196809 desert magazine 1968 september

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BACK ISSUESPECIALSTHE BACK ISSUES OF DESERT MAGAZINE ARE AS ALIVE TODAY AS THE

DAY THEY WERE PRINTED . PACKED WITH INFORMATIVE HISTORICALINFORMATION AND MAPS ON OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACES OF THE WEST.

1965Volume

HOLDS 12 ISSUES DATED OR UNDATEDIncluding Tax and Postage

Mail all orders to: Dept. D, DESERT Magazine, Palm Desert, Calif. 92260Personal check or postal money order must accompany all orders.

Be sure to include your complete mailing address.

2 / Desert Magazine / September, 1968


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C O N T E N T S31 Number 9

SEPTEMBER, 1968WILLIAM KNYVETTPublisher

JACK PEPPEREditorELTA SHIVELY

Executive SecretaryM A RV EL BA RRETT

BusinessLLO Y D S H I V ELY

CirculationEV A LY N E S M I TH

SubscriptionsCHORAL PEPPER

Travel Feature EditorJ A C K D E L A N E Y

Staff WriterBILL B R Y A N

Back Country EditorAL MERRYMAN

Staff ArtistEDITORIAL OFFICES: 74-109 Larrea, Palm Desert,Cal i forn ia 9226 0. Area Code 714 3 46-8 144 .Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs notaccompanied by self addressed, stamped and zipcoded envelopes wil l NOT be returned.ADVERTISING OFFICES. James March & Asso-ciates Inc., 1709 West 8th Street, Los Angeles,Ca l i f o rn ia 9001 7 , HUbbard 3 -0561 1 15 NewMontgomery, San Francisco, Cal i forn ia 94105,DOuglas 2-4994. Listed in Standard Rate & Data.CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT, 74-109 Larrea,Palm Desert, California 92260. Desert Magazineis published monthly, Subscript ion prices: UnitedStates, 1 year, $5.00; 2 years, $9.50; 3 years,$13 .00 . Foreign subscribers add $1.0 0 U. S.Currency for each year. See Subscription OrderForm in back of this issue. Allow f ive weeks forchange of address and be sure to send bothne w and old addresses with zip code.

DESERT is published monthly by Desert Magazine,Palm Desert, Calif. Second Class Postage paid atPalm Desert, Calif . , and at addit ional mail ingoff ices under Act of March 3, 1879. Tit le regis-tered NO. 358865 in U. S. Patent Off ice, andcontents copyrighted 1968 by Desert Magazine.Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs cannotbe returned or acknowledged unless full returnpostage is enclosed. Permission to reproduce con-tents must be secured from the editor in writ ing.

5 Book Reviews6 Crater LakeBy ANDREW FLINK8 Ivanpah

By H. C. HENDERSON11 Eleodes Arm ata

By RICHARD W. BROOKS12 Then There Were The Good Guys

By MYRIAM TOLES16 Darwin Rises Again

By ELIZABETH BEEBE19 Sentinel of Utah's Black Rock Desert

By GEORGE A. THOMPSON20 Green RiverFast Water, White Water

By PETER J. BURNS22 The Am azing Century Plant

By THERESA J. MAINE24 Pancho Villa State Park

By W. THEDFORD LeVINESS26 Worshippers of the Red-tailed Hawk

By JAMES HARRIGAN30 San Bernardino

By JACK DELANEY32 The re's A New San Felipe

By AL PEARCE35 Grand View

By JO HN L. ROBIE

36 fVlidas, NevadaBy LAMBERT FLORIN

37 Wom an's View Point38 Back Country Travel42 Desert Shopper42 A Peek in the Publisher's Poke43 LettersSEPTEMBER COLOR PHOTOSBlue water of the Fremont River is in sharp contrast to the redcliffs of Utah's Capitol Reef National Monument as shown inthe cover photograph by R. K. Mitchell, Sierra Madre, Califor-nia. Esther Henderson photographed the majestic bloomingCentury Plants on Page 23 to illustrate the accompanyingarticle on agave. Often confused with agave are the yuccashown on the back cover.

September, 1968 / Desert Maga zine / 3


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lcutiny WailDesert M a g a z in e BCCK ShcpESTEVANICO THE BLACK by John Upton Terrell.The discoverer of Ar izona, New Mexico andCibola was actual ly an Afr ican s lave who wasf inal ly s la in by Indians because he l ived toow e l l , according to th is wel l documented andcontroversial book. Excellent reading by theauthor of Journey Into Darkness, Black Robes,and other histories of the West. Hardcover, 155pages, $6.95.100 ROADSIDE FLOWERS by Natt N. Dodge. Acompanion book to his 100 DESERT W1LDFLOW-ERS, this book lists 100 f lowers g row ing in the4 , 5 0 0 to 7,000 foot levels. Like the companionbook, every f lower is i l lustrated in 4-colorphotographs. Excellent to carry in car dur ingweekend t r ips for fami ly fun. Paperback, 64pages, $1 .50.DESERT GARDENING by the editors of SunsetBooks. Written exclusively for desert gardeners,this book is c l imate zoned with maps pinpoint-ing five diverse desert zones. Calendar pre-sents plans for care of plant ings throughoutthe year . I l lus trated, 8 x 1 1 heavy paperback,$ 1 . 9 5 .MAMMALS OF THE SOUTHWEST DESERTS byGeorge Olin. Newly revised edit ion describesthe mammals of the deserts with artist i l lustra-tions of the an ima ls and their footprints foreasy identif ication. Paperback, 1 12 pages,$1 .00 .HAPPY WANDERER TRIPS by Slim Barnard. Wellknown TV stars Henrietta and Slim Barnardhave put together a selection of 52 of theirt r ips through Cal i fornia taken f rom their HappyWanderer travel shows. Has excellent maps,history, costs of gasol ine consumpt ion, lodging,meals plus what to w e a r and best t ime tomake t r ips . Can' t be beat for famil ies planningweekend excursions. Paperback, large format,150 pages, $2.95.ANTIQUE BOTTLES by Marvin and Helen Davis.Paperback, full color, 62 pages, $3.00.COOKING AND CAMPING IN THE DESERT byChoral Pepper, Foreword by Erie Stanley Gard-ner and special section on desert driving andsurviving by Jack Pepper. A book to read cover-to-cover for anyone who travels back countryroads. Up-to-date cooking ideas which bringgourmet fare into camp with l i t t le ef for t . 12-page section of exclusive desert camping photoswith lots of ideas for places to go. Beaut i fu lhardcover book, $3.95.SKY ISLAND by Weldon F. Heald. Informat ive,first-person narrative about the c l imate, wi ldl i fe , unusual guests, terrain and vegetat ionfound on ly in the remote Chir icahua area wherethe author l ived. $ 5 . 9 5 .

ROCK ART OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN byCampbell Grant. First reliable, well- i l lustratedbook wr i t ten about Amer ican Indian petro-glyphs and pic tographs. $12.95.THE DESERT LAKE by Sessions S. Wheeler. Thestory of Nevada's intr iguing Pyramid Lake, itsancient history, archeological f inds, geology,fish and bird l i fe. Paperback. $1.95.

WHEN ORDERING BOOKSPLEASE

Add 50 cents PER ORDER(Not Each Book)

for handling and mailingCalifornia residents add 5 percentsales tax, regardless of whether youar e a Republican or Democrat.Send check or money order to Desert Maga-

zine Book Shop, Palm Desert, California92260. Sorry , but we cannot accept chargesor C.O.D. orders.

BOOK of the M O N T H

By Randall Henderson

THE MOUTH BLOWN BOTTLE by Grace Kendrick.An author i ty on bottles, Grace Kendrick nowdelves into the history of bott le mak ing and i l lus-strates her book with excellent photographs shetook in Mexico where bottles are stil l being handblown. Hardcover , 200 pages, $6.95.GOLD RUSH COUNTRY by the Editors of SunsetBooks. A revised and up-dated practical guideto California's Mother Lode country. Dividedinto geographical areas for easy weekendtr ips, the 8x11 heavy paperback new edit ionis profusely il lustrated with photos and maps.Special features and anecdotes of historical andpresent day activit ies. 4-color cover 96 pages.$1.95-HISTORIC SPOTS IN CALIFORNIA Revised byWilliam N. Abeloe. Only complete guide to Cal i -fornia landmarks with maps, photos and l ivelytext covering both historical and modern eras.639 pages, $10.00.HANDBOOK OF CRYSTAL AND MINERAL COL-LECTING by William Sanborn. Describes environ-ment typical of collection sites and physicalproperties of minerals and crystals. Paper, 81pages, $2.00.A GUIDE TO WESTERN GHOST TOWNS by Lam-bert Florin. Includes maps and mileages of ghosttowns in 15 western states. Large format, card-board cover , $2.25.FABULOUS MEXICO Where Everything CostsLess by Norman Ford. Covers investing, vaca-t ioning and retiring prospects in Mexico. Pa-perback. $1 .50.EXPLORING CALIFORNIA BYWAYS from KingsCanyon to the Mexican Border by Russ Leada-brand. Maps for each t r ip with photographs,historical information, recreational facilit ies,campsites, hiking trails, etc. Paper, 165 pages,$1 .95 .

