195111 desert magazine 1951 november

8/14/2019 195111 Desert Magazine 1951 November

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Lost Gold fact or fiction . . .Prescott, ArizonaDesert :Two letters inyour September issueinterested me.Lewis R. Wilcox complained thathe wasunable to find the landmarksgiven by your writer, John D. Mitchell,for the general location of the lostcrater of gold described in your issueof last February.This is not surprising. 1 have hadthe same experience. Perhaps that iswhy the mines are losteven the land-marks are missing. Also, it may betrue that some of the lost mine writers,when they run out of factual material

introduce more orless fiction into theirstories. They shouldn't do that, for itmight lead totragedy.The second letter was from Sid R.Teeples, who wrote that hehad foundthe Pegleg Smith lost mine and wasgoing to sink a 10-foot shaft. I thinkhe's on thewrong trail. There are noshafts involved in thePegleg storyat least not in thestory I have heardfor thelast 50years. Very few of themodern versions of the lost Pegleggold deal with the facts as the old-timers knew them.I like good fictionbut I hate toseeit published as t ruth.R O B T . E.A M E S All Is Peaceful atBluff . . .

Bluff, UtahDesert :No doubt youhave read themuchexaggerated reports regarding the "In-dian uprising" at Bluff recently. Ac-cording tosome of the news dispatchesthe Navajos were on thewarpath andthe people in Bluff barricaded theirhomes. It istrue nine carloads of statetroopers were sent therewith guns.The truth is the Indians were not onthe warpath and thetownspeople werenot frightened.( F r . ) E U G E N E B O T E L H O

Turtle Mountain Hospitality . . .Colton, CaliforniaDesert :I just finished reading thearticle inthe October Desert about W. H. Brownof Beatty, and his friendly attitudetoward tourists. It brings to mymindanother desert old-timer who deservesthe same word of appreciationJesseCraik of the Lost Arch Inn in theTurtle Mountains south of Needles.We made a camping trip tour of th e

desert areas around the ColoradoRiver from Davis Dam south toBlythelast Labor Day weekend. The weatherwas just right, therains had made thewhole country sogreen andpretty, infact wewere amazed to see a carpetof yellow wild flowers inmany places.For September that isunusual .We had the July 1948 copy of Des-er t along, telling of theTurtle Moun-tain rock collecting area, sodrove overthere for ourfirst night's camp. Andwe received a most royal welcomefrom Mr. Craik, who gave us permis-sion tocamp at his"mansion" at thewindmill where his water supply is,not farfrom theInn.The next morning we drove backto the Inn and spent anenjoyable hourlistening tohis tales of thedesert,andhistory of the Turtles, aswell asaboutthe rocks to be found there. He wasmore than generous ingiving uschoicesamples of rocks which he had col-lected, and hemade us feel so muchat home that wewished we hadmoretime to spend there. Right now weare planning ongoing back assoon aswe can.Mr. Craik is truly awonderful host,a oneman chamber of commerce forthe desert because he knows it fromone end to theother.M R S . AILEEN McKINNEY John Got HisDirections Mixed . . .Pomona, CaliforniaDesert :We have just finished reading JohnD. Mitchell's lost mine story in yourOctober issue.And now we are wondering why theold prospector arrived inAmboy fromthe northeast if his mine was in theSheep Hole Mountains, which aresoutheast. Wewould like to get thisstraight, for my husband and I aregoing out there for a few days and wemay spend some time around the SheepHoles. M R S . E.N. NIC KER SONWe suspect that John D. Mitch-el l got his directions mixed orwas seeing amirage. Actually thedry lake mentioned by Mitchellan d the Sheep Hole Mountainsare both southeast of Amboy. Itis alovely desert area, but rugged.Take plenty of water. R. H.

When Money Came to Salome . . .Palm Desert, CaliforniaDesert:Referring to Ralph Fair's letter inyour October issue, he is right in onerespect. TheShefflers didbring lotsand lots of money into Salome. But ittakes more than money to build atown. Dick Wick Hall brought fameto Salomenot with money, butwith

a sense of humor that gave a nation-wide circulation tothe stories he wrote.I lived in Salome in the old dayswhen the Van Orsdels provided accom-modations for travelers who came thatway. Addie Orsdel envisioned the kindof community Dick Wick Hall hadsought to build, and kept alive theHall traditions. Van's place was thecommon meeting place for hardrockminers, tourists, prospectors, geologistsand veterans of every walk of life.They allfound a hearty welcome anda warm handclasp at Van's.

Then big money took overand theSalome of Dick Wick Hall, and theVan Orsdels, died. Salome became justa place to eatand drink and hurry on.They commercialize the achievementsof Dick Wick Halland do nothingto preserve theideals for which DickWick lived and wrote.LOIS ELDER R OY Giant Joshua . . .Yucca Valley, CaliforniaDesert :Perhaps you will beinterested in thediscovery of what we believe is oneof the largest Joshua trees onthe Cali-fornia desert.Four of us Fred and IsabelleEhlers, Guy Ohlen and thewriter found the tree high up in the LittleSan Bernardino Mountains in JoshuaTree National Monument recently.Storm water had washed outmuch of

the trail up thewash andmore thanonce we had toshovel out of the sandto reach theplace.The picture does not do justice tothe tree. Actually it is nearly 20 feetin circumference at the ground, and15 feet at its "slim" waistline. Thediameter at the base issix feet.Until some one reports abigger tree,we will regard this one asthe daddy ofthe Joshuas.J U N E L e M E R T P A X T O N The Tragedy ofInflation . . .Desert Center, CaliforniaDesert:Your magazine hasmany interest-ing storiesbut there isone importantsubject youhave not covered. Someof uswho live on thedesert and workfor small wages would like to knowho w we can goabout obtaining littlecabins of ourown.It seems that it is nolonger possiblefor a person earning less than $100 aweek to have a home of their own.Isn't there some way that a personcould obtain a little cabin on which

the payments would not bemore than$10 or $15 a month?T H E L M A G.SMITHDoes anyone know theanswerto that one?7?. H.DESERT MAGAZINE


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D E S E R T C A L E N D A ROctober 29Fall Round-up, Lancas-ter, California.October 29-31 Western RegionalConference AAA Motor Club,Phoenix, Arizona.October 30-November 4Fall Golf

Tournament, Motor Car DealersAssociation of Southern California,Thunderbird Ranch and CountryClub, Palm Springs, California.November 2-3Arizona Bankers' As-sociation convention, Tucson, Ari-zona.November 2-3Arizona State Teach-e r s " convention. Tucson, Arizona.November 3-4Sierra Club NaturalScience trip to Curtis Palms in theIndio hills. Star hike and campfire.Distance from Los Angeles about250 miles.November 3-12Arizona State Fair,State Fair Grounds. Phoenix. Ari-

zona.November 4-7Convention of Cali-fornia Association of County As-sessors, Desert Inn, Palm Springs,California.Nov em ber 10-14 Ogden Livestockshow, Ogden, Utah.November 12Tesuque Pueblo, St.James' Day fiesta and Harvest CornDance, New Mexico, and Jemezpueblo.November 12-13Old Tucson Days,Tucson Mountain Park, Arizona.November 12-14First Annual In-vitational Ladies' Golf Tournament.Thunderbird Ranch and CountryClub. Palm Springs, California.November 15-17International Min-ing Days, El Paso, Texas.November 16Opening of Rennais-sance Art Display, University ofArizona, Tucson, Arizona.November 17International Soropto-mist Conference, Desert Inn. PalmSprings, California.November 18El Conquistador Sad-dle Club Horse Show. Tucson,Arizona.November 22-25Southern CaliforniaChapter of the Sierra Club plansThanksgiving at Furnace Creekcamp ground.November 23-25Sierra Club's Des-ert Peaks Section field trip to MountPicacho and Castle Dome, northof Yuma in Arizona. From LosAngeles about 650 miles.November 24-25 Phoenix JuniorRodeo, Phoenix, Arizona.November Following first frost,Navajo Reservation. Navajo "Yei-be-chi" and Fire Dance.Late November or early DecemberZuni Pueblo, "Shalako" ceremoniesand House Dances.Month of November Exhibit ofPeruvian Arts and paintings byCharles Packard illustrating primi-tive costumes of California Indians.

Actual costumes will be on view.Southwest Museum. Highland Park.Los Angeles.

V o l u m e 1 4 NOVEMBER. 1951 N u m b e r 1 3

CO VER

LETTERSCALENDAREXP LO RATIO N

DELICATE ARCH in Utah. Kodach rome picture tak enby Josef Muench, Santa Barbara, CaliforniaComment from Desert's readers .November events on the desert .Cave of the Crystal "Snowbanks"By RICHARD F. LOGAN . .

'J ,3

LOST TREASURE B u r ie d T r e a s u r e i n t h e C h i r i c a h u a sB y W EL D O N H EA LD . . . .DESERT QUIZH ISTO RYI N D I A N SCO NTESTNATUREPOETRYCLO SE-UP SFICTIONMININGN E W SHOBBYLAPIDARYB O O K SC O M M E N T

A test of your desert knowledge5

1 4W h e n E z r a H a m i l t o n F o u n d G o l d a t W i l l o w S p r i n g sB y M A R C IA R IT T EN H OU S E W Y N N . . . 15B i g T a l k s " B o r r o w s " th e T r a d e r ' s A xBy SAN DY HASSEL L 19A n n o u n c e m e n t f o r w r i t e r sB i r ds of P r e y . . . D o T h e y D e s e r v e E x t i n ct i o n?B y G E O R G E M . B R A D T

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D a n c e E>ay a n d o t h e r p o e m sA b ou t t ho s e w h o w ri te for D e se rt . . . .H a rd R oc k S ho rt y of D e at h V a ll ey . . . .C u r r e n t n e w s of d e s e r t m i n e sF r o m H e r e a n d T h e r e o n t h e D e s e r t 2 7G e m s a n d M i n e r a l s 3 5Am at eu : : G em Cu t t e r , by LELANDE QU ICK . . 40R 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 4 1J us t B e t w e e n Y o u a n d M e , b y t h e E d it or . . . 4 2

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Press, Inc., Palm Desert,California. Re-entered as second class matter July 17, 1948, at the p ost office at Palm Desert,California, u nde r the Act of March 3, 1879. Title reg iste red No. 358865 in U. S. Pa ten t Office,and contents copyrighted 1951 by the Desert Press, Inc. Permission to reproduce contentsmust be secured from the editor in writing.RANDALL HENDERSON , Editor BESS STACY, Business ManagerMARTIN MORAN, Circulation M anager E. H. VAN NOSTRAND, AdvertisingLos Angeles Office (Ad vertising O nly): 2635 Ade lbert Ave., Phone N Orm andy 3-1509Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs submitted cannot be returned or acknowledgedunless full retur n postage is enclosed. Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility fordamage or loss of man uscripts or photograph s although due care will be exercised. Sub-scribers should send notice of change of address by the first of the month preceding Issue.SUBSCRIPTION RATES

One Year $3.50 Two Years $6.00Canadian Subscriptions 25c Extra, Foreign 50c ExtraSubscriptions to Army Personnel Outside U. S. A. Must Be Mailed In Conformity WithP . 0. D. Order No. 19687Address Correspondence to Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, California

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To SCOTTY'SCASTLE'To OOLDFIELO

BEATTY,,;'":.

