198312 Desert Magazine 1983 December

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-VDECEMBER 1983V o L . 4 7 , N o . 2ISSN 0194 -3405

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By GEORGE BRADTCOLLARED LIZARD (Crotaphytuscollaris): This lizard is one of thehandsomest of them all. It is strik-ingly marked with a double blackcollar, blotched andbanded legs and

tail, and all this over a vivid yellow-ish-orange ground color. It has alarge head, thick body, and a tailmeasuring twice the body length.These are rather speedy creaturesand when pursued can be seen torise uponto their hind legs and runalong half erect. TheCollared Liz-ard isfound from New Mexico west-ward into central California. Thespecimen in the photograph livedin an ancient volcano crater nearLas Cruces, NewMexico.

DESERT MAGAZINE


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EW GRANTHAMEditor

M. BANDINI,Photo EditorP. RICHARDS,Ci rculatio n

Volume 4 7 , Number 2 DECEMBER 1983

CONTENTSLeCONTE'S THRASHER

COLLARED LIZA RDLUPINE

EXPLORING G HOST RAILROADS O F T H EMOTHER LODE: PART ITHE SALTON S E A

DESERT QUIZPOETRY

HIGHGRADERS O F GOLDFIELDSACRED M3UNTAIN O F T H E TRIBESMEN

CACTUS CITY CLARIONANTOINE LEROUX - PATHFINDERCALENDAR O F WESTERN EVENTS

WHEN CAMELS CAME T O T H E DESERTDESERT PRODUCT O F T H E MONTH

MDUNTAIN TREASUREOCTOBER I N MONUMENT VALLEY

END O F T H E RAILS

1 Fron t Cover2 G . Bradt4 Mary Beal5 D W Grantham7 Desert Staff

11 Dese rt Staff11 Vari ous Contributors12 Arth ur Woodward16 A . L a Vielle Lawbaugh20 Current News22 Charles Kelly27 Events t o Attend28 Frances E. Watkin s31 Des ert Staff32 Bar ry Storm39 Des ert Staff40 Rear Cover

D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E (USPS 5 3 5 2 30 ) is pu b l i s h e d e v e r y o c h e r (e v en n u m b e r e d )m o n t h . A p pl i c a t i o n f or 'r e e nt r y pe n d i n g a t D e s e r t H o t S p r i n g s , C a l i f .92240. E D I T O R I A L , C IR CU LA TI ON '', a n d A D V E R T I S I N G o f f i c e s 'a r e l o c a t e d a t11213 P a l m D r i v e , D e s e r c H o t S p r i n g s , C a l i f . 92240, Telephone (619)251-1150. P l e a s e a d d r e s s a l l m a i l t o P o s t O f f i c e B o x 1318, P a i n D e s e r tC a l i f . 9 2 2 6 1 . S u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e s : $ 15 . 0 0 U S A , $18. 0 0 f o r e i g n , pe r y e a r .S e e s u b s c r i p t i o n f o rm i n t h i s i s s u e . P O S T M A S T E R : S e n d c h a ng e o f a d d r e s sb y F o r m 3 5 7 9 t o D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E , P . 0 . B o x 1 3 18 , P a l m D e s e r t , C a l . 92261.C o p y r i g h t 1 983 b y D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . N o pa r t o f t h i spu b l i c a t i o n m a y b e r e p r o d u c e d i n a n y m a n n e r w i t h o u t s e cu r in g w r i t t e npe r m i s s i o n f r o m th e pu b l i s h e r . C O N T R I B U T I O N S : T h e e d it o r w e l c o m e su n s o l i c i t e d m a n u s c r i p t s a n d ph o t o g r a p h s b u t t h ey c a n be r e t u r ne d O N L Y i fa c c o m pa n i e d b y a f u l l y p o s t a g e p a i d r e t u r n e n v e l o pe . W h i l e w e t r e a t s u b -m i s s i o n s w i t h l o v i n g c a r e , w e d o n o t a ss ui ne r e s po n s i b i l i t y f o r lo s s o rd a m a g e . W r i t e r s G u i d e i s f r e e w i t h l a r g e S . A . S . E . , w i t h s a m pl e c o py o fm a g a z i n e , $2. 0 0 . P l e a s e h a v e a n i c e d a y .


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By MARY BEALLupines are among the best known flowers in the world,

Desert Magazine readersFirst, however, let's give a thought to the origin of the

wolf, lupus. It has come

Many Lupines are showy and handsome enough to be

Lupine leaflets have the habit of folding up, usuallyof the day you might call it taking aOne handsome amethyst-flowered species is the CoulterLupine, named for Dr. Thom as C oulter who first collected

it about 1831. You may know it as Arizona Lupine orLoose-flowered Lupine. Botanically it is listed asLupinus sparsiflorus

An extremely unstable species, which has led to thesegregation of several varieties, these are also inconstant.The species is generally larger than the varieties, usually afoot or two high, the stem rather slender, with few tomany branches, the herbage clothed with soft hairs andalso a scattering of stiff hairs. The palmate leaves have 5to 9 leaflets, linear to oblanc eolate , 1/3 to 1 inch long, onpetioles 1 to 3 inches long. The slender racemes are 3 to9 inches long and may be loosely flowered or occasionallydensely so. The corollas are typical pea blossoms, about V2inch long, a violet or lilac hue, the banner centered by awhite spot which ages to a bright red-purple. The hairyoblong pods are about Vi inch long, constricted betweenthe 4 to 6 seeds. It favors sandy soil of foothills, valleysand mesas, up to 4500 feet, in southern Nevada, Arizona,southern California and Lower California and should befound in bloom from March to May, often adding largesweeps of attractive color to the landscape. The common-est variety is arizonicus. sometimes classed as a separatespecies.

Var. arizonicusOrdinarily 5 to 8 inches high, somewhat succulent, theflowers mostly smaller, the freshly opened corollas palepurplish-pink, lavender or lilac, often drying deep violet,the leaflets broadly o blance olate. U sually found below

Chick Lupine Lupinus m icrocarpus, var. horizontalis3000 feet, preferring de ep sand. Q uite common in westernArizona, southeastern California from Death Valley tothe Mexican border on down into Sonora and LowerCalifornia.

Var. barbatulusIs identified by stout, hollow, very erect stems, largerleaves, and racemes up to 12 inches long, the corollaspale lilac or purplish with a more reddish tinge. Found inthe Needles area of the Mojave desert, the Colorado desertand western Arizona. Another interesting species is theWide-petaled or Chick Lupine.

Lupinus microca rpus var. ho rizontalisorLupinus ho rizontalis var. platypetalusA low trim plant 5 to 10 inches high, with somewhatsucculent, stout hollow stems, branched from the base ora little above, the branches at an ascending angle. Exceptfor the upper surface of the leaves, the herbage is soft-hairy, the long-petioled leaves with 5 to 9 leaflets V2 to1 inch long. The clean-cut upstanding racemes measure 4to 10 inches atop peduncles varying from short to long.The flowers are on very short pedicels, arranged in 3 to 8close neat whorls, more or less remotely spaced. Thecorollas are lilac or lavender, fading to white and becomingpapery in age. The ovate pods are covered with long softhairs and sit erect in the whorl of calyxes, like so manybaby birds in a nest.Found in the northern, central, and eastern Mojavedesert on sandy or gravelly flats and slopes at moderate tohigher elevations.Another wide-spread annual species of different habit ofgrowth is the Bajada Lupine or

Lupinus concinnusThe specific name is interpreted as shapely, elegant orskillfully put together. Varying from the upright fashion ofthe preceding species, it follows a more diffuse pattern .From 4 to 8 inches high, the several branching stems fromthe stout base are inclined to spread out. the lower onesoften decumbent. The herbage is densely clothed with softhairs, which sometimes turn rusty or tawny in age, themany long-petioled leaves with 5 to 8 oblanceolate leaflets.The short racemes are rather dense and very short-stemmed, well scattered as a rule, and surpassed by thefoliage. The corollas are lilac or violet, edged with a richreddish-purple, the banner centered by a spot of yellow.It is an exquisite color scheme.

December 1983


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E X P L O RI N G G H O S T R A I LR O A DS OF T H E M O T H E R L O D EP A R T 1: T H E A N G E L S B R A NC H

BY: DW Grantham

I n t hi s m o n t h s t r i p, w e w i l le xpl o r e t h e pa t h o f a l o n g a -b a n d o n e d r a i l r o a d t h a t s er v e d t h eM o t h e r L o d e a r e a . P a r t o f t h i sr a i l r oa d t h e A n g e l s B r a n c h ,T u o l u m n e C i t y , a n d M e l o n e s B r a n c ha r e a b a n d o n e d .L e a v i n g C a l i f o r n i a H i g h w a y 9 9a t M e r c e d , C a l i f o r n i a , w e pr o c e e dn o r t h a l o n g C o u n t y H i g h w a y J-5 9.S o o n w e a r e pa r a l l e l i n g a n o t h e ra b a n d o ne d r a i l r o u t e , t h e Y o s e m i t eV a l l e y , a n d a S o u t h e r n P a c i f i cB r a n c h . I n a f ew m i l e s , t h eS o u t h e r n P a c i f i c r i g h t -o f - w a yh e a d s w e s t a nd w e h e a d n o r t h e a s t ,s t i l l f o l l ow i n g t h e Y o s e m i t eV a l l e y r o u t e . A f t e r c r o s s i n g t h eM e r c e d R i v e r , t h e Y o s e m i t e V a l l e yr o u t e l e a v e s u s . W e pa s s t h r o u g ht h e t o w n of S n e l l i n g , i t s e l fs t e e pe d i n e a r l y C a l i f o r n i ah i s t o r y . S o o n , w e c r o s s e d t h e

f o r m e r r i g h t - o f -w a y o f t h eH e t c h -H e t c h y R a i l r o a d a n d a na b a n d o ne d pa r t o f t h e S i e r r a ,ju s t b e f o r e C r i m e a H o u s e , a l o n gg o n e s t o p pi n g p l a c e o n t h e w a y t ot he S o u t h e r n m i n e s . A t K e y s t o n e ,w e c r o s s e d t h e s t i l l a c t i v e t r a c k so f t h e S i e r r a a n d t u r n e d e a s t o nC a l i f o r n i a H i g h w a y 1 0 8 .A s h o r t 15 m i n u t e s l a t e r w ea r r i v e d a t t h e t o w n o f Ja m e s t o w n .T h e i t s e l f i s a m o s t a t t r a c t i v es m a l l M o t h e r L o d e c o m m u ni t y w i t ht h e u s u a l (o n e ) m a i n s t r e e t .A l o n g M a i n S t r e e t a r e n u m e r o u sa n t i qu e s h o p s , a r e s t o r e d h o t e l ,a nd m a n y o t h e r s m a l l b u s i n e s s e s .S o u t h o f t o w n i s t h e r a i l r o a dd e po t a n d r o u n d h o u s e . T h i s a r e ah a s r e c e n t l y b e e n a c qu i r e d b y t h eC a l i f o r n i a S t a t e P a r k S y s t e m .

