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DESERT MAGAZINEPALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

LETTERSFROM OUR READERS

Special Nevada Issue . . .To the Editor: . . . my interest in Nevadahas always been sort of bland (being sucha devotee of the deep Southwest), but yourcoverage in the special July issue stimulatesa change of attitude for me and likely formany others. This issue is in the "Collec-tors' Class."

DON BLOODGOODSan Francisco

To the Editor: . . . I hope you sell a millioncopies.

BYRD SAWYERSparks, Nev.

To the Editor: I want to congratulate youon the Nevada issue. I was born in Aurorain 1878, and was one of the original locatorsof Rawhide. The 1908 photo of Rawhidethat appeared in Desert Magazine showsmonuments atop Hooligan Hill of the"Happy Day" and "Happy Hooligan" claimsthat I located in February, 1907.

CHARLES A. McLEODYerington, Nev.

To the Editor: I was happy to note thatauthor Nell Murbarger has made a mostwelcome re-appearance in your pages. Al-most everything that she says about theSilver State in her article, "My Nevada,"could be applied to the Southwest in general.She did a superb job.

LEE MYERSCarlsbad, New Mexico

To the Editor: After seeing your July issue,I know that 1962 calls for an extensive tourof the Silver State. I believe the issue per-fectly fascinating . . .

JOHN R. RAINWATERAlbuquerque

Unbalanced Nature . . .To the Editor: Together with the manyother delightful stories in Desert Magazine,I do enjoy the articles on wildlife byEdmund Jaeger. But I wonder if Dr. Jaegerreally believes "that nature achieves what,from the standpoint of man, could be calleda desirable balance"?

If the desirable creatures become exter-minated, while the undesirable multiply;what kind of a "balance" is that? In otherwords, when nature causes creatures to gob-ble each other, some species decrease whileothers become plentiful. I don't call thata "balance."

If fate left all the checks and balancesto nature, disease germs could win, andexterminate all the people; a "survival ofthe fittest," a victory for the disease germs.

The same if the insects win a victoryover the struggling plants and exterminatethem. Hurrah for the "fitness" of the bugs!

Nature is chaos. The beautiful and whatis beneficial to man is just as much of anaccident as are the roaches and poisonoussnakes.

Evidently, man is not physically able to

control nature, and it is understandable whysome men should admire and love someof the things that nature has accidentallyproduced; but I can't see why man mustadmire the rest of the chaotic mess whichis nature also.

The struggling creatures exist in a blood-thirsty battlefieldbut there is no teleologyat work in the process, and no certainty ofwhat the outcome will be. Is such a resulta "balance"?

MINA I. LEWISHaverhill, Mass.

The Terrible Winter . . .To the Editor: Having come to Navajolandin 1923, you can well imagine the interestwith which I have read Laura Adams Arm-er's articles in Desert Magazine. Her story,"The Big Snow," in the April issue, broughtpoignant memories of that winter of 1931-32.

It all began on the night of November21 with a foot of snow. That same snowlay on the ground for over a hundred days,or until the first thaw early the followingMarch. We had below-zero temperaturesthroughout this period. To the north, wherethe elevation ranges up to 7500 feet, thesnow lay 20-inches deep. The feeding groundfor sheep and ponies was simply buriedbeyond reach.

It was only through the heroic efforts ofmen, women and children that some of thesheep were saved. Branches were cut fromstunted pinyon and cedar trees for the sheepto feed upon. Snow was carried into thehogans in blankets and melted in bucketsand pans that the stock might drink. Inspite of the superhuman efforts put forth,the losses were appalling. Our very dearfriend, Lorenzo Hubbell, told me that heestimated the Navajos lost a quarter of amillion sheep, besides thousands of poniesthat winter.

Word began filtering down out of thehigh country of near disaster, when at longlast two small Caterpillar 20 tractors wereordered to Oraibi with all speed possiblefrom the nearest agency. I had spent daysin the saddle doing what little I could forour people. Now, on a sub-zero morningin early February, I joined the caravan ofmercy being assembled at Oraibi.

The two Cats pushed on ahead, openinga road in the snow toward Pinyon 35 milesto the northeast. Loaded trucks and horse-drawn wagons followed. Along the way,Navajos filtered down out of the brush fromthe mesas to watch the chidi na nais("crawling automobile") go by.

By night we had made some 20 miles.Camp was set-up near a big hogan.

Now planes were out from March Field,California, dropping food for those snow-bound in remote areas. One of the planesspotted our camp and spilled its load ofgroceries in the deep snow nearby.

The night was bitter cold, with the tem-perature well below zero. Next morningcrank case oils were frozen stiff, so fireswere built under the pans. A faulty gas

2 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

line on one of the trucks caught fire andthe men fought the blaze without success.The order was given to unload the truck,but not being able to reconcile such a loss,and thinking this a good time to demon-strate that a missionary could do somethingbesides preach, I snatched a shovel fromthe hands of one of the men and simplyburied the motor under snow. The fire wasout but much serious damage had beendone. We all figured that this motor wasthrough, short of a major overhaul.

It was long after nightfall of this secondday when we reached Hubbell's tradingpost at Pinyon, with the cold piercing tothe very marrow of our bones. To ourgreat surprise and admiration, the truckwhich had been through the fire early thatmorning, came limping into Pinyon withits Indian driver a couple of hours behindour caravan. That night we slept in ourbags on the floor around the big stove inthe center of the trading post shown onpage 19 in the April Desert Magazine.

The point of my letter is this: I wasspending all my time with my people inthose days. But in spite of the terrificlosses, which they could in no wise afford,I heard not one single word of complaintfrom the Navajos. They accepted theirlosses stoically, calmly, philosophically.They simply tightened their belts and car-ried on from there.

Do you not see why I have given thebest years of my life to this noble people,and why, during all those years, I wouldnot have traded places with any man onthis earth?

BERLYN H. STOKELYNavajo Gospel Mission

Oraibi, Arizona

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Magazine of the Outdoor Southwest

Volume24 Contents for September 1961 NumberCOVER PHOTO: The Southwest's importantand eye-pleasingchili

harvest season begins in September. Cover photograph byWestern Ways Features of Tucson shows field hands spreadingthe freshly-picked chilis out to dry. After curing under the desertsun, these bright peppers will be ground into chili powder. Thefull story begins on page 11.

7 FIELD TRIP: Popular Gem Trails in Western ArizonaGLENN VARGAS

11 AGRICULTURE: The Desertland's Colorful Crop: Chili PeppersMARGARET CANNING

14 ART: Eastern Artist Henry Mockel Settles on the Mojave16 NATURE: The Tea That Grows Wild on the Desert

EDMUND JAEGER

18 CRAFTS: The Indian Applied Arts BusinessEUGENE L. CONROTTO

22 NEW BOOK: Refreshing Photos of Death Valley ScottyTOM G. MURRAY

26 HISTORY: James TownsendMining Camp JournalistHOWARD K. LINDER

34 TEST DRIVE: Japan's New Four-Wheel-Drive "Toyota"LEE OERTLE

42 PETS: Our Friend Hairy, The TarantulaTOMMY THOMAS

OTHER FEATURES: Readers' Letters __ 2California Travel 4Southwest Calendar 6Poem of the Month 6

Classified Ads 32Hare' Rock Shorty 38Arizona Travel _ 38New Desertland Books 40

Utah Travel 25 Editorial -42The Desert Magazine, founded in 1937 by Randall Henderson, is published monthlyby Desert Magazine, Inc., Palm Desert, California. Re-entered as second classmatter July 17, 1948, at the postoffice at Palm Desert, California, under the Actof March 3, 1879. Title registered No. 358865 in U.S. Patent Office, and contentscopyrighted 1961 by Desert Magazine, Inc. Permission to reproduce contents mustbe secured from the editor in writing.

