an additional two years in 1955.This year, when the bill once againcame up for renewal, State SenatorsCharles Brown of Shoshone and JessR. Dorsey of Bakersfieldauthors ofthe original legislationproposed thetw o new burro laws.The first was for the establishmentof a burro sanctuarya gigantic 6000-square-mile rectangle in the southeastcorner of Inyo County (see map).Within this area it is now unlawful to" take, possess, harm, molest, harass,or in any way interfere with anybur ro . "The sanctuary contains some of thestate's most rugged and primitivemountain and desert country. Includedwithin the asylum are sections of Eu-reka and Saline valleys, territory being

sought as a rocket testing range by theU.S. Navy.A trackless uplift of mountains be-tween the twovalleys, and parts of theLast Chance and Inyo ranges also areincluded, as are the Nelson Range andthe Hunter Mountain area north ofPanamint Springs, the sand and lavaboulder flatland of Panamint Valley,the frosty high Panamint Range onthe east and the stark treeless ArgusRange on the west.

The sanctuary includes almost allof Death Valley National Monument,but park authorities are taking a cau-tious view of the refuge idea."For several years the NationalPark Service has found it necessaryperiodically to control feral burronumbers at Death Valley in order toinsure the continuation of the native

bighorn population," Acting RegionalDirector of the National Park ServiceC . E. Persons told me."Even with this planned assistance,the bighorn have had great difficultyholding their own," he added. "Whilethe Monument is included within theoverall area designated as a state burrosanctuary, we understand the Statelegislation does not affect operation ofthe feral burro management programwithin the Mon ument. Thus, when itappears advisable in the interest ofMonument wildlife to do so, necessarymanagement practices involving re-duction may be carried out."

In the past, Death Valley NationalMonument personnel have shot wildburros when the herds were consid-ered out of hand . This year therewere rumors, however, that the Mon-ument people were going to live-trapand ship away the offending burros.Acting Regional Director Persons de-nied this, saying: "Our present man-agement plan contemplates no pro-gram of live-trapping for commercialuse. We have no plans for trappingfor shipment to other areas, whetherwithin this state or to another state."

Early in 1956 Naturalist L. FloydKeller estimated there were 1000 feralburros in the Monument. Persons be-lieves there are 700 animals in DeathValley today.The second new burro lawSenateBill 32 reads like it has enoughsharp teeth in it to protect the wildburro against almost any eventuality.The law states in part : "It is un-lawful to kill, wound, capture, or havein possession any undomesticated bur-ro , except as hereinafter provided inthis section or under a permit issuedpersuant to Section 1404. An undo-mesticated burro, for the purpose ofthis chapter, is a wild burro or a burrowhich has not been tamed or domes-ticated for a period of three yearsafter its capture. The fact that a burrowas killed, wounded, or captured onpublicly owned land, or on land ownedby a person or persons other than theperson who killed, wounded, or cap-tured the burro is prima facie evi-dence that the burro was an undomes-ticated burro at the time it was killed,wounded, or captured . . ."All undomesticated burros arehereby declared to be the property ofthe State of California and no one maypossess an undomesticated burro ex-cept for the purpose of domesticatingit and possessing it as a pet or for useas a beast of burden."According to the previous burrolaw only 12 permits could be issuedannually by the California Departmentof Agriculture to persons wishing tocapture a wild burro for pet or packanimal. During both 1955 and 1956

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CALIFORNIABURRO REFUGEIndependence '^

Death Valley Na f I. Mon.Boundary -Burro Refuge Boundary

the maximum number of permits weregranted, but six were returned, unused,each year.The new law places no such limiton the number of permits that the

Department of Agriculture may issue.It merely insists that the Departmentissue a total number of permits based"on its determination of the numberof domesticated burros necessary toproperly preserve and maintain thespecies in relation to available land."But it is the following section ofthe new burro law that has raised themost comment:"Any owner or tenant of land orproperty that is being damaged or de-stroyed by burros may apply to theDepartment of Agriculture for a per-mit to kill such burros. The depart-ment, upon satisfactory evidence ofsuch damage or destruction, shall is-sue a revocable permit for the takingof such burros under a permit. Burrosso taken shall not be sold, nor shippedfrom the premises on which they aretaken, except under instructions fromthe Department of Agriculture."W. C. Jacobsen, director of the De-partment of Agriculture, said his de-partment did not have much informa-tion on the burro problem as yet. "Dueto our limited connection with the wildburro situation, we cannot even esti-mate how many requests for permitsto kill wild burros might be received

from farmers under the new law,"Jacobsen stated.William P. Dasmann, game man-agement supervisor of the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game, was

critical of the new law. "Because ofthe competition for food and waterthat the feral burros give bighorn sheepin desert areas, the Department doesnot favor laws which give total pro-tection to these animals," he declared.And so the California wild burrowinds up with a sanctuary that is notquite a sanctuary, and is protected bya law that doesn't completely protecthim.It is a compromise situation, un-doubtedly the best kind of safeguard

that could be provided in the face of

opposition to any kind of burro legis-lation.Newest wrinkle in the problemcomes from an observer in Banningwho reports having seen truck loadsof burros being shipped east, out ofthe state.These trucks, bearing Texas licenseplates and each carrying at least 50burros, have been seen leaving thestate on other occasions. I learned toothat some of the animals have died enroute.An old - timer near Randsburgsummed up the situation for me some-thing like this:"The burro's got too much senseto get into this kind of a mess byhimself. But what chance has he gotagainst so many Well-meaning people?"

JOHN HILTON EXHIBITBEGINS DECEMBER 14Fresh from a triumphal exhibit ofhis Desert Southwest paintings in theEast where New York's Grand CentralArt Galleries acclaimed his show asone of the three finest ever held in theirgalleries, artist John W. Hilton willexhibit his work at the Desert Maga-zine Art Gallery, Highway 111, PalmDesert, California. Show dates areDecember 14 to January 3.In addition to painting demonstra-tions at the Desert Gallery, Hilton will

entertain visitors with his guitar andsongs. Also he will autograph hisbook, Sonora Sketch Book.A dynamic personality of countlesstalents, Hilton is recognized today asone of the foremost painters of theSouthwestern scene.The admission-free Desert Art Gal-lery is open seven days a week duringthe winter season, from 9 to 5. Besides

outstanding works of art, visitors canbrowse in the adioining book store-crafts shop specializing in literature ofthe Southwest.DEC EMBER, 19 57


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Frank Roberts inspects banded agate specimens from Ike Springs.G e m S t o n e T r a i l si n t h e P a n c a k e R a n g e . . .By NELL MURBARGERPhot ographs by t he au t horMap by Norton Al len

NEARLY half a century,records of the U. S. CensusBureau have l isted Frank Rob-erts as a rancher in Duckwater Valley,Nye County, Nevadawhich is t rue,as far as it goes. But Frank has somany irons in the fire that ranching,at times, almost seems a sideline. Forexample, he is a self-educated geolo-gist, paleontologist and mineralogist, mS

summertime prospector and rock-hound, and a wintertime lapidary; and,besides all this, he is a great-grand-father, a great story teller, and oneof my favorite friends.He is a good host, too . Each sum-mer, for half-a-dozen years, I've spenta few days at the Roberts' ranch, andFrank and his wife, Josephine (Desert,Aug. '57), always have an interesting

Chalcedony roses , bandedagate, amethyst-lined g e o d e scolorful jaspersthese are thegem stone treasures that awaitexplorers of the Pancake Rangein the arid heart of Nevada.Nell Murbarger's guides to thisrockhound paradise, Frank andJo Roberts of nearby Duckwater,have spent most of their livesin this area and know theirneighborhood gem locales asfew people do.

trip planned for me. We've huntedagates and fossils, visited old miningcamps and ghost towns and Indianpetroglyphs, prowled lava beds andcollected crystals from abandonedgold mines.This year, as usual, my arrival atDuckwater found Frank busy on his

ranch. As he, Jo and I sat at the sup-per table on the first night of my visit,talking, as usual, of lost mines, ghosttowns and old emigrant trails, Franksaid, "How about going somewheretomorrow? Maybe Ike Springs?" Thesprings are at the east base of thePancake Range, 17 airline miles south-west of the Roberts ranch or, 25 milesby road."By making a couple side trips wecould include visits to a meteor craterand a fossil ledge, and pick up somechalcedony and dendritic jasper,"