U n f o r t u n a t e l y , pa r t o f t heJa m e s t o w n s t a t i o n b u r n e d s e v e r a ly e a r s a g o s o t h e pa r k i s m i s s i n ga v a l u a b l e a r t i f a c t . I n t h er o u n d h o u s e , o ne c a n s e e m a n yi t e m s o f r o l l i n g s t o c k , i n c l u d i n gs e v e r a l s t e a m e n g i n e s i n r u n n i ngc o n d i t i o n . T h e S i e r r a i s f r e -qu e n t l y u s e d f o r f i l m i n g b y t h es t u d i o s . R e c e n t l y , T h e G a m b l e rI I w i t h K e n n y R o g e r s w a s f i lm e dt h e r e .T h e c a r e f u l o b s e r v e r w i l ln o t i c e t h a t th e Ja m e s t o w n S t a t i o ns i t e i s n o t o n t he m a i n r o u t e o ft h e r a i l r o a d . U n u s u a l ?? N o t r e a l l y .T h e S t a t i o n f a c e s w h a t s h ou l dh a v e b e e n a b u s y b r a n c h l i n e , n o wa b a n d o n e d - - T h e A n g e l s B r a n c h .T h e l i n e s er v e d m i n i n g c u s t o m e r so f N o r t h T u o l u m n e a n d S o u t h w e s tC a l a v e r a s C o u n t y .T h e A n g e l s B r a n c h h a s b e e n g o n ef o r m a n y y e a r s , b u t i t i s po s s i -b l e t o f o l l o w l a r g e po r t i o n s o ft h e r o u t e . T r a c k s a r e s t i l l i npl a c e l e a d i n g N o r t h f r o m t h eJa m e s t o w n S t a t i o n t o ju s t b e y o n dt h e P i n e A l l e y E qu i p m e n t R e n t a lY a r d . S o m e o l d e q u i pm e n t i s pa r k e do n t h i s t r a c k , i n c l u d i n g a n o n -o pe r a t i n g s t e a m e n g i n e .T h e r i g h t -o f -w a y h e a d e d n o r t hf r o m h e r e s o m e w h a t pa r a l l e l i n gt h e pr e s e n t d a y R a w h i d e R o a d .G o i n g n o r t h o n R a w h i d e R o a d f ro mH i g h w a y 10 8 , t h e r o a d c l i m b su n t i l a s u m mi t i s r e a c h e d . T h er i g h t - o f -w a y i s v i s i b l e o n t h eN o r t h s i d e o f t h e r o a d a n d t h e nt u r n s 90 d e g r e e f r o m t h e r o a da n d f o l l o w s t h e s i d e o f t h em o u n t a i n w h i c h i s r e a l l y a l a r gel a v a f l o w .

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W e c o n t i n u ed d o w n R a w h i d eR o a d pa s t t h e f o r m e r s i t e o fR a w h i d e , C a l i f o r n i a , (1904-1906), l o ok e d a t t h e h i s t o r i cR a w h i d e S c h o o l b u i l d i n g , a n ds t o ppe d a b o u t % m i l e b e f o r eH i g h w a y 4 9 . Th e r a i l b e dc r o s s e s R a w h i d e R o a d a t t h i spo i n t a n d h e a d s t o w a r d i t sn e xt s t a t i o n , T u t t l e t o w n .A t t h e ju n c t i o n o f H i g h w a y 4 9a nd R a w h i d e R o a d , w e t u r n e dl e f t .

V e r y qu i c k l y , w e a r r i v e da t T u t t l e t o w n (1857-1927).N u m e ro u s r u i n s m a r k t h e s i t e .Fr o m h e r e , t he r i g h t -o f - w a ypr o c e e d s n o r t h a nd w i n d sa r o u n d J a c k a s s H i l l .L o c a t e d o n t he h i l l a r e as e r i es o f s w i t c h -b a c k s . T h eh i l l w a s s o s te e p a n d c u r v yt h a t t h e t r a i n s c o u ld n o tn a v i g a t e t h e g r a d e . T h e r e -f o r e , t h e t r ai n s w o u l d h a v et o g o pa r t w a y u p a c u r v ea n d t h e n b a c k i n t o t he n e xto n e .

S w i t c h b a c k s a r e v e r yu n u s u a l i n C a l i f o r n i a r a i l -r o a d i n g . T o w a l k b a c k a n ds e e t h e s e , pa r t a t t h eH i s t o r i c M o n u m e n t c o m m e r a t -i ng M a r k T w a i n 's c a b i n( t h e r e a r e t w o -- g o t o t h e o n eo n t h e n o r t h ) . T h e h i s t o r i cm a r k e r i s b u i l t o n t h er i g h t -o f -w a y . W a l k s o u t h a n dc a r e f u ll y c r o s s t h e h i g h w a y .I f y o u f o l l o w t he r i g h t -o f -w a y a r o u n d t h e h i l l , t h es w i t ch b a c k s w i l l b e f o u n d .S o m e o f t h e pr o p e r t y i n t h ea r e a i s pr i v a t e l y o w n e d s ob e s u r e t o a s k pe r m i s s i o n ,i f n e c e s s a r y .

MelonesReservoirFrench ffsf

Rawhide

R e t u r n i n g t o o u r t r u c k , w ed r o v e N o r t h o n H i g h w a y 4 9 ,pa r a l l e l i n g t h e r i g h t - o f -w a y ,t o t h e S o u t h ju n c t i o n w i t h o l dH i g h w a y 4 9 . A t t h i s po i n t , t h er i g h t -o f -w a y b e a r s t o t h e e a s t ,d i p s d o w n t o t h e f o r m e r r i v e rl e v e l , c r o s s e s t h e r i v e r o n ab r i d g e , a n d b e g i n s t o c l i m b o u to f t he r i v e r c a n y o n o n t h e N o r t hs h o r e . M o s t o f t h i s a r e a i su n d e r w a t e r n o w du e t o t h e f i l l -i ng o f t h e M e l o n e s D a m .

L o c a t ed b e l o w t he n e w b r i d g e ,u n d e r m a n y f e et o f w a t e r a r e t h ef o r m e r t o w n s o f R o b i n s o n 's Fe r r y(1879-1902) and Melones (1902-1942).

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T u c k e d i n t o t h e h e a r t o f t h eG r e a t C o l o r a d o D e s e r t L i e s t h eS a l t on S e a B a s i n , a b e l o w -s e a -l e v e l b o w l r i m m e d w i t h m o u n t a i nr a n g e s . A t t h e b o t t o m o f t h eb o w l , t h e S a l t o n S e a s p a r k l e s l i k ea g i a n t s a pph i r e i n b l a zi n g s u n .

T h e S a l t o n S e a h a s b e e n c a l l e d"N a t u r e 's M a g n i f i c e n t M i s t a k e . "T h e r e i s n o d o u b t t h a t i t i sm a g n i f i c e n t , b u t t h e m i s t a k em i g h t b e qu e s t i o n e d . I f M o t h e rN a t u r e e r r ed i n f o r m i n g t h epr e s e n t S e a , s h e i s g u i l t y o fm a n y o t h e r f u m b l i n g e p i s o d e s i nt h e pa s t . I n pr e h i s t o r i c t i m e st h e S a l t o n S i n k w a s a pa r t o f t h eG u l f o f C a l i f o r n i a a n d s e pa r a t e df ro m i t o n s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s .W h e n i t w a s i s o l a t ed f r om t h eG u l f f o r t h e l a s t t i m e a l a r g el a k e r e s u l t e d (r e f e r r e d t o a sL a k e C a h u i l l a ) w h i c h m a y h a v ec o n t i n u e d t o e xi s t u n t i l a s l a t ea s 30 0 o r 4 0 0 y e a r s a g o .

T h e r e i s a b u n d a n t e v i d e n c e o ft he i n v a s i o n o f t h e C o l o r a d oD e s e r t b y t h e o c e a n m a n y y e a r sb e f o r e re c o r d e d h i s t o r y . I t i spo i n t e d o u t i n T h e M y s t e r i o u sW e s t (a f a s c i n a t i n g b o o k b yB r a d W i l l i a m s a n d C h o r a l P e p pe r )t h a t th e S a l t o n S i n k c o n t a i n s av a s t o y s t e r - s h e l l b e d f o r m e d

d u r i n g o n e o f t h e S i n k 's u n i o n sw i t h t h e G u l f . T h e s e pe t r i f i e ds h e l ls o f t he r u f f l ed o y s t e r ,a v e r a g i n g e i g h t i n c h e s a c r o s s ,h a v e b e e n h e r e m i l l i o n s o f y e a r s .H e l e n B u r n s , i n h er b o o k l e tS a l t o n S e a S t o r y , r e p o r t s t h a tt h e r e a r e m a n y s qu a r e m i l e s o fm a r i n e f o s s i l b e d s h e r e a n d t h a ts o m e o f t h e m a r e 20 0 f e e t t h i c k .

I f w e a r e d e t e r m i n e d t o po i n tt he f i n g er a t M o t h e r N a t u r e w em i g h t a s k w h y s h e t r a ppe d s o me20 0 - m i l l i o n -a c r e -f e e t o f o c e a nw a t e r i n L a k e C a h u i l l a , t h e npe r m i t t e d i t to e v a p o r a t e , l e a v -i ng a ppr o xi m a t e l y n i n e b i l l i o nt o n s o f s a l t w h i c h d i d n o te v a p o r a t e ! A n o t h e r e xa m p l e o fN a t u r e ' s m u d d l e d t h i n k i n g i s t h ef a c t t h a t s h e s e t u p a r o w o ff o u r s m a l l v o l c a n o e s a l o n g w h a ti s n o w t h e s o u t h w e s t s h o r e o ft h e S e a , t h e n pr o c e e d e d t o c o v ert h em w i t h w a t e r . T h e y b u b b l e da n d s t e a m e d i n pr o t e s t , f o r m i n gm u d po t s t h a t w e r e c o n s p i c u o u si n t h e a r e a f o r y e a r s .

M e n w i t h i m a g i n a t io n t r ie d t ot u r n t h e S a l t o n S i nk s i t u a t i o n t ot h e i r a d v a n t a g e o n s e v e r a lo c c a s i o n s . I n 1884 t h e N e wL i v e r p o o l S a l t C o m pa n y s t a r t e dpr o d u c t i o n , u t i l i zi n g t h e h e a v yD E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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;

;* -

; - ; - ; - ^ : ; :; - . ^

&;S pT he L i v e r p o o l S a l t W o r k s in 1903 . S i t e is n ow u n d er w a t e r .

d e po s i t s i n t h e n o r t h w e s t pa r t o ft h e b a s i n . T h i s e n t e r p r i s e e n d e da b r u pt l y i n 190 5 w h e n w a t e r r e t u r n e dt o t h e S i n k . A n o t h e r c o m m e r c i a lv e n t u r e w a s b o r n a b o ut 6 0 y e a r s a g ow h e n i t w a s d i s c o v e r e d t h a t e n o u g hc a r b o n d i o xi d e w a s o b t a i n a b l e f r o mw e l l s t o s u ppo r t a d r y -i c e b u s i n e s sw i t h t h e L o s A n g e l e s a r e a s e r vi n ga s th e m a r k e t . I t pa s s e d a w a yqu i e t l y a s h o r t t i m e l a t e r .I n 190 1 a h e a d i n g w a s b u i l t o nt he C o l o r a d o R i v e r a n d a c a n a l t oc o n ve y w a t e r t o I m p e r i a l V a l l e yw a s c o n s t r u c t e d , e n t i r e l y w i t h i nB a ja C a l i f o r n i a , M e x i c o . T h i sc a n a l s t i l l e xi s t s a n d i s c a l l e dC a na l d e l A l a m o . H e a v y f l o o d s o ft he C o l o r a d o a n d G i l a R i v e r s i n190 5 a n d 190 6 c u t t h r o u g h t h eh e a d w o r k s , e nl a r g e d t h e c o n v e y a n c ec h a n n e l , a nd f l o o d e d S a l t o n S i n k .