Unsolicited manuscripts andphotographs submitted can-not be returned or acknowl-edged unless full returnpostage is enclosed. DesertMagazine assumes no re-sponsibility for damage orloss of manuscripts or pho-tographs although due carewill be exercised. Subscribersshould send notice of changeof address by the first ofthe month preceding issue.

CHARLES E. SHELTONPublisher

EUGENE L. CONROTTOEditor

EVONNE RIDDELLCirculation Manager

Address all editorial andcirculation correspondence toDesert Magazine, Palm Des-ert, California.

Address all advertisingcorrespondence to Aaron DViller, 8217 Beverly Blvd.,Los Angeles 48, Calif. PhoneOL 1-2225. "You won't believe this, but we've been knocked out by missiles!"

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 3

20-MULE TEAM HAULING DOUBLE BORAX WAGONS OUT OF CALICO HILLS. C. C. PIERCE PHOTO.

A September Travel Suggestion by Lucile Weight

20-MULE TEAM DAYSIF YOU GO to Boron during its 20-MuleTeam Days celebration, Sept. 23-Oct. 1,you will see a synthesis of the old andthe new in borax mining. The spirit ofearly desert days will visit this MojaveDesert town in the form of a colorful pa-rade, in bright whirling of square dancersinvited by the Boron Twenty Mule Team

ADVENTURE BEGINS* WHERE THE ROAD ENDS WITH

A M E R I C A ' S N o . 1 O F F H I G H W A Y C Y C L E

Now, at last, everyone . . . man, woman, and child, young andold alike can travel far beyond the end of the road to newvistas of adventure. With a minimum of effort you will reachthe high lakes and streams where the fishing is great! Amechanical pack horse for the hunter, the Tote Gote will carryits rider over the roughest terrain to the best hunting areasand then pack both rider and game back to camp. Speciallydesigned for off highway travel, the compact lightweight"GOTE" is easily transported to and from the riding areasin your car trunk.'TOTE GOTE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF THE BONHAM CORPORATION

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Twirlers, at the whiskerino, gymkhana, con-tests, exhibits, and Western costume.

And in the background will be refineriesturning out products for today's jet-spaceage. The modern city of Boron, with 4000population, may look far removed from20-Mule Team Days, but it is closely allied.While almost insurmountable problemswere ironed out to haul borax from DeathValley to the railroad at Mojave 165 milesaway, Boron's repository of borax was lyingalmost on the route, and only about threemiles from a railroad. But it wasn't until1926 that Clarence Rasor discovered a newborate form here.

So before Boron was dreamed of, 20-mule teams hauled past the site to Mojaveon the Southern Pacific. Mojave was bothterminus of the famous route and the townwhere the wagons were built. A state his-torical monument, dedicated during Mo-jave's October 1958 Gold Rush Days, marksthe site of the corral where the teams restedovernight, just east of the rails.

Why is borax so important? It was prizedlong before the Christian era, and in theyears since its household and agricultureuses have become so common we are un-aware of most of them. In very recenttimes, borax, in its various forms, has be-come strategic in "miracle" products, andits use has multiplied so that it is even lessknown to the general public than it oncewas. Glass fiber is one of its more than100 products. Its importance as a keyingredient for super-fuels of the space agecan hardly be assessed yet. Research pro-grams involving its use in medicine, atomicenergy development, and food processingindicate that the industry may still be inits infancy.

The story of borax in Death Valley,starting point for the 20-mule team era,began millions of years ago with creationof the trough between the Funeral andPanamint mountains in which a prehis-toric lake gradually gave up its charge ofsalts, borax, and other minerals as its waterstarted to evaporate, possibly two millionyears ago.

While men were stumbling across the

valley seeking gold, and others later weretaking silver from the Panamints, this whitegold lay by the tons in the trough floor.Even when first found, about 1875, it wasnot recognized. It was the discovery byAaron Winters that was to catapult theDeath Valley borax story to such heightsthat today, 80 years later, the dramaticepisode of Aaron and his wife Rosie watch-ing the white stuff flame green, is knownto millions of radio and TV fans.

As exciting as are the stories of the menwho erected this giant desert business, nonecaught the imagination as did the 20-muleteams, their long-line skinners, and the hugewagons that hauled the borax from DeathValley to Mojave. This was a stretch thatproduced a saga never fully told. At oneend were toilersmany of them Chinesegathering the borax and crystallizing it. Farto the west was the supply and rail station.

In between were long miles without aseep of water, without a tuft of grass. Onceout of Death Valley, via Wingate Pass,freighters went past Lone Willow Spring,on the east slope of the Slate Range; thento Granite Well past Pilot Knobvolcanicbeacon for a hundred miles. Then camethe long low grade to Mojave, the old roadnow cut by Highway 395 a few miles southof Atolia; and continuing north of presentBoron and Castle Butte. More than halfof the 10 stops were dry camps, wherewater tanks were kept.

Borax had been hauled out of DeathValley country earlier to Daggett andMojavebut the small loads were not pay-ing. Searles, hauling from Searles Lake,had a shorter easier route. What Wm. T.Coleman wanted were payloads. He neededwagons that would haul 10 tons each, thatwouldn't break down in these desert miles.Such wagons weren't being made. Colemanchose 35-year-old J. W. S. Perry to solvethe problem and take over as Death Valleysuperintendent at Harmony Borax works,the ruins of which are seen just northwest

continued on page 6

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Vegas View sites are free of city taxes but adjacent to the present Las Vegas city limitstotallyunlike much of the barren land being sold today in remote desert and swamp areas of doubtful future.The lots now have graded streets and electricity on the East and West boundaries of the subdivision.Never again will sites with such a potential increase in value be offered at these low, low prices. Com-parable lots in Las Vegas are now selling for many hundreds of dollars more. In VEGAS VIEW just $10will start you on your way to early future profits! Total cost of these 50' x 100' sites is only $795 plusthe low interest included in monthly payments. You must act NOW to take advantage of this oppor-tunity of a lifetime. Remember-only a very limited number of these choice sites are available.

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September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 5

10-Mule Team DaysContinued From Page 4

of Death Valley National Monument VisitorCenter.

The wagons, 10 of them, were built byPerry in Mojave. The hind wheels wereseven feet high, the front, five feet. Thebed was 16 feet long, four wide, six deep.They made a six-foot track. Cost was $900each. Hitched two together, they hauled asmuch as 45,000 pounds in a load. In theirfive years on that road, there was nevera breakdown. As to hauling such loads,skinner Ed Stiles experimented with variouscombinations and by the time the wagonswere built, had proved that he could handle20 mules stretched out in pairs reachingover 125 feet from the wagon. The skillacquired by both mules and skinners infollowing winding canyons and loopinggrades is a fascinating and technical storyin itself.

