THE

M A G A Z I N E

NOVEMBER, 1937 25 CENTS

 Personality
Science
History
Travelogs

GIVE... Development
Hobbies
A Year of Pleasure... Nature
to your desert-loving friends Mining
at Christmas time.
Fiction
. . . with a year's subscrip-
tion to the Homes
DESERT MAGAZINE Books
Comment
We are more than gratified at the enthusiastic and en- . . . and many
couraging response which you and your neighbors
expressed when the Desert Magazine was placed on other features
sale for the first time last month. We are convinced that each month.
you are proud of the magazine and that you like to
show it to your friends.
You can find no better gift expressing the spirit of the desert you love than a
subscription to this magazine—sent to your friend at Christmas time.
On receipt of your subscription remittance we will send an acknowledge-
ment to you and we will prepare a gift card which will arrive at your friend's
address at Christmas time.
Just print or typewrite the names on a sheet of paper, together with your
name as donor and send it with your check to the DESERT MAGAZINE,
El Centre Calif.

ONE SUSCRIPTION (Regular rate), year .$2.50

Mailed in the United States or possessions.

TWO or more GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS, each one year

Your own subscription may be included in this combination
rate. Foreign subscriptions, add 40 cents each.

TH E
"PiPlL
m z i nE
 DESERT

(2a.LenJ.cLt
for November

Civic groups in the desert

area are invited to use this col-
umn for announcing fairs, ro-
deos, conventions and other
events which have more than Vol. I NOVEMBER, 1937 No. 1
mere local interest. Copy must
reach the Desert Magazine by
the 5th of the month preceding COVER Sunset photo of Sahuaro taken near Apache
publication. There is no charge Junction, Arizona 1
for these announcements. CALENDAR Current events in the desert country 3
POETRY The Desert, God's Garden of Peace
OCTOBER 27—Deer sea- NELLIE N. COFFMAN 4
son opens in Kaibab forest. EDITORIAL There Are Two Deserts 5
Closes November 15. NATURE No. 1 Adventurer of the Desert
OCTOBER 29, 30, 3 1 — DON ADMIRAL 6
California newspaper editors SCIENCE The Desert Under a Microscope
assemble at Lone Pine in Inyo J. WILSON McKENNEY 7
county as guests at three-day PERSONALITY He Helps Keep the Chuckawalla Desert Dry
program marking the opening RANDALL HENDERSON 9
of the new Mt. Whitney-Death HISTORY "Bold Emory"
Valley highway. J. WILSON McKENNEY 10
OCTOBER 31—Nevada cel- TRAVELOG Looking Down from Nevada's 12,000-foot Oasis
ebrates its 73rd birthday. RANDALL HENDERSON 12
NOVEMBER 12—Indian ART Navajo Shepherdess
festivities mark observance of PHOTO BY WM. M. PENNINGTON 14
St. James day at Tesuque PHOTOGRAPHER The Feel of the Desert
Pueblo, New Mexico. JOHN STEWART MacCLARY 15
NOVEMBER 12—Fiesta of TRAVELOG Lost Tree in a Lonely Land
San Diego at Jemez Pueblo, LILLIAN BOS ROSS 16
New Mexico. MINING Luck—Plus Brains
NOVEMBER 14—Season JONATHAN BART 18
opens for quail hunters in DEVELOPMENT For This Army—8000 Grubbing Hoes
Arizona. Closes December 15. LARRY D. WOLMAN 20
NOVEMBER 15—Season LANDMARKS Who Knows the Story of This Arizona Land-
opens for quail hunters in all mark?—Prize Contest 22
California desert areas. Closes FICTION Sez Hardrock Shorty
December 31. LON GARRISON 23
NOVEMBER 15—Open sea- SNAP FANS Prize Photograph Contest 24
son for deer, wild turkey and HOME Sandstone Home 25
bear c l o s e s in A r i z o n a . NEWS Here and There on the Desert 30
(Opened October 1 5 ) . SENTIMENT The Prospector
NOVEMBER 16—Twenty- JEFF WORTH 34
day season for Elk hunters BOOKS Reviews with a Southwest Background 35
opens in Arizona. Limited to COMMENT Just Between You and Me
300 resident and 50 non-resi- THE EDITOR 38
dent permits. ADVERTISERS (Bless 'Em) 21 to 40
NOVEMBER 17, 18, 19, 2 0 —
Spanish Fiesta days sponsored
by Elks lodge at Yuma, Ari-
zona. The Desert Magazine is published monthly by Randall Henderson and J. Wilson McKenney, a
co-partnership, at 597 State Street, El Cenrro, California. Application for entry as second class
NOVEMBER 18, 19, 20, 21 matter is pending.
—Annual Helzapopin celebra- Title registered, contents copyrighted 1937 by the Desert Magazine. Permission to reproduce
contents must be secured from the editor in writing. Subscription rate $2.50 a year. Copy 25 cents.
tion at Buckeye, Arizona.
NOVEMBER 2 2 — A n n u a l Editor: Randall Henderson
meeting of Highway 66 asso- Business Manager: J. Wilson McKenney
ciation at Amarillo, Texas. Advertising Manager: Fred Kraft, Jr.
NOVEMBER 27—Opening National Advertising Representatives: S. H. Williams & Co., Inc., Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Chicago, New York.
of 30-day duck season author- Manuscripts and photographs submitted must be accompanied with full return postage. The
ized by Presidential proclama- Desert Magazine assumes no responsibility for damage or loss of manuscripts or photographs although
due care will be exercised for their safety.
tion.
Subscribers should send notice of change of address with new and old address and should be
received by the circulation department the first of the month preceding issue.

N o v e m b e r , 1937
 God s Garden of Peace
God gave to mankind the beauties of earth,
Of mountains, and lowlands and sea,
Rivers and lakes, forests and glades,
These wondrous gifts gave He.
But He kept for His own a Garden
Rugged, forbidding, austere,
Surrounded by peaks uplifted—
Snow-capped throughout the year.
And He draped it with marvelous colors
At dawn and at set of sun,
And hung high in the sky the wonderful stars
To light it when day is done.
And He walks in His Garden at twilight
And all who would have surcease
From life's toil and struggle, may find it
In the Desert, God's Garden of Peace.
—NELLIE N. COFFMAN
Palm Springs.
PHOTO BY FRASHERS. INC.
 (EDITORIAL)

O NE IS A GRIM desolate wasteland. It is the home of

venomous reptiles and stinging insects, of vicious
thorn-covered plants and trees, and of unbearable
. . . one is fascinating, mysterious . . .

heat. This is the desert seen by the stranger speeding along

the highway, impatient to be out of "this damnable coun-
try." It is the desert visualized by those children of luxury
N EARLY every creed and industry and locality has
its journal—except the Desert. Here, within the boun-
daries of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico
to whom any environment is unbearable which does not and Utah resides a great family of human beings—the
provide all of the comforts and services of a pampering highest type of American citizenship—with a common heri-
civilization. It is a concept fostered by fiction writers who tage of environment and interest and opportunity, yet
dramatize the tragedies of the desert for the profit it will residing for the most part in regions that are remote from
bring them. the so-called cultural centers.
But the stranger and the uninitiated see only the mask. This is the last great frontier of the United States. It will
The other Desert—the real Desert-—is not for the eyes of be the purpose of the Desert Magazine to entertain and
the superficial observer, or the fearful soul or the cynic. serve the people whom desire or circumstance have brought
It is a land, the character of which is hidden except to those to this Desert frontier. But also, the magazine will carry as
who come with friendliness and understanding. To these accurately as possible in word and picture, the spirit of the
the Desert offers rare gifts: health-giving sunshine—a sky real Desert to those countless men and women who have
that is studded with diamonds—a breeze that bears no been intrigued by the charm of the desert, but whose homes
poison—a landscape of pastel colors such as no artist can are elsewhere.
duplicate—thorn-covered plants which during countless * * *
ages have clung tenaciously to life through heat and This is to be a friendly, personal magazine, written for
drought and wind and the depredations of thirsty animals, the people of the Desert and their friends—and insofar as
and yet each season send forth blossoms of exquisite color- possible, by Desert people. Preference will be given to those
ing as a symbol of courage that has triumped over terrify- writers and artists—yes, and poets—whose inspiration
ing obstacles. comes from close association with the scented greasewood,
To those who come to the Desert with friendliness, it the shifting sand dunes, the coloring of Desert landscapes,
gives friendship; to those who come with courage, it gives from precipitous canyons and gorgeous sunsets.
new strength of character. Those seeking relaxation find The Desert has its own traditions—art—literature—in-
release from the world of man-made troubles. For those dustry and commerce. It will be the purpose of the Desert
seeking beauty, the Desert offers nature's rarest artistry. Magazine to crystallize and preserve these phases of Desert
This is the Desert that men and women learn to love. life as a culture distinctive of arid but virile America. We
would give character and personality to the pursuits of
Desert peoples—create a keener consciousness of the heri-
tage which is theirs—bring them a little closer together in
a bond of pride in their Desert homes, and perhaps break
down in some measure the prejudice against the Desert
which is born of misunderstanding and fear.
It is an idealistic goal, to be sure, but without vision the
Desert would still be a forbidding wasteland—uninhabited
and shunned. The staff of the Desert Magazine has under-
taken its task with the same unbounded confidence which
has brought a million people to a land which once was
regarded as unfit for human habitation.
We want to give to the folks who live on the Desert—
and to those who are interested in the Desert—something
that will make their lives a little happier and a little finer
—something worthwhile. In the accomplishment of this
purpose we ask for the cooperation and help of all friends
of the Desert everywhere.
RANDALL HENDERSON,
J. WILSON MCKENNEY.
. . . cne is grim, desolate Publishers.

November, 1937
 Creosote bush, or greasewood as it is
commonly known, is the hardiest and
most common of all desert shrubs. This
story of the Creosote is written by Don
Admiral to give desert folks a more inti-
mate acquaintance with one of their
neighbors of the plant world. Other desert
shrubs will be described by Mr. Admiral
in future issues of the Desert Magazine.

By DON ADMIRAL
Desert scientist of Palm Springs

A/o. I -@dventu.tet

Like most desert plants, the Creosote is a rugged indivi-

dualist. It never crowds its neighbors, nor permits them
to invade its own little domain. Visitors on the desert often
comment on the comparatively uniform spacing between
the plants—almost as if they had been planted. There are
scientific reasons for this, having to do with the root sys-
tems and moisture supply. We humans might learn some-
thing from this desert plant.
Bearing out the assertion that the Creosote is the No. 1

A DVENTURING into lands so arid that no other shrub

can survive, the Creosote bush, or common greasewood,
is entitled to carry the banner as No. 1 plant of the
shrub of the desert, the Arizona State Planning board has
published a botanical table showing that this bush grows
over 37 per cent of the state's area. Sage ranks next with
desert region. a total area of five per cent. There are some areas of course
While other members of the great family of desert flora in which the two plants intermingle. Creosote is found in
falter and shrivel before the merciless onslaught of heat and Arizona from sea level to an elevation of 3,000 feet and
sandstorm and drought, the lowly greasewood wages a is dominant over about 27 million acres of the state.
constant battle of advance and retreat—and generally is Larrea divaricata is the scientific name given by Munz
the victor. now quite generally accepted. The genus name Larrea is in
To the Indians, the Creosote was a medicine for many honor of a Spaniard, de Larrea. The species name divaricata
ailments. But since the white man prefers to buy his heal- refers to the twined characteristic of the leaves. Previous
ing potions from the corner drug store in capsules and classifications include Larrea glutinosa, Engelmann; Co-
bottles, his arrival in the desert has left the Creosote un- villea glutinosa, Rydberg; Larrea Mexicana, Moric; Larrea
molested except when it interferes with the clearing of tridentata, Coville.
homesteads or the building of roads. Creosote bush is the generally accepted common name.
Perhaps there should be one exception to this last asser- Greasewood is also used but is not so distinctive for the
tion. The unfortunate motorist who finds himself mired reason that this term is also applied to other desert shrubs.
in the depths of a desert sand dune finds the greasewood Among the Mexicans it is Hediondilla, and Father Font
a rough but ready friend in time of need. frequently refers to it by this name in his diary of the
In the hot dry desert outposts the Creosote shrub is small, Anza expedition.
tough, wiry, and with but few leaves. In more favored Prehistoric dwellers on the desert found many useful
localities its vital strength brings forth a large stately bush purposes for the shrub. The gum from its twigs was used
of wand-like branches covered with shiny olive-green leaves, to cement arrows and to mend ollas. Tea brewed from its
and in season a multitude of yellow blossoms. The petals, leaves was regarded as a cure for stomach disorders and
which are turned like the blades of a windmill, give way rheumatism, and as an antiseptic for wounds.
to fluffy little balls of cotton in which the seeds are housed. Recently, a cowman in the Vallecito region told me that
Under exceptionally favorable conditions the Creosote he had seen the old Indians use a concoction brewed from
may grow to a height of 12 or 15 feet. More commonly it the foliage as a hair tonic. "And did you ever see a bald-
is from five to eight feet. headed Indian?" he asked by way of clinching his point.

The DESERT MAGAZINE

Aticzoicope
Dr. Forrest Shreve and his staff at the Desert
Laboratory near Tucson are prying into the
secrets of desert plant life.

ed his findings on Sonoran plant life

H ERE, THOUGHT I, is where I can
unloose all those stored-up ques-
tions about desert life. Here be-
By J. WILSON McKENNEY
in this massive stone house on Tu-
mamoc hill. Tall and thin, he has the
head of a scholar and the bearing of an
fore me is the man who knows all the
answers. Questions came flying to my musty pedagog, and here I found a tall, out-of-doors man: he seems somehow
lips. friendly out-of-doors man with a sense to combine the roles of philosopher and
of humor. I began to be very glad I prospector.
"Why doesn't the giant sahuaro grow had come to see Dr. Forrest Shreve in
west of the Colorado river?" I heard Dr. Shreve turned from his study ta-
the Desert Laboratory on the slope of ble at the far side of a large well-
myself asking. Tumamoc hill. lighted room and advanced toward me
I had heard this matter of the sa- "But seriously", the Director con- quickly. Cordially he seated me and re-
huaros much debated and had always tinued, "we believe Cereus giganteus sumed his place before the orderly ta-
believed that the giant cactus grew only will not thrive in the Colorado and Mo- ble, lighting his ancient pipe leisurely,
on Arizona soil until I had stalked a jave deserts because these regions do suggesting comfortably that we should
few lonely specimens north of Picacho not have sufficient rainfall in the hot have lunch with his wife and the staff
and others along the Riverside moun- summer months to germinate the seeds. before we got down to the serious busi-
tains on the California side of the river. Some desert plants germinate in the ness of discussing his work at the
But as a general rule this picturesque winter, but not the sahuaro. Its seed laboratory.
cactus, bearing Arizona's state flower, must have both heat and moisture. In
marches down to the edge of the Colo- Arizona sunlight poured through the
Arizona we have an average of twelve many windows, falling on orderly rows
rado River and there abruptly halts. inches of rainfall a year, over half of of bookcases, charts, graphs, photo-
"They just don't like the California it in the hottest summer months, while graphs, and scientific instruments. No-
air," the Wise Man answered with a California desert regions get less than where was there evidence of the cob-
mischievous twinkle in his eye. Then four inches a year, very little of which webby mustiness which, in the lay-
after a short pause during which I falls in summer. The river simply adds man's mind, is an essential element of
blinked my eyes in astonishment, he a final deciding barrier over which few the pedagog's workshop.
added, "And then again, it may be that of the sahuaros can hurdle." I turned toward the spacious win-
efficient California border patrol." A friendly vibrant voice this man had dows to look down on the roofs and
This was too much. I had come to —Forrest Shreve, scientist of the desert, spires of Tucson and the brown bulk of
Tucson to talk with a scientist, scholar, who for more than 30 years has record- the Santa Catalina mountains beyond.

