193910 desert magazine 1939 october

8/14/2019 193910 Desert Magazine 1939 October

1/38

T H E

I I N

i \

25 CENTS


2/38

Hollenbeck Home,Los Angeles, CaliforniaDear Mr . Henderson:We had never seen a copy of "Desert Mag-azine" until three weeks agothen a friendfound one of February 1939 in a wastepapertruckand brought it to us. We polished itand found it a jewel.In addition to being 93 and blind I havea broken bone and live in a wheelchair. Mysister who is 84 takes care of me. She hasnot t ime to read . . . So we have five readers,who read such books as Longstreth's "Lauren-tians," all by Shackleton, "Land of LittleRain," Mary Austin, etc. With our books wehave traveled almost all civilized lands andsome uncivilized. You may imagine how the"Desert" appealed to us .W e found one current "D esert" issue, Au-gust, visited nearly every second hand mag-azine shop in Los Angeles and finally wererewarded with D ecember 1937, July '38 andMay '39. For some we paid fifty cents a copy.They were worth it! But we exhausted thesupply.Fifty years ago I roamed over much of thewild land around San Diego and Tiajuanafor Philadelphia "Times" and "Press."My sister retired after 30 years as headcashier at Hotel del Coronado, with the ad-vent of automobiles, coached thousands ofguests (El Centro bound) as to the " jump"of sidewinders. E S T E L L E T H O M S O N .

By Adelle Thomson.Phoenix, ArizonaDear Sir:Since writing you last night I have readthe article on Ehrenberg in the December1938 issue by Woodward and Widman. I t isan excellent article and shows good researchand preparation, however there is one pointI would like to mention in which this ar-ticle errs. Th e town was founded by myGrandfather Michael Goldwater and namedby him after his very good friend HermanEhrenberg.Mike and his son Morris stopped atSmith's place in Dos Palmas the night Ehren-

berg's body was found and decided not torisk a similar fate by stopping there for thenight and moved on. My grandfather had al-ready established a business at La Paz butbecause of the distance that that town layfrom the ever changing river channel he waslooking for a new site where the cost of un-loading from the steamers would not be sogreat .You see at La Paz freight had to be un-loaded by stevedores, transported the distancefrom the boats over the marshy land to thetown and then loaded again on wagons. Thesite of Ehrenberg offered a place that thesteamers could be unloaded directly onto thewagons because of the high bluff there thatpermanently determined the river channel.Mike had the town laid out and plats drawnand it wasn't long until Ehrenberg was abusy little station. There are a few of theseplats around but they are very hard to findas I have found out in over ten years inten-sive search for one.

Ehrenberg was never called Mineral City.There was another settlement of that name

as is shown on many old maps of the period.This was all told me by my uncle MorrisGoldwater who passed away this year at theage of 87. He came to La Paz when he wasonly 14 years old and returned to live perma-nently in this state a few years later. He hadlived in Arizona 72 years of his life.The business that my grandfather startedon the Colorado in 1860 is still in operationbeing run now by my brother and myself. Itis I believe one of the oldest businesses in thiscountry from the standpoint of its havingbeen in the same family for so long.The old adobe buildings that are left wereour store which served as the post office; sa-loon, freight station and city hall. The familylived in back of this building and a wall ortwo still stands of the dwelling.I have many many old letters taken fromthe post office there and old books of thefreight company and petitions for new postoffices, etc. B A R R Y M . G O L D W A T E R .

Thanks, Mr. Goldwa ter. You've givenus some information that isn't in thebooks, and we are glad to pass it alongto our readers and preserve it as a partof the permanent record of the Southwest. R. H.

Death Valley Jet., Calif.My Dear Sirs:Enclosed find 50 cents for which pleasesend me a couple of the September issue ofyour splendid wide-awake Desert Magazine.Please be sure to give me the Septemberissue, because it certainly has a lot to interestus Death Valley-ites. That is a splendid ar-ticle by Cora Keagle, and then, too a goodreproduction of the Natural Bridge; and alsoof the Old TimersBorax Smith, Frank Til-ton and Ed Stiles. . . . Frank is still workingevery day, in the carpenter shop, at the T.& T. R. R. car shops here. He's a prince ifthere ever was one Also, Ed Stiles is adandy fellow, living as you perhaps know,on his ranch two miles east of the city of SanBernardino.Kind regards to you and your StaffAlsocomplimenting Cora Keagle on her splendidarticle. RILEY SHRUM.

La Jolla, CaliforniaDear Randall :I wish you to know that we have had funfollowing the "Desert Quiz." I have managedto keep up an average of 17 answers. Thatis , if you will concede that the answer toQuestion No. 3 in the August issue is "Pad-res" and not "Prehistoric Indians."The watermelon is botanically known asCitrullus vulgaris and is a native of tropicalAfrica. It was introduced into India centuriesago and there obtained its Sanskrit name,Citrullus. It has no name in the ancient Greekand Latin languages, nor is any mention madeof its being grown in the Mediterranean coun-tries before the Christian Era. It is said tohave reached China about the 10th century,A. D.All authorities seem in doubt as to theoriginal introduction of the watermelon intothe United States. There is no evidence fromthe varieties of watermelon now grown thatit reached this continent from the Mediter-ranean region. In all probability it was in-troduced into Mexico and South America dur-ing, or very soon after the Spanish conquests;either directly from Africa, or from India orChina by way of the Philippine trade route.Therefore, it seems logical that during the17th and 18th centuries the watermelon wouldbe rather widely distributed throughout thedesert regions of the southwest by the Span-ish missionaries and explorers. No es verdad?G U Y L . F L E M I N G .

La Canada, Calif.Dear Sir:Now I want my money back,I couldn't go to bed;When I had it figured outI was standing on my head.

(See picture, page 18, Sept. issue.)Yes, we turned the dinosaur tracks up-sidedoivn. Toney the pressman says it is

all his fault and his alibi is that thedinosaurs lived so long ago he had for-gotten what their tracks looked like. Iguess we should apologize for the error but the truth is we were rather flatteredby the huge pile of mail we receivedcalling our attention to it. Readers of theDM surely do know their dinosaurs.R . H.Explorers ClubNew York CityEditor Desert :

In England a kit fox is known as a swiftfox. It may be that in some localities a desertfox is called a swift but in most localities adesert swift is also a lizard. Genus Sceloporus,the pine lizards, with the name locally ap-plied to any lizard that moves swiftly.

This difference of opinion cut my Sagedomto a score of 19. However I am checking withmy friends at the American Museum of Nat-ural History. J . A L L A N D U N N .You are right. In different desert lo-calities both the kit fox and the pine liz-ard are called "swift." Score yourself aperfect 20, and thanks for the correction.Desert Mag azine's only alibi is that itsQuiz editor lives in a desert sector wherethe kit fox is common and the pine liz-ard unknown. R. H.

Riverside, CaliforniaDear Sir:I take this opportunity to make a few gen-eral comments on the "Desert Magazine." Ihave a complete file of the publication in-cluding the issue for November, 1937. Youroffer of one dollar for that number is notemptation to me to break the file.I like the editorial policy of making themagazine a publication dealing with manythings in a thorough ly readable style. Th e"Letters" and "Just Between You and Me"departments give fine personal touch to saynothing of their value to the editorial staffand to contributors as a means of learning

what the readers want (o r don' t wa nt) . I be-lieve the Landmarks contest and Desert Quizgive the right amount of novelty and help alot to create interest and excite curiosity.I would like to see more articles from theouter fringes of the desertOregon, Idaho,Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Mexico, o' don-dequieraand the subject matter may coveranthropology, archaeology, ethnology, geology,geography, mineralogy, botany, ornithology,zoology (provided the authors are not tootechnical), history, tradition and folklore, In-dians, trappers, prospectors, freighters, stage-drivers, cowmen, outlaws, Mexicans, all tiedin in relationship to the desert.I was disappointed not to find a new plant

with its picture, its common English and Span-ish (or Indian) names and its technical titlein the July number, but the articles by CharlesKelley, Leo McClatchy and others were fineand, as usual, John Hilton did a dandy job.Sincere wishes for long-continued success.W. I . ROBERTSON.


3/38

D E S E R T

O C T O B E R , 19391 Heard Museum, Phoenix, reopensfor 1939-1940 season.1-15 Open season on band-tailed pi-geons in New Mexico, 7 a.m.-sun-set; limit, 10 a day, or 10 in pos-session.1-30 Open season on deer in Nevada ,tentatively set by State fish andgame commission, subject to re-vision by county commissioners.1-Nov. 15 Imperial county dove season.3-4 Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi(Patron Saint of Santa Fe). Cele-brated on Eve of St. Francis (Oct.3) by procession from the Cathe-dral of St. Francis, Santa Fe.4 Annual Fiesta, Ranchos de Taos ,New Mexico .4 Annual Fiesta and dance, NambePueblo , New Mexico.4-7 Eastern New Mexico State Fair,at Roswell. H. A. Poorbaugh,pres.; E. E. Patterson, secy.7-9 Latter Day Saints Conference, SaltLake City.8-10 National Convention, AmericanPlanning and Civic Assn. at SantaF e , New Mexico.8-10 Southwest District convention Ki-wanis International, at Albuquer-q u e ; Frank Lawrence, Gallup, dis-trict governor. Fred H. W a r d , Al-buquerque, chairman.13-15 Second annual Navajo TribalFair , Window Rock, Arizona, tr ib-al fairgrounds. J. C. Morgan, chair-man of Navajo tribal council.

