196910 desert magazine 1969 october

8/14/2019 196910 Desert Magazine 1969 October

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D e s e r t M a g a z i n e B o o k S h o pNEW MEXICO PLACE NAMES edited by T. M.Pearce. Lists and gives a concise history of theplaces, towns, former sites, mountains, mesas,rivers, etc., in New Mexico, including those set-t led by the ear ly Spaniards . Good for t reasurehunters, bott le col lectors and history buffs.Paperback, 187 pages wi th more than 5000names, $2.45.DESERT GARDENING by the editors of SunsetBooks. Writ ten exclusively for desert gardeners,this book is c l imate zoned wi th maps pinpoint -ing f ive diverse desert zones. Calendar presents plans for care of plant ings throughoutthe year. I l lustrated, 8 x 1 1 heavy paperback$1 . 95 .ANZA-BORREGO DESERT GUIDE by Horace Par-ker. Third edit ion of th is wel l - i l lus t rated anddocumented book is enlarged considerably. Topsamong guidebooks, it is equal ly recommendedfor research material in an area that was crossedby Anza , Kit Carson, the Mormon Bat ta l ion,'49ers, Railroad Survey part ies, Pegleg Smith, theJackass M a i l , Butterf ield Stage, and today 'sadventurous tourists. 139 pages, cardboardcover , $3.50.THE MYSTERIOUS WEST by Brad Williams andChoral Pepper. Rare book examines legends thatcannot be proven t rue, nor unt rue. New evi-dence presented in many cases which maychange the history of the West. Hardcover.$5 . 95 .THE WEEKEND GOLD MINER by A. H. Ryan. Anelectronic physicist "bit ten by the go ld bug,"the author has wri t ten a concise and in format ivebook for amateur prospectors tel l ing where andhow gold is f ound and how it is separated andtested, all based on his own pract ical ex-perience. Paperback, 40 pages> $1.50.THE WEEKEND TREASURE HUNTER by A. H.Ryan. A companion book to his Weekend GoldMiner, this volume is also concise and packedwi th informat ion on w h a t to look for and w h a tto do with your t reasure af ter you have foundit . Subjects range from Beach Combing to Sunk-en Treasures. Paperback, 76 pages, $1.95.GHOST TOWNS OF NEW MEXICO by MichaelJenkinson and Karl Kernberger. This except ion-al ly wel l wr i t ten volume is more than a ghosttown guide. It spans the history of New Mexicofrom the past to the present and brings back tol i fe the conquis tadors , gunmen, miners , mer-chants and polit ic ians who won the West. Kern-bergers photographs are gal lery qual i ty . Hard-cover , qual i ty paper, large format , 153 pages.$7.50. Makes an excellent gif t .

DEATH VALLEY BOOKSPublished by the Death Valle y 49ers thesef ive volumes have been selected by '49ersas outs tanding works on the history of DeathVal ley . All are durable paperback on slickstock.A NATURALIST'S DEATH VALLEY (Revised edi-t ion) by Edmund C. Jaeger, ScD $1.50MANLY AND DEATH VALLEY. Symbols of Des-t i ny , by Ardis Manly Walker $1.25GOODBYE, DEATH VALLEY! The story of theJayhawker Par ty , by L. Burr Belden $1.50CAMELS AND SURVEYORS IN DEATH VALLEYBy Arthur Woo dward $2.00DEATH VALLEY TALES by 10 di f ferent au-thors $1.25

EARTHQUAKE COUNTRYBy ROBERT IACOPI

Published by Sunset Books, this wellillustrated book separates fact from fic-tion and shows where faults are located,what to do in the case of an earth-quake, past history, and what to expectin the future. Highly recommended forall Californians. Large format, slick pa-perback, 160 pages.

$2.95S U N , SAND AND SOLITUDE by Randall Hender-s o n . For more than 50 years Randall Hendersonhas traveled across the deserts of the West unt i lt oday he is known as the voice and prophet ofthis region of mystery, sol i tude and beauty .Founder of Desert Magazine in 1931 , he has de-voted his l i fe to unders tanding the grea t out-doors . His second and latest book is a culmin-at ion of his experiences, thoughts and philoso-phy. Hardcover , deluxe format , deck le-edgedpaper, 16 pages ful l color, excellent i l lustrat ions,$ 7 . 9 5 .LOWER CALIFORNIA GUIDE BOOK by Gerhardand Gulick. The authors have revised the th i rdedi t ion to br ing it up to date. Veteran t ravelersin Baja California would not venture south ofthe border wi thout th is author i tat ive volume. Itcombines the fascinat ing history of every loca-t i on , whether it be a town, miss ion or a b a n -doned ranch, w i th detai led mi leage maps andlocat ions of gasoline supplies, water and otherneeded informat ion on Baja. 243 pages wi ththree-color folded map, 16 detai led route maps,4 city maps, 22 i l lustrat ions. Hardcover $6.50.METAL DETECTOR HANDBOOK by Art Lassagne,2nd edition. Includes history, operat ing tech-niques, interpretat ion of s ignals , and Directoryof Manufacturers . One of the most completehandbooks of its kind. Paperback, 65 pages.$3 . 00 .TREASURE HUNTERS GUIDE TO THE LAW byClair Martin Christensen. Answers all of thequest ions relat ive to the legal aspect of f i nd -ing treasure trove. Subjects include Ant iquit iesAct, Mining Claims, Gold Regulat ions, Trespassand Salvage, Claim Recordings, Tax Aspect andmany others. Concise and fac tual . Paperback, 46pages, $2.75.MINES OF DEATH VALLEY by L. Burr Belden.About fabulous bonanzas, prospectors and lostmines. Paperback. $1.95.

MAPS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA from the LowerCalifornia Guidebook by Gehard and Gulick.Slight ly smaller than those in the book but con-venient to carry in glove compartment . $1 whenpurchased wi th the book; $1.50 when purchasedseparately .MEXICAN COOK BOOK by the Editors of Sun-set Books. Mexican recipes for American cooks,thoroughly tes ted and suited for products avai l -able in the United States. Includes comprehen-s ive shopping guide, all cooking techniques andrecipes from soups to desserts and drinks. Largeslick paper format, well i l lustrated, 96 pages,$ 1 . 9 5 .1200 BOTTLES PRICED by John C. Tibbitts. Updated edi t ion of one of the best of the bott lebooks. $4.50.GHOST TOWNS AND MINING CAMPS OF CALI-FORNIA by Remi Nadeau. The on ly good , hard-cover book on the Cal i forn ia ghost towns. Werecommend it h igh l y . $5 . 95 .CAMPING AND CLIMBING IN BAJA by John W.Robinson. Contains excellent maps and photos.A guidebook to the Sierra San Pedro Mart ir andthe Sierra Juarez of upper Baja Calif . Muchof this land is unexplored and unmapped sti l l .Car routes to famous ranches and camping spotsin palm-s tudded canyons wi th t rout s t reamstempt weekend tour is ts who aren' t up to h ik ing .Paperback, 96 pages, $2.95.DEATH VALLEY JEEP TRAILS by Roger Mitchell.Al though a system of paved roads covers DeathVal ley Nat ional Monument , there is even alarger network of back country roads leadingto old mining camps, s tamp mi l ls and otherl i t t le-known areas of interest. The author hasprov ided a gu ide to these places for explorerswith back country vehicles. Paperback, i l lustra-t e d , 36 pages , $1 . 00 .ROUGH RIDING by Dick Cepek and Walt Wheel -ock. Two veteran t ravelers have compi led an ex-cellent book on how to dr ive and survive in theback count ry . Al though based on dr iv ingthrough Baja Cal i forn ia, the i n f o rmat ion is ap-pl icable to all areas of the West. Stronglyrecommended for both amateurs and veterans.Paperback, 36 pages , $1 . 00 .BOOK OF CACTUS by Harry C. Lawson. Wri t tenfo r the amateur, this book tel ls how to p lan t ,care for and ident ify cactus found in the West .The 36 pages contain 409 smal l photographsand descript ions of the plants . Paperback, $2.00.FIELD GUIDE TO GEMS AND MINERALS OFMEXICO by Paul Willard Johnson with EnglishSpanish glossary. Don't go rock hunt ing inMex ico w i t hou t it. Paperback. $2.

WHE N ORDE RING B OOKSPLEASE

Add 50 cents PER ORDER(Not Each Book)

for handling and mailingCALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ALSOADD 5 PERCENT SALES TAX

Send check or money order to Desert Maga-zine Book Shop, Palm Desert , Cali fornia92260. Sorry , but we cannot accept chargesor C.O.D. orders.

FOR COMPLETE BOOK CATALOG WRITE TO DESERT MAGAZINE, PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 9 22 60


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WILLIAM KNYVETT, PUBLISHERJACK PEPPER, EDITORJ A C K D E L A N E Y , Staff WriterBILL BRYAN, Back Country Editor

Volume 32, Number 10 OCTOBER, 1969

T H E C O V E R :With summer heat on thewane, one can feel thecoolness of autumn in thecover photo "AutumnGold in Oak Creek Can-yon" by Darwin VanCampen, Phoenix, Ari-zona. Locale is Arizona'sscenic OakCreek Canyon,south of Flagstaff.