Buildings of the Car-

negie Institution's
Desert Laboratory at
Tucson are located on
a hillside in the midst
of a great expanse of
desert, high plateaus,
and mountain wood-
lands.
 that Mrs. Shreve is a distinguished scien-
tist in her own right and that she is the
In a brown stone building on the slope of Tuma- author of one of the most widely quoted
papers listed by the institution!
moc Hill, men of science have been solving the He Knows Most of the Answers
desert's riddles for the past three decades. Here "What is the Desert Laboratory?
is an interview with one of the men who knows Who started it and why? Why was it
most of the answers. placed out here so far from the so-
called centers of culture? What do they
do here? Who works here?" These and
What a beautiful site for the Desert la- tended gardens. In fact the terrain look- other elementary questions I fired at
boratory! There before me, less than ed just a little wilder than the desert Dr. Shreve.
two miles away, lay the cultural capi- around it, a sort of refuge where cotton- "Of course you are familiar with the
tal of the Southwest and stretching in tails, quail, and lizards frolicked in un- story of Andrew Carnegie," he began,
all directions from its borders lay the molested freedom and the native plant "the immigrant boy who became one of
beautiful arboreal desert now famous life seemed more abundant. And this America's richest steel magnates and
throughout the world. man before me—the director of this who left a fortune "to encourage in the
And this brown stone building—the famous laboratory—certainly did not broadest and most liberal manner in-
Desert Laboratory of the Carnegie In- look like a gardener. vestigation, research, and discovery, and
stitution of Washington—had housed We had lunch—the laboratory staff, the application of knowledge to the im-
the men who had done most, in a quiet the little lady with the gray hair and provement of mankind." Before he died
unheralded way, to make these deserts voice of a girl, and the reporter. As Dr. Carnegie had established an institution
famous. This much every desert dweller Shreve described with the language of a which divided its scientific investiga-
has heard. But the idea of a desert la- scientist the pecularities of a certain de- tions into twelve departments in wide-
boratory is remote and hazy to most of sert plant, I wondered whether the ly separated parts of the country. The
us. If we give it a second thought, we little woman was following him. I had Desert Laboratory became one of the
probably regard the place as a sort become lost about two courses back. outposts of the Division of Plant Bio-
of cactus garden where super-gardeners I thought she must be a very brave logy. The total Carnegie benefaction
tend their neatly-spaced plots of spiny wife to have lived with this man so totaled about $25,000,000."
plants. long and to have suffered these undeci- The late Dr. F. V. Coville, chief bo-
But as I came up the steep grade to pherable descriptions so well. My doubt tanist of the U. S. Department of Agri-
the buildings on the hill I saw no well- changed to admiration when I learned culture for more than 40 years, brought
to the attention of the Institution the
need for investigation in the field of
plant life. He and Dr. D. T. MacDou-
The members of the first major Pinacate expe- gal, then assistant director of the New
dition of November, 1907. Photograph taken by Turn to Page 28
Godfrey Sykes. Left to right, Dr. D. T. MacDougal,
leader of the expedition; Jesse D. Jenkins, as-
sistant cook, story-teller and jester; Charles Fos-
ter, Mexican guide; Jeff Milton, U. S. Immigration
inspector; John M. Phillips, iron manufacturer
and expert sportsman and photographer; Win.
T. Hornaday, zoologist and chief taxidermist, author
of "Campfires on Desert and Lava," and above,
George Saunders, camp helper; and Frank Coles,
wagon master and cook. This group of men brought
back from barren Pinacate the first scientific ac-
count of the botany, zoology, and geography of
this arid region.

^
 /

"Desert Steve" Rqgsdale of Desert Center

is the subject of this sketch. He opened a
service station on Highway 60 when only
two cars a day were traveling that route.
But eventually Desert Center prospered
and now Steve's son runs the business
while he lives on the top of a mountain
overlooking the desert and writes bad
poetry for recreation. Here's the story of
one of the most colorful desert rats in the
arid Southwest.

By RANDALL HENDERSON

ES MA'AM! We used to have ert Steve' of Desert Center. Nearly There were many days when not a sin-
lots of rattlesnakes here. The every one who has traveled Highway gle car was to be met along this route.
country was alive with them. 60 across the Chuckawalla desert in Six automobiles in 24 hours was heavy
They crawled around in armies and ate Southern California has heard of De- traffic.
everything in their path. Few people sert Steve. But Mrs. Ragsdale was willing, and
ever got out of the desert alive in those He has a story for every occasion. the four children were too young to
days. This is the one he told in the early vote on the question—so they loaded
"But they are all gone now. Haven't days when timid folks from Eastern cen- up the furniture and went out to re-
seen one for years. ters of tenderfoot culture would stop build the little cabin which Old Man
"What became of them? at the Ragsdale service station to in- Gruendyke had left when he proved up
"Well, Henry Ford is responsible. quire about the danger of Indians, on his homestead.
When he got to making all those little outlaws and rattlesnakes. That was in 1921. During the next
cars a few years ago this road across The California link in Highway 60 four years they stuck to the job through
the Chuckawalla valley became so is paved now and thousands of motor- summer heat and sandstorms. A little
crooked that a cow pony couldn't follow ists roll along its smooth surface every work had been done on the road, and
it. Nothing but Fords ever tried to cross week without thought of the hazards travel was increasing. The Ragsdales
this way. They zig-zagged along through which once beset the desert traveler. had begun to feel that perhaps their
the sand and when the rattlers would Broke on 6-Cent Cotton pioneering would be rewarded.
start chasing them the blankety snakes Steve Ragsdale is one of the pioneers Highway Route Is Changed
would break their backs making the along this highway. He was doing very Then the state took over the highway
turns. They're all gone now." well as a cotton rancher in the Palo and engineers decided that the Chuck-
This is Steve Ragsdale's yarn—'Des- Verde valley until the post-war slump awalla road should be rerouted to avoid
hit the cotton market. He couldn't feed the heavy sand. Gruendyke's Well was
his wife and four children with six-cent to be a mile and a quarter from the
Steve and Mrs. Ragsdale at their cotton, and so he turned the ranch new highway.
Santa Rosa mountain cabin. over to the tax collector and announced This was heart-breaking news to the
that he was going to open up a service Ragsdales, but they took it like true
station at Gruendyke's Well, midway pioneers. Instead of crying about the
between Blythe and Mecca on the old injustice of the government and clamor-
Chuckawalla road. ing for damages, Steve went out and
Folks laughed at Steve, and felt sorry helped the engineers locate the new
for his family. The road across the road.
Chuckawalla in those days consisted Then he began preparations to move
of two rather uncertain ruts across 90 his service station. The main problem
miles of blow sand and cross-washes. was water. It is a scarce commodity
It required nine hours of hard driving in the Chuckawalla valley. With a hand
to cover the 90 miles. Only the hardiest windlass and the help of his family
of motorists would attempt the trip. Turn to Page 26
November, 1937
 11
Gold l-moty
. . . that's what they called him at military
academy. But to the world he is known as
Lt. W. H. Emory, diarist and mapmaker
extraordinary.

By J. WILSON McKENNEY

H ALF CHOKED in the dust raised

by Kearney's dragoons, a grim
young lieutenant rode in silence.
troubles seemed to find their center in
the head of the General. Not that he
would permit himself the slightest dis-
young chief engineer was expected to
find campsites near water every night.
So far his luck had held. But the Mexi-
He saw no visions of rich cities to be respect of his superior. But the blunt cans had told him about terrible waste-
conquered nor was he composing pretty man so frequently irritated his staff lands between the Rio Grande and the
speeches to be flaunted before the van- that he moved always in an atmos- Colorado where he would search in
quished heathen. He was more con- phere of friction and discord. vain for water.
cerned about his precious instruments. After all, this might be an oppor- The Army of the West, as motley a
Jim Early had nearly allowed the tunity for a young man. Here he was gathering of volunteers and regulars
instrument wagon to tip over in that 35 years old and so far he had not made as ever graced a military expedition
last barranca. Confound these drivers! a distinguishing mark in the army ser- on this continent, had mustered at
Why must they all drink so long of this vice. This expedition offered a chance Fort Leavenworth in May and had
New Mexican wine? He could hardly for original scientific observation, a lot crossed the prairies of Kansas and eas-
blame the fellow, though. What with of high adventure in an unbroken coun- tern Colorado during the summer. The
the poor grub he gets in this army, try, and a brevet if he did a good job. brawny young United States govern-
the sight of good food and drink in And Matilda would be proud of him if ment had declared war on Mexico and
the villages is enough to drive any man he ever reached home again. He for- was seeking to lay its protective hand
to excess. One consolation is that fel- got for a moment it was his idea making on the vast uncharted area known as
low Bestor—he guards the transit and this western trek—not Matilda's. They New Mexico.
chronometer with his very life. had been married eight years ago and The Yankee Dons in far-off Califor-
Thus Lt. Emory mused as he rode in he had had a difficult time providing nia had also proven that the climate
the dust cloud kicked up by the rem- for the great-granddaughter of Ben- and natural resources of the great coas-
nant of the Army of the West. jamin Franklin in the style he would tal empire were worth wresting from
First Lieutenant William Hemsley like to offer. But here it is time again the hospitable Mexicans. So Kearney
Emory, chief engineering officer and to rush ahead and spot a campsite. And and his motley army were ordered west-
acting assistant adjutant-general of the he must set up for a lunar observation; ward on a double mission.
Army of the West was his full name the General would probably order a Invaders Wined and Dined
and title. His classmates back at the full calculation tonight. The conquest of New Mexico was a
U. S. Military Academy in 1831 had farce. After vain sputterings and empty
called him "Bold Emory" and he had Drought on the Desert threats, General Armijo had flown south
liked that. Few people called him Water was hard to find. It was early with his tiny army and a sizeable bit
"Bill," not even Matilda, his wife. His October and the tributaries of the Rio of property acquired during his lordly
dignity and calm discouraged familiar- Grande were nearly dry. The summer governorship. Kearney entered thte city
ity. But his associates knew Emory to of 1846 had been a severe drought sea- of Santa Fe with all the pomp and
be sympathetic and generous. Proba- son, the grass was a crisp brown, and dignity he could muster from his ragged
bly too much for his own good. So he the scant water holes were stagnant. and weary army. Then followed a
covered up with a false front. It was indeed a bad year for an army month of grandiose good-will speeches
There was small time for quiet think- of 1,660 untrained infantry and badly from roof-tops, a task which the Gen-
ing on this expedition. New problems mounted cavalry to attempt the conquest eral apparently assumed with relish.
were always coming up. The biggest of New Mexico and California. But the The vanquished residents welcomed the

10 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 -WMnuriHia,

soldiers, offered barrels of wine and San Diego as seen by Emory in dragoons met Kit Carson and party,
flocks of young bullocks. 1846, at a point where Oldtown enroute east with dispalches telling of
Kearney concluded his short gover- stands now. Reproduced from Em- the subjugation of the Californians.
norship by dividing his army into sev- ory's Reconnaissance report. Commodore Stockton was reporting that
eral columns, leaving a garrison at the empire had surrendered without loss
Santa Fe, ordering Capt. Cooke's Mor- of blood and "the American flag floated
mon Battalion to follow westward as ing the light of day was entitled, by in every port." Stockton's extravagant
quickly as possible, and assuming the virtue of his long military dictator- optimism caused Kearney to send 200 of
lead of Maj. Sumner's 300 dragoons ship on the western frontier, to his his dragoons back to Santa Fe, a third
toward ihe conquest of California. rages. Kearney was essentially a strict of his original force continuing west-
Here Lt. Emory's real work began. disciplinarian but his letters to his ward.
He looked forward to the march with wife revealed he had another, gentler
Much against Carson's will, General
eagerness. Thus far he had made obser- nature.
Kearney pursuaded the famous scout
vations in territory much of which Let modern historians debate on the to turn back and guide the party to
had already been described by path- quarrel between Kearney and Stockton, California, a happy accident which ex-
finding parties. Now he had much new let them speculate on the guilt or in- tended Kearney's life another two years
work to do. He was official astronomer, nocence of Fremont, let them argue and saved Emory's reminiscences for
draughtsman, geologist, meteorologist, about the relative merits of the Califor- the world. Kit Carson's spectacular
botanist, diarist, and reporter of the nia lance in the hands of expert horse- feat—with Lt. Beale—in bringing res-
expedition. His maps would give the men and the musket in the hands of cue to the butchered Americans at San
government at Washington its first au- weary and half-drunken dragoons. Not Pasqual is an epic of California history.
thentic information of the deserts and one of the recorders of history will ques-
mountains of the great southwest. His tion the trustworthy contribution which Emory's keen powers of observation
sketches and specimens would give obscure Lt. Emory made to the lore of are evident in his report to the govern-
scientists their first knowledge of the the southwest. In fact, few even mention ment, a book now difficult to find in
Indians, animals, plants, and minerals Emory except to quote a sentence or two print, which was published in Washing-
of this vast unexplored region. He pre- of his colorful language. For who is ton in 1848. The title of the narrative
pared himself thoroughly, determined interested in the quiet plodding of a is "Notes of a Military Reconnaissance
to do a good job, without prejudice scientific man when there is a battle from Fort Leavenworth in Missouri to
or error. of tycoons in the offing? San Diego in California." No diary ever
Insubordination was not in Emory's Two weeks out of Santa Fe, near sparkled more with humorous incident
character; he was a good army man. the village of Socorro, the company of Turn to Page 26
No hint of his private thoughts about
his chief crept into his reports. Con-
troversial reports of Kearney at San
Pasqual and of the Kearney-Stockton-
Fremont incident were never given bias
by the engineer. His work was with the
immutable laws of Nature, the undispu-
table position of the stars in relation to
his westward journey, and the thrilling
discovery of new botanical classifica-
tions.
Let the General get red in the face
all he wished. After all, a man who had
served in the War of 1812 about the
. time the young engineer was first see-

Junction of the Gila and Colorado

rivers, as sketched by Emory's art-
ist in 1846. Picacho Peak is in the
r
background. Taken from Emory's
report.

November, 1937 11
JLookina"&ownfitomA/evada 5
12,000- foot O&5I5
. . A hiker's story of the . . From the top, in all
trail to rugged Charles- directions — a pastel col-
ton peak . . ored desert. .

C LIMBING desert moun- but I know that he was a ran-

tains in summertime is ger with the soul of an artist.
a vacation idea which I have been on many mountain
may have some drawbacks. And trails, but never before one
yet, when the trail leads at last which offered such a variety of
to a refreshing snowbank from panoramas as this one. It
which one can look down and seems to me that a landscape
watch the heat devils stage artist could spent a life-time of
their mid-summer dance on the painting along that trail—and
floor of Death Valley, such a in the end report to St. Peter
trip has its compensations. that his job was only half done.
It was my good fortune last The trail which we took
summer—the Fourth of July to leaves the camp ground near
be exact — to accompany a the end of the paved road in
party of California's Sierra Kyle canyon. For the first two
Club hikers to the summit of miles there is a gentle ascent
Charleston Peak in Southern through a dense thicket of
Nevada. shrubbery which borders a lit-
For the information of those tle mountain stream fed by the
who do not already know, snowbanks above.
Charleston Peak, elevation 11,- Then a precipitous wall of
910 feet, is listed as Nevada's rock several hundred feet in
third highest mountain. It is height closed in on the south
one of the few peaks in that side of the canyon and here we
area known as the "Great encountered our first snow. At
American Desert" where snow this point the trail leaves the
remains on the sheltered north floor of the canyon and zig-zags
slopes through all or nearly all sharply upward into a cool
of the summer season. forest of pine and fir.
Charleston literally is a There is no monotony in this
snow-capped oasis in the desert. From trip. At frequent intervals during the
its summit, the view is the same in By RANDALL HENDERSON entire distance up to the main ridge
every direction—a pastel tinted desert we would emerge abruptly from the
whose outermost boundaries are lost shadows of the timberland and find the
in the haze of a distant horizon. Perhaps i Southwest museum have been laboring trail leading for a few steps along the
I should mention one exception to this \ diligently since 1933 to salvage what crest of a ridge from which we could
last statement. On clear days the dim they can of Indian artifacts and history look down into a snow-filled gorge on
outline of Mt. Whitney and the high before the old pueblo sites are sub- one side, and the green slopes of Kyle
Sierras may be seen far off across the merged forever beneath the waters of canyon on the other. Always the desert
Death Valley basin on the west. the newly formed lake. is to be seen far off in the eastern
The desert land which is to be seen Las Vegas and Boulder City are mere background.
from a snow-upholstered gallery seat at dots on the desert plain which extends Eventually we reached the main ridge
the top of Charleston is rich in Indian away to the southeast, and far off across and here we got our first glimpse of the
tradition and scenic charm. Not far the California boundary to the south great Mojave desert that lies between
from the Eastern base of the mountain are the Providence mountains where J. the Charleston mountains and the Sierra
the blue waters of Lake Mead slowly E. Mitchell's weird caverns of stalac- Nevadas of California. It is a gorgeous
are creeping higher up the desert slopes tites and stalagmites are to be found. view at sunset.
toward a new shoreline which will estab- The trail to the top of Charleston I could never do justice to that three-
lish this as the world's largest artificial mountain is long, but not difficult. mile trail which leads along the crest
lake. The distance from the Public Camp to the final summit. We were on the
Some miles to the northeast is that ground in Kyle canyon is nine miles. rim of a giant escarpment which drops
colorful jumble of rocks known as the It is no ordinary trail, engineered to off abruptly to the floor of Kyle can-
Valley of Fire, and the prehistoric In- take the hiker to the summit by the yon on one side, and rolls away in a
dian ruins of Lost City where M. R. shortest route. I do not know the name picturesque series of meadows on the
Harrington and his associates of the of the man who selected this route— other. Wild flowers were everywhere

