197703 desert magazine 1977 march

8/14/2019 197703 Desert Magazine 1977 March

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Gomevisitus...A GREAT SELECTION

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WILLIAM and JOY KUWEITCo-Publishers/ EditorsGEORGE BRAGA, Art DirectorMARY FRANCES STRONG, Field Trip EditorF. A. BARNES, Utah Associate EditorGLENN VARG AS, Lapidary EditorK. L. BOYNTON, NaturalistMARV EL BAR RETT, Circulation ManagerColor Separations byHenry Color ServiceLithographed byWolfer Printing Company, Inc.Available in Microfi lm byXerox University Microfilms

DutnLMAGAZINE

Volume 40, Number 3 M A R C H 1977

CONTENTSF E A T U R E S

THE COVER:Washingtonia palms inPalm Canyon near PalmSprings, California. Photoby David Muench, SantaBarbara, California.

OURAY, COLORADO

GOODIES AT GOODSPRINGSTARANTUL A!

ANDREAS ANDMURRAY CANYONSB E H I N D THE SCENES IN JOSHUA TREE

J O E W A A N O - G A N OCO ACHEL L A VAL LEY CAMPING

CHARLEY CLUSKER AND THELOST SHIPLIAR'S CONTEST ONAPRIL 2

RECIPES FOR M ' L A D YD E P A

NEW BOOKS FORDESERT READERSA PEEK IN THE PUBLISHER'S POKE

RAMBL ING ONROCKSTRAD ING POST

BOOKS OF THE WESTLETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CALENDAR OFWESTERN EVENTS

681216202428323839

R T M45

4042444747

Howard Neal

Mary Frances StrongTimothy BranningDick BloomquistJoe KrausWestern ArtistBill JenningsHarold O. WeightTall Tales TimeHelen PetersonE N TS

Book ReviewsWilliam KnyvettGlenn andMartha VargasClassified ListingsMail Order ItemsReaders' CommentsClub Activities

E D I T O R I A L AND CIRCULATION OFFICE S : 74-425 H ighway 111, Palm Desert, California 92260. Telephone Area Code 714 346-8144. NATIONALA D V E R T I S I N G O F F I C E S : JE Publishers' Representative, 8732 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90069. Telephone Area Code 213 659-3810. Listedin Standard Rate and Data. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Uni ted States, Canada and Mexico; 1 year , $6.00; 2 years, $11.00; 3 years, $16.00. Other foreignsubscribers add $1.00 U. S. currency foreach year. SeeSubscription Order Form In this issue. Allow five weeks for change of address andsend both newan d old addresses with zip codes. DESERT Magazine is published monthly. Second class postage paid at Palm Desert, California and at additionalmailing offices under Act of March 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1977 by DE S E RT Magaz ine and permission to reproduce any or all contents must besecured in writing. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelope.

D e s e r t / M a r c h 1977 3


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B o o k s f o rD e s e r tH e a d e r s

All books reviews are availablethrough the Desert Magazine BookShop. Please add 50c per total orderfor handling and California resi-dents m ust include 6% sales tax.

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RAILROADS OF ARIZONA , Vo l . 1By David F. Myrick

Because of its extremely varied pictor-ial content, this volume animates theSouthern Arizona scene as the Terr itorybecame a state before it burgeoned inpopulation and activity after the rai l-roads came.

Southern Pacific's first train cast itsshadow on the sagebrush at Yuma backin 1877, and in three years, the roadreached Tucson. Then it pushed east-ward to form the Sunset Route. Thisgave impetus to mining and agricultureand in turn intensified the constructionof connecting l ines. Other "transcontin-en tals " Yvere then tem pted into the area,and their roadbeds and projections formthe skeleton around which Arizona's be-ginnings began to flesh.

Am ong the m ore than 30 rai lroads pre-sented here, was the eminently success-ful El Paso & S outhwestern, which even-tually reached into three states. Bisbeeand the fabled Copper Queen mine wereresponsible for i ts pr imary construction.

Volume I depicts al l the rai lroadssouth to the Mexican border, and the re-lated mines in such places as Tomb-stone, Courtland, Cleeson, Twin Buttes,Ajo and Picacho. I l lustrated with 542nostalgic illustrations, 55 special mapsand index, it is a valuable travel guideand a rel iable histor ical reference.

Large format, hardcover, $19.50.Also available from the Desert Maga-

zine Book Shop are David F. Myrick'sRailroads of Nevada and E astern Califor-nia Vol. 7, and Railroads of Nevada andEastern California Vol. 2, both largeformat, hardcover, lavishly i l lustrated.Each Volume priced at $15.00.

B U G L E S , B A N N E R S A N DW A R B O N N E T S

E r n e s t L is le R e e d s t r o mBoth a history of the famous Seventh Cavalry and a definitive work on weapons,accoutrements and the post-Civil War uniforms. Firsthand records from archives revealfrontier service, tools of war, and horsemanship during the constant battlefor red or whitesupremacy in the West. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's famous Seventh RegimentalCavalry comes alive with new and revealing material coupled with many unpublishedphotos and documents of that era.The Indian is not forg otte n. BUGLES, BANNERS AND WAR BONNETS covers a portionof the Indian strategy. Included is Sitting Bull's description of the Battle of the Little BigHorn, an account not often seen in print.

Approx. 400 pages, 81/2X 1 1, hundreds of photos, draw ings, maps.Cloth, boxed

T h e C A X T O N P R I N T E R S , L t d .B o x 7 0 0

C a l d w e l l, Id a h o 8 3 6 0 5

$17.95

THE COLORFUL BU TTERFIELDOVERLAND STAGEText by Richard F. PouradePaintings by Marjorie Reed

A story in art and text on how theWest was first l inked to the East. Thisbook depicts the California section, byfar the most colorful of the entire route.

Ar tist Marjo r ie Reed (now M arjor ieReed Creese) acquired her knowledge ofthe Butter f ie ld Over land Mai l f rom Capt.Wil l iam Banning, who had been a stagedriver for his father, the famed PhinneasBanning. Enthral led by the l ine's roman-tic history, and prepared after 20 yearsof study and research, she fol lowed theButterfield trai l and began work on aseries of paintings to record its story inform and color. Thus the paintings inthis book show how it was to ride theButterfield stage on the diff icult runfrom San Francisco to the Yuma crossingon the Colorado River. Each i l lustrationis accompanied by a text.

Superior " leather- look" heavy softcover, reprodu ctions in color of 21 paint-ings, $6.50.

Deser t /March 1977


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

S OUTHER N CALIFORN IA 'S Coachel -la Valley is probably best known forplaying host to presidents, dignitar-ies and celebrit ies and for the numer-ous sports events held because of ourfabulous winter cl imate.

But, although the resort cit ies offerthe ult imate in winter relaxation, theoutdoors enthusiast also knows that inthe valley's imm ediate vicinity are a vastvariety of recreational offer ings.

Cool , palm-l ined canyons beckon thehiker, as do old Indian trails that leadback into rugged mountain background.The Salton Sea and Lake Cahuilla vie forthe fishermen, and for the artist, captur-ing the elusive smoke tree on canvas isalways a challenge.

Campsites abound, and to br ing youup-to-date on their present status, besure to read Bil l Jennings' in-deptharticle on the subject in this issue.

Dick Bloomquist takes us to two Coa-chella Valley palm oases this month,Andreas and Murray Canyon. However ,in checking with the Indian Tribal Coun-cil in Palm Springs prior to press time, Ifound that Murray Canyon is closed tem-porari ly due to a fire. Be sure to checkwith the Council before planning anout ing.

Yes, there's fun for everyone in theCoachella Valleyand when you planyour visit, don't forget to stop by a dategrove and sample one of Nature'ssweetest fruitsor take an aerial tramride from the desert floor to 8500 feet injust minutes.And don ' t fo rge tthe Desert Maga-zine's offices and Book Shop are also inthe Valley, in Palm Desert. So pleasedrop by and say hello when you'repassing thro ugh.

The Rideof Your Life

Up . . . up . . . and away to an exc it ing experience you' llnever forget! Night or day, the thri l l of a ride on The Tram isunequaled anywhere!After 4 p.m. you can "R id e 'N ' D ine " for only $6.95. Tram carsleave Valley Station daily from 10 a.m. Last car down at 9 p.m.(714) 327-9711.

irs

Palm Springs Aerial TramwayDesert/March 1977


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by HOWARD NEALH O S T SO u r a y , C o l o r a d o

The Indians called the place "Uncapah-g r e . " In the Ute language the word meant "hotwater spring." Long before any white man set hiseyes upon the beautiful valley, the Indians hadcamped there, in the shadow of the lofty peaks, andenjoyed the hot springs.

White men first came into the high moun-tain valley in the summer of 1875. Within months,four silver lodes were discovered. More white menfollowed, and soon there was a settlement. The In-dian word was accepted, with slight change, and thenew town was named Uncompahgre City. Soon,

The Elk's Lodgeis one of Ouray's mostimposing structures.The building was completedin 1904. Ouray, foundedin 1876, boomed followingthe discovery of gold atCamp Bird in 1895. That boomcontinued w ell into thiscentury. Ouray's populationis now 800 .Photographs by Edward Neal.

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though, in honor of a Ute chief who openly welcomedthe white settlers, the name of the community waschanged to Ouray (pronounced "you-ray").New sources of mining riches were discov-ered regularly. Ouray, which was the supply town tothe mines, grew at a steady pace. The railroad con-quered the rugged mountain passes and arrived inOuray in 1888. The big mining discovery was madein 1895. In that year an immensely rich gold vein wasfound high in the nearby mountains at Camp Bird.The Camp Bird discovery made its owner, Tom

Ouray's setting is oneof the most spectacular InColorado. The community Issituated in a small rivervalley surrounded by highmountain peaks.Ouray's e levation Is7800 feet. Nearby mountainsrise to nearly 14,000 fee t.

