197610 Desert Magazine 1976 October

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OC TOBER, 1976 75c

GA ZINE OF THE SOUTHWEST

M M



Gomeiiisittii>t • •

A GREAT SELECTION

OF BOOKS ON THEWEST

PLUS

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MA PS GOLD PANS

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A N D

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W ILLIA M and JOY KNYVETTCo-Publishers/ Editors

GEORGE BRAGA, Art Director

MARY FRANCES STRONG, F:ieldTrip Editor

F. A. BARNES, Utah Associate Editor

GLENN VARGAS, Lapidary Editor

K. L. BOYNTON, Naturalist

MARVEL BARRETT, Circulation Manager

Color Separationsby

Henry Color Service

Lithographedby

Rotary Offset Printers

Available in Microfilmby

Xerox University Microfilms

Volume 39, Number 10 OCTOBER 1976

CONTENTS

F E A T U R E S

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CACTUS CANDY

HOHOKAM'S SNAKETOWN

SONORA'S SECRET TRIBE

LONGSHOT LOOT . . . DEATHBED CONFESSIONS

CITIZEN'S BAND AND THE DESERT

CB RADIO COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!

THE GLOSSY SNAKES

THE COVER:A weathering ore chute inthe Old Dale Mining Dis-trict in Southern California.Photo by George Service,Palm Desert, California.

6

8

12

16

20

32

36

Barbara Bigham

Richard Dillon

Bob Barns

Ken Marquiss

Ernie Cowan

Mary Frances Strong

K. L. Boynton

D E P A R T M E N T S

A PEEK IN THE PUBLISHER'S POKE 4

1977 BOOK CATALOG 21

RAMBLING ON ROCKS 42

TRADING POST 44

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 46

CALENDAR OF WESTERN EVENTS 46

William Knyvett

Books for Desert Readers

Clenn and Martha Vargas

Classified Listings

Reader's Comments

Club Activities

E D I T O R I A L AND CIRCULATION OFFICE S : 74-425 H ighway 111,Palm Desert , Cal i fornia 92260. Telephone Area Code 714346-8144. NATIONALA D V E R T I S I N G O F F I C E S : JE Publishers' Representative, 8732 Sunset Blvd., LosAngeles, California 90069. Telephone Area Code 213659-3810. Listedin Standard Rate andData . S UBS C RIP T ION RATE S : Un i ted S tates , Canada andMexico; 1year , $6.00; 2 years, $11.00; 3 years, $16.00. Other foreignsubscribers add$1.00 U.S.currency foreach year . SeeSubscription Order Form inthis issue. Allow five weeks for change ofaddress andsend both new

and old addresses with zip codes. DE S E RT Magaz ine is published monthly. Second class postage paid at Palm Desert, California and at additionalmailing offices under Actof M a r c h 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1976 by DE S E RT Magaz ine andpermission toreproduce anyor allcontents must besecured in wri t ing. Unsol ici ted manuscr ipts and photographs will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed and stamped envelope.

Deser t /October 1976



B A C K I S S U E SA TA

L O WP R I C 1

Mai l allorders to:

DESERT MagazineBox 1318Palm Desert, Calif. 92260

A P e e ki n t h e

P u b l i s h e r sP o k eSK ANY psychiatrist what is one of

the major problem areas in our mod-

I ern society and it's an even-money

bet he' l l say " lack of communica t ion . "

We should beminus oneproblem area at

the rate CB radios are being sold and all

that communicating going on!

Two art icles this month point out the

basics of CB radio and its use in the

desert area, and the dos and don'ts of

th e use of the National Emergency Chan-

ne l 9. The popularity of CB units has

grown so phenomenally that the existing

23 channels are seriously overcrowded,

making it necessary for theaddit ion of 17

more channels in January, 1977.

I'm sure the articles by Ernie Cowan

and Mary Frances Strong will be of

interest to all.

Fo r thetreasure hunter, KenMarquiss

tells about lost loot and his fruit lesssearch for same as the result of some

"deathbed confessions." Having taken

his best shot, he challenges the readers

to f ind them.

Bob Barns gives us an insight to the

Seri Indians of Mexico and how they

have carved their way into a more

modern life-style, and over in Arizona,

Richard Dillon describes the remains of a

Hohokam vil lage called Snaketown.

Naturalist K. L. Boynton will keep

snake-lovers happy with his piece on the

Glossy Snakes, of which there are six

species. And if creepy crawlers are not

your bag, then Barbara Bigham may

satisfy your palate with her recipe for

cactus candy, made from our old f r iend ,

the Prickly Pear.

This issue also features our Annual

Book Catalog, but it does not include

every t it le available. Try to come by and

visi t with us and browse through over

300 titles stocked in our Book Shop. And

to make it more convenient, the shopwi l l be open on Saturdays from 10 to 3

commencing October 1st.

H A P P Y

W A N C I E R E R

By Slim BarnardIhe tours by the Happy Wanderers con-

tain excellent maps, mile age, historyof the areas, costs of gasoline consump-t ion, lodg ing meals, what to wear and

the best time of the year to make the

trips. A fami ly can plan their trip and

determine the exact amount of t ime and

money required.

Volume Number One covers 52 toursthroughout California's deserts, moun-tains, lakes and seashores. In VolumeNumber Two, Slim and Henrietta exploreArizona, Nevada and Old Mexico,, withthe areas rang ing from modern resortsto ghost towns.

When order ing BE SURE to state VolumeOne or Volume Two. Both books are large

format , heavy paperback wi th I 50 pages.

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byBARBARA

BIGHAM

S

URE, YOU know that a cactus can

save your life in the desert—but did

you know that it can satisfy yoursweet tooth as well? Those ungainly

d e se r t p la n t s , w i t h t h e i r p o rcu p in e

qui l ls , have been a basic part of the na-

tive diet in the Southwest for centuries.

They're used in soups, salads, shishke-

babs and sherbets, but the one cactus

food that's winning the most popularity

is cactus candy—a sweet, chewy desert

dessert that's easy and fun to make.

Commercial manufacturers of prickly

pear cactus candy grow their own "or-

chards" of cactus, but the wild fruit thatyou f ind growing all around the desert

areas of the Southwest is just as tasty.

Just about everywhere you travel you

can spot clusters of red pear-shaped fruit

hanging from the t ips of the prickly pear

cactus. Although cactus is protected by

law on government lands, you can har-

vest the fruit without a permit. But be

careful. The spines on a prickly pear are

so tiny and ligh t colored that you ha rdly

notice them, until you touch one andcome away with a "whiskered f inger."

Be sure to wear heavy rubber gloves or

use tongs to pluck off the bright red

fruit. I f you forget and wind up with a

finger full of spines, soak it in warm

water until they come out or use tweez-

ers to pull them out individually. Be es-

pecially careful not to break them off at

the skin line and leave the end in your

finger where it can become infected.

A single cluster of cactus can yield

several pounds of fruit—en ough to makeseveral cups of juice and plenty of candy.

The fruit wil l vary depending on the al t i -

t ude, soil, moisture and weather. Those

grow ing in a cooler, rain ier area are larg-

er and juicier, but the smaller ones are

normally sweeter.

Once you've collected the pears, rinse

them in hot water (don't forget the

gloves), then drop them into boil ing

water. After a few minutes, spear the

pear with a knife and peel the skin. Th e

spines will come off with the skin. Th esmall "eyes" can be removed with the



t ip of the knife or with a potato peeler.

Cut the peeled pears into small pieces

and place into a saucepan, adding

enough water to nearly cover them. Boil

over a medium heat unt i l the cactus is

soft (about one-half hour), then strain.

Several layers of cheesecloth make the

best strainer, but even a wire mesh

strainer, w hich is f ine enough to hold the

cactus seeds, will do. The pulp can bethrown away after the juice has been

strained through.

With this juice, just follow the recipe

for cactus candy as below:

4 cups granulated sugar

TVS box fruit pectin2A cup water

3 cups cactus juice

Mix the pectin and water in a large

saucepan and bring to a boil over a high

heat, st irr ing constantly. Add the juice

and sugar and turn heat down to just be-low boil ing to dissolve sugar. Heat for

about f ive minutes, then remove from

heat, skimming the top if necessary.

Pour into a square pan and allow to cool.

The mixture wil l gel into a candy jelly as

it cools. Before it starts to gel, add nuts,

coconut or, when hard, roll in colored

sugar to add an even more f lavorful

t reat .

They may not look appetizing when

they're growing in a sandy wasteland,

but once they're whipped up into cactuscandy, the y're a real desert dessert. •

Beauty and the

Beast. The

fragile

loveliness of

the blossom of

the Prickly PearCactus is always

in surprising

contrast to the

wicked looking

barbs on

the pads.

Photo by

Josef Muench.

Far left: Plunge the fruit [speared on a knife] into boiling water to help take out the

spines. Left: Peel the skin as you would a boiled salad potato— be careful not to lettoo much juice escape. Below: Strain pulp with a preserve strainer or a metal mesh.



Left: Small

ballcourt.

Completely

excavated in

1934-35, but now

brush and weeds

have partially

reclaimed it.

by

RICHARD DILLON

I I I HE NA M E S NA K E TOW N m igh t

4 bring to mind a roadside repti le at-

g tract ion with l ive serpents luring

tourists to buy gaudy souvenirs. In real-

ity though, Snaketown is one of the most

important archaeological sites in the

United States.

For almost 2,000 years the Hohokam

Indian civi l izat ion f lourished at Snake-

town , located 25 miles southeast of

Phoenix, Arizona. Scientif ic invest iga-

t ions there have provided the major

source of information we have on those

remarkable people who are noted for

both their art ist ic and technological

achievements.

Unlike many other southwestern In-

dian ruins, Snaketown lacks cliff dwel-

l ings or massive buildings. However, in

spite of the lack of impressive architec-

tural remains, the culture at Snaketown

was one of the most advanced in the

w o r l d . For ins tance, the Hohokam

people made some of the finest pottery

and stone carvings ever found in the

U.S. They also developed techniques for

etching shell jewelry hundreds of yearsbefore Europeans discovered the pro-

cess. But by far their greatest achieve-

ment was the development of an irriga-

tion system to make the desert bloom.As early as 300 B.C. the Hohokam ir-

rigated the lands along the Salt and Cila

Rivers of central Arizona. They were the

f irst irr igat ionists in North America and

their canal system is the largest and

most extensive ever found. The canals

that now irr igate the modern agri-busi-

ness farms around Phoenix and Casa

Grande follow the same routes the Hoho-

kam chose over 1,000 years ago. White

settlers simply cleaned out the old Ho-

hokam canals. The Hohokam had done

such an excellent job that modern en-

gineering has not been able to make

many improvements on their system.

Several hundred miles of canals were

constructed and tens of thousands of

acres were made fertile by the Hoho-

kam engineers. The stable food supply

created in a desert wilderness made all

o t he r Hohokam accom p l i shm en t s

possible.

Many of the discoveries at Snaketown

have amazed archaeologists. But one

find did so more than othe rs. It was a sea

shell with a design of a frog etched into

Desert/October 1976



Right: Snaketown

potsherds. These

examples ofSnaketown red on

buff pottery show

mostly geometric

designs. <>

Below: Carpet of

pottery. Snaketown ,

is literally covered

with potsherds. I

Archaeologists

estimate there are ^

one billion i*

potsherds atthe site. *M

t*

it . The process of using acid to cut de-

signs into materials was not invented in

Europe until about 1500, but the Hoho-

kam mastered the craft several hundred

years earlier. Juice from saguaro cactus

fruit was fermented until it became a

weak acid. Pitch, obtained from desert

t rees, was used to coat the part of the

shell not to be etched. The shell was then

dipped into the acid. The etching pro-

cess creates much finer details in de-

sign than can otherwise be obtained b/

carving the shell, but it is a diff icult

process. So far only a handful of etched

shells have been found and thu s they are

much-treasured specimens.

Probably the most unusual and fascin-

ating features at Snaketown are the two

ball courts, large oval bowls dug out of

the earth. Just what their purpose was

remains conjecture. However, the many

similarities between the ball courts o

Mexico and those of Snaketown lead

most experts to assume a common origin

and purpose.

The game played in the ball courts o

Mexico appears to have been a combina

tion of religious ritual and recreationTwo teams competed, attempting to pass

Deser t/October 1976



a small rubber ball through a r ing at-

tached to the wall of the court. The ball

could be hit with thig hs, hips or torso but

the use of hands and feet was not per-

mitted making a score very diff icult.

Some reports of the game say that the

man scoring a point could claim all the

clothing and jewelry from the specta-

tors. Other reports say that his reward

was to be sacrificed.

The large ball court at Snaketown

measures about 60 yards by 30 yards.

The smaller ball court is half that size.

Stone markers were found at each end

and at one time the walls had been plas-

tered. Burie d beneath the surface, in the

center of the large ball court, an un-

usual rock was found. The stone had

been purposely broken and then put

back together before burial. The sig-

nificance of this rock will probably neverbe known.

Ball courts remain something of a

mystery. They were obviously an im-

portant part of life at Snaketown. How-

ever, like so many other things from the

past, we can only speculate on the spiri-

tual meaning from the material remains.

A recen t d iscovery a t Snake town

seems to confirm that a close relation-

ship existed between the Hohokam and

the culture of Mexico. Two platform

mounds with similar character istics to

the early pyramids of Mexico were fou nd

in 1964. These ritual mounds are new

finds in Hohokam archaeology and little

is known about them. It is probable that

other such mounds will be discovered

now that archeologists will be on the

look-out for them.

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Cal i f . Res. add 6% sales taxPlease includ e 25c for postage

10

The first excavations atwere conducted in 1934-35 by Gila

Pueblo, a pr ivate organization headed by

Harold Cladwin. In 1964-65 the Uni-

versity of Arizona and the National Sci-

ence Foundation combined to make

further explorations at the site. Essen-

tial ly, the second dig confirmed the re-

sults of the first, but several important

facts were learned from the later work.

One of the most significant results was

that the date for the earliest known oc-

cupation of Snaketown was pushed back

se ve r a l h u n d r e d ye a r s . Du r i n g th e

1934-35 excavation potsherds used in

conjunction with three r ing dating set a

date of about 500 A.D. for the begin-

ning of Snaketown. Although an earl ier

date was suspected it was not until the

1964-65 dig that a new date was estab-

lished. Using carbon 14 method it was

earned that Snaketown was occupied as

;arly as 425 B.C. -- give or take 100years or so. This proved that beyond a

doubt the Hohokam were the first people

to use irrigation canals in what is now

the U.S.

Snaketown may be disappointing from

an architectural point of view lacking as

it does any surface remains of Hohokam

d we l l i n g s . Bu t f r o m a n o th e r a n g le

Snaketown is quite remarkable. Snake-

town is l i teral ly covered with a carpet of

potsherds. From the enormous amount

of broken pottery it would seem that allthe Hohokam had time for was the mak-

ing and breaking of pottery. Dr. Emil

Haury, director of the 1964-65 dig, esti-

mates that there are one billion pot-

sherds a t Snake town. More than

1,500,000 potsherds were excavated and

analyzed during the last dig alone.

Unfortunately, for archeologists and

art lovers alike, the Hohokam believed in

breaking the possessions of a person

upon his or her death. Belongings were

often buried with the ashes of the de-

ceased but they were always cracked or

deliberately broken in some manner.

However, many bowls and pots have

been repaired and are testimony to the

skil l of Hohokam craftsmen.

Primari ly, the Hohokam made two

types of pottery. One was ordinary plain

ware without any decorations. The other

was the beautiful red on buff deco-

rated pottery for which they are now

famous. Althoug h geometr ic designs are

the most common, the painted pottery

also portrays a number of life forms.

Desert /October 1976



Animals of all sorts including birds,

snakes, lizards and sheep were used.

Dancers andpersons carrying baskets on

their backs are also common.

The most mysterious and puzzling

thing about the Hohokam is why they

disappeared. About 1400 the Hohokam

culture abruptly vanishes. Why they

vanished is open to speculation but sev-

eral events may have been determining

factors. One was the arrival of the Atha-

bascan peoples, theNavajo andApache,

from Canada to northeastern Arizona.

As these newcomers arrived they pushed

other peoples out of their way. The

Salado, probably descendants of the

Anasazi clif fdwellers, came down and

joined the Hohokam in the river valleys

of central Arizona about 1200. The large

structures at Casa Grade and Pueblo

Grande are the result of these int ru-

sions and not purely Hohokam develop-

ments. But for some reason the Salado

and Hohokam cultures collapsed not

long after the arrival of the Salado. Per-

haps the land could not support both

groups. Ormaybe the many years of Ho-

hokam irrigation had sowaterlogged the

soil as to make it unproductive. Another

facto r cou ld have been dest ruct ive

Apache raids against the sett lements.

But all of this is purely guesswork. No

one really knows for sure. For whatever

reasons the highly developed Hohokam

c iv i l i za t io n d i sa p p e a re d a b o u t 1400.

When the Spanish arrived in the late

1500's and 1600's, the canals had fallen

into disuse, the ball courts were empty

and the large villages deserted.

Today Snaketown is a desolate place.

Although it sits beside a great river, it is

dr y and dusty. The Gila River water,

which once made Snaketown agarden on

the desert, is nowdiverted to other lo-

cations up river. Even the signs of the

important archeological work done here

are gone. Excavations, trenches, test

pits and the l ike were all carefully f i I ee

in by a bulldozer after the work was

completed. But thebleak scene atSnake-

town may soon change.

The federal government has plans to

make Snaketown a National Monument

The houses will be reconstructed, the

canals redug and the Hohokam way o

l i fe recreated. It is stil l anumber of years

away but it is something to look forwarc

to . Someday part of the Hohokam's van

ished civil ization will be made visible

again.


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1



S o n e r a ' s

S e c r e t T r i b eC a r v i n g

a F u t u r eby BOB BARNS

The newest

trend in

carvings is

birds in flight

with their

wingsoutstretched.

12

THE DOUBLE paths that vuould be aroad when they grew skirmished

their way among the cardo n, the oco-

t i l lo and the palo verde. The desert 's dry

deck tilted down until it was awash in the

waters of the Infernillo, to re-appear on

the other side mirroring our part of the

Sie r ra S er i . Ma ss ive sh a d o w - f in g e rs

stretched toward us from the contorted

peaks of Tiburon Island as the slowly

spinning earth b rought the beginnings ofnight again to the western coast of Sono-

r a . Our truck and the spaghett i- l ike set

of " r o a d " tracks were the sole alien-to-

the-desert forms visible for 40 and more

miles along that coast. W i l d , isolated,

peaceful, with a grandeur that only those

who appreciate the desert can fully un-

derstand, this was the middle of the land

of the Seri Indian of Sonora.

I was hot, dirty, st inking, t i red,

thirsty , sweaty and unshaven — in short,

all those things that would have made

me wholly unwelcome where I 'd come

f rom. But those minor social drawbacks

were forgotten as I soaked in this visual

bath of desert splendor. I was doing ex-

actly what I wanted to do, where I

wanted to do it and to be able to do that

in this Van Gogh of color and form was

fil l ing my cup to the overf lowing . . .

Here at Paso Noche Buena (Christmas

Eve Pass) we were about halfway from

the Sonoran state capitol of Hermosillo

to Desemboque, the Seri village we wereliving and working in. Under the best of

conditions it was an all-daylight hours

trip in or out and the condit ions were

rarely good to us. Drifting or washed

sand in the arroyos often altered mat-

ters; trucks took things into their own

hands; tires had a way of non-coopera-

t ion at highly i l l-advised moments. It

was a very long and hard trip in and

back, for Desemboque was isolated

physically, psychologically and spiritu-

ally from the remainder of Sonora. Al-most everyone in the state of Sonora

knew of th e Seri, for there had been a

bitter 300-year history of Seri-white con-

tacts, but only a relatively few had ever

seen one.

They were in truth a secret tr ibe, hid-

den in many aspects from the then bur-

Seri woman applying

face paint. Color photo

by Western Ways,

Tucson, Arizona.

Desert/October 1976





WNOW...

Good things

are happening at...

D e a t h V a l l e yJ u n c t i o nStay at the historic

AMARGOSA HOTEL

This lovely 50-year-old hotel is

being restored. 20 rooms open

year 'round. All carpeted. All

beautifully furnished. Electric

heat and air conditioning. Make

the Amargosa Hotel your head-

quarters while in the Death

Valley area.