OLD ARIZONA TREASURES by Jesse Rascoe. Conta in ing many anecdotes not previously coveredin Arizona histories, this new book covers haci-endas, stage stops, stage routes, mining camps,abandoned forts, missions and other historicallandmarks. Paperback, 210 pages, $3.00.1200 BOTTLES PRICED by John C. Tibbitts. Up-dated edit ion of one of the best of the bottlebooks. $4.50.CALIFORNIA, A Guide to the Golden State.Edited by Harry Hansen and newly revised, itcontains an encyclopedia of facts from earlydays up to the Space Age. Mile by mile de-scriptions to camping spots and commercial ac-commodat ions. Maps. Hardcover , $7.95.THE MYSTERIOUS WEST by Brad Williams andChoral Pepper. Rare book examines legends thatcannot be proven true, nor untrue. New evi-dence presented in many cases which maychange the history of the West. Hardcover.$5 .95 .ANZA-BORREGO DESERT GUIDE by Horace Par-ker. Second edit ion of th is wel l - i l lus trated anddocumented book is enlarged considerably. Topsamong guidebooks, it is equally recommendedfor research material in an area that was crossedby Anza, Kit Carson, the Mormon Battal ion,'49ers, Railroad Survey parties, Pegleg Smith, theJackass Mai l , Butterfield Stage, and today 'sadventurous tourists. 139 pages, cardboardcover , $2.95.GHOST TOWNS OF THE COLORADO ROCKIESby Robert L. Brown. Writ ten by the author ofJeep Trails to Colorado Ghost Towns this bookdeals with ghost towns accessible by passen-ge r car. Gives directions and maps for f indingtowns along with historical backgrounds. Hard-cover, 401 pages, $6.25.RARE MAP REPRODUCTIONS from the year 1886.Series I includes three maps, Arizona, Californiaand Nevada. Series II includes New Mexico,Utah and Colorado. Reproduced on f ine paper.They show old towns, mines, springs and trailsnow extinct. Each set of three, $3.75. Be sure tostate series number with order.RETIRE TO ADVENTURE by Harrison M. Karr.Instead of retir ing to an armchair the authoran d his wife ret i red to a travel trailer andv is i ted Canada, the United States and Mexico.Practical approach to trailer l iv ing problems andtrailer clubs. After reading this book you'llw a n t to retire to adventure even though tooyoung to retire! Paperback, 121 pages, $1.95.

DEATH VALLEY BOOKSPublished by the Death Valley '49ers thesefive volumes have been selected by '49ersas outs tanding works on the history of DeathVal ley . All are durable paperback on slickstock.A NATURALIST'S DEATH VALLEY (Revised edi-tion) by Edmund C. Jaeger, ScD $1.50MANLY AND DEATH VALLEY. Symbols of Des-t iny , by Ardis Manly Walker $1.25GOODBYE, DEATH VALLEY! The story of theJayhawker Party, by L. Burr Belden $1.50CAMELS AND SURVEYORS IN DEATH VALLEYBy Ar thur Woo dward $2.00DEATH VALLEY TALES by 10 dif ferent au-thors $1.25



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R E V I E W S1000 MILLION YEARS ON THE

OLORADO PLATEAU

A newspaperman and amateur archae-ologist for 40 years, Al Look has com-bined his writing talents with knowledgeof prehistoric times to produce a non-fiction story which reads like an adven-ture through time.

Calling the area of his investigations,the Colorado Plateau, "my back yard,"Look gives a vivid account of the geology,paleontology, archaeology and uraniumdiscoveries, starting back 1000 millionyears. His "back yard" is 100 miles longand is one of the world's richest areasfor discovering facts about the past ofour planet. Today it is one mile above sealevel; 80,000,000 years ago it was morethan 4000 feet below the surface of avast prehistoric ocean.

The author's forte is in taking what or-dinarily would be dry and difficult fig-ures and statistics and translating theminto interesting and enjoyable reading.The following paragraph is typical:

"To pin down 1850 million years:suppose the time space from now back tothe American Revolution to be repres-sented by one inch. Then back to thefounding becomes one and one-half feet,and back to the time of the Folsom manin Colorado is measured by a city block.Back to the dinosaurs is one mile, but toreach the Monument Canyon in my backyard takes some 260 miles, about thenorth-south length of Colorado."

In writing about the Anasazi civiliza-tion (which present day Indians call the"ancient ones") Look states:

"The old forty-niners were no pioneers;Zebulon Pike was not the first to seePike's Peak; old Francisco de Coronadoand his conquistadors "discovered" noth-ing, and Eric the Red was a mere tourist.These were all rank tenderfeet to theAnasazi. We brag of an established,stablecivilization, but the Anasazi people havehad the same civilization in one territoryfor two thousand years. We are cultivat-ing corn 450 years after Columbus, theywere cultivating corn 1400 years beforeColumbus."

The current edition is the fourth print-ing. As reading matter it will last formonths, as a reference, for years. Hard-cover, 300 pages, illustrated, $3.75.

WHERE THE OLD WEST NEVERDIEDBy Paul Sanford

The majority of Baja California tur-istas have either visited or heard aboutthe Meling Guest Ranch but few arefamiliar with its origin or the historicpart its founders played in the settlementof norteamericanos in Mexico.

Located 117 miles southeast of Ensen-ada, the Meling Ranch, originally calledSan Jose Rancho, was the central head-quarters for the North Americans whosettled in the area for farming and min-ing.

Seen through the eyes of Bertie John-son Meling who, today at 82 still reignsover the ranch, the story relates how her

father and mother settled in the areaafter leaving Texas.

Told in homespun vernacular, thebook describes the hardships the pioneersin a foreign land encountered; overcom-ing bandits, floods, droughts and poli-tics, plus the raids by Pancho Villa's mar-auding bands. Hardcover, 121 pages,$4.95.

- " H E R E WE ARE! The Best in

WESTERNCHRISTMAS CARDSSend a Post Card today for FREE sampleand COLOR catalog LEANIN'ATREE RANCH

BOX 1500, BOULDER, j | C COLORADO 60302

ATTENTION BOTTLEI Q U E B O T T L E S

Many Photos InFull ColorPrice $3.00Very Compact AndInformativePrice $2.00

If you have been looking for a book that tells you where to look forbott les, the tools you should use to dig them, the best way to cleanthem, where and how to sell them, how to tell if they are valuable,we have the books for you! These books are also loaded wi th ex-t remely sharp photos and each bottle has the price listed directlybe low. "Antique Bottles" has a beautiful full color cover, twelvepages in superb full color, as well as many excellent black and whitephotos. The Field Guide , the first and only Field Guide ever publ ish-ed on bottles, has a full color cover and is loaded with sharp blackand white photos. This compact little book is designed to fit intoyour pocket and to be taken into the f ie ld . Both books are packedwi th expert information and lots of bottles, all priced, and haveproven to be two of the most popular bottle books on the market.For "Antique Bottles" send $3.00, or $2.00 for the Field Guide , to:Old Bottle Collecting Publications, P.O. Box 276, Ash land , Ore.97520. You'll be glad you did. Dealers inquiries invited.

September, 1968 / Desert Magazine / 5


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California'sCrater

FORMED SOME 7000YEARS AGO, CALIFORNIA'S

CRATER LAKE HASEXCELLENT FISHING,

ABUNDANT FLOWERS,WILDLIFE AND

LAUNCH TOURS TOSCENIC WIZARD ISLAND.Lakeby Andrew Flink

F you've an eye for na-ture's beauty and acuriosity about the mir-acles born of hermoods, or if you justlike camping in thegreat outdoors, then Crater Lake is aplace for you to investigate. It has itsshare of all these, plus Indian legends toenhance the appeal of this wonderland.Mount Mazama, (its original name)was an ancient volcano that rose to ap-proximately 12,000 feet. It was the largestmountain in the western part of a lavaplateau that covered an area taking inparts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho,Montana, Nevada, California and waspart of the Cascade Range. It was formedby successive flows of lava ash, cinderand pumice that accumulated over a per-iod of time. Streams and glaciers addedto it by depositing rock debris and fromit small valleys were carved in the side ofthe mountain. Standing on the rim over-looking the lake, evidence of the buildupis seen in many places around the craterwall.

The eruptions took place some 7000years ago causing cracks to develop in thesides of the mountain; more cracks open-ed up under it allowing the drain of a tre-

mendous amount of molten rock. Thesedisturbances caused the cone of the moun-tain to collapse to the inside and geolo-gists have estimated that 17 cubic milesof the cone were lost in the collapse.Thus, a crater, or caldera was formedthrough volcanic action in one of thehighest mountains in the Cascades and,through the passage of time, snow andrain provided water for the lake. Thereis no inlet of any significance and seep-age is the only outlet, so evaporation andseepage combine to keep the water levelreasonably constant. In the late 1800s, ageological survey expedition made a seriesof 94 depth soundings in the water. Us-ing crude equipment, the depth was esti-mated to be 1996 feet. In 1959, a CoastGuard Geodetic Survey again soundedthe lake and, using modern equipment,found the depth to be 1932 feet. Only64 feet difference from the figures calcu-lated by the first expedition.