14 Old-Timers picnic and barbecuesponsored by Pioneer League andOld-Timers of Antelope valley, atLancaster, California. Everett W.Martin, chairman.14-15 Annual convention NorthwestFederation of Mineralogical Socie-ties, Seatt le, Washington, at NewWas hington Hotel . Seattle GemCollectors' club is host .15-29 Open season on upland gamebirds (pheasant, mountain quail ,valley quail , grouse, partr idge) inNevada, tentatively set by Statefish and game commission, sub-ject to revision by county com-missioners.16-Nov. 15 Deer season in Kaibab na-tional forest, Arizona. Apply toforest supervisor at Wil l iams , Ari-zona.18-19 State convention of union laborgroups affiliated with the AmericanFederation of Labor and the Ari-zona State Federation of Labor, atYuma, Arizona.21 University of Nevada Wolves tocelebrate Homecoming Day atReno.21 22 Annual Gold Rush celebration,Mojave, California. Dr. ThomasKindel, chairman.22 Dec. 5 Hunting season in California,Nevada and Utah on ducks, geese,Wilson's snipe or jack snipe, andcoots; daily bag limit on geese re-duced from five to four.26-28 Annual convention New MexicoEducational Assn., at Albuquerque .29-31 Nevada Diamond Jubilee, atCarson City. Clark J. Gui ld , gen-eral chairman.

V o l u m e 2 OCTOBER, 1939 Number 12COVER TWENTY NINE PALMS, Cal i fo rn ia . Pho tograph byBurton Frasher , Pomona , Ca l i f o rn ia .LETTERS C o m m e n t f r o m D e s e r t M a g a z i n e r e a d e r s . . . .I n s i d e c o v e rCALENDAR C o m i n g e v e n t s in the dese r t coun t ry 1POETRY DESERT SHANTY, and o ther poems 2ARTIST She B r e a t h e d the Air of the G o d s

B y HELEN SHIELD SPEAKER 3PUZZLE True or Fal seA tes t of y o u r k n o w l e d g eo f the S o u t h w e s t 5H UMAN NATURE Born to be a N a v a j o M e d i c i n e Man

B y RICHARD F. VANVALKENBURGH . . 6FICTION Hard Rock Shor ty of D e a t h V a l l e yB y LON GARRISON 8LEGEND The P o o k o n g and the B e a rA s told to HARRY C. JAMES 9GEMS C a r n e l i a n in S a d d l e M o u n t a i n sB y JOHN HILTON 10CAMERA AR T 'Feel ' of the Deser tP h o t o g r a p h by WM. M. PENNINGTON . .13TRAVELOG " C a t h e d r a l T o w n " on the M o j a v eB y CH A S . L. HEALD 14

PHOTOGRAPHY Pr ize winning pictures in A u g u s t 16VAG ABO ND I Ha ve Re a l ly LivedB y EVERETT RUESS 17INDIAN CRAFTS Lena Blue CornPotter of H o p i l a n dB y MRS. WHITE MOUNTAIN SMITH . . . 18HOBBY Myste ry Rock of the Deser tB y MacDONALD WHITE 21LANDMARK "Threa ten ing Rock"B y J. L. PATTERSON 24CONTEST A n n o u n c e m e n t of month ly Landmark p r i ze . . 25NEWS Here and There on the Deser t 26

BOOKS C u r r e n t r e v i e w s of S o u t h w e s t e r n l i t e r a t u r e . . . 2 8C O N T R I B U T O R S W r i t e r s of t h e D e s e r t 2 9WEATHER A u g u s t t e m p e r a t u r e s on the dese r t 29PLACE N A M E S Origin of n a m e s in the S o u t h w e s t 30MINING Briefs from the deser t region 31PRIZES A n n o u n c e m e n t of month ly pho tograph ic con tes t . 32INDEX Com ple te index of Vol . 2 of the D e s e rt M a g a z i n e . 33COMMENT J u s t B e t w e e n Y o u a n d M e b y t h e E d i t o r . . . 3 7

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Publishing Company, 597State Street, El Centro, California. Entered as second class matter October 11, 1937 atthe post office at El Centro, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Title registeredNo . 358865 in U. S. Patent Office, and contents copyrighted 1939 by the Desert PublishingCompany. Permission to reproduce contents must be secured from the editor in writing.RANDALL HENDERSON, Editor.TAZEWELL H. LAMB, Associate Editor.

Advertising representative: Jos. W. Conrow, 326 W. Third St., Los Angeles, California.Manuscripts and photographs submitted must be accompanied by full return post-age. The Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility for damage or loss of manuscriptsor photographs although due care will be exercised for their safety. Subscribers shouldsend notice of change of address to the circulation department by the fifth of the monthpreceding issue.

S U B S C R I P T I O N R A T E S : 1 year $2 .50 2 years $4 .00 3 years $5 .00G I F T S U B S C R I P T I O N S : 1 subscript ion $2 .50 two $ 4 . 0 0 three $5 .00Canadian subscript ions 25c extra , fore ign 50c extraAddress subscript ion le t ters to D e se r t M a g a z i ne , El Centro, CaliforniaO C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9 1


4/38

ShantyCold, star-filled night, deep pulsing desert dayHave left you humbled. Still you bravely liftYour lonely, empty walls of sombre grey,To guide some wanderer through the sandy drift.You wait in vain the safe return of oneW ho dreamed of home, and built his flaming fires

B Y DORIS PRIESTLEYPomona, CaliforniaS K E T C H B Y N O R T O N A L L E NUpon your hearth, whose vision's woof was spunTo clothe the tumult of his fine desires!Back to the shifting soil on which you standReturn once more! Your sorrow ing vigil cease!For you the silent, moving, changing sandWill build a shrine and bring eternal peace!

INDIAN BOWLB Y A N N B U E L L ST A RKSeatt le, Washington

How patiently have old, brown handsWith wet clay wrought to form this bowl;And painted it with glowing hues,A chalice holding desert's soul. VACATION DREAMS

B Y A N N A E . F A L LSGanado, Arizona

I'd like to be a burro,A ragged, shagged burro,A vagabonding burro,Just dozing in the sun.Now, wouldn' t that be fun?I'd never comb my hair, sir;Nor brush the coat I wear, sir;W hat I didn 't know, ne'er care, sir;Undisturbed by fame or fadNow wouldn ' t I be g lad?I'd ape no arts nor isms;Wail no foreign feuds nor schisms;Bothered not by crowns nor chrisms.While I ambled through the sand.Wouldn' t days l ike that be grand?I'd browse among the sagesNot the kind that write on pagesAnd I'd drowse for hours and ages,Where there 's neither work nor worry.And no need to ever hurry.Oh, I'd like to be a burro,A happy care-free burro,A lazy lop-eared burro,Just a roamin' here and there.That's the life I'd like to share.

BONDAGEB Y MR S. O. C . BARNE SLos Angeles, CaliforniaI'd heard and read of the desert waste,And often I'd wondered whyThere could be room for so fearful a placeBeneatli so gorgeous a sky.

But now that I know this barren landThis "desert of death," so to speakI regret the day that I cast my lotWith the milling throng on the street.DESERT MAGIC

B Y BESSIE M. MOO RELas Vegas, New MexicoOut where the Desert Spirit dwellsMother of Fate there weaves her spells;Threads that are fine, and soft, and greyTell of the desert dawn of day.Threads that are gleaming, row on row,Woven in noonday's golden glow.There's crimson blaze of sunset rayThat marks the close of desert day.And last of all a velvet bar,Where shines a single, silver star,Makes up the web that holds me hereA willing captive year on year.

CREED OF THE DESERTBY JUNE LE MERT PAXTON

"Now some folk say the snake'sa curse,But human venom can be worse."At least, so says Sidewinder SamWho worries not, nor gives arap.

THE DESERT RESTSB Y A L I C E D . S C H O E L L E R M A NPomona, CaliforniaSo like a tired old man, who in his dayOf strength and fabrication wrought with careHis own bright world, and quaffed the cupof play,The desert sits alone in summer's chair,Rocking the time away, dreaming of thingsSo dear, so sweet; remembering the bellsOf Joshua trees, the golden cups, the wingsOf birds and butterflies that fanned the wellsOf honey where the bees sucked eagerly;Remembering the poppies' dazzling gleamsThe lupines' restful blue, the meagrelySupplied, though ardent, lovers' whispereddreams.The desert, resting, waits for God to bringStrength for the fleeting loveliness of Spring!

DESERT SCENEBY EVA CARPENTER IVERSENEncinitas, California

I saw a swift dart through the sageA black, black widow's abodeA chipmunk raised his bushy tailAnd sailed across the road.A raven fed beside the wayA rabbit scurried byA bird flew into a holly bushA grey hawk floated high.The mountains raised their hoary headsThe sinks lay far belowThe valleys were clad in shimmering heatThe peaks wore bonnets of snow.A miner passed with his burros and packs.He was tall, and very thin.The lady who rode by my side exclaimed;"Why! That is Seldom Seen Slim."

T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


5/38

When Merina Lujan was a little girl sheclimbed the steep slopes of Taos peak withher grandfather. When they reached the sum-mit, bleeding and exhausted, he said: "Nevermind, little granddaughter. The air up here isgood. It belongs to the gods, and to breathetheir air one must make a sacrifice." TodayMerina is regarded by many critics as thetop ranking Indian artist of America. But inclimbing the long steep slope to fame shelearned how true were the words spoken byher grandfather.