You can now dine in the restor-

ed DINING ROOM in the Hotel.

A separate banquet facility is

available for groups.

Telephone Death Valley Junc-

tion #1 for information or reser-

vations.

Visit Marta Becket's famous

AMARGOSA OPERA HOUSE.

You've read about this beautiful

and unique attraction in Desert

and National Geographic. See

Marta Becket's program of

dance-mimes. See her fabulousmurals inside the Opera House.

I Performances Friday, Saturday

I and Monday Through April.

\\ Saturdays only in May, Septem-

li ber. 8:15; doors open at 7:45.

|\l Telephone Death Valley June-,

rr'tion #8 for reservations. Tours |

welcomed.

The General Store, Filling Sta-

tion, Pottery Shop and Beauty

Parlor are open. RV Park

coming. Space available for

development.

For further information about

DEATH VALLEY JUNCTION

please write:

Death Valley Junction, Inc.

P . O . Box 675

Death Valley Junction,

California 923^

V/tn •1010"'

geoning world of northwestern Mexico.

A large port ion of the t r ibe st i l l re-

tained the nomadic patterns of the old

days as they moved up and down the

coast, using highly seaworthy boatsmade from dressed lumber that had re-

placed the pr im i t ive reed "ba lsa" of

their grandparents. More often than not

they returned to Desemboque Seris — a

sett lement on a shallow bay about two

miles south of the mouth of the San

Ygnacio r iver — as f requently as they

went to any single place.

And Desemboque Seris was a good

place tocome to. Ample fresh water was

available in a shallow well cut into the

river's sides. Cabo Tepopa to the southand the lowdunes to the northwest cut

of f the long open water swells of the Sea

of Cortez. Firewood was available in the

nearby desert or slight ly further back in

an area known as Poso C oyote — a break

in the Sierra Seri that provided a chan-

ne l for the annual floods of the San

Ygnacio. In the hot months there was

usually an on-shore breeze along the

beach. In the days when they hadbeen

hunters andgatherers it hadbeen a good

place for clams. Logically, they had

named it "Place-of -Clams." There was a

14

mngnif icent view to the south'. Cabi> Tt

popa lifted its lava headland seaward at

the end of many miles of curving bay,

with the eastern and western side of

T ibu ron v i s i b le beh ind it. Jus t off

Tepopa the lone dull spire of Isla Patos

(Duck Island) whitely made its point

above the blue waters of the sea and to

the west the peaks of Isla Angel de la

Cuardia were usually visible just above

the horizon.

Here atDesemboque theSeri had cen-

tered, in this second year of the second

half of the 20th century. Once upon a

t ime their forefathers had roamed much

of the western half of Sonora, east to

Ures, south to Cuaymas, north to about

Puerto Penasco, but the power of the

white soldiers andmissionaries hadbeen

too much and both the terr itory they

were driven into and the size of the t r ibe

had shrunk. Thousands strong in the late

1600's, they were now down to about2 0 0 . Once fierce and unrelent ing f ight -

e r s , for the past 40 years they had rea-

l ized that such f ight in g as they might do

with the whites was suicidal and had

thus given it up.

Slowly they hadlearned towork with a

few Mexican f ish buyers andwith some

government help and the resources of

the traders had part ly edged into the

money-trading economy. At best they

survived, at worst the children died of

malnutr i t ion anddiseases brought on bylack of adequate sa nitat ion. The life was

hard andbit ter much of the t ime, depen-

dent upon the vagaries of wind and

weather and the hunter's good luck.

Their poverty, their abysmally bad road

system, their lack of need to t rade with

the rest of theworld except in the l imi ted

wa y of the f ish buyers all served to keep

them secreted in this barren str ip of the

coast of the Sea of Cortez.

But a few people found out about

them. In the early '30s Alf red Kroeber,an anthropologist, came, stayed six

days, left and wrote a short technical

paper. Later a fel low named Coolidge

spent some tim e, took some p ictures and

wrote a book called "The Last of the

Ser is . " What a poor prophet he turned

ou t to be! In 1951 a l inguist ic missionary

couple started towork among them; they

are st i l l there. In 1952 a "wo rk cam p"

sponsored by a Quaker organization

came at their request to help them build

a schoolhouse; I was part of that group.

Simultaneously an experienced Mexican




Standing ram.

Ram's heads alone

are fairly commonly

made, often

standing 15 to 18

inches high.

rural teacher and his family came, to

stay seven years.

Because these people were there in

the early '50s, others came, out of cur i -

ousity and to see their fr iends who l ived

in such a far-off place. In turn they

brought more in, slowly, unt i l a t iny

"cadre" of people with some f i rs thand

knowledge of the Seri was formed and

some word about them spread, part icu-

larly in the Tucson area.

In 1961 a small but incipient ly power-

ful event occurred. Jose Astorga saw

that a fr ien d of hfs, a man from Tucson ,

o f t en had t r oub le w i t h h i s pape rs

blowing about in the win d . He made a

simple rectangular paperweight about

an inch and one-half square and a foot

long from palo fierro (Olneya tesota).

This simple act and ordinary piece of

desert ironwood turned out to be the

These twin sharks were made about

six months apart by the same craftsman,

Antonio Robles.They are just short of

twelve inches long each.

counterpart to the match that l i t Mrs.

O'Leary's lantern in its signif icance.

When cut, f inished, and polished i ron-

wood shows a str ikingly beautiful sur-

face. Hard, heavy, closegrained, a deep

brown color with nearly black str iat ions,

it takes a finish of wax (even shoe

polish!) that makes even a mediocre ob-

ject glow with a rich sheen. This one

piece of wood started, very slowly, a

chain of carvings that over the past dec-

ade and a half have catapulted the Seri

into the cauldron of the money economy

in a who lesale way. It did not happen

overnight, for it took almost f ive years

before experimentat ion by Jose and

others evolved into forms that had a style

and grace that has become the charac-

teristic of the Seri figura carving. But

once formed it has been an activity that

Continued on Page 40

T H E D E S E R TR U S S E L L D . B U T C H E RIntroduction by Morns K. Udall

Here is the American d ese rt. . .its rare wildlife, its un iqu eflowers, its extraordinarylandscapes. In 64 pages of spec-tacular color pho tograp hsButch er explores its infinitevariety to reveal its wo nd erand mystery.

Selection of Natural Science

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THE VIK IN G PRESS625 Madison Avenue, N ew York, N.Y . 10022

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Desert/October 1976 15



T

HE NICE guys, who button the ir co l -

lars in back, claim that "your confes-

sion is good for the s ou l ; " and my

local " legal beagle" states learnedly

that a death bed confession has high

validity status in any court of law.

NO disrespect of any kind is intended

for these gentlemen, of course; I deeply

admire the first for their self lessness,

and have a healthy wary esteem for the

second breed . . . BUT . . . deathbed con-

fessions sure don't seem to be worth

much as waybil ls, to indicate where the

wicked have cached their booty!

Al l that the " last words" recorded

here led to were: frustration, wasted

time, sweaty bootleather, handfuls of

burned out detector batter ies —and a lot

of fun in beautiful country, trying to out-

smart some ghosts of the past.

Perhaps the answer is plain old

luck, since I can't seem to rope and/or

bridle an inherited patron leprechaun!

On the other hand, maybe my practical-

m inded , long-su ffer ing Executive Off icer

is right in her opinion of my penchant for

" longsho t gamb les. " Quien safae? Or,

since the subject matter is confessions,maybe it 's my abominable packrat in-

stinct that is responsible?

Mine isn ' t an ord inary sensib le "co l-

l e c t i n g h o b b y" — so I wa s p r o b a b l y

bitten in my sleep one night, out on the

desert, by a union organizer for the

Packrat's Brotherhood. Because I have

this mania to "organize things for future

referenc e." And the trouble wi th that is ,

I often can't f ind w hat I later want. I had

cached it away too wel l !

That's what happened in this case.

Back in 1938 the hard times were sup-

posed to have eased up a little, and I

found enough work to take my prospect-

ing and treasure hunting dreams out of

my "hop e ches t." So I butchered my fun

budget and bought the best metal de-

tector I could fin d (a big shiny boxes-

and-sticks contraption) —w hich did n't

leave much money to go prospectingw i th .

H o w e v e r , I " d i e s e l i z e d " a n o l d

straight-6 Nash sedan, and managed to

penny-pinch an autumn treasure hunting

tr ip up into the old ghost town and min-

ing camp country of central Nevada.

At the Tonopah dime store I bought a

spare handy-sized note book with a

pretty red cover, so I would always be

sure to have paper available to keep

shorthand notes of any lost loot accounts

I m igh t run acr oss. Some of theold- t imers' stories I heard that t r i p -

about where money had supposedly

been lost or buried—went into that new

red notebook.

About 50 miles east of Tonopah, at the

road junction known as Warm Springs, I

pulled into the shelter of the combined

cafe and gas station building to get out of

the whistl ing sting of an early bl izzard.

(See Desert Magazine, December, 1964,

"Tybo 3 -Sho t . " )

Inside, while waiting out the storm, I

fortunately met a local Nevada resi-

dent—also marooned—who seemed to

know everybody in that part of the

country.

The upshot of our long hours of shoot-

ing-the-breeze around the big wood

stove was that we threw in together for

three fun-fi l led weeks of money hunting

in some of the most interesting parts ofNevada.

Paul's contacts, beside providing a

welcome "Grub- l ine" to r ide, proved a

bonanza of information; and we wound

up with a lot more leads than we could

possibly check out before the big winter

snows put a final end to our project.

I t wasn ' t unt i l a f ter Wor ld War I I ,

when there was a construction job slack

period and I had a little spare money,

that I decided to check out the rest of the

leads I had picked up in '38. And thatwas when I found out the red notebook

was " lost , strayed or sto len!" I looked

high and low, and it was nowhere in my

packrat collection.

So I had to make do with the other

dope I had in the black notebook, for that

t r ip .

Only a couple of years ago— when I

needed some miscellaneous car fuel line

fitt ing s —d id I f inal ly discover where the

red notebook had been all that time; all

careful ly w rapped in a brown paper sack.How it ever got in that box under those

fitt ings I can't imagine. Af ter al l those

years, the shorthand was dead cold, an d

transcribing the notes back into readable

secrets was almost as hard as trying to

round up your burros when the grass is

green.

Three of the more interesting, confes-

s ion - type leads f rom the no tebook

/ started ingot-bugging near the old mill

ruins below Shermantown, and worked

down canyon.

16 Desert /October 1976



by KEN MARQUISS

About halfway down from Treasure Hill,

I lunched at this beautiful old log house,still giving shelter from the elements.

centered around the old Ha milton-Treas-

ure Hill area, and were given to us by

three separate oldtimers, now certainly

long dead.

Treasure Hill was the name given to a

north-south, two-mile-long, 9000-foot-

high ridge— and to the town subsequent-

ly built there—that is located over be-

tween the present two cities of Ely and

Eureka, Nevada; and lies about 14 milessouth of Highway 50. A good graded d irt

road gives access to the region.

An Indian sheepherder, who picked up

a rock to kill a rattlesnake, is reputed to

have discovered the f irst fantastically

r ich gold/si lver/ lead ore; and started a

real stampede. At one t ime, the ghost

town of Hamilton (down below the north

end of Treasure Hill) had over 10,000 in-

habitants; and at least that many more

people lived and worked in the mines

and camps around the town of Eberhardt(down in the canyon east of Treasure

Hill) and over around Shermantown in

the west canyon. So things were boom-

ing and a lot of money was changing

hands.

The f irst story was about three big

silver ingo ts, that had been stolen —one

at a t ime—from a mill in the area.

Our informant lived in an old log and

' shake ranch house in the Ely co untry . He

was a spry, soft spoken old man; but his

wit, memories and eyes were sti l l plentysharp. Paul and I had brought along

some fresh fruit and a big package of

liver (dirt cheap back in '38) when we

made our call; and the old man was de-

l ighted. He flat ly warned us of the

danger of his "cow-camp cooking" and

when I volunteered my sm all culinary

talents we were in-like-Flynn.

So while I cooked supper he and Paul

really had a t ime talking about the days

and people of the long ago Nevada. Paul

described how my new metal detectorworked, and grinned as he asked if the

old man knew of any "beanpot spots"

where money might be hidden?

The prompt answer was "Nope!" —and I figured that was that. So I almost

dropped the skillet when he asked Paul,

"Do you reckon that ' lectric thing could

bird-dog some mill-sized silver ingots,

bur ied shal ler?"

He said that when he was "just a

sprout" he and his father were coming

back from Duckwater valley with a load

of "spuds and turnips in our shiny new

Studebake r wa gon , w i th four good

horses" bound (via Eberhardt) for Por-

minco's store in Hamilton. (The farmersused to ship potatoes from Duckwater to

Idaho in the old days!)

They were just entering the canyon

area when they came up on a "light

spring wagon, with some camp stuff in it

for traveling" hitched to a couple of big

raw-boned mules. The driver of the rig

lay between the two near (left) wheels,

and it was obvious he was in really bad

shape, although he could sti l l mumble.

He had been kicked high up on the back

by one of the mules, when he stooped tofasten a loose whiffle-tree snap; was

paralyzed from the shoulders do wn, and

bleeding from the mouth.

The boy's father piled bedding in theback of the light wagon, hobbled the

mules, and hitched two of his own best

horses in their place. The boy rode with

the crippled man as they started for the

Hamilton doctor; but he died within the

hour, before they arrived.

On the way he said he wanted to con-

fess; he had stolen the bars when he

worked at the mi l l , and had cached them

at night "along the fence of the livery

stable corral, down below the mi l l , that

is in the narrows south of Sherman-t o w n . " Just before he died, he grasped

the boy's hand and pleaded, "You and

your daddy please take the silver back

where it belongs, Boy! It's gotta be

turr ib le ba d luck —look what it's dun ter

me; just when I was going up to l if t i t ! "

Our host concluded the story by s aying

that the mill's old rock walls were still

standing down below Shermantown. He

said he and an older brother had "looked

for the s ilver I guess 40 times — but al

we had to work with was a shovel and aslim four-foot steel probe. All we hit with

that was rocks!"

The second story we heard from a de-



Vast boom -time wealth, in bullion, once passed through these old Wells Fargo o ffice

ruins, at the north end of Main Street on Treasure Hill. In the southeast distance,

the main ridge above Shermantown.

l ight fu l — and peppery —elderly pioneer

type lady; a long t ime friend of Paul's.

She was of Basque descent, rememberedthe boom days, and would qu alify for an y

modern day "woman's l ib" zealot p la-

toon! For obvious reasons I' ll call her

" M r s . T . "

She said her people generally put

great stock in family ties; and she had

a kissin' cousin named Jerome who

used to live over in Shermantown around

the decline era of the boom — " b u t ,

f rankly, I wo uldn ' t sp it on the d ir ty * #/ !

Just a plain no-good—one of the kind

that should be born out behind the barnin the dark of the moon! And would you

believe it , he was married to the k indest,

sweet, angel of a wom an I ever me t. Now

you tell me, how come do varmints l ike

him so often manage to marry wonde rful

sweet women l ike Martha, huh?"

Since I wasn't just about to get

trapped in that speculation, I nudged the

conversation back to the money angle.

She continued tha t M arth a had nurses

t ra in ing, was a regular local Florence

Night ingale, and "half o f Shermantownowed her money" for past emergency

nursing services.

M rs . T. related that late one fall a big

brawny Cornishman had sold his slice of

a claim up on the side of Treasure Hi ll

for $3,200 in gold coin and a $4,000

promissory note. So he decided to go

down to Shermantown to ce lebra te

"which included plans to beat the hell

out of a saloonkeeper he didn't l ike!"

An incipient storm was already drop-

ping a few snowflakes and the m iner's

friends at Treasure Hill told him he had

better stay put—"but he just laughed,

threw his money and a few personal

things in an ore sack slung over his

shoulder, and headed down the foot trailf rom Treasure Hi l l to Shermantown."

Several hours later the dogs in the back

store room of a Shermantown saloon be-

gan to bark wildly; so several men fol-

lowed the dogs out into the swirling bliz-

zard—and found the big ice-coated Cor-

nishman almost dead with cold, " a n d

about out of hollering w i n d ! "

"S o , who took care of the big dummy

before he died! That's right, sweet,

good-hearted Martha, of course, and she

never got a dime out of that mercy jobeither; because he had less than $10 on

him when they found h im."

M r s . T. figured the money had to have

been cached up along the trail some-

where; but there wasn't much to go on.

She said Martha told her the man kept

moaning about " . . . sweet l i t t le Phyl lis

over home . . . I'm com ing back, and . . .

under west (or wet?) side of big stump

. . . just below the fork . . . trail steep

. . . in me b i l ly (whatever that means?)

. . . f la t rock . . . remember . . . "

She added, "That 's the way Martha

told it, so it's gospel! Jerome told me he

heard som eth ing e lse , too —bu t I

wouldn't believe him if he swore to it

while doing a handstand on two open

Bibles!" She was convinced Jerome's

clue was worthless because, "If that

blowhard bum had found half that

amoun t, he would have been big m outh-

ing bartenders from Pioche to Reno!"

The third story in the red notebook, I

heard on the return trip w hen I was run-

ning—any way that was downhill —from

the icy snows of that '38 winter. We were

sitt ing around the table (under the aro-

matic halo of coffee, pork chops and fried

potatoes/onions) at the home of an old

Arizona buddy who had moved to the

southern warm tip of Nevada.

His wife had a visit ing older friend

wh o said, when she heard what I had

been doing, "You know, that reminds

me, I heard a treasure yarn once when I

was a little g i r l . " She made it plain she

didn ' t want he r name in my notes —

"Don' t you ever te l l anybody who told

you this, because most of my family were

respectable!"

She related she had once had a half-

aunt (her father's older half-sister) who

"had been a madam who ran one of

those kind of houses in The Gulch below

Ham i l t on . " (I found out later that this,

was the nickname of the little valley that

curves down north west below Ham ilton,

and which also contained the localChinatown.) After this aunt died, they

found a diary— poorly kept— but w ith

one interesting entry. The item referred

to a brawl (a real "d og -f i gh t") under the

rosy rays from the red-globed kerosene

porch light. The loser had been well

kni fed. He was carried inside to the

madam's bed, and one of the girls went

running for the doctor and the marshal.

Dish towels were torn for temporary ban-

daging, and while the madam was tr ying

to stop the blood flow, the man talkedsoftly between pain gasps.

"Y ou 're a real fr ien d. I 'm the last one.



Treasure Hill

doesn't LOOK

but on the ground

it's "sweatcountry!"

Over $3,000,000.00

worth [at the

old price]

of metallic gold/silver

alloy was once

hacked from

a single

lens-shaped deposit

70x40x25 feet-

called by som e

"THE Glory Hole."

We buried the stuff near a squarish rock.

Like a pulpit. Twenty-three steps along

the ridge from the roost. A cave with a

winze in it. So we could cook in the back.

Over above Shermantown." By the t ime

the doctor arrived the was unconscious,

and never recovered.

Apparently the aunt never pursued

the information, for "she died poor as a

churchmouse, and my father had to pay

fo r her funera l ! "

As you can imagine, it wasn't long

after I unearthed the red notebook that I

started to get busy. I double-checked my

old truck camper, tuned up the trail bike

and detectors, started packing, and told

my wife, "I t 's f ru i tcake baking t ime

a g a i n ! " (She makes a fruitcake that is

out of this world, keeps wel l , and a big

slice with cocoa is my favorite bedtimesnack out prospecting.)

In spite of some bad weather, I shook

down the Shermantown-Treasure Hill

area pretty well without f inding anything

of importance. The main problems I

fould were:

1. The old mill walls st i l l stand, but

there are no traces of structures below it;

not even the background-tone-rise on the

detector to indicate a corral perim eter.

There are hundreds of big old stumps,

along a dozen "possible foot trails!"

Plus masses of thick sagebrush six to

eight feet high to f ight.

2. The erosion of time has erased any

one clear trail down from Treasure Hi l l ;

and there are hundreds of stumps

and /or f lat rocks, along a dozen "m ayb e

routes" that might f i t .

