194401 desert magazine 1944 january

8/14/2019 194401 Desert Magazine 1944 January

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Camelback Mountain, near Phoenix, A rizona. C olor lithograph by Lon Megargee,

O U R R A IN Y S E A S O NB y EM M A J . C . D A V I S

San Bernardino, CaliforniaSlowlyday after daygrey mists arise,Veiling our mountain peaks, our turquoise skies,'Til comes a night, dark, starless, overcastWhen we awake, to hear at lastat last,The lit t le rain-drums, beating through the hours,Ceaseless reveille to the sleeping flowers.Day after day, for us who dwell below,The welcome rain; whi le on far heights weknowFalls silently the ever deepening snow,Filling our winter storehouse all unseen,With treasure trove to keep our summersgreen.Swiftly, majestically, swept aside,The vast cloud curtains part some eventide;Wide-flung celestial gates, that to our eyesDisclose a radiant earthly paradise;With rainbow colors softly snow-empearled;A re-created and transfigured world!Ensanguined in the ruddy sunset glow,Saints Bernardino and Gorgonio,Shoulder to shoulder stand,And greet, across the land,Lone, lordly, shining San Antonio.

"Sangre de Cris to!" Blood of Chr ist! onecried,Seeing some distant range so glorified.Kaleidoscopic in the low sun's rays,Shifting and scintillating as we gaze,Ruby and emerald and chrysoprase,A fire opal great, that glimmering gleams,Mysterious San Jacinto sleepsand dreams!

DE SE RT NI GHTB y E N O L A C H A M B E R L I NPacific Beach, California

The shadows, hungry wolves that eat the light,Slip from the shelter of the rocks and brushAnd creep across the sand untilThey merge and take it captive with a rush.A wind half wakes and whimpers in the chill;The greasewood rustles, stirring up a brewOf poignant incense. Nighthawks dip.And a loneliness tears the heart in two.

BEAUTIFUL ALIENSB y C EC I LE J . R A N S O M ERiverside, California

Great is the loveliness revealedAt noon where the stately egrets poseDeep in the riant barley field.Shimmering whiteness unconcealed,Rigid as statuettes in rows,Great is the loveliness revealed.Carven like lilies on a shieldMother of pearl that faintly glowsDeep in the riant barley field.All of their folded wings are steeledTo soar the roughest wind that blows,Great is the loveliness revealed.Strange that this desert land appealedTo birds of water wise as thoseDeep in the riant barley field!Beauty like this has always healedThe heart of all i ts futile woes;Great is the loveliness revealedDeep in the riant barley field.

WE L COM E T HE WI NDB y EM I LY PA TTER SO N SPEA R

Seattle, WashingtonWelcome the wind, i t tells me of its roamings,It brings me stories I might never know.Today it came, a wild and searching presence,Bringing the praise of virgin fields of snow.It seemed in reckless haste to sweep the valley,It bent tall slender saplings to the ground,Then lifted them and brushed their flyingtresses,And left them with a beauty newly found.Tomorrow it may tell of t ided oceans,Or deserts where horizons meet the sun,Or how the deserts, prodigal of beauty,The glory of the cacti wooed and won.Welcome the wind, and if in boisterousgreeting,On windharps tuned to waiting desert tale,Or scarcely heard when rain is softly falling.Or silver shod it come on moonlit trail,Welcome the wind.

Qatnelback MountainB y N A N C Y Z U E S P A N G L F RWarren, Arizona

Kneeling, patiently waiting,For the master that never will come,Looming tall in the wastes of grey brown sand,'Neath the glare of the desert sun.Hewed by a chisel and hammer,The tools of the wind and storm.Silently waiting through pages of time,A broken and weary form.The form of a camel, head bent low.Outlined against the sky.Hewed from a mound of age-old rock,The art of a Power on high.

RE NDE Z VOUS WI T H PE ACEB y W I L L I A M CAROTHBRSOntario, California

Sing me no song of asphalt lanesAnd regimented thrills.For me a desert canyon leadsInto the timbered hills.Sing me no song of carnivalAlong a great white wayThe masquerade of harried soulsIn cocoons of^lecay.For me a silvered stream leaps downFrom crags to gorge below,To send along the kiss of lifeWhere white-belled flowers grow.Sing me no song of seething martWhere slave and master meet,For I have seen the padded chainsThat mute the leaden feet.I'll let you drain its vapid dregs,Blow bubbles from its froth.And you may beat your wings againstThe flames that kill the moth.For me, a virgin trail that windsWhere far horizons call .And far from patterned life, a trystBeside a waterfall.A rock that lifts, a log that leans,A willow-scented breeze,Dark pools that keep a holy hushIn temples of the trees.And foolish though my dreams may beThe universe my leaseI'll watch the world go by and keepA rendezvous with peace.

S N O W S T O R M O N T H E M O J A V EBy S/Sgt. M A R C U S Z . LY TLESan Diego, California

The desert waits beneath a furry skyTo shear the clouds' deep winter coats;A cold wet wind brings their protesting cryAs down the mesa, fluffy ermine floats.

CREED OF THE DESERTB y J U N E L E M E R T P A X T O NYucca Valley California

The "cock of the desert".is a name oftappliedTo sleek roadrunner, l ight hearted andfree.With his tail as a guide, down a hill hecan glide,And scarcely a creature can run fastas he.

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D E S E R TGlobe-

This month's cover is a portrait ofMiriam Marmon, beautiful Laguna In-dian girl who has been the model for anumber of photographers. She has servedas principal of the government Indianschool in her home town of LagunaPueblo , New Mexico. She also taughtin the Indian school at Duke and on theJicarilla Apache reservation in north-western New Mexico. Her dress is au-thentic Laguna. Dese rt's editor, who has been sendinghis "Just Between You and Me" pagefrom Africa for almost a year, is turninginto a Desert fan. He rates his favoritefare as follows: 1Letters, 2Close-U p s , 3Marshal South. So this month'sDesert, in deference to his number onechoice, is carrying two full pages of Let-ters. Alth ough he is an army signal corpsphotographer stationed at Fort Bliss,Texas, George McClellan Bradt and hiswife Sis continue studying their hobby ofbirds. They not only spend every spareminute tracking down illusive desertbirds but they have aroused both the in-terest and participation of other FortBliss personnel. This month's story onRoadrunners is illustrated with the bestphotographs of this member of theCuckoo family which have ever come tothis office. Clifford Bond, who has furnishedmany beautifu l photographs for Desertincluding covers for August issues of1940 and 1941, now is Pho. M 2 /c US N.He also wrote the pictorial article "Magicof the Navajo Medicine Man" in August ,1 9 4 0 , issue. Jerry Lauderm ilk, who wrote thismonth's story on Sand, isn't just a profes-sor who translates a technical subjectinto ordinary language. Desert readershave noticed the pen-and-ink and washdrawings with which he has illustratedhis stories during the past year on theYucca Moth, Geodes and Thundereggs,Desert Color, Mirages and PetrifiedWood. At one t ime Jerry made art h isprofession but he confesses, "I didn't dovery well because I couldn't get alongwith the arty and empty-headed peoplewhose patronage I was supposed to cul-tivate." But his pen and ink drawingswere collected by such notables as RuthSt. Denis and Lord Dunsany, the play-wright. Although he quit the world ofart, as a business, he never let himselfget out of practice with his pen. Charles Kelly has another article forDesert readers, to appear in the Februaryissue. The setting is lonely Fremont Is-land, in the Great Salt Lake, Utah. It isthe unusual story of a family who wereforced to abandon a gay social life onthe mainland, to make their home on thefive-mile long crescent-shaped island forfive years. It will be accompanied by amap drawn by Norton Allen.

Volume 7 JANUARY, 1944 Number 3COVERPOETRYCLOSE-UPSBOTANYGEOLOGYHISTORYLETTERSINDIANSNATUREARTISTHUMORART OF LIVINGNEWSMININGHOBBYCRAFTSCOMMENT

LAGUNA INDIAN MAID. Photo by Harold Kellogg,Santa Fe , New Mexico .Cam elback Mounta in , an d o the r poem s .Notes on Desert features and their wri tersRubbery Milkweed Clan, by MARY BEALSandWhy Take I t for Granted?