She Steathedthe -flitthe God5

By HELEN SHIELD SPEAKER

N a little cottage near the end ofa narrow street that winds besidethe rippling waters of AcequiaMadre in Santa Fe, New Mexico, livesdark-eyed Merina Lujan Hopkins. Theart world knows her by her Indian name,Pop Chalee.Merina is a daughter of the Pueblo ofTaosa daughter of whom her tribes-men are proud, for she is regarded bymany critics as the foremost Indianpainter in America today.Also, Merina thinks very highly of herpeople. "The Taos Indians are fighters,"she will tell you. "Was it not in Taosthat the revolt of 1680 was born?"Despite her admiration for the fight-ing prowess of her ancestors Merina is apeaceable person. If you follow the pathto the little home almost hidden behindtall hollyhocks and flowering vines, prob-ably you will be greeted at the door bya small girl with laughing eyes and longblack braids that reach below her waist.If you make the mistake of inquiring,us many have asked, "Is your mother athome?" you will be informed by thelaughing young lady that she is themother of the household. Her friendli-ness w::ll put you quickly at ease.Artists and distinguished visitors fromall parts of the world come to this modest

Merina Lujan Hopkins, known in the art world by her Indianname, PopChalee. Photograph by Kellogg Studios.home in historic Santa Fe. Within a two-week period last summer PopChalee en-tertained a prominent New York pub-lisher, a well known Indian lecturer, 10German editors visiting this country ona world tour, two Jewish artists fromPalestine and a celebrated French paint-er. She was the first Indian painter in-cluded in America's "Who's Who," andone of the few American Indians whohave had their work exhibited in Eur-ope. Her paintings are displayed thisyear at the San Francisco and New Yorkfairs, and are hung permanently in theRussell Sage foundation in New Yorkand the Stanford Museum of Fine Artsin Palo Alto.What is the secret of this Indian girl'srapid rise in the art world at an agewhen many artists of talent are strug-gling for bare recognition?Merina answers the question by re-

peating an old Indian proverb. "A roadis given you," she quotes, "and you mustfollow regardless of all else."Then she turns and looks at the dis-tant mountains, her eyes darkening wi/hemotion."The path up to the top of Taosmountain is much steeper and rockierthan these slopes near Santa Fe," shesays. "Often I used to climb Taos peakwith my thleetuo (grandfather). By thetime we reached the summit my arms andlegs would be scratched and bleedingand my fine buckskin boots soiled andtorn."" 'Never mind,' my grandfather wouldsay. 'The air up here is good. It belongsto the gods, and to breathe their air onemust make a sacrifice.' "It was many years before Merina un-derstood the full truth of her grandfath-er's teaching as it applies to everythingin life. They were years spent in the pro-

O C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9


6/38

saic and difficult task of raising a familywhile trying at the same time to carry onher art work and carve out a career forherself.Merina Lujan wasborn at Taos Pueb-lo . She was the daughter of Joseph Lu-jan, beloved ambassador of the Taostribe. A widely traveled and highly in-telligent man, he spoke six languagesand for many years was interpreter forJohn Collier, now commissioner of In-dian affairs. Merina's uncle, Tony Lujan,married Mabel Dodge, the writer.In the Tewa language of the Taos In-dians Pop Chalee means Blue Flower.The name was given her by her grand-father. Blue lake is the sacred lake ofthe Taos, and it was from the delicatemountain flower that grows only in thehigher altitude of the Sangre de Cristomountains that the name was derived.The name, Merina, was given by hermother. Today she uses the Indian PopChalee only in her professional work.

As a child Merina roamed the fieldsand mountain meadows where her com-panions were the animals she now de-picts so gracefully on canvas. There shedeveloped a deep love and understandingof animal nature, but it was many years

Following the traditional m ethod ofher Indian ancestors, PopChaleedoes all of her work in two di-mensions only. Her gay little bearsand graceful deer are a delight toart collectors. This photograph ofon e o\ her water colors was madeby Wyatt Davis of Santa Fe.before her talent for re-creating her ani-mal friends in artist's colors was dis-covered.She lived for several years at Salt LakeCity and there she met and married OtisHopkins, her Anglo-American husbandand there her two children, Jack, aged14, and Betty, 12, were born. She wasknown in Salt Lake as a talented Indiangirl whocould sing and dance and lec-ture. No one, least of all herself, sus-pected her talent for painting during thatperiod.Then the Hopkins family moved toSanta Feand Merina met DorothyDunn, the teacher who was to recast theIndian girl in a newrole. In 1933MissDunn was placed at the head of thenewly created department of Fine andApplied Arts in the Indian school atSanta Fe.

Merina wanted to learn to paintandshe enrolled in the school. Her childrenwere now of school age and she accom-panied them to the campus each day.Miss Dunn quickly saw the natural tal-ent in this vivacious young Indian moth-er, and set to work to encourage and de-velop it.How well she succeeded is attested bythe fact that in less than two years thepaintings of Pop Chalee were being ex-hibited on both sides of the Americancontinent. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., soadmired her work he sent her a large or-de r of personal greeting cards to behand-painted.Although she has been schooled byAmerican teachers and has lived thegreater part of her life with the whiterace, she has retained her inherent racialintegrity, and the cultural outlook of theIndian.She is proud of her Indian blood andhas a deep love and respect for her race,particularly the Pueblo people of theSouthwest. She is keenly interested in theproblem of the present daythe problemof adjustment between the religion and

The DESERT MAGAZINE


7/38

"The Indian is an artist by nature,"

"We can learn many things from the

"Indian art is the only truly native art

"For instance, no two of the 175 In-ian pupils at the Santa Fe Indian schooliraw horses alike. Life and vitality showin every animal, but each differs mark-edly from the others."We work in two dimensions only, asour ancestors didnever in three. Andwe use opaque water colors because theyare the nearest to the ancient Indianmineral and organic pigments. However,we experiment in color, design and sub-ject matterand that is the reason In-dian art is such a vital living thing to-day."One of Merina's best known water col-ors is her copy of an Indian Skin paint-ing, one of the few known to exist. Or-iginally these skins were hidden in thekivas of the pueblos where no whiteperson was ever allowed to see them.Probably she is best known for herdelightful animal paintings. These are indemand among discriminating collec-tors. No other artist paints animals withthe delicate grace and joyous rhythm ofPo p C halee. Her gay little bears and flee-ing deer sparkle with animation. She has

illustrated several books for children andrecently completed the illustrations for"My Mother's House," a story of Indianlife to be published by the Viking press.Animals are as much a part of this ar-tist's life as her own children. Her homeat times takes on the appearance of a pri-vate zoo. Her pets have included Horace,the turtle, who lived beneath a holly-hock plant and ambled contentedly fromkitchen to living room, Lobo the policeclog, Jeepers-Creepers the black chickenwho follows Merina from room to room

like a devoted dog, a chipmunk and arabbit. If others come Merina immedi-ately adopts them.But she never allows her pets or herart work to interfere with the devoted

T R U E O R F A L S E Just for variation, the Desert Magazinestaff has prepared a "True or False" testto take the place of the "Desert Quiz"this month. We hope our thousands of "Quiz" fans will find this set of prob-lems no less entertaining and informative than those which have appeared inprevious issues. This is a rather severe test of your acquaintance with the des-ert. If you can answer 10 of them correctly you are a well informed studentof the desert. A score of 15 makes you eligible for the fraternity of dyed-in-the-wool "desert rats," and if you solve more than 15 you will be entitled to thehonorary degree of S. D. S.Sand Dune Sage. The answers are on page 32.

1The tragic Oatman family massacre in 1851 occurred at Oatman, Arizona.True False2The soldiers who accompanied Juan Bautista de Anza on his trek fromTubac to Monterey in 1775-76 wore armor plate of metal.True False3Salton Sea, California, would soon evaporate and become a dry lake if itwere not fed by drainage water from the Imperial Irrigation district.True False4Pimeria is the name of a grass that grows in Southern Arizona.True False5The State flower of Arizona is the Saguaro.True False6The Navajo silversmiths learned their craft from the Mexican.True False7A rattlesnake adds a new button to its rattle every year of its life.True False8Shiva's temple is in Bryce canyon, Utah . Tru e False9The Smoki people of Prescott use only non-venomous snakes in their an-nual ritual. Tru e False10D esert mistletoe never grows on mesquite trees. True False

11Largest tributary of the Colorado river below Boulder dam is the BillW illiams river. True False12The sand in the White Sands national monument of New Mexico is com-posed mostly of gypsum. True False13 The state university of Nevada is at Reno. True- False14The most famous Boothill cemetery in the Southwest is located at Tomb-stone, Arizona. True False15The "Lost City" of Nevada derived its name from the fact that it is nowburied beneath the waters of Lake Mead. True False16The Bisnaga or barrel cactus often grows to a height of 12 feet or more.True False17The color of the blossoms on a Palo Verde tree is yellow.True False18The highest mountain immediately adjacent to Death Valley, California

is Telescope peak. True False19There are just 29 native palms growing today in the oasis at TwentyninePalms, California. True False20Desert Indians in Southern California formerly used a crude boomerangto capture rabbits. True False

care she gives to her children. With thehelp of Betty and Jack she does her ownhousework, preparing three meals a day,doing her ironing, and finding time tosew, quilt and keep up her dancing. Sheeven took a course in aviation.Visitors at the Inter-Tribal Ceremonialat Gallup each year find Merina dressedin a white doeskin robe, her arms andfingers heavy with turquoise and silver, astring of wampum entwined in her longblack braids, and wearing the distinctive

white boots of the Taos women. Or shemay be dancing around an Indian camp-fire to the throb of Indian drums as partof the Ceremonial program.According to an old tribal legend, theIndian "breathes the spirit of the Sun,the Stars and the Earth unto himself."And that perhaps is the explanation forthe fascinating personality of this Indiangirl, for she not only breathes the spiritof the Sun, the Stars and the Earth, butthe spirit of joy and eternal youth.