Indian legends have their place in thehistory of Crater Lake. Called by the In-dians, "The Battleground of The Gods,"the background of their story is given inthe Indian tale of the destruction ofMount Mazama. The Klamath Indianstell of the "Chief of the Below World,"Llao, a god who passed through thesummit crater and occasionally stood on

the peak. Sometimes, Skell, "Chief of theAbove World," would be on top ofMount Shasta, about 100 miles to thesouth. Their legends tell of a war be-tween the gods and of a time of greatexplosions, rocks flying through the air,flames devouring the woods and the In-dian homes. There were many days ofdarkness except for the glare of the fierymountains. The end of the battle camewhen Llaos' throne, (Mount Mazama)collapsed inward. For more on these leg-ends read Indian Legends of thePacificNorthwest by Ella Clark, Univ. of CalifPress, Berkeley, Calif., 1953.

Many Indian legends tell of the lakebut there are also stories of some of thefirst white men to view the beauty.Crater Lake was seen by the firswhite man in June, 1853. John W. Hill-man, a prospector in search of a losmine, climbed upon a ridge and as hecame to the top, the lake lay spread beforehim for miles. He named it "Deep BlueLake" and returned to Jacksonville, amining camp near Medford, to tell ofhis discovery.On October 21, 1862, Chauncey Nyeleading a party of prospectors from East

ern Oregon, came upon the lake andthinking he was the first to see it, namedit "Blue Lake."6 / Desert Magazine / September, 1968


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William Steel, of Kansas, stood on the

The walls of the crater from the water

Launch trips around the lake provide a

These are just a few of the sights to beitself. The launch trip

ange along with lava flows, underwaterfumaroles, (ho les in the crater that actedas gas vents) and in general, many of theeological aspects of the crater not easilyeen from the lake rim.There are also walking trails if you en-joy hiking. Wildflower Garden is a shortwalk offering an abundance of plantlifeto delight the eye. Colorful meadows ofwildflowers, orchids, violets, monkey-flowers, painted-cup and many more aredistinctively labeled.Birds and forest animals are plentiful

and guided tours are conducted daily byPark Rangers. For the benefit of fisher-men, the lake is stocked with Rainbow

Launch trips take visitors to Wizard Island where you can climb 700 feet to thetop and look dow n 90 feet into the crater and see the 300 -foot-wide interior.Trout and Kokane Salmon. William Steelplanted the lake in 1888 with about 40fingerling trout and the plantings werecontinued until 1940. Now, natural re-production provides the lake with all thefish necessary for a fine days catch fromrowboats available on a rental basis.

You campers aren't left out, either.The best campground is near Rim Vil-lage, but the entire rim is dotted with ex-cellent picnic facilities. There are fire-places, tables, water and well-equippedtoilet facilities. There are no utility con-nections for house trailers.

If you wish to go around the rim ofthe lake but don't want to go onto thelake itself, a 35 mile bus tour aroundthe rim is available and a continuousmonologue is provided by the driver-guide. So there's something for everyoneat Crater Lake. There are fees for the ex-cursions but they are well worth the timeand expense. The lodge and cabins atRim Village are open from about mid-June until Labor Day or thereabouts andit's advisable to make reservations wellin advance.

The appeal of Crater Lake is not ex-clusively for the summer outdoorsmanhowever. Winter brings not only an aver-age of fifty feet of snow annua lly, it alsoprovides the winter sports enthusiast witha chance to try his amateur wings or forthe professional to sharpen his ability on

one of the two ski trails from Rim Vil-lage to Park Headquarters. If you shoulddecide to make the trip during the win-ter, you're cautioned to be well suppliedwith gasoline and oil because no servicestations are open during the winter. Al-though snow plows keep the snow off theroads, chains should be carried as con-ditions change rapidly.To reach the lake by automobile, driveon paved roads all the way from Klam-ath northward to the lake. Leave Klam-ath Falls on U.S. 97, take the turnoffwhere State Route 62 connects and thencontinue to the lake. The northern en-trance, (closed during the winter) issouthward from the junction of U.S. 97and State Route 138. The west entranceis from U.S. 99 at Medford onto StateRoute 62 and directly to the lake. Dur-

ing the summer months, busses are avail-able from Medford and Klamath Falls.This is truly an area of rare beauty.The ruggedness of the crater as it bor-ders the lake is matched only by thevivid colors of the lake and surroundingareas. Whether you're an outdoorsman orsomeone who just wants ot get awayfrom it all, Crater Lake offers rare splen-dor in a picturesque setting. If you'lltake the opportunity to see the beautycreated out of one of natures more violent

moods, it's a vacation trip you'll neverforget. September, 1968 / Desert Mag azine / 7


8/44

IVANPAH...QUEEN OF THECLARK MOUNTAINSBY H.C. HENDERSON

8 / Desert Mag azine / September, 1968


9/44

OUTH ofthe MesquiteRange, onthe easterns l o p e of theC l a r kMountains, lies the re-mains ofthe old silvercamp ofIvanpah. This

isnot to be confused with the

isrelatively ayoungster, havingThe old, original town of Ivanpah was

arenowasIvanpah

afull scale boom town with more dis-

At her peak, between 1882 and 1885,apopulation of300,

of the town. These seg-

Ruins ofone ofthe two mills are stillofthe

Also, there are some remains oflater at-This istruly aghost town. Not manyeople visit the quiet old lady of yester-

year, and afeeling ofawe and deep re-spect isprevalent asone walks aroundthrough the ruins and underbrush. Thereare still tobe discovered hidden dugouthomes and adobe ruins that have beenburied under many years growth of brushand weeds. Packrats, unmolested by man,have built many king-size nests. Some ofthese nests have been found, bythiswriter, tocontain old bottles and otherrelics of great interest to the collector ofWestern Americana.Two of the springs no longer have anywater, but one still produces clear, spark-

With apopulation of30 0 inits heyday, Ivanpah's mines produced more than$4,000,000 in silver. Today, the once flowing springs are dry and the rock housesof the m iners are occupied by packrats. Little know n, the area may be richinbottles and other collectors' finds. Undergrowth has covered many locations.

j x l

- * " ' \ \ ' ' r STE OF

- i c * - ' W >v '/ Abandoned ^ J-fta , *z vv i ' 7 , ' H o u s e v v i i , r /

",\\\v~

' IV.

S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 6 8 / D e s e r t M a g a z i n e / , 9


10/44

iLSearching for bottles and other finds, the author and his wife dig among thecrumbling ruins of Ivanpah, whose heyday was between the years 1882 and 1883.

Once-filled water tanks and grassy areas are now dry and barren.

Ruins of stone houses are good grounds for use of metal detectors.

l i n g w a t e r t h a t is c a u g h t in two l a r g emetal tanks for stock. W il d bu rros dep endupon this source of water and are stil lwatching over the townsite as not toosilent sentries. If the visitor is lucky, hemay be able to get a few good photos ofthe burros before they climb up, out of thelow washes, into the brushy hills .

To reach this quiet and picturesquesite, leave the freeway, Interstate High-way 15, on the Yate's Well offramp 43.5miles north of Baker, California. Fromthe freeway travel .6 of a mile west to astop sign on a stretch of the old high-way. Make a right turn and proceednorth. There is a closed gate in this por-tion of the road. Please close this gateafter passing through.

W he n .4 of a mile has been traveled,make a left turn at the fork in the road..3 of a mile in this westerly direction willbring you to another closed gate. Again,close the gate behind you. Proceed 5.5miles from this gate, passing the powerlines, and you will come to an old, aban-doned house. This bui lding is a remnantof a later date than Ivanpah, and is ofvalue only as a landmark.

Just beyond this house the road forksand the ghost town of Ivanpah has beenreached. The left fork continues .6 of amile west, ending at the water tanks. Thisarea is a nice grassy spot where water hasoverflowed the tanks, and nearby themill ruins and some of the stone build-ings are located. The visitor will want toleave the car here and cover the area onfoot.

From the junction, .7 of a mile on theright fork of the road, will bring you tothe northernmost portion of the town-site. For those who are interested in look-ing for bottles, it is advisable to takealong a metal locator to help find thehidden can piles. Many of these deposit-ories were shallow pits that are now filledwith dirt or covered over by brush. Lookfor them in an area that would have beennear a home or in a ravine that wouldcatch the rubble in case of flood water.

Any area that would have been a na-tural for the people to have thrown theircans is a good place to start your search.Diligent searching should yield manymore re l ics . W ho knows, maybe you wil lbe the next one to find a sun-coloredmedicine bottle or some other token of along gone era, a remembrance of a por-t ion of our We stern Americana.

10 / Desert Mag azine / September, 1968


11/44

E l e o d e s A r m a t aa l i a sT h e S t i n k Bug !

b y R ic h a r d W e y m o u t h B r o o k sEleodes Armata is also known as a Circus or Pinacate

fter him. He also is called a stink bug.Eleodes is a friendly little creature and one of my favoritedesert insects. There is hardly a time when he does not pay asocial call to my camp, marching around munching on adropped scrap of food with apparent delight and then mov-ing on to his next engagement of the evening.Slow moving and without wings, he is called a stink bugbecause when alarmed or disturbed he appears to stand onhis head and gives off a rather musky odor, thus discouragingpredators.According to Zuni mythology Eleodes saved his life byduping Coyote into believing he had overheard a messagefrom the gods under the ground. This, they say, is why hestands on his head today. Many Indians in the Pinacate Coun-try consider his presence good luck. So when he pays a socialvisit to your camp, give him a morsel of bread . . . just forgood luck.