The 20-mule team period was brief, butits mark is enduring. If the nation hadnever heard of Death Valley or its mining

before, it became "20-mule team borax"conscious beginning in 1904 when an outfitwas at St. Louis World's Fair, then paradedthrough New York, Philadelphia and Chi-cago. In 1916, a cross-country tour, inter-rupted by World War I, continued in 1919,with people in hamlets and cities receivingborax samples. Again the wagons and teamswere called out in 1937 for San Francisco'sbridge completion and opening of the DeathValley-Lone Pine Hwy.; in 1940 to publi-cize the Wallace Beery "Twenty MuleTeam" picture; and in 1949 as part of theCentennial Pageant staged by the DeathValley 49ers.

Latest trek was in November, 1957, whena replica of the famous teams, with one ofthe original wagons, rolled into Boron as aprelude to opening ceremonies for the $20million open pit and refinery.

All but the memory of the rumble of thegiant wagon wheels, the creak and clankof harness, the pounding of 20-mule teams,is drowned out now by roar and scream ofjets and missiles at nearby Air Force bases.

And that memory will be revived byBoron's 20-Mule Team celebration the end

Poem of the month:

... and the Jesebt shalhejeke, andi/ossom as the am...The water cooled the once parched fevered stoneAnd backed up inch by inch behind its weirIn readiness to move upon the land,To whisper in the earth's now waking ear.And then, behold! A new thing changed the waste-Where once was heath and sage the river ranDiverted from its long-time natural bedIn channels dug by implements of man.The land of drouth (like Eden now) burst forthAnd scent of green and song enriched the airWhere man had used his intellect for goodThe hand of God was quite apparent there.

V. Trollope-CameronSalt Lake City

SOUWWST CALENDARSept. 1 -4: Elko County Fair, Elko, Nev.Sept.' 2-4: Homecoming & Rodeo,

Bishop, Calif.Sept. 2-4: Rodeo, Williams, Ariz.Sept. 3-5: Lions' Stampede and 49er

Show, Fallon, Nev.Sept. 3-5: Rodeo and Fair, Winnemucca,

Nev.Sept. 4: 17th Annual Steel Day Rodeo,

American Fork, Utah.Sept. 4: Annual Rodeo, Benson, Ariz.Sept. 5: Labor Day Celebrations, Ely,

Nev.Sept. 6: Pioneer Day, Ashfork, Ariz.Sept. 7-10: Annual Navajo Tribal Fair,

Window Rock, Ariz.Sept. 9: 16th Annual Dick Wick Hall

Days, Salome, Ariz. (SEE STORYON PAGE 38.)

Sept. 9-10: Navajo County Fair, Hol-brook, Ariz.

Sept. 9-10: National Water Ski Races,Lake Mead, Nev.

Sept. 15-18: Washoe County Fair, Reno.Sept. 16-17: Apache County Fair, St.

Johns, Ariz.Sept. 20: Black Canyon Day, Flagstaff.Sept. 21-25: Community Fair, Las Vegas.Sept. 23-Oct. 1: 20-Mule Team Days,

Boron, Calif. (SEE STORY ONPAGE 4.)

Sept. 23-24: Annual Rex Allen Home-coming Days, Willcox, Ariz.

Sept. 25-27: Coconino County Fair,Flagstaff.

Sept. 29-Oct. 1: Greenlee County Fair,Duncan, Ariz.

Sept. 29-Oct. 1: Cochise County Fair,Douglas, Ariz.

of this month. Main events will be thefinal weekend, with a parade and squaredancing on the morning of Sept. 30. Hob-bies and crafts are among displays. Foodbooths will be open. All visitors are invitedto "dress Western." / / /

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6 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

Gem Trails in Western Arizona...

DIGGING FOR TREASURE AT CRYSTAL HILL

By GLENN VARGAS

THE 87 MILES of U. S. Highway95 from Quartzsite to Yumapass through a region of desertgrandeur that ranks high in Arizona'slist of places to see. The almost levelplain traversed by the highway isflanked by rugged mountains. (TheKofa Mountains on the east-side ofthe road and a massive block of lavawith the sheerest of sides a trulyspectacular sight.)

Along with this beauty, the regionhas a real lure for the mineral andgem collector. This strip of Arizona,plus the Palo Verde Valley across theColorado River in California, is oneof the West's most favored gem-min-eral collecting grounds. On numer-ous occasions I have taken my lapi-dary students to one or another ofthe many productive areas in thisexpanse of land. I have heard nocomplaints about any lack of mater-ial in this region; indeed, what I doget from my students is requests forrepeat trips to some of the locations.

In the following paragraphs arereports on the conditions of a fewof these collecting grounds.Fossils Along TheColorado River Beachlines

1 MY WIFE AND I have huntedfor specimens in most of the grav-el terraces along the ColoradoRiver, and although we have notvisited all the known sites, we havefound those we did explore to bequite similar. As a result, we feelthat the areas described by earlier

writers (John Hilton in the Novem-ber, 1938, and Harold Weight in theOctober, 1948, Desert) to be nearlyidentical as far as kinds of materialto be found. Changes wrought byman are in evidence at these and theother river collecting sites. Thus, newlandmarks not mentioned in previousarticles are now in evidence.

The area near Blythe is best knownto us. The specimen-laden gravelslie at the upper edge of the PaloVerde Valley, having been depositedthere during the numerous prehis-toric flood stages of the river. Thisis true at the Winterhaven and allother river terrace collecting areas aswell. It is best to hunt along thestrips which have an average thick-ness of 100 feet. An old gravel pitat the Palo Verde Valley locationmakes excellent hunting. The peb-bles are mostly of a uniform brownishcolor, and the ability to differentiatebetween the various types of cuttingmaterials comes only after a bit ofpractice. The petrified wood showsthe usual pseudo-cylindrical weather-ing, which is quite easily recognized.Fossil coral has a pock-marked look

that resembles orange peel. Theshell fossils, which are rare, are hardto detect, while black jasper (touch-stone) is quite easily spotted for itdiffers in color from the other peb-bles. Most of the material on theseriver terraces will take a good cutand polish. The problem is findingthe best of the specimens. We havegone over specific areas on numerousoccasions, coming away with speci-mens overlooked on the previoussearch. "Getting down to work"works best hereon your hands andknees. The closer to the ground youget, the better your chance of a goodharvest.

These terrace areas are of greatextent, and undoubtedly some un-worked collecting grounds await dis-covery. One of the most interestingpieces of red petrified wood I haveseen was given to me by a cattlerancher who found it near the townof Palo Verde, about 20 miles southof Blythe. So far, I have not beenable to rediscover the "mother lode."Petrified Wood

2 IN THE APRIL, 1954, issue ofDesert, Jay Ellis Ransom wroteabout petrified wood off of High-way 95, north and west of Yuma.The area was (and is) within theboundaries of the Yuma Test Station,but apparently no attention was be-ing paid by the military at that timeto trespassers. Now, with expandedactivities at the Test Station, the pet-rified wood collecting area is sign-posted against entry. The road toMartinez Lake is open and travel isnot restricted, but the signs warnagainst leaving the road.