O C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9


8/38

Ayoo'nalh nezi, Navajo Medicine man.Photograph byMilton Jack Snow.If you are one of those whoregard theNava-jo religion as mere savage superstit ion and themedicine men as a clan of fakirs, you may bemore tolerant after you read the followingstory. The Navajo creed has this in commonwith all other religions Faith is its corner-

stone. Medicine mengeneral ly are reluctant todiscuss their religious beliefs with the aliensof another race but Ayoo'nalh nezi is an un-usually intelligent Indianand his friendshipfor the author of theaccompanying article hasmade possib le one of the most informative fea-tures ever printed in the Desert Magazine.By RICHARD F. VAN VALKENBURGH

j S I followed a dim trail that wound through a forestg~ \ of juniper and piiion deep in the Navajo reservationnear Canyon del Muerto my senses caught the rhyth-mic beat of primitive music.Somewhere near at hand the tribesmen were holding aceremonial danceand that was the goal of my lone journeyinto this remote desert wilderness. Through the mysterious"wireless" of Navajoland I had learned that on this nightthe Indians were to hold the Fire dance of the Top-of-the-Mountain chant. I wanted to witness this dance, but moreparticularly I wanted to become acquainted with Ayoo'nalhnezi, famed medicine man, who, perhaps better than anyotheramong all the Navajo, knew every line and symbol of thisgreatest of all healing ceremonies.A few moments later I glimpsed the flicker of firelightthrough the dark branches, andthen I came upon the scenesuch a picture as no mere words can portray. Hundreds ofsilent intent Indians were seated on the ground in a littleclearing in the forest. Beyond, the dancers were performingtheir sacred rites while the air vibrated with the rhythmicchant of a little group of medicine men singing to the ac-companiment of buffalo-hide rattles. The air was scented withthe pungent odor of burning juniper. The smoke burned my

Sotn to ttea A/curajoMedicine Man

nostrils, but the Indians were too intent on the ceremony toshare my discomfort.Apparently I was theonly white manpresent, and I squat-ted on the ground unobtrusively with the family of Tachiininezh. No word was exchanged. I preferred to look on andask no questions. Far into the night I sat with my Indianfriends and as the ceremony continued I was transported toanother and more ancient world in which my own ancestorsperhaps played the roles of medicine men in a kindred ritual.My spell wasbroken by the gentle pressure of a hand onmy arm. As I turned, a Navajo lad whispered softly: "Mygrandfather wishes you to come up with the medicine men.He wishes to speak to you."We pressed through the colorful assembly of Navajo untilwe came to the chanting medicine men. Following the exam-ple of my guide I squatted in a vacant place in the circle ofchanters. When the shifting firelight cast a bright shaft our

way, I saw that I was seated beside Ayoo'nalh nezi.An old Navajo woman came out of the darkness carryingfood. She laid on the ground before us barbecued muttonribs, fat discs of Navajo fried bread, and a pot of steamingcoffee. Ayoo'nalh nezi stopped chanting and laid down hisrattle, then turned to me and said: "We are surprised tosee a lone white man in this remote place. Eat, my friend!Then you shall stay by my side and see every dance."Thus began my friendship with Ayoo'nalh nezi. In theintervening years we have spent many hours together, hoursthat were of increasing interest to me as my knowledge ofhis language improved and we came to know each otherbetter.Ayoo'nalh nezi knows theways of thewhite man better thana majority of the elders in his tribe. Twenty-five years ago hewas one of the best silversmiths among the Navajo, and wasa member of a little band of Indians taken to the World'sFair in San Francisco to exhibit the craftsmanship of thered man. More recently he hasbeen making a series of water-color replicas of the sand-paintings in the beautiful moun-tain chant under the direction of Arthur Woodward, for theLos Angeles museum. He is a highly intelligent Indian, lovedand respected by his own tribesmen and his Anglo-Americanacquaintances.A few weeks ago I sat on a sheepskin in Ayoo'nalh nezi'ssummer hogan in the pineclad mountains northwest of Ft.Defiance, Arizona. We hadarrived in the early morning after

witnessing the Red Ant chant at Hosteen Frank's hogan nearCrystal, NewMexico. A bright fire in the center of the floorin the hogan brought comfort from the chill morning air.Bah, the wife of Ayoo'nalh nezi was sitting on the flooron the opposite side of the hogan kneading dough for themorning meal.The DESERT MAGAZINE


9/38

Here was an opportunity to ask theold medicine man some questions thathad long been in my mind. I wanted toknow about his youth, and how he be-came a medicine man, and how he feltabout his own and the white man's re-ligion."Why do you ask?" he questioned."What in the life of an old Navajowould you care to know? My life hasbeen very simple compared with thatof your people. I know about yourachievements. I learned about your flyingautomobiles, your iron boats that float,your wagons that run with lightning I saw these things when I was in SanFrancisco."Your people in some magic way havelearned to harness nature. The talkingbox on your desk at Ft. Defiance that

brings strange words and chants throughthe air is magic. Many old-men's-lives-ago our Holy People were able to talkthrough the air, but we earth peoplenever have learned the secret. I wantnothing to do with these iron talkers.Some of our medicine men say they stealthe good things out of the air and makethe Navajo gods angry, and that is thereason we have been having so muchtrouble lately.""When you speak of the gods, whomdo you mean, Grandfather?" I asked."We Navajo believe in a supremepower, not a supreme being. We call itEtnit. Our godsTalking god, Housegod, Fire god, Changing woman andWhite Shell woman are all children ofEtnit. We do not fear the things of na-turelightning, the bears, the rattle-snakes, the whirlwinds. It is the powerof Etnit back of them that is capable ofbringing harm. One feels it, knows it is

Hundreds of silent intent Navajosat on the ground, fascinated by theweird rhythm of the cha nting medi-cine men as the fire dancers per-formed their ritual. Sketch by RoseRiley.

present, but cannot see it. This universalpower can be beneficial to manor dan-gerous to him. Medicine men are themediums through which this power canbe utilized by the Navajo for good, andfor protection against evil. Throughprayers and offerings of turquoise, whiteshell, mother-of-pearl and jet, the powerof Etnit can be enlisted to bring beauty tophysical things, and to the mind.

"When a Navajo sends for a medi-cine man he must have faith. He mustbelieve that we medicine men are themediums through whom Etnit restoreshealth and drives out evil. For over 50years I have been healing Navajo whowere sick in mind and body, and I knowthe power of religion.""How did you become a medicineman, Grandfather?" I asked."I was born in the fall of the year 69

years ago. My mother's father was Chali-sani, the Earth and Awl chant singer. Hewas one of the greatest of all Navajomedicine men. When I was old enoughto talk, I started memorizing the sacredprayers and stories. Chalisani told mymother I was born to be a medicine manfor I was a thoughtful boy and remem-bered what he told me."When I had seen 12 harvests pass,Chalisani started to train me to conductthe Life chant. I was sent out to collectthe sacred feathers of the mountain bluebird and the yellow warbler. I learnedto gather the herbs and plants necessaryfor healing, and to make prayer sticks.Then I began to memorize the songs andassist in the ceremonies."One afternoon, at the season when theNavajo country was turning from greento gold and the dry leaves were flying inthe wind, my grandfather and I werefollowing the old trail between Canyonde Chelly and Lying-Down-Star butte. Inthose days the butte was sacred and werode there to gather medicine and pray.Later Chee Dodge built his ranch homethere and after that the place was nolonger sacred. That is the way of theNavajo. Common use destroys the sacred-ness of a place.

"The trail led through a dense pineforest. We came upon a bear sitting in apine tree. Upon seeing him Chalisani ledme under a nearby tree and we sat downon a log. For some time we sat theresilent. I know now that my grandfatherwas praying. After a while he spoke, tell-ing me the story of the Girl-Who-Changed-into-a-Bear. Then he told methe sacred and secret name of the bear."I was young and had all of the Nava-jo's traditional fear of the bear. W hengrandfather had told me the story he ap-proached the tree in which the bear wassitting and untied his sacred buckskinbag and scattered corn pollen on the

O C T O B E R 1 9 3 9


10/38

ground as he prayed to himself. Cornpollen is used to invoke the blessing ofthe gods."He climbed the tree andwent out onthe limb toward the bear. The animallooked in Chalisani's eyes and growled.Chalisani looked the bear in the eye andcalled him by his secret name. Then hetook a rope from his belt and withoutfear put it around the bear's neck andled him down the tree. The bear fol-lowed like a tame animal."When they reached theground Chali-sani again opened his pollen bag. Hetouched the bear's tongue with the tipof his tongue. Then he touched the topof his head, and tossed the remainingpollen toward the heavens as he said:'I am Changing Woman's elder son.To escape the evil of the BearPeopleI am the dew sprinkler.Bear, today your heart shall notlive.Bear, today your thoughts shall notlive.The gates open.Bear, go on your way.'"The bear understood him and whenChalisani took the rope from his neckambled off into a thicket of mountainoaks."That was when I learned the powerthat comes from knowing the powerprayers, and having faith that they willwork. Also, it was important to know thesecret name of the Bear People. Thatgave him power over them. That is whythe Navajo never tell each other theirsecret names. To do so might enable awitch or evil person to gain power overthem."When I grew older I used the magicmy g randfather hadtaught me in dealingv/ith bears. Therefore, I do not fear theBear People as do many Navajo. Buteven with the power and knowledge theNavajo religion has given me there isone problem I cannot solve."

"What is that, grandfather? PerhapsI mayhelp you," I suggested."No, Hosteen Tsoh, myproblem is toobig for anywhite man or Navajo to rem-edy," answered Ayoo'nalh nezi.

"My people will pass from the earthas the snow melts on the ground. TheNavajo believes that human life has threeparts. First is the physical body, secondthe spirit or breath of life, and third theinvisible ghost that hovers in and aroundthe body."When a Navajo dies a natural deathfrom old age the body slowly disinte-grates and disappears. Nothing remainsbehind. But when death comes by vio-knce or sickness in the prime of life theghostly power remains on earth, hover-ing near the corpse. That is what theNavajo fears. He calls it Tchindiis.

white man,after all, wants to perpetuatethe Navajo nation.There is a glimmer of hope here. Per-haps, after all, Ayoo'nalh nezi's childrenand grandchildren in cooperation withenlightened leaders among the white peo-ple will find themselves at the end oftheir twelve-old-men's-lives entering anew era in which the best traditions ofboth races will be combined to bringabout a brighter future.