S o s u d de n w a s t h i s o n s l a u g h t t h a ta s t ri n g o f f r e i g h t c a r s w a st r a ppe d o n a s i d i n g n e x t t o t h es pr a w l i n g L i v e r po o l S a l t W o r k s .T h e c a r s a n d t h e f a c t o r y s t i l lr e m a i n a t t h e b o t t o m o f t h eS a l t o n S e a !O l d -t i m e r s n o w l i v i n g i n t h ev a l l e y t e l l h a r r o w i n g t a l e s o fh o m e s t e a d i n g t h e l a n d , e xc a v a t i n ga c a n a l 80 m i l e s l o n g t o b r i n gw a t e r f r o m t h e C o l o r a d o R i v e r t ow a t e r t h e ir c r o ps . I t w a s b a r e l yo pe r a t i n g w h e n t h e r i v e r w e n t o na r a m pa g e , w a s h e d t h r o u g h t h ec a n a l , s w e pt o v e r t h e v a l l e y ,d e s t ro y e d f a r m s a n d h o m e s . Itt o o k t w o y e a r s t o s t e m t h e f l o o da n d t u r n t h e r i v e r b a c k t o i t sc o u r s e , b u t i t h a d l e f t b e h i n d al a r g e s e a i n t h e S a l t o n B a s i n .

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T h e pe o pl e r e b u i l t t h e c a n a l ,e xt e n d i n g i t t o w a t e r e v e r y pa r t o ft h e t w o v a l l e y s a n d , i n r e c o r dt i m e , m a d e i t t h e l a r g e s t ir r i g a -t i o n s y s t em i n t h e w e s t e r n h e m i s -p h e r e . T h e y c o pe d w i t h h e a t a n dd u s t , s e a a nd s a n d , s a l t a nd s i l t ;t h ey a s s u m e d s t a g g e r i n g d e b t s ,d ju s t e d c r o p s t o c o n d i t i o n s n e v e rpe r i e n c e d b y a n y o n e a n y w h e r e --a nd b r o u g h t t h e l a n d t o a h i g hl e v e l o f pr o d u c t i v i t y . T o d a ye o pl e f r o m a r i d r e g i o n s a l l ov e rt h e w o r l d c o m e t o t h e S a l t o n B a s i nt o st u d y t e c h n i qu e s u s e d .S a l t o n S i n k i s a n a t u r a lr e s e r v o i r f o r s t o r a g e o f d r a i n a g eg r o s s S a l t o nc h c o m pr i s e s s o m e6 5 0 0 s qu a r e m i l e s o f S o u t h e r nC a l i f o r n i a d e s e r t l a n d pl u s a b o u t

10 0 0 s qu a r e m i l e s o f B a j a C a l i f o r n i ae x i c o .I t i s a l a n d o f s h a r p c o n t r a s t s :h i g h a n d l o w , d r a b a n d c o l o r f u l ,n e w a n d o l d ; i t c o n t a i n s r i c ha g r i c u l t u r a l d i s t r i c t s t h r i v i ngo n i r r i g a t i o n , a n d n a k e d b u r n i n gd e s e r t s . P e o p l e h a v e c o m e f r omf a r a nd n e a r t o w o n d e r a s i t s u n i qu ef e a t u r e s , a n d h a v e r e m a i n e d t o pl a y .I n t he l a s t d e c a d e t h e b a s i n h a s

b e c o m e a w i n t e r v a c a t i o n l a n d w i t h o u tt h e w i n t e r .S u m m e r , o r n e a r s u m m e r , ab i d e si n t he b a s i n t h e y e a r r o u n d .d a y s , w i t ht e m pe r a t u r e s t h a t s o m e t i m e s r e a c h130 d e g r e e s , a r e f o l l o w e d b y b a l m yd a y s i n t he h i g h7 0 's a n d l o w 8 0 ' s . N i g h t s a r ea l w a y s s h ee r m a g i c .T h e d ar k b r o w n C h o c o l at e

o n t h e e a s t , s c ar re d b yr a i n wa s h e d g u l l i e s , a t t ra c t f e wi s i t o r s ; b u t t h o u s a n d s f l o c k t ot he pu r pl e S a n t a R o s a M o u n t a i n s o nt he w e s t w h o s e pe r pe n d i c u l a r w a l l sa r e m o s a i c s o f b r i g h t l y -c o l o r e dqu a r t ze s , f l i n t s , g r a n i t e s a n ds c h i s t s .

A series., o f s h i f t i n g s a n d d y n e sc u t s d i a g o n a l l y a c r o s s t h e a r e a ,i n t e r s e c t i n g U . S . H i g h w a y 80n e a r Y u m a , A r i zo n a .A t t h e u ppe r e n d o f t h e s e at h e C o a c h e l l a V a l l e y , w i t h c i tr usg r o v e s a n d d a t e pa l m s , i s a b i to f t h e O l d W o r l d i n t h e N e w ; a t

t h e l o w e r e n d t h e I m pe r i a l V a l l e ye xt e n d i n g t o t h e M e xi c a n b o r d e r ,i s a v a s t c h e c k e r b o a r d o f g r e e nf i e l d s a n d f e e d l o t s t h a t s u ppl yA m e r i c a n t a b l e s w i t h e v e r yt h in gf r o m l e t t u c e a n d c a r r o t s t o s u ga ra n d qu a l i t y b e e f .I t i s a l a n d f o r h a r d s w e a t i n gw o r k a s w e l l a s f o r l e i s ur e a ndpl a y , t h e t w o s o d e l i c a t e l yb a l a n c e d t h a t o n e i s n o t c o m pl e t ew i t h o u t t h e o t h e r . T he b a s i n wa sf o r m e d i n g e o l o g i c e r a s m i l l i o n so f y e a r s a g o ; s e a an d a g r i c u lt u r ea r e n e w . T h e y c a m e i n t o b e i n gl e s s t h a n e i g h t y y e a r s a g o , an dg r e w u p t o g e t h e r -pa v i n g t h e w a yf o r t h e v a c a t i o n l a n d t h a t w a s t of o l l o w .A s a g r i c u l t u r e pr o g r e s s e dt h r o u g h t h e y e a r s , t r a n s po r t a t i o nk e p t pa c e w i t h i t . H i g h w a y s a ndS k y w a y s f o l l o w e d r a i l w a y s ,

a n n i h i l a t i n g d i s t a n c e . T h i st u r n e d u p a n e w b y - pr o d u c t -v a c a t i o n i n g . P e o pl e w e r e c o n st a nt -l y o n t h e l o o k o u t f o r n e w pl a y -g r o u n d s , n e w pl a c e s t o s e e .M a n y o f t h e m h a d t h o u g ht t h ed e s e r t a n e xpa n s e o f b u r n i n gs a n d s t o b e s h u n n e d , b u t n o w t h e yb e c a m e a w a r e o f i t s c h a r m s . T heS a l t o n S e a w a s t h e r e , an d t h eyc a m e t o l o o k i t o v e r .T h e y f o u n d a b e a u t i f u l b o d y o f

w a t e r 4 2 m i l e s l o n g , 10 t o 15m i l e s w i d e w i t h a m a xi m u m d e pt ho f 5 0 f e e t . T h e f a c t t h at i t ss u r f a c e w a s 234 f e e t b e l o w s e al e v e l w a s i n t r i g u i n g . T h e y f o un dt h e h e a v i l y s a l t ed w a t e r s o ft an dc a r e s s i n g t o t he t o u c h , an d u n -b e l i e v a b l y w a r m .

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T he s e a m a y h a v e s pa r k l e d l i k ea s a pph i r e b y d a y , b u t w h e n t h es u n w e n t d o w n i t t o ok o n t h el u m i n o s i t y o f a n o pa l t h a ts t r u c k f i r e i n t h e m o o n l i g h t .T h e r e w a s a n e e r i e q u a l i t y t oi t s b e a u t y . A l s o , t he s ea w a sa n a t u r a l f o r w a t e r s p o r t s .T h e y f o u n d o t he r a t t r a c t i o n si n t h e b a s i n . T h e y e n jo y e d t h eh e a l t h - g i v i n g s u n s h i n e , th es c e ni c a n d g e o l o g i c a l w o n d e r s ,t h e f a n pa l m s (n o t r e l a t e d t ot h e d a t e p a l m s ) , s m o k e t r e e sw i t h w i s p y b l u e f l o w e r s , Jo s h u at r e e s w i t h a r m s l i k e g o r i l l a s .T h e y s a w f o r t h e m s e l v e s t h e l a n dt h at f u r n is h e d t h em w i t h m e l o n s ,g r a p e s , c o t t o n a n d v e g e t a b l e s .T h e y v i s i t e d t h e pe o pl e o f t h e

b a s i n -b i g pe o pl e d o i n g b i gt h i n g s . B u s y a s t h e g r o w e r s w e r et h e y t o o k t i m e o u t t o m a k e e v e r yv i s i t o r a b o o s t e r .A c c e s s t o t h e a re a i s e a s ya n d pe o p l e c o m e i n e v e r -i n -c r e a si n g n u m b e r s . A c c o m m o d a t i o n sr a n g e f r o m d e l u xe i n t he t o w n st o m o d e s t a l o n g t h e s e a , a nda r e c o n s t a n t l y e xpa n d i n g t o t a k ec a r e o f t h e i n f l u x o f pe o p l e .S t a t e B e a c h P a r k o n t h e e a s t

s h o r e h a s s i x m i l e s o f b e a c hf r o n t a g e w i t h i m pr o v e d c a mp s i t e s ,pi c n i c a r e a s , b a t h i n g b e a c h e s a n da b o a t r a m p-a t a n o m i n a l c o s t .I t i s a r e c r e a t i o n a l pa r a d i s et h a t b e c o m e s a t r a i le r c i t y i nw i n t e r .I f s pa c e i s a l l t a k e n , a s i tu s u a l l y i s o n w e e k e n d s , a r a n g e rw i l l g u i d e t h e t r a v e l e r t o u n -i m pr o v e d a r e a s a l o n g t h e s e a

w h e r e h e f i n d s f a c i l i t i e s a d e -qu a t e f o r c o m f o r t .M u c h o f t h e r e c r e a t i o n a la c t i v i t y i s c o n c e n t r a t e d a tS a l t o n C i t y o n t h e w e s t s h o r e .I t i s a b u s y p l a c e w i t h pe o p l e a n dt r a i l e r s , m a r i n a s , b e a ch e s , al u xu r i o u s y a c h t c l u b a n d a r a m p b i ge n o u g h t o l a u n c h t e n b o a t s a t a t i m e