Fran k continued. "On the ridge abovethe springs is about a quarter-sectioncovered with banded agate and ge-odes . . ."And then, as if he hadn't alreadyextended inducement enough for sev-eral trips, Frank offered the clincher:"Some of the geodes aren't muchgood . Bu t, occasionally we find onestuffed with amethyst crystals!"At sunup the next morning Frank,Josephine and I left the ranch. Cross-ing the clear swift flow of a smallcreek which winds beneath a screen-ing row of willows, we headed outDuckwater Valley to the desert hillson the west.Watered by the abundant flow of alarge warm spring, this fertile basinhas been the home of Shoshone Indi-ans for more generations than anyman knows. About a hundred Sho-shones still live in the upper end ofthe valley in the Duckwater IndianReservation.The desert ranges which border thevalley on both the east and west are

not the most colorful hills in the world,to be sure. They are rough, dry, un-planted, unsurveyed, unfenced anduninhabitedbut that is the reason IDESERT MAGAZINE


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Looking southeast toward the snow-capped Grant Range, from the banded agate-geode area. Slopes of the Duckwater range in middle rear. Ingress road to theagate area is shown in wash, foreground.like them, and why their every parched

As Frank's old truck clattered alonghe sage-grown slopes, we glimpsed intarred by waxy blooms of vermilion,lly showed themselves in the sage.nce, a large bullsnake slithered across cocky little horned toad scampered

We had traveled about five miles

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floored wash. He yanked our gear outof the box rock sacks, prospectingpicks, a canteen of water and mycameras. Also he took a heavy Armyblanket and a mineral lamp.From the edge of the wash the des-ert hills mounted steeply and ourclimbing feet soon carried us througha lower fringe of scrub junipers andsmall-nut-pines into a region thinlyforested by gnarled junipers that musthave been centuries old. On many ofthe larger specimens, which had suc-cumbed to age or other causes, everyshred of bark had been sandblastedaway leaving exposed the rich cinna-mon-brown wood of the twistedbranches and the intricate convolu-tions of the huge trunks.We detoured to the hillslope on theleft where a limestone reef revealeda small interesting deposit of fossilcrinoid stems, macaroni coral and a

few small brach ipods. We found itdifficult to free the specimens fromthe engulfing rock, but did chip outa few samples before swinging backtoward the agate trail.After climbing for 20 minutes, wereached the first deposit of choice chal-cedonywhite and beautifully fluteddesert roses. Frank shoved the blacklight into my hands and said, "Getdown on your knees, beside this crop-ping, and after Jo and I spread theblanket over you, turn on the light."Fumbling in the brown vagueness, Iaimed the lamp in the general direc-tion of the white stones and felt forthe switch. It seemed as if I hadpressed a magic button that controlledall the neon lights of a L illiputian fairy-

landcold little lamps that sparkledin pale lime-green, chartreuse, blue-white and lemon yellow!"You see," said Frank, as he pulled

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away the blanket, "that 's how we huntfluorescent chalcedony!"The jasper," he continued, "is overthis way about a mile . . ."We were high on the range now,and the sharp breeze that whistledaround the rocks and tugged at thefeathery branches of the nut-pines cameon to clutch at our hats and bite frost-ily into our faces and sting our eyesand cheeks. To the southeast we sawdeep snowbanks caught and held inthe higher north-sloping ravines of theGrant Range where Troy Peak, only30 miles distant, lifted its hoary headto over 11,000 feet.

Between that peak and our exposedridge lay the long creamy-white alka-line bed of Railroad Valley, named fora rail line that was never built. Nearly100 miles in length and 20 milesacross at its greatest breadth, Railroad

agate and jasper in red, yellow andgreen!When, on the previous evening, Ihad examined Frank's choice collec-tion of colorful cabochons, I neverdreamed that his material had comefrom a natural showcase such as this,where one only had to make his selec-tions and walk away! Of course, westill had to carry the stones three milesback to the pickup, but this factor ofrelative inaccessibility is the only thingthat may save this jasper deposit fromexhaustion by over-zealous harvesters,Frank pointed out.

"Most rockhounds are fine folks,"he said. "I like to talk to them, andI'll gladly show or tell them where toget good cutting material providedthey limit their collecting to a fewpounds and leave some for the nextfellow. But, the rock-hog who does

"I really struck pay-dirt with theIndians," chuckled Frank. "ChiefBlackeye, past 80 years of age whenhe died a few years ago, said hisgrandfather told of seeing the "fierystar" fall when he was a small boy.The afterglow lasted for four daysafter the meteor struck. For yearsafterward, according to Blackeye, noIndian would venture near the craterfor fear of the Fire Spirit." I was excited by this information,so I hunted up another old Indianand asked him about it. 'Oh, sure,sure!' he told me, 'star he fallgroundhe smoke 30 days!' "Dr. James Gibson Alvorsen, notedgeophysicist of San Gabriel, Calif.,made magnetometer tests at the craterin 1950, and Dr. Russell A. E. Mor-ley, research geologist and meteorolo-gist of Salem, Oregon, studied the site

^onopah

\H/ v F LUORESCENT CHALCEDONY- -ZDENDRITIC J A S P E R 3G E O D E S ,B A N D E D A G A TE 4

Valley is one of Nevada's great in-terior sinks. It swallows the run-offwater from thousands of acres of sur-rounding hills, and subsequently givesit up elsewhere in the form of hotand cold springs.O ur way lay over a series of sharpravines, like a long row of Ms andW's , where we were either slidingdown or climbing sharply every footof the way. Much of the soil here isvividly red and contrasts sharply withthe deep green of the junipers andsoft gray of the sage.An hour and a half after leavingthe pickup we broke out on the browof a ridge that dropped away abruptlytoward the valley. All around us lay

his collecting with a bulldozer andtruck is something else again. If I spothim first he'll be lucky if I even tellhim the time of day!"We returned to the pickup and drovehalf-a-dozen miles south to the rimof little known Duckwater MeteorCrater which Frank discovered 35years ago. From his first glimpse ofthis unusual earthen bowl, with itssteeply-sloping sides and top diameterof nearly 300 feet, Frank felt it wasthe burial place of a meteor. Hesought information regarding the cra-ter from older Indians of the area,hoping that their tribal legends hadnot overlooked this fiery visitor fromouter space.

in 1952. Although these and othereminent researchers are not all agreedin their findings concerning the Duck-water site, concensus of opinion is thatthis is the world's eighth-largest knownmeteor crater; that the meteor respon-sible for its creation probably fellin comparatively recent times, is ofnickle-iron composition, and probablyweighed between 100 and 500 tons.Frank Roberts ' interest in the crateris not prompted by thought of materialgain, and may best be described asplain unvarnished curiosity. About 25years ago, after giving the matter con-siderable thought, Frank sank a shaftin the bottom of the crater.With the help of another man who

If) D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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Banded agate from Ike Springs.s, Frank dug ae-foot shaft through dirt, sand andpth of 60 feetall with-bering, certainly not the besting to a ripe old age!nally they abandoned the hole with-

From the crater we continued west,

outh of a wide wash intohich Frank turned the pickup. Ase traveled upward along its windinghe dry waterway narrowedcanyon. Five miles of gradualost of it through loose sandled to a point on the eastf the Pancake Range half a milef Ike Springs. This small groupf springs, at the time of our visitore than a seep,s named many years ago for Jose-Isaac Irwin, anDuckwater settler. On all mapse seen of this area these springsocated, being placed 11 milessoutheast of the point where they

After lunch the wind dropped toidday sun wasy warm. We climbed for ae through junipers and nut-pinesng where we could look outf square miles of des-

EMBER, 19 57

Sandblasted juniper skeletons dot the chalcedony-jasper area.