C a v e o f t h e C r y s t a l' S n o w b a n k s 'By RICHARD F. LOGAN

Photographs by Walter S . Chamber l inMap by Norton Allen

/ J N A RE M O TE va ll ey , h idden in/ the ragged mou ntains east ofDeath Valley, is a cave that isquite unlike the usual run of caves.For it is decorated, not with the or-dinary stalactites, stalagmites, and theirassociates, but with fragile, glisteningcrystals that gleam like frost in therays of headlamps.Dawn of the day following Thanks-giving found us Estelle, my wife,Sandy and Jan, our young daughters,Jack Wilbur, a teen-age friend fromCalabasas, and myselfcrossing DeathValley and taking the Daylight Passroad toward Rhyolite. We had come.

to participate in the exploration of thisextraordinary cavern.The sun was just rising as we turnedoff the highway onto the little-usedTitus Canyon road. With its long raysbathing the colorful hills, ahead, wedrove up the long slope of an alluvialfan and into the shallow valleys of thedissected hills above. Crossing a ridgecrest, we looked across a small valleyand saw the road beyond, incised nar-rowly and steeply into the mountain-side.Ten minutes later we looked throughthe slot-like pass at the top of thegradeand shuddered. The mountain-

Old-iimsrs in Southern Cali-fornia will recall the days whenC. C. Julian was buying bigs p a c e in Los Angeles newspa-pers to promote the sale of stockin a "fabulously rich" mine nearthe California - Ne va da border.The mine was lacking in payore, and the promoter met atragic end after a fortune hadbeen invested in his worthlessstocks. But while Julian's hardrock miners failed to find ore inpaying quantities, they did en-counter a great subterraneancavern of amazing beauty. Re-cently this cave, now under thecustody of the National ParkService, was re-opened for ex-plorationand here is the storyof what was found.

side pitched down at a frighteningangle, and it seemed unbelievable thata road fit to travel could exist there.Below lay a small basin-like valleysurrounded by brilliantly - coloredmountains, dotted with disintegratingbuildings, scarred with tailings, and

pockmarked with mines and prospectholesthe old mining camp of Lead-field, California.Today, Leadfield is a ghost town.D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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As the explorers cast their lights about the cavern the w alls sparkled with millionsof tiny aragonite crystals. N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 1 5


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The party of explorers camped amid the crumbling buildings near the tailingsdump of the old mine at Leadville.bristling with fascicles of aragonitecrystals. Elsewhere, the strange warpedor curved stalactitic forms known ashelictites had developed.

During the first day on the site, wehad a visit from Chief Ranger E. E.Ogston of Death Valley National Mon-ument, who made a lengthy tripthrough the cave, accompanied byseveral expedition members. On thesecond day, Park Naturalist L. FloydKeller visited the cave, and RangerLewis Kirk brought his wife and chil-dren up to camp overnight with ourparty.During the second day, Don Emer-son of Monrovia and Bill Brown ofPasadena spent hours patiently chip-ping away at the ceiling of the tunnelto get firm holds for the door supports,

cementing the uprights in place, andwelding the door to them. Eventually,a padlock was put in place, and whenthe last spelunker was out, the lock

was snapped and the key turned overto the National Park Service.We set off in mid-afternoon of thesecond day on the trip back to pavedroads and civilization, following a routedown Titus Canyon.A quarter-mile below camp a pairof vertical wallslooking very muchlike theatre wingsrose from the val-ley floor. Between them Ihe dry streamchannel made its way with a pair ofreverse curves. Following the tracksof those who had gone before, wenosed into the stream bed, and formiles rolled over crunching gravel andthrough the deep sand of the stream,under walls that became higher andhigher.About two miles below Leadfield,a fine stream of water flowed down

the road from a clump of reeds andtamarisks. This was Klare Spring,where we had been told to look forpetroglyphs. And there they were, just

east of the springwavy lines, moun-tain sheep, snakes, chisled into thehard rock of the canyon wall by someaboriginal priest or doodler. Thisspring was the nearest large supply forthe Leadfield camp. A family wascamped by the spring.The turns became sharper, the can-yon narrower, the walls higher. Lessand less often we saw the sun on thecliffs above and we wonderedwhether we would be out by dark.Then through a narrow V ahead, wesaw the brilliant western sky. Withevery foot of advance, the V widened,and then suddenly, we were out onthe apex of a great alluvial fan. All ofDeath Valley was spread out beforeus, bathed in the last rays of the sink-ing sun. As we watched, the greatblack shadow of the Panamints creptacross the valley floor, the sun sankbehind the jagged ranges and thetrip was over.

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Above Stalactites are not common in this cave, and most of them are mis-shapenand encrusted with aragonite crystals.Below the commonest form of the aragonite found in the cave were theseradiating clusters of needle-like crystals.N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 1


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During the 1925-26 operat ions, oneof thegroups of mines on thewest wallof thevalley hadintercepted thecave.After the demise of the town, profes-sional mineral collectors hadraided it,removing large quantities of specimensfrom its walls and ceilings. The areacame under thejurisdiction of the Na-tional Park Service with the creationof Death Valley National Monumentin 1933. In 1940, to halt vandalism,an d to protect unwary wanderers, thecave was sealed off with masonry byPark Service employees.

Now, a decade later, the NationalSpeleological Society was cooperatingwith Superintendent T. R. Goodwinof theNational Monument in installinga door in place of the masonry, andat thesame time exploring andphoto-graphing the interior.Entrance to the mine was throughtwo horizontal tunnels, one about 100feet above the other. Our exploringparty was divided into two sections,on e for each tunnel. Stan Kahan ofLos Angeles City College led the ex-ploration of the upper tunnel. About100 feet from the entrance the upperpassage ended in a vertical shaft. Thegroup climbed down twoshort lengthsof oldladder andthen had to resort toropes to continue the descent. Theyworked down this old shaft to whereit intercepted the lower tunnelandwere greeted there by the exploringsection which had entered the lower

tunnel.Over a walkie-talkie, the news thatth e twoparties hadjoined wasrelayedto Ed Simmons and Walt Chamberlinof Pasadena. They were operating

short-wave station W6CLW in Walt'sconverted navy ambulance , whichserved as theexpedition's headquarters.From here on, the second party,headed by Al Hildinger of Los Ange-les City College, took the lead. Withropes, wire-rope ladders, carbide lampsand other equipment, they made thedescent of the cave shaft that droppedsteeply from the floor of the lowertunnel. The main part of the cavern,they found, layentirely below the levelof this tunnel. Over the route theyscouted out, 50 persons made the tripthrough the cave in thenext 24hours.By descending a steep shaft on awire-rope ladder, squeezing through anarrow tilted slot, and belly-crawlingthrough a constricted, tabe-like pas-sage, we emerged into a large slopingroom. Down its steep, mud-coveredfloor, footholds had been chopped,probably by theprofessional collectors

of an earlier day.Up to this point the cave had beenuninterestinga mud-floored aperturein solid rock. But here suddenly, oneentered a Winter Wonderland. On allsides, therays from theheadlampsdis-closed great areas of walls coated withcrystals, sparkling inpristine whiteness.Everywhere one looked, pin-points oflight shone back from great banksof "snow" seemingly drifted into everynook and cranny of the cave. Inspec-tion showed them to be radiating crys-tals of aragonite, often attached to thewall merely by a single, thin-shaftedneedle. Many were so fine and sharpthat they penetrated theskin of unwaryspelunkers who unwittingly leanedagainst them, causing irritation similar

. .Yes, Desert Magazine's cover is differentand more colorfulthis month. The cover picture of Delicate Arch in the Arches

National Monument in Utahis printed in full natural color. The 4x5Kodachrome picture from which the cover plates were made wastaken by Josef Muench of Santa Barbara, California. The printingw as d on e in Desert's publishing plant at Palm Desert.The use of desert scenes in full color has been the dream ofDesert Magazine's staff for years and we are glad that addedprinting facilities at our publishing plant have made it possible topresent the first of these natural desert scenes in this issueour 14thanniversary.For our December magazine another beautiful Kodachrome pic-ture already is in the engraving process. TheDecember cover willbe another Muench picture taken in Death Valley in wi.nterwiththe snow-capped high Sierras in the background.For January, February, March and the months that follow therewill bemore desert infull color. Weh op e thegrowth of ourcirculationin the years ahead will justify the use of many addit ional pages incolorfor this desert land is a place of exquisite coloring.

to that resulting from the carelesshandling of rock-wool insulation.A t the foot of the steep slope, thecave opened up into a series of inter-connecting chambers, up to 30 feet inlength, and 15 in width, with ceilings10 feet above the floor. Everywherethe walls and ceilings were radiantwith clear white crystals.But despite the frosty appearance,the heat andhumidity were oppressive.The temperature was 70 degrees, witha relative humidity of 95 percent. Theexertion of climbing, crawling andsqueezing through narrow passagesmade one perspire freely, and in thehumid airperspiration would notevap-orate, but remained annoyingly on theskin. Even the walls seemed to per-spire, for on the ends of many of themillions of crystals, tiny drops of waterglistened.Most of the usual cave formations

were scarce or lacking. Only in oneplace were stalactites, stalagmites flow-stone and drapery found. The stumpsof a fewstalactites showed where speci-mens hadbeen removed by collectorsbefore the sealing of the cave. Ap-parently, this lack of normal forma-tions is the result of the absence ofrunning or dripping water since theexcavation of the cavern had ceased.The cave itself appeared to havebeen formed in the usual manner bythe solution of limestone by groundwater. The solution took place alongbeds of thedark-gray, medium-grainedPogonip (Ordovician) limestone whichoccurs in a long north-south beltthrough the Grapevine Mountains, aswell as at other scattered locations inthe general area east of Death Valley.Since there is insufficient groundwater in the area today to accomplish,even over a very long period, the re-moval in solution of enough limestoneto form the cave, it seems likely thatit was formed during the Pleistocene.That period, synonomous with the IceAge inmore poleward andmore humidareas, was one of heavier rainfall inthe western deserts. Many of thepres-ent arid basins were partially occupiedby lakes, in whose waters lived clamsand fish. Death Valley itself waspartly inundated by thewaters of pre-historic Lake Manly.

