196206 desert magazine 1962 june

8/14/2019 196206 Desert Magazine 1962 June

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1962 40c


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C O L O R F U LN o t e C a r d s

6 Scenes to Choose From8 inch x 5 inch,scored for folding, with full-color desertscenes on front (same size as shown in colorhere); printed on high quality paper.

per dozenPrice includes 12white vellum envelopes

"PRICKLY PEAR BLOSSOM" Ralph D.Cornell ()ANDWILDFLOWERS" Darwin VanCampen

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PLUS FOUR OTHER COLOR SCENESby Desert Magazine Cover Photographers:

"STREAM THROUG HWINTERLAND"Darwin VanCampen"COLORADO RIVERAQUEDUCT"Carlos Elmer

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"RIDE THROUG HSAGUAROLAND"Chuck Abbott"COLORADO RIVERBELOW PARKER DAM"Harry Vroman

PLEASE SPECIFY PACKAGE DESIRED: 12assorted note cards (2 each of these 6scenes) 12note cards all of onescene (order by title)SPECIAL: 100 cards (assorted or all of one scene) and100 envelopes-%\Q

prices include tax, postageMAIL YOUR ORDERTO:Desert Magazine Crafts ShopPalm Desert, Calif.


3/40

THE DESERT IN JUNE:The "Mayor" Passes. A small group offriends assembled at the Picacho cemeteryrecently to pay last respects to Theodore"Ed" Rochester, trapper, prospector andguide, who spent nearly all his adult lifeon the Colorado River and adjacent desertcountry.

Ed's interment was without benefit ofclergy or mortuary service. In accordancewith his wishes, not a word was spokenafuneral in keeping with "boot hill" tradition.Among the mourners were men and womenfrom all walks of life: grizzled prospectors,trappers, and professional men.

M A G A Z I N E O F T H E S O U T H W E S T\/olume 25

25TH YEARNumber 6

CONTENTS FOR JUNE, 1962This Month's Cover

In 1919 a Nevada rancher struck hot water while dril l ing a well in thenorthern part of the state near Gerlach. The water, highly mineral-ized, was unfit for l ivestock, so the rancher left it uncappedlitt ledreaming that the mineral deposits would build-up into a touristattraction known as the "Gerlach Fou ntain." Photograph is by C. L.Haney of Dunsmuir, Calif.Where To Go, How To Go

6 A Shortline Railroad You Can Ride JOHN L. PARKER28 Inte rna tion al Scout Test-Drive Repo rt V. LEE OERTLEDosert Hobbies

10 Beach Com bing the Desert for Gems JOH N W. HILTON12 The Gem -Mineral Field Trip Dilemma JOHN SINKANKAS20 Old Glass From the Ghost CampsObservations, Discoveries

3 The Desert in June4 Desert Detours OREN ARNOLD16 Mod ern Med icine's Impact on Navajo land ROBERT BRANDT, M.D.35 Fou nd: The Salton Sea Scrolls HARRY OLIVER37 Just Between You and MeN( i ture

14 Pocket Mic e in Space22 Southwest Gold : the Paloverde TreeOther Features

5 Garden Hints for June8 New Ideas for Desert Living9 Letters From Our Readers38 New and Interesting Southwest Books

K. L. BOYNTONEDMUND C. JAEGER

DAN LEECHARLES E. SHELTON

Ed Rochester, "Mayor of Picacho""Ed professed paganism," said one ofhis friends, "yet everyone at the funeralknew he believed in the Creator. No man

can be surrounded by God's splendor for solong without acknowledging Him."For years Rochester was the "Mayor ofPicacho." His pass ing rem oves some of thecolor from the old Colorado River town, andwith him goes part of the desert's heart.

Canyonlands Economy. Secretary of theInterior Stewart Udall threw his heavy artil-lery into the battle for creation of a Canyon-lands National Park near Moab, with re-lease of a survey prepared by economistsfrom the Un iversity of Utah. Gist of the re-port: the new park is financially as well asmorally sound. The tourist dollarwhichtakes nothing from the land except its vistasoffers the best material with which topave the road to prosperity for the region,Udall contendsand the economic surveybacks him up.

"Even at a most conservative estimate,creation of Canyonlands National Park,"said Udall, "would pour more than $10million into southeastern Utah in new touristspend ing within 15 ye ars ." Moreover, theUtah University study estimates that "by the25th year, total visitor expenditures shouldamount to over $16.5 million annually."Udall calls the Canyonlands country "themost inaccessible land in all the West.""But," he added, "the minimum road devel-opment which is planned would open thearea to tourists. The report estimates thepark would be attracting some 250,000 vis-itors annually within six years."

continued on page 34DESERT is pub lished mo nthly by Desert Mag azine, Inc., Palm Desert, Calif. Re-entered as second class matter J uly 17, 1948, at the postoffice at PalmDe.e rt, Calif., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered No. 3588 65 in U.S. Patent Office, and contents copyrig hte d 1962 by Desert Magaz ine,Inc Unso licited manuscripts and photo graph s cannot be returne d or ackn ow ledg ed unless fu ll return p ostage is enclosed. Permission to reprod ucecontents m ust be secured fro m the e ditor in w rit in g. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $4 per year (12 issues) in the U.S.; $4.50 elsewhere . CHANGE OF ADDRESS:subscriber shou ld send notice of new address by the first of the mon th precedin g issue mo nth. DISPLAY ADVERTISING, CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING,

EDITORIAL, CIRCULATION: address all correspondence to Desert M aga zine , Palm Desert, Califo rniaCHARLES E. SHELTONPublisher EUGENE L. CONROTTOEditor EVONNE RIDDELLCirculation Manager

To subscribe, send $4 (12 issues) or $7 (24 issues) and your n am e and ma iling address to: Desert Magaz ine, Palm Desert, Cal.


4/40

"Come ye yourselves apart into a desertplace, and rest a while." Mark 6:31

Felt all knotted up, so I drove out 40 miles last Sunday,sat on a big rock and listened to an old bewhiskered friend.He's a Harvard graduateone of the few not in Washingtonwho for health reasons turned semi-hermit and whollyphilosopher. "Two things fill my heart," said he. "One isgratitude; I have been singularly blest, and so has America.The other is confidence; I fear nothing, for myself or mycountry. With all our national troubles, we have unmatchedmental, physical and moral strength."Bob and Bunny Neece, high-level intellects from LagunaBeach, came onto the Arizona desert to do a little vacationrock-hounding. Bunny moved a slab of sandstone and foundan Indian pot under it, so now they are fascinated by pre-history. That's the beauty of our "barren worthless" desertit's really a laboratory of life, a storehouse of culture whose"spell" can engulf and delight any person with a receptivemind.

"Found one scorpion and one million thorns out here,"Bob said, "but not one Com munist or bureaucrat."Bob Neece chewed me out, justifiably, for not finishing thattrue rattlesnake story I started on this page in January. Itconcerned Ken Palmer and a New York Duderemember?They put a huge live rattler in the trunk of their Cadillac,and it promptly disappeared in the car upholstery. They hadto drive 50ritaleswith it still lost in there!

Okay, now the denouem ent: They pulled up at the PinkPony bar in Scottsdale, still shook. They went inside. Theytold The Boys. The Boysnaturallyhooted, scoffed, de-manded proof. SoKen led them outside, gingerly openedthe Cad trunk, and there Mr. Snake was, coiled, rattling, anddeadly! Ken dispatched him. Ken's still shook.In some desert areas the heat's beginning to pop down."Got so hot at my shack yesterday," alleges Alkali Ike, "mydog's nose burned a hole in our screen door."Remember that desert jackrabbit that carried a can-teen? My dog, chasing him, walked. And came onto achuckawalla carrying an umbrella. Our Southw esternanimals are smart. "Statistics prove there are more TV sets in America thanbathtub s," alleges Harry Oliver. "That's because the com-mercials aren't yet long enough to permit taking a bath."Significant sign in a little desert roadside bar:SIN N O W , PAY LATERBill Ludlow, who lives in awesome isolation on theNevada wastes, is a loyal American. "Dear P resident Jack,"he wrote to the White House, "I read where you want all ofus to build fallout shelters. Sir, I just cain't afford one. Th ecar's mortgaged, the house is mortgaged, and they's a newbaby or two coming. We just cain't afford to go any fartherinto the hole." History may be dull reading, but at least it teaches us themistakes we are going to make.I'm ag'in all government subsidies, especially the negativeones that pay a man for no t producing something. If we alldemanded that kind, every desert dweller out here couldpetition for a handout because of the sugar cane, rice andsweet 'taters he won't raise this year.It's probable that the desert solitude is the best environmentin the world for writers. More and more of them us arediscovering it. I have 26 books in print; the best-selling 20of them were written far out from any city's congestion andnoise. I spent a day with the late Harold Bell Wright, whosenovels sold in the millions. Most were about the dese rt, mostwere written on the desert near Tucson. On the desert, youeither become creative or you perish.K e e p in mind that it ain't really the heat, folks; it'sthe whewmidi ty . "In another month," says Charlie Poling out Wickenburgway, "most of the June bridegrooms will have settled intomarried life and have stopped helping their brides with thedishes. They'll be doing them by themselves." Personally, Idon't understand such weaklings. Believe me, men, I wearthe pants in my house. (And I weaT an apron over themto protect them from dishwater, too!)There's nothing wrong with June that a little more loafing,a little more courtin', or a little more sleep won't correct.