Walsh, a millionaire, and financed the purchase ofthe famous "Hope Diamond" for his daughter,Evelyn Walsh McLean.Today, Ouray is called "The Switzerland ofAmerica." It is stil l a mining town with an ore pro-duction of millions of dollars annually, but it is fastbecoming known as the center of one of America'smost spectacular mountain resort areas.Ouray is located 24 miles north of Silverton,

Colorado, on U.S. Highway 550.

The Beaumont Hotelis one of Ouray's famouslandmarks which date from thedays of peak mining activity.Although mining stil l continuesin the area, Ouray is quicklybecoming known as the center ofone of America's mostbeautiful resort areas.

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by MA RY FRANCES STRONG photos by Jerry StrongH EV AD A is justly famous for her manygreat mines and well-deserves thenickname "Si lver State." To the de-light of mineral collectors, rich ores arenot the only values produced. From anumber of Nevada mines have comesome exceptionally f ine mineral speci-mens. The latter includes outstandingstibnite crystals from Manhattan: showywolframite from Comet: co lor fu l f luor i tefrom Broken Hil ls; gem turquoise fromnumerous locals and fire opal from Vir-gin Valley. Lesser known are the "good-i e s " to be found at Goodsprings.

Th e G o o d sp r i n g s M in i n g D i s t r i c t(Potosi and Yellow Pine) in southwesternCla rk Cou n ty has p roven to be averitable treasure chest of both commonand rare mineral specimens. Its mineshave produced the largest variety ofminerals in Nevada and accounted for aproduction total of 24 mil l ion dollars pr i-marily in lead and zinc. Lesser amountsof gold, silver, copper, molybdenum,vanadium, nickle, cobalt, platinum, mer-cury, pa l lad ium, ant imony, manganese,iridium and uranium have also beenrecovered.

If minerals are your bag, the occur-rence of the following specimens shouldbe tem pting malachite in f ine groupspsuedomorphous after azurite crystals;superb vanadinite, hydrozincite, cuprod-escloizite, azurite and linarite. Over 100mines and scores of prospects lie withina 12-mile radius of the l i tt le settlement ofGoodsprings. From their dumps, a seri-ous mineral collector may glean somefine specimens.

In case I may have given the wrongimpression, let me clar ify here. Excel-lent specimens are not covering thedumps just waiting to be picked up.Through the years, a fair number of col-lectors have tried their luck in this re-

gion. All the easy-to-reach locales haveseen many visitors but those requiringhard, steep climbs discouraged the ma-jority of collectors.

Success will depend on the effort putfor th. Allowing a few hours or even aday, for collecting, wil l probably br ingonly disappointment.

Please bear in mind that most minesare not abandoned, but merely idle.Check at the Pioneer Saloon for status ofmines you may wish to visit. We foundthe owner most helpful.

To successfully collect in this region,

you will need copies of the Goodsprings,Shenandoah Peak and Roach U.S. Geo-logical Survey topographical maps. Themap accompanying this article does notattempt to show all the mines. It merelyintroduces you to a region that is certainto interest mineral col lectors. Providingthe long and impressive list of mineralsin this region wo uld serve l i tt le purpose.Instead, let us discuss the region's his-tory and few of the more importantmineral locations.

The Goodsprings District is one of theoldest in Nevada. There is a slight dis-

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Right: Feldspar crystals haveweathered from the host rock by the

thousands and may be easilycollected. Selectivity is the bywordhere, as an occasional twin can begleaned from the myriad choices

within the talus.Below: Goodsprings has

celebrated her 91st birthday;and, though the boom is overthe

mines idle and mills goneshe still houses a perman entpopulation. A small store and saloon

comprise the businessdistrict today.

parity in the historical reports concern-ing the region's bir th . In view of this, Ihave elected to repeat the more roman-tic account. In 1856, a party of Mor-mons was returning to Utah from Cali-fornia over the Spanish Trai l . Whi leresting at Mountain Springs Pass, theylearned from local Indians about a richlead deposit in the Spring Mountains.This information was passed on toNathaniel V. Jones, a Mo rmo n s ettler atthe Las Vegas Way Station.

Jones visited the deposits and sub-mitted a report of his findings to Br ig-

ham Young. After reading them, Youngdirected Jones to open up the depositsfor the Mormon Church. The f irst at-tempt to smelt ore from the "PotosiMine" met with failure. Ore was thenhauled to Las Vegas Way Station wherea fireplace had been converted to a fur-nace. Five tons of lead were smelted butthis process also proved unsatisfactory.The latter fact, combined with the iso-lation of the deposit, slowed mining ac-t ivity, except for claim locating, duringthe next 35 years.

Such was the state of affairs whenA typicalassortment of

orthoclasecrystals fromCrystal Passarea include

some ofvarious color,as well as an

occasionalCarlsbad twin

[left front]or facialtwin [right].


10/48

Today, as in the past, the Pioneer Saloon is the active place in Coodsprings. Atday's end, the local townsfolk gather to refresh themselves and trade information.cattleman Joe Good settled in the south-ern end of the Spring Mountains. Hiscattle roamed a vast range and wa teredat the spring which became known asGood's spring. During the 1870s, Goodbuilt a small, hand smelter to test ores.A l i tt le settlement began to develop and,in 1885, a town Goodsprings wasorganized.

Discovery of the Keystone Gold Mine

by S.E. Young, in 1892, reactivated in-terest in the mining distr ict. Additionalgold was located and the Boss and C lem-entena Mines soon were in production. A10-stamp mill was built at Taylor's Wel l .Again, a small settlement rose and wasappropr ia te ly named "Sandy." A smal lmill was also built at Goodsprings. Overthe next 13 years, considerable gold wasproduced from the three mines which

The ore bins at the Yellow Pine M ine have withstood the ravages of a harsh desertclimate well. Some of the loading chutes from the multi-compartment bin are still inplace, appearing as though a truck m ay arrive any minute for another load.

produced intermittently over the next 50years.

Th e tu r n - o f - t h e - ce n tu r y b r o u g h t a" turn-o f-eve nts" which were dest ined tomake Goodsprings Distr ict Nevada'smajor source of zinc. In 1901 , J.F . Ken tpurchased most o f the c la ims inPorphyry Gulch and formed the YellowPine Mining Company. Ore was high-graded and hauled to the nearest ship-ping point Ma nve l, California adistance of 50 miles. Kent also pur-chased a leaching mill and converted itto a gravity concentrator.

Three subsequent events catapaultedthe distr ict into prominence. A rai lroad the Salt Lake Line was completedin 1905 through Ivanpah Valley, eightmiles east of Goodsprings. Zinc wasrecognized in the lead ores and an eco-nomical method of separating them wasquickly developed. With the rai lroadnearby, shipping costs were greatly re-duced. All mining activit ies picked upand the race for supremacy was on. Theyear 1905 saw the Potosi Mine becomeNevada's largest zinc producer.

The Yellow Pine Mine did not intendto be left behind and a 100-ton, lead-zinc separating mill was built at Good-springs in 1910. The following year sawcompletion of the Yellow Pine Railroad a narrow-gauge to connect with themain line at Goodsprings J unction whichwas renamed "Jean ."The mines prospered over the nextthree decades and the settlement'spopulation rose to over 800. A businessdistrict consisted of a post office (est.1899), several stores including JessKnight's General Mercanti le, hospital,school, two-story "Fay le Ho te l" con-sidered one of the finest in Nevada,weekly newspaper The Gazette (1916-1921) and several saloons including the"Pioneer" which is open today.

The name Knight was well-known inthe Goodsprings Distr ict. Jesse, a min-ing engineer and lawyer, had been ac-tive in the distr ict 's early development.Later, he not only owned the mercan-ti le store and hotel, but served as presi-dent of both the Prairie Flower andYellow Pine Mines. His son, who hadworked as mucker and hardrock m iner atGoodsprings, also became a lawyer. Herose to prominence in California wherehe served as Judge, Lt. Governor andfinally, as Governor Goodwin J. Knight.

The Distr ict saw a short period of in-10 Desert/March 1977


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- BIRDS.H.1 6 1 2 SPRING

SPRINGRANGE

" I , 'W"

Sandy

I 1 ' /

Goodsprings District, NevadaIS CLARK COUNTY iBoker.Collf.

activity, then revived in 1922. Cold wasthe main ore produced in the 30's but,after World War II, many mines werereactivated.Total district production 1856-1962 amounted to nearly 32 mil l ion dollars.Minerals mined included copper, lead,zinc, gold, si lver p la t inum, pal lad ium.

Goodsprjngs never became a ghosttown though its population dropped to amere handful of residents. Most of themines are idle now. A few are possiblyabandoned. In recent years the popula-tion has risen as more and more peopleprefer to live in the hills away from the24-hour glitter of Las Vegas. Formermillsites are but ruins on the hillside andmany of the old buildings are now usedas homes.

The hotel burned down in 1966 but thePioneer Saloon still provides the centerof social activities. A small store offersl im i ted g rocer ies . Sect ions o f thenarrow-gauge railbed are recognizableand the old cemetery serves in silentreverence.

Ore deposits in the Goodsprings Dis-tr ict are mainly confined to the MonteCristo Limestone of Mississippian Age.Desert/March 1977

Its average thickness is about 700 feet.The formation is divided into five mem-be rs : t h e Da wn , An ch o r , Bu l l i o n ,Arrowhead and Yellow Pine. The latteris the uppermost member and has ac-counted for 85 percent of the lead andzinc production. Ore bodies ranged froma few to more than 20,000 tons in size.The primary lead-zinc ore minerals weresphalerite and galena in a gangue of cal-cite, dolomite and some barite.

Mineral collectors will find the Good-springs District both challenging and re-warding. Many college geology andmineralogy classes have spent theirEaster vacation on a conducted tour ofthe area as part of their course re-quirements. Let me caution once more mines are pr ivate property obtainpermission to collect respect allposted areas do not disturb equip-ment or buildings. Collecting has beenallowed in the past because hobbyistsabided by the above rules.