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The unique hydraulic mechanism which raises thecamper top can be safely operated even by a smallchi ld. Locks prevent accidental lowering. The top islowered quickly by the simple turn of a valve. Drivesafely at any speed with minimum drag and sway.Sit or recline on comfortable couches while travel-ing with top down. Alaskan camper top raises in sec-

in living quarters, weather tight, high ceiling, "homeaway from hom e," complete with three-burner stove,sink, cabinets, ice box, beds and many other luxuryfeatures.6 FACTORIES TO SERVE YO U

Write today to the factory nearest you for tree folder describing the most advanced camper on the road.R. D. HALL MFG., INC., 9847 Glenoaks Blvd., Sun Valley (San Fernando Valley) California 91352, Dept. D. PENNECAMP, INC., 401 W. End Ave., Manheim, Penna., 17545, Dept. 4.ALASKAN CAMPERS NORTHWEST, INC., 6410 South 143rd Street, (Tukwila), Seattle Wash. 98168, Dept. D.ALASKAN CAMPER SALES, INC., (S.F.Sacramento area) Intersection of Interstate Highway 80 and State 21.Route 1, Box 332, Suisun City, California 94 585, Dept D.

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September, 1968 / Desert Mag azine / 11


12/44

B il ly The Kid, The Dal ton Gang and Bonnie and C lyde aretoday ' s t e l ev i s ion heroes . But back when the West was be ingset t l ed these gangsters k i l l ed men and women so le ly for mater ia lgain . Crimina l s o f the ir type were eventua l ly e l iminated by suchl a w m en a s t h e A r i zon a R a n gers a s t o l d i n . . .Then There WereThe Good Guysby Myriam Toles

HE bad men of Arizonahave had considerablepublicity, but some ofthose who helped toput them out of busi-ness, notably The Ari-zona Territorial Rangers, have had fartoo little. During the eight years theRangers were in existencefrom 1901 to1909they cleaned out of Arizona aschoice a collection of horse thieves, cattlerustlers, killers and general undesirablesas ever plagued a frontier. There werenever more than 25 or 26 men in the or-ganization at any one time; they had tocover a territory as large as all New Eng-land, and they were operating againstthousands of criminals, but they securedan average of 1000 convictions yearly,none of them for minor offenses.

They were all good men in the West-ern sense; not exactly Sunday schoolcharacters, but they could ride, track andstay on a trail like Indians; they couldshoot the eyelashes off a running coyote,and they could match any man in cool,hard courage. Possibly one of the reasonsthey have been overlooked by a thrill-seeking generation is that they were notgiven to killing, except as a last resort.The Rangers' code was simpleto stop abad man, not be oneand their recordis studded with the long chances theytook to carry it out.12 / Desert Mag azine / September, 1968

There is the story of the capture of theMexican bandit, Chacon, by Burton Moss-man, first captain of the Rangers. Chaconwas known to have killed 29 Americans,and his total score of murders was reput-ed to be over eighty. It was his practiceto kill not only those he robbed, but everywitness to the crime. He was utterly fear-less and incredibly skilled in eluding andambushing pursuers. After each foray heescaped into Mexico where he was com-paratively safe, as extradition was diffi-cult, and he was careful to commit nocrimes on Mexican soil.

Mossman was determined to bringChacon to the waiting gallows. He cross-ed the line at Naco and made his way to-ward the hideout of Chacon and BillyStiles, the famous Arizona train robber.At daybreak he rode boldly up to theircampfire, dismounted and asked for acigarette. He had left his rifle behind,and had only his pistol in its holster. For-tunately the outlaws had left their ownrifles in their blankets, although theyalso wore their six shooters.

Chacon warily handed over the pack-age of cigarettes. Mossman picked a burn-ing stick from the fire with his left hand,then passed it to his righthis gun hand.It was a simple trick, done so naturallythat for one instant, Chacon was de-ceived. It was the instant that sealed hisdoom. The next, he was looking into the

barrel of Mossman's pistol. With onelightning motion, the Ranger had drop-ped the burning stick and whipped outhis gun. Keeping both men covered, heordered Stiles to disarm both himself andChacon, and to handcuff Chacon. Thenretrieving his rifle, Mossman forced thetwo outlaws to mount their horses, andherded them back across the line. Therehe turned Stiles free with a warning tokeep his mouth shut.

It was a highly irregular proceeding,legally kidnapping, as no one knew betterthan Mossman, but he got away with it.In the temper of the times, and in viewof Chacon's record, few cared. The popu-lar attitude was probably expressed bythe sheriff who saw the Ranger get offthe train with the handcuffed Chacon."Well, I'll be damned" he said in simpleawe.The Arizona Rangers came into exis-tence because the territory had practicallybeen taken over by outlaws. Its immense,sparsely settled distances, bordered onthe south by Mexico had become the hap-py hunting ground of criminals whoskipped across the line whenever thingsgrew too hot for them on the Arizonaside. Sheriffs, hampered by county lines,and often by deputies who were hand inglove with the outlaws, were makinglittle headway against the rising tide oflawlessness.


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Ranger Captain Tom Rynning was a typical leader of the lawmen wh o rid theArizona Territory of bandits. He fought Coman ches in Texas, Apaches in Ari-zona and served with the Rough Riders.Cattle rustling had become an organ-ized business, so powerful that in Nava-ho County, according to Dane Coolidge,there was a period of fourteen years inwhich no rustler had been convicted inthe courts. Finally, in 1901, in answer tothe demand of the cattlemen for somesort of law enforcement agency thatwould operate as the rustlers did, with-out regard for county lines, the legisla-ture established the Arizona Territorial

Rangers.Because of Mossman's reputation as a

deputy sheriff of Navaho County, wherehe had broken up some of the worstgangs of rustlers, Governor Oakes Mur-phy selected him to organize and headthe new force. Mossman planned to re-main Captain for only a few months,but he remained a year, a year notablefor the number of persons who forsooktheir old haunts, some for the peniten-tiary, others for localities they foundhealthier than Arizona.At first the Rangers, only fourteen innumber, operated secretly, wearing no

badge, and with their commissions sewnout of 5.ight in their clothing. WhenMossman resigned, after climaxing hisrecord with the capture of Chacon, theorganization had grown to twenty-fivemen, operating openly and respected byboth the good and bad elements of theTerritory.

Tom Rynning, who followed Moss-man as Captain, was the same breed ofWesterner. He had grown up on thefrontier, fought Comanches in Texas andApaches in Arizona, and served in theRough Riders. He had the same coolaudacity as Mossman, and the same will-ingness to take a long chance. He oncewalked into a saloon full of an outlaw'sfriends and walked out with his man, al-though the latter was a bit damaged inthe process.

The outlaw, a notorious horse thief,was carelessly seated with his back to thedoor when Rynning entered and saidquietly, "T want you, Wood."

The horse thief's reply was to shootover his shoulder. It was a mistake. Hemissed, but the officer didn't. In thatsplit second, Rynning had drawn, select-ed his exact target and shot off Wood'strigger finger. Then while the friendscarefully kept their own fingers awayfrom their guns, Rynning trimmed theragged stump with his pocket knife,stuck it in a glass of whiskey to disin-fect it, wrapped a rag around it anddeparted, with the bad man in towandno pursuers.During the five years that Rynningwas Captain, the Rangers considerablyreduced both the popularity and theprofits of rustling. By a sort of gentle-men's agreement with Mexican officials,they practically erased the line that hadformerly protected criminals fleeingfrom Arizona. Thereafter, when the

Rangers were on the trail of an outlaw,they could keep on into Sonora untilthey caught himno questions asked,no extradition papers necesasry.About the time the Rangers hadcleaned up the cattle country, they werecalled on by the mining camps. Wagedisputes had developed into strikes, thenriots, some of which were aggravatedby bad feeling between Mexicans andAmericans. The Rangers, taking no sides,disarmed the rioters and kept order untilthe disputes could be settled by peaceful

means.14 / Desert Mag azine / September, 1968


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The most spectacular of these riotsoccurred at Cananea in 1906. Strictlyspeaking, the Rangers had no businessto be there at all, since Cananea is justsouth of the border. But an official of theGreenne Cananea Copper Company hadbeen killed, and the strike had becomean anti-American war. When ColonelBill Greenne, owner of the mine, tele-phoned to Bisbee that the trouble wasout of hand, and that the rurales, theMexican military police, were in Magda-lena, twenty-four hours away, the Bisbeeminers began organizing a rescue expedi-tion. Fortunately, Captain Rynning, withsome of his men, happened to be inBisbee.

Realizing that an international inci-dent was in the making, he reluctantlyagreed to take comamnd. He preferredthe risk of losing his commission to thegreater risk of letting the hot-headedrescuers set off without an experiencedleader. He even managed to give theaffair a semblance of legality, in whichhe secured the help of the civil and mili-tary governors of Sonora, who met theAmericans at the border to protest theinvasion. Luckily, the Mexican officialsknew Rynning, and trusted both hisword and good sense. After considerableargument they accepted his plan.