FOSSI L CANYONA L O N G T H E M O D O C T R A I L

C A M P I N D E P E N D E N C EL OST APACHE GOL D

ACAM BARO M YST E RYB R O W N S T O N E C A N Y O N

F R O N T I E R D O C T O RT HE I NCRE DI BL E T E RAT ORNT HE VAL L E Y OF CUYAM ACA

G O L D E N M E L O N E S

by Ernie Cowanby Dorothy Robertsonby John W'. Robinsonby Richard Taylorhy lirle Stanley Gardnerby Florine Lawlorby Janice Beatyby Judith McW hinneyby Richard A. Bloomquiby Milo A. Bird

DEPARTMENTSA PEEK INTHE PUBLISHER'S POKE

BOOK RE VI E WSBACK COUNT RY T RAVE L

W O M A N ' S V I E W P O I N TCAL E NDAR OF WE ST E RN E VE NT S

LETTERS

by William Knyvettby Jack Pepperby Bill Bryanby Joleen A. RobisonClub ActivitiesReaders' Comments

ELTA SHIVELY, Executive Secretary M A R V E L B A R R E T T , Business

E D I T O R I A L AND CIR CU LA TIO N OFFIC ES: 74-109 Larrea, Palm Desert , Cal i fornia 92260, AC 714 3 4 6 -8 1 4 4. N A T I O N A L A D V E R -TIS ING O FFICE S: 8380 Melrose Street , Los Angeles 90069, AC 213 653-5847. Listed in Standard Rate and Data. Subscription rates:United States, Canada &Mexico, 1 year, $5.00; 2 years, $9.50, 3 years, $13.00. Other foreign subscribers add$1.00 currency for each year.See Subscription Order Form in this issue. Allow five weeks for change of address and send both new and old addresses wi th zip codesDesert Magazine is published monthly. Second class postage paid at Palm Desert , Cal i fornia and at additional mailing offices under Act ofMarch 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1969 by Desert Magazine and permission to reproduce any or all contents must be secured in wri t ing.Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs WILL NOT BE RETURNED unless accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelope.


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l N B O W ' SE N D . . .begins with a

T R E A S U R E L O C A T O R '

"COMMANDER" 720T h i s G o l d a k T r e a s u r eLocator is unsurpassed forloca t ing bur ied t reasure ,coins. Civil War relics andfor beachcombing. Features"Tell-Tone" Signal. Locatesany metal object under dirt,sand, mud, rock, etc. Noc u mb e rs o me c o rd s -c o m-pletely transistorized, bat-tery powered.When it com es to find-ing your pot of gold, gowith the leadergo withGoldak!

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Start out rightsend $1.00 pre-paid for authe ntic gold-platedreplica of a Spanish doubloonfound off Cape Kennedy. T H E GOLDAK COMPANY, INC.

1101-AAirWayGlendale, California 91201

71 Please send free liter ature on GOLDAK tre a-sure locators.[J I enclose $1.00 prepaid for my gold-plateddoubloon replica with pouch.Name Address -CityState - Z i p -

A P e e ki n t h eP u b l i s h e r ' sP o k e

ITH T H E increasing number ofpeople who are heeding Hor-ace Greeley's words to "Go West!"land that was once barren and housedonly the little animal life that couldeke out an existence in such an area, isbeing developed daily into ever-grow-ing communities and subdivisions.This has forced our little creatures intoa smaller world and no doubt hasannihilated many thousands. Now anew threat has come to our scaled andfurry friends. The creatures are beingpreyed upon by human beings who form "weekend safaris" in search of specimensfor the trophy room or worse yet, for commercial gain. The situation has developedto the point where the Desert Protective Council has adopted the following reso-lution :

BE IT RESOLVED, that members of the California legislature are urgentlypetitioned to introduce and sponsor the passage of an amendment to Section5000 of the Fish and Game code to provide wildlife protection as follows:That it be unlawful to sell, purchase, needlessly harm, shoot any projectile at,or remove from its natural habitat any species of lizard (Suborder Lacertilia) orany non-venomous snake (Suborder Ophidia), with the following exceptions:That for the purposes of scientific study in the field or laboratory, the Cali-fornia Division of Fish and Game is authorized, upon application, to grantauthority to any accredited school or museum to issue individual permits not ex-ceeding one year in duration to individual faculty or student members or scien-tific personnel of the institution for the removal of such specimens of lizards andnon-venomous snakes as are essential, to biological study, and be it furtherRESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent to members of the Cali-

fornia legislature with the request that they introduce and sponsor the passage ofsuch legislation as herein proposed.

W e endorse this resolution with a closing note. The nearby city of D esertHot Springs became so tired of the senseless slaughter and/or removal of desertcreatures they passed an ordinance proclaiming the entire city to be a wildlife sanctuaryand have posted signs to that affect.

Last December DESERT Magazine was fortunate in being granted an exclu-sive article on the Calico diggings and now again we are privileged to present anotherarcheological first. This time from the pen of Erie Stanley Gardner who is a masterof both fiction and non-fiction. His interesting mystery appears on page 18 and isa condensation from his latest book on Mexico, Host With A Big Hat, wherein hedescribes the figurines which are causing a major controvery in the archeologicalworld. He relates how the artifacts were found and why there is a possibility thatprehistorical animals may have survived long enough to have had contact withhuman beings.

Now the cooler weather has returned, effective October 11 our little book andgift shop will again be open on Saturdays. So if you are headed for the Colorado orjust out for a weekend drive, drop in and chat a while.


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The Greatest "Western Ever!

AmericanOdysseyThe Journey ofLewis and Clark260 magnificent photo-g rap h s , man y d o u b le -page size.Introduction byA. B. Guthrie, Jr.Relive the classic explora-tion of Lewis and Clark in260 dramatic photographsand a narrative from theiroriginal Journal.Famed W es t e rn pho t og -rapher Ingvard Henry Eidecaptures the wi l de rnessexactly as itwas first seen bythe exp lore rs... retraces theirentire journey at he times ofthe year that coincide withtheir travels . . .photograph-ing only what Lewis andClark saw . .. exactly as theysaw it.American Odyssey isunique Americana .. .stirringhistory .. .beautifully printedand bound. It is the gift bookfor all who know and love theAmerican West!272 pages914x11%" sizeSpecial pre- Christmasgift price,A vailable W herever Books Are Sold

Rand McNallyPioneer Atlast of theAmericanWestCollector's item! The maps andindexes of the Western states andterritories from Rand McNally's"Business Atlas" of1876.11 %x14" $10

Rand M?NallyBox 7 600, Chicago 60680

B o o kR e v i e w sby Jack Pepper

H O W TO COLLECT ANTIQUEBOTTLESBy John C.Tibbitts

I am not a bottle collector in thesenseI plan my trips and camping sites so Iwill be able to spend my time diggingfor purple glass or rare "patent" medi-cine containers.However, during the 20-odd years Ihave explored the West I have foundquite a fewbottles which arenow on dis-play at theDesert Magazine Book Shop.I have an interest in bottle collecting,just as I do in finding artifacts andotherhistorical objects of the Old West. Forthis reason I was completely enthralledby John C. Tibbitt's latest publication.How To Collect Antique Bottles is morethan a book on bottle collectingit is afascinating insight of early America asseen through the eyes of the medicine

companies andtheir advertising almanacs.One of themost popular of themedi-cines wasHostetter's Celebrated StomachBitters and some unknown advertisingwriter wrote:"T o thepublic of theUnited States . .Hostetter's Stomach Bitters must not beconfused with the Fungus pancreas got-ten up by individuals whomake it theirbusiness to speculate on the credulity ofinvalids. It has never been offered andwill never be advertised as a miraculous

elixir, capable of curing, with superna-tural certainty and dispatch, all the di-seases of the human family. No suchuniversal specific ever did or ever willexist . . . "After this conservative opening, thewriter later states theBitters "is a specificfor dyspepsia, diarrhorea, dysentary,gen-eral debility, chills, fever, liver complaint,bilious remittent fevers, and the painsand weaknesses which creep upon us inold age."And then our advertising writer, who

evidently had not been farther west thanthe Hudson River, really got carriedaway, stating: "Furnished with this pre-ventative, the pioneer of California mayfearlessly prosecute his search for goldand silver, in valleys and plains wherehis less fortunate predecessors (hisspell-ing) have left their bones. Thediscoloredwater which serves alike to quench histhirst and obtain his treasure, may bedrunk with impunity if mixed with thispowerful and agreeable corrective, andthe miasma which reeks from thesoil ofthe mining regions, will have no injur-ious effect upon his system if sustainedand fortified by this pure andwholesomevigorant andstomachic . . . "

Fortunately for our stomachs, but un-fortunately for advertising copy writers,in 1914 thePure Food andDrug Act putan end to such eloquent prose. Also in-cluded in the historical section of thebook aredozens of reproductions of thelabels and illustrations used toprove thevalue of the elixirs. For this part alone,the book isworth the price.For avid bottle collectorsand thosejust startingthe author also includeschapters on TheWhys of Bottle Collect-ing, Where and How to Collect Bottles,What Bottles are Collectible and manyother informative chapters on cleaning,displaying and thehistory of bottles andwhy and howthey turn different colors.Author of six previous books on therelated subject, Tibbitts and hiswife havebeen collecting bottles for 30 years.Heavy, slick paperback, 118pages, wellillustrated, $4.00.