W a t e r s k ii n g a n d m o t o r b o a t i n ga r e t h e m a jo r a t t r a c t i o n s . T h eh i g h d e n s i t y o f t h e s e a , d u e t oi t s s a l i n i t y , m a k e s i t o ne o f t h ef a s t e s t b o d i e s o f w a t e r i n t h ewo rl d for speed bo at s . At t he ...5 0 0 m i l e r e g a t t a h el d i n O c t o b e rr e c o r d s a r e c o n s i s t en t l y b r o k e n .T h e a n n u a l C o r v i n a D e r b y a n dt h e f a m o u s S a l to n S e a S w i m d r a wm a n y s w i m m e r s an d s pe c t a t o r s .S w i m m i n g i n th e s e a i s a n e x-pe r i e n c e t o r e m e m b e r ; o n e f l o a t sl i k e a c o r k .Fi s h i n g i s e xc e l l e n t . I n a d d i -t i o n t o pe r c h a n d b a s s , t h e s e ai s s t o c k e d w i t h c o r b i n a o r c o r v i n aa pr i ze d g a m e f i s h b e l o n g i n g t ot h e c r o a k e r f a m i l y , s o n a m e d

b e c a u s e i t m a k e s a c r o a k i n g s o u n d,i t u s u a l l y r a n g e s f r o m 4 t o 8po u n d s i n w e i g h t , b u t o n e w a r yw a r r i o r m a n a g e d t o e v a d e a n g l er sf o r a l o n g t i m e a n d , w h e n f i n a l l yc a u g h t , t ippe d t h e s c a l e s a t 33p o u n d s .T h e a r e a i s a t i t s b e s t f o rw a t e r s po r t s f r o m Ja n u a r y t h r o u g hA pr i l a n d f r o m S e pt e m b e r t h r o u g hN o v e m b e r . I n s u m m e r t h e w a t e rt e m pe r a t u r e r i s e s t o 90 d e g r e e s ,i n w i n t e r d r o ps t o 5 0 .R o c k h o u n d s a nd g e o l o g i s t sf i n d t h e b a s i n a h a ppy h u n t i n gg r o u n d . H u g e a n i m a l t r a c k s ,pr e s u m a b l y t h o s e of pr e h i s t o r i cm a s t o d o n s , a r e s o l i d i f i e d a n dpr e s e r v e d i n r o c k a r o u n d a na n c i e n t w a t e r h o l e . V a s t c o r a lr e e f s , e n o r m o u s b e d s o f f o s s i l s ,s h a r k 's t e e t h , a nd o y s t e r s h e l l sh a v e c o n v i n c e d g e o l o g i s t s t h a t

t h e b a s i n w a s o n c e t h e f l o o r o ft h e G u l f o f C a l i f o rn i a .T h e S a l t o n B a s i n h a s c o m e al o n g w a y i n a s h o r t t i m e . N o o n ew h o h a s s e en i t s w o n d e r s , t a k e npa r t i n i t s r e c r e a t i o n a l f a c i l i -t i e s , a n d k n o w n i t s pe o p l e w i l le v e r f o r g e t i t .

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By A RTH U R WO O D W A RDH O W LIN G WIN D w hippedthe sand around the base ofColumbia Mountain, about 20miles sou th, of the newly establishedcamp ofTonopah. Nevada, in the fall

of 1903. Tne wind devils tore atth elone tent of H a r r y C. Stimler, theyoung 22-year-old half breed Chero-kee prospector, destined tobe knownas '"the father ofGoldfield," althoughat that moment he felt little like am anof destiny.H ow ever , w hen theh u r r i c a n e ,known tothe desert dwellers of thatregion as a"Nevada zephyr.'" had sub-sided and Stimler was able tosee thelandscape around h:rn in theclearlight ofan autumn sun he discoveredthat he had pitched his camp almoston the site of avery rich ledge ofore.

This helocated and inhonor of th eelements he called his find the "Sand-storm." Shortly afterward hestakedout another claim which he called the" J anuary . "Out of these two initial claims Gold-field, "Q ueen of theCamps ," wasborn and a lusty queen she was, al-most from the first day ofher birth.Tonopah had been discovered inth esummer of 1900 byJim Butler andits mines already were producing muchwealth. Stimler had been inthe rushat Tonopah but had missed his goldenopportunity inthat area. H aving in-curred debts amounting to about $15,-000 hehad been grubstaked by Jim

Goldfield's Columbia Avenue in1909. With the exception ojthe$200 thousand Goldfield hotel onthe right, all these buildings weredestroyed by a fire which laterswept the town.

At the height of Goldfield 'sboom, nea r ly a half centurya g o , miners working for lour orfive dollars a day s omet ims swent off shift with asm u c h asS50 worth of rich ore concealedin pockets in their clothing.Kigh-graders , they were cai la i ,and before the owners put astop tothe pract ice it is esti-mated that mil l ions of dol larsw or th of "picture rock" wasstolen inth is m ann er . The in-formation in this amazing storywas taken from the records ofthe o ld mining camp.

Butler and a man named Kendall. .Now hehad struck it rich. All heneeded was capital to develop thearea.Naturally, asthe mines were dis-covered and developed, they attractedthe attention ofhardrock miners fromfar off Idaho and Montana. Theyswarmed infrom Arizona. Coloradoand U tah. The news that most ofthediscoveries were picture rock or jew-elry rock brought in fortune-hungrylessees by the score, each one hopingto land a rich mine and skim offthegolden cream. Miners who were will-ing towork for apaltry S4 to55 aday just to be allowed inside the mines,came by the hundre ds. H ere was theopportunity of a life time. Wages,

poof! What were wages when amancould high-grade several hundred dol-lars ada y ifhe was smart?At first development was slow. Someof the early speculators grew restless.Veins seemed topinch out and werelost. Gold hungry desert rats, failingto pick up chunks of pure gold, packedup their outfits and drifted away.A few ofthe faithful remained andon October 20, 1903, agroup of 17men gathered on the main street of thetiny tented camp, and perched upon apile of lumber, discussed the organiza-tion of a regular mining district.Only these few really saw the neces-sity of such an organization. They hadthe faith necessary tobring about thecreation of abonanza camp. Amongthose present were DocO T o o i e .Johnny Jones. Tom Ramsey, Bert

H igginson, H arry C. Stimler, BillyMarsh, Al D. Meyers, Charles Taylor,Ole Eliott, Al McClelland. Claude M.Smith, Bob Dunn, Doc White Wolf,Jim Gleason, Tom D. Murphy.A recorder ofclaims was needed.

:vSS 1 ,it iL. lt~::-:i jg&zz x*&3DECEMBER 1983 12


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Changing room in one of the mines, where miners were required to changeclothing after coming from the shaft. Despite the protests of the miners,these rooms were installed to stop the high-grading of rich ore."Kid," said one of the group ad-dressing Smith, the youngest of theparty, "you're gonna be official claimrecord er. S peak up, what shall wecall this camp?"Stimler, half jestingly, had namedthe place "Grandp.ah" (big spring) incontrast to Tonapah, an Indian namefor "little spring," but this name hadbeen voted down.Smith was flat broke and bashful."H eck , fellers," he said, scuffing atthe ground with his foot, "I don'tknow anything about recording. Ican't take such a job.""H ell you can't. Y ou can read andwrite can't you? We'll tell you whatto do. Y ou're elected.""'Okay, if that's the way you feelabout it. I need some money so I'lltake the job. My full name is ClaudeM. Smith and my first job is to callthe name of this camp Goldfields.""Goldfields she is. boys." said AlMeyers, he of the sturdy frame withhands as big as hams and a heart ofthe same size.Later the "s" was dropped and thetown was known simply as Goldfield.Smith set about the task of record-ing notices and when he received a feehe stuck it in his pocket. H e hoped inthis way to collect enough money topull stakes and get away from the placewhich in his heart he considered adead camp.Then the Mohawk, one of the Gold-field mines, produced riches beyondbelief and the boom was on in earnest.Goldfield became a mecca for pro-moters over night. With the capitalistscame the horde of sharpers, gamblers,

saloon keepers, adventurous womenand the usual quota of characters. And,as I remarked previously, the minesbecame the targets for high-graders.By the time Goldfield was four vearsold it had a population of 15,000 in-habitants and it was still growing. Themines had produced the fantastic sumof 545,000,000 in gold and in the twobanner years. 1906 and 1907, $37.-000.000 were taken out of the depthsof the desert.No wonder J. W. Scott, a local poet,in his poem Goldfield, proclaimed her:Splendid, magnificent, Queen of theCamps,Mistress of countless Aladdin's lamps.Deity worshipped by kings and tramps.The lure she is of tlie West.

Among the great mines of the campat the time were the Mohawk. Jumbo.Red Top. Combination. Florence. Con-solidated. Combination Fraction. GreatBend and Daisy. The ore from someof these mines was unbelievably rich,some of it assavinc as high as S20.000a ton and in 190S a vein of consider-able size produced ore worth S76.000a ton.In general the original discovererseither sold their claims outright orleased them to men who had enouchread}' capital to develop the prooertiesinto paving mines. Naturally, with thegold fairly bubblins out of the auartz.the lessors turned their attention toskimming the golden cream from themines. If picture rock, the ore whichshowed seams of pure gold, did notshow enough color to the naked eye,it was bv-passed in favor of a richerdeposit, hence many of the older mines

today contain ore in paying quantitieswhich was left behind by the get-rich-quick lessees of 45 years ago.The monthly pay roll in Goldfieldin 1908 was around $500,000 but thiswas just chicken feed compared to thegolden harvest of rich picture rockcarted out each day by the high-grad-ers who worked as laborers in themines for a mere $4 to $5 a day.In the beginning, the lessees paidlittle attention to the practice of high-grading but it dawned upon them thateven as they were milking the veinsof their precious contents to the detri-ment of the owners, so were they beingmilked of countless thousands of dol-lars by the miners. In fact, the fewdollars in wages -paid to the wo rkerswere a pittance compared to the sumsbeing realized through the sale of il-licit gold.Labor troubles developed. One causewas the issuance of scrip in lieu ofcas h, when the banks of Goldfield suf-fered a temporary shortage of cur-rency. Big Bill H aywood, known asthe "Big Fellow," organizer for theIndustrial Workers of the World, alsocalled the Wobblies, moved into Gold-field to direct strike tactics and keepthe miners in a constant state of agi-tation. Then the companies put inchanging rooms where the miners werecompelled to change clothes as theywent in and out of the mines. Thisinnovation brought forth a storm ofprotest. It interfered with the highlylucrative business of high-grading. Ithad been customary for miners work-ing in the stopes that produced therichest ore to wear specially madeshirts and trousers. Stout canvas pock-ets in the legs of the trousers andsewed to the underside of the back ofthe shirt were loaded each day withchoice lumps of picture rock contain-ing small fortunes in free sold.