3. I could f ind only two "c av es " and

no pulpit rocks in the time I had; it would

take weeks to make a real search for that

alone. What "t he s tuf f " was, how much,

where it came from, are secrets lost be-

hind the dark curtains of time; and since

a winze is mentioned (in m ining vernacu-

:0

t o

lar, a narrow ventilation stope) could

" h i s " cave be a small abandoned work-

ings? More problems!

4. A lot of the Treasure Hill area is

sti l l valid patented mining ground; so

act, walk and talk like a gentleman. It

helps!

And now, since I've made my try and

had my fun up there, you are welcome to

what I know—and what I have guessed

at. Only one thing is certain: you will de-

serve anything you f ind , for in my opin-

ion "confession clues" are like beggars'

horses — strictly longshot hopes! •



CITIZEN'SBAND

and the Desertby ERNIE COW AN

!

T WAS going to be a great shot on

f i lm. I was gett ing some home movie

footage of our Sunday outing and was

recording the efforts of a fr iends's wife

as she bumped her four-wheel-drive r igover a l i t t le mound.

But as she topped the mound, she

struck a small tree that acted like a

spr ing. The tree bent, then sprang back

and toppled her rig on its side.

I dropped the st i l l-running movie

camera and dashed to her aid, hearing

only the screams of her infant son from

inside the overturned veh icle. Fortunate-

ly, the only injury was minor damage to

the vehicle.

Our Sunday outing into the backcountry had suddenly turned into a

serious situat ion. I t was nearing dark,

we were 15 miles from the nearest help

and the overturned rig blocked the only

road into what turned out to be a box

canyon. Since I had driven in first, my

vehicle was now trapped.

But I had one piece of equipment that

wou ld save us a long walk and b ring help

—a Cit izen's Band two-way radio.

I topped a nearby hil l and pu t out a call

that was answered by another CBer in a

town 15 miles to the south. He was able

to relay my message to another CBer 20

Dash-

mounted

mobile

radio

can be

put in

many

locations,

but should

be easily

accessible

to driver

for ease

of operation.

20 Desert/O ctober 1976



COMPLETE

1 9 7 7 BOOK CATALOGLOST M INE S TRAV EL GHOST TOW NS HISTORY

WILDFL OW ERS TREASURE DESERT COOKERY

BOOKS T H A T W ILL M A K E LASTING GIFTS ORA W ELC O M E AD DIT ION TO Y OUR OW N LIBRARY

SHOP BY M AIL

OR VIS IT OUR

Desert Magazine Book Shop74-425 HIG H W A Y 111, PAL M DESERT, CAL IFOR NIA 92260



GOLDEN CHIA, byHarrison Doyle. This book l-lustrates the great difference between the highdesert chia, and the Mexican variety presentlysold in thehealth food stores. It identifies the en-ergy-factor, a little-known trace mineral foundonly in the high desert seeds. Also includes asection on vitamins, minerals, proteins, en-zymes, etc.,needed forgood nutrition. Referredto as "theonly reference book inAmerica onthisancient Indian energy food. 100pages, illustrat-ed , Paperback, $4.75; Cloth Cover, $7.75.

DUTCH OVEN COOKBOOK by Don Holm.Wldlife editor of the Portland Oregonian, the

author has spent his life exploring and writingabout theoutdoors, so his recipes for preparingfood in a Dutch Oven come from experience. Ifyou haven't hadfood cooked in a Dutch Oven,you haven't lived—and if youhave, youwill findthese recipes new and exciting culinary adven-tures—as well as his tyle of writing. Heavy pa-perback, 106pages, $3.95.

JESSE JAMES WAS ONE OF HIS NAMESbyDel Schrader [with Jesse James III].Accordingto theauthor, Jesse James did not die asrecord-ed in history, but lived to a ripe old age. Thisbook details the lively escapades Jesse was sup-posed to be involved in followng his attendanceat "his own funeral." Interesting and excitingreading based on information supplied by JesseJames III, executor of his grandfather's wi l l .Hardcover, illustrated wth old photos, 296pages, index, $8.95.

THE WIND LEAVES NO SHADOW by RuthLaughlin. "La Tules," an acknowedged queenof themonte game in oldSanta Fe, was acclaim-ed not only for her red hair, her silver slippersand di-jmond rings, butalso for herdazzlingwit,which made even losers at hermonte carlo tablesmile as sheraked in their silver. Miss Laughlinhas combined the historians's skill and the nov-elist'f gift to unravel thetruth about this legend-ary lady in a historical romance that hasprovenpopular for nearly two decades. Hardcover, 361pages, $4.95.

HOW ANDWHERE TO PANGOLD by Wayne

Winters. Convenient paperback handbook wthinformation on staking claims, panning and re-covering placer gold. Maps and drawngs. $2.50.

ARIZONA COOK BOOK by AlandMildredFis-cher. This fascinating and unusual five-cook-books-in-one features recipes for Indian cooking,

Mexican dishes, Western specialties, Arizonaproducts and outdoor cooking. Includes sour-dough andIndian fried bread recipes, aswellasother mouth-watering favorites. Unique collec-tions of hard-to-find Western cooking. Paper-back, 142pages, $3.00.

THE LIFE OF THEDESERT by Ann andMyronSutton. This fascinating volume explains all thevital inter-relationships that exist between theliving things and the physical environment ofour vast desert regions. More than 100 illustra-tions in full color. Helpful appendices containcomprehensive index andglossary. Special fea-tures onendangered species, lizards and poison-ous animals. Hardcover, 232pages, profusely il-lustrated, $5.50.

A GUIDE TO WESTERN GHOST TOWNS byLambert Florin. Prepared by the West's mosttraveled spook hunter, this complete guide listsover 400 ghost towns in Washington, Oregon,California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona,Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, the Dakotas, NewMexico, Texas, Alaska and British Columbia.Mileages, road conditions, maps, superlativephotos, paperback, $3.95.

DICTIONARY OF PREHISTORIC INDIAN AR-TIFACTS OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWESTby Franklin Barnett. A highly informative bookthat both illustrates and describes Indian arti-facts of theSouthwest, it is a valuable guide forthe person interested inarchaeology andanthro-pology. Includes 250 major types of artifacts.Each item has a photo and definition. Paper-

back, 130 pages, beautifully illustrated, $7.95.

WILY WOMEN OF THE WEST by Grace Er-nestine Ray.Such women of the West as BelleStarr, Cattle Kate and Lola Montez weren't allgood andweren't all bad, but were fascinatingand conflicting personalities, as researched bythe author. Their lives of adventure were a vitalpart of the ifeof theOld West. Hardcover, illus-trated, 155 pages, $7.95

THE KING'S HIGHWAY IN BAJA CALIFOR-NIA by Harry Crosby. A fascinating recountingof a trip by muleback over the rugged spine ofthe Baja California peninsula, along an historicpath created by the first Spanish padres. It tellsof the life and death of the oldJesuit missions. Itdescribes how the first European settlers werelured into the mountains along the same road.Magnificent photographs, many in color, high-light the book. Hard cover, 182 pages, largeformat, $14.50.

CALIFORNIA YEARBOOK, Bicentennial Edi-tion. Contains 25 separate chapters covering allaspects of the state. Comprehensive index ofnames, places, topics andevents. 400 pages ofaccurate, up-to-date information and statistics.Large format, paperback, $4.95.

ROCKS AND MINERALS OF CALIFORNIAcompiled by Vinson Brown, David Allan andJames Stark. This revised edition w ll saveyouhours of time by thedescription andpictures ofrocks and minerals found in this state. Colorpic-tures wth clearly developed keys show you howto identify what you have found and gives youfine tools to increase your ability as a fieldcol-lector. Paperback, well illustrated wth photos,locality maps, charts andquadrangle map infor-mation. 200 pages. $4.95.

BAJA CALIFORNIA OVERLAND by L. BurrBelden. Practical guide to Lower California as faras La Paz byauto wth material gleaned fromex-tensive study trip sponsored byUniv. of Calif. In-cludes things tosee and accommodations. Paper-back, $1.95.

THE DESERT by Russell D. Butcher. Superbphotography and excellent text make us fullyaware of the richness of Mr. Butcher's desertexperience. Informative guides to the parks,wil-dernesses, desert gardens and museums also n-cluded. Large format, hard cover, $17.50.

LOST MINES OF ARIZONA by Harold Weight.Covers the Lost Jabonero, lost mines of theTrigos, Buried Gold of Bicuner and others of

southwestern Arizona. Paperback, $2.00.

A flELD GUIDE TO THE C O M M O N ANDINTERESTING PLANTS OF BAJA CALIFOR-NIA by Jeanette Coyle and Norman Roberts.Over 250 plants are described wth 189 colorphotos. Includes past and present uses of theplants by aborigines and people in Baja today.Scientific, Spanish and common names aregiven. Excellent reference and highly recom-mended. 224 pages, paperback, $8.50.

DEATH VALLEY GHOST TOWNS by StanleyPaher. Death Valley, today a National Monu-ment, has in its environs the ghostly remains ofmany mines andmining towns. The author has

also written of ghost towns in Nevada and Arizona andknows how to blend a brief outline ofeach of Death Valley's ghost towns wth historicphotos. For sheer drama, fact or fiction, it pro-duces anenticing package for ghost town buffs.Paperback, illus., large format, $2.95.

GEM MINERALS OF IDAHO byJohn Beckwith.Contains information on physical and opticalcharacteristicsof minerals; thehistory, lore,andfashioning of many gems. Also eleven rewardingfield trips to every sort of collecting area. Slickpaperback, maps andphotos, 123pages, $3.95

ADVENTURES IN THE REDWOODS byHarri-ett E.Weaver. Thefascinating story of thegiantredwood is told by Harriett E. Weaver, whosecareer as California's first woman park ranger

was spent among these living skyscrapers. Adetailed guide to all major redwood groves inboth the coastal andSierra regions is included.Beautifully illustrated, paperback, $2.95.

THE INDIANS AND I byPeter Odens. Imtimateconversations wth Indians by a compassionateauthor whowrites in thestyle of Ernie Pyle.Pa-perback, illustrated, 89 pages, $2.00.

NEVADA GHOST TOWNS AND MININGCAMPS by Stanley W. Paher. Covering all ofNevada's 17 counties, Paher has documented575 mining camps, many of which have beenerased from the earth. The book contains thegreatest and most complete collection of historicphotographs of Nevada ever published. This,coupled wth his excellent writing and map,creates a book of lasting value. Large format,700 photographs, hardcover, 492pages, $17.50.

BAJA CALIFORNIA GUIDEBOOK by WaltWheelock andHoward E.Gulick, formallyGer-

hard and Gulick's Lower California Guidebook.This totally revised fifth edition isup-to-the-min-ute for theTranspeninsular paved highway, wthnew detailed mileages anddescriptive text.Cor-rections andadditions are shown for the manyside roads, ORV routes, trails and little-knownbyways to desert, mountain, beach and bay re-cesses. Folding route maps are ncolor and newly revised for current accuracy. Indispensablereference guide, hardcover, $10.50.

GHOST TOWNS OF ARIZONA by James andBarbara Sherman. If you are looking for a ghosttown in Arizona this is your waybill. Illustratedmaps, townships, range, co-ordinates, historyand other details make this one of thebest ghosttown books ever published. Large 9x11 format,

heavy paperback, 208 pages,$4.95.

PLEASE INCLUDE 50c POSTAGE PER ENTIRE ORDER



C A S 5 J D Y , M y B n t o r by L u l a P a r k e rBetenson. Official version of the authentic lifestory of Butch Cassidy, actually Robert LeroyParker, famed outlaw of his native Utah and ad-joining states, told by his surviving sister. Thebook also offers a new look at Utah Mormom his-tory by a participant. Hardcover, many rare pic-tues, 265 pages, $7.95.

SOUTHW ESTERN INDIAN TRIBES by TomBahti. An excellent description, history and cur-rent status of the Indians of the Southwest, im-cluding dates of their ceremonies and celebra-tions. Profusely illustrated with 4-color photo-

graphs of the Indian Country and the arts andcrafts of the many tribes. Large format, heavypaperback, 72 pages, $2.00.

EIRDS OF THE SOUTHWESTERN DESERTSby Gusse Thomas Sm ith. Thirty-one of the mostcommonly sighted birds of the Southwest are de-scribed and illustrated in 4-color artist drawings.Heavy paperback, 68 pages. $3.95.

CALIFORNIA Five-In-One COOK BOOK by Aland Mildred Fischer. Recipes divided into EarlyCalifornia (Indian, Mexican, Mission, GoldFlush), California Fruits (Citrus, Dates, Avoca-d o s , etc.), California Products (Honey, Rice,Eieef, etc.), Sea Foods and Wine Cooking. Atotal of 400 unusual recipes, spiral-bound, 142pages, $3.00.

NEW MEXICO PLACE NAMES edited by T. M.Pearce. Lists and gives a concise history of the

places, towns, former sites, mountains, mesas,rivers, etc., in New Mexico, including those set-tled by the early Spaniards. Good for treasurehunters, bottle collectors and history buffs. Pa-perback, 187 pages with more than 5000 names,$2.45.

THE CARE OF DESERT REPTILES by Karl H.Siwitak. This small, but informative bookletcontains 4-color photos of all species included,amd were photographed in their native habitat.Interesting information regarding Distribution;Size; Food, and Care. $1.50.

GOLD RUSHES AND MINING CAMPS OF THEliARLY AME RICAN WEST by Vardis Fisherand Opal Laurel Holmes. Few are better pre-pared than Vardis Fisher to write of the gold

rushes and mining camps of theW est. He bringstogether all the men and women, all the fascinat-ing ingredients, all the violent contrasts whichgo to make up one of the most enthralling chap-ters in American history. 300 illustrations fromphotographs. Large format, hardcover, boxed,466 pages, highly recommended. $17.95.

SELDOM SEEN SLIM by Tom Murray. Profilesand vignettes of the colorful "single blanketackass prospectors

1' who lived and died as they

looked for gold and silver in Death Valley. Slickaaperback, exclusive photos of the old-timers,65 pages. $3.00.

ARIZONA PLACE NAMES by Will C. Barnes,Revised and enlarged by Byrd H. Granger.Excellent reference book with maps, Biogra-ohical Information and Index. Large format,hardcover, 519 pages, $11.50.

O U T D O O R S U R V I V A L S K I L L S by L a r r y D e a nOlsen. This book had to.be lived before it couldbe written. The author's mastery of primitiveskills has made him confident that survival livingneed not be an ordeal once a person has learnedto adjust. Chapters deal with building shelters,making fires, finding water, use of plants forfood and medication. Buckram cover, well illus-trated, 188 pages, revised ed ition boasts of 96 4-color photos added. $5.95.

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS OF THEAMERICAN SOUTHWEST by M. M. Heymann.Features 68 species, all in beautiful four-color

photographs. Descriptions are stated in simple,non-technical term s. Extensive text tells of theirorigins and life-styles today. Extremely usefulbook for all who enjoy watching and learningabout wildlife. Paperback, 77 pages, $4.95.

ROCK DRAWINGS OF THE COSO RANGE byCampbell Grant, J ames Baird and J . KennethPringle. A Maturango Museum publication, thisbooks tells of sites of rock art in the Coso Rangewhich, at 4000 feet, merges with the flatlands ofthe northern Mojave Desert. Paperback, illus-trated, detailed drawings, maps, 144 pages,$3.95.

INSIDE DEATH VALLEY by Chuck Gebhardt. Aguide and reference text of forever mysteriousDeath Valley, containing over 80 photographs,,

many in color. Included, too, are Entry Guidesand Place Name Index for the convenience ofvisitors. Written with authority by an avid hiker,backpacker and rockclimber. 160 pages, paper-back, $4.95.

O N Q E 5 E R T T R W L 5founder and publisher of Desert Magazine for 23years. One of the first good writers to reveal thebeauty of the mysterious desert areas. Hender-son's experiences, combined with his commentson the desert of yesterday and today, make this aMUST for those who really want to understandthe desert. 375 pages, illustrated. Hardcover,$7.50.

LOST MINES OF THE GREAT SOUTHWESTby John D. Mitchell. The first of Mitchell's lostmine books is now available after having beenout of print or years. Reproduced from the

origina l copy and containing 54 articles based onaccounts from people Mitchell interviewed. Hespent his entire adult life investigating reportsand legends of lost mines and treasures of theSouthwest. Hardcover, illustrated, 175 pages,$7.50.

B A C K

BACK ROADS OF CALIFORNIA by Earl Thol-lander and the Editors of Sunset Books. Earlystagecoach routes, missions, remote canyons,old prospector cabins, mines, cemeteries, etc.,are visited as the author travels and sketches theCalifornia Backroads. Through maps and notes,the traveler is invited to get off the freeways andsee the rural and country lanes throughout thestate. Hardcover, large format, unusually beau-tiful illustrations, 207 pages, $10.95.

DESERT VACATIONS ARE FUN by RobertNeedham. A complete, factual and interestinghandbook for the desert camper. Valuable infor-mation on weather conditions, desert vehicles,campsites, food and water requirements. Infor-mation on desert wildlife, mines, ghost towns,

and desert hobbies. Paperback, illustrated, 10maps, 134 pages, $3.95.

LOAFING ALONG DEATH VALLEY TRAILS byWilliam caruthers. Author Caruthers was anewspaper man and a ghost writer for earlymovie stars, politicians and industrialists. He"slowed down" long enough to move to DeathValley and there wrote his on-the-spot story thatwill take you through the quest for gold on thedeserts of California and Nevada. Hardcover,old photos, 187 pages, $4.25.

SOUTHWEST INDIAN CRAFT ARTS by ClaraLee Tanner. One of the best books on the sub-ject, covering all phases of the culture of the In-dians of the Southwest. Authentic in every way.Color and black and white illustrations, linedrawings. Hardcover, 205 pages, $15.00.

RAY MANLEY 'S SOUTHWESTERN INDIANARTS AND CRAFTS is a full color presentationof the culture of the Southwest including jewel-ry, pottery, baskets, rugs, kachinas, Indian artand sandpaintings. 225 color photographs, inter-esting descriptive text. Heavy paperback, 96pages, $7.95.

GUIDE FOR INSULATOR COLLECTORS byJohn C. Tibbitts. This is the third and final bookon insulators by veteran bottle collector John Tib-bitts. This third book has a revised price list andindex to insulators described in the previous twovolumes. However, each volume describes insul-ators not shown in the other books, so for a com-

plete roundup of all insulators, all three volumesare needed. Books are paperback, averaging 120pages, it us., $3.00 EA CH. Please state W HIC HVOLUME when ordering.

MOCKEL'S DESERT FLOWER NOTEBOOK byHenry and Beverly Mockel. The well-knownpainter of desert wildflowers has combined hisfour-color sketches and black and whitephotographs to describe in detail so the laymancan easily identify wildflowers, both large andsmall. Microscopic detail makes this an out-standing book for identification. Special com-pressed fiber cover which will not stain. 54 full-color illustrations with 72 life-size drawings and39 photographs, 316 pages, $5.95.

HOPI SILVER, The History and Hallmarks of

Hopi Silversmithing by Margaret Wright. Yearsof research have made this book a historicallydescriptive piece on the Hopi silversmiths. Illus-trated with many photographs of silverwork, andmore than a dozen pages devoted to the varioushallmarks beginning in 1890 and continuedthrough 1971, naming the silversm ith, the clan,the village, dates worked and whether or not thesilverwork is still being made. Paperback, 100pages, $4.95.

FORKED TONGUES AND BROKEN TREATIESEdited by Donald E. Worcester. This book givesus a better understanding of the unequal strug-gle of native against immigrant while our nationwas being explored and settled. Profusely illus-trated with excellent photos, a "m u st " refer-ence for historians, students, librarians. Hard-

cover, 494 pages, $9.95.

CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS PLEASE ADD 6% STATE SALES TAX



THE CAHUILLA INDIANS by Harry JartiQ s. Acomparatively small and little known tribe, theCahuilla Indians played an important part in theearly settlement of Southern California. Today,the Cahuilla Indians are active in social and civicaffairs in Riverside County and own valuableproperty in and around Palm Springs. This re-vised edition is an authentic and completehistory of these native Americans. Hardcover,i l lustrated, 185 pages, $7.50.

WHERE TO FIND GOLD IN THE MOTHERLODE by James Klein. As in his Where to FindGold in the Desert and Where to Find Gold in

Southern California, author Klein guides you tothe areas in which people are doing the bestnow. He includes history, tips on equipmentneeded, how to pan, how to stake claims, etc.Paperback, 121 pages, illustrated with photosand maps, $4.95 each.