Had lunch not long ago with Dick Nixonyes, the DickNixon. I'm not above Dropping A Nam e. I told him how towrite his fine new book, Six Crises; told him how to run foroffice; how to conduct his person al life. He listened cou rte-ously, and refrained from telling me how to handle my affairs.Which may be a hint as to why he is one of the world'soutstanding citizens, whereas I'm not.It's my cactus-pointed opinion that we need to do morethan get out and vote; we need to inform ourselves so wecan get out and vote intelligently."I worry some about youth, having been one and havingbegotten three. I agree with President Kennedy when he saida great many of our American girls lack the strength to swinga tennis racquet, or a skillet. And a lot of our teenag e boysare too pasty-faced citified to avoid muscular atrophy.Well, fellows and girls, you are intelligent enough to out-face that problem. You in the Southwest have a vacation-recreation area right at hand, that can cure those ills ofpuniness. Come on out, explore, study, and appreciatethedesert . / / /


5/40

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6/40

A Shortline RailroadYou Can Ride

TO Sells

O NE OF THE busiest and most ag-gressive little shortline railroads inthe West is the 46-year-old Tucson,Cornelia and Gila Bend, spanning the 43.3miles between Ajo and Gila Bend, Arizona.Operated as a common carrier from thebeginning, the T.C . & G. B. has alwaysmaintained a daily passenger schedule. Thisis something of a record in shortline rail-road historyand a happy circumstance foryou if you are in the mood to take a shorttrain ride.The final spike on the mainline was drivenin 1916, and like most Western roads ofthis type, it was built to supply the needsof a huge mining operation. The New Cor-nelia Mine at Ajo had been developed into

a great open pit copper produc er. It wasthe first big open pit operation in the state,requiring a railroad line down into the pitto haul out ore to the mill and waste to thedumps. John C. Greenway, developer ofthe mine, decided the best way to bring allthis heavy equipment to the mine was bybuilding a railroad from the bustling railcenter of Gila Bend. The railroad wouldalso haul out concentrates from the bigmill, then being constructed below the minepit.

T H E R A I L R O A D ' S S O LE M O T I V E P O W E R , E N G I N E5 2 , PAUSES UNDER THE MINE SMELTER STACKS

By JOH N L PARKERThe track was laid with 70-pound railsfrom the dismantled El Paso & Southwest-ern Railroad. Much of the original trackis still in place, and J. D. Jordan, auditorfor the line, thinks it will last another 40years.Train schedules were posted from thefirst day, and business boomed. There werecarloads of ore and concentrates to bemoved every day to the Southern Pacificmain line at Gila Bend, and supplies of alltypes to be hauled back to Ajo. The pas-senger schedule was even heavier than thefreight. At Gila Bend, passengers trans-ferred to Arizona Eastern's Maricopa linefor direct connection to Phoenix and tothe Southern Pacific for points east and

west.The passenger run was made by two"Gallopin' Geese," big five seater open ton-neau White motor busses equipped withsix flanged wheels instead of the usual hardrubber tires. When the weather was badthe side curtains were rolled down, andthe old Whites roared along the track at 36miles per hour.There was passenger service between thetwo points twice daily, and the freight ranas a mixed train also carrying passengers.For freight haulage the road had a little2-6-0 teapot called the 51, and a leaky2-4-0 Baldwin switcher, the 52. Along theline the gandy dancers sang a little song

that ended: ". . . and we never use the52 'cause she's got a leaking flue."The 52 was quickly scrapped, but the51 lasted through two wars, and was finallyretired in favor of the big diesel roadswitcher now in use.Soon after the road began operating, themining company became involved in a ratecontroversy with the Southern Pacific overshipping costs, and authorized the Corneliaand Gila Bend to extend its lines into Tuc-son for better smelter rates to the Silverbellsmelter. The C. & G. B. promptly tacked"Tucson" on the front of its name andbegan surveying the 129-mile extension.About then the Southern Pacific droppedits rates and the shortline abandoned itssurveybut the proud little road retainedTucson in its name, probably to remindthe giant S.P. that shortlines sometimesget the last word.The Gallopin Geese rolled on until 1927,

but things had long since changed at GilaBend and there was no longer a directconnection to Phoenix. It was during thisperiod that the little railroad acquired itsnickname, "Tough Coming and GoingBack"T.C.&G.B.After retiring the old White busses, theT.C. & G.B. carried on its passenger service

with a combination passenger-baggage andexpress motor car of conventional design,used for 20 years until the line gave up theexclusive passenger run in favor of themixed freight with one daily schedule. Thecar was presented to Griffith Park in LosAngeles in 1958 and now reposes grandlyin the railroad museum along with manyrelics of a bygone era.Although the regular passenger run isno more, the mixed daily carries passengersbetween Gila and Ajo.To ride the T.C . & G.B. you catch thetrain at Gila Bend every weekday morning.There the Southern Pacific agent will directyou to the train which makes up on its owntracks.The train leaves at 9:30 a.m. and usuallyconsists of empty anode cars to be loadedat the smelter, tank cars with diesel fuelfor the mine, and a stray box car or two,with the "coach" bringing up the rear.And what a coach it is!At first glance it resembles an elongatedcaboose. But it has a side-door for baggageand express, and believe it or not, with itthe T.C. & G.B. pioneered the dome ob-servation car! You sit above the train toplevel and look out over the desert for miles.The combination car was made in themodern locomotive repair shop maintainedby the New Cornelia mine to keep-upequipment used in the pit. Despite its rug-ged looks, the caboose-coach is comfortableand you will find yourself off to an enjoy-able ride when you pay your 97 cent fareto the conductor, and he hands you aboard.The train eases slowly out of Gila Bend,picking up speed as it rolls out across thedesert. For the first 10 miles or so therolling desert mesa is spiced by occasionaljack rabbits, roadrunners and a few lazylizards.At the first station, Black Gap (whichconsists of a name on a board), the roadbed veers east passing between two highhills of solid black lava. Between B lackGap and Rocky Point the line runs throughscattered barren rocky hills tinged dark red.

To the left of your airy observation carare the Sauceda Mountains with Table TopMountain dominating the view. From thisrocky point, the tracks curve to the westaround the end of Crater Range, a naturalwonderland of rocks left by the volcanic


7/40

UNDISCOVERED WEALTH!Buried loot, coins, silver, gold,jewelry, battle relics! TransistorM-SCOPE detects them all.Usedworldwide by experienced explor-ers since 1932. Exciting! Reward-ing! Lightweight andsupersensi-tive, the powerful M-SCOPE offersgreater depth penetration, over200 treasure-hunting days ofbattery l ife. From $59.50. Easyterms. Guaranteed. Write for theFREE illustrated booklet of fas-cinating customer experiences.

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IF THE SOUTHWESTis your hobby, read all about it ! Sendfo r our free Southwest Book Catalog.Desert MagazinePalm Desert, Calif.

THI DEPOT AT AJOupheaval which created the lava hills atBlack Gap in eons past.

1'ast Crater Range the tracks follow abread S, winding through five desolatemiles of wasteland between Rocky Pointand Childsi Childs is the only communityon the railroad between Gila Bend andA j o . Here there is a small station, and asthe conductor calls, "ChildsChiii-1-d-s,"you pass a grove of date palms along thetrack where the gandy dancers employedby the railroad live with their families.Sitiing on the siding are rows of old con-ceritrate cars used by the railroad when themine shipped copper concentrates beforeconstruction of the smelter.At Childs a housewife or two with agroup of eager children is sure to climbaboard as the conductor highballs the en-gineer.From here there is a slight grade intoAj. Fifteen minutes out of Childs, thecontinued on page 33

MONUMENT VALLEYIN SCENIC UTAH-ARIZONA

Presented graphicly on t h e . . .MONUMENT VALLEY MAP_imP,od edition 1962

Three top ograp hic maps; four prof iles ofthe fo rmat ions; i l lust rat ions; b ib l iog raph icnote; Navajo Trib al Park and touring notes.Colorfully lithographed on fine paper. For thearmchair t ravel ler , student, l ibr ary, ac t i vetour ist, or collector 16x17 inches foldedto pocket size 4x8'/2 50 cents th e copy

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8/40

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NEW IDEAS for DESERT LIVINGB y D A N LEE