Following the termination of thePleistocene, the amount of groundwater diminished to its present state ofscarcity. Consequently, thebulk of theexisting formations, stalactites and sta-lagmites, probably was formed duringthe period of excavation; although atespecia l ly-favored loca t ions wherestrong jointing admits a weak flow ofseepage, growth of such formationsstill continues in a limited manner.Many of the stalactites had surfacesDESERT MAGAZINE


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tains, permitting access from the min-ing centers of Rhyolite and Beatty.It was essentially a waterless townthat grew up at the site of the mines.A spring of sorts a quarter-mile eastprovided some water; but most of thesupply had to be hauled up a nine-hundred foot grade from a spring down

canyon. So it was not surprising thatwhen the mining boom collapsed thenext year the result of wildcat promo-tion and lack of ore. the place becamea ghost town.As we drove carefully down thegrade that day we could see that ghostshad com pany. A half-hundred personswere crawling out of sleeping bags andcooking their breakfasts over open fires.They were members and guests of theSouthern California Grotto of NationalSpeleological Society, a nationwide or-

ganization devoted to the study andexploration of caves, and they werethere to open, explore and close thisunusual cave.

To prevent vandalism and acci-dents, and yet make authorizedaccess possible, Bill Brown ofPasadena welded a door in placeat the mine entrance. The key isin custody of the National ParkService in Death Valley.

But it once was a thriving town, bask-ing in the brief flare of fame and for-tune of a boom mining town.Lead and silver ore had been dis-covered here in the Grapevine Moun-

tains as early as 1905, when BarneyMcCann and Bill Seaman had fileda dozen claims. Some ore was sortedbut it proved too low-grade to warrantshipping out by packtrainfor therewas no road then.During March, 1924, Ben Cham-bers, and F. J. Metz located 16 claims,which were taken over in July, 1925,by C. C. Julian's Western Lead Minescompany. At a cost of $60,000, theroad had been carved into the moun-

During the exploration Ed Sim-mons of Pasadena kept contactwith the expedition's truck byshort-wave radio.N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 1


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Looking down 3000 feet over the region where tlie $300,000 buried treasure issupposed to be hidden. Taken from 80 20-foot Silver Peak in Arizona's ChiricahuaMountains, Harris Mountain is prominent to the right with San Simon Valley andthe Mountains of New Mexico on the horizon beyond.

B u r i e d T r e a s u r eo f t h e C h i r ic a h u a sBy WELDON HEALD

Photographs by the AuthorMap by Norton Allen

One of the most persistentamong the lost treasure storiesof the Southwest is the tale of afortune in silver, gold and dia-monds said to be cached some-where in the Chiricahua Moun-tains of southeastern Arizonasmuggler's loot which was hi-jacked, then buried and lost.Weldon Heald has fol lowedevery clue which seemed tohave a bearing on the authen-ticity of the treasureand hereis the tale as he has pieced ittogether.

7HE B UR IED Treasure of th eChiricahuas isn't merely an old-timer's tall tale. It is authentic,twice-stolen plunder from Old Mexico,and it left a trail of blood and suddendeath across hundreds of miles ofempty deserts and barren mountains.Many points in the story are knownfacts and there is evidence that thetreasure exists. A dying bandit who

helped hijack a pack train of Mexicansmugglers even left a partial inventoryof the loot. The re was, he said, acigar box full of diamonds worth amillion dollars, stolen from a bankvault in Monterey, Mexico. Therewere 39 bars of gold bullion valued at$600,000, and scores of silver ingotscast in Mexico, 90,000 Mexican golddollars, and countless sacks of gold

and silver coins. Most interesting, buthardest to believe, the bandit listedtwo life-sized statues of pure goldone of the Savior and the other theVirgin Mary which once occupiedsanctuary niches in a great Mexicancathedral.The story starts in 1881 at Galey-ville on East Turkey Creek in the heartof the Chiricahua mountains of Ari-

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zona. White-faced Herefords nowgraze belly-deep in the lush summergrass on the site of Galeyville, but inits heyday the town was the unsavoryhangout of Tombstone's badmen. Prob-ably never before nor since has sucha trigger-happy crew of holdup men,gun-fighters, rustlers, crooked gam-blers, and cutthroats been gathered to-gether in one place. Rulers of thisrobbers' roost were Curley Bill Bro-cius and his dark, handsome lieuten-ant, John Ringo.

Although primarily a cattle rustler,Curley Bill, followed by his privatearmy of 40 to 100 bully-boys, hadnumerous ways of augmenting his in-come without working for it. One ofhis favorite methods was to waylayMexican smugglers en route to Tuc-son. Curley Bill's richest haul of smug-glers' pelf was made in July, 1881 atthe Devil's Kitchen in the rocky depthsof Skeleton Canyon, near the NewMexico line. That time the bandits split$75,000 in silver over the dead bodiesof slaughtered mules and hapless Mexi-cans. It is told that they spent everycent of it in four weeks at the bars andon the gambling tables of Gayleyville.

Soon afterward word came acrossthe border via Curly Bill's grapevinethat Mexican smugglers planned tobring in a cargo which far surpassedin value anything they had handledbefore. Curly Bill's eyes must havegleamed and his fingers itched, for heimmediately dispatched henchman JimHughes to Sonora to scout out theland and get the details. Hughes, aswarthy half-Mexican who spoke Span-ish like a native, quickly made friendsin Mexico by damning everythinggringo from the Constitution to CurlyBill himself. Here, thought the Mexi-

A great stone face, two hundredfeet high, looks down over therough eastern foothills of the Chi-ricahua where the treasure wasburied in 1881.

cans, as they toasted him in tequila,was un hombre muy simpatico.A good many tequilas later Hugheslearned from the smugglers that theyplanned to pass through Skeleton Can-yon and the San Simon Valley in Au-gust, following practically the sameroute as the last ill-starred pack train.Bursting with the big news, he hurriedback to Gayleyville to report to hischief. But Curly Bill wasn't there andnobody knew when he would return.There was no time to lose, so JimHughes decided to pull a magnificentdouble-cross and do the job himself.Swing Hunt, a mule-skinner who as-pired to higher things, and a 19-year-old embryo desperado named BillyGrounds joined Hughes. He persuadedfive other prominent citizens of Gayley-ville to take part. He swore them tosecrecy. Then one starry August nightthe eight of them stealthily rode out ofthe Chiricahuas and headed southeastacross San Simon Valley to SkeletonCanyon.

Next morning the Mexican packtrain, with 15 men and twice as manymules, came winding up the trail overthe Peloncillo Mountains and downinto the canyon. Swinging on themules' backs was perhaps the richest

cargo ever to cross the internationalline. The smugglers were cautious.Their black eyes under peaked som-breros constantly scanned the cliffs asthey passed through the Devil's Kit-chen, and their guns were cocked andready. But nothing happened exceptthat the birds sang, the stream rippledin the sun, and a light breeze soughedin the tree tops. Bueno!Near the canyon's entrance the 15men stopped for tortillas and frijoles,and a short siesta before tackling thelong hot trek through San Simon Val-ley. They posted guards up and downthe canyon, then stretched out com-fortably on the grass under a big oak.Suddenly there came a fusilade of riflefire from the rocky walls above andthe quiet canyon exploded in a roarof crashing echoes. Three Mexicanslay dead and panic seized the others.The ca mp sprang into a wildly confusedscramble of shouting, running men,

rearing horses, and stampeding mules.The smugglers jumped on their poniesand galloped down the canyon, bulletswhistling after them. Three moreMex icans fell as they fled. Th e heavily-laden mules, plunging and kicking infright, scattered in all directions.Then down out of ambush rode thebandits in hot pursuit of the treasure,

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LEGENDI - -COMANCHE WHITE 'SGRAVEI PREHIST ORIC RUINSHI GERONIMO'S SURRENDER -cfH OUTLAW OAK CORRAL ' ';'V HUGHES SMUGGLERMULETRAIN ROBBERYTZE DEVIL'S KITC HE Nm INDIAN CAVETEL GERONIMO'S CHA IR'

O LD S M U G G L E R T R A I L TOMEXICO VIA ANIMAS VALLEV "'

an d the canyon still rang with shotsuntil the last mule was killed. Somesay that oneescaped but, if so,nobodyknows what became of him.During the fray Zwing Hunt waswinged by a smuggler's bullet andBilly Grounds bound the wound withhis und ershirt. Wh en they rejoinedthe others they found an almost insur-mountable problem of what to dowith

the loot. Dead mules lay scattered inthe canyon and far out into the valley.With no wagons or pack animals thebandits couldn't move the treasure, soit wasdecided to cache it temporarilyat themouth of thecanyon. Two menstarted digging a hole in the groundbeneath three oak trees;, while theothers rifled the dead mules' aparejosand laboriously carried thebars of gold

and silver, and sacks of coins to thehiding place.Don't ask mewhere thebanditspro-cured picks and shovels, nor how twomen dug a hole several yards long andseven feet deep in one afternoon. Iwasn't even an innocent bystander.Neither will I vouch for the fact thatSkeleton Canyon is haunted by Mexi-can ghosts. But I do know that formany years afterwards gold and silvercoins, and thebleaching bones of menand mules lined the canyon from itsentrance to the Devil's Kitchen, andthat cowboys from neighboring ranchespicked up human skulls to use for soapdishes and ash trays.

