196608 desert magazine 1966 august september

8/14/2019 196608 Desert Magazine 1966 August September

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W E S T E R N T R A V E L / A D V E N T U R E / L I V I N G

1 9 6 6d o u b le is s u e



J\eadChora l Pepper and her husband, Jack, ed i t the "Deser t Magaz ine" andfrom t ime to t ime they turn out a book about the sandy . f lowered areasto wh ich they swear e te rna l a l leg iance . "Cook ing and Camping on theDe se rt" is such a book and i t is a good one. With a forew ord by Er ie

Stanley Gardner, a f r iend of the Peppers and a long-t ime desert rath imse l f , the book o f fe rs a good ly number o f rec ipes . . . in add i t ion , i to f fers an excel lent basic text for the amateur apprent ice desert rat .DR. FREDERICK SHROY ER, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner LiteraryEditor.

"Coo king and Camping on the Desert" is more than just a book on pre-paring for a desert outing or making meals that will appeal while incamp. This book is a brief manual on how to survive in the desert . . .the book is a must for anyone making a trip to the desert, whether it ishis first or fift ieth. BILL HILTON , Santa Barbara News-Press.

Now a recognized wizard at camp cookery, none other than ChoralPepper, who edits Desert Magazine, has written a new book, "Cookingand Camping on the Desert" which needs to be in everyone's camp kit,

and above all needs to be read while desert safaris are yet in the plan-ning stage. L. BURR BELDON, San Bernardino Sun-Telegram.

Those who've done even limited camping know what (Erie StanleyGardner is talking about—and will probably enjoy what Choral and hehusband, Jack, talk about in the book . . . This reporter, sometime camper-fisherman is neither gourmet nor cook—but Choral's handy boomakes me enthusiastic enough to want to be. REX NEVINS, RiversidDaily Enterprise.

Special Chapter by

JACK PEPPER

Driving and Surviving on the Desert COOKING andCAMPINGon the DESERT

CHORAL PEPPER

Foreword

by

ERLE STANLEY GARDNER

C o o k i n g a n d C a m p in g on t h e D e s e r tBy Choral Pepper, Editor Desert Magazine

Send Check or Money Order plus

25 cents for mailing to : ONLY $3.95DESERT MAGAZINE BOOK DEPARTMENT Palm Desert, California 92260

California residents add 16 cents sales tax

No C.O.D.'s or charges, please



C O N T E N T S29 N o s . 8 & 9

August/September, 1966

Near Pioche, NevadaBy JACK PEPPER

4 Books for Desert Readers6 Jeepers Peepers

By ALMA READY

8 Saga of a Sierra SawmillBy ROGER MITCHELL

Lost Treasures of NevadaBy DORIS CERVERI

A Day at Fort KnoxBy JACK DELANEY

Trip to Expo '67By CHORAL PEPPER

Mine That Won the WestBy C. W. HARRISON

High Camp at Hilton LakeBy HELEN GILBERT

Magic of BajaBy CHORAL PEPPER

0 Dig Those BottlesBy GRACE KENDRICK

32 The Oldest Thing AliveBy CHORAL PEPPER

33 Royal Gorge PhotoCourtesy Nevada Magazine, Nevada Dept .

H ighways a nd Denver Equipment Co .

35 Old Capistrano TownBy JOAN WEISS

37 Bear FactsBy EUGENE MCALLISTER

38 Dating Old Mining CampsBy KIT CARSON

39 Outpost of the PadresBy JOHN W . ROBINSON

42 Volcanic LeftoversBy EMILY STOBBE

44 Cabbage Patch TreasureBy RETTA EWERS

46 From Harvest to HorsesBy DON AND FRAN WICKERD

4 8 Walker's Hidden LandmarksBy ALVINA POTTER

50 Hiking Grand CanyonBy JUSTINE LANCASTER

52 Kino's Grave FoundBy JUANITA RUIZ

54 Collecting Mamm oth ArrowheadsBy ROGER MITCHELL

55 Hawaii-on-the-SnakeBy JAMES POWELL

56 Canyon City, OregonBy LAMBERT FLORIN

58 DESERT CookeryBy LUCILLE I. CARLESON

59 Hints for Desert TravelersBy BRUCE BARRON

62 Letter from the Man Who FoundPegleg's Black Gold

63 Letters from Our Readers

Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, Aug. 3-7; Smoki Ceremonials atPrescott, Arizona, Aug. 6; Rodeo and Sheriff's Posse Quarter HorseShow, Flagstaff, 6-7; Farmers' Fair, Hemet, Calif., 17-21; Julian WeedShow and Art Mart, Aug. 20 to Sept. 5; Junipero Serra Day at San LuisRey, Aug. 28; Hopi Snake Dances last 10 days of August. Bill WilliamsMountain Men Parade and R.C.A. Rodeo, Williams, Arizona, Sept. 3-5;Night in Belgrade, Bisbee, Ariz., 4; Navajo Tribal Fair, Window Rock,8 - 1 1 ; Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, 9-18; San Diego County Art Mart,Balboa Park, 10-11; Peach Days Celebration, Brigham City, Utah,16-17; Los Angeles County Fair, Pomona, Sept. 16 - Oct. 2. CabrilloFestival, San Diego, Sept. 24 . For dates of the m any and various sum-mer state and county fairs throughout the West check with local Cham-bers of Commerce.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Some dates ar e subject to change. If you plan a trip to attenda specific event, w e suggest checking first with the local Chamber of Commerce.

EVENTS DEADLINE: Information relative to forthcoming events in the West must bereceived TW O MONTHS prior to the event. Address envelopes to Events Editor,Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, California 92260.

JACK PEPPER, Publisher CHORAL PEPPER, Editor

Elta ShivelyExecutive Secretary

Al MerrymanStaff Artist

Rose HollyCirculation

Marvel BarrettBusiness

Lois DouganSubscriptions

Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, Calif. 922 60 Telephone 346 -81 44

DESERT is publ ished month ly by Desert Magazine, Palm Desert, Cal i f . Second Class Postage paid atPalm Desert, Cal i f . , and a t addi t iona l mai l ing o f f ices under Act of March 3 , 1 8 7 9 . Tit le registeredN O . 358865 in U. S. Patent Off ice, a n d contents copyrighted 1966 by Desert Magazine. Unsolicitedmanuscr ip ts a n d photographs cannot be returned or acknowledged un less fu l l re turn postage isenclosed. Permission to reproduce contents must be secured from th e edi tor in writ ing. SUBSCRIPTIONPRICE: $5.00 pe r year in U.S., Canada a n d Mexico. $5.75 e lsewhere. A l low f ive weeks fo r changeof address. Be sure to send both o ld and new address.

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Looking lor a Job

in the Desert?f l e w B M & S f < M R e s e n

We have excellent job op-

portunities for men with the

background and knowledgeto qualify for a 2nd class

radio telephone license.Call Collect to

Riverside, CaliforniaArea Code 714 682-6111

Pacific Telephone

A Gift That's REALLY Different!

Zodiac Parties

Menus and RecipesBy Choral Pepper

Editor of DESERT Magazine

I he author plans a dif ferent par ty for

every month in the year. Her suggestions on

the guests to invite and the food to serveare based on astrological analyses of the

tastes and interests of those born under eachof the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

Zodiac Parties is a fun book with veryworkable, interesting recipes. A good giftfor your hostess:

—The Dallas Morning NewsZodiac Parties is a collection of menus and

recipes pegged together with an idea . . .

a good excuse for a party.—Associated Press

Zodiac Parties is a new slant on novel en-

tertaining with sensational food designed to

match your guests' personality traits.—The Hartford Courant

Hard Cover, 130 Pages, Illustrated.

Only $4.95(Autographed Copies on Request)

Order from

Desert Magazine Book Shop

Palm Desert, California 92260

California residents add 20 cents sales tax.

No C.O.D.'s please.

DECORATIVE DESIGN IN

MEXICAN HOMES

By Verna Cook Shipway and

Warren Shipway

Each time the Shipways produce a new

book on Mexican interior design and

architecture, we think it has to be theirlast because there just couldn't exist any

more fresh material in one country. How-

ever, they've come up with another as

fresh, as exciting and as stimulating in

ideas as their other three.

For this one they picked up ideas froma rare Tarascan Indian home in the wood-ed country west of Lake Patzcuaro. The

example they used, dating from 1780,

shows a decided Chinese influence and

the fascinating porch posts from similarhouses in the same area are photographedand sketched in detail so you can copythem for your own distinctive dwellings.

There are also highly original and

decorative kitchens decorated with glazedpottery from Oaxaca, examples of

wrought iron used in new ways, ranchhouses, elaborate city houses, pebble-trimmed walks, intimate patios, ancientrelics intermingled with modern treat-ments, primitive with sophicated, and as

many, if not more, practical and amus-

ing ideas that will make you ready tostart all over again even if you just fin-

ished a house. In addition to all this, the

350 photographs in the large formatbook give you an intimate glimpse behindthe walls of Mexico's most splendid and

creative residences. 249 pages, $12.95.

IT ALL HAPPENED IN TOMBSTONE

By John P.Clum

Here is an eye-witness account of the

famous gun battle between the feuding

Earp brothers, Doc Holliday and theClantons and McLaurys. John Clum, pub-

lisher of the Tombstone Epitaph was

there. Years later he wrote this recollec-tion of the battle and events which pre-

ceded it and followed. Annotations in

the margins by John Gilchriese, authorityon Western Americana, contribute greatlyto Clum's recollections. These point out

locations of Tombstone residences and

other buildings which may be seen todayand present pertinent information as to

who and why certain characters are

brought into the story by Clum. Hard-cover, 45 pages, $4.00.

Books reviewed may be orderedfrom the DESERT Magazine BookOrder Department, Palm Desert,California 92 26 0. Please include

25c for handling. California resi-dents must add 4% sales tax.Enclose payment with order.

DESERT GEM TRAILS

By Mary Frances Strong

This field guide to the gems and mi

erals of the Mohave and Colorado de

erts and adjacent areas of Nevada an

Arizona is probably as good a one

you're going to find. Once a gem fieis publicized, thousands of rock hounvisit it and before the article or bookout of print, there may not be a ge

left. DESERT Magazine hesitates to r

commend guides to gem fields for threason; also, what at the time of publiction may not be private property, may

someone's desert retreat a month latCovering such a vast area as this 80-papaperback does, it's unlikely the authcurrently visited each area personaleven though she no doubt has during h

long history of collecting. For that reasthere may be a few disappointed readewho won't find conditions quite as de

cribed in the book. But on the whole, t

gems and minerals described do—have—been present in the areas designted in the book and it most certainly wpoint you in the right direction, evshould it fail to fill your poke! $2.00.

THE NATION OF THE WILLOWS

Frank H. Cushing's journey to theHavsupai Indians in 1882.

Originally published in two instments in the Atlantic Monthly, this 18

account of anthropologist Cushing's vto the Havasupai Indian village on

floor of the Grand Canyon, known as

Nation of Willows, was one of the fmade by a white man. The book's foword, authored by anthropologist D

Robert Euler, praises the fact that subquent explorations have turned up othree slight errors in Cushing's origi

account. Written with sensitivity and

intimate understanding of primit



native ways fell in favor of new ones es-ablished by the white man. Hardcover,

75 pages, $4.00.

GOLD IN THE SUN

By Richard Pourade

Fifth and lastest in a series of books

about Southern California commissionedby publisher James Copley, this one picksup the story at the turn of the Centuryand takes it to the dawn of the RoaringTwenties. Of particular interest to DES-ERT readers will be the fantastic storyof the filling of the Salton Sea, the re-clamation of Imperial Valley and chap-ters on Hatfield the Rainmaker and thedevelopment of gem mining in San Diegoand Riverside counties.

Here is history written with color andstyle. A stunning book with pricelesshistorical photographs and a large format,it has 282 pages and sells for $9.50.

Third and fourth of this series areThe Silver Dons and The Glory Yean.They, too, contain fine quality photosand, in format, match the set of five vol-umes. The Silver Dons recounts the wrest-ing of the Franciscan Missionary land bySpanish Dons and, in turn, lost to themby American pioneers who came for gold.It covers Indian wars, cattle wars, thefateful marches of Ge n. Kearny and theMormon Battalion, and filibusters andthe war in Baja California. Then TheGlory Years follows, all about the earlyboom period of Southern California whenSan Diego's population jumped from5,000 to 50,000 in two years, and thencollapsed overnight to less than 16,000.This volume covers the gold rush toJulian, the transcontinental railroad strug-gles and the armed bandit threats thatplagued hamlets along the internationalborder.

This reviewer can't speak highly

enough of the value of these beautifulvolumes in the contribution they maketo Western Americana. $9.50 each.

TIME AND THE TERRACED LAND

By Aug usta Fink

Where street signs say "Stop for Hor-ses" and the world's only talking sealion lives, is only a freeway apart frombustling Los Angeles, but a moon apartin atmosphere.

Palos Verdes Peninsula terraces along

the sides of a hill overlooking the broadhorizons of the Pacific Ocean in such away that almost every street enjoys aview. And, it has been this way for along, long time. Although many ancientIndian cultures occupied the area, thelast was the Gabrielano tribe, named forthe San Gabriel Mission, who lived inwillow wickiups which resembled half anorange with the skin side up. Pushingthem aside in the 1700s, Spanish explor-ers moved in and the first land grant tobe made in California became the Rancho

San Pedro, almost half of which was tolater become Rancho de los Palos Verdes.Outfits were readied for sea at this portand soon more and more settlers dis-covered, like the talking sea lion at Mar-ineland today, that it was a convenientand ideal place to live. Inns and plazasand huge estates sprung up, along withtourists, commerce, and litigations. Inthis book all is accounted for. Those al-ready familiar with the lovely peninsulawill enjoy the book, and so will thosewho just like assurance that such a place

exists! Large format, 136 pages, well-illustrated with photos. $7.50.

THE COMPANY TOWN IN THE

AMERICAN WEST

By James B. Allen

Although hundreds of these remote,one-industry communities dot the mapand have played vital roles in history,little has been written about the "Com-pany" town. Such communities were—andstill are—economic necessities when com-

mercial services, utilities and recreationalfacilities are non-existent near areas ofwork. Here, of course, was a perfectopportunity for grasping industrialists totake unfair advantage of employee-ten-ants under their control, but historyproves that in most instances the com-munities were happy ones and when rele-gated to ghost status, are still rememberedwith affection and pride. A town with noemployment nor housing problems hasits points and Mr. Allen paints a goodword picture of Western mining and

lumber company towns which soundattractive even today. Hardcover, 205pages, $5.95.

NEW BOOKSfrom the

DESERT BookshopRARE MAP REPRODUCTIONS from the year 1886.Series I includes three maps, Arizona, Californiaand Nevada. Series I I includes New Mexico,Utah and Colorado. Reproduced on fine paper.

They show old towns, mines, springs and trailsnow extinct. Each set of three, $3.75. Be sure tostate series number with order.

BOTTLE COLLECTOR'S BOOK by Pal and BobFerraro. Gives history, descriptions and pricelists. Profusely il lustrated, 107-pages. Paperback, $3.00.

RESURRECTION OF DEATH VALLEY by E. L.Marcy.Fantastic, yet feasible solution to future waterproblems. Author proposes cyclic system in whichwaste water of Southern Californiais drainedinto vast inland sink in Death Valley where itis pur i f ied and used for i r r igat ion. $2.00.

EARLY USES OF CALIFORNIA PLANTS by Edward

K. Balls. Tells how native Indians used plantsfor subsistence. Checklist contains both popularand scientif ic names. $1.75.

TREASURY OF FRONTIER RELICS by Les Beiti. Acollectors guide to western frontier relics withdescriptions, uses and prices. Hardcover. $6.95.

COOKING AND CAMPING ON THE DESERT byChoral Pepper. Also useful in your own backya rd . Contains chapter by Jack Pepper on driv-ing and surviving in back country. Recipes arenamed for ghost towns and lost mines and sug-gest places to go and things to do. Hardcover,$3 .95 .

SONORA SKETCHBOOK by John Hilton. Revisededi t ion. Artist Hilton writes of his years of resi-

dent in Alamos, the ancient silver capital of Son-ora, Mexico. Interesting, colorfully written,Hardcover , $5.95.

THE ANCIENT PAST OF MEXICO by Alma Reed.Art and architecture of pre-Conquest civil izationswith up- to-date archeological informat ion. Wel l -i l lustrated and written with easy-to-read style.$7 .50 .

EXPLORATIONS IN LOWER CALIFORNIA byBrowne and Murray. Spencer Murray has com-pared Baja Cal i fornia landmarks of today withthose sketched and described by writer J. RossBrowne in 1366. Limited to 1000 copies. $8.95.

HOW TO RETIRE IN MEXICO on $2.47 a Day by

Eugene Woods. Presents an enticing pre-retire-ment plan that 's workable. A lso, good t ravel in-formation. Paperback, 95c.

BAJA CALIFORNIA OVERLAND by L. Burr Belden.Practical guide to Lower California as far as LaPaz by auto with material gleaned from exten-sion study tr ip sponsored by Univ. of Calif. In-cludes things to see and accomodations. Paper-back. $1.95.

Send for Free Catalog of our

Recommended Books

Magazine Bookshop

PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92260

Include 25c for postage and handling.California Residents add 4 % sales tax.



Jeepers

Peepersby Alma Ready

" S1PRING PEEPERS" herald the

season almost everywhere, but wedidn't expect to hear them in the desert.

And we didn't, in the spring. Theinsistent coo of doves, a thrasher's shrillwhistle and the joyous song of the mock-ing bird, these were the sounds of ourArizona spring.

But as summer became unbearable,clouds began to gather. A black veilobscured the setting sun, mesquite branch-es flailed and Yuccas bowed their headsbefore the wind. Lightning rent theclouds and the rain poured out. The smellol wet dust rose from every leaf andstalk and water poured down each smallhillock. Rivulets swept dead leaves andeven whole trees into rising streamswhich emptied, finally, into Big Wash,where the muddy torrent heaved and

boiled as it roared beneath the bridge.The rain stopped after the sun had

left the world in darkness. Nothing

// all started with this . . .

could be heard but the tumult of relent-less rushing water. Then morning wasushered in by a new sound, wholly un-expected. Clear above the noise of high-way traffic throbbed a chorus of "SpringPeepers"—here, in the midst of summer,in the Arizona-Sonoran desert!

Big Wash had been cleansed and emp-tied, its gleaming sandbed water-etchedin streaks and whorls. But a hundredyards away, water had collected in a two-acre flat and lay glittering where yester-day the cattle browsed. This "lake" wasthe source of the noise, a raucous insis-tent, perpetual, deafening din. Becauseof its soft, muddy margin, we couldn'tget close enough to see what was goingon, but the pavement beside us showedclearly what had taken place during thenight.

Streaked with gore, it was dotted withhundreds of round, leather patches, the

remains of a host of toads which had at-

tempted to reach, or leave, the "lake" crossing the highway. Flattened by trafand already dry in the morning sun, thethree-inch circles aroused speculation to how many toads still remained in twater.

In the evening, another toady chor

led us down a dirt road in the deseFlooded, impassable, the road itself h

become a sporting place for toads. U

disturbed by our headlights, hundreds

wet, warty creatures frolicked in the sh

lows. Tiny toads, no larger than my lit

finger nail, hopped busily about. Midd

sized ones crossed and re-crossed the ro

in search of only toads-know -what. A

squatted in the mud for a closer view, o

stared solemnly for a while, then eleva

his rear and, like a bandy-legged, ov

stuffed foot-stool, walked ponderouaway.

In roadside ditches, water was gen



and then it beca me this . . .

but continually disturbed by the bobbingup and down of croakers rising as vocalsacs inflated, then quietly submerging asthe air escaped. Others floated somno-lently in pairs, or singly, darted about ingames of chase. An occasional extempore-dive stirred more yellow mud into the

murky water.Already blobs of black-spotted jelly

were floating among the twigs and debrisof last night's storm. Within 24 hours,each of these black spots would emergeas a wriggling tadpole. Within threeweeks, hundreds of tiny toads wouldevolve.

We remembered another summer anda bowl of tadpoles we'd found in a can-yon pool. In scooping up the tadpoles,we'd inadvertently scooped up some greenalgae, and were surprised to find that in

a day or two it had totally disappeared.From then until the toads developed, wegathered algae nearly every day. To them

and now look!

it was the staff of life. Here, too, in thisdesert pool, they scraped up algae as fastas it formed. When conditions becamecrowded and food scarce, the strongerpreyed on the weak.

Ten days later we returned to find ourtoad haven had shrunk to nothing andwater remained only in ditches wheretadpoles steamed furiously upstreamunder water, shot to the surface for agulp of air, jerkily assumed a horizontalposition, and hurried on. At the end ofthe line, they turned and rushed in theother direction. With luck, they'd makeit. First, eyes would begin to bulge and apeanut shaped waistline would develop.

Then spots would appear and appetitesfalter. A foreleg would suddenly emergefrom a nearly transparent "casing", andwithin a few hours another would appear.Before another day's end, lungs wouldhave developed, replacing gills, and thetail would be absorbed.

They would remain excellent swim-mers, in spite of webless feet, but astoads they'd spend most of their time onterra firma or, when the weather becametoo hot or too cold or too dry, beneath it.And like this, they might live for 30years, balancing nature with their diet ofinsects as they join forces with otherfriends of man. •



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Sagaof a

Sierra Sawmill

TH E Y EA R was 1873 and high

the Inyo Mountains , thesilvera

lead smelting furnaces of Cerro Go

were operat ing 24hours a day at an

precedented rate. After seven years

continuous mining operations, the

satiable appetite of the oresmelters h

all but exhausted the juniper and

yon forests of the Inyos. Timber w

desperately needed, not only for

smelters, but for shoring in the mi

an d for fuel to heat the buildings

Cerro Gordo.