Power Winc h for Back Road s Owners of four-wheel-drive vehiclescan get a wide variety of power winchesfor emergency situations, but what ofthe car owner? Nothing but electricwinches operating off the car batteryhave been available for anything likea reasonable price, up to now. IrvingtonMachine Works, Portland, Oregon, sentdown their new Mini-Winch for testing,and I consider it a real break-throughin portable tool design. Fitted with a% horsepower engine, and geared 155to 1 to a 4 inch capstan, the Mini-Winch develops up to 4000 pounds ofdirect-line sliding pull, and up to 1000pounds dead-weight lifting power. Mini-Winch isn't a true "winch"it operateson the capstan method, whereby severalcoils of rope are curled around thecapstan, the user holds one end whilethe engine does the pulling. The op er-ator merely reels in the rope and pro-vides tension. Recovery rate is about20 feet per minute, and either 1/8 or3/16 inch airplane cable can be used.Or use %-inch m anila rope. I triedhalf-inch rope, but found that the winchis too powerful for that small size. Isnapped several pieces trying to slide acar uphill with the brakes set. If thereis anything solid to attach to, the Mini-Winch will get your car out of a sandtrap, so long as the car's wheels canrender some assistance. A steel base-plate anchors the winch to car bumper,tree, rock, or any solid object by meansof a special bracket and chain. Looksgood for rescue work, too, where climb-ers are stranded on rocky ledges. Themore I think about it, the more I likethe idea of a portable winch that canbe packed in car or truck. Total w eightis only 16 pounds. Priced at $169, fromMini-Winch, P.O. Box 6438-D, Portland23, Oregon.Ultra-Compact Chain SawPerhaps the smallest chain saw evermarketed, the new CHIP A SAW is areal toolnot a toy. Weighing only 10pounds complete, with engine, chain andbar, CHIP A SAW will sell for $117.95.It'll rip through a 2x6 in three seconds,through a 7-inch log in 13 seconds.Has a throttle-button atop the rear workhandle. Powered by two-cycle engine,will run in any attitude. Chain cutting-

depth is about 9 inches, which meansthat it will cut through an 18-inch logby slicing around it. Handy for clearingbrush, cutting camp firewood, generalremote area construction. Small enoughto pack in car, truck or trailer. Dept D,CHIP A SAW, Cenatron Industries,5464 Route 99 South, Fresno, Calif.

Plastic Water Jugs Over the years, I've become a littleprejudiced against metal water cans,and so greeted the new plastic contain-ers with relief. Metal cans are_tough,sure, but they also leave rust marks onfloors and scratch up seat upholstery,leave flakes in the water, and add weightto the expedition. The new plastic con-tainers by Owens weigh only two poundsfor a 5.3 gallon jug, which is shapedround , with a built-in handle. Con-structed of blow-molded polyethylenecontaining an ultra-violet inhibitor, thenew jugs are inexpensive, at $4.89 forthe 5-gallon size, and are far easier to

handle than metal cans. Especially use-ful in a boat, where every pound ofweight is impo rtant. Wh ether or notthey will last as long as metal is un-known at this time, but they appear tobe quite rugged. Available from De pt.D, Owens Plastic Co., 1514 Crystal Ave.,Kansas City 26, Mo.Eas y T owing Com pact T railer Weighing only 1115 pounds, the newShasta Compact trailer sleeps four per-sons, yet is only 12Vi feet in length.Hitch weight is 130 pounds, low enoughfor most cars to handle with ease. Hasdouble upper bunk, twin luxury lounges,range and oven, closet, 16 gallon watertank, 50 pound refrigerator, fully in-sulated, and features 6:50x13 tires. Hasscreen door, 110 volt and butane lightingsystems, and many other features. Pricedat $895, from Shasta Trailers, 9401-DTampa Ave., Northridge, Calif. / / /


9/40

t o t h eS E A T T L EW O R L D ' SF A I Rf a s t e s t ,m o s t d i r e c tVIA RENO

We'll admit we've taken the turnsout of the road to emphasize ourpoint, but a ruler placed on a mapwill prove this is the fastest, mostdirect route to the Pacific Northwest.You'll travel through a vast, breath-taking vacat ion land . . . on wide,modern highways. You'll enjoy fresh,pine-scented, mountain air, the ex-citement of world famous Reno anda variety of attractions to make yourvisit to the Seattle W orld's Fair un-forgettable.

H A R O L D S I C L U B A n g e l e sRENO

LETTERSFROM OUR READERSWhere's Kayenta? . . .To the Editor: In the map accompanyingthe story about the first car through Mon-ument Valley (April DESERT), there isno listing of Kayenta. Our comm unity,with a population of a little more than1200 people, is the second largest settle-ment on the Navajo Reservation. It wouldbe greatly appreciated to have Kayentaplaced on your future maps.

WILLIAM CORNFORDKayenta, ArizonaHuman Torture, Utah Style . . .To the Editor: It is "human torture" topublish such attractive descriptions of theUtah area (April DESERT), and give usfolks with no time to travel, the desire todo so.Anyway, I did enjoy your Utah armchairtrips, and hope some day to make theseexplorations in person.

HELEN HEATONSonora, Calif.Petrified Wood in Utah . . .To the Editor: Can you tell me if it is stilllawful to collect petrified wood in Utah?

FLOYD HASKELLKingsburg. Calif.(Under Utah law, the State Park andRecreation Commission, 19 West SouthTemple, Salt Lake City 1, is charged withthe duty of preserving all deposits ofarcheological or paleontological valuewhich petrified wood is considered onall public lands either state or federallyowned. In the past the state has grantedlimited rights to rockhounds to collectsuch material provided they first notifythe commission of the area where theypropose to make their field trips, andpromise that they will not undertake todemolish o r remove any large pieces ofpetrified wood. Ed.)

1913 Trail Companions . . .To the Editor: In your March issue therewas a story by Ulysses Grant IV detailinghis ne ar - disastrous motor trip down thewest side of Salton Sea in 1913. This wassuch a coincidence, that I decided to writeto you about the trip I made in September,1 9 1 3 , over much the same route traveledby Grant.

Near Whitewater we got stuck in a sanddune, and a cow-poke helped us out bytying his rope to the horn of his saddleand the front axle of our Model T. Afterhe left, we became stuck again. Fou r heftyIndians came along in a Model T, passingus by in high gear. One came back andtold us to deflate our rear tires so we couldget more traction in the sand. We had notrouble after that.We stopped at the Caravansary Hotel in

Mecca as did Grant, but instead of follow-ing his tracks down the west side of SaltonSea, we headed eastward, arriving at ourcamp in Quartzsite in four days.W. G. KEISERQuartzsite, Arizona


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.

A SILVER ANNIVERSARY BONUS FEATUREReprinted from DESERT's Thirteenth Issue: November 1938

B e a c hCombingontheDesert

B yJ o h n W. H i l t o nThe author, today one of the bestknown of Southwest artists, was aregular contributor to the early Des-ert Magazines. His pioneer storieson gem-mineral locales lured thou-sands of people into the field, andthere can be no doubt that Hiltonplayed a significant role in the de-velopment of what is now one of themost popular hobbies in the nation.In the four years prior to U.S. entryinto World War II, 35 Hilton fieldtrip stories appeared in this publi-cation. The one reprinted on thesepages is as current today as it waswhen originally published in 1938.But, this is not the case with mostof the old gem-mineral locales and the reason why is the subjectof the article following this one.

O NE OF THE finest specimensof fossil agate I have ever seenwas picked up on the seashorebut not along the Pacific shoreline,or any other ocean we know abouttoday.It came from the desertfrom one

of the ancient beaches formed count-less centuries in the past when theface of the earth presented a differ-ent picture from that of today.The old shorelines are in manyplaces, and for the collector of gems,fossils and other curios they offer arich field for search. The m odernbeach comber on the desert will finda greater variety of agate, jasper andother precious stones than can be ob-tained along the shoreline of anyexisting ocean. Without even the

risk of wetting his feet, the visitormay find shells, coral and plant formsimprinted in stone millions of yearsold.Fossils found among these pebblesrepresent several geological ages,some of them dating back to the timewhen there were no vertebrates in anocean bed which later was raised andperhaps became the top of a moun-tain.Rivers and streams carried bits ofrock from these mountains back to theshoreline of still another ocean wherethey were worn into smooth roundpebbles and cast up on another shore.In our Southwestern desert, after

many such cycles, eventually thesewater-worn rocks found their way tothe bed of a tremendous river or gulfwhich drained much the same terri-tory as the Colorado does today.High on the tablelands and hill-sides above the course of the Colo-rado are the ancient beaches of thisgreat prehistoric waterway. Some-times they parallel the present riverand at other points they are milesaway from it. They extend along aplainly marked basin from the Mexi-can border to Nevada and perhapsfarther no rth . Some of the pebblesfound on this old beach can be tracedto fossil beds as far north as Mon-tana and it is believed that otherswere brought from northern Canadaby the movement of the glaciers inthe ice age.The visitor will not be greatly im-pressed at first sight of one of theseancient beaches, for the reason thattheir color and variation are con-cealed beneath a uniform coating of"desert varnish." Th e pebbles alongthe old beachline are quite uniform-ly coated with the brown substance.While to the superficial observerthe pebbles appear to be all alike insubstance, close study will reveal thefact that under the surface there isa great variety of color and pattern.Brilliant red and yellow jaspers viein beauty with carnelians and bandedagates. The diligent collector may


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even find water-worn pebbles of ame-thyst, topaz and quartz crystal. Evengold bearing ore has been foundamong these beach pebblesbut theveteran collector knows that gold willnever be found in paying quantitiesin such deposits.One stone generally overlooked on

(Text continues on next page)

I

LOWER '. MESA

' . ' '?'%


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n i l . I V l N " " continued from preceding pagethese beaches is black onyx. Th isgem was very popular in former yearsas a setting for diamonds. Fashionsbeing fickle, it may return to vogue.

