198004 desert magazine 1980 april

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433The desert will blossom with flowers.

Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy!-Isaiah 35:1,2

Apr i l ,1980USPS 154-940ISSN 0194-3405

Editorial StaffDonald MacDonald, EditorGary E.Squier, Senior Editor/Design DirectorMary Ei leen Twymari/Manag/ng EditorPat J. W i l l i ams , Assistant Managing EditorJennifer Osborn, Assistant Managing EditorPhil l ip E.Squier, Assistant Art Director

Contribut ing EditorsKaren Sausman, Natural SciencesW ayne P. Armst rong , Natural SciencesRuss Leadabrand, Field TripsJerry andLuisa Kl ink, Baja CaliforniaM.R. Zarubica (1894-1980), Librarian

Business StaffDonald MacDonald, PublisherGary E.Squier, Co-Publisher andAdvertising DirectorGeorge E.Sector, Marketing DirectorMar j o r ieMo l ine , Business ManagerChester M. Ross, Counsel

Lithographed byWolfer Print ing Company, Inc.Available in Microf i lm byXerox University Microf i lms

The Cover:April showers bring an abun-dance of wildflowers to the de-sert. Our cover photo is a poppyspread near Mt. Graham, Ari-zona. Photo by David Muench.

5 SAN FELIPE, Shrimp Capitol of BajaDonald MacDonald

10 THE CAVE PAINTINGS OF BAJALuisa Porter-Klink

14 HAPPINESS IS A WARM CLAMMary Eileen Twyman

18 ARCOSANTI: The PeopleGary E. Squier

22 CORNUCOPIA, An Oregon GhostBillie Durfee

26 CACTUS: Barbed, Bristly, and BeautifulWilliam and Nancy Harrison

27 THE CACTUS CITY CLARIONEdited by Mary E. Twyman28 Desert ROCKHOUNDRick Mitchell

30 HILLTOP, A Disappearing GhostDon Bufkin

32 DESERT CALENDAR36 REAP THE WILD FRUIT

Wayne P. Armstrong40 HOW OLD IS CALIFORNIA MAN?

Herman W. Ronnenberg43 SELDOM SEEN SLIM

Drawn by Arnold Roth45 A GALLERY OF DESERT WILDFLOWERS48 WHAT'S COOKING ON THE DESERT?

Stella Hughes52 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS53 PYRAMID OF METATES

Ruth Fitch54 LUCIEN BONAPARTE MAXWELL, Land Owner

Ernie Maxwell

Is published monthly by Cactus Paperworks, Inc. Of-R.C.Packer, President; Chester M. Ross, Vice-President; DonaldE. Squier, Vice-President; MarjorieAND ADVERTISING425 Highway 111 , P.O.Box 1318, Palm Desert, CA.92261.(714) 568-2781. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: U.S. and its pos-and Mexico: 1-year, $9.00; 2-years, $17.00; 3-years,All other countries add$2.00 U.S. currency for each year. See

subscription order form in this issue. Please allow five weeks for changeof address andsend both new and old addresses with zipcodes. Secondclass postage paid at Palm Desert, CA., andat-additional mailing officesunder Act of March 3,1879. Contents copyrighted 1980 by Desert Maga-zine and permission to reproduce any or all contents must be secured inwriting. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs will not be returnedunless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope or inter-national exchange coupons.


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L R K E P O W E L LD F F - S E H S O n I S J U S T H SB E H U T I F U L

It's the greatest fo r summer family fun.Wahweap, Bullfrog and Hite resorts/marinasare open year around, but you really shouldtry us in the spring, fall and winter...Not only fo r moderate temperatures,fbetterfishing and ess crowded conditions, but for

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1IIIIIL a k e P o w e l l R e s o r ts B m a r i n a s DM_ Box 2 9 0 4 0 , P h o e n i x , AZ 8 5 0 3 8 _

N e w c e n t r a l r e s e r v a ti o n s s y s te m :W e s t of M i s s i s s i p p i c a l l t o l l - f r e e 1 - 8 0 0 - 5 2 8 - 6 1 5 4 . ]

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O U R R E O E R S W R I T ENAM ED AFTER DATE TOW NDear Desert Magazine: Thank you! In yourMarch 1980 issue you put an art icle aboutdates. Well you mentioned Valerie Jean DateShop in Thermal (Calif.). Well my name isValerie Jean Ostberg. I WiS named after thatt o wn . At least it was a town 22 years ago. M ydad was on a hunt ing t r ip and when he sawthis town he told his friend he was going toname his f irst g irl Va lerie Jea n. So here I am.I'm 12 Vi years o ld.Valerie lean OstbergPasadena, Calif.THE GREAT LAND CRABAn art icle about the late Wil l iam F. Keys andhis f ight to keep his land in Joshua Treewould be interesting. I had the pleasure ofknowing him. He had some mining claimsnext to ours in the Granite Mountain range.While laying out our claims we discoveredAdams Well which we had looked for severalt imes . It is a work of art the way it was bui lt.I t is 53-feet deep and perfectly cribbed all thew a y .Joe NemieLodi, Calif.THOMAS L " PE CLE C" SMI TH IS BACKAbout 1914 a Mexican employed by a Fresno(Calif.) dentist as a rose gardener wastraveling from the Colorado River to the townof Mojave, being careful to avoid certainauthorit ies because he was in this country il-legally. En route he came across a hil l and asmall box-shaped butte in a crater-l ike valley.The interesting thing about this hil l was thatour Mexican friend found that scattered alongits base were large, round, black-coatednuggets.

The dent ist employer, whom the Mexicangave a map to the f ind , didn't look for thegold but gave the map to a lady chiropractorcal led "Dr. Susan." The lat ter had Ken Mar-quise look for the crater as she was p hysicallyunable to venture into the desert on foot.In 1955, the same year Dr. Susan died, arockhound sat down on the side of a hil l for alate morning rest and that hil l was the sameone the Mexican gardener had found 40 yearsbefore. This fortunate man revealed the storyof his discovery of the black gold to DesertMagazine beginning in 1965.However this black gold deposit is not theone found by Thomas L. "Pegleg" Smith(1801-1866) as that site involved three buttes.Jerry ConnellyArcadia, Cal i f.There are many stories as to the origin ofPegleg's black nuggets and of f inds havingbeen mistaken for it. Many of these stories, inturn, have been printed in Desert Magazine.We do know that there were at least three"Pegleg" Smiths, all prospe ctors of about thesame era and all missing one leg. We furtherknow that one of the Smiths answering thisdescription died in a San Francisco f lophouseof alcoholism in the late 7860s. And, too, weagree with Mr. Connelly that the "rockhoundwho rested on the hil lside" matches what weknow of the man w^p sen t black nugg ets to usunder the signature "T.M.W.F.P.L.C."[stands for The Man Who Foun d P egleg'sCold]. Lastly, the various Pegleg stories areinconclusive as to the exact number of buttesat the site.

In any case, the purpose of Mr. Connelly'sletter was an offer to buy a nugget from us at$700 an ounce, a fair price on January 7, 1980when he wrote his letter. Our collection is not

for sale but i f any of our readers have somthe mysterious nuggets and they wish to one, they may contact Mr. Connelly writing him in care of this magazine. Ed.ANYONE KNOW " D A D " EDSON?For some years I 've intended to write Deto see if anyone can give me information oman named "D a d " Edson. Or perhaps i t "Old Dad" Edson. He was a f r iend of father and mother in the very early 192Don' t know where they met him. My fawas a dri f ter then . Dad Edson l ived in CaPass. I seem to recall a stone housewas a l it t le boy then . I also can recall a great wmustache and white hair. He was reputIndian t ighter, scout, buttalo hunter, wagon train guide. Also, he had spent yeprospect ing the Mojave, or so I remembStil l have a nice portrait picture of him .. anyone help? I 'm cynical enough to wondemaybe he was n't a big windb ag and I 'd l ikf ind out dif ferent ly.Lt. Col. Thomas M. Conrow (Ret.)Santa Rosa, CAW ANTS MORE MAPSI enjoy your magazine and look forward emonth to armchair explorat ion t r ips. there is one thing I would l ike for you to dtry to locate on my inadequate maps places you are describing. Could you makdrawing of the locat ion within the stshowing some well-known point of referenMy maps show the main highways only.Dorothy BrothertonSpringf ield, Ore.No sooner requested than done. This iscontains three maps and we'll continue to them whenever we think you might not the place we're w riting about. Ed.

A LETTER TO SUBSCRIBERSWe've been fighting the battle inflation here at Desert Magazinand frankly, we're losing. The suplies we use in our typesettinmachines, for example, went up 4to 60 percent as of Feb. 1 , 1980, duto comparable increases in the silvand petroleum used as ingredienin these materials. We're sorry beffective with al l subscriptions thexpire with our June, 1980 issuwe're forced to raise our renewrates to $10 for one year or $19 ftwo years. Three-year subscriptionwil l be discontinued. So, PLEASRENEW OR EXTEND YOUR PRESENT SUBSCRIPTION NOW TBEAT THE PRICE RISE. And i t 's good time to think about sendinDesert to the home of a fr iend. Csubscriptions wi l l go up with thJune issue, too.Regretfu l ly,The Publishers of

Desert MagazineDesert Magazine/April


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SAN FELIPEof Bamby Donald MacDonaldPhotos by Gary E. Squier

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Previous page: Oldboats ofSan Felipe's fishing fleetnever die, they just silently await repairs anda lunartide to f loat them back tosea againLeft: There was acircus the day we visited San Felipeand guess who was the most popular man in town?