Jim Hughes, having engineered theraid without the knowledge of CurlyBill, wasobliged to return to Gayley-ville and pretend nothing had hap-pened. The task of moving the lootwas entrusted toZwing Hunt andBillyGrounds. This they did several dayslater, with a four-horse wagon drivenby a Mexican teamster. They buriedthe treasure in a remote, secret spot,killed theMexican to seal his lips, shotthe horses, and burned the wagon asa funeral pyre.

Hughes trusted his two companionsin crime andwaited at Gayleyville fortheir report. But it never came. Afew days later Hunt and Grounds metand mixed with some other outlawsat theStockton Ranch andwere beatento the draw. Theyounger lad's prom-ising career in banditry was snuffedout like a candle and Hunt was takento the Tombstone hospital, badlywounded. There, double-crossing JimHughes was double-crossed himself,for when he came to call, Hunt es-caped by a rear window.

After a week or so Zwing Hunt'sbrother reported that the woundedbandit had been killed by Apaches,and showed a fresh grave to prove it.That should have ended the story, forZwing Hunt was theonly manleft whoknew the location of theBuried Treas-ure of the Chiricahuas, and his secretwent into the grave with him. But therumor of hisdeath wasundoubtedly adeliberate subterfuge to throw JimHughes off the scent. For, after somemonths, Zwing Hunt again miracu-lously appeared, risen from the deadthis time in his old home town, SanAntonio, Texas.

But his wound was bad. Gangrenehad set in and the doctors told him hehadn't long to live. He called hisuncle to his bedside and poured outthe whole story of theburied treasure.He then drew a map, and died. Thatleft no one alive who has laid eyes onthe loot, then or since. ButHunt 's de-scription is detailed and clear. Noone should have the least difficulty

12 DESERT MAGAZINE


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finding the placeexcept for one thing.But we'll come to that later.He explained, and showed on hismap, that the cache is iocated at thefoot of Davis Mountain. To the eaststretch open, roiling plains and fromthe summit of the peak you can seea good-sized slice of New Mexico. Amile and a half west curves a canyonhemmed in on the far side by woodedhills, while the east wall is formed bya sheer rock precipice. Through thiscanyon comes a stream which flowsover a ledge in a 10-foot cascade.Hunt said that he and Billy Groundstook a bath under the waterfall afterthey had buried the treasure. He putdown on the map also, the location oftwo springs about a mile and a quarterapart, and called the northerly oneSliver Spring and the other, GumSpring. Then he carefully describedhow to find the exact spot where theloot was buried. It was between the

two springs, but a little nearer Silver.The place was marked by a square-sided stone, one foot thick and threefeet high, and on the east face of thestone Hunt chiseled two crosses, oneabove the other. Walk twenty paceseast, he said, and you arc standing ontop of the Buried Treasure of theChiricahuas.So ther e it is. Sim ple, isn't it? Yetof the scores of searchers who havescoured the country in the past 70

' - * ? >

The De vil's Kitchen in Skeleton Cany on. It was said to be near this land-mark that the Mexican pack train was ambushed and the pack animalscarrying a fortune in silver and gold all killed.years, not one has discovered the sec-ret of Zwing Hunt and Billy Grounds.Why?Because nobody ever heard of DavisMountain and Hunt neglected to tellwhere it is. He named the peak him-self, after a pal of his whom he andBilly Grounds buried nearbv. But there

are at least 200 mountains from whichyou can see into New Mexico. Also,there are dozens of curving canyons.All over the place one can find charredwood, skeletons, squaresided rocks andsprings a mile and a quarter apart. Butup to now no one has found the buriedtreasu re. First to try was Hun t's uncle.Skeleton Canyon is in a remote spot in New Mexico's I'eloncillo Mountains and istoday prime cattle country. In the 1880's it was a smugglers' route from Mexicoto Tucson.

N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 1 13


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Then Hunt's brother spent 30 yearscombing the hills in vain. Altogetherthere must have been a hundred op-timists who thought they knew wherethe loot was buried. But it turned outthey were mistaken.

One of the most persistent searcherswas Bill Sanders who had a ranch onWest Turkey Creek. He believed thatZwing Hunt on his deathbed confusedthe names and that, instead of DavisMountain, he meant Harris Mountain.

* 4fc Desert M agazine 's mon thly Quiz is designedU f i S f t l l t i l l I Z ior two classes f r e a d e r s : ( 1 ) T h o s e w h oW V V l I Y * l l f c h a v e traveled the Southwest enough to be-come familiar with its people, place names, history and geography, and(2) Those who are still in the tenderfoot class but would like to learnmore about this interesting region. The questions delve into the fields ofhistory, geography, botany, mineralogy, Indians and the general lore ofthe desert. A score of 12 to 14 is fair, 15 to 17 good, and 18 or overexcellent. The answers are on page 34.1Tallest of the eight native trees found in the desert Southwest isJoshu a Ironw ood . Mesquite . Palm2 "St op e" is a word common ly used inSurveying . MiningYachting Archeology3Travelling from Los Angeles to Flagstaff, Arizona, over Highway 66you would cross the Colorado river at Hoover dam

Parker Ehrenburg Topock4Dr. Elwood Mead in whose honor Lake Mead was named wasU. S. Com mission er of Reclam ation Secretary of Interio r, U. S. Arm y engineer Chief of the Natio nal Par k Service5"The Gap" is the name of an Indian Trading Post 40 miles fromCanyo n de Chelly Navajo Bridge Taos Acom aMesa6 Fiddleneck is the comm on name of a desertTree . . F lowerReptile Bird7Indians whose tribal home is along the Colorado River near Needlesare the Pah utes . Hualpais . Shoshones Mojaves8Show low is the name of a town on Highw ay 60 Highway80 Highway 66 Highway 959Of the four states which meet at the common corner known as "TheFour Corn ers" the northwestern one isArizona . New Mex-ico Utah Colorado10Hotevilla is the name of a town on the reservation of theApacheIndians Hopis Yumas Cahuillas11 Mitchell Caverns are located in Arizona NevadaUta h . California12 The most comm on form of petrified wood isO pal AgateCalcite Tourmaline13If you wanted to meet Harry Goulding, famous trader and guide,you would go to Dea th Valley . Zion National ParkMo num ent Valley Carlsbad Caverns14 The fish you wo uld find most plentiful in Salton Sea areM ullett

Sea Bass Catfish Salmon15 Piki is the name of an India n Foo d . . Shelter . Ceremonialwand Weap on for hunting16John Wesley Powell wasCommander of the army which tookCalifornia from the Mex icans Builder of the first transco ntin-ental railroad Lea der of the first party to navigate the Co lorad othroug h Gra nd Canyon ... The officer who captured Geron imo17The padre who did advance scouting for the Coronado expeditionwas Father Fon t . Fray Marcos de Niza _ . Father Kino .Father Garces18Mineral most sought by prehistoric desert Indians for ornamentalpurposes was Garnet.__- . Turquo ise Agate . Carn e-lian19 Eleph ant Butte dam is in the Colo rado River, ._. . G ila RiverVirgin River Rio Gran de River20The bird most commonly found nesting in the Saguaro cactus isRoadru nner _ . Woodpecker Cactus wren Quail

The various versions of Hunt's mapwould seem to show that Bill Sanderswas right, and most of the recent treas-ure hunters have accepted HarrisMountain as a focal point of theirsearchings.This rather shapeless limestonehump, 6100 feet in elevation, is aneastern foothill of the Chiricahuas, sixmiles northwest of Portala place al-most as hard to find as the treasure.In many respects the surroundings fitHunt's description. Broad San SimonValley stretches away to the east, andfrom the mountain's summit you cansee into New Mexico. At its foot isa grave. A mile and a half southwest,East Turkey Creek Canyon makes acurve, with wooded hills beyond, andafter rains a stream flows there. Evena burned wagon has been found nearHarris Mountain.But there are baffling and conflict-ing exceptions. The grave contains theremains of a man named Harris, hiswife and child, all killed by Apaches.There is no ledge in the canyon tomake a ten-foot waterfall, and nobodyyet has found Gum and Silver springs,let alone the correct rock.However, you cannot discourageminers, prospectors or treasure hunt-

e r s . Year after year the search goeson and hundreds of tons of Arizonasoil are turned up in the everlastinghope that the next spadeful will un-cover the fabulous Buried Treasure ofthe Chiricahuas.As for me, although I live withinten miles of Harris Mountain, I haveno interest in the three million dollars.My attitude is solely that of historianwho is fired with zeal to separate thechaff from the wheat and to set downthe true facts. So you will und erstan dwhy I raced over to Animas Valley theminute I heard of an old Mexican therewho is reported to have been one ofthe nine smugglers who escaped JimHughes' hijacking foray in 1881. Therumor is that he knows more aboutthe treasure than he has told. Well, he

still does, as far as I am concerned.When I got my breath I accostedthe old man on the subject. He lookedup into the sky with eyes of infinitesadness."Cananea! Cananea!" he cackled ina rasping voice. "Naco y nogales siem-pre el mexicali. Mad re de Dios ense-nada."Or at least it sounded something likethat. It was all he would say. So he

t o o , will die with the secretif he hasonelocked in his heart.But at any rate you now know al-most as much as anyone else doesabout how to find the Buried Treasureof the Chiricahuas. Good Luck!



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This is Ezra Mofjet Hamilton in 1899, standing almost on the spot Irani which hetook out $4000 in gold. His magnifying glass, standard equipment of most miners,can be seen dangling from his finger, on a leather thong. Like many before him,he used the once common horn for sampling for gold. It is a cow's horn, cut inhalf lengthwise and with one end cut off. This fanned a convenient vessel, andwas responsible for the once common term, "horning"a word replaced by theterm "panning." His trousers are patchednot that he couldn't afford new onesbut because the padded patches made kneeling on the rocky ground less damagingto the knees. C. C. Pierce photo, courtesy Title Insurance and Trust Company,Los A ngeles.

W h e n E zra H a m ilto n F o u n dG old a t W illow S pr ing sBy MARCIA RITTENHOUSE WYNN

To Ezra Hamilton, gold in the ground was the same as gold, in thebankto be taken out only as it was needed for the living expenses forhis family. Here is the stcry of a rich strike on the Mojave desert ahalf century ago and of one of the most famous old waterholes inSouthern California.