Black onyx merely is a trade namefor a nearly jet black chalcedony.Much of that used during the periodof its popularity was artificially col-ored. Pieces of agate or chalcedonywith a somewhat porous surface wereselected by German gem dealers andsteeped for months in hot sugarwater. This treatment was followedby soaking the stone in sulphuricacid. The acid decomposed the sugarimprisoned in the pores of the stoneand left a black residue of carbon.The blackest of these stones were then

sold to the trade under the name ofblack onyx.Here on the desert beaches can befound enough pebbles of naturalblack coloring to supply the worldwith its "black onyx" if that gemshould again become a popular fa-vorite.The carnelians in these beach de-posits usually are small but some ofthem are of very fine color. Occa-sionally moss agates are found, butthe stone of outstanding interest isthe fossil agate.Until the collector becomes famil-iar with fossil agate pebbles he islikely to pass them by as their beautyis concealed beneath an uninviting

exterior. Most of them have a whitelime-like coating under the brownvarnish surface. They appear to beopaque until they are cut. Th encomes a surprise, for the stone thatappeared to be merely a dirty pieceof limestone often turns out to betranslucent, with light tan or pinkbody and white or black markings.These marks may be the outline ofa seashell, a bit of coral, or the flower-like design of the cross-section of acrinoid stem. Some of them containfossil prints of prehistoric plants. Amicroscope will bring out hiddenbeauties of fossil design in all ofthem.The ancient beach lines I have

THEFIELD TRIPDILEMMA ByJohn Sinkankas

With publication in 1955 of his firstbook, "Gem CuttingA Lapidary'sManual," John Sinkankas' interna-tional reputation as a leading gem-ologist wa s established. Two otherbooks followed, "Gemstones of NorthAmerica" (1959; winner of Desert'sSouthwest L i t e r a t u r e PremiumAward) and "Gemstones and Min-erals How and Where to FindThem" (1961). A fourth book (sub-ject: mineralogy, with new ap-proaches designed to fill the needsof amateurs) is in the planning stage.Sinkankas recently retired from theNavy, in which he served for 25years as an aviator. He and hiswife and their four children live inSan Diego.


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been discussing are accessible to thepublic at many points, without goingfai from the paved highways. Withmile after mile of the old seashoreexposed under the desert sun, thesupply of gem rock from this sourceis practically inexhaustible. Readersshould not get the impression, how-ever, that they may walk out on thedesert at random and pick up nicelycolored gem stones. The desert doesnot flaunt its jewels. They are therehut only for the painstaking studentand collector who knows what he isse( king and who is willing to devotetime and work to the search.

The sector of the old beachlineshown on the accompanying map isone of the most accessible of the many

places where ancient beach pebblesmay be found. Another point wherethe old shoreline may be readily fol-lowed is above Topoc on the Arizonaside of the river. Farther south, High-way 80 crosses the beach only a shortdistance west of Algodones Junctionin eastern Imperial County, Califor-nia.An exceptionally fine deposit ofpebbles is on the Arizona mesa bor-dering the Chemehuevi Valley be-tween Parker and Needles.As a result of the building ofParker Dam, the Chemehuevi Val-ley is now being filled with waterand will become Lake Havasu. Byodd coincidence, the eastern shore of

the new lake will follow very closelythe coastline of the ancient sea whichonce occupied this area. When trans-portation is available on Lake Hav-asu it will be possible for the collectorto go by boat directly to the placeswhere gem pebbles may be picked up.For readers who are not expert col-

lectors of gems or fossils, but who areinterested in the natural phenomenaof the desert, the places mentionedin this text offer worthwhile objec-tives for a pleasant desert excursion.Desert beaches have no splashing surfto offer as an inducementnor arethey crowded with ungainly humanshapes or littered with hot-dogwrappers. / / /

W E ARE becoming a nation oflazy people, say countless arti-cles in newspapers and maga-zines. Top military leaders point tothi; deplorable physical condition ofdr iftees rejected in droves, whiledoctors point to the alarming rise inheirt failuresall because our mod-ern way of life makes it so easy tolet machines take the place of musclepower.Thus one would think that whena sizable segment of our populationthe growing tribe of earth scienceenthusiastsfinds a splendid way toexercise in healthful fashion by tak-ing field trips, that every leader inthe country would stand up andchi;er, and do everything in his powerto encourage it.Yet, the facts indicate otherwise,and the mineral and fossil collectorfates problems which threaten tomake collecting in the field a priv-ilege reserved to a few.Like all outdoorsmen, the rock-hound is beset with the same basicpr >blems a steadily shrinking fed-eral and state domain in which JohnQ. Public is free to wander; and theshutting off of formerly accessibleprivate lands and facilities wheneverit suits the owners or tenants. Muchprivate land is closed because of van-dalism, or because of injuries on suchland suffered by persons who latertale legal action to recover damageswhether or not they had permission

to enter the property in the firstplace.Even when public lands are avail-able, officials charged with their ad-ministration are placed in a quandary

because while free access brings withit the dangers of forest fires, whole-sale destruction or depletion of nat-ural resources, and the turning ofprimitive areas into balsam - scentedConey Islands, the lands are publicand every citizen has the basic rightto enter them.The extreme conservationist viewsunlimited public entry with horror,and is among those who say "Preserveour primitive areas as God madethem!" The moderate conservationistviewpoint is more in sympathy with

the desires of the public for he wouldallow fishing, hiking, camping, andsometimes even hunting. Under spe-cial conditions and for good scientificcause, he also allows collection ofspecimens of plant and animal life,and of rocks and minerals.Whatever the merits of the argu-ments for preservation are, and whichnow apply to the rockhound as neverbefore, the fact remains that as ourpopulation increases we must findreasonable ways to encourage thepeople to go outdoors and get the ex-

ercise which we need if we are notto become a nation of softies.Of course we could insist thateveryone exercise in front of his TV

in the morning, or do calisthenics atthe office. This has been tried before,and it works for a time. But it isboring, and gradually interest is lost.On the other hand, getting out intothe great outdoors is a challengewhich is cheerfully met by millionsof fishermen, hunters, and more re-cently, by the rockhounds. The prob-lems of the latter are not as wellknown because the rockhound hobby,though lusty and fast-growing, is aninfant. So far as conservation is con-cerned, the rockhound problem iscomplex because rocks and mineralscannot be grown in hatcheries ornurseries and "planted" for collectors.There is only one generation of rocksand minerals, and it can be harvestedonly once. After that it is gone-forever!

This brings us to the oft-repeatedcriticism that rockhounds will de-plete the land unless they are rigidlycontrolled. That serious alarm isbeing felt by top-level officials in theDepartment of the Interior, particu-larly in respect to stripping publiclands of petrified woods, is shown bytheir announced intent to study theproblem with the view of closing cer-tain areas noted for their abundanceof petrified wood. Although no spe-cific details were given as to howpolicies of preservation would be car-ried out, there is growing fear amongcontinued on page 26


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Secrets of desert survivallearned b y the Sou thwest's Pocket M ousemay help m an reach the stars *POCKET MICE, natives of theU.S. desert, have been around avery long time, their ancestorsbeing in business some 30 millionyears ago. Yet today, these tiny ro-dents are being called upon to pro-vide the answers to problems thatmust be solved before America's astro-nauts can be protected against thedangers of prolonged orbital or inter-planetary flight.

Why this animal? The fact thatpocket mice are not really mice iswhat makes them the space scientists'dream. They belong to a differentand highly specialized family (alongwith kangaroo rats and kangaroomice) closely related to the pocketgopher clan. Their zoological name,Perognathus (perog - NAY - thus),means "pouch jaw," since a goodshare of the animal is head, andmost of the head is fur-lined cheekpouches on either side of the mouth,which mousey stuffs full of seeds tocarry home.But it is not these built-in marketbaskets that make the Pocket Mouseso interesting to scientists, as the ani-mals will not be expected to packtheir lunch for their rides in space.Rather, it is the astonishing physio-logical adaptations these creatureshave developed through the long

years of evolution to withstand rigiddesert conditions. They live entirelywithout water except for the moist-ure in the seeds they eat, their bodiesbeing able to manufacture neededwater metabolically. And when thereis no food, or the temperature fallsbelow a certain point, these mice cango quickly into a state of dormancy.These remarkable adaptations arewhat Drs. R. G. Lindberg and D. F.Mitchell of Northrop Space Labora-tories, Hawthorne, Calif., plan to ex-ploit in their search for knowledgeto protect man in space.Chief candidate: Two of the light-weight kinds of Pocket Mice are being

worked with, the favorite being near-ly six inches long, counting tail, andweighing not more than 10 grams,and known as Perognathus longimem-bris ("pouch-jaw-long-membered" and if you look at its hind legs andlong hind feet you know where it gotthe second part of its name, too.)These animals are common in partsof eastern and southern California,

B y K. L. B O Y N T O NThe author, formerly on the staff of the Chicago Natural HistoryMuseum, is a member of the National Association of Science Writers,American Association for the Advancement of Science, and theAmerican Society of Mammalogists, with scientific field work experi-ence in the United States, Canada and Europe. His 14 years ofscientific writing for the lay reader has been in the field of the LifeSciences, with emphasis on zoology, ecology and animal behavior.