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ert country devoid ofhou ses, fences orother signs ofhuman habitat ion. Nearhere was an area where the groundwas sprinkled with geodes. Rough lyround andcocoa-colored, they werelarger than averagefew being smallerthan a grapefruit, many the size ofgiant pumpkins.In theheart of onebroken geodewe discovered anest ofamethyst crys-tals, the mass being six inches inlength by roughly twoinches wide,an d of a bright clear lavender hue.It was a gorgeous sight!We moved over the 100acres of

banded agates andgeodes pepperingthe brow of thehill and found othergeodes containing good agate, somewith water-clear tofaint lavender crys-tals, butnone to compare to the bigjewel-case geode that hadcome toour hand soearly in thesearch.The basic rock underlying the sur-face ofthis portion ofthe range is per-lite strange volcanic glass materialwhich resembles popcorn in itsabilityto expand and "pop" when subjectedto intense heat. Because ofthis uniquecharacteristic, perlite isvaluable insu-lating material and this deposit would

Announcing a New 'DetentTrue Experience Contest!$25 FIRST PRIZE

$1 5 for all other manuscripts accepted forpublicationOnce again Desert Magazine is asking its readers to participatein the telling of theDesert story by relating their personal tales ofhuman interest, adventure, inspiration and eventful experience.There is nolimitation as tosubject matter so long as thestory isset in theDesert Southwest and theother contest requirements listedbelow aremet. Judges will select those stories which they feel willbest contribute to theentertainment andenlightenment of theDesertMagazine family ofreaders.Manuscripts should befrom 1200 to 1500 words in length,andfirst award will be$25. All other stories accepted for publication willearn $15 for their authors.Manuscripts should betrue experiences, preferably of the writer,but stories written ofand with the first hand knowledge of the desertexperiences ofothers will beaccepted. Tall tales and heresay storiesare not solicited.The contest isopen toboth amateur andprofessional writers. Allmanuscripts must be typewritten anddouble spaced, on onesideofthe page only. Leave wide margins onboth sides ofeach sheet.Entries should beaddressed to: Life on theDesert Contest, DesertMagazine, Palm Desert, California, andmust bepostmarked not laterthan January 1,1958,toqualify forthe awards.If 5x7 or larger photographs showing good sharp contrast are

avai lable , anextra $3will bepaid for each used with the story.Pictures are not essential , however.Writers must be prepared tosupply confirmation as tothe authen-ticity of their stories. On ly true exp erien ces are wanted.All stories must be essentially of the desert, and the setting islimited toArizona, Nevada, Utah, NewMexico, thedesert portionofCalifornia, Baja California and northwestern Mexico.True names of those involved must begiven, although with theknowledge of thejudges, fictitious names can be substituted if thereis good reason fordoing this.If the story p reviously has appeared in print, this fact and the timea n d n a m e of the medium inwhich it appeared must begiven. Allreaders of Desert Magazine are invited to submit manuscripts.Judging will be done by the Desert Mag azine staff, and the decisionof the judges wil l befinal. Unaccepted manuscripts will bereturnedif accompanied by return postage.

be worth much money if the potentialcost of transporting it tomarket wasnot sogreat.After I had photographed theblooms of several brilliantly-coloredtorch cactuses andblue penstemons,we worked ourway down thenorthface of the mountain, and thefieldtrip came to an end.T o Jo andFrank Roberts, the de-

light of such a day is not dependenton howlarge a sack ofrocks they takehome."Just being out in thedesert hills,under the warm sun and the blue sky,is enough tomake aday successful form e , " Jo said. Frank and I noddedagreement.

M E X I C A N HAT RIVER TRIPSA G A I N INNEVILLS FAMILYMexican HatExpeditions, foundedby Norman Nevills as a fast water

guide service on the SanJuan andColorado rivers 30 years ago, andoperated by J. Frank Wright since thedeath of Norman andDoris Nevillsin an airplane crash in 1949, waspurchased inOctober byGaylord L.Staveley ofGrand Junction, Colorado,who plans tocontinue much the sametype of service aswas carried on byNevills and Wright .Actually, the transfer brings theriver enterprise back into theNevillsfamily, forStaveley's wife isJoan , theelder daughter of Norman and Doris.Staveleys were married in 1954when Gaylord was an officer in theAir Force. Later they accompaniedFrank Wright on some of his rivertrips and Staveley became sointriguedby thechallenge of white water navi-gation that a year ago he became apartner in theboatman-guide service,an d nowhehas acquired the business,including three oftheboats which werebuilt originally byNevills. These arethe cataract boat Sandra, and the SanJuan boats Music Temple and RedbudCanyon. Other boats of thetypede-signed byNevills have been added byFrank Wright in recent years.Schedules for the1958 season willinclude trips on the SanJuan River,Glen Canyon on theColorado, andat least one expedition through GrandCanyon. While thehome address ofthe Staveleys is at Grand Junction,they will make their headquarters dur-ing theboating season atMexican Hat,Utah, with sub-headquarters at Hite,Utah.A s a result of the fine record ofsafety made by Nevills, Wright, andother boatman-guides onthe rivers ofthe West, increasing numbers of vaca-tionists aretaking these river-canyonexcursions each season.

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To interpret the beauty of theworld around themthe world ofopen skies, deer, sheep, birds andgentle sensitive people is thededicated mission of most Indianartists. One of the most successfulof these is Harrison Begay, a Nav-ajo whose work reflects the tradi-tional influence of the Pueblo In-dian art forms, and whose messageis universally understood by allmen.

By W. THETFORD LeVINESS

HOR TLY AFTER t ak i ng upresidence in Santa Fe, I traveledextensively over the Navajo Res-

But, actually I knew nothing about Harrison Begay at work.

Artist"Navajo G irl on Horseback." the Navajos until I met the artist,Harrison Begay.Harrison had just returned to SantaFe from a winter in Tucson when wemet at the home of a friend. He w aslooking for a studio-apartment, and Itold him of a vacant one next to mine.He took it and that summer I had atutor in things Navajo.It was always interesting to be aguest in Har rison's studio. Ther e, sur-rounded by his paintings, we discussed

the legends and mysteries of "ThePeople." The Mountain Chant , whatmotivated the sandpaintings, and theNavajo Creation Myth were subjectswe particularly enjoyed. This was theheart and soul of Harrison's vocation:to interpret nizhoni (Navajo for beau-ty) in paintinga language understoodby all men.As a boy Harrison Begay enjoyeddrawing. He began spontaneously, do-ing crude paintings in oil on cardboardwhile tending sheep near White Cone,a trading post settlement in northeast-ern Arizona.This was the place of his birth fol-lowing the first frost in 1917, and hewas the son of Hosteen Clan Begay,known to outsiders as "Block Rock."13


14/44

TII

Harrison Begay's "Girls and Lambs."

H a u l R o c k S b o t t yo f Death Valley

"I'm an artist," explained thedude who had just parked hiscar outside the Inferno store. Hewas addressing Hard Rock Shor-ty, who had come in from hismine on Eight Ball Creek andwas dozing on the lean-to porchwhile the clerk filled his orderfor another week's grub."I've come up here to spenda few days painting your colorful

landscape," the artist went on."Everybody wants to know aboutDeath Valley but most of themare afraid to come to this horridplace.""Aw, it ain't so bad after yugit used to it," Shorty assuredhim. "Trouble is, most o' themcity folks think they's pizen inthe springs and scalpin' Indiansbehind every bush an' they neverrelax."You ain't the first artist tocome here. Best paint dauber

we ever seen in this part o' thecountry wuz a mucker me an'

Pisgah Bill had workin' fer us upat the mine one winter. Hecouldn't make a livin' paintin'but he really could make thingslook nachural. Did wood carvin't o o ."He heard about them ducksthat come in every fall down atBadwater, an' said he wuz gonnaget us some fresh meat. So he

got one o' them dead trees downdie creek an' started whittlin'." 'Makin' decoys,' he ex-plained."An' sure enough after a fewdays them hunks o' wood beganto look like ducks, an' afterwhile he had 'em all finished'cept the paintin'. An' that wuzwhen we found out what a goodartist he wuz."They looked jest like mal-lards, two hens an' a drake. Fact,they looked so much like ducks

the cat ate two of 'em and thethird one flew away."

Harrison's mother died when he wasthree and his father married again.Harrison was seven and did notknow a word of English when hestarted school at Fort Defiance, Ari-zona. Indian schools on reservationsspecialize in English for the first gradeor two, and soon Harrison knew thelanguage. Later he went to two othergovernment schools, both in New Mex-ico Tohatchi and Fort Wingate,north and east, respectively, of Gallup.In 1929not yet 12 years of agehe was sent to an Indian Bureauhospital at Fort Defiance as a tuber-culosis suspect. He spent a year and ahalf therea time which, in spite ofdull institutional routine, was one ofintellectual development for him. "Iread a lot at the hospital," he recalled,"and I was taught geography by aNavajo who had attended college. 1felt fine and wanted desperately to bereleased so I could go and see all thethings in this wonderful world I waslearning about."In the fall of 1930, he left withoutpermission and headed straight forWhite Cone. He was 13 and bigenough to work among the horses andsheep near his father's hogan."While the sheep were grazing,"Harrison related, "I'd sit under a treeand draw the things around me sheep, horses, cows, rabbits, dogs,eagles, white-tailed hawks and owls. Itwas fun and a few traders saw my work

and said I was 'quite an artist.' Itmade me feel good for them to likewhat I was doing, although at thattime I didn't know what 'artist' meant!"During this time, Harrison was talk-ing with medicine men and attendingnine-day sings. He learned many ofthe legends and chants of his fore-fathers and how to do the sandpaintingsfor several of the sings. He even cre-ated new designs for gods, rainbowsand animals.After four years at White Cone,Harrison enrolled at the Santa Fe In-

dian School. Along with the usualsecondary and manual training coursesoffered there, he studied art underDorothy Dunn. She had begun teach-ing Indian children water color tech-niques soon after the government liftedits ban on the use of native subjectmatter by Indian art students in itsschools. The ban had been unpopularwith both Indian and non-Indian artcircles, and now Indians were free toexpress themselves in the ways theyknew intuitively.Most of Miss Dunn's students werefrom the pueblos near Santa Fe, buta few were Apaches and Navajos.Painting was traditional in Pueblo