In January of 1873 a solution to

problem wasproposed by Colonel S

man Stevens, a pioneer resident of

Owens Valley. Colonel Stevens sugges

going over to the High Sierras "

across thevalley" andbuilding a saw

high on the t imber-abundant s lopes .

first theventure did notsound feasi

bu t thewood shortage was growing c

ical andsomething had to bedone .T

Owens Lake Company, one of Cerro G

do's tworival companies, agreed to l

Stevens $25,000 to build the sawm

provided he would charge them 25

cord less for wood than hecharged

other company. Itwas agreed and Colo

Stevens set about building one of

most remarkable feats of engineering

California at the time.

In spite of heavy winter snows, a

was immediately started up Cottonw

Canyon in theeastern escarpment of

Sierra Nevada. At a point seven m

above its entrance, the narrow can

suddenly opens into a large basin. S

ens decided to build his sawmill



by Roger K. Mitchell

where Jeffery, Lodgepole and FoxtailPines were abundant, as well as whiteand red fir.

The first trees cut were used to makeliving quarters for the workers, as snowwas still many feet deep. Shortly, themillstructure itself began to take shape andby June of 1873, the first boards werebeing cut. The next phase of the projectwas to build a flume down the steepcanyon all the way to the Owens Valley-Los Angeles "bullion road" near the edge

of Owens Lake. This was a distance ofsome eight miles with a vertical drop ofalmost 6,000 feet.

The mill, powered bywater and equip-ped with a ripper, a crosscut, and anedger, began to turn out finished boardswhich were assembled into 12-footlengths of "V" shaped troughs. Theflume was thus started at themillsite anddiverted waters from nearby CottonwoodCreek would carry each section skiddingdown the flume to a crew of waiting car-

• penters. W ork progressed in this mannerat the rate of ll/2miles per month and byearly November it had reached its des-tination.

Soon the efforts of Colonel Stevens

bore fruit. There was cut lumber for the

mines andbuildings andunfinished lum-

ber for the hungry smelters. Atthe mouth

of Cottonwood Canyon these products

were loaded on wagons and hauled two

miles down the alluvial fan to a wharf

on the Owens Lake. The finished lumber

was loaded upon a steamship, the BessieBrady, and carried nine miles across the

lake where wagons once again waited to

haul it 4,600 feet up the infamousYel-low Grade to Cerro Gordo. The unfin-ished timber, however, was burned in thecharcoal kilns on the west side of OwensLake, then transported as charcoal to thesmelters at Swansea andCerro Gordo.

Considering the harsh winters of the

Sierra Nevada, it is surprising that any of

this 92-year-old operation should still re-

main. Yet it does. Even a casual visitorcan drive to the oldcharcoal kilns marked

by a sign 10 miles north of Olancha onhighways 6 and 395. For the more ener-getic, Steven's trail, now maintained by

the Forest Service, makes the ascent of

Cottonwood Canyon. The five-mile climbis strenuous, but the scenery alone makesthe hike worthwhile. From the trail, sec-

tions of the old flume are evident in

many places.

The mill itself was constructed of

heavy timbers andobviously built to last.

The large four-foot saw blade rests on

its cradle, awaiting the cuttrees still lyingon the mill's approach ramp. The diver-

sion canal and penstock which carried

water to turn the turbine are on the hill-

side above the mill. Sierra snows have

taken their toll on the worker's cabins,

however, as only oneremains.

Anyone planning to visit the Stevens'

sawmill should not forget their fishing

pole. This is the home of the famous

Golden Trout and the Cottonwood Lakes

Basin is but a few hours hike above the

sawmill where more than a dozen lakesare set in a timber line cirque. Even a

novice angler can catch hisdinner here.D

Charco al kilns near the terminus of the

flume at the edge of Owens Lake may be

visited b y passenger car.



Locating and following old trails is one route to treasure.

THE STORY about the fantastic de-

posit of gold nuggets located some-where in the vast area comprising the

Black Rock desert in northern WashoeCounty is over 200 years old. Hundredsof people have searched in vain for thishorde.

The first report of the gold was toldby a padre when he returned to Mexicowith several large nuggets. Accordingto his log, it took him weeks to make thelong trek across the desert. He plannedto organize an expedition to go back tothe desert, but before his plans were com-pleted he died. Almost a century passedbefore a California mining man travel-ing in Mexico heard of the discovery. Heobtained permission to study the Padre'sold maps, log, and records, and afterstudying them went to Nevada where heprospected all the way from BuffaloSprings to High Rock Canyon. His partyfound nuggets, too, but failed to locatethe rich ledge described by the Padre.

Later, a Frenchman passing throughthe desert took refuge in a cave duringa storm. Building a fire he saw great nug-gets of shining gold on the floor of the

cave. A second compartment to the rearwas literally paved with gold. Noting thelandmarks after the storm abated, heleaded a sack with nuggets and returned

home. Before the Frenchman could re-turn to the area, he, too, became ill anddied. His friends spent months following

the map he had drawn, but the gold-studded cave has never been found. ThePadre's rich ledge still lies undiscoveredin Nevada.

Genoa, the first pioneer settlement inNevada has a legend of missing goldpieces and a pine tree. It goes like this:One day in I860 the stagecoach, makingits regular run from Placerville to Genoawith a shipment of gold coins for Com-stock payrolls, was held up by two maskedbandits. They heisted a little wooden kegcontaining $20,000 in golden eagles. No

trace of the bandits nor the gold wasever found. However, 20 years later aninmate of a Montana prison explainedto astonished officials before his death thathe and his partner had only taken $2000of the gold with them (all they couldcarry at the time) and had buried therest at the foot of a large pine tree inGenoa. Residents of Carson City, Genoa,and the surrounding area dug up the ter-rain for miles around, but found nothing.After the great avalanche of 1882 theregion was considerably altered. Land-

marks and trees were destroyed, makingthe location of the gold even more dif-ficult to ascertain. But as oldtimers say,

"All you have to do is find the rigpine tree."

Snowshoe Thompson was well know

to the pioneers of eastern Nevada for hbravery and fortitude in delivering mduring the severe snowstorms plaguithe Sierras. He knew every foot of groubetween his home in Diamond Valley the eastern base of the Sierras, and ovthe mountains of Placerville. Many timafter returning from a trip over the moutains he brought back rich specimens quartz heavily flecked with gold. It whis intention to operate the mine whhe quit working. On his deathbed he sahe could see the outcropping of the mifrom his bedroom window. After hdeath the entire countryside was searchwithout success. Every square foot ground between Horseshoe Canyon aHawkins Peak was thoroughly gone ovby prospectors. Somewhere in the SierSnowshoe Thompson's Lost Mine is slubering.

Quite some distance from this bonanis another lost mine. In 1880 W. Hawthorne, a middle-aged Nevada bunessman, was roaming the hills about

miles from Luning when he spottedrich looking ledge. The more he dug richer it seemed. Soon darkness came ahe had to return to Tu nin g, determin

L O S TMINES

a n d Treasures

of Nevadat o y D o r i s C e r v e r i



o return the next day. However, he be-came involved with business affairs, andlater took sick. First one thing and thenanother delayed him. When he finallywent to where he thought the ore was,he couldn't find the place. For monthshe searched frantically; others helpedhim to no avail. Years later, in 1900,two cattlemen were running a small herdacross the desert and came across a holecontaining a rusted pick and shovel. The

finding of a rich ledge of cinnabar bythese two men is authentic, but whetherit was Hawthorne's lost mine is still indoubt. Some claim his ledge was gold oreand is yet to be found.

For about 100 years the lost Brey-fogle mine has baffled prospectors. JacobBreyfogle, an Austin blacksmith, lefttown to go prospecting around Austin.One of his horses strayed from camp. Insearching for it, he became lost in thedesert. He wandered for many days, andthe route he took has been a matter of

much speculation for years, but mostauthorities believe he ranged from SilverPeak to Ash Meadows and possiblythrough Forty Mile Canyon. In any event,while delirious he came across a reddishoutcropping of strange ore laced withgold. With his feet cut to ribbons fromlava rocks, his tongue swollen until hecouldn't talk, his lips bleeding, and hiseyes swollen, he still recognized this asrich ore. He drew out his pick and filledhis pockets with samples. Later he wasrescued by Indians while staggering to-

ward a mirage lake. After his recovery,he exhibited the rich ore at Austin andcreated a stampede of searchers whichcontinues to this day. Breyfogle himselfled searchers out in the hills, but neverfound the original outcropping. Otherrich strikes have been called the lostBreyfogle mine, but this has never beenproven, so perhaps one of the richestmines in the country is waiting for theperson who can retrace the rambling stepsof a small town blacksmith and uncoverhis rich treasure.

In back of historic Bowers Mansion,20 miles from Reno, Price's lake nestlesat the foot of Slide Mountain. The areais primitive, quiet, and beautiful. Hereis located Price's lost gold mine. He usedto bring gold nuggets down the mountain,catch the train at Bowers' Landing andtake it to the mint in Carson City. Beforehe died, many years ago, he covered upall traces of his mine so no one couldfind it, and it still remains hidden some-where in the area.

For the hardy who demand awesomecountry, the Lost Sheepherder gold minenear Jarbidge, Nevada remains to be

discovered. Sometimes called the most

inaccessible mining camp in the State ofNevada, Jarbidge lies in a true Alpinesetting at an elevation of 6200 feet. Goldwas first discovered here in 1908. Thosewho didn't depend upon gold, ownedsheep or had other interests. One day aBasque sheepherder stumbled upon a richledge of gold supposedly near the easternend of the Jarbidge River in northeasternNevada about nine miles from the Idaho

border. He couldn't leave his sheep toreport the bonanza, but when fall camehe returned to the base camp and dis-played his rich samples of high-gradeore. When spring came, he and his bossstarted out to re-locate the gold. Aftertraveling for several days, they reachedthe base of a steep mountain. "The goldis not far away," the Basque said. But asthey continued along the trail, the sheep-herder grew overly excited and collapsedwith a heart attack, without disclosingthe exact location of the gold. His em-

ployer looked in vain, but was unable tofind the ore. Since that time others havesearched the area, but the Lost Sheep-herder mine remains as elusive as ever.

For over 60 years the Lost CabinMine has been the object of a carefulsearch by prospectors, seasoned miningmen, and the greenhorns. A first reportwas in 1890 when two veteran prospec-tors in a Tonopah saloon agreed theywould like to examine a rugged, precipi-tious mountain near town which had a3000-foot sheer bluff on one side of it.

Each had passed this mountain manytimes and both were of the opinion itcontained mineral in large deposits. It'snot known whether they made a com-petent geologic and metallurgical surveyof the sheer side or not, but by a cir-cuitous route the two men reached thetop. Then, climbing down it about 500feet, they found a narrow overhang whichafforded a good foothold. A few yardsabove this, they saw a rich vein of gold.On the top of the bluff they built a smallcabin with a rock fireplace inside. When

this was completed, they stocked the cabinwith groceries and started to work on theorebody, but did not accomplish toomuch because winter set in. Townspeople,reconstructing what later happened, be-lieve that during a howling blizzard thetwo men must have stepped outside thecabin and were swept away in a giganticsnowslide. Their bodies were found 2500feet below the cabin several months afterthe storm. By this time wind and snowhad destroyed all signs of the trail to thecabin. Many have tried to reach the site,

but all have failed. The cabin remains theonly clue to the gold. Find it, and you'll

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not only discover a rich vein, but the gold

which the two men had already minedand stored will no doubt still be in thcabin!

On one side of a small range of mountains in Churchill County near Fallon ia town known as Painted Hills; on thother, a town called Sand Springs. I1 8 8 0 , in the hills between these twtowns, a man named Henry Knight rainto a cave while sinking a shaft 50 fee

down. The cave had been made by naturaforces and was, according to his storycompletely lined with gold. The more hdug, the more gold he uncovered. Whildigging he became ill. Although he stopped to rest, he felt no better and thoughit was from working underground. Aftecoming up to fresh air he felt no betteso he returned to Fallon where he tolabout his fabulous discovery, without revealing its location. The secret of the cavdied with him and became a Nevada trdition. In 1933, George Forbes, anoth

prospector, was wandering through thalkali desert near Sand Mountain anclaimed to have rediscovered the cavHis story was the same as Knight's, anh e , too, did not reveal the location. Bfore Forbes could arrange for capital anequipment to work the cave, he mysteiously disappeared. Today no one knowwhere he went or where the gold-linecave is. Current maps do not show Pained Hills, but Sand Springs is on Higway 50 and Painted Hills is over thmountain from Sand Springs. The cav

is presumed to be near a volcanic vewith piles of rock nearby in the hilnortheast of Sand Mountain.

In January, 1866, two Idaho mefound rich-looking ore which resulted an entire area having a boom. The littcommunity was named Hardin City anit's in northern Washoe County. A mwas built and although several tons ore were run through, the result wnothing. Over and over the ore was ruthrough, with always the same result. T

rock from Hardin Mountain was barreof ore values. Oldtimers said the mihad been put under a spell, and the mwas supposed to be haunted. HardCity died as fast as it had been spawneIf someone could explain the HardCity mystery, he could probably makefortune.

Although Nevada is a veritable storhouse of mineral resources waiting to uncovered, the emptiness of desert spais beyond the imagination of those uinitiated and it's foolhardy to ventu

into this unfamiliar country without leting someone know where you are goinand unless you are properly equipped.



? v'

iA Day at Fort Knox

£ * & • •

by Jack Delaney

EY CAP, look at what I found!"

James W. Marshal l excitedlycalled something like this to his employer,

Captain John A. Sutter, a short time after

he had accidentally stubbed his toe on a

couple of gold nuggets the size of green

peas The Captain, after a minute in-

spection of the "find," agreed that these

were not pertified peas. He suggested

that the discovery be kept a secret. It was

reasoned that, should the news leak out,

a stampede would resul t . To make a long

story short— the news leaked out and a

stampede resul ted.

Jim Marshall 's discovery of gold in

California occured on January 24, i 848.

At the time, he wa s supervising the erec-

tion of a sawmill on the bank of the

American River at Coloma for Captain

Sutter. Unfortunately, before being sworn

to secrecy he had shown the nuggets to

his workmen at the mill. The resulting

people-to-people broadcast was heard

around the world and, in a short time,

the irresistible pull of gold was evident

fortune seekers came in droves.

For many years the King Midas in-fluence was concentrated in the northern

and central part of the State, around the

general area where the presence of gold

was first established. Then someone said,

"Gold is where you find it," and the ad-

venturesome sourdoughs decided to find

it in other regions. They evidently found

it, in varying quantities, t h roughout theWest. In 1869 the shout of "Eureka"

rang out in the Julian area of Southern

California. This San Diego County town

came to life as dozens of mines started

operating and an avalanche of miners

trekked to the diggings.

At the time, San Diego was one of the

principal counties of the southland in-

cluding most, if not all, of what is now

known as Riverside and Imperial coun-

ties. The town of Julian became such an

important factor during the gold rush

that it once came within one vote of be-

coming the county seat. The story is that

the one vote was that of a supervisor who

was unable to exercise his franchise that

day because of elbow bending activity.

The history of old mines and miners

makes interesting reading, but for those

who would rather lay aside the history

books and see places as they are today,

here is a suggestion. Pack a picnic lunch

and spend a day inspecting an old mine at

Fort Knox, near Julian, California, where

millions of dollars in gold rests in 21idle mines owned by one man, Judge

Frank Herron .

Here, narrow gauge rails, rusty ore-

cars, a mill, and huge piles of tailings

can be seen. This is not an amusement

park—it 's the real thing. However, seri-

ous-minded people interested in explor-

ing old mines may spend the day andeven do a little panning in the stream

below the mill . The gate at the entrance

is usually open on Saturdays and Sun-

days and the Judge will see that your

visit is an interesting one.

Fort Knox is about 94 miles from

Indio, 7" ) miles from San Diego, and

2500 miles from Fort Knox, Kentucky.

From the Coachella Valley, drive south-

east on Highway 86 to Kane Springs,

turn right on Highway 78 and drive

along the old Butterfield Stage route-

through Ocotillo Wells, past the "Nar-

rows" (scene ot many stage coach rob-

beries in the old days) to the settlement

of Banner. Proceed another half mile or

so to the foot of the Banner grade. Watch

closely for the Fort Knox sign with an

American flag above it to the left of the

highway. It sets back about 20 feet from

the road.

The Ready Relief mine is about 1000

feet from the highway, easily accessible

by foot. In 1893 the State Mineralogist

reported that this was the largest andmost extensively developed mine in the

Banner region, earning considerable fame



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as aproducer. In its present state, i t 's dry

(no seepage) and safe to explore. Walls

and ceilings of the tunnels appear to be

solid rock (or quartz), so solid no shor-

in g isneeded.

After touring the Ready Relief, stroll

a long atrail leading up the canyon about

a quarter mile tothe No rth H ubbard

mine. Here are the narrow gauge rails,

a rusty ore car and remains ofold rock

shacks. Because ofseepage, the North

Hubbardis

not suitable for entry, butis worth seeing from the exterior. Th e

Old Kentucky, about amile up the grade,

is also waterlogged atpresent. Other

claims dot the landscape along the way.

The deposits in this complex, between

Banner and Julian, are believed to be off-

throws from amother lode never located,

but identified from the surface by out-

croppings ofquartz. All ofthe outcrop-

pings are oriented in asingle direction,

which may have significance. Geologists

express an opinion that the mother lode

is located atthe junction ofthree earthfaults near the town of Julian. Someday,

when "mammy" islocated, the greatest

demonstration of" instant gold" inhis-

tory may result! (At the moment, a

prominent businessman in Indio is toying

with the idea offorming agroup to

search for the mother lode.)

As was the case with most western

mines, those inthis section were aban-

doned, or atleast closed until further

notice. Ifmines could talk they would

probably have expressed relief when the

operators departed. After all , they hadbeen stripped ofmuch oftheir wealth

and deserted with no show ofapprecia-

tion. Their only consolation isthe fact

J'idve Frank Herron rests at Fort Knox.

that millions ingold still remain inth e

"back room." Even though mines at Fort

Knox are presently at rest, the mill is ioperating condition and frequently acti-

vated for the interest of visitors.

This isthe last remaining large mill

in the region. Until recently, quartz was

brought inby truck for custom milling

at Sl() per ton, but this activity appears

to have died out. The equipment ispow-

ered by electricity which isgenerated by

water power piped in from aspring about

nOO feet higher on the mountainside and

about amile away. During atrial run of

the set-up, the water pressure was so

great itblew the flanges off the genera-tor! The mill consists oftwo crushers,

for first and second run, aball mill for

pulverizing, and alarge riffle table for

_ Zip Code '

The R eady Relief was the most extensively developed Banner district ///me in 1893



separat ing the gold from the pulverized

ore.

D u r i n g my visits to Fort Knox, many

happy hours were spent chatting with the

Judge, picnicking and explor ing—wi th a

l i t t le dreaming thrown in. I recalled

having heard that the tailings at the vari-

ous mines and mills contain a fortune

in gold, lost through inefficiency of the

process in the old days. With this in

m i n d , I climbed over huge piles of tail-

ings, fully expecting to fill my pocketswith nuggets. The outings were enjoy-

able, hut not fruitful. My entire horde

still consists of a one-dollar gold piece,

dated 1880, given to me by my grand-

father years ago.

Judge Frank Herron is a sparkl ing

little man in his 80s. He may have slowed

down a bit physically, but his mind is

stil l keen. According to informat ion ob-

tained from his friends, he served as a

j udge for many years in Jul ian. In an

effort to verify this, I asked the Judge

about his past and was told, "Oh, I got

that t i t le from judging dog shows!" Thi s

is an indication of the modesty of the

m an who owns 21 mines containing mil-

lions in bur ied go ld!

In 1952 all twenty-one were consoli-

dated into one 400-acre complex which

he named "For t Knox." Wate r is

brought down from a spring at Fountain

Visitor pauses at entrance to North

Hiibbard Mine.

mine. A Proof of Labor, filed with the

State and County, shows that considerablemaintenance and improvement work has

been done in recent years—so there-

would be no basis for calling this old

West mining area a ghost town (or ghost

e m p i r e ) . It's more like a silent stadium

wait ing for the next game to start when—

if ever—Uncle Sam starts the ball rolling

with a raise in the price of gold. With

the price fixed at S3 5 per ounce since

'34, the production of this metal is no

longer economically feasible. For thatmatter, even the accumulation of money

may not be economically feasible these

days! Judge Herron advocates an increase

in the price of gold to $52 per ounce. At

this figure a 20th century gold rush

could be induced which would render the

government ' s ant i -poverty program use-

less !

Another possible solution to our na-

t ion's gold shortage is suggested by aman from Juneau, Alaska, who believes

the government might consider subsidiz-

ing gold mining with varying subsidies

appropria te to each area. This approach

would eliminate the hazards that an out-

right increase in price would introduce

into the world monetary situation. The

thinking here is that more might be ac-

complished through subsidies on gold

production than on the growing of car-

rots and beans!

The situation of insufficient gold at the

original Fort Knox, and an abundance of

it resting in hundreds of mines that have

been "at ease" for years is a problem of

small concern to the Sunday picnic crowd.

Judge Herron's Fort Knox cont inues to

prove its value as a taste of yesterday for

those who enjoy hiking through the can-

yons and exploring old mines and mills

whi le munching on a ba loney sandwich . •

the distinctive desert resort...

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xpo

make next Summer's vacation a

cross-country tour to Montreal

Expo '67T

HIS IS jumping the gun on nexyear's vacation, but an exciting

thing is happening and we think DES-ERT readers might want our first-handimpression while long-range plans are inthe making.