The history of collecting petrifiedwood at this locality is interesting.When I first visited this area nearly15 years ago, I found a number ofold, almost illegible signs warningthat the wood was considered an an-tiquity and that an Arizona law for-bade its removal. In the interveningyears, I have never heard of anyonebeing apprehended by an Arizonaofficial for removing the woodand

Cool weather is just around the corner, and thatmeans it's time once again for the gem collectorto make plans for field trips into the desert. TheQuartzsite - to - Yuma highway is the gateway toseveral collecting fields that offer fruitful digging.

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 7

many have done so. The signs warn-ing against its removal soon disap-peared, but now the task of preserv-ing one of Arizona's "antiquities"evidently has fallen to the U.S. Army.Quartz at Crystal Hill

3 SPACE DOES NOT permit meto completely express my enthu-siasm over famed Crystal Hillsouth and east of Quartzsite. Thishas been one of my favorite collect-ing areas for many years, and I neverexpect to tire of it. It is on my"must" list for all Western rock-hounds to visit at least once.

Crystal Hill was first described byJohn Hilton in the April, 1942, issueof Desert. Soon after, the rush wason. Quartz of all sizes, varieties andshapes was collected here with ease.The turnoff to the hill lies betweenmileposts 100 and 101 on Highway95. At times, collectors have used theroad paralleling the gas line to enterthe region. I have nearly alwaysfound the regular access road in muchbetter condition, and on a recent tripI learned that the Texas PipelineCorp. has asked that their road notbe used, as some damage to installa-tions has occurred. This should set-

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tie the road question.After traveling about six miles east

from Highway 95, the left turn intoCrystal Hill is easily found. A shortride across the large wash takes youto the main campground in the heartof the collecting area.

The hills near the camp show signsof extensive collectingtrenches andholes are very numerous. These dig-gings are what gave rise to the no-tion by some writers that this fieldwas exhausted. It may look that way,but I have found it far from beingworked out. The tracing of pieces ofquartz that have washed down thehillsides as float will in some caseslead you to a concealed pocket ofcrystals. My companions and I havemade these happy discoveries manytimes.

The crystals of Crystal Hill con-tain a number of minerals as inclu-sions and as "phantoms." The localmaterial "grew" to a certain pointby the laying down of one moleculeupon another of clear or nearly clearquartz. Then something happenedto cause the crystals to be crustedwith a white milky coating. In manycases, other minerals also coated thecrystals at this stage. Again normalgrowth resumed, and more moleculesof clear quartz were laid down, en-closing the abnormal growths andfinally producing water-clear crystalscontaining "prints" of the crystals asthey looked when smaller. This"ghost-of-its-former-self" inclusion hasaptly been named a phantom.

The following are some of theminerals as inclusions that are foundat Crystal Hill. Siderite, in the formof yellow or brown crystals resemblingcubes is quite common. I have beenshown many of these specimens bypeople who swear they have foundgold crystals in clear quartzbut italways turns out to be siderite. Asfar as I know, gold does not appearat Crystal Hill. These specimens alsohave been reported as pyrite, but Ihave never seen pyrite here, either.Chlorite appears as dark green, al-most black flakes, or in balls madeof the flakes. Balls of chlorite arecommonly in a phantom. Dark greenor bluish-green needles of goethiteappear at times at the base of thecrystals. One of the pockets that oneof my students worked, containeddouble-terminated crystals filled withwhat I think is goethite. From timeto time I found crystals here contain-ing a feathery structure which I wasnot able to recognize. Not until re-cent years did I learn this materialwas what is now popularly called"cat's eye quartz."

If someone had followed Jay Ran-

8 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

CAT'S EYE QUARTZ

som's suggestion in the September,1953, Desert Magazine, and lookedfurther east for more crystals, thecat's eye material might have beendiscovered sooner. It is a most inter-esting variety of quartz, and will cuta white stone resembling the chryso-beryl cat's eye. The fibers causing the"eye," after careful examination bymineralogists, have been shown to beempty tubes. At some time duringthe history of the formation of thespecimens, these tubes were filled withan unknown mineral which later dis-solved. In some crystals, these tubesactually form phantoms, and thesespecimens cut the best cat's eyestones.

It is not easy today to reach thecat's eye field. For three years abranch road led east from the maincamp turnoff, and after a half-mileturned left into some small hills andended at the new field. Last sum-mer's rains washed out the road intwo places. A hike along this trail isstill a good way to reach the field,but by car a circuitous route must befollowed (see map) past the wind-mill for about 3.5 miles east to thefirst turn to the left, double back toa dilapidated water tank, pass to thewest of it for about a quarter-mile,and then turn right into the hills.These are involved directions, butwe made it to the field by carefullyfollowing them. Perhaps the originalroad will soon be re-opened.

Regardless of how you get to thecat's eye location, the effort is wellworth it. Here again, extensive dig-gings pinpoint the locale. And dig-ging is the most profitable method ofcollecting. The best way to recognizethe material is to immerse the whitecrystals or fragments in water, thenexamine the piece from all angles inbright sunlight. Any glint of whiteuncolored light from within the spe-cimen merits its being set aside forfurther investigation. On one tripwe found working a dump quiteprofitable. Evidently the person who

dug the hole did not use water tocheck the pieces he uncovered. Asa result, my group brought homesome excellent material. The shim-mering beauty of the cat's eye makesthe finding of only one piece wellworth the trip.

Crystal Hill is one of those collect-ing areas that appeals to both mineralcollectors and lapidary hobbyists.Many of the quartz crystals, with orwithout inclusions, are museumpieces. And many of the fragmentsor poorly-shaped crystals containinginclusions can be cut into excellentstones; of course the cat's eye typeheads this category.Opalite on the Road to Cibola

4 THE SOUTH - BRANCHINGturnoff from the Cibola Road(4.2 miles from Highway 95) iseasy to find, but from this point onthere are at least four discernibleroads wandering off into the brush.Happily, they all lead back into themain branch before reaching thecampground at the base of the opal-ite hill.

After leaving our cars, my studentsand I had only to walk a few yardsto the east to find pieces of opalite.As we worked further up the hill,the pieces of float became more num-erous. About three-fourths of theway up the hill there are a numberof diggings, presumably in the veinsthat are the source of the float mater-ial. Further digging in the holes gavevery poor results, so we confined ouractivity to hunting for the float.

We found the opalite to be of poorto fair quality, with only a very fewpieces to our liking. The pink pieceswere the most interesting, and haveless of the annoying holes and pits

that are very prominent in much ofthis area's opalite. The rare speci-mens without pits are good firm ma-terial, and will polish with no diffi-culty. There is a plentiful supplyof opalite hereall that one needsis time and energy to search out thebetter pieces. Collectors who arereally particular will find their take-home supply to be small. Those whoare only after color and pattern willfind plenty of material here.

Geodes and PalmsIn the Koia Country

5 BY HOLDING UP the April,1949, issue of Desert and compar-ing the Kofa landscape with thepicture at the bottom of page 19 (seesame photograph with this story), wewere able to determine the exact spotwhere Harold Weight stood to takethis picture. The two ocotillos look-ed almost exactly the same as theydid 10 years before, with the branchesabove the skyline appearing identical.I'm sorry to report, however, that sofar as the geodes are concerned, thereis little similarity between what Har-old found in 1949 and what nowexists.