1 4 ' DESERT MAGAZINE


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culture. Murals with a ceremonial mo-tif have been found in ancient kivasf rom Kuaua on the Rio Grande toAw atobi in northeastern Arizona. In-evitably, even the non-Pueblo Indianstudents became strongly influenced bythe Pueblo refinement in art.This is what happened to Harrison.He began to use stylized earth and

cloud symbols, ornamented birds andfigures without background to portraythe milieu of such typical Navajoscenes as women riding horsebackthrough the sage, the dance of theplumed prayer-sticks, deer sunningthemselves in pine forest clearings, orwagon-loads of families gathering inthe dusk for an all-night sing.Harrison achieved a phenominalsuccess even before he left school. Heexhibited several times with other stu-dents at the gallery of the Museum of

New Mexico in Santa Fe. Rene d 'Har-noncourt, director of New York's Mu-seum of Modern Art, arranged anexhibit of Indian paintings in that city,and Paul Coze, French consul in Phoe-nix, got a Paris gallery to exhibit Indianwork. In both shows, Harrison's con-tributions were considered outstanding.With this European exhibition Har-risonand Southwestern Indian art ingeneral achieved international ac-claim.He remained at the Santa Fe IndianSchool until 1940, working during va-cations as a house painter and welder,trades he had learned in his manualtraining courses. He revisited WhiteCone as often as possible, and partici-pated in Navajo rites when he could.He attended the Gallup Ceremonialseach summer, and regularly exhibitedhis paintings there before the war. Itwas at Gallup that he made his firstbig sales and now he knew he couldmake a living as an artist.After a year of study at the BlackMountain College in Asheville, NorthCarolina, Harrison returned to theSouthwest to launch his career inearnest and then the war came. Forthree and a half years the tall Navajoartist was absent from the Southwestand America, serving with the armedforces in Europe.War in the Navajo scheme of thingsis the total breakdown of the estab-lished order. Fo r a person of Harri-son's sensitivities, this was especiallytrue. He spent a mon th late in 1945at White Cone, just after he had beenmustered out of the Army, and whilein his native surroundings underwent

a purification riteone full night ofmagic and ceremonial ablution.In Santa Fe, Harrison is a full part-

D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 7

w -"^ - '

. . . . . . .

The important part animals play in the lives of the reservation Indians isreflected in Harrison Begay's work.

ner in Tewa Enterprises, dealers inSouthwest arts and crafts. Tew a pur-chases many of his paintings outright,then reproduces them by the silk-screen process. In Tucson during thewinters, Harrison is associated withClay Lockett, another arts-and-craftsdealer. Harrison has a studio in Lock-ett's shop and his paintings are soldthere on straight comm ission. In addi-tion, Harrison personally marketsmuch of his own work.Harrison enjoys college football,

and his favorite team is the Universityof Arizona "Wildcats"; he likes theirmarching band, too. He takes an in-terest in politics now that Indians of

New Mexico and Arizona have theballot.Harrison has exhibited at the Den-ver Art Museum and the DeYoun-gMuseum in San Francisco. In 1949he won first prize for the Southwestat the annual exhibition of Indianpainting at the Philbrook Art Centerin Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 19 54 he wasone of several Indian artists to winth e Palme Academique, an award ofthe French government. This awardalso was given to Dorothy Dunn, now

Mrs. Max Kramer of Las Cruces, NewMexico, for her outstanding work indeveloping talent among Indian artistsof the Southwest.15


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LIFE ON THEDESERTMy DesertAwakening...The desert! You either hate itor you love it and the surprisingthing is that many who on cefeared it are tod ay amon g itsstrongest advocates. Each desertlover knows that the first joy ofdiscovering the real desert underthe thin ma sk of austere harshnessis a priceless mom ent. H ere is thestory of how one woman firstlooked upon the great arid landwith new understanding.

By EDITH M. HOCKEYT WAS vacation t imeSeptemberin Arizonaa glorious month ofwonderful sunshine and blueskies.We were visiting our friends, Fred-die and Artie Lind, at Mineral Parkin northern Arizona. TheLinds, likemy husband Chet and I, are interestedin rocks andminerals, andFreddie isworking some copper veins in thatmining area of a bygone day.In thecourse of a lively discussionabout our individual rock collections,I remarked that I would dearly loveto get some turquoise in its naturalstate. To this, Freddie replied thatthey would take us to TurquoiseMounta in, a few miles to the south,where he was sure we could pick upsome stray samples left around fromformer blastings.We drove as close as possible tothe foot of the mountain and hikedu p a short trail.There were signs of turquoise every-where, especially in a shallow circularpit resembling a large bowl. Theboulders strewn around had streaksof pale blue running through theman d the walls of the pit were mostlycomposed of thesame chalky material,ranging in color from white to variousshades of blue.Natural ly, I thought this waswherewe would prospect, but Freddie saidapologetically that wewere at thebackof theturquoise mine andwould haveto climb up and over the mountain.Without even looking to seehow high

the climb would be, I knew I wouldnot be able to make it."I 'm sorry," I said, "I could notattempt it."

Artie said she would stay with mewhile the men went over the moun-tain, and maybe we could find somegood samples in the test pit we werein . But, I knew how Artie lovedmountain climbing, especially whensearching for gem stones, so I told herto goahead with themen. Chet hesi-tated about leaving me alone, andArtie objected, saying she did notmindstaying backbut I persisted. I toldthem I would find a comfortable seatand watch them, or else look aroundfor samples."Well," Artie said, "if you're sureyou'll be all right, and won' t beafraid . . ."If ever there was a human moun-tain goat, it is Artie Lind.The east side of Turquoise Moun-tain is very steep and rocky, a hardclimb of 600 feet, and the menweretaking it slowly, zigzagging to cutdownthe angle of theclimbbut Art ie wentup easily. I watched them all, Artiein particular, her light springy stepswere effortless, as though she weremerely walking up a flight of stairs.How I envied her!I watched them until they were overth e top andpassed from my view.Now I started in with my part ofthe prospecting. Mo st of the rockcrumbled at the slightest pressure.Occasionally I found a strong streakof greenish blue in some of the boul-ders, but I had no miner's pick tobreak it off.Suddenly my thoughts turned fromturquoise to thealoneness of myposi-tion, and I became very conscious ofthe stillness around me. Here I was,not toowell, andwith no one in sightor hearingin a wild spot deep in anisolated canyon. At these thoughts Ibecame cold as ice andcommenced totremble. It was the coldness of fearwhich possessed mean irrepressiblefear I hadnever known before.

The turbulence of my thoughts wasinsufferable. Mywild imagination ranriot and pictured Chet and the Lindsfailing to return because of rock slides,broken legs or some other disaster. Iclosed myeyes toeverything about me

an d a movie-reel of rattlesnakes, gilamonsters, javelinas and all the otherwild things of thedesert passed beforemy eyes.The ugly moments slipped by, andI slumped down on a boulder, wetwith theperspiration of my fears.There was a void in time and thensomething quieted me, and that innervoice which is in all of us becameuppermost andpierced my fears, say-ing:"Look around again, Edith. Ofwhat is there to be afraid? Thesemountains and deserts are for man-kind, that they may seek solitude,peace and quietness when the stressand tumult of life becomes unbear-able. Here is no place for fear. Re-member, long ago, a poet wrote, Twill lift up mine eyes unto the hillsfrom whence cometh my help. ' "I listened tothis voice and thetense-ness and fear evaporated as thoughthey hadnever been. Then I openedmy eyes to see the beauty of the can-yon around me, the lower reaches inpurple andviolet shadow, the airfilledwith a soft haze of light.A t the top of the precipitous peakover which my companions hadgone,the golden afternoon light settled as acrowning glory, and I became ashamedof my dreadful panic. Now, a sureknowledge that all was well floodedmy being.I returned to my rocks and found

some small but beautiful pieces ofblue turquoise, and it was not longbefore I heard a distant "Yoo hoo!"an d my companions returned withthree pounds of samples, none of itfirst grade, but of unbelievable valueto me."Were you afraid?" asked Artie."A little," I answered.Today Chet and I frequently go onprospecting trips and I have no fearof thelonely places of thedesert. In-stead, I always return feeling mentallyrefreshed and uplifted. An operationa fewmonths after theforegoing inci-dent greatly improved my health, sothat I can follow Chet on these tripsalmost anywhere.