UNITED STATES

U nlike Canada, our equally accessible neighbor tothe no rth, M exico and particularly its borde rcities like Tijuana and Jua rez have been plaguedwith amostly undeserved reputation forseedyshops, voracious street merchants, commercializedpoverty, and nig ht spo ts that will strip the unwary ofeverything they po ssess. The warnings you hearback home say don 't drive atnigh t, padlock your carbattery and forweak-willed m en, dream not ofSpanish Eyes for they may leave you with asouvenir.The fact isyou're likely to encounter the sameproblems atabout anequal magnitude on Broadwayor 42nd Street inNew York, on Hollywood ne ar Vinein Los Angeles oraround North Beach nearChinatown inSan Francisco. The tawdry legen ds,forth at' s what they are , generally stem from incidentsstirred by the so-called victim. Vu ltures everywheregather atthe first scent of fear.I have stopped off atTijuana on my way into Bajacountless times and have never locked the car. Justonce inMexicali ase t ofroad lights w as neatlyremoved du ring the night and the next morning,themotel manag er paid m e my own estimate of then-value incash; and with profuse apologies.There are shops inboth ofthes e cities, many ofthe m, that offer exq uisite arts and crafts, withdignity, and atfair pric es. At other places, m odestfronts hide the hand-manufacture ofsome ofthemost tasteful furniture and beautifully carved doorsto befound anyw here. And I've always eaten wellasmy wallet and my precautions with the water haveallowed.

So fear not th at you'll be violated on your waytoSan Felipe, afishing town of5,000 inhabitants andon some we ekend s, 1,700 v isitors, that sits placidlyon Baja California No rte's e ast coast some 130 milfrom Mexicali on paved M -5. Or it isalmost;equidistant from Ensenada on newly paved M-3(formerly BCN-16). Our map shows how toget bacand forth through Mexicali which prese nts difficulonly w here the city rou te circles twice aroundmassive monuments.The drive from Mexicali isespecially stimulatingfor much ofits length. On the left, shortly afterleaving M exicali, you'll see the ba sin ofthe oncemighty Colorado River. You'll be rem inded ofth esemi-tropical deltas inour own southern states andfishing cam ps, such asRio Hardy, abo und.Jus t south ofRio Hardy, the road traverses forwhat seem s like aneternity, but isreally only 10miles, asalt flat that issome times filled on bothsides with trapp ed tida l wa ters. Out on tha t flat andseen by only afew who have braved the treacherouclay inJeeps isthe wreckage of aconfused ship, lethere when astorm-fed tide receded assuddenly aarose.You leave the flat to en ter alunar land scape ofbrilliantly colored foothills, barren ofall vegetationand seemingly useless toman. They perhaps arenfor vehicle tracks d isappe ar into them atintervals.Approaching San Felipe, you'll pass aseries ofplayas , public and private, ofwhich my favorite isPlaya Enca nto. For $2.00 aday atany ofthem , youcan park, camp, and eat under acanopy ofpalm

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watch ing the half-mile tides ebb and flow.showers and flush toilets at Encanto and atothe rs, and the re are also clams andshells, some of them rare and valuable.The latest Auto Club of Southern CaliforniaBaja California says: "San Felipe tendssomewhat unruly brand of tourist andcaused by motorcycles, dune bugg ies,are quite co mm on.'' I say that is areached by a few day s' non-typicalwhile the writer was researching th eelse it stem s from com plaints bymb ers of the type who are offended by thee of any motorcycle or dune buggy.Granted, San Felipe can be a fiesty little town,the Baja 500 or Baja 1000 off-roadprog ress. The late Ma Arnold,of Arnold's Hotel & Restaurant, whichwarrant the Club's sign ofas beloved by thes e racers for herty and personal warm th. But most of theSan Felipe throughout themopeds piloted by gringothe m any trailer villagesThe du ne bu ggy is likely to becally owned and h ome-m ade, to provide towingrvice on th e b each which the Auto Club does not.

To p left: Americans may sometimes cringe atwhat they see as poverty but these modesthomes are h appy and clean, inside and out.Left: The new Ecolohotel at Playa de San Felipeis the first stage in a determ ined effort to turn asleepy fishing village intoa second Cabo SanLucas.Above: Cactus,Christmas decorations, and atraffic light sh are the same corner at theterminus of M-5 and San Felipe's m ain street.

There is peace and silence to be had in San Felipe.Those qua lities have existed since the early 1800swhen the little port, sheltered at its north end by950-foot-high Punta San Felipe , was used by sh ipssupplying the Baja mission chain. These qualitieswere also what attracted Fortunato ValenciaArm enia, a fisherman from G uaymas on themainland, to these shores. F ortunato was a boy ofmay be 12 years when he first cam e in 1924. He camewith five oth ers who were older to fish and found thatthe harbor already "belo nge d" to one Juan Romerowho watched over it from his campo at Punta Estrella10 miles to the south. There were also two canoesand a boa t at Campo Uno , a place that is no longer onthe maps.By 1926 Fortunato had his own boa t, a m otorizedskiff he named "Vecenta '' with which he towed threecanoes. He settled in San Felipe along with threeother families that were already there and today, heis referred to as Don Fortunato because he is SanFelipe's oldest living settler.He told us that there w ere no stores then but intha t year th e first ca r, a Dodg e, came down fromMexicali with sup plies to se ll. Most all cars in Bajathen were Dodges because Pancho Villa hadapproved of them for his army. They wererecommended to Pancho, in turn, by his enemy,


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Photo by George S


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Opposite top: The brown pelican, "endangered" in polluted U.S.coastal waters, thrives on the teeming fish in San Felipe Bay.Opposite bottom: The desert and the coastal hi l ls near San Felipewear gorgeous colorations in the late afternoon sun.General John "Black Jack " P ershing who hadreplaced his hors es with them. The first turistascame in 1926, also in a Do dge.By the next yea r, Fortunato said, there were trucksserving the town, taking three days for they madethe road as they went. Am ong the necessities theybro light were gallon jugs of tequila in about a one toone ratio with jugs of water. W ater was San F elipe'sprob lem. Lack of it defeated Col. Steven Can tu, aformer governor of Baja who fought against Villa andwho later m ined silver 30 miles to the south. Col.Cantu died poor, said Fortunato. But the cars andtrucks kept coming for fish and would trade clothesand food. By 1927 San Felipe had a mayor, a m annamed Valladelite if Fortunato's memory serveshim, and also its first policeman. There w ere maybe100 resid ents.

Even as late as 1967, everyone had to go with pailson a stick to a well near what is now the Motel ElCortez. There were no pipes until the next year, andthe re is no sewer yet. E lectricity came in 1963 andthe dial phones just this last year.Mexicans left to them selves seldom exploit theirbeaches. San Felipe's first motel, the Riviera, wasbuilt where it still stands on a hillock severalthousand feet away from the high tide line . It wasand. is twice that far away when the 20-foot tide s areout. The bu ilders of the m uch newe r El Cortezcatered to Am ericans so it is right on the bea ch.I like the El Cortez. You sent a deposit to theirpostal box in Calexico in the days before the phoneand they always had a room awaiting me. Theshowers work sometimes and sometimes they don 't,as it is with the air conditioners, bu t the be er isalways cold and the people are friendly. Th is yearthey rebuilt their restau ran t and the food is good butnot as good as at El Toro II on the highway jus toutside of town .San Felipe is a place for fat shrimp m easuring fourinches long if straigh tened and the El Toro II sautesthem in garlic butte r. H ave steaks if you wan t.They're bought at Safeway in El Centro and areprei:ty good but m e, I alterna te betw een the shrimpand the Clam M an's clams.The 1st day of Septem ber in 1967 brought disasterto San Felipe. A vag rant hu rricane that had circledback from its harmless route out across the Pacificnearly wiped ou t the center of town. The stre et alongwhich it was the w orst is now officially nam ed 1st ofSeptember St. but townspeople call it La Bondogowhich means disaster.Actually it was not so bad in some resp ects.Nobody was killed though Sr. Jiminez, the thea terown er, nearly drow ned, a fact we found out when wetried to borrow some old pictures from him. Thegovernment sent in money to rebuild the houses andso did the citizens of Hayward, California, whoDese ' t Mana 7ine/ Anr i l 19RD

Fortunato Valencia Armenta, San Felipe's oldest l iving settler, todayekes out a meager ship's captain pension by guarding anchoredfishing boats.adopted San Felipe as their sister city. Most of the"loud pa rtie s" noted by the Auto Club, incidentally,are staged by H aywardians who visit San Felipeevery chance they get.Don Fortunato remem bers the hu rricane. He saysit was good for everyone. All the tra sh in theriverbeds came back to roost and had to be cleanedup. And he says in the eight days without light therewas love and many new children cam e.South of the existing stru ctures th ere isdevelopment of which Don Fortunato approvesbeca use he hopes someday his town will be like CaboSan Lucas. There is a luxury ho tel at the Playa delSan Felipe out by the new airport. Lots are being soldfor betwe en $2,400 and $30,000, and an elab orateclub house has been started.The Sea of Cortez is gentle and warm at San Felipeand so is the climate from November throu gh April.Sum mers, though, are hot, so hot that one needssanda ls to walk the sand s, but I like it the n. Aboutmidnigh t when the san ds cool, you lay on the beachand he ar the ge nerato rs of the shrim p boats out inthe bay. Above you the stars will be brighter andthere will be more of them than any place else you'veever be en. And in the water the fish will flashirridescence from the new street lighting behind.It is a place where I'd like to live someday , not allthe time bu t whenever p ossible. It is a place whereneatly scrubbed people ask very little but yourresp ect for the ir way of life. I must differ with DonFortu nato. I hope that new hotel is the last one to bebuilt and that once all of the lots around it are sold,that ambition will once again lie still in San Felipe.