At the invitation of Expo '67 we flew

back to Montreal, Canada, for two daysto visit the site and see what's in storefor us next year. This world exhibitionscheduled to open on 1000-acre He SainteHelene in the St. Lawrence waterway nextApril, is going to be so vital, so stimula-ting and so advanced technologically thait will be like a lease on life in the futurejust to see it.

The theme for this International Ex-position is an impressive one. Taken fromthe book Terre des Hommes by Frenchauthor, poet and aviator Antoine de Saint

Exupery, it is: "To be a man is to feethat through one's own contribution, onehelps to build the world." This thoughtis stimulating 57 countries to build pavil-ions on He Sainte-Helene grounds inwhich each can share its own special de-velopment with the world. The themeencompasses sub-themes such as man inhis world as a producer, as a provider, asa creator, as an explorer and as a dwellerIt's interesting to observe what an im-portant role environment plays in eachcountries' interpretation of the theme.

The United States and Russia, for in-stance, are pursuing the theme of explora-tion in space. Their pavilions will be onseparate islands within the main islandjoined by a bridge. We haven't detailedinformation on the Russian exhibit, buthe U. S. will go so far as to explore thevery essence of Life itself and the organicchemicals to produce it. An exhibitionsuch as this could only come from a nation which has solved most of its basicproblems, temporarily, at least.

Reclaiming land from the ocean andthe co ntrol of water is. a vital necessityto the Netherlands. This country is pre-



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For Information write, call or visit

HAL BURDICK

P. O. BOX 212

N EW BERRY , CA LI F O RN I A

On Highway 66

Area Code 714 CL 7-3294

senting one of the most unique exhibi-tions of all and is among the first to be-gin installations. We talked to Pete VanDerkleut, the technical engineer for Am-sterdam's famous Disney-type artist, JoopGeesink. An entire Dutch city will bebuilt to scale so you can walk through itand see how Holland finally solved theproblem of the dyke after Peter's fingergot tired. The problems that arise inerecting such productions are fantastic.Little things like converting electrical

outlets become major problems.In contrast to too much water in the

Netherlands, Israel's problem has beentoo little. Its pavilion will show the worldhow Israelites have accomplished desal-inization and reclaimed their desert.

France is probably farthest ahead inunderwater exploration and its pavilionwill show the newest advances—andthose projected for the future—featuringman in the ocean.

In addition to individual exhibits spon-

sored by various countries, there will beone golden acre of land on which is pro-duced a variety of foods illustrating ad-vanced methods for feeding the world;there will be a 2000-seat theatre with topentertainment from all countries; an artgallery which will remain as a permanentbuilding; and, of course, a "fun" sectorwith the latest thing in rides available tothe roller-coaster set.

Pavilion buildings will encompass arch-itectural methods never used before—covered with plastic, cantalevered, pre-

fabbed, molded, and built of every con-ceivable type of material. One which in-terested us is a three-dimensional apart-ment house. This multi-storied buildingexemplifies a new concept for urbanliving with each dwelling having its owngarden on one of the various staggeredelevations. Bathrooms are constructed ofFiberglas, molded all in one piece andsimply dropped into place by a crane. Thebathtub of the future, as with other fix-tures of the bath, in no way resemblesthose to which we are accustomed. This

structure, located on the river with a viewof Montreal's spectacular skyline, will beone of the most popular exhibits and willremain as a condominium. A number ofits apartments are already subscribed.

We were infected with the enthusiasm

of the French Canadians for this project.

Rather than considering that they are

doing the world a favor, they seem to

appreciate this opportunity to show their

country to the world and are sparing

nothing in ingenuity, organization, funds

and work.A good example is the story behind

their receiving the bid. First, you mustrealize a World Exposition is definitelynot a World's Fair. Whereas a WorldFair is commercial, a World Expositionis non-commercial, financed individuallyby the separate countries which exhibitand its sole purpose is to advance worldeducation. This is the first one to be heldon the North American continent—thelast world Exposition was in BrusselsWhen the International Bureau, whichdecides such things, accepted bids fo

Expo '67 back in I960, it was originallyawarded to Russia. The usual time limifor organizing such an Exposition is sevenyears. Russia hired a staff of 2000 peopleand went full speed ahead for two yearsthen changed its mind and decided noto hold the exhibit after all. Canada, whohad also bid for it, was then givenanother chance, although warned thafive years was a short shift. This write

Artist's sketch of entrance pavilion a

at Expo '67.

attended the opening at Brussels in 195and was disappointed at how disorganizethe pavilions were, but we're ready t

wager that on opening day at Montreathe little trains will be running to carryou from place to place, pavilions will bfinished, and you'll be in for the thrill oa lifetime. There's just nothing like successful opening when a city is as dedcated in its work as this one is. In contrast to Russia's staff of 2000, Montreais doing it with a staff of 900!

This beautiful city is the seventh largest city on the North American continenand the second largest French-speakincity in the world. One resolution the cit

as a whole has made is not to bilk thpublic. Prices for rooms will be frozeand must be posted on each door anthere will be plenty of accommodationavailable. Even the University and a number of private schools, which will bclosed for the summer, are contributinrooms for tourists. An official non-profhousing bureau called Logexpo has beeorganized to arrange accommodations foyou at deluxe, commercial or budgfares, depending on your choice. Thewill also be a number of campsites e

tablished for campers and trailers. Thaddress to write for information is Loge

18 / Desert Ma gazine / August-September, 19 66



po Expo '67, Place Vil le-Mane, Montreal .

Expo '67 opens Apri l 28th and closes

October 27th.

Of special interest to Western motor-

ists is the fact that 1967 is also the Cen-

tennial year for the Confederat ion of

Canada. Across the entire country special

events will be scheduled. Those with

campers could travel from coast to coast

above the border, visiting quaint Van-

couver, seeing the famous Calgary rodeo,

fishing in the great lake country between

W i n n i p e g and Montreal , and then re-

t u rn ing via the northern states in the U.S.

O r, you could fly to Montreal, pick up a

new car in Detroit after visiting the Ex-

position, and drive West from there,

weaving back and forth across the border

at the most interesting points. One thing

to remember in this event is that planes

don ' t fly directly from Montreal to De-

troit, so schedule your flight to W i n d so r ,

directly across the bridge from Detroit

and closer, in most cases, to where you'll

be picking up your new car.

Whereas western Canada is British in

influence, Quebec is French. Directional

signs are printed in both English and

French, but you'll sense that thrill which

comes with visiting a foreign country.

Montreal has an architectural fascination

Xeu concept of three-dimensional living is explained in story.

V

distinctly its own, its people are wide-awake and friendly and if you haven' t

visited Montreal in recent years, as this

writer hadn't , you'll be astonished at its

progress. Nevertheless, the old charm re-

mains—splendid restaurants, romantic re-

flections of l ight in water, the spectacular

skyline, corroded copper roofs and row

upon row of tall stone-faced residenceswith tangles of exterior stairways spiral-

ing down to the streets.

It's still early and Expo '67 publicity

is just beginning to hit the press, but keep

it in mind for next summer. We're sin-

cerely convinced that for DESERT read-

ers it will be a worthwhile t r ip. •

if R A I S E S

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The Mine

Tha t Won

the W est

by C. W. Harrison

THE FRANCISCAN padres of Mis-

sions San Carlos and Santa Clara

could not have dreamed that the myster-

ious red pigment with which native In-

dians painted themselves would someday

not only change the course of California's

history so far as Spain and Mexico were

concerned, but also would become a de-

ciding factor in preserving the United

States as an undivided nation.

The Indians called that strange red

pigment mohetka, and told of digging itout of a sacred cave in a place known to

them as Pooyi, in the coastal hills not

many miles south of Mission Santa Clara.

If Father Serra and the good padres

who carried on after his death recognized

Neir A lmaden 's ruins are often painted by artists.

that peculiar vermilion clay as pulver-

ized cinnabar, the principal ore of quick-

silver, they kept their secret well. The

last thing those devout missionaries

wanted was for hordes of miners to come

rushing into the country to disrupt their

work among the pagan t r ibesmen.

No w designated as a Nation al Histor-

ical Landmark because of the history-

shaping events that revolved around its

subterranean treasures, New Almaden's

unique out-croppings were first workedin 1824 by Mexicans who believed that

the remarkably heavy vermilion rocks

contained silver. It was not until 1845

that a knowledgeable Mexican discovered

that, instead of coin metal, New Alma-

den's red ore was heavy with an even

more valuable metal—quicksilver.

Andres Castillero had been sent north

from Mexico City with orders to negoti-

ate the purchase of New Helvetia from

Captain John Sutter, the Swiss immigrant

who had started a colony on the Sacra-

mento River. During the last severalmonths, far too many American trappers

and adventurers had been gathering in

the vicinity of Sutter's Fort for the Mexi-

can government's peace of mind. If Sut-

ter 's landgrant could be purchased, the

unwanted Americanos could legally and

permanently be evicted.

Time and the tides of fate were against

Andres Castillero and the Mexican gov-

ernment, however. They had waited too

long. Each month had brought increased

numbers of trappers, adventurers, out-

casts, and land-seekers through the lofty

passes of the Sierra Nevada to the golden

valleys of California. And far too muc

time had been given to those unwanted

intruders for debate, decision, and th

making of plans.

They were men to be reckoned with

those intruders from beyond the Sierra

Former mountain men like Ezekiel Mer

ritt and Jim Clyman, prospectors such a

Peter Lassen and farmers such as William

B. Ide, and pioneers of a state-to-be suc

as YX illiam L. T od d, nep hew of Mr

Abraham Lincoln. On the scene, too, waKit Carson, scout for Captain John C

Fremont's military force which had en



tered California, sothe Captain said,on

a scientific expedition.

Within a few weeks after AndresCastillero opened negotiations with the

Swiss-born Johann August Sutter for the

purchase ofNew Helvetia, the rebelliousAmericans launched what has since beencalled their Bear Flag Revolt toannexCalifornia tothe United States.

Castillero himself unknowingly helpedbring about this great change in the

course of California history. While rest-ing at theSanta Clara Mission, he had

been shown samples of theheavy ver-

milion ore which the native Indianscalled mohetka. He recognized it atonceas cinnabar. Because the ore remindedhim somuch of cinnabar he had seen at

quicksilver mines inAlmaden, Spain,he

chose Nuevo Almaden the name for the

mining claim hefiled on in the Arroyode los Alamitos.

Once in production, New Almadenrich ores freed all weath-producing mines

from Mexico toChile from their depen-dence on costly Spanish quicksilver. Theysoon proved aneven greater blessing to

California and theUnited States, how-

ever, forwithout New Almaden's quicksilver, the Mother Lode's gold-laden pla-

cers and Nevada's bonanza silver minescould not have been developed sorichlyand rapidly. Recovery processes in all

gold and silver mines of those daysre-quired quicksilver for amalgamation.

The enormous wealth produced eitherdirectly or indirectly by the NewAlmaden

mines helped finance the North and in-sure itsultimate victory during the CivilWar. Andwhile theguns were goingoff, it provided the fulminate ofmercurywithout which therifles andpistols of

the blues would have been silent as thosetroopers marched in battle against theirbrothers ingray.

The estimated hundred miles of shaftsand tunnels inNewAlmaden's Mine Hillhave produced more than amillion flasks(contents 16lbs. each) of mercury. At

today's values, this would add up to more

than a quarter billion dollars. And aftermore than acentury ofproduction, MineHill is still contributing to thewealthand security ofthe nation ithelped createand preserve.

New Almaden, long neglected by

chroniclers of American history and by

the average tourist, lies 12 miles south of

San Jose and Santa Clara County RoadG-8. Slumbering in theshade of giantsycamores along thebanks of AlamitosCreek, New Almaden is a town inwhichhistory was made andstill lives on in

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OUR HORSES climbed steadily up

the switchbacks of the first hill—asandy moraine sparsely covered with

mahogany and sagebrush—from where

we could look back to Long Valley and

Crowley Lake gleaming in the morning

sunl ight . Beyond, the White Mountains

stood sharply etched against the clear

blue sky. After months of dreaming, we

at last headed back to Hilton Lakes!

For 2s) years our family has roamed

High Sierra trails and spot-packed to

remote areas. W e now prefer Hilton

Lakes in the Inyo National forest be-

cause the pack-trip is shorter and lessstrenuous than to other favorite spots,

and yet timberline lakes are easily

reached by one-day hikes. Hilton Creek

canyon is just over a ridge from popular

Rock Creek resorts on the south. Al-

though close to well known areas, it 's

primitive and reached only by foot or

pack-train.

To reach Hilton Lakes pack station,

you turn off U. S. 395 about 31 miles

north of Bishop and then west for half

a mile to the pack station. The best time

is in July or August, as the season is short

at these 10,000-foot elevations.

At the corral, Ed Kyte was getting our

horses ready. In spite of his long work-

day, Ed Ky te is easy-going an d friendly,

with the courage and patience born of

long hours on the trail . W e have learned

to trust the packer and respect his "know-

how," which makes our trips safe and

pleasant. Ed led off with his pack-string,

each mule carrying two balanced loads of

provisions and camping gear, with riders

following.At the top of the switchbacks, Hilton

trail follows an old mining road, then

turns towards Hilton Creek. As we pulled

up our horses at the creek crossing in a

beautiful grove of Aspen, Ed was telling

some of his guests how the canyon got

its name:

"Richard Hilton ran a dairy on this

creek for more than thirty years," he said.

"The Hiltons grazed cattle up this can-

yon in the early days, before 1870, fur-

nishing milk to the McGees, the Som-

mers, and later, to gold miners. John

Hilton was one of the first settlers."

HIGH CAMP AT HILTON LAKES



veny bfreciat t%ifr fan active

We who enjoy eastern Sierra resorts

and reach them easily from paved high-ways can scarcely realize the hardship,violence, and bloodshed that were a partof the history of these borderlands ofCalifornia.

Our trail skirted the big upper mea-

dow—a favorite with those who prefer

stream fishing—and continued climbing.

Although the trail does not cross any

major pass, the first part traverses open

country and is hot, sandy, and steep. Even

if you hike "out," as some do, it's better

to make the trip up the canyon on horse-back.

There's an unusual absence of a tran-

sition life zone in the canyon. After pin-

yon pine and mountain mahogany a

lodgepole forest follows immediately,

with occasional Jeffrey pine on sunnyslopes.

We saw the waters of Davis Lakeset in lovely meadows dotted with gen-tian. Across the inlet and along the shore-line there's a sandy, crescent-shapedbeach ideal for picnicking. Tracing thestreams through the meadow, there's apicturesque waterfall where the streamdrops from an upper basin called "thetub." Here the lake is well stocked withGerman Browns, but of course they don'tcompare with the fighting Rainbows in

the higher lakes.We made the five-arsd-a-half mile trip

to Hilton Lake in two-and-a-half hoursand it seemed like coming home. On apack trip we take only the barest neces-

sities. One item especially useful is a pan

made from a square-sided, five gallonoil can. This fits the pack boxes and canlater be used to carry water or for aboiler. Eggs are carried in coffee canspacked solidly with oat meal which ilater eaten and the cans used for cookingTwo "tin" frying pans of the same sizefit together and serve as griddle, fishfryer, or dutch oven. Clothing, towelsand other small items we packed in duf-fle bags in place of suit cases. A tent andair mattress are worth their added weighttoo, we think.

For 30 years a camp with lodge andcabins was located here, every board, kegof nails, and cook stove brought in onmule back. But when the High SierraPrimitive Area was established in 1932



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Hilton Camp was one of th e areas affected and a program of amortization wasworked out, terminating the lease in1961. Now all signs of the old campare gone.

High upper lakes are easily reached byone-day hikes from this base-camp. Asteep hike of one-mile brings you to thefirst of the high lakes (3 ) with a magnificent view of the valley and the canyonbelow. Upper lakes may also be reached

by foot-trail or pack-train from RockCreek resorts.

We climbed over glacial rocks to thsouth end of the lake where the watewas blue-green against snowbanks whichstill stood under the warm summer sunHere, an hour or two of concentrationwill yield amateur, as well as expert, agood catch of Rainbows.

The eastern face of the Sierra is one oruggedness and power. A few pines clingtenaciously to rocky crevices, gnarledtwisted, and bent almost double by thwind. In contrast, along the stream growtiny White Heather bells; and on a rockledge, a marmot may be sunning itself

On the ridge above the lake, Nutcrackernest in the Western Hemlock, piercinthe stillness with their incessant criesThe trail to other lakes (5, 7, and 9follows this ridge and in the distance yocan see another (4 ) lying in a glaciacirque at the foot of Mt. Hamilton, onof the major peaks of the Sierra Crest.

Streams from all the upper lakes tra

verse the meadow below this lake, winding through knee-high grasses, and providing excellent stream fishing. Taluslides and two deep, emerald bays edgewith willows form the east side of thlake. On the west, cliffs come down to thwater's edge. A few scattered hemlock arso dwarfed by the cold and snow of thi10,400-foot elevation they form a denselow thicket of branches.

Eastern Brook trout are plentifuClimbing to a sand bar near the inlet, wfished the deep water just off the shel

with good results. Ardent fishermen cafind Golden Trout in the still highelakes, but it's rugged hiking.

After eight glorious days, we joined group for the trip "down the hill," morconvinced than ever that a vacatiospent in the untrampled solitude of designated Wilderness can give a familrenewed strength and confidence.

Where the trail skirts the Big Meadowwe turned from the trail for a last spectacular view of the Crest. These granipeaks stand eternal in the sun and ca

their image of beauty on the soul. Aawareness of that beauty makes all thhardship worthwh ile.



Part Three of a Six-Part Series

Exclusive report on recent Erie Stanley Gardner Expedition

to Baja California made by

helicopters, Grasshoppers, and 4-wheel drives

The Magic of Bajaby Choral Pepper

Editor of DESERT Magazine

WE WERE camped beside the Rock

House at El Barril . This is a

lonely spot along the Gulf of California

where the water is so clear it 's phosphor-

escent. I sat atop a mound of clam shells

catching up on notes while the men

popped up tents and unloaded cars. Soonthe sky turned to opal, the campfire

sprung into action and Sam Hicks started

to prepare his special noodle casserole.

Having myself just written a book

called Cooking an d Camping on the Des-

ert, I felt it behooved me to do a little

close watching. I 'd revealed a number of

Sam's choice recipes in the book, but this

one he 'd managed to keep to himself.

"I' l l run down to the sea and get water

for the noodles," I offered, grabbing up

a pail .

"Not for my noodles, you won' t ,"

Sam snapped.

"But why'" I persisted. "You have to

cook pastas in lots of water or they turn

pastey. The water in the sea is clean and

it's already salted. W e just can't afford to

waste our fresh water."

"When you start cooking on a fire in-

stead of a typewriter, I'll listen to you,"

Sam laughed, uncorking a five gallon jugof fresh United States Temecula Ranch

water and dumping it into the noodle

pot.

I seethed. I boiled. Besides, my feelings

were hurt. And the waste of water!

"Now, Sam," Uncle Erie intervened. "I

think Corke should be allowed to cook

her noodles in sea water if she wants to.

I t might even work . . . "

By this time I had a few others on my

team, so in a separate pot we cooked a

batch of sea water noodles. In the above-mentioned book, I suggested you rinse



them off with a little fresh water after

they're cooked, but we ate them straight

from the sea water and they were fine.

This is a good thing to know about when

you're short on drinking water and camp-

ed near a sea. And, I must say this for

Sam. He's a man of rigid principle and

not easily convinced, but after tasting

our salt water noodles, he threatened to

write a cookbook and steal that one from

m e !

The trip through unmapped countrybetween our previous camp and El Bar-

nl was not without incident. During the

whole time of criss-crossing from wash to

wash to break a trail, we didn't see so

much as a trace of a track left by any pre-

vious vehicle, although we did find an

abandoned rancho in good condition.

It was a funny thing about this place.

A ramada and an acient frame house sat

on a low hill overlooking an immense

rock-walled corral. J. W. Black, who has

accompanied Uncle Erie on a number of

expeditions into Baja back-country, re-

marked that the corners of this corral were

sharply squared, rather than rounded, a

characteristic typical of those built by the

prolific Villavicencio family who has

owned ranches in Baja as far back as his-

tory is recorded. But the fact that no

road nor trail led into the region puzzled

us , until Ynez, our Yaqui guide, observed

that it wasn't a permanent ranch, but one

used only for round-ups when there's

enough rainfall in the area to pasture

cattle.

Then later, back home, I ran onto

another interesting bit of information.

While trying to locate the lost Padre

Golfo Camino, a trail through this area

which had been broken, but soon aban-

doned in favor of the inland mission trail,

adventurer Arthur North, over half-a-

century ago, wrote about meeting a

rancher whose name was F i d e l

Villavicencio. This Mexican gentleman

was involved in a mining venture with

the Englishman Dick Dag gett, w hose

son is a resident of Bahia de los Ange

today. The Mexican spoke excellent E

lish, having been educated in the Uni

States, and N ort h commented furt

upon the superb workmanship apparent

his gear, especially complimenting his s

dle and shoes. ( W e were shortly to m

a similar comment about the gear of

descendan t ! )

The neatly constructed stockya

and vastness of the spread indicated

more than just a temporary abode andverdant patch of green gave evidence o

spring in the rugged mountain behind

ranch.

At the beginning of this break-throu

into virgin desert, we'd found occasio

rows of desert-varnished rocks lining

edge of what Arthur North, traveling

mule, referred to as remnants of the l

Padre Golfo Camino, but now there w

nothing to indicate the land had e

been traversed—even by coyotes. One b

spot, where we came close to giving

sliced so sharply down into a deep wathat the men worked for several hours

ternately shoveling and rebuilding

bank into a grade . For this country, tru

should be hinged in the middle so the

bend !