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Large holes in this saguaro cactus mark entrances tobird nesting cavities.

Cave Dwellings in the Sky ...Old nesting cavity still embraced by the skeleton of along-dead saguaro.

One of the strangest partnerships in the desertland is that of thegiant saguaro cactus and the tiny bird friends which excavate andnest in cavities in these trees. In return for the advantageous homesites, the birds repay the saguaros by helping control the insect popu-lation w hich is a constant threat to the desert flora.By DOUGLAS and ELIZABETH RIGBYP ho tog raphs by the au tho r s

N ONE OF my firs t excursionsinto the southern Arizona desertI found a strange object lyingamid the crumpled ruins of a fallensaguaro cactus."It must be a primitive drinkingvessel, very old, made of some sort ofparchment that has been mottled andtoughened by time," said one of mycompanions ."Not at all . I t ' s a hardened wasp'snest," suggested another member ofour group.There were other ideasand all ofthem wrong. What we had found wasa bird's nest, cast exactly to the bird'sspecifications by the tree itself.Everywhere in the saguaro cactus

D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 7

forest one sees round holes drilled intothe giant stalks. To a person notacquainted with the botany of this des-ert land it may appear that the cactustrunks have been attacked by a viru-lent disease. This sometimes happens.A certain larva, the caterpillar of asmall moth named Cactobrosis ferml-dialia, does tunnel into the soft tissuesof the saguaro and feed on them . Th iscaterpillar carries an infecting bacter-ium which in some localities becomesa serious threat to the saguaros.This, however, is not the cause ofmost of the holes in the cactus, some-times a dozen of them in a single trunk.The hole-drillers actually are twospecies of woodpecker, Meam's Gilded

Flicker and the Gila Woodpecker. Forcountless ages these birds have beenfinding shelter and nesting space in thebuilt-in apartments they create withthe sharp beaks and the muscular neckswith which Nature endowed them.Sometimes it is noted that otherspecies of birds fly in and out of thewoodpecker holes but the othersmerely are intruders. They did notdrill the holes.When a nicker or woodpecker hasselected its building site, which maybe either the main trunk of the saguaroor one of its arms (anywhere fromeight to 40 feet above the ground) thesapper begins cutting horizontally in-ward for several inches. How far hewill penetrate depends on the size,shape and texture of the plant at thispoint. When the desired interior depthis reached, the excavation proceedsdownward, perhaps 10 to 20 inches inthe case of the Gila woodpecker, asmuch as two feet in that of the largerflickers.Molded over the saguaro's innerskeleton of upright circular wooden

17


18/44

ribswhich for structural strength arecunningly joined in a way suggestiveof the use of steel rods in moderntowersis the pleated pulp-mass ofthe cactus. This is thereservoir of thet ree 's "blo od," and it would soon bleedto death from so large a wound wereit not for a defense which Nature pro-vides: theplant manufactures a stickyexudatemore than a mere coagu-lantwhich hardens l ike the toughestplastic to seal off the deeply chiseledholes into ironbound waterproof com-partments which protect both thehostan d the forceful guests.Although rot canattack the saguaroat these wounds before the cure iscomplete, this is not likely to happenexcept in rare seasons of exceptionalrainfall. When the wounds are com-pletely healed (some authorities be-lieve the hardening requires a fewweeks, others as long as a year ormore ) thecavities are so resistant that

the tough scar-form outlives even theremains of thedead tree. Desert dwel-lers often find these forms clasped be-tween therotting staves of standing orfallen saguaro skeletons, and it wassuch a form that wecarried home fromthat early foray. So water-tight arethe pouches even in this state of an-tiquity that Indians formerly employedthem as canteens.Seldom does a saguaro nesting holelook fresh-cut, since the moist planttissue turns dark quickly on exposureto light. To the novice this gives theedge of the cavity's entrance a weath-ered appearance; but to the experi-enced ornithologist the sooty-lookingborderwhich rapidly disappearsisthe sign of a recent excavation.Although only the flickers and Gilawoodpeckers are capable of carvingout these soaring cave dwellings, manyother birds use the holes after theyhave been abandoned, and some will

F O R C H R I S T M A S . . .HERE IS A THOUGHTFUL GIFT THAT SPREADS its goodwishes over the entire newy e a r and for m a n y y e a r s to come .Your friends, no matter where they l iveEast , West , North,South or in a foreign countrywill value their gift subscriptionto Desert M aga zine . They wil l sh are with you a pl ea san t yea ron desert t rai lsexploring thefascinat ing and colorful Southwestand becomi ng acqua i n t ed wi t h itsinterest ing people.

US E THE CONVENIENT ORDER BLANK IN THIS MONTH'SMAGAZINEA colorful gift card bearing your name will be sent to yourfriends to arrive a few d ay s before Christmas.

Subscr ipt ion ra tes areone year$4.00t wo yea rs ortwo subscript ions$7.00Each addi t iona l yea r orsubscr iber inc luded insame order$3.50

even pre-empt them before the hardworking owner-builders have had achance to nest in them. Among suchsecondary tenants are the diminutiveelf owl, thelarger saguaro screechowl,the ferruginous pygmy owl, the ash-throated flycatcher, theArizona crestedflycatcher, the sparrow hawk and thePalmer's thrasher.The woodpeckers and flickers them-selves, it isbelieved, wait for the liningto harden before moving in, but of theusurpers there arethose unwise in theways of thesaguaro. Occasionally theyselect a home in which the varnish isstill toofresh. Then a severe penaltyfor such rashness may be exacted:should a heavy rain fall, the slow-to-mature apartment canbecome a death-trap for thebirds' helpless young. Par-ticularly is this true in the case of thescreech owl,whose early nesting sea-son often coincides with therainy sea-son. At such times thethirsty saguaromay swiftly draw up so much waterthat the unsealed chamber will beflooded like a cellar with a burst watermain, and the desert nestlings willdrown.

These apparently impregnable dwell-

Douglas andElizabeth Rigby, auth-ors of "Cave Dwellings in the Sky,"are residents of Sedona, Arizona"ina pleasant altitude between desert andpine-forested mountains."They are co-authors of several arti-cles and a book, The Story of Collect-ing: Lock, Stock and Barrel (Lippin-co t t ) . Douglas Rigby's Desert Happy(Lippincott) wasreleased in October.The book tells about theRigbys' intro-duction to the desert.* * *Friends and relatives of Edith M.Hockey told her so often that she hada knack for telling interesting stories,she wrote one of them down and sentit toDesert. That true experience tale,"My Desert Awakening," appears inthis month's magazine.Since 1950 Mrs. Hockey and herhusband have made Tucson theirhome. "Though perhaps occasionallyI get a twinge of yearning for thegreenfields of my native England, I wouldnot live anywhere else but in thissunny wonderful Southwest," shewrites. The Hockeys share a deepinterest in lost mine stories and spendmany hours "trying to separate factsfrom legend." Oldhistories of Mexicoand Arizona are her special readingpleasure.

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spines, bird - and - egg - eatingfortresses. W hile high on a

On the whole, the association of theThe trees provide the birds withs to eat. In periods of dro uth,

. In return, the birds help

Besides nesting and brooding sites,

and mice, spiders, scorpions, and, uponccasion, even springtails and silver-ish.Wrote Marshall French Oilman, anacutely perceptive observer, ". . . theseoodpeckers may be considered amonghe class of innocent or unintentionalenefactors" to numerous other species.Is it any wonder, then, that a Gilaoodpecker should sound so pridefulas he clatters away at the entrance toone of his ingenious saguaro cavedwellings in the sky? "Lo ok wh at I'vema de," he seems to say. "A m I not agreat architect, even a philanthropist,working myself to the bone for the sakeof my fellow creatures?"Over the years since our first findon the desert, we have often heard aGila making the same speech, andhen we re-examine one of his crea-ions, produced with the considerableaid of his obliging silent partner, thesaguaro, our admiration goes out toboth of them.To p Gila woodpecker feeding onsuet on post within three feet ofauthors' cottage near Tucson. Thesebirds eagerly come to feeding sta-tions on the desert.Bottom Mearn's gilded flicker ona cholla cactus skeleton perch. Redmalar patches mark this bird as amale. Unlike the Gila woodp eckers,with whom they share the saguarosas favored nesting sites, flickers areseldom seen outside of the giantcactus belt.