The Americans broke ranks andstrung casually across the line. Then theywere sworn in as volunteers in the Mexi-can army. Commissions were handed outgenerously. A Ranger lieutenant and asergeant became lieutenant colonels, twoBisbee constables majors, and CaptainRynning full colonel.

Like the capture of Chacon, it was ahighly irregular performance, but againit worked. When the Americans arrivedin Cananea, things qu : n prompt-ly. Some of that ur expeditionalways maintained that a greatopportun ity was lost to .x a portion ofSonora to the United States.

Rynning had carefully avoided re-ceiving any of the telegrams Arizona'sGovernor Kibbey had been sending him,but on his return he went to Phoenix toface the music. The sizzling governorblew up and fired him, but when Ryn-ning coolly pointed out that at the mo-ment he was probably the most popularman in Arizona, the governor himselfcooled off, and ended by reinstating him.

A year later he appointed Rynning war-den of the penitentiary and Harry Wheel-er became captain of the Rangers.

Wheeler had been Chief of ApacheScouts during the Geronimo campaign,and had soldiered in Cuba. A quiet fel-low, he was utterly fearless, and one ofthe best shots in the world. His men weredevoted to him. He served two years.Then the force was disbanded, chieflybecause of Territorial politics, but also,because the conditions that called it intobeing no longer existed. The Rangershad put themselves out of business.

There is not space here even to listthe exploits of individual Rangers, but apicture taken in 1903 tells what mannerof men they were. They are a casual look-ing lot, sadly lacking in spit and polish.Only two wear coats; the others are inshirtsleeves and vests, and their head-gear is lamentable. The only things uni-form about them are the familiar, easygrasp of their rifles, and their air oflean, hard efficiency.

Good men all of them, and the Arizonaof today is forever in their debt.

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A G A I NR I S E SD A R W I N by Elizabeth Beebe

photos by Bill Kelsey

On the road into Darw in you see the huma n shape of a low-lying moun tain. Called "The Reclining Indian" by theShoshone Indians, the long-time residents of Darw in say it sym bolizes the spirit of their rising desert comm unity.ARWIN is one Califor-nia ghost town whoseghosts are fast being re-placed by real people.In the summer of 1967,to the great surprise ofthe Clerk of Inyo County, people came toask about free lots in Darwin. These in-quiries were traced to a notice which hadappeared on a public bulletin board inLone Pine, near the county seat of Inde-pendence. Although it is still a mysterywho posted the notice, the land rushwhich resulted dealt a death blow to Dar-win's ghosts.

Darwin is approximately 100 mileswest of Death Valley and 30 miles south-east of Lone Pine, six miles off CaliforniaState Highway 190. The six miles tookus through gently rolling desert country

to a large, working mine and mill, withoffices and employees homes on the sunnyhillside. Less than a mile further we weredriving down the main street of Darwin,once filled with miners' voices and nowalmost silent and deserted.Here we saw for the first time themountain the Shoshone Indians long agonamed "The Reclining Indian." Outlinedagainst the sky a couple of miles to thesouth, its sharply etched profile resemblesa human form. It has served for ages asquiet witness to the hurly-burly of Dar-win's boom days when adventurers rush-ed in, some to make fortunes, others tolose them. Now the Reclining Indianseems to brood over the fallen shacks and

sagging store fronts that for many yearshave caused Darwin to be known as ashost town.

However, because of the sign on thebulletin board in Lone Pine, there arestirrings in Darwin; stirrings that arechasing away errant ghosts. Darwin isrising again and this time it is destinedto become a solid residence city beforelong. At least this is the considered opin-ion of the town's most ardent devotee,Mayor Frances Black. Seated comfortablyin a deep, soft chair by the cheery fire-place in her living room, Mayor Blackchuckled as we hesitantly asked aboutghosts."Ghosts?" she repeated. "Do I looklike one? I've lived here for fifteen years,helping other residents to keep Darwingoing and, like the others, I see a great

future here. It is like a modern Rip vanWinkle awakening from his long sleep."Darwin was born in I860, the year



17/44

ver deposits in that vicinity. The littlecamp took his name and, as news of thesilver strike spread, soon had a brawl-ing population of more than 5000. Mineshoneycombed the desert and nearbymountains. Some barely yielded a living,but there were two sensational strikes;the Defiance and the Independence outof which $1,280,000 was taken in a fewyears. Other silver properties were to pro-duce more than $2,000,000. Before longthere were no less than 57 mines opera-ting within the city's vicinity.

Hundreds of men worked in the minesand the mills. Furnaces were built tosmelt the ore. Water was piped in froma hot spring in the Coso Mountains sev-eral miles away. There was a newspaper.There were saloons, gamblers and gaygirls. For a few years, life was fast, fur-ious, uproarious and unpredictable inDarwin. One sheriff's report noted thatof 124 graves in the cemetery, 122 ofthose buried died by knife or bullet.

About 18 80, the boom faded. Thiswas caused not so much by the ores play-ing out as it was by the surfacing of rawhuman nature. Wage disputes arose, rival-ries led to deliberately set fires. Acciden-tal burnings took their toll in life andproperty. A decline in the price of silverwas the final blow. With the departure of

the miners, the itinerant gold seekers andthe good time girls, an almost desertedDarwin settled down dismally in theshadow of the Reclining Indian.The big mill, which we passed on ourway into Darwin, was purchased by theAnaconda Copper Mining Company in1945 along with a group of small mines.Subsequently it was leased to West HillExploration Company, a Canadian firm

and it is now in full production of lead,zinc and silver. It employs about 70 men.This mining operation is like a world ofits own, however, and has little to dowith the old town settlement.Now the faith the 30-odd residentshave held in a revival of Darwin seemsabout to be justified. Their dreams thatDarwin would some day become a mod-ern, lively, happy town has receivedits unexpected and dramatic boost by theanonymous note on the bulletin board inLone Pine.Inquiries about free lots in Darwincontinued to trickle in to the CountyC'erk's office to the extent that SuperiorJudge John McMurray looked into thematter. He found that, years ago thecourt had platted a Darwin townsite andhad assigned to miners plots of groundon which to build small shacks. The feewas only a few dollars and was to be ap-plied to the cost of platting the townsite.

Only a few lots in Darwin had beenimproved through the years but the pre-cedent, a charge of $5.00 per lot, was amatter of record. Now, with the suddendemand for lots, Judge McMurray de-cided the fee would hold, but lots wereto be limited, three to a customer.The sporadic inquiries came to an ab-rupt halt one day in late summer whenscores of excited would-be Darwinites

mobbed the County Clerk's office report-ing that a new note on the bulletin boardhad announced this as the last date foracquiring free lots. On that day, everyone of the 254 available lots in Darwinwas sold, not given away. But no oneminded paying $5. The only figure abso-lutely unmoved was the Reclining Indian.Some buyers say they will speculate.They purchased lots sight unseen andthey will sell them the same way. But thehappy Mayor says that more than 25%of the town's new landowners plan tobuild houses and become permanentresidents.Mayor Black is aware of many prob-lems which will arise with the prospect ofa jump in population and it is throughher efforts, and those of other Darwin'sleading citizens, that Inyo County has es-tablished a Community Service Districthere."Our first project," said the Mayor,

The old and the new Darwin. Left, the first schoolhouse in Darw in still stands on Ma rket Street. Another once-aba ndone dbuilding has recently been renovated and now serves as a combination school and community hall. Right, George andMartha Stmonson moved to Darwin from Gardena last July and re-opened "The Outpost", which had been vacant for20 years. They offer everyday com modities. The Green Streak pump is empty as the gas has not been made for 25 years.



18/44

poking the fire, "is to have the lots pro-perly surveyed and registered. Then theCounty is going to get us more storagefor water. At the present time, the waterwe get from the Coso Mountains is aptto become scarce toward the end of theseason, and then flood us during thewinter. The County is to give us fire pro-tection and help with sanitation. TheEdison Company is putting in adequatestreet lighting. Already I see new tele-phone poles going up.

"With the cooperation of Melvin Bar-asconi, County Superintendent of Schools,we hope to open the school again. As itis now, a few students here make the 35-mile trip to Lone Pine and back each dayby bus.

"We've formed a Boosters' Club whichwe think will play a big part in produc-ing worthwhile and interesting projectsfor the good of the Community. Thereare only five directors on the ComunityService set-up but everyone is to belongto the Boosters' Club. There will be a lotof fun in that."

Darwin will soon boast a little generalstore. Until recently, Postmaster Elsa Has-kins brought groceries to Darwin house-

w i v e s a l o n g w i t h th e d a i ly m a i l . E a r l ythis year Frank and Sarah Cooley openeda restaurant in the old Rock House andacross from it is the Mackey's interestinglittle shop of antiques, old bottles and un-usual rocks. To both the Cooleys andMackeys, their businessses symbolize therealization of long-harbored dreams.Darwin offers livability of manykinds. For the retirees there is the respite

from city life, crowds and traffic alongwith the comforting thought that thesecan be easily reached if need be. Foryoung and ambitious adventurers thereis the lure of prospecting as rich mineralsare yet to be discovered in the vicinity.There is also the challenge of being inon the ground floor of a new, growingtown.And for all, there is the mild desertclimate, the clear air and wide sunnyvistas which are as changeless as the Re-clining Indian.Any ghosts that might be left in Dar-win had best whip on out because theether they once had to themselves is nowan airlane for those who fly in and landon Darwin's airstrip. This is a concreteforerunner to Darwin's potential. It wasbuilt and is kept up by Inyo County for

u s e in e m e r g e n c i e s . So far, h o w e v e r , itis a convenience for private planes.