12 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 park cluttered up with honking automo-
biles and discarded lunch boxes. That
is one spot which should be preserved
for those who have earned the right to
enjoy its charming seclusion.
The Charleston Peak recreational
area is not well known to the public.
Many Las Vegas residents have summer
cottages in Kyle canyon but it was not
until last January that the forestry serv-
ice started an intensive program of
development of the resort area. The
Kyle canyon road was paved in 1933,
but it was a year later before the trail
to the summit was opened.
Boulder dam is situated almost in
the shadow of Charleston mountains—
and therein probably lies one of the
reasons why the scenic attractions of
this new Southern Nevada mountain
park resort have received so little public
notice. The spotlight has been on the
Sierra Club hikers from California rest on the cairn at the top of Boulder project, and paradoxically,
Charleston peak before starting down the trail. Charleston has remained in the shadow.
and the trail alternately led across the dows on this gentle sloping plateau— The Charleston Mountain division of
little meadows and through the fringes and never go beyond. There is reward the Nevada National forest is under the
of timber which surround them. enough for the arduous labor of climb- supervision of Ranger R. C. Anderson
The path is located just far enough ing this mountain, in the serene mag- and a group of assistants who are con-
below the crest of the ridge to afford nificence of this natural mountain park. tributing to the popularity of the area
shelter for the hiker during those per- I did go to the summit, but that was by extending every possible courtesy to
iods when biting winds are blowing just sort of an after-climax. The real visitors.
across the top. Here again the men of thrill of the Charleston climb was along
the forestry service had in mind the The Public Camp ground in Kyle
the ridge and in those flower-strewn canyon has an elevation of 7500 feet,
comfort and the enjoyment of their meadows.
guests. and is reached from Las Vegas by 37
I hope they never build a road to the miles of well-paved road. There are
Many of those who start for the top top of Charleston. It would be a crime
of Charleston reach the colorful mea- against heaven to have that mountain Turn to Page 33

Sketch shows roads

leading to interest-
ing points in Las
Vegas recreational
area

November, 1937 13
 NAVAJO SHEPHERDESS Photo by Win. M. Pennington

DEPENDENCE
O NE WORD expresses the "feeling"
of this Pennington masterpiece. To
the desert-wise that one word tells
more sheep than their reservation lands
could support. Overgrazing destroyed
the grass roots when animals became too
the story. numerous . . . sheep and goats, without
The helpless sheep, frightened by ap- grass and water, either faced or met star-
proaching s t o r m , instinctively depend vation . . . Navajo Indians—without sheep,
upon the shepherdess for protection from goats, water, or grass — faced starvation
threatening danger . . . The shepherdess and the extinction of their race. Moisture
and her family depend upon the sheep from the threatening clouds then became
for the necessities of life . . . Both shep- a land-destroying menace.
herdess and sheep depend u p o n the That is the lesson which Government
desert grass and water holes . . . Shep- engineers are pointing out to the Navajo
herdess, sheep, grass and water holes Indians. Millions of Federal dollars are
depend upon moisture from the clouds being spent in the effort to restore, in real
above. life, numberless reproductions of the scene
photographed years ago by William M.
Dependence implies confidence. Con- Pennington . . . Competent critics have
fidence must be mutual. The desert is declared it his best desert photograph.
harsh toward those who abuse it. "Just a lucky shot," asserts Bill Penning-
Twentieth-century Navajos d e s i r e d ton.

14 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 7eel ofi theVe5ett
By JOHN STEWART MacCLARY

H IGH UP on the Walpi mesa a as you will love the rare artistry of his
ring of wide-eyed Hopi young- photographs.
sters gathered around us in the In 1908, Bill Pennington—young in
darkness as we tinkered and coaxed in years, following the then adolescent art
a fruitless effort to bring life to our of photography—unpacked his equip-
dead motor. ment and opened a studio in Durango,
There was plenty of gas in the tank. Colorado. He was a slender young
The wiring all appeared to be in order. Kentuckian who had come west by way
But the pooled mechanical skill of the of Texas where he had received pains-
four of us had brought forth nothing taking instruction in the finest methods
more enlivening than a dying gasp from of his profession from an English pho-
the starter. Even the lights would not tographer.
glow. Sixty air-line miles from the city of
Our audience—the little brown chil- Durango is the one spot in the United
dren of stone-age parents, did not States where four states corner in a
laugh at our steel-age predicament. single point. Locally the adjacent area
They were the sons and daughters of is known as the Four Corners. An
a proud line of primitive Americans imaginary circle, drawn from the cor-
whose training would not permit them WM. M. PENNINGTON
ners as a center, would include an equal Art photographer
to jeer at another's misfortune. quadrant each of Colorado, Utah, Ari-
With courtesy which is characteristic This picture was taken in the nat-
zona, and New Mexico.
of their parents, they offered to push ural cavity at the base of Window
our stranded automobile. That was the Rock in northeastern Arizona.
Land of Ancient Tribes
only way they knew how to help us If the radius of the mythical circle
along the trail. were extended to 100 miles, it would censed traders in whom they placed 1
Eventually we discovered the cause include some of the most picturesque confidence, and by employing as inter-
of our trouble. A mechanic had for- and historically fascinating desert preter a young Indian boy who had I
gotten to put water in the battery. scenery in all of North America. The been to school.
This merely was one of the incidents deserted ruins of Mesa Verde, Pueblo •'The natural poses were achieved by
in a week of adventure in Hopi-land, Bonito, Chaco Canyon, Aztec national observing the postures and habits of
high up on the mesas of northeastern monument, and Ruin Canyon national the Indians at times when they did not
Arizona. We had come out here for monument, all made accessible by state suspect that I was watching them.
diverse reasons. Will Evans, for many and federal governments, are but the They are very self-conscious people and
years a trader on the Navajo reserva- most spectacular examples among the have to be handled very much as chil-
tion in northwestern New Mexico, had innumerable ancient ruins which dot the dren. When you once get their confi-
never crossed the blue mountain range mesa and line the canyons of the Four dence they are congenial and co-opera-
which hid Canyon de Chelley and the Corners region. tive. But don't try to take pictures
land of the Hopis. He wanted to visit But ancient ruins are not the only against their will. One act of that kind
these places. My object was the gath- picturesque subjects to be found. These I will turn the whole tribe against you.
ering of material for the writer's mark- tribes af modern Indians are quartered \ /
ets. My brother accompanied us, just on Government reservations within the Here is His Secret
for a vacation. wide circle: Piutes in southeastern Utah, After all. it simmers down to a lan-
Southern Utes in southwestern Colo- guage which requires no interpreter—
Seeks Rare Photographs rado, Navajos in northwestern New / and of which Bill Pennington is master:
Overshadowing the interests of the Mexico and northeastern Arizona. patient understanding. The eyes and
rest of us, was the desire of the artist- Kentuckian Bill Pennington under- voice and manner of the man reveal that
photographer William M. Pennington stood neither customs nor the speech of quality to all who chance to meet him.
to obtain some rare camera studies of the desert Indians. But he quickly rec- The subtle feel in desert photo-portraits,
a tribe of Arizona desert Indians who ognized the artistic values displayed in which were made by the artist, is ex-
held a superstitious dread of the white their handicraft and in their primitive perienced by those who appreciate visi-
man's box-with-the-evil-eye. If there had living conditions. Still alive when the ble artistic expression and those who
been no other reward for the other artist first came into the desert were know and understand the desert.
three of us the trip would still have individual Indians whose exploits had In recent years Pennington has made
been worth many times the hardships, contributed to Southwestern history. his home in Alhambra, California.
for the companionship of so genuine a Some day the portraits of such would Rights to many of his cherished
man as Bill Pennington. be of value to accurate historians. But desert views have been secured for the
And that brings us to the purpose of how was a timid white "tenderfoot" to Desert Magazine. Short sketches ex-
this story—to present to the readers of gain the confidence of recently-mur- plaining each of the series are to be
Desert Magazine the unusual character derous savages who exhibited supersti- written by John Stewart MacClary, in-
of a man whose exquisite photography tious terror of the camera's lens? timate friend of Pennington and his
will occupy an important place in fu- Mr. Pennington explains the answer companion on many photographic ex-
ture issues of this publication. If you casually: peditions. The first of the Pennington
know this man vou would love him—• "I reached the Indians through li- series appears on the opposite page.

November, 1937 •'. i

15
 Elephant trees were reported on
the Colorado desert of California
many years ago, but the original lo-
cation as published was erroneous.
It was not until last January that Dr.
E. M. Harvey of the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture and Don Ad-
miral, Palm Springs naturalist, re-
discovered the trees and furnished a
definite record of their location. Dr.
Harvey (left) and Mr. Admiral are
pictured here standing beside the dis-
covery tree in the Borego area.

Jloit I tee In a Jlonelu JLandL

v W 7 H E N YOU think you have "Yes," said Dickon, "that's the big
\ \ found it, just stab it with a By LILLIAN BOS ROSS Wash leading into Split Mountain."
knife. If it bleeds red, you For two months we had been explor-
can be sure!" ing the odd places in the Borego desert.
We had stopped our car at the Dry E. M. Harvey of the United States De- And so, when our informant warned us
Lake Gas Station, on the Julian-Kane partment of Agriculture and Don Ad- that we would encounter some heavy
Springs highway. Another car, covered miral, the Palm Springs naturalist, sand, we thanked him with that superior
with dust and desert water-bags, had were exploring the Borego Desert to see air of a tenderfoot motorist who already
been filled up, and the driver was hav- what they could find that was different. has had his initial experience in digging
ing a little friendly visit with Mrs. Ben- They had the amazing good fortune to out.
son, wife of the service station owner. find and identify the Elephant Tree.
We left Fish Creek arroyo and dashed
I had read a short announcement of up Elephant Tree wash with all the
We had been half-drowsing, but, hear-
this discovery in a Los Angeles paper confidence of veterans. But we didn't
ing those strange words "stab it with
and wondered what an Elephant Tree dash far. Then we backed down the
a knife," we were wide awake. My hus-
would look like, in what sort of silent wash and tried that firm steady ap-
band nodded "Yes!" and we were out
valley it spread its branches, lived its proach which will work in any ordinary
of our car and into the conversation.
ionely life. Now I was really to see! sand. The result was the same—three
The man who had sounded so blood-
"It's a hard trip. You have to walk car-lengths up the wash equals one car-
thirsty was quite courteous. He must
the last three miles up hill to the tree. depth down in the sand.
have been amused, but he was helpful.
Park your car on Fish Creek Wash.
He made us a small map of the route We didn't want to give up. For two
You know where that is?"
to the place, and also a sketch of the stubborn hours we battled that wash.
Elephant Tree. It got to be a game. We gathered great
We had heard rumors of a strange stacks of brush and put it under the
tree, high up on an alluvial fan, some- wheels and built a runway of it ahead
where on the Colorado Desert of Cali- of the car—and only got a little closer
fornia. It had been reported by a to China.
prospector some years before—just an My dripping husband looked at the
unnamed tree, a different tree. hub-deep car and grinned.
The rumor had been relayed to the "Well, what do you think?" he asked.
Universities, and a group of botanists "I think it's three o'clock. If we can
had come down to look at the find, but get back to Fish Creek wash by three-
the prospector had already drifted thirty, let's hike up and find the Ele-
along and no one knew where he had phant."
seen the strange specimen. Safe on the solid sand of Fish Creek,
The tree remained a rumor, nameless, we took long drinks of water and filled
until January, 1937. At that time Dr. a quart flask. I carried it, because I

16 The DESERT MAGAZINE

don't drop things. And we set out found a few crude flint chips and a few I was cowardly and said, "You taste
eagerly on the last lap of our adventure. bits of broken pottery, but no evidence it first."
In half an hour I was giddy with of villages. Dickon got one prize, how- He said it was cool, and wet; I fin-
heat and fatigue, but buoyantly happy. ever, a fine specimen of flint knife. ished the few drops. Immediately the
Beauty, uncanny but positive, is in that I was very thirsty, my mouth dry, short rest, the finding of water in the
wild canyon—somehow as moving as lips stiff and queer. I gave up, and arid desert, and the little drink of sweet
the thought of the world's creation. said, "I'm tired, it's late, let's go back flat wetness, set me up amazingly.
Strange in that burning place is the to the car and try again tomorrow." Fifteen more minutes, and my feet
wealth of fragile and exotic flowers, lur- I looked around for Dickon, and saw were faltering again. I would go as far
ing you on from boulder to boulder. that he had his newly found flint knife as a big rock that loomed just ahead of
We toiled on, mopping our brows, and in his hand, and was cutting off the top us. But when we got to the rock I
taking turns at tipping up the water- of a barrel cactus. wanted to see what was in the valley be-
bottle. "I'm getting us a drink," he said. yond it.
The first mile we had possibly five He was irritatingly cheerful. I said The Elephant Tree was beyond it!
little sips of water. That is all you crossly, "I don't believe you could water My feet were suddenly as light as my
need, a sip; but you feel that you must an ant with what juice you can get out heart, as I leaned against the rock and
have that taste of water, your lips and of that thing!" looked at the strange tree.
mouth get so dry. It was 104 in the "Well, prospectors and writers have
said you can." With a smooth stone he But my husband had a light in his eye
shade, with a hot wind blowing. as he fingered his flint knife. He had
We made the second mile before a was pounding the pulp in the cactus,
and it began to make a sloshing sound. to be sure!
boulder rolled, threw me, and I dropped
the glass flask on another boulder! He folded a paper trough out of an "When you think you have found it,
Dickon was encouraging. "It doesn't envelope, and cut a narrow groove in stab it with a knife; if it bleeds red,
make a bit of difference. We are al- the side of the cactus. you can be sure."
most there, and it won't be so hot com- "I'm using the same sort of knife the Dickon cut a small sliver of bark.
ing back." Indians used for this job," Dickon said, The sap was red as beet juice!
We started climbing again, unwilling "but this paper is easier than the In- We sat down and looked carefully to
to pass any bench that could have shel- dians had it." see why it was called Elephant. Thick-
tered an Indian camp site. The nat- He held a paper cup hopefully at the ness, strength, solidity, massiveness,
uralist had said the Elephant Tree might end of his trough, and water really did were the words it suggested.
have been used by the Indians. We trickle out of the living water jar. Turn to Page 24

Split
r Mountain
Canijon

MAP
Shodnq location
of lke>
ELEPHANT TREES.
Sore go l
California

>strict of Ike
Borep Desert.
(Jrees areihree
rom and Dunes.

Car canbe driven

to Slephanb-
Jfee tJashs.
SmwhuMmikf. '•*

N o v e m b e r , 1937
17
 Jluck

Kenneth Holmes, young mining en-

gineer, keeps Ids miner's garb even
though he liad already made some
handsome "strikes."

By JONATHAN BART

the book: "He says he is like the legen-

dary miner who was refused admittance
to heaven because the miners already
there were causing trouble by digging
up the golden streets. "If you let me
in," he said to St. Peter, "I'll get rid of
them for you." "All right," replied the
guardian of the pearly gates as he ad-
mitted him, "let's see what you can
do." In a few minutes swarms of min-
, T GUESS we'll pour a $10,000 have seen the name Holmes running ers began to rush to the gates, demand-
* * J_ brick this week," young Kenneth in big letters these past few years. But ing to be let out, and soon there was
Holmes told me after showing me it is Brother George who gets the pub- not one miner left in Heaven except
through the modern gold reduction lic notice, for it was George who found the newcomer. "How did you do it?"
plant he and his partner, Ed Nichol- the boulder which led to the discovery asked St. Peter. "Oh, I just told them
of the Silver Queen at Mojave. And the there was a new strike down in Hell
son, have erected in southeastern Im-
Silver Queen became a bonanza, sell- that made this one look like a worn-out
perial county, California.
placer." So the miner acquired his
I could feel the cool chills chasing ing for $3,170,000 five months after
home in Heaven and the streets were
each other up and down my spine. What its discovery. So George, by the lucky
again safe. But in a few hours he was
kind of genii, thought I, could extract turn of a pick, was awarded the head- back at the gates. "Let me out," he said.
ten grand from that mass of clanking lines. "Why?" asked St. Peter. "I just let
chains, swirling mud, and howling crush- Others, however, helped develop the you in." "I know it," replied the pros-
ers in a week? Yet that, apparently, great mine, among them George's fa- pector, "but I've been thinking it over,
was a regular habit. The circulating ther, younger Brother Kenneth, and and maybe there's something in that
cyanide plant has been running up experienced old Ed Nicholson. All of strike down in Hell after all."
scores like that almost every week for the men drew rich stakes when the
more than two years. And there are bet- mine was sold and they wisely contract- It was late in 1933 when George
ter scores to come, young Mr. Holmes ed to leave their forwarding addresses
declares with enthusiam. for regular royalty remittances. But
Kenneth Holmes is worth anybody's gold fever was in their blood. Instead
observation. Here is a young man of 35 of retiring to a mansion in Beverly
years, graduate of University of Sou- Hills and an estate at Palm Springs,
thern California, technical and prac- they set out for new rock to blast.
tical miner of no mean ability, not George rigged up a portable assay
at all hard to look at, with no less outfit and compressor unit, gathered
than a million of Uncle Sam's iron together a crew of mining experts and
men salted away for a rainy day. Here, set out to make a systematic modern
I repeat, is a man with all this who search for the Golden Fleece.
prefers to wear greasy overalls and
live in a shack beside his rumbling min- Holmes Is Described
ing machinery. Here is a man with Glenn Chesney Quiett in his book
something on the ball. Holmes and Nicholson plant near
"Pay Dirt" describes George Holmes Winterhaven, Imperial county,
If you keep up on mining news you as a born prospector. To quote from California.