While an outstanding specimen mayelude you on a mine dump, there is onelocale that is " loaded with crystals." AtCrystal Pass, three miles south of Good-springs, a granite porphyry dike yields

vast numbers of orthoclase crystals in-cluding some fine Carlsbad and Bavenotwins. The crystals occur in a variety ofcolors including deep orange, pistachiogreen, white and cream. Their sizesrange from one-quarter up to two inchesin length.

You don't have to be a mineral col-lector to enjoy a visit to Coodsprings.Nestled in the Spring Mountains, whichare polka-dotted with mine dumps, thelittle settlement still has the aura of amining town. Belly up to the bar andname your "poison" at the old PioneerSaloon. You will be rubbing elbows withghosts from yesteryears. The amiable,bearded bartender will be happy to pro-vide beer wi th or wi thout the " root."

Take the circle drive to Sandy viaColumbia Pass in the Spring Mountains.The road is paved and you will findphotogenic scenery and mines along theway. Near the bottom of the pass, looknorth toward the mountains. You wil l besure to marvel at mines located on suchsheer ridges it appears impossible toreach them. Roads are visible to theirbase and the use of binoculars will dis-Continuedon Page 46


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T A R A N T U L A !

S OUTHWESTERN deser t and moun-tain regions are home to a number ofanimal species that are totally mis-understood and wrongful ly feared by agreat number of inexperienced or mis-informe d individua ls. Perhaps one of themost maligned of all is the desert taran-tula, whose uncommon size and hairy,sinister features cause many to withdrawin disgust or horror at the very mentionof the name.Indeed, close examination of the hairytarantula is enough to make one shud-der, and while it is true that certainSou th Amer ican spec ies have beenknown to inflict painful bites upon hu-mans, the U.S. species is really nothingmore than a timid, secretive creature in-terested only in eking out an existence asbest it can in an environment that manyanimals consider inhospitable at best.

The myth of the tarantula as bedevilerand ki l ler extends into medieval Europe12

by TIMO THY BRANNINGwhere a spider called tarentula (Lycosatarentula, which takes its name from thecity of Taranto in Southern Italy) was re-puted to cause crazed hallucinations andspasms in its victims.

Anyone bitten by the tarentula, so thestory goes, reacted with violent sick-ness, dizziness, fainting, trembling andbreathing disorders within a few hours.Next he was seized by a horrifying in-sanity; he wept, bellowed, gyrated,twisted, turned and assumed the mostgrotesque poses and gestures imagin-able, all the while dancing about in anexhausting frenzy capable of causingdeath if not relieved within a few days.The only cure was music of a specifickind that would sustain the individual inhis machinations until he was able tothrow off the poison and regain himself.It was said that a person succumbing totarentul ism, i f he survived, would thenfall prey to the same madness each year

Head oftarantula,with fangsdistended.Photo byRichard L.Cassell.

at the time of his original affliction, andwould have to be rescued from the tor-ment with music and dance once again.

Today the Italian tarentula has beenidentified as a large species of wolfspider capable of infl icting a painful bite,but nothing more. Incredibly, however,the name has somehow been transferredto the American tarantula, a large spiderof the family Avicularioidea of whichthere are about 30 species in the U.S.Although there is no relationship be-tween the two spiders, the name has be-come so ingrained in American speechthat even Arachnologists (scientists whospecialize in the study of spiders) havejoined the crowd and begun using thepopu la r te rm " ta ran tu la . "

Despite i ts unsavory reputation, how-ever, the bite of the U.S. tarantula is notconsidered dangerous, causing nothingmore than a painful prick, much likebeing jabbed with a needle. The only

Desert/March 1977


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Although he has a frighten ingappearance, the tarantula is

relatively harmless.

real danger, if any, is from possible in-fection or an allergic reaction to the spi-der 's venom.

The typical U.S. tarantula grows toabout three inches at best, with its longbony legs taking up most of the length.They are black or grey, varying shades ofbrown, or a combination of these colors,usually covered with a coat of fine hairsthat o f ten g ives them a ve lve tyappearance.

In South America, nearly all taran-tulas are tropical creatures living inmoist jungle areas and sometimes at-taining a length of 10 inches. A bite fromone of these species can cause severeswell ing and pain. It was long felt thatthe bite of the South American taran-tula could cause the death of a horse, al-though this has been disproven over theyears.

But str iking with amazing speed andaccuracy, the bite of the North Americandesert tarantula easily subdues insectsof all kinds, their main diet. Wander-ing about in search of food, or lurkingsecretively within their holes, they waitfor some hapless insect to pass by, andthen dash out to grab the vict im, in-jecting a deadly neurotoxin that killsmost insects almost immediately.

Because of this, and because of a de-sire to clear up the many myths thatsurround the tarantula, a great deal ofscientific research has gone into thisspider's venom and its effectiveness. Incaptivity, tarantulas have been known tokill and eat small rodents, lizards, frogsand even young rattlesnakes. A youngbird once bitten on the leg succumbedwith in 24 hours, and a large m ole, bit tensquarely on the nose, died within 36hours. A series of experiments forcing aconfrontation between a carpenter beeand a tarantula provided researcherswith an amazing insight into the taran-tula's effectiveness as a hunter.

The sting of a carpenter bee is suffi-cient to kill even a large tarantula, andwhen faced with such an adversary, thespider seems to take extra care beforemaking the attack.

Wait ing patient ly within its hole, re-searchers noted the tarantula would passup several instances when the beeDesert/March 1977

seemed open to attack. Finally, ap-parently recognizing the opportune mo-ment to attack, it rushed out with amaz-ing dexterity and swiftness, forcing itsfang-like chelicerae deep into the bee'sneck, just at the nape. Death was al-most instantaneous.

Apparently the tarantula, realizingthat the bee can easily inflict a mortalwound of its own, waits for just the mo-ment when it can strike the most vul-nerable spot, injecting its neurotoxininto the insect's nerve center. A bite inthe abdomen, it has been proven, wil lnot kill the tough carpenter bee for sev-eral hours, and actually only serves toenrage it and encourage a deadly coun-terattack, usually with disastrous resultsfor the spider.

Tarantulas are, in fact, open to attackfrom a number of adversaries including

snakes, lizards, rodents, scorpions andbirds. Because they often leave theirhomes to forage for food, they areexposed to danger, and frequently mustdefend themselves.

When attacked, they strike up a de-fensive posture by rearing up on theirhind legs, exposing their large, powerfulfangs. From this position, they can pro-tect themselves quite wel l , providingthey are not outmaneuvered. Attackedfrom the rear, they are hopelessly lost,and because they are slow to move whennot within the confines of their tunnels,are quite vulnerable.

But fangs alone are not the taran-tula's only means of defense. The hairswhich cover most tarantulas (some arepractically hairless) are also defensivemechanisms, and contain an irritant thatcan cause a very annoying itching and


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stinging sensation even in man. Whenonfronte d, the tarantula elevates i ts ab-

domen and, working i ts hind legs fur-iously, scrapes loose hundreds of tinyhairs from its stomach, creating a smalldust-like cloud that raises havoc with thespider's tormentors. This method ismore than enough to discourage mostwould-be diners, and many a capturedtarantula has been overturned to reveal abald spot on the abdom en, indicating thefrequency with which they employ thismethod.

Even with these defenses, there is oneadversary against which the tarantulaseems to be helpless. This is Pompi-lidae, better known s the "spide r w asp "or " sp ider hawk. "

An aggresive attacker, the spiderhawk comes directly to the tarantula andbegins to wrestle with i t , rol l ing over andover on the grou nd. Once posit ioned, thespider hawk stings the tarantula in theabdomen, inserting its stinger into themembrane between the legs, grappl ingand wrestl ing al l the t ime. Once stung,the tarantula is helpless, soon fal l inginto a stupor and remaining paralyzedfor days, even months.

The spider hawk now carries thetarantu la (often 10 t imes i ts own bodyweight) to a special ly dug grave where i tdeposits the spider and a single egg,neatly burying both and departing. Oncehatched, the Pompilidae larva glutton-ously devours the tarantula, which, al-though motionless as a stone, is stil lal ive. In this way, the spider hawk en-sures its young of a fresh supply of meatwithout having to return to care for i tsoffspring, or worry about the tarantula'sdecomposing before the egg hatches. Bythe t ime the spider is completely de-voured, the larva emerges as a ful ly de-veloped spider hawk, ready to mate andbegin searching for a tarantula of i tsown.

Tarantulas are also host to the larvaeof a small fly of the family Acro-ceridae, which bites the tarantula, leav-ing behind eggs that eventual ly hatchinto voracious maggots that eat their wayout of the spider. Both enemies are com-mon wherever tarantulas congregate,and cause the deaths of numerous spi-ders every year.

Providing they can survive al l this,ta ran tu las are known to be ra therlongevous, the females living as much as25 years. Males general ly die sooner,14

either from natural causes, or from at-tack when they wander about in thesummer and fal l searching for mates.

Lack of food is not a deterrent to thetarantula, and although they usual lygorge themselves each night during thesummer, they can survive extended per-iods of fasting. The record is two yearsand four months without a morsel.Water, however, is vital , and without i tthey either die or move to more hos-pi table envi ronm ents.

The actual process of eating is a slowone, involving the secretion of digestivefluids to break down the prey into a par-tially digested jelly that can be suckedinto the tarantula's stomach. A tarantulacan completely reduce the body of alarge mouse after several hours, leavingbehind the undigestible bones and hardbody parts.