ROAD MAP OF CALIFORNIA'SPIONEER-TOWNS, GHOST-TOWNSAND MINING-CAMPSCompiled by B. V. Terry,Varna Enterprises

More than 400place names areprint-ed in red on this large blue and whiteroad map. A special index classifies anddescribes the towns and sites. The map,with northern California on oneside andsouthern California on theother, is 38 x25 with a scale of one inch to 20miles.$2.95. Terry has also compiled a RoadMap toLost Mines andBuried Treasuresof California listing 127 locations. Two-sided, 38 x 25, $4.00. Both maps avail-able at Desert Magazine Book Shop for$6.50.


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Erie Stanley Gardnerdescribes the beautyand adve nturein Mexico'sdesert country.

H O S TW I T H T H EB IG H A TbyErle Stanley

Gardner

s3

1

H O S T W I T HT H E B I G H ATby Erie St anle y Gardne

A visit to the archaeologically controversial Julsrud Collection in Acambaroand the account of a trip toMexico arewoven together in this fascinating book.Approximately 250black-and-white photos. 4pages of color. $7.95Other books of true adventure by Erie Stanley Gardner

ME XICO'S MA GIC SQUARE $7.50OFF THEBEATEN TRACKIN BAJAHUNTING LOST MINESBY HELICOPTERTHE HIDDEN HEA RTOF BAJA

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IN TH E rugged Carrizo Mountains ofCalifornia's Imperial County MotherNature has carved a massive canyon intothe land. Fossil Canyon is a natural scrap-book containing the bits and pieces ofthe earth's history from 50 million yearsago-Located about 100 miles east of SanDiego and about three miles north ofU.S. 80, Fossil Canyon offers the weekendadventurer a place to enjoy the desert'ssolitude while exploring the earth's past.The road into Fossil Canyon is easilynegotiated in a conventional automobile,but take care with lower models. A hikeinto the canyon is the most enjoyobleway to explore it.

To reach the scenic area take U.S. 80to Ocotillo and turn north on CountyRoad S-2, also known as the ImperialHighway. In about two miles you willcome to a four-way stop sign. This isFossil Canyon Road. Turn right and fol-low the road north past a quarry and oninto the narrow gorge.FOSSIL CANYON

The towering sandstone and mudstonewalls of Fossil Canyon offer the amateurgeologist a picture of the earth's past aslong as 50 million years ago when thesands were shifting under the currentsof a great inland sea.On top of the towering cliffs large an-cient oyster shells, which long ago turnedto stone, can be found. The challengehere is to find two matching halves.In the sandstone walls are many in-teresting relics once a part of the aquaticcommunity which thrived in the warmwaters of the inland sea. Huge bouldersthat once were part of living coral reefscan be found and the canyon walls arefilled with shells of many types.Geologists believe the coral remainsare an Atlantic and not Pacific variety.They say that during the Eocene geologicperiod about 50 million years ago theAtlantic and Pacific Oceans were con-nected across Central America.Through time the passage eventuallyclosed and the Atlantic type corals re-

maining in the Pacific became extinct.


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On the sides of thecanyon walls (left) youcan find oyster shells thathave turned to stone.The trick is to find twothat match. The desert flooris in the background.Erosion has created spectacularshapes and forms in FossilCanyon. In some places(opposite page) ittakes sharp turns.

by Ernie Cowan

Now all that remain are the live coralin the Atlantic and the fossil remains inthe southern California deserts.Fossil Canyon, also known as ShellCanyon and Alverson Canyon, was form-ed over thousands of years by suddenrains which created flash floods that ateinto the mountains.In places the walls of the canyon tower1 50 feet above th e chasm floor and nar-row to widths barely wide enough toallow an automobile to pass through.

There are also many cave-like passagesleading off of the main canyon. Some ofthese are not more than two or three feetwide and run for hundreds of feet intothe cliffs. They are not true caves, how-ever, since they are open at the top. Someof the passages open into huge chambersthat have been used by campers.Fossil Canyon is an ideal camping spot

for families with youngsters. There isno cactus and the high sandstone cliffsmake good baby sitters, although thereare trails leading up out of the canyon.On the weekends the canyon is filledwith campers and sightseers, but on aweekday it is a place of solitude.Old mining roads leave the canyonand climb into the mountains along steeproutes. A short hike up one of theseroads gives the desert buff a most spec-tacular view of the desert below.If you visit Fossil Canyon rememberthat others will follow. Carry out anylitter you have brought in and if youhave room pick up that extra little bitleft by someone else. Leave Fossil Can-yon as Nature's scrapbook, not man'sscrap pile.

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Write today to the factory nearest you for tree folder describing the most advanced camper on the road.R. D. HALL MFG., INC., 9847 Glenoaks Blvd., Sun Valley (San Fernando Valley) California 913 52. Dept D.ALASKAN CAMPERS NORTHWEST, INC., 6410 South 143rd Street, (Tukwila), Seattle, Wash. 98168. Dept. 0.ALASKAN CAMPER SALES, INC., (S.F.-Sacramento area) Intersection of Interstate Highway 80 and State 21 .Route 1, Box 332, Suisun City, California 94585, Dept. D.

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10/44

Mrs. Delinda Barefought off an Indianattack single-handedlywhen a young mother andthen lived to be 93 beforepassing away in 1929.

AloNgTheModocTRAII by Dorothy Roberts

IF YOU have never been to Modoc coun-try, now is the time to come to thisuncrowded, cool, pine-scented highlandwhere icy streams and lakes await yourfishing desires.This 4000 square mile region of theWest's last frontier is located in thenortheastern corner of California, adja-cent to the Oregon and Nevada borders.Here you will find hunting, fishing,water-skiing, swimming, hiking, and justplain adventure in back-country areas.You can follow U.S. 395 all the wayfrom Southern California to Modocareally beautiful drive, or you can takeNevada's uncrowded scenic State 34 viaPyramid Lake to Gerlach, where you

turn west on State 81. This route bringsyou directly into historic Surprise Valley,which is hemmed on the west side bythe rugged Warner Range.The area's four little towns are spacedalong the valley from north to south.Southerly Eagleville has quaint old-fashioned buildings. Ten miles beforeyou reach Eagleville you pass the greatBare Ranch holdings, which is a work-ing ranch.It was to this homestead that Thomas

Bare brought his young wife and her10

two little children in 1884. Isolated fromother valley homesteaders, they were con-stantly harassed by Indians. One dayThomas Bare had to ride off with somedistant neighbors to round up their scat-tered cattle. The had no sooner riddenaway when, to Delinda Bare's horror, ascreaming horde of young bucks descend-ed upon the tiny cabin.

Evidently the attackers had watchedthe menfolk ride away, and knew thatthe woman and children were alone. Butthey were rudely awakened. DelindaBare was a sharpshooter. She barricadedherself in the cabin, laid out her ammu-nition, and shot so many of her attackersthey kept a respectful distance betweenthemselves and the spitting death issuingfrom the Bare cabin.

All day Delinda kept the Indians fromapproaching any closer than bullet'slength until, at long last, the menfolkarrived at a gallop and sent the Indiansheadlong. Delinda said later, accordingto local pioneer descendants, that she re-served three bullets, to be used as a lastemergency upon her children and her-self, rather than fall alive into the handsof the Indians.

Cedarville, too, possesses its historic


11/44

building, still to be seen in the villagegreen. This is Captain Townsend's logcabin, the first building erected, and soldby his widow after his ambush-death byIndians in 1865, to traders Cressler andBonner.Ten miles north of Cedarville nestleslittle Lake City, the first town to be builtin Surprise Valley in 1865. From thevicinity of Lake City you can easily seethe historic Applegate-Lassen Trail, oncefollowed by emigrants and goldseekersof '49, as it winds out of Forty NineCanyon down into the valley, thencrosses the natural causeway betweenUpper and Middle Alkali Lakes, to con-tinue northward to Fort Bidwell, wind-ing over Fandango Pass and on to GooseLake.For a truly fantastic jaunt back intohistory, you have to see Fort Bidwell tobelieve it. This is the second oldest set-

tlement in Surprise Valley. In 1865 sold-iers came in response to the settlers'petition for military aid in repelling thefierce Indians of the region. Camp Bid-well (later changed to Fort Bidwell) wasthus built and occupied for 28 years. OnOctober 21, 1893, Troop C, Fourth Cav-

alry, filed out of Fort Bidwell for thelast time, and the post was abandoned.Today, only a few foundations remain.There is an old mining camp calledHighgrade up in the northern Warners,just out of Fort Bidwell. A forest servicecamp is being completed for fall use. Inthis area are fishing streams and clearcold mountain lakes for your enjoyment.While you are browsing through FortBidwell, you will find two authentic oldstores still doing business there. The old-est store is the A. C. Lowell Generalstore, built in the mid-1860s, still in itsoriginal state, with heavy iron shuttersand bars over the windows. The last ofthe Lowells sold out recently, and thestore is now owned and operated by theHarold Aschermans. Besides its moderngrocery stock, the store is a veritablemuseum of pioneer day Americana andIndian artifacts, and really old photo-