Nevada, Arizona and throughoutmuch of the Great Basin. They livefrom below sea level to at least 6500feet altitude. This Pocket Mouse'sskull is large, especially in the bonyparts behind the ears. Making thehead look even larger are pouches inthe cheek external to the mouth.These mice spend much of the dayin their burrows, with the front doorplugged up. They forage for food

mainly at nigh t. Tw o investigators,Bartholomew and Cary, found thatwhen hunting for seeds, Perognathusbalances along on its hind legs, withthe hind feet roughly beneath thecenter of gravity and the axis almosthorizontal. This puts the animal'shead close to the ground . Th e longclawed hands sift the sand for seeds,and stuff them into the cheek pock-ets so fast you can't see them work.The hind feet kick the dirt back outof the way as the animal goes along.In a hurry, Pocket Mice use all fourfeet, with their tails probably actingas balancers. The ir long back legsare equipped with powerful musclesfor galloping leaps, and they landon their front ones. They can leap


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straight up 24 inches or sidewise ayard, dodging so much it is impossi-ble to keep them in sight.The body machinery of these tinyanimals works so fast that almost acoiitinual supply of food is needed.If food is withdrawn, the animals goinio a torpor within 24 hours. Th istorpor can be of two kinds: a lightone, called estivation, which takespi; ice when the body temperature ishijjh because the air temperatureabout the animal is high; and adeeper state, called h iberna tion, w henthe air is chilled beyond the pointwhere the animal's body can manageto adjust to it.These two factors are of great useto space scientists. Kept at 8 degreesCen tigrade (46.5 deg. Fahr.) hiber-nating Pocket Mice can survive a verylong time without any food. Thesemice enter hibernation with one rap-id decline in body temperature, andth:y can be brought out of it justas quickly. Th is means that theseanimals could be kept alive for weeksin a space vehicle while in a stateof hibe rna tion. Or, they could beroused by heating the air about them,fed, and put back into hibernation

by dropping the temperature.\fter some 2000 - man - hours ofPocket Mice research, Dr. Lindbergand his staff have formula ted definite

plans for the National Aeronauticsand Space Administration for the useof these animals in balloon andorbital flights.A lightweight box, about 6 by 6 by10 inches, is big enough to house100 mice, each in a separate "room"with plenty of space for circulatingoxygen, removing carbon dioxide andcontrolling the hum idity. In a hi-bernating state, the animals would

require no food, and even their oxy-gen requirement drops from 4.8 milli-liters per hour per gram of weight ofthe animal when active to a mere .13milliliters per hour per gram ofweight when hibernating. Th us, lifemaintenance equipment to be pro-vided is practically nothing a bigfactor in space vehicle payload con-sideration.Big Job, Little Mouse. What arethe space problems bioscientists aretrying to solve, and how do they ex-pect to use the Pocket Mice to do it?Space radiation is the main hazardto man in space. It is different fromx-ray and gamma ray because of itsmixed radiation sources and energies.Experiment in actual space is neces-sary to know what really goes onthere. Consider the two big dangersto man from this space radiation:Brain damage: Extremely high io-nization doses are delivered along thepaths each radiation particle travels,and a very heavy particle kills thehuman cells in its path when it crosses

their neuclei, and damages the cellsto either side. This is permanent, asthese nerve cells cannot regenerate.What the extent of the damage wouldbe in an unshielded human brain

during a period of a few weeks inspace, nobody knows, now. Mousework: Hibernating mice, their headsmonitored by emulsion, will be sentfor a maximum period on balloonflights up to 200,000 feet, and thensent aloft for two weeks in an orbit-ing vehicle. Returned to the labora-tory, a study of the animals' behaviorand sections of their brains is ex-pected to show the relationship be-tween the amount of damage alongthe heavy particle path, and the sizeand kick of the particle, how far offeach side of the path the damageextends, and what effects an accumu-lated particle dose has.

Eye damage: Another danger toman is damage to the eye lens fromexposure to primary cosmic radiation.What danger would occur to thehuman eye lens from the mixedparticle field of outer space, and howcan it be prevented? Mouse work:Hibernating mice with film emulsionover their eyes are to be sent on bal-loon and satellite flights and returnedto the laborato ry. Interva l testswould plot cataract formation andit might be possible to even identifythe damage and the particle doingit; this would give a great deal ofinformation on the effects of themixed particle field in space. Rela-tion between the total dose and cat-aract formation could also be learned.

The fact that the activity of thesePocket Mice riding in a rocket couldbe controlled by changing the tem-perature of their compartments meansthat they could be sent great distancesinto space simply by waking them upfor feeding, and putting them backinto hibernation again. They mightbe maintained alive for some time onanother planet in this way, too.Who knows? Perhaps the remark-able adaptations Pocket Mice devel-oped to keep alive in the desert maysome day take them to the moon. / / /


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F OR THE past six summers I havetaken a busman's holiday from mypractice in Cincinnati to admin-ister to the illnesses of the Dinethe Peoplethe Navajos. I am adermatologist, but on the Reserva-tion I aided in whatever came up . Iworked at the St. Isabel Mission ofthe Franciscan Fathers at Lukachu-k a i , Arizona, deep within Navajo-land. St. Isabel has a dispensarystaffed by Hospital Sisters of St.Francis Registered Nurses, but thereis no permanent doctor stationedthere. T he nearest one is 50 milesaway; the nearest hospital, 70 miles.Until recently, both were reachedover miserable dirt roads.

The U.S. Public Health Service,which had taken over the adminis-tration of medical services to theNavajos just a year before my firstvisit, is doing an excellent jobbutthe obstacles are great. T he Reser-vation is huge25,000 square milesand thinly populated90,000 people.When I went out for the first time,I expected that I would be bringingaid to people who had nothing inthe way of medicine. But, as othersbefore me, I quickly learned that Ihad not stepped into a vacuum. Th eNavajos have a well-developed medi-cal system of their ownand it hasnot vanished before the impact of

the white man's med icine. At thesame time, the Navajos accept whitemedicine!Conditions differ from place toplace on the Reservation and arechanging constantly sometimesquickly, sometimes imperceptibly.Lukachukai is not a "town," but acenter with a mission, school, tradingpost and now a chapter house, whichtogether give an area of three to fourthousand inhabitants a geographicentity. Hemmed in by mountainsand the upper reaches of Canyon deChelly, Lukachukai was not untilrecently easy to reach from the whitemen's highways, and, consequently,

faithful to tradition. Yet the influ-ence of the mission and the year-long presence of the dispensary gavethe Navajos a favorable relation withthe white people, and especially withtheir medicine.The simultaneous existence ofwhite and Navajo medicine appearedin a varied picture, depending on thesituation. At the dispensary the pa-tients were amazingly strange byclothes, manners, and language, andthere was hardly a day that some-thing unexpected did not happen.

But the people who came were basic-ally like patients everywhere, and Idid not at first recognize that thiswas only one side of the medal.

B y R O B E R T B R A N D T , M . D .

At the regular clinics that we heldat some distances from the mission,in small chapels or under the sky,the Navajos seemed more on theirown, and their idiosyncrasies weremore in evidence. It sometimes hap-pened that a patient who had beenpresent all the time did not budgeuntil we had our things put back onthe truck. Th en he, or more oftens h e , came forward to consult me, andwe had to open bags and boxes again.Obviously, I had to be watched be-fore I could be trusted.But, this strange world was reallyimpressed on me when I saw my firstpatien t in a hogan. Sheepskins on

the groun d and a chest - of - drawersrepresented the furniture, and therewere no toilet facilities. Such a placewould be a slum in the city, but itis not a slum here. Hogan m eanshome, and although cabins andhouses are appearing on the Reserva-tion, they are not called by the samename, and a hogan alone can beused for religious ceremonies. Onlywhen you see the family in the hogancan you understand how the familyties bind the Navajo to his tradition.And, like the hogan, the Reserva-tion is his hom e. Most other tribeswere forced into reservations theNavajos were permitted at their re-quest to return to their land. In thisbeautifully forbidding country theylived far removed from the benevo-lent as well as greedy intentions ofthe white man. When the Reserva-tion became more exposed to theoutside world, a different attitu detowards the Indians, which includedrespect for their past, had emergedamong the whites.The Navajos have a dynamic cul-ture. They are good learnersandgood "sifters"who accept what theythink is good for them, but cannot


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A WHITE DOCTOR EXAMINES HIS NA VAJ O PATIENT. THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN AT THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CLINIC IN MONU MENT VALLEY.b : forced into anything they tend ton ject.Th is is the framework within w hichthe Navajos were able to maintainmuch of their medical tradition. Thequestion arises: Why did they main-tain it while at the same time wel-come the white doctor? Navajo med-

icine, as medicine does among allpeople (primitive and otherwise)consists of both empirical and "magi-cal" elements. The former was neveras important among the Navajos asthe latter, and is now widely sup-planted by our so obviously superiorpractice.