ZRA HAMILTON, owner of aflourishing tile works in LosAngeles wasn't thinking ofmines or gold the day he started hunt-ing a better clay for his pipe makingback in the middle 'eighties. TheCity of Angels had recently been stirredout of its boundaries and tranquilityby a whopping real estate boom. TheNOVEMBER 95 15


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B I S H O PRRNDSBUR6

TO TCHflCHflPI

P B u r t o n M i l l . v ; . ; ' . . ' , . ' ;1V. . , . -- '''I ' " ' ' ' " lROSRMBNDDRY LRKE

'' ELIZRBETH LRKE

boom had greatly increased the town'spopulation, and this in turn had cre-ated a large demand for pipe, especi-ally soil pipe, to replace the open waterditches and out-grown plumbing ofpueblo days.

The local clay Ezra Hamilton wasusing didn't vitrify to suit him, so heinserted ads in the southland's lead-ing papers, hoping to learn the where-abouts of a good, decomposed silicadeposit. One of the samples he re-ceived in response to the ad camefrom near Rosamond, on the Mojavedesert.Ezra's son, Fred Hamilton, wholives near Rosamond today, recalled

the story for me. The sender of thesilica was Doctor Crandall. The sam-ple contained the necessary ingredients,so Ezra ordered a carload.

IRNCFISTER S LOS RNGELES

Though this desert silica relieved theAngelenos of their plumbing deficien-cies, it would have been of no importto history had it not contained morethan Hamilton had bargained for.There was gold in it!

Its gold values were discovered bythe tile manufacturer when he pannedsome of the earth and saw the brightyellow stringer in his pan. When hesampled it he was but following hisbent as a miner, for Ezra had emi-grated to the California gold fieldsfrom Illinois in 1853, then a youngman of 20. He had left home with onlya carp et bag of necessities and $ 15, andthough he gained experience in mining,he failed to accumulate much gold. Fi-nally he left for the pueblo of LosAngeles where he became a strong andcolorful supporter of better politics.

Ezra did not become too excited overthe color he found in his pan, for therewasn't enough of it to tempt him fromhis lucrative tile factory. He co ntin-ued to supply the citizens of growingLos Angeles with pipe and other clayproducts. Some time later he purchasedthe land the silica came from. Hemade trips out to the desert, but it wasnot until the middle 'nineties that hebegan prospecting the region in earn-est. At that period the surroundingdesert was in the grip of another of itsmining excitements, and gold feverspread throughout the southland.

After several years of intermittentsearching among the colorful peaksand rugged buttes near the small set-tlement of Rosamond and the railroadcenter of Mojave, Ezra found what allmining men dream of coming upona rich ledge of gold-bearing ore. Hefound it on the top of a narrow, rockyhogback of a rugged desert mountain.He staked out eight claims and calledhis mine the Lida, after his wife. Themountain on which the mine was lo-cated was once known as HamiltonHill, but in recent years has been re-nam ed Trop ico. It is also referred toas Burton's Hill, for the Burton broth-ers later came into possession of thehill and erected a large mill thereone of the few active mills on the des-ert today.

Soon after locating the Lida, Fzrasent for his sons, Fred, Lester andTruman, to assist him in putting up atwo-stamp mill and operating the mine.During the next few years rich bodiesof ore were found running as high as$90,000 a ton, and the Lida becameknown to every mining man in South-ern California. Tod ay one can see thenarrow slit of a shaft in the top of themountain, where Ezra mined the richvein. Sometime after 1900 a five-stampmill replaced the small original plant.

With gold from the Lida, Ezrabought the land around the famous oldstage station at Willow Springs, oneof the earliest and best known wateringplaces on all the broad reaches of theMojave a place that had been ofgreat importance to early explorers andtravelers, as well as to desert Indians.It was here, in the spring of 1776. thatPadre Garces refreshed himself duringhis wanderings in the southern SanJoaquin Valley and adjacent desert.It was a main stopping place on theold Joe Walker trail leading northacross the desert, and at an early datewas often referred to as the IndianHorse-thief Trail, for many a Spanishrancher's prize horses were led fromthe lush pastures of the coastal regionto the arid haunts of desert tribes, to



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end up ultimately as a feast for the redman.John C. Fremont, Alexis Godey,Kit Carson and other famous explorersand hunters camped here on their his-tory-making trips across the southerndesert and mountains. Long beforeHamilton bought the springs they hadbeen used as a main station for theteams and ore wagons that movedunder the supervision of Remi Nadeau,transferring the fabulous silver-leadcargo of Cerro Gordo to Los Angelesand San Pedro.

Fred Hamilton recalls that whenhis father purchased the springs theremains of the old stables were evident,and in partial ruins were the walls ofthe old tavern, under whose roof bothfamous and infamous travelers of anearlier day had been sheltered and fed.Under this roof more than one fighthad taken place between tempera-mental cooks and disgruntled travelers,or between guests who had partakentoo much of the bottled goods.

The Hamiltons put up additionalbuildings, using the rock and adobenearby, so it would harmonize with thedesert. Travelers of the day were sur-prised and delighted when they roundeda turn in the dusty desert road andcaught first sight of the emerald greentrees clustered tightly about the springs,the attractive buildings and well-keptyards.One building was used for entertain-

ments and dances. Ezra had a stagebuilt, complete with hand-paintedscenery, and many a desert trouperentertained an audience that came byhorse-and-buggy, ore wagon, burro cartand boot leather from distant mines,and from the desert's nearby settle-men ts. In keeping with the spirit ofthe times, dunce prizes were frequentlytiny gold bricks, from five to 30 dollarsin value. Some of those living in Ante-lope Valley treasure these prizes today,having kept them for their memories-Men who worked at the Lida minelived with their families at the springsand there was a small school and post-office. Ezra Ham ilton was post mas ter.When there were not enough childrenat the springs to meet the requirednumber of pupils, the Hamiltons sawto it that a teacher was hired who hada brood of her own.Ezra was a man of strong stamp andhad his own notions about living. Ifsome of his ideas were out of theusual pattern, at least they were prac-tical. Fred Hamilton told me that hisfather had a pronounced reluctance to

mine all the gold he could in the short-est possible time, as did the otherminers. He looked upon the desertmountain as a bank a good, saferepository, and he. himself, assumed

B D M A ' E 'PRINGFjF0LJ,0WI*r o0 ^ . .

n LB sr-X 10!/,WA S SUTCG N 0 !A VILA H AND INTO

i Iff!

Above The Burton Mill on Tropico Hill today.Below Bronze plaque erected at Willow Springs by Kern Coun tyHistorical Societv and Museum,N O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 1 17


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the role of conservative banker-cashier. If his Hamilton Hill bankpaid no interest at least he was safefrom bank runs, panic and abscond-ing clerks, and he didn't have toworry about over-indulgence on thepar t of himself or family. To o muchmoney at one time might tend to spoilhis sons, and in any event, it was awasteful way of mining.So the mill was run only about fourmonths out of the year, just longenough to provide the family with whatwas needed for good living, and tobuild up the various Hamilton enter-prises on the desert.During the years of recurring min-ing booms on the Mojave Desert, whenminers were racing to the newest dis-covery, the newspapers frequently car-ried headlines of rich new depositsbeing discovered in the Lida, but Ezramined on, in his own leisurely fashion,and the mill ran only when funds wereneeded.Fred told me the following incident.He and his brother, Truman, wantedto go to the Saint Louis Fair in 1904,and they asked their father if theycould get out some ore and use theproceeds for the trip.Ezra pondered . In the ore they'dbeen running, he figured five tonswould bring them around $500."Yes ," he said. "T ake ou t five tons,mill it and see the fair."Luck was with the boys and theyran into some exceptionally high-gradeore. The returns from the milling weremuch more than their father had an-ticipated. It brought them $50 00! ButEzra wouldn't back down on his prom-ise. He waited somewhat anxiously tosee what the boys would do with somuch money. True to their upbring-ing, they decided five thousand wasmore than they should spend and theydeposited two thousand in the bank.In April my husband and I droveout past Newhall. and over the excel-

. . , . > ; u ,

Prospector of 50 years ago hisbags of gold concentrates on thefloor behind him. Photo, courtesyFred Hamilton.lent highway to Palmdalc, Lancasterand Rosamond, then over a local roadthe eight miles to Willow Spring. Thespecial event that attracted us was theinstallation of the Willow Springs His-torical marker. Monument Number130, seventh of a series on the Manly-Jayhawker Trail of 1848-50. Well-known historians spoke of the springs'important place in southland history,and old-timers were called upon to adda word of their own.It was over 100 years since seg-

ments of the ill-fated Death Valleyparty of 'Forty-niners stopped there,drank deeply of the good water andlet their few animals eat and recoverstrength before passing over the last ofthe dreaded desert that would leadthem to Los Angeles.I recall that my first auto ride fromour mine near Randsburg to Los An-geles took me by Willow Springs. Ltwas in my pig-tail days, when carswere a novelty.lt was dark by the time we reachedWillow Springs, and I recall how wesuddenly emerged from the desert'sinky blackness, and found ourselves inan electrically lit oasis. No coal-oillamps for Willow Springs! Fred Ham-ilton had installed what was probablythe first privately owned electric lightplant in Antelope Valley. There werealso an ice plant and cold storage room.Today there are several families atWillow Springs and during the warmmonths of the year the modern pool isseldom without its swimmers. Most ofthe rock, cement and adobe buildingsEzra Hamilton built there are in ser-vice today.It was gold from the Lida mine thatbuilt the Hamilton Hotel in Rosamond.This building was erected in 1905 andwas quite an imposing landmark in itsday- Rich specimens of gold-bearingquartz were placed in the keystones ofthe front arch, but this high-grade haslong since fallen into the hands of col-lectors. This long known desert hos-telry was later re-named the QuartzHotel, and is seen by all who crossthat section of the Mojave on Highway6 today.

Fred Hamilton estimates that Ham-ilton Hill (known today as TropicoHill) produced nearly $3,500,000 forits various ownersgold that mightnever have been unearthed had a busytile maker in La Ciudad Los Angelesnot wanted a better clay for his pipe-making.Its roof partly gone, this is the ruin of the school built

by E-ra Hamilton a half century ago.Willow Spring famous waterhole on the Mojave,

rendezvous for prospectors, horse-thieves, Indians.