B y JERRY LAUDERMILK . . . .Black Horse of the Red RocksBy RICHARD VAN VALKENBURGHComment f rom Dese r t Magaz ine readers"They Lived Up There"By JOYCE ROC KW OOD MUENCH .Desert 's Cuckoo BirdBy GEO RGE McCLELLAN BRADT .He Did It For Fun, by OREN ARNOLD . .Hard Rock Shorty of Death ValleyBy LON GARRISONDesert Refuge, by MARSHAL SOUTH .H ere a n d T he re on the D esert . . . .Cur rent briefs from dese rt regio n . . .

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E d i t e d b y A R T H U R L . E A T O N 3 5A m a t e u r G e m C u t t e r , b y L E L A N D E Q U I C K . . . 3 8J u s t B e t w e e n Y o u a n d M e , b y t h e E d i t o r . . . . 3 9

The Desert Magazine is published monthly by the Desert Publishing Company, 636State Street, El Centro, California. Entered as second class matter October 11, 1937, atthe pos t office at El Centro, California, under the Act of March 8, 1879. Title registeredN o . 3 B R S 6 B i n U . S . P a t e n t O f f i c e , a n d c o n t e n t s c o p y r i g h t e d 1 9 4 4 b y t h e D e s e r t P u b l i s h i n gCompany. Perm ission to reproduce contents m ust be secured from the editor in writing.

RANDALL HENDER SON, Editor. LUCILE HARRIS, Assoc iate Editor.BESS STACY, Busi ness Manager. EVONNE HENDER SON, Circulation Manager.

send notice of change of address by the first of th e month preceding issue. If address is un-certain by that date, notify circulation department to hold copies.S U B S C R I P T I O N R A T E SO ne year . . . . $ 2 .50 T w o yea rs . . . . $ 4.50Canadian subscriptions 25c extra, foreign 50c extra,.

Subscript ions to Army personnel outs ide U .S.A. must be mai l ed in conformi ty wi thP.O.D. Order No . 19687.Address correspondence to Desert Magazine, 636 State St., El Centro, California.

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By MARY BEALOT LONG ago the Milkweeds were looked upon asweeds, some of them even classed as noxious pestsaterm few of them really deserve. In the family are sev-

eral which have earned the respect now accorded any plant con-taining an appreciable amount of rubber.Many native plants have been investigated as rubber pro-ducers, even before the present emergency. Am ong those dis-covered to rank high in rubber content are several species ofMilkweed which belong to the genus Asclepiasa genus namedfor the Greek god of healing, Asklepios, alias Aesculapius inancient Rome. Of the several species used in the governme ntmilkweed experimentation tests, the common Desert Milkweed{Asclepias erosa) stands at the head of the list. Most of thespecimens averaged 7 to 11 percent latex, some yielding over 13percent. The leaves contain 90 percent of the rubber. Maximumcontent is reached at maturity in the fall.With their usual ingenuity the Indians used the fresh milkyjuice as a remedy for warts and also made a chewing gum of it.Perhaps you think it would be a sticky mess sure to glue up theteeth, but the collection of sap was kept until it solidified andhad a rubbery consistency, chewable for some time. It migh t notsuit your taste but the Indians liked it.Asclepias erosaMature plants of this herbaceous perennial average 3 or 4feet in height. Well-favored individuals may shoot up into six-footers. Tall or short they are noticeable. Th e stout, sparsely-branched, erect stems may be few or numerous, up to 20 fromone root. The plant starts out finely coated with wh ite down,which wears off in age so it is practically hairless when mature.The numerous ovate-lanceolate leaves, in opposite pairs, are 6 to8V2 inches long, somewhat chewed along the m argins. Theflowers are pale cream or greenish, borne in umbels at the endof the shoots. They display the usual complex structure of theMilkweed family, the stamens and style united into a columnsurrounded by a crown of hood-like appendages, w ith horns pro-truding from the hoods, curving over the center. This elaboratearrangement rises above the turned-dow n corolla lobes. Thepods are 2>/2 to V-U inches long, covered with fine white hairs,the flat seeds tipped by a tuft of silky hairs.Native only in the arid regions of the Southwest, it rangesfrom Mexico northward through Arizona, the Colorado andMojave deserts, beyond the Death Valley area into Nevada andUtah. It has a tendency to scatter about in groups of a dozen,more or less, along dry gravelly stream beds and shallow w ashes,and on low hills, from low elevations up to 5000 feet. Some-times it assembles in greater numbers, 50 to 75 individuals in a

group, a series of these groups perhaps extending for miles, fol-lowing the depressions along highways and railway embankments. Asclepias mexicanaKnown as Mexican Whorled Milkweed also as Narrow-LeafMilkweed, this is N o. 2. Milkweed in rubber potentiality. Giveit due credit for that valuable economic possibility because it isalso on the Black List of plants definitely proven to be danger-ously poisonous to livestock, especially sheep. Fortunately ithas a bad taste, so grazing animals pass it by unless other forageis very scarce. Sometimes it invades hayfields where it becomesa menace, because in drying much of the disagreeable taste islost, but not the poisonous properties.It is identified easily by its slender smooth stems and narrowleaves in wh orls of 3 to 6 at the nodes. Th e erect stems rise 2 to6 feet from a woody base above a deep extensive root system,puttin g out stout horizontal branches deep underg round . Theleaves are linear or narrowly lance-shaped, 2 to 6 inches long,

Mexican Who rled, or Narrow-leaf Milkweed. Numb er 2rubber producer among the milkweeds.Photo by the author.

often folded together. The numerous small flowers are greenish-white or purplish, soft short-hairy, in long-stalked, umbrella-shaped clusters at the stem ends or in the upper leaf axils. Abovethe 5 down-turned corolla lobes, the crown of 5 erect openhoods encircles the stamen tube, the long, linear horns project-ing from the hoods. The smooth narrow pods are somewhatspindle-shaped and erect, 2 to 4 inches long, the flat brown seedshaving the usual silky tuft of hairs. The Indians developed anadhesive gum from the white sap.It inhabits dry plains and foothills in sandy, gravelly, rockysoils, thriving on newly disturbed or eroded areas, from Mexico(where it first was collected) northward through interior Cali-fornia and western Arizona to Nevada and Utah, from low upto rather high elevations.Asclepias subulataBush Milkweed is quite an innovation, its clumps of nakedstems apparently masquerading as a rush, until a closer look dis-closes the family characteristics. Its many stems, usually 20 ormore, rise erectly 3 to 8 feet, greenish-white and rush-like. Fora very short time in early spring a few thread-like leaves may befound bu t they die young and soon disappear. Atop each stemare several umbels, liberally flowered. The greenish-white oryellowish corollas are crowned by elongated hoods folded to-gether at the sides and flaring rather widely above, barely show-ing the sharp tip of the wing-like horn. The slender pods varyfrom 2 to 5% inches in length, tapering to a long-pointed apex.The many-stemmed clumps of this promising rubber-producingmilkweed may be found in bloom from May to October alongwashes on dry slopes, mesas and plains in the Colorado and east-

ern Mojave deserts, southern A rizona and Mexico. Below theBorder the milky juice is valued for medicinal purposes.Asclepias albicansKnown also as White-Stemmed Milkweed and doubtless themost conspicuous. Its waxy-white uprigh t stems not infrequentlygrow up 10 feet, but average 5 to 8 feet, almost or entirely nakedfor most of the year. Sometimes as many as 50 of these toughstems, pliant as whips, spring from one root, favoring dry vol-canic slopes and rocky wash banks, especially striking on steepcraggy masses of bouiders. It vies with the Rush Milkweed inits stingy allotment of short-lived, very narrow leaves. Theflowers are disposed in terminal panicles, the corollas white,tinged with purple or brownish, the short pouch-like hoods yel-lowish, the slender horns just peeking out. Wax y too are the

slender pods, about 4 inches long. It grows in the southeasternMojave and Colorado deserts, southwestern Arizona and north-western Mexico.T HE D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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Death Valley Sand Dunes. Photo by W. G. Martin. Hunting/on Park, California.

Sand- U/ktf TakeSJtfiot (ftanted?Those who come to the desert occasionally ormerely admire it from a distance generally associ-ate with it the beautiful curve of the dunes or theinfinite variety of wind-rippled patterns in the sand.Desert dwellers are likely to have a less picturesquereaction, for they have felt the stinging cutting vio-lence of a sand storm. But whether one's attitude isromantic or realistic, the nature of sand too often istaken for granted. Jerry Laudermilk's purpose this

month is to give Desert's readers, rockhounds andothers, a scientific basis for the appreciation of sand.Terry believes that the more one knows about this"ground up rock that looks sorta like sugar" themore one will enjoy the beauty of the desert's most-advertised feature.By JERRY LAUDERMI LKD r a w i n g s by the a u t h o r

/ AND!There were acres of i tridges , dunes and m oun-> tains of it. Miles of it! On both sides of the road the sandstretched away like a sea of solid water in wind-cut wavesas monotonous as a landscape in bur lap . Monotonous butthere is magic in this common stuff. Mystery and the power tofascinate are par t of each tiny grain, like sorcery in some magicjewel .J A N U A R Y , 1 9 4 4

I looked at a handful gathered at random. My microscopeshowed me a throng of rounded grains like the faces of a mob orthe tops of ten thousand bald heads. Each grain had a personalityof its own, stamped with the marks of its history. This was dunesand at the height of an active career. But there are other kindsyoung, inexperienced sands and old, retired sands with a past.W e are likely to take sand too much for granted. Ask some-one what he means by " sand" and the chances are, unless he isa rockhound, he will be puzzled for an answer. Generally, his

reply goes about like this, "Why sand is sand, little pieces ofgr ound up rock that looks sorta like sugar." Crowd him furtheran d he may counter with, "Well , all r ight, what is sand?"Sand, to be precise, refers to small pieces of rock of any kind,not more than 1.5 nor less than .05 millimeter in diameter. Onean d a half millimeters is roughly the diameter of the lead in anordinary pencil, f ive hundredths is just visible against a darkbackground. Anything above the top limit is classed as finegravel, anything below the lower figure qualifies as silt or clay.The nam e has noth ing to do with the mineralogy of the grainsbut unless otherwise specified, quartz sand is understood sincethis is the most common variety.Shape of Sand Grains

Like so many other things sand has to be unders tood to beappreciated. Under the microscope sand always is interestingand sometimes beautiful. Any sample will fit into one of threecategories as to grain shape. The shape of the particles tells


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much about the adventures encountered by them after havingleft the parent rock-mass. Either the grains will be clean-cutwith sharp edges and corners, or angular . Or they may be slight-ly rounded with indications of the angularity, or sub-angular .

Four characteristic types of sand. Upper lejtVolcanicsand in sharply angular grains, from near Ogilby. Cali-fornia. Upper right Aeolian sand from Pisgah crater,California. Lower left River sand from near Whitewater,California. Lower right Dune sand from nearRiverside. California.

Or they may be smooth and polished, then they are described asrounded. This sounds simple, and the impulse is to say, "Andso what?"Well, the plot thickens a little. Sands with angular grains areeither the result of disintegration due to slow decay or of frag-mentation from violencecommonly volcanic action. Sand withangular grains has not been transported far by either wind orwater . This is young sand with no experience, the raw materialfrom which the other types are made. Disintegration sand iscommon in the mountains and near weathered masses of granitebut may occur wherever rocks fall to pieces from natural decay.The source of disintegration sand usually is granite but it maybe a gneiss or other coarse-grained rock. The remaining grainsof quartz, tourmaline, magnetite, garnet, etc. , represent themost resistant parts of the rock-mass and have kept their chem-ical identity while the rest of the rock went to pieces.Sub-angular grains are the result of moderate handling ofdisintegration sand by either wind or water. Glacial sand alsoshows sub-angular grains. This is especially true of glacial sandthat has been transported.Rounded grains are the result of long-continued polishing ofgrain against grain by either wind or waterespecially wind.Roundness indicates an old experienced sand. Rounded sandsare common on dunes which have traveled far, as in the Sa-hara. Sands of any of the three types may be mixed. When thishas happened it indicates that more than one factor has been anagent in its deposition.There is a limit to the amount of polishing a sand grain cantake. This is the result of size. In water, any grain less than .72millimeter cannot be rounded further. Angular particles of thissize or less remain angular. This polishing limit is the result ofthe weight of the grains and the buoyancy of the water . Thegrains tend to stay in suspension when the water is in motionand the impact of grain against grain is cushioned by interven-ing layers of water. The size limit to wind-polishing is .15 mil-limeter since the dust blast is effective down to that small size.I t generally is true that any well-rounded grain less than .75millimeter is wind-polished, or aeolian sand. Under a high mag-nification the surface of aeolian sand frequently shows frostingdue to battering, and grains may be chipped by knocking to-gether, showing typical conchoidal fractures on a minute scale.

Product ion of SandOne of the most effective ways by which mineral fragmentsare released to form sand is through weathering, or rock-rot. A

solid block of granite kept in a vacuum at a very low tempera-ture probably would last forever. This condition exists in thecase of the rocks on the moon's surface. Selenographers knowwith a fair degree of certitude, the general types of lunar rocks.They determine this from the way in which lunar rocks behavewhen photographed by ultra-violet and infra-red light. Terres-trial rocks of the same types react in the same way. But underordinary conditions, rock-rot begins to some extent soon after afresh surface is exposed to atmospheric action. Without doubt,the most effective large-scale factor is vegetation. Vegetation

Unusual types of sand. Upper left Disintegration sandfrom devitrification of obsidian, from near Newberry,California. Upper right Aeolian sand from Zion nationalpark. Clumps of crystals are gypsum. Lower left Sandfrom a sand crystal with conchoidal fractures. Lower right Aeolian sand from Syrian desert, Palestine.

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Porosity and packing oj sand grains. Upper left Openarrangement of ideally spherical grains. Porosity is 47.64percent. Upper right Close arrangem ent, porosity 26 per-cent. Lower left Unsorted sand from concretion. Lowerright Mosaic arrangement of same type sand showingsmall porosity. Sand grains mosaic ivhen wet.from a microbe to a giant redwood can con tribute to the demoli-tion of a solid granite boulder.All rocks contain joints or cracks or will develop them afterpassage of time. Eventually, water seeps into these weak places,leading to final breakup of the rock-mass. Plants secretecarbonic acid as a by-product of their growth. Water containingthis acid becomes a powerful agent in dissolving out iron, man-ganese, lime, the alkalies and other elements from the feldspars,micas, chlorite, etc. So whenever either colonies of bacteria orroots of higher plants penetrate the cracks and fissures, breakupbegins. Lichens also help in this work. W e can imagine a graniteboulder being broken up and partly dissolved on the inside byroot acids while its outside, attacked by lichens, constantly isbeing scaled off in flakes exposing fresh surfaces to further ac-tion.

The final product of rock-rot is a pile of decomposed granite.If decomposition has reached the limit, all that remains is a lotof clay from the breakdown of the feldspar and angular frag-ments of disintegration sand from the quartz. Ordinarily rock-rot doesn't go so far in one operation. Crystalline rocks likegranite, granite porphyry, pegmatite, etc., are likely simply tocrumble, much of the quartz and feldspar being left intact toform sand.The chemistry and mechanics of rock-rot are interesting. Infresh rock, crystals of quartz and feldspar will be mixed in everypossible combination. The crystals are not held together by anycementing substance but simply cling together through the effectof cohesion of the molecules of adjacent crystal faces. Theseinterfaces are the weakest part of the rock and while they presstogether so closely they may not show even a microscopic joint,water can creep in between the crystals. When this takes placebetween quartz and feldspar and the water contains carbonicacid, the surface layers of the feldspar crystals are attacked andsoftened to a tremendously thin film. Sometimes pebbles andcobbles from ancient flood plains have decomposed in place soslowly that although they appear perfectly sound they actuallyare rotten all the way through and can be crushed with the barehands. Sand which has resulted in such cases frequently willshow signs of the original crystalline structure of the grains.Not only is rock-rot the result largely of chemical action butthe mechanical effect of pressure by growing roots which haveforced their way into cracks also is effective in furthering disin-tegration. Hydration of certain minerals sometimes causes thesurface layers of a boulder actually to swell and shell off in largeflat pieces. This effect is called exfoliation. Another agentthought by some to be effective is insolation, or alternate chill-ing and heating of a rock so that its structure is weakened. C oldalso does much work in certain climates. In Canada polishedgranite monuments do not last long because during the winter,moisture that has penetrated the outer layers freezes and thesurface scales away in flakes. In any of these cases the final resultis disintegration sand.When, from any cause, disintegration sand finds its way into

Granite-and-sand story. Upper left Decomposed granitecrumbling from solution of feldspar. Upper right Thin-section of fresh granite. White areas are quartz, grey arefeldspar and striped areas are biotite mica. Breakup ofgranite releases quartz unchanged as disintegration sand.Lower left Disintegration sand. Lower right Sandslightly rounded by beginning of stream action.

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a stream bed some rounding soon begins but does not go faruntil the water has had a long time to get in its work. At firstsub-angular grains form but eventually the running watermakes rounded grains. The round, highly polished grains aretypical of wind action. Wh en grains of this type are found m ixedwith sands of other types they probably have been transported


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14-Mhierals from a black sand after removal of magnetite.1 and 2 areTourmaline. 3 and 6 Zircon. 4, 5, 7 and 8Gar-net. 9 and 10 Epidote. 11 Sphene. 12 #///


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Thin-sections of sandston e and qua rtzite. Upper left Redsandstone from Yermo, California. Color due to particlesof earthy material between the grains in the cementingmaterial. Upper right Pink sandstone from Yermo. An-gular grams, probably vo lcanic, are cemented as a mosaicby calcile containing scattered particles of claylike material.Lower left Banded Uinta sandstone, Utah. Dark areashows part of one of the red bands. The red particles occurin evenly spaced layers among the aeolian grains. Lowerright Pink q uartzite from Yermo. Sand in this area evi-dently is from an a ncient beach. The rounded g rains arefirmly cemented with silica.Some minerals such as gypsum and calcite are too soft to betransported far. Their presence in a sand indicates nearness ofthe parent rock-mass. Minerals like tourmaline and staurolitealways indicate a derivation from metamorphic rocks which maybe far away since these minerals will bear much transportation.Tracing an unusual mineral to its source sometimes is a mat-ter of importance. One case in my experience concerned certaincrystals of ruby (corundum). Once ruby of gem quality hadbeen found. Other corundum of low grade was frequent. As

I worked my way up stream the mineral became more commonand pebbles of corundum syenite began to occur. These finallygave place to boulders and then, abruptly, there were no moretraces of the mineral. This indicated that I had passed thetributary which carried the float into the main wash.The canyon finally was located. It was very small but hadabundant traces. I was making encouraging headway untilagain there were no more traces nor any place for a tributarycanyon. Finally the source was located high up on the side ofthe canyon as a wet-weather waterfall.Scaling this took me to a higher stretch of canyon, which wassteep, wild and rugged but full of corundum which reachedits greatest abundance at the foot of a landslide where this de-bouched into the main canyon. Farther on there were no more-traces but up the slope in the direction indicated by the slidewas the source. One coming upon it from any other approacheasily might have overlooked the interesting nature of the rocksince it was thickly overgrown by brush and the outcrop itselfcovered with moss and lichens.Sands which are typical from the presence of some unusualmineral will be recognized later if once they have been studiedcarefully. This is important in some criminal cases where thescene ot a crime must be located by identification of the type ofsoil. I once was called upon to identify the previous place ofconcealment of a cadaver which had been found in a gunny sack.The only type material I had was about half a teaspoonful ofsand which accidentally had been scraped up between the pagesof a book the victim had had with her at the time of the murder.The sand finally was traced to a spot known to have been fre-quented by the victim.

Porosity of SandOne more interesting feature about sand has to do withporosity and water storage capacity. A sand of uniformlyspherical grains can pack only in one of two ways. Either eachgrain is bounded by six adjacent grains stacked one above theother like eggs in a crate or they stack with each grain over thespace left between three adjacent grains like stacking cannon-balls. In the first system the porosity or space between theMagnetite. Upper left Crystals of magnetite "panned"from decomp osed granite. Crystals partly embed ded ingrains of quartz. Upper right Clumps of self-magneticgrains of magnetite from disintegrated granite. Lowerleft Octahedral crystals of magnetite from disintegra-tion sand.Lower right Rounded grains fromtypical black sand.

grains amounts to about 47 percent of the total volume. In thesecond system it amounts to about 26 percent. The remarkablefeature is that the size of the individual grains makes no differ-ence. If they all are spherical and of the same size the porosityfor any volume of sand, whether the grains are large, mediumor even microscopic, remains the same.

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Queen oj the Red Sandstones is Ben Wittick natural arch, sometimes called RoyalArch. Carved in redChinle sandstone, it rises some 300 jeet above thesheer wallsoj Prayer Stick ca nyon. Photo by the author.

Mack 4jot5eof)r HREE of us camped under the longshadows of Round Rock near theold trading post at Bisdotlizhides'ahi the Blue Clay Point in northeasternArizona. A cross the flickering firelight satJerry, my interpreter. Squatting besidehimwas Hastin Tsosi, one of the oldsters whofor a square meal andplenty of "smokes"delighted in telling of the lore of theircountry.

At twilight the old hastni had startedwith mystical tales of local monsters andheroes. Then he told of the Navajo-Mexican fights over slaves and plunder.When the fire died and the gleaming coalscast red shadows on his leathery face, hiseyes gleamed as he told the story of Bililizhin, the old chief whom white mencalled Black Horse.

"Bili lizhin never liked white men. Heplaced them with the Mexicans who hadkilled his old grandfather and made slavesof his kinswomen. As a young man hehelped the chief Francisco Capitan keepthe gold hunters out of the Carrizo moun-tains. For the old-time Navajo believedthat digging holes in sacred mountainswould bring bad luck to the tribe."Just 73years agoAadlohi, the Lassoer,whom the Bilakana called Kit Carson,came to "round up" the Navajo. Bililizhin and a band of young warriors got

10

away from him. They moved their womenand sheep into the Red Sandstones and hidthat winter. In the summer they moved upNo cartravels across the Red Sand-stones. Deep canyons soon pinch in tohalt car travel. Navajo horsetrails cutdeep in the slick sandstone are theonly routes from Chinle valley toShip rockregion.

Black Horse hated white men aspassionately as he hated Mexi-cans, who had killed and en-slaved his kinsmen. Never did hesubmit to the law of the Bilakana,not even when Kit Carson, 70y e a r s ago, rounded up hispeople and drove them to BosqueRedondo in New Mexico. He anda band of young warriors es-caped into the little known RedSandstone country of northeast-ern Arizona. After the Navajowere allowed to return home, thefirst school for Navajo was builtat Fort Defiance, and white menbegan to "steal" the Indian chil-dren to take them to school. Thenit was that Black Horse came outof his Red Rocks, again to defythe white men who, he fiercelyclaimed, had put irons on theirchildrens' legs and brutallywhipped them. This is the storyof how Black Horse, hater ofwhite men, was instrumental inbringing about a humane and in-telligent supervision of Indianeducationas told to the authorby a Navajo who rode with BlackHorse into the Red Rock refuge.

Bv RICHARD VAN VALKENBURGH

into the deep forests of the Lukachukaimountains.""W h i c h Red Sandstones, Grand-father?" I asked.Right up there," answered the oldNavajo as he pursed his lips eastward to-wards the main massif of the Red Rockstrip rising to line out a sharp black hori-zon against the pale blue blanket of theevening sky.Not well known to the casual travelerof Navajoland, Black Horse's hiding placehas been explored only by a few nativesand archaeologists. The.30-mile strip ofweathered and bared Chinle sandstonewhich links the spruce and aspen coveredLukachukai mountains with the Carrizorange appears from the vicinity of RoundRock in the Chinle valley like a smoothsea of rolling rock punctuated by erodedand spired monuments.Actually steep-walled box canyons slashdeep into the sandstones. Tucked in highwalls are numerous Anasazih folk cliffdwellings. In the vicinity of these simplemonuments to the long-vanished huntersand farmers green oases mark tiny springsthat seep forth from seams in the sand-stone.Cut deep in the slick sandstone Navajohorse trails traverse the strip from theChinle valley to the Shiprock region.T HE D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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Fort Defiance. Photo taken soon after Round Rock melee. It was the mistreatmentof Navajo children in large building on left that caused Black Horse to attackAgent Dana Shipley atRound Rock in 1892.

hesitate to hurt you. I will save mymagicuntil we go against thewhite men!'"Black Horse was ready when SmellyGoat came. With him were Chee Dodge,a missionary named Alfred Hardy, andseven Navajo policemen. On the swellright here the Navajo sat on their horsesand watched. When Smelly Goat startedto take away 30 of our children, BlackHorse yelled, 'Let those children go rightnow!'"Black Horse then moved near. Theagent said, 'Let's go inside and talk itover.'"So they started a council inside thestore. Smelly Goat, Alfred Hardy, and

Winding over bald ridges they rise anddrop abruptly in and out of bowl-shapedparks where scant mantles of earth giveprecarious footing to vegetation. It still isa wild country!Old Tsosi went onwith his story:"Black Horse and his band hidfrom theNago dildoni those-who-shoot-from-the-side. Then after four years the Lassoer letall the Navajo walk home from Hwelte atFort Sumner way over in New Mexico.They were badly cowed and did just whatWashington told them to do."But to Black Horse it was just thesame as in the free days. Sometimes he ledhis band across the San Juan river to stealhorses from the Mormons and greasyPahute. When the bluecoats came downfrom Fort Lewis his trail faded into theRed Sandstones.Sixty years agothey built a stone schoolhouse at Fort Defiance. Then the agentsent out word that the Navajo must sendin all of their children between six and 16summers. Some of the Navajo did butmost of them were scrubs. They kept thegood ones home to herd sheep."About 50 years ago an agent calledTlizi Chon, Smelly Billy Goat, startedto steal our children. The white mencalled himDana Shipley. News came thathe had gone down on the Rio Puerco andhad stolen some children. When BlackHorse heard about this hecalled for a warcouncil at a place called Kabizhi, BarrelCacti. Today the white men call it Cove."Navajo rode in from everywhereeven as far as Ganado. Horses swarmedand great clouds of dust rolled over thecountry. Smoke spirals arose all over themountains. All the chiefs gathered insideof Black Horse's summer hogan. Everyonewas talking about war."A man named Rope Thrower fromLizard springs near Ganado spoke toBlack Ho rse, 'I'veheard great things aboutBlack Horse. They say he has war magic.It is said he is going on the war trail. Hesays he is going to swallow all the white

men. I want to be sure before I go to war.Swallow myhead first, right now!'Black Horse answered, 'Aaa, haa!I

.FOUR\ CORNERSR I Z D N R

'TEES NOSPAS

RED ROCK .,-^^^Mds^r-W^COUNTRY ::; BED HOCK

VALL Y

LITTLE- .BOUND BOCKBIG .BOUND BOC/t :

ROUND ROCK I P

TO FORT -.-/'-I. ?f--OEFIANCE :C&$y

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 4 4 11


12/40

In the summer Black Horse hid his ivomen and sheep from Kit Carson's Utes andMexicans in the spruce-covered heights of Lukacbukai mountains of northeasternArizona. Photo by Milton Snow.Charley Hubbell the storekeeper were theonly white men there. Soon the store wasfilled with Navajo. After they quieted,Smelly Goat said, I came for these chil-dren. I am going to take them back toschool at Fort Defiance today!'

"Black Horse yelled, 'I ' l l close thatschool. I am going to run all of you whitemen out of the Navajo country. I hatethem all and will kill any of them thatcome into the Red Sandstones!'"Everyone got madder. They talkedlouder. Then they started to yell . Theytalked so fast that even Chee Dodge couldnot interpret. So they did not know whatthe other said. The Navajo started movingaround. Then all at once they grabbedSmelly Goat and pulled him outdoors yell-ing, 'Kill Smelly Goatkill all the whitemen! Don't leave one to tell the story!'"Then they all tried to kill the agent.He was beaten with sticks and stones. Butthe Navajo piled on top of him so thickthat they were hitting each other. All at

once someone yelled, 'Look! A policemanis riding in!'"The Navajo all jumped off and scat-tered out. Black Horse sent some menafter the agent. He did not want him to getaway to tell the soldiers who were campedon Tsalee creek. W he n they looked for thea ge nt he w a s gone . . . "Hastin Tsosi paused. While he rattledaround the canteens for a drink I remem-bered the version of Shipley's escape astold me long before by Henry CheeD o d g e :"It looked bad for Shipley. After BlackHorse dragged him out the door CharleyHubbell and I barricaded the window anddoors of the post. We got ready to make astand. The only weapons we could findwas a carbine with 50 rounds and a smallrevolver with one load."Tall Policeman and I looked out thewindow. Black Horse 's band was piled ontop the agent. All we could see was his

Red Sandstone country from Chinle valley. Round Rock in, foreground. Thirty-mile saddle of Red Sandstone strip, background, that links the 11,000-foo/ Carrizoand hukachukai mounains.

12

shoes sticking out from under the pileof howling Navajo ."Tall Policeman slipped out the door.He grabbed Shipley's legs and had himinside before the infuriated Navajo knewwhat happened. The agent 's nose wassmashed and he was bruised all over. TallPoliceman had severe head wounds, buthe had saved Shipley's life."The low voice of Hastin Tsosi inter-rupted my thoughts as he picked up thethreads of his story"Black Horse 's men moved across thecreek from here. They held council. Know-ing that there were guns in the store theyhesitated to make a direct attack. They didnot want too many killed. So they waitedaround until night. Then they got readyto set the roof on fire. That would drivethe white men out and then they could killthem."They got ready to attack. Someonelooked southeast towards Tsalee butte.

A line of horsemen strung out against thesky. Wh en they drew near they saw thatthey were soldiers. Black Horse said, 'Letme talk to them alonebefore they hearthe other side and the agent 's l ies. '"So Black Horse rode right into themiddle of the soldiers. From their hidingplaces in the rocks his men could see himsit down with the captain. Black Horsesaid, This agent you have at Fort Defiancewill have to go away. He is causing toomuch trouble. '"The soldier captain was not excited ashe told Black Horse, 'You had ought to be

more peaceful. The bluecoats might comeagain and run all over you like they did30 years ago. You had better let SmellyGoat take the children down to Fort Defi-ance. Then come inwe will hold a coun-cil with the number one soldier at FortW inga te . '"Believing that there might be more sol-diers around, Black Horse let the agentstart off with the children. Then he prom-ised the captain that he would come intoFort Defiance for council. But he did thisonly to get away. Followed by his band, hewent up the Haspiditxo, the Dove Watercanyon, and disappeared in the Red Sand-stones."Later two Navajo came into the RedStones and told Black Horse that he wasto come in to Fort Defiance for a council.But he was too smart. He knew they want-ed to throw him in jailmaybe hang him.He said, 'No! I ' l l stay right herelet themcome to me. The n a lot of us will be dead!'"So the army officers from Fort Win-gate held a council with G anado Mucho,Marr iana , Gordo and Chee Dodge , whothen were the head men of the tribe. Ev-eryone was mad at the school. The chiefsfeared that another war would start and a

lot of Navajo would be hurt. They all saidBlack Horse was right in many waysforthe school was a bad place, children hadT HE D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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CRRRIZOCHINLINI CAN.-

MT5.EL.9420 FT.

^DAKOTA

REDRDCK5

CHINLESANDSTONEtSM/VA BUMFL2CONGL OMERA TE

'> CHELLr .'SANDSTONE' FORMATION - - - : _ | g l l ~ - - - - - - = - - ~ ~ -^^AIBAB L/MESTOME4000 FT.

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF CARRIZO MOUNTAINS AND RED ROCK COUNTRY.Dakota sandstoneConglomerate with quartzite pebbles of buff,grey and red, contains petrified wood.

Mancos shaleGrey calcareous shales changing tobuff and drab, contains fossils.McElmo formationLight colored sandstone, massive andcross-bedded.Navajo sandstoneRed sandstone, massive, excessively cross-bedded.

Chnile sandstoneChocolate colored shales atbase, succeeded by purple, lavender, green and red shale, contains fossil forests., Shinarump conglomerateConglomerate of quartzite pebbles, contains petrified wood.De Chelly sandstoneMassive, excessively cross-bedded brown sandstone.Goodrich formationBedded buff andbrown limestone andsandstone. After Gregory.

irons put on their legs, andwere brutallywhipped.

"Then Gordo got up andspoke, 'Whenwe put our little children in school it islike giving our hearts up. When theagentabuses them, ithurts very much. We Na-vajo do notwhip children. Thename wehave given this agent isTlizi Chon, SmellyBilly Goat. For a billy goat isalwaysbut-ting the rest of the sheep and pushingthem around. We think that is a goodname forhim!'

"Soon after the council Smelly BillyGoat got fired. Anarmy officer took hisplace. Hewas a better man. Hemadetheschool good. Then the Navajo did notworry about sending their little childrenin. But Black Horse showed that theywould never be forced to."

"Did Black Horse ever give up, Grand-father?" I asked.

''Data! Never," answered Hastin Tsosias he stretched out andcurled up in hisrobe. "He stayed upthere inthe Red Sand-stones. Until hedied a fewyears ago henever liked white men!"

Browsing there under the Red Sand-stones and onthe scene of the Round Rockmelee, I realized that for all his badrepu-tation, Black Horse in hishatred of whitemen unwittingly hadbrought about greatgood for hispeople. Hisattack on DanaShipley hadended avicious practice. Andfrom that time began the slow develop-ment towards humane andintelligent ed-ucation for theNavajo.

Looking across thedying fire to whereHastin Tsosi was a bump under hisrobe,an afterthought came to me. I asked,"Grandfather, how come you know somuch about this affair?"

The oldNavajo poked hishead out andraised to his elbow as he answered, "Ishould! For I rode with Black Horse!" Black Horse and Ta/oni one of hisfollowers. Courtesy Franciscan Fathers.J A N U A R Y , 1944 13


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LETTERS t t tWelcome to Iceland Spar ProspectorsCamp Wood, ArizonaDear Desert Magazine:

Here are two subscription orders. I triedto buy Desert in Prescott but for the lastfour months straight they had sold outlike hot cakes.I notice in your November issue, page34, the item about iceland spar. My claims,at the Arrowhead mine, are iceland sparclaims although they also contain otherminerals. I know of iceland spar cepositsin 10 different sections in this township.It is isolated, and I would be glad to seeother miners and prospectors come in. Iwould be glad to show others where loca-tions may be had if they will concact me(no charge).Also opal could be mined here by thetonnot all fire opal but some of it is alivewith fire. MRS. BERTHA E. SCHELL Asks Aid in Petroglyph Record . . .La Jolla, CaliforniaDear Sirs:The letter describing vandalism and de-struction of petroglyphs (November issue,page 17) prompts me to do something Ihave intended for some time. For severalyears I have been photographing and col-lecting information regarding petroglyphsand pictographs in the Southwest. Theseactivities are out now, bu t I hope to resumethem when the war is over.In the meantime I would like to collectas much information as possible regardinglocations of petroglyphs. Probably many ofyour readers in the course of their deserttravels have found Indian inscriptions. Iwould appreciate the use of your columnsto ask them to send me any informationthey migh t have.It would be most helpful if the informa-tion covered the following items: detailson how to reach the site, whether inscrip-tions are petroglyphs or pictographs, typeof rock on which they occur and generaldirection in which inscriptions face. Anyother details and a small snapshot wouldbe very useful.I hope in time to have a complete andrepresentative collection, and am anxiousto photograph as many as possible beforethey are forever lost through vandalism.FELIX SAUNDERS Desert Picture Worth More . . Chandler, ArizonaDesert Crafts Shop:Thank you for sending "Sunlight onthe Mountain" color lithograph. The pic-ture certainly is worth more than theprice. 1st LT. LEROY J. ANDERSON

Salute to Dad an d Son . . .Escondido, CaliforniaDear Miss Harris:I was thrilled when I found the Just Be-tween You and Me written by Rand Hen-derson of the U.S.M.C. in the Decemberissue, as I have been looking for somethingfrom him ever since he left the staff to joinour armed forces. More power to Rand,and I hope we hear more from him. Likedthe new sketch by Norton Allen for Ran-dall Henderson's regular page. Morepower to both Dad and Son.

FLOYD D. RICHARDSON Want Geology Correspondents . . .Ann Arbor, MichiganDear Miss Harris:My son and nephew who are now inthe service are students of geology andmineralogy, and would find much relaxa-tion in corresponding with others on thosesubjects. My nephew Jack Foster, in themarine corps, has just finished a radarcourse at Harvard, having studied geologyat Dartmouth. Our son Richard was inUniversity of Colorado until last July,when he was sent to University of NewMexico V-12 navy course. Both will soonhave changes of address, but any corres-pondence with them may be sent to mefor forwarding.

MRS. FRED BEIDLEMAN Souths Welcomed Home . . .Santa Monica, CaliforniaDear Miss Harris:It was good news to learn that after ayear spent in search of a new Shangri La,the Marshal Souths had returned to theirbeloved Yaquitepec.Although we have enjoyed vicariouslyall their adventures in new desert coun-try, there remained in the hearts of manyfriends a sympathetic pang for that littledeserted home among the junipers andboulders on top of Ghost mountain. AndI wonder if the force of this thought hadsomething to do with our little family ofnature lovers turning their backs on fur-ther adventure and causing them to re-trace their steps to the peace and beauty ofYaquitepec, a home they built and dedi-cated to the love and enjoyment of glori-ous sunrises, golden sunsets and radiantpanoramas of desert scenery.I take this opportunity to send them ahearty welcome, with a prayer that the raingods will send a bountiful supply of water.I also send greetings to Mr. Henderson inhis far away African camp and hope beforeanother year closes he will be back at hisdesk in his own beloved desert.KATHRYNE LAWYER

December Cover is "Ugly" . . .Tucson, ArizonaDear Editors:I write to make a vigorous protest aboutthe December cover picture. By no stretchof the imagination can I see it as a coversubject any time, much less December. Itis nothing but some scattered shadows, notthe slightest bit of interest, good design orsuggestion of Christmas. Never have Iseen such an ugly thing. Surely you coulddo better. Many abandoned buildings arebeautiful but you will have to talk mightyfast to prove that one is.For some reason your December issueshave about the only poor covers you everput out. Last year's was good but far moresuited to the vacation season than De-cember. An old desert church or shrine, anIndian mother and baby, even animals andtheir young, make beautiful Decembercovers.

MRS. WILLIAM McFARLAND Rebuttal from Fuzzy Thinkers . . .San Diego, CaliforniaDesert Magazine:All my life I have had a sneaking sus-picion there was something very wrongwith me. At last I know what it isI ama "fuzzy" thinker. It took Mr. MerrittBoyer's letter in the November issue toshow me the light.If other readers and true friends of Des-ert felt as I did on reading Mr. Boyer'sletter, they sputtered and turned period-ically for the next week. Most of them,after subsiding to occasional subterraneanrumblings, will reread the letter, as I did.and decide it was a sincere criticism. Theywill strive to construct a worthy rebuttal.I have been acquainted too short a timewith Desert to do a bang-up job, but 1would like to put in my two cents' worthfor the "defense." The informed atmos-phere you have achieved and maintainedthrough the personal approach to desertlife with its many facets is delightfulnear perfect. I should not like to see Desertbecome fictional. Equally would I dislikeit frozen into an encyclopedia of facts. Justkeep brewing your magic formula and youwill continue to find a growing host offriends. MARY E. McVICKER Paging Norton Allen . . .Oakland, CaliforniaDear Editor:When I receive my monthly copy ofDesert, I quickly glance through it to besure Norton Allen has a map there. ThenI take a deep breath, and settle down toenjoy each page, secure in the knowledgethat after this war old friends once againwill gather around the campfire on thedesert, recalling past experiences, tellingtall tales and dreaming of tomorrow's find.GERTRUDE LOFGREN

14 THE DESERT MA GAZ INE


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Fears Boyer Has Factomania . . .Gambier, OhioDear DM:A few lines in answer to Merritt W.Boyer's unjust and harsh judgment. If mydiagnosis is correct, Mr. Boyer is seriouslyafflicted with Factomania. I can picturehim reading and devouring page afterpage of the Congressional Record, or someother such unseasoned recording of facts.Mr. Boyer's ideas of good compositionare grossly contrariwise to authoritativeconcepts of successful nonfiction. Accord-ing to no less an authority than ProfessorWalter S. Campbell, University of Okla-homa, the fundamental prerequisite of suc-cessful nonfiction is to "present fact withpassion, or to present your words in sucha way as to arouse the emotions of thereader."Majority of DM's readers are more orless emotional, and our love for the desertis a passionate one. W e can recall many

times when a writer presented his subjectto harmonize with our own emotions ormemories, thus making the presentationfar more than one of mere words or facts,something to treasure and cherish.Haven't we all turned back to read andreread well written nonfiction? Don't wefirst leaf through a new magazine for atitle appealing to our personal fancy? Andaren't we disappointed if the author's ren-dition is purely factual and void ofemotion-provoking properties? With fewexceptions, I would say that DM's editingpolicy strikes a "happy medium."

B. J. PURDY Congratulates Boyer Criticism . . .Pasadena, CaliforniaEditor Desert Magazine:May I congratulate Mr. Boyer on hisletter in the November issue and DesertMagazine for publishing it. We hope yougo one step further and do somethingabout it.The account of Willie Boy is a matterof historical record and should be viewedas such by the readers of DM. Those whodo not care for Willie Boy may skip himand turn to Marshal South's pattern forliving. HELEN SCHWARTZ Money Well Spent . . .Yuma, ArizonaDear Friends:Enclosed is $4.50 for two year's sub-scription. I really get more pleasure out ofreading Desert than any other magazineand I've read a lot of them since 1879. Ican truthfully say I get more pleasure, en-tertainment and profit out of the moneyI spend for Desert than for a like amountspent on any other form of entertainmentin the whole U.S.A.

JOHN L. WALTERS

Another Request for Facts . . .Los Angeles, CaliforniaDear Miss Harris:I am glad you published Merritt W.Boyer's letter in your November issue. Iagree with him, but feel that he is lackingin sympathetic understanding of the diffi-culties you may face in getting high classmaterial. He did not show appreciation,either, for the fine photographs you print,nor the interesting items under Mines andMining, and Here and There on the Des-ert.I would like to see more material underDesert Books, with some mention of olderbooks with which readers may not befamiliar. Perhaps the readers would like alist of books each month which would con-stitute a reading course on some phase ofdesert lore. How about an article on thegames played by Indians?I liked the personal accounts of explora-tion of little-known spots on the desert.

But would like more factual articles too.Although I think Mr. Boyer's criticism issevere, I agree with him that space in Des-ert Magazine should not be wasted onecstatic descriptions of the beauties of na-ture. That's something you either feel ordon't feeland reading about it doesn'thelp those who don't feeland annoysthe ones who do.I hope while Mr. Henderson is in thearmy he will take a special interest in allthe equipment and material which can beadapted to desert travel and camping,especially light-weight stuff for walkingtrips. Is it too soon to start a little columnabout equipment and ideas for campingfor those of us who are day dreaming aboutdesert trip s.Your poetry is pretty lousy. It isn't morethan rhyme. But if others like it, I won'tobject too much. HELEN KNUPP Says Boyer Insults Readers Too . . .Fultonville, New YorkDear Miss Harris:I want to register a great big, unlady-like and emphatic RATS! in answer toMerritt W. Boyer, in November Letterspage. There are plenty of facts between itscovers. Seems to me he used a lot of wordsto find fault not only with the magazinebut the readers as well. How does he knowthe readers are "fuzzy" thinkers. That let-ter riled my Dutch temper.DM can't always suit everyone. But themagazine is one anyone could be proud of.If Mr. Boyer wants "Willy Boy" stories,there are plenty on the market.I'll be sending my check soon for re-newal to the magazine Mr. Boyer thinksneeds more facts. But how many want itturned into a scientific magazine. Not I. Ienjoy it too much as it is. (Better send Mr.Boyer a list of your fact books.)

MRS. ANNA C. BOSTWICK

Not Enough Snakes, Spiders . . .Boulder City, NevadaEditor Desert Magazine:I agree with Mr. M. W. Boyer's letter inNovember issue that there are not enougharticles or pictures of desert life.I came to the desert last May, a strangerto desert life, and naturally I bought Des-ert Magazine to learn more about plants,cacti, bugs, etc., but up to now there hasbeen very little. We need more on desertlifesuch as poisonous snakes, spiders,lizards, cacti and flowers and general con-ditions on the desert. Our friends all havethe same complaint. We need more storieson the beauty of sunsets and how the birds,rats, snakes, foxes, etc., manage to live ona dry sandy waste. Stories telling aboutpeople making a home on the desertwith all the modern conveniencesare notgood reading for those who like the desert"as is."MRS. VEVA BERRY

DM is "Ice Cream, not Potatoes" . . .Salt Lake City, UtahEditor Desert Magazine:I can sympathize with Mr. Boyer (No-vember issue) to a certain extent when heasks for more "facts" and less hokum inDM. I like facts. Yet, while I sometimessmile inwardly at the ultra-enthusiasm ofsome of the writers, I like that enthusiasm,too. What if we do gush a little and over-color the thrills, dangers and hardships?That is part of the fun! We must have alittle escape valve for the romanticism thatis in all of us.There are plenty of sources for hard-boiled facts if one prefers the intellectualside of it. Even if there were not, DM doesa very good job in itself, supplying a widerange of informative articles and many ex-cellent pictures to hold up Nature's endof the story. I regard DM not as an ency-clopedia, supplying a diet of meat and po-tatoes to the intellect, but as a rich dessertto be savored, rolled about on the tongueand enjoyed as a sheer luxury. DM is theice cream of the meal. Like ice cream, it islapped up all too soon. But it has this ad-vantage over ice cream: it can be broughtout in a few months and be enjoyed allover again. With an entirely friendly waveto Mr. Boyer, I'll take my DM unchanged.

RUFUS D. JOHNSON Back to the Desert . . .South Bend, IndianaDear Sirs:Your magazine is one of the best I haveever run across. The pictures and storiesmake me homesick for the desert. I amcoming back to live in the desert when thewar is overand hope to meet some ofthe rockhounds out there. I worked twoyears on Boulder dam. REES ZIRKLE

J A N U A R Y , 1 9 4 4 15


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M Jt"They /lived Up "There"

The walls of Wnkoki tower at one end of a red sandstone ledge, overlooking theLittle Colorado river and the Painted Desert to the north.

Remote and quiet and empty are the cities "up there." Sheltered highin deep cut caves of sheer canyon walls, towering fortress-like on mesatops, these dwellings of ancient peoples remain as the only evidence ofa civilization which came to an abrupt end about 1300 A. D. There arefew clues to the mystery of the sudden exodus of the fonner inhabitants.The most definite evidence has come from applying the tree ring datingmethod developed by Prof. A. E. Douglass of the University of Arizona.This aid has led to the belief that a 23-year drought, from 1276 to 1299,forced the Pueblo people to migrate to the southward. Each year, as moreexcavation is being done, additional material is being uncoveredbitsof evidence that gradually are being fitted into the picture of the GreatPueblo period. These remarkably preserved cliff dwellings extendthrough much of the Southwest, some of the finest examples being foundin northern Arizona, southern Utah and southwestern Colorado.

B y J O Y C E R O C K W O O D M U E N C HP h o t o g r a p h s by J o s e f M u e n c h

J I O R T H of Flagstaff, Arizona, past/[/ s pe ct ac ul ar S u n s e t C r a te r, isW u pa tk i n a t i o n a l m on um en t.Against a black basalt background are theruins of red sandstone pueblos. Severalthousand habitation sites have been locat-ed in the area, most of which are believedto have been occupied between the 11than d 12th centuries. They were discoveredin 1851 by Captain Lorenzo Sitgreavesw ho was on a mission from Washington

to determine whether the Zun i and LittleColorado rivers were navigable to the sea.Less known but in some ways more re-markable than the main Wupatki group isthe structure called by the H opi , " W uko-ki ," or Big House . Its three stories standperilously on the edge of a red sandstoneledge. Once Wukoki covered the entirerock. Now the remains of crumbled wallsli e all about. It apparently was used bothas living quarters and as a watch tower.

Its strategic position affords a broad viewof the Little Colorado to the north, andthe Painted Desert far beyond.I t was after the erupt ion of Sunset Cra-ter, 885 A. D., that the "Old Ones" cameto this area. The Havasupai claim it astheir ancestral home. Hopi Indians of theSnake clan say it has an important part intheir mythology, and some Hopi say itwas a traditional stopping place for theParrot clan of the Zuni t r ibe .This latter is especially interesting sinceceremonially buried parrots and macawswere found in some of the excavations. Al-though parrots are know n to range intothe Chiricahua mountains of southeast-ern Arizona it is believed that macawswere traded in from Old Mexico. Copperbells of known Mexican origin werefound, as well as pottery, wood, turquoise,shell and textiles.Navajo Indians believe the W upa tk ipueblos were destroyed by "rain, l ightningand whir lwinds" as punishment for greed.

Houses in the Rock ShelfThe peace of the ages lies upon Betata-kin, Houses in the Rock Shelf. In moon-

light it is a never-to-be-forgotten dreamcity. The bold black shadows are deepenedby the silver streams of l ight on the sand-16 T HE D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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BetatahinPhoto by JOSEF MUENCHSanta Barbara, California

Betatakin by moonlight is sheer magic. The black and silver wallsblend with the strangs stillness to form a reciD=> for a delightful kind ofmadness, a spell from which there is no escape.J A N U A . R Y , ISM 4 17


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The red sandstone cliffs of C anyon de Chelly rise a sheer 1200 feet, dwarfing theWhite House ruins nestled in a lower ledge. Ruins seen at base of cliff once wereconnected by a roof-and-I adder system to upper ruins, which now are inaccessible.18

stone verticals. It is motionless and time-less, untouched by struggle or change inthe world about it.

Betatakin is a great arched cave which,when discovered in 1909, was found tocontain the remains of some 130 rooms.They were abandoned about 800 yearsago. The cave is 450 feet long with amaximum depth of 150 feet. A heavy rain-storm brings a curtain of water downacross the face of the canyon without fall-ing into the cave. On the face of the cliffare paintings of a horned animal and of amythical being called by the Navajo, theBat Woman. This ruin, with Keetseel andInscription House, comprise the threemajor ruins located in Navajo nationalmonument, in northeastern Arizona.

Ruins of Deserted ValleyHovenweep, from the Ute meaningHidden or Deserted valley, is a delightfulgroup of ruins built around the heads ofseveral small box canyons in San Juan

county, Utah, almost on the Colorado line.A remarkable state of preservation can benoted in the building seen across the can-yon, as well as in the one to the right offoreground.Its name is an appropriate one, for inall directions a dreary sage plain stretches,interspersed with scattered pinyon andjuniper. But once, more than 600 yearsago, it supported a large population. Evi-dences show that the inhabitants wereskilled farmers who built dams and irriga-tion ditches to water their fields of corn.In the ruins were found kitchen ware, in-

cluding stone knives. Corn still remainedin some of the rooms.Most of the Hovenweep buildings arein Ruin canyon, sometimes called SquareTower, which drains into San Juan r iver.It is a steep-walled little canyon, droppingabruptly 300 to 500 feet. The ruins arealong the ledge of the mesa, in coves ofthe canyon wall and along its base. The"Deserted" ruins were passed by PadreEscalante in 1776, and they were rediscov-ered a century later by the Hayden expedi-t ion.

White House Cliff RuinsFar to the east, almost to the New Mexi-can border, is Canyon de Chelly. Acrossthe great sandy floor of the sheer-walledcanyon, White House ruins are visiblehigh in the "wall pocket." The group ofruins is so-named from the top tier ofrooms, whose whitewashed walls are instriking contrast to the red sandstone ofthe canyon sides.Today the cliff ruins are inaccessible.But formerly the ruins at the base of thecliff were probably four or five storieshigh, and ladders extended from the roofto the upper building. The towering walls,which form their background, are 1200

THE DESERT MAGAZINE


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feet high, and as straight as a plumbline would make them. One of the earliestdated timbers in the Southwest was foundin this ruin348 A. D. Later dates in thesame group were from the 13th century.M o n tezu m a ' s Pink Castle

Montezuma's Castle, one of the bestpreserved of all the Southwest ruins,causes confusion because of its name whichwas given erroneously by some early settleror visitor. It should not be associated withthe Aztecs for their culture did not reachthis part of the country.

It has a superficial resemblance to themud walls of a hornet's nest. The struc-ture sets above a 46-foot talus slope andincludes about 20 rooms. The ash-pinkadobe castle is reached by a series of lad-ders. The roofs were constructed with syca-

:

* . .

Far from traveled roads in the midstof a dreary sage plain is the littlegroup of ruins known as Hovenweep,or Deserted Valley.

I .-L

>

more beams and successive toppings ofsmall sticks, reeds and a thick layer ofadobethis served as the floor of the storyabove. The whole building is about 40feet high, the fifth story reaching the verytop of the natural cave.There is evidence of five periods of suc-cessive occupation and construction. Per-haps 100 people lived in this "apartmenthouse" as early as 1100 A. D. It is believedto have been abandoned about 1425 A . D.,or before the Spanish invasion.The story goes that a cowpuncher oncetraded his saddle horse for Montezuma'sCastle, then swapped it off for two saddleponies.

l *J A N U A R Y , 1 9 4 4

The Southwest has its "Brooklynbridge story" too. Story goes that acowpuncher once traded his saddlehorse for M ontezuma's Castle, thenswapped it o ff for two sa ddle ponies.

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. . . . . . , . . - , - . . . . specimen of rare green chalcotrichite, pseudo-morph after amphibole. She describes the speci-me n as occurring in cavities filled with tinvgrass green, hairlike crystals, which appear in

clusters much like a sheaf of wheat. She is un-will ing to break or divide the specimen, butanyone wishing to acquire a fine large cabinetspecimen might be able to make a deal for thewhole piece. Officers of Texas mineral society, of Dallas ,Texas, are Thomas t>. Copeland, president,2007 W . Tenth s treet; W. H. LaDew, vice-president, 7667 Forest Hill boulevard; Mrs.A. L. Jarvis, secretary-treasurer, 353 W. Jeffer-son avenue. All addresses are in Dallas , Texas. October meeting of Los Angeles mineralogical society was held in Boos Bros, cafeteria, withGordon Funk, re t ir ing president presiding. Thespeaker of the month was B. S. Grany, engineerof the Los Angeles department of water and

power. Grant gave an interesting talk illustrat-ed with slides on operation and maintenance ofLos Angeles aqueduct. In the December issue of this column underheading Scarcity of Large Quartz Crystals Ex-plained," appeared the name Herkermire ."This should read "Herkimer," a county inNewYork . H . W . Pierce of Long Beach mineral clubis bereaved by the recent death of hiswife whoonce was an active member, sharing many fieldtrips with her husband. A special use of rutile and ilmenite, states W.Scott Lewis, is in the manufacture of titaniumtetrachloride to produce smoke screens. Dinuba lapidary class, instructor CharlesFreeman, began meetings November 16. Theywill continue to meet at Dinuba, California, onTuesdays, from seven to nine p. m. Members Merri t t and Clark invited SearlesLake gem and mineral club, California, tovisit their mine in Sand canyon, November 26.Some azurite was found, as well as other typesof minerals. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant min-eral in the world . It was first isolated