18 The DESERT MAGAZINE

Holmes chipped a piece of rich ore off
a boulder near Mojave in Kern county,
California. The new year had hardly
begun when it was sold for a fortune.
Late in 1935 Kenneth Holmes and Ed
Come to

EL CENTRO
Nicholson had bought a string of
modern ore trucks and a flock of rich
claims in the Cargo Muchacho moun-
tains of eastern Imperial county. They
hauled ore a few miles south to U. S.
Highway 80, where they built a modern IN THE SCENIC IMPERIAL VALLEY
reduction plant near the site of the Land of Barbara Worth—and winter sunshine
all-American canal.
Huge tubs were placed on a hillside.
New machinery was placed on them CENTER
and connected in a maze of pipe and
platforms known technically as the OF THE
"flow plan." To the layman it looks LARGEST
like a pile of junk kept in constant IRRIGATION
turmoil by some mysterious power. ENTERPRISE
But to Holmes and Nicholson and the 35
IN
men who work for them, the plant
represents the most modern, most scien- AMERICA
tific, and most economical method of
taking pure gold from quartz rock.
A massive maw with a digestive ca- "AMERICA'S
pacity of 40 tons an hour crushes the WINTER
ore into small pieces. It is permitted GARDEN"
only a light breakfast, however, for it
prepares in a half hour enough fodder
to keep the plant operating the rest PICTURESQUE PAINTED GORGE
of the day. While the plant now takes
care of about 25 tons a day, a few sim- Visit El Centro, center of a rich valley which produces thousands
ple changes would step up the capacity of carloads of table produce in seasons when eastern sections are
to 100 tons a day. under snow . . . . indeed sufficient evidence of El Centro's delightful
winter climate.
Since the Desert Magazine is not des-
tined to competition with the imminent Within short motoring distance from El Centro's comfortable
Mining Journal, it is not essential that hotels and auto courts are the scenic wonders of the Colorado
this reporter disclose, even if he could, Desert—scores of geological and historical points of interest. See
the technical construction and operation the Imperial Dam and All-American Canal under construction. Visit
of the Holmes-Nicholson plant. But to Salton Sea, the ancient beachline, prehistoric oyster beds.
you and me the personalities and ach- El Centro merchants and hotel keepers extend every effort to
ievements of these men are far more assure the comfort and convenience of tourists and motorists.
important.

Amazing Careers
They are not ready yet to write their
memoirs; meteoric as has been their
rise in the mining world, they are still TRAVEL
looking for new placers to work, new ALLURING
quartz to blast, new records to break.
And perhaps, even before your eye DESERT
meets this print, you will have heard TRAILS
about some amazing new strike which
the Holmes brothers and their asso- OUT OF
ciates have made.
IMPERIAL
There should be a moral in the story
of the Holmes's which could be used VALLEY
with satisfaction by every school tea-
cher in the land. For these boys have
more than luck: they first studied all
available science on mining and then FAMOUS MUDPOTS AT MULLET ISLAND
went out to apply their knowledge in the
search for gold. That understanding, For further information write the secretary of the
coupled with my secret belief that they
habitually carry rabbit's feet and good EL CENTRO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
luck pennies, is probably the reason EL CENTRO. CALIF.
for their amazing success.

November, 1937 19
 T HERE has been a lull in homesteac
lands have become scarce, and ir| tl
withdrawn from entry until waterU\
however, the stage is being set for a |BT;
In the great basin of the Colorado rive
Washington, and on other projects, work:
of acres of virgin soil to new settlement,
river the all-American canal nears comp!
half million acres of land which have m
panying article, the Desert Magazine pre
this new project.

•-**•"•'
By LARRY D. WOLMAN

7ot tki5 the IVeit

—8000 oe5
O UT on the California desert, a
few miles from the Colorado
river, "Red" Davis spends eight
hours a day pulling levers and pressing
their irrigation and drinking water will
flow through a canal located entirely
on American soil—rather than Mexico
—will no doubt stage a glorious jubilee
Imperial Irrigation district
Coachella Valley
Dos Palmos area
West mesa, adjoining Impe-
521,600
152,930
8,942
buttons in the cabin of a huge dragline to celebrate the fulfillment of thdir rial Valley 139,549
dredger. dream. East mesa, adjoining Imperial
Out in front of "Red" on the end of a As far as the owners of the 500,000 Valley 217,471
150-foot boom is a gigantic shovel, and acres of land now under cultivation in Pilot Knob area 20,815
each time the boom swings around the Imperial Valley are concerned, the ar-
half circle from the bottom of a newly- rival of water in the All-American Total acres 1,061,307
excavated ditch to the high sand bank canal will mark the end of a long strug-
on the opposite side of the dredger, the gle to secure an adequate water supply.
$30,000,000 All-American canal is 16 But that merely is one phase of the A L L Al
yards of sand and gravel nearer com- project. "Red" Davis and the other SH(
pletion. operators on those big Bucyrus-Monig- TO BEI SEF
During the last two years there have han dredges are digging a canal to
been more than a score of "Red" carry 10,000 second feet of water—
Davises strung out along the 80-mile enough for a million acres of land.
route of the new canal. They have been Imperial Valley will use only half of
working in shifts, 24 hours a day. Their the canal's capacity.
job is nearly finished. The contractors What of the other half million acres?
expect to have the excavation work in Where is it located? Who owns it?
the canal completed before the end of When and how will the additional acre-
this year. age be brought under cultivation—and
There still remain several months of who will be the farmers on the land?
work to be done on the new diversion Not all of these questions can be
dam in the Colorado river, the desilting answered with mathematical precision at
plant and minor structures. But accord- this time. But some of the answers are
ing to present schedules the "seasoning" known, and it is possible, in the light
of the new canal preparatory to putting of reclamation history, to make a fairly
it in service will be underway by the end accurate guess as to the others.
of 1938. First, where is the land located?
Then the Colorado river will be According to estimates prepared by
turned into the new channel, and the the engineers who originally planned
pioneer residents of Imperial Valley the construction of Boulder dam and the
who have been looking forward for All-American canal, the acreages to be
more than 20 years to the time when served are as follows:

20

KAYMONO e: BC£1}/M
 ^ g activities in recent years. Good canal, however, will be governed by
he desert area large tracts have been reclamation law under which the Secre-
\ras available for cultivation. Today, tary may determine the size of the farm
rival of opportunity for homesteaders, unit to be allotted to one person.
ir, and in the Grand Coulee area in
is in progress which will open millions Turn to Page 32
. jln the basin of the Lower Colorado
letion. It will carry water to nearly a
ever known the plow. In the accom- SUMMARY OF VETERANS'
ssents some interesting facts regarding
HOMESTEAD RIGHTS
Circular 1264, General Land Of-
fice, explains the preference rights
Insofar as prospective homesteaders of war veterans in the following
are concerned, the land in the Imperial paragraph:
Irrigation district is out. Most of it was "On the opening of public or
Indian lands to entry or restora-
homesteaded many years ago. Also, a tion to entry of public lands here-
very large portion of the Coachella tofore withdrawn from entry, offic-
Valley acreage is now patented or sub- ers, soldiers, sailors, or marines
who have served in the Army or
ject to prior claims which will make it Navy of the United States in war,
unavailable for new entry. military occupation or military ex-
Of the remaining area, the greater C. A. Colon, ail-American canal pedition, and have been honorably
separated or discharged therefrom
part of it is still in the public domain. construction foreman, inspects a or placed in the Regular Army or
Sections 16 and 36 in each township relic of the days when a trip from Naval Reserve are accorded a pre-
were deeded to the State as school lands, El Centro to Yuma was a night- ferred right of entry under the
and have largely passed into private mare—and this was the only 'water- homestead laws, if qualified there-
under, except as against prior ex-
hands through sale. The federally hole' on the route. isting valid settlement rights and
owned public lands within this project preference rights conferred by ex-
were all withdrawn from entry by order isting laws or equitable claims sub-
can be watered from the new canal ject to allowance and confirmation,
of the Secretary of Interior, acting for for a period of 90 days before the
the President, in April 1909. There are only through pump lifts. There are general opening of such lands to
a few entries made previous to that date sand dunes and barrancas in some sec- disposal."
which may be revived as valid priority tions which would make the cost of re- Veterans with not less than 90
claims when the land is again restored clamation almost prohibitive. Making days' service may deduct all or part
for public settlement. For the most a liberal discount for these areas it may of their enlistment period from the
part, however, the 400,000 acres which be estimated that there will be between 3-year residence requirement neces-
sary to prove up on a homestead.
remain ofter the Imperial Irrigation 300,000 and 350,000 acres of fertile and Rules governing these deductions
district and deeded land in Coachella tillable land available for new settlers are set forth in General Land Of-
valley are subtracted, are still in the —8,000 forty-acre farms, perhaps. fice Circular 302, and are sum-
public domain and subject to entry marized as follows:
So much for the location and pres- An ex-serviceman with 19 months
when the Secretary of Interior lets down
ent status of the land. And now we or more military service must re-
the bars. side on the land 7 months during
come to a phase of the question which
Not all of it is good land. Some of it is largely speculative: When and how the first entry year.
With more than 12 and less than
will these lands be made available for 19 months, he must reside on the
settlement ? land 7 months of the first year and
MERICAN CANAL SYSTEM such part of the second as, added
OWING PUBLIC LANDS The Secretary of Interior will deter- to his excess over 12 months' serv-
mine the date, acting under the autho- ice, will equal 7 months, and must
=IVED FROM COLORADO RIVER rity of the President. One point is quite cultivate one-sixteenth of the area
certain—there will be no land opening the second year.
With 7 and not more than 12
until water is available for settlers. months' service, he must reside on
According to present estimates water the land not less than 7 months
will be flowing in the All-American during each of the first and second
canal some time during 1939. years, and cultivate one-sixteenth
of the area the second year.
It is also quite certain that when the With 90 days and less than 7
water supply has been assured there months' service he must reside on
A\l, I F Q R the land 7 months during each of
will be a tremendous pressure on the the first and second years, and such
Secretary to hasten the opening date. part of the third year as added to
This pressure will come not only from his service will make seven months.
war veterans and others who are eligible He must cultivate one-sixteenth of
his area the second year and one-
to file on the land, but from agencies eighth the third year.
interested in the profits which will ac- The 90-day service requirement
crue through widespread commercial does not apply to veterans dis-
channels from a colonization project charged for disability incurred in
line of duty, and the entire enlist-
which will create many thousands of ment period of such veterans may
new farms in Southern California. be deducted from residence re-
quirements.
Under the general land laws a home- The above also applies to Red
stead is 160 acres, or in special in- Cross workers who were identified
stances 320 or 640 acres. The public with the military and naval forces.
lands to be served by the All-American

21
Yurrm.

2222 PUBLIC LANDS

 Who Knows the Story
KING'S of this Arizona Landmark?
CENTRO

THE DEPARTMENT
STORE OF THE
DESERT

BOYS AND GIRLS—Earn extra money

in spare time by introducing this maga-
zine to your friends and relatives. Lib-
eral commissions for subscriptions. Call
or "write Circulaton Manager, the Desert
Magazine, El Centro, Calif.
How Well Do You PRIZE OFFER
Know Your Desert?
Hardy Shrubs
and Plants . . . for
Desert Sections O NE OF THE objectives of the
Desert Magazine is to help Desert
folks become better acquainted
T O THE FIRST person who sends
to the Desert Magazine an accurate
identification of the above land-
with their own land of fascination and
mark, together with the best story of
mystery.
Whitman's choice cactus not over 300 words telling the location,
Scattered over the desert country
and desert plants add from California to New Mexico and the rail and highway routes by which
from the Mexican border to Nevada it might be reached, and the historical
beauty and color to the and Utah are literally thousands of facts surrounding its construction and
desert home. Your inspec- scenic and historic objects—picturesque use, a cash prize of five dollars ($5.00)
canyons, crumbling ruins of historic
tion of our wide selection will be paid.
buildings, relics of Indian civilization,
is cordially invited. weird natural formations, and obscure To be eligible for the prize, answers
oddities. must be in the office of the Desert Maga-
LANDSCAPE PLANNING In order that these places may be- zine at El Centro, Calif., by November
come better known and that the facts 20, 1937. The name of the winner to-
AND CONSULTATION and history of them may be available gether with the text of the prize-winning
for our readers, the Desert Magazine
reply, will be printed in the January is-
each month will print the photograph of
WHITMAN SEED CO. one of these mystery spots together with sue of the magazine.
618 Main St. E! Centro a prize offer to the person who is most Writers should give the source of
thorough and accurate in identifying their information, stating whether the
and describing the subject of the photo- facts quoted are a matter of authorita-
graph.
tive record or merely hearsay.
The Butterfield Chronicle Above is reproduced the first picture
Answers should be written only on
"The West's Most Unique Little in the series. This illustration shows an
Magazine" important building in Arizona. Do you one side of the page and addressed to
Published Monthly • 50c per Year know its story and location? Let us Landmarks Department, Desert Maga-
Hemet, California
hear from you. zine, El Centro, California.

22 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 In the Desert

Sez Refresh Yourself With

Hard Rock
"MEX1CALI" BEER
Shorty
OF DEATH VALLEY Made especially for warm
weather drinking
By LON GARRISON
44 HUCKS, I must be gettin' old,"
gloomed Hard Rock Shorty, as
he asphyxiated a passing bug
with a cloud of pipe smoke and then Cerveceria de Mexicali, S* A,
leaned back on the porch bench waiting
for more victims.
"I was just thinkin' about it today,
Mexicali, Baja California
an' it's twenty-five year ago this July
that old Bags Bagoon froze to death SOLE AGENT IN U. S.
over on Freeze Up Gulch. Seems just
like last week! Old Bags was an old- N. Polkinhorn, Calexico, Calif.
timer in the Panamints, but he'd been
gettin' kind o' childish, dreamin' about
Minnysota or some heathen place. Then
one fourth of July as he was hikin'
into town, why a regular buster of a
l x I S S U E S OF
windstorm come up. Old Bags knowed
enough to get out o' the wind an' cover
Just Pin a Dollar Bill
up his head, but he hadn't rightly fig- to the coupon below, with your name and ^ ^ ^ ^
gered on the Pilgrim with the load o' address, for a one-year subscription to I SCENIC
popcorn. This newcomer was headin' SCENIC TRAILS—or three years for $2.00. /f
into the town of Inferno with this little This is the national pictured magazine of the V
dab o' corn figgerin' to sell it to us Great Outdoors—full of beautiful scenery, „- . , .
boys to while away the long winter . . , , , , , . , Magazine of the
even in s with when this storm catched mountains, lakes, forests and streams, birds „ ° ~ '
'im. and wildlife, with information on our National ^reat Outdoors
"He dumb out under the wagon all Parks, National Forests and dude ranches, and
right, but the sun was so hot she popped the trails that lead through the wilderness. Says
all the dang corn an' the wind blowed one reader, "Surely lovers of the Great Out-
'er away. Old Bags woke up an' found doors will revel through the pages." And so 5 Y e a r s fio* $Z.OO
himself buried about seven foot deep in
the stuff an' them dreams 0' Minnysota
will you. 15 cents at Newsstands
Sign, Tear off this Coupon and Mail with Money or Check to
blizzards got 'im. He froze to death!
We like to never got 'im thawed out
enough to bury proper." TRAILS, Incorporated, 605 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, 111.
• 1 Year $1.00 D 3 Years $2.00 • Money Enclosed \J Check Enclosed
YUMA, ARIZONA—
Name
Norval Enger has been transferred from the
Pine View dam project near Ogden to as- Address
sume the post of division engineer for the
Gila river project. He takes the place of City State
Paul Jones, who was transferred to Glen-
dive, Mont.
LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA—
Life Insurance
Antelope Valley has just celebrated its sev-
enth annual Alfalfa festival, acclaiming a
$2,000,000 industry on the southern edge of
the Mojave desert. The celebration marked
EARLE G. DAVIS
612 Main Street
Annuities
Accident, Health
the fifth and final alfalfa harvest of the sea-
son—a 16,600-acre crop.
EL CENTRO, CAL. Phone 525