If the sanitary part of white man'smedicine is less easily introduced, itis not because of any resistance onthe part of the Navajo, but becauseof habit, partly derived from thescarcity of water. Yet progress is be-ing made. Wh en I saw my first out-house, it seemed odd that there should


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still be outhouses in the mid-20thCentury. Th en, after I had lived onthe Reservation a short time, I be-gan marveling that these people hadany outhouses at all. One of the mostimpressive advances I have witnessedin my six summers is the increasingnumber of these "temples of prog-ress."Health education is not withoutinteresting sidelights, where again oldand new co-exist. A woman accused

a Navajo medicine man of conjuringflies on her, and then add ed: "Mrs.Wauneka has told us that flies bringgerms." (Mrs. Wauneka is a leaderamong the People and intensely con-cerned with health problems.)The acceptance of rational treat-ment does not do away with theneed for the ceremonies, for to theNavajo, hea ling is religion. Becausehealing is attempted through religi-ous ceremonies, there are few im-portant ceremonies that are not fun-

damentally healing rites. The NightChant (Yeibichai) lasts eight daysand nine nights, and as it progresses,more and more visitors arrive, ex-pecting some general blessing toflow to themselvesbut the r ite isheld primarily for one or two pa-tients.The Enemy Way, originally meantfor the purification of the returningwarriors, including their greeting bythe women, has developed (or de-

teriorated) into a social festivity thatcan be considered an equivalent ofa coming-out party. The white vis-itor who knows it as "Squaw Dance"is rarely aware that each such affairstarts with a patient, who remainsthe real center of the ceremony al-though practically hidden in a brushshelter.This situation stems from the factthat for the Navajo there is no strictseparateness between disease, misfor-tune, personal failure, conflicts and

unhappiness. They are all disturb-ances of the harmony within, withtheir surroundings, and with the uni-verse. If disturbances occur, is it notthe most natural thing to have theharmony restored by the man whocan do it through appropriate cere-monies, the medicine man?The term medicine man is a mis-nomer, because this religious healerrarely uses medicine in our sense."Singer" or "Chanter" is a better

title. The ceremony is known as a"sing" because chanting is its mostimpo rtant component. (The cele-brated sand painting is not part ofevery ceremony.)The necessity for an individual tohave a sing is episodic; the necessityfor sings to be held is continual. Asan example: soon as the first frostoccurs, the Night Chants begin. Onecan say, taking some liberty, that itis not so much the patient who needsthe sing, as the sing that needs a

TWO NAVAJOELDERS.NOTE HEARINGAID BEINGW O R N BYM A N AT RIGHT.


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THIS WOMAN BROUGHT HER AILINGGRANDCHILD TO THE DISPENSARY

patientas least in those ceremoniesthat attract also healthy participants.As long as the Navajo religion exists,there will be ritual healing.Having followed so far, you maywonder how this old religion can per-sist in the atmosphere of the mission.I was amazed myself when I attendedmy first squaw dance with FatherBlase, the superior at Lukachukai.The dancing seemed tame, but thesinging, the beat of the drum, andthe flickering light from the big fireoverawed me. And out of the dark-ness came the reverent voices of Nav-ajos greeting the Catholic priest. Iwas confused, but he understood it,and so do the People.One of the most important factorshere is the attitude of the Franciscanpriests. While, of course, aiming atfundamental changes from the begin-ning (1898) they have treated theold beliefs with patience and under-standing. One of them, the lateFather Berard Haile, was one of theoutstanding scholars not only of theNavajo language but also of their

religion. He was said to know theceremonies better than some of themedicine men, and his spirit still pre-vails.On their side, the Navajos, eventhose that have not come over yet,recognize that the white man's re-ligion is in close alliance with histechnical proficiency. The Navajogenius for compromise allows him tohave what he considers the best ofboth cultures.Yet, the ceremonial medicine couldhardly have survived if a demonstra-

ble effect did not appear, at leastsometimes. We must accept the un-deniable power of psychosomatic in-fluenc es of which I have seen severalexamples. The ceremonies cannot bedescribed in this article even in theirmain features, but it is easily under-standable that the patient for whoman elaborate, meaningful, and expen-sive ceremony is perform ed ("the fussthat is made over him") grows inself-esteem. T he ritu al, impressiveeven to the casual guest, sustains amood of spiritual elevation and makes

the patient susceptible to the forceswithin that strive toward healing.The two types of medicine may liveside by side in a very real sense. Forinstance, a patient that comes to thedispensary may also have a sing per-formed over him. No harm in doubletreatment!One night a messenger came to themission to get help for a relative whocould not breathe. The cause was,the messenger reported, that sometime ago the victim had stepped ona snake. This patient was known atthe government clinic where he hadbeen given Aminophylline for asth-matic attacks. Taking this medicinewith her, the Sister arrived at thehogan and found the patient in aserious attack. Th e family wascrowded in the hogan and a medi-cine man had already started hissing, presumably an abbreviated formof the Snake Rite. The medicationwas administered and in due time theattack ceased. Which "healer" re-ceived credit remains unknown.

If a ceremony is performed not toheal a present disease but to wardoff a possible future one, there is noknowing what would have happenedif the sing had not been held.In other cases, the two principlesof healing are taken as alternatives.The patient may first go to the clinicor hospital and later have a singperformed if the medical treatmentdoes not turn out effective or if, inhis conception, the impersonal andcursory hospital routine does not sat-isfy him. Conversely, the medicineman may be tried first, but if he fails(several attempts being permitted)the patient "changes doctors."The medicine man, it is obvious,often tries to steer the patient or hisfamily towards the performance ofa chant. We must oppose his inter-ference where a delay of rationaltreatment would be harmful, but weshould not start with the assumptionthat the medicine man is not sin-

continued on page 36June, 1962 / Desert Magazine / 19


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Old Glass FromThe Ghost Camps

MABEL HARMONNo relic, save perhaps the wag-on wheel, has come tosymbolizethe Old West's frontier days morethan has glassware that has turnedpurple through action ofthe sun.It's quite a hobby, this gather-ing and displaying of purple glass

pieces.In fact, the demand for goodspecimens has risen so sharply inthe past few years, that any un-broken piece of glassware that"shows color" will bring from $2to several hundred dollars. Adozen years ago, whole bottlesand even fancy pieces of tableand kitchen glass could be pickedup inthe streets ofghost towns.Mabel Harmon, who has con-verted part of herhome nearPalm Desert, Calif., into "TheLavender Glass Shop," has about1500 pieces ofOld Glass. Someare reposing on the roof, catch-ing the sunlight which in three to

four years will turn them fromclear glass tovarious shades ofpurple.Mrs. Harmon has had long ex-perience in"purpling" glass. Shehas learned these facts: Glassneed not be turned in order to getuniform coloring; glass need notbe placed insand during its sun-bath, as believed by some hobby-ists; once theglass reaches itsdeepest shade of purple, furtherexposure to the sunwill notdeepen the color.She has learned one other im-portant fact: Toda y, the hobby-

ist's best old glass source isthesecond hand store. Old glassstill clear in coloration because ithas not been exposed tothe sunis often found in these estab-lishments. "But," adds Mrs. Har-mon, "even this source is fast dry-ing up because the junk dealersare getting wise tothe valueofglass that will purple."How can one tell if clear glasswill take oncolor? Every col-lector has his or her specialmethod. Mrs. Harm on examinesthe bottoms of the glass pieces.If the worn portions are shiny,chances are it is"new" glass andtherefore uncolorable. But, if theworn portions are dull looking, ofa soft-appearing texture, and bearhairline scratch marks, then it isa good bet hat the glass willcolor.The following comments, takenfrom an article by Harriett Farns-worth in the October '59 DESERT,explain why not allglass willpurple:"Purpling is simply amatter ofchemistry. Glass is made frommolten sand which, more oftenthan not, contains iron and otherimpurities. To offset this, a de -colorizing agent isused by glassmanufacturers and the glassthus produced has a transparentcolorless appearance."Prior to 1915, manganese di-oxide was the primary decoloriz-ing agent. When such glass isexposed to the sun's ultravioletradiation, there is a chemicalbreakdown and the hobbyist'scoveted violets and amethysts re-sultthe intensity of color de-pendent upon the total amount ofmanganese present . . ."The first war with Germany,at thetime chief exporter ofmanganese, changed the glass pic-ture."Selenium replaced manganeseas the chief decolorizing agent forglass manufactured in the U.S.The selenium-treated glass piecesdevelop a brownish straw colorwhen subjected to the light of thesun. Allmodern glasses, withfew exceptions, aremade withselenium and therefore will notdevelop the more highly prizedbluish casts when exposed to sun-light." / / /

20 / Desert Magazine / June, 1962


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TABLE SETT ING OF PURPLE GLASSWARE AT THE LAVENDER GLASS SHOP . PHO TO BY DENN IS HOLMES .