Unl ike most spiders, the homes oftarantulas are usual ly rather simple.They are not great spinners, and unliketheir close relatives, the trap-door spi-ders, are not accomplished engineers.Their burrows are general ly abandonedrodent domici les, although they wil l digtheir own burrows i f necessary. The tun-nel extends into the ground perhaps afoot or so, usually start ing n early ve rt icaland then bending in a 90 degree arc.They frequen tly extend under stones andare loosely lined with silk along the tophalf. The opening is sometimes sur-rounded with si lk, or bui l t up with

Desert/ March 1977


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stones, sticks and other debris to form asmall lip perhaps an eighth- to a quarter-inch high. It is theorize d that this lip mayafford flying insects a convenient placeto land, and thus provide the tarantulawith a type of built- in lure.

Once satisfied with a part icular home,tarantulas generally stay in one area fortheir entire lives, becoming more andmore familiar with their surroundingswith each passing year. They seldomventure more than a few feet from theirburrows, and return to them quickly ifharassed in any way.

Tarantula homes are typically found inopen areas throughout the Southwest,extending as far east as the MississippiRiver and north to a line starting at theMissouri/Arkansas border and extend-ing to the Pacific Ocean at San Fran-cisco. They avoid areas of heavy growth,and frequently make their homes besidecultivated fields. Their absence fromFlorida and the Southeast is consideredremarkable, since much of the land inthese regions seems ideal for them.

The mating of tarantulas is an uncom-plicated affair, beg inning when a wan-dering male encounters a female. Court-ship begins with the male touching thefemale with his front legs in a heavy tap-ping rhythm. Next he comes around toface her direct ly, continuing this tappinguntil the female raises up on her hindlegs in a defensive stance. When shebares her fangs, the male grabs them

Desert/March 1977

Here is a tarantula with heregg sack containing a hundred ormore tiny cream-colored eggs.Photo by George Bradt.with two special hooks on his front legs,forcing her back and drumming his geni-tal opening against hers. Actual coitusonly lasts a minute or two, after whichthe two part, the female normally lettingthe male retreat without attacking him.

Following mating, the female spins aspacious blanket of silk within the con-fines of her abode, lays her eggs atop theblanket, and then covers them with an-other blanket, binding the sides togetherto form a loose bag. For six or sevenweeks she worries over this bag, oc-casionally bringing it to the tunnel en-trance for sunning. Once hatched, thespiderlings stay with the mother forsome t ime, eventually emerging to fendfor themselves. They live under smallstones or pieces of wood, finally digg ingor adopting small burrows of their own.Mortality rate is high, many of the youngfalling prey to birds and lizards.

Full adulthood does not come for 10years, an inordinately long t ime com-pared with most animals. Unti l the f inalmolt, males and females are indistin-guishable. In males, emergence intosexual maturity brings on a sudden re-versal in their normally secretive be-havior, prompting them to leave theirhomes and search the countryside formates. During the summer and fa l l , theycan be seen wandering about in theopen, often in considerable numbers.

It is at this tim e that they can be easilycaught. Outside their burrows, they aret im id , and can be picked up or swept intoa container with ease. Once captured,they make good pets, adjusting well tocapt iv i t y , and even becoming tameenough to handle. Released in gardensthey help to keep out harmful insects andcan be observed without subjecting themto the confines of an artif icial cage.

The best policy, however, is simply toleave them undisturbed. Casual obser-vance does no harm, but capturing themor digging up their burrows is no helpwhatsoever. Although tarantulas arenow abundant in the Southwest, much oftheir native ground has already beenplowed under, and continued harass-ment can produce only negative results,eventually endangering the species andcausing further disruption of the desertecology.

M L . . .I Good things \Ware happening at...D e a t h W i l e yJ u n c t i o nStay at the historicAMARGOSA HOTELThis lovely 50-year-old hotel isbeing restored. 20 rooms openyear 'round. All carpeted. Allbeautifully furnished. Electricheat and air conditioning. M akethe Amargosa Hotel your head-quarters while in the DeathValley area.Telephone Death Valley Junc-tion #1 for information or reser-vat ions .

Visit Marta Becket's famousAMARGOSA OPERA HOUSE.You've read about this beautifuland unique attraction in Desertan d National Geographic. SeeM a r t a B e c k e t ' s p r o g r a m o fdance-mimes. See her fabulousmurals inside the Opera House.Performances Friday, Saturdayand Monday Through April.Saturdays only in May, Septem-ber. 8:15; doors open at 7:45.mTelephone Death Valley Junc-t ion #8 for reservat ions . Tourswelcomed .

The General Store, Filling Sta-tion and Pottery Shop are open.RV Park coming. Space avail-able for development.

For further information aboutDEATH VALLEY JUNCTIONplease write:Death Valley Junction, Inc.P.O. Box 675Death Valley Junction,California 92328


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PALM OASES OF TH ECALIFORNIA DESERTS

mammg&ins SPRinGS

^dfo'WYrurU 6 \^==^^>, .?>\

Editor's Note: Due to a flre.JJ)Murray Canyon is closed until fur- \\ther notice.

P ROM PUSHAWALLA CANYON inthe Indio Hills we move southwester-ly a few miles to the precipitous,well-watered San Jacinto Mountains.The desert face of. San Jacinto Peak isexceedingly steep, rising from a fewhundred feet above sea level near PalmSprings to 10,786 feet at the summit.Heavy winter snows mantle the peak,and in summer its dense coniferous for-ests and exuberant meadows are brightwith wildflowers and talking water.

Cutting the east slope of the San Ja-cintos is Andreas Canyon, once a sum-mering ground of the Agua CalienteBand of the Cahuilla Tribe. The Indiansretreated to the relative coolness of thecanyon during the warmest months, re-turning to the hot springs on the floor ofCoachella Valley when winter came.These hot springs still owned by theCahui l las and leased by them todevelopers are now the Palm SpringsSpa. Much of the resort community, infact, lies with in the Agua Caliente ("H otWater") Reservation, and the tr ibe hasgrown wealthy from its holdings.

Andreas Canyon, named for old Cap-

fROM THE MOUTH OF AndreasCanyon a trail strikes out along thefoot of the mountains. It leads south-

ward to Murray Canyon, second largestof California's palm oases. I do not knowthe exact number of trees, for I havehiked only two miles or so up the stream,and the palms extend for about twicethat distance, but I would guess that atleast 1,000 Washingtonias fringe thewinding thread of water born deep in theSan Jacintos.

Murray has much in common with i tsneighbor to the north, Andreas Canyon.Both have hundreds of palms, abundantsurface water, lush vegetation, andsteep, rough-hewn walls. Both creasethe desert face of the San J acinto Range,both are tributary to Palm Canyon, andboth bear the names of men. MurrayCanyon honors Dr. Welwood Murray, aScotsman who established a hotel-healthresort in Palm Springs in the 1880's.

It was a cloudy, misty day in Februarywhen I took the trai l to Murr ay. I reachedthe canyon's mouth, dropped to the levelof the creek and crossed it for the firstt ime, then headed upstream through

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tain Andreas, Cahuil la chieftain of thelate 1800's, is also on Indian land, and atoll is collected on South Palm CanyonDrive near Palm Springs. Just beyondthe tollgate the paved road forks, theright branch ending a mile away at themouth of Andreas Canyon.

A sheer, rust-colored monolith soarsabove the picnic ground at road's end.Near its base are the abandoned grind-ing holes of the Indians as well as tinycaves with soot-darkened ceilings anddim red pictographs. Hikers can con-t inue upstream from the picnic groundfor close to half a mile until a fenceblocks further progress. But this half-mile holds some of the lushest, most

Penc/7 sketchesby the author.

Andtms and, . - - >

>A / l u m u )s \\

Desert/March 1977

byDICKBLOOMQUIST

stands of palms, willows, sycamores, cottonwoods, desert laven-der, arrowweed, desert apricot, and mesquite. Some of the mes-quites were laden with mistletoe, the berries of which attractedthe medium-sized, crested birds known as phainopeplas. Weshall see this triad frequently on our wanderings: greenmesquite, the coral berries of mistletoe, and the black (or grey)phainopeplas that feed on the berries.

The canyon narrows and curves to the left at the secondstream crossing, where a large cottonwood reaches over bothcreek and t ra i l . The second ford is closely followed by a th i rd ,several hundred yards beyond which two Cahuil la grindingholes dimple a boulder on the right side of the pathway. Usingstone pestles, the Indian women ground up wild seeds for

17


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surprising scenery in the California des-erts: a rocky, rushing stream worthy ofthe Sierra Nevada, and hundreds ofWashingtonias some of them 60 feettall growing alongside cottonwoods,sycamores, alders, and willows. Andreasis among the largest of California's palm

Mileage Log0.0 Junction of State Highway 111 andSouth Palm Canyon Drive in PalmSprings. Drive south toward PalmCanyon on the latter road.1.6 Jun ction . Bear righ t.2.7 Agua Caliente Indian Reservationtailgate.2.8 Junction. Bear right. (Left forkleads to Palm Ca nyon.)3.6 Road ends at picnic groun d atmouth of Andreas Canyon. Eleva-tion about 800 feet.

A waterfall inupper AndreasCanyon.

oases, outranked only by neighboringMurray and Palm canyons, by BorregoPalm Canyon, and possibly by ThousandPalms in the Indio Hills. I estimated thenumber of Washingtonias below thefence at between 630 and 700, wit h manymore above that point. A more accurate

Murray Canyonas it appearedbefore asevere fire.

food in these mortars (morteros inSpanish), which were formed graduallyduring the gr inding process. A naturaldike has fashioned a pool two to threefeet deep here, the water tumbling overthe obstacle in a miniature cascade. Up-

Mileage Log0.0 Junction of State Highway 111 andSouth Palm Canyon Drive in PalmSprings. Drive south toward PalmCanyon on the latter road.1.6 Junc tion. Bear righ t.2.7 Agua Caliente Indian Reservationtollgate.2.8 Junction. Bear right. (Left forkleads to Palm Canyon.)3.6 Road ends at picnic g round atmouth of Andreas Canyon. Fromthis point a trail one mile in lengthruns south along the base of themountains to Murray Canyon. Ele-vation where trail enters canyonabout 780 feet.