But even country like this is "home"

the Mexican vaquero. We heard a who

from Uncle Erie and the caravan halt

At the front of the line, Uncle Erie w

embracing an old friend.

Lorenzo Villavicencio isn't a man yo

be likely to forget. About six-foot-four, looks like all opera stars ought to lo

Broad-chested, independent and devas

tingly masculine, he's a true vaquero.

and his companeros dismounted fr

their mules, removed the packs from th

burros to rest the animals, and then join

us for lunch. Enroute to do a little bu

ness at a ranch in the north, they w

seeking a short cut through this regi

from their ranches at El Barril.

Erie Stanley Gardner first met

Villavicencio family when he was gath

ing material for the Hidden Heart of B

and in that book he wrot e a great d

about them. Their height, for one thi

intrigued him. Some of these broth

are almost seven feet tall! Later, on t

Opposite: On the b each at San Franc

(jii'ito Bay we collected bleached sha

bones which looked like intricately carv

ivory. Left: W hen two vaqueros me

they speak the same language, even wh

it's expressed in a foreign tongue. H

Sam Hicks visits with Lorenzo Villacencio.



trip, we were to drop onto some remote

ranches by helicopter and meet other

members of this native Baja family,

equally tall . I shall write more of that in

forthcoming insta l lments.

Everything these ranchers had in the

way of gear was manufactured by them-

selves, including hand-forged bits and

spurs. Lorenzo wore leather leggings em-

bellished with distinctive tooled designs

repeated on his sturdy saddle and apare-

jados. Tough leggings in this country pro-

vide better protection from sharp cactus

spines than do the chaps our cowboys

wear.

At last we rumbled out of the un-

mapped port ion of our route and onto the

El Arco-El Barril road. Our tracks aren't

ones to try to follow alone, but we did

prove this region can be crossed with ex-

perienced drivers and rugged vehicles in

top condition. Our only catastrophes were

flat t ires punctured with cacti . I don't be-

lieve any vehicles anywhere have had a

more honest test for endurance and per-formance.

The country we now approached was

strewn with granite boulders eroded into

monsters, cast les and swol len doughnuts.

In places, walls hundreds of feet long

resembled fortresses, but they weren't

bui l t by man. This is powerful , nightmare

country while it lasts, but soon the ele-

ments take over and the boulders dimin-

ish into heaps of sand banked against

stunted palo bianco. As the terrain cas-

caded toward the Gulf, wild carnations

and blue lupine splashed a fragrant pathof color into the blue, blue sea.

It is here you first see the towers of the

windmil ls which pump water into lush

fig, date and citrus orchards of El Barril .

Immaculately clean and orderly, the Villa-

vicencio ranches are bright with flowers,

sunshine and beautiful children. Few Baja

travelers turn off Hig hw ay No . 1 to fol-

low this vaguely defined road which ends,

ultimately, at San Francisquito Bay on its

left fork and at the Villavicencio ranches

on its right. These people befriended

Uncle Erie on a previous expedition andone thing Uncle Erie never forgets is a

friend, so now we came laden with gifts

to celebrate a reunion—foot-treadled sew-

ing machines for the women, steel files

for the men and canteens and harmonicas

for the children. They all came out of

their sun-baked adobes to greet us and

after a brief visit we crossed through

their ranches to camp beside the old Rock

House. Later they joined us for a fiesta.

The old Rock House is another of those

realities which rises like a dream in Baja.

Once a woodstop for steamboats, i t was

built in the 1880s by a German who is

said to have traded ironwood used to fire

the boats, for supplies brought aroundthe Horn or from San Francisco by sea.

The name El Barril has a nautical con-

notation meaning "water cask," so per-

haps water was taken aboard here too. A

huge three-story affair constructed of

native stone, i t 's a dramatic landmark

along the coast. A balcony which once

gave entre to a series of hand carved

doors, today sags in disrepair, but the

stonework of the house looks sturdy

enough to make history in the future.

During the latter part of the 1800s

when steamboats plied the Colorado

River, the Gulf of California was the

only port of entry and a fair amount of

trade passed this way, headed for Fort

Mohave and the mines above Yuma. Some

of the barges and sternwheelers which

carried on this trade were actually built

in Mexico, but were financed with funds

'

/ . W. Black examines hand-forged spurs

made by the Villavicencio family at

their El Barril ranch.

and constructed of lumber from the U.S.

which, with a cooperative compadre in

the customs office, made them "Ameri-

can built" vessels not subject to import

duty. It 's astonishing that a building the

size and value of the Rock House wouldbe a mere wood stop when further up the

coast and on the river such operations

were conducted by Indians who simply

gathered the wood and left i t along the

shore beside a container nailed to a post

in which payment was deposited. The

Rock House is an intriguing enigma for

romanticists l ike me. Perhaps someday

we'll learn that i t harbored pearl smug-

g ler s o r p i ra te s . . . o r , pe rhaps , t he

"American-made" shipbui lders.

Streaks of gold faded from the sky and

left us in a firelit patch of darkness.

Bruce Barron strummed his guitar and

soon Sam joined him with a mandolin

At moments like this, with the scent oburning mesquite in the air and sof

voices in the night, I l iked to withdraw

to the aloneness of my tent and let th

sounds and smells and memories of th

day seep into my subconscious. Whe

they come to you this way, removed from

the distractions of participation, they ar

magnified. And it is those moments I ca

close my eyes and go back to so easil

now.

With morning came sunshine and th

revving up of the Chapul inos. We wer

off thro ugh a glistening stretch of dese

to San Francisquito Bay. The sand her

is decomposed granite bleached to a star

white and sprinkled richly with hunks o

azure-colored copper ore. We didn't de

termine the copper's source, but mayb

it accounts for the exotic color of the se

in this area.

The tiny beach at San Francisquito lie

in a jewel box setting between walls o

black lava studded with rock oysterAdob e ruins nearby recall the short-live

career of an ambitious fisherman who in

stituted a fishing industry some year

ago. The idea was good, but the opera

tion failed when hundreds of cans o

sardines he'd brought in to use for ba

all swelled and exploded. Then, to ad

to his ill-fortune, after getting his ca

into the area, he couldn't get it out. S

now it rusts in the sun alongside explode

sardine cans while his adobe haciend

melts with the rare rains. Whoever h

was, he lacked the typical Mexican ingenuity that has mastered this tough land

Perhaps he was a gringo.

This is a fine beach and an ideal plac

to camp—better, actually; than the Roc

House, as that is on private property an

permission must first be obtained t

camp there .

A short distance from the bay—but to

far to have been deposited by turbulen

seas—there are three mounds of old oyste

shells so high they look like mountain

At first we thought they were kitche

middens, but Ricardo Castillo, our kitche

midden expert, found no charcoal no

artifacts to suggest ancient Indian habita

tion. Nevertheless, the shells didn't arrive

there naturally. Some one put them ther

at great effort. It was the creator of tha

great detective Perry Mason who finall

came up with a plausible answer.

The shells, very likely, were deposite

by pearl smugglers; perhaps during th

Spanish era when the padres prohibite

pious Indians from diving, hoping t

save them from moral corruption bSpanish soldiers interested in turning

pearl into a quick doubloon. The loo



«Primitive oven is used by Villavicencio

families for baking at their El Barril

ranches. Below: Jean and S am visit with

the children.

f • •

was stationed far enough from shore toelude watchful eyes aboard mission ves-sels carrying supplies up and down thecoast, and the harbor could safely accom-modate the pongos of native pearlers.Even the old Rock House might fit into alatter-day pearling enterprise. It lies with-in in easy burro ride of this bay.

There's some pretty potent lookingcountry both north and south of El Bar-ril—country without roads—and some-day we'll camp again at the Rock Houseand explore it all with a fleet of Chapu-Iinos.

Those were the things we talked about,and. dreamed about, while bumping to-ward El Arco on Highway No. 1, whichis little smoother than its less dignifiedoffshoots. We stopped there, at El Arco,for lunch at the modest casa-restaurantof a nice lady who dispatched children ofall sizes into all directions to acquire theingredients for a grand machaca. It'srarely, along this route, that such a largecontingent as ours appears for a meal.Perhaps to stretch a limited supply ofbeans, our lady chef mixed them withcooked barley. And it was delicious. The

firm texture and subtle flavor of barleykernels does great things for beans. Youshould try it.

Ynez, our Yaqui guide, had an aband-oned ranch in mind for our campsite onthis night. It was about 28 miles west ofEl Arco and far enough from the mainroad to be hard to find. But it was a gor-geous spot, this Cueva Colorado Ranch,with plenty of dead wood. While we sataround our fire, gusts of wind from sur-rounding canyons split the splendid silen-

ces and hoodoo shadows moved amongthe twisted trees. An old well, a corral

and an empty concrete reservoir hinted offormer prosperity, but many years of

drought had left the land improvident.This year, however, it would come aliveagain at round-up time when the vaquerosmove their cattle through the region and,with another good year of rain, the ranchmight be reactivated.

I was curious about the painted cavefor which the ranch was named, butUncle Erie had already explored this areawhen he was enroute to Scammon's La-goon to gather material for Hunting theDesert Whale, so we left early the fol-lowing morning and drove directly to SanIgnacio. There we were scheduled to meetthe celebrated Mexican archeologist, Dr.Carlos Margain, two Fairchild helicopterswith crews, and the greatest adventureswe've ever had ! •

To be continued

Above: Mysterious mound of shells may

date back to pirate days. Below: Thisabandoned ranch was one of our prettiest

camps.



S o m e p a r t i c l e s of m e t a l w e r e u s u a l l y d i s c a rd e divith the garbage. In dumps buried for 100

years or more, large pieces of metal may have

disintegrated to a mere rusty stain in the soil.

If the garbage had beett "pitted" by some neat house-holder

of yesterday, your chances of finding "whole" bottles are

greatly enhanced.

Search the history books, or "pick th

minds" of the old-timers, to discover th

site of an early (preferably before 1900

community.

/ / the refuse seems to extend deep, a shovel

may be necessary.

Bottle-digging: a hobby as fascinating as

digging for gold, and perhaps as profit-

able.

' ' V - y,u



TA^ oW />«V) holes" an "glory boles"for today's diggers. The rich loam often

contains rare poison bottles, or precious

old whiskey flasks.

Dig That Bottleby Grace Kendrick

THE MOST fascinating hobby to hit the West since

1849 is that of bottle-collecting. Thousands of bot-

tle-hungry prospectors are traveling by 4-wheel-drive

vehicles or afoot, into remote outposts, hoping to re-

possess discarded glass objects.

Ten years ago, this was an appropriate hobby for a

retiring old lady who simply took her choice of thebottles from the surface of the ground. But today's suc-

cessful pursuit of the hobby requires the detective work

of Sherlock Holmes and the stamina of a miner's burro.

History buffs realize that every valley and canyon in

the West was once occupied by an optimistic settler.

Avocations and financial conditions of these early West-

erners are discernable from remnants in their city

dumps. Starry-eyed miners imported luxuries from all

over the world, abandoning all tendencies toward fru-

gility, thereby creating lucrative bottle-mines for today'sW estern traveler. •

A meta l-detector is fun to use to find the

dump,— especially in vegetated areas.

\ : .

Scratch the surface of the ground with a rake or

pointed hoe to see if the bottles have become

buried with floods or shifting sands.

,

Perhaps all that remains of an

early settlement will be rocks

piled in rectangular forma-

tions: the tumbled founda-

tions of homes of yesterday.

A • fiOld bottles discarded by the | ^ ' jgM

early settlers o f the west, hav e

become valuable sought-after

antiques.



A p a s s e n g e r c a r t r i p t o s e e

The Oldest Thing Alive

Photo opposite page

C a t h e d r a l G o r g e n e aPioche, Nevad

by Choral Pepper

NOT EXACTLY what botanis ts cal l

" tree people," my husband, Jack,

and I are still curious about unusual bo-

tanical specimens. Last fall we were told

that the rare Bristlecone Pine stretches

its weird limbs on the peak of a mountain

overlooking one of our favorite Nevada

vacat ion spots—Pioche.

Partly because we always like an ex-

cuss to visit Pioche and partly because

we'd never seen a Bristlecone, we pointed

our Pontiac in the direction of Nevada

and headed north. A few miles south of

Pioche we regretted we hadn't broughtthe camper, however, as we've long

wanted to stop at the beautiful, uncrowd-

ed campground at Cathedral Gorge and

summer and fall is an ideal time of theyear, here for camping .

Late the next morning we left our

motor lodge and found the Highland

Mountain road out of Pioche. Climbing

upward to 9300 feet, with 23 switch-

backs, it passes from the gold and orange

terrain of Pioche into a pygmy forest of

juniper, then suddenly melds into fat

pinon pines. As the good dirt road as-

cends, the forest thickens and fir and

spruce join the juniper and pinon.

Soon we arrived at a small picnic

ground amid a grove of tall trees. Seven

in number, red-barked and over 100 feet

high, they surround two picnic tables pro-

vided by the forest service. These are the

trees which once stimulated a local controversy. Referred to as "the big trees,

for the simple reason that they ar e big

they are still no relation to the famou

Sequoia, also known as the "Bigtree.

These are giant Ponderosas, and they pro

vide a pleasant stop for lunch.

As we drove along, we stopped t

examine each new kind of pine, wonder

ing if we'd recognize a Bristlecone if w

saw one. What we did know about th

Pinus aristata, in addition to its Lati

name, is that it is also popularly calle

the Foxtail pine because its plumage re

sembles a tail. These are the oldest livin

things on earth, some in the Bristlecon

Forest of Inyo National Park in Califor

nia having been assessed at 4600 years.

What causes their longevity is a

ability to stop growing during long per

iods, e sp ec ia lly d u r i n g p r o l o n g e

drought. But the surprising thing abou

the whole business is that even if

patriarch tree remains in a state of sus

pended animation for as long as 25 o

more years, when it does begin to growagain, it experiences a complete biologica

renaissance, producing new cones wit

life-producing pollen pods. And eve

more surprising, this may continue t

happen when a tree's 4000 years old. I

scientists ever isolate that gene, our popu

lation will really exp lode!

Photos of the Bristlecone inevitabl

depict a broad-trunked, knarled arrange

ment of empty branches with occasiona

offshoots of sparce bristle. Outside of a

area high up in the Inyo National For

est, which is confined within a Nationa

Park were guided tours along desig

nated paths are available to tourist

Bristlecone are hard to see. There's a fin

stand in the mountains above Ely, Ne

vada, but you have to pack in to get nea

them. I've heard reports from helicopte

pilots that a few grow atop Mt. Charles

ton above Las Vegas and a couple wer

recently reported near Cedar City, Utah

but, again, a four-wheel drive vehicle o

hike is necessary in order to reach them

If this passenger car road within a morning's drive of Pioche would reveal

Bristlecone forest in which you coul



I ' i W

v m



have the thrill of discovery without Park

department signs point ing the way, this

was a treat we were anxious to get into

print .

W e were there in early September, be-

fore winter snows fell . Juicy pine cones

dripped with fragrant sap and prickle-

poppies, blue ground daisies and vivid

paint brush splattered rich color among

the shadows. Shafts of warm sunlight fil-

tered through a fil igree of quaking aspen

and then we twisted around a sharp bluffand there, before us, was a very funny

tree. Tall and well-shaped, thick clusters

of needles hung from its branches like

the fingers of a Siamese temple dancer.

"Could that be it?" I considered.

"U h-u h. Looks too healthy for a Bris-

tlecone," Jack decided.

A litt le further and we came upon a

grove growing in a wide crevice protect-

ed from the wind. Jack stopped to bend a

twig toward the camera so I could get

a close-up. "It looks like a tail ," I com-

mented, observing how its bushy needlesnarrowed to a point t ipped with a purple

cone.

"This is i t then," Jack exclaimed, "The

foxtai l pine!"

As we approached the apex of the

mou ntain where /inter winds are fierce,the trees grew shorter and more stunted,

like those of photos we'd seen. Perhaps

photographers deliberately choose models

with an "ancient" look rather than those

which thrived in protected spots, but all

of them are beautiful, misshapen or not.

They're like no other pine tree on earth.

Located on the peak of Highland

Mountain is a Federal Communication

station, which accounts for the good con-dition of the road. The superintendent ,

who commutes from Pioche, was there

when we arrived and took us on a tour

of his set-up, which looks about as com-

plicated as a space capsule.

On the downhill trek we explored

several side roads and found signs of deer

around the springs, but to really get back

into this country would require a 4-wheel

drive or hiker's boots.

Pioche is about as ideal a place to vaca-

tion as any offbeat trail-tracker could

find. By-passed some three miles by U.S.

Highway 93, this picturesque community

terraced up and down the sides of a series

of golden hills was once the wildest min-

ing town in the Wild West. Slightly

fictionalized, its history is recounted in a

February 1964, DESERT story,c&Wc"Chioche . "

Home of the largest reduction mill in

the world, Caselton Mill , i ts mining

activity has been a constant saga of boom

and bust. Currently enjoying a boom

period due to Uranium king Charl i

Steen's amalgamation of Combined Metal

at Caselton with his Grand Panam Com

pany, new tourist accommodations hav

been built in town and there's a housinshortage, but vacationers will still find i

virgin territory for back country explora

tion.

At Spring Valley, on the eastern fring

of town, springs have been funneled t

produce a sandy-beached lake for recrea

tion. This should be filled and an idea

place for swimming and water sking b

now. It 's amid a splendid setting (se

this month's cover), and cool in summe

If you are resourceful and able to fin

pleasure without guided tours or super

ficial stimulation, there's so much variet

in terrain and activity around Pioch

that, like us, you'll begin to think of

as a favorite "getting-away-from-it-all"

place, too.



Old Capistrano Townby Joan Weiss

\

fIS ITI NG "THE Jewel of the Mis-sions" at San Juan Capistrano with

its magnificent Companario (bell wall),the traditional swallows and the old Chap-el Dome ruins is an unforgettable exper-ience. Close by live the descendants ofthe Juaneno Indians, who were com-pletely settled when Father Junipero Serraarrived in 1775.

To the north of Pacific Coast Highway(101) you can visit thick-walled, rough-textured adobe buildings which are stillin use. The Jesus Aguilar home on OrtegaStreet is now a real estate office owned bythe Mission. Since it stands on a prime

location, rumor has it that the buildingmay be razed to make way for a moderngasoline station.

"This is what we must eliminate,"Chief Clarence Lobo says, himself %Juaneno. "Preserving our historical sitesis far easier than restoring ruins onceerosion has begun."

Chief Lobo, 51, is the elected chief of

the Juanenos, as well as a member of the

planning commission of San Juan Capis-

trano. He is a native of Capistrano, as

was his great-great grandfather who was

born in 1776, three years before Portola

and his Spanish sailors started out from

La Paz looking for ports and missionsites along the California coast. In fact,

Lobo's great-great grandfather came tothe San Juan Capistrano Mission whenhe was 60 years old to be baptized and itwas then a priest recorded his birth date.VC ith baptism the Juanenos were givenSpanish names, although the Missionrecords show them as Indians.

Sprinkled among modern buildings ismuch evidence of the Juanenos. It isn'tuncommon to find an arrowhead on theground or to hear Clarence Lobo identify-ing a herb for his sons, Wesley and Clar-ence. Historically, the Juaneno Indians

were a part of the Gabrielenos andassigned their origin to a place calledSehat or Suva. Research has narrowedthis site down to one of five in the regionof Los Nietos—very possibly where PicoRivera is now. The migrants settled intheir new country under the leadershipof a woman chief.

In order to completely emancipatethemselves from the Gabrielenos, theJuanenos changed their dialect, althoughthey kept the same culture and religion.There was such a great ceremonial union

throughout the area, however, that theirsongs were still sung in the Gabrielenodialect.

Left: The Rios adobe, oldest adobe in

California to continuously bouse onefamily. Below: Peach trees planted by

early Padres still be ar fruit.

The name of Juaneno developed aftera feast when they stopped near the pre-

sent San Juan Capistrano and slept piledup for warmth and comfort. Next daythey named the place Acagchemen, mean-ing "a pyramidal form of anything whichmoves, such as an ant hill." A modernJuaneno transcribes this as A-hash-amenand from this word the Juanenos tooktheir tribal name.

The oldest adobe in California to con-tinuously house one family is the Riosadobe. Joaquin Rios arrived in Californiawith a band of Spanish soldiers in 1725and in 1794 he built his adobe house on

what is now Los Rios Street, close by theMission. He planted olive, apple and figtrees and sowed in a garden each year tosupply his family with produce.

Santiago Rios, Joaquin's son, fell heirto the house which stood on seven acresof land within the boundaries of RanchoBoca de La Playa, Orange County's mostsoutherly rancho.

Damien Rios, born in I860, became the

third generation to live in the house.

With his grandfather's ingenuity, Damien

brought horses from Catalina Islandacross the channel to the mainland at San

Pedro on home-made rafts. It was the



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early 1890s and he wanted to train thwild horses for racing. It wasa treacheous journey, with only two or thrhorses crossing at a time. Crude oars wehis only propulsion and he was at thmercy of both wind and currents. Btiming his crossing to coincide with thrising tide, he landed several rafts sucessfully, but others capsized and somwild horses were lost.

The Rios family was very close to Mission. Gertrude cooked for theFathefor 20 years; Mike posed for the famopainting "The Endof theTrail," paintat theMission, andother members of tfamily helped Father O'Sullivan with rstoration work.