THE BAJA BOOK, A Complete Map-Guide toToday's Baja California by Tom Miller and El-mar Baxter. Waiting until the new transpenin-sular highway opened, the authors have pooledtheir knowledge to give every minute detail ongas stations, campgrounds, beaches, trailerparks, road conditions, boating, surfing, flying,f ishing, beachcombing, in addition to a BajaRoadlog which has been broken into convenienttwo-mile segments. A tremendous package forevery kind of recreationist. Paperback, 178pages, iIIus., maps, $7.95.

RUFUS, by Rutherford Montgomery. From oneof America's best-loved children's nature writ-ers comes the story of Rufus, a fierce and proudbobcat struggling against nature and man. AsRufus grows and matures, his exciting adven-tures make fascinating reading for adults andchildren alike. Hardcover, 137 pages, $4.95.

TREASURE HUNTER'S MANUAL #7 by Karlvon Mueller. Treasure, or treasure trove, manyconsist of anything having a cash or convertiblevalue; money in all forms, bullion, jewelry,guns, gems, heirlooms, genuine antiques, rareletters and documents, rare books and much,much more. This complete manual covers everyfacet of treasure hunting. Paperback, 293 pages,i l lustrated, $6.95.

GHOST TOWNS OF THE WEST by LambertFlorin. This popular hard-back series is nowavailable in paperback volumes. Rearrangedstate by state, lavishly illustrated, handy to takealong while traveling. Please state which volumewhen ordering: Arizona-$2.95; California-$3>95;Colorado/Utah-$2.95; Nevada-$2.95; Oregon-$2.95

CAMP ING A ND CLIMBING IN BAJA by JohnRobinson. Contains excellent maps and photos.A guidebook to the Sierra San Pedro Martir andthe Sierra Juarez of Upper Baja Calif. Much ofthis land is unexplored and unmapped still. Carroutes to famous ranches and camping spots inoalm-studded canyons with trout streams temptweekend tourists who aren't up to hiking. Paper-back, 96 pcges, $2.95.

MINES OF JULIAN by Helen Ellsberg. Fadsand lore of the bygone mining days when Julian,in Southern California, is reported to have pro-duced some seven million dollars of bullion. Pa-perback, well illustrated, $1.95.

MINES OF THE HIGH DESERT by RonaldDean Miller Author Miller knew both the coun-tryside of the High Desert and the men whowere responsible for the development of theMines of the High Desert. Here are stories of theDale District never told before, with many earlyas well as contemporary photographs of theearly mines included. Paperback, $1.95.

BURIED TREASURE & LOST MINES, by FrankFish. One of the original treasure hunters pro-vides data on 93 lost bonanzas, many of which hepersonally searched for. He died under myster-ious circumstances in 1968 after leading an ad-venturous life. Illustrated with photos and maps.Paperback, 68 pages, $2.00.

ENCOUNTER W ITH AN ANGRY GOD by Caro-beth Laird. A fascinating true story of theauthor's marriages to anthropologist John Pea-body Harrington, the "angry god," and to theremarkable Chemehuevi Indian, George Laird.The appeal of this amazing m emoir is so broad ithas drawn rave reviews throughout the countryand is being hailed as a classic. Hardcover, 230

pages, $8.95.

COMMON EDIBLE & USEFUL PLANTS OFTH E WEST by Muriel Sweet. A description withartist drawings of edible (and those not to touch)plants along with how Indians and pioneers usedthem. Paperback, 64 pages, $1.95.

CALIFORNIA GEM TRAILS by Darold J . HenryThis completely revised fourth edition is themost authoritative guide for collectors of rocks,gemstones, minerals and fossils. Profusely illus-trated with maps and contains excellent descrip-tive text. Paperback, $3.00.

,,

FROM MAINE T6 MECCA by Nevada C. Cof-ley. The history of California's Coachella Valleyis told by the author who knew many of the old-timers and listened to their stories, sometimeshumorous, but always telling of their struggleand fortitude in developing one of the most for-midable deserts in this country. Hardcover, 245pages, $5.95.

HOPI KACHINA DOLLS [With a Key to TheirIdentification], by Harold S. Colton. Kachinadolls are neither toys nor idols, but aids to teach-ing religion and tradition. This is a definitivework on the subject, describing the meaning, the

making and the principa l features of 266 varietiesof Kachina dolls. Line drawings of each variety,plus color and b/w photos make it a completeguide to learn more of the richness of AmericanIndian culture. Paperback, 150 pages, $3.45.

FROSTY , A Raccoon to Remember by Ha rriettE. Weaver. The only uniformed woman on Cali-fornia's State Park Ranger crews for 20 years,Harriett Weaver shares her hilarious andheart-warming experiences of being a "m oth er "to an orphaned baby raccoon. A delightful bookfor all ages. Illustrated with line-drawings byJennifer O. Dewey, hard cover, 156 pages, $5.95

DEAD MEN DO TELL TALES by Lake ErieSchaefer. A sequel to BURIED TREASURE &LOST MINES by Frank Fish, the author knewFish for many years and claims he was murdered .Her book adds other information on alleged lostbonanzas, plus reasons why she thinks Fish didnot die a natural death as stated by the authori-ties. Paperback, illus., 80 pages, $3.00.

WILDLIFE OF THE SOUTHWEST DESERTS byJim Cornett. Written for the layman and seriousstudents alike, this is an excellent book on all ofthe common anima ls of the Southwest deserts. Amust for desert explorers, it presents a brief lifehistory of everything from ants to burros. Paper-back, 80 pages, $2.99.

AMERICAN INDIAN FOOD AND LORE by Car-olyn Neithammer. The original Indian plantsused for foods, medicinal purposes, shelter,clothing, etc., are described in detail in this fas-cinating book. Common and scientific names,plus descriptions of each plant and unusualrecipes. Large format, profusely illus., 191pages, $4.95.

GEM TRAILS OF ARIZONA by Bessie W . Simp-son. This field guide is prepared for the hobbiest

and almost every location is accessible by car orpickup accompanied by maps to show sandyroads, steep rocky hills, etc., as cautions. Lawsregarding collecting on Federal and Indian landoutl ined. Paperback, 88 pages, illus., $3.50.

SPEAKING OF INDIANS by Bernice Johnston.An authority on the Indians of the Southwest,the author has presented a concise well-writtenbook on the customs, history, crafts, ceremoniesand what the American Indian has contributed tothe white man's civilization. A MUST for bothstudents and travelers touring the Indian Coun-try. Heavy paperback, illus., $2.50.

TUR Q UOIS E, The Gem of the Centuries byOscar T. Branson. The most complete and lav-ishly illustrated all color book on turquoise.

Identifies 43 localities, treated and stabilizedmaterial, gives brief history of the gem and de-tails the individual techniques of the SouthwestIndian Tribes. Heavy paperback, large format68 pages, $7.95.

THE WEEKEND TREASURE HUNTER by AH. Ryan. A companion book to his WeekendGold Miner, this volume is also concise andpacked with information on what to look for andwhat to do with your treasure after you havefound it. Subjects range from Beach Combing toSunken Treasures, Paperback, 76 pages, $1.95

EXPLORING DEAT H VALLEY by Ruth KirkGood photos and maps with time estimates fromplace to place and geology, natural history andhuman interest information included. Paperback, $2.25.

PLEASE USE CO NVE NIENT ORDER FORM ON PAGE 39



EXICO, photographs by David Muench,

siing, shopping, fish ing, huntin g, etc., as wellthe history, culture, and geography. 210 maps,

high-

field. 181

A NATURALIST'S DEATH VALLEY by Dr. Ed-mund C. Jaeger. In this revised third edition,Dr. Jaeger covers and uncovers some of themysteries of this once humid, and now aridtrough. He tells of the Indians of Death Valley,the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians,fishes, insects, trees, wild flowers and fossils.Paperback, 66 pages, $1.50.

UTAH GEM TRAILS by Bessie W. Simpson.The casual rockhound or collector interested incollecting petrified wood, fossils, agate and crys-tals will find this guide most helpful. The bookdoes not give permission to collect in areas writ-

ten about, but simply describes and maps theareas. Paperback, illustrated, maps, $3.50.

to Guatemala.ksy and ente rtaining , as well as instructive to

s who might make the trip . H ardcover, 309

S VEGAS [As It Be ga n-A s It Grew] by Stan-

ed a town synonymous with lavish gam-

ness of this book. You d on't

road, the unspo iled, out-of-the-way

the common sense of getting ready. Illus-paperback, 95 pages, $3.95.

ss the upper Mojave Desert from T ropi-, west of the town of Mojave, to Mountain

DESERT, The American Southwest by RuthKirk. Combining her knowledge of the physical

characteristics of the land, and man's relation tothe desert from the prehistoric past to the prob-able future, w ith her p hotographer's eye and herenthusiasm for a strange and beautiful country,the result of Ruth Kir k's work is an e xtraordinar-ily perceptive account of the living desert. High-ly recommended. Hardcover, beautifully illus-trated, 334 pages, $10.00.

SOURDOUGH COOKBOOK by Don and MyrtleHolm. How to make a sourdough starter andmany dozens of sourdough recipes, plus amusinganecdotes by the authors of the popular Old Fash-ioned Dutch Oven Cookbook. A new experiencein culinary adventures. Paperback, 136 slickpages, illustrated, $3.95.

LAND OF POCO TIEMPO by Charles F. Lum-mis. A reprint of the famous writer and historianof his adventures among the Indians of NewMexico, lummis was one of the foremost w ritersof the West. Paperback, 236 pages, $2.95.

COLORFUL DESERT WILDFLOWER S by Graceand Onas Ward. Segregated into categories ofred, blue and white and yellow for easier identi-fication, there are 190 four-color photos offlowers found in the Mojave, Colorado andWestern Arizona deserts, all of which also havecommon and scientific names plus descriptions.Heavy slick paperback, hardcover, $7.50.

JEEP TRAILS TO COLORADO GHOST TOWNSby Robert L. Brown. An illustrated, detailed, in-formal history of life in the mining camps deep inthe almost inaccessible mountain fastness of theColorado Rockies. 58 towns are included as exam-ples of the vigorous struggle for existence in themining campsof the We st. 239 pages, illustrated,end sheet map, hardcover, S7.95.

RELICS OF THE WHITEMAN by Marvin andHelen Davis. A logical companion to Relics of theRedman, this book brings out a marked differ-ence by showing in its illustrations just how " sud -denly modern" the early West became after thearrival of the white man. The difference in arti-facts typifies the historical background in eachcase. The same authors tell how and where to col-lect relics of these early days, tools needed, andhow to display and sell valuable pieces.Paperback, well illustrated in color and b/w, 63pages, $3.95.

MEXICO 'S WEST COAST BEACHES by Al andMildred Fischer is an up-to-date guide coveringthe El Golfo de Santa Clara to the end of thehighway at Manzanillo. Excellent reference forthe out-of-the-way beaches, in addition to thepopular resorts such as Mazatlan and PuertoVallarta. Although traveling by motorhome, theFischers also give suggestions for air, auto, ferryand train travel as well. Paperback, well illus-trated, 138 pages, $3.00.

TIMBERLINE ANCIENTS with photos by DavidMuench and text by Darwin Lambert, Bristle-cone pines are the oldest living trees on earth.

Photographer David Muench brings them to lifein all their fascinating forms, and Lambert'sprose is like poetry. One of the most beautifulpictorials ever published. An ideal gift. Large11x14 format, hardcover, heavy slick paper, 1284-color photographs, 125 pages, $22.00.

DESERT WILDLIFE by Edmund C. Jaeger is aseries of intimate and authentic sketches depict-ing the lives of native animals of ourSouthwestern deserts, from mammals to birdsand reptiles , as well as many of the lesser desertdenizens such as land snails, scorpions, mille-pedes and common insects. Paperback, well il-lustrated, 308 pages, $2.95.

HOW AND WHERE TO PAN GOLD by WayneWinters. Convenient paperback handbook with

information on staking claims, panning and re-covering placer gold. Maps and drawings . $2.50.

GHOST TOWNS OF THE NORTHWEST by

Norman D. Weis. The ghost-town country of thePacific Northwest including trips to many little-known areas, is explored in this first-hand fact-ual and interesting book. Excellent photo-graphy. Best book to date on ghost towns of theNorthwest. Maps, hardcover, heavy, slick paper,319 pages, $7.95.

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE GEMS AND MINER-ALS OF MEXICO by Paul Willard Johnson Tipson food, maps and information, drivin g and trail-ering in Mexico. Border regulations, wrappingspecimens of gems and minerals and ail aboutyour proposed mining ventu reare covered Pa-perback, many good maps and illustrations. 96pages. $2.00.

HAPPY WANDERER TRIPS by Slim Barnard.

Well-known TV stars, Henrietta and Slim Bar-nard have put together a selection of their tripsthroughout the West from their Happy Wander-er travel shows. Books have excellent maps, his-tory, cost of lodging, meals, etc. Perfect for fam-ilies planning weekends. Both books are targeformat, heavy paperback, 150 pages each and$2.95 each Volume One covers Califo rnia andVolume Two Arizona. Nevada and Mexico.WHEN ORDERING STATE WHICH VOLUME.

LOST MINES OF DEATH VALLEY by HaroldWeight. This is a new approach to the enigma ofDeath Valley Scotty's life and legends and givesadditional insight into the Lost Gunsight andBreyfogle bonanzas, plus other Death Valleymysteries Paperback, historic photographs,reference material, 86 pages, $2.50.

ALL PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHA NG E. ORDERS SHIPPED SA ME DAY .



HISTORICAL ATLAS OF CALIFORNIA by War-ren A. Beck and Y nez D. H aase. Extensive docu-mentation and pertinent detail make this atlas avaluable aid to the student, scholar and every-one intersted in the Golden State. 101 excellentmaps present information on the major faults,early Spanish explorat ions, Mexican landgrants, route to gold fields, the Butterfield andPony Express routes, CCC camps, World War IIInstallations, etc. Hardcover, extensive index,highly recommended, $9.95.

HISTORICAL ATLAS OF NEW MEXICO byWarren A. Beck and Ynez D. Haase. Geographi-cal data, sites of presh istoric civilizations , eventsof history, first towns, stagecoach lines, historictrai ls, otc, are included in this comprehensiveatlas. Excellent maps, index. Hardcover, highly

recommended, $5.95.

WELLS FARG O, The Legend by Dale RobertsonIn his own personal narrative style, without de-parting from known fact, Dale has recreated theWells Fargo legend. Entertaining reading inaddition to excellent illustrations by Roy Purcell.Paperback, 154 pages, $4.95.

WESTERN SIERRA JEEP TRAILS by RogerMitchell. Twenty interesting backcountry tripseasily accessible from California's great centralvalley. A rating system included to determinehow difficult a route is before you try it. Paper-back, illustrated, maps, $2.50.

UTAH by David Muench, text by Hartt Wixom.The> impressions captured here Dy David

Muenchs camera and Hartt Wixom's pen bringto life a most be autiful under-one-cover profile ofthe fascinating state of Utah. Large 11x14 form at,hardcover, 188 pages, $25.00.

X

PHOTO ALBUM OF YESTERDAY'S SOUTH-WEST compiled by Charles Shelton. Early daysphoto collection d ating from 1860s to 1910 showsprospectors, miners, cowboys, desperados andordinary people. 195 photos, hardcover, fine gifti tem, $12.50.

HOW TO COLLECT ANT IQ UE BOTTLES byJohn C. Tibbits. A fascinating insight of earlyAmerica as seen through the eyes of the medi-cine companies and their advertising almanacs.Excellent book for avid bottle collectors andthose just starting Also includes chapters oncollecting, locations and care of bottles. Heavy,slick paperback, wen illus., 118 pages. $4 00

DESERT EDITOR by J. Wilson McKenney.This is the story of Randall Henderson, founderof DESERT Magazine, who fulfilled a dream andwho greatly enriched the lives of the people wholove the West. Hardcover, illustrated with 188pages, $7 95.

THE GOLD HEX by Ken Marquiss. A singlemans endeavors. Ken has compiled 20 of histreaure hunts In book form. His failure to hit the"jackpot" does not mean he is treasureless.From gold panning to hardrock, from dredgingto electronic metal detecting, he enjoyed a life-time of "doing his thing." Slick paperback, il-lustrated with photos and maps, 146 pages,$3.50.

SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAIN TRAILS byJohn W. Robinson. Easy one-day and more ru g-ged hiking trips into the historic mountains. The100 hiking tra ils are described In detail and illus-trated so you will not get lost. Heavy paperback,257 pages. $5.95.

DEEP CANYON, A DESERT WILDERNESSEdited by Irwin P. Ting and Bill Jennings. Thisis the first effort to describe both for the imformed layman and the general scientist the environmental relationships of plants, people and animals in this special area of the Colorado DesertIt is also the first book ever to feature the lowdesert photography of incomparable AnseAdams. Large format, hardcover, $12.50.

HopiKaehina l)oll>

RETRACING THE BUTTERFIELD OVERLANDTRAIL THROUGH ARIZONA by Gerald T. An-hert. This book was written to mark the physicalroute and station locations in the most hazardoussegment of the B utterfield Trail —Arizona. Theauthor's original intent was merely to find,follow and map the Trail, however, the long anddifficult task resulted, in putting this vital infor-mation in a book which makes it easy for othersto follow, or to provide a delightful armchairjourney over this dramatic route. Profusely illus-trated with maps and photos, this book is avisual hand-tool to the explorer; an exciting seg-ment of Americana to the scholar and historian.Large format, hardcover. $9.75.

THE ROCKS BEGIN TO SPEAK by LaVan Mar-tineau. The author tells how his interest in rockwriting led to years of study and how he haslearned tha t many —especially the complex pe-troglyphs—are historical accounts of actualevents. Hardcover, well illustrated, glossarybibliography, 210 pages, $8.95

GHOST TOWNS OF THE COLORADO ROCK-IES by Robert L. Brown. Written by the authorof Jeep Trails to Colorado Ghost Towns, thisbook deals with ghost towns accessible by pas-senger car Gives directions and maps for find-ing towns along with historical backgrounds.Hardcover. 401 pages. $7.95.

WHERE TO FIND GOLD IN THE DESERT byJames Klein is a sequel to Where to Find Gold inSouthern California. Author Klein includes losttreasure tales and gem locations as he tellswhere to find gold in the Rosrrtond-Mohave area,the El Paso M ountains. Randsburg and Barstowareas, and many more. Paperback, 112 pages,$4.95.

1200 BOTTLES PRICED by John C. Tibbitts.Updated edition ot one of the best of the bottlebooks. $4 95

FROM THIS MOUNTAIN, CERRO GORDO byRobert C. Likes and Glenn R. Day. The height ofthe boom, the decline—the entire history of thismining outpost of Cerro Gordo is told in detail.Paperback, illustrated, $3.95.

NAVAJO SILVER by Arthur Woodward. Asummary of the history of silversmithing by thNavajo tribe Woodward presents a comprehensive view of the four major influences on Navajdesign, showing how the silversmiths adaptethe art forms of European settlers and Indians ithe eastern United States, as well as those of thSpanish and Mexican colonists of the SouthwesPaperback, well illustrated. 100 pages. $4.95

OUR HISTORIC DESERT, The Story of thAnza-Borrego State .Park. Text by DianLindsay, Edited by Richard Pourade. The largesstate park in the United States, this boopresents a concise and cogent history of ththings which have made this desert unique. Thauthoi details the geologic beginning and tracethe history from Juan Bautista de Anza anearly-day settlers through to the existenctoday of the huge park. Hardcover, 144 pagesbeautifully illustrated. $9.50

DESERT WILD FLOWERS by Edmund C. Jaeger. One of the most complete works-ever published on flora of the Southwestern desertsEasily understood by amateur botanists antravelers as it is informative to the professiona322 pages, well illustratged, $2.95.

THE ROSE & THE ROBE by Ted DeGraziaText and sketches tell of the tra vels of Fray Junpero Serra in California, 1769-1784. Tremendouhistory and art appeal. Large format, 25 fourcolor illustrations by DeGrazia. Hardcove$11.75.