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THE CAVEPAINTINGS OFBAJA by Luisa Porter-Klinkphotos from the files of Desert magazine

W hile Europe lay in the Dark Ages and Ame rica'sdiscovery loomed hund red of years in the futur e,an Indian man climbed on a scaffold made ofpalm trun ks and decorated the w alls and ceiling ofhis tribal meeting place with co lorful stylized shapesdep icting the inh abitants of his little corner of theearth: men , the mu le deer, m ountain lions, whales,f ish, and bobcats. His canvas was one of the manycaves pockm arking the Sie rra de San Francisco in thecentral p eninsula of Baja California.This process was repeated many times among thenumerous caves and overhanging rocks that lay nearthe Indians' principal thoroughfares, these10

pre-Columbians w ere a nomadic people moving baand forth endlessly in search of food. Fresh huntingrounds, seasonal harvest of certain plants andseeds, these were the matters occupying most of thpainters' waking hours in an arid inhospitableenvironment, leaving little spare time for themanufacture of enduring artifacts which mightfurther explain their lifestyle and history.The existence of these cave paintings was brougto the attention of the general public thro ughmystery author Erie Stanley Gardner's "dis cov eryof the caves by an elaborate exped ition usinghelicopters. The account published in Life M agazi

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BA]A PENINSULA.Cave paintings are foundthroughout Baja. Circled areaindicates San FranciscoMountain Range.

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Some of the photos on these pages show cave paintings discoveredby Erie Stanley Gardner on his 1 964 expedition to Baja with staffmembers of Desert Magazine. Other pictures show pictographs to befound in the area near Conception Bay. The figures in the paintings,all red and black, are huge, giving rise to legends that they werecreated by a race of giants.

with a full color spread was later de tailed by Gardnerand published in book form . It was a tale of highadventure in forbidding terra in, produced by awell-known writer w ith a following in the millions. Ifthe caves in question had already been known to theoutside world for two and a half centuries, this factdid li ttle to detract from the interest generated byGardner.Painted caves were known since the early 1700s toJesuit missionaries whose travels about thepeninsula between m ission outposts took them pastthe caverns. Most of the paintings were clearlyvisible from the old trails, large figures in red, black,and ochre in sharp contrast to the gray rock orsandstone backdrop.Natu rally the p riests asked their neophytes aboutthe origin of this rupes tric art, some of which alreadyappeared ancient. The contemporary Cochimisassured them tha t this was not the work of theirancestors, but had been produced by a race of giants,now extinc t, who had inhabited these mountains anddeserts long ago. They claimed that the g iant peoplehad engaged in a war that decimated their numbersto an extent that the earliest C ochimi arrivals hadbeen able to finish off those that remained in Baja,since cave p ainting and other customs were not totheir liking.Padre Miguel Del Barco, one of the Jesuitsexpelled by order of the Spanish K ing in 1769, laterwrote concerning the caves from a place ofretirement in Bologna, Italy. Others to wr ite of visitsto the pa inted caves were the Dutch physician andamateur anthrop ologist, Ten K ate , in 1883, and aFrench chemist, Leon Diguet, who worked for thecopper mining company in Santa Rosalia for threeyears.Remote ranches are scattered throughout the

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mou ntains. These ranch fam ilies have known of thecave paintings for generations, passing them daily inthe business of herding goats or visitin g aneighboring rancho.Through out the history of the area, the legend ofgiant artists persists. Harry Crosby, well-known Bajawri ter whose book "T he Cave Paintings of BajaCa lifo rn ia" (Copley Press, 1975) deals quitethoroughly with rumors of giants, points out that theoccasional discovery of the skeletal remains of tallindividu als can hardly account for paintings onsurfaces 15 or 20 feet beyond reach of norm al men .Instead, Crosby reasons that each cave wi thrupes tric p ainting is located near a natural spring oroasis with a stand of p alms. The trees could haveprovided m aterial for ladders, which m ight then bebound with animal sinews for reinforcement.Perhaps, in my study of Baja California lore, I hadalways relied too heavily on translations of themissionaries' accounts of the utter lack of anycultura l achievement by the Baja Californiaaboriginies, forgetting that the Jesuits were certainlyproducts of their era and vocation. At that tim e,science was in its very ea rly stages and the churchwas auth ority in all things both sp iritual andtem pora l. The padres who baptized Indian convertsand bu ilt en during stone structures and carved roadsout of the rocky landscape were also men fired withthe fanaticism which led many to seek martyrdom inthe wilderness.If all they encountered was not Christian andCatho lic, it had to be remolded or cast out. Th isconcept apparently a pplied to many facts of theIndians ' lives, inc luding the dialect they spoke, as nodictionary was comp iled of their language. TheIndians' lack of clothing scandalized the priests'sense of decency and they were taugh t to coverthemselves. Th eir native celebrations were suspectas immoral and in honor of heaven-knew-what pagandeities . In sho rt, while the padres loved the"g en tile s" as they repeatedly called them , for theirimm ortal souls, they were frequently d epicted as thelowest form of human life. I offer these ideas only todemon strate that the C ochimi people may have hadreason to keep some trib al secrets from the ir newsp iritua l m entors. Perhaps they knew more of thecontemporary usage of the painted caves than theycared to reve al, fearing d estruction of something thatwas sti ll a part of their trib al h eritage.The Cochimi was represented by the m issionaryand later historians as leading a very unstructuredl ife, although the natural restrictions imposed by anomadic life governed the gathering of food,limitation of family size through sometimesinhumane and crude means, and forced relianceupon the native guama or witch doctor for health andspiritual m atters.Recorded knowledge of the mid-peninsu larIndians includes the use of pa ints. Wh ile womenwore li ttle aprons wi th a curtain of reeds in front anda back panel of anumal hide, the men went naked but12

painted their bodies with the same red , black, andochre tones of the cave painting s. They also had aform of music, dissonant to the European ear,produced by a blowing upon a flute-lik e instrumen tand accompanied by singing and chanting durin gtheir celebrations. That they used a substance calle"coyote tobacco" as a stimulant, as well astoloachethe datura p lant, was reported by Homer A schmanin his book, "The Central Desert of Baja CaliforniaMissionary reports fail to mention this. If the Indiankept their use of ritual stim ulants from the priests, would seem possible that they had ancestralknowledge of the painted caves which they alsorefused to reveal.The cave paintings remain a gigantic work ofprehistorical murals but have strangely received bua small share of scientific stu dy. T he p aints usedwere made from groun d colored rock, with animal for plant gum employed as a bonding agen t.Inorganic substances, such as rock, can 't becarbon-dated. To obtain paint in sufficient qua ntityfor carbon-dating the bonding agent would requiredestruction of large p ortions of the mu rals. The one



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attemp t at carbon-dating placed the age of thepain ting tested at around 500 years. How ever, themurals are in layers, one scene superimposed overanother, and in varying stages of preserva tion.Mr. Crosby points out in his investigation thatthere is evidence in one of the Baja caves of the artistdep icting a solar event which took place in 1054, andwhich was recorded sim ilarly by Indians in Arizona,when the great Crab Nebula appeared in a supernovaexplosion.It would seem probab le to theorize that the cavepain ting extended over a period of several centuries.Perhaps the most recent cave paintings were madeshortly before the beginn ing of the m ission era, orthe practice ended as a result of m ission influence.Althoug h the San Francisco Sierra is a long wayfrom the route of the average tourist in his vacationtrip down the Transpeninsular Mexican Highway 1,many visitors have braved the forbidd ing terrain onmuleback with the help of ranchers who act asguides. Motel owner Oscar Fisher of San Ignacio hasguided many visitors to painted cave country.Add itiona lly, the re are painted caves located nearerthe highway in the Mulege regio n, and at least onesmall cave as far north as Santa Inez and Catavina,just one kilome ter from the paved highway in aboulder strewn coun try of spectacular desert plantl ife.Perhaps the questions raised about cave pa intingsand the people who made them w ill someday beanswered by experts, when and if an extensiveinvestigation is launched. Meanwhile, the reality isthe awesome beauty of these murals, a m ysteriouslegacy of prim itive art from the p rehistoricinhabitants of Baja Ca lifornia.

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HAPPINESS IS A WARMCLAMby Mary Eileen Twym anphotos by Gary E. Squier

rive down to San Felipe in Baja Cali-forn ia , Mex ico, and ask where to f indPasqual Cruz Guerrero, and most ofAsk about the Clam Man, and theysometimes even laugh. But theylong. The laughter

the Clam Ma n.George Tejada, a long time resident ofSan Felipe, won a tr ip to the UnitedStates not too long ago and said he saw

Another San Felipean said the Clam

liners: "T he C lam Man is back! D on'tM an ! Happiness is a

t i red.The m an is indeed a showman, a supersalesman of both clams and himself.

that r isks being laughed at, anything toget his product sold.

Our first meeting with Pasqual was onan early afternoon in the last week ofDecember. His "world famous restau-rant" is a simple, even crude, woodenshelter; a ceiling supported by four-by-fours, framing desert horizon wallscolored either night or day. Pasqualsays: "I f Lord wil l help, wil l put bui ld-ing; but everyone wants the same." En-circled by an ocotillo fence, decoratedwith an old f ish net, whalebones, andsand dolla rs, I hope he keeps it the sametoo.

He is situated right on Mexico 5 justoutside of town. And the f irst thing yousee to iden t i fy P asq ual 's p lace ofbusiness is an old, no longer running,gray pick-up truck parked in front, with" M Y C L A M S M A K E Y OU H O R N E Y "painted on the doors in large whiteletters.Huge sun-bleached whale bones markthe entry. The decomposed humpbackwhale had washed up on the beach 10years ago, so decayed that only Pas-qual's kids would help him strip themeat from the bones. But it was an in-vestment in their future. The bones arefor sale and he still has a seemingly in-exhaustible sup ply.Pasqual, though not too ta l l , gives theimpression of being very strong withhands weathered by time and to i l , si l-vering hair and beard, and dark, direct

eyes that equal his fellow townspeople'sin re f lec t ing amazement when one

speaks with him of his fame. He can ac-cept i t , but he certainly did n't expect i t .In talking w ith him we found a serious,intent, and kindly man. There is depththat be l ies h is se l f -c reated buf foonimage.He was born in Guanaiuhato on themainland in 1912, into a family of far-mers and the oldest of three boys andtwo gir ls. His father was a l ieutenantwith Pancho Vil la, and having manyenemies, moved his family to Illinoiswhen Pasqual was eight.