The Rios adobe is open to the pubby a telephone appointment with MrFoy. Present owner Mr. Dan Rios, Lguna Beach constable and U. S.Marshprefers showing it on weekends. Thhouse andgrounds typify early Californwith its statue of St. Francis of Assis

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B E A R F A C T S

by E ugene M cAllister

PERHAPS IT was a foolish thing to

do, but it was not an act of bravado.I never could stand a show-off and be-sides there were no witnesses. I was nottrying to impress anyone, except a bigbown bear. My sole purpose was to test atheory.

During many summers I had observedbear behavior in the garbage dump ofone of our National Parks. I had wit-nessed, through the windshield of mycar, a series of performances which

rather consistently followed this pattern:Bear A occupies a favored spot among

the leftovers from the campground gar-bage cans. Bear B aproaches. There is abrief pause for mutual appraisal. B makesa short, stiff-legged jump a few inchesin A's direction. A ignores the challengeand B withdraws, or, A withdraws andB moves in.

Once I saw a photographer approach afeeding bear, pause, raise his camera andthen depart rather hastily without a pic-ture when the bear made that character-

istic short, stiff-legged jump in his direc-tion. I was convinced that he was bluffingand that he would have retreated had thephotographer returned jump for jump,or perhaps have initiated the procedure.In that case he would probably havesnapped a rear view. The question tor-mented me until midnight.

It was then that I awakened to thefamiliar sound of a garbage can lid clat-tering to the pavement. A few of thebolder bears did not wait until the canswere emptied at the pit, but made noc-

turnal visits to the campgrounds wherethey noisily pawed over the iceboxes and

cupboards of careless campers who leftfood on the tables, in tents or in opencars.

Prominent signs throughout the Parkwarned campers that "teasing, touching,feeding or molesting" any bear or deerwas prohibited.

My purpose was not to tease or molestwhen I crawled out of my sleeping bagand put on my heavy hiking shoes. It wasa cool, crisp night. There were fewcampers in the area. They had long sinceabandoned their campfires for tents andtrailers. Brilliant moonlight filtered downthrough the branches of tall lodge pole

pines to reveal a very large bear standingerect, pawing through the rubbish in thecan nearest my camp. NX hat better time-to test my theory?

I advanced to within 30 feet of mysubject. We eyed each other for a mo-ment. Then I made a truly bear-likejump a few inches in his direction. Hedid not move. This was my signal towithdraw and I certainly entertained thethought. Instead, I tried two jumps inrapid succession, landing heavily, clump-clump. He responded promptly by re-

moving his forepaws from the can tostand on all fours. I made a hasty de-cision. I seemed to have gained on thedouble jump. I would try three. It wasthe magic number.

He took off in the direction of theriver and did not look back until he hadreached the other side. There he pausedbriefly, shook himself vigorously andstrode in a most resolute manner towardthe cabin occupied by the Chief ParkRanger.

I had a strange feeling that he was

determined to report me. Or was he justbluffing? D

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August-September, 196 6 / Desert Maga zine / 37



D A T I N G

O L D

M I N I N G

C A M P S

by Kit Carson

GHOST TOWNS and abandoned

villages arouse a great amount ofcuriosity as to when they were occupied,

when abandoned, and why. To answer

these questions Lucien A. File, head of

the research department for the New

Mexico Bureau of Mines, conducted a

study on the subject and came up with

some interesting observations which will

make it possible for you to arrive at a

good many of these answers yourselves.

As certain as distinctive periods of thepast are dated by old bottles and tin cans,

mining camps and old houses may be

dated by what archeologists call their

"middens," or trash dumps, as we call

them. Throughout the years the design

and style of articles ma nufa cture d for

home consumption have changed. Bottles

and cans are an excellent source for dat-

ing. These are usually found in dumps

or scattered around old ruins.

Another method for arriving at dates

of unknown sites lies in old newspapers

often found in tumbled down houses.

Sometimes these were used for insulation

and may be recovered without destroying

the ruins.

Camps active before 1900 may be

dated by soldered tin cans, square nails,

and beer bottles with hand-finished necks.

Bottles of this period were stoppered, not

metal capped.

In his research, File found that mining

camps from 1900 to World War I were

characterized by round nails and bottles

with hand-finished necks, but the bottleshad lips for metal caps, instead of cork

stoppers.

Hand forged nails were used as a con-

struction material as early as 11 B.C., but,

of course, didn't enter the Western Hem-

isphere at that date. Hand forging of

nails was practiced during the Colonial

Period as a family enterprise and traded

to merchants for supplies. Wire nails

came into production about the turn of

the 20th century. My experience with old

buildings of the Southwest dates the

square-headed nail, with tapered, flatshanks, as popular soon after the Civil

War until about 1900.

Another period distinguishable through

molding practices is from the 1920s until

the early 1930s, when the bottles had

finished necks and tin cans were crimped

instead of soldered. This period may also

be determined by certain mechanical

tools lost around the settlements, like the

"monkey wrench" of the Henry Ford

contraption, or "knuckle buster," as many

were wont to brand the spanner.Tin cans for preserving food prior to

World War I required lead solder along

the seams, on the sides, and for the littl

hole on the top of the can lid. This portallowed steam to escape during the can

ning process and, as one of the last pro

cedures during the preserving process,

was soldered. Food in this type of ca

demanded particular attention, as certa

foods of acid content required a differe

tin coating than other fruits or vegetable

Before World War I , most bot t les we

finished by hand; after this date the

were finished by machine. In the earlimethod, seams on the side of the bott

ended at the neck, which was added

the bottle in a separate hand of annealin

In machine finished bottles, the identif

ing mold-mark extends up the enti

length of the two sides and even acro

the lip of the neck.

Bottles prior to 1900 had a distinctiv

marking. During the 1890s, and earlie

soft drink and beer bottles were made

receive corks. The crown type (crimpe

cap) as we know it today, was introduce

after that time.

Camps active before World War

show an abundance of purple glass fra

ments, whereas younger camps have litt

purple and an abundance of clear glas

Purple glass found in older camps w

originally clear, but sun exposure cause

a photochemical change in the manganes

oxide in the glass, causing the color

change to purple. When glass was ma

by hand, the process could be adapted

the material; but with the apppearan

of machinery in the glass blowing prcess, the glass had to be adapted to th

new invention and this required pu

material less reactive to color chang

from exposure. Length of time require

for glass to change color depends upo

the composition of the glass, especial

of the manganese content, and upon t

color of the background, but col

changes can occur within a month, a

though color becomes more pronounc

as exposure is lengthened. Violet colore

backgrounds seem to accelerate t

change, presumably favoring ultra-viollight-

It should be remembered that some o

glass bottles were clear and did not co

tain manganese; therefore, remained cle

Bottles at old time mining camps oft

have surfaces, some beautifully iridescen

This is the result of excessive alkalis, e

pecially sodium, in the mix. Most utili

glassware found in old camps is know

as soda-lime glass. Alkali content was n

well controlled in older times, but w

curtailed when glass commenced to

produced by the machine. Glass at t

older camps is, therefore, likely to ha

corro ded or iridescent surfaces.



For a real summer adventure

Outpost of the Padres

by John Robinson

BAJA'S FORGOTTEN mission, it has

been called. Nestled high in thewestern foothills of the rugged Sierra deSan Pedro Martir, Baja California's loft-iest range, are the crumbling remains of

long abandoned Mission San Pedro Mar-tir de Verona, lonely mountain outpostof the Dominican padres.

Unlike most of Baja's missions, theruins of San Pedro Martir are accessibleonly on foot or horseback. The nearestroadhead is Santa Cruz, a cattle ranchobelow the western spurs of the Sierra.Southeast from the ranch, a distinct butrocky trail winds over chaparral-coveredridges and across pinyon-dotted slopes tothe small, picturesque mission valley, 16miles away. Another, longer approach can

be made from the San Felipe Desert onthe eastern side of the Sierra, crossingthe range via the historic Camino SantaRosa, a steep trail built by the padresover a century and a half ago. Five of us,bent on visiting this least known of thepeninsula's nine Dominican missions, de-cided to try this eastern route, much toour later chagrin.

Camino Santa Rosa, or more correctly

what is left of it, enters the Sierra de San

Pedro Martir at Canyon El Cajon, a deep,

rocky chasm penetrating well back into

the precipitous eastern escarpment of the

range. To reach Canyon El Cajon, one

must cross some 40 miles of the arid,cactus-rich San Felipe Desert. Fortunatelya network of sandy dirt roads, most ofthem passable to high clearance standardcars, criss-cross the desert floor and giveaccess to most of the major canyons onthe eastern flank of the Sierra.

Arthur Walbridge North, noted authorof two Baja classics, termed the SantaRosa Camino "one of the most diabolicalin all Lower California." After strugglingfor two days over huge boulders, aroundsheer waterfalls, through thorny brush,and up steep ridges, all five of us are in-clined to agree. Only occasional remnantsof the ancient trail onto the lofty SanPedro Martir tableland were discovered;the rest of it has evidently reverted towilderness.

Once on the plateau, nature's contrast

is startling. Ocotillo, scrub oak, and pin-yon abruptly give way to stately forestsof Western Yellow Pine (Pinus Ponder-osa), supplemented here and there bystands of Sugar Pine, Cypress and on thehigher ridges, Lodgepole Pine, White Fir,and Aspen. Underbrush, so thick and im-penetrable on the lower slopes and in thecanyons, is virtually absent on the plateau,giving the pine forests the appearance ofa well-kept, spacious park. Surrounded bydesert, uncharted, virtually unknown, dif-

ficult to penetrate, the lofty tableland ofthe Sierra de San Pedro Martir is truly amountain Shangri-La, an alpine island of

green amid a vast, arid ocean of brownsand grays.

A short hike through the tall pinesfound us, quite suddenly, on the edge ofspacious, serene Santa Rosa Meadow. Thishuge clearing, over a mile high, is one ofseveral on the San Pedro Martir plateau

that have been utilized for summer graz-ing since mission days. The cattle are sea-sonally driven up steep trails from ranchosbelow the western slopes to feed on therich meadow grasses. We picked a pine-shaded campsite beside a cool, tricklingstream for the night. The distant screamof a mountain lion and the baying ofseveral nearby coyotes reminded us thatwe were not alone and provided an eeriebackdrop to our silent camp amid thepines.

Next morning we descended the more

gradual western slope of the Sierra toSanto Tomas, a small, lush meadownestled snuggly between rocky ridges.Our dusty trail then turned northwest,leaving behind the tall pines and enteringsemi-arid pinyon and chaparral country.Following this well-defined footpath,built by the padres and their Indian neo-phytes a century and a half ago, wereached the picturesque mission valley intwo hours. A cool stream shaded by ahandful of stately Ponderosa offered wel-

come shade and refreshment. Other thanthese few tall pines along the water-course, the small valley floor is covered



with sage brush. Scrawny pinyons border

the valley and dot the surrounding ridges.

The crumbling remains of Mission SanPedro Martir de Verona are located on asmall rise near the northwest edge of thevalley. Unless one knows where to look,the ruins would be easy to miss. Fortun-ately we were armed with diagrams fromPeveril Meigs' Dominican Mission Fron-

tier of Lower California (1935), theEnglish language authority on Baja's

northern missions. Even with diagrams,it was difficult to make out the formermission lay-out. The earth has reclaimednearly ail of the abandoned outpost. Dirtmounds remain where thick adobe wallsonce supported handsome roofs of redtile. Most obvious is the heavy stonestubble of once tall, sturdy rock walls,built to protect the mission from frequentIndian raids. Scattered outside the southwall are a few broken tiles.

The story of this mountain outpost ofthe holy faith is brief and colorful, and

parts of it are shrouded in mystery andcontroversy. On April 27, 1794, a small,weary party of Spanish missionaries and

soldiers , completing a difficult journey oftwo weeks, arrived at a pleasant, pine-rimmed meadow high on the westernslopes of the then unnamed Sierra de SanPedro Martir. Their stated objective wasto Christianize the Cahuilla Indians liv-ing in the rugged foothills and deep can-yons of the lofty range. Later that sameday Fray Cayetano Pallas, leader of theparty, planted the holy cross, celebratedmass, and formally dedicated Mission SanPedro Martir de Verona, the sixth ofnine Dominican missions established onthe peninsula. This original, high moun-tain site of the outpost, known as Casilepeby the natives, is unknown today. Histor-ians speculate that it may have beeneither Santa Rosa or Santo Tomas Mea-dow.

Throughout its comparatively brief life,Mission San Pedro Martir endured atroubled existence. Christianizing theproud, independent Cahuillas proved tobe a difficult task. Even before the end of

1794, Indian raids and the cold alpineclimate of Casilepe caused the missionoutpost to be moved some three leagues

west to a lower meadow called Ajante-quedo by the natives. This new sitewhich became the permanent location ofthe mission, possessed a warmer climatemore fertile soil for crops, and betternatural defenses against marauding Indians.

Mission San Pedro Martir, isolatedfrom the mainstream of Spanish life onthe peninsula, must have presented a picturesque appearance during its harried

existence. A study of the extensive ruinreveals that the mission buildings werestrategically located and well constructedA sturdy stone wall enclosed a largcourtyard adjacent to the main adobbuilding. Two bulwarks with cannon embrasures offered protection from unfriendly Indians. The roof and parts othe mission floor were handsomely tiled.

The small mission valley was extensively cultivated. Corn, the main cropwas supplemented by beans, wheat, anbarley. The fields were watered by an in

genious system of irrigation. Near thupper end of the valley, on both sidessprings break out from the hills a few



Old mission wall still stands.

feet above the valley floor. From thesealmost ideally situated springs, well-con-structed irrigation ditches led along bothsides of the valley for half a mile,soplaced as to make possible the irrigationof any part of the flats.

As important as agriculture to the

mission economy, was stock raising. Herdsof cattle and horses summer grazed in thelofty mountain meadows of Santo Tomas,Santa. Rosa, La Grulla, and La Encan-tada. When winter snows blanketed the

high country, the livestock was drivendown to lower elevations below the mis-sion, probably to San Isidore An exten-sive system of trails connected the mis-sion with the various mountain meadows.

Although written data regarding Mis-sion San Pedro Martir is scant (the

Dominican padres were not theavidchroniclers of their Jesuit predecessors onthe peninsula), it appears that the missionpopulation was never large. The onlypopulation figures available show 60 per-sons in 1794, 92 in 1800, and 94 in 1801.

The Cahuillas were troublesome and noteasily subdued. One authority estimatesthe Sierra aboriginal population duringthe early mission period at 630, of whichless than 20% were ever domesticated formission work. At Mission San Pedro Mar-tir, as at all Baja California missions, theIndian death rate far exceeded the birthrate, primarily the result of small poxepidemics.

San Pedro Martir de Verona was thefirst of the peninsular Dominican mis-sions to die, although just when its down-

fall occured is asubject of dispute. Writ-ten records covering the later years of

this beleaguered mountain outpostare

almost nonexistent. Various estimatesplace the terminal date as early as 1806and as late as the mid-1820s.

Today, acentury and ahalf later, only

the before-mentioned rock stubble,

earthen mounds, and broken tiles mark

the site ofthis once proud, beleaguered

sierra outpost ofthe padres. The lonely

mission valley lies still and the fields

uncultivated, overgrown with sage brush.Occasionally life does return briefly to

this picturesque, forgotten hollow in theshadow of the mighty Sierra. A Mexicanvaquero sometimes grazes his small herdnear the mission grounds, oblivious to

the colorful pageant of abygone era thatonce took place nearby.

Late that afternoon, after thoroughlyexploring the mission ruins, we headedback into the high country. Two hourslater, back in the tall pines, we madecamp, tired from a long day ofhiking

but satisfied inreliving a bit of Baja'scolorful past. Next day we paid abriefvisit to marshy, boulder-strewn La Grulla,the largest of the mission grazing mea-dows. This huge clearing in the heart ofthe San Pedro Martir offers atruly alpinepanorama, with boulder-stacked ridgesand sharp granite picachos piercing thesurrounding skyline. Tothe northeast,visible from the southern end of spaciousLa Grulla, towers the 10,000-foot forkedsummit of Cerro de la Encantada (Moun-tain of the Enchanted), crown of all Baja

California. Known also asPicacho delDiablo (Peak of the Devil) and La Pro-videncia (The Providence), this loftygranite peak is a challenge toclimb, awonder just to look at—a perennial sen-tinel standing guard over Baja's highestrange.

The following day we regretfullyheaded home. Not another soul had weseen in this superb mountain wilderness.Back down diabolical Canyon ElCajonwe scrambled, occasionally following asemblance of the ancient trail, but usually

plowing through brush and around water-falls. As we drove away, Baja's loftyRange of the Martyred Saint Peter slowlyfaded in the evening twilight. We allvowed to return, but never again by devil-ish El Cajon. •

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August-September, 1966 / Desert Magazine / 41



A.

VOLCANIC LEFTOVERS

by Emily Stobbe

IT COMES as a surprise when you'r

barreling along Highway 101 in Calfornia's rolling Salinas Valley cattlcountry to learn that a few miles ealies a sky-stabbing set of pinnacles, spireand crags—remnants of an ancient vocano — and now Pinnacles NationaMonument.

Captain George Vancouver must hav

been surprised, too, when in 1794 hhiked inland from Monterey and latewrote in his diary that he "was gratifiewith the sight of the most extraordinarmountains I had ever beheld." He compared them with "a sumptuous edificfallen into decay."

Midway between Hollister and KinCity on State Route 25 in San Benitcounty, home of the rare benitoite, thPinnacles are aproached from the norton a paved two-lane road. But 40 yeaago this was a one-way wagon road und

time control—the first 20 minutes oeach hour you went up, the next 40 werfor going down. The C.C.C. later widened the road to accommodate trailers awell as automobiles.

Perhaps it is best Vancouver, who wachecking out California for British coonization, didn't make a return trip ohe might have chanced upon silver mineoperating secretly in the pinnacles areIndian "neophytes" reputedly carried thore to Carmel for the Mission San Calos Borromeo, where it was used for religious ornaments. Under the curse odeath, Indians swore never to reveal th

Caption for map:

1. Cinnabar

2. Amethyst

3. Benitoite

4. Garn ets in chlorite schist

PinnaclesNat'l Mon

A C i e r v o

Mtn.

New Idria

San Ca rlos Pk.



of these mines. When the 49ersor-

the mining shafts sealed and

Once, it is told, an Indian maiden didonsent to lead a white man to themine,ut en route was overcome by "evil

and refused to continue despite

nown for great endurance, searchedalone. Hecovered 100 miles every dayof

his life, they say,until he died—a poorman.

Less romantic but more factual, thebandit Tiburcio Vasquez is said to havehidden $7,000 here. He and his menrobbed, killed andgenerally terrified thecentral California population a centuryafter Vancouver's visit. Some of hisbandused the Pinnacles for a hideout. Posse-after posse gave chase, only to lose theminto (he "side of the mountain"—possiblythe mines.

In 1873 Vasquez held up the local Tres

Pinos general store, shooting three menin the- process. He finally was caught inLos Angeles; tried, convicted, and hanged(in San Jose), but the $7,000 booty neverwas found.

Today the most ardent treasure seekerin the Pinnacles is easily dissuaded fromthe lure of hidden mines andburied lootby simply looking about him. The wildrugged beauty of theGabilan Range goesback 30 million years when a giganticvolcano shook the earth's innards. Fromunder a once-flat granite plain, molten

lava oozed through fissures and formeda dome-like 8,000 foot mountain, three-times the height of the present day Pin-nacles. Cooling of the outer layers causedhuge slabs of this lava mountain to breakaway, forming talus slopes of mammothrock.- Tremend ous explosions ej ec te dmasses of rhyolitic lava and fresh magma.The hardening andcracking of this flowproduced breccia, a rock making up themajor part of the Pinnacles today.

Two large faults followed, on theeastand west boundaries of the monument,

and are considered splinter faults of thefamous SanAndreas fault, sixmiles east.The earth between these fractures drop-ped and tilted several degrees to the westErosion of the volcanic rocks resulted inthe scenic crags and spires in the 11-milelong area. President Theodore Rooseveltproclaimed it a national monument in1 9 0 8 .

You can start exploring on the easyand fascinating Bear Gulch Caves trailvia Moses Spring. Dark passages beneathbehemoth-like boulders are artificiallylighted, but a flashlight comes in handy.Stream action once cut under mammoth

volcanic rocks, causing them to slumpdown and form this covered canyon, Youcan stand in the Bandit Room, namedfor Vasquez, and look trustingly at theceiling, a 200-foot boulder weighingprobably a quarter million tons! BearGulch Reservoir, sparkling in the brightsun, will be a welcome sight after your"entombment."

The five mile High Peaks trail treatsyou to the most spectacular views of the

rocky crags, domes, and spires, takingyou 1,300 feet up for an unforgettablepanorama ot the entire monument.

Your eye travels downward to thelower slopes dressed in a mantle of chap-arral, a brush growth adapted to dry100 degree summer and fall heat. Boast-ing many of the water saving character-istics of desert vegetation, these plantsinclude greasewood chamise, manzanita,buckbrush ceanothus, and hol l y l ea fcherry.

Fire control has led to an increase in

Digger pine, but the trees house manyof the larger birds, rarest being theduckhawk. The prairie falcon, for which theGabilan Range is named, is commonlyseen dipping and soaring above the spires.Patient bird watchers may spot a goldeneagle, but everyone can enjoy the aerialantics of the turkey vulture silhouettedagainst the brilliant blue sky. Adding tothe grace and beauty of the 135 speciesof birdlife are the violet-green swallows,white throated swifts, and the browntowhee.

A racoon may visit your campsite dur-ing its night ramblings, but the black-tailed deer, gray fox, and bobcat prefera more secret existence. Silent flying batsflutter through the evening's mysteriouspeace in these volcanic remnants.