graphs of the days gone by.Miss Elsie Kober, pioneer descendantof the Kobers who took over the storebuilt by Irwin Ayers in the 1870s, oper-ates the mercantile store almost as it wasa century ago. With modern clothingand footwear are the mementoes of yes-

teryear. Clothing and footwear and head-gear worn by great-grandmother are stillon display.Both these Fort Bidwell stores consti-tute a museum in themselves, and afforda fascinating opportunity to inspect firsthand a life once lived one hundred yearsago.As you leisurely vacation around beau-tiful Modoc, you can enjoy the variousmountain drives taking you to scenic re-gions of northern California. Here wildgame are often seen in the skies and inthe mountains and valleys, including Ca-nadian honkers and ducks, quail, phea-sants, doves and rabbits. Deer are com-monplace, even along the highways,around sunup and sunset, and anteloperange in the higher altitudes.If you are hiking enthusiasts, there isthe South Warner Wilderness area wherethere are no motor trails. You go on

horseback or on shanks' mare.If you come to Modoc in the autumnmonths, you will find September to earlyNovember about the most beautiful timefor a visit. This is the time of changingseasons when the deciduous trees turnwanton, flaunting their fantastic shadesof yellows, oranges and crimsons in alast, brilliant fling before the snows startflying. The air is wine-tingly and brac-ing, the nights colder, but you'd find thedays still holding the warm embrace of

summer.So take your time while seeing Modocyou'll be glad you did, for the north-ern autumns are really worth experienc-ing, and when you strike the trail look-ing for that something different, some-thing out-of-the-ordinary, remember Modoc country is where the old Weststill lives.

All that remains ofHigbgra de, (left) a onceboisterous mining camp inthe Warner Mountains,are these jew buildings.

u


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C A M P I N D E PTHE YEAR was 1862. Amercia's atten-tion was focused on a great andterrible conflict; places such as Bull Run,Shiloh, and Antietam were in the spot-light. Overshadowed was a small butfierce struggle raging in an almost un-known valley in eastern California.Owens Valley, it was called, named sometwo decades previously for RichardOwens, one of Fremont's trusted lieuten-ants.

Owens Valley in the 1860s was a prim-itive land. To the west, the jagged, snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada form-ed a towering barrier to Pacific stormsand caused it to be, as Mary Austin latercalled it, a "Land of Little Rain." Twen-ty miles east, the rounded, tawny ridgesof the Whites and the Inyos, rising almostas high, formed the eastern rampart ofthis great natural trench. The rocky,moisture-starved valley floor was mostlya sea of sage, supplemented here andthere by tall cottonwoods and willowsalongside streams gushing down fromSierra glaciers. Down the middle flowedthe lazy, meandering Owens River, emp-tying its spent waters into the vast, shal-low alkali sink of Owens Lake.In spite of its barrenness, Owens Val-ley was for many decades the home of ahardy, peaceful people known as thePaiutes. These valley Indians lived a rela-tively simple life centered around a per-ennial search for food. They hunted deerin the mountains, fished the cold, spark-ling streams, and gathered pine nutsevery summer from forests in the nearbyhigh country. Early white visitors to thevalley reported these Paiutes friendly,and there were few incidents of frictionbetween the Indians and the white manbefore I860.The white man's frenzied hunt formineral riches finally changed the val-ley's peaceful pattern. It started with thediscovery in 1859 of the fabulous Com-

12

stock Lode on the east side of the Sierranear Lake Tahoe. The eastern flank ofthe great range suddenly appeared tooffer untold riches to those who woulddiligently hunt them. Thousands of hope-fuls who had only recently crossed theSierra to the Mother Lode country fever-ishly retraced their tracks back acrossthe mountains. Other rich strikes soonfollowed near Mono Lake, and the boomtowns of Bodie and Aurora blazed intothe Owens Valley country.Early in I860 Dr. Darwin French leftthe San Joaquin Valley town of Visaliain search of the legendary Gunsight

Mine. According to stories circulating atthe time, a lone prospector had pickedup a chunk of metal to make himself agunsight; it proved to be pure silver.Rumors placed the silver lode in the des-ert mountains somewhere east of OwensValley. French never found the Gun-sight Mine; instead he discovered richsilver ledges in the Coso Range south-east of Owens Lake. Coso zoomed intoprominence, and miners by the hun-dreds stormed into the area. Soon otherprospectors, finding the Cosos all stakedout, set up claims in the Inyo Moun-tains east of Owens Valley. To feed thehungry miners, cattle were driven intothe valley, and white settlers soon fol-lowed. The peaceful, undisturbed val-ley sanctuary of the Paiutes was no more,and a clash became imminent.The clash began late in 1861, when acowherd shot an Indian taking a horseand the Paiutes retaliated by killing awhite settler. Warfare in Owens Valleybecame general during the early monthsof 1862. By May the Indians, more nu-merous than the whites, controlled mostof the valley. Miners and settlers fleeingthe region asked the army for help.In March, 1862, a small detachmentof California Volunteers, under Lt. Col-onel George S. Evans, entered the

troubled valley from the south. Afterrescuing a small group of settlers be-sieged at Putnam's Fort, a strongly-builtstone house and trading post near whatlater became the town of Independence,Evans continued north to the vicinity ofBishop Creek. Finding the Paiutes wellentrenched in strong natural positions


13/44

by John W. Robinsonabove the creek, Evans realized that anattempt to dislodge them would besuicidal. As the expedition was notequipped for an extensive campaign, hewas obliged to retire from the valley.

On June 11 Colonel Evans again leftLos Angeles for Owens Valley, thistime with a large, well-equipped force.

He commanded 200 men of the SecondCavalry, California Volunteers, andbrought along a train of forty-six wag-ons carrying supplies for two months.Their destination was Pine Creek, whereEvans planned to establish a base campfor his campaign to subdue the ValleyPaiutes. The party reached Putnam'sFort at daylight, June 26th. They foundnothing but ruins; the Indians hadburned everything but the stone wallsand carried away everything of value.

Evans rested a few days, then resum-ed the march north. But the journeywas now more difficult. From far abovethe valley, torrents churned downwardfrom the rapidly melting snowpacks ofthe Sierra crest. The resultant swellingof the Owens River and its many tribu-taries made it very difficult to get menand equipment across the larger watercourses.On July 4th, Evans and his menreached Oak Creek, about four milesnorth of the present town of Indepen-dence. Finding the creek a raging tor-rent, Evans decided to make his campat a clearing above the south bank ofthe stream, twenty miles short of hisoriginal Pine Creek destination. Thuswas born Camp Independence, namedfor the day on which it was founded.This original Camp Independencewould hardly have passed for a military

post. The few buildings hurriedly con-structed were of a distinct rudimentarynature, and many of the soldiers foundshelter by digging caves in the walls ofa large ravine nearby.The first year of the post's existencewas a harried one. The Paiutes were astubborn and crafty enemy, and the cam-paign to wrestle from them control ofthe valley was long and difficult. Led byskillful chieftains such as Captain George(commemorated by today's George's

Creek), Joaquin Jim, and Chief Butcher-

knife, the Indians continued to ambushwhite settlers and evade the best effortsof the army to subdue them. Two par-ticularly fierce battles were fought in thelava beds just south of present-day BigPine and along the banks of CottonwoodCreek, near Owens Lake. Both sides suf-fered numerous casualties, and the strug-gle went on.In the fall of 1862 a site was selected

for the permanent Camp Independenceon the north side of Oak Creek aboutthree hundred yards upstream from thefirst location. This spot was selected pri-marily because it was free of obstaclesbehind which Indians might lurk inambush. Work was hurried on adobebuildings to serve as the permanentquarters, but unfortunately the campwas not completed before cold weatherarrived. The first freezing nights wereexperienced in October, and by Decem-ber, with dark, billowy clouds carryingsnow flurries down from the Sierracrest, the men were suffering. A supplytrain from Los Angeles arrived just intime to save the post. That bitter winterof '62-'63 was the worst that the menwould endure during the fifteen-yearhistory of Camp Independence.Victory over the Paiutes finally camein May, 1863. Old Captain George en-tered Camp Independence under a flagof truce and asked for peace. Afterbeing promised good treatment, 900 In-

dians gave up the hopeless campaign ofattrition and wearily trudged into thecamp. In July, while the American CivilWar was reaching its great climax atGettysburg, orders were received to re-move the Indians from Owens Valley toa reservation at San Sebastian, near FortTejon. The unhappy captives were es-corted to San Sebastian later that month.In the ensuing months, some of themgrew tired of their forced quarters, es-caped, and returned to their formervalley homes. 13