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// wasn't good Navajo manners, but Big Talks would always invite himselfto share the food.

B ig T alks 'B orrow s 'th e T rader 's AxBy SANDY HASSELL

1TH AN outstretched hand anda smile on his face Big Talksgreeted Trader Two Sugar,"Ah la ha ney see kis." In English itmean s something like: "W ell, if it isn'tmy old friend." Two Sugar acceptedthe hand without comment. He knewthis was too friendly a greeting for aNavajo who was not a regular cus-tomer. Sometimes an Indian friendgreeted him like this but it was usuallydon e in a joking w ay. Did Big Talkswant credit or what did he want?Whatever it was. Two Sugar knew itwould be well to be on guard.

Big Talks soon let the cause of hisfriendliness be known. "My friend, Ihave brought a big load of good woodfrom a long distance for you to buy,"he announced.Two Sugar used coal from a nearbymine for fuel and had little need forwood. Boxes from the store suppliedhim with enough kindling. How ever,he kept some wood for Indians to

burn in the camp hogan when theycame from a long distance to trade andhad to stay overnight. An inspectionof the wood showed that it was neither

a large load nor of good quality. Itwas just a lot of poles that probablyhad been used as a fence around BigTalks ' corn patch. Upon inquiry BigTalks admitted this but was quick toexplain. "It is a long time until Spring.Maybe by then the Government willdecide to build a good wire fencearound my corn patch if there is nonethere. They have done this for severalof my neighbors."Two Sugar made an offer of fourdollars, which he considered very lib-eral. "Do beeger," not enough, com-plained Big Talk s, but he add ed: "Bu t,my friend I will let you have it forthis price."

For two dollars a day he would stayand chop the wood into lengths thatwould fit into a stove. Big Talks wassure he could finish the job in one day.Big Talks didn't mind chopping woodwhen receiving two dollars a day. Hethought the white man was foolish topay him this much when Two Sugarhad a wife and daughter who coulddo it just as well.After the wood was unloaded by thetrading post, Big Talks went inside andcollected four dollars. And while theywere doing business this would be agood time to trade out the two dollarsthat he was going to get for choppingwood tomorrow.With an ax borrowed from TwoSugar, Big Talks put in the next daychopping wood. He worked steadilybut when sundown came the job wasonly about half finished. The next dayhe felt sore, so he thought he had bet-ter rest a day. Why hurry? He had agood hogan to stay in, plenty of woodto burn and mo ney to buy food. Thiswas more than he had at home. Andwhile it was on his mind he had bettertrade out the two dollars that he wasgoing to get for chopping the rest ofthe wood. Then he wouldn't have toworry about it anymore.Several days had passed since thelast of the wood was chopped and BigTalks was still hanging around the

trading post. He tried unsuccessfullyto get credit for another load of woodthat he was going to bring in a fewdays. Two Sugar wished he would leavefor he was becom ing a nuisanc e. Eachtime a Navajo family opened a can offruit or tomatoes and had a feast onthe floor of the trading post, Big Talkswould invite himself to attend . Thiswasn't good Navajo manners even ifBig Talks was a part-time medicineman and enjoyed a few extra privileges.Two Sugar knew Navajos didn't likethis familiarity. Then one morn ing,after the wood that Big Talks hadchopped had almost reached the van-ishing point, he was missing; also theax he had borrowed.N O V E M B E R , 19 5


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A couple of weeks passed and againBig Talks showed up at the tradingpost with his familiar greeting andoutstretched hand. This time TwoSugar ignored the hand . If Big Talksnoticed the slight he didn't show it."My friend, I have brought you anotherbig load of wood to buy," Two Sugarwas told.The wood was examined and thesame price was agreed on, although itlooked as if this load was just a littlesmaller than the last. This time thewood was unloaded in the yard behindthe trading post where Two Sugar kepthis big black watch dog. He w asn'tgoing to have Big Talks burn up allthe wood before he took his leave.No, he wasn't going to have this woodchopped. When an Indian wanted afire in the hogan, he would let him dohis own chopping.When the payoff came, Two Sugar

placed two dollars and fifty cents onthe counter. "Do beeger," not enough,complained Big Talks."It is enoug h my friend. The do llarand four bits I am keeping is for theax you bought when you were herebefore. You went away and forgot topay me," Two Sugar explained."B ut, my friend, 1 didn 't buy theax. I only borro wed it and took ithom e. The next time I come 1 willreturn it." Two Sugar was a good manfor he always put two spoonsful of

sugar in each can of tomatoes heopened, instead of the customary one;but he was very unreasonable at times.Why should Two Sugar object to himborrowing the ax when he had manymo re just like it in the store? Besideswhat did he want with an ax if hewasn't going to have his wood chopp ed?"When you return the ax, I will giveyou the dollar and four bits," TwoSugar told him.Big Talks placed his hand on hisforehead and appeared to be in deep

thought. "Ah, my friend I remembernow, perhaps the ax is not at my home.Maybe I have it tied underneath mywagon where it is hidden from theeyes of some worthless Indian whowo uld likely steal it. I will go and getit for you."Big Talks went out of the store andin a few minutes he returned smiling.He had the ax in his hand- "My goodfriend I am glad we are getting toknow each other better. This provesI am an honest man and always return

what 1 borrow . Now I am sure youwill have no objection to putting twodollars on the books for some gro-ceries I wish to buy."

Titc fo SpendEnactment of the Ute claims bill hasbolstered the faith of the Ute Indiansin democratic Government, accordingto Francis McKinley, chairman of theUte Planning Board and Reginald O.Curry, business manager and chairmanof the Ute Tribal Coun cil. Presiden t

Truman, on August 21, signed H. R.3795 "to provide for the use of tribalfunds of the Ute Indian Tribe of theUintah and Ouray Reservation, toauthorize a per capita payment out ofsuch funds, to provide for the divisionof certain tribal funds with the South-ern Utes, and for other purposes." Themoney, approximately $3 1,000,000was awarded last year as a climax to a12-year suit in the United States Courtof Claims involving sale of Ute landsby the Federal Governm ent. It isreputed to be the largest settlementever won by an Indian Tribe in theCourt of Claims. The three bands of

Utes on the Uintah-Ouray Reservationhave a plan to use their share of themoney . It is divided into these majorefforts: 1. An immediate paym ent of$1000 to each Indian; 2. A milliondollar loan fund, administered by theTribal Council; 3. Allocation of some$1,250,000 for reacquisition of somenon-Indian owned lands that checker-board the reservation, hampering farmand grazing development programs; 4.The balance, for school improvement,fish and wildlife conservation and adulteducation. Said officials of the tribe."It is especially noteworthy duringthese times that the United States Gov-ernment has recognized the rights andinterests of one of its minority peopleand given them great opportunities tobetter themselves through exercise oftheir rights as free and democraticpeople."

o * t t & e ' D e te n t *(fatte&tDesert readers who are planning to enter stories in the "Life on theDesert" contest which was announced in the last two issues of DesertMagazine, are reminded that all entries must be in the editorial office atPalm Desert by November 1.Early in November the judges, composed of staff members at theDesert Magazine office, will read and judge the stories sent in, and an-nouncement of the winners will be in the January issue.For the best story of from 1200 to 1500 wo rds, an award of $2 5.00will be made. To each other contestant who submits an acceptable storythe award will be $15.The manuscript should be a true experience, preferably of the writer no yarns or tall tales or hearsay stories will qualify. The ex perience mayinvolve danger while lost in the desert wilderness, or the Indian country.It may be the meeting of an unusual character, revealing a phase of humannature, or a distinct way of life.The contest is open to amateur and professional writers alike, butthose who plan to submit manuscripts should carefully observe the follow-ing rules:All manuscripts must be typewritten, on one side of the page only.Entries should be addressed to Editor, Desert Magazine, Palm Desert,California, and m ust reach this office by No vem ber 1, 195 1, to qualify forthe awards.If good sharp 5x7 or larger pictures are available, an extra $3.00 willbe paid for each photogr aph a ccepted. Pictures are not essential, however.Writers must be prepared to supply confirmation as to the authenticityof their stories. Only true experiences are wanted.All stories must be essentially of the desert, and the scene is limitedto Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and the desert area of California.True names of those involved must be given, although with theknowledge of the judges, fictitious names may be substituted in specialcases where there is reflection on personal character.If the story has appeared previously in print, this fact and the time

and name of the medium in which it appeared should be given.All readers of Desert Magazine are invited to submit manuscripts.Unaccepted manuscripts will be returned if accompanied by return postage.



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SWAINSON'S HAWKB i r d s o f P r e y . . .DO THEY DESERVE EXTINCTION?

Text an d P hoto grap hs b y GEORGE M. BRADT

7HE DESERT'S Birds of Preythe eagles, hawksand owlsare at once beautiful and awe-inspiring,fascinating as well as beneficial. They are part an dparcel of the desert, as typical of the Southwest as cactusand creosote, sand dune and foothill, pack rat, coyote,cicada and centipede, horned toad and rattler. The desertwas theirs before it was ours, and the day that the lasteagle hovers on high, and the last hawk perches on fencepost or yucca, and the last owl wings the night, willmark the beginning of the end of the desert so manyof us know and love. And that day will come unless theneedless slaughter of our irreplaceable Birds of Preycarried on by so-called sportsmen, encouraged by manu-facturers of ammunition, and tolerated by state legislatorsand game officialsis halted, not tomorrow, but today!These magnificent creatures must be protected or thegreat eagles and graceful hawks, and all the silent owls

will follow the Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet,the Heath Hen and the Arizona Elk into oblivion.They are killer birds, yes, and they sometimes prey onoth er species of the winged life of the air. Bu t they alsoare killers of the rodent and the insect which are a con-stant menace to the security of mankin d. And so, in theover-all scheme of Nature, who can say that these raptorsof the bird family deserve the sentence of death which hasbeen imposed upon them by man? Nature h as a way ofkeeping her world in balancea way that generally isbeyond the understanding of men. And it often has hap-pened that when humans have undertaken to change thefine adjustment in the natural order of things, they havebrought loss and sorrow upon themselves.So let these photographs speak for the speechless birds,let their pictures say, "Watch us if you wish, study andenjoy us, but save us from extinction."