November, 1937 Mention the Desert Magazine to Advertisers 23

 Lost Tree in a Lonely Land
Continued from Page 17
WANTED
While virtually unknown to the aver- not the leaf carriers. The dainty oval
DESERT PICTURES
age amateur botanist, the Elephant Tree leaf, about an eighth of an inch long, Prize contest
has been known for many years by sci- grows in fern-like clusters on yet a sub-
entists. Although its California habitat branch. These cover the tree so close- announcement
is limited to the Borego and Vallecito ly that one does not at first realize the
areas in the Colorado desert, it has also
been found in Arizona, Baja California,
and Sonora. It is, however, a rare tropi-
massive dignity of this desert rarity.
The outer bark of the tree is the color
and texture of fine parchment, one thin
T O THE amateur photographer
who sends in the best photo-
graphic print each month the
cal plant. layer over the other. This golden bark, Desert Magazine will pay cash
W. L. Jepson, famous California bot- as it dries, curls back in transparent thin prizes of $6.00 to first place and
anist, had the tree classified as Bursera layers, and exposes a bright green bark $4.00 for second place winners.
microphylla in his "Manual of Flower- underneath. The leaves and twigs of There is no restriction as to the
ing Plants of California" in 1923. the tree have an aromatic fragrance place of residence of the photog-
Other botanists also credit Joachim much like that of cedar. The seed- rapher, but prints must be essen-
Burser with original classification of the cones are ripe and very hard. They tially of the desert.
tree. are about the color, size and shape of Here are the subjects which will
J. H. Rose, eminent cacti authority, a small blue huckleberry. I found one be favored by the judges:
is responsible for the more descriptive berry not yet ripe. It was flame-colored Close-ups of desert animal life.
term Elaphrium microphyHum. and had a waxy, flesh-like texture.
Close-ups of desert flora.
The massive main trunk of the tree is The Elephant Tree valley was as
only about four feet high, but it is al- silent as the valley I had visioned, but Unusual personal or candid
most as broad. The main branches are not lonely. It was filled with a vast camera pictures.
curiously twisted and interwoven, very warm quiet—a majestic living silence. Desert homes and gardens.
like an elephant's coiled and upraised We sat happily, left reluctantly. Strange rock formations.
trunk, and these branches are them- A white star burned above Split Exceptional pictures of desert
selves the size of a good big tree. Off Mountain. And the Elephant Tree, water-holes and out-of-the-way
the main branches come limbs such as standing like a solitary prophet in the scenic places.
an ordinary tree of good growth would valley, slowly became a dark silhouette
put out. These secondary branches are While other types of pictures
against the darkening sky. are not excluded, the above will
be given the preference.
Rules governing the contest fol-
low:
OD£RNIZ£. 1—Pictures submitted in No-
vember contest must be received
in the office of the Desert Maga-
zine by November 20.
2—Winners will be required to
furnish original negatives if re-
quested.
3—Prints must be in black and
white, 21/4x31/4 or larger.
4—No pictures will be returned
unless postage is furnished.
For non-prize-winning pictures
accepted for publication $2.00
each will be paid.
Winners will be announced and
the prize pictures in the Novem-
ber contest published in the Janu-
YOUR HOME ary issue of Desert Magazine.
"Sandy" Sanford, in Add color and convenience with smartly de- Address all entries to
charge of our archi-
signed features. Our complete line of building CONTEST EDITOR, Desert Magazine
tectural dept., is at
your service for con- materials and furnishings covers every need. El Centro, California
sultation. Our experts will be pleased to show you how
you can improve your home at minimum cost.

FOR PLUMBING SEE

SONES LUMBER CO.

135 So. Fourth St. EL CENTRO Phone 136
Blackman Plumbing Co.
PHONE 1047
EL CENTRO, CALIF.

24 Mention the Desert Magazine to Advertisers The DESERT MAGAZINE

 Sandstone
a me
Just ordinary sandstone—the most worth-
less member of the rock family. But these
desert folks gathered a few truck loads
from the nearby hills and built a comfort-
able and unique home. Here is their story.

Sketch by TOMMY TOMSON

B ROWN desert sandstone, tons and tons of large flat slabs, were
brought from the nearby ancient beachline of vanished Lake Cahuilla
to build the unique desert home of Mr. and Mrs. T. M. Montgomery
at Niland, California.
Comfortable, spacious, and solid, the home demonstrates what can be
done with native materials, plus much labor and planning. Set in a
backdrop of desert vegetation, the rough exterior walls harmonize with
the surroundings. The wide front porch identifies the house as early
California style with modifications planned by the owners to make it
an ideal desert home.
Although the house is built to accommodate a small family, a separate
guest house provides sufficient additional sleeping quarters and empha-
sizes the effect of spaciousness.
Foundations of concrete are deep and huge reinforced blocks support
it on bed clay. Walls are uniformly 18 inchef, thick. A huge eucalyptus
log supports rustic rafters on the front porch. The same wood is used
for the rustic pergola terrace at the rear. An outdoor fireplace adds
charm to the terrace. The same sandstone which went into the walls is
used on floors of terrace and porch.
The roof is finished with hand-split cedar shakes. Heavy redwood
railway ties were used for lintels, then antiqued. The beautiful interior
fireplace is topped with a polished ironwood mantelpiece. Windows are
large, providing complete air circulation.

Floors are of three-width pegged mahogany on a pine subfloor.

The ten-foot ceiling is antiqued with heavy beams and ironwork.
Walls are finished light and woodwork is stained dark. The
early California motif is carried out in all interior finish.
In addition to the principal building, Mr. and Mrs. Mont- GUEST HOUSt
gomery have a two car garage, tool house, three-room guest
house, laundry house, and corrals on the large lot, the whole
surrounded by a sandstone and redwood picket fence. Athol
trees and oleander form a conspicuous part of the landscaping •
plan. Young citrus trees are set out. Rocks line the graveled
driveways.
Total floor space is approximately 1800 square feet in the
main house. A carload of cement and 20 barrels of lime were
used in the construction. Principal cost in this type of home
is consumed in labor.
Kenneth A. Gordon, Pasadena, was the architect.

November, 1937
 ti ed, treacherous Salton Sink turned into
BOLD EMORY" verdant Imperial Valley—he would
have been amazed and gratified.
Continued from Page 11 The thousands who are now reclam-
ing the desert areas he first mapped
and quick grasp of essentials. Tables finally reached the edge of the Pacific should place the name of Emory high
and the end of their journey. Kearney
of astronomical figures, of little interest among the men who "found" the south-
to the average reader, are safely tucked reported the death of 18 men and the west.
away in the appendix, leaving the nar- wounding of 13 more in a battle within
rative free for lucid description and a day's walk of the port. And he had
crowning incident. traveled more than eight months for
this inglorious humiliation!
First Reporter of the Desert
After a little delay, Commodore Steve Ragsdale—
A review of Emory's notes would be Stockton accompanied General Kearney Continued from Page 9
an exhaustive commentary on the man- with reinforcements of Navy men for
ners, morals, and foibles of the people an overland attack on the pueblo of Ragsdale dug nine holes—all of them
he met, a vivid description of his com- Los Angeles. Emory joined the move- dry. Then he brought in a well drilling
pany and the land through which he ment to make observations of the sou- outfit and found water at 423 feet. It
passed. He told a coherent story of a thern California terrain, reporting the cost $12,000 to develop the new well.
historic march without apparent at- two minor encounters with General His difficulties in raising the twelve
tempt to draw biased conclusions. He Flores' Californians. thousand make a story more thrilling
was a reporter, not a critic. His re- Fremont signed a peace treaty with than fiction.
ports of the battles fought in the "sec- Pico on January 13, to the discomfiture
ond conquest" of California are ac- of Stockton and Kearney. Before the A new location called for a new
cepted as authentic. name—and so Desert Center was born.
three-cornered fireworks had sputtered Today an average of 500 cars a day
Emory was one of the busiest men in toward the explosion point, Emory had
the company during the ten weeks' jour- completed his preliminary plans for a pass through the little settlement on
ney from Santa Fe to Warner's Ranch. fort in Los Angeles and had hurried the Chuckawalla desert. It is a one-
The greater part of the trip was made back to San Diego, where he took a man town. Desert Steve not only owns
in deserts which had never been map- ship bound for the Isthmus, with his all the real estate, but he is also the law.
ped. The motorist who now travels the notes, sketches, and observations. For many years he has been a deputy
same distance in two days will find sheriff not only in Riverside county,
Five days after Emory embarked, the but also in San Bernardino and Im-
it difficult to understand the rigors of
ragged, exhausted Mormon Battalion, perial counties.
desert travel in 1846. Learning that
the company of 500 men under Capt. F.
Emory had time to observe an oak No Cocktail Parties Here
St. George Cooke, arrived in San Diego.
tree which now bears the name Quercus
Traveling on foot from Fort Leaven- At one time he thought of subdivid-
emoryii and that he took voluminous
worth as a part of the Army of the ing his 700-acre homestead and selling
notes on other desert plants, the modern
West, the Mormons had been left far part of it. But he wanted the deeds to
will increase his appreciation of
behind and did not sight the land they carry restrictions against liquor, gamb-
Emory's talents.
had come to conquer until two weeks ling and wild women. He wanted them
The weary company finally passed after the ink was dry on the peace drawn so that a man could not even take
through the California sierras and ar- treaty. a drink of his own beer on a lot bought
rived at Warner's, sensing that its jour- from Steve Ragsdale. The lawyers said
ney was near an end. Emory joined the Emory Given Promotion
Lt. Emory's reconnaissance report that was going too far. It couldn't be
festivities and welcomed the entertain- done. So the elegant plans which the
ment and hospitality of Sailor Bill. ended at San Diego but his achieve- engineers and architects had prepared
He woke long before dawn on the fate- ments in the southwest did not. The were shoved into a pigeonhole—and
ful morning of December 6, 1846, to year his report was printed he was ap- are still there.
ride with General Kearney at the head pointed by the President as chief as-
of a battered column of fighters into tronomer of the boundary survey. In Steve isn't a pink tea reformer. There
the camps of Andres Pico's California 1854 he received full power to establish are notches on his gun, put there under
lancers. Surviving the two-day slaughter the international line under the Gadsen justifiable circumstances. But he re-
which marked the Golden State's only Purchase. In three years he had com- gards liquor, gambling and prostitution
disastrous military battle, he helped pleted the survey of the 46,000 square as unnecessary vices, and they will
nurse the wounded and bury the dead. miles of desert in southern Arizona never be tolerated on his domain. When
He carefully found time to take night- which marked the extension of United thousands of men came out to work on
ly observations of latitude and longti- States territory. the Colorado River aqueduct which is
tude for his precious reports. The engineer climbed in rank rapidly routed near Desert Center, Ragsdale
after that, receiving in succession com- was offered $5,000 for a beer garden
When Kearney was severely wounded concession.
in the first encounter, it was Emory missions as major, lieutenant colonel,
who led the charge on "Starvation Hill" brigadier general, and major general. "I turned it down," he explained,
in San Pasqual valley, the strongest He retired from the army in 1876 after "because no person could afford to
position held by the Americans during a service of 45 years. pay so high a price for the privilege
the battle. No doubt as an old man of 75 years, of selling beer at Desert Center. I knew
W. H. Emory often reviewed the dra- how they intended to get their money
Aid from San Diego matic and adventurous days with the back if they obtained the lease. I will
Carson and Beale slipped through the Army of the West. If he could have not have any honky-tonks at Desert
Californian's picket lines and brought lived to see the agricultural wealth on Center—not at any price."
back aid from San Diego. The shat- the upper Gil a, canals, highways, and Ragsdale's antipathy toward commer-
tered remnants of the Army of the West railroads traversing the deserts he cross- cialized vice is natural. It is a carry-

26 The DESERT MAGAZINE

over from the days when he was a par-
son. He was born in Coffeyville, Kansas,
but spent most of his early life in Mis-
souri where he went to theological
seminary and became an ordained min-
visit CALEXICO
ister of the Methodist church. ON THE BORDER
That was in the old fire and brim- Save miles and see more inter-
stone days—and Steven Ragsdale was esting desert wonders on the new
a young volcano in the pulpit. In his cutoff road through Calexico.
inner heart, however, he never could This route is the shortest distance
quite accept the idea that the mountains from Yuma to San Diego and of-
and rivers and forests were made liter- fers a variety of tourist attractions.
ally in six 24-hour days. And since, Travel westward on U. S. 80
in his time and place it was heresy to highway, see the great Ail-Ameri-
believe otherwise, he finally resigned can Canal along the interna-
his pastorate and went into the lead tional border, sample the tourist
mines to make his livelihood. accommodations and entertain-
In 1908 he moved with his wife ment at Calexico.
to California and in 1909 filed on a Calexico is the center of a pic-
homestead in the Palo Verde valley. turesque desert area. Sunshine
and mild temperatures make it an
Steve's Weakness Is Poetry increasingly popular winter play-
Despite his religious schooling, De- ground. Dozens of scenic points
sert Steve has two vices. Those tall within easy motoring distance
yarns with which he entertains the hold enchantment for the lover of
tenderfoot visitors at Desert Center the desert.
constitute one of them. The other is— Hunters find dove and quail
poetry. He writes the world's worst abound during open season in
verse. nearby areas, while plentiful duck
The irony of it is that while there and geese on the river delta lands
are countless numbers of fine poets have made it a sportsman's para-
whose genius goes unrewarded, Desert Palms in Nearby Canyons dise. The famed totuava fishing
Steve makes money out of his rhymes. on the Gulf of California annually
He uses them for advertising purposes. Just across the interna- draws hundreds of fishermen to
There is a homely philosophy in Steve's tional line is Mexicali, Calexico.
doggerel which appeals to folks des- capital city of Baja Cali-
pite its bad technique. fornia, Mexico. Here is
One incident in Ragsdale's experience colorful Mexican life, fed-
throws a great light on the character of eral buildings, and en-
the man. His life's desire was that his chanting c a n t i n a s and
children should have a thorough educa- cafes.
tion. Business in Desert Center has Accommodations of all
prospered in recent years, and there classes are available for
were ample funds to carry the young tourists in Calexico, from
Ragsdales through college. first class hostelry to eco-
When the time came for Stanley, the nomical trailer camps.
youngest boy, to take his advanced
training, he rebelled. Before the first For further information write to Fishing at San Felipe, on the Gulf
semester was finished at Riverside Jun-
ior College, he returned home and told CALEXICO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
his parents that he had enough. He CALEXICO. CALIFORNIA
wanted to go to work and "do something
useful." COZY AUTO COURT GAREY-HUEY, INC.
Steve and the boy's mother urged Imperial and Main—Highways 80-99 General Tires—Complete Service
and pleaded—but that was that. Finally Modern £1 Centro. Calif. 497 State St., El Centro. Calif.
the elder Ragsdale called his oldest
son, Therman, into the conspiracy to
help put Stanley back in school. A Pioneer Builder in the Desert
"Dad, why don't you go to college?" Serving Southern California—Offices in San Bernardino,
This was Therman's suggestion. Dad El Centro, and Las Vegas, Nevada
did not know whether to laugh or get
mad. It is not pleasant to be ridiculed
by one's own children. Pioneer Title Insurance
"I mean it," insisted Therman. And
he finally convinced his father that he
3c Trust Company
did mean it, and that the suggestion EL CENTRO, 628 MAIN ST.
offered a possible solution to the pro- CALIFORNIA Phone 919
Turn to Page 37