14/44

I n d i a n S u m m e r .That's theWhite Mountainsin the Fall. When the troutf i s h in g isbest. Summer(ours) isover, so the rates,never very high, godowne v e n m o r e . It'sm o s t l yApache Indian land, so whenyou hear "Hon-Dah," it'sno t the name of amotor-cycle. It's agree t ing tha tmeans "Be myguest," andyou wil l , partly becauseof:mo re th a n 300 m i l e s oftrout-heavy stream s, and 20lakes. Pond-dotted, grassymeadows. Anc ient p inesand golden-leafed Aspens,d a n c i n g in c o n c e r t togentle breezes. Well kept,s p a c e d - o u t c a m p s i t e s .M i l l e n n i u m - o l d I n d i a nruins. Incomparable eques-t r ian t ra i ls , andhorses tomatch. Considerate hostswi l l te l l yousome Apachefishing secrets. After a l l . . .I t ' s I n d i a n S u m m e r inArizona.For information aboutAmazing Arizona, wr ite:T r a v e l I n f o r m a t i o n S e c t io nS t a t e of A r i z o n a3 0 0 3 N o r th C e n t ra l A v e n u eD e p t . G-3P h o e n i x , A r i z o n a 8 5 0 1 2

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The restoration of relative peace inOwens Valley brought in a stream ofnew settlers. Mining activities in thedesert ranges adjacent to thevalley in-creased. The small garrison at Camp In-dependence found itself increasingly in-active. Finally, in early 1864, thepostwas ordered abandoned, much to thedistress of settlers who still feared thefew hundred Paiutes still in thevalley.It soon became evident that there wasa basis for the uneasiness of the set-tlers. As more whites moved into thevalley, the Indians became increasinglyrestless. Several attacks onwhite settlersoccurred, highlighted on thelast day of1864 bythe brutal murder ofMary Mc-Guire and hersix-year-old son at theirHaiwee Meadows Ranch, sixmiles southof Owens Lake. The followingMay,bowing to pressure from valley settlers,the army reactivated Camp Indepen-

dence, sending in three companies ofinfantry and one of cavalry. From thistime until its final abandonment in1877, Camp Independence was con-tinually garrisoned.

With the army back inOwens Valley,most of theremaining Paiutes resumed

their peaceful ways. A handful, how-ever, never were able to adjust to thecoming of thewhite man. It took twoyears to subdue these last rebelliouselements. The last engagement wasfought at Rainy Springs, near theCosomines, in March, 1867. With this de-feat, thePaiutes ended their long strug-gle. The five year Paiute Rebellion hadcost the white man60lives, theIndians

During the first five years of exis-tence, theCamp Independence garrisonwas almost totally occupied with protect-ing white settlers from marauding In-dians. With the Indian problem resolved,the remaining ten years of the post'sexistence settled down to thedrab, al-most uneventful life that characterizedso many of thewestern military posts.Nevertheless, throughout its fifteen yearspan of life, Camp Independence hadadefinite influence on the pattern of val-ley settlement.

Disaster struck Owens Valley onMarch 26, 1872.Asevere earthquake at2:30 in themorning leveled several ofthe valley towns and badly damaged theadobe andwood buildings at Camp In-dependence. Rebuilding of thepost be-

14In the early days ofCam p Independence, soldiers dug caves forshelter. Later theyconstructed barracks. Caves can still beseen today.


15/44

This historical marker near US. 395 near Independence, California marks site ofcamp where soldiers fought Paiute Indians just 100 years ago.gan promptly. The army set aside $30,000(a goodly figure in those days) for re-construction of the camp, and this subwas used to put up substantial framebuildings. When the rebuilding was com-pleted, the camp put on a grand openhouse, entertaining the entire valley.

By the late '70s, it became obviousthat Owens Valley no longer needed amilitary post. The Indians had long beenpacified, and Inyo County law enforce-ment officers were capable of handlingcivil disturbances. For several years or-ders were expected that would closedown Camp Independence, and the postwas well prepared for the eventuality.Finally, on July 9, 1877, Captain Alex-ander MacGowan, the final camp com-mandant, received the anticipated order.Before sunrise the next morning, in whatwas perhaps the fastest close-down of amilitary post in history of the west, thegarrison began the long, hot march southto the railroad at Mojave. The departureof the soldiers was viewed with sorrowand regret by the valley settlers, some ofwhom lined the streets of Independenceat dawn to bid the troops farewell.

After the camp was abandoned, the

land was opened to settlers. The build-ings were demolished to furnish lumberfor the towns and farms of the valley.The old military post gradually fell intodecay, finally disappearing from viewentirely.

Today, travelers driving north on USHighway 395, two miles north of Inde-pendence, pass a narrow paved road veer-ing off to the right. Half a mile on thisroad is a large historical marker indicat-ing the sage-covered site of Old CampIndependence. Nearby, a few shallow,badly eroded caves are visible, the solereminders of this proud military postthat once guarded the valley.Historian Helen S. Giffen has writtena fitting epilogue to old Camp Indepen-dence :"No longer the bugle call echoesthrough the valley, the ghost ofCamp Independence walks no more.Its site lies forlorn and desertedsave for a ragged cabin or two inthe shadow of the cottonwoods. Thelife of the pioneer is over, and sois that of the camp which was estab-lished in the shadow of the sierra inthe valley of the Owens River."

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16/44

LOSTAPACHE GOLD

by Richard Taylor

Somewhere in easternArizona is the re an Apache gold

mine? Where is the giant cave withits ancient idols and pottery?

According to this articleit was found years agowill

some lucky treasure hunter onceagain discover the Apache bonanza?

16

B ACK IN the 1800s, the Apache In-dians on the San Carlos Reservationin eastern Arizona talked about a fabu-lously rich gold mine somewhere nearthe reservation. They said long ago theirancestors had obtained all the gold theycould use from this mine. They hadmade jewelry and ornaments from it,which they traded to the white man forhis manufactured wares. Some ore sam-ples from this legendary mine are saidto have assayed at $5000 per ton.The Indians said that just beyond aplace the Spaniards had named SanSimon, a trail some 20 miles long com-menced. This trail led into the highmountains and directly to the fabulousgold mine. Of course this tale excitedthe imaginations of many white men whotried to persuade the Apaches to leadthem to the mine, but the Indians, beingvery superstitious, steadfastly refused.Finally, an aged Indian woman named

Josefa was talked into leading a partyof gold-hungry prospectors to the site.They rounded up their supplies and en-thusiastically headed out, confident thatthey would soon be sitting on easy street.The old woman told them that theywould first come to an ancient cave inthe mountains, which had been used asa stronghold for centuries by her an-cestors. After searching for several hours,they finally discovered the old trail andbegan tracing it, growing more excitedby the moment. Sometimes the trail wasvery difficult to follow, as it hadn't beenused for many years and nature had near-ly obscured it with bushes and trees andoccasional heavy rains. At other timeswater running over it had scoured itout, making it easy to follow.About the time they were makinggood headway and thinking they had itmade, Josefa was suddenly overcome bysuperstitious fear and would not go on.


17/44

The frustrated gold seekers offered herall sorts of inducements, but to no avail.She was turning back and nothing couldchange her mind.Disgusted, but not defeated, the groupdecided to push on without her. Thefaint trail rose abruptly into the ruggedmounaitns, but the gold hunters con-tinued.Within a few hours they located theancient cave. It was a large hollow in theside of the gorge. Its opening was smalland the men had to squeeze through oneat a time, but they were well-rewardedfor their trouble.Inside the huge cave were numerousdust-covered idols and much crude claypottery, covered with designs and figuresas the ancient Indians artisans had madecenturies before. The large cave wouldaccommodate at least a hundred peopleand because of its location and narrow

entrance, it was nearly an invinciblefortress.After thoroughly exploring the cave,but taking nothing, the gold seekers pro-ceeded up the steep trail. On their waythey came upon a huge oak tree in thecenter of the trail. It was so large thatthey estimated it to be at least 100 yearsold. It had apparently sprouted andgrown up after the Apaches had stoppedworking their gold mine.The gold-hungry group became very

excited when they began finding piecesof quartz in which flecks of gold wereplainly visible. Apparently this ore hadbeen dropped or discarded by the In-dians as they carried their heavy loads ofyellow wealth down from the mine.At length the trail became extremelydim and was finally blotted out entirelyby landslides, rock-slides and dense greenplant growth. The men spread out andsearched desperately for hours, occasion-ally picking up a trace of the trail here

and there, but it became so difficult thatthey were finally forced to give up.Reluctantly they turned back and head-ed down the rugged mountain. Manyothers have tried to find this ancientApache gold mine since then, but itseems that the ancient Indian gods areprotecting their secret very well. Allsearches to date have been unsuccessful.However, many more searchers will un-doubtedly be made and some do-or-die,gold-hungry treasure hunter will prob-ably stumble onto it one of these days.

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18/44

ACAMBAROIs IT POSSIBLE that somewhere in theworld, in some protected valley isola-ted from the surrounding country, pre-historic animals managed to survive untilafter man made his appearance on thescene ?Did the dinosaur exist long enough tohave contact with human beings? Didthe p rehistoric ice-age horse find some partof the world where he lived until somethree or four thousand years ago?Most orthodox archeologists considersuch an idea too ridiculous to even con-sider. Is it possible this attitude closesthe minds of orthodox archeologists toevidence which has convinced some scien-tists that prehistoric animals did indeedhave a Shangri-La of their own wherethey survived long after they were sup-posed to have become extinct?