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GOLDEN EAGLE22 D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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BURROWING OWLSN O V E M B E R , 1 9 5 1 23


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D a n c e

Hopi Dance C. Pierre photographTHE SANDS ARE SINGING

By MARTHA BOUTWELL GARVINSan Diego, CaliforniaThe sands are singing a song tonightA tune that gives the darkness light.A tune that holds the yesteryearWith all its joy, without its fear.The sands are singing to me and you.Will you accept their message, too? COMPENSATION

By MARGARET HASELTINE BERGKRCorona del Mar, CaliforniaWhat hairy spider does not ply an artOf airy loveliness to catch the heart?What spiny cactus does not bear a flowerOf glowing pearly radiance for an hour?What lowly sand dune in the setting sunBut can display a sculpture not outdone?What sorrow does not bring a strengthbeside?What evil is evil unqualified?What tragic error but becomes a testBy which we learn, and learning, yet areblessed? IN SEARCH OF GOLD

By DOUGLAS W. WALKERSan Diego, CaliforniaPegleg Smith and the Lost Dutchman's gold,Their stories and legends have often beentold.And many have gone in search of their ore,And many the struggles and hardshipsthey bore.But I wonder, in search of this treasure,If they haven't been using the wrong

kind of measure.For wealth and beauty have been all around.While their eyes sought nought but goldin the ground. DESERT DRAMABy MARGARET HORMELLNorth Palm Springs, CaliforniaThe patch of grass before my door is dead;Wind-ridden, treeless acres in the passYet fear not sun and gusty storm, nor dreadThe spring. I, only, mourn the buried grass.The sand is sharp and cruel this moonlightnight,However soft it pelts the pane nearby.But sand, unstable as intolerant minds,Obliterates but briefly beauty's hue;

The grass, as rare as truth, prevails, and findsA way, though deeply trapped, to strugglethroughAnd rise above the leaden, binding shoalEach forms a needful portion of the whole.

EVENING TIME!By AMY VIAUSanta Ana, CaliforniaThere has to be an evening time

So the stars and moon can showAnd the sun be left to settle downThat the sky's west rim may glow.There should not be all morning timeNor always noon-time day,The twilight must be given hourTo spread its tender gray.There's need for evening's soft cool armsIn which tired things can restAnd earth can feel the freshening dewUpon its sun-dried breast.

DESERTBy H. LEIGHTON ZEBOLDPasadena, CaliforniaThe Desert is daughter to the sun,

A buxom princess on her throne,Bronzed and lithe, with gems arrayed,Dazzling her daily promenade.Enamored all who court her graceAnd envied by them her soft embrace!The Desert is daughter to the sun,Gladly her feet upon his errands run.Within her garden, fenced by mountain wall,She tends her flowerssweet memorialTo them who came to her for rest,To them who sleep upon her breast.

SANCTUARYBy RALPH A. FISHER, SR .Phoenix, ArizonaThe aged prospector, in search of the HolyGrail

Tread countless miles behind a dustyburro's tail.Found not the sacrificial platter nor HolyGrail,But sanctuary at the end of Death ValleyTrail.

B y T A N Y A S O U T HGive gladly of yourself and time,Nor ask for monetary gain!They who attain the heights sublimeWith greed their virtue will not stain.Give gladly, grandly of your hoard.

You shall be dealt with as you deal.There are no secrets from the Lord.Your acts your Fate will seal.

By GASTON BURRIDGEDowney, CaliforniaGarnet chili, brown adobe,Slanting gold of dusky sun,Rhythmic drum beats mixed with dancingMoccasins which thud as one.Lapis hazes cut by mountains.Turquoise sky with matrix clouds.Foothill mounds of yellow chamoisVibrant where dim echo crowds.Swaying bodies daubed with colorSilver-sheened with beads of sweat,Humble hearts that pray to rain godsWho have never failed them yet.Moccasins that thud to drum-beatsPraying only as they knewFilled my heart with their strange rhythmTill 1 was praying w ith them too !

MY LOVETHE DESERTBy E. A. BRININSTOOLLos Angeles, CaliforniaI'm in my desert fastnessthe silent paintedland.Where sunrise glories thrill me, and where.across the sand.Gleam splendors which no painter, but GodHimself, can show,In changing lights and shadows, tinged bythe sunset's glow.

Across the wide arroyos the broken buttesrise high.And far beyond, the mountains, whose whitecrests pierce the sky.The wine-like air brings to me the desertsmells I loveThe scent of sage and greasewood, frommesa-lands above.I'm in my desert fastnessa barren soli-tudeNo city noises clanging outside my cabinrude.Only the gentle breezes, across the sagebrushfloor,In low-crooned soothing whispers, drift idlypast my door.

Oh, glorious desert country, your magicspell I know!Your lure is strong, resistless, when fromyour depths I go!Your wild wastes call and beckon, in accentsglad and true,And your calm stretches soothe me, when Ireturn to you!

OCTOBER STILL LIFE PAINTINGBy HAZEL BAKER DENTONCaliente, Nevada

Against the sapphire curtain of autumnalskies,Our village is a bowl of golden boughsSet down within the mauveAnd purple folds of desert hillsThe tapestry of ancient goddessesWho stitched with massive toolsTheir Gods' desires for beauty's everlastingthrills.The whirl of time in space flies on,Nor reckons with its billion spheresWhere Evolution's patient planSets deep within the soul of manThe treasured love of quiet beautiesThrough his few short years.

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Making his initial bow to DesertMagazine readers this month is Rich-ard F. Logan, author of the story aboutthe exploration of Crystal Cave in theDeath Valley National Monument.Logan is assistant professor of geog-raphy at the University of Californiain Los Angeles and director of thesummer geography camp. He came tothe university three years ago aftercompleting his training at Clark uni-versity at Worcester, Mass., and atHarvard.Like many other easterners who es-tablish homes in the Southwest, Rich-ard found the desert a fascinating placefor study and recreation, and his tripshave included such widely separatedareas as the wild plateaus of Utah andthe "hanging palm canyon" in the Kofarange of Arizon a. He has seen snowon the Joshuas, sand storms at PalmSprings, a flaming desert sunset fromKingston Pass.Through Desert Magazine Loganmade the acquaintance of Mary Beal,foremost botanist of the Mojave Des-ert, and has made several botanicalfield trips under her guidance.He is married and has two daughters.His wife says he has become such anavid desert fan he is always makingplans for the next trip into the aridregion before the clothes from the lasttrip have been laundered.Probably many readers of Desertwill be interested in knowing moreabout the National Speleological So-ciety, sponsors of the cave explorationdescribed by Logan in his story. Ac-cording to the author, the membersgenerally fall into one of two groups:speleologists who have a scientific in-terest in caves; and spelunkers, whoexplore caves just for the fun of it.Local chapters of the society arecalled Grottoes. Logan formerly was-chairman of the New England Grotto,and later helped organize a Grotto inSouth ern California. Its meetings areheld the first Tuesday of each monthin the Pasaden a Pu blic library. Fieldtrips are arranged throughout the year.Walter S. Chamberlin, who took thepictures illustrating the story in DesertMagazine this month, is now chairmanof the Southern California Grotto.

Marcia Wynn Samuelson, who wrotethe story of the colorful Ezra Hamiltonfor this issue of Desert Magazine is aSun Valley, California, housewife whospends all her spare moments writing.

She is the author of two books, Pion-eer Family of W hiskey Flat, and DesertBonanza.M r s . Samuelson's knowledge of thedesert Southwest did not come entirelyfrom books. She was born at the oldBaltic Gold mine near Randsburg, andhas lived or been in close touch withthe desert during the intervening years.She does a great deal of historical

research before undertaking ary writ-ing project.

M A N Y E V E N T S P L A N N E DF O R 49ER ENCAMP MENTDEATH VALLEYSix authors ofwestern lore, Edwin Corle, MarciaWynn Samelson, Frank Latta, WilliamCaruthers, Phil Townsend Hanna, andArdis Walker have thus far acceptedan invitation to participate in the

Western Authors' breakfast, a plannedfeature of the Death Valley encamp-ment program to be held December 1and 2. John D. Henderson, head ofLos Angeles county libraries, is mak-ing arrangements and announces thathe is awaiting word from other par-ticipants. Floyd Evans, chairman ofthe photographic exhibit, has issuedinvitations to 150 well known ama-teur photographers in southern Cali-fornia to submit photographs fromwhich 75 will be selected for display.There will be mass square dancing,arranged for by Bruce Morgan, chair-man. John Hilton, Twentynine Palmsartist, has tentatively accepted chair-manship of the art display which willinclude representative paintings of sev-eral western artists. More than 30 gemand mineral groups are expected toexhibit.

M a r d K o c k S k o r t yof Death Valley

The clerk at Inferno store hadgone out in the hills to do someassessment work on his mine, andHard Rock Shorty had agreed totake care of the customers, if any.It was mid-morning and Shortywas dozing on the bench underthe lean-to porch when t. shinycar stopped at the gas pump andthe driver began honking hishorn. Hard Rock didn't likemotorists who honked their horns,but it was his job to give serviceso he got up leisurely and saunt-ered out to the pump.The car was loaded with hunt-e r s , all togged up in brand newoutfits. They were impatient tobe on their way."Any deer up in them moun-tains?" asked the driver as henodded toward the Panamints."Lo ts of 'em!" Shorty answeredcurtly."How do yu get up there?Which is the best road?" askedthe hunter."Ain't no roads," gruntedShorty. "An' besides, it's danger-ous to hunt them deer. May getkilled yerself."The hunters did not understandthis kind of talk, and kept askingquestions. They wanted to knowwhere was the best place to find

the deer, and how near couldthey drive to the mountains andhow far would they have to walk.And why was it dangerous tohunt the deer in the Panamints?Shorty finally lost his patience."I'll tell you why that is badcountry fer hunters," he ex-claimed."My partner, Pisgah Bill, usedto hunt up there. But he don'tdo it no more. He nearly gotkilled th' last time he shot a buckup there. Them deer is too fast.Yu see Bill was headin' up thatspur yu see on the side o' themounta in wh en a big bu ckstepped out from behind a rock.Was a dead easy shot but Billmissed his heart and caught 'imin the shou lder. Bill wuz carry in'a high-powered rifle and the im-pact of that bullet spun the ani-mal around so fast that when thebullet cum out the other side itwuz headin' right back fer whereBill was stand in'. OF Pisgah triedto duck, but he wuz too slow.That hunk o' lead hit 'im on thehead and if th' oF buzzard hadn'thad sech a thick skull it'd a killed'im. He still carries a scar wherethat bullet bounced off his scalp.Bill don't go huntin' there nomore."