Vacationers looking for an interestingplace to explore will find Darwin and itsenvirons fascinating. Even a short visithere would be profitable, too, for aban-doned mines yield rare rocks. Old bottlesand other tokens of Darwin's lustrousdays are still to be found.The old cemetery south of town is a

place for musing and picture-taking. TheChinese graves are unmarked except forcrude wooden fences that once surround-ed them but now lean in slivered ruins.The Indian graves are identified by elab-orately carved wooden headboards againstwhich bright artificial flowers have beenfastened. Also, if you are interested inIndian culture, there are still a few Sho-shones living in Darwin who, while con-forming to their ancient customs, are notaverse to an interview.If you have the time, hike up the sideof the Reclining Indian where you cansurvey the broad desert he has dominatedfor untold ages. For, as Mayor Blackpoints out, he has been the one steadfastwitness to the downs and ups of the littledesert town of Darw in.

Mayor Frances Black is a school teacher The Darwin Cemetery is below the western edge of town. Stone monum ent onand long-time resident. She never lost right, according to legend marks the grave of the only woman ever hanged infaith that "Darwin would rise again." Darwin she was caught cheating at cards.18 / Desert Ma gazin e / September, 1968


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S E N T I N E L O F U T A H ' SB L A C K R O C K D E S E R T

by George A. Thompson

LONE and forlorn, atthe edge of the BlackRock Desert, stands thecrumbling remains ofold Fort Deseret, oncethe bastion of defensein southwestern Utah. Erected in 1865, itoffered protection to the settlers of Mil-lard County and the surrounding areafrom raiding parties of Ute and Piute In-dians. Completed on July 25th, 1865, itwas probably built in less time than anyother similar sized fort in the west.

Two competing companies of 46 meneach under Captains Hawley and Piercecompleted it in only 18 days. Built ofadobe mud and straw mixed by horseshoofs in an open ditch and erected on abase of black volcanic rock, it was arefuge in the wilderness for settler andtraveler alike. It was 550' square with1 0 ' walls, 3'9" thick at the base and V6"at the top.

Fort Deseret was in almost constantuse during the Blackhawk Indian Warand wasn't abandoned until 1868. Onone occasion a party of 45 men, who hadbeen surprised at Packs Bottom by a largewar party under Chief Blackhawk, nar-rowly saved their lives by racing the In-dians to the fort. The fight at the fortwas a standoff as the surrounding levelplain kept the Indians at rifle rangewhile the Sevier River, which flowed byone corner of the fort, assured thebesieg-ed men within plenty of water.

Today the ruins of old Fort Deseretare a reminder of Utah's pioneer days,and should not be passed by by anyonetraveling in the area. It is located onState Road 257 only 10 miles southwestof Delta. A historical marker gives abrief history of the site while a brush

covered arbor nearby provides a shadedpicnic area.And while you're visiting old FortDeseret don't miss seeing the site of theGunnison Massacre only six miles fur-ther west. As you approach Delta on US6/50 a historic marker just west of Hinck-

ley on the south side of the highway de-scribes the tragic events which occurredthere in 1853-Capt. J. W. Gunnison of theArmy En-gineer Corp with 11 soldiers and a Mor-mon guide named William Potter weresurveying a route to the new settlementsin southern Utah when they were attack-ed by an Indian war party on the morn-ing of October 26, 1853- The attackcame during the early dawn, just as Capt.Gunnison and his party were preparing

breakfast. Their small camp was in a shel-tered area under an over-hanging bankof theSevier River, about two miles northof a black volcanic cone. The locationhad been poorly chosen, allowing the In-dians to approach without being seen.Capt. Gunnison, with 15 arrows in hisbody, was one of the first to fall, and be-fore the surprise attack was over seven ofthe others were killed, including guideWilliam Potter. Two of the soldierscaught their frightened horses and got

away, riding bareback, while two othersmade their escape on foot by hiding inthe thick willows that lined the river. Ittook them several days to reach Fort Des-eret and it was 12 days before a burialparty arrived at the massacre site.It was incidents such as the GunnisonMassacre that made shelters like FortDeseret necessary for defense of the earlysettlers in the Utah Territory. When youare visiting or vacationing in southernUtah be sure not to overlook these twohistoric sites.

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20/44

G r e e n R i v e r ' sW h ite w a te r ,f a s t w a t e r

b y P e te r J . B u r n sRAFT ride down theGreen River below theFlaming Gorge reser-voir and dam in north-eastern Utah is a thrill-ing experience for any-one who loves excitement and spectacularscenery. In the calmer, deep pools alongthe banks of the river, rainbow trout upto 3 pounds are an irresistible lure to anytrout fisherman and will provide an addi-

tional attraction to the raft ride.The Green River rises clear and moun-tain-fresh in the vicinity of Bridger N a-tional Forest in the western part of Wy-oming. As it flows southeastward it be-comes silt-laden and muddy on its longjourney to its confluence with the Colo-rado just above Cataract Canyon in Utah.As the Green River flows through thecanyon it deposits its silt and emerges?o clear that one can see the bottom of

the river. Below the dam is the 11-milewonderland for raft riders. Through thissportsman's paradise the water runswhite, ideal for raft riders who want toexperience the thrill of "shooting therapids."Starting point is the small town of Ver-

n a l , located just west of the DinosaurNational Monument in the northeasterncorner of Utah about half way betweenSalt Lake City and Denver. From Ver-nal travel north some 50 miles on UtahHighway 44 to a town with the unlikelyname of Dutch John situated near the

southeastern end of the Flaming Gorgereservoir. Turn eastward on a gravel roadabout 6 miles to Little Hole where theU . S . Forest Service is located.

Garry L. Bliss of the Bureau of LandManagement at Vernal writing in theSpring, 1967 edition of "Our PublicLands" states "The seven-mile stretch ofthe Green River from Little Hole down-stream to Browns Park is administeredon one side by the Bureau of Land Man-agement and the Bureau of Reclamation;on the other side by the Forest Service.This rugged stretch is accessible in spotsonly by rubber raft. You can put your raftinto the river at Little Hole and take itout at Browns Park. The trip takes about5 hours, but it's a thriller. Those wantinga longer trip can board a raft just belowFlaming Gorge dam and float 13 milesdownstream to Browns Park"This is a one-way tripyou cannot re-

turn either by land or waterso beforeyou start, check at Dutch John for com-plete information about the road toBrowns Park, and while you're at it makearrangements to have someone meet youthere. The gravelly, winding road is nottoo good, and directional signs are some-thing to be desired. A four-wheeled driveis unnecessary, your own car will make itwithout difficulty.The trip through Red Canyon is ex-hilarating. The swift-flowing water splits

the canyon's red sandstone formations inhalf and speeds the vacationer on through20 / Desert Ma gazin e / September, 1968


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a wonderland of magnificent scenery. Thecanyon's walls rise for hundreds of feetstraight up from the water's edge, splat-tered here and there with bunches ofjuniper and pinon trees, their brightgreen foliage heightened by their deepershadows. Along the banks of the riverponderosas are seen in all their magnifi-cent beauty.The trip is to be taken during the sum-

mer months only; don't try it at otherseasons of the year. You will have to pro-vide your own rubber raft, life-jacket andother equipment. Under no circumstancesgo on the river without your lifejacketon. Don't try to go by canoe; you maywind up smashing into submerged rocks,trees and other obstructions. A word ofcaution: the trip down-river is not haz-ardous, but it is not without its dangerseither, so before you try it be sure youknow what you are doing. Also, be equip-ped to handle emergencies which willcrop up at the most unlikely places. Ifyou use reasonable care and caution youcan look forward to a wonderful andexciting summer holiday.

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While running Utah's Green River in rubber boats you ca n enjoy the sceneryand at the same time catch hard-fighting trout. A rugged, but memorable trip.

September, 1968 / Desert Ma gazine / 21


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T h e a m a z i n gC e n t u r y P l a n tO R years a species ofplants known as agavehave grown in gardensthroughout the world.They are relatives ofthe genus Amaryllis, a

lily-like plant, which accounts for therosette of thick, fleshy leaves and centralblooming flower stalk that are character-istic of the agave family.How long the agave has lived in theAmericas is not known, but ChristopherColumbus selected species of agave totake back to Spain with him as partialevidence of his visit to the new world.In 1561 agave was introduced into Eur-ope from Mexico, and in 1680 the agaveof the West Indies was described and

pictured for the first time in a bookcalled Muntings Aloe Americana Minor-Early European explorers found theplant was used by the Indians for food,medicine, and primitive industry. Thefleshy bases of numerous species of agavewere roasted and eaten. Mounds of agavebases were covered with earth and stone,then set on fire. These mounds of earthwere known to the Indians as MescalPits. Roasting agave bases lasted fromone to three days, and the food had aflavor much like artichoke. In later yearsthe mountaineers of the southwesternUnited States made meals of roastedagave bases.