18

stream, on the far side of the creek, alittle spring drips from the bank underthe shade of a young Washingtonia truly an idyllic spot, here in a desertcanyon amid shaggy palms and spread-ing cottonwoods.

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count Wi nnt possible because of thedense growth.

I climbed out of the creek bed a littleway before reaching the barricade. A lowbench paralleling the stream on the leftprovided easy walking. Here, away fromthe water, more typical desert vegeta-tion was the rule: cholla and hedgehogcacti, brittlebush, desert apricot, creo-sote, and burrobush. From the barrier Ilooked upstream to a lone palm stand-ing tall in the "narrows" of Andreas.This was the tree called Reina del Canon "Queen of the Canyon" by J.Smeaton Chase in his 1919 classic, Cali-fornia Desert Trails.

Palm Springs and most of the Coa-chella Valley have changed greatly in theyears since Chase came this way. Thequiet charm which prompted him to callPalm Springs village "Our Araby" hasyielded to resorts, subdivisions, andheavy traffic. But many of the wild palmgroves rimming the valley have retainedtheir allure. Let us continue along thedesert trail, for south of Andreas are thetwo large oases in CaliforniaMurrayand Palm canyons.

Soon the watercourse veers sharply tothe right, washing the feet of a 60-footcli ff. Two young palms have gained afoothold on the lower face of this crag,and moisture oozes from near its base.The path divides above this point; I fol-owed the left-hand fork up the mountainside for a few yards until a view of Coa-chella Valley and the Little San Bernar-dino Range opened up, then backtrackedto the canyon route.

I now hiked nearly two miles up Mur-ray and was nearing the end of the im-proved trail. After fording the creek aseventh time, I came to a picket line forhorses strung between two stout palms.Beyond, the pathway quickly deterior-ated The clouds, which earlier had re-leased only some vagrant mists, werenow wringing out real rain, so I re-turned to the picket line and the shelterof an overhanging rock. The sound ofraindrops on palm fronds, the smell ofmoist vegetation, moist earth, made theinterlude a memorable one. Soon theshower was done, and I headed down thecanyon trail in the fragrant aftermath ofthe storm. Desert/M arch 1977*

BOOKSFOR BA JALOVERSNEW BAJA HANDBOOK for theOff-Pave-ment Motorist inLower California byJamesT. Crow. Discover the real Baja that lies be-yond theedge of thepaved road, theunspoil-ed, out-of-the-way places unknown to thecredit-card tourist. The author, drawing fromhis extensive travels in these parts, tellswhere to go,what to take along, thecommonsense of getting ready. Illustrated, paper-back, $3.95.CAMPING AND CLIMBING IN BAJA byJohn W. Robinson. Contains excellent mapsand photos. A guidebook to the Sierra SanPedro Martir and TheSierra Juarez of upperBaja Calif. Much of the land is unexploredand unmapped stil l. Car routes to famousranches and camping spots in palm-studdedcanyons and trout streams tempt weekendtourists whoaren't up to hiking. Paperback,$2.95.BAJA CALIFORNIA GUIDEBOOK by WaltWheelock and Howard E. Gulick, formallyGerhard and Gulick's Lower CaliforniaGuidebook. This totally revised fifth editionis up-to-the-minute for the Transpeninsularpaved highway, with detailed mileages anddescriptive text. Corrections and additionsare shown for the many side roads, ORVroutes, trails and little-known byways todesert, mountain, beach and bay recesses.Folding route maps are n color and newly re-vised for current accuracy. Indispensable re-ference guide, hardcover, $10.50.BAJA [California,Mexico] byCliff Cross. Up-dated to include the new transpeninsulahighway, theauthor hasoutlined in detail allof the services, precautions, outstandingsights and things to do in Baja. Maps andphotos galore, with large format. $4.95.PALM CANYONS OF BAJA CALIFORNIAby Randall Henderson. The beautiful palmcanyons and isolated areas of Baja Californiaare described by the late Randall Henderson,founder of DESERT Magazine. Althoughthese are his personal adventures manyyears ago, little has changed and his vividwriting isalive today as it waswhen he firstsaw theoases. Paperback, illustrated, $1.95.

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE COMMON ANDINTERESTING PLANTS OF BAJA CALI-FORNIA by Jeanette Coyle and NormanRoberts. Over 250 plants are described with189 color photos. Includes past and presentuses of the plants by aborigines and peoplein Baja today. Scientific, Spanish and com-mon names are given. Excellent referenceand highly recommended. High-quality slickpaperback, 224pages, $8.50.THE KING'S HIGHWAY IN BAJA CALI-FORNIA by Harry Crosby. A fascinating re-counting of a trip by muleback over therugged spine of the Baja California penin-sula, along the historic path created by thefirst Spanish padres. It tells of the life anddeath of the old Jesuit missions, and de-scribes how the first European settlers werelured into the mountains along the sameroad. Magnificent photographs, many incolor, highlight the book. Hardcover, largeforma t, 182 pages, $14.50.THE CAVE PAINTINGS OF BAJA CALI-FORNIA, TheGreat Murals of an UnknownPeople by Harry Crosby. A sequel to his TheKing's Highway in Baja California, the au-thor presents a tantalizing disclosure of asweeping panorama of great murals execut-ed by an unknown people in a land which hasbarely been penetrated by man. Beautifullyillustrated with color reproductions of cavepaintings and sketches of figures whichappear on cave walls in four different moun-tain ranges. Hardcover, large format, 174pages, $18.50.BEACHES OF BAJA by Walt Wheelock.Beaches on the Pacific side of Lower Califor-nia are described by theveteran Baja explor-er. Unlike California beaches, they are stillrelatively free of crowds. Paperback, illus-trated, 72pages, $1.95.BYROADS OF BAJA by Walt Wheelock. Inaddition to describing the many highwaysnow being paved, this vet^ran Baja exploreralso te lls of back country roads leading to n-dian ruins, missions and abandoned mines.Paperback, illustrate d 72pages, $1.95.

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B e h i n dt h eS c e n e si nJ o s h u aT r e eN a t i o n a lM o n u m e n t

Majestic Joshua Tree againsta clear high desert skyline.

Photo by Howard Neal, Arcadia, Calif.

by JOE KRAUS

JOSHUA TREE Nat iona l Monument :You say you've been there before?Look again! There's a whole newwo rld in the outback those areas awayfrom the roads and campgrounds.

An d for those less rugged t ravel ingis not all that dif f icult . You don't have toclimb any jagged mountain peaks orscoot down a slippery hil lside on the seatof your pants if you don't want to.In beautiful California desert country,the 870-square-mile Joshua Tree Na-t ional Monu me nt is sandwiched betweenIndio and Twentynine Palms, 140 mileseast of Los Angeles.20

Here you can get away from it all andreally feel isolated from civil izat ion.Here you can experience the best of wha tthe high desert regions offer abun-dant plant l i fe, ideal year-round weathercondit ions, giant rocks, mountains, can-yons and valleys, unmatched in theirbeauty.History buffs can f ind remnants of theOld West in the monument 's mining re-gion and evidences of early-day catt leranching. Students of Indian lore wil lf ind not only prehistoric campsites butsome of the tools and rock art the earlypeople left behind. And for youngsters

there's the fun of sl iding down the sideof a sand dune or scrambling over thegiant boulders, characterist ic of thearea.You can drive there easily enough andsee quite a bit of the monument throughyour car window. This, however, is notthe reason the area is such a favoritew i t h S cou t s , S ie r r a C lub m em bers ,equestrian groups and other outdoor-oriented organizat ions. The reason forthe popularity with these groups is that

the monument is ideally suited for backcountry t ravel .The focal p oint of this is the 29 miles ofthe Cal i fornia Riding and Hik ing Trai lwhich passes through the monument'smost scenic areas.It begins in the western port ion of themonument in the/Covington Flat area. I tthen travels eastward past the RyanCampground and Sheep Pass area toJumbo Rocks before the trail turnsnorthward, out of the park boundaries.For a hiker it would take anywhere from

two to three days to traverse the 29-milet ra i l . You can, however, pick it up atseveral points, allowing for shorter hikesof four, six, seven or 11 miles.There are some interest ing hikes aswell out of Cottonwood Spring in thesoutheastern port ion of the monument.La rge l y m an-m ade , t he Co t t onwoodSpring area impresses even the mostcasual visitor with the r ichness and di-versity of its bird l i fe. One of the mostinterest ing here is the Lost Palms Oasis

Tra i l , a demanding four-mi le t ra i l (e ightDesert/March 1977


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Above: Mike, Tom mie and Dennie explore an old cave. Below: The Wiggs family ofBanning, California enjoy a mounted outing in Joshua Tree National Monum ent.

miles round trip) through canyons anddry desert washes. It leads to one of themost beautiful native fan palm oases inCalifornia and the largest group of palmsin the monument, 110 trees in all. Asmaller group of palms can be found inDike Springs, located in an upper canyonadjacent to the main t ra i l .

The remains of a mining operat ionthat was active in the 1920s can be seenon the half-mile Winona Mil l Site Trai l .This trail begins at the CottonwoodSpring campground and winds throughthe desert landscape to the mi ll site usedfor the crude refinement of gold ore fromnearby mines, The remains of watertanks and the foundations of severalbuildings are all that remain of the onceactive site. One, however, wil l f ind manyexotic plants in the area, originallyplanted there by the early inhabitants.

Another trail leading eastward fromthe mil l wil l take the back country trav-eler through a number of small canyonsand washes to Mastod on Peak, so namedby the miners for its resemblance to aprehistoric elephant 's head and trunk.Moderately strenuous, the trail offersexcellent views of the area.