The first case of high-izrading to beprosecuted had been that of JohnSheridan who was arrested in 1904 forallegedly stealing picture rock fromthe Com bination. H e was tried in theDistrict Court at H awthorne and wasacquitted. In 1907 the mine ownersbegan cracking down on the high-graders. On the night of November 6.young R. W. Savior was arrested nearthe Combination mill at midnight. H ehad a sack of high grade ore. believedto have been stolen from the Combina-tion. When first accosted Saviordropped the sack and fled. Later, heattempted to sneak back and recoverhis loot, and waiting officers arrestedhim.T. J. Smith was another miner ac-cused of high-grading. H e was accusedof having received stolen ore fromminers who had taken it from theLittle Florence mine. An amusing

13 D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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r '- ;-^f^JVvViii*;L:'i ;.i \.-v.'',"i- 'gl

Nevada prospector inthe days w hen new go ld strikes werebeing made every jew months.incident developed at S mith's trial, fine theterm "glom," Inman replied: uty. It a p p e a r e d t h a t he hadOne ofthe arresting officers, Deputy "Glom ming ishigh-grading andhigh- "glomm ed" that particular pieceforSheriff BUI Inman, was called tothe grading isglomming." his Qwnc o I l e c t i o n andc o u l d n - t seestand to testify. Heproduced ahand- Thereupon hishonor ordered the , , . ,some specimen ofpicture ore which choice bit ofjewelry rock placed in t h e h u m o r ofihe situation when Judgehe stated quite candidly he had evidence andmarked officially as an H ubbard calmly kept it asevidence,"glommed" at the scene ofthe raid, exhibit. This legal procedure brought Theamount of gold involved in thisWhen requested bythe judge tode- forth astorm ofprotest from thedep- case was $53 6.50 . S mith was acquitted

Goldjield in1908. Only ajew ofthese buildings remain standing today,v

^^St^tim^i^DECEMBER 1983

14


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15 hours.Of all the assaying firms in Gold-

In a statement concerning the prev-, 1907, blasting the miners '

"The union has encouraged, pro-

re millions of dollars worth of orerunning in value from $2 to $20 peround. This ore has been stolen in away almost beyond belief. During thesix months ending December 31, 1906,there was stolen from the Mohawkmine alone not less than $1,000,000and during the past six months therehas been taken from the Little Flor-ence lease not less than $2,000 a day.The union has refused to permit un-

derground watchmen, has ordered astrike when effective change roomswere placed upon the properties, hasprotested against every effort to pre-vent this practice, and in every wayencouraged the o re th ieves andthwarted the efforts of the mine own-ers to detect or punish them."Late in 1907 the losses throughhigh-grading had become so seriousthat the owners called upon the law-enforcement officers in the camp toput an end to the thefts. On De cem -ber 10 five men, all members of theWestern Federation of Miners, werearrested at gun point on the 300-footlevel of the Rogers Syndicate leaseand taken to jail. When ca ught .threeof these men had on their persons 100pounds of choice specimens valued atS20 a pound.A few hours later three men wereobserved entering the Rosebud shaftof an adjoining lease after secretingtheir tools in the Little Florence mine.All these mines had connecting under-ground tunnels.

"Mayb e ya shoulda took a look at this five acres before ya bought it . . .'

Deputy John Ramsey faced one ofthe men, J. Johnson, with a bob-tailedshotgun and demanded that he throwup his hands. Johnson was lodged injail and later released on S500 cashbail. H e promptly skipped out.Another raid was made on thepremises of an assayer at 618 FifthAvenue North, on the evening of De-cember 17, 1907. Constable Inman(the same man who had glommed thehigh grade specimen) and his friendE. Gardner, allegedly caught the as-sayer at work reducing some stolenore . This establishment had all of theearm arks of a crooked joint. Therewas an elaborate electric bell systemwired to give notice of the approachof strangers and a peep hole in thedoor which opened from the inside.All of the illicit operations were con-ducted at night. The assayer wasreputedly an old hand at the gameand it was said he had been arrestedin Goldfield twice before for the pur-chase of stolen ore. H is place wascompletely equipped with electricalcrusher plant, furnace and cyanidet anks .

So it went, raid after raid upon theassayers, and arrest upon arrest of thehigh-graders themselves. H undreds ofpounds of picture rock were confis-cated but thousands of pounds escapedthe vigilance of the guards. Some ofthe ore was shipped out of the state.Three trunks, filled with high gradeore valued at $4000 and stolen fromthe Little Florence lease, were foundin Salt Lake City. It was returned tothe company offices in Goldfield.Georg e . Rich ardson , another assayerwas arrested for receiving stolen ore.H e too was said to have been in thebusiness before, having previously beenarrested in Pueblo, Colorado, with$16,000 worth of fine specimens fromthe Mohawk mine of Goldfield in hispossession.

Today Goldfieldalmost, but notquite a ghost town dreams in theshadow of Columbia Mountain. Someof the mines are again active and thetownspeople, those who have stuck tothe old cam p like the faithful wh o laidout the camp in 1903. feel certain thatwhen the price of eold eoes up. Gold-field, like the fabled Phoenix of old,will arise from its ashes and once againbecome Queen of the Camps.

15


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This a r t i cl e was or i gi na ll y wr it ten in 1950It was the time of the annualtruce. All the nations wereselecting their emissaries forthe journey to Black Mountain.No naticn claimed ths moun-tain although it lay almost di-rectly between the Chemehueviand the Panamint Nations. Itwas a sacred place to the an-cients. No man bore armsagainst a neighbor during thelong journey to and from themountain. He was sale fromharm even though the way led

him through the territory ofseveral enemy nations. A per-iod of one moon was recog-nized at the same season eachyear for the trek. After thesecret ceremonies which wereheld atop the mountain, a like

time was guaranteed for thereturn home. Preparation forthe ceremonial was vested inthose nations adjacent to thesacred mountain. All whocame from afar provided theirown food and in some years,water. In dry periods the waterwhich the crater usually con-tained was non-existent. TheShoshone, the Ute and Gosiutecame from as far as the GreatSalt Lake region; the Mojave,the Eamia and the Cocopahfrom the Colorado Rivsr valley. Th i s is the legend of BlackMountain as told by an agedIndian to a miner whom hehad befriended in the ElPaso Mountains of Califor-nia.

By A. La VIELLE LAWBA U GHM a p by Norton Allen*Y I N T E R E S T in the ancientIndian ceremonial grounds inCalifornia's Black Mountainbegan early in 1949 when I was pres-. enF at a meeting in Los Angeles spon-sored by the Archeological SurveyGroup of the Los Angeles CountyMuseum. It was stated that prehis-toric ruins probably would be found

in this region.Following this meeting a little groupof us made a reconnaissance trip intothe area. Driving from Los Angeleswe left the black top highway at Gar-lock and took the steep, tortuous can-yon road into the Apache Mine . Find-ing the trail blocked by an impassablesand wash, we stopped at the nearbyhome of Mrs. Jane McDonald . Mrs.Birdie H ungerford, caretaker at themine and who lived nearby, was withMrs. McDonald. They extended to usa courteous welcome and very gener-ously gave us much information aboutthe area.Three weeks later, on our secondattempt to scale Black Mountain, mywife Neva and I drove in through LastChance Canyon. Where this canyonswings abruptly eastward there arecolorful clays and ash materials laiddown in its eroded walls which were

This pyramid-shaped mound of basalt rocks was sur-rounded by six well-defined ringed enclosures prob-ably made for ceremonial purposes.The author on the peak of Black Mountain. Indians nolonger come here and white visitors seldom scale thisremote desert mountain.I


17/40

PYRAMID BLAC K MTN., o _ ^SUM MIT, EL.5259

"\C STEEP^ D E C L I V I T Y

IMPASSABLESANDY WASHLACK MTNMINING CO.SEISMOTITE MINE

MESQUITE CANYONROAD

\ . CUDAHY MINING*vi% CAMP %MESQUITEN CANYON

A L T D A L E '

TAVERN *^KOEHN-. DRY LAKE

'. " 3 J 5' ' :#$

*

0fffy

OLD INDIAN CAMP SITEHOUSE RINGSPETROGLYPHSMILEAGE CHECK POINTSLa Vielle It -43

by the bright morn-sun. These materials were firstas volcanicThe decomposition of the ashfor petrificationthe ash into a claylike rockis nearly white but in the Blackit is stained allof red, orange, blue, yellowby iron minerals which alsoin the volcanic ash.

at the time ofa part in theThe Old Dutch Cleanser seismotitein the north fork is visible fromup the east fork. The t ram-up the steep slope to the bed ofthe top of thefor somea caretaker lives at theof company buildings.are no indications that the minebe reopened. Up the north fork,are the Chocolate Sundae Peaks

own name for two beautifullyand colored formations) and

Geology tells us that this petrifiedforest had its setting in theupper Mio-cene or lower Pliocene, some 2,000,- .000 years ago,- {Desert, December1 9 4 3 ) . The ground surface at thattime, upon which the fauna flourishedand from which the flora sprang, isnow termed the Rosamond format ion.Then came the violent era of volcan-oe s and uplifting of mountain ranges.Layers of volcanic ash together withvesicular and compact basalt coveredthe Rosamond. The massive red tuff-breccia exposed at Red Rock Canyondramatically displays some of theselayers of volcanic ash. The fine green-ish-gray tuff which marks the Rosa-mond has yielded fossil remains in-cluding the three-toed horse andhornless rhinoceri . Some of these fos-sil finds were made in the petrifiedforest area.The trail up the east fork is soft insome places. A deserted shack andsome newmining equipment being in-stalled on a canyon slope caught ourattention. Greasewood and sagebrushare the predominate plants in the eastfork. There are a few scattered vuccas.

Over the nor th rim of Last ChanceCanyon, near theH olly Cleanser Mine,there is a beautiful little grove ofJoshua Trees.Our first stop for information wasat Burro Schmidt 's place. Burro is aveteran miner who has lived in LastChance Canyon for many years. Hehad never climbed Black Mountainan d so could not help us much. Wecontinued along the road to the BlackMountain Mining Company 's camp.Delia Gerbracht. who lives there andis vice-president of the Kern CountyChapter of the Western Mining Coun-cil, received us with open hospitality.That af ternoon she took us on a con-ducted circle tour around the base ofBlack Mountain. While we drovealong she told us of the early mines,an d of contemporary mining. Sheshowed us old Indian camp sites,many petroglyphs. bedrock mortarsand quarries. Both she and her fatherwere deeply interested in archeology.As we rounded the eastern flank "ofthe mountain our guide pointed outthe general location of some caves highup on the slope from which had been

17


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WILD FLOWERSof

BLACK MOUNTAIN

SCARLET PAINTBRUSHCast lieja miniata Dougi. WILD BUCKWHEATEriogonum fosciculatum Benth

BLUE LARKSPURDelphinium parr/i GroyBUTTERFLY-MARIPOSA

Catochortus venustus Dougl.' ' La Vitlle

l g - 4 9

taken some elaborately clothed Ka-chinas. The cloth material was re-ported tohave been flax.Delia is a wild flower enthusiast.She told us howbeautiful her countryhad been each spring until seven yearsago when the first sheep were driventhrough. The bajada which extendsfrom herplace up to thebase of BlackMountain was a sea of deep vivid redeach May; a magic carpet of mari-posas. Thesheep notonly ate thewildflowers but also damaged the root andbulb beds with their sharp hooves.Other wild flowers which annuallymade their appearance were scarletpaintbrush, forget-me-nots, blue bro-diaea, purple onion, tansy phacelia,blue bonnets, dwarf lupine, blue lark-spur, wild buckwheat andapricotmal-low.That night we camped on the ba-jada at the base of Black Mountain.The velocity of the wind increased asthe sun went down and before bed-time we abandoned the idea of sleep-ing on ourcots. Wespent thenight inthe car, as wehave done before, whenthere was wind or rain. During thenight the wind changed, and rockedthe car soviolently I started themotorand swung the car around to keep itheaded into the storm.Daybreak brought no slackening inthe force of the gale. We ate a coldbreakfast in the car, then started theclimb to the summit of Black Moun-tain. We carried only camera equip-ment, lunch, canteen andfield glasses.There was no trail up the mountainside. In a deep saddle we found flintchips but noother evidence to support1 8

the existence of a regular campsite.The entire surface ol Black Moun-tain is composed of a layer of olivinebasalt, laid down when the eruptionsoccurred. Decomposition of thebasaltand wind transported particles havecovered over much of the roughjumbled blocks of basalt. All over themountain we sawsprawling masses ofangular, dark brown boulders. It's al-most as though a giant had strewngigantic pebbles at will on the slopes,or in other places carefully piled themup in pyramid-shaped heaps. Canyonerosion has exposed the underlyingRosamond, theupper surface of whichhas been burned red.The crater, 50 feet deep and 350feet in diameter, wassouthwest of thesummit. Mountain clover, bunch grass,wild buckwheat and blue larkspurcontrasted with the brown and blackboulders scattered at random aboutthe crater. A common plant whichoccurred from thefloor of Last ChanceCanyon to thesummit of Black Moun-tain was thedesert trumpet, a memberof thebuckwheat family. Other namesgiven me by local residents for thiscurious plant are bottle weed andsquaw cabbage. Rotting debris andother signs indicated that water hadstood in the crater at the southwestside where rules appeared to havegrown. Within our own time, waterhas been reported in the crater.