18

Look at the map of Mexico. To thenorth and east of Mexico City is the vil-lage of Acambaro, which may well bethe site of one of the greatest archeo-logical mysteries of the age. Affirmativeevidence is there, overwhelming evidence,evidence which no one has been able sofar to explain.Waldemar Julsrud was a practical, two-fisted German who migrated to Mexico,had a ranch and a hardware business,prospered, and lived in a fourteen-roomhouse which had been erected some 300years earlier. He developed a curosity asto fragments of figurines which the na-tives reported they found beneath thesurface of the ground.Julsrud offered the natives a peso foreach complete figurine they would digup which was either intact or which

could be put together so as to restore itsoriginal shape. The peso was worth abouttwelve and a half cents United Statesmoney.Was Julsrud's offer too generous?Could the Mexican peon fabricate figureswhich could profitably be palmed off asgenuine? Before anyone answers that

question it is necessary to look at someof the problems.The figurines had been baked in woodashes. Acambaro was an old city. Fire-wood for cooking tortillas was at a pre-mium. A good burro load of firewoodwhich had to be brought in from themountains sold at eight pesos a load.The complete figurines were, for themost part^ buried three to six feet belowthe surface of the ground in soil whichgave no indication of having been dis-


19/44

MYSTERY BY ERLESTANLEYG A R D N E Rturbed for countless years.Could a Mexican peon model a figurein clay, pay eight pesos a load for fire-wood with which to bake it; then buryit so cleverly that the ground showed nosign of disturbance, all for a total of onepeso? Could this Mexican peon haveknown anything about dinosaurs or about

an ice-age horse that only a few special-ists have ever heard of?In any event, Julsrud began to collectfigurines. They depicted all sorts ofmonsters and all sorts of primitive art.They also showed dinosaurs, and whatseemed to be the ice-age horse. Theyshowed huge lizards and either a primi-tive attempt to depict the mastodon orperhaps the elephant.A writer named William Russell stum-bled onto the Julsrud collection some

years ago. He published an article entitledDid Prehistoric Man Tame the Dinosaur?with photographs of figurines from theJulsrud collection.An Eastern scientific foundation sawthe article, thought, of course, it was ahoax, but asked an archeologist, Dr. Reg-ler, who was then living in the vicinityof Mexico City, to go take a look. Hisreport was such that the startled founda-tion commissioned Professor Charles Hap-good, of New Hampshire, to make acomplete survey.

Professor Hapgood is a cautious NewEnglander. He has an open mind, but heis an historical detective and an authorityon prehistoric life and artifacts. He wasperhaps the best scientist the foundationcould have sent to Acambaro to make anintelligent, unprejudiced appraisal.Professor Hapgood went to Acambaro

and stayed for several weeks. He tookevery precaution possible to guard againstfraud, selecting the places where the dig-gers were to dig. He dug under groundwhich had been undisturbed for years.He tunneled under rock walls andfound figurines. After his investigationhe reported that, despite all of his pre-cautions, he had been unable to detect anyevidence of fraud.

The scientific foundation was baffled.Hapgo od was puzzled. H e wrote to hisfriend, William Russell, in Los Angeles,asking him if he could get the author ofthe Perry Mason stories to make a trip toAcambaro and see if any evidence offraud could be discovered by the manwho had created the literary detective.So Russell appealed to me.I was unusually busy at the time. I19


20/44

did, however, manage to see Russell andbecame intrigued with the possibilitiesof investigating the Julsrud collection offigurines. I determined to investigate assoon as I could possibly get away. How-ever, months passed, and then the monthsbecame years.Waldemar Julsrud passed away. Thehouse which held his collection was

closed and locked. His son and heir,Carlos Julsrud, an important corporationexecutive in Mexico, lived many milesfrom the ancestral home in Acambaro.Then something happened whichcaused me to consult my notes and to digout the old facts. I wrote to Russell andto Professor Hapgood, to see if they were

of the French Legion of Honor and aveteran of the Mexican Diplomatic Corps;Ricardo Castillo, long-time adventurer andowner of several Tijuana restaurantswhere gourmet food is barbecued fromcoals of a special wood brought downfrom the mountains; Anita Haskell Jones,a close friend; J. W. Black, a mechanicalgenius who designs our desert-going ve-hicles, and Bruce Barron, rancher andwoodsman.We journeyed down the West coast ofMexico to Mazatlan, turned inland toGuadalajara, then on to Acambaro wherewe arrived late in the afternoon, beingjoined by Professor Hapgood, CarlosJulsrud and his charming daughter,

Erie Stanley Ga rdner, left, and Professor Charles Hapgoo d, an expert investigator,examine some of the 32,000 figurines o f the Waldem ar Julsrud collection.still available. Much to my surprise, theyboth answered. Russell came down to myranch and Professor Hapgood agreed tomeet me in Mexico.

I got my companions together, the peo-ple who had shared in so many of myMexican adventures, who knew the coun-try intimately and could be depended onto help check the evidence.Included were my wife, Jean, who hasbeen my executive secretary for manyyears and who has had many hair-raisingadventures with me in various parts ofthe world, and Sam Hicks, outdoorsmanand expert writer and photographer.Others were Wulfrano Ruiz, Tijuana,an influential citizen of Mexico whospeaks several languages and is a member

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Karin. Dr. Regler had passed away but hiswidow came up to join us.We had a get-acquainted dinner duringwhich we were more or less feeling eachother out. I had been given to understandthat it would probably be impossible toget to see the Julsrud collection person-ally; that we could only talk with wit-nesses who were familiar with it. How-ever, at the conclusion of the meal, Juls-rud asked us if we would like to go atonce and see the collection.It was nearly eleven o'clock at nightand rain was pelting down in torrents.The streets were running curb to curbwith water. The thunderclouds seemeddirectly overhead. Wicked flashes oflightning would be followed almost in-

stantaneously by the roar of thunderwhich shook the buildings.We piled in our automobiles andhissed through the water to a street wherea plain door which gave no hint of whatlay beyond opened into a passagewaywhich, in turn, led to a patio in the an-cient Julsrud house.The patio was flooded with rain. Inone wing of the house, the only weaklight cast a reddish glow over the assort-ed figurines of the collection. This red-dish glow was supplemented every fewseconds by an eye-piercing, glittering glareof greenish lightning which dazzled theeyes. Then came the claps of thunderwhich shook the house as if the ancientgods were indeed angry at our intrusion.Nothing that I had heard prepared mefor what we saw.All 14 rooms of the house had beenconverted into spaces for shelves whichwere laid out like bleachers in a base-ball park. Every square inch of theseshelves was covered with figurines. Ratsscurrying about had knocked pieces ofpriceless statuary to the floor, and thevoice of Carlos Julsrud, sounding-curious-ly matter-of-fact in the midst of all thatweird background said, "Please be care-ful not to pick up any of the objects onaccount of the scorpions."Some of these figurines were tremen-dously crude. They could have been madeby any Mexican peon who had any de-gree of native skill. Others were, in myopinion, masterpieces of the type of artwhich I like to call primitive, although Iunderstand among archeologists the de-finition of what is and what is not primi-tive art is subject to some dispute.However, here were figurines whichhad a dynamic symmetry which capturedthe imagination. Here was an occasionalveritable masterpiece in fired clay. There

were weird animals which must havebeen concocted in some sort of a night-mare, animals with great claws and pro-truding teeth attacking and, at times, de-vouring human beings.On this shelf was an Ethiopian-typehead which fascinated me because of theconcept and execution of the artist. Overthere were exotic figures engaged in un-conventional activities.Above all, one was confused by num-bers.


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There were still more than 32,000pieces of art in the collection which, atone time, had numbered some 34,000pieces!Here was what could have been theice-age horse which had, according toscience, been extinct for many thousandsof years. Where would a Mexican peonhave obtained the data to sculpture au-thentic reproductions of these prehistoric

animals ?Hapgo od and Julsrud showed us teeth,stained by age but not petrified, whichhad been uncovered in the diggings. Hap-good had taken these teeth to a univer-sity which specialized in classifying suchthings and the startled experts told himthat they were the teeth of Equus Conver-sidans Owen, a species of horse whichhad long been extinct.He also told us of a mudslide whichhad occurred in a canyon when he wason his previous trip to Mexico. The slidehad exposed the backbone of what lookedlike a prehistoric animal. He had takenthe bone to an Eastern university whichmade a specialty of classifying prehistoricbones and was advised the bone was notfrom any known animal which had everroamed the earth. Yet the configurationsof this backbone indicated it could wellhave been the backbone of one of themonsters depicted in the collection.Professor Hapgood told us some ofthe precautions he had taken during hisoriginal investigation against fraud, andsome of the measures he had taken whichwould have exposed fraud if any hadbeen present.The first thing he did was to inspectthe collection in the Julsrud house. Thenhe , Waldemar Julsrud, William Russelland a digger, Odilon Tinajero, went tothe general territory where the figurineshad been dug upthe southwestern partof the city where adobe houses abutted ahill or a mountain which was called BullHill by the natives.They dug in the most unlikely placesand where the ground must have beenundisturbed for many, many yearsper-haps for centuriesand they found fig-urines.Hapgood then went to one of the stonewalls which was heaven knows how old,and which walls, in Mexico, mark theboundaries between different holdings.Again he ordered the diggers to dig,

this time in a tunnel under the wall. Theyfound the anicent grave of an Indianburied with a beautiful obsidian dagger,so they moved to another location, tun-neled under the wall and here they foundmore figurines.Then, he had a consultation with theChief of Police who told him that hecould dig any place. Hapgood got up outof the chair, stood with his feet planted

on the dirt floor of the room and said,"Then dig here and dig now!"The startled host thought the gringohad suddenly taken leave of his senses,but he called in diggers. They dugthrough the hard surface of the dirt floor,which is common to so many adobe

We moved back to where the adobehouses were clustered along the streetuntil construction had been brought to astop by the slope of Bull Hill. This wasa steep, narrow street which had to betraversed on foot. The adobe houses werevery, very oldso old that, in places, theouter surface had begun to deteriorate,showing the interior of the adobe bricks.No one knows exactly how long thesehouses had been there or how long it hadtaken for the surface of the adobe to de-teriorate, but when we carefully inspectedthe interiors of these adobe bricks weagain found broken bits of pottery andwhat could have been the pieces of fig-urines of the same type that were in the

One of the indications the figurines were not "planted" is pieces of the artifactsfound in the old adobe walls built by natives of the Mexican village ofAcambaro.houses in Mexico, then got to the loosesoil underneath and again found frag-ments and then a figurine.