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mNeedles, California . . .According to an airmail letter fromCongressman Harry Shepard, the WhiteMountain Lime company has appliedfor a government loan of $2,600,000to construct a processing plant nearCadiz, about 60 miles west of Needles.A 50-year supply of limestone is avail-able at the nearby White Mountaindepo sit. Indic ations are that it will beone of the largest plants of its kind inSouthern California. Desert Star. Lovelock, Ne vad a . . .Shipping of 20 carloads of iron oreper day to a Coast port from the irondistrict located on the east side of theHumboldt range is planned by theMineral Materials Co. of Alhambra.Shipping will start in 90 days. Thecompany acquired the 16 claims inthe group from the owner in 1941-42.During World War II, the federalgovernment diamond drilled the prop-erty. Fo ur million tons of ore wereindicated. The ore is magnetite. Sul-phur and phosphorous, objectionablein high grade ore, are not a problem.A minimum of 56 percent purity hasbeen established. Among the proper-ties of Mineral Materials Co. are theStandard Tungsten Mine near Barstow,the Atlas Silica Mine at Kelso, and theBaxter Iron Mine at Baxter. Nevadawill supply more than 200,000 longtons of iron ore this year as part ofthe million or more tons being shippedfrom the United States to keep Japan'siron industries operating.CaliforniaMining Journal. San Francisco, California . . .Steatite talc, a critical defense ma-terial in World War II, is the subject

COMBINATION SLEEPINGS LE E PIN G - ^ _36"X 96" OUTER COVER OF FINEST 9.01 OZ. OLIVE DRAB

HELTER DUCK. *I2 FT.'SEPARATING ZIPP'ERIPPERy .IPS BAt j , OVERHEA D , EL IMINATES DRA FT ' I * * * 'ES ROOM FOR BREA THING ."T HIS >EAVES ROOM FOR BREATHINGCOMPLETE PROTECTION MAKES TEJNECESSARY.*80 SQ. DOWN PROOF O.Da SHEET72 "X 84 " l'/4 LB.(NE T FILLING) DOWN QUILTSCOLOHONLT \_W IT H DOWN PROOF SAT IN COVER-O TIE INTO BA G. COLOR CHOICE E N- ROSE-APRICOT? 25*.' EACH

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of a new special report issued by theCalifornia State Division of Mines,Olaf P. Jenkins, Chief of the Divisionannounced August 29, 1951. Cali-fornia was the only producer of steatitetalc in the United States betweenWorld Wars I and II; during and afterWorld War II it has been the leadingproducer. Special Report 8, entitledTalc Deposits of Steatite Grade, InyoCounty, California, is of especial sig-nificance because Inyo County containsall reserves of steatite talc known inthe state. Ben M. Page , auth or of thereport, visited 32 talc mines and pros-pects in the state during the course ofhis investigation.

oGrants, New Mexico . . .Laguna Indians have given the Ana-conda Copper Co., a permit to doexploratory work on a recently dis-covered uranium ore field on Lagunapueblo lands. Selection of Anacondawas made by the pueblo council afterlistening to proposals from Anacondaand from George Hanosh, Grantsprospector and garage owner. Ana-conda now is assisting the Santa Ferailway in prospecting at the uraniumfield discovered near Haystack moun-tain northwest of Grants and is saidto extend to the Rio Puerco, 50 mileswest of Albuquerque. The councilmeeting was attended by representa-tives of the Laguna Indian pueblo,Indian service officials, AE:C, Santa Feand Anaconda Copper uranium ex-perts. Gallup Independent.Searchlight, N evad a . . .High-grade gold and silver ore inconsiderable quantities has been un-covered on the 100 foot level of theBlossom mine in the Searchlight dis-trict. Plans are being made to expandmining operations immediately, accord-ing to Homer G. Mills, president ofthe Searchlight Consolidated Miningand Milling Co., operators of the prop-erty. The Blossom has produced$900,000 in gold and silver valuesduring the past eight years and was thefirst mine in the United States to shipa car of gold-bearing ore after WorldW ar II restrictions were lifted. Orenow being mined and sacked for ship-ment has averaged $2500. Lowestworkings in the mine at present areonly 182 feet deep and it is plannedto conduct extensive exploration con-siderably deeper to determine the ex-tent of the ore bodies. Battle Moun-tain Scout.

Hawthorne, Nevada . . .Tungsten ore from the Flying Cloudmine, owned by Mr. and Mrs. E. S.Babcock of Hawthorne and leased toDows Metals, Inc., of San Francisco,will soon be going out over the newroad to the mine which is practicallycom pleted. Assays made at the Uni-versity of Nevada indicate as high as15.2% tungsten trioxide. Based uponthe present day price paid for tungsten,together with gold and silver valuesincluded, ore from the Flying Cloudwould run $604 a ton. MineralCounty Independent News.

Banning, California . . .The processing of perlite is a pro-posed new industry for Banning. Alease arrangement is being sought fromthe city for five acres of airport land.Material would be brought from theTurtle Mountains, processed by heatand then shipped out by truck or rail-road. M. J. Meadows and KennethMartin of Banning are interested in thecompany, which also plans plants inother communities. The proposal isbeing held for further study in orderto secure more information from com-pany represe ntatives. Banning Rec-ord.

Inyo, California . . .Diamond drilling is reportedly underway at Leviathan sulphur mine nearMarkleeville in Alpine County. Ac-cording to a report in Mining andIndustrial News, the work is beingdone under contract for AnacondaCopper Mining Co., which may reopenthe mine in the near future. Leviathanwas operated during World War I andis said to include a huge undergrounddeposit of sulphu r. In 194 8, shipmen tswere made from the property by TexasGulf Sulphur Co., operations beinghandled by Siskon Mining Corp., asubsidiary. Inyo Independent.

Barstow, California . . .Tungsten, the critical steel-harden-ing metal vitally needed, will be milledin Barstow, according to Jack Licht,owner-operator of the Lighthouse Min-ing and Milling Corp. Mill workersare now completing shakedown opera-tions at the rebuilt concentrating plantlocated on Riverside Drive near theSanta Fe yards. Licht revealed thatapproximately 50 tons of wolframiteore have been processed daily sincethe beginning of shakedown operationson July 15. He expects to increase theplant's capacity to 100 tons daily, andmay stockpile locally purchased ore inlimited quantities. Printer Review.

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ARIZONAThere ' s Money in Snakes . . .WICK ENBU RG Fred WashburnLovejoy and son, Earl, who came toWickenburg in 1949 to establish atrailer court, have caught more than1000 snakes for commercial use. Theysupply zoos and sell skins for the man-ufacture of such articles as belts, neck-ties, handb ags, wall-hangings, etc. Theyalso sell snake oil for$1 anounce.The oil fat is rendered over aslow fireand comes out a golden fluid aboutthe consistency of No. 10 motor oil.The oil will penetrate thick shoeleather in 20minutes. The Lovejoysfind that the first 10 days ofspring issnake-catching time. Their biggesthaul was 48 intwo days. The biggestsnake was a diamond back rattler fivefeet ten inches long. In the winter, theLovejoys trap furbearing animals.Wickenburg Sun.

Tombstone 's Museum Takes FormTOM BSTO NE C ontr ibut ions a repouring in to the historical museumnow being organized in Tombstone'shistoric Schieffelin Hall. Amongthemany interesting gifts and loans arethe contents of the late J.H. Macia'sassay office, loaned by his son Lt. Col.Herb Macia. Harry Macia of LosAngeles has contributed a foreman'sbelt of Tombstone's Protection FireCompany No. 3. Judge Larrieu senta saddler's vise, or "horse," once usedin the J. J. Patton saddle shop inthe'80's. Mrs. J. E. "Mom" Larson gaveone of the few remaining cloth ceilings,recently removed from a room inhe rhome, formerly owned by Mrs. LydiaThiel. Oth er gifts includ e: fine oldphotographs, an invitation tothe Hal-derman brothers ' hanging, an earlyvintage typewriter, anancient phono-graph and copies ofold publications. Tombstone Epitaph. Fort Defiance Marks Century . . .

WINDOW ROCKFort Defiance ,Arizona, recently observed its lOTTthanniversary with a parade, pageantand dedication of a monument, builtby Navajo stone masons, according toR. E.Briscoe, chairman of the cen-tennial committee. Acaravan headedby the Gallup Municipal band led theway. Fort Defiance was establishedSeptember 18, 1851 by Americantroops. It is theoldest white com-munity inthe area and the oldest fortin Arizona. Gallup Independent.N O V E M B E R , 19 5 1

'DetentFront ie r Woman Works Mine . . .GOLD GULC HHi gh inthe DosCabezos mountains a lone woman,Maggy Myers, carries onthe miningdevelopment started in 1917 byhe rhusband, the late L. T.Myers. Mrs.Myers does all theassessment, tun-neling and road work on 24miningclaims. During her husband's lifetime,he stockpiled the ore, combination ofgold, silver, copper, lead and mangan-ese and waited for abuyer, refusing tosettle for a small gain. In order tokeep up the $100 yearly expense oneach claim, the Myers' worked in Bis-bee where they raised their four chil-dren. They came toArizona in 1912with two other families in three cov-ered wagons, encountering Mexicandesperados and engaging in gun battlesalong the way. Mrs . My ers has workedall this spring and summer at the minewhile living in a three-room frontiercabin built (of walnut logs and rock)around a one-room cabin that oncebelonged toKit Carson.

San Pedro Valley News. North Ajo H as Rate Prob lem . . .A JO North Ajobusinessmenwarned the president of the ArizonaEdison company today that the com-munity of 12 thousand persons wouldbecome a ghost town unless utilitiesare reduced to match those charged bythe Phelps Dodge corporation in Ajo

at 50% SAVINGS!Magnify his o

195111 desert magazine 1951 november

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