From the crater we trudged on upto the peak of Black Mountain at anelevation of 5259 feet. Twomarkersare set in concrete near a cairn ofrocks. A wooden tower which for-merly served as a stand for an ane-mometer is slowly going to ruin. The

cups for thedevice arestill there, lyingat the base of the stand. It seemedthat every loose particle in theOwensValley to the north had been whippedinto a seething caldron which wasspilling over Black Mountain. Acolumn of yellow color rose perpen-dicularly from Randsburg which wasdistinguishable through the haze byreflection of the sun on metal roofs.To the southwest, across the El Pasos,a strong wind was furiously sweepingKoehn Dry Lake, raising an angrycloud of tawny dust.The mountain proper is a hog-backextending generally east to west withfour outstanding humps along its run.Our way now waswest, along the topof themountain. Shortly after leavingthe markers we came upon an oldIndian campsite. Many chips were inevidence; a scraper was found. In asmall, sheltered cut, on thenorth slope,we came upon a small patch of mari-posa lilies which had survived the ele-ments and the onslaughts of sheepherds. They were a darker shadethan Chinese red. This exotic wildflower seemed out of place on ruggedBlack Mountain. The pretty name ofmariposa is the Spanish for butterfly.Picture taking was almost impossi-ble. I used speeds of l/200th secondand even then couldn't always holdthe camera still enough. Further alongwe found jasper andmoss agate chipsand then the first real ruins. Theywere on thewind-swept northern flankof the mountain, set in a wild jumbleof huge basalt blocks. Theprehistoricbuilders had taken advantage of nat-ural hollows formed when theboulderscame to restevened them out intoround enclosures and carefully walledthem in. An entrance was left in thewall which averaged waist high. Aroof structure wasprobably formed ofsmall limbs taken from trees growingat thebase of themountain andclosedover with tules from the water's edgein thecrater. Thefloors of these ruinswere strewn with debris.

We were near the pyramid-shapedpeak at thewest end of Black Moun-tain. From down below and fromalmost any approach it gives the ap-pearance of a very regularly shapedpyramid. From a closer view it ismerely a huge pile of basalt blocks.What earth Is there has been trans-ported to the interstices of the angu-lar rocks by the wind. Many of theboulders were covered with a yellow-ish red brown lichen. This colorfulparasite actually eats the rock uponwhich it lives. Through the acidswhich they secrete, lichens attack eventhe hardest of rocks. The rock be-neath thelichen is easily scraped awayto a slight depth.The top of thepyramid wascrownedwith sixwell-defined ringed enclosures,

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


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Two o/ f/i ceremonial rings on the shelf at the base of the pyramid-shaped coneof basalt rocks. A metate was found at the entrance to one of these enclosures.the floors of which were covered withbunch grass. They bore no evidenceof having been living qua rters. Theirexposed location would indicate an-other use. If the old ceremonial legendbe true, they may have played an im-portant part in the annual pilgrimageto the mountain. They could havebeen look-out posts built to offer adegree of protection from the violentwinds.Later. Neva and I came to a roughterrace of boulders. At its base was alevel shelf of land upon which weretwo circular house rings. This villagesite was almost directly under the pyra-mid and extended eastward for aboutone quarter of a mile. We rested inthe largest of the two rings and ate ourlunch. There was a metate at the en-trance to the largest enclosure. Therock comprising the crude wall wasstacked about 30 inches high. Theupper wall and roof covering mayhave been constructed from tules andgrass. We found many flint chips inthe immediate area but no finishedim ple me nts . P r o c e e d i n g e a s t w a r dacross the campsite we encounteredmore h ouse rings ,, some petroglyphsand metates. Neva found an arrow-head near the second group of houserings. There were evidences all alonghere of places where water had stood.

Perhaps in wet seasons temporarysprings flowed or the pools wereformed in natural depressions.In the late afternoon as we madeour way down the slopes we met asmall king snake. W hen y oung thesereptiles resemble the venomous coralsnake in all but co lor. Bu t the kingsnake not only is harmless but is gen--erally regarded as a friend of man. andwe let it go or. its way.For amateur archeologists it hadbeen a day of many interesting dis-coveries. We can only guess as to whythe prehistoric Indians of the MojaveDesert and beyond came to this aridmountainbut we had found plentyof evidence that they did come hereand we would like to believe that theirmission, as explained by the Indianlegend, was one of peace. For thosewho may find it hard to believe the legendary long trek to Black Moun-tian, it may be well to quote someobservations by Edwin F. Walkerwhich are based on authentic archeo-logical discoveries: "There were manytrails north and south, east and west,along which traveled Indian traders,who were welcome even among war-ring tr ibes. Shells from the Gulf ofMexico were traded as far away asWisconsin, and abalone from the Pa-cific coast was known to tribes of

North Dakota; pipestone quarried inMinnesota was traded over the plainsarea and as far south as Georgia; ob-sidian gathered in Y ellowstone P arkwas traded into Ohio; copper, minedin the Lake Superior region, found itsway into the Southern states; andworked turquoise from New Mexicohas been found in Mississippi mounds."American Indian tribes were fre-quently at war with one another, muchas the clans of old Scotland. U nlikethe Scotch clans who joined forces tofight the English, the North AmericanIndians never united to throw backthe early Europ ean settlers. Q uite thecontrary, they sided at times with thewhites in attacking neighboring tribes.But while the tribesmen warred oneach other. Black Mountain remaineda place of peace where tribal feudswere forgotten and the Indians ofmany nations came to commune withtheir gods.In these days when humans are stillat war, it is good to know that theredoes exist, out on the Mojave Desen,a shrine where peace-loving peoplestill may go and perhaps learn some-thing about those primitive tribesmenwhose religion was so important tothem that they would declare an an-nual armistice for purposes of wor-ship.

DECEMBER 1983


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Milestones, Magic, Myths, and Miscellaneous of the Great American DesertD E V I L ' S H O L E P U P F I S H T O G E T H O M E

A S H M E A D O W S , N E V A D A - T H E T I N Y D E V I L ' SH O L E P U P F I S H , L A S T S U R V I V O R S O F AP R E H I S T O R I C S P E C I E S , M A Y G E T A P E R M A -N E N T P R E S E R V E U N D E R A N EW D E A L FOR1 3 , 0 0 0 A C R E S O F A R I D N E V A D A D E S E R T .O W N E R S O F T H E A S H M E A D O W S L A N D H A V EA G R E E D T O S E L L FOR $5, 5 M I L L I O N T OA C O N S E R V A T I O N I S T G R O U P S E E K I N G APRESERVE FO R T H E PUPFISH, CAUGHT U PIN A LEGAL FIGHT THAT WEN T T O T H EU.S. S U P R E M E C O U R T IN 1976.T H E P L A N A L S O C A L L S FOR A $1 M I L L I O N ,F I V E - Y E A R L O A N A T A LOW 5 P E R C E N TI N T E R E S T R A T E T O P R E F E R R E D E Q U I T I E SW H I C H O R I G I N A L L Y B O U G H T T H E L A N D T OD E V E L O P I T , C O M P A N Y P R E S I D E N TC L A R K W S O N G S A I D ,T H E N A T U R E C O N S E R V A N C Y I S P R I V A T E ,N O N - P R O F I T G R O U P W H I C H H O P E S T O G E TT H E P R O P E R T Y A N D T U R N I T O V E R T OT H E F E D E R A L G O V E R N M E N T .

D & R G W R R R E O P E N E DT H I S T L E - U T A H - A M A J O R E A S T - W E S TD E N V E R & R I O G R A N D E W E S T E R N R A I L R O A DL I N E W A S R E O P E N E D A R O U N D A 3 M I L EL O N G R E S E R V O I R A N D M U D S L I D E R E C E N T L Y ,A N E W T U N N E L W A S C O N S T R U C T E D A B O V ET H E S L I D E . R A I L R O A D O F F I C I A L S H A V E N O TD E C I D E D W H E T H E R O R N O T T O R E P A I R AL I N E R U N N I N G T H R O U G H S O U T H E R N U T A H .T H E A R E A W A S H A R D H I T B Y T H E R E C O R DS N O W A N D S P R I N G M E L T .

SOLAR ONED A G G E T T , C A L I F O R N I A - T H E F I R S T L A R G ES C A L E S O L A R E L E C T R I C A L P L A N T , S O L A R O N E ,I S N E A R I N G O P E R A T I O N A L C O M P L E T I O N . I TS T I L L I S I N ITS T E S T P H A S E , B U T I SE X P E C T E D T O B E S U C C E S S F U L .T H E $143 M I L L I O N D O L L A R P L A N T C O N C E N -T R A T E S SUN ENERGY WITH THE HELP OFloioHELIOSTATS (MIRRORS) THAT FOCUS REFLECT-E D S U N R A Y S O N T O A B O I L E R A T O P A 5JUF O O T T A L L T O W E R . W A T E R I N S I D E THEB O I L E R IS H E A T E D T O A L M O S T 1,000 D E G R E E S ,C R E A T I N G S T E A M . T H E S T E A M T H E N P O W E R SA T U R B I N E E L E C T R I C A L G E N E R A T O R . IHEC A P A C I T Y IS 10 M E G A W A T T S O F P O W E R .T H E R E IS A V I S I T O R C E N T E R FOR I N T E R E S T E DP A R T I E S . A S I M I L A R O P E R A T I O N I S O C A T E DI N H E S P E R I A .

D E S E R T A R E A T O E X P O R T W A T E RS N O W C R E E K , C A L I F O R N I A - A B O T T L I N GO P E R A T I O N I S P L A N N E D O N 12 A C R E S N E A RT H I S F O R M E R T O W N . N O N - C A R B O N A T E D W A T E RW I L L B E E X T R A D E D F R O M D E P T H S A S D E E P A S1000 FEET THROUGH STAINLESS STEEL PIPESAND BOTTLED DIRECTLY INTO SPECIAL PLASTICBOTTLES WITHOU T T H E WATER EVER CONTACT-ING T H E AIR. T H E WATER WILL B E SOLD A SA MINERAL WATER DRINK,

20 DECEMBER 1983


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Milestones, Magic, Myths, and Miscellaneous of the Great American DesertC A L I F O R N I A Z E P H Y R S T I L L O P E R A T I N G

R E N O - N E V A D A - / V I T R A C K I S S T I L L O F F E R I N GT R A I N R I D E R S T H E C H A N C E T O R I D E F R O MO A K L A N D T O R E N O , O N C E A DAY I N A C HD I R E C T I O N T HE T R A I N R E T R A C E S THE P A T H SO F H I S T O R Y . L E A V I N G R E N O , THE T R A I NC L I M B S U P T H E T R U C K E E R L V E R C A N Y O N T OA H I G H P O I N T O F 7 0 3 3 F E E T A T N O R D E N .C U R R E N T L Y , I T R O S S E S A W H I T E W I N T E RW O N D E R L A N D , T H I S IS W H E R E 4 7 P E O P L EP E R I S H E D I N C T O B E R 1845 W I T H THE I L LF A T E D D O N N E R P A R T Y . T H E R O U T E T H E NG O E S D O W N T HE W E S T E R N S I D E O F T H ES I E R R A N E V A D A , A C R O S S T H E F E R T I L ES A C R A M E N T O V A L L E Y , A L O N G THE S A C R A -M E N T O R I V E R A N D I N T O O A K L A N D , T O RI N F O R M A T I O N , C O N T A C T Y O U R L O C A L/ W R A C K O F F I C E .