November, 1937 27
 DESERT UNDER A MICROSCOPE
Continued from Page 8

York Botanical garden, were appointed half dozen Tucsonians before they se-
to make an investigation of sites for a cure correct directions for the two-
study of vegetation in arid lands. In mile drive. Obviously, casual visitors
1903 they recommended Tucson be- on Tumamoc hill are not encouraged.
cause of the richly diversified character The scientists prefer comparative iso-
of desert vegetation in the vicinity and lation in order to preserve the fine
because of its accessibility to other balance of plant and animal life with-
desert areas. in the 800-acre tract.
Dr. MacDougal was named director It may be pertinent at this point to
of the Desert Laboratory but during the inquire why the layman, the average
three years required for him to finish American citizen, should be interested
his work at New York, Dr. W. A. Can- in the work of the Desert Laboratory.
non was made resident investigator at Dr. Shreve admits frankly he does not
Tucson. Other scientists who have made believe his work of any interest to
valuable contributions to the world's the layman. "But to the super-layman
knowledge have spent some time at the and interested student," he added, "we
laboratory, but Dr. MacDougal was have a unique institution, designed and
for twenty years the driving force, in- intended for investigation of desert
spiring projects of scholarly brilliance. plants and conditions which surround
Retired from the laboratory ten years Dr. Forrest Shreve reading an in- them. There may be no immediate prac-
ago, Dr. MacDougal is now a resident strument which records changes in tical utility in the work we are doing
of Carmel, California, where he is con- circumference of cacti trunks to but we are laying the groundwork for a
tinuing his work with the Division of which it is attached. Daily and sea- new science, a mass of knowledge con-
Plant Biology. Short of stature, solidly sonal variations are due to changes cerning a large portion of the earth's
built, Dr. MacDougal has the brusque in water-balance. surface about which we have hitherto
forcefulness of his Scotch ancestors. known very little.
scholastic degree but uses the scientific
Yet he inspired unflinching loyalty and vernacular like a veteran. And a veteran "This laboratory is unique in that
respect from the men who worked with he really is, because he has been study- there is no other like it in the world,"
him on the desert. ing at the laboratory for seven years. the director said. "Although there are
29 Years at Laboratory Starting as a laborer on a concrete more than 200 marine laboratories in
gang nearby, this young fellow who the world, created for the study of
Dr. Shreve came to the Desert Labor- looks like a college sophomore read oceanic life, there are only three desert
atory in 1908, two years after Mac- his own paper on desert climate to a laboratories. One established and main-
Dougal took charge, and was placed in distinguished session of the American tained by the Russian government at
charge when MacDougal retired. Yet Association for the Advancement of Repetek, Turkestan, has for its principal
Dr. Shreve is not a commandant; he is Science at Denver this summer. And purpose the study of sandy soils from
rather a fellow student and colleague just to fill in time while he worked "on the standpoint of agricultural use. Ano-
to the men who work under him. the hill" these past seven years, Turnage ther, maintained by the French govern-
Asked abruptly about the ranking completed his university course and ment at Beni Unif, Algeria, is interested
of the four men now working at the crammed in a few graduate courses. He only in date culture. This Carnegie In-
laboratory, Dr. Shreve said, "We don't can squint at a cloud, tell you how stitution Laboratory, then, is the only
want a man here who doesn't know high it is, where it came from, whether place where desert vegetation is studied
what he is doing. Each man has his it will bring rain and any other data in its native state from a purely scien-
own interest and he can usually keep you may request. I concluded he would tific standpoint."
busy without specific direction from be a good man to have around on a sum- Yet, while Dr. Shreve minimized the
me." mer camping trip in Arizona. contribution of the laboratory's work
There is earnest-eyed young Dr. T.
There have been as many as four or to the improvement of the desert dwell-
D. Mallery, who at 36 has the highest
five men—and occasionally a woman er's way of living, a perusal of the
scholastic degree as a result of his
scientist—working at the laboratory at titles of the many papers prepared by
studies on the osmotic movement of sap
one time. But for several years Dr. the staff is evidence enough that there
in Larrea (creosote bush). The factors
Shreve "held the fort" alone. Special is great practical value there. For in-
he has formulated have a bearing on
investigators, men whose work is sup- stance, Dr. Shreve wrote for the Head-
all desert plant life. With a physical
ported by a scientific foundation or waters Engineering Conference at Wash-
build along the lines of a varsity half-
great university, sometimes spend from ington last year a paper describing the
back, this youthful scholar is human
a few days to a few years at the labora- conditions and patient labor necessary
and practical in his attitude toward life
tory. They each work independent of the to improve grazing on desert lands.
in general and his work in particular.
other, yet each is aware of the other's His knowledge of the keen balance of
Twice a year "Tee Dee" takes a trek life, of soil moisture, rainfall and run-
course.
of several hundred miles over the de- off, climate and wind movement all con-
sert to inspect his "string" of rain gau- Casual Visitors Not Encouraged tribute to a basic understanding of soil
ges. These gauges, located in isolated Of the thousands of winter visitors erosion. Indirectly, many of the other
places, hold the secret of important who come to Tucson annually there may studies pursued at the laboratory will
data on rainfall and climate. be a dozen or so who will inquire eventually aid agriculture and stock-
Then there is another young fellow, about the way to the Desert Laboratory. raising and improve living conditions on
W. V. "Bill" Turnage, who has no Chances are they will have to ask a the desert.

28 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 Information Given to World which is an account of the expedition
into the Pinacate region.
More than 360 papers (a scientist's
This still partly unexplored area,
term comparable to the newsman's
named for a small beetle of the desert,
"story" and the magazine man's "ar-
ticle") have been produced by staff embraces about 700 square miles of lava
men at the laboratory. These articles flow and more than a hundred craters
describing work at the laboratory ap- of extinct volcanoes. Several craters,
pear in magazines, scientific journals, which now bear the names of members
school textbooks, Carnegie Institution of the party, are more than a mile in
news releases and books, and govern- diameter and have steeply precipitous
ment publications. They are not always sides. From this weird and fascinating
purely technical but they are usually desolation the party of explorers
"slanted" well above college essays. brought a story both novel and startling,
For instance, one of the first works one of the treasures of southwestern de-
published by the Institution was a large sert lore.
volume by MacDougal and Coville Since this memorable expedition,
called "Botanical Features of North scientific parties have gone into the
American Deserts" which embraces 115 region a number of times, the most
printed pages in describing areas of the recent led by Dr. Shreve in the spring
southwestern deserts. The findings re- of 1936. Perhaps one of the reasons why
corded in this book emphasized the the area remained unexplored for so
timely and strategic location of the long—and is incidentally an index
Desert Laboratory at Tucson. of its aridity—lies in the fact that in
Another monumental scientific work an area of seven thousand square miles
Dr. T. D. Mattery reading the long- in which Pinacate peak is the center,
by MacDougal and associates was a period rain guages. Light oil is
book published in 1914 describing the there is a total population of less than
used in the guages to prevent evap- fifty persons!
Salton Sea Basin. And Shreve published oration of captured rain-water.
a large volume describing the vegeta- The Desert Laboratory is only thirty-
tion of a mountain range as conditioned found in no other part of the world, five years old, a new-born babe in the
by climatic factors. These and similar they must have come from surrounding eternity of desert time. And the men
studies are the result of patient physi- advantageous areas and gradually crept who labor there, seeming to realize the
cal labor and ardous mental toil. into the arid lands as they were able to immensity of the work yet undone,
One of the productions in which Dr. adapt themselves to the more extreme have chosen a life of research and
Shreve displays much pride is the four- conditions. What changes took place study both intense and far-reaching.
volume work by Britton and Rose on when they came from their original Here the desert is truly under a micro-
"The Cactaceae" which gives "descrip- home? What physiological adjustments scope and its closely guarded secrets
tions and illustrations of plants of the took place? We are gradually linking are being brought to public view. Not
cactus family." This monumental con- the evidence togther to give us an in- now, perhaps, but soon, desert dwellers
tribution has become the cornerstone creasingly coherent answer to these will give fervent thanks for the fore-
for a nation-wide cactus and succulent questions." sight of an immigrant boy and for the
hobby and the foundation for all works The scientists of the Desert Labora- tenacity and intelligence of these de-
on the classification of cacti. tory are not stay-at-home bookworms. sert men of science.
Many of the papers deal with water Much of their time is spent in the field,
relations in desert plants, the rate of traveling several thousand miles a year
intake and loss of moisture and the in studying desert vegetation from the
mechanism of control which makes great basin of Nevada and Utah to
it possible for plants of arid lands to the high plains of the Mojave region,
withstand years of drought. into the rocky fastnesses of the Chihua-
huan desert, and into the arid regions
Time Means Nothing on Desert of northwestern Mexico and Baja
"Desert plants know how to mark California.
time," Dr. Shreve said. In that one short
statement is a world of wisdom. "The Trip to Pinacates
plants we study have so adapted them- One of the first great expeditions of
selves to conditions that they can re- the laboratory staff was taken into the
main dormant during unfavorable con- Pinacate region of northern Sonora in
ditions and then take advantage of 1907. Dr. MacDougal was leader of the
every opportunity when moisture does party of nine men, which included God-
You will find at Hotel de Anza tonic
come. These plants are so constituted frey Sykes and Dr. W. T. Hornaday. rest or intriguing adventure and ultra-
that they can radically change their Sykes remained with the laboratory for modern luxury in this desert oasis. Hike
response to wide ranges of light, mois- many years and although he formally —explore—hunt—fish—relax.
. ture, and temperature conditions. In fact retired from active service in 1929, he Rates from $3.50
the plants of our southwestern deserts is still actively pursuing hydrologic
| have no descent relationship with the investigations along the Colorado and
\ plants of any other desert in the world; other southwestern streams. Dr. Horn-
they are the product of their own en- aday died last March after a life dedi-
HOTEL DE ANZA
vironment." cated to wild life conservation. He was John Burke, Manager
"Our job, then, is to find out where the author of a penetrating and human On the Border of Old Mexico
these plants came from. If they are book, "Campfires on Desert and Lava," CALEXICO, CALIF.

November, 1937 29
 W.L
TOWNSEND
DISTRIBUTOR ON THE DESERT

ACME PIOCHE, NEVADA—

Marked revival in mining activities in this
district is evident as a result of the recent
completion of transmission lines bringing
Boulder dam power to Pioche. A celebration
YUMA, ARIZONA—
Wallace F. Beery, high ranking movie star,
is reported to have bought a 320-acre tract
of desert land 12 miles east of Yuma in the
Gila project.

BEER
which attracted visitors from all over the
state was held here September 25 as a formal
inauguration of the new power service. Pub- ELY, NEVADA—
lisher E. L. Nores issued a special edition of At the annual meeting of International
the Pioche Record in honor of the occasion. Four States Highway association (Montana,
Idaho, Nevada and California) here Septem-
ber 18, II. E. Wells of Whitefish, Montana,
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— was reelected president and Robert Hays of
Horse Thief basin park, recreational area El Centro, California, secretary.
in the Bradshaw mountains, maintained by
the City of Phoenix, drew more than 5,000
visitors during the past season, according to EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA—
the report of Manager Ray Patton. Bringing promise of a new industry for
Imperial and Coachella valleys, the Holly
Sugar company of Santa Ana has contracted
CALEXICO, CALIFORNIA— for the growing of more than 6,000 acres of
sugar beets in these desert areas during the
According to the report of Mexican engi-
winter season.
neers, 70 miles of the new railroad which is
to connect Calexico and Mexicali with a new
port on the Sonora shore of the Gulf of Cali- PHOENIX, ARIZONA—
fornia, has been completed. Completion of
this line will give American sportsmen a new Arizona's copper and black auto license
short route to the famous deep-sea fishing plates which have been in use since 1932
waters of the gulf. will give way next year to a combination of
yellow and black, according to recent an-
nouncement of the motor vehicle department.
AJO, ARIZONA— Arizona law stipulates that drivers must apply
"RED SEAL" Clarifying the Wheeler-Howard act insofar
as it applies to the Papago Indian reserva-
for new plales before January 1.

tion, President Roosevelt has signed a bill HOUCK, ARIZONA—

WINES restoring these Indian lands to exploration

and location for mining purposes. The Papa-
gos will be compensated for any damages or
loss of use or occupancy due to mining opera-
Poisonous herbs caused the death of two
Navajo Indian children recently, a boy aged
three and his five-year-old sister. According
to the report of reservations authorities the
tions. children devoured herbs which their mother
had ground on a stone for external applica-
tion to ihe broken arm o[ an older sister.
29 PALMS, CALIFORNIA—
Publishers Bill and Clint Underhill of the CROWNPOINT, NEW MEXICO—
DOMESTIC AND IMPORTED weekly newspaper "Desert Trail" recently
moved into a newly constructed building S. F. Stacher, for 28 years superintendent
WINES AND LIQUORS which houses not only their office and print- of the eastern Navajo reservation headquar-
ing plant but provides additional space for ters here, has been transferred to the superin-
other commercial purposes. tendency of the Ute reservation at Ignacio,
Colorado.

YUMA, ARIZONA— PRESCOTT, ARIZONA—

For the proptection of a dwindling number Current wage scales in Arizona as an-
Imperial and of mountain sheep and deer in the Kofa and
Castle Dome areas of Yuma county, the U. S.
Biological survey has asked for a presidential
nounced by the National Re-employment Serv-
ice office are as follows: Carpenters 11.125
per hour, bricklayers $1.50, electricians $1,125,
withdrawal of 700,000 acres of public domain machinists $1.20, brush painters $1.00, spray
Coachella Valleys as a game refuge. Mining and prospecting
in the area will not be restricted by the
painters $1.25, plasterers $1.50, powdermen
$1.00, stone masons $1.25, plumbers $1.25,
withdrawal order. sheet metal workers $1,125, cooks $.75, truck
and tractor operators $.75 to $1.25, dragline
PRESCOTT, ARIZONA— operators $1.50, diamond drillers $1,125, un-
skilled workers $.625 to $.65.
At the annual convention of Arizona Mo-
Phone Imperial 3131 hair Growers' association here, R. H. White-
head of Kirkland was elected president. J. A. QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA—
Medd of Skull Valley is vice president and On the daily trip from his camp to his
Imperial, California Mrs. Roy Cooper of Kirkland, secretary. At placer claims in the Plomosa district, E. D.
f 60 to 70 cents a pound, Mohair growers are
receiving the highest price in years.
Ring has killed 18 rattlesnakes during the
past season.