We picked up many small geodes,but what we found were very poor,with less than five percent of themshowing anything interesting. Mostof these were hollow and lined withvery small (drusy) quartz crystals. Afew specimens had a bit of gray chal-cedony in their centers. The remain-ing 95% was simply rock (rhyolite)to the center, or contained small flecksof chalcedony of poor quality. Need-less to say, my students were verydisappointed.

I am of the opinion that the fewgood geodes from this area have long

IT'S FUN TO WANDER THE SIOPES OF CRYSTAL HILl , LOOKING FOR TREASURE

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 9

since been removed, and no doubt,along with them a large number ofpoor ones, also. I must write off thisarea as one where only a very smallpercentage of good material existedin the first placeand this was soonhauled off.

But, are geodes the Kofa's onlytreasure? I would say that even theworld's best geodesif they occurredherewould be the secondary prize.A hike up the canyon to see the palmoasis is the real treasure of Kofa. Thetrail up from the main canyon is verysteep and rugged. I recommend it

only to those who are adept at usingboth hands and feet in climbing.

Geodes on anOld Silver Trail

6 A NUMBER OF YEARS ago Ivisited the geode area describedby Harold Weight in the April,1951, issue of Desert. The geodeswere very small but extremely num-erous, with a small percentage ofreal interest.

On a recent drive up Highway 95,I could not be sure of the location

of the old turnoff from the pavement,but the most likely one was only afew hundred yards from a paved roadto the Army's Yuma Test Station.This road is posted against entry andthe only assumption I could makewas that the geode beds were to beconsidered in a similar situation. Ihave included this area in this re-portand it shows up as a detailedsection of the mapin anticipationof the day when the military releasessome of its "desert empire" back topublic use. But, don't hold yourbreath. / / /

THE KOFA COUNTRY LANDSCAPE REMAINS UNCHANGED (SEE LOCATION NO. 5)

Do You Have TheseBack IssuesWith Detailed Maps OfGem-Mineral Fields?ISSUE LOCALE

July '54 Limestone Gulchnear Clifton, Ariz.

March '55 Monte Cristo Mts.west of Tonopah, Nev.

July '55 Trinity Mountains south-west of Lovelock, Nev.

Aug. '55 Virgin Valley, Nev.April '56 Salt Creek Canyon

north of Globe, Ariz.Sept. '56 Silver Peak Mts.

south of Coaldale, Nev.Dec. '56 Box Canyon, Gila Mts.

north of Ft. Thomas, Ariz.July '57 Yellow Cat area, south-

east of Thompson, Utah

GEM MATERIAL

Blood-red and deep-purple jas-per delicately veined with whiteor splotched with yellowReds, blacks, and yellows inclear or cloudy or patternedchalcedonyJasper, obsidian, opal

OpalSerpentine

Icicle agate, white flame orplume agateWhite and smoky chalcedony,chalcedony rosesGizard stones

ISSUE LOCALE

Sept. '57 Pinto Basin west ofMexicali, Baja Calif.

Oct. '57 Punta Penasco, Baja Calif.May '58 Little Chuckawalla

Mts., Calif.June '58 Whipple Mts., north of

Vidal Junction, Calif.Aug. '58 Verde Antique Quarry

east of Victorvile, Calif.Dec. '58 Jack Creek north of

Jarbidge, Nev.July '59 Mogollon Rim, Ariz.Aug. '59 Hoover Dam area, Nev.

(5 separate locales)Nov. '59 Bradshaw Mts., east of

Morristown, Ariz.Feb. '60 Barstow area, Calif.

(5 separate locales)

GEM MATERIAL

Banded rhyolite

Sea shellsApache tears

Chalcedony roses

Yellow and green marble

Many-hued agates

Red jasperPectolite, onyx, green jasper,agateTourmaline, mica, calcitecrystalsAgate, petrified wood, obsidian,jasp-agate, jasper

These back issues are complete and in goodcondition. Mailed post paid to any address

in the U.S.$25c EACH ANY 6 FOR $1

Order from: Dept. S-lDesert MagazinePalm Desert, Calif.

10 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

hi

CHILI PEPPER HARVEST STARTS I N THE DESERT COUNTRY I N SEPTEMBER A N D CONTINUES TILL FROST

Spreading the chilis to dry in the f \sun. See Front Cover Illustration LV

DESERTCHILICHILI, AN American gift to theworld, was one of the plantsColumbus took home to Spainin 1500. Soon it became a choiceEuropean garden plant, and a prizedseasoning.

In the Desert Southwest, chili isbig business. Commercially cultivatedunder irrigation at altitudes of be-tween 3000 and 5000 feet, the brightred pods of the chili store the heatof the desert sun. Chili is a Spanishword derived from the Nahuatl (Az-tec) chilli.

The ever-growing demand for chiliseasoning makes the pepper harvestan important and colorful time indesertland. After the land is pre-

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 11

TWENTY TO 25 LARGE RED PODS MAY DEVELOP ON A MATURE CHILI BUSH

pared in the early spring, mechanicalplanters sow the seeds a half-inchdeep, 18 to 24 inches apart in rowsspaced 36 to 40 inches. As the youngplants grow, the weeds are hoed byhand, and nitrogen fertilizer is fedto the field through irrigation water.

Dusting is necessary as a deterrentto insects. In dry weather a tractor-drawn duster is used, but if it is wetthe dusting is done by air. By Sep-tember, when the bushes are from18 inches to three feet tall and mayaverage 20 to 26 green pods, the firstphase of the chili harvest begins.

The green pods are picked, washed,steamed cooked, and ground to makechili paste. This, mixed with mus-tard, is used on meats of all kinds.

The second phase of the harvestgets underway when the plants putout red pods. These must be gath-ered before frost, and great care isused in sorting the chili for flavorand color. Red chili paste is madefrom these large bright red banana-shaped "Anahan" chili.

The third product of the harvest

GREAT CARE IS USED IN SELECTING AND GRADING THE CHILI PODS FOR COLOR AND FLAVOR

12 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

THESE LARGE RED BANANA ("ANAHAN") CHILIS ARE DRIED, READY TO BE GROUND INTO CHILI POWDER

results when red pods are sun-driedfor several days before being groundinto chili powder. Large flat areasmake good drying areas, and care istaken to turn the peppers to preventmolding, and to assure even curing.After grinding, the powder is pack-aged in 50-pound sacks or 5 Vi -poundcardboard cartons for shipping.

It is interesting to note that this"hot" crop must be protected frompredators. Heavy losses may be sus-tained if jackrabbits invade the grow-ing fields or drying areas. Over nightthese animals can cut-down and eatmany bushes, so growers find it nec-essary to protect their crop with finechickenwire fencing.

One acre of land can produce aton of dried chili valued at approxi-mately $420. This relatively highper-acre yield is offset by the fact thatmore risk and care are involved ingrowing chili than most other South-western crops.

To Latin Americans, chili has longbeen a favorite seasoning. But fewpeople realize chili's long history asa medicine. Such diseases as dropsy,gout, colic, yellow fever, and eventoothache and paralysis were treatedwith doses of chili. In New Englandduring colonial days, chili mixed withhoney was prescribed for quinsy.