Summer hogan oj Ayoo'nalh nezi inthe mountains near Ft. Defiance,Arizona."The old people have taught us thatthe life of the Navajo world will be 12-old-men's-lives, or near 1000 years. Weare now in the ninth-old-man's-life.""But grandfather," I asked. "Is thereno wayyour world may be prolonged?""Yes, there is one way our people canbe saved. That is by the preservation ofold Navajo customs and religion. Butlook about you, and you will see whatmakes me sad. The Navajo way of lifeis being changed by the white man. Ourchildren go to your schools andhospitals.Soon they forget their Indian religion, orlaugh at it. When a Navajo forgets hisreligion he ceases to be a Navajo. SomeNavajo even marry whites. We old peo-ple know this is wrong. We have beentaught that the Navajo are the best peo-ple on earth. We should never mix our

blood with that of the white race."Notwithstanding his gloomy forebod-ings, Ayoo'nalh nezi is a true and loyalfriend of his white neighbors and of thebig chiefs at Washington. In these trou-bled days when the Navajo faces thenecessity of reducing his stock to save anover-grazed range, Navajo leaders likeAyoo'nalh nezi are rendering a fine ser-vice in the interest of peace andharmony.In this venerable and respected oldmedi-cine man the young hot-bloods see anexample of patience and attempted un-derstanding.Ayoo'nalh nezi has been told that thewhite father at Washington wants to ex-tend to the Indians the right to worshipas they please. He wants to believe thisis true because it will beevidence that the

Bey, HardRock Shortyof . . .DeathVal leyBy LON GARRISON

E skatin'? Say Mister, I'mthe ice skatin' champion o'Death Valley! I got medalsan' scars to prove it too."Hard Rock Shorty leaned backagainst the porch rail, calculatedthe shade, andproceeded about hisathletic prowess."Yes sir!Right back here in thePanamints we used to go skatin'ever' winter. Had hockey gamestoo on some o' the pools builtdams an' made 'em big enough.'Long in January an' February itwas pretty good, an' one wintervvnen it was real cold, them hovsprings over by Furnace creek frozeover an' we skated on them too. Itwas over there I had a accident thatstopped me from skatin' for good."The Death Valley Demons wasplayin' hockey against the DarwinMonkeys, an' with the score tied at24 apiece, an' five seconds to go, Ireally cuts loose. I skates circlesaround ever' body, an' just as thefinal whistle blowed, I plunks inthe winnin' basket. But I got a lit-tle off balance doin' it, sizzlin' a-long like a blue streak, an' one o'them Monkeys tripped me. I hitthe ice so hard that I bustedthrough it. An' do youknow downbelow the ice the water in themsprings was still so hot I blamednear scalded to death before theygot me out o' there. Yes, that'showI got all them scars on my legs.Burnt me so bad I had to quitskatin'."

The DESERT MAGAZINE


11/38

The Pookang and the Bear ( A Hopi Legend)The traditional little imps of Hopi folklore are the Pookonghoya. They werethe Peck's bad boys of the Hopi mesas in the period of long ago. These l i ttlemischief-makers appear frequently in Hopi fireside legends, and the Indian,children follow their adventures with the same interest that white children de-vote to their comic p ag e heroes in the Su nday new spaper supplement. T his taleof a Pookong prank is another of the legends told to Harry James by old ChiefTewaquaptewa.

As told to HARRY C. JAMESI I EARS ago the people living on Second Mesa were(J troubled with a great bear that at one time killedJ seven of the people.The Chief of Mishongnovi decided to ask the aid of Pook-onghoya in killing the bear. To please the little war-god hemade a bow of very hard wood and two arrows, one featheredwith parrot feathers and the other with the feathers of a blue-bird. He also fashioned out of buckskin a ball which he stuffedwith cotton. As a gift to the Spider Woman who, as youknow, was the grandmother of Pookonghoya, he made aspecial bahos.The two were highly pleased with their gifts and Pook-onghoya, taking with him a stick to hit the ball, went at onceto find the bear.

As he was coming around a huge rock he saw the creaturein the distance. It stood up on its hind legs, holding out itspaws. Pookonghoya sat down and waited for the animal tocome closer, and when it was very close he shot an arrowinto its throat. The bear fell and the little war-god dashedup and hit it with his ball-stick so that it died at once.

When he saw the bear was dead he suddenly had an idea.He would play a joke on the people and on his grandmother,Spider Woman. He carefully skinned the bear so that the

Il lustrat ion by W. Mootzka, Hopi Art isthide was like a great bag. He filled the skin with dry grassand carefully sewed up the opening so that it looked justlike a live bear. Then he tied a rope to the bear's neck, wrap-ping the end around his waist.When he got close to the village he dropped the bear hideand started to run, the stuffed creature bounding along be-hind him at the rope's end. When it hit a rock it would boundinto the air as if it were chasing him with great leaps. Pook-onghoya ran faster and faster, screaming: "A bear is chasing!"e!!"The people were frightened and ran to the tops of theirhouses, saying: "A great bear is chasing Pookonghoya!" Andsome one ran to the Spider Woman and told her: "A bearis chasing your grandchild!"The grandmother ran into her kiva, the Pookonghoya afterher. As he caught up with her he threw the bear on top ofher. She was so frightened she fainted dead away.When she woke up Pookonghoya laughed at her andshowed her the bear. As she was wise and Pookonghoya'sgrandmother, she said: "You are naughty! You have scaredme." Then she spanked him very hard.The Chief and the people of Second Mesa were very happy.They could go to their fields again without being frightenedby the bear.

O C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9 9


12/38

Chalcedony specimens from the Saddle mountains area

Carnelian InSaddle Mountains

This month John Hilton tak es thegem and min-eral collectors into a little known field inArizonawhere he found chalcedony in many shades ,ranging from deep cornelian to white. In thespring of theyear this is al so a gorgeous spot forbotanists and those who love to c a m p in thewildflower areas. Theaccompanyi ng map is ac-curate, but if you forget to take the map alongand get lostas John didyou will find somebig-hearted Arizonans at the store at Winters-burg to direct you to the proper locality.

" " ~ f^URN left at an abandoned/ mill and follow the rocky roadto the foot of the mountains."One of my rock-collecting friends hadscribbled these directions on the back ofa business card to aid me in finding alittle known field in the Saddle moun-tains north of Hassayampa, Arizona,where pretty specimens of carnelian andother forms of chalcedony were to befound.My companion was William McNutt,and we were making this exploratorytrip out into the Hassayampa desert inthe hope of finding a gem area of specialinterest to Desert Magazine readers.But something was wrong. According

By JOHN W. HILTONto our speedometer we had covered thenecessary mileagebut there was no millin sight. We continued along the road,then unexpectedly, we found an aban-doned windmill. Perhaps that was the"mill" our friend had mentioned.So we took the dim trail that led offthrough the sage toward some low hillsin the distance. Soon we came to a fork,bu t we stayed on the route that appearedto lead toward the hills. Then there wasanother fork, and another, and we rea-lized we merely were following wood-cutter trails. The hills were close at handnow and it was plain they were not theright formation for the kind of gem ma-terial we were seeking.

We back-tracked to the main road andcontinued along the route that leads to-ward Salome the little town madefamous by Dick Wick Hall and his frogthat never learned to swim.A water tank andwindmill and a flag-pole appeared on the horizon, and whenwe reached the little settlement welearned we were in Wintersburg. Therewas a general store, a garage and aschoolhouse also some friendly Ari-zonans.We soon learned that the folks at thestore were readers of the Desert Maga-zineand when we told them we weregathering material for an article to ap-pear in the magazine they were especial-

10 The DESERT MAGAZINE


13/38

ly courteous, andoffered togive any aidthey could.I started to ask about an abandonedmill which was to be our guide-post in locating thegem field, but wasinterrupted by a shout from Mac. "Isn'tthis what we are looking for?" he ex-claimed. Hewas standing beside a smallcactus garden, andsure enough, it wasstrewn with fine pieces of carnelian, sardand pink andwhite chalcedony in theform we call "desert roses."

N . L.Kentch, the storekeeper knew theexact location from which these speci-mens came. While wewere eating ourlunch wenoticed a fine collection of In-dian relics in thestore, andwere toldthere were Indian caves, burial grounds,petroglyphs and even small rock fortsin this region also a number ofiwelldefined Indian trails. Ken tch's gti nd -

This general view of Saddle moun-tains will make it easy for thosevisiting thearea to locate thege mfield.daughter had won a prize in a recenthobby show for a collection of arrow-heads she hadgathered in this desertarea.The old mill we were seeking wasnine miles further along the road, wewere told. Later when wearrived therewe discovered there was a 10-mile errorin thedirections that hadbeen given tous previously. This is anallowable error,however, when one is following verbaldirections. Once inDeath Valley I spentthree fruitless days trying tolocate anoldmining claim. My guide was aman whoasserted he hadbeen over that part ofthe desert many times. Eventually we

found themineat the end of a trailwhich ran in the opposite direction fromwhich my guide thought it shouldbe.Those who have tried tofollow verbaldirections on thedesert will appreciatethe time andeffort required in prepar-ation of the maps Norton Allen draws sographically for theDesert Magazine.

One of the men at the store volun-teered toaccompany us to the gem field.As we continued along the road ourguide pointed outevidence of former In-dian camps in a number of places.Near the summit of a lowpass wecame to themillsite we hadbeen seek-ing. There was little left except the con-crete foundations of an oldstamp milland some broken glass scattered in thebrush.This was once called Midway City andwas a flourishing mining camp with

ROSES VCHALCEDONY& CARNELIAN

WINTERS WELL ~

10 Ml. TO H ASSAYAMPA S U.S.80 -PHOENIX, 53 M.r.-~. ' JMriy,

O C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9 11


14/38

William McNutt, whoaccompanied ]ohnpetroglyphs indance halls, saloons and a "boothill"cemetery. Cliffs that formerly echoed therumble of machinery and the din ofboisterous night lift now stand in a si-lence that is broken only by the chirp ofa ground squirrel or the call of a distantcoyote.Slowly but surely the desert reclaimsits own, and today the most conspicuousthing about Midway City is the scarcityof evidence that a boom mining campever existed here. Even the mine dumpswere covered with wildflowers when Ivisited the spot. Here and there thehardygreasewood has taken root in the rockpiles, and in time they will be completelyobscured by the flora of the desert. Resi-dents of the area know little about thisold mining camp and I was able to getlittle definite information as to its his-tory.Collectors will find some colorfulspecimens in the old dumps. Sulphides,carbonates andsilicates of copper are ob-tained, and we picked up some very finesamples of chrysocolla. They were toosoft to cut and polish but hadgood colorand would be welcome additions to theshelves of most collectors.The oldshafts areunfenced andshouldbe carefully avoided. Amateur collectorsoften prove the truth of the old proverb"fools rush in where angels fear totread." Most of these old mines are un-safe for exploration and no veteran min-ing man would think of entering themuntil a light blast has been dischargedto shake down rock loosened by weather-ing during the years of abandonment.The ground was so thickly covered

Hilton to this gem field, finds Indianthe vicinity.with wild poppies it was some time be-fore I noticed that even in this old town-site the desert wasstrewn with agate. Aswe neared thehills both the poppies andthe chalcedony roses became more plenti-ful. The alluvial fan that extends southand east from the mountains was agleaming mass of yellow, occasionallypunctuated with purple lupine and thesofter colors of myriad other desertflowers.