D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 7 19


20/44

Packing a Lost Art? . . .Ontario, CaliforniaDesert:It looks like packing burros is be-

coming a lost art.I refer particularly to the way theburro is packed on page 22 of yourSeptember issue.I offer free of charge to teach any-one living within a reasonable distanceof Ontario the packing art.I am 72 years of age and have pros-pected from Tonopah to EldoradoCanyon beginning in 1904. I packedburros and mules for cattle outfits backinto the mountains, and in 1909 Ibrought horses across the desert toLos Ange les. With a friend, I ma de apack trip through northern California,Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana,Wyoming and Utah in 1911-12.The packer and his mules playeda very important part in building theWest and I want to help Old Jack getcredit for his part.

I hope some of the boys will takeme up on my offer, for I am sure get-ting hungry for a chance to sling apack on Old Jack again.L . W. MESCHER968 W. 6th Street San Luis to Sonoyta Highway . . .Santa Monica, CaliforniaDesert:I recently made a weekend motor-cycle trip from San Luis to Sonoytaover the fine new highway Mexico hasbuilt just below the Arizona border.The road is absolutely marvelous andwhere it traverses mountainous terrainits curves and grades rival those of afirst class railroad.The 122 mile road remains for al-most all its distance within sight ofthe fence or markers on the Inter-national border. El Gran Desiertothrough which this highway travels, iscertainly a bleak and barren plain.Creosote bushes struggle to attain amaximum height of 10 to 12 inches insome sectors. Before it was paved, thisroute was popularly known as Caminodel Diablo, and for good reason.In those 122 miles I counted fourplaces of busin ess. All sell gasoline

D e s e r t P i c t u t e s A t e V a l u a b l e . . .If photography is your hobby yo u undoubtedly have many out-standing examples of your work which would make appropriateentries in Desert Magazine's monthly photo contest. Any scene willdoso long as it is of the Desert Southwestwildlife, sunsets, flowers,mountains, insectsand perhaps most suitable of allpeople enjoyingthemselves in the great outdoors. The contest is easy to enter and twocash prizes are given each month.Entries for the December contest must be sent to the Desert Maga-zine office. Palm Desert, California, and postmarked not later thanDecember 18. Winning prints will appear in the February issue.Pictures which arrive too late for one contest are held over for the nextmonth. First prize is $10; second prize $5. For non-winning picturesaccep ted for publication $3 ea ch w il l be paid.

HERE ARE THE RULES1Prints must be black and white, 5x7 or larger, on glossy paper.2Each photograph submitted should be fully labeled as to subject, time andplace. Also technical data: camera, shutter speed, hour ol day , etc.3PRINTS WILL BE RETURNED WHEN RETURN POSTAGE IS ENCLOSED.4Entries must be in the Desert Magazine oiiice by the 20th of the contest month.5Contests are ope n to both amateur and professional photo graphers. DesertMagazine requires first publication rights only of prize winning pictures.6Time and place of photograph are immaterial, except that it must be from thedesert Southwest.7Judges will be selected from Desert's editorial staff, and awards will be madeimmediately after the close oi the contest each month.

A d d r e s s All Entries to Photo Editor'De& ent PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

from tins, and only Cafe Nacional wasnot selling food or drink at the timeof my visit. I found tha t Mexicangasoline stations prefer Mexican cur-rency, while U. S. dimes are preferredat refreshment stands.Everywhere one looks along thishighway there is a picturecolorfulmountains varying from rugged fac-eted metamorphic escarpments to state-

ly granitics and fluid volcan ics. In theAgua Dulce sector there are tworanches with windmills just across theAmerican side not far from the cotton-woods marking Quitobaquito Spring(Desert, Sept. '57). Numerous side-roads used mostly by woodcuttersbranch off from the main highway, of-fering many off-road camping places.. WILLIAM UTTERBA CK

Weed that Traps Insects . . .Chloride, ArizonaDesert:While one often reads about flowersand plants that attract and trap in-sects, I never have found mention inprint of a weed common to this areawhich also exhibits this method ofsupplementing its food supply.

It is a scraggly plant four to 16inches long bearing tiny flowers andseeds.Its stems are covered with a gummysubstance which traps minute flies andother insects, along with bits of trashand anything else the wind blowsagainst it.Turkey ranchers have told me thatmany newly hatched quail perish whentheir down feathers become stuck tothese plants, and it is almost impossi-ble to free baby turkeys trapped inthe sticky stems.Perhaps one of your botanist read-ers would supply the name of thisweed and some pertinent informationregarding it to Desert's readers.

C . CAMPEx-Mormon as an Author . . .Hermiston, OregonDesert:I wish to take exception to a state-ment made by your book reviewer inthe September issue.I do no t agree that Ray West'sability to evaluate the Mormon religionhas been enhanced "since he has lostfaith in it. " I feel this may be likenedto a man who writes an article explain-ing Democracy after he has embracedComm unism. Neither one, I feel,should be given too much credence,but if a person wishes to read them,that is his own business.

BOB WURTSMITHa i DESERT MAGAZINE


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HISTORIC DESERT WATERHOLES XI

Fish S pring s...... in the Salton SinkOn the sloping land above Salton Sea stand theageless palms which mark the oasis of Fish Springs.Once an important watering place on the old ImperialValley wagon road, today the area is a favorite camp-ing place for Southern California desert enthusiasts.

Artesian wells have replaced several of the old open waterholes at Fish Springs.This once important watering place on the old Imperial Valley w agon road is nowa popular retreat for campers.

By WALTER FORDFTER J. Smeaton Chase vis itedFish Springs in 1918, he de-scribed it in his CaliforniaDesert Trails as follows:

"Fish Springs is marked by a growthof mesquite and small cottonwoods,spread over a few acres of damp landclose to the border of the (Salton)Sea. The road, or rather track I havebeen following is used occasionally bytravelers to the Imp erial Valley. Th eusual mode of travel nowadays is byautomobile, which can cover long dis-tances quickly and, barring accidents,without danger from lack of water. Itwas significant of the sort of countryI was entering to find beside the roada sign-board pointing to the water,with the warning, 'Fill up . Las t con-venient water for 45 miles.' At Fish

Springs itself the water is brackish andtepid, nevertheless quite fair water forthe desert. In the pool were numbersof tiny fish about the size of tadpoles."Not all the old-time references tothe quality of Fish Springs water wereso charitable. When George WhartonJames, author of The Wonders of theColorado Desert, stopped there in1906, he stated that the water wassalty and bitter and chose the nearbystill-fresh Salton Sea to quench histhirst.In his Water Supply Paper 224,published in 1906, Walter C. Menden-hall stated that Fish Springs was thelast point water of fair quality couldbe obtained in abundance before

Harper 's Well was reached. On a mappublished by the State Mining Bureauin 1902, Soda Spring and McCainSpring are shown on the road that

extended southward from Fish Springs,but Mendenhall did not speak highlyof the quality of water at either one.He described the water at Soda Springsas too salty to drink and that at Mc-Cain Springs as highly charged withcarbonic gas.A Bower's Spring also appears oathe map approximately where the firstoasis in Palm Wash is shown on pres-ent-day maps, but little seems to beknown of it. Mendenhall failed tomention it and Henry E. Wilson, whofirst entered this area in 1900, told methat he had never been able to find it.I visited Fish Springs recently afteran absence of 20 years, and so manychanges had taken place that at first

I was not certain I was at the rightplac e. Th e fish-filled pools have givenway to artesian wells which dischargetheir water into huge concrete cylin-D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 7 21


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ders. When I drove up to one of thewells a Mexican workman was fillinga large water bottle. When I askedhim if this was Fish Springs, he re-plied, "No savvy," then added, "Aguadulce!" For a few moments I thoughtthat I was at Figtree John's old home-stead, several miles north of FishSprings, then my meager knowledgeof Spanish came to my rescue and Irealized that the water carrier merelywas voicing his appreciation of thewater.