Today chili flavoring is used ex-tensively in many countries. It hasthe happy faculty of appealing toboth hot dog fanciers and connois-seurs of fine iood.-MARGARET H.CANNING CHILI POWDERS ARE BLENDED TO ASSURE FINE FLAVORS / / /

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 13

lobivia BinghamianaHenry R. Mockel

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 15

IT AMAZES ME to find how few desert travelers andeven permanent desert residents have ever tasted thedelicious brew that can be made from the Ephedra,commonly known as Desert or Squaw Tea.

I have yet to find anyone who having tried this drink,doesn't find it very tasty. Of course, it must be properlymade, and this involves the correct method of cooking.The stems of Ephedra must be boilednot steepedtothe correct strength, and this takes at least 10 minutes(or until the liquid has the deep amber color of well-steeped Chinese or Ceylonese tea) . To bring out thefull blossomlike flavor of Ephedra, it is quite essentialto put in at least one teaspoonful of sugar to the cup.Juice of lemon or strawberry jam may be added ifdesired. I never use cream in my tea, but there is noreason why it cannot be added.

Either the green or the dried Ephedra plant may beused. I prefer tea made from the fresh green stemsgathered in the open just before cooking. Only a hand-ful of stems is needed. They should be covered wellwith boiling water, and used but once.

In the specialty and health-food stores, packaged driedEphedra stems cut up in half-inch lengths sell for $1 perpound. In a few minutes, you can gather a bale of these

many uses from their Indian forebears and neighbors,and called it by a great variety of often picturesque andeuphonious names: Tepote, Popotillo, Itamoreal, Reta-moreal, and Canitillo. The Chinese called one of theirwidespread and much-used Ephedras, Ma-huang, andprized the plant particularly for its alleged therapeuticqualities. Ephedra's history in Chinese medicine goesback at least to the times of the mythical father ofChinese medicine, Shen Nung (B.C. 2737-2698).

In the Southwest, Ephedra is sometimes known asMormon Tea or Brigham Young's Weed, but thesenames should be applied only to one or two particularkinds of this plant, Ephedra viridis or E. nevadensis,which grow in Utah where the Mormon settlers earlyadopted its use as a beverage. The name Teamster'sTea probably came into use because the early freightersoften gathered Ephedra along the wayside, and tiedbundles of the twigs to their wagons where they wereeasy to reach when meals were prepared.

In my estimation, the Ephedra giving the best flavoredbeverage is the Green Ephedra (Ephedra viridis) of thepinyon country. This handsome plant has vividly greenstems set closely togetheralmost parallelin broomlikebunches. It is particularly good-looking when the male

Desert Teastemsenough to last many weeks. Ephedra, as it occurson our local deserts, is a low, much-branched, seeminglyleafless, gray-green or vividly green shrub consisting ofnumerous small woody jointed stemshence one of itsnames: Joint Fir. Actually, this plant has but a slightrelationship to the firs. Perhaps someone in the pastthought that Ephedra's tiny male flowering-cones lookedlike the seed-bearing cones of the fir tree.

Ephedra is a Greek name used by Pliny for Hippuris,the common Horse-tail of streamsides which Ephedrasomewhat resembles in having fluted, jointed stems. Thetwo plants, however, have no direct relationship. Theseveral kinds of Ephedras (there are some 50 species)are natives of southern Europe, North Africa, subtrop-ical Asia and extratropical America. There is only onestrictly European species; North Africa has three. Inthe Australian deserts, which seem particularly favor-able to its growth, only a single speciesa native ofSouth Americais found. How a South American plantcame to grow in Australia, nobody ventures more thana guess. In our Southwestern deserts, each of the U.S.and Mexican states boast of several Ephedra species.

Early-day trappers, huntsmen and explorers were notthe first to make a beverage from the stems of Ephedra,for the Southwest Indians had used it from times un-known as the basis of a decoction used as a drink, ablood purifier, and a remedy for a variety of illnesses(colds, pneumonia, kidney complaints and diseases ofthe generative organs) . The Cahuilla Indians of theColorado Desert called the plant, Tu-tut, and in theold days bunches of dried Ephedra twigs could be foundtucked up among the roof poles of almost every jackal.

The Mexicans and Spaniards early learned Ephedra's

plants are thickly covered with staminate blossoms whosebright yellow pollen-filled, closely-clustered anthers adornthe plant with a mantle of gold. The female plant'sornament of many leaden-green fruiting cones is incomparison not nearly so appealing. However, thePanamint Indians looked upon the cone-laden femaleshrubs (. nevadensis) with special favor, since thesizable seeds within the cones were good when roastedto use in making a kind of bitter but edible and nutri-tious bread. I have eaten the ovate seeds of this andother desert teas, and found them quite palatable whenharvested green.

We must not be surprised that the Ephedra fruits arecalled cones, for these they are in fact; the plants beingnear-relations of the pines. The cones are made up ofa number of scales or bracts folded over one another.Within this structure lie the seed or seeds. In some ofthe Ephedras these bracts are swollen to form pulpyjuicy "fruits" or "berries" of brilliant color, usuallybright red or salmon-pink. In many regions these pulpy"berries" are eaten.

The beautiful ground-hugging salmon or red-berriedspecies are indeed ornamental and curiosity-provokingshrubs very suitable to use as rock-garden plants. Theyrequire little care and a minimum of water. Sometimesthe colorful fruits are borne in such profusion that theshrubs are conspicuous from afar. Among the red-berried species are nebrodensis, with wandlike branches;vulgaris from southern Europe; sinica, from China; andseveral kinds from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Icommend them all to desert garden lovers.

The very small, almost unnoticed scalelike leaves ofEphedra occur at the joints or internodes of the stems.

16 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

In some species there are two leaves, set opposite oneanother at each joint. In others there are three, ar-ranged ternately. In shape the generally dry and paperytiny leaves vary from narrow and pointed to broad andblunt-ended. Being so small they are pratically func-tionless, their work of sugar-making being taken overby the green chlorophyll-bearing young stems. Thenature and number of the leaves are useful character-istics, along with the fruits, in separating the variousspecies.

The fusiform gall-fly (Lasioptera ephedrae) lays itseggs in the tender young Ephedra stems during thegrowing season. Swollen spindle-shaped galls soon ap-pear in numbers at the points of the small wasp's ova-positation. The green swellings holding the developinginsects are sometimes mistaken for fruits by the novicein plant lore.

Desert teas have uses other than those referred toabove. Most all are valuable browse plants, especiallyin winter and at times of drouth. Some species are goodsoilbinders: E. cutleri of the Navajo country is a primeexample. In places this evergreen plant grows so thickon sand hummocks and sandy plains that when seenat a distance it resembles a luxuriant growth of grass.

ceiling of her half-lighted dingy stall hang dried snakes,dried sting-rays and sharks, desicated sea-stars and othercreatures of sea and landthe whole comprising themost bizarre assemblage of merchandise I have everlaid eyes on. Indeed, it is a place so unique that Inever fail to visit this mysterious and dark corner of themarket every time I am in inland Mexico.

Among her bundles of herbs are dried bunches ofseveral species of Ephedra. When one inquires as totheir use, this strange crone gives such a bewilderingand lengthy list that one is forced to judge that Ephedra("Canitillo," she calls it) is indeed a much valued andmuch used remedyat least in that immediate area.Especially does she commend it as a promoter of elimina-tion of poisons through the kidneys, and as a valuableremedy for colds and fevers.