The remains of an old freight wagonroad can be explored on another hike,also from the Cottonwood Spring area.The trail follows the wash south of thespr ing. The old road can be seen aboutone-fourth mile on this t ra i l . It was builtby the miners in the 1880s.

On down the trail another quarter mileyou will come upon the remains of an-other mill used to process gold ore fromnearby mines. The area was abandonedin the 1930s.

Up in the far northern section of themonument at 49 Palms Oasis is anotherinterest ing hike. The 2.8 mile round tr iphike leads to several stands of fan palmsand pools of water . The oasis ispositioned on a steep canyon wal l . Th emoderately strenuous hike begins at theparking area on Canyon Drive, fourmiles west of the community of 29Palms, off Highway 62.

A strenuous three-mile round t r ip hikethat offers some most interesting sightsis the Ryan Mou ntain Trai l . The one andone-half mile trail leads to the summit ofRyan Mountain (5,470 feet). Here are ex-cellent views of the Wonderland of Rockarea as well as Queen, Lost Horse, Hid-den and Pleasant Valleys. You can pickup the trail at Ryan Mountain Parkingarea or Sheep Pass Campground. The22 Desert/March 1977


23/48

t r ip (on foot) takes about two to threehours.

Another three to four hours of moder-ately strenuous hiking wil l be requiredon the six-mile round tr ip Lost HorseM in e Tra i l . You can reach the trai l fromthe parking area on Keys View Road.Here, the hiker wil l f ind a 10-stamp mil land other evidence of past mining activi-t ies. The moderately strenuous hike wil ltake the visitor up to an elevation of5,178 feet.

On the west side of Ryan Mountainyo u can get a good indication of the tur-moil that occurred when the giant boul-ders, scattered over a large part of themonument, were formed.

The darker rocks were created some500 million years ago under great pres-sures and high temperatures resultingfrom the shift ing of the earth's crustalong great fractures. Later, molten rockof a slightly different composition wasforced into some of the fractures to formdikes of contrasting color. From vantagepoints you can see the contact betweenth e two kinds of rock. Subsequentgradual uplift speeded up weatheringand erosion of the rocks.

To get a good look at the plant life ofthe monument, there is no better waythan by hiking the many nature trai ls.There are nine of them in all, most lessthan a mile in length. These includeCholla Cactus Garden and Cottonwoodnature trai ls as wel l as Arch Rock, CapRock, Indian Cove and Jumbo Rocksnature trai ls. Others include BarkerDam, Hidden Valley and Park Head-quarters trai l to Twen tynine Palms oasis.

Joshua Tree National Monument wasor ig ina l ly set aside because of the not-able variety and richness of its desertvegetation. And in a real sense it is apreserve of acharacteristic desert scene.The monument's nature trai ls br ing outthe best of what there is to offer.

No t to be overlooked, however, is themonument's animal l i fe, more abundantthan in most desert areas because of thehigher alt i tudes and a cooler, morevaried cl imate. You'l l f ind in goodsupply coyotes, bighorn sheep (if youcan spot them), kangaroo rats andj a c k r a b b i t s . But bes ides these , 38species of repti les and amphibians and249 kinds of birds have been reported inthe monument. It's guaranteed even ifyou don ' t see many people on thesebackcountry trai ls you won ' t belonely. Desert/March 1977 23

Above: jack and Kathy W iggs with their four boys, Mike, Tomm ie, Denn ie andTimmie, [age 4, on thepony], hit the trail among theJoshuas. Below: M ike stops fora long pull on the canteen.


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r3w /

Jfor

JOE WAA NO -GAN O, one of theforemost Indian Artis ts of Modernt imes, is a picturesque figu re in thewestern art worlda w riter, atribal dancer and lecture r as we ll asDesert/March 1977

a versatile painter.M r. W aano-Gano, a member ofthe Cherokee Tribe , has reallylived the life he paints. Fromearliest boyhood he has traveledand lived among the Indians of theWest, studying their tribal history,sketching their costumes anddances, recording their symbology

and folklore . Out of this rich storeof know ledge has come some of thefinest authentic paintings sinceRem ington and Russell firs t beganto record the life and color of theOld Wes t. H is characterizations ofthe Indian in terms of artexpression and in the spoken wordare gems of historic value . His25


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"Nunny,"[Mrs. Wanno-Cano], 16"x20", Oil, Karok-Yurok ndian, Klamath River,Northern California. Painted in the moo nlight.Indian po rtraits are not just meresurface likenesses but creativecharacter studies revealingqualities of the inner animatingspirit of the subject.M r. W aano-Gano is not only agifted portrait artist whosepaintings au thentically interpretthe spirit of his people, but alandscapist whose landscapesreflect both love and associationwith the outdoors.M r. W aano-Gano is best knownfor his nocturnes w hich he actuallyproduces out of doors at nigh t, andfor his Indian p ortraits w hich, to aremarkable deg ree, penetrate thecalm a usterity of the Indian andcapture his true p ersonality. Hehas worked in almost every phase

of art pictographs on cliffs insouthern Utah as a boyclaymod eling, sandstonesculpturewatercolors, tempera,pastel and charcoal have beenemployed in addition to hismasterful use of oi l.He is a member of many majorart clubs including Valley ArtistsGuild, Am erican Indian andCowboy A rtists , Showcase 21 ,California Art Club, Artists of theSouthwest and the Am ericanInstitute of Fine Ar t. He is listed in"W ho's Who in American A rt ,""Indians of Today," "Who's Whoin Calif orn ia," etc. He has heldover 118 one-man-shows, painted27 murals and won over 100 prizesand awards. "Deer Friends"

26 Desert/March 1977


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Pachunga," 11"xl4", Pencil drawing

Dese rt/ March 1Q77

Little Faun," Paiute, 14"xl8", Acrylic"Sacred

MedicineBuffalo"


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COACMIA. . : , "

by BILL JENN INGS

I USED to be , some decades ago, that you could pu ll off the narrow two-lane highways almost anywhere and throw down a bed roll to camppeaceful lyand legal lyin Cal i fornia 's be aut i fu l Coachel la Val ley per i -meter, but no more!It 's not that the area is unfr iendly; valley residents are st i l l amongthe most hospitable you'l l f ind anywhere in the West. But there's moreimproved private property, agricultural trespass controversies and, since

last September, some sanded-up canyons and some new gull ies as the resultof a 200-year record storm.There are st i l l some well-hidden yet surprisingly accessible off-road

sites. I t 's best that you have a stout four-wheel-drive or two-wheel-drivewith good f lotat ion and power and a lucky streak. Many of the remainingcampsites are southerly along the western and eastern escarpments of thebelow-sea-level Salton Basin. Local inquiry is urged because condit ionschange overnight somet imes.

For exam ple, one recommenda tion planned for this art icle was scenicMart inez Canyon and the lower reaches of its companion, Agua Alta, butnature and barb wire changed that short ly before th is story was f ie ld- tested.Mart inez, largest and longest of all the canyons draining the Santa

Rosa Mou nta ins, was one of several focal points for an est imated 10-15 inchrainfall in less than eight hours last September 9. The big alluvial fan hasnew gull ies 10 feet deep in places and some of the old sand track reachingnorthward to Avenue 66 just west of Valerie Jean has disappeared in loose,newly-washed sand.Another deterrent is the presence of new "No Trespassing" signs setby a rancher who apparently owns most of the Avenue 66 frontage fromJackson Street east towa rd Va lerie Je an. The area is accurately ma rked andpatrolled, as some would-be Mart inez visitors learned last winter.One legal way to reach the canyon mouthwhere the ownership isfederal and stateis via Avenue 72 from State Highway 86 three milessouth. Even here the route is question able, as we ll as rocky, and it m igh t bea good idea to get current information from the Indio off ice of the RiversideCounty Sher i f f 's Department .

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Sand verbena graces thevalley floor when the rainsand warm sun germinate thedormant seeds. Photo byDavid Muench, Santa Barbara,California.

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Martinez is not the only scenic moun-tain canyon emptying into the SaltonSea. From Interstate 10 and State High-way 111 south and east a partial listincludes:

Snow, Falls, Blaisdell, Chino, Tache-vah, Tahquitz, Palm, Bradley, Magne-sia, Cat, Dead Indian, Carrizo, Deep,Bear, Dev i l , Guadalupe, Toro, Agua A l-ta-Mart inez, Barton, Sheep, Travert inePalms, Wonderstone and another Palms.The last four named rise in Anza-Borre-go Desert State Park, south of the Im-perial County l ine.Of all this group, the mainly public-access areas include Bear (La Quinta),Devi l , Cuadalupe, Toro and the fourpark areas, and are passable gene rally tofour-wheel-drive. Sand buggies or othershort-coupled, l ight two-wheel-drive r igscan make it sometimes, and so far.The most consistent source of expertadvice on travel and camping condit ionsoff-road in the Coachella Valley is theRiverside County Parks Department,which maintains an off ice at Lake Ca-huil la, at the west end of Avenue 58 off

Jefferson Street six miles south of High-way 111 between Indioand Indian Wells.District Ranger Jim Davis and his staffcan assist with free drinking water andequally welcome advice. They also areclose by the approaches to Devil andCuadalupe canyons, via county-ownedland adjacent to the westside gravel pit .These two canyons are negotiable for thef irst two miles through the alluvial fansthat guard the entrances of all CoachellaValley canyons. Water again is the l im-

iting factor for long-term use, but atleast both canyon mouths can be reached with some care by two-w heel-drivevehicle. Even a rugged Jeep won't helpmuch past two miles due to truck-sizedboulders and equally grim rock fallsacross the gorges.A continuous series of flood controllevees inhibit but do not totally blockaccess to Toro and adjoining canyonswest of Thermal. There are legal tracksacross the levee at several points, or acareful driver can head south from

Desert/March 1977 29


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This Indian trail shrine m arks the summit of the little pass between Deep Canyon, innear background, and La Quinta cove. San Jacinto Pe ak is in far distance. This areais adjacent to the University of California's Boyd Deep Canyon Desert ResearchCenter, yet open to hikers only a mile from cam ping areas in Bear Canyon.Cuadalupe parallel and inside the leveecatch basins.