His father worked for the rai lroad, andthen went on to assembling typewritersfor Underwood. They l ived on a rentedfarm outside Chicago and Pasqual at-tended Door School, Horton and Har-rington Streets, in Chicago, through thef if th grade.During the Great Depression Presi-dent Hoover provided free tickets andfood for the trip for anyone wanting to gohome. So Pasqual and his family return-ed to M exico.The father continued working forUnderwood in Mexico City, then openedhis own typewriter business. The ClamMan spoke quiet ly, w armly of his father:"W e lived well because Daddy knewhow to w ork ."Pasqual knows how to work too. At 18he started farming for a small rancher,raising wheat and corn, plowing behind

oxen.He says he "looked for dollars here15


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Pasqual's collection of whale bones is theonly decoration in his dirt-floored, open-a ir"restauran t." Clams are served family-style.

and there," even tried to go to the U ni-te d States, but because of "so muchhassle with papers, this and that , " hegave up. But in 1964, " found my dol larin San Fe l ipe ."Pasqual and his wife , Marcelina, have13 chi ldren. That 's "because of a lo t ofclams and no T V , " claims Pasqual. Theoldest is 40 and the youngest is 12. Hisseven daughters and four of his sons are"now, al l over the wor ld . " The twoyoungest sons are l iving at home. Hean d Marcel ina have "13 or 14 grand-c h i l d r e n , " and t h ree g rea t g rand -chi ldren.

Their f i rs t place in San Felipe was onthe beach near the breakwater. " M e andmy kids bui l t the hou se." T our is ts w ouldcome to hi m, asking him where to go andwhere they could get clams. "Nonethought maybe that 's th e way to do it ,but i t is . " So came the beginning of asuccess story, spawned from the samestuff most success stories are f romre-cognit ion of a need and meeting i t .

His kids dig clams for him when thet ide is out . When they f i rs t began theycould dig three or four gunny sacks onone t ide at nearby beaches. Now, on etide brings only half of a sack, and thebest beaches are 20 miles from SanFel ipe.He uses cherrystone clams most often ,and sometimes butter clams. Customersrecently have been requesting mussels.He says " they ' re good, but don't tastereal good like clams." Pasqual wi l l f ixsmoked mackerel when asked for (orrather, Marcel ina w i l l , as she does thecooking) and claims mackerel is "goodceviche (raw) wi th lots of lemon."

Pasqual serves his clams barbecued,steamed, f r ied or chowdered. Some cus-tomers, though not very many, w i l l tr ythem raw, but hardly ever unt i l he talksthem into i t .He remembers the champion "a guynot too big, not too small," who ate 15dozen clams. And the occasion when heserved "3 0 gu ys ." They brought a gui tarand a harmonica and "ha d a good t im e. "

He will serve coffee but asks anyonewanting beer to bring i t . He'l l take abeer i f you offer him one, but he' l l set i tdown unopened for he doesn't drink.We sampled the Clam Man's barbe-cued clams that evening. He sat with usas he does wit h everyone wh ile we ate by16

lantern l ight, encouraging us to dip themin butter, tobasco or lemon, or just ea tthem pla in. They were delicious and theywere plenty, about 30 cherrystone to aserving.Except for saying he is a Christ ian , wefound him reluctant to dwell on thesource of a very evident inner part ofPasqual, a wisdom and peace that onefinds in a person only every once in awhi le . I t 's the knowing that you arespeaking with a person, have touchedsomeone, whose being is in rhythm wi thwho he is, where he is, where he hasbeen, and where he's going. Maybe itdoesn't need to be discussed beyondthat, because it 's just there, one of themany facets of, maybe even the reasonfor, the Clam Man enigmathe reason

why people "don't forget the CM a n . "We caught a glimpse of i t that anoon when he shared his poem withwrit te n several years ago with the heanother person, and then as he alwdoes when reading the poem, breaopen a sand dollar to show us the perdoves hidden within. And, we saagain when we were leaving San Feready to wave to him as we passed.didn't because he wouldn't have sus. He was kneeling in p rayer.

Yes, the Clam Man, so named bykids of San Felipe, "gives peoplchance to tease hi m " But the worlforcing his own countrymen to loohim again. His people are learninglaugh with h im , not at him .

Desert M agaz ine/Ap ril


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THE LEGEND OF THE SAND DOLLARThe re's a pretty little legendThat I would like to tell,Of the birth and death of JesusFound in this lovely she ll.If you examine it closelyYou'll see that you find hereFour nail holes and a fifthMade by a Roman's spear.On one side the Easter L ilyIts center is a starThat appeared unto the shepherdsAnd led them from afar.The Christmas poinsettia,Etched in the other side,Reminds us of His birthdayOur Happy Christmastide.Now break the center openAnd here you will releaseThe five white d oves awaitingTo spread G ood Will and Peace.This simple little symbolChrist left for you and meTo help u s spread His GospelThrough all eternity.Pasqual Cruz Guerrero

American riend who wishes to remain anonymous helped Pasqual compose his "Legend ofe Sand Dollar." There are actually ive of the remarkable little doves to be found when youa dried specimen of this echinoderm which s peculiar o the warm waters of heo;f Cortez

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A R C O S A N T I : ThePeophStory and Photos by Gary E. Squier

L ast month in " Ar co sa nti, The Shape of Things toCome, ' ' we told you what and where Arcosanti is,who started it, when, and why. The place, theidea, the goals, and the realities of this building site70 miles north of Phoenix on 1-17 were described andin part evaluated. What was omitted was the people.The w orkers at the site, those who chose Arcosanti astheir home, who are they? Why are they there? Howdo they see this unusual place in wh ich they live andwork, and finally, what's in it for them? DesertMagazine would like you to meet them:Ralph Kretz, age 41 from Philadelphia, was an engi-neer in Seattle before coming to Arcosanti. "I camehere looking for a change, call it male menopause,but after my first workshop here in 1975 I saw thepotential. This is no Bandaid approach to solvingpresent urban problems, but it is a serious attemptby like-minded people to build an alternative way tolive together. This past summer I worked like a dog,but the rewards were great. We b uilt more than wehad anticipated and the entertainment that comeshere is superb. I have no plans to leav e.''Al Cowan , on sabattical leave from Cal State Univer-sity, Los Angeles where he is the campus m inister, iscurrently doing public relations work with formerworkshop participants. "I came here because I thinkPaolo Soleri is the only person o ffering an alternativeto the city as we know it. Cities are going to be a partof the future. That's a fact. The foundations ofwestern civilization are Athens, Rome, Paris, andLondon. During their golden eras they were in thebusiness of human growth. Today our cities are notfunctioning anywhere near their poten tial."Here at Arcosanti spiritual growth is a dividend,it comes as a gift . People are desperate for signs ofhope, some hint that the future is attainable. We tryto remind people that there are some things each ofus can do. Not enough people are working on thefuture. Most of us are historians. I want to buildbridges to the future wh ile I'm he re."Beth C orwin was a ceramics instructor at CheyenneCommunity College in Wyoming before coming toArcosanti. "I came here for the work. Ceramics pro-is

duction is completely new to me. I've been here 18 months and some days I want to stay forevsome days I want to leave. Being here is like beianywhere. You have to work out your troubles wyour neighbors here just like anywhere else, excehere it's a litt le easier because we know w e're partsomething bigger than u s. "Sally Dinwoodie works in the ceramics apse wBeth. She was teaching at Grand Valley State Clege in Mich igan before coming to Arcosan ti in 197"I'm here because this is the most beautiful plaI've ever been. It's perfect for murals. All these bawalls are a muralist's d rea m."Randy Hunt, head welder, librarian, and editor Arcosanti's newsletter, was in one of the first woshops in 1971. " I had a pool business in Los Angebefore coming here permanently in 1975. I didhave a college education but living here has beenuniversity experience. I can't overstate how valuabthis time has been to me. The work is gratifying, tpeople are stimulating, we eat four wonderful mea day, and the buildings here make you think youliving in a habitable scu lptu re."Sarah Barker-Braun, 54, from Eureka, Californruns a cottage industry making life-sized soft dowith a trasparent midsection. She sells these planned-parenthood groups, health clinics, and hopitals as visual aids for education. She came Arcosanti because "I like to be where the soulnourished. Here you can put your ideas into concrand your hands, too.Jim C olbert, 21 , a student from New York is at Arcsanti because "It will be an alternative. Soleideas about the city will happen. There will be arcology. This isn't one, but it's the seed. Somethese seeds will flower and spread and eventuathere w ill be a really modern city, one that helps gmeaning to the lives of its inhabitants."Melan ie Husband, age 4, came to A rcosanti becau"my mommy brought me here. She's in the kitchworking, and I'm gonna help at the visitors c ente rMarie tta Strano and her family came to Arcosafrom Philadelphia. "I come from a frugal workin



19/60

Paolo Soleri, Director of Arcosanti

ass family . The concepts of that background are notin conflict wit h the value system or ethics of an arco-logy. We came here to live up to those concepts. Ibelieve we can improve the quality of li fe ." Mariettaorks in the visitors center, helps organize the fallestival, and has started Arcosanti's Theater forChildren which w ill soon tour the West.One of the criticisms of Arcosanti in general andPaolo Soleri in particular is that he is exploiting theidealist. M arietta answers that by saying, "Ba loney.Each of us selected ourselves. We came for manydifferent reasons, but Paolo is not dangling us ontrings. I don't know a puppet here. We work herend believe in what we do ."So there you have it. Some of the people ofArcosanti, and only a few, have said why they werethere and what that means to them. Space does notallow the complete story of each of these people to beDesert Manaz ine/ Aori l 1980

told. Good or bad or somewhere in between, you w illundoubtedly judge Arcosanti and its people foryourself.Just before I left for home Jim Colbert said, " I ' msure it's hard to write about Arcosanti if you haven'tbeen to one of the workshops, because vis iting hereand taking the tour and reading the stuff we give youis different than living here. You have to experienceit to know it. Most writers write about what theyknow, don't they?You're right, Jim. I'l l take you up on thatchallenge, maybe this summer.Pictured on the next two pages are some of the people o f Arcosanti,imposed over an early model of the desert city in Arizona.Technology and the needs of people have modif ied many of the earlydesigns.