Actually, the wildflowers, althoughbeautiful in the extreme, were a draw-back to gem collecting. The sun reflect-ing on the predominant yellow of thepoppies was so intense as to make it

difficult to see the stones on the groundunder them. Thespring is a period of un-usual beauty in this area, but the winter-time when small vegetation is sparsewould be preferable for the collecting ofgems.At the base of one of the cliffs wefound small caves which evidently hadbeen used at some prehistoric time asshelters for Indians. In one of them werecrude mortars in the rock floor, with thepestles still in place. Although a num-ber of people know the location of thisfield, none have yet been greedy orthoughtless enough to remove the pestles.It is to be hoped that those who are di-rected to this spot by the Desert Maga-zine will be equally considerate. Thepestles are very crude and would havelittle value away from the mortars wherethey belong.Walking about the base of the moun-tain we found the entire area to be lib-erally sprinkled with good specimens,and I have no doubt that deeper in thehills chalcedony roses may be found inplace. In some spots small geodes withhollow crystal centers are weathering outof the rock. One of these places producedthe peculiar clam-shaped geode whichcauses so much speculation among geolo-gists.I have a theory regarding the forma-tion of these geodes which is offered forwhat it is worth. Unlike an actual clamshell, these geodes have their thinnestedge at their widest point.We know that the ordinary geodefound in andesite flows is simply formedby the deposit andcrystallization of min-erals in the cavity formed by an air bub-ble in the lava in its molten state. I dis-covered one cold morning that if I sud-denly inverted a slim bottle of honey, thebubble that rose to the other end wasContinued on page 23Immediately below thearrow are theancient Indian caves in Saddle mou ntains.



15/38

SECURITY

TeeL oj\ the l/elettBy JOHN STEWART MacCLARY

Photograph by WM. M. PENNINGTON

O C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9

/yNSTEAD of keeping his wealth in a safety de-, V posit vault in the bank, the Navajo invests it insilver and turquoise jewelry to be worn on hisperson. When the white man needs a loan he pledgeshis securitieswhen the Navajo wants cash he pawnshis jewelry. If it remains unredeemed after the stipu-lated period it may be sold by the licensed trader whomade the loan.Just as savings in the bank provide security againstan emergency for the Anglo-American, the silver andgems owned by the Indian provide ready cash in timeof need.13


16/38

Cathedral Townon the Mojave

w wWhen the cool days come in Octoberand Southern Californians feel the urge toload the bedroll in the jalopy and headfor the great open spaces of the desert,

here is an interesting trip into Mojavecountry. For those who know somethingabout geology this trip will be doubly in-terestingand for those who do not knowbut would like to learn, here is easy les-son No. 1.By CHAS. L. HEALD

(Y~ REIGHTERS a n d prospectorsk -L who crossed the arid Mojave des-' ert a half century ago called theplace Cathedral Townbut today it ap-pears on the maps only as the "Pinna-cles."It is a well known landmark on thatgreat waterless plain known as the Searleslake region. I had heard about the Pin-nacles, and since they could be reachedin a day's trip from Los Angeles I de-cided to see them for myself, and per-haps get some photographs.We took the route through colorfulFled Rock canyon to a point on the Mo-jave-Lone Pine highway. Three miles be-yond Freeman junction we took the rightturn toward Inyokern. Continuing in an

easterly direction we passed the glisten-ing white playa of China dry lake. It issaid the lake bed sediment here is richin quicksilver. Much money has beenspent on processes and machinery forrecovering this liquid metal but none ofthe attempts has met with success.Beyond China lake a gently slopingalluvial plain ends abruptly against thejagged foothills of Argus range. Precipi-tous canyons and boulder strewn arroyostell of the mighty force of the flood cur-rent that comes down these treelessslopes during infrequent cloudbursts.Much of the world's supply of potash,borax and various sodium salts comesfrom this area.As we glided down Salt Wells can-yon toward the great white expanse ofSearles dry lake we saw evidence of the

inland sea which once occupied this sink.Layers of white sediment deposited onthe boulders are visible on both sides ofthe canyon.The Searles basin includes an area of60 square miles, and in the center of itis a playa of 12 square miles encrustedwith a 70-foot layer of crystalline saltsand brine. Here at Trona the AmericanPotash & Chemical corporation producespotash salts, borax, boric acid, sodiumsulfate and sodium carbonate.Our first view of the Pinnacles wasobtained as we approached the floor ofthe lake bed. From a distance of six orseven miles it was easy to understand whythe name "Cathedral Tow n " had beengiven the little cluster of towers and

spires rising from the comparatively levelfloor of the desert.Viewed at close range, the pinnaclesappear to be composed of a petrifiedsponge-like mate rial. Actually, it is aform of limestone known as calcareoustufa.Towering crags of limestone resem-bling overgrown stalagmites and rangingup to 100 feet in height, have broughtmany conjectures as to their formation.Some have thought they were built byliving beings. Geologists studying theregion later proved they were right, butthe organisms which had built thesemonuments were much smaller than hadbeen suspected. Cathedral Town is not acity built by man, either present or past.It is the handiwork of millions uponmillions of microscopic bits of primitive

14

plant life known as algae. They thrivedin the placid waters of the lake whichonce existed here. The story as recon-structed by the men of science is as fol-lows:Thousands of years ago during theperiod known to geologists as the Pleis-tocene epoch, the northern part of thecontinent was covered by a great icesheet. The Sierra Nevadas were also cov-ered with great masses of snow and ice.The climate was much more humid thanat present and as the ice age drew to aclose, the waters from the melting Sierraglaciers flowed southward t h r o u g hOwens valley. Near the lower end of thevalley their path was blocked by a greatflow of black lava which had pouredfrom the earth at an earlier period ofvolcanic activity. The water backed upbehind this natural dam creating a largelake, a remnant of which is now knownas Owens lake.Water from the melting glaciers con-tinued to flow down the valley untilfinally it poured over the top of the lavadam into the valley below. Continuingthrough Indian Wells valley the waterwas again impounded in a depressionnear the southwest end of the Argusrange, the dry playa of which is nowknown as China lake. From here itflowe d around the southern end of theArgus range to another large basin westof the Slate mountains. This body ofwater grew in size until finally it mergedwith the waters in the China lake areaforming a single great lake which hasbeen known as Searles lake. The present

T h e D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


17/38

floor of the basin west of the SlateSearles lake once had a depth of over

Now let us witness the actual con-

for tissue building. Th e removal

ulations of calcareous tufa. Thesecontinued to grow toward the

Change is an everlasting law of na-The flow of water from the Sierra

only after infrequentand soon disappears by seepage andThe accumulation of chemical sedi-

tigVALLEY WELLS

:iLakei

P I N N A C L E S

JOHANNESBURGRED MTN.\RANDSBURGATOLIA

TO U.3.466 Sr SAN BERNARDINO

O C T O B E R 1 9 3 9 15


18/38

By RUSS CLARK1471 E. McKinleyPhoenix, ArizonaThis picture was awarded

first prize in the Desert Maga-zine photograph contest in Au-gust. Taken with a 9x12 cm.Voightland Avus with K2 filterat 9:00 a. m. Stop f22, Vz sec-ond. Defender XF Pan film.

Special Me/utIn addition to the prize win-ners, the following entries weregiven special merit rating bythe judges:"Carrie" by Robert Gemmel,Ontario, California."After the Storm," by Wilton

Carneal, Hollywood, California."Joshua Tree" by HelenYoung, Delavan Lake, Wiscon-sin.

(Mesquite)By ROBERT A. CARTTERTrona, California

Awarded second prize in theAug ust, contest. T aken withModel 'B Exakta, distance twofeet with extension tube . Ex-posure s ix seconds w i t hshaded 60-watt bulb at f22.

16


19/38

What strange impulse caused the young artist-poet Everett Ruess to for-sake the city where he had home and friends, and wander for months at atime along the lonely trails of the desert wilderness? This is an ever recur-ring question in the minds of those who have been following the vagabondjourneys of this unusual young man. The answer is found in Everett's let-ters, written to family and friends. Following are some quotations from theseletters. Two of them were written three years before Ruess mysteriouslydropped from sight in southern Utah in 1934. The third was written a yearlater, and the last one four months before his disappearance. The originalstory of Everett's last trek was told by Hugh Lacy in the Desert Magazine,September, 1938.

' < ) 4 J a V eBy EVERETT RUESS

I.f \ S for my own life, it is workingf /rather fortunately. These days\ ' away from the city have been thehappiest of my life. It has all been abeautiful dream, sometimes tranquil,sometimes fantastic, and with enoughpain and tragedy to make the delightspossible by contrast. The whole dreamhas been filled with warm and cool butperfect colors, and with aesthetic con-templation, as I have jogged behind mylittle burro. A love for everyone and foreverything has welled up, finding no out-

let except in my art.Music has been in my heart all thetime, and poetry in my thoughts. Aloneon the open desert, I have made upsongs of wild, poignant rejoicing andtranscendent melancholy. The world hasseemed more beautiful to me than everbefore. I have loved the red rocks, thetwisted trees, the red sand blowing inthe wind, the slow sunny clouds crossingthe sky, the shafts of moonlight on mybed at night. I have seemed to be at onewith the world. I have rejoiced to set out,to be going somewhere, and I have felta still sublimity, looking into the coalsof my campfires, and seeing far beyondthem. I have been happy in my work,and I have exulted in my play. I havereally lived.