In addition to using agave for food theIndians used the juice from the plants to

cleanse and cauterize wounds, while theleaves were used to make a non-alkalinesoap high in saponin. The leaf fiberswere woven into sandals by the Indians,and the agave stalks were used for fencesand rafters for their tiny homes. Someagave plants with sharp pointed leaveswere planted as living fences to protectgardens from outside invaders.

The Aztec Indians wove a soft deli-cate cloth from the leaf fibers of theAgave Maguey. This cloth was fashionedinto clothing worn by the Aztec nobles.This same leaf fiber was also made intoa tough durable paper.The same Agave Maguey, that was souseful to the Aztecs, is being grown to-day on vast plantations in Mexico. The

Agave Maguey is the most impressive ofall the agave. This tremendous agaveplant thrives best at an altitude of 6000to 8000 feet. The leaves may reach alength of nine feet and weigh over onehundred pounds each. The total weightof the plant being from one to two tons.When each plant starts to produce a cen-tral flower stalk they are tapped for asweet sap. When allowed to ferment, thesap becomes a thick milky liquid knownas pulque, a popular drink of Mexico.With further distillation of pulque sap,a strong liquor, Mescal, and Tequila aremade. The total income from the pulquecrop amounts to millions of dollars an-nually. Another product of agave sap is arare sugar, agavase (C12H22O11), thatis sold for medicinal purposes.


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b yT h e r e s aM a i n e

The leaves of several species of agave,the Agave Fourcroydes, and the AgaveSisalana, are cultivated on large farms inYucatan, East Africa, and Haiti for astrong fiber used commercially in makingrope. The dried white pith of agavestalks, when cut into slices, is used asinsulating material, razor straps, and toline insect boxes.In the United States the best knownspecies of agave is the Agave americanaor Century Plant. The plants usually havea large rosette of about 25 green or vari-gated green leaves that may reach alength of six feet at maturity. Duringthe maturing years the plant is continuallystoring nourishment in these leaves to usein the final effort of flowering. The flow-

ers are yellow in color and occur on acentral flower stalk 15 to 40 feet high.It usually blooms in 10 years, if the cli-mate and soil conditions are to the plant'sliking; if not, the plant will not bloomfor 10 to 60 years, hence the nam e cen-tury plant.The geological formation of the ground

has a direct influence on the growth andabundance of all agave. Most agave seemto prefer a limestone area where the bed-rock is exposed in many places and hasonly a thin soil cap. This is why agavemake excellent decorative plants for desertgardens. Since there are about two hun-dred and fifty species of agave, the desertgardener has a wide choice of these amaz-ing plants to suit his garden needs.


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PanchoVillaStatePark

byW.ThetfordLeViness24 / Desert Ma gazin e / September, 1968

ICNIC tables and a"Friendship Avenue"now mark the spotwhere, over a half-cen-tury ago, Mexican ban-dits had a picnic ofblood in anything but a spirit of friend-ship. Pancho Villa State Park at Colum-bus, New Mexico, is three miles from theMexican border. It is named for the ban-dits' leaderwho may or may not havebeen there for the bloodbath. Some saidthey saw him astride his steed amid theshooting in those pre-dawn hours ofMarch 9, 1916; but his reputation wouldhave made him suspect, and in the dark-ness maybe many of the ragtag raiderslooked alike. Long afterward, Gen. Fran-cisco Villa, retired with honor from theMexican army and living as a respectedranchero in his native Durango, claimed

to have been in far-off Casas Grandeswith no knowledge of the incident.It was the only armed attack on UnitedStates territory between the War of 1812and Pearl Harbor; sixteen of our citizenswere killed, including six soldiers. In thepursuit of Villa which followed, motor-ized equipment was used by our armyunder combat conditions for the firsttime. The transport trucks got mired inthe mud of Chihuahua, but the crude air-planes fared better. They carried messagesto field commanders from the base head-quarters in Columbus, and dropped sup-plies to ground units over a wide area.There were several crash landings, but noair fatalities and only a few injuries; dueto low speeds and low altitudes in thoseearly days of aviation.

Personalities who became famous inlater military ventures got their baptism


25/44

of fire in this so-called "punitive expedi-tion" into Mexico. Gen.John J. ("Black-jack") Pershing led the forces in pursuitof Villa, and found it valuable trainingfor his command in France in WorldW ar I. A cocky subordinate, Lt. GeorgeS. Patton, became "old Blood and Guts"of World War II fame.Villa was never caught. The wily revo-lutionary was assassinated by a formermember of his bandit gang in 1923. Thenaming of a state park touched off themost lively debates in the history of NewMexico.State Senator Ike Smalley of LunaCounty introduced the bill for the newtourist facility to the 1959 lawmakers.The names of all who died in the raidand most of those who chased the ban-dits into Mexico could be found only inmusty newspaper files or in military ar-chives. But the name of Pancho Villa was

still a hero symbol on both sides of theborder. The bill breezed through bothhouses of the legislature, and Gov. JohnBurroughs signed it into law. Then thefuss began.The late United States Senator from

New Mexico, Dennis Chavez, was agreat patriot and old enough to have re-membered the Columbus battle. He readabout the new park in his office inWashington. In a letter to the NewMexico Park and Recreation Commission,Chavez voiced his "strong objection" tothe name chosen.

"The march of time has tended to less-en the full viciousness of this invasion ofthe United States and apparently manypeople have forgotten the horrible epi-sode involving Pancho Villa," the letterstated.

Senator Chavez listed the names of allU . S . soldiers and civilians killed in theraid, and added that seven Villistas cap-tured during the fighting were hanged inSanta Fe two months later. Since the lawwas already on the statutes, he asked theCommission to be "exceedingly slow" inestablishing the park.

The venerable solon's protest was tono avail. Pancho Villa State Park wasconstructed on the site of old Camp Fur-long. Its lone exhibit is a grease rackused to service the army transports be-fore sending them into the Chihuahuadesert.

New Mexico's Gov.Edwin L. Mechemwas on hand for dedication ceremoniesin 1.961. Dona Luz Corral de Villa, wid-ow of the legendary figure for whom thepark was named, was the principal guestof honor.

Since then, picnicking facilities havebeen increased, and rest rooms built. Ap-proximately 5000 varieties of desert flow-ers grow there, and a cactus garden hasbecome famous in botanical circles every-where. In 1966, Gov. Praxedes GinerDuran of Chihuahua came to dedicate400 sycamore trees he had previouslygiven to the park. He and Gov. Jack M.Campbell jointly named the park's maindrive the Avenida de AmistadSpanishfor "Friendship Avenue."Visitors to Pancho Villa State Parkoften cross the border at Las Palomas,Chihuahua, for a glimpse of a foreigncountrywith its Mexican food, its cha-

cha music, and the lone bottle of cheerthat can be brought into the country un-der current restrictive customs laws.

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26/44

WORSHippERS o f ThER E d - T A i l E d H A W K

by JAIVIES M . HARRIGAN



27/44

ON Garcia Lopez deCardenas, an off icerwith the Coronado Con-quistadores of 1540-1542, was assigned themission of exploringthe lands to the northwest of Tiguex, theheadquarters of the comandante in NewSpain. Cardenas reached the Grand Can-yon and, unable to proceed further, re-

turned to Tiguex. In his report he men-tioned a tribe of Indians called the Ama-cavas that lived on the banks of a greatriver far to the west.

Today, the Amacavas are known asthe Mojaves. This was the first historicalrecord of the fearsome Mojave Nationthat: would make its mark in the diariesand journals of nearly every traveler andwagon train crossing the Mojave Desert.Fray Francisco Hermenegildo Garceswas the first white man to actually visitthe Mojave villages. In 1776 the famouspadre-explorer deftly persuaded some ofthe Indians to guide him across the desertto the San Bernardino valley.

During the missionary period the Mo-javes' experience with the white manwas not good. The few Mojaves that ap-proached the settlements were curious,and, when they sampled the fruit fromthe missionaries' groves, they were tiedto a post and whipped. The Mojaves rea-soned the white man was his enemy sothey came in the night and stole the live-stock. The Spaniards retaliated by send-ing expeditions of soldiers against themand, when California came under Mexi-can rule in 1822, as far as the Mojaveswere concerned, they were the same peo-ple so the raids continued.

In 1826 Jedediah Smith and his partyof trappers on their westward explora-tions made a surprise visit to the Mojavevillages on the Colorado River. Onemight surmise at this point that the Mo-jave warriors, who were hostile at thistime, were away on a campaign since JedSmith and party passed through unmo-lested. On his second appearance at theMojave villages a year later, it was a dif-ferent story; the Mojaves attacked andkilled half of the Smith party before theycould escape. Later, James Ohio Pattiewith another party of trappers was com-ing up along the Colorado River fromthe Gila River, and, as he neared theMojave stronghold, the warriors fell up-

on his group and he was forced to retreat.A specialist in warfare, the Mojavewarrior, or Kwanamis as he was called,devoted his spare time to making wea-pons and dreaming of the Red-tailedHawk. The Red-tailed Hawk was a mes-senger from their War God and to dreamof the hawk was an especially good omen;it meant that the God of War had per-sonally contacted the dreamer and he wasto lead an expedition against the enemy.They painted their war arrows red andfastened three feathers on the shaft,blackened their faces and daubed redsymbols of war on their bodies. This wasto give them the magical protectionagainst the enemies' arrows.