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; j

\V

IMTI


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\


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This building on Cornucopia's Main St. wasonce a combination candy store and post officeEntrances were usually on the second floor toallow access after massive snowfalls, oppositeage.


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How Oregon'sHorn of Plenty Went Dryhost town and gold mine buffs areprobably the only people who haveever hear of Cornucopia, whether it

To f ind them both, the mine and thestart at Baker on I-80N in north-

way between the two hamlets of

north at Halfway and drive 11 miles

paved the first six miles and gradedgravel the rest.From October through May, snow infeet, so perhaps the dif f icu lt winters

" b o o m e d " even though, for years, theDesert Maaazine/ADril 1980

mine yielded large quantities of gold. A tits peak only 350 miners and their fami-lies called Cornucopia home.Nothing is known of any one personfinding the f irst nugget and runningdown the mountain to Halfway yell ing" G o l d ! " However, an early Oregon His-torical Society Quarterly stated that goldmining began here around 1880 and thatsilver, copper, and lead were also minedat that t ime .By 1884, the Union Companion Mine

was the largest on these slopes. And inthe surrounding area were other compa-nies bearing more exotic names such asThe Red Jacket, The Queen of the W est,and The Wi ld I r ishman.The Union Companion was taken overby the Cornucopia Mining Company in1895 and, gradually, addit ional claimswere acquired. Eventually the group in-cluded 87 gold mines.Mining here was successful from thebeginning. Records show that by 1889the entire district had produced $74,000worth of gold and by 1903, more than$1,000,000 had been taken out. Onenewspaper estimated the entire total (up

to the mines' abandonment in 1941) at$12,000,000 while another source be-lieved it to have been between $20-30,000,000. The ore from 'Cop ia, as themine and town were a f fec t ionate lycalled, "w as so full of gold that nuggetscould be shaken from it ."How did the miners live some 7,000feet high and snowed in for most of thewinter? A ccording to a vintage periodicalof 1885, the town had only one framehouse; other bui ldings were either log.cabins or tents. But it soon added fivesaloons, a general store, a combinationbarber shop and post office, a butchershop, and a candy store. Old picturesshow a white three-story hotel, but ofthis nothing has survived. The BakerDemocrat Herald believes it burneddown in the same fire which destroyedthe schoo lhouse and severa l o therbui ld ings.

Today, in fact, very l i t t le remains.When you drive into town on MainStreet, the old two-story candy storestands on the r igh t, sag ging, but more orless vertical. Next to it the barber shopand post office building is a heap of23


24/60

Above: A tattered curtain hangs limplyin thewindowofa one-room cabin thatshowed signs ofrecent occupancy.Opposite page: Cornucopia'sstructures are well-preserved byghosttownstandards.This onewas abachelor miner'scabin.

weathered boards, completely horizon-tal. Ten feet of settled snow is the equi-valent of 30 feet, freshly fallen, and itcan be heavy.

Another two-story frame structure sitsfurther down the road on the left. It wasa home which, like the candy store, wasbuilt with porches and doors on the se-cond floor for easy entrance when thesrtow level passed the first floor.

The home, in much better conditionthan the candy store, has a sign in frontof it proclaiming:"Private Property.Please preserve this historical site inhonor of a great man. Thank you andGod Bless. The Family and Friends ofChris Schneider."

The town was platted into 25-by75-foot lots which look very small incomparison to the vastness of the moun-tainside. Several one room cabins stillstand and a few show signs of relativelyrecent occupancy. Campers? Hikers?Fishermen trying Pine Creek? One sitebears evidence of a carefully plantedgarden edged with the white rock whichthe townfolk used everywhere to markthe lots.

The Cornucopia Mine is two mileshigher than the town. The old tin admin-istration buildings and the ball-mill havebeen taken down. The entry to the mineitself has been blasted closed.

Inside is a 36-mile maze of tunnels stillcomplete with rails and ore cars. The24

Coulter Tunnel alone is over a mile anquarter long and once ran directly the mill. At the other end was a "taurant" built by the company to down on time off the job.

Adverse economic conditions brouon by World War II made all mining profitable and Cornucopia was no exction. One Friday in 1941 the CornucMining Company closed. The comphad announced the coming closmonths before but no one had belieit. However, within 24 hours a massodus began. Seven days later only CSchneider remained.

Chris had begun his mining careethe age of 12 by sharpening drills. Bytime the mine closed he had wothere over 40 years. He was 56 by tand a skilled metalsmith. He had ebeen mayor of Cornucopia 10 times. this was just the beginning of Cornupia and Chris Schneider.

In 1957, at 72, a newspaper intervreported that he and his wife werethere. Each winter he regularly skfive miles down the mountain to Cafor groceries and mail. Chris was ninterviewed in 1961. The mine had bclosed 20 years, but the Schneiders spent their summers in the old mintown. In the winter, they lived in CarsSo Chris, now 76, regularly skiied upfive miles to shovel snow off sagCornucopia roofs. A 1972 newspaper

Desert Magazine/April


25/60

e did n't m ention skiing, but did quotesaying: "Nobody cares. Won 't beher yea r." He wasre of " h is " town and mine.The Baker Democrat Herald reporter

It is interesting that last J uly the otherpeople we saw looking around Cor-loyed by RF1, a forest

land, including some town sites,turn,

acreage.But why was one of the group a geolo-a map of the mine tunnels? W ill

ber 31,1941 at 4 p.m.I found out why. As of November 7,there's a group working the tail-

rush.t M agazine /Apri l 1980

14th thru 18th C en turyCoun t ry S ty l e Furn i sh ings[714] 763-4709

Sta rR t. Box 280Anza, CA . 92306

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BARBEDBRISTLYAnd BEAUTIFUL

T here is something almost primordialin the fiercely barbed and bastionedbeauty of cactus. It is a kind of Spart-an beauty, thorny, forbidding, andsternly unyielding in its aloof and self-effacing defiance, which warns you be-yond question with its bristling array ofprickles and prongs th at at all times it isto be handled with prudence and re-spect, and even then only at your peril.Although they are generally thoughtof as belonging exclusively to hot, sun-parched deserts, cactuses are to befound growing naturally from the tundraof Canada's far north to the storm-chill-ed barrens of the Straits of Magellan. Asa matter of fact, cactuses are found al-most everywhere in the Western Hemi-sphere, where, incidentally, it is be-lieved that at some dim period in ourear th's prehistory they probably evolvedto meet the demands of their changingenvironment from plants somewhat akinto today' s begonias and violets.Highly adaptable, and toughened bytime, cactuses thrive on gale-sweptmountaintops and in tropical jungles, a-long sandy seashores and among therocks and rubble of remote islands, onwindy plains as well as in the parchedwastelands of sun-seared des erts.Considered by botanists to be one ofthe youngest of the earth's plant fami-lies, there are something like 1,200 dif-ferent spec ies of cactuses native to NorthAmerica. About 300 were originallyfound only in the United States. Approx-imately 100 of these aboriginal species,which range in size from seldom-noticedpigmy pincushions to giant saguarostowering 50 feet or more and weighingup to 10 tons, are native only to the highand low deserts of the Southwest.It is not until you become unheedfullycareless that you are reminded, swiftlyand painfully, how inexorably effectiveare the needle-tipped defenses of theseunique touch-me-not plan ts which are somuch a part of the harsh but always fas-26

by C . William an dNancyM. H arrisoncinating western de serts.Even so, uncompromisingly hostile asthese thorns and curbed barbs may ap-pear to the unfortunate passerby whocomes in contat with them , they are farmore than merely the defensive arma-ment of perniciously antisocial plants.Instead, they a re as vital to the survivalof the species as chlorophyll, which en-ables a cactus to manufacture its ownfood through the eternal miracle of pho-tosynthesis. They are as necessary to itshealth, growth, and fertility, as the intri-cate network of tough little roots whichanchor it in the sand .Just as cactuses come in countlessshapes, colors, and sizes, their thornsare equally variedlong or short,straight or curved, super-honed hooksdesigned for snagging and penetratingdeeply, bristles that attack in agonizingnumbers, or barb-tipped hairs so spite-fully tiny that often they can be seen onlythrough a magnifying lens.Although thorns and spines help pro-tect cactuses from various plant-devour-ing animals, they also serve other pur-poses equally important to survival intheir stringent environment. Tiny asthey are , they reduce the drying effect ofwind, thus helping minimize the loss ofmoisture hoarded within the plant. It isestimated that in some species, such asthe pincushion and barrel cactuses,thom s prevent overheating by serving asa built-in lathhouse that provides a mea-sure of shade for as much as one-quarterof the plant's exposed surface.Most plants have leaves which releaseexcess water vapor into the a ir, an actionwhich creates an enormous suctionwhich lifts new supplies of water upwardfrom their roots. Some botanists believethat thorns may be the secret riddle ofhow giant cactuses are able to lift waterinto their lofty arm s.The theory is based on the fact thatplants tend to build up an electricalcharge which is greater than that of the