30 The DESERT MAGAZINE

INDIO, CALIFORNIA— FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA— BIG BEAR, CALIFORNIA—
Field work has been resumed by U. S. Rec- Honoring the state's senior senator, citi- Discovery of a graphite deposit assaying
lamation bureau engineers in preparation for zens of Flagstaff are planning to restore and 40 per cent and estimated at five billion tons
the construction of the 130-mile extension of preserve the old Ashurst home, one and one- was reported here early in October by Mark
the All-American canal. H. R. Voris re- half miles east of Ashurst lake. The home, Hart and John Ragan. In the pines of the
cently has been transferred from Yuma to built in the 'seventies, is one of the oldest Van Dusen canyon district, just off the Mo-
Coachella valley, where he has established in northern Arizona. jave desert, lies great wealth in the new
headquarters for the field parties. black gold, according to geologists.
SAFFORD, ARIZONA—
GALLUP, NEW MEXICO—
Graham county farm bureau has adopted a
David Jones of this city has been named
custodian of the Wupatki and Sunset crater
scale of 75 cents per hundred pounds for
the picking of short staple cotton this season.
The Desert Market Place
national monuments north of Flagstaff. He
will make his headquarters at Wupatki. Jones
is a graduate of the University of Arizona, SALT LAKE, UTAH— Buy, sell or exchange desert
where he has specialized in archeological re- Citing the case of a man who drove his craftwork, art, or property in
search. new car from New York to California and the new classified section of the
had to pay $7.00 in fees to get through one
V1CKSBURG, ARIZONA— state, Russell Singer told representatives of DESERT MAGAZINE.
the American Automobile association in con-
One of the largest herds of mountain sheep ference here that there is danger in the grow- Rates furnished on request from
reported in Yuma county in recent years was ing tendency of western states to interfere
seen by John Ramsey, local prospector, re- with inter-state travelers. More courtesy and
Advertising Dept., Desert Mag-
cently. He counted 25 animals in one group less obnoxious restrictions are what we need, azine, El Centro, Calif.
near the Plomosa range. This area is in- said Singer.
cluded in the Federal game refuge which is
now being established.
TUCSON, ARIZONA— HUMMEL'S EXOTIC GARDENS Intro-
ductory offer: Rainbow collection, fifteen
PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA— Dr. C. T. Vorhies of the University of varicoloured Cactus and Succulent plants.
Equipped with a 3100-foot runway, an air Arizona has traded a Gila monster of the Suitable for window garden. $1.00. 4848 Im-
field is being established a half mile south desert for a flying lizard from Siam. The perial Highway, Inglewood, Calif.
of the clubhouse of Antelope Country club. exchange was made with Dr. Lucias C.
The field will be used mainly by sportsman Biilkley of California, who plans to take the
pilots in the Los Angeles metropolitan area monster to Siam to be placed in a museum PHOTOGRAPHIC quality that is perma-
who have purchased desert estates in this there. nent. Rolls developed and printed 25c, Re-
district. prints 3c. Mead's, Dept. D, Box 811. Station
H, Los Angeles, Calif.
PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA—
GLOBE, ARIZONA— At a recent meeting of civic leaders plans BEAUTIFUL 8X10 glossy photograph of The
Wild life in Arizona is worth $20,000,000 were initiated for the incorporation of this Desert Magazine's cover $1, mailed postpaid
according to estimate of State Game Warden city. Petitions carrying the names of 25 anywhere in U.S. Desert Craft Shop, 597
S. L. Lewis, who spoke before the chamber per cent of the property owners must be se- State St.. El Centro, Calif.
of commerce here recently. Game conditions cured before the county board of supervisors
in the state are better than they were 10 can call an election. According to tentative
years ago, Lewis said. They can be further plans, the ward system will be adopted and Keep A l l Your Copies of
improved, he added, by taking the problem the boundaries of the seven wards have been
of game conservation entirely out of the outlined. THE DESERT MAGAZINE
Have them bound into permanent volumes.
political system and putting the state game They'll be valuable in many ways.
department under civil service. PARKER, ARIZONA— IMPERIAL VALLEY BINDERY
The long-standing feud between California 129 N. Sixth, El Centro, Calif.
MECCA, CALIFORNIA— and Arizona over the division of the waters
One of the best-known landmarks on the of the Colorado river was forgotten here on
Colorado desert of California changed hands September 25 when high ranking officials
recently when Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Barnes from both states met to take part in a color-
purchased the 80-acre tract which includes ful celebration marking the completion of the
Dos Palmos springs. This was one of the new $134,000 motor vehicle bridge which
water-holes along the old Bradshaw stage spans the river. Clara Osborne Botzum, sec-
route. Frank Coffey, veteran prospector, re- retary of the Northern Yuma county cham-
sided at the palms for many years and raised ber of commerce, cut the ribbon which for-
fish in the pools below the springs. Since mally opened the bridge to traffic. With the
his death two years ago the property has completion of the new span, the ferry and
been unoccupied. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have pontoon bridge operated by Nellie and Joe
been making their home on adjoining prop- Bush for many years passed into the discard.
erty, and plan to preserve the historic old
landmark.
DOUGLAS, ARIZONA—
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Investigating the possibilities of a trip of
exploration into the wild mountain area along
Cotton farmers in the irrigated district of the Chilhauahua-Sonora border where descend-
Arizona, New Mexico and California are not ants of the savage Apaches are said to live
getting a fair break under the present soil in a primitive state, Dr. Helge Ingstad has
conservation program of the Federal govern- spent some time in this city recently. The
ment. This is one of the reasons given for expedition will be made mainly for ethno-. Irrigation headgates and pipe,
the recent formation of the Arizona Cotton logical purposes. septic tanks, stock tanks, and vi-
Growers' association. Carl Miller of Buck-
eye is chairman and L. G. Vinson of Phoenix brated building blocks.
is secretary-treasurer. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA—
Construction of a western extension of Imperial Valley
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Highway 64 by way of Boulder dam and Las
Vegas and across the southern tip of Death
Concrete Company
Ray Lawhorn of the United States biolog- Valley to Bakersfield, California, and the P. E. RYERSON, Prop.
ical survey, migratory bird division, recently Pacific coast is being sponsored by civic "Pipe by the Mile"
was assigned here to open a permanent office leaders in the communities along the route. Phone 477
for work in Arizona. He will work in co- An association is to be formed to promote 412 State St. El Centro, Calif.
operation with state game wardens. the project.

N o v e m b e r , 1937 8.1
 For This "Army" - 8000 Grubbing Hoes
Continued from Page 21

When the Yuma project was opened

in 1909, the homestead unit was forty
acres. Whether or not this precedent
will be followed in the colonization of
the All-American canal project is a mat-
ter of uncertainty. Veterans of the
reclamation service generally regard
this as a fair allotment.
When the Yuma Valley was thrown
open, those seeking homesteads were
permitted to file applications for the
tracts of their selection. Then a draw-
ing was held among the applicants for
each separate parcel to determine the
winner.
Experienced Farmers Wanted
Compared with the madcap free-for-
all land rushes which marked some of
the earlier land openings in American
history, the Yuma drawing was orderly
and equitable. But it failed to discrimi-
nate between qualified farmers who
were seeking honestly to acquire land
for farming purposes and speculators
who thought they saw a chance to pick Rare photograph of a desert thunderstorm over the sand dunes of
up a few easy dollars. the Colorado desert.
It generally is assumed that when the
All-American canal lands are thrown tion homestead act, on a Federal recla- small expense for leveling. There are
open to the public there will be a new mation p r o j e c t , must possess good many sections, however, where sand
deal in land openings, with the element health and vigor, and have at least two dunes must be moved and barrancas
of speculation almost if not entirely re- years' actual experience in farm work. filled before the land will be ready for
moved. Also, he must have $2,000 in money farming.
One of the old-timers in Imperial Val- over all liabilities, or the equivalent in The native flora consists mostly of
ley recently expressed a view on this livestock, farm equipment or other greasewood and burrowweed, with an
subject which is suggestive. He said: assets. occasional mesquite or ironwood. Gen-
"The Reclamation Bureau has erected What will these veterans grow on the erally speaking, no timber is available
a Boulder dam which is a monument of lands? Here we enter the field of con- either for building or fuel purposes.
beauty and efficiency. The Bureau has troversy. If the Department of Agricul- Well water for domestic use may be
laid out and developed a townsite— ture has its way, no farming will be reached at depths varying from 35 to
Boulder City—as a model which might undertaken on the sandy soil of these 100 feet.
well be copied by town-builders every- desert mesas until after a selected group Pioneering Job for Owners
where. The same superb planning and of expert farmers have had an oppor- There are old-timers who have gone
management have been evident in the tunity to carry on exhaustive experi- through the homesteading game who
building of the All-American canal. It ments. will tell you that the best forty acres
is unthinkable in the light of this record The Reclamation Bureau also believes in the west isn't worth the work and
that the Bureau would permit the final in the experimental idea, but would worry of reclaiming it for irrigation.
phase of this great Colorado river proj- carry on this work on a smaller scale They have traveled the road that begins
ect—the opening of the new lands—to and without too much delay. with the dream of "a little home in the
take the form of an inglorious lottery B. A. Harrigan, agricultural com- west donated by Uncle Sam" and leads
in which merit would be put on the missioner for Imperial county, who can through hard work, disappointment and
same level with fool luck." readily qualify as an expert in such privation to that day when the govern-
That is something for Commissioner matters, believes that the new lands are ment issues a final patent to the land.
John C. Page and his co-workers to ideal both as to soil and climate for They know that in the long run the
think about, if they have not already deciduous fruits. He would encourage homesteader in an irrigation country
done so. the planting of deciduous orchards as pays dearly for his little plot of ground.
Veterans of the American wars will a main source of revenue. But the blood of the pioneer still
have a 90-day advantage over other ap- "The conditions are right," he points flows in the veins of Americans. There
plicants for these new lands. That point out, "and the output of these orchards will be^ no lack of applicants for the
is established by act of congress which would not compete with the crops of new lands.
neither the Secretary of Interior nor the other desert farmers in the Imperial, One of these days, perhaps two years,
President can change. Yuma. Palo Verde and Salt River val- probably longer, the old call will be
However, in addition to being an ex- leys." broadcast: "Come and get it!" And
service man there are certain other Large areas within the new reclama- the veterans will come trekking in from
qualifications required of veteran appli- tion project can be watered and brought all the 48 states to take their places
cants. An entryman under the reclama- into cultivation w i t h comparatively Turn to Page 33

32 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 KEEP DESERT CLEAN For This 'Army of the West"
Agave Furnished Food,
Though the following poem has ap- (Continued From Page 32)
Clothing for Indians peared in both the Nature Club of
To the Indians who occupied the Southern California bulletin and the in the line. Their reward, if they win,
American desert area before the white quarterly schedule of the Sierra Club, will be more than merely a plate of
men came, the most useful native shrub we think the sentiment expressed is beans or a 30-dollar-pay-check-less-de-
was agave or mescal. This is the con- worthy of repetition. ductions. For those who can qualify,
clusion of A. A. Nichol, assistant pro- Friend, where you stay, or sit, and take the prize will be a 40-acre farm.
fessor of botany at the University of your ease, Then the war will be on again. For
Arizona, in his recent book "The Nat- On moor or fell, or under spreading the old life in the trenches, in retro-
ural Vegetation of Arizona." trese, spect, will sometimes seem like a bed
From the agave the Indians obtained Pray, leave no traces of your wayside of roses compared with the job of mak-
food, soap, a mildly intoxicating bever- meal; ing a bushel of potatoes or a load of
age, a sugar-substitute, tonic and chest- No paper bags, no scattered orange pumpkins or a lug of apricots grow
compress, and material for clothes, bas- peel, where only a lone greasewood bush is
kets and summer homes. Nor daily journal littered on the grass. to be found today.
The University recently published Others may view these with distaste, and
Prof. Nichol's work as a bulletin. It pass.
covers the scientific classification of the Let no one say, and say it to your
state's many kinds of vegetation and is shame,
an unusually valuable source book of That all was beauty here until you
information in this broad field. came.
—The Surrey Anti-Litter League.
HEARD MUSEUM IN PHOENIX
OPENED FOR SEASON ANDREAS CANYON NOW OPEN
Desert visitors will be interested to TO VISITORS
know that the Heard museum at 22 East One of the most picturesque canyons
Monte Vista road, Phoenix, has been in the Palm Springs area has been
opened for the winter. This is one of opened to the public as a result of the
the most interesting collections of Indian recent completion of a new road lead-
art and relics in the Southwest, and dur- ing to the palm trees at the mouth of
ing the last winter season attracted the arroyo. The work was done by
5,341 visitors. A reference library in members of the Agua Caliente tribe of
connection with the museum contains Indians and a road crew under the su-
several hundred books on archeology pervision of H. H. Quackenbush, reser-
and kindred subjects. vation superintendent, and W. C. Seaton
Open hours for the season are from of Palm Springs.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Sunday A small lake will be formed as a re-
and Monday. On Sunday it will be sult of the nine-foot road embankment
open from 1 to 4 p.m. near the entrance to the canyon. There
Mrs. Dwight B. Heard is president of is a dense grove of native Washingtonia
the Board of Trustees and Mrs. Allie palms in this canyon and an ancient
Indian cave nearby.
HETZEL
Walling Brame is curator.
Your Photographer
Looking Down from Nevada's High Oasis Since 1913
(Continued from page 13)
63,410 acres in this forest division, over the mountain, ascending by one EL CENTRO, CAL
much of it timber land. The entire area route and descending by the other. The Phone 34
is a federal game preserve, and the scenic beauty of the new route even
estimated 250 deer, 42 elk and 20 Nel- surpasss that of the present trail, ac-
son mountain sheep in the forest are cording to the ranger's opinion.
guarded jealously by the rangers. Other I failed to mention the fact that our TVI ED INSURANCE
species of wild life, including sage Sierra climbing party was caught in a I I LEK AGENCY
grouse, wild turkey and Hungarian hail storm on the return trip from the H * l i m VI.H.TYLtRlft.-J.W.TYLlR
partridge are to be released in the area COMPLETE
summit—but even pelting hail stones
soon. ' 1HSURAHCE SERVICE
failed to dim my enthusiasm for those REALTOR X
Plans are now in progress to add picturesque meadows along the ridge. PHONE 6 6 0
winter sports to the attractions of this And besides, I was snugly sheltered in %0 52D MAIN STREET
mountain resort. Alf Engen of national the hollow trunk of a huge tree while a CEHTRH.CAL.
ski fame has been directing a crew of the storm passed over.
CCC workers during the past three
months in the construction of ski jumps,
toboggan slides and other facilities for SAVE AT SEARS'
snow sports. the only complete store in Imperial Valley
Ranger Anderson told me that a new
trail is to be built to the summit by way
of Lee canyon and Deer creek. This
S t A R S . ROE B U C K A N D CO.
731 Main St. El Centro, Calif.
will enable the hiker to take a loop trip

N o v e m b e r , 1937 33
 GOD OF THE DESERT
By TOM HUGHES
Great brother of the sky!
When early-streaming shafts of eager
light
Strike your far, frosted brow; when
morning winds
Come from the stars to kiss your rosy
face;
When your wild brooks turn silver in
their flight;
When all your soaring crags leap into
flame
As standing there you look across the
sands,
With the shadow of you reaching to the
sea—
Then do we taste of awe. then do we
thrill
With wonder and o'erwhelming mystery.

Great sainted Hyacinth, whence did you

come ?
What wild debauch of beauty set you
there ?
What sky-born ecstasy conceived your
lines?
Whose chisel etched the tracery of your
spires?
Whose brush laid on your summit's
morning fires?

Your noble visage all the answer gives:

Up from the burning sands a winged
god
Once spurned this mortal earth, then
pity felt,
And stayed to make his home there
'gainst the sky.

THE PROSPECTOR WEATHER

BY JEFF WORTH desert sunset, the thrill of a moun-
September report from
tain cloudburst, the majestic gran- U. S. Bureau at Phoenix
"Neither Parson Priest nor Rabbi deur of snow crowned peaks— Temperatures— Degrees
Proclaim the "Way to God," these supply his spiritual needs. Mean for month 86.9
Where flaming Yucca blossoms Inspiration, religion and a pro- Normal for September 82.7
Spring from the desert clod." Highest September 9 106.0
found confidence in a Supreme Lowest September 26 66.0
Power come to him from the

S O SINGS the true "desert rat" Rain— Inches

as he pitches camp beside forces which he sees exemplified Total for month 1.17
Normal for month 75
the water hole. day by day. Contact and observa- Total Jan. 1 to date 4.96
Content with his lot, he finds tion give him a knowledge of Normal Jan. 1 to date 5.61
companionship with his faithful Nature's laws, secrets and ways Weather—
burros. The cares and troubles of that are not to be learned from Number days clear 24
Number days partly cloudy 5
his city brothers worry him not books nor in any other school. Number days clou ly 1
at all. Greed, ambition and artificial W. B. HARE, Meteorologist.
Wandering from the frozen culture are alien forces and have From Yuma Bureau:
no place in his scheme of things. Temperatures— Degrees
wastes of the northland to the Mean for month 89.6
burning reaches of the southern When old age and infirmities Normal for September 83.7
border, he follows the trail in finally exact their toll, he oftimes Highest September 14 112.0
search of the unknown "just over pitches his final camp near some Lowest September 30 61.0
isolated desert spring where the This was the warmest September re-
the hill." corded in 60 years.
A meagre camp, spuds, beans, coyotes and wolves sing a re- Rain— Inches
bacon, flour and coffee—and the quiem over his bleaching bones as Total for month 1.71
world is his. Of physical com- one who not only knew and loved 67-year average is 35
the desert wilds but who also Sunshine—346 hrs. out of possible 371 hrs.
forts he knows nothing, and has Colorado River—
no regret. Prospecting for pre- recognized his kinship with the September discharge at Grand Canyon was
cious metal or just hitting the things of the desert and with the 467,000 acre feet. Discharge at Parker,
little people of the brush lands 532,000 acre feet.
trail from here to there, his life Estimated storage behind Boulder dam
is complete. The glories of the who venture forth as the brilliant October 1—15,220.000 acre feet.
star shot heaven, the gorgeous stars burn bright o'erhead. JAMES H. GORDON, Meteorologist.

34 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 OF YESTERDAY and TODAY
BOOKS —a monthly review of the best literature
of the desert Southwest, past and present. SCHENIMAN
THEY KEPT FAITH WHEN
THE RAIN GOD WAS ANGRY
WHEN BIGHORN SHEEP WERE
FOUND IN THE PINACATES
PAPERCO.
Wholesale
I N HOPI-LAND, rain is god. To
propitiate the god, the dancing feet
of the Hopi katchinas have tapped
C AMP-FIRES ON DESERT AND
LAVA, by William T. Hornaday.
Published by Chas. Scribner's
the rain rhythms for centuries untold, Sons, New York, 1908. 336 pp—72
Paper Merchants

on the high arid mesas of Arizona. photographs.