The naked-seed Ephedras belong to a group of plants,Gnetales, that are of great antiquity. We really knowvery little of their descent. Because of the structure oftheir woody stems (they possess no resin ducts, but truesap-conducting vessels) we think of them as ratherclosely resembling the flowering plants, and as inter-mediate in evolutionary position between the Gymno-sperms (pines, firs, etc.) and the Angiosperms (higher

Je$ Joint Fit Temtet's TeiIn some desert areas of Africa and China, woody Ephe-dra stems are a major source of fuel. It is said that theChinese utilize the ashes of their Ephedra fires to mixwith snuff as a headache remedy.

The very valuable drug, ephedrine, now used so muchas a decongestant and tissue shrinker by medical special-ists in treating head colds, asthma and hayfever, isobtained from the salmon-berried Chinese Ephedra (.sinica) and related species. Our American plants donot yield the drug in quantities sufficient for utilization;they do contain pseudo-ephedrines, and, like all theother Ephedras, tannin. It is this tannin that gives thebeverage its slight puckery effect. Since a very strongbrew of Desert Tea contains a very appreciable amountof tannin, it may be used as an efficient and harmlesssoothing agent in treating sunburns and other burns.The Chinese have used strong washes of ordinary tea(Thea) as a burn-remedy for many centuries.

Chinese herb doctors have for ages used preparationsof both the Ephedra's dried roots and dried stems forinternal as well as external remedies. They early knewthat the root-derived drugs produce different reactionsthan drugs made from the green or dried stems. Ephe-drine is derived only from the stems. Administered inmany ways, these doctors used their Ephedra-deriveddrugs for the cure of colds, coughs, headaches andfevers.

In the big public market of the picturesque Mexicancity of Zacatecas is a strange shop presided over by awrinkled wizard-vizaged old lady always dressed indreary black. On her many shelves-in bottles, boxes,and baskets-are time-honored and dust-covered herbsand other substances used as native remedies. From the

flowering plants). However, Gnetales, along with theirrelatives, the strange Welwitschia and Gnetums, aregenerally listed as Gymnosperms. The Ephedras arethought to be the most primitive of the Gnetales; theWelwitschia the most advanced.

Welwitschia (Welwitschia rnirabilis) or Tumboa, asthe natives call it, is unique to Damaraland and adjoin-ing territory of the west coast of South Africa where therainfall may average as little as one inch per year. Itis rightly described as "one of the most remarkableproductions of the vegetable kingdom." I never hearof this near-relative of Ephedra without having anenormous desire to see it in its native state. A well-grown plant projects less than 12 inches above theground, yet the stem may have a circumference of 12feet! From the depressed crown spring two long strap-shaped leaves, sometimes two feet wide and six feetlong, trailing off across the desert sand in oppositedirections. Once formed, these huge leaves persistthroughout the plant's life, which may be a hundredyears or more. Blown about by the dry desert winds,the leaves soon become curled, split and much frayed.In time, branched flower-stalks spring from the broadsquat stem's central area. These flower-stalks bear smallerect cones, each being about the size of a fir cone, andscarlet in color. On this unique structure both maleand female flowers occur. Insects effect pollination.

Gnetum, another of Desert Tea's relatives, is a plantgenus native to tropical America and warm regions ofthe Old World. Some of the species are treelike; othersare climbers. The leaves, with veins like the broad-leafed plants, spring in pairs from the swollen nodesof the stems. In contrast to Welwitschia, the flowers arewind-pollinated. / / /

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 17

SMMMM

^ Q

tin

MM

m

m

F "^ ^

1 ^

rTHIS BUSINESS OF SELLINGINDIAN APPLIED ARTS

HOPI KACHINA DOLL

PRAYER STICK from Walpi,$7.50. Zuni Corn Society Shrine,9x13", $47.50. Yaqui Mask, 7",total length with beard 15", $45.Tarascan Figure, standing, carryingvessel on shoulder, well preserved,6x12", $117.50. Infant Kachina Doll,very interesting, with hornlike attach-ments to mask, $17.50. PrehistoricDeadman Black-on-White MiniatureOlla, 2V2X3", $15.

The half-dozen items listed aboveare a random sampling from theHouse of The Six Directions' catalog.Paul F. Huldermann, pipe-smoking

PAUL HULDERMANN SOAKS UP A BIT OF SUNSHINE IN FRONT OF SHOP

owner-operator of this Scottsdale, Ari-zona, store, is a middleman par excel-lence in the growing business ofsupplying connoisseurs, collectors,

By EUGENE L. CONROTTOdevotees of the Southwest, and justplain people with an eye for theunusual and beautiful, with qualityIndian artsfrom prehistoric burialjars to a day-old painting by Yazz orBegay.

The affable Huldermann, whoclaims to be "the only Indian traderin the Southwest with a German ac-cent," runs a small exquisite shop.Every item in the House of The SixDirections is Indian-made. Even thestore's name is native, referring tothe six cardinal directions of thePueblo Indians: north, south, east,west, up and down.

Look elsewhere if you are in themarket for a machine-made "Indian-style" trinket or a 50c tomahawk, forthey are as welcome in the House of

18 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

The Six Directions as are shoplifters.In fact, shoplifters probably wouldbe better received, for Huldermannis a philosopher-storekeeper, one whojudges the success of a day not bydollar volume of sales (although heis the first to admit that money helps,and you won't find him making anymistakes at the cash register), but bythe richness of human experience.

"We went 89 days without rain,"one customer was telling Hulder-mann, "so at 11 that morning we putthe Rain Gods you sold us out on thedeck, and, by golly, by 1:15 we hadrain!"

Hearing such an anecdote inspiresin Huldermann a reaction that canbest be described as an explosion oflaughter right from the bottom ofhis soul.

Simple economics rule out Hul-dermann's personally making longforays into Indian country to selectmerchandise for his shop. He de-pends on a dozen dealers for hissupplies of contemporary jewelry,rugs, paintings, drums, baskets, ar-rowheads, Kachina dolls and head-dresses. (The rarer items such aspre-historic pieces are obtained froma very few selected supply sources,and from individuals.)

Just as so-called Indian stores canbe neatly divided into two classes,"junk-tourist" and "quality-collector,"so too can the suppliers who distrib-ute Indian arts and crafts to theretail outlets.

And here we have a paradox."In this business," explains Hul-

dermann, "you begin to classify thesuppliers into two groups: the sales-men with fancy display cases, andthe men who carry their merchandisein cardboard boxes.

"A retailer tends to trade with oneor the other. With but a few excep-tions, I buy from the cardboardbox fraternity. These suppliers usu-ally spend more time on the roughreservation roads where a cardboardbox is at home. They seem to bemuch more interested in the nativepeoples who make the rugs and jew-elry. They can see beyond the pieceof merchandise itself.

"A city-trained salesman wouldn'tbe caught dead with a cardboard boxlor his wareswhich proves the pointI'm trying to make. My suppliersaren't salesmenthey are themselvescollectors and students of Indian artsand crafts. Thus, they know theirproductand, more important, theyappreciate quality."