encompassing earth or air, a charwhich results from fre e ions in the watthat is circulating within the p lants.Some botanists argue that, bizarre it may seem, the thorns of giant cactusmay possibly function somewhat like rverse lightning rods, that by dischargithe built-up electricity from their tips tthorns create a sort of pumping mechnism which, along with capillary actiolifts water through th e body and arms the cactus.Thorns and prickles help propaganew generations of cactuses in waother than merely presenting a spibarricade around seeds and seedlingOne variety of cholla has been knowand feared as the so-called "jumpicholla" becau se its dangling clusters wickedly barbed joints seem to have almost diabolical ability to anchor themselves into flesh or pantlegs at even tslightest touch. Once removed atossed aside by the unfortunate victimthe hitchhiking joints are quick to taroot in the soil, arnking use of the moiture and nutrients stored within theuntil their own support systems becomestablished.So formidable and thre atening a re tthorns of cactuses that one of the Jesuwho traveled the southwestern desertsearly times described them in his jourals as "the curse of the Lord, laid upthe earth after the fall of Adam .'' H e rcorded that the number of thorns onsection of organpipe cactus no largthan the span of his hand totalled "less than 1,680," and further estimatthat "a single shrub carries more thanmillion tho rns ."But the good padre's interest in catuses was not limited solely to theologcal impressions and scientific computions. He revealed a more practical tuof mind when he remarked th at, withoever needing resharpening or repoiing, a thorn would serve many years an efficient and durable toothpick.

(Continued on page 3


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Vol .1 , No. 3Apr i l , 1980 - CLARION - "The nosiest newspaperin the W est."SCIENTISTS PROBE QUASARS

Ciant antennae l isten for quasars in New Mexico desert.

UTAH MINER SAYSFEDS TO BREAK HIMThe sign over the door of hismodest home reads: "You arenow in Utahset your watchback 20 yea rs."Harold Stewart, 59, prefers tolive in the past. When he thinksof the present he literally trem-bles with fury. "I'm one of thesilent majority that's damn tiredof being silent," he sa ys. "I'mjust aching for a revo lution."Stewart's revolution is theSagebrush Rebellion, a loosepopulist movement of Western-ers who want to ride the federal

government out of their lives.A steelworker who turned to

prospecting, Stewart has staked6,000 mining claims on federalland in southern Utah. He ownstwo "Cats," two chain drills anda wagon drill with which heworks some of hi s claims. Otherclaims are leased to Exxon andother companies, and bring inan irregular but sufficient in-come to support a wife and fivechildren.In the old days, it was prettyeasy. He'd look at a federalgeological map, pick a spot thatseemed favorable, search the

records in the county courthouse(Continued on page 28.)

What appear to be alien mushrooms sprouting on the Plains ofSan Augustine, 52 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico, are actuallygiant ears which may someday reveal how the universe was created.These 82-foot diameter metallicmo nsters are part of a 25-anten-nae contingent currently form-ing the Very Large Array (VLA),the most powerful and sensitiveradio telescope in existence.

As you drive in from theMagdalena Mountains, the VLAlooks nothing like any popularnotion of a telescope. The biggleaming w hite antennae can beseen miles away. The 213-ton,94-foot-high dishes are groupedalong a 38-mile configuration ofrailroad tracks to monitor thehiss of quasars, the most pow-erful em itters of radio signa ls inthe universe. The price tag forthis information is over $78 m il-lion.The National Radio Astrono-my Observatory, operated bythe consortium of AssociatedUniversities, Inc., for the Na-tional Science Foundation, su-pervises the whole operation.Also on the 3,500 acres of ranchland used for the project is atwo-story control building, witha cafeteria and dormitory forvisiting star gazers. The projectis scheduled for completion inJanuary 1981. VLA officials liketo think that their facility will dofor radio astronomy what Gali-leo's telescope did for opticalstudy of the heavens. Or pos-sibly, it could trigger an Ecolo-gical Inquisition.MarkC.Blazek

CHP TO AIDHANDICAPPEDThe California Highway Pa-trol is recommending a planwhich should make i t easier forhandicapped persons to get as-sistance when their vehicles aredisabled on freeways.Traffic Officer T.J. Comer (San-ta Ana area) suggested thathandicapped persons hang thestandard DMV parking placardon the left-hand exterior mirrorwhen they need help."The idea is simple, but i ts h o u ld e x p e d i t e a s s i s t a n c e , "Commissioner Glen Craig said.The blue placard with whitelettering is provided to handi^capped operators by DMV. Bydrilling two holes in the top sideand attaching twine, the 4-inchby 12-inch card can be hungover the mirror."The disabled vehicle willthen be easy to identify andpassing CHP officers will know

t h a t a h a n d i c a p p e d p e r s o nneeds help. Even if the officer ison an accident call or other pri-ority, it should be possible toadvise dispatch that a handi-capped person needs help ,"Craig said.The HERALDCalipatria, CaliforniaNotice: The CXARION needs part-time reporters who knowmining and prospecting in their communities.Send letter of application and samples to Mary E. Twyman,Editor, Cactus City CLARION, P.O. Box 1318, Palm Desert,Calif. 92261. No phone calls please. We are an equal oppor-tunity employer. Not much for anyone, regardless of race,color or creed.

sert Ma azine/A r i l 1980 27


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GOLD PRICES BRING "R USH "TO TRINITY COUNTY, CALIF.The soaring price of gold hasprompted a mini-rush for min-ing claims in Trinity County,California.About 1,200 mining claimsare on the county's books and atotal of 394 new claims h as beenfiled this year. A total of 261claims was filed last yea r.As a result of the renewed in-terest in gold, the county an-nounced that it was hiring amining claims analyst, at $664per month, under the federal(CETA) Comprehensive Emp-loyment Training Act. He willkeep track of claims filed in thecounty for tax purposes as wellas prepare maps to reduce con-flicts over claims jumpin g.Surpervisor Ralph Modinesaid claim jumping has become

a problem in the area be cause of"frenzied activity due to thegold pric e."Richard Sharp, assistant taxassessor, said: "We want to setup a more elaborate system tocatalogue mines. Right now wehave vague descriptions ofclaims that often overlap so twopeople may have the sameclaim."Mining claims contain 20acres each and are establishedby a person placing corner mar-kings on the ground. Noticesalso are posted at the site andcopies are given to the countyrecorder and U.S. Bureau ofLand Management. Claims areup for grabs if a person fails tofile papers stating work hasbeen done on the land duringthe year.A $50 per acre value is placedon each claim for taxation pur-poses by tax assessor RedWe lls. The value of buildings orimprovements are then added.

Taxes for the land range from$10-$30 per claim.WESTERN PROSPECTOR &MINERTombstone, Arizona

SHEEP TAKE TRIPIn a cooperative effort be-tween the Arizona Game andFish Department and the Bu-reau of Land Management, 12desert bighorn sheep were tran-splanted from the Black Moun-tains near King man to a 700 acreenclosure in the Virgin Moun-tains on the Arizona Strip.The animals were taken to es-tablish a new herd of desertbighorn sheep in the VirginMountains, which have a suit-able habitat but no residentpopulation of bighorns.Helicopters were used to lo-cate and dart the animals with atranquilizer under the directionof Regional Game Specialist JimDeVos. Game and Fish person-nel secured the animals in atransport net and blindfoldedthem for the trip to the basecamp.The sheep were then examin-ed by veterinarian Dr. BobBlaze of Texas and parisitologistTom Bunch of Utah. Blood andfecal samples were taken andthe general condition of eachanimal as well as sex and agewere determined. The animalswere then given a bath in a so-lution to rid them of externalparasites, measured for scienti-fic recordings, and given thetransquilizer antidote.A total of three ram s and nineewes were taken to the enclo-sure. The release site was con-structed by BLM along with two

Utah M in er .. . (cont'd)and, if no one had staked it,he'd pay his five bucks to thecounty clerk and go up and planthis four-by-fours in the e arth."B efo re ," he says , "youcould locate a claim and mine itand if you made anything, it wasyours,""Before" means before thefederal government, embodiedin the Bureau of Land Manage-ment, began to enforce new re-gulations requir ing bonding,reclamation, and the registeringof all claims with the federalgovernment."Those gosh-darn crazy eco-logists!" Stewart fumes. "Weminers m ake a little rat-hole youcan get a wheelbarrow into. Wedon't move any hillsides. Nowthe government's come up withthese new rules. W ho's going tolend a miner $200,000 for abond? You can't even borrowenough for a quart of wine .''Because of the 1976 FederalLand Policy and ManagementAct requiring registration ofclaims, Stewart says: "I 'mgoing to lose thousands ofclaims because I haven't got themoney to file with the govern-ment. It would cost me $30,000to record my claims$5 each.I'll be broke after this year. I'llhave to go on w elfare.''WESTERN PROSPECTOR &MINERTombstone, Arizonawater sources, and will supportthe animals through the lamb-ing season next sp ring.After the lambs have grown toa reasonable size, and thehealth of the sheep has beendetermined to be satisfactory,they will be turned out of theenclosure to roam free in theBlack Mountain area.The DESERT STARNeedles, California

TkwtL ROCKHOUND by James R. MitchellCollecting Sites Update: The Opal Hi l l f i reagate mine west of Palo Verde, California, isonce again open to fee collecting. The ratesdid not change from last year and are $10 percouple (per day), $40 a week, and $60 amonth. A great deal of top quali ty materialhas been extracted from this claim, and thesupply seems unending. For more inform-at ion, contact Helen Madden, Opal Hi l lMi ne, P.O. Box 232, Palo Verde, CA 92266.The Lindberg agate and nodule claims are

still open to collectors, also for a small fee.