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"The Tree WithGreen Bark"

By EDMUND C. JAEGERauthor of "DESERT WILDFLOWERS," "THE CALIFORNIA DESERTS,""OUR DESERT NEIGHBORS," "THE NORTH AMERICAN DESERTS"

NE OF OUR desert's most widespread andhandsome trees is the Paloverde "the treewith green bark." When in full bloom itcovers many a rocky hillside, sandy flat andcanyon border with myriads of domes ofbrilliant yellow; it scents the air with richperfume. W hen covered only with its countless smallleaves or only its green bark, this tree does much togive perennial verdure to an otherwise drab landscape.It appeals to us as a tree friendly to all of nature'ssmall children, as well as to man himself. Even whend:ad, the decaying trunk offers cozy retreats for numer-ous soft-furred mice, beetle larvae, the remarkable socialtermites, and ladder-backed woodpeckers, nickers andoiher hole-nesting birds. Bees seeking sources of n ectarfiad that the bright yellow leguminous flowers provideample supplies.

Because of well-defined differences in the character ofthe leaves, these beautiful dendroid plants fall into twomajor groups. Th e first and largest comprises the Palo-verdes of the genus Cercidium (10 species, one southAfrican) with short comp ound p inn ate leaves of severalleaflets.The other group is the Parkinsonias (one species)whose leaves are very long, each consisting of an elong-ate flattened mid-rib or rachis and numerous small

leaflets arranged oppositely to alternately along itssides. To this group belongs the common Horse-beanor Mexican Paloverde (Parkinsonia aculeata), easy togrow in gardens and hence finding favor as an orna-mental and street tree in many parts of the semi-tropical and tropical world. On our local and nearbydeserts it is found naturally along the lower ColoradoRiver and in much of the peninsula of Baja Californiaexcept the mountainous regions. To my pleasant sur-!>rise it has been much used for center-strip and border-planting for many miles along the new freeway betweenVictorville and Barstow on the M ojave Desert. It is'loing very well there, in spite of the cool winters.Two pairs of eight-to-12-inch long delicate leaves

spring from the branchlets just above a swelling wherePal >verdes in bloom. Photo by J. Fred and Fran Dodson

lie one long stout stiff central spine and two smallerlateral ones. The long leaves are called secondary leavesbecause they are preceded by smaller primary ones.The tiny leaflets of both kinds of leaves are decidu-ous, but the long central naked flattened rachis to whichthose of the secondary leaves are attached persists forlong periods, giving the tree a very airy ghostlike appear-ance. If you will examine these long leaves you willnotice that at the base of each is an elongate cushionlikeenlargement or pulvinus. When evening comes it reactsto cause the leaf to droop; at the same time the 20 to30 pairs of small leaflets "go to sleep" too, and fold flat

against the long mid-rib. All this causes the tree atdusk or just before sun-up to have a strange wiltedappearance.The bright- to pale-yellow crepe-petalled flowers, withnumerous conspicuous red spots on the banner, arearranged in elongate groups on the growing branchletsin spring and summer, or, in the tropics, throughoutthe year. This ever-blooming character makes this treea popular garden ornament in many parts of the equa-torial world.The long pointed and brown fruits or pods, con-stricted between the beans, persist for long periods ingraceful racemes. The seeds are very hard-coated and

covered with a waxy film, but sprout readily whenwarmth and moisture of the next succeeding period ofrains ensues.This tree of scanty foliage has smooth lively greenbark on all of its trunk and up to the very ends of thezig-zag branchlets. It is a fast and lux uriant growerwith wide-spreading crown, but is probably, in mostsituations, a fairly short-lived plant.The graceful Mexican Paloverde is prone to seekwetness more so than other members of this tree family.We usually find it growing on the edges of streams,seeps and moist meadowlike flats. It is very plentiful ondelta lands of the Colorado River.John Parkinson (1567-1629), after whom the genusParkinsonia was named, was an apothecary of Londonand author of several botanical works. The famous

June, 1962 / Desert Magazine / 23


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M E X I C A N P A L O V E R D E LITTLE-LEAFED PALOVERDE BLUE PALOVERDE

Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, first described the plantin 1753.The Mexican and other Paloverdes, are a favoritehaunt of the small energetic verdin. From the thornydead branchlets it may construct its rotund nest withentrance hole on the side. Especially during the court-ing and nesting season do we hear the high-pitchedscreeching notes as the birds busy themselves huntinginsects or issuing notes of sarcastic warning to intruders.You may be very certain that only one pair of thesepeppery-tempered birds occupy a single tree. If thereare two nests both belong to the same pair: one is thebrood ing nest, the other the roosting nest. Small birdscalled lead-colored or plumbeous gnatcatchers areequally partial to Paloverde trees at nesting time. Inthese trees I have also found the nests of shrikes, white-winged and mourning doves, quail and thrashers.The short-leafed Paloverde found widespread andmostly restricted to the edge of arroyos of the ColoradoDesert is the Blue Paloverde (Cercidium floridum), socalled because the bark of its branches is blue-greenrather than bright green as in the Mexican species. Thespecific name floridum means "abou nding in flowers."Often this is a fairly large tree with gray trunk thatmay measure three feet in diameter, a crown up to 30feet high, and spread of 20 feet.Th e brittleness of its stems is characteristic. Everybig windstorm breaks many of them, large and small,so that one of the things we always notice as the resultof this natural pruning are the unsymmetrical crownsand thick spreads of dead twigs and branches beneaththem. The tree's scant shade together with this litter

of dead twigs encourages certain of the spring flowers,such as the cheery blue phacelias, to grow luxuriantlyin a carpet of rich blue under almost every tree.A tender-leafed vine, Brandegea, often runs riotthrough the fallen gray twigs and ascends the living treeto form graceful festoons of verdure. Th is p erenn ialvine, related to our garden cucumber, has a water-filledroot, and renews its growth after each penetrating rain.One of its peculiarities is the extraordinary number ofits different leaf forms. Scarcely two seem to be alike.I have several times amused myself by laying the flatleaves of different shapes on the sand and seeing howseldom I could find ones of duplicate form.Because this spiny-branched Paloverde almost alwaysgrows in open sunny situations, the squat to roundedcrown seems an inhere nt character. Th ere is a strongtap root and several tortuous deeply penetrating side-roots which, along with the smaller roots, are coveredwith a heavy corky bark. It is amazing how some ofthe roots twist and tur n (sometimes forming nearGordian knots) as they seek penetration and moisturein rock crevices. These interesting examples of persist-ence and "root-cleverness" are clearly revealed whencloudburst waters of summer storms erode stream banksand expose them.The generic name Cercidium (Greek: "a weaver'sshuttle" ) was suggested by the form of the brownish-yellow fruit or pod which contains the hard-coatedseeds. Seed germination is slow in natural surroundingsbut may be artificially hastened by immersing the seedsfor three or four hours in concentrated sulphuric acid,and then washing them overnight in running water.

24 / Desert Magazine / June, 1962


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Field Trip Dilemma . . . continued from P a g e 13rockhounds that it may mean totalprohibition.

For a rockhound this would takethe zest out of a trip because he isalways hopeful that the effort he goesthrough on field trips will result insome tangible evidence which he cancut and polish and proudly displayas a specimen that "I collected my-self!" Fears are also expressed thatif the target for conservation effortsat the moment is petrified woods, itmay well shift to fossils tomorrowand to all classes of mineral speci-mens and cutting material next week.It is difficult to argue against con-servation when one reads of housesbeing walled with logs of petrifiedwood, or fireplaces and even floorspaved with slabs and slices of semi-

precious stones. What will happento all these irreplaceable materialswhen the owner dies or moves away?In still other cases, individuals fallinto that peculiar state of greedinesswhich sometimes overtakes the bestof us when something of seemingvalue is for free! These are the "rockhogs" who boast of "tons" of rockin their backyards, taken not becausethey could ever live long enough tocut and polish it all, or to trade it off,or even sell it. but because they couldnot stop themselves from taking

while the taking was good.Commercial collectors are possiblyeven more at fault because they oftenstep into newly - discovered depositsand haul off truckloads of material,selected indiscriminately, which sinceit cost practically nothing, must, ob-viously, be stocked in enormous quan-tities. Unfortunately, most of thismaterial, cheap as it is, seldom turnsout to be worth the cost, and isallowed to languish for years waitinga naive buyer.It is for these reasons that argu-ments for enforced or at least regu-lated conservation in respect to petri-fied woods are valid and accepted bymany rockhounds even though itmeans limiting their collecting free-dom on field trips. Petrified woodsare the object of conservation stepsfor good reasons. They are singularlyeasy to collect because the pieces looklike logs and branches, and it takesno rockhound skill to recognize spe-cimens in the field. Further, petrifiedwood is particularly fascinating to

the layman who sees in this materialmuch more of interest say, than in aweatherbeaten chunk of agate which