The trading post operator on the

JEWELRY SALESMAN DICK LeROY IS A MEMBEROF THE "CARDBOARD BOX" FRATERNITY

reservation is an important link inthe Indian arts and crafts business.In essence, the reservation store op-erator trades the Indian artisan thenecessities of life for jewelry, rugsand other crafts. While the tradingpost retails some of these items directto the few customers who ventureinto the reservation backcountry,

RUG DEALER GIL MAXWELL AT HIS FARMINGTON WAREHOUSE

most of the post's accumulated stockis wholesaled to retail dealers directlyor to "roadmen" who re-sell to theretail establishments throughout theSouthwest and other parts of the na-tion.

Some road salesmen buy direct fromthe Indians. C. Richard LeRoy ofScottsdale, who specializes in jewelry,buys from a roster of craftsmen num-bering less than 30. LeRoy is one ofHuldermann's "cardboard box sup-pliers." He has been a full-time traderless than nine years, and drifted intothe business from his long-time hobbyof collecting Indian arts and crafts.

But, in the main, Indians havemost of their dealings with the trad-ing post, and it follows that the qual-ity and quantity of their output ismost influenced by these traders.Practically without exception, reser-vation store operators are conscienti-ous and fair-dealing men who realizethat Indian crafts are more than itemsof commerce. Their Indian friendsare creating art forms of great in-trinsic value, and the trader is thefirst to encourage this enterprise.

On the Navajo Reservation, rugsare the "cash crop;" the Indian's jew-elry, his earthly wealth, is pawn given to the trader as security againstcredit extended by the store. TheU.S. Indian Service regulates theterms of this barter, including thelength of time the trader must hold

September, 1961 / Desert Magazine / 19

\ ! 1 I

CLAY LOCKETT, operator of an Indian crafts shop in Tucson, spendsmany hours on the reservations of the Southwest dealing direct withIndian artisans. He is one of the best known and most highly respectedIndian traders in the nation. When Lockett opened the rough-hewndoor of his adobe shop in 1942, a long-held belief was about to proveitself: "good taste is everybody's pleasure." Lockett believed then ashe does now that Indian craftsmen, if left to their own devices, invari-ably express themselves with discrimination. To the Navajos andPuebloans with whom he has had long dealing, he advises: "Dothe best you canbut, do it your way."

the pawn before he can sell it on theopen market.

An Indian woman, working longhours on a primitive loom, makes arug which she wishes to sell. At thepost the trader examines the rug,determines its quality, and makes anoffer. In this case, let us say $35. Ifthe weaver accepts that price, she hasa choice ol tvo j- 'ms lor collectingpayment: $35 all in trade; or $30hall trade, hall cash.

Enter now a dealer in rugs fromthe cardboard box school, such as GilMaxwell ol Farmington, New Mex-ico. Maxwell, who has one of thefinest private collections ol Navajorugs in the world, is one of the veryfew men who deal on a cash basislor rugs with the trading post owners(most others trade jewelry, crafts and

other commodities lor rugs) . AndMaxwell usually buys thousands ofdollars worth of rugs al a time.

Let us assume thai our $35 rug isamong those Maxwell has selected tobuy from the trading post. For thisparticular rug he will have paid $35.Why no mark-up? Because Maxwellis a volume buyer, and because thetrader needs cash in order to be ableto buy new merchandise lo sell tothe Indiansgroceries, the all-impor-tant soda p o p , text i les , oi l , tools ,hardware.

When the lime comes lor a sellingtripand Maxwell is nearly alwayson the roadhe will load a quantityol rugs in his station wagon and headlor his variousbut not manycus-tomers, among them the House ofThe Six Directions.

Huldermann likes the $35 rug andpays $42 lor it. He puts it on hisrack with a $70 price tag.

Thus, on this rug the Indian makes$35; the trading post operator getshis hands on much-needed cash; Max-well makes $7 (and can afford tooperate on such a small margin be-cause he sells so many rugs) ; andHuldermann if and when he sellsthe rugearns a $28 profit.

Those who are cjuick to point outthat Huldermann makes nearly asmuch as the Indian, tend to forget(or never realized) two importantfacts: the sale Huldermann makesis the one that counts; and he is theonly one ol the four involved inhandling this rug who has any ap-preciable overhead. In fact, thisoverhead includes not only standarditems such as lease, utilities, and ad-vertising; but such "special" Arizonaoverhead items as airconditioning anda high inventory tax.

The average Indian doesn't under-

20 / Desert Magazine / September, 1961

stand this business of wholesale andretail, distribution costs, standardmark-up and profit. But some mu-seums and government agencies don'thave anything on him.

With the best of intentions, thesenon-profit organizations periodicallytry to "help" the Indian artist-crafts-man by merchandising his productsat once-a-year shows and fairs. Jtemscarry only a 5-10% mark-up at suchevents, and instead of receiving $35for a rug that retails for $70, theweaver takes home $70 (less the smallmark-up retained by the show spon-sors to defray expenses) .

It is easy to guess what happens

MASTER POTTERY MAKER FROM SAN ILDEFONSO PUEBLO, NEW MEXICO

A HULDERMANN DISPLAY PROVES THE POINT THAT INDIAN DESIGNS ARE TIMELESS

weeks later when the rugmaker walksinto the trading post with another$35 rug. She points to the $70 figurereceived at the show, and understand-ably wants that price set as a prece-dent. The trader won't pay $70 forthe rug because he knows Maxwellwon't pay $70 for it because Maxwellknows Huldermann won't pay $84for it because Huldermann knowsthe rug cannot fetch $140 on the openmarket.

Huldermann and some of his fel-low dealers insist that in the long runthese promoters of special sales aredoing more harm than good for theIndian artist - craftsman. They areencouraging him to price himself outof the market on the strength of whathe receives for isolated sales.

Finding ways and means to resolvethe economic problem of Indian art-ists and craftsmen occupies much ofPaul Huklermann's time and effort.He is forever encouraging new Indiantalent with special displays of theirwares in his shop. He is in contactwith instructors ol Indian arts andcrafts, and discusses with them trendsin this field. He reads everything onIndian art that he can get his handson, and recommends books and arti-cles to customers and friends. Chil-dren who show the slightest interestin the artistic side of American Indi-ans are given special attention.

"Indian designs," points out Hul-dermann, "are timeless. Contempo-rary Hopi bracelets employ designsthat were originated in 900 A.D. bya people who had enough to do justto keep alive.

"Yet, these ancients strove to addbeauty to their lives by embellishingpottery, painting intricate religiousmurals, carving stone figures, andcreating beautiful inlay jewelry andceremonial pieces.

"This creativeness must not be lostin our modern machine age." / / /

September, 1961 / Deseri Magazine / 21

Refreshing photos on alegendary desert subject

IN 1953 photo-journalist Tom G.Murray fulfilled a boyhood dream:to visit the famous Death ValleyScotty in his desert Castle.

Murray decided to sleep in his carthat first night, but when Scotty heardabout it he sent one of the caretakers

out to bring in the stranger."Tell that kid to come in here,

and see that he gets a room," Scottycommanded. He had a nickname foreveryone (Scotty called the Castlemanager's wife, "The Pony Express"),and "Kid" stuck to Murrayeven to

this day. Many of his friends callhim "The Death Valley Kid."

It was understood that grub wentwith the free room, and so Murraydined on steaks and chicken.

"The strange thing," recalls Mur-