In the meantime, my burro and I, anda little dog, if I can find one, are goingon and on, until, sooner or later, wereach the end of the horizon. (Writtento his friend Bill Jacobs of Hollywood.)II .Those were great days at the VeitRanchidyllic days. There I seemed tofeel the true spirit of delight, the exal-tation, the sense of being more thanman, lying in the long cool grass, or ona flat topped rock, looking up at the ex-quisitely curved, cleanly-smooth aspenlimbs, watching the slow clouds go by. I

would close my eyes and feel a coolnesson my cheeks as the sun was covered,and then later the warmth of the sun onmy eyelids. And always there was thesoft rustling of aspen leaves, and a queersense of remoteness, of feeling morebeauty than I could ever portray or tellof. Have you ever felt that way?Here is a picture of my caravan: Myfittle dog Curly, Cynthia, Percival, and I.We have traveled far over mountainsand deserts, through forests and canyons,seeing strange and beautiful things, hav-ing grim and glorious experiences, butnone that would make me forget yourhospitality and generosity in my time ofneed.Best wishes for a happy Noel.(A first draft of this letter, from LosAngeles to ranch friends at Christmas,1931, wasfound among Everett's papers.The parents of Everett would be happyto hear from those ivho received this let-ter, who are as yet unknown to them.)III.Three or four years ago I came to theconclusion that for me, at least, the lonetrail was the best, and the years thatfollowed strengthened my belief.It is not that I am unable to enjoycompanionship or unable to adapt myselfto other people. But I dislike to bringinto play the aggressiveness of spiritwhich is necessary with an assertive com-panion, and I have found it easier andmore adventurous to face situationsalone. There is a splendid freedom insolitude, and after all it is for solitudethat I go to the mountains and deserts,not for companionship. In solitude I canbare my soul to the mountains una-bashed. I can work or think, act or re-cline, at any whim, and nothing standsbetween me and the wild.Then, on occasion, I am grateful forwhat unusual and fine personalities Imay encounter by chance, but I havelearned not to look too avidly for them.

This picture of Everett Ruess withhis dog Curly and one of hisburrostaken during his desert wanderings.I delve into myself, into abstractions andideas, trying to arrange the other thingsharmoniously, but after that, taking themas they come. {Letter to a friend.)IV .Viljamur Steffanson, the Arctic ex-plorer, says that adventures are a signof unpreparedness and incompetence. Ithink he is largely right, nevertheless Ilike adventure and enjoy taking chanceswhen skill and fortitude play a part. Ifwe never had any adventures, we shouldnever know what stuff is in us. (Letterto Mrs. Emily Ormond, May 2, 1934,from Kayenta, Arizona.)V.(Some treasured verses copied in theback of Everett's o riginal Diary ofSouth-west Wanderings.)* * *"A man is what he loves."Ekhart.* * *"Better to face the goal beyond ourscaling,Rather than with our lowered bannerstrailingTo take the paths of safety leadinghome." * * *"In vain shall any lesser lights be burn-

ingFor us whoglimpsed the vision fromafar.We shall go down the road of unre-turning,Broken and spent, but faithful to a star."O C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9 17


20/38

* \ .

Lena Blue C orn, one of the m ost skilled of Hopi pottery makers, is the woman on the left. Photo by Frasher.

This month Mrs. White Moun-tain Smith takes Desert Maga-zine readers into the home ofone of the skilled pottery mak-ers on the Hopi reservation. Youwill not only know more aboutone of the most ancient of In-dian crafts when you have readthis story, but you will alsohave a better understanding ofthe customs and traditions ofthese peace-loving tribesmen ofthe desert mesas .

By MRS. WHITE MOUNTAIN SMITHr HE noonday sun beat down onthe ancient rock house at the footof the Hopi First Mesa, whereLena Blue Corn, maker of pottery, lives.The hollyhocks drooped in the sun anda fat little dog thumped the hard earthwith a friendly tail when the whitewoman stepped over him.On the window ledge were dozens oftiny pieces of unbaked pottery drying in18

readiness for the design to be applied.They were typical of the graceful bowlsand symmetrical vases Lena turns out. Istopped to examine them. From the door-way came an amused chuckle."For Lions Club ladies to take backeast as souvenirs!"She greeted me with a warm hand-clasp. I had not seen Lena for two years.Together we entered the huge low ceil-inged room, cool and dim, where gener-ations of her forebears had been born,lived and died, each leaving its tithingof prayer sticks tucked securely amongthe age-old beams that supported thedirt roof. Unlike the Navajo, the Hopiand Tewa Indians have no dread of liv-

ing in a house visited by death. Theirpeople merely have gone on to join happy spirits in another world where thereis no famine, no fight with the elementsand no lack of water for the cornfields.When my eyes were adjusted to the

T h e D E SE R T M A G A Z I N E

Lena Blue CornPotter of Hopiland


21/38


22/38

a red "slip" and this turns out to be abrick color when fired.With all the vases coated and ready toreceive their design, they were turned up-side down while Lena and I took ollas ofher making and walked a few yards tothe ancient water hole, sole source ofHopi water supply for many centuries.

This pool is reached by going down 30deep worn stone steps, trod by gener-ations of water carriers. In recent yearsthe government has erected a stone houseover the pool. I shivered as I stood inthe semi-gloom trying to look into thedepth of that greenish water hole, sacredhome of Hopi water gods. Lena stoopedto dip her olla and murmured a word ofsupplication or thanksgiving to the godsas she lifted the filled vessel. As weclimbed back out into the sunlight, I sawhundreds of bahos or prayer sticks tuckedin the crevices of the stone steps and roof.Bits of pinon and juniper twigs were tiedtogether with cedar bark and each bahohad its eagledown feather that stirredand waved in the faint breeze we madein passing. I was glad to get back intothe sunlight again, but Lena stopped tosay a few displeased words to a Navajofamily just arrived with a wagon andfour waterbarrels! She didn't think muchof Navajo water thieves, she said.

Back in tne cool old room we foundthe dinner cleared away and the otheroccupants scattered. The boys were out-side in the shaded patio teasing the sleep?dog and the daughter had gone to seeabout her friend's sick baby. From a deer-skin bag hanging against the wall, Lenabrought some dried flowers of the rabbitbush and crushed them between her fin-gers until they were well powdered. Andfrom another bag she poured out bits ofroasted and powdered pinon gum. Mix-ing these together in a rock mortar sheblended them with watermelon seed oiland her paint was prepared. The brushtook little labor. She peeled the fibrefrom a dried yucca leaf and chewed itinto a flexible wisp.

Lena picked up a bowl about a foothigh and perhaps 14 inches around. Sheeyed it intently for a moment and thenplaced three minute dots on the rim ofit. Having thus divided her drawingspace, without hesitation she made threeconventionalized parrot feathei designsthat covered the entire surface, yet gaveno impression of being crowded. It wasone of the finest exhibitions of free handdrawing, without any pattern to follow,I have ever seen."To what clan do you belong, Blue(lorn?" I asked her when she reachedfor another vase."Kachina. Our women have the rightto use the parrot and parrot feather sym-

bols in any manner we wish on our pot-tery.""What do you mean 'right'? Are theHopi designs copyrighted or something?""Oh, no. But each clan has its ownparticular symbol and has the exclusiveright to use that symbol. For instance theCloud Clan has the Kachina design forits own and the Smoke Clan owns thecloud symbols, and that's the way it is.You see?"

I nodded, although I couldn't see whya member of the Cloud Clan couldn'tdraw a cloud if she wanted or why theSnake Clan didn't claim the winged ser-pent.Lena was painting an eight-inch circlein the bottom of a piki plaque, restingher little finger lightly on the rim toguide her yucca brush. Inside the circleshe drew two parrots facing each other.I have attempted to reproduce this draw-ing, using hours of labor and wastinguncounted sheets of drawing paper to ac-complish what she did within 20 min-utes. And she made no mistake in herwork. There is no way to erase rabbitbush and piiion gum paint from a Hopibowl The afternoon passed while sheswiftly and with little effort decoratedthe ashtrays for the Lions' bridge prizes,and I wove all sorts of mental picturesof the homes the little bits of potterywould eventually reach and what theywould mean to the white people so casu-ally using them.

Medicine Man Cures ChildWhen sunset came Lena began prepa-rations for the evening meal. Her hus-band had gone to Winslow a hundredmiles south in search of seasoned cotton-wood roots out of which to carve littleKachina dolls he fashioned with such lov-ing care. I walked toward the trail in-tending to see the sunset from Walpigap, but a Hopi girl I had known be-fore implored me to come in her houseand look at her baby. It was sick, shesaid.Inside the door an old Hopi grand-mother sat on the floor with her barefeet outstretched while she tenderlyswayed a carrying board held in herarms. Strapped fast to the board was abeautiful Indian child perhaps six monthsold, its great dark eyes dull with suffer-ing and the little hands tightly clutched.It was wrapped in half a dozen blankets.I persuaded the grandmother to lay theboard flat un the floor and I loosened thecoverings. Outside of the paleness andapparent pain I could find nothing

wrong. There was no fever and the pulsewas weak but regular."What's the matter with your baby,Mary Eleen?""She had a convulsion last night and

we took her to the government hospital.They said she had congestion of thelungs and rubbed grease on her breast. Ibrought her home and she was dying. Mymother ran out and got Bone Doctor (anaged medicine man who seemingly per-forms miracles among the H op i). Hefelt my baby all over and said that herneck was wrong. He gave it a quick twistand we could hear a little 'snap'. Thenpretty soon she began to breath easierand you see she is going to live!" Theold fellow, wrinkled and withered, camein just then and explained that a vertebrawas out of place in the baby's neck,caused by a jolt or fall.

I gave the little mother the orangesI had in my car and told her to keep thechild strapped to the board but not to letgrandmother smother it with all thoseblankets. It was too late to see the sunsetso I watched some boys corral their sheepand goats for the night and then scram-ble up the steep trail to their suppers. Anold man rode by, perched on top of animmense load of wood which almost hidthe tiny burro carrying it.