THE NORTH AMERICAN DESERTS by Emund C. Jaeger. A long-time authority on aphases of desert areas and life, Dr. Jaegerbook on the North American Deserts should bcarried where ever you travel. It not only describes each of the individual desert areas, bhas illustrated sections on desert insects, retiles, birds, mammals and plants. 315 pageillustrated photographs, line drawings anmaps. Hardcover, $6.95.

GHOST TOW N BOTTLE PRICE GUIDE by Wand Ruby Bressie. A new and revised edition their popular bottle book, first published 1964 New section on Orien tal relics , plus up-tdate values of bottles. Slick, paperback, illutrated, 124 pages, $3.95

PLEASE INC LUD E 50c POSTAGE PER EN TIRE ORDER



Information on the identification, his-

tech-used in making turquoise jewelry. This

in knowing more about the origin of

collecting and assembling of turquoise

H COU NTRY by the Editors of SunsetA revised and up-dated practical guide to

neavy paperback new editio n is profusely il -

Pinpoints areas

gold, equipment needed and

ch area. Paperback, illus-95 pages, $4.95.

A sequel to his The King's

the author presents

Beautifully illustrated with color reproduc-

174$18.50.

presented by the authors as a glimpse

1/2x11 format, 74 etchings, 22 paintings, aqua-photographs, cloth bound, boxed, $17.95.

OF DEATH VALLEY by L. Burr Belden.

Filled with both facts and anecdotes,

ALM CANYONS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA byRandall Henderson. The beautiful palm canyons

nd isolated areas of Baja California are describ-d by the late Randall Henderson, founder of

DESERT Magazine. Although these are his per-sonal adventures many years ago, little haschanged and his vivid writing is alive today as itwas when he first saw the oases. Paperback,ill us., 72 pages, $1.95.

LOST MINES AND HIDDEN TREASURES byLeiland Lovelace. Authoritative and exact ac-counts give locations and fascinating data abouta lost lake of gold in California, buried Aztec in-gots in Arizo na, kegs of coins, and all sorts of ex-citing booty for treasure seekers. Hardcover,$5 95.

50 Y EARS IN DEA TH VALLEY by Harry P.Gower. First hand account of the dramaticmining years by a man who spent his life in themysterious valley. Describes the famous charac-ters of Death Valley. Paperback, illustrated, 145

pages, $2.95.

100 DESERT WILDFLOWERS by Natt Dodge.Each flower is illustrated with a 4-color pnoto-graph and described in detail, where found,blooming period, etc. Habitats from sea level to4,000 feet. Slick paperback, 64 pages, $2.00.

100 ROADSIDE WILDFLO WERS by Natt DodgeA companion book and with the same format as1 0 0 D e s er t W i l d f l o w e r s , t h i s b o o k l i s t s 1 0 0

flowers found from 4,000 to 7,000-foot levels.Also has 4-color photographs. Slick paperback,64 pages, $2.00.

A FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN REPTILES

AND AMPHIBIANS by Robert C. Stebbins. APeterson Field Guide. 207 species, 569 illustra-tions, 185 in full color, 192 maps. The best bookof this type. Hardcover, $6.95.

GOLD FEVER by Helen E. Wilson. Exciting andtrue story of a couple prospecting against for-midable odds during the Nevada Gold Strike inJarbridge. Fabulously illustrated with early-dayphotos. 140 pages, softbound, $5.00.

DESERT PLANTS AND PEOPLE by Sam Hicks.Tells how primitive desert dwellers find susten-ance, shelter, beverages and healing medicinesin nature. Hardcover, $6.95.

DESERT GEM TRAILS by Mary Frances StrongDESERT Magazine's Field Trip Editor's popularfield guide for rockhounds. The "bible" for bothamateur and veteran rockhounds and back coun-try explorers, and covers the gems and mineralsof the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. Heavy pa-perback, 80 pages, $2.00.

CALIFORNIA-NEVADA GHOST TOWN ATLASandSOUTHWESTERN GHOST TOWN ATLASby Robert Neil Johnson. These atlases are excel-lent do-it-yourself guides to lead you back toscenes and places of the early West. Some pho-tos and many detailed maps with legends andbright, detailed descriptions of what you will

see; also mileage and highway designations.Heavy paperback, each contains 48 pages, each$2.00.

THE CALIFORNIA DESERTS by Edmund C.Jaeger. Revised 4th edition is a standard guideto Mohave and Colorado deserts with new chap-ters on desert conservation an aborigines. Hardcover, $4.95.

TURQ UOIS by Joseph E. Pogue. [Memoirs of theNational Academy of Sciences]. First printed in1915, Turquois has in its third printing (1973)been updated in many ways. Among them arelisted currently-operated Turquois mines, morecolor plates. The book is full of incredible resultsof research and an in-depth study of th is fascina-ting mineral of superficial origin. Hardcover, 175pages, beautifully illustrated, $15.00.

SOUTHERN IDAHO GHOST TOWNS by WayneSparling. 84 ghost towns are described, alongwith the history and highlights of each. Theauthor has visited these sites by pickup, 4WDand by foot. 95 photographs accompany the text,and maps detail the location of the camps. Anexcellent reference to add to the libraries ofthose fascinated by Western history. Paperback,135 pages, $3.95.

CALIFORNIA by David Muench and Ray Atke-son. Two of the West's greatest color photo-graphers have presented their finest works tocreate the vibrations of the oceans, lakes, moun-tains and deserts of California. Their photogra-phic presentations, combined with the movingtext of David Tol l , makes this a classic in West-

ern Americana. Large 11x14 format, hardcover,186 pages, $27.50.

THE SALTON SEA, Yesterday and Today, byMildred deStanley. Includes geological history,photographs and maps, early exploration anddevelopment of the area up to the present. Pa-perback, 125 pages, $1.75.

MAPS!DESERT OVERVIEW MAPSUsing topographic maps as basic underlays, aretwo excellently detailed maps for back countryexplorers of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts.Maps show highways, gravel roads, jeep trails,plus historic routes and sites, old wells, whichare not on modern-day maps, plus ghost towns,Indian sites, etc. Mojave Desert Overviewcovers from U.S. 395 at Little Lake to BoulderCity, Nevada, to Parker Dam to Victorville. Colo-rado Desert Overview covers from the Mexicanborder to Joshua Tree National Monument toBanning to the Arizona side of the Colorado Riv-er. Be certain to state which map w hen order ing.

$3.00 Each

ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARKTOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

A set of 7 maps covering the Anza-Borrego Des-ert State Park, 8V?''x 11' ' format, bound. $5.50

ROADMAP TO CALIFORNIA'S PIONEERTOWNS,GHOST TOWNS AND MIN INGCAMPS

Compiled by Varna Enterprises, 38"x25" andscaled. Southern California on one side and

Northern California on the other. Contains de-tailed location of place names, many of whichare not on regular maps. $3.50

MAP OF PIONEER TRAILS

Compiled by Varna Enterprises, this is their newlarge map on pioneer trails blazed from 1541through 1867 in the western United States. Su-perimposed in red on black and white, 37"x45".

$4.00

ROADMAP TO CALIFORNIA'S LOST MINESAND BURIED TREASURES

Compiled by Varna Enterprises, 38"x25" andscaled. Southern California on one side andNorthern California on the other. Contains de-tailed location of place names, many of whichare not on regular maps. $4.00

CA LIFORN IA RESIDENTS PLEASE ADD 6% STATE SALES TAX



BYROADS OF BAJA, by Walt Wheelock. Inaddition to describing the many highways nowbeing pav ed, this veteran Baja explorer also tellsof back country roads leading to Indian ruins,missions and abandoned mines. Paperback,il lus., $1.95.

BOTTLE COLLECTOR'S HANDBOOK by JohnT. Yount. Contains a listing of 1850 bottles andtheir market value (including the prized J imBeams), where to sell and buy, identifications,etc. Although contains few il lustrations, it hasmore listings than any other bottle book. Paper-

back, 89 pages, $3.95.

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE HANDBOOK by JamesT. Crow and Cameron Warren. Packed into thisvolume is material gathered from actual exper-ience and presented in a detailed manner so itcan easily be followed and understood. Highlyrecommended for anyone interested in backcountry driving. Paper, i l lus., 96 pages, $2.95.

NAVAJO RUGS, Past, Present and Future byGilbert S. Maxwell. Concerns the history, leg-ends and descriptions of Navajo rugs. Full colorphotographs. Paperback, $3.50.

THE CREATIVE OJO BOOK by Diane Thomas.Instructions for making the colorful yarn talis-mans originally made by Pueblo and MexicanIndians. Included are directions for wall-hungojos, necklaces, mobiles and gift-wrap tie-ons.Well i l lustrated with 4-color photographs, 52pages, paperback, $2.95.

HOSTEEN CROTCHETTY by Jimmy Swinner-ton. This delightful book by famed desert paint-er, cartoonist and story teller, Jimmy Swinner-ton, is an interpretation of a centuries-old Hopilegend. The fable, told to Swinnerton more than50 years ago by an Indian sto ry-telle r, involvesOld M an Hosteen, the Owl People, and how theywere outwitted by the pueblo children, aided bythe Termite People. Beautiful 4/color il lustra-tions throughout. Hardcover, large format, 48pages, $7.50.

FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN BIRDS by RogerTory Peterson. The standard book for field iden-tif ication sponsored by the National Audubon

Society. 2nd Edition, enlarged, 658 picturesin full color. Hardcover, 6.96.

BALLARAT, Compiled by Paul Hubbard, DorisBray and George Pipkin. Ballarat, now a ghosttown in the Panamint Valley, was once a flour-ishing headquarters during the late 1880s and1900s for the prospectors who searched for silverand gold in that desolate area of California. Theauthors tell of the lives and relate anecdotes ofthe famous old-timers. First published in 1965,this reprinted edition is an asset to any library.Paperback, il lustrated, 98 pages, $3.00.

BIG RED: A WILD STALLION by RutherfordMontgomery. There was a time when there weremany wild horse herds on our western ranges.These herds, jealously guarded by the stallionthat had won them, met with real trouble whenthe hunters found they could get good prices forthem from meat processors. Big Red tells howone stallion successfully defends his herd fromboth animal and human enemies. Il lustrated,hardcover, 163 pages, $4.95.

TRAltS • ( * .ANGELES

GHOSTS OF THE GLORY TRAIL by Nell Mur-barger. A pioneer of the ghost town explorers andwriters, Miss Murbarger's followers will be gladto know this book is once again in prin t. First pub-lished in 1956, it is now in its seventh ed ition . Thefast-moving ch ronicle is a result of personal inter-views of old-timers who are no longer here to telltheir tales. Hardcover, i l lustrated, 291 pages,$7.00.

A FIELD GUIDE TO INSECTS of America Northof Mexico by Donald J . Borror and Richard E.

White. This is the most comprehensive, authori-tative and up-to-date guide to North Am erica in-sects ever pu blishe d. It covers 579 familie s of in -sects and has more than 1300 line drawings and142 color plates. Hardcover, 372 pages, glos-sary, references, $5.95.

CALIFORNIA GOLD CAMPS, a Geographicaland Historical Dictionary of Camps, Towns andLocalities Where Gold Was Found and Mined,and of Wayside Stations and Trading Centers,by Erwin G. Gudde. Includes 7 excellent maps,in addition to a List of Places by County, aGlossary and Bibliography. Highly recommend-ed . Hardcover, 467 pages, $19.50.

MECCA

TO HELL ON WHEELS by Alan H. Siebert. Amust for every desert traveler, this is not justanother survival book, it is a manual of mobilityfor the recreational vehicle driver who is looking

for something more than the organized camp-ground. Highly recommended for both thenewcomer and old-timers. Paperback, 64 pages,well i l lustrated, $2.95.

TH E NEVA DA DESERT by Sessions S. Wheeler.Provides information on Nevada's state parks,historical monuments, recreational areas andsuggestions for safe, comfortab le travel in the re-mote sections of western America. Paperback,illus., 168 pages, $2.95.

CAMELS AND SURVEYORS IN DEATHVALLEY by Arthur Woodward. A diary-like ac-counting of the day-by-day experiences of an ex-pedition for a survey of the boundary betweenCalifornia and the Territory of Nevada.Paperback, 73 pages, $2.00.

EAR THQ UAK E COUNTRY by Robert lacopi.New, revised edition brings maps and descrip-tive text up to date as nearly as practicable. We llillustrated, the book separates fact from fictionand shows where faults are located, what to doin the event of an earthquake, past history andwhat to expect in the future. Large format, slickpaperback, 160 pages, revised edition is now$3.95.

TALES OF THE SUPERSTITIONS, The Originsof The Lost Dutchman Legend by Robert Blair.An intriguing and well documented account ofth e fabulous Lost Dutchm an, the author turns upnew clues and signatures which will prove to beboth a setback and a stimulus to the search forthe legendary mine. Paperback, 175 pages,$4.95.

NEW MEXICO GEM TRAILS by Bessie W.Simpson. Gield guide for rockhounds with 40maps and 65 locations. 88 pages, profusely i l lu-strated, $3.50.

ARIZONA by David Muench. The finest pictorialpresentation of the Grand Canyon State ever pub-lished. One of the outstanding color photo-graphers of the world, Muench has selected 160

of his 4-color photographs which are augmentedby comprehensive text of David Tol l . Hardcover,11x14 format, 200 heavy slick pages, $25.00.

TRAILS OF THE ANGELES, 100 Hikes in theSan Gabriels, by John W. Robinson. This is themost complete guide ever written to hiking andbackpacking in California's San Gabriel Moun-tains. Hikes vary from easy one-hour strolls toall-day and overnight rambles. Tours of the Mt.Lowe Railway and Echo Mountain ruins. Th eauthor has walked, recorded and researched alltr ips, and has graded them as "eas y," "mo der-ate " or "stre nu ou s." Excellent trail map. 256pages, paperback, $4.95.

MINING CAMPS AND GHOST TOWNS, A History of Mining in Arizona by Frank Love. Dramatic history of the mine ral fro ntier as it affected onsection of the vast American West, the LoweColorado Region. Il lustrated, hardcover, 19pages, $7.95.

PLEASE USE CONVENIENT ORDER FORM ON PAGE 39



miles west who called some of my

friends who were also four-wheelers. I t

wa sn't long before I had the rescue party

on the radio and was direct ing them to

our location. To our surprise, 17 rigs

showed up like the cavalry in a charge.

With winches and manpower, we soon

hc.d the overturned rig back on its wheels

and we were all headed home.

The CB radio was one of the smallest

offroad accessories in my rig, but it did a

big job when needed and it has been a

help many t imes since.

Last winter, I was caught in a raging

blizzard in the Santa Rosa Mountains,

south of Palm Desert, California. Powder

snow blanketed the road, making even

four-wheel-drive travel dif f icult . At one

point, I became stuck and began to side-

slip off the road.

Aga in , I turned to my CB rad io. I con-

tacted another CBer in Ocoti l lo Wells,many miles to the south. I t turned out I

didn't need his help, but he was stand-

ing by in case I got stuck.

Many people, including off-roaders

and motorhomers, are discovering that

the Cit izen's Band mobile radio is an in-

valuable addit ion to any well-equipped

Backcountry travel is made more assuring when your rig is equipped with a CB unit.

vehicle on the road. Not only can these

two-way radios be life savers, they can

add a new dimension of enjoyment to

t ravel . The CB radio can be of great

value in f inding direct ions, gett ing road

and weather information and for me eting

other travelers.

The Citizen's Band radio service was

established in 1958 when the Federal

Communications Commission set aside

23 channels for use by the public forpersonal business use. Today, there are

an estimated 10 million licensed CB

operators across the nation and the FCC

is issuing more than 200,000 new

licenses a month.

Whi le the term " l icense" might scare

some people off, a Citizen's Band license

does not require that you take a test to

prove any electronic aptitude. A four-

year license can be obtained simply by

f i l ing an applicat ion and a $4.00 fee with

the FCC. License applications come with

many new radios, or can be obtained bycall ing your nearest FCC off ice.

O.K., you've applied for your license



""I^Sfc,, /

Walkie-Talkie is handy for quick portable com munications be tween hikers and base.

and now comes that trip to the radio

store to buy the radio, Once inside, the

store you are overpowered by the dozens

of models l ining the display shelves.

Most have the full 23-channel operat ion,

so why do they range in price from $100

to more than $350?

Cit izen's Band radios are also l imited

in the amount of power they can put out,so what you are actually paying for in

more expensive radios is sophistication

and qual i ty .

The average 23-channel transceiver

being used by off-roaders today sell in

the $125 to $200 price range. These are

dependable, no-frills radios that do a

good job and hold up wel l .

In my own rig, I have a Hy-Range I

made by the Hy-Cain Corpo rat ion. I paid

$140 for the set after looking at various

radios for about six months. I selected

this particular model because it offered

complete 23-channel coverage, a meter

to monitor output and signal strength,

and most importantly, a good service

record according to various electronic re-

pairmen I talked wi th .

A similar unit might be r ight for you,

or you might want a lot more.

The newest rage in CB radio is the

single sideband unit. These radios are

more expensive, ranging in price fromabout $250 to $500 or more. But single

sideband offers greater reliabil i ty in

communications, since you can tr iple

your power output using sideband opera-

t ion. The sideband radios also offer re-

gular A M CB operation as wel l .

Some of the most advanced sideband

radios on the market include the Hy-

Range V by Hy-Cain, the Digicom 100 by

Palomar E lectronics, the Cobra 132, SBE

Sidebander 2 and the Siltronix. The

range includes dozens more, however.

As you spend more for your radio, you

will f ind more sophistication built into

the unit. This means it will function bet-

ter, pull in signals better and reject adja-

cent channel interference better than

cheaper models Like any thing , you get

the quality you pay for.

After you purchase a radio, you wil l

need an antenna to get on the a ir. Expect

to pay between $20 and $40 for a good

mobile antenna.

The next question most people ask mewhen they see my radio is, "W h o do you

talk to?"

Today, that 's not a problem. There

isn't any area in the country that doesn't

have its share of CBers. In any small

town there are dozens of other two-way-

ers and large towns have thousands who

often form clubs that perform civic ser-

vice with their vast radio network.

In my own community of 50,000 there

are an estimated 500 radios in ope ration.

Any recreation area you are likely to visitwill also have its share of CBers.

The nice thing about Citizen's Band is

the people you me et. CBers seem to be a

group who love to help other people.

On one recent trip to Nevada, I needed

direct ions to Virginia City. I contacted

another CBer in Carson City who gave

me detailed direct ions and then invited

me to his home for coffee.

And while driving into Sacramento

late one day, I contacted a friendly radio

buff who called ahead and had motel re-servations wait ing for me on arrival.

Truckers are now using the radios to

pass road and weather information on to

others as they travel. And in some

states, such as Arizona, the Highway Pa-

trol is also using the units to communi-

cate direct ly with motorists. Women

alone on the road are also finding CB

radios are a great security aid.

Once you are hooked on CB, you won 't

be content with a single radio.

Your nex t inves tment m ight behand-held walkie-talkies, a base station

in your home or several other options I

wil l discuss.

How many times have you been out

camping and the kids wandered off on a

hike just about dinner time? Equipped

with a rig in your vehicle and the kids

with portable units, you'd be in contact

all the t ime.

Good portable sets that are not toys

sell from about $45 on up. They even

have full-power, 23-channel hand-held

units on the market. Some excellent por-

tables are made by Pace, Johnson, Mid-



land and Royce, and Enduro even makes

a liny unit designed for mounting and

use on motorcycles and snowmobiles.

The portable walkie-talkie units are

also handy to have in case you are trav el-

ing with others who do not have a radio.

Give them one of the portable units and

they are on the air.

Your next mobile accessory you might

consider is what is called a scanner.

These radios are designed to scan any-

where from four to 16 channels at one

time and can receive police, fire and

public service broadcasts.

As the name implies, the scanner

scans various channels electronically,

stopping when a particular channel is

being used. When that transmisison is

complete, the radio resumes its scan,

stopping at the next channel in use. You

can lock them on one channe l, or remove

several channels from the scan sequenceif you wish.

Regency, Johnson, Courier and Bear-

cat all make a variety of mobile and

hand-held scanner receivers. They range

in price from about $100 to over $350.

Probably the most advanced is the

Bearcat scanner that has 16-channel ca-

pacity. It can also be programmed for

any public service channel you want to

receive.

A scanner in your vehicle allows you to

monitor such agencies as the HighwayPatrol and the local weather service,

thus giving you valuable road and weath-

er information.