Chalone Peak trail takes you to thehighest peak in the monument, 3,305feet, where a fire lookout is manned dur-ing the summer. It's a nine mile roundtrip.

No water is available on any of the 17miles of trails, nor at the OldPinnaclescampground which is labeled "primitive."You're on your own in this section; takeflashlights in the caves here and enjoythe unspoiled beauty while you can. TheBalconies trail connects these campsiteswith another unimproved campground,West Side, where layers of colored rockare especially beautiful in early morning.It is said condors once nested here.

However, Bear Gulch campground(named forGrizzley bear that once roam-ed this country) is set among shadygroves of live oak and buckeye at 1,250foot elevation, and has a life-givingcreek for bonus. Drinking water, rest-rooms, and a museum are available andopen all year round, but thebest time tovisit is spring or fall.

An added incentive to come in thecooler months might be thesight of rockclimbers rappeling off the higher peaks—their rubber soled boots lightly grazing

the sometimes vertical descent. Analmostinexhaustible number of climbs, rangingfrom first to sixth class, lure the adven-turous with such names as Goat Rocks,The Flatiron, Crud and Mud, The Hat-chet, andCondor Crags.

Don't let it keep you away, but theearth's crust is still moving in this areatoday. Hollister, 35 miles north, has moreearthquakes annually than any city inCalifornia. Golfers at nearby BoladoPark Golf Course take it in stride whenthe green starts slipping as their ball

nears thecup. After all, it could be slid-ing the right way to sink a too short putt!

There also is an unpaved road to theundeveloped side of the Pinnacles fromthe west, just off Highway 101, north ofSoledad, but it does not connect with theroad on the east. Foot trails, only, com-plete the circuit. This helps to preservethe primitive geologic recreational areafor all who come to rest, explore, andwonder at nature's quiet spectacular. •

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Opposite page: the Hollywood Bowl ne

where the treasure l

T h e C a b b a g e P a t c h T r e a s u r

H O L L Y W O O D IS

F A M O U S FOR

M A N Y T H I N G S ,

B U T FEW

K N O W OF ITS

E L U S I V E

S P A N I S H T R E A S U R E

by Retta Ewers

THERE IS treasure—a lot of i t -buried somewhere beneath a street

in Hollywood in the days when Holly-wood was called "Cabbage Patch."

In 1865 a sheepherder, Diego Mor-eno, was attending his flock at SanBruno, California, near San Francisco,when he saw three horsemen in the dis-

tance. Creeping into some bushes, hewaited quietly for them to draw near.When they'd approached within 300feet of his hiding place, they dismountedand, taking six bags from their saddlebags, proceeded to bury them, not seeingDiego.

That night Diego took a spade anddug up what the men had hidden. Thebags, wrapped in buckskin, were heavyand he could carry only one at a time,so he made three trips, taking them tohis cabin where he hid them under some

old quilts and clothing. For a month hedidn't touch them. No one came to seehim; nor did the three men return.

All this time Diego debated with him-self about what he should do—whetherto keep what he had found or tell theauthorities. Cupidity won. One eveninghe hung a blanket over the window,locked the door, and opened a bag. In-side were gold doubloons, gold watches,and much jewelry. Guiltily he put every-thing back, re-wrapped the bag, andplaced it with the others, then went onwith his work as if nothing had happen-ed. But his mind was busy.

Should he open the others to see if allwere alike? Curiosity grew too great, soone evening he did as before and openedevery package. He found not only doub-loons, but jewelry of every sort—loosediamonds, emeralds, rubies and pearls,some still set in fine pieces of jewelry.

Hiding everything once more, Diegowanted to think. He was sure the treasuremust have been brought up to California

by boat from Mexico, for he recognizedthe jewelry and gold doubloons as ofMexican origin. But how could he use

it for himself? Finally he decided to qhis job and go back to Mexico.

Diego then packed two mules, hidithe treasure among his belongings astarted south, circumventing where might be intercepted. When he finareached Cahuenga Pass, on the outskiof what is now Hollywood, he pass

through it and camped on the south siof the hills. During the night he dreamthat if he went into Los Angeles, would be killed and his treasure takBecause of that, he buried the six pacages where he could return later to them. The spot he chose was about ha

way between his camp and a tavewhich stood near the present junction Cahuenga and Highland Avenue on hillside opposite the main road (jabout opposite the Hollywood BowThere he buried the jewels, money, a

precious stones. He then measured distance from a fresno tree, the only oof its kind near the cache.

Diego fell sick, however, and a fellSonoran took him into his home. In gratude, Diego told his friend, Martinez, entire story and where he had conceathe treasure, promising that when he wwell they'd dig it up and share riches. But Diego grew worse and befthey could get a priest he was gone.

Thus Jesus Martinez, with his 16-ye

old son, went to search for the treasuThey found the fresno tree (WestAsh) and were about to begin thsearch when the father fell down, hadfit of some sort and expired. This frightened the boy that he ran away awould never return.

About 1885 another shepherd, a Bque, with his dog and animals were usthe Pass for pasturage when he notichis dog digging some distance away. Tnext day the dog left the sheep and man and dug in the same spot. The B

que, curious to know what was intering to his dog, went over, continueddig, and unearthed a ' buckskin-cove



package. He took it to his camp and

opened it. He had wished to return to

Spain. Now he could. First, he made a

quilted robe to wear, sewing the treasureinside the quilted squares. He reachedSpain, stood on the deck of the boatwaving to his friends, lost his balanceand fell overboard. He sank like a rock.

This was only one of the bags, how-

ever. The other five are not reported as

found.

The origin of this treasure came aboutwhen Maximilian's forces were in Mexicoand the Mexicans resented the fact. Theyappealed to the populace for money to

purchase arms, ammunition, and armyequipment. Such a response was giventhat Gen. Win. Walker, taking the Mexi-can's cause, persuaded the officials thatthe treasure should go to Alta, California,for safety. They chose 10 trusted men,

one a sea captain, Captain Malcolm, totake the bags, appointing a Mexican to

accompany them. The Mexican's duty was

to dispense the money; perhaps he keptsome himself. He died suddenly andCapt. Malcolm was one of the three men

who buried the loot — the three men

Diego saw.

V( hen the captain and his two men

went to dig it up, it was gone. The two

men quarreled, each accusing the other.

They fought and both died. That leftonly the captain. Later he heard of the

Basque finding the treasure, but beforehe learned that only a small part of itwas recovered, he was shot in a Los An-

geles street by an unknown assassin.So, five buckskin-covered packages of

treasure are still somewhere under the

streets of Hollywood—"La Napolena"or "The Cabbage Patch." •

Where | Are They... ?

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Where are those men of yesteryear . . . . thoseadventurous men with a conquering spirit. . . . th os e men whose lust for riches gnawedat their very souls? They rode off into historyto find their fate or their pot of gold, butwhere are they now? How can we trace theirghostly path How can we find them, in themidst of all their treasures? How do we followtheir trails blazed only by their rusting swordand armor, and their sun-bleached bones?

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From Harvest to Horsesby Ron and Fran Wickerd

THE MUSICAL Spani sh name of

Murrieta conjures up California's

legendary Mexican bandito. Surprisingly,

Joaquin Murrieta, the scourge of the

golden sta te ' s Mother Lode, had nothing

to do with the naming of the quiet town

far to the south. Instead, Don Juan Mur-

rieta, a peaceable, land-loving Spaniard

from Santuree, Spain gave the name to

one of Southern California's most beauti-

ful valleys.

Restful, smog-tree Murrieta is only

85 miles south of crowded, pulsating

Los Angeles off U. S. 395. It lies be-

tween March Air Force Base in south-

western Riverside County and Escondido

in San Diego County, within easy driving

distance from San Bernardino, San

Diego, Palm Springs and Oceanside,

Peaceful Juan emigrated to the United

States in 1863, ten years after the notor-

ious Joaquin was allegedly apprehended

and killed. While engaged in stock rais-

ing in the San Joaquin Valley, he became

acquainted with Don JoseGonzales, one

of his countrymen from Bilbao, Spam.

Don Jose was soon to leave for the Te

mecula Rancho in Southern Cal i fornia

to raise sheep. When he learned that Don

Juan was in poor health, he advised him

to go south where the climate was drier

Soon after Don Juan's arrival in the

early 1870s, he and his partners pur

chased the Temecula and Pauba Ranchos

which comprised some 32,000 acres.

With Don Jose as superintendent, they

introduced sheep raising into the area.

Vast herds of fat, sleek cattle and other

livestock also grazed contentedly on the

extensive, lush lands. At that t ime the

present town of Murrieta was part of the

Temecula Rancho.

V( hile D on Jua n enga ged in his vast

ranching activities, his health improved.

After a num ber of years he suffered fi-

nancial reverses, however, so he sold hisranching interests to move to Los Angeles

Pioneer Tarwater home is now valley

Line!mark. Beloic: First white child in

region was born in Gonzales house built

in 1879-

and the Murrieta townsite was purchase

by the Temecula Land and Water Com

pany and subdivided in 1884. In 188

the Murrieta Post Office was established

thus the poetic name became official. No

to be confused with the town, Murriet

Hot Springs, four miles east, takes it

name from the same source.

If Don Juan returned today, the gentle

rolling countryside would appear muc

as it did when he ranched here. Horse

and cows still graze peacefully in th

abundant, green carpeted pastures ancolts and calves are as frisky as ever. Th

sea-cooled breezes that sweep across th

valley every afternoon still carry th

scent of sage and chaparral and yeste

day's quiet stil l prevails throughout th

townsi te .

T h e o v e r w h e l m i n g , p u rp le -t in g e

peaks of Mt. Baldy in the north and Sa

Jacinto in the east still offer a jagge

snow-covered background and to th

south in San Diego County, majestic M

Palomar stil l proudly soars toward th

heavens. Today, on its summit, i ts helme

like dome, a 200-inch reflecting tel

scope, the world's largest, can be see

from Murrieta.

As peaceful Juan rode about the plac

valley on horseback, he, no doubt, oft

thought about his notorious namesak

One branch of the Old Emigrant Tra

traversed the valley. It is chronicled th

Joaquin often followed the old Trail

his way to his expansive rancho in O

Mexico. Occasionally the bloody band

and his henchmen were reported to hadriven great herds of stolen horses an

carried priceless loot to his vast doma

in Sonora. Rumor has it that 200 poun

of unrecovered gold dust (approximate

$200,000) was cached not far from Mu

rieta in the Rawson Canyon area ne

Hemet, a veritable bonanza for mode

treasure hunters.

Al though Murrie ta may not have t

recent Indian heritage of nearby Tem

cula, artifacts prove it a former site

Luiseno Indians. Metates, mortars, ol

and other Indian relics have been fou

near the Santa Margarita River. Scoop



Paddo ck and bams of Bernard Ridder is w here prized horses are bred.

;;&&M mm L̂i, \&

out holes for grinding acorns on flat,giant-sized boulders may be seen in thenearby Santa Rosa Mountains huggingthe west side of the valley.

Over the summit of the Santa Rosais the mesa. This live oak, flat grasslanddevoted to the grazing of cattle is Por-trero country, the Spanish word for pas-ture ground. A vast open range formerlyowned by the Vail Cattle Empire, it isnow part of Rancho California. On thisupland mesa the rugged cowboy pursueshis daily activities and the smell of singedhair under the branding iron is routine.

Portrero country is a popular area forMurrieta Trail Riders. The odor of bacon,coffee and roasting meat over an openfire is savored at the ir cookou ts. \X hilesleeping under the stars, they might hearcoyote, fox, deer, or mountain lion tread-ing along secret trails toward a hiddenspring. For the less adventurous, a pleas-ant drive over good mountain roadsmakes for a pleasant afternoon.

The fact that Murrieta is today be-

coming the Kentucky of the West only

enhances its charm. The valley's future

is well established as a center of west-

ern horsemanship. Expansive Arabian,

Quarter-horse and Thoroughbred farms

dot the valley. Its ideal location, excel-

lent climate, abundant water, and con-

venient highways make it ideal forhorse owners.

Bernard J. Ridder, prominent news-paper publisher, has recently establishedMurrieta Stud, a 66-acre farm for theraising of thoroughbreds. His adobe-style ranch house located on a slopinghillside west of town commands anopen sweep of rolling green pastures,

flat paddocks and sleepy tree-shadedMurrieta.

Count of Honor is now standing atstud at Ted Dillon's ThoroughbredFarm. He was California's first leadingmoney-winning juvenile sire of 1965.Many future champions will, no doubt,come from this farm in the not too dis-tant future.

Horseshows and barbecues are regu-lar occurrences in this horse-mindedcommunity. Under the guidance of na-tionally known horsewoman Leona Coop-

er, the Vaqueritos of the Valley play aprominent role in the community's eques-trian activities and old buggies and othertypical western regalia are often displayedfor special events.

In 1858 the crack of the ButterfieldStage driver's whip signaled the approachof the famous stagecoach. Spirited horsestraveling at a perpetual gallop barrelledthrough the valley carrying passengersand the U. S. Mail. In summer, grindingwheels kicked up a billow of dust in thestage's wake and in winter, hub-deep in

mud, torrents couldn't stop it from reach-ing its destination.

During California's gold rush erawagon train emigrants found a havenin Murrieta after failing to make astrike in the Sierra Nevada foothills.One such argonaut, B. W. Tarwater,arrived in the golden state while the crywas on everyone's lips. Seeking a more

stable way of life, he traveled through-out California on horse back until struckwith the beauty of Murrieta Valley. In1889 he settled there and opened a gen-eral merchandise store.

For many decades Mr. Tarwater,

known affectionately as Uncle Ben, was arespected and loved personality through-

out the area. His store was where valley

residents gathered to gossip and discuss

current events. In those days old-timers

argued around a pot-bellied stove while-

sampling free cheese and crackers fortheir noon-day snacks. His passing was

the end of an era and now the old Tar-

water home stands as one of the valley's

oldest landmarks. Under new manage-

ment, emigrant descendents still gather at

the store to discuss the latest news, al-

though today the subject is horses.

There's a good chance this historic,

unhurried community will remain basic-

ally rural for many years to come, as

large horse farms will prevent it from

growing into another Southern Califor-nia urbanized community. •



Walker's Hidden Landmarks

IF YOU'RE looking for the quietestplace on earth—where you'll jump

when a pine cone drops, you'll find italong Lynx Creek at Walker, the site ofthe first mining camp in the north-centralpart of Yavapai County, Arizona.

Discovered in 1863 by a party of Cali-fornia goldseekers led by mountaineerJoseph Reddeford Walker, whose name isalso perpetuated in Walker Pass in theSierra Nevadas and in Walker River inNevada, news of the bonanza produced

an immediate boom in the area. Tempor-ary shelters sprang up every 100 feetalong the creek. Prospectors worked withpans, spoons, shovels and rockers; latersluice boxes and dry washers. Lode min-ing followed and mills were erected.

Then came quiet years on the creek.The struggle for survival in such remotecountry was too much for even hardyprospectors and miners. In late 1879,however, the entire district looked bright-er. The Arizona Miner reported: "About$100 in gold was paid by placerers eachday last week for supplies and not afa:.r amount of water there." In the late1880s, a dam was made for water stor-age and in the early 1890s hydraulicmining was done on a large scale.

A community called Walker developedin the heart of the gold discoveries andbusinesses flourished until the area grewexhausted of minerals that could be pro-fitably mined. A lull came then, lastinguntil Phoenix folks discovered it was anideal place for cool summer homes.

Today, as you pass through Walker,there is no indication of its importanceto the state's economy in the early days.However, if you take time to look, youwill find landmarks. Thence comes theurge to dig, literally, for the truth aboutthis place. The road itself follows theold route in many places; it formerlyfollowed the creek more closely, havingstarted as a burro trail. Later it became awagon road for the stage and ore haul-ing. The Seven-Mile Place, approximately

two miles from Black Canyon Highwayin a south-easterly direction, was a stagestop and overnight place. Six miles be-

yond this the present road crosses thecreek. A cement bridge was built there bythe W.P.A. It crosses the creek again ata wooden bridge about a mile farther.

The Walker area begins at the 2ndU.S. Geological Survey mark on top ofSmelter Hill, 61/2 miles in from the high-way. If you stop at the altitude sign(6,225 feet) take time to walk towardthe creek and see the old Howells Smel-ter. Part of the rock walls still stand andthe house nearby, still occupied, was the

company office. The community calledHowells which sprang up around thesmelter was not considered part of Walk-er, farther up the creek. The Howellsgraveyard, about 300-feet to the right ofthe present road, had 15 burials withinits white-fenced enclosure, none ofwhich is evident today.

The C.C.C. camp of the '30s was lo-cated beyond the Stone House. A large

slab remaining near the creek is still favorite camping area. Crumbling remnants of a stone house, erected by Germimmigrant Nick Slumberger in 1905 down the road. Better constructed thmost, its frame po rtion was added by

Above: The old log ca bin as it is toda

Beloiv: C harcoal kiln built by Jack an

Jo e Carmichael in 1880.



a coat quiet frtace

later tenant who boarded workers at theBlack Diamond mine.

Go on down the road, cross the cementbridge, and continue to the Walker Storeon the left side of the road. Then walka quarter of a mile up the gulch. Herestands a beehive-shaped structure of stonebuilt about 1880. Charcoal was madefrom burning oak standing on end in thiskiln. Smouldering heat reduced the woodto a coke-like fuel which was used tooperate the smelter. A few other charcoal

kilns dotted the area but only this oneremains, a spectacular reminder of itsbuilders, Jake and Joe Carmichael.

The Henderson Orchard, near the ce-ment bridge, is the landmark nearest thecenter of Walker. Across the creek onthe original Walker road stood a row ofbusiness establishments. The George G.Hendersons operated the freight depotwith related industries such as black-smithing and stables. The building withthe store front was the freight house.

What is now known as Sawmill Flat,beyond the orchard, is the fill made byexcavation of the Walker end of thePoland-Walker tunnel, built at the turnof the century. The top was leveled and asawmill later located there. The MudHole mine dump is prominently situatedhigh above the road, an identifying land-mark for the center of Walker in its hey-day. The hospital was close to it, as wellas a boarding house and bunkhouse. TheStukey store was on the same side of theroad.

Across the creek, approaches to thesmall-gauge railroad trestle mark the lo-

cation of the Dixie ore mill. This rail-

road bed leads to the Poland tunnel en-

trance below the present roadbed. The

entrance, now locked up for safety, can

be seen by walking on the lower road

from the flat. At the right of the wooden

bridge stand the remains of the Filtering

Plant built in connection with the Sheldon

mine. The concentrates were processed

there before being sent to the smelter.

Evidence of the Sheldon mine (prob-ably named for James C. Sheldon) can be

seen about a mile up Rich Gulch whichruns into the creek a little to the right ofthe wooden bridge. It was the deepestmine, which accounts for its huge dump.The present Sheldon up this gulch is anew road. About 200 feet from the orig-inal Sheldon was the Shelton (belongingto Christopher Y. Shelton) on the roadwhich follows the creek.

Rivalling the "Beehive" in importance,and actually preceding it historically, isthe log cabin on the old Shelton road

leading to Hassayampa Lake. People whowere here in the '80s remember it asbeing one of the five cabins when theycame and believed it to be one built bythe Walker party or an early prospector.The first gold was found here, althoughthe exact spot has not been determined.Knapp Gulch runs into the creek at thispoint. A little farther up the road on the

right are colorful tailings from the Shel-don mill, pumped here through largewooden pipes.

I hope you will go on up the road pastthe aspen and fir trees to the PotatoPatch, a particularly pretty place on alevel once called Davis Flat. Later, pota-toes were raised on it, hence its plebeianname. Although it is on the HassayampaCreek immediately before the Senatormine, many of us are convinced, sincereading Joseph Reddeford Walker and

The Arizona Adventure by Daniel EllisConner, that the Walker party first madecamp here.

The old mining camp of Walker and

its gold digging days are gone, but if you

explore this country high above Prescott

National Forest, you'll find its landmarks

still have stories to tell. •

T o M Y M A p ,EX AC T <SFfc>T \AJH5fZ& IT'S B U K /e D /"

August-September, 1966 / Desert Maga zine / 49



Crossing Grand Canyon by Foot. . . by Justine Lanc

TO TRULY apprec i a t e t he g randeur

of Grand Canyon, you must see i t

on foot. The hike is not as hard as you

may think, provided you don't try to

make it in too short a time. This is an

ideal way to spend part of your vacation

or a long weekend.

For the average hiker, making the 24-mile Kaibab Trail trip in two days is

strenuous. A three day trip, with a day

spent at Phantom Ranch resting, is much

easier and more enjoyable. A person in

excellent physical shape can cross the

canyon in one day.

Kaibab Trail is the only cross-canyon

trail in the park. The other way to get

from rim to rim is to drive a 200-mile

loop around the eastern end of the can-

yon. Have someone drive your car from

the North Rim to Yaki Point at the head

of the South Kaibab Trail to meet you.

Hikers will want to stay at the camp-

ground near Br ight Angel Point to get

an early start into the canyon. You should

leave the North Rim no later than 8:00

a.m. to cross the canyon floor with the

least amount of mid-afternoon heat. Start-

ing earlier is advisable. The hike is best

made from north to south because the

North Rim is 1000 feet higher than the

South and the North Kaibab Trai l i s

longer than the South. The best season

is from May through September. Temp-

erature varies from the canyon rims tothe river. It will be quite cool when you

begin the trip, but it may reach 110 de-

grees at the river during late July after-

noons. Wear comfortable hiking boots

with lots of ankle support and be sure

to wear a hat, as the canyon floor is des-

ert and quite warm year-round. Heavy

slacks are recommended, as is a long

sleeved shirt for protection from sun.