South of Martinez, Sheep and Bartonoffer the best camping sites, althoughaccess is over boulder-strewn fans thatdefy your springs and endanger your oilpan repeatedly. The Travertine Pointarea has many wind-protected coves, afew iso la ted pa lm s tands and a l l -together too much graffi t i , but the over-al l beauty is worth the temporary eye-sores.

Below Tra vertine , the camper is again

in the perimeters of Anza-Borrego StatePark and perhaps inquiry at park head-quarters in Borrego Springs will savesome sand-digging or fruit less foraysinto forbidding areas that seem acces-sible on the average gas station roadmap. Here, another note of caution: be-ware of such maps for offroading. It's agood idea to purchase a store of topo-graphic maps for the area you wish totravel . An index to such charts is avail-able at the same place you buy the mapsand should be carried as a clue to which

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maps you'l l need next tr ip.If you still seek a campsite south of

Travertine Point that's outside the parkyo u'l l f ind a few that permit two-w heel-drive travel. One of the best of these isPalm Wash, the last big arroyo on theright as you travel south before reach-ing Salton City. North Marine Driveleaves the highway on the south edge ofthis wash and many side trails lead intothe wash proper. You can drive aboutfour miles west before reaching the parkboundary, which you can spot easily bynoting the position of the telephone re-peater tower to the south. When it is ap-parently parallel with your westboundcourse you're l ikely in the parkwhereopen fires are not permitte d.

Back in the Coachella Valley areaproper, on the east slopes, you'l l f indmany invit ing washes, several with rea-sonably hard surfaces, opening to theeast through the siphons or wash cros-sings along the Coachella branch of theAll-American Canal. Heed the no tres-passing signs along the canal accessroad, but you can cross the big dig atmany points legally from the county line,near Hot M inera l Spa northward to StateHighway 195 east of Mecca.

The only historic area along this routeis Salt Creek and nearby Dos Palmas.The old Bradshaw stage route headseastward from the valley to the Colo-

Desert /March 1977


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rado River through this natural pass andDos Palmas was a relay station a cen-tury ago. Again, much of the approachthreads p rivate land so heed the signs.

Into the canyon of Salt Creek properthe way is easy for most vehicles, withoccasional sandy spots caused by pastf looding.

On your r ight, to the south, is thewell-marked perimeter of the Navy'sChocolate Mountains Aerial GunneryRange, with no need to remind you tostay out! Frequent aerial rocketry andbombing displays wil l be graphic adviceenough.

North of Dos Palmas, entry into theOrocopia Mountains is dictated in partby the U.S. Bureau of Land Manage-ment, pr incipal guardian of this inter-esting and scientif ical ly important area.It's a good idea before starting out tocheck out the latest maps of the DesertPlan restrictions either at the agency'sEl Centra field office or the SouthernCalifornia distr ict office in Riverside.

The Orocopias were used for basictraining sites for the nation's astro-nauts before their landings on the moon.That should give you an idea of the ter-rain conditions.

Highway 195, formerly the main routefrom the coast to the Colorado River, is apopular parking place for many over-night and weekend campers. Its shadyironwood trees and scenic crannies offerrest and seclusion for all kinds of visi-tors, from Jeepers to amateur artists andcross-country travelers. Again, there isno water nearer than Mecca or ChiriacoSummit, the west and eastern entrypoints for this scenic area. Hard by thepaved road are several off-roaders'tracks into side washes. Be careful fol-lowing these unless you have the properequipment. Soft sand and hard rock arethe principal ingredients of the so-calledroads.

One of these, near the upper end ofthe canyon, leads to the Hidden Springarea but should not be attempted excepton foot by the average vis itor. Hidde nSpring has been designated for protec-tive custody by BLM and eventually mayhave its own interpretative exhibits andnature trai ls. At present i t is pr imitive.

Temporari ly closed last winter due toflooding, the county's Mecca Hil ls Parkoffers a scenic and restful side tripthrough a pastel-colored, narrow-walledcanyon not open for camping at present.Desert/March 1977

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j u s t off Box Canyon in the Mecca Hills is the jumping-off point for Hidden Spring.Camping sites abound in this readily a ccessible area along S tate Highway 195 20miles southeast of Indio. Portions of the canyon can be negotiated by two-wheel-drive w ith som e care. Photo by Bill Jennings.Entry is over a well-marked and main-tained dirt road that leaves 195 east ofthe canal flood control levee.

North of 195 entry into the Mecca Hillsis diff icult other than via the park road.There is a perimeter trai l along the up-hill side of the canal but access is gen-erally restricted to the southern (195) ornorthern (Interstate 10) ends.

Thermal Canyon, about halfway fromBox Canyon northerly toward 1-10, is ascenic pathway clear into the high des-ert. A Jeep trail leaves the canal right-of-way near the east end of Avenue 54

just south of Coachella but entry may bean obstacle course. Thermal Canyon isone of the few washes that bisects theMecca Hills and reaches into the LittleSan Bernardino Mountains north of 1-10.The upper canyon can be reached fromthe freeway near the Cactus City reststop or you can use the Colorado RiverAqueduct service road west from theCottonwood Springs Road entry into theJoshua Tree National Monument.

North of 1-10 old Dillon Road, once themajor supply route to Metropolitan

Continued on Page 38

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Charley Clusker, the man who made theLost Ship of the Desert famou s. Portraitfrom Ingersoll: Century Annals of SanBernardino County, 7904. [From screen-ed halftone.]

byHAROLD O.WEIGHT

According toone news story,the Desert Shipwas locatedamong thesemud volcanoes atthe southernend of the drylake. They arenow covered bythe rising, watersoftheSalton Sea.32

S OMEWHERE in the great Sal tonBasin, or the Laguna Salada or thedelta of the Colorado River, lie thebones of an ancient ship stranded, aban-doned and forgotten unknown centuriesago the Lost Ship of the Des ert. N owhidden, now exposed, subject to thesands and winds, the cloudbursts andthe floods, it has been seen and reportedby Indians and prospectors and travel-ers through more than 100 years. Seen but almost always beyond reach.Reached but only under circumstan-ces that made investigation impossible.Found but always lost again.

The legend seems immortal in thefolklore of the far Southwest. But wasthere is there a Lost Desert Ship?You say yes? Prove it. Y ou say no? Proveit. Impossible? Prove that!

One thing is certain: Through the longyears there have been many and many atrue believer. One of them, Charles Car-roll Clusker, sought the Lost Ship so ur-gently that his name is now inseparablefrom its story.

Charley became involved in 1870,which turned out to be the Year of theLost Ship. Much of the excitement andmost of the ship's wide fame evolvedthrough newspaper stor ies publishedthrough the fal l and winter of that year.Most of those stories dealt with CharleyClusker's search for it.

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Stories of the Lost Ship in 1870 identifiedits location as in the dry lake 30 to 45miles west or southwest from DosPalmas oasis, a way station on the Brad-shaw Road. Now there are many palms.

The Los Angeles News printed thetrigger story or at least the f irst onewidely circulated in late August:

" I N T E R E S T I N G D I S C O V E R Y : B ymany i t has been held as a theory thatthe Yum a desert was once an ocean bed.At intervals, pools of salt water havestood for a while in the midst of the sur-rounding waste of sand, disappearingonly to rise again in the same or otherlocal i t ies. A short t ime since, one ofthese saline lakes disappeared and aparty of Indians reported the discoveryof a 'big ship' left by the recedingwaters. A party of Americans at onceproceeded to the spot and found embed-ded in the sands the wreck of a largevessel. Nearly one-third of the forwardpart of the ship, or barque, is plainlyvisible. The stump of the bowsprit re-mains and portions of the t imbers of teakare perfect.

"The wreck is located 40 miles northof the San Bernardino and Fort Yumaroad and 30 miles west of Dos Palmas, awell-know n wa tering place on the desert.The road across the desert has beentraveled for more than 100 years. Thehistory of the i l l -fated vessel can, ofcourse, never be known, but the discov-ery of i ts decaying t imbers in the midstof what has long been a desert willfurnish savants the food for discussionand may perhaps furnish important aidin the e luc ida t ion o f ques t ion s o fsc ience."

The re is deta il in that story teaktimb ers, broken bo wsprit, a thir d of theship showing. The reporter must haveinterviewed someone. Which makes i t al lthe more curious that no member of that"party of Americans" was ident i f ied inthe original story or, to my know ledge, inany that fol lowed. But i t was exactly thesort of story editors cl ip and reprint, andit spread swift ly from newspaper tonew s pap e r . The S an B e rna rd i noGuardian carried it on September 10,and probably that is where CharleyClusker saw it. There is no indicationthat he was a member of that f i rst LostShip expedit ion, but he led the second,th i rd and fourth.

Clusker already had l ived a l i fe adven-Oesert/March 1977

turous enough for a dozen men. He wasborn in Richmond, Kentucky March 10,1810. In Cincinnati , when the MexicanWar began, he enl isted in the FirstRegiment, Ohio Volunteers. Serving un-der General Zachary Taylor, he took partin the batt les of Brownsvi l le, Mata-moras, Monterrey, Cerro Gordo, VeraCruz and Buena Vista, and the stormingof Chapultepec at Mexico City.He had heard much about Cal i fornia inMexico, and when mustered out pro-ceeded, with f ive comrades, to visi t i t .Outf i t t ing at Litt le Rock, they rode toSanta Fe and took the Gila Trai l , which,in the t ime of the Gold Rush emigrants,would become famous as the dangerousSouthern Route. Much of i t threadedhot, thirsty and l i t t le known deserts. Itcrossed the heartland of the f ierceApaches. Along i t there were no towns,no stations, no mil i tary posts. Charleyand his small party crossed without mis-hap. Game was abundant, water suff i-cient, and though they saw many Indi-ans, they were not chal lenged.