the expert rockhound may look forin preference.Another factor which makes iteasy too easy to collect woods isthat they tend to occur in profusionin limited areas. Famed PetrifiedForest in northern Arizona is a casein point. T he strenu ous efforts ofconservationists brought this nationalmonument into existence, and thereis little doubt that if they had notraised their voices at the time, therewould be little left of this stoneforest.So far the arguments for conserva-tion seem very good indeed, but whatdoes the other side of the coin show?Should we enforce preservation atthe expense of field trips? Or shouldwe recognize that conservation should

be applied only to specific areas suchas the Arizona forests which weresaved to become one of our mosttreasured heritages?Many rockhounds know that sur-face materials, particularly petrifiedwoods, agates, jaspers and chalce-donies, show up only because weath-ering has exposed them . No intelli-gent collector would pick a randomspot in the middle of a desert andbegin digging. The chances of mak-ing a find are too slim. Yet theremust be material left which future

storms and erosion will uncover.Another type of deposit is the in-place kind, in which float, which hasweathered out from the outcrop,leads the expert collector to themother lode. After all the float ispicked up, it takes hard digging totap the in-place deposits. Few per-sons will do this, and a form of auto-matic conservation takes place.The experienced rockhound ar-gues, thusly: "Sure, the surface stuffis gone, but there's lots more if youdig. If you want it bad enough, you'lldig." This philosophy also appliesto fossil deposits; it is the "conserva-tion of inaccessibility."Finally, the rockhound points out,many deposits extend for unknowndistances underground, and manymore are so well hidden by topsoiland brush that we will never run outof material to collect. All that willhappen is that it won't be so easy,and success will come only to thosewho learn how to be good prospec-tors and are willing to spend sometime and effort following promisingleads.

26 / Desert Maam.ino I Time 1 R9


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Although there ismuch truth in thear ;ument that there is a lot more ma-terial than has ever been collected,the rockhound fraternity is also wellaware of the need for conservation.Club officials, writers, and editors ofrockhound magazines are placingmore and more emphasis on the fieldtnp as a recreational endeavor andsoft-pedaling the idea that "tons" ofmaterial are waiting to be picked up.Encouragement is being given tofieldtrips to deposits which are regulatedby their owners so that available ma-terials will last a long time. Depositslocated on public lands are beingdescribed as interesting trips wherethe marvels of nature can be seenand enjoyed, and not as grabbingexpeditions. Club bu l l e t i ns fre-quently carry articles on the need forconservation, and the need for betterfield trip conduct.

All of these steps are laudable andv ill certainly help to make the fieldtrip a thing of the future instead ofthe past. Perhaps these steps will notbear fruit fast enough to stay thehand of government officials inter-ested in enforcing conservation onpublic lands; but they are encourag-iiig signs of maturity in a relativelyriew outdoor hobby.

Frankly, rockhounds are at a cross-roads, the same that other hobbyistsjind sportsmen faced many years ago.]f they are to avoid the many rulesfind regulations which every hunterand fisherman is nowburdened with,(hey must discipline themselves. Itisn't too hard to visualize states ap-plying rules to rock collectingwhichmay not specify how big or howsmall;i rock has to be to keep, or whetherit has horns, but certainly could spe-cify how much can be collected andi;ven where and when. This couldhappen!

What are the answers to the Rock-hound Field Trip Dilemma? I pre-dict that unless self-discipline at therockhound club level becomes farmore effective than it is today, officialdiscipline will be substituted. Thismeans that the Federal governmentwill step in to more closely regulatewhat takes place on the public landsunder its control. The state govern-ments, particularly those of the West,will take similar steps, and evencounty and city authorities may de-cide to do something about mineralconservation.

The first rules will be enforcedagainst carelessness, vandalism, andoutdoor sloppiness. The "litterbug"of the highways who was effectivelystopped only by imposition of stiff

fines, will be stopped in our wilder-nesses by the same method.The next steps will be rules ofenforced conservation. Admittedlythese will not be easy to enforce, buteven if few "rock hogs" are caught,the moral burden not to violate thelaw will be there.Finally, we may well reach thepoint where enforcement of rules andregulations governing field trips callsfor establishment of enforcing agen-cies. This means only one thing: li-censes, such as are now required forhunting and fishing.On the more cheerful side, and byway of showing how excessive regula-tion can be avoided, let me point outwhat every rockhound should strivefor. First is conservation education.Every club and even schools withearth science programs should stressthe conservation of mineral resources

in much the same admirable fashionthat they have stressed conservationof wildlife and plantlife.Second: close regulation of fieldtrips. This is best accomplished atthe society level and calls for indoc-trination of club members, and, ifnecessary, disciplinary rules for mem-ber violators.Third, all societies and governmentagencies should dedicate lands tocollecting, clearly delineating wheresuch lands are, where the places of

interest are, and establishing rulesand regulations as may be necessary.The acquisition of private lands onwhich fruitful mineral deposits arelocated and throwing them open tocollectors, is no more unreasonablethan what many states are doing nowfor hunters and fishermen. This trendis being followed in some communi-ties of the Pacific Northwest wherea considerable tourist trade is encour-aged by arranging for free prospect-ing of lands known to contain de-posits of gem material. Even whensmall fees are charged for collecting(or charged for material removed),it is far better than having to worryabout trespassing on private prop-erty or wandering about not know-ing where to look for what.

When compared to other outdoors-men, there is no question at all thatthe present-day rockhound enjoys anunparalleled freedom from restric-tions. If he is to keep this freedom,he must discipline himself. Yet hu-man nature being what it is, I amafraid some regulation is sure to comeabout. Onlv by taking deep interestin the problem now, can the bestcompromise between regulation andfreedom be achieved. / / /

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Tiwia. 19B2 / D e se rt M a a zi ne / 27


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JREPOBT BY* V

I N T E R N A T I O N A L*** S C O U TSPARTAN GOOD looks, cleanlines without a clutter of chrome,and functional layout make thenew International Scout four-wheel-drive vehicle very easy to want.

Driving 206 milesmuch of it offthe highwayproved to me that theScout is both comfortable and suffi-cient. It tu rns and parks easily, re-quiring less effort than many stand-ard pick-ups, which is unusual in afour-wheel-drive vehicle. This ma-chine is so trim it's almost stubby inappearance, but this very stinginesswith useless body metal allows theScout to get in and out of sometight situations.The body length of 154 inchesrests on a wheelbase of 100 inches,with an overall width of 68.6 inches.Standing 68 inches high, the Scoutis actually almost perfectly square,faced from the rear. Equipped withfour-wheel-drive, Scout weighs 3000pounds.Inside, Scout shows the same sim-ple efficiency. If it isn't a model ofplush comfort, it is a vehicle madeto withstand the abuse of rocky des-ert trails and the severe demands of

following a dry wash in a hot sum-mer sun. Front seat width is 52inches. In the rear, two narrowbenches run along the sides of theWPT28 / Desert M nn rr in o / Tuno 1QR9


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body. Plenty of cargo room betweenthese rear seats makes the Scout anable carrier for rocks, treasure, orextra passengers, though thebenchesa:e only half-wide enough for anadult.While several models areavailable,I selected the full-covered body fortesting purposes, since it seems to bethe one most 4wd buyers will prefer.

The steel top isremovable, ofcourse,so that open-air riding is possiblev hen desired. Two immovable win-dows runparallel to thebody in thenear cargo area. Thetail gate dropsdown in conventional pick-up man-rer, with an upward lifting gateabove it. The spare tire is placedjjst behind the front seat.Seated behind the wheel of theScout, the windshield seems rathernarrow, yet you can see the roadclearly. Twin wiper motors areplac-fd just above thewindshield on the

inside, and can be turned on andoff manually from either side. Whythe Scout is not equipped with sunT isors, I can't guess, anyone who hasdriven into a lowering summer suniit sunset knows the eye-strain this< an create, and no matter how lowa windshield, allcars for desert driv-ing need sunvisors.

International hasplaced theScoutransmission on thefloor, next to theransfer case and front-drive shiftlever. Unfortunately, this robs the:ockpit of necessary leg room for aihird passenger in the front seat. Inlieu of the 52-inch seat, this seemedin awkward placement, though en-tirely conventional for vehicles ofthis type.Shifting the Scout is a smoothpleasure, and until you have thechance todrive this new trail vehicleyou don't know what "functional de-sign" can mean. I spent a happyafternoon crunching over the CajonPass back-wash areas over sand,mud, rocks, gravel, brush, and even

patches of fresh March snow. Frank-ly, I didn't encounter many situa-tions that theScout could not havehandled with just the rear wheelssupplying the drive, but since thiswas a test-drive, I deliberatelv stuckmyself in a sandy ravine. Then Iclimbed out to set the front hubs inlock position. The hubs arestampedIH for International Harvester, andappear tobe very similar inoperationto theWarnHub.I climbed back in the cab andmoved the front drive lever into lowgear. I must say that I was"disap-pointed": the Scout literally hurleditself out of the twin ruts, without

B O O K S A L E from DesertMagazine'sown book shopMost of these values are special first-time reductions! All books in goodto excellent condition. Lim ited to number of copies available at theDesertMagazine Book Shop, so orders may be returned unfilled if out of stock.

ABOUT INDIANSWITHIN TWO WORLDS by David M.

196206 desert magazine 1962 june

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