Winters the people spend in dancing Although this book has been out of
ritual to bring down summer rain on print for many years and the available Paper Supplies for the
their crops. If the bean feast is ob- copies are mostly in the hands of libra- Produce Industry
served punctiliously with dance and rians and private collectors, it is an
song in the kivas of the Hopi villages, invaluable addition to the desert lover's
the great cloud house will open its library.
doors and spill the life-giving water on
Hornaday, nationally known zoolo-
the thirsty mesa.
gist and wild-life conservationist, joined El Centro and Brawley
Of this annual rhythm of winter rit- Dr. D. T. MacDougal, then director of PHONES
ual and summer harvest, John Louw the Desert Laboratory at Tucson, in a
Nelson writes in his book "Rhythm for one-month trip into the lava-swept Pi- El Centro 712 Browley 187
Rain" (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1937). In nacate r e g i o n of northern Sonora,
leisurely narrative, enriched with au- Mexico in 1907. The book is a human
thentic detail of a culture that is slowly
and entertaining account of the party's
giving way to the white man's sophis- ROCKWOOD'S
tication, the author tells the story of a adventures and achievements. Own story of the
Hopi boy who grows to manhood in The author died in New York early Reclamation of Imperial
the communal life of the pueblo. this year and Dr. MacDougal is now in Valley
The writer has lived for many years retirement at Carmel, Calif. Godfrey Art Edition
among the Hopis and he knows how Sykes, handy man of all jobs who de- Mailed postpaid to any address
these mystic, intuitive people feel about lights the reader with his exploits, is in United States for $1.00
their nature gods and the exacting rites still associated with the Desert Labora- Address
that must be observed to bring rain. tory.
For once the people offended the gods Here is as fine a group of sportsman- DESERT CRAFTS SHOP
and for three endless years no rain fell. scientists, and as entertaining an ac- 597 State St.
Then came months of desperate danc- count of their outing as will be found El Centro, California
ing, the katchinas in their masks of gods in the desert any time or any where.
imploring rain, rain, rain. Although the party went out pri-
The brazen sky was pitiless and fam- marily in search of mountain sheep, the BOOKS RELATING
ine fed on the bodies of the faithful, men of science of course had their eyes, TO THE DESERT
so that the shrunken corpses hardly ap- ears and minds open. In simple style,
peased the wolves that skulked in the Hornaday introduces the plants and Books on California and the
village streets. Some of the tribe emi- animals found along the way and pre- Southwest including Death Valley
grated, leaving the weaker ones to cani- sents a fascinating picture of the color- and the Colorado Desert have
always been one of our outstand-
balism and grave robbing. The children ful craters and massive lava formations ing specialties.
were sold as slaves to the Mexicans. in the Pinacate region. Exceptionally Books bought. Catalogs issued.
But at last the gods relented and rain fine photographic reproduction adds to
came. Life flowed back to the people. the interest of the book. DAWSON'S BOOK SHOP
Like Job, they kept faith through their 627 S. Grand Avenue
While the destination of the party Los Angeles, Calif.
tribulation. was northern Mexico, Dr. Hornaday
Author Nelson is director of research presents an interesting picture of Tuc-
with the Museum of the American In- son as it was in 1907, and describes the
dian Heye foundation. His descriptions animal and plant life of the southern
of dances and rituals are authentic ac- Arizona desert in striking detail.
count? of what he has seen many times This is a valuable book for the
in eight years spent among the Hopi hunter and conservationist as well as
people. Photographs of pueblo subjects the geographer and scientist. For this
and paintings of Indian artists add to was one of the last great stands of Ovis
the interest of the book. canadensis—the Big Horn sheep. And
Though the writer's interest lies pri- the Pinacate region is liberally dotted
marily in anthropology and folk ways, with volcanic craters which would re-
he is so impressed with the faith and ceive voluminous tourist-bait publicity
philosophy of these primitive people if they were nearer a well-traveled
that the sympathetic reader will like- highway. But if they were more acces-
wise be impressed. sible this book would never have been
OLGA COSTELLO written.—J. W. M.

N o v e m b e r , 1937 Mention the Desert Magazine to Advertisers 35

 20-Day Deer Season
They Helped Launch in Kaibab Opens Oct. 27
Regulations which will govern the
the New Magazine - - - 20-day deer hunting season in Kaibab
national forest from October 27 to No-
vember 15 this year have been an-
nounced as follows:
No. I Subscriber No. I Advertiser Each hunter is entitled to one deer,
which may be either buck or doe.
Hunters must have both an Arizona
state hunting license and a federal gov-
•

ernment agreement. Licenses and agree-

ments may be purchased at any of the
four established huntings camps.
H :

| |
The four camps which will be hunt-
ers' headquarter are: Moquitch, man-
aged by Jack Butler; Pine Flat, man-
* *

P aged by Slim Waring; Big Saddle, man-

aged by Hades Church. These are on
the west side of Kaibab. On the east

I
side will be South Canyon camp, man-
aged by Bob Vaughn. To prevent over-
crowding and accidents the number of
•
hunters at each camp will be limited.
It will not be necessary to make reser-
vations, however.
• Hunting will be done under Arizona

| laws and the regulations of the Ari-

zona game and fish commission, and

1
JASPER L. TRAVERS
It' JOHN BURKE
under the federal regulations of the For-
est service. Deputy Game Wardens and
Forest Rangers are to be stationed at
each camp.
Every publication has a first sub- In these days when nearly every Saddle and pack horses will be avail-
scriber, but not all of them can business executive is literally be- able for hire at each camp. Saddle
claim as canny a Scotsman as Jas- sieged by advertising salesmen horses will be $3.00 a day and pack
per Travers of El Centro, Cali- from all kinds of good, bad and animals the same rate. Guides will be
fornia, as its No. 1 patron. Jasper indifferent media, it is refreshing available at $5.00 a day, a guide party
heard rumors about the Desert to have a prospective advertiser being from two to four persons.
Magazine several months before it send in his contract unsolicited.
Meals will be available at all camps.
was officially announced. He liked And yet this is the manner in
the idea, and his offer to pay a Hunters should bring their own bed-
which the Desert Magazine ac- rolls. However, a few beds will be
year's subscription came unso- quired its Number 1 advertiser.
licited at a time when the pub- available at all except South Canyon
John Burke, manager of that pic-
lishers themselves were not just turesque border hostelry at Calex- camp.
sure about the date of the first is- ico—the Hotel de Anza—learned Complete information together with
sue. However, they took his about the proposed new publica- supplies will be available at Jacob Inn,
money. That was December 14, tion early last January, and wrote Buck Lowrey's lodge and the V. T.
1936. for an advertising rate card. Ranch.
Travers is a pioneer building Rates had not yet been estab- Only guns using a bullet weighing 87
contractor who inherited enough lished, and no cards were available. grains or heavier will be permitted.
industry and thrift from his high- But the publishers did not keep Shotguns, revolvers and bows and ar-
land ancestors to acquire a com- Burke waiting for long, and on rows are not allowed. Automatic rifles
fortable nestegg during the 30 February 25, three days before are permissible but are not favored.
years he has resided in the Imperial the Desert Magazine was officially There will be no shooting within a
valley. The publishers of the new launched, the signed contract of quarter mile of the camps, or from au-
magazine regard it as a good omen the De Anza for 12 monthly inser- tomobiles along the roads. Automo-
to have a hard-headed Scotsman tions was received. biles must be left in camp when passen-
at the head of the subscription list. "You are pioneering in a new gers are hunting.
magazine field," wrote Burke, "and An airplane landing field is available
A few days after Travers paid I believe your project will have
for his subscription, Paul Cook, surprising success. Desert people for hunters at Fredonia.
Jr., of the Capital Fuel and Feed will welcome such a magazine, but Metal tags will be attached to each
company of Phoenix, Arizona, sent I believe your biggest circulation deer killed.
in his check. Number 3 on the list eventually will come from distant Arizona hunting licenses cost $2.50
was another name that has a Scotch places among people to whom the for residents and $25 for non-residents.
twang to it—Mr. and Mrs. Argyle desert is still an unexplained mys- The Forest service agreement will cost
M«Lachlan of Calexico, California. tery." $1.25 additional.

36 The DESERT MAGAZINE

 "Desert Steve"
Continued from Page 27 PURE...
blem which was confronting the Rags-
dale family. EVERY BOTTLE
The outcome of il all was thai when
I he next semester opened at the River- STERILIZED!/
side college, Mr. and Mrs. Ragsdale
and their youngest son were all enrolled \x /
for classes. Father Ragsdale, 53 years
of age, reported for astronomy, psy-
chology, English and philosophy. Mo-
ther Ragsdale took art and astronomy.
Unfortunately, the younger member
of the family was taken ill and could
not carry on through the course. Bui
Pa and Ma lugged their textbooks to
school every day until (he last examina-
tion was given.
"It was the greatest experience in my
life,:' declared Ragsdale afterward. "The
thing which I appreciated more than
all else was that throughout the entire
time we were in school there was nol
the slightest hint of discourtesy or ridi-
cule from either student or teacher. No THE HANDY • Nothing you eat or drink is brought to
one can tell me there is anything wrong FAMILY PACKAGE you with purity more carefully guarded
with the younger generation of Ameri- than Coca-Cola . . . in sterilized bottles,
cans. I put them to the test, and I know filled and sealed by automatic machines.
the answer." Ice-cold Coca-Cola is pure refresh-
Recently Mr. and Mrs. Ragsdale ment ... pure as sunlight. Buy it in the
bought: .%() acres of fine limber on handy 6-box.
the top of Sanla Rosa peak, and buill
a big log cabin where they spend much ICE-COLD COCA-COLA IS EVERY PLACE ELSE.
of iheii- time while Therman runs the IT BELONGS I N Y O U R ICE-BOX AT HOME
business at Desert Center and super- COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO.
vises the operation of branch stations
al Utopia and Cactus City, which arc
also Ragsdale towns on Highway 60.
Steve's mountain domain is posted
with placards advising visitors that
EXTRA COPIES of the DESERT MAGAZINE
are available for mailing to your friends, rela-
"DECENT FOLKS ARE tives, and acquaintances who are interested in
WELCOME; ENJOY BUT the desert country.
DON'T DESTROY"
They will appreciate your thoughtfulness in
Beneath these black-faced lines are sending them the No. I copy of this new illus-
a low lines of Steve's own poetry.
"But the blankely-blank souvenir hun- trated magazine of arid America.
ters keep stealing the poems off the The gift magazines will be wrapped and ad-
trees," complains Steve. dressed and the postage paid to any address
in the United States for the regular newsstand
DESERT WHIRLWINDS price of 25 cents.
By LOUISE EATON Just write the addresses on the blank spaces
Far in ihe distance the "dust devils" below and send the list together with 25 cents
dance— for each name to The Desert Magazine, El
Dervishes whirling in wildest aban-
Centro, California.
don.
Now they're retreating and now they
advance, To Desert Magazine, El Centro, Calif.:
Choosing their footing, and bowing Please send copies of the first issue of your
at random. new magazine to:
Name Name
Where do they come from and where
do they go? Address Address
Genii attempting their earth-hold to
sever. Name Name .
So do we humans in our little show Address Address
Whirl for a moment than vanish Enclosed is 25 cents for each of the above.
forever.

N o v e m b e r , 1937 37
 ou am//7e
5^^r^ z>

By THE EDITOR

H AVE YOU ever experienced that glorious relaxation

which conies after a long day's hike over mountain or
desert trail and toward evening arrive at a spring of
While I do not want to claim too much modernism for
desert folks, I would like to present them through the
pages of this magazine with some degree of accuracy—that
cool water where camp is to be made for the night? is, as men and women who speak good English, who read
Well, that is the sensation I am enjoying just at this mo- books, and who act and think like intelligent Americans
ment. All the rest of the copy for this first issue of the De- of the present generation.
sert Magazine has gone to the printers, and there remains The truth of the matter is that the real people of the
only the pleasant task of sitting by an imaginary campfire desert are warm-hearted and generous and thoroughly
and chatting with the companions of the trail. civilized—but not too civilized.
For that is what this page is to be—just the informal
kind of talk which you would expect from an old friend.
You'll disagree with what I say sometimes, and perhaps
Ihink I should be locked up in the crazy house. But who The poets have been our most liberal contributors. They
would want to have a friend, or be the kind of a friend have literally deluged us with verse. There seems to be
who never took issue on any question? The old world something about this desert atmosphere that inspires poetry.
would grow stagnant on that kind of friendship. Much of it is good, loo. Bui I have had to return the
Figuratively, the first day's trek is ended. Literally, Wil- greater part of it for the reason thai the pages in [his
son McKenney and I have been plodding along for many magazine are limited—and we have to keep some of the
months wrestling with problems of circulation and adver- space for prose and pictures and advertisements. At that,
tising, of art work and photographs and text matter. And there is enough poetry in the files now to last three genera-
now we can relax for a moment, knowing that tomorrow we lions of Desert Magazine publishers.
must resume the trail which leads to another issue of the I really haven't any grudge against the poets and their
magazine, and to many others. poems. I wrote one myself once—the world's worst. We
Being amateurs in the business of publishing a maga- would still be a world of savages but for the creative ail
zine, this has been a great adventure for us. We've fretted which finds expression in poetry. And so my hand is out in
and argued over problems which any professional maga- friendship to the poets and I hope they will not feel hurt
zine publisher could have answered in three ticks of the when we do not publish all their offerings.
clock.
But there are some compensations in being novices in a
new game. We have received hundreds of in muscripts from
ihose who would contribute to the magazine. We've read Well anyway, we are about to close the forms on the
them all—and found it a fascinating pastime. Not being first issue of the desert's new magazine. "Mac" and I and
bound by the precedents that govern veteran magazine pub- the other members of our staff have appreciated the hun-
lishers, we rejected or accepted each one with a personal dreds of messages of interest and goodwill which have
letter—instead of using those stereotyped rejection slips come to us since our project first was announced many
which editors usually send out. I have a lol of those slips in months ago.
my trunk—and I vowed long ago that if I ever became We want it to he understood that this magazine is to
the editor of a magazine I would at least tell the aspiring be published for all the desert of the Southwestern part of
writers why I could not use their stories. Perhaps when I the United States. Within the limits of our space and ability
am older in the game I will become crusty a"d tell the we will give recognition to every constructive interest in
printers to run off some of those cold-blooded little notices this great desert expanse. We are working on our own
of rejection. But so far, my resolution has not wavered. capital and have no alliances or obligations other than to
serve and entertain those who live on the desert, or who arc
interested in the desert.
However, 1 do wish that the writers would realize this We would like to feel that these pages will impart to
is not a wild and wooly western magazine of the pulp their readers some of the courage, the tolerance, and the
type. They keep sending in those red-hot thrillers in which friendliness of our desert—that this issue and every issue,
the hero carries a gun on each hip and speaks a language will be the cool spring of water at the end of the hard day's
which was invented in Hollywood. The Desert Magazine trek—and that you will go with us along the desert trail
simply is not in the markel for that kind of fiction. and find ihe journey worth while.

38 The DESERT MAGAZINE

Surplus-Powered Rollator Refrigerators

Lead in Sales
on the Desert
This is the final test of approval for out-
standing leadership. For four successive years
NORGE has outsold all refrigerators in Yurna,
Arizona, and Imperial, California, counties.
Such an unmatched sales record has been
won by giving better refrigeration where it
is most needed—where summer temperatures
reach I 12 to 123 degrees F. This desert test-
ing has proven NORGE the leader in pro-
viding—

• Surplus Cold
• Lower Operating Cost
• Freedom From Service
Only NORGE
e
Has This Smooth A n d a warranty of ten years
Quiet Rollator on the Rollator cold-making compressor
unit insures these thousands of NORGE
Only three slowly moving
parts rolling in a bath of owners lasting, economical refrigeration.
oil. Provide more cold than
the hottest desert weather
will ever require. Before you buy any refrigerator get the
details about NORGE. Learn about our
easy budget plan. Visit any one of the
Choose from 12 Models stores of this pioneer desert firm.

Priced at
$119501,$46500 I V. HARDWARE CO.TBSI STORES
IMPERIAL AND YUM A VALLEYS I
One of California's Great Store Organizations
 Let's Qet Acquainted...
\ \ l E ARE proud of Caterpillar products and of the serv-
ice organization we offer in the Imperial and Yuma
valleys. Our products have proven themselves in this desert
country for durability and economy of operation. Cater-
pillars may be seen in action in all parts of these valleys. And
a Ben Hulse service store is within an hour's drive from any
section of this vast area.

BEN HULSE

There is an interesting and dramatic story behind Caterpillar and the or-
ganization which represents it in the desert. The story begins in a great fac-
tory at Peoria, Illinois, and reaches its climax in the local farmer's fattened bank
account.

H u n d r e d s of patrons
and friends have seen the
Ben Hulse T r a c t o r and
Equipment C o . grow from
a small agency to one of
the largest and most stable
sales and service organiza-
tions in the southwest. To
them and to other hun-
dreds we should like to tell
our story.

W e plan to unfold a comprehensive account of our products and their

manufacture, our service and what it can mean to equipment users. It will
appear from month to month for the next year in the Desert Magazine. W o n ' t
you follow it with us? . . . let's get acquainted.

Ben Hulse Tractor and Equipment Co.

EL CENTRO BRAWLEY CALEXICO YUMA