Be sure to check local laws, since some

states do not allow you to have a scanner

in a vehicle.

After all this, you may stil l want more.

If you live in a small community or work

near your home, you might want to put

in a base station. This will allow you to

communicate with your family while in

your vehicle. I have a photography busi-ness business in my community and am

in my vehicle much of the t ime. My wife

uses our base radio to give m e telephone

messages.

Base stations are not much different

from mobile radios. In fact, with a power

converter, a mobile radio can be used in

your home.

My personal choice for a base station

was a Hy-Range IV by Hy-Gain. My

choice was based on satisfaction with my

Hy-Range mobile radio.This particular base radio runs about

$229 and offers s imple and efficien t com -

Typical base station set-up with radio, scan ner on left, watt meter, clock, telephoneand directories all within handy reach.

munications, Other base radio manufac-

turers include Pearce-Simpson ranging

in price from $179 to $379, Midland,lohnson, Cobra, Browning, Cemtronics,

Robyn and Royce.

These radios also come in regular A M

or Single Sideband models, the Single

Sideband being more expensive, of

course.

A base station antenna will cost from

about $75 on up, depending upon the

kind you buy and the mast you use.

A word about insurance.

Don't spend several hundred dollars

on radio equipment and install it, assum-ing your insurance will replace it in case

of theft. The popularity of CB radio

makes m obile units a prime target for carburglars.

Because of this, many insurance com-

panies are not covering CB radio loss

under their regular automobile policy

coverage. Some require an additional

prem ium of $6 to $12 a year to cover you r

radio. It's well worth the money to get

the coverage. You might also invest

about $35 to $100 in a good ala rm system

on your vehicle. A loud siren will dis-

courage theft the moment your door is

opened.

I have only scratched the surface on

CB radio. Your local dealer is the man totalk to for particular problems. I hope to

hear you on the air. •



If you know how to use it...

GB Radio GouldSave 16ur Life!I F R A N T I C , A L M O S T h y s t e r ic a l

go voice comes over the radio, "Emer-4 | gency, emergency, REACT Monitor

I have a 10-33!" A calm voice responds,

"This is Antelope Valley REACT Unit A.

May I help you?"

It is quickly learned that two men have

been seriously injured when a dune

buggy overturned on a Mojave Desert

Dry Lake. They are miles from the near-

est town and a considerable distance

from a paved road. Help is needed fast!

Obtaining all the pert inent informa-

t ion , Unit A quickly notif ies local emer-

gency services. Due to the seriousness of

the injuries, the Los Angeles County Fire

Department dispatches one of its air-am-bulances. Though the wait seems un-

bearably long to those at the scene, the

helicopter is the fastest help available.

Emergency treatment is given to stabil-

ize the condition of the injured men and

they are air-lifted to the nearest hospital.

This is an example of but one of the

many calls received during a regular

monitoring period on Cit izen's Band

Radio, National Emergency Channel 9.

Not all calls are emergencies, but every

one is important. The men and women

who provide the equipment, and give of

their t ime to help their fellow man, are a

breed of unusually dedicated people.In the world of today where "few peo-

ple want to be involved." the REACT

Monitors are involved — all the way.

They are the modern counter-parts of the

" o l d - t i m e n e i g h b o r s " w h o w i l l i n g l y

gave helping hands to those in trouble

That little Citizen's Band radio in your

car could possibly save your life — bu

only if you know how to use it properly

REACT (Radio Emergency Associated

Citizens Team) In terna tiona l, Inc., is a

n o n -p ro f i t o rg a n iza t io n co n s is t i n g o

teams distributed throughout the United

by

M A R Y F R A N C E SSTRONG

Photos by

Jerry Strong

Although rendering

emergency road-side service

is not a function of REACT,

individual members

may elect to help a stranded

motorist encountered

on the highway,

as demo nstrated here by

John Franklin, Unit 30

[right], who gives a battery

jump to Joe Mastro, Unit 8.



j im Sanchez

[right],senior

helicopter

pilot, and

fireman Pete

Peterson,could be

air-borne

within two

minutes,

should an

emergency

arise.

This is one

of five

air-

ambulances

hangered atPacoima and

deployed

daily to

various

strategic

heliport sites

throughout

Los Angeles mK/jKM

County. *""** * —

States. Each month new teams are

formed and eventually every nook andcranny of our country will be covered.

Each local team goal is to voluntarily

monitor Channel 9 on a 24-hour basis. In

t imes of disaster or national emergency,

the teams can be called upon to pro-

vide communications for Civil Defense,

Red Cross or other authorit ies.

REACT is of particular importance on

Cali forn ia 's Mojave andColorado Desert

Regions where it supplies emergency

communicat ion to travelers, recreation-

ists and phoneless residents in out-lyingareas. Encompassing the eastern half of

Southern California, this vast desert land

of broad arid basins, separated by low

and lofty mountains, plays weekly host

to thousands of visi tors. Few and far be-

tween are the sett lements — many are

the emergencies.

The rise in emergency calls is due, in

great part, to the rapidly growing hob-

bies of dune-buggying, four-wheel ing,

cycle riding and racing, plus a sundry of

other activit ies in which desert enthusi-

asts engage. Vehicle breakdowns, lost

chi ldren and adults, road hazards and


automobile accidents all add to the grow-

ing need for help.A large percentage of regular desert

visitors have installed mobile Citizen's

Band radios in their cars. Hundreds

more are doing so each month. Most of

those with whom we have talked, the

number is many, informed us they in-

stalled the radio to use in case of an

emergency when in the backcountry.

" M i g h t get stuck in sand, have car fa i l -

ure, an accident, injury or i l lness, " con-

stitute their major worries. With a CB

radio at arm's length, they feel instanthelp is available. Unfortunately, it is not

all that easy.

It is amazing how many CB radio

owners do not even know that Channel 9

is the emergency channel or how to pro-

perly call forhelp. When they do reach a

monitor, many have diff iculty in answer-

ing the questions necessary to bring the

assistance needed.

The technique is simple; but f i rst let

us discuss what REACT can and cannot

do . REACT Monitors are volunteerstrained to obtain emergency help for

motorists or others who need it. REACT

itself does not provide emergency assis-

tance. The monitor notifies proper au-thorit ies — Fire Department, Sheriff ,

Highway Patrol, Automobile Club emer-

gency road service or private wrecker.

Some teams have a Search and Rescue

Unit ; and, at t imes, individual members

will elect to assist, if the emergency is

nearby.

Should your vehicle become stuck in

sand, snow, mud, etc., the Highway

Patrol, Sheriff or Forest Rangers will not

respond. If you are in a position where

life is endangered or your vehicle is ahazard to other vehicles, they will at-

tempt to come toyour aid. Do not make a

false statement about this matter or you

may find yourself in addit ional trouble.

Even private wreckers are reluctant to

answer calls if the vehicle is in the back-

country.

When you have car trouble, belonging

to one of the automobile clubs is a great

asset, since 24-hour service from the

nearest affiliated garage is available.

Private wreckers can be called, but youmust have cash or an acceptable charge*-?

card. If you are low on cash and do n q r t

33



belong to an auto club, the REACT

Monitor can call (collect) to a family

member or a f r iend.

Do not use "10-33" unless you have a

serious emergency such an accident,

f i re, ambulance or rescue unit needed.

Car t rouble — mechanical , running out

of gas, being stuck in sand, etc. — is not

a 10-33 but a 10-17 (urgent business).

Learn the 10-Code and use it properly. A

copy of the code generally used appears

with th is ar t ic le.

REAC T Mo nitors can give you a 10-13

(report on road and weather condit ions).

This is important in desert country

where severe weather condit ions — f lash

floods, win d and sand storms — can de-

velop rapidly. REACT can also help with

10-46 (assist motorist with directions to

highways, towns, businesses, etc.) or

with a 10-21 (place a collect phone call

for you).

When traveling in desert country,

keep your radio on Channel 9. You wil l

be kept up-to-date on a variety of condi-

tions by hearing the response of the local

Most REACTTeams are

fortunate to

have at least

one member

who gives of

himself

"far and

above the call

of duty."

When the first

call to

Antelope

Valley REACT

is

unanswered,

the second

call is

generally

fielded by

Les Anderson,

Uniti.

Affectionately

known within

his team as

Mr. REACT,

Les monitors

Channel 9

unselfishly

during the

greater part of

his waking

hours.

REACT Monitor to mobile calls. You

wi ll also know if you are within receiving

range of a Monitor, should you need

help. REACT does not give radio checks.

Please use other channels when check-

ing your radio. The Federal Communica-

t ions Commission has designated Chan-

nel 9 as the National Emergency Chan-

nel and it is not to be used for purposes

other than those mentioned.

How to obtain help? Co to Channel 9.

Check to make sure your squelch is at

minimum. I f you have "squelched out"

the usual background noise, you m ay be

unable to hear the REACT Monitor re-

spond. Sometimes they are a consider-

able distance from your 10-20 (location).

I f Channel 9 is clear, call for "R EA CT

Monitor , " then s lowly and dist inct ly

give your call letters. If you have been

listening to Channel 9 you wil l know

which REACT Team is responding to

calls and can use their name — Ante-

l ope V a l l ey R E A C T, V i c t o r V a l l ey

REACT, for example. I f you have an ex-treme emergency, you can add, "I have

a 10-33." Do not shout and try to keep

calm. Do not use "May Day" or hol le

" H e l p . "

I f there isn't an immediate reply, wai

a few minutes then repeat the call

Should the regular Monitor fail to

answer the second call, it will usually be

answered by someone else. If there is no

reply, again check your squelch. This i

usually the culprit when a mobile canno

hear a Mo nitor reply from a base stat ion

In the event you are unable to raise a

Mo nitor on Channel 9 after several tr ies

do the following before going to anothe

channel. Speaking slowly, give your ca

letters, state your correct 10-20 (loca

tion), the nature of your problem an

what is needed. You should identify you

vehicle and give the license number. It i

wise to repeat all of this informatio

several t imes. Quite often, a Monitor on

a base station can read a mobile loud an

clear even though you cannot hear his re

sponse. By giving the above inform ation

help can be sent to you.

Obtaining the correct 10-20 (location

of an emergency in desert country is on

of REACT's biggest problems. Too o

ten, motorists just follow a dirt road an

pay l it t le attent ion to where they hav

camped or are r iding. They know onl

the general location and this is no

enough. Emergency services will not ro

without an exact location. Direction

such as "on the north slope of Piut

Mountain" or "west s ide of El Mirag

Lake" are not acceptable. Always not

your route and you should carry a goo

map of the area with you.

Perhaps covering one of the largest re

gions on the Mojave Desert, Antelop

Valley REACT Team C-40, KEL9917, r

ceived its charter in 1970. Though base

in the Palmdale-Lancaster area, it is fo

tunate in having M onitors locally, as we

as in outlying regions at varying eleva

t ions . Th is enab les good coverag

throughout the Antelope Valley an

Western Mojave Desert.

No individual Monitor can take cal

from every locale within such a vast r

gion. However, as a team, Antelope Va

ley Monitors can handle calls in the Sa

Gabriel Mountains and south to Sol

mint Junction; west to Gorman and L

bec; north to Walker Pass and points b

yond Lit t le Lake; easterly to Highw

395 and northeast including Kram er Co

ners, Randsburg, Ridgecrest and TronA rough est imate indicates Antelop

34 Desert/October 19



Valley REACT covers the western quar-

ter of the Mojave Desert.

Victor Valley REACT ably handles

calls along Interstate 15 from Cajon Pass

to almost Barstow, plus the recreational

sites in Stoddard Wells, Apple and Lu-

cerne Valleys. Barstow REACT does a

good job of monitoring their local area

and sections of Highway 58, Interstate

15 and 40. Edwa rds RE ACT monitors the

10-1

10-2

10-4

10-5

10-6

10-7

10-8

10-9

10-10

10-12

10-1310-17

10-18

10-19

10-20

10-21

10-22

10-23

10-25

10-27

10-30

10-33

10-34

10-36

10-43

10-46

10-47

10-49

10-50

10-51

10-52

10-53

10-69

10-70

10-77

10-100

1 0-200

These

ple te

dealer

CITIZENS BAND10-CODE

Receiving poorly.Signal good.Acknowledgement.Relay message.Busy, stand by unless urgent.Out of service.In service.Repeat.Standing by.Visitors present.

Weather and Road report.Urgent business.Complete assignment q uickly.Return toLocation.Call bv DhoneDisregard.Standby.Report in person toMoving to other channel.Unnecessary use of radio.EMERGENCY.Trouble at this station. Need help.Time.Information.Assist motorist.

Emergency road repairs needed.Traffic light out.Accident (personal injury, fire, needpolice).Wrecker needed.AMBULANCE NEEDED.Road blocked.Message received.F IRE ALARM .Negative contact.Personal break.POLICE NEED AT

are the most used 10-codes. A com-list may be obtained from any C.B.

sizable Edwards Air Force Base and

Ridgecrest REACT handles the north-

western desert region — Highways 395

and 14.

REACT Teams on the Colorado Des-

ert include Morongo Basin, Indio, Coa-

chella and El Centro. Possibly other

teams have been formed since the last

directory was issued. Independent moni-

tors such as Unit 302 in Apple Valley are

located in small communit ies across the

desert including Trona, Ludlow and

Baker. They mon itor Channel 9 and do a

f ine job handling calls that might other-

Desert/October 1976

Weary

travelers over

long holiday

weekends are

cordially

invited to

break for a

cup of free

coffee by

many REACTteams

throughout

the nation.

Members of

Antelope

Valley REAC T

Team C-40

enjoy som e of

their own

brew.

wise go unanswered. In most cases, ifyou need help — have a good radio and

antenna — you will be able to reach

someone. Just don't panic and start

jumping from channel to channel call ing

for help.

There are t imes when cond i t ions

(called skip) are such that what sounds

like a local call is not. Late one evening,

Hank Bensler, former Antelope Valley

REACT Monitor, took a call report ing a

highway bridge had been washed out.

"Please cal l the highway department , "

was the request. "Several cars have

plunged into the r iver." Upon asking the

10-20, Hank learned it was in Montana.

The caller said, " W e cannot raise any-

one here. Place a collect call and hurry.

We need help." From nearly 1500 miles

away, Hank made the call and emergen-

cy help was dispatched. Whenever help

is needed — go to Channel 9. It is the

fastest means available unless you are

by a telephone.

In every Team, there is usually one

person who has wil l ingly served beyond

the call of duty. Antelope Valley REACT

has Les Anderson, Unit #1. He has

proven to be #1 in many wa ys. Affec t ion-

ately called " M r . RE AC T," Les lost

most of his sight as a consequence of a

motorcycle accident. Yet, he very effec-

tively monitors Channel 9 a large per-

centage of the day and night. Always

wil l ing to encourage new Monitors,

assist as Backup Monitor, as well as

keeping the group on an even keel, Les

has been voted "Outstanding Monitor ofthe Year" many t imes.

CB radio is an important l ink with theoutside world when traveling in desert

country. Should a serious emergency oc-

cur, modern equipment can quickly

reach even remote sites. Los Angeles

County ( including Antelope Valley) is

fortunate in having an outstanding air-

ambulance service and a modern dis-

patch center which utilizes an impressive

array of sophisticated communication

equipment to coordinate its effort .

Jerry and I toured the Los Angeles

County Fire Department Heliport Facil-ity with Senior Pilot Jim Sanchez as our

guide. Hangared and serviced at Pa-

coima is a fleet of five air-ambulances,

the three largest of which are also used

t o t r anspo r t spec ia l l y t r a ined f i r e -

f ighters when needed . J m told us an air-

ambulance can be underway two min-

utes after receiving orders. Aboard are

paramedics and , on weekends, a doctor.

The pilots of air-ambulances are all

very well-qualif ied and must have had at

least 5,000 hours of helicopter flight time

before joining the Fire Department.

W hile they have regular duty s hif ts, they

are also on call. Should a disaster occur,

pilots can be at the heliport within 15

minutes. Many a life has been saved by

this valuable emergency service.

After several years as CBers, Jerry

and I joined Antelope Valley REACT

Team C-40. We monitor regularly and

have found it a rewarding experience of

both accomplishment and frustrat ion.

We are pleased to be associated with a

group of people who take pride in theirTeam and helping their fellow man . •

35



IN MANY parts of the desert South-

west there f lourishes a tribe of

snakes famous for their handsome

polished appearance. These are the

glossy snakes of the genus Arizona, fur-

ther names e/egans by admiring zoolo-gists. Patterned tastefully, too, are these

two and one-half- to four and one-half-

f o o t - lo n g sn a ke s , w i t h b ig re d d ish

brown, tan or dark grey blotches down

their backs and smaller ones alternating

along their sides, all done on a light

b r o w n , cream or ye l low-grey back-

ground.

Variation on the color theme is worn

by various of the six sub-species residing

in various desert localities, one kind

being so much lighter in color as to becalled faded snakes. Dark or light, all

bear the tribal newly-varnished look—

their smooth, slick scales glistening and

reflecting the lig ht. Endowed thus by na-

ture with good looks, these Arizona e/e-

gans also possess a fairly gentle disposi-

t ion , a matter of considerable merit par-

ticularly since they have become of such

interest to inquiring scientists.

The reason for all this attention is the

fact that these snakes are so well adapt-

ed to desert conditions that they can

thrive in a wide variety of arid habitats.Almost barren deserts, sand dunes,

dense brush cover, light brush, among

Joshua tre es, cacti growths —all are

home to them — even rocky areas. A

sandy terrain is much preferred, of

course, since these snakes are burrow-

ers, their tr ibe catching on long, long

ago that one of the best ways to beat the

desert is to go underground.

Although they frequently use rodent

holes as places for quick refuge, the

glossy snakes are excellent diggers, withthe tools for the job. T he scale at the end

of their wedge-shaped snout is a highly

specialized augur. Their lower jaw is

countersunk and deeply inset, making a

good pointed end to a face already well

designed for hole boring and tunnel

making. What with their slick, smooth

scalation in addition, they almost seem

to flow into loose desert soil when dig

g i n g , d isa p p e a r in g w i t h su rp r i s in g

speed.

Underground is naturally f ine fo

avoiding hot day temperatures, and theglossy snakes avail themselves of it

being abroad mainly at night and during

the crepuscular hours, unless special cir

cumstances demand otherwise. Such

was the case of the lady observed topside

in full sunlight when the temperature

was hitting 100 degrees in the shade

Obviously she had something in mind

boring so busily in and out of the groun

near a large sandy hummock. The an

Above: Although quite harmless

glossy snakes will o ften co

and strike at intruders

Right: Glossy snakes eme rge at dusk

to hunt for lizards and small rodents

their principle foods

6 Desert/O ctober 197



svver, it turned out finally, was an egg

laying job, a magnif icent clutch to be

sure of some 23 being deposited therein

subsequently.

Underground, too, is a f ine place for

hibernating for those subspecies living

where winter temperatures demand it

even for a short t ime, say from the mid-

dle of December through January. Then

the temperatures even two inches down

in dry sand may be as much as 27.5 de-grees warm er than that of the air. Biolo-

g is t R a ymo n d C o w le s , i n ve s t ig a t in g

glossy snake hibernation, found that

while the average body temperature of

h ib e rn a t in g in d iv id u a ls w a s 5 9 F , i t

might be as low as 55. One snake, snug-

gly tucked four inches below the surface,

registered a high 68, making it seem that

the deeper burrow might be better. On

the other hand, the shallower type, ob-

viously preferred by the majority, would

certainly warm up quicker, once theabove temperatures rose.

In their warm er underg round winter

locations, the glossy snakes are probably

active long before their emergence from

hibernat ion. Addit ional ly, body temper-

atures of snakes are generally higher

than that of lizards, and hence they can

be active at lower temperatures in the

cold seasons. This is a great plus for the

glossy snakes, as was clearly evidenced

by the one found with a lizard in its di-

gestive works, evidently captured under-

ground while the vict im was stif f and

helpless with the cold.

Actual ly, Arizona elegans has a wide

range of body temperatures—from a

possible low of 60 degrees to almost 90

degrees — durin g w hich the y can be ac-

t ive. This naturally greatly extends its

possibilities, the snakes being out evenon cold windy nights. Biologists A. H.