A mention of Figtree John bringsto mind the story that makes therounds periodically, which credits himwith having had a fabulous mine fromwhich he was able to take huge quan-tities of gold at will. Thi s story puz-zles many of the old-timers who knewJoh n. Th e cagy old Indian showedlittle evidence of ever having had morethan the essentials of a bare existence,they maintain.Chris Lucia formerly operated theSalton Sea service station about fivemiles south of the Fish Springs turnoffon Highway 99. The highway passesover Grave Wash a short distance fromthe service station and on days whenhis duties would permit, Chris wouldhead his Jeep up the wash to followsome of the ancient Indian trails, whichare numerous in the area, and tostudy the peculiar geometric stonemarkings which line the trails at manypoints. ,He believes that the ancient Indiansof the region had access to a supplyof gold, and that if the trail markerscould be correctly interpreted, theywould undoubtedly lead to its source.He also believes the Figtree John minestory and recently told me of follow-ing one of the marked trails and find-ing a figure chiseled in the wall of acliff, which resembled the top hat oldJohn used to wear.This strengthens Chris' belief thatFigtree was a frequent visitor to thearea, but Henry E. Wilson, whosehalf century of wanderings broughthim into intimate contact with this

sector of the desert, believes the figureis the work of some wag. While he isconvinced that there is gold in the re-gion, he does not think Figtree Johnknew of its existence. He nry's mo stvivid recollections of Figtree John areof the many times John attempted tocollect a fee from Henry for campingnear his place.Fish Springs can be reached by fol-lowing a dirt road that branches offHighway 99 toward Salton Sea, ap-proximately a mile and a half southof Trav ertine Point. Th e area is apopular haven for campers. Palmtrees growing near the wells are prom-inent landmarks.

HISTORIC PANORAMAS Xfa lko , fo lifomBy JOSEF and JOYCE MUENCH

FEW MILES off U. S. 91 be-tween Barstow and Yermo inthe heart of the Mojave Desert,stands Calico, a ghost town that isreturning to life.In the 1880s Calico was the largestsilver camp in Southern California.With a production record of $86,000,-000 in one decade, transportation fa-cilities close at hand, and a growingpopulation, it seemed assured of asolid future. Bu t, the price of silverdropped in 1896 and with much ore

still underground, Calico became an-other desert ghost town.The "petticoat cam p" was purchaseda few years ago by Walter Knott ofKnott 's Berry Farm in Buena Park,and is being restored to its formerliveliness. iNew "old" houses are springing upalong Calico's single street which liesbelow the colorful slopes of CalicoMountainnamed for the varied tintsof rocks on its side.

Top photograph, opposite page "Pretty as a gal's pettiskirt" was the wayold-timers described the once productive silver camp of Calico in themountains northeast of Barstow. Buildings are being restored as touristattraction. Across the dry lake in background is Elephant Rock, site of a

former stamping mill.Bottom photograph, opposite page Assay office at Calico. A river ofprecious metal flowed through this little building in the days when Calicowas the largest silver diggings in Southern California. Fred N oller is in

charge of restoring the town.

Dr. Edmund C. Jaeger, naturalis tand author, was selected by the DesertProtective Council as its 1957 choiceas the man who has contributed mostto the knowledge and preservation ofthe deserts of the Southwest. An -nouncement of this award to the River-side scientist was made at the annualcampfire meeting of the Council inDeep Canyon October 12.President of the Council for theyear ahead will be James Westerfieldof Me cca, California . Co l. Westerfieldsucceeds Randall Henderson, who aspresident during the past year pre-sided at the annual meeting.Harry C. James was re-elected ex-ecutive director for the year ahead.Other officers were named as follows:Mrs . Ralph H. Lutz, TwentyninePalms, re-elected vice president; Mrs.Henry T. Read of La Quinta, secre-tary; and Dr. Henry M. Weber, Indio,re-elected treasurer. New directorselected in addition to Col. Westerfieldwere : Clarence Smith, director of

Palm Springs Desert Museum; NinaPaul Shumway, Palm Desert; andLloyd Tevis, director of the desertmobile laboratory of the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology.Plans were discussed for the pro-posed San Jacinto-Santa Rosa Wild-life Sanctuary, the protection of nativepalm oases in Southern California,protection of desert reptiles and plantlife against commercial collectors, op-position to direct sale with no build-ing or zoning controls of federal landto small tract homesteaders, and thecurbing of billboards along scenic high-ways.A resolution was passed in opposi-tion to the acquisition by the U. S.Navy of a large acreage of additionalland in Imperial County for bombingrange purpose s. Resolutions opposingthe changing of Petrified Forest Na-

tional Monument to a national park,and in opposition to a proposed newroad in the Organ Pipe National Mon-ument also were adopted.DESERT MAGAZINE


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DEC EMBER, 1 9 5 7


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ON DE SER T TRAILS W ITH A NATU RALIST -- XLIVLeft eroded-leaf milkweed; Center milkweed flower and fruit; Right Climbing milkweed.

D e s e r t P l a n t s t h a t G i v e M i l k . . .Plants that exude thick milky latex through stem wounds are wellrepresented in the Desert Southwest. Used b y the plants as a coagulantto close the lacerations and also as a depository for waste materialsand poisons, the sticky "milk" is familiar to everyone who has pickedthe bloom of a prickly poppy or the fruit of a fig.By EDMUND C. JAEGER, D.Sc.

Curator of PlantsRivers ide Municipal MuseumD raw ings by the au tho rLEARNED MANY of my f i rs tlessons in botany by watching myburros as they selected and fedon certain plants . Among their greatfavorites was a small compact gray-green bush I called burro's delight orburro straw. If left to themselves theanimals often would consume theseplants r ight down to the roots .

This shrub generally was foundgrowing in sandy washes and some-times on stony bajadas; but always inthe semi-shelter of larger shrubs orstones. Its dainty dime-sized lilac-col-ored flowers appear in great profusionin late spring and botanists call this

shrub a Stephanomeria, a name ofGreek origin meaning "having partslike a wreath," in reference to the oftenelongate flexuous branches of some ofthe species.I early noticed that when my burrosbit off the stems of Stephanomeria thebroken ends exuded small drops of athick milky juice resembling that foundin dandelions and wild chickory. Thismilk is not a plant sap, but a juicecalled latex. It occurs in special longi-tudinal-branching tubelets which pene-

trate, much like the lymph system inour bodies, to all parts of the plant.Latex is a mixture of gums, resins,

fats and wax in emulsion. In someplants such as the spurges, it may con-tain, in addition, violently poisonousalkaloids and peculiar dumbbell-shapedstarch grains. Function of the materialis as a coagulating substance for theready closure of plant wounds, and asa storehouse for often poisonous wasteproducts .Latex cells are several yards longin plants of tree-like proportion. Manyplants of the nettle, poppy, sunflower,spurge, milkweed and mulberry fam-ilies contain latex tubes. The cow treeof South America actually furnishes anutritious beverage.There are some most extraordinaryspecies of true milkweeds. On rockymountain sides of some of our hottestdeserts of southwestern Arizona, south-eastern California, northeastern BajaCalifornia and western Sonora growsa milkweed (Asclepias albicans) whoseseveral upright leafless branches re-semble finger-thick silver-green one-and-a-half to two-yard-long bent steelrods. It sometimes is called the waxmilkweed because of the whitish waxthat covers these barren stems. Within

24 DESERT MAGAZINE


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the stems are numerous stout thread-like fibers which so strengthen themthat the plants are able to stand upwithout breaking against the strongestdesert winds. It is only when the waxmilkweed comes into flower or has thecharacteristic fusifor pods bursting andshedding their silky-tufted seeds thatthe plant is recognized as a true milk-weed.This plant, like all of its kind, pos-sesses most unique flowers. Rich willbe your reward if you carefully ex-amine one. Abov e the five down-hanging greenish-white, yellow or pur-plish p etals are five hood-like structuresclustered about a central broad andflat-topped highly polished column.This column consists of a central stig-ma and flat-topped style around whichare joined the pollen-bearing anthers,the whole structure resembling a five-sided table.When a bee alights on the top of this

shiny table, one of its legs is quitelikely to slip into one of the fivegrooves along the table edge. As itpulls the leg free, up comes a dumb-bell-shaped pollen mass clinging to it.When the insect visits other milkweedflowers the pollen mass is depositedand thus fertilization is brought about.

Mexican jumping bean.

Sometimes it happens that the bee cannot extricate the trapped appendageand it is then doomed to perish bystarvation.In sandy washes where moisture ismore plentiful occurs another peculiarmilkweed which looks quite like a bigdense cluster of dark green rush stems,each two to three, and occasionallyfive feet long. This is the rush milk-

weed, sometimes called the rubbermilkweed because of the large amountof true rubber found in its milky juice(up to six percent), a rubber contentprobably higher than that of any otherSouthwestern desert plant. The Indiansused the latex as an emetic and purga-tive. Here again it is the peculiar

Prickly poppy.

flower and characteristic fruit whichleads to the identity of this plant as atrue milkweed.In many desert areas the most abun-dant milkweed is the eroded leaf milk-weed (Asclepias erosa). Its one toseveral stems grow up to six feet highand are adorned along their lengthwith numerous large green rough-edgedleaves, and later at the top with green-ish-yellow flowers or fat spindle-shapedseed vessels. Usually it is found inbroad sand washes from below sealevel to high desert country. It oftenis very abundant, especially in the pin-yon forest washes such as those innorth ern Baja California. The ripen-ing seed vessel, properly called a folli-

Burro straw.

cle, when plucked with its stem andheld horizontally looks like a tinyswimming goose. Seeds of this andother milkweeds, with their flossy co-mas of silky hairs, were gathered inquantity during the war for use asstuffing for life-jackets. Th e latex is apromising source of rubber. The South-western Indians have long prized thefibers from which they made strongcords and durable cloth.