These were a few of the incidentswhich caused Professor Hapgood to statein his original report many years ago hecould find no evidence of fraud.The morning following our midnightinspection of the 32,000 figurines, SamHicks suggested we visit Bull Hill. Itwas well covered with brush and foliage,but by inspecting little barrancas whererainwater had washed down through thesoil and by scraping away at the banks wefound the hill was literally impregnatedwith artifacts, pieces of pottery, brokenbits of figurines.Then came the clincher.

Julsrud collection.These adobe bricks had been manu-factured many, many years ago by peoplewho had simply taken the soil that wasavailable, puddled it into mud, poured itinto forms, let the forms dry until thebricks became firm; then let them dry inthe sunlight until they were hard enoughto form the walls of houses. This is thetype of construction which has been go-ing on in Mexico for many hundreds ofyears.Certainly these people who were build-ing the houses didn't "plant" any frag-ments in the soil from which the brickswere made.Thinking things over, I find that I

Continued on Page 5621


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Filtering through cottonclouds, beams of the early morningsun (opposite page) light thecliffs of Red Rock Canyon nearLas Vegas, Nevada.Brown Canyon is also locatedin this area of p rehistoricIndian culture. Photo byDon Valentine.

BROWNSTONECANYON

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Lofty sandstone mountains stretchtheir lazy fingers into the sandy desert floor andfrom the towering peaks torrents of rushingwater chisel endless canyons. The Spring Mountainswest of Las Vegas, Nevada are evidence ofMother Nature's rampages. Canyons ofkaleidoscopic hues twist their submontane wayinto the range. Oak Canyon, HiddenCanyon and Cougar Canyon are smallbranches of Red Rock Canyon.Nature was extravagant with hermany gifts in these areas, but she saved herspecial talents for Brownstone Canyon. This wild,perpendicular valley, where desert floors meetthrusting hills of sandstone, was the homeof prehistoric Indians. Litt le remains of

the "ancient ones" who once called this canyontheir home; save beauty and peace. Near thecanyon m outh are stands of bushy scrub pine; theseeds from the cones are n ourishing as well aspalatable and were a main harvest for theresidents long past. Above this pine displaybegins a twisted growth of manzanita, its palegreen leaves and fragrant blossomsclinging close to the chestnut colored limbs.Overhanging rocks support aspear-tipped yucca plant while the h ill slopesare a tangle of agave, commonly known as the

by Florine Lawlor

century plant. The agave, the yucca and the pine werethe princ ipal reasons for the Indians livin g in thecanyon. From the yucca they gathered tou ghfiber for cordage, str ing, shoes, matting and baskets,plus a multitud e of other useful articles. The agavesupplied them with a meaty bulb that was roastedand eaten much like a sweet potato is today.The pine-nuts offered tasty kernels to besaved for the long months of winter trave l.The Hohokam , Patayan, Cerbat, Yumanand the Waiapai Indians as well as all branches ofthe Paiute nation were wanderers and evidently usedBrownstone Canyon as a ceremonial c amp ground.The shallow camp sites and their scarcity


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indicate their occupation of the canyon was sporadic.No doubt after the pinyon harvest thetribes would gather for the annual adjustment oftheir diff iculties; for medicine dances, formarriage ceremonies and to exchange usefulinformation, such as the amount of rainfall (or lackof it ), the game, or its scarcity in the area. Afterthese rites they carved a record of the d etailsin the smooth face of the hills. These writing s arecalled petroglyphs. Deep into the surfaceof the highest cliffs these prehistoric billboards wouldtell new tribes in the vicinity of what had preceded.The Indians picked into the sandstonea story of drought, of lean years, of full lakes andabundant water and plentiful game. Thepetroglyphs also told of distances traveled andof hardships met and conquered, and ofsickness and death. They told theirlife's story on the face of the towering cliffs.The Indians lived like the pine trees, withmuch space between. They traveled far andfrequently, following the ripened seeds and theflowering agave plant. This solitary life lentto those men a sufficiency to work, live and die alone.They left the pictographs (painted writings)and the petroglyphs as an account of their travels.

Below each curious group of thesewritings are huge mescal pits, or Indian ovens.They were used to roast the pulpy bulb of the agaveplant. Each pit was dug about three feet deepand four to five feet wide, it was then linedwith large rocks. A wood fire was bu ilt in the hole.It was kept blazing until the rocks glowed likecoals, the agave bulbs were placed on thesecoals and more heated rocks were thrown on topof them . This was covered with six inches ofdirt and left to cook for twelve hours or more. When atlast the bulbs were removed , they were soft andsweet and tasted very much like a southern baked yam.In the canyon there are six sites where mescalpits, picture writings and crude rock sheltershave been discovered. For over 180 0 years this canyonhas stored the treasures of the nomadic Indians.Bits of pottery, dr ied crumblingbaskets, arrowheads, stone choppers and grinders,flake knives and blades that were used so longago, have been found buried deep within the earth.These small people were very industrious.During their brief sojourn in the canyon they plantedand dr ied corn, squash and melons and built crudedams to divert rainwater. They read the stars and wovecrude baskets to carry the preserved food supply.


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The canyon is comprised mainly ofred, yellow and brown aztec sandstone. Hugelayers of shale under the sandstone near spring s,and also at the base of many cliffs, indicate thearea was once moist and humid, a directcontrast to our dry hot climate of today.There are interesting conglomerate formations,one even co ntainin g fossilized trees of a huge size.In 1930, the Civilian Conservation Corps

dammed a natural depression at the head ofthe canyon to catch water for cattle and wildlifeof the region. This created a pool approximately 40feet wide and 10 feet deep. In the sp ring a m istof green colors the sandy soil, and a mult i tude ofblossoms burst from the growth underfoot.In the sum mer one can hear the drone of bees,the shrill call of the Mountain Jay and the rustle ofsma ll animals. First snows of the season are s oft,and here you may see the track s of the bighornsheep, the deer and the Puma or m ountain l ion.As a Federal Game Reserve,

Red Rock and Brownstone canyons offerprotection for a nimals in all seasons. And , althoughthe raucous noise of Las Vegas is only 25 milesaway, here can be found tran qu ility and beautyas it has existed for hundre ds of years.

These cliffs of sandstone (left)are typical of the rugged terrain ofBrownstone and Red Rock canyons nearLas Vegas, Nevad a. Only 25 milesfrom the gam bling casinos, the areawas once the home of Indians wholeft their writings on the rocky walls.Indian petroglyphs can be seen(right) at the base of this sandstone spirewith the valley floor below. Photosby Jackie Buck, Las Vegas, Nevada.


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O T EVERY visitor to Verde Valleytakes time to look over old Fort

Those who do find an interesting part

There is more to Fort Verde than

The conventional history of the fort

Established as Camp Lincoln 1864 as

ort Verde, 1879- PostApril 10, 1890.To fill in the details, one must read

once manned the outpost. The SpecialCollections at the University of ArizonaLibrary has a number of such originalunpublished manuscripts. One of thebest concerns Dr. Edward Palmer, anearly army medical man assigned toCamp Lincoln in 1865.Dr. Palmer was more interested instudying the marauding Apaches thanin killing them, and much more con-cerned with collecting plants and animalsthan in mending broken bones.A naturalist and Indian artifacts col-lector, his medical endeavors were mere-ly a sideline to get him stationed in theunexplored Arizona Territory. Not thathe neglected his duties. Like all of thepioneer naturalists of the West, he diddouble duty in maintaining the well-being of the soldiers as well as securingscientific specimenswhile risking hislife to do both. The herbs he collectedoften served as Indian-style remedieswhen medical supplies ran outa fre-quent occurrence in distant outposts likeFort Verde.The fort was first established as CampLincoln at the close of the Civil War.During the war the U.S. Army troops in

FRONTIER DOCTORBY JANICE BEATY


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Arizona were withdrawn to fight againstthe South. Hostile Apache Indians inthe area took this as a sign of defeat onthe part of the white man and steppedup their forays against isolated settlers.When the war was over, troops returnedto take up the Indian campaign oncemore. But it was no easy matter to defendeach of the numerous scattered settle-ments.Dr. Palmer had been collecting plantsaround Fort Whipple (now Prescott) inthe highlands, but when the call went outfor volunteers to man a new army gar-rison in the Verde Valley, he joined theFirst Arizona Volunteers as post surgeon.Palmer would never forget the 60-mile trip from Fort Whipple to CampLincoln. The troop he accompanied trav-eled by mules and a wagon, reaching theedge of the high rim overlooking thevalley just as the sun was setting. Far be-

low them stretched the dusty gray desertwith the green Rio Verde snaking its wayalong one side. The road to the bottomwas so rough they could not take thewagon down till morning.