Clusker arrived in Los Angeles in theearly spring of 1848, but apparently theeasy-going l i t t le Mexican town was adisappointm ent. Two weeks later he wason the way back, safely recrossing thesame dangerous wilderness this t imealone. When Cali fornia gold started theEast heading We st, Charley fol lowed theOverland Trai l back to Cali fornia, cross-

ing the Sierra Nevada by the Truckeeroute. He staked his f i rst claim at Colo-ma, where James Marshal l had madethe original strike. From there he workedhis way through most of the Mo ther Lodecamps and diggings, and for the rest ofhis l i fe remained a prospector, miner,and seeker after lost mines.

Either the La Paz rush of 1862 or theW eav e r -W a l k e r d i s c ov e r i es t he nex tyear must have stampeded him toSouthern Cali fornia and on into Arizona,where he remained for years. In 1864 hewas in Wickenburg mil l ing the ore fromthe rich Vulture Mine, some dozen milesto the southwest, apparently f i rst in anarrastra on the Hassayampa and later inthe company's 40-stamp mi l l .

In 1870, he was back in San Bernar-dino, and prospecting. In June that year,according to the Guardian, he rediscov-ered the " long- lost Jesui t mine," a leg-endary bonanza from which "the oldpadres in t imes past" had extractedfabulous amounts of silver. Prospectingfor the source of rich silver float, in themountains some 40 miles easterly fromSan Bernardino, Clusker had struck awell-defined t ra i l , fol lowed i t to a well-graded road built of large stones, andfol lowed that to the remains of an oldshaft. Clearing the debris from th at half-f i l led shaft the party found ore which,the newspaper said, assayed from $600to $1,000 a ton.


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Martinez village, below sea level on theTorres Martinez Indian Reservation inthe Salton Sink, was a way station on theold Bradshaw Road, and the jumping-offplace for Lost Ship hunters.

There were, of course, no Jesuits inthe California missions. And if old pad-res of any brotherhood possessed a minewith such r ich ore, i t m ust not have beenthe one Charley found. There is no fur-ther mention of his connection with i t,and when the Lost Ship appeared uponthe horizon only months later, Charleywas ready to go. And what more idealleader could there have been to trackdown a phantom ship in the desert sandsthan a seasoned and exper ien cedvisionary l ike Charles C. Clusker?

Charley and two companions, mennamed Caldwell and Johnson, left SanBernardino on that quest about October1, 1870. They fol lowed the old BradshawRoad through San Gorgonio Pass anddown the Coachella Valley to Martinez,sti l l a Desert Cahuil la Indian center to-day, south of Indio and west of Mecca.Here, since the ship was supposed to bestranded "just southward of the point ofthe mounta in southeast o f Mar t inez,"they left the only travele d road that toDos Palmas and headed into thetrackless Salton Sink.

At that t ime the present Salton Sea,created by a breakthrough of the Colo-rado River early in this century, did notexist. Instead, the sink was an enormousplaya, hard and smooth in some areas,vast quagm ires with a thin salt crust in

others. Here would be found greatstretches of rough "se l f- r is ing" ground,there salt marshes or evanescent lakes,elsewhere boil ing mudpots or shiningsalt beds.

With no roads or trai ls, Charley andhis party headed directly across thep la ya to wa r d th e i r d e s t i n a t i o n . B u tlooking back, they suddenly decided thatwas not the way to do it. Behind themtheir footpr ints and the deep wagontracks were already fi l led with water.Fighting the clutching clay, they hasti lyreturned to a more firma terra.

On their return to San Bernardino, theGuardian of October 15 reported: "A ll

the members of the expedition are highlypleased with the result. Though theyfound no ship nor any sign thereof, yetthey seem fully persuaded of the exis-tence of some vessel. That it will finallybe found and the whole mystery solvedadmits of no doubt whatever. It is only aquestion of t ime, and a portion of thesame party will start out in a few days tomake another effort.

Th e Guardian speculated on whetherthe vessel would prove to be a buccaneership (in which case there would be richbooty aboard) or perhaps one sent outexplor ing by a Viceroy of Mexico ( inwhich case pickings would probably bepoor) . "But a f ter a l l , " i t concluded, " i tmay be that what we call a ship may be acorral, as it has borne the appearance ofone to one of the only two w hite m en whohave ever seen it."

It might seem that a corral in thesoggy midst of a great salt marsh whichhad once been a lake would be harder toexplain than a wrec ked ship in the samespot. But most interesting is that theGuardian, speaking apparently from un-published information, says that onlyJunction of Carrizo and San Felipewashes, a few miles southwest ofpresent Sa lton Sea shore, probably wasthe laguna b ase camp Talbott described.There is cane here and almost alwayssurface water. The Christmas camp thatDe Anza and his California expeditionmade in 1775 was in this area.34 Desert/March 1977


35/48

two whi te men had ever seen the ship.Wh a t has happened to that "par ty ofAme r i ca n s " in the News, a story theGuardian had published without ques-tion? And whowere the fortunate two?

Charley calculated he had been within10 or 15 miles of the ship on his f i rstsearch, when he " m a d e the wrong chuteand got m i r e d . " So on his second expe-d i t i on , starting November 5, he tookalong a good wagon and pack saddles,and planks to cross anymiry ground. Healso had newpartners: D.S. Ferster, F.J.West , and a man named Hubble.

On November 26, the Guardian re-ported the return from that foray withcaps, italics and exclamation points:

" R E T U R N OF THE SHIP PROSPEC-TORS!!! Char ley Clusker and his partyreturned from the desert just as we weregoing to press. They had a hard time ofit , but they have succeeded in their ef-forts. THE SHIP HAS BEEN FOUND!Charley returns to the desert today toreap the f ru i t ion of his efforts. He waswithout food or water, under a hot broi l-in g sun for over 24hours, andcame nearper ish ing. We have not space to reportin ful l the adventures of the par ty, butare promised a full account in our n e x t . "

A news dispatch put on the wire fromLos Angeles next day was briefer, butmuch more exciting: "Clusker reports hehas foun d thedesert ship 45 miles south-west of Dos Palmas station in theCavas-sone (Cabezon) Lake. He described herat 200 feet long, bow,bowspr i t andsternabove the sand. Clusker returns today tothe ship to take possession."

Two hundred feet! That's a lot of ship.It 's long enough, in fact, to stretch theLost Ship legend beyond the breakingpoint. But where did the f igure comefrom? Not from the Guardian, so prob-ably not f rom C har ley. It may be the wirereporter talked to an expedition memberwho went directly on to Los Angeles, orthat hepicked up anembroidered rumor,or that headded theembroidery himself.M o s t of the places where CharleyClusker searched for the Lost Ship arenow deep beneath the Salton Sea,modern successor to the ancient seaupon which it may have floated. It isshown here while theColorado River wasflooding the sink and creating the sea,and when large sections of the SouthernPacific Railroad were being submergedor destroyed. Wreck of railroad trackshown here.Desert/March 1977

Possibly thosource was the same as t l idtfo r a November 29 story in the Los An-geles News, which declared the wrecklay in the midst of boil ing mud springs,where the animals sank to the knees inalkaline mud, which removed the hairfrom their legs. That story reported theship seemed to be of some 200 tonsburthen. Maybe tons were switched tofeet.

Re p o r te r s we r e s t i l l e mb r o id e r i n gCharley's story 50 years later. A SanDiego newspaper in 1937said: "Accord -in g to Charley, he had found a greatSpanish galleo n, ornate crosses andevenbroken masts."

I have found noevidence Charley eversaid he had found a Spanish galleon, orclaimed his ship was 200 feet long. Butthen, neither have I found evidence thatCharley ever found a ship, or even ac-tually saw one.

The complete account of Charley'sdiscovery was not, as promised, in theDecember 3 issue of the Guardian. "I t isnow a f i xed fac t , " the paper said, "forthere can be no doubt that the ship isthere lying high and dry, 100 or 200miles from water ."

Then it went onwith thedetails of thenew expedition. This time, in addition toFerster and West, Josh Talbott, one ofth e Guardian edi tors, was going along.

" Th e y arewell f i tted out with all thenecessary tools and implements forthoroughly explor ing the vessel, such asshovels, picks, block, chains, rope, and300 or 400 feet of boards. At CarrizoCreek station, on the San Diego road,they intend making a depot for sup-plies. We expect to receive some inter-esting news from the par ty, for publica-t ion, in a week or two."

But for almost a month , the Guardianmade nomention of the ship or its seek-

ers. Tlie break is so (ong that faterwriters about the Lost Ship commonlyassert that no report on the expeditionwas ever made, and that the ship hunt-ers sneaked back into San Bernardino,unwi l l ing to talk.

Talbott 's report the most completeaccount of Charley's operations everpublished did finally appear in theGuardian on December 31. In it, Tal-bott f irst summarized theearlier search-es, and explained what had caused theexcitement on the onebefore. Theparty,he said, hadgone again to Mart inez, andthen more to the south, crossing almostto the Fort Yuma road. Their animalshaving gone without water for 48 hours,they were compelled to turn back butnot before Charley "became convinced"they he saw the ship far out in the drylake.

Of his ownexperiences Talbott wrote,in part: "We had water capacity for 108gallons, provisions for two months andfour good horses andwagon. We left SanBernardino on November 30th, and bar-ring three severe nights ra in, our t r ipwas without incident. We came this t im eby adiff icult route that of the old FortYuma road via Warner's Ranch andCarrizo Creeek station. On the route wediscovered a rich tin mine, about 30 feetwide, which wil l deserve our attentionhereafter. Here {Carrizo Creek), fill ingup our casks with water we boldlyplunged out into the desert, intending togo as far as our water would permit andsending thewagon back for a fresh sup-ply

197703 desert magazine 1977 march

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