Early next morning I went to thehouse and Lena was placing the paintedpottery upside down on a smooth foun-dation of rocks. In the center of the rockshe laid a little fire of shredded cedarbark and bits of dry wood. She built asturdy oval-shaped cover of thick slabsof sheep manure over the pottery andjust before placing the top one shelighted the fire inside. These slabs wereeight or 10 inches square and perhapssix inches thick and had been cut fromthe floor of an old sheep corral used fordecades as the night enclosure for theflocks . As the fire b urned and a hole ap-peared in the oven Lena applied anotherslab, all the time moving quietly andtalking in a whisper to me. If we madea loud noise while the pottery baked thespirit of the bowls would be angry andbreak them before they were fired.

When evening came the kiln had beenreduced to a heap of flaky ashes tumbledaround the pots. After they were cooledLena brought them out and wiped awayall traces of the ashes. The designs stoodout sharp and clear, etched against thecreamy background, and no more beauti-ful or perfect craftsmanship could befound among the Tewa or Hopi potters.Since old Nampeyo has passed the agewhere she can shape and paint Hopibowls I think E Quat-che, Lena BlueCorn, is the finest of all potters amongthe women in Hopiland. There is a bigdemand for her work, and it can alwaysbe distinguished by its perfect contourand design. If there is any doubt, turn itupside down and look for the tiny ear ofcorn with its turned-back husks.



23/38

They are odd-looking thingsthose "Indian warclubs" of sandstone that the rock-hounds dig out ofthe: floor of the deser t. They are commonly calledsand-spikes, and they have no value except asspecimensbut they give the scientific fraternitya headache. No one has yet found a satisfactorytheory as to their origin. Here is the story of a col-lector who after 20 years of study admits that"only the Lord knows for sure how these thingswere created."

Myitety KockBy MacDONALD WHITE

j '9- F all the freakish geological grow ths that occur in\^ / nature, none is more interesting to the collector ormore baffling to the scientist than the sand-spike con-cretions found in limited areas of the Colorado and Mojavedeserts. H. W. Pierce, rock collector of Laguna Beach, Cali-fornia, was one of the first discoverers of these curious for-mations that are shaped like an ancient macea ball from thebase of which projects a tapering stem. Specimens dug fromthe age-old beds of fine "hour glass" sand range from a halfinch to nearly a yard in length.Rock collecting has become something more than a hobbyfor Pierce. By his own admission, it's his finest pastime.What's more, he gets a kick out of it. Mr. and Mrs. Piercemanage to keep busy tending their ocean-front apartmentsduring the summer season. But when winter comesplus theglorious sunny days of fall and springthat's when they gotraveling in their trailer to the deserts or anywhere theirfancy leads them. They believe in cramming in a lot of here-and-there fun in their lives.But everywhere they go, Pierce's experienced eyes are onthe look-out for unusual rocks. His collection now includesspecimens gathered from all over the world, too many thou-sands to count. But his special interest is sand-spikes.Glassed-in display cases line the walls of the Pierce livingroom. Visitors are welcome, if genuinely interested. Yetnothing is for sale. At home, during rainy spells, he studieshis rocks with the same warm pleasure that other men readmagazines and books. It's his form of relaxation."Each specimen recalls a different association with inter-esting people and places," he said. "And I could tell a thrill-ing story about each rock."Pierce likes to speculate about sand-spikes.What caused these oddities to grow in such curious, uni-form shapes? Why are they found in this one locality, andno other place in the world? Did they grow from scratch,where they are found, in the sand? Or were they washedinto position by waves or tides? Scientists would like to knowthe answers to these questions. But the origin of sand-spikesremains a mystery.

Theories have been advanced, and as quickly discarded.

H. W. Pierce finds sa nd-spikes by digging in the sandin certain places on the Mojave and Colorado river des-erts of Southern California.

The baffling feature of sand-spikes is that they combine twocommon formationsthe spherical grouping of calcite crystalsin the ball, and the radiating cylindrical structure, the stem.Separately, the formations can be explained from studies ofother concretions. But the combination is unique, hencemystifying.Sand-spikes were first brought to the attention of scientistsabout 20 years ago. The first specimens found were lying ex-posed on a sandy terrain that had once been the old Quater-

nary (Lake Cahuilla) shore line. Later diggings on thegrounds uncovered abundant clusters of sand-spikes at differ-ent levels.According to Pierce, sand-spikes are always found lyinghorizontal in the sand and usually in clusters of similarshapes or sizes. Short specimens are found together, and longones together. He has found about 30 different kinds insingle formations or in compound groups, with as many as20 grown together.He has dug more than 500 sand-spikes from one lo-cation near the Mexican border, and generously donated manyof them to universities and museums throughout the country.Ninety out of 100 of them, he says, are found pointing in awesterly direction when taken from their beds. Why? He

doesn't know.The heads of sand-spikes are built up of numerous sphe-roidal concretions all grown together and slightly flattened.Splitting a sand-spike reveals the horizontal bedding planesof stratification which penetrate the entire structure. TreatedO C T O B E R , 1 9 3 9 21


24/38

in a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid, sand-spikes areshown tocontain about 30per cent sand (mostly quartz) and70 percent calcite. This estimate is determined byweighingthe remaining residue of insoluble sand. Held momentarilyunder an ultra violet ray lamp, then removed, sand-spikeswill phosphoresce for a few seconds.Are sand-spikes stalactites? That was thetheory originallyadvanced by Dr. H. W. Nichols, following a preliminarystudy of five specimens sent to him for examination morethan 20years ago. Were they made byhand, byartisans ofsome past civilization? Were they originally a desert plantthat toppled over in thewind andeventually became solidi-fiedalways pointing in thesame direction? To this queryPierce's reply is: "Do winds always blow in thesame direc-tion?"Did sand-spikes grow from a molecule, or from materialprecipitated inharmonious proportions around anucleus, suchas a fossilized animal? Or maybe, like Topsy, they "justgrowed"a few thousand or million years ago. (Or is therea plan for everything?)These andmany other theories have been proposed byscientists in anattempt to explain theorigin of sand-spikes.Other types of concretions can be explained, yes, but notsand-spikes. According toPierce, itscombined sphericalanddrumstick structure defies all theknown rules. And all thetheories, apparently, can be refuted. Thus the mystery ofsand-spikes remains secure.Pierce tells a story of anambitious young graduate of aneastern university who hadheard about sand-spikes and de-cided to usethem as a subject for hismaster's thesis. Hewould be the first to prythis truth from silent naturehe

believed! Butafter weeks of intensive research theenthusi-astic young geologist finally abandoned hisstudies. Hecameto Pierce foradvice."Does anybody know definitely theorigin of sand-spikes?"he asked wistfully.Pierce, who hasbeen collecting oddgeological freaks forhalf a century, framed hisanswer with seasoned honesty."Yes," he said. "But only theLord knows for sureand

He won't tell!"

T w o V e a r s O l d a n d G r o w i n g R a p id l yWith this issue, theDesert Magazine completesits second year of publication. Starting with 662charter subscribers in November, 1937, the listhas grown steadily until today 10,000 copies arebeing issued monthlywith an estimated 40,000readers. For those who are keeping a file of themagazine for reference purposes a complete in-dex of Volume 2 is printed in the back of this

number. A similar index wascarried in Volume1 a year ago. If youwill glance through this in-dex youwill appreciate more fully thewide scopeof informative material carried in theDesert Mag-azine, and theimportance of preserving your cop-ies each month. A limited number of back issuesare still available for those who wish tocompletetheir files.

22Here areajewofthe "spikes" inPierce's co llectionatLagnna Beach, California.

The DESERT MAGAZINE


25/38

dle Mountains . . .Continued from page 12the shape of the geodes I de-The thin knife edge whichoints down gives the bubble a distinct

It is quite possible then that the lavahad about the same viscosity as cold hon-sy , explaining the distinctive and un-usual shape of the geode later formed inthe bubble cavity. I have noted that thesegeodes when found in place always havethe thn edge down.Certainly this is a more plausbiletheory than that such geodes are thecrystallized centers of fossil clams. Theyreally are not the shape of clams, andhad there been fossils present the extremeheat of the molten magma would havedestroyed their identity.The gem stones found on this tripwere carnelian (shades running frompale salmon to deep orange red), sard(a darker variety ranging from reddishtan to a deep caramel brown), pink chal-cedony and the ordinary white and creamcolored chalcedony usually found in "des-ert roses." The size of the stones foundhere is small, but the carnelian cuts intoa rather fine gem and is comparable withthat from many of the famous locationsof the world.The sard is not so popular a stone to-day because of its rather somber color,bu t it has a historic and talismanic back-ground found in the record of few othergems. It undoubtedly would be listed a-mong the first five gems of the ancients.Many museums today have fine speci-mens of signets and seals of sard, pro-duced by the craftsmen of the ancientworld. Some beautiful intaglios werefrom this dark brown gem.A mineral collection hardly is completewithout a specimen of sard and I haveno knowledge of any locality on the des-ert I can recommend as highly as Saddlemountains for securing this stone.The pink chalcedony found here issomewhat different from any I have seenfrom other localities. Some pieces actual-ly are the color of pale rose quartz withthe fine creamy texture characteristic ofchalcedony. Othe r specimens show aslight violet or amethystine tint, makingthem a distinctive type of chalcedony. Afine descriptive name for it would be"orchid stone." Its color and fluted edgesin the rough remind one of that flower.I have returned to the Saddle moun-tains once since my original visit there,but still did not have time to cover thearea as well as I would have liked. It isa grand place for collectors and onecould go there and camp for weeks with-out having a dull mom ent. Sooner orlater I am going to return there, both topaint and to prospect.

The Desert Trading PostClassified advertising in this section costs eight cents a word, $1.60 minimum

per issue actually about 10 cents per thousand readers.

GEMS AND MINERALSHAND MADE jewels from desert gems.Rocks and minerals cut and polished. TheDesert Gem, 3807V2 Fernwood Ave., LosAngeles, California.GEM CUTTINGSend your rough desertgemstones to F. H. Wallace, Box 344, ElCentro, Calif.,

193910 desert magazine 1939 october

Documents