{The Red-tailed Hawk Buteo borealiscalurus is one of the most fascinating

hawks found in San Bernardino County.I have observed them killing sidewinderrattlesnakes by carrying them aloft anddropping them on rocks.)The Kwanamis were big, strong men,especially daring and seemingly immune

to pain. They were the first to attack theenemy while the less experienced whofollowed were assigned the task of fin-ishing off the fallen victims while theKwanamis went on to engage another.A war party such as this was called Wa-sauwic, which means "all warriors," in-cluding the Kwanamis and those thatwere not Kwanamis, but were participat-ing.Not all Mojave men were Kwanamis.Training to become a Kwanamis began

in the early teens and the initiates wereSeptember, 1968 / Desert Mag azine / 2 7


28/44

MAP OF 1860'sMILITARY

PATROL AREAS(X HOSTILES)

A R I Z

\Fort Mojave was established after the Kwanamis attacked a small group ofAmerican soldiers exploring the Colorado River. This historic photograph,taken about 1860, shows Capt. Atchinson and three members of his commandin front of his Fort Mojave headquarters. Mapabove shows area of Indian attacks.

subjected to many agonizing tortures totest their courage. If the initiate succumb-ed to the pain or showed any expressionof fear he was disqualified. The Kwana-mis had no time for women and theynever married. Only the Kwanamis wereeligible to lead a war party and the onewith the proper dream would be chosen.

The Kwanamis leader carried a battlehalyard that was tied to an eight-footlong pole which had been sharpened onone end. Attached to the halyard werefeathers of a hawk and a fox tail. He alsocarried in a small pouch tied around hisneck his magic amulets of stone, boneor shells that would insure a victory.Strapped to his arm he wore a smallround hide shield to fend off theenemies'arrows.

The principal weapon of the Kwana-mis was a short heavy club made fromthe mesquite or palo verde tree. The pieceAbout the Author

A professional illustrator, James Har-rigan has lived in the West most of hislife and has been exploring desert areasstudying Indian culture for more than15 years. Combining his knowledge ofthe desert with extensive research, heuses his artistic talents to create articlessuch as Worshippers of the Red-tailedHawk. His first Desert article, MojavePetroglyph Legends, appeared in theJune '68 issue.

was cut with a heavy branch angling outabout ninety degrees from the main stem,the main stem being about 25 inches inlength and the protruding branch whit-tled down to about six inches. Its entireshape resembled somewhat that of ashort, very thick hockey stick. Spears six-feet long were used, sharpened on bothends and having a single feather attach-ed near each point. Arrowheads of stoneor bone were not used, the arrow shaftwas sharpened on one end and the pointwas hardened by sticking it in hot coals.For guidance, three feathers were gluedand tied to the shaft. Stone knives wereused for skinning the heads of their vic-tims and sometimes the entire head wascut off. These trophies were attached tothe halyard after the battle for the re-turn march to the village. Before return-ing to their village, the Wasauwic wouldtake smoke baths to remove the stench28 / Desert Magazine / September, 1968


29/44

he spirits of the slain enemy from fol-owing them.

Mojave wars seldom lasted more thana few hours, however, the Indians havebeen known to hide in ambush for sev-eral days in order to insure a perfect sur-prise attack. Aggression by the Mojaveswas feared even by distant tribes, fromthe Yaqui country in Mexico to the Hopisin eastern Arizona. An example oftheir fearsome domination is revealed inan account of a Chemehuevi trading epi-sode; " . . . the Chemehuevi had ap-proached the Mojaves as near as theydared and placed their articles of tradeon the ground and ran back to a safe dis-tance, the Mojaves came up and tookwhat they wanted and threw down somethings in exchange."

During historic times the Mojave wasdefeated in battle by the Pimas and Mari-copas. The Mojaves allied with a tribe ofWhite Mountain Apaches and the Yu-mas, and although greatly outnumbered,the fearless war party approached theenemy. The Apaches were mounted onhorses and attacked first. After losingmany men they fled, then the Mojavesand Yumas went in and lasted abouttwo hours before they, too, ran away. ThePimas used poisoned arrows and the tollwas heavy and the crestfallen Mojavesreturned to their village amid jeers ofcowardice. Some time later, the Mojavesattacked the Maricopas and drove themaway to avenge their defeat.

For many years the worshippers of theRed-tailed Hawk enjoyed the raids uponthe ranchos of San Bernardino Countyand upon the wagon trains crossing theMojave Desert. Along with the Paiuteand Chemehuevi, the harrassment con-tinued until 1859 when the Kwanamisattacked a small company of Americansoldiers exploring the Colorado River.This resulted in the establishment ofFort Mojave in the very heart of theirdomain, and the following year, CampCady was established near Daggett. Thesoldiers routed the Mojaves persistentlywherever they found them until theybegged for peace. In 1861, believing theIndians to be subdued, the soldiers aban-doned Fort Mojave until the discovery ofgold in the Black Mountains of Arizonaand reports of Indian altercations war-ranted their return to protect the miners.Finally, and again when the situation

seemed well in hand, the soldiers wereremoved from both of the desert posts.Again the Mojave Kwanamis dreamed ofthe hawk, blackened their faces and paint-ed the red war symbols of their bodies assmoke signals dotted the skys.For three years the settlers in the SanBernarlino valley tolerated the renewedraids until finally, in a determined effortto put an end to the Indian harassment,

they organized into a sizeable group andset out to clean up the situation. In 32days it was all over . . . the wing of theRed-tailed Hawk was broken and hewould never fly again for the Mojaves. . . it was in 1869 that the Indians killedthe last white man during a raid not farfrom the Las Flores Ranch near OroGrande.

Typical of the oxen and wagons used during the 1800's is this one photographednear the C olorado River. W hether the man on left is anticipating an Indianattack or just checking his weapon was unexplained on the back of the old photo.

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30/44

S A NBERNARDINOA C i t y o n t h e m o v e !

BEARFIGHTS

BFAI? AND MOIL FIGHTSWff.ff|0 M'StttjfkM.,

NEAR THIS '."Iff

b y J a c k D e ia n e y

LEGEND, in order to beworthwhile, must offera lesson of some sortand include a beautifulmaidenthe fairest ofthem all! The follow-ing legend on the origin of San Bernar-dino's famous Arrowhead Landmarkmeets both of these requirements.Many moons ago the Indians inhabit-

ing California's San Bernardino Valleywere strong and prosperous because ofthe fertility of the soil and the abundanceof water. As they grew more powerful,they also became proud, selfish and arro-gant. The Great Father, displeased andimpatient with their ingratitude, taughtthem a lesson by sending down a hot,fierce spirit who blighted their vegeta-

tion and dried up their streams and lakes.The Indians, in desperation, cast them-selves on the ground and offered anysacrifice if only they might have relieffrom the ravages of this devouringmonster.

Suddenly, a voice from the skies de-manded, "Give Ne-wab-Na as an offeringto Heaven!" Ne-wab-Na (Maiden of theNew Moon) was the only daughter ofthe Chief; she was the fairest and mostbeloved of all the maidens of her tribe.The Chief arose from his devotions, ten-derly wrapped his daughter in her richestrobes, adorning her with gold and jewels,and led her to meet the fiery wrath ofthe destroyer. When the sacrifice wascompleted, the heavens opened and awhite arrow shot forth and struck downthe heat monster. Then it struck the

San Bernardino's famous Arrowhead landmark.

mountainside and left its mark for alltime.Should you doubt this story, see foryourself the evidence on the southwestslope of Arrowhead Mountain, along thenorth rim of San Bernardino Valley. Thebest vantage point for viewing and photo-graphing the unique Arrowhead Land-mark is at the entrance to ArrowheadSprings. To reach this spot, drive throughSan Bernardino on Freeway 395, turnonto Highway 18, and drive a few milesto the Wa terman Canyon turnoff (no t farbeyond the beginning of the grade), thenfollow the signs to Arrowhead Springs.(See DESERT, March '68).Although its landmark may be basedon legend, San Bernardino is not. If youare a nature lover, you'll enjoy its 15city parks and the many recreation areasin the surrounding mountains (Lake Ar-rowhead, Snow Valley, Big Bear Lake,etc.). If you enjoy civic light opera,symphony concerts, fine art, and othercultural offerings, you'll find them here.On Fifth Street, between "E" and "F",you'll see the spot where an improvisedFort was used in 1861 to hold off an ir-

regular Confederate Cavalry that threaten-ed the area. On the south side of ThirdStreet, between "E" and "F", a markerindicates the location where bull and bearfights were held to entertain the early dayminers (these fights had nothing to dowith the stock marketreal animals wereused). At Third and "D" streets you'llsee the site of the old stage depot,

196809 desert magazine 1968 september

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