H I S T O R I C M A P E X H I B I TS A N T A FE, NEW F E X I C O - C U R R E N T L Y O ND I S P L A Y T H R O U G H J A N U A R Y 29, 1984 I SA N E X H I B I T O F 3 5 H I S T O R I C M A P S O FT H E S O U T H W E S T . T H E Y W E R E M A D E B E T W E E N1540 AND 1803, S O M E S H O W C A L I F O R N I AA S A N I S L A N D . E X H I B I T I S A T THE F I N EA R T S M U S E U M O N P A L A C E A V E N U E , O P E N9 T O 5 D A I L Y E X C E P T S U N D A Y ANDM O N D A Y .

B U R R O S O U T - S H E E P INCHINA LAKE, CALIFORNIA - NAVY OWNEDLANDS NEAR THIS HIGH DESERT CITY WERERECENTLY CLEARED OF FERAL BURROS.THEN TWENTY-FIVE BYHORN SHEEP, 8RAMS AND 1 7 EWES, WERE RELEASED. IH ESHEEP PREVIOUSLY INHABITED THE AREAB U T DISAPPEARED. THE BURROS WEREBLAMED FOR TH E DISAPPEARANCE.THE DESERT MAGA ZINE

M O N O L A K E I N D I S P U T EL E E V I N I N G , C A L I F O R N I A - No A C C O R D H A SB E E N R E A C H E D R E G A R D I N G T HE W A T E R I NM O N O L A K E . LOS A N G E L E S U S E S ITS W A T E RF O R D O M E S T I C P U R P O S E S . T H E L A K E C O V E R S6 0 S Q U A R E M I L E S , HAS N O N A T U R A L O U T L E T ,A N D , D U E T O A D E C R E A S I N G V O L U M E O F A T E RH A S B E C O M E 2% T I M E S A S S A L T Y A S THEP A C I F I C O C E A N ,Y E T I T O N T A I N S A T E E M I N G P O P U L A T I O N O FA R A R E B R I N E S H R I M P , W H I C H S U P P O R T S AL A R G E B I R D P O P U L A T I O N . T H E L A K E I S T H EM A I N N E S T I N G A R E A O F T H E C A L I F O R N I A B U L LA N D A R E S T I N G P L A C E FOR S O M E 7 0 O T H E RS P E C I E S OF- I R D S W H O S T O P T H E R E O N T H E I RA N N U A L M I G R A T I O N S . T H E S L A N D S U S E D FORN E S T I N G ARE IN D A N G E R O F B E C O M I N G A C C E S S -A B L E B Y L A N D D U E T O T H E D R Y I N G O F T H EL A K E . - IF-THAT HAPPE NS, ANIM ALS SUCH A SCOYOTES A N D WOLVES C A N WALK O U T T O T H EISLANDS A N D FEED UP ON T H E NESTING GULLS .Los A N G E L E S D E P A R T M E N T O F W A T E R AND P O W E RAND OTHER PARTIES A R E ATTEMPTING T OARRIVE A T A SOLUTION T O T H E PROBLEM.

PALM SPRINGS TO H O S T R A CEP A L M S P R I N G S , C A L I F O R N I A - H A S B E E NS E L E C T E D F O R - A H E L I U M - F I L L E D B A L L O O NRACE. THE-RACE, THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD,is T O E H E L D MAY 5, 1984 A T R U T H H A R D YP A R K . A B O U T Z O B A L L O O N I S T S A R E E X P E C T E DT O C O M P E T E .

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Kern's sketch of the Yampai Indians whoambushed Leroux as he was scouting for theSitgreaves party in northern Arizona.

Antoine Leroux is one of the "forgotten men" of western American history.As trapper, scout, guide and Indian fighter, he was no less esteemed inhis day than his brilliant contemporary. Kit Carson. Unfortunately, therewas no biographer to record the exploits of this French-Canadian guideof 100 years ago, and it has been necessary for Charles Kelly to go tomany sources to compile the meager record contained in this brief storyof one cf the West's most dauntless trail-blazers.

".ace cy r.. r Th

(J LTNRISE of November 3. 1S51,j found a government exploring ex-pedition camped on Yampai creekin northwestern Arizona. Across the break-fast camprire, finishing his third cup ofbiack coffee, squatted the French-Canadianguide on whose knowledge of the country.ind its hostile inhabitants rested the suc-cess or failure of the expedition.

"Well. Ancdinc." said Cart. LorenzoSitgreaves. "will we find good water ontoday's journey?""1 am not certain of that, Captain," re-plied Antoine Leroux, thoughtfully. "Ihave trapped this creek many times, butnever crossed from here to the Mojavevillages where you want to go. It might bebest to wait whi le I look over the countryahead."DieiMIiR 1983

"Very well." Sitgreaves said, "thehorsesneed rest and the grass is good here ."P icking up his rifle theguide rose to go."I f I find water." he said. "I will make asmoke signal and you can move on in themorn ing ."" G o o d ! We will watch forit."Mounting his Indun pony Antoine wassoon out of sight in the broken desert. Upto t in t point it had not been necessary todo much scouring. He knew the countryover which they hadpassed and was famil-iar with all its streams andwaterholes. Butthe desert ahead was new to him. As herode on and on thechances of finding waterseemed more uncertain. Finally, in the dis-tance, he saw a small mountain and rodetoward it, hoping to obtain a more exten-sive view of thecountry. Climbing steadily

over rocky ledges andaround large bould-er s he hadalmost reached its summit whenhe heard the ominous twang of bowstringsand found himself the target for a flightof arrows. Before he could dismount hehad stopped three of thesharp flint points,tw o or which struck hirr. in :he head andone in :he wrist.Stunned by the sudden att.uk he- fellfrom HIS horse, cj.:i\vi'z himself in Frenchfor having been socare!e;s. Heshould haveknow n the Yampai Indians would havelookouts on every high point. They wereclose by, he knew, but fearing his rifle, re-mained concealed until they were sure hewas dead.Fortunately, Antoines skull was hardand the two arrows had danced off. leav-

in g painful bur not serious wounds. Theone inhis wrist hadgone deeper. He pulledou t the shaft but could not dislodge theflint point . Catching his horse he slowlyand carefully worked his way down theslope out ol range, then mounted and rodeback toward camp, wrapping his bleedingwrist in an old piece of buckskin.The pain of hiswounds was badenough,but what hecould notbear was the thoughtof what Captain Sitgreaves and his menwould say when they learned he had beenso careless as to fall into an Indian ambush.22


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For Antoine Leroux had a reputation tomaintain. H e had trapped every stream inthe Southwest and was considered the out-standing guide and authority on all thatcountry and its hostile Indians. Because ofhis experience he had been hired to guidethis expedition.

Cosnino Indians in northern Arizona.H ow had he gained such an intimateknowledge of so vast a territory, whosewild inhabitants had been hostile since thedays of early Spanish e xploration? U nfor-tunately we have little information on An-toine leroux's early life, for like mostFrench-Canadians, he never kept a journal

of his travels. If he had, he would now beas famous as his contemporary, Kit Carson.H owever, the little it has been possible toglean from various sources seems wellworth recording.The Leroux family appears to have set-tied in St. Louis at an early date. AntoineMojave Indians visited by the Sit greaves party in 1851.

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first went to Taos, over the Santa Fe trailin 1822, probably with the Robidouxbrothers, and thereafter made it his head-quarters, marrying a Spanish woman andreceiving a grant of land near Arroyo Seco.H e undoub tedly assisted Antoin e Robi-doux in establishing Fort Robidoux, nearpresent Delta, Colorado, and afterward(1837) Fort U intah in northeastern U tah.H is earliest expedition into Arizon a seemsto have been with Michel Robidoux in1827. Near the Maricopa villages this party -'was attacked and nearly wiped out. Thesurvivors joined James O. P attie's trappers,continuing down Gila river to the Colo-rado. H ere Pattie's group turned south tothe gulf, while George Y ount's party, un-doubtedly including Leroux, went n orth atleast as far as the mouth of Virgin river.On a subsequent trapping expeditionLeroux met Bill Williams on the streamwhich now bears his name. These incidentsare all that is known of Leroux's earlytravels in the Southwest, but his detailedknowledge of that section proved he hadexplored almost every mile of it.For some reason Leroux does not appearagain in the records until 183


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Colorado, then south to old Camp Y uma,where the camp was attacked by Indians,one soldier being killed. That no greaterloss was suffered was due to Leroux'sknow ledge and advice. S itgreaves hadplanned to explore upstream as far as theVirgin, but shortage of supplies compelledhim to continue from Camp Y uma direct toSan Diego.Leroux remained in San Diego untilApril, 1S52, when he was engaged by JohnR. Bartlett to guide the Mexican boundary-survey eastward from that place. WhenBartlett's party reached the Maricopa vil-lages on Gila river, Leroux met ChiefBlanco, who led the fight against MichelRcbidoux , in w hich he n early lost his life.The year 1S55 was a busy one for An-toine Leroux. In May he met Edward F.Beale, superintendent of Indian affairs, onthe Santa Fe trail. Beale wished to beguided to California and Leroux agreed togo, but was taken sick and could not makethe journey. In the meantime two govern-ment railroad survey parties had reachedNew Mexico, one under Lieut. Whipple,the other led by Lieut. Beckwith and Capt.Gunnison. At Albuquerque Whipple en-gaged Leroux as guide, but while the ex-pedition was preparing for the journey hisservices were requisitioned by Gunnison,who was to explore a route from Santa Feto Gr.inJ river and across the Green intothe Great Basin. Picking up his "exper-ienced and well known guide" in Taos onAugust 19, 1S53, he began searching fora practicable railroad route through themountains.Gunnison found that Leroux knew every

Wom en grinding co rn in Zurii pueblo.mountain pass and its possibilities as arailroad route, describing them accuratelyin advance and saving much difficult tra vel.Crossing the mountains this party struckthe headwaters of a stream later named forCapt. Gunnison, followed it some distance,'crossed to the U ncompahgre and struck theold Spanish trail which Leroux had traveledmany times with Robidoux.Within sight of the Abajo and Lasalmountains on the upper Colorado, Lerouxpointed out the Spanish crossing of Greenriver, mapped the route and returned tokeep his appointment with Whipple. Tra-veling at night, with only two companions,he passed through the hostile U te countrysafely. Of his services with Gunnison theartist Mollhausen said: "The confidencewhich he inspireda confidence that hadbeen earned by thirty years' toil in pri-meval wildernessmade us all rejoice nota little at having secured his services."Back in Albuquerque Lieut. Whipplehad assembled an immense cavalcade of114 men, 16 wagons and 200 mules. H eleft on November 7, his route beingthrough Laguna and Zun i, past the presentsites of H olbrook and Flagstaff, aroundBill Williams mountain, down Bill Wil-liams river to the Colorado, upstream toNeedles where he crossed, then up M ojaveriver past Soda Lake to intersect the Span-ish trail and continue into Californiathrough Cajon pass. In later years this be-came approximately the Santa Fe railroadroute.To conduct such a large expeditionthrough almost waterless deserts placed aheavy responsibility on the guide. In places