Stop at the Lindberg Agate Shop in Deming,New Mexico, for directions to the two dig-ging si tes. An unbelievable variety of someof the finest plume, moss, and multi -coloredagate in the southwest comes from the "B igDi gg ins " claim , and outstanding nodules canbe found at the nodule beds about 20 milesfurther south. A 15 cents-a-pound fee ischarged for what you take, and you must payat the agate shop in Deming. Samples ofavailable m aterial can be seen at the shop.Continued on page 32. ]

28

WHISKEY SPRINGS BURIEDBY MASSIVE ROCK SLIDESometime during late O ctobor early November of 1979Whiskey Springs, a much visied area of Capitol Reef NationMonument in southern Utadisappeared under tons of faling rock.Rangers Derek Hambly anRichard Newgren investigate

reports of the slide and found aarea completely changed frothe serene, vegetated little bocanyon that once existed nethe famed Hickman NaturBridge.A massive piece of Navasandstone cliff 400 feet hig300 feet across, and as much 30 feet thick had crashed inthe canyon, spreading to blocmore than 250 yards of anciestreambed.Trees 30 feet tall had disapeared and the spring itself wburied under an estimated 30 40 feet of rubble. Small tricklof dirt and stone still fell indicting that the slide was very ustable and that boulders twicthe size of a three-bedroohouse could still roll further inthe canyon.Everywhere, there was dusDust covered trees and rocks fup the cliffs on both canyowalls, and dust had settled orocks as far away as one-quartmile.The pink, newly exposed clialso appeared unstable anfractured rock, still clinging the sheer face, could fall at antime.Whiskey Springs was knowto early pioneers in the area anit is rumored that it might havbeen used as a place to set upliquor still which was safe frogovernment agents. Hikers uthe area often as a campsitfavoring it because of the cooness of the danyon during hsummer days.

Recently, a small snail wfound in this area which is fremoved from any populatioof the same animal known elswhere. How it got there is uknown and the mystery is noburied with the spring.As rains wash at the debrand openings appear throuthe fallen materials, WhiskSpring may flow again. But will take thousands of years erosion before this little canywill be the attraction that it onwas.Iron County RECORDCedar City, Utah



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THE LIVING DESERT RESERVEbyKaren Sausman, DirectorLiving Desert Reserve

March is the m onth at th e Living De-sert Reserve for home gardeners andtortoise enthusiasts. The Reserve's se-cond annual plant sale on Saturday,March 22nd at 9 a.m. will feature south-western desert cacti, succulents, andother drought-tolerant plants for resi-dential landscape use. On the first twoweekends in March, California Turtleand Tortoise Society members will be onthe jjrounds with live specimens, educa-tiomil displays, and gift item s.When water conservation is an issue,as it is everywhere in the desert, nativeplants are a logical alternative to import-ed va rieties. There is a wide selection oftrees, shrubs, and ground covers thatthrive in sandy soils and arid climate andthat can compete with any lilac or peonyfor ornamental beauty. Some natives al-ready enjoy "nursery status." SmokeTree, encilia, yuccas, and ceanothus areamong the desert plant life commonlyused in gardens. But a wide array ofplants is getting more and more atten-tion from Western gardeners becausethey combine the desirable qualities oflow maintenance and ease of cultivationwith ornamental value. Some of thesewill be for sale M arch 22nd.

The Living Desert Reserve uses nativedesert p lants exclusively in its own land-scaping. The botanical gardens containcacti, succulents, and shrubs from out-side: the Coachella Valleyfrom the Mo-jave! Desert, Baja, and Arizonaso thatvisir,ors may see how our desert vegeta-tion differs from that of other areas.Even though they are all desert plants,subtle climatic differences can spell fail-ure for non-native species. The JoshuaTree, for example, generally does notblossom on the Reserve although thehillsides of J oshua Tree National Monu-ment, just 20 miles away, are coveredwith white-spiked Joshua Trees everyspring. These plants need snowy wintersto bloom and th e M ojave Desert is highenough to have plentiful snows. (Oursdid blossom last yea r, after ourFebruary snowfall.)

Iliere are some desert imports that dothrive here, such as M ojave sage, cover-ed w ith small blue flower clusters fromApril to October, and the highly fra-grant, white-flowering Mexican Elder-beiry. Survivors such a s the se will alsobe available at the plant sale.Desert Magazine/April 1980

The tortoise, beloved of children andadults alike, along with its turtle rela-tives, is the special concern of the Cali-fornia Turtle and Tortoise Society.Members of the Orange County andWestchester chapters are visiting theReserve on March 1 and 2 and the SanDiego chapter on M arch 8 and 9 to pro-mote conservation and education. Amural display prepared by the Societywill be on exhibit in McCallum Hallthroughout March.While all tortoises are technically tur-tles, all turtles are not tortoises. T he dis-tinction is based on their habitats andconsequent structural differences. Gen-erally, tortoises are land-dwelling crea-tures with squat, scale-covered, eleph-antine legs terminating in sharp claws.Turtles, commonly, are water-dwellerswith flippers, swim paddles or webbeddigits. Both have the characteristic shell,fused plates of bone with a cover of hard ,etched shields.The desert tortoise is a shy, deliber-ate, persistent creature w hose chief acti-vities are sleeping, basking in the sun,digging, eating, and traveling. Its heavyshell, which accounts for its ponderousmovem ent, is also its protection from theheat of the sun and from p redators. Theshell is practically waterproof and keepsevaporation to an absolute minimum.Underneath the shell are water storagesacs that may provide moisture underconditions of extreme drought. Other-wise, the tortoise obtains water through

its vegetable diet of grasses and annualplants.By withdrawing its head and legs intoits shell, frequently with a hiss, the tor-toise is largely invulnerable to attackfrom coyotes, badgers and bobcats. Heis not safe from m an, however, who findshim irresistable. Tortoise populationshave been decimated by curious humanswho pick them up and carry them hometo backyard garden s where they are sub-ject to infectious d isease.Every year the Living Desert Reserveis given dozens of tortoises. These areescapees from backyards, unwanted off-spring or pets whose young owners havelost interest in them. Often they arrivewith shells which an uninformed ownerhas painted or in which he has punchedholes. A tortoise's shell is extremelysensitive and such defacement en-dangers his health.The desert tortoise is a p rotected spe-cies, which means it is illegal to collecthim in the wild. Captive-born animals orthose found before th e law was enactedseven years ago are legal pets, bu t m ustbe registered. Fish and Game authoritiessend owners a small "license tag" toaffix under the shell.Turtle and tortoise-related ceramics,stationery, and jewelry will be for sale a tthe weekend shows at the Living D esertReserve, 47-900 Pprtola Ave., Palm De-sert. The Reserve is open daily from

9 a.m. to 5 p.m . For further information,telephone (714) 346-5694.29


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HILLTOPA Disappearing GhostStory and Photos by Don B ufkin

Mexico AGM E X I C O

HILLTOPR O D E O

Arizona has 500-1,000 ghost towns,depending upon the specific defini t ionyou accept. Therefore, there is ampleopportunity for visi t ing these sites evenin the confined geographic area of Ari-zona south of the Gila River. How ever,most Arizona ghost towns exist todayonly in the dusty fi les of long-gonenewspapers, the memories of old-timeresidents, postal records, old maps orother documentary sources. The Arizonaghost town that can still boast a collec-tion of abandoned but still standingstructures is rare.

One such ghost town that still offersvisible memories is Hilltop. To reach itfrom Tucson, proceed east along 1-10past the middle crossing of the San Pe-dro River at Benson, then farther east30

through rock-studded Texas Canyon,passing by the sites of the early towns ofDragoon, Johnson, and Russellvi l le. A p-p r o a ch i n g th e Wi l l co x P la ya , t h a tunusual basin in the center of SulphurSprings Valley, you'll sometimes seethat seasonal rains have covered thesurface with a rare sheet of standingwater. The Playa is normally an expanseof dry and flat clay covering some 60miles of the valley flo or.

You leave 1-10 at San Simon and drivesouth down the dirt road that leadseventually to Portal. Turning off to thewest, fol low the Whitetai l Creek roadpast several ranches until the road turnssharply to the north and park your car. Afinal half-mile walk up a steep and par-tially washed-out old roadway and you

are in Hi l l top. The old ghost town froits high perch on the mountainside stretains a magnificent view across thSan Simon Valley to the mountains New Mexico on the far eastern horizoBut little else remains of the formcommunity other than the ruins of a febui ldings, some rusting mining machnery , and a mem ory of its active years.The history of the Chirichua region complex. A number of former minincommunities once br iefly f lour isheAmong them were histor ical ly notabtowns such as Galeyville, ParadisEagle City, Pittsburg, Copper City, anof course, Hilltop. The latter, near tc res t o f the Ch i r i cahua Moun ta indirectly east of the Chiricahua NationMonu ment,* l ived longer than the total



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most of these comm unities and thus wasthe most important. The Chir icahua highcountry stretches from Apache Pass onthe northwest, near i ts union with theDos Cabezas Mountains, to the south-east near Portal. Alo ng this spine l ie nu-merous mineral discoveries, some richand p ro f i tab le , and many o f on lytemporary excitement.The or iginal str ikes at Hi l l top weremade by Jack Dunn in the early 1880s.Then Frank and John Hands acquiredthe property in the 1890s. Hands Passthrough the Chi r icahua Mounta ins, amile-and-one-half west of Hi l l top, com-memorates the contr ibutions of thebrothers to the early development of thearea.