Closely related to these large-stemmed milkweeds are the slender-stemmed climbing varieties which riot-ously clamber over bushes and evenhigh into desert trees growing alongand in sandy washes. Their large flatclusters of purplish or greenish flowersoften occur in great abundance mak-ing these climbers among the mosthand som e of desert plants. Unfortun-ately the milk which exudes so quicklyand freely from the plucked stems hasa very rank sulphurous odor.

Most of the fig trees have a milkyjuice containing rubbe r. The Indiarubber tree (Ficus elastica) is a fig.In the lower Viscaino-Magdalena Des-ert of Baja California grows one ofthe strangest of all wild figs. It thrivesalong the edge of rocky canyons. Thelower parts of the trunk are flattishand spread out over the vertical sur-faces of the rocks like eels; and theroots penetrate deep into the crevices.The fruits are small and rather dry,D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 7 25


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but the Indians who formerly inhabitedthe area are said to have eaten them.All over the desert in the spring,summer and early autumn, from lowground to high, we see along roadsidesand in washes the multitude of hand-some large white-petaled orange-cen-tered prickly poppies (Argemone).The plants, two to three feet high withbeautiful blue - green notch - edgedleaves, are armed throughout withstout yellow spines and even the seedvessels are full of stiff pric kle s. Br ea kthe s tems and out oozes a deep cream-colore d to yellow latex. This is saidto have narcotic qualities, but not asstrong as the opium poppy of com-

merce (Papaver somnijerum). if youwish to see some really pretty seeds,tip over some of the splitting follicularseed vessels and catch the blackspherical seeds in your hand . Ea ch iscovered with numerous tiny roundedbeads giving them almost jewel-likebeauty.The number of seeds in each vesselis amazing. No wonder these hand-some drouth-resistant plants are plen-tiful in so many waste places. In So-nora and Arizona I have seen road-side areas bordered for miles with thesehandsome large papery-petaled whiteflowers. California and other yellow-flowered annual desert poppies have

T R U E O R F A L S E : It requires a very broad knowl-edge of the desert land and itshistory and people to score 100percent in this quiz, but more power to those who keep tryingfor thequest for knowledge is what keeps the mind young and activebut yourgood comm on sense will help a lot. The test includes history, botany ,geography , mineralogy, an d the general lore of the Southwest. Grad eyourself five points for each co rrect answ er. A score of 65 to 75 is apassing mark. Eighty to 90 is excellent, and any score over 90 is super.The answers are on page 30.1Desert drivers should carry chains to put on their cars when drivingin fine sand. True False2Desert birds sometimes build their nests among the thorns of chollacactus. True_ False3 The M ojave River is a tributary of the Colorad o River. TrueFalse4Tallest of the native cacti growing in Arizona is the Organ Pipe.True False5Jacob Hamblin was the leader of the famous Mormon Battalion.

True False6Billy the Kid was a noted outlaw in Uta h. True False7 Ocotillo is a mem ber of the cactus family. True False8Only poisonous lizard found in the Southwestern deserts is the Chuck-awalla. True False9 Th e University of Arizon a is located in Tucson . Tru eFalse10The town of Winnemucca, Nevada, was named for a famous NavajoIndian chief. True False11The Mexican-American border at El Paso, Texas, is farther souththan the border at Nogales, Arizona. True False12Davis dam in the Colorado River is upstream from Needles, Cali-fornia. Tru e False13The Great Salt Lake is a larger body of water than Lake Mead.True False14Screwbean mesquite gets its name from the gnarled form of its trunk.True False15The book Death Valley in '49 was written by William Lewis Manly.True False16The traditional manner of divorcing a husband in the Hopi tr ibe isto put his belongings outside the door. True False17 One of the lead ores is nam ed Gale na. True False18Butterfield stage stations were welcome havens for the gold-seekerswho came to California in 1849 . Tru e False19The river which flows near Wickenburg, Arizona, is the Hassayampa.True False20Rainbow Bridge National Monument may be reached only by foottrail . True False

no milky juice, but rather a waterys a p .The enormous Spurge family (Eu-phorbiaceae), with its 7300 species,has two major centers of distributiontropical Africa and America. Manyof the African desert species are imi-tators in form, color and armor of ourmost grotesque cacti, even being spinyand often ridged like cacti.

Almost all of the euphorbias havemilky juice and many are of economicimportance, producing rubber, tung oil,castor oil and tapioca. Many species,including the poinsettias, are grown asornamentals .On our deserts we have among otherspecies of euphorbia the rubber plant(Jatropha), a wild milky-juiced poin-settia and the oft-seen rattlesnake weedwhich grows in abundance in the sandsas a flat small-leaved pla nt. Its milkyjuice was esteemed as a potent remedyfor rattlesnake bite by many of the

Indian tribes. The perennial speciesare capable of withstanding long drouthbecause of their exceedingly long roots.A rattlesnake plant four inches acrossmay have a tap root extending threeto five feet straight downward in thesand where there is perennial damp-ness.Some of the fantastic cactus-simulat-ing euphorbias of the African desertscontain latex so poisonous that thesmallest amount introduced into theeyes will cause almost instant blind-ness; other species are deadly when

the alkaloid-laden latex is taken inter-nally. American Indian desert tribeslong have used chopped euphorbias asfish poisons.The Mexican jumping bean {Sapiumbiloculare), a spurge, grows in Arizonafrom Gila Bend southward across thePapago country into Sonora and BajaCalifornia. Its milky juice was usedby the aborigines not only as a fishpoison but also as one of the diabolicalarrow poisons, hence its Spanish namehierba de la flecha (herb of the arrow).Hierba mala (bad herb) is anotherSpanish name for this plant of evil

reputation. The "bea ns" jump becauseof the violent lashing motions of amoth larva within them.Another kind of jumping bean, acommon article of curio shops, isknown from the seeds of a differentMexican euphorbiaceous west coastplant, also with poisonous sap: this isSesbastiana pavoniana. In the interiorof the beans of this shrub lives thelarva of a tortricid moth. The larvaconsumes the interior of the seed thenspins a web over the inner surface.Its quick movements, among which are

striking the seed wall with its head,causes the bean to hop, especiallywhen it is warm.26 DESERT MAGAZINE


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H e t e a/wfTheon theD e s e r t . . .A R I Z O N A

H e al th Se r v i c e Cuts H it . . .The Intertr ibal Council of ArizonaIndians hascriticized theU. S.PublicHealth Service's administration of In-dian health programs. TheCouncilhit atcuts inhealth services, claimingthat this year thepublic service re-ceived $2,000,000 more in appropri-ated funds than last year, but isspend-ing themoney on administrative per-sonnel. TheCouncil heard a reportthat Congress appropriated only $40,-000,000 for Indian health last yearwhile nearly $44,000,000 was re-quested and $65,000,000 actuallyneeded. Phoenix Gazette

Monument Valley Road RejectedTUBA CITYFour reques ts f romU tah for cooperation on thepart ofArizona inbuilding roads linking thetwo states have been rejected by theArizona Highway Commission. In-cluded wastheproposed improvementof Route 47 from Mexican Hat toArizona andthrough theNavajo Res-ervation. TheNavajo Trail Associa-tion also hadcalled onArizona andthe Indian Service to pave this roadbetween Tuba City and theArizona-Utah border . Theroute passes throughMonument Valley (Desert, August 57p7) . Utah is at present paving theroad north of thestate line throughto Mexican Hat andBlanding. Alsorejected byArizona wasa road fromSt. George, Utah, toLittlefield,Ari-zona; aroad from the Hurricane, Utah,area through Short Creek and theKaibab Forest andaround toK anab ;and an access road to Glen CanyonD a m . TheHighway Commission saidfunds are not available forthese proj-ects forthestate hasmore urgent high-way needs than thecross-state routesproposed byU tah .

Parker Dam Road Assured . . .P A RK ERThe A r izona H ighw ayCommission has agreed to take thelong-proposed Parker toParker Damroad into the state highway system,thus assuring early construction. Atthe present time about 10miles of theroad is surfaced. Opening up the re-maining 10mi

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