Miller and R. C. Stebbins found one

active in a sandstorm going about its

business with a body temperature of 70

degrees, although the ground it was on

was a cool 66 degrees. Best conditions

for glossy snake business operations,

however, is a warm quiet night of around

75 to 80 degrees, and then th e snakes are

out and busy immediately after dark-

ness. Not that they are entirely nocturnal

or even crepuscular. The Texas contin-gent, for example, is quite apt to be

abroad daytimes.

This special adaptation to light con-

ditions shows in the eye inherited by

glossy snakes, anatomist Walls' f ine

study showing that it is an eye that

seems part way between the kind usually

found in night snakes such as the leaf-

nose, and the kind typical of day snakes,

s a y b u l l s n a k e s , fo r e x a m p l e . U\ theglossy snakes, the pupil is slightly ellip-

t ical with the long axis vert ical, a definite

advantage since a nearly vertical pupil

can be more fully closed than a round

o n e , thus preventing dazzle when the

snake is out in bright light.

Night t imes, on the hunt, the glossy

snakes depend on the sense of smell.

The main part of this equipment is a

couple of round chambers (called Jacob-

son's Organs) located in the roof of the

mouth. These are lined with sensory

cells that connect by nerves to smell

headquarters in the br ain . The organs al-

so open into the groove in the mouth in

which the tongue rests. Thus the snake,

running his tongue out, picks up odorous

samples from the air or surrounding ob-

jects, and brings them in, the moist

forked t ip p lacing th is smell "news"

right in the sensory chambers for action.

Glossy snakes are big hunters of smal-

ler ones, the little leafnose snakes and

shovelnoses being dined on regularly.

They also catch myriads of beetles and

grasshoppers. Lizards form a big item on

the grocery list, Utas, Holbrookias an d

Sceloporus being headliners, with geckos

being added when available. Nor are the

glossies bashful about eating under

strange condit ions apparently. Biologist

Photos by Jim Cornett.

b y K . L. B O Y N T O N © i 9 7 6

Deisert/October 1976



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Lorenzo Cook reports capturing one

which headded to a bag of lizards he was

t ransport ing. When he got to the lab the

bag was minus a couple of lizards and

the glossy snake wasconsiderably fatter.

One glossy in the f ie ld, however, made

the mistake of t ry ing todine on too big aPhrynosoma and was found quite de-

funct, punctured by the horned toad's

spines.

On more amenable items, the kil l is

made quickly by constrict ion. The snake

then sets about swallowing it whole.

Being snakes, the glossies already have

loose skull bones and a big gape to their

mouths, which gives them literally a f ine

head start in handling surprisingly large

prey. Gripped by backward recurving

teeth, the lunch is moved down thegullet l it t le by l i t t le by action of the

snake's upper jaw (the bones of which

can be moved independently) helped by

the lower jawwhose parts canalso be ad-

vanced alternately. Nature has thought-

fully provided a way to breathe while

handling such a mouth and throat fu l l ,

and added a strong reinforcement to the

windpipe to keep it from being smashed

as the big object goes on down. Once

down the hatch, the lunch is comfortably

contained, thanks to the stretch in thesnake hide between the scales which al-

lows great expansion to the body.

• * •

Shedding in the glossy snake take

place as the snake grows larger, th

outer skin sloughing off and a new su

face forming on the scales below. Th

scale over the eye loosens during th

process, making the eyeopaque forday

and loosening skin on the body dulls th

colors down. The snake becomes les

active. As the t ime of shedding ap

proaches, the eye clears first. Its cove

ing is shed along with the rest of th

skin, which begins by lett ing go f i r

around the mouth. The glossy snak

now crawling among stif f vegetation o

against rocks, rubs the old skin bac

wards, turn ing it inside out as he free

himself from it. Handsome again in h

shiny lustrous scalation, he's ready fo

full action. Crawling off, he leaves hold skin behind for some biologist to f in

and comment on the gussets and plea

that allow such expansion, and the trace

of pattern still to be seen.

A t theproper season, the glossy snak

is also concerned with keeping up the o

clan numbers. J ust when, of course, d

fers from place to place depending o

weather condit ions where the particul

spec ies res ides. In C a l i f o r n i a , f

example, the peak seems to be in Ma

and June. The characters involved fineach other mainly by sense of smell . A

indicated, glossy snakes are egg layer



H A N D Y B O O K O R D E R F O R M j

The kingsnake

is adeadly predator

of theglossy.

the ladies depositing them underground.

The number of eggs per clutch varies

considerably, averaging about eight ort e n , or lows of three and highs of 24

being reported. Like most snake eggs,

these are f lexible, their membranous

shell impregnated somewhat with l ime.

Small at f irst, they expand with the

growth of the snakelets inside.

Incubation (handled by the sun and

warm soil conditions) takes about 68

days. At the t ime of hatch ing, the

emerging snake youngster, only aboul

eight to eleven inches long, breaks the

shell with its "egg t o o t h " on the loweredge of its nose scale and crawls out

Wi th o u t a f r iend in the wo r l d , and con-

sidered tasty by many a big snake, owl

hawk, coyote and roadrunner , the l ittle

glossy is on his ownr ight from the start

But somewhere tucked inside is the olc

tr ibal know-how for desert l iving, anc

ready for usethose special inherited dig

ging tools. In no t ime at all, the new

comer is safely hidden underground

catching his f irst insects there. Topside

later, under cover of darkness, he's off in

style, learning his way around the big

desert that is now his home.


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SONORA'S SECRET TRIBEContinued from Page 15

las bloomed, blossomed and mult ip l ied

neyond the most imaginative dreams of

hose who f i rs t saw that paperweight.

Much haschanged in these 25 years of

emergence. Water is now pumped in

rom a well constructed on the bank of

the SanYgnacio. Thegrowth of imported

tamarisk (salt cedar) trees has changed

the town from a collection of huts on a

Mat brushy plain to aquite pleasant place

:o be. Domesticated animals are every-

where. Many families have pigs, chick-

ens run about thick as ants, there are

small herds of goats andburros. A num-

ber of houses have been built of concrete

block (the blocks are made on the bui ld-

ing site) and the old "quonset hut" style

of ocotillo pole and brush shelters has

gone. Favorite building materials now

are adobe and the Mexican standby

" c a r t o n " : a form of oi l - impregnated

corrugated cardboard-l ike material, very

similar to the galvanized sheet metal of

farm bui ld ings in the United States, but

with far less durab il i ty. Desemboque has

a medical cl inic. Punta Chueca, a smaller

vil lage 40 miles south, had piped water

for the f irst t ime in 1975. The govern-

ment has bui l t a f ish processing plant

there as wel l . Both towns have unpaved

but serviceable airstr ips. Hermosil lo isnow only four to f ive hours from Desem-

boque and less than two f rom Punta

Chueca, which aquarter century ago was

access ib le on ly f rom the sea. The

" r o a d " over Paso Noche Buena isalmost

unused now.

And best of all, the t r ibe is growing.

There is noaccurate census, but the best

informed observers think there are close

to 450 in the t r ibe now — about double

the 1950 populat ion. Small, black-haired

chi ldren, l i the and laughing, f lood thevil lages. Theyoung blades and maidens

do their best to out-dress each other in

bright colors and latest fashions, parad-

ing the streets in twos and threes as the

nighthawk begins to fly and the brown

pelicans skim by on their roost ing

f l ights.

The secrecy that comes from isolation,

from poverty, from distance in miles and

concept has l i f ted for the Seri: f rom

cooking with wood in pits in the sand to

propane fueled stoves. From occasionalrides in the back of acargo truck to own-

40

ership of pickups, cars andmotorcycles

From the making of one-str inged f iddle

to the use of cassette tape recorders

recording songs andhymns in their ow

language. From hearsay about the grea

city of Hermosi l lo to direct and f requen

knowledge of it. From rare contacts wit

tourists to daily business with them

from the seeking out of a figura buyer t

the sure knowledge the buyer will see

them money in hand. From crude or n

dental care to the use of the clinics and

profusion of gold-capped teeth.

The curtain has been lifted becaus

th e f iguras are much sought after b

tour is ts , who most often come from th

United States. They come to buy th

quai l and the roadrunners, the shark

an d theporpoises, thedoves and the s

lions, the turt les and the owls. Some

what more rarely a crane, a cur lew, a

eel, a rooster, a human f igure, a mant

ray, a scorpion are made and offered

Occasionally a visitor wil l see an eag

sit t ing on acactus, agroup of sea lions

the water, a f lying dove with ou

stretched wings, a ram's head or

standing ram, a porpoise leaping fro

the water. All are carved from the pa

fierro. Thetourists come over a gravele

road only 18 miles from the pavement

Punta Chueca or to Desemboque ov

roads that nowfeel a grader with reg

larity. This road system from Pun

Chueca north is now being re-aligneand graveled with an eye to eventu

paving.

W ith these contacts come money. It

much money by the standards of most

Mexico's " indigenistas" ( Indians) . Fig

uras sell for prices as low as six or seve

dollars and as high as $125.00. (Pe

haps there have been higher price

pieces sold but I am not aware of them

Over the past fewyears several Ame

cans have been making regular trips

buy carvings for commercial purposesell ing to retail customers as wel l as

museums and collectors of f ine art.Fig

guras (carvings) have been appearing

art shops and stores devoted to the pr

sentation of f ine native American craf

manship to the general public. Some

these stores are a thousand or mo

miles from the origin of the Seri ca

ings they offer. It is such strings of co

merce as these that have presented t

Seri's work to the peoples of both sid

of the border and pulled Sonora's sectr ibe from its hiding place.

Desert /Octobe r 19



• < * • * . *

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THE DALLAS GEM MINE:

HomeofBenitoite

T

UCKED DEEP in the Coast Range

Mountains of California, west of theSan Joaquin V alley, is an interest ing

wilderness area. Unti l recently, very few

people visited it. The Dallas GemM ine ,

in the heart of this wilderness, is very

lit t le known, even by gem cutters. It is

usually referred to as the "Ben i to i te

Mine." Also, beni to i te as a gem is not

well known outside of gem cut t ing

circles.

Small pieces of benitoite have been

found inoil well drill cores in Fresno and

Kern Count ies. It has been found in

sands inTexas andBelgium. Thus, it is a

very rare mineral. The above situations

put benitoite in the class ofvery unusual

minerals. There is, however, more to the

story making it a very unusual mineral.

The discovery was made in 1907, and

it was f irst thought to be sapphire be-

cause itsdeep blue color is identical to

some sapphires. It was named for San

Benito County, where it was found.Ac-

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tual ly , thestory of benitoite begins be-

fore its discovery.

All minerals are divided into six

groups, depending upon the shape of

their crystals. These areknown as the

crystal systems. Each system is fur ther

d i v i ded i n t o sub -g roups , depend ing

upon the m at hem at i ca l poss ib i l i t i es

within thegroup.

When mineralogists were sub-dividingthe Hexagonal System (towhich benito-

ite belongs) it wasdecided that there

was a crystal shape possible, which no

known mineral possessed. This class

(the ditr igonal-bipyramidal) wassimply

set aside as a possibility because of the

lack of a mineral to represent it. When

benitoite wasdiscovered, it wasfound to

f i t this class perfect ly, fulf i l l ing the fore-

cast. To date, it is the only mineral

known to fit theclass.

The mineral , a bar ium t i tanium si l i -cate, ranges in color from colorless to

deep blue. Very fewspecimens arecolor-

less, most are f rom a medium to deep

blue. Many gemcutters have hadtowait

many years to f ind a perfectly colorless

piece.

Benitoite has a medium hardness,

about 6V2 on theMohs scale. It has

fair ly high refract ive index, from 1.75to

1.8, and can be cut into very bri l l iant fa-

ceted gems.

It has an above average ability to split

l ight rays (double refract ion), and a

great abil i ty (surpassing that of dia-

mond) tobreak light into thecolors of the

spectrum. This property isknown as dis

persion. These optical properties make it

a f ine gem in spite of its hardness. As

result , it does nicely for earrings, pins

and other jewelry that does not receive

much wear.

Crystals of benitoite are seldom large;

about one andone-half inches is the

maximum. The largest gem to date is

only seven and one-half carats, and few

are known tobeover three carats. A on

carat gem is considered to beexcellent

A ll of this adds up to a very desirable

gem, in almost anyreasonable size.

Our f irst experiences with benitoite

began better than 30 years ago. Our de

sire to visit themine was quickly frus

trated because we learned it wasat th

en d of avery poor road, inan almost un

inhabited region. It wasnotunti l nearly

20 years ago that wewere able to visi

the mine. The road was better (we weretold), the mine was st i l l not easy to

Desert/ O ctober 197



reach.

When wear r ived, wewere astounded

at thesmall size of themine. It was only

a pit, less than 150 feet in the longest

dimension. Thedumps contained almost

no benitoite specimens. All wascarefully

sorted by past operators, and picked

clean by subsequent collectors. In the

absence of benitoi te, we were attracted

by the accessory minerals that werespar ingly found on the dum p.

Benitoite occurs in conjunction with

some very interest ing minerals. The

most common is neptuni te, a sodium,

potassium, i ron, manganese, t itanium

sil icate. It forms asslender crystals, of a

square cross section, up to nearly two

inches in length. These are a lustrous

black.

Another most unique mineral also oc-

curs here. It is known as joaquini te,

named foradjacent San Joaquin County.I t forms asdeep orange-brown, t iny hex-

agonal crystals. Wehave never seen one

larger than one-eighth inch. It is found

very sparingly at themine, andnowhere

else. Itwas a fewyears before enough of

the mater ia l wascollected to be able to

analyze it. When this wasaccomplished,

it was ound to beanother complex min-

eral; sodium, bar ium, i ron, t i tanium

sil icate.

Along with these are found crystals of

c o p p e r m i n e r a l ; the copper su l f ideknown aschalcocite. This mineral is sel-

dom found in good crystals, even though

it sometimes forms large ore masses.

Here it is found sparingly only as

crystals.

The above is anunusual group of rare

minerals, and all are locked within mas-

sive, snow-white natrol i te, a sodium alu-

minum sil icate. Natrolite is not often

found as good crystals. A few crystals

are foun d in themine, but a nice deposit

of fine crystals was later discovered

about a mile away.

Because thebenitoite and ts associat-

ed minerals are locked in the natrol i te,

recovery of thegem crystals can be di f f i -

cul t . Thebest method of removal is by

dissolving thenatrol i te with an acid. At

f irst, hydrochloric acid was used, but

some people claim that this acid also at-

tacked the benitoite. Later, oxalic acid

was found to do the job nearly as wel l .

The acids do not really dissolve the na-

t rolite. Instead they turn it into a soft

je l ly- l ike mater ia l . As a result , theetching out of benitoite is slow, and re-

Desert/October 1976

quires frequent washing and brushing

away of the gelat inous material. It can

easily take anumber ofweeks toetch out

a specimen only slight ly larger than f ist

size.

Very recently, either in Santa Cruz

County, oron the ine between it and San

Benito County, a deposit of pink benito-

ite has been reported. These are ex-

t remely small crystals, from which havebeen cut a fewinf initesimal gems. Thus,

the only known source of gem benitoite

is from thesmall vein at the DallasGem

M ine . Thepresent operators nowtel l us

that thevein iseither exhausted, or has

pinched off. They have notbeen able to

ge t any crystals out of the mine for a

number of years, and they presently

have no prospects of get t ing more.

This unique vein is found in a serpen-

t ine which contains ahigh percentage of

asbestos. Shortly after our f irst visit tothe mine, one of this country's largest

producers of asbestos began to survey

the area with the intent ion of mining it.

They used an interest ing method of get-

t ing assay samples. A bulldozer roamed

over the hi l ls , and at regular intervals

the operator dipped theblade, scooping

ou t apile of rock. A small sample of the

scooped-out material was taken to a

laboratory for analysis. As we watched

the process, we felt certain that one day

the bulldozer would stop short in one of

its assay dips, and a newvein of benito-

ite would be discovered.

We were wrong ! Near ly 20years have

elapsed, but no such vein has been re-

por ted. Weunderstand that theexplora-

tory work has all been done, and the

bulldozer hasbeen placed on a dif ferent

job at the plant that nowprocesses the

asbestos. Ourhopes of a second vein of

benitoite have been deflated. Our only

hope now is for the mineral to be found

unde r d i f f e ren t c i r cum s t ances , and

probably at adif ferent place. •

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Burbank, California 91501. 213-846-4303.

DRILLED KINGMAN Blue Turquoise Nuggets,.25, .59, .69. Drilled white chunk coral, .69, .98.Coral on sterling necklace, $4.95. Add 6% tax,.49 postage. Jewels from Linda, 27831 Lark-

main, Saugus, California 91350.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS February 1975 PeridotNecklace 16" tumbled sterling silver clasp$16.00. Apache Arrowheads 100 for $10.00.Council, Rm 1239, Apache Junction, Arizona85220.

MAPS

"GEMS & MINERALS," the monthly guide togems, minerals, and rock hobby fun, $6.50 year.Sample 25c. Gems & Minerals, Box 687DM,Mentone, California 92359.

BACK ISSUE MAGAZINES. Over 200 titles,1890 to 1976. Send stamped envelope. Free list.Everybody's Bookshop, Dept. DE, 317 West 6th,Los Angeles, California 90014.

FOR SALE— Complete file of Desert V ol. 1 #1 topresent in excellent condition. Make offer.Thorn Mayes, 21120 Sullivan Way, Saratoga,California 95070.

FOR SALE-Desert Magazines, assorted 1952-59,$1.50 each, complete year 1960-1966, $8.00 set.Lapidary Jr., assorted 47-64, $1.50 each, com-plete set 65-68 $8.00 for a year. Gems and Min-erals 1958-60, assorted $1.00 each, completeyear 1961-65 $7.00. Stoneback, 32742 Alipaz,St., Sp. 167, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. 92675.714-493-3785.

EQ UIPMENT

SHAM ROCK ROCK SHOP, 593 West La Ca-dena Dr., Riverside, California92501. Parallel toRiverside Freeway. Phone 686-3956. Come inand browse; jewelry mountings, chains, sup-plies, minerals, slabs, rough material, equip-ment, black lights, metal detectors, maps, rockand bottle books.

NEW GOLD MAP, California's Sierra-NevadaMou ntains, Ancient Tertiary Channel Locations,Gold Placer Source. Information $1.00, Map andInformation $8.00. W M . Enterprises, DBox

5048, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601.

OLD STATE, RAILROAD, COUNTY MAPS.70-110 years old. All States. Stamp for catalog.Northern Map, Dept. DM, Eagle River, Wise.54521.

MINING

PRECISION LAPIDARY Abrasive Compoundsfor tumbling, polishing and grinding. Send for

free catalogue and price list. MDC Industries,400 West Glenwood Avenue, Philadelphia, PA.19140. Dealer Inquiries invited.

GEMS

GEM SHOP WEST. Mineral specimens, customjewelry, gem identification, slabbing. 72-042Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, Calif. 92270.Phone 346-2812.

ASSAYS. COMPLETE, accurate, guaranteed.Highest quality spectographic. Only $6.00 persample. Reed Engineering, 2166 College Ave.,Costa Mesa, California 92627.

• OLDCO INS, STAMPS

QUARTZSITE POW WOW Dollar Medal Seriescommemorating Gem and Hobby Show 1973-1976 now com pleted. Collecto r's Item . 300 setsavailable. For details send S.A.S.E. Clyde Mil l i -gan, Box 592, Quartzsite, Arizona 85346.

• PROSPECTING

PROSPECTORS, TREASURE HUNTERS, MetalDetector Enthusiasts, join the Prospector's Clubof Southern California. Send for free copy of clubpublication "Treasure News," 8704 Skyline Dr.,Los Angeles, California 90046.

DRYWASHERS! GOLD CONCENTRATORSGuaranteed to recover minerals, gold. A hobbythat pays for itself! Write to: Nick's Nugget, PO. Box 1081, Fontana, California 92335. (714822-2846.

• REAL ESTATE

KERN RIVER VALLEY—2.5 acre Ranchos withwater—Hi-Desert air—View of Lake Isabellaand mountains. Animals ok. John Bayley, 2002E. Santa Clara, B-1, Santa Ana, Calif. 92701.

• SEEDS & PLANTS

LOEHMAN'S CACTUS PATCH, 8014 Howe St.(P.O. Box 871D), Paramount, California 90723$7.50 for 15 cacti or 15 succulents. Catalog 30c

GENUINE DOMESTICATED GOLDEN CHIASeeds (salvia Columbariae), sufficient for fou50-foot rows. Complete instructions. Package$2.00. Harrison Doyle, P.O. Box 785, VistaCalif. 92083.