The first str ike at Hi l l top was locatedhigh on the west side of the main r idgeand the ini t ial settlement was establish-ed near the mine. This settlement wasfirst known as Ayers Camp and had asmcill smelter as part of the early opera-t ion. But fluctuations in the pr ice of si l-ver affected the fortunes of the youngmin ing camp. The proper ty was pur-chased for a reported $52,500 by a groupfrom Kansas City and operated underthe name of the Hi l l top Meta ls Min ingCompany beginning in 1913. In 1917 along tunnel through the mountain to thenortheast was completed and a new andlarger mining camp was established ati ts eastern portal. Originally referred toas East Camp, the community becameHil l top. The mining company bought anew Cole six-cyl inder automobile as theprime means of transportation to therailroad point at San Simon, just west ofthe Arizona-New Mexico state l ine.

As with al l mining camps, the dayeventually arr ived when the ore was nolonger profi table and the mines wereabandoned. Town residents left for thenext boom camp, often leaving behindall but their easily transportable posses-s i o i s . H i l l t o p sh a r e d th e fa te o fthousands of other mining camps in theWest when i t began i ts rapid decline.The last years of operation were carriedon by a wi ldcat group called the Key-stone Mine .

Hi l l top had an active post off ice fromJanuary, 1920, unti l i t was discontinuedin June, 1945, although its early years ofd e ve lo p me n t a n d p r o d u c t i v i t y d a te dfrom the 1880s. Considering that Hi l l topstiL had a post off ice and presumablysome residents as late as 1945, it is dif f i -cult: to imagine that the form er com mu-nity could have deter iorated so quicklybut your visi ts wi l l ver i fy that fact.Desert Magazine/April 1980

The rema ins of the roofed ore chutes at Hilltop still stand high o n the hillside near thenortheast portal of the tunnel through the Chiricahua Mountains.

There is hardly an ything left of the homes and stores that once lined Hilltop's main street.There were TOO residents he re as late as 1930.

31


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February 15-March 15; Art Exhib i t , "S i tua-t ional Imagery," exhibit of contemporaryphotographers. Univ. Cal . I rvine, Fine ArtsGallery. Tues-Sat, noon to 5 p.m. Furthurinfo: (714)833-6648.February 29-March 9: Imperial Valley Gemand Mineral Society 's Midwinter fair atImperial , Cal i fornia. Mon-Thurs, 4-10 p.m.,F r i , Noon-10 p. m. , Sat & Sun 10-10.Admiss ion.March 13-16: Deming, New Mexico; AnnualRockhound Round-up, Southwest New Mexi-co State Fair ground, Deming, NM. Info:John Buech, P.O. Box 1287, Deming, NM88030.March 15-16: Sequoia Mineral SocietyGemRoundup, Dinuba Memorial Bldg. , Dinuba,CA . Sat:10-9 p.m., Sun: 10-5 p.m. ContactJeffrey L inn , 5370 S. Columbia, Reedley,CA93654. (209)638-136 1.March 15-16: Silvery Colorado River RockClub's River Cemboree. Junior High School ,Hancock Road, Holiday Shores, BullheadCity, AZ. Sat: 10-6 p.m., Sun: 10-5 p.m.Contact Cus Mil ler, Box2666, Rieviera, AZ86442.March 16:Annual Desert Gardens Walk ofthe Anza-Borrego Commit tee wil l meet at 11a . m . at Blair Val ley. Walks wil l be led byState Park range rs. Blair Valley is a few milessouth of Scissors Crossing (Highway 78) onHwy S-2 south of Earthquake Valley. Plentyof parking. Restrooms. Suggest good walkingshoes, sun-shade hat, lunch, and water. Info:(714)767-5311.March 15-16: Monterey BayMineral Societyof Salinas' 33rd Ann ual Gem and Miner alShow, Masonic Temple, 48San Joaquin St.,Salinas, CA. Sat: 10-9, Sun: 10-5. Donation 50cents. Under 12 Free. Info: Floyd Watkins,411 La Mesa D r., Salinas, CA 93901.March 22-Apri l 1: 33rd Annual Orange Bel tMineralogical Society Show, Orange ShowGrounds. 689 S. E St., SanBernardino, CA92408. Demonstrations and workshops.March 23-Apri l 30: 30th Annual TucsonFestival. Fordaily schedule of events write:Tucson Fest iva l Soc ie ty , 8 West PaseoRedondo, Tucson, A Z 85705. (602) 622-6911.March 28-30: Stamp Expo '80/South atAnaheim Convention Center. For nfo: StampExpo, 6253 Hollywood Blvd . , Hol lywood,CA90028. (213)469-1193.Apr i l 13: Murrieta Fire Dept. 33rd AnnualOld Fashion PitBar-B-Q,11:30-4:30, M urrie taFire Station. For Info: (714) 677-5511.Apr i l 19-20: Rail Festival '80, Orange EmpireRailway Museum, Perris, CA. for Info: JimWalker (213) 240-9130.

DuttL ROCKHOUND

32

[Continued from page 28. ]

Collecting at the old ghost town oLake Valley, New Mexico, is no longallowed. The town is closed to vis i torand the caretaker informed me that theis nocollecting on thedumps. Theresome very nice agate a ew miles northtown and some fossils in the nearlimestone canyon which can still becolected, bu t as s the case for most minnowadays with the price of preciometals going up, owners are becomimore and more protective of theclaims.Helpful Information: An interestinbooklet discussing the history of thKofa Came Range, including rockhouinformation, may be obtained by wri t inthe Refuge Manager, Kofa Game RangP.O. Box 1032, Yuma, AZ85254. For tmost part, the information isnot encouaging. The famous fire agate diggingas well as crystal andagate areas, aclosed to any type of rockhounding ecept for picking samples off the groundCold Hunting: Wi th the price of gosoaring, many rockhounds are takingold pans and sluice boxes with them othe i r t r ips. If you get into more advancegold seeking such as dredg ing, howevebe sure tocheck with the state division omines. In Cal i forn ia , the Depar tmentFish and Game must issue you a permto use a dredge of anysize. In Ar izonno perm it is required for a small dredgIf prospecting in a National Forest,yomust apply with the distr ict ranger in tarea you wish to pursue your hobby."No t i ce of Intent to Conduct a MininOpera t ion" must beapproved. Such nformat ion as the size of the dredgwhere you plan tooperate, and what yare looking for are needed in this appcation. The quest for gold is now a pf i table venture. Just be sure that younot trespass on another person's claand that you are aware of the regulatiogoverning the area you choose to tyour luck.Tumbling Technique: A few weeks agowas tumbling some obsidian and hmisplaced the plastic pellets usedprevent chipping of this fragi le materiA fel low rockhound suggest using mlasses to thicken the water . It workvery wel l . There were nochips and thmaterial polished as well as ever.Caution: The desert is a desolate placWinter nights often getbelow freezinand after a rain the roads can be unpaab le , even with four-wheel dr ive. Bprepared and your tr ips w i l l be enjoyabas well as produc tive.



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Round Mountain, Nevada, as t looked in 1961 when themines were idle.MINING BOOM COMES TOCENTRAL NEVADA Open PitMining Operations ReviveSinokey ValleyM A N H A T T A N , Nye County. A centuryago, this central Nevada town wasswj i rming wi th miners andnoisy w ith thecommotion that goes with boom time atthe site of a new gold discovery. Thougha good many slow years have passedsince the high grade Manhattan oresgave out, the town is roaring again.

And once again, gold is the reasonwhv a lot of people have come to theslopes of the Toiyabe Mountains wherethe high desert winters are bitter andeven sunny fall days have abi te .

In the pinyon forests around Manhat-tan, there is much evidence of freshworkings. From t ime to t ime, teeth- rat-tl ing explosions toss mountains of rockand dir t high into the air. Lumber ingyellow machines snorting black dieselsmoke root out the loosened gold andsilver ore in great bi tes.

The men and machinery work forHouston Oil and Minera ls Co., a bigmining concern which has reopened theold camp. Min ing andexploration f i rms ,stimulated by rapidly cl imbing pr icesan d a general feel ing that the country isheaded for a minerals cr isis that wi l lDesert Magazine/April 1980

r ival the energy crisis, have been pour-in g a tremendous amount of effort intothe search for various minerals.

No one has certain knowledge howlong the boom will last. Prices are notexpected to dip substantial ly anytimesoon, but they could, and towns likeManhattan could go back to sleep untilthe next renaissance. In the meantime,th e oldtowns seem to bewide awake andsuffer ing for it, but also enjoying it.

Living quarters are hard to f ind . Oldhouses that used to have leaky roofs andno occupants have been patched up andput back into service, while mobilehomes have been planted everywherethat space and uti l i ty hookups wi l l per-mit among old bui ldings and lots piledhigh with rusting machinery from earl iermining eras.

A t thesame time Round Mountain andManhattan have been visi ted with a re-freshing atmosphere of good spirits andp r o sp e r i t y . Th e y are p laces wherepeople laugh easily andwith gusto.Reese River REVEILLETonopah, Nevada

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HISTORICPLACESNOMINATEDTwo archaeological sites inIron and Sevier counties havebeen listed in the National Re-gister of Historic Places, accor-

ding to Utah State HistoricalSociety.Long Flat in Iron County andthe Aspen-Cloud rock sheltersin Sevier County were listed b e-cause of their scientific andarchaeological significance, ex-plained Bruce Hawkins, theSociety's preservation archaeo-logist who researched the sitesfor their nomination.Long Flat is a large quarrysite consisting of four majoroutcroppings of cryptocrystal-line chert. It is located in theDixie National Forest."Blade and scraper formspresent at the site indicate thatit was also used for butcheringactivit ies by groups rangingfrom Archaic to Ethnohistoric,"Hawkins explained.Three major areas of signifi-cance

198004 desert magazine 1980 april

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