Leroux crossed and sometimes followedhis route with Sitgreaves two years pre-vious. On White Cliff creek he met theband of Y ampai In dians who had tried tokill him, but the size of Whipple's partykept them peaceable. Christmas was spentat Cosnino Caves near Winona, Arizona.After abandoning most of their wagonsthe party made a difficult crossing of theColorado at the Mojave villages, being thefirst, Leroux said, to pass that place withouta fight. Co ntinuing west to the old S panishtrail they met a group of Mormons whotold them Capt. Gunnison and most of hisparty had been massacred by Indians onSevier river in U tah.Returning from Los Angeles in May,1S54, Leroux traveled from the Pima vil-lages to the Little Colorado at the mouthof Canon Diablo, discovering the famousruins in Verde valley. This route is shownon early maps as the Leroux trail.Of his subsequent activities very little isknown. No doubt he retired to his ranchat Arroyo Seco or his home in Taos. I havenot been able to learn the place or date ofhis death. But Antoin.e Leroux deservessomething better than oblivion. During hislifetime he was considered the equal as ascout of his fellow townsman, Kit Carson,contributing much to early knowledge ofthe S outhwest. The routes he explored laterwere used by both railroads and highwaysthrough New Mexico and Arizona. But hisonly monuments are Leroux Wash at H ol-brook, Leroux Island in the Little Colo-rado, and Leroux Springs near Flagstaff,named in his honor by Sitgreaves andW hipp le. A ll those he guided spoke highly

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Indian blacksm ith shop at Zuni in 1851.his knowledge and ability, but none took delegate to the territorial convention at No biographer discovered Antoine Le-a description of the m an S anta Fe in 1851, and had been frequently roux in time to preserve his story. P racti-consulted by topog raphica l engineers when cally all that is known of him is containedIt is exceedingly unfortu nate that Leroux the first railroad surveys were p rojected, in this brief sketch. Th is is a great loss tot no written record of his experiences, As late at 1868 his letters containing ac- western history, for Antoine Leroux wasa good education in both curate descriptions of the S outhwest were one of the real pathfinders of the S outh-and English. H e was selected as a quoted by John C. Van Tramp and others, west.

Fort Yuma at the time the Sit greaves expedition crossed the Colorado there in 1851..

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C a l e n d a r of W e s t e r n E v e n t sJANUARY 1 - SEPTEMBER, FORGOTTEN FLAMESA n exhibit o f photographs a n d artifactsdepicting the histor y o f fire-fightingin Carson City. Daily, a t t h e NevadaState Museum i n Carson City, Nevada.JANUARY 14 - HIDDEN CAVE TOURSLeaves a t 9: 4 5 A M from t h e ChurchillCounty Museum i n Fallon. InformationC7 02) 423-3677 .JANUARY 1 4 - 1 5 , "GEMBOREE 84 "Tule G e m a n d Mineral Society,Veteran s Memorial Building, 324 NorthKawea k Street, Exeter, Calif.,Exhibits, dealers, demonstrations,Admissio n Free.

FEBRUARY 18 - 19 BRISTLECONE CHARIOTRACES, Twenty-Five 3 team raceseach d a y starting a t 11:00 A M .A t t h e Fairgrounds i n Ely, Nevada.FEBRUARY 19 - L A S VEGAS T RAVEL FAIR,La s Vegas Convention Center.10:AM - 5:00 FM. Admission $1.00.

MARCH 3 - 4 GEMS A N D MINERALSHOW, Monrovia Rockhounds,Masonic Temple,204 Wes t Foothill Boulevard,Monrovia , Calif.Displays, lectures, dealers,Free Admission.

JANUARY 31 - DEAT H VALLEY; LAND O FCONTRAST, A n Audubon Wildli fe Filmby Ken t Dura n. Duran will speak a tthe showing. 7:30 FM Wright Hall a tthe University o f Nevada, L a s VegasIn fo rm at io n (702) 739-3394,FEBRUARY 9 - 12, G E M AND MINERAL SHOTTucson Cannunity Center, 26 0 SouthChurch, Tucson, Arizona, Hours 10: 00A M - 8:0 0 FM, Sunday t o 5:00 FM ,Exhibits, programs, Annual meeting o fclubs, dealers. Large show*Admission $1.50.FEBRUARY 1 6 - 18, SCOTTSDALE G E M A N DMINE RAL SHOW, Camelview Plaza,Camelback Road a n d 70th Street,Scottsdale, Arizona,Exhibits, dealers.FEBRUARY 17 - 26, NATIONAL DATEFESTIV AL, Ri verside County's FairGrounds, Indio, California.Exhibits o f dates, citrus, ArabianNights P ageant, Rockhound exhibits.Also Carnival a n d idway,Admission charged. More o n this i nThe Next Issue o f Deserts

MARCH 14 - APRIL 11, DESERTWILDFLOWERS, a class presente da t t h e iving Desert Reserve,Palm Desert , Calif. A nopportunity t o learn about morethan 6 0 desert plant s.Information frcm College o f t h eDesert, (619) 346 -8041.

MARCH 17 - 18 RIVER GEMBOREE,Silvery Colorado River Rock Club ,Junior Hi gh School Building,Hancock Road a t Lakeside,Bullhead City, Arizona,Dealers, demonstrations,displays, Free Admiss ion.MARCH 31 - APR IL 29, TUCSONFESTIVAL 84, Fiesta's Craft Market,Dancers, entertainment, gunfighte rs,local food booths . Program i sdifferent o n each weekend. Variouslocations i n Tucson, Arizona area.APRIL 21 - 22 SPRING ROCKHOUND P O WWOW , Saddle Mountain near Mattawa,Southeast o f Vantage, Wash. ,includes d i g for picture wood.Tailgaters a n d swappers wel com e.I f o : M r s . N . Greenlee, 7043 S o .Clement A ve., Taccma, W A . 98409.

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In 1857 U ncle S am brought a herd of camels to theU nited S tates to be used for transportation across theGreat American desert. The experiment failed. But itwa sn't entirely the fault c; the camels. They did theirjob an d thrived on the desert vegetation of the South-west. But they had bad dispositions and they madehideous noisesand neither man nor mule liked thesmell of them. The camels are goneand in thisstory Frances Watkins has recalled some of thestrange incidents of their passing.

atne to tkeThis old lithograph was taken from the Senate Executivedocument printed in 1857 and titled "The Purchase ofCamels for the Purposes of Military Transportation."

B y F R A N C E S E . W A T K I N S

/ y AV EI T A dozed comf or tab ly onj the back of her pony as he amble dalong the trail. She was on her wayto the trading post to dispose of cornand squash and beans she had raised inher garden, and was surrounded by a bulg-ing load of pots and baskets.A rhythmic clang of bells came throughthe warm summer dusk. She must benearer her journey's end than she hadsusposed, for tame cattle seldom wanderedfar from the corrals.If Saveita had been fully awake shewould have known that this sound camefrom no ordinary cowbell. And she mighthave been warned by the alert cock of thepinto's ears, by his wan- step as the metallictankle came closer to the great rock whichhid .1 turn in th e dusty trail.S udde nly all four of the pinto's feetleft the earth in one leap. H e achieved theincredible feat of reversing himself inmid-air , and disappeared in the directionof home, leaving broken pottery, basketsand vegetables scattered aloni; the trailbehindalso Savieta . The plump PimaIndian matron was very much surprisedand s ome wh at dazed is she brushed thehair from her face and looked around.Too startled even to scream she was


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in her new checked dress, hands upraisedin amazement. : . ; ' .1 While Saveita wove her baskets, theheavy bronze camel bells tankled on theirwestward way. There were not too manysettlements along the route to the ColoradoRiver when camel transport was just an-other go vernment experiment, but thecourse of the caravan was marked by runa-way horses, frantic mules and swearingsoldiers. Skeptical beholders prophesiedthat it would never work. Camels in Amer-ica were against all nature, they said, una-ware that under their feet rested the bonesof vast herds of camels that had roved thisregion way back in the Ice Age.It didn't work, but nature had nothingto do with it, unless it was human nature.It was just one of those unbelievably fan-tastic episodes in American history whichGilbert and Sullivan would have consid-ered too bizarre as a plot for light opera.In fact, there was a sort of musical comedyatmosphere about the whole thing, andno one would have been surprised if thehandsome young hero had burst into song,accompanied by a chorus of uniformedtroopers, while Indians and muleteersdanced across the stage and Arab cameldrivers guarded their charges. All that waslacking was a heroine, and that couldeasily be overcome by a dark-eye senoritacoquetting at her barred window, or thegolden tressed daughter of a settler, sturd-ily driving her father's covered wagon.Early in the romantic fifties, while lifein America was still something of a fabu-lous fairy tale, young Lieutenant EdwardFitzgerald Beale, stationed at Fort Yum a,proposed the use of camels for transpor-

the Pim a Indians saw the camels, they made baskets picturing the strangeanimal. One of these baskets along with the camel bell is in possessionof Southwest Museum in Los Angeles.tation across the unknown wastes of theGreat American Desert. Kis suggestionwas received 'with enthusiasm by the vis-ionary, ambitious Secretary of War, Jef-ferson Davis, who promptly applied foran appropriation for the purchase of cam-

This drawing was used in 1857 to show mem bers of congress the huge loads the"r camels could carry if bro ught to the United States for military tran sportation: - ' "-'" ' \ " across the desert.

1983 : ig-::-;"-''.

els. This was in 1852, and by March, 1853,the War Department had S30.000 at itsdisposal, a big sum for those days.The first miserable, seasick camels wereunloaded at Indianola, Texas, February10, 1857. Nobody wanted them, nobodyloved them, except Lieutenant Beale andtheir native drivers. The lieutenant, seek-ing a wagon road across territory recentlyacquired from Mexico from Fort Defiancein Arizona to the Colorado River, gatewayto golden California, tried out the firstcamel herd, which acquitted itself to hisentire satisfaction. Not, however, to thesatisfaction of the cavalrymen and hostlerswho had to take care of the clumsy brutes,and who refused to learn how to loadand tend their temperamental wards. Cam-els weren't horses, they weren't mules, theyweren't even oxen. They did not act likeany civilized animal. Besides, if you hurta camel's feelings he poured, and camelsturned out to be touchier than the mostthin-skinned spinster. They pouted whenthey stepped on a cactus thorn, when theirhumps hurt, when their loads were a fewpounds too heavy, when they were hungry,and sometimes just because they felt likeit. It was all very confusing, so, somehow,accidents began to happen. One or twocamels at a time would break away fromthe picket lines, to disappear apparentlywithout a trace. Strange to say, men whocould trail a mule through impenetrablechaparral in the darkest hours of a pitch-black night, failed to

198312 Desert Magazine 1983 December

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