Make the trip with a minimum of three-

other persons.

Enter ing the North Kaibab Trai l , youare surrounded by giant ponderosas. As

you slowly descend via switchbacks into

•:he canyon proper, you pass from tall

: imber into pinyon and juniper, then

through scrub pine and finally into open

canyon with yucca, prickly pear and other

cacti. The canyon walls are records of

life of the last two billion years. Starting

with the present age at the rims, they

give accounts of the earth back to the Pre-

cambian Age at the canyon floor.

Hikers should always wait quietly on

th e outside of the trail when mules arepassing. Hikers coming out of the canyon

have the right of way, going in be sure to

walk on the outside of the trail.

The North Kaibab Trail is moderately

steep, with switchbacks to Roaring

Springs Campground. The water here

gushes from the steep walls and roars

down to the canyon floor. About a mile

below the spring, the trail lowers to thecanyon floor to begin a gradual descent

to the river, crossing Bright Angel Creek

several t imes by wooden bridges.

From Roaring Springs to the last

campground you travel through a broad

level plain. Th e sheer walls of bright An-

gel Canyon rise abruptly in the distance.

The trail is well maintained and is pre-

sently being improved from Roaring

Springs to Phantom Ranch. Water is

available at Roaring Springs and along

the lower creek. There are four cam

grounds on North Kaibab Trai l—Roarin

Springs, Halfway Point, Ribbon Falls an

a final camp four miles north of Pha

tom. All have picnic tables and restroom

and water.

The canyon narrows dramatically aft

the last campground until you reaPhantom Ranch. This section is spectac

lar, twisting along the base of narro

vertical walls.

Phantom Ranch is a cool oasis wi

tall cottonwoods surrounding the nati

stone cabins and corrals. Facilities ar

part concessionaire and part Park Se

vice. A swimming pool and showers ar

free. Suits (2")c) and towels (15c) ma

be rented. Meals may be purchased

the ranch, but are served at one tim

only. Reservations in advance are recom

mended. Coffee and soda are availab

anytime durin g the day. Breakfast ($ 2

is served at 7:00 , lunch (S 3) served

noon, and dinner ($4) prompt ly at 6 :0

Meals are hearty and good. If you wis

to stay at the ranch instead of the cam

ground, you must have reservations

advance. The campground is the riv

side of the Ranch and there are res

rooms, tables, fireplaces and a sleepin

shelter. The Suspension Bridge across th

Colorado is the only river bridge in th

park. Over 300 feet long, it connec

North and South Kaibab Trai l .

Immediately after crossing the bridg

you pass through a tunnel blasted throug

a solid rock wall and begin the stee

climb up South Kaibab Trail . There

very little shade and no water on th

trail . Carry at least two quarts per perso

The trail is well maintained and fair

wide, with many switchbacks. Walkin

sticks are helpful on the steep uphi

spots.

South Kaibab Trail is seven mile

long, but will, due to the M)00-foclimb, seem at least three times that. Th

average hiker takes eight to nine hou

to reach Yaki Point from Phanto

Ranch. You should leave the ranch at

a.m. to avoid the afternoon sun. Expe

a brief afternoon shower as you near th

South Rim.

Bright Angel Trail is four miles long

than South Kaibab and also has l i t t

shade except at Indian Gardens. Wat

is available midway at the campgroun

It's an easier trail than South Kaibab, b

lacks the spectacular views of the canyo

5 0 / D e se r t M a g a z i n e / A u g u s t - S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 6 6



NEW KINGMAN ADDITION - Kingman, Arizona

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K I N O ' S G R A V E I S F O U N D !

A f t e r a c e n t u r y

o f m y s t e r y

K i n o ' s g r a v e has

b e e n f o u n d .

H e r e is thes t o r y , e x c l u s i v e

f o r D E S E R T ,

w r i t t e n by a

m e m b e r of the

e x c a v a t i o n p a r t y

NOT MANY vacat ion-bent tourists

venture from the main highway of

Mexico to explore the dusty little town ofMagdalena. Most are in a hurry to reach

fishing resorts at Guaymas and Mazatlan,

or to continue south to exotic Mexico

City, or Acapulco. In any event, all who

enter Mexico through the Arizona border

town of Nogales soon arrive at Magda-

lena, Sonora, a quiet little hamlet on the

Magdalena River. Occasionally a different

breed of traveler comes to the town, turns

off the Carretera International and dis-

appears into one of the narrow streets

leading to the Plaza and Church. These,

for the most part, are historians, arche-ologists or just plain devotees coming to

pay tribute to a great pioneer, Father

Faisebio Francisco Kino.

Kino, a Jesuit missionary, came in 1687

to Pimeria Alta, an area reaching from

northern Sonora to the Gila River in Ari-

zona. On his shoulders fell the task of

developing and exploring this great r

gion of tierra incognita. He domesticate

wild Indians, introduced cattle and agrculture and established the first semblan

of civilization and Christianity in this pa

of the North American continent. T

Kino is also credited the eventual verif

cation of a land passage to the Califo

nias. He died in Magdalena in 1711, aft

25 years of laborious tasks, and w

buried in a chapel in Magdalena he ha

come to dedicate, the chapel of San Fra

ciscos de Xavier, Kino's patron saint.

That much is known to history. Wh

hasn' t been known—unti l now—is t

exact location of this chapel with hgrave. Time and elements long ago elim

inated all vestiges of the Capilla de S

Francisco de Xavier. The Jesuits we

expelled soon after Kino's death an

Franciscan fathers who filled their pos

completed unfinished churches and bu

new ones where needed. Records a

^

Exposed foundation of old Franciscan convent is at front, right of city hall. Lege

claimed it teas built over ruins of fesuit chapel which held Kino's grave. This clue l

excavators to follow foundations of different structure to the correct site. Kino's grais under large canopy at right. The small one covers grave of Indian n eophyte buri

near Kino.



after Kino's death!

Two years ago the State of Sonora

ather Kino's grave. Ruins and groundsround the supposed locations were in-

ant. The search then centered within theconfines of the Magdalena jail, whichmeager records indicated as having beenconstructed over the grounds of an an-cient convent and cemetery. Stories re-layed by word of mouth through centuriesof legend also claimed this site as that ofan ancient capilla,or chapel.

The locale of the jail, however, yieldedlittle to encourage the search until thispast April when investigations were re-newed with greater impetus. Headingthem were Dr. W. Jimenez Morena, Prof.

Jorge Olvera and Dr. Arturo Romano, allof Mexico's Institute of Anthropologyand History, and Dr. William Wasley ofthe Arizona State Museum, an authorityon Sonora missions.

Pooling their vast resources of historyand anthropology, they fit together piecesof forgotten lore, eliminating false clues,and finally concluded that the vanishedchapel of San Francisco de Xavier andKino's grave must lie underneath or near

A compo site painting of Father Kino.

From this skeleton of Kino scientists have

diagnosed the cau se of d eath. An erodedcross and a few rosary heads rested on the

pectoral bone.

the present jail and city hall Pitting thestreet with excavations, they at last un-earthed an extensive foundation composedof two different types of mortar—one amixture of lime or caliche and the othera fusion of mud. This clearly indicatedthe find as belonging to two differentepochs. Could these have represented theremains of the old Franciscan conventbuilt over the ruins of the Jesuit Chapel ?

Encouraged, they increased their staffwith volunteer help and worked aroundthe clock, excavating, sifting, and study-ing—following the different structuresand stratas of mortar to a conclusion.

It was an exciting day when theyreached the first grave. Its skeleton they

identified as that of an Indian neophytewho, according to record, had been buriedabout a year after Kino, and near the great

Priest's grave. Now they knew they wereon the trail!

Carefully they continued their work,digging and sifting with extra caution. At

last, under the roots of a citrus tree, ahuman bone was found. Then another,and another. When an eroded Jesuitcross, resting against the breast bone ofthe skeleton, was revealed, the search wasover. This, in addition to other factors,was what they were looking for. Duringthe last week of May, everything fell intoplace. There now remained no question.Here, at last, was Kino's grave. And nowit is hoped that from these dusty ruinswill rise a monument and memorial mu-seum dedicated to one whom many con-

sider the greatest pioneer explorer anddeveloper of the Southwest—Father Euse-bio Kino. •



C o l l e c t i n g

M a m m o t h

Arrowheads

by Roger M itchell

EV E R Y S U M M ER t h o u s a n d s of

Southern California vacationers head

up the Owens Val ley to their favorite-

vacation spots in the High Sierra. As they

speed along highways 6 and 395, few

motorists realize what interesting lit t le

treasures lie but a few feet off the road,

scarcely noticed at 65 mph. Among other

things, there is Fossil Falls, the charcoal

ki lns, the earthquake fault , and an old

Indian campsite which has yielded hun-

dreds of a r rowheads .

Archeologists and amateurs interestedir our early Indian heritage are no st rang-

ers to the Inyo-Mono County region of

east-central California. Here are a num-

be r of important sites which give us a

glimpse into the forgotten days of early

m a n . A few modern day explorers may

have visited the extensive petroglyphs

in Fish Slough just north of Bishop (see

D E S E R T Aug. '63) or perhaps the out-

standing petroglyph si tes at \i ild Horse-

Mesa now within the borders of China

Lake Naval Ordnance Test Station. Stilla few others might remember the import-

ant Stahl Site near Little Lake where the

Southwest Museum uncovered the 5,000

year old artifacts of the Pinto cul ture .

Al though ancient arrowhead work-

shops have been found in the Saline Val-

ley as well as around Mono Lake, the Hot

Creek site is by far the most accessible

an d has yielded some of the finest arrow-

head specimens found.

The arrowhead collecting site is on

the south side of highway 395 at a point0.9 miles east of the Mammoth Lakes

turnoff and 0.1 mile west of the M o n o

County Sheriff Station. Park on the wide

shoulder of the road and walk a few

yards south of the road. Notice the deep

flour-like soil is l i t tered with millions

of obsidian chips. This obsidian did not

form here naturally. It was probably

found on the hill just to the north across

Hot Creek, and brought here to be

worked and chipped into arrowheads.

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From the millions of obsidian chips lyieverywhere, it seems likely that this si

wa s in use for perhaps centuries.

Nearby is an outcrop of black basal

lava which contains a dozen or so bedro

morters. At the base of the lava flow pr

vious arrowhead collectors have dug

number of holes. Do not let this de

yo u in your search. Both the lava fl

an d the surrounding sage-land are f

of these obsidian chips. It requires

keen eye to discern a genuine arrowhe

among the millions of chips, and becau

of this many arrowheads have been ov

looked.

It is difficult to date the earliest occ

pancy of this site with any accuracy. O

might reasonably speculate that the ar

was in use 1000 years ago, and it see

likely that Piute squaws ground meal

the bedrock mortars as recently as 1

years ago. The arrowhead factory w

probably used only seasonally, as win

snows may get qui te deep here . Wh

ever the period of use, it must have ma

an ideal camp. The surrounding sagland was abundant wi th smal l game

well as deer and antelope. Nearby a

were the warm waters of Hot Creek a

the sacred ground around the Casa Diab

geysers. Another consideration for cho

in g the site was the close proximity to

inexhaustible suppy of obsidian, probab

the finest and most easily worked arro

head material known.

The collecting site is within Inyo N

t ional Forest, so under Publ ic Law 2

(Federal Ant iqui t ies Act of 1906) c

lecting artifacts from the surface is p

missible without a permit . Digging

arrowheads however, is unlawful .



Hawaii-on-the-Snakeby James Powe ll

OU'D HAVE to be a troglodytenot to hear about surfing in Amer-

If you were a Hudson Bay trapper in

Three thousand miles to the south-

eenth century. Tahi-

on Bay encampments on the upperSnake, where to some unrecorded trapper

here occurred an idea: why not importHawaiian surfers to pilot the fur-ladenboats through the rapids?

Where history falters imaginationmust take over. We must imagine Kame-hameha I—the great Kamehameha—as

he assented to the trappers' request andsent throughout his kingdom for thefinest waterman its amphibious racecould offer. We must imagine the con-test, as each strove for what to the an-cient Hawaiian was the highest good: toserve his Alle Nui. We must imagine aship, and the sun on the brown, muscularbodies of the three winners as they look-ed for the last time upon their king andthe beautiful islands whose garbled namethey were to sow with their blood in aharsher, alien soil.

Would the experiment work? Couldthe Polynesians have out-performed themountain men in the foaming gorges ofthe Snake? We shall never know, for onthe journey overland the party was at-tacked by Indians, and the three islanderswere killed.

In memoriam, the surviving trappersdecided to name the river on whosebanks the massacre occurred after theHawaiians' homeland. But an unexpecteddifficulty arose.

The mountain men were intelligentmen for, more ruthlessly than any collegeexam, the wilderness weeds out the men-tally unfit. They could cross deserts andmountains where the modern studentwould perish. But intelligence is notliteracy, and now they had to spell"Hawaii." Surely a job for a Superman!They did the best they could, "Owy hee."

And Owyhee it has remained—for the

river, the desert it drains, and an Idaho

county: a tragic-comic memorial to a for-

gotten footnote of history even morebizarre than the importation of camels

into the Southwest! D

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A monthly feature by the author of Ghost Town Album,

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C a n y o n C i t y , O r e g o nBY LAMBERT FLORIN

AMONG THE many famous "lost

mines" of western history, thestory of the Blue Bucket is possibly thebest known, at least in Oregon. Thelegend, if legend it is, had its origin inthe wanderings of the "Lost WagonTrain" of 1845. This unfortunate groupof immigrants, led by Stephen Meek,attempted to find a short cut acrossOregon rather than hazard the dangerousrapids of the Columbia River. StephenMeek, a brother of the capable Joe Meek,

was ignorant of the route he "sold" tothe members at $5.00 per wagon.

One of the first of many unfortunateincidents occured shortly after Meek'sparty divided from the section deter-mined to risk the known river route. Sar-ah Chambers, the young wife of RowlandChambers, died along the trail shortlyafter entering Oregon from Idaho. Typi-cal of stories told is this version.

Two days after Sarah was buried in thelonely wasteland, the party stopped at astream to camp overnight. The childrenwent down to the creek to play, takingwith them a little blue toy bucket. Theyfound some pretty yellow pebbles in thewater and when called to supper, placedthe rocks in the bucket and hung it underthe wagon.

During the remainder of the trip theparty was lost most of the time. Manymembers were buried along the way,dying of thirst and hunger. Eventually apitiful remainder reached The Dallesand safety. After ultimate arrival in the

Willamette Valley, the little blue buckethanging under the wagon was discovered.

Someone mashed one of the pebbleswith a rock against the iron wagon tire.It was gold, but the exigencies of scratch-ing a toehold in the raw, new land keptthem from getting too excited about any-thing that couldn't be eaten.

However, it's hard to suppress news ofanything like gold nuggets, so thosefrom the Blue Bucket mine remainedobscure only until the settlers becamecomfortably established. Then some of

the young, adventurous men set out torelocate the little creek with the shiningyellow pebbles.

The story of subsequent searches fthe spot is long and complicated. Detaof some of those, starting from the graof Mrs. Chambers, are given in Gho

Town Shadows and our forthcomibook Boot Hill, the latter showing photof the hard-to-find grave itself.

One search party did find gold, loof it. Whether their location was that the lost Blue Bucket is anybody's guebut it was the Blue Bucket story whiled them to Whiskey Flat, above whithe roaring gold camp of Canyon Csoon flourished. When the first gold wfound in Canyon Creek in 1862, thewasn't a soul around other than toriginal prospectors. In three yea10,000 miners and camp followtrooped up and down the gulch.

Added to the usual shootings geneted with too much imbibing, was tstrife and bitterness of the Civil Weven in this far outpost. Miners werather evenly divided between those fro

Oregon adherent to the Union cause, athose from California who leaned towathe Confederacy.

Supplies had to be brought in froThe Dalles by packtrain, using the oDalles Military Road. Originally estlished for moving troops engaged in dian warfare, the route soon becaclogged with traffic carrying supplies the remote gold camp. One conspicuoincident along this trail through the Ogon desert was the attack on a stadriven by Henry Wheeler.

On September 7, 1866 Wheeler, companied by Wells Fargo man H. Page, was driving the regular mail staThe vehicle carried $10,000 in grebacks, $300 in coin, several valuadiamond rings and other negotiable itemWithout warning, the stage was attackby a band of 20 Indians. In the first vley of gunshot, Wheeler received one tpassed through his face, carrying awseveral teeth and part of his jaw. In spof the injury he managed to get down

the ground and release the lead tefrom the harness while Page kept Indians at bay. Then they mounted



of which had been riddenand got away.

Shortly they reached the safety of a

the road. The Indians,

in looting the abandoned

The historic spot is

by a bronze monument along the

Canyon City today holds many of the

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single log; sitting in it for long couldcause curvature of the spine! •

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COOKERYF o o d E d i t o r

JLJL

PINEAPPLE BOATS

3 small pineapples

1 box strawberries2 pears

1 cup melon ballsVz cup French dressing

Cut pineapple in halves lengthwise.Scoop out pineapple meat, leavinga V2 inch shell. Turn pineapple up-side down to drain. Dice pineapplemeat, discarding core. Dice pears,and combine with pineapple, straw-berries, melon balls and Frenchdressing. Cover and chill for a couple

of hours. Drain fruit and spoon itinto pineapple shells. Garnish withsprigs of mint. Pass the dressingdrained from fruit. 6 servings. If youwish to use this as a dessert, do notuse the French dressing to marinate,but substitute the following dressing;Vz cup orange juice mixed with 2tablespoons corn syrup. If you wish,you may pour 3 tablespoons Portwine or Rum over the fruit beforechi l l ing.

BEAN SALAD JULIENNE

1 28 oz. can pork and beanswith tomato sauce

4 green onions chopped

1 cup sliced celery

2 cups shredded cabbage

6 oz. boiled ham

6 oz. Swiss cheese

4 tablespoons spicy Frenchdressing

Chill the pork and beans after drain-in g well. Cut ham and cheese in thinstrips. Combine all and toss togetherlightly with dressing. 4 servings.

DRESSING FOR FRUIT SALAD

V A cup dairy sour cream

1 cup fine curd creamed cottagecheese1 cup mayonnaise

V A cup honey3 teaspoons lime juice, or more

to taste2 tablespoons minced parsley

Combine sour cream, cottage cheese,mayonnaise and honey and beat orput in blender. Add lime juice andparsley.

DEVILED DRESSING

2 packets Lawrey's GreenOnion Dip Mix

1 cup dairy sour cream2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Vz cup chopped sweet pickle1 tablespoon lemon juice4 to 6 tablespoons light cream

Blend Green Onion Dip Mix and sourcream. Add mustard and pickles.Mix well and blend in lemon juiceand cream. Makes IV2 cups. This isdelicious over asparagus spears

rolled in thinly sliced Danish ham onbuttered light rye bread.

YOGURT DRESSING FOR

FRUIT SALAD

% cups strawberry yogurt1 cup mayonnaise

IV2 tablespoons lemon juice1 tablespoon honey1 tablespoon French dressing

V A teaspoon saltVz teaspoon Lawrey's Seasoning

SaltBlend all together. This is deliciousserved on peach or pineapple andcottage cheese salad.

CRAB AVOCADO SALAD

2 cans crab meat, f laked

Vz cup minced celery2 tablespoons lemon juiceVA cup oilVz teaspoon saltV A teaspoon celery salt3 avocados

Combine celery, crab meat, lemojuice, seasonings and oil. Toss gentto blend. Cover and chill for an hoor two. Just before serving, cut avcados in halves and remove seedFor a dressing, combine: Vz cumayonnaise, VA cup chili sauce,

tablespoon wine venegar. Fill tavocado halves with the crab mixtuand pass the d ressing. I find MilanSlaw Dressing also is good with thsalad.

SHRIMP AND EGG SALAD

1 can deveined shrimp3 hard cooked eggs1 cup sliced celery1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon green onionVz cup peeled diced cucumbers1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel1 tablespoon lemon juice

V A cup mayonnaiseRinse shrimp in cold water and drawell. Dice two of the hard cookeggs; combine with shrimp, celeparsley, onion and cucumber. Asalt and grated lemon peel. Blelemon juice with mayonnaise and sl ight ly through the shrimp mixtu

Chill and serve on greens. Garnwith the other hard cooked ewhich has been sliced. Sprinkle wpaprika.



Hints for Desert Travelers

by Bruce Barron

NDIAN ARROWHEADS hold afascination for nearly everyone. Most

as those pictured in the above photographdone by Otto Hansen of Susanville, Cali-fornia.

For best aesthetics, spend a little timearranging your pattern before starting

the gluing process.

If you have only a few, take an old

wall clock (or kitchen clock) and glue

an arrowhead at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock

respectively. If the existing clock face is

too ornate, obliterate the face by gluing

on a piece of light cardboard, leather,metal, wood, felt or heavy cloth, then

arrange your arrowheads accordingly. If

you have some "trade beads," wampum,

or small bright flint chippings, you can

use these to fill in the rest of the hours

or to frame the fact. It may be necessary

to bend the "hands" slightly to make

clearance for them to ride over some of

the thicker artifacts.

A glance at this clock will not only

give the time of day, but will give causeto relive the thrill and adventure of the

time you first found these artifacts. •



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tectors—Fisher, Detectrons andWhites. Topo-graphic maps-Western states. Stamps appre-ciated for each state index. 14-inch improvedsteel Gold Pans with instructions "ProspectingWi th a Gold Pan." (Dealer Inquiry Invited)$2.25 postpaid. Mountain Masters Packs,books, compasses, prospectors picks, beefjerky, etc. Jacobsen Suppliers, 9322 CaliforniaAvenue, South Gate, Cal i fornia.