The weary troops had to unload thesupplies and pack them down the moun-tain on their backs. The heaviest articleswere lowered by ropes for a mile and ahalf! Tired as they were, the men'sjumpy nerves kept them on the alert. Somany Indian attacks had been staged onthis slope it was called Grief Hill.

Palmer was the last one down. He in-sisted on carrying his own gear. Theothers were much too occupied makingcamp to notice how carefully the doctorhid his supplies in the brush some dis-tance away. All that remained on the topof the rim was the wagon itself and adesk full of company papers. Not oneApache appeared. However, when a de-tachment was sent up for the wagon thenext morning there was only a heap ofsmoking ashes. Apaches had followedtheir every move!

As for Palmer, it was not the Indiansbut another matter that had him worried;how to protect the alcohol needed to pre-Continued on Page 34

These ivagons were usedby the Arizona troops atCamp Lincoln to haul suppliesfrom Fort Whipple.They are on display todayat Camp Verde. Thephotograph (above) ofDr. Palmer was taken shortlyafter the Civil War whenhe was about 35 .Photo courtesy of theSmithsonian Institution.

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HEIncredible Teratornby Judith McWhinney

GES AGO, huge birds of prey flappedand hung above the California

birds-of-light alive today. The discovery of thehe western sky gives California claim tothe biggest flying birds in history.

Knowledge of their existence is basedom dif-

ied on with a National Science Founda-ion grant, has been directed since 1958

ere first discovered by Harley J. Gar-bani of San Jacinto, and it was he whofound the vulture bone. Marvelling at itssize, Dr. Downs identified it as belong-ing to a species known at that time bya single earlier specimen.

The original specimen had been foundnd named by Dr. Hildegarde Howard,ho was then Los Angeles County Mu-seum's Chief of Science. A comedy oferrors began with this first find that hashaunted subsequent discoveries of thegreat bird's remains; errors made, natur-ally enough, because of their un-birdlikesize. Miss Howard "discovered" the earl-28

iest evidence in 1952in a collection ofmammal bones! It had been there for 18years, sorted into a mammal group in1934 when it was taken with other fos-sils from Smith Creek Cave in Nevada.It was almost half again as big as thesame skeletal part from other ancient vul-tures, of which several species have beenfound in asphalt deposits like the one atRancho La Brea.

Miss Howard recognized it as the car-pal bone of a huge bird and rescued itfrom oblivion. The carpal is a part ofthe wing corresponding to a human wristbone. Aside from its astonishing size,this specimen was structurally differentfrom the carpals of other prehistoricvultures. Miss Howard established a newspecies on the basis of these differences,and gave it the appropriate name of Ter-dtornis incredibilis.

The Nevada cave deposits are of latePleistocene age, 13 or 14 thousand yearsold. The radius fragment identified byDr. Downs came from a middle Pleisto-cene layer of the Anza-Borrego beds, anddates back a million and a half years.Bones of other kinds of extinct vulturesfrom various sites go back as far as theearly Pleistocene. Excitement ran highwhen new evidence of T. incredibilis wasfound in 1967, and proved to be of latePliocene agethree to four million yearsold.

The latest find is a portion of the bird'supper beak, which in itself is cause forwonder. Fossils of the skull parts of birdsare rarely found, even recent ones; theyare too light and delicate to endure. The

beak was discovered in another layer ofthe Anza-Borrego fossil beds by Dr. G.D . Woodard, a geologist working withDr. Downs as stratigrapher. This treasure,like the Nevada find, was at first mis-taken for a mammal bone."When Dr. Woodard picked rt up,"admits Dr. Downs ruefully, "Isuppos-

edly the expert on fossil vertebrates looked at it and took it for the toe of agiant ground sloth! It was half-imbeddedin the matrix and the hooked tip of thebeak resembled a claw," he explains witha grin. "But Dr. Woodard said it lookedlike part of a bird to him. Neither of usknew what it was for sure until we clean-ed it up."The Anza-Borrego desert has its ownflavor of antiquity and endurance. Outof sight and sound of human works, a

visitor can lean back against a weatheredgranite boulder and daydream, absorbedin the bizarre landscape. It isn't hard,then, to fit the awesome Teratorns intothe picture; their great wings seem to be-long there, tipping and balancing highoverhead. But, of course, the land is notthe same as it was when they lived, threemillion years ago. The desert itself is akind of fossil, a relic of a once-lush habi-tat.When T. incredibilis ranged the Plio-

cene skies he looked down on herds of


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grazing, browsing and water-loving ani-mals. The flood-plain below, where Bor-rego is now, held mammoths, mastodonsand many kinds of strange-looking horsesand camels. Giant ground sloths ambledalong grotesquely. These peaceful crea-tures were stalked by sabre-toothed tigers,lions and dire wolves. The luxuriant vege-tation that supported all these large ani-mals grew around an immense lagoonthat was to preserve many a luckless in-dividual's bones for future paleontolo-gists. The ocean was nearby; in thosedays the Gulf of California penetratedmuch farther into what it now the inlandvalley region.

There were almost certainly no humanbeings among the animals that lived inthat place a million or more years ago.No traces of man have been found; themost ancient age that is claimed for hu-man remains in North America is 23,000years. If that claim is correct, however,aboriginal people were contemporaries ofthe Pleistocene member of T. incredibilhwhose carpal was found in Nevada. Andhuman fossils have, in fact, been takenfrom one of the Rancho La Brea depositstogether with bones of T. merriami, aprehistoric vulture.

It is positive, then, that humans livedwho saw condors with twelve-foot wing-spans, and possible that they knew the

gigantic eighteen-foot incredibilis. Actu-ally, they had no need to fear either one.Judging by modern vultures, the Tera-torns were no threat to living creatures.California condors feed only on carrion;they are not equipped to seize and carryoff live prey. Their claws are stubby anddull, and with a cargo in addition to theirown great weight they could not get air-born e. They even have troub le' getting offthe ground after a big meal. They mustrun and flap their wings furiously to gainmomentum, and need a clear runway ofsufficient length.

They also have gentle dispositions, inspite of their fearsome appearance. Bothmale and female parents are affectionatetoward their single chick, and yet theywill allow humans to approach their nestwith no display of hostility. They havebeen observed to feed from the same car-cass with turkey-vultures and coyotes, andalthough the condors take the choicestmorsels for themselves they make noeffort to drive the others off. I ndiv idua lsthat have been raised in captivity haveseemed good-humored and enjoyed hu-man company.

The popular notion that scavengersare filthy creatures is also false with re-gard to condors. They are extremely fas-tidious; they love to take a bath andspend hours preening. They trim and

An aerial view of theAnza-Borrego State Parkin California's RiversideCounty where the bones ofthe giant prehistoricvulture were found.

polish and varnish their wings, and then"hang them out to dry" for hours in thesun. Their wings are, after all, their for-tune, and they are highly specialized in-struments that must be kept in perfectcondition to carry their great weight.The modern monarchs of the sky canstay aloft all day, riding invisible air cur-rents with ease, and are so skillful thatthey can make hair-pin turns at 60 milesan hour. They can swoop from the sky tothe very edge of their favorite rocky

ledge and, turning their great wings andtail forward to brake their speed, lighta-, gently as a butterfly.In spite of their long record of sur-vival and their special adaptations, how-ever, these birds are going the way oftheir extinct ancestors. Their food supplyhas dwindled; the goats and deer and an-telope of California, along with the pan-thers and bears who preyed on them andleft what they could not eat for the con-dors, have been driven out by expanding

human activities. There are now less than60 individuals left, as stated in a recentarticle in DESERT (March '69) whichdescribed the efforts of a conservation-minded group of people to foster theirsurvival.The only other living relatives of theancient king of flight are the Andeancondors, a smaller variety. Neither speciesis directly descended from T. incredibilis.The exact relationship is difficult to trace;no condors are known to have lived on

other continents, but there are Old Worldvultures. Half a dozen kinds of prehis-toric vultures were once plentiful here,and two other species of Teratorns werewidely distributed in America during theIce Age. Their remains have been foundand California.The California condors are the last ofin Mexico, Florida, Texas, New Mexicotheir line, just as the majestic Temtornisincredibilis was the last of his. All honorto the king long departed, and long lifeto his regal successor! 29


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V a l l e y o fC U Y A M A C A byRichard A. BloomquistC UYAMACA LAKE, a fabled fishing andduck-hunting retreat in the highmountains of San Diego's backcountry, isopen to the public again after a hiatus ofover 20 years.

The reborn highland lake nestles with-in Cuyamaca Valley some fifty milesnorth

196910 desert magazine 1969 october

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