• TRAVEL

PICTORIAL TRAV EL G UIDE to the canyonlandof southeastern Utah, with photos, maps antext by Desert Utah Associate Editor, F. ABarnes, 48 pages, $2.50 postpaid. Jeep tra il maof the Moab area, $1.00 postpaid. Order fromCanyon Country Publications, P.O. Box 963DMoab, Utah 84532.

• TREASUR E FINDERS

BURIED TREASURE — Locate up to quartemile away with ultra-sensitive Directional Locator. Send for free, informative phamplet. Research Products, Box 13441-BUC, Tampa, Fl33611.

WILL YOU GAMBLE $4.00 to save $200? Buione of several detectors from our 20-page boo"Build Transistor Treasure Detectors." Easifollowed instructions, $4.00. Trionics, Box 164Brewer, Maine 04412.

BEAUTIFUL CHUNKY Natural Gold Nuggets,$3.00, $5.00 and $8.00 sizes. Also: Packet ofblack sand and gold and instructions for panningpractice, $1.00. Prospector Jack Ward, Box 380,Sandia Park, New Mexico 87047.

LEARN PROSPECTING FOR GOLD and otherprecious minerals, join Gold Prospectors Associ-ation of America and receive one years subscrip-tion to Prospectors News (magazine), member-ship card, patch, decal, large gold locations

map, information service, instruction packet andmore. Send $5.00 to G.P.A.A. National Head-quarters, P. O. Box 10602, Eugene, Oregon97401.

BUILD YOUR OWN Directional Mineral Locator. Locate mineral and treasure one mile awaSend $5.00 for plans and instructions to: LeHardin, Box 260, Florence, Colorado 81226.

HO W TO PLACE YOUR ADMail your copy and first-insertion remittanceto : Trading Post, Desert Magazine, PalmDesert, Calif. 92260. Classified rates are 25c

per word, $5.00 minimum per insertion.Deadline for Classified Ads is 10th of secondmonth preceding cover date.

44 Desert/October 197



T R E A S U R E F I N D E R S

andand Treasure

for free catalog.D, 727 S. Main St., Burbank,

3A,793, Menlo Park, California 94025.

MISCELLANEOUS

PROFESSIONAL ART BY MAI L-The on l y oneof its kind you have been looking for. Coursesapproved byCalifornia Dept. of Education. V.A.Approve d. Send forFree Brochure. Roy KeisterCollege of Fine Arts, 15800 Highland Dr., SanJose, California 95121.

JULIAN EPITAPH—weekly publication from oldmountain gold mining town. History, humor,small town news. Unique gift item. Yearly,$10.00. Box 764, Julian, California 92036.

AVOCADO SALAD DRESSING Recipe, plusfour Ranchouse Recipes, $1.25. Barnes High-De.sert Ranch, P.O. Box 31, Ravendale, Calif.96123.

SMOKED VENISON, plus Ranchouse Recipe forSmoked Pork andSalmon. $1.25. Barnes High-Desert Ranch, P.O. Box 31, Ravendale, Calif.96123.

HISTORICAL RESEARCH —legends our spe-cialty—scholarly investigation in the world's ar-chives and on location. Cave Canyon Research,Vail, Arizona 85641.

HISTORIC 19th CENTURY western prints.Catalogue $1. Flanigan's, 1728 E. 1500 No.,Logan, Utah 84321.

ESCAPE TO COLORADO! Valuable employ-ment-retirement housing report. Mail $2.70:" In ternat ional , " Box 4574, 1350 Santa Fe,Denver 80204, Colorado.

NEW PENDULUMS, one gold, one silver, an-tenna rods, pr i ced r ight . Seven-day t r i a l .Stamped envelope, Mercury Magnet, Anson,Texas. Rt. 3, Box 100. 79501.

NATUR AL STONE HOUSE detailed bu ilding in-structions . . . i l lustrated! 156pages . . . $4.95postpaid. Guaranteed! Glenn Smith Enterprises,Box 1513, Dept. 69, Akron, Ohio 44309.

W ANTED: A few hundred retired people toshare their travel experiences by land, sea andair through the medium of a monthly newsletter. Fordetails write Reg andRose Clark, 303N. Lindsay, Space K-36, Mesa, Arizona 85203.

ALMOND RECIPES, a treasury of the world'sbest. Booklet contains over 100recipes within 40paces of color exhibits of the finished product.Also a separate recipe for making your ownhone made peanut butter with a blender. Bothonly $1.00. S.D.N. Co., 4672 Park Blvd., SanDiego, California 92116.


M A P S !DESERT OVERVIEW MAPSUsing topographic maps as basic underlays, aretwo excellently detailed maps for back countryexplorers of the Moiave and Colorado DesertsMaps show highways, gravel roads, jeep [rails,plus historic routes and sites, old wells, whichare not on modern-day maps, plus ghost towns.Indian sites, etc Mojave Desert Overview

covers from U S 395 at Little Lake to BoulderCity, Nevada, to Parker Dam to Victorvil le. Colo-rado Desert Overview covers from the Mexicanborder lo Joshua Tree National Monument toBanning to theArizona side of the Colorado Riv-er Becertain to state w hich mapwhen orde' ing

$3.00 Each

ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARKTOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

A set of 7 maps covering theAnza-Borrego Des-ert State Park. 8V ?"x11

1 form al, bound $5.50

ROADMAP TO CALIFORNIA'S PIONEERT O W N S . G H O S T T O W N S AND M I N I N GCAMPS

Compiled by Varna Enterprises. 38"x25<" andscaled Southern Califo rnia on one side andNorthern California on the other Contains de-tailed location of place names, many of whichare not on regular maps $3.50

MAP OF PIONEER TRAILS

Compiled by Varna Enterprises, this is their newlarge map on pioneer trails blazed from 1541through 1867 m the western United States. Su-perimposed m red on black andwhite , 37"x45"

$4.00

ROADMAP TO CALIFORNIA'S LOST MINESAND BURIED TREASURES

Compiled by Varna Enterprises. 38"x25" andscaled Southern Calif ornia on one side andNorthern California on the other. Contains de-tailed location ol place names, many of whichare not on regular maps $4.00

Order maps today from

D e s e r t M a g a z i n e B o o k S h o pP.O. Box 1318,Palm Desert, California 92260

Please add 25c en ts for pos tage & han d l i n g C a l i f r es i den ts p l eas e add 6' s late sales tax

REPLACEABLE SUBSCRIPTION FORM October 1976

• Check here if youwish this issue repla ced .

P. O. Box 1318, Palm Desert, California 92260

! I ENTER A NEWSUBSCRIPTION [ I RENEW MY PRESENT SUBSCRIPTION

NAME _

ADDRESS

SEND GIFT SUBSCRIPTION TO:

NAME

ADDRESS

Sign Gift Card: "From

SEND GIFT SUBSCRIPTION TO:

NAME

ADDRESS

Sign Gift Card: "From

One Year $6.00 PAYMENT ENCLOSED BILL ME LATER

Two Years $11.00(Or 2 One Years)

Three Years $16.00(Or Three One Years)

[ I ALSO SEND DESERT'S 12-ISSUEHANDSOME BROWN VINYL BINDER FOR

$4.50 (Includes tax and postage)Date Binder(s) with Year(s) • Undated

45



L e t t e r st o t h e

E d i t o rLetters requesting answers mustinclude stamped self-addressed envelope

Outhouse Update . . .

In your art icle on "Mono's Volcanic Won-

derland," by Mary Frances Strong (Desert ,

June, 1976), there is a term which I am not

fami l iar wi th . On page 23, f i rst column, f i rst

paragraph, the sentence reads:

"There is water, a few tables, chic-sales

and many good t rai ler si tes avai lable."

I have camped at the campgro und a nd havenever seen anything m arked chic-sales. W hat

is a chic-sales?

TERRY MORSE,

Van Nuys, Cal i fornia.

/ certainly dated myself by using the word

"chic-sales" in my recent article on Mono's

Volcanic Wonderland. Apparently the young-

er genera tion is unfamiliar with the term.

"Chic-sales" is a slang expression deem ed

more acceptable than "out-house"—a primi-

tive toilet facility.

Mary Frances Strong.

C a l e n d a r of E v e n t s

Desert Cut-ups not Funny! . ..

Randal l Henderson, Desert's founder some

40 years ago, never missed an opportunity to

loudly denounce vandalism on his beloved

desert . He also of ten claime d in p rint that the

fun of lost mine hunt ing was in the

hunt ing, not in the f ind ing.

Randall would be deeply pained by recent

vandal ism of Desert f i les in the public l i-

bra ries. So often in my l ib rar y searches I f in d

the lost mine stories t r immed out of the

bound copies.

One of the worst examples exists in the

Burbank Ci ty Library where story af ter story

has been slashed out unti l the volumes sag in

f laccid discouragement.

This vandal ism is a compl iment to the im-

portance of Desert in accurate report ing and

perpetuation of too soon forgotten desert

tales. It is also a visible condemnation of the

dol t ish types who wield concealed razor

blades to expose their lack of brains.

J O H N S O U T H W O R T H ,Burbank, Cal i fornia.

46

This column is a public service and there is nocharge for listing your event or meeting—so takeadvantage of the space by sending in your an-nouncement. We must receive the informationat least three months prior to the event.

SEPTEMBER 25 & 26, Carmel Valley Gem

and Mineral Society's 17th Annual Show

" fub i leeof )ewels , " Monterey Fai rgrounds,

Monterey, Cal i forn ia .

OCTOBER 2 & 3, Bisbee Mine ral Show,

Nat ional Guard Armory, Bisbee, Arizona.

Displays, dealers, special programs. Wri te:

Box 284, Bisbee, Arizona 85603.

OCTOBER 2 & 3, "Na ture 's Jewel Box "

sponsored by the Napa Valley Rock & Gem

Club, Inc., Napa Town and Country Fair

Grounds, 575 3rd St., Napa, Calif. Dealers,

Demonstrat ions, easy parking and camping.

OCTOBER 2 & 3, "Th e Hi-Desert Gem &

Mineral Assoc. Show," Community Center,

57098 29 Palms Hwy., Yucca Valley, Calif.

OCTOBER 2 & 3, South Bay Ant iqu e B.C.

and Los Angeles Historical B.C., Hawthorne

Memorial Center, 3901 El Segundo Blv d . ,

Hawthorne, Calif. Write: 9260 Steele, Rose-

mead, Calif. 91770 for information.

OCTOBER 2 & 3, Third Annual Jul ian Back

Country Arts Festival to be held on the

grounds of the Jul ian Uni ted Methodist

Church, Ju l ian, Cal if . Arts , craf ts, music, etc.Free admission.

OCTOBER 3, Cal i fornia Turt le and Tortoise

Club's (Foothi l l Chap.) 12th Annual Show,

Pasadena Center Exhibit Bldg., 300 E. Green

St., Pasadena, California.

OCTOBER 5 to 17th, Fresno Gem and M iner-

al Society's Silver Anniversary Jubilee, to be

held in conjunct ion wi th the Fresno Distr ict

Fair, Kings Canyon Road, Fresno, Calif. Con-

tact : Monte Wheat, 1565 N. Paci f ic Ave. ,

Fresno, Calif. 93728.

OCTOBER 9 & 10, Annual meet ing of the

World-of-Rockhounds, 2 miles east of Clay

Mine Road near Boron, Calif. Displays, even-

ing campf i re, auct ion, entertainment, f ield

trips. Contact: Mrs. Jean Hazelton, 4845 Sun-

f ield Ave. , Long Beach, Cal i f . 90808.

OCTOBER 9 & 10, Searles Lake Gem & M i n -

eral Society's 35th Annual Show, "Desert

Gem-O-Rama" at the Trona Recreat ion Hal l ,

Trona, Calif. Camping space available. Field

tr ips, dealers, displays, admission f ree.

OCTOBER 9 & 10, "Earth 's Treasures"

sponsored by the Nevada County Gem & M in -eral Society, Nat ional Guard Armory Bldg. ,

Nevada Ci ty, Cal i f . Admission f ree.

OCTOBER 9 & 10, Campb el l Gem & Mine ral

Gui ld's annual show "Rock Trai ls West,"

corner of Curtner and Canoas Garden Rd.,

San Jose, Calif. Exhibits, dealers.

OCTOBER 9 & 10, San Fernando Val ley M in -

eral and Gem Society's 32nd Annual Show,

Valley Plaza Recreation Center, 12240 Arch-

wood St. , No. Hol lywoo d, Cal i f . Free p arking

and admission

OCTOBER 9 & 10, Western Col lectable

Show, sponsored by the California Barbed

Wire Col lectors Assn. , Gray Avenue School

Mul t ipurpose Room, 808 Gray Ave. , Yuba

City, Calif. Free admission.

OCTOBER 9-1 1, Ninth Ann ual N at ional Pros

pectors and Treasure Hunters Convention

sponsored by the Prospector's Club of SoCal i fornia, Tropico Mine, Rosamond, Cal i f

Displays, competit ive events. All prospecting

and t reasure hunt ing clubs invi ted to at tend

OCTOBER 10, Cactus and Succulent Show

sponsored by the Sunset Succulent SocietyMarine Park Center, 1406 Marine St., SantaMonica, Cal i fornia. Admission f ree.

OCTOBER 16 & 17, Golden Gate Gem & M in

eral Show, sponsored by the Daly City Rock

hounds, West lake Park Community Center

149 Lake Merce d Blvd . , Daly City, Calif. Free

parking, $1.00 donat ion.

OCTOBER 16 & 17, Wh it t ier Cem & Mine ra

Society's 27th Annual Show, Palm Park

Whit t ier, Cal i fornia. Displays, demonstra

t ions, ample f ree parking.

OCTOBER 17-23, Gem and Mineral an

Handcraf t Hobby Tai lgate J amboree sponsor

ed by the Sportsman's Club of Joshua Tree

Inc., Joshua Tree, Calif.

OCTOBER 23 & 24, L.E.R.C. Rockcrafter

annual show, "Octob er Gem Fes t ," Lockhee

Employees Recreation Club, 2814 Empir

Avenue, Burbank, Cal i f . Dealers, exhibi ts

Contact: Dick Kinsman., 10401 Nevada Ave

Chatsworth, Cal i fornia 91311.

OCTOBER 23 & 24, Palos Verdes Cem Mineral Society, Nat ional Guard Armory2505 Cabri l lo Ave. , Torrance, Cal i f . Chaim a n : Yuzy Sato, 1951 Via Madonna, LomitaCalif. 90717.

OCTOBER 29-31, Fourth Annual Tucso

Lapidary and Cem Show, Tucson Comm uni

Center Exhibi t ion Ha l l , 350 S. Church St

Tucson, Arizona. Exhibi ts, demonstrat ion

programs. Admission $1.00, chi ldren unde

12 f ree wi th adul t . Wri te: Old Pueblo Lap

dary Club Show Committee, P. O. Box 2163

Tucson, Arizona 85702.

Desert /October 197



W hat is the crinklin g heat and bleaching glare

to one bent sm iling to the sand and skyin leathered praise of distant spectral butte?

W hat is the desert ridge of gnarled rockto one whose soul and inner v iew leaps upand loves the w indy , cracked, and rain-clogged sky?

W hat is the name of lode and Panamintto one at ease wi th pick and ore and sluiceand western ways of gutty , noble men?

W hat is the ruddy d rift and flooded gorgeto one that cho lla stem and gale-bent sageare themes of earth on how ling m idnigh ts deep?

W hat is this arid mood with fevers wide?

It is: The ache of water in my veinswhich binds me to the quiet desert flowof cooling streams and dreams beneath the sand

and secrets, places, things I'll never know.

VAN WILKINSON



6084 "... may that Holy Star... fill th e world with 6109 Christmas Eve at San lldefonso Pueblo - May 6120 Santa's Surprise Visit - May your Christmas be 6114 "Christmas is but one more word f or k m " -light." - May th e blessing of Christmas be yours, etc. the warmth an d love...at Christmas fill your heart... the Merriest and your New Year th e Happiest Wishing you all the love ... that Christmas brings

W estern ArtChristmas CardsC h r i s t m a s is t r u l y a t im e to r e m e m b e r the r i e n d s we c h e r i s h . T h i s y e a r , k e e p the h a p p yt r a d i t i o n of C h r i s t m a s c o m m u n i c a t i o n by s e n d i n g b e a u t i fu l W e s te r n Art C h r i s tm a s C a r d s .

T h e o u t s t a n d i n g d e s ig n s and t h o u g h t f u l ly - m a t c h e d v e rs e s are p r i n t e d on r i c h 5" x 7 "c a r d s . T h e y ' re a oy o s e n d and r e c e iv e . Q u a l it y w h i t e e n v e l o p e s , e x t ra s a l w a y s i n c l u d e d .

O r d e r d i r e c t f r o m t h i s ad. But, f you d o n ' t see u s t the r i g h t c a r d , s e n d for ourc o m p l e t e c a t a l o g . T h e re ' s s o m e t h i n g for e v e r y b o d y . And y o u ' l l l i k e our s u p e r - q u i c k

s e r v i c e . . . r i g h t up 'til C h r i s t m a s

V R E A S O N A B L E P R I C E S • M O N E Y B A C K G U A R A N T E E132 Santa's Pack Train - Packing in loads of joy

for Christmas with lots of wishes for the New Year

6091 "... make of this earth a garden." Wishing

you a beautiful Christmas and a Year of Peace,etc.

6124 "... the candles in the sky ..." - Wishing you a 6111 "Gift of light.-.your day has come unto the 6 123 " ... a shaft of light ..." - May the ancient

Christmas that is bright with Promise, etc. World"- May th e Gift of Light be yours this Christmas miracle of Christmas bring th e abiding love,etc.6108 "Le t Christmas be a bright and happy day..."

- May th e Radiance of Christmas... abide with you...

6087 "Keeping Christmas" - May the spirit of 6088 "... Let us hold close this day ... " With every 6117 "Such beauty restores my soul." Thinking of 6092 "The Littlest Angel and most precious lambs

Christmas abide with you al l hrough th e comin g year good wish for a Merry Christmas and Happy Year you and wishing you happiness at Christmas, etc. looked do wn. .." Hope your Christmas is heavenly!

6150 "May our hearts be open to al l . . . " - May this 6089 "... Teach us to walk th e soft earth ..."Christmas season br ing you love and peace th e Great Spirit honor you at Christmas, etc.

6086 "Come ye. .. into a desert place..." May youhave... th e Heart of Christmas which is Love.

6112 Q uaint Spanish Mission - Peace and Hope fo rall th e World, Feliz Navidad y Prospero Arfo Nuevo

H o w to O r d e r : S e l e c t y o u r c a rd s , t h e n f i l l c o u p o n c o m p l e t e ly , or o r d e r by l e t t e r . M a i l w i t h

y o u r c h e c k or m o n e y o r d e r . No C . O . D . or c a s h p l e a s e . Mix and a s s o r t a t no e x t r a c o s t .T o t a l c a r d s o r d e r e d m u s t add up to q u a n t i t y b r e a k o u t s on p r i c e l is t S h i p p i n g an dh a n d l i n g fee o be a d d e d to t o t a l o r d e r c o s t . C a n a d i a n r e s i d e n t s p l e a s e pay in U.S. d o l l a rv a l u e s . 3% s a l e s tax to be a d d e d by C o l o r a d o r e s i d e n t s . 6% use tax for C a l i f o r n i ar e s i d e n t s . T h a n k you and h a v e a M e r r y C h r i s t m a s !

Q U A N T I T Y 12

W I T H O U T N A M E $ 2 . 7 5

W I T H N A M E $ 4 . 0 0

A D D R E S S ON ENV. 51.75

25

5 4 . 7 5

6 . 2 5

2 . 0 0

37

5 7 . 0 0

8 . 7 5

2 . 2 5

50

5 9 . 2 5

1 1 . 2 5

2 . 5 0

75

5 1 3 . 7 5

1 6 . 0 0

2 . 7 5

100

5 1 8 . 0 0

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$ 2 2 . 5 0

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$ 3 9 . 2 5

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$ 4 3 . 5 0

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4 . 5 0

197610 Desert Magazine 1976 October

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