• FORW O M E N

LADY GODIVA "The World's Finest Beautif ier."Complete beauty t reatment in one ar.Write:Lola Barnes, 963North Oak land, Pasadena,Cal i fornia 91 104.

H O W T O P L A C E Y O U R A D•^ Mai l your copy andf irst- insertion rem

tance to:Trading Post, Desert MagazinPalm Desert, California 92260. Classif irates are 25c per w o r d , $5 minimuper insertion.

D E A D L I N E FORCLASSIFIED ADS IS 1OTH O

S E C O N D M O N T H P R E C E D I N G C O V E R D A T

• GEMS

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. We have everytfo r the rock hound, pebble pups, interesgif ts for those who are not rock houMinerals, slabs, rough materials, lapidsupplies mou ntings, equ ipm ent, black ligWhy not stop andbrowse? Shamrock RShop, 593West La Cadena Drive, RiversCa l if OVer land 6-3956.

POCKET GOLD, $2.Placer go ld , $2.Gold d$ 1 . Attrac t ively displayed. Postpaid. Monback guarantee. Lester Lea, Box 1125D,Shasta, Cal i fornia.

CHOICE MINERAL specimens, gems, cutting m

ter ia l , machinery , lapidary andjewelers plies, mountings, f luorescent lamps, boSumner 's , 21108 Devonshire, Chatswor th,

RARE HISTORICAL jad e specimens from pretorical Lost Mayan Jade Mines first noted

lost gold miner Henri Brant. Large half topound chunk fabulous black jade, also green nephrite, also multi-colored prehistype Mayan "c l inojadeite. " Fabulous Wessouvenirs, conversation pieces. Nearestdary can make prized Western jewelry for

dol lars , wor th hundreds. All three, $5.00 ppaid with free specimen assayable gold o

Any one, $2.00 postpaid. Desk penmoufor unusual Western gi f ts , $5.00 addit ieach. STORMJADE, Chir iaco Summit, ( InCa l i fo rn ia , 9 2 2 0 1 .

GOOD LUCK authentic obsidian chips of arrheads, scrapers, dril ls, for display or surdecoration for indoor, outdoor gardens,o z . $2.50 pos tpa id . Box334, Sunland, C

HOME STUDY

LEARN OIL paint ing by mail. Also caseinacrylic. Amateur, advanced. Easy, fascinanaturalistic. Easy payments. Art, Box

Montrose, Colorado.

• INDIAN GOODS

SELLING 20,000 Indian relics. 100nice anarrowheads $25 . Indian skull $ 25. L ist Lear's, Glenwood, Arkansas.

FINE RESERVATION-MADE Navajo, Zuni, H

jewelry. Large selection of old pawn a

Kachina dolls now in stock. Many finebaskets, moderately priced, in excellentcdit ion Navajo rugs, Yei blankets , Chimblankets, pottery. Acollector 's paradise! Oda i ly 10 to 5:30,closed Mondays. BuTrading Post, Highway 18, Apple VaCal i fo rn ia .

AUTHENTIC INDIAN jewelry, Navajo rugs,mayo blankets, squaw boots. Collecitems. Closed Tuesdays. Pow-Wow InTrading Post, 19967 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hi l ls , Cal i f . Open Sundays.

TWO INDIAN war arrowheads, scalping kflint thunderbird, rare perfect Folsom arhead, all for $10.00. Catalog f ree. Arhead, Glenwood, Arkansas.

• MAPS

U. S. TOPOGRAPHIC M APS, weste rn states.each plus postage. Del Gagnon Real ECompany, 7361 2 H ighwoy 11 1, Palm DeCalifornia. Phone 3 4 6 - 1 1 0 1 .



TREASURE FINDERS WESTERN GOODS

—San Bernardino$ 3; Rivers ide $ 1 ; Impe r ia l , smal l $1 , large$2; San Diego $1.25; Inyo $2.50; Kern $1.25,other Cal i fornia count ies $1.25 each. Nevadacounties $1 each. Include 4 percent sales tax.Topographic maps of all mapped westernareas. Westwide Maps Co., 114 West ThirdStreet, Los Angeles 13, California.

es t qual i ty spectrographic . Only $5.00 persample. Reed Engineering, 620-R So. Ingle-

wood Ave. , Inglewood, Cal i fornia.

SOLUTELY BEST. Mine ral-M etal Identif ic ationcharts. Quick ly identif ies valua ble minera ls.25" .<19' '—$2., with plas t ic cover : $3. KennyK. Jorvestad, Chart Service—DM, 1277 Bord-w e l l , Colton, Cal i f . 92324.

EXCITING ADVENTURE locating hidden loot,treasure, relics, etc. with powerful, electronicM-Scope locator. Lightweight. Guaranteed.Very easy terms. Send forfree booklet, n-teresting customer reports. Fisher Research,Dept. KJY, Palo A lto, Cal i fornia. 94302.

FIND LOST orhidden treasures with new t ran-sistor metal detector, underwater metal de-tectors, scintil lation counters, etc. Free litera-ture. Gardiner Electronics, Dept. 5 1 , 472 9North 7th Ave., Phoenix, Arizona.

FIND BURIED coins, treasures, go ld , silver withsensitive new1966 transistor "Electronic

Prospectors." Free information. Sensitronix,2225-L Lou Ellen, Houston, Texas 77018.

WANTED: USED Detectron 71 1 -T, Metrotech 330and 220, cash. State condition and price. BillBaker, 845 6 Abb otts Hill Road, San Diego,Cal i fornia.

OLD COINS, STAMPS

CCMint $3.50, very good.1 8 7 3 - 7 9 - 8 0 - 8 1 - 8 2 S M in t , 1 8 8 3 - 8 4 - 8 5 - 9 9 -1900-01-04 O Mint unc irculated $3 each.100 page catalog, Coins, 50c. Shultz, SaltLake City , Utah 84110.

PHOTO SUPPLIES

bymail since 1932.Morgan Camera Shop "The complete photo-graphic store," 6262 Sunset Blvd. , Holly-w o o d , Cal i fo rn ia 90028.

PLANTS, SEEDS

free with $10 purchase. Desert Acacias from$3.50. Deser t Orchid Wil lows f rom $1.75.Blue

1 Palo Verdes f rom $1.50. Many others inprecocial root-system tochoose from. RanchoEnvironmental an Arboretum Nursery. We arein the Twentynine Palms yellow pages, Calif.

L RANCHO Galapagos Cactus Growers. Youare invited to visit our greenhouses and cactusgardens on the east slope of Copper Moun-t a in . Star Route 1, Box 710, TwentyninePalrns, California.

CHIA SEED, wi th story: 1 % poun d $2 .00 ; 3 ' /,pound $5 .00 ; 18pound $21.00. Pol len ChiaCommerce, Box 2151, Prescott, Arizona.

• REAL ESTATE

GHOST TOWN items: Sun-colored glass, ame-thyst to royal purple; ghost railroads ma-terials, t ickets; l imited odd items from campsof the '60s. Write your interest—Box 64-D,Smith, Nevada.

FOR SALE: Old bottle collection, many very rare,others old and good. Also old lamps and com-mercial coffee grinder. Buyer take all. C CHiggins, Box 35, Ruth, Nevada 893 19.

• MISCELLANEOUS

NEW 1966 Goldak treasure, co in , go ld , silverlocators. Goldak, Dept. DMC, 1544 W. Glen-oaks, Calif. 9 1 2 0 1 .

FUN & PROFIT finding buried treasure, relicswith Transistor M-Scope. Booklet, interestingcustomer comments free. Terms. FisherRe-search, Dept. KJX, Palo Alto, Calif. 94302.

LIVE IN the center of a vast scenic and recrea-t ion wonder land! Hunt ing, f ishing, gems andbottle collecting, picturesque ghost towns andhistoric mining communities are within easyrange of Tri-Palm Estates, theult imate inmobile home l iv ing, in beaut i fu l Coachel laVa l ley . Toreally l ive see our ad vertisementon Dage 12 of this issue.

40 0,0 00 ,00 0 ACRES government publ ic land in25 stctes. Some low as $1.00 acre. 1966report. Details $1.00. Public Land, 422DMWashington Bui ld ing, Washington, D.C

• TREA SURE FINDERS

POWERFUL METROTECH locators detect go ld , sil-ver, coins, relics. Moneyback guarantee. Termsfree informat ion. Underground Explorat ions,Dept. 3A, Box 793, Menlo Park , Cal i fornia.

LOOK NG FOR treasure: Complete deta iled cir-cui t informat ion to build low-cost transistormetal locator and small detector, two circuit:.$ 2 . Treasure Hunter, Box 1796, Costa Mesa,

_ C a M f .

NEW TRANSISTOR instrument detects buriedcoins, firearms, treasures, go ld , s i lver . $19.95,up . Free catalog. Relco A-18, Box 10563,Houston 1 8, Texas.

THE ONLY WAY to live is n amobile home and

for the best in mobile home liv ing see themodels ondisplay at Tri-Palm Estates. Ourspecialists will help you plan your futurehome without obl igat ion. Toreally live seeour advertisement on Page 12 of this issue.

TWO "WILL" Forms (finest quality) and lawyer's64 page book le t about "W i l l s "—comple te ,$1 .00 . National Forms, Box 48313-DS, L03Angeles 48, Cal i fornia.

MAKE FRIENDS 7-77. Thril l ing variety. Invitesomeone over. Free catalog. Capital Games,Dept. D-108, 42 2 Wa shington Bldg. , Wash-ington, D. C. 20005.

\F= YOUTH\NV<s YOU

\ N\ TVAE_ REDWOOD COUNTRY."



In the March, 1965, issue of DESERT Magazine, an anonymous writer claimed to havefound the legendary Pegleg black gold within a 30-mile radius of Salton Sea. He alsoclaimed to have recovered over $300,000 from this gold by removing the black coatingand selling it to collectors in Alaska. He backed up these claims by producing a numberof the nuggets now on display in the bookshop at DESERT Magazine. In subsequent issues,The Man Who Found Pegleg's Black Gold answered questions from readers which appearedon the Letters pages.

In June, 1966, there appeared in DESERT an article by historian Robert Buck who hasreason to believe the black coated gold nuggets originated in an ancient Spanish mine onthe Calaveras River and had been tra nsp orte d to the desert area by a Peralta mule tra in enroute to Sonora. When a catastrophe befell the mule t ra i l , Mr. Buck theorizes, the nuggetswere abandoned where they remained until the original Pegleg Smith discovered them, andlater DESERT'S anonymous writer came upon them. Here, in a letter, is what our modern Mr.Pegleg thinks about it. C.P.

Dear Choral Pepper:I did not reply to your letter in the

April issue as there was little to add tothe story. Your article in the Ford Timeswa.s very interesting and covered the sub-ject briefly but precisely.

My motivation in writing this timewas the story in the June issue by RobertBuck, which deals with a new theory onthe origin of the Peg Leg black nuggets.Mr. Buck's account may be closer to thetruth than any of us realize. Let me ex-plain: Sometime after the first discoverywhen I had plenty of time to think andafter I had read a great deal on gold andgold mining in general and on placermining in detail, I began to wonder whythe nuggets were on or near the surfaceof the ground when by all laws of naturethey should have been on a bedrock for-mation. As I indicated in one of my let-ters, there is heavy material in the area,possibly ancient bedrock that was brokenup when the area was pushed up, andafter long and careful study, the only

logical explanation was the one I advanc-ed in my original story, which you bringout in your Ford Times article. I mightmention that this is also the exact theorythat Mr. Buck brings out in describing theorigin of the Peralta black nuggets.

I covered the country for several milesin all directions without finding anothertrace of black gold except at the site ofthe original discovery. I did say, that inline with my theory of the origin of theblack nuggets that it was possible they

might be discovered in other areas wherethe ancient stream bed was exposed tothe surface—provided it was exposed

anywhere else. With all the searchinggoing on, I've expected someone to stum-ble onto more black gold. The fact thatthey haven't, or at least haven't made itpublic, lends credence to Mr. Buck'stheory that the black nuggets I foundmight possibly be the shipment of Per-alta's black nuggets from the old Spanishmine on the Calaveras River. Assumingfor a moment that this theory is true, itis not too difficult to imagine the Peraltacaravan being attacked by Indians whowould have been interested in the scalps,the burros and undoubtedly the personaleffects of Peralta's men. But when theyopened the packs, the heavy black nug-gets would have been of no possible in-terest to them and they would have beendropped or scattered on the ground asthey were unloaded from the burros. Re-member that in the early 1800s, Indianshad not yet learned the value of gold.

Also, one small thing I've never men-tioned before as it didn't seem important

is the fact that on one of the early tripsmy detector picked up something, andupon digging down a couple inches Ifound a corroded buckle which is sim-ilar in appearance to those I've seen inphotographs of early Spanish artifacts.I've still got it around somewhere and ifI can locate it, I'll take a photograph andsend it to you.

The Peralta theory might just be the

answer after all, for it certainly is a logi-

cal explanation to me, and perhaps just

as possible as my own original theory.

During the succeeding 150 years it is

not unreasonable to believe that many of

the nuggets could have been covered anuncovered by the action of the wind anthe occasional heavy rains that come tthe desert areas.

Once or twice during the 10 years harvested the black nuggets I thought othe possibility of their once having beeone of the early Spanish gold shipmengoing towards Mexico City—especiallafter finding the buckle. However, if thhistory of the Spanish treasure caravans

true, they always carried bars or ingots ogold or silver that had been smelted.

Anyway, such a caravan could havbeen lost on the way, with the men beinkilled by Indians or dying of thirst in thdesert. There are many accounts of Spanish gold and silver caravans disappearinnever to be found again.

With this in mind I once looked ovthe terrain to see if my discovery sicould have been in line with a trail caravan route through the country. I wsay this, and in so doing will give a fu

ther clue: Yes, my discovery site is in aarea through which a caravan might havchosen a route.

Sincerely,The man who found

Pegleg's black goldP.S. As I said, I once considered MBuck's theory but at the time couldfigure out where the black nuggets couhave come from, as there were no rported deposits of black nuggets in tSouthwest. The story of the Peraltablack nuggets and the corroded buckthat didn't seem important when I fouit, have caused me to reconsider.

Letter fromThe Man who found Pegleg's Black Gold



and Mackay?

the Editor: In the June issue of the DesertI enjoyed reading "Did Pegleg's

to Peralta" by Robert Buck. Hethe discovery of

in California as found in a mill race atby James Marshall in January

History does record this, but six yearsin March of 1842, Francisco Lopez dis-

in Placerita Can-of

to the Philadelphia Mint.Recently I was in Washington DC. and

a few days in the National Archives go-the old records which they have

the old Philidelphia Mint. Unfortunatelyof the early days were not entered in

a gold shipment was

Recorded in the National Archives in Wash-

D.C., the first large gold shipment fromby Hussy and Mackay. Thiswas dated January 30, 1838—Goldwas a little over 820 ounces. A

by the same men was made1836, about 31 ounces. Perhaps

I can find out from what part of Cali-men shipped this gold, as it isin the early Mint entries. Perhapscan help me. I would like to find

and Mackay.G L E N A. SETTLE,

Rosamond, California.

You Like It or You D o n ' t . . .

the Editor: In response to a request in theI searched my files for

for S.O.B. stew. There was no stan-but there was a general starting

as follows:1/2 HeartV2 SpleenVi Liver

1 full set of Brains1 TongueAll the Sweetbreads3 feet Marrow GutAl l of the meat from inner side of ribs2 cups Melted Leaf Fat

Sometimes kidney was used, and often oniona young calf was

it had the proper texture marrowgut is not really gut at all,

ut a long tube that connects the two stomachsThe gut is tender, and has the

a most delicateto the stew.

After the calf was killed and still warm, thethe fat was

t and placed in the pot. While this meltedand tongue were cubed and added.

two are the toughest portions and requireto cook. Later, the rib meat, sweetbreads

cut and added. Last, the marrowut was cut into narrow rings and placed ine pot. W a t e r was then added to gain the de-

The brains were cooked separately and withto thicken the brew . A few mo-

the fire, the brains werethe stew and the whole mess served.

M y hat is off to anyone with the nerve tory this Witch's Brew.

W I L L I A M I. L E I K E N ,Granada Hills , California.

ditor's note: Our thanks to other thoughtfulreaders who sent similar recipes. C.P.

It Takes All Kinds . . .

To the Editor: Factual reporting can help inyour readers' enjoyment of Baja. Your article,th e Magic of Baja in the June issue is inac-curate in the following statements:

1. Papa, not Pappy, is the proprietor 's nameat the Gonzaga Bay resort.

2 . I've never noticed the harbor being tricky.

3 . Your reference to the cardon as a sexsymbol doesn't need such a description inthis type of magazine.

4 . 70 feet is adding 10 feet to the tallest car-do n yet measured.

5 . Prehistoric Indians were indifferent tolife; not too happy from a surplus of easy-to-get food.

6. The water at La Gringa is not alwayscold and silvery clear.

7 . Themusicians don't play every night

atBahia de los Angeles. I've been there.

8. A headland is not an island.

9. Now I know what I'll do when my DES-ERT subscription runs out.

G L E N R. TRAVIS,Altadena, California.

Editor's comment: 1. Sam Hicks has knownSenor Fernandez for many years. He calls him"Pappy." Perhaps you are confused with An-tero Diaz at Bahia whom many call "PapaDiaz" because of his bevy of beautiful daugh-ters.

2 . In his book "Cruising the Sea of Cortez"Spencer Murray goes into great detail about thetnckiness of the harbor at Gonzaga Bay.

3 . DESERT'S editor has a wicked sense ofhumor.

4- We photographed one cardon we estimatedat over 60 feet tall.

5. It is more likely that prehistoric Indians,like people in the world today, adapted to theirenvironment. Some environments were moreplentiful than others.

6. We, personally, have Scuba dived at LaGringa in the middle of August and if thewater is cold then, it's a good indication thatit always is. Glen Vargas, a skin diver and parttime resident at Bahia, warned us that this spotis always colder than the rest of the ba y— per-haps due to off-shore springs.

7. The mariachis at Bahia de los Angelesare subsidized by tourists rather than the man-agement. They play nightly, provided they have

a "live" audience.8. / stand corrected.9. You can't win 'em all, can you? C.P.

Non-believer . . .

To the Editor: W i t h a find as big as the HankBrandt mine, how come no pictures of thedouble-decked cave and carved ship? Also,gold doesn't just disappear. There would havebeen some left, I'm sure!

L E W I S E Y L A N D ,Vista, California.

Editor's comment: The author of the HankBrandt Mine article in the July issue is not a

professional writer. She said they were so ex-

cited about finding the mine, they only photo-graphed it. We hope to get in when it cools

of f and take our own cameras. There has al-ways been speculation that the Hank Brandtwas "mined out" when Hank moved to San

Diego. This does happen. C.P.

A n y o n e f o r P i c k le d H e a d ? . . .To the Editor: W h a t an eerie coincidence tohave just observed "the pickled head of Joa-quin Murieta" on display at our local MantonTrading Post , and on the same day to receivethe June copy of DESERT with Al Merryman'sexcellent sketch of the gruesome head. Werushed back and took the enclosed photo forbenefit of DESERT Readers. This "head" hasbeen shuttled between private museums andpeep shows for the past several years and wasrecently acquired by the proprietor of our localantique dealer from the "Old Town Museum"near Almaden, California.

Anyone else know where there's another"authentic" bottled head of this famousbandido?

BRUCE BARRON,Manton, California.

New Yorker Discovers DESERT . . .

To the Editor: While visi t ing my sister inCalifornia, I came across your magazine forthe first time. Imagine my surprise to discoverthat my presumably loving sister refused toallow my filching it! She refused, even, to letme cut an article from the issue which I

wanted to keep. Having been in the editorialfield for some years, I simply cannot imaginea magazine so sacred it cannot be cut. Youhave a most interesting book. It must be funto edit. I would like to order it.

E D W A R D M c C A B E ,New York City.

New Pegleg Claim . . .

To the Editor: Having found nine black goldnuggets on the desert in Pegleg country, Iwas excited over Mr. Buck's article in yourJune issue in which he tells of finding someup north. I think that if you will check withthe Railroad as to where they obtained theblack rock ballast used between the ties, youwill find that Mr. Buck's article bears somesignificance.

M R . A N O N Y M O U S ,La Mesa, California.

Beware of Swindlers . . .

To the Editor: I see you are getting mail aboutthe Lost Dutchman being found. What actuallyhappened is that a group filed a series of claimsencompassing several acres atop Bluff SpringsMt. This area has been minutely explored andreported devoid of mineralization. According toa recent Apache Sentinel article ,the F. B. I. iscurrently checking on fradulent sales of stockto gullible investors.

ROBERT BLAIR,Los Angeles, California.

Editor's note: Dr. Blair wrote the fine articleon the Lost Dutchman in the June, 1966, issueof DESERT and is a recognized authority on

the area and the legend. C.P.



Nevada hosted more than 20,000,000 visitors lastyear—they came, they saw, they loved it! You

too will enjoy the fabulous Ghost towns andcampout sites, the hunting, the fishing and

the water fun at Lake Tahoe,Lake Mead, Pyramid Lake andWalker Lake. Then you can

see the mysterious LehmanCaves, the beauty of the scenicState Parks, the majestic moun-tains in all their splendor and

of course,the world famous entertainment.

Plan your trip now, and if you'vealready been here, do it again!

It's even greater the secondtime around.

T H E D L D W E S T T H A T

S T I L L L I V E S !

FOR INFORMATION PLEASE WRITE

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, CARSON CITY

196608 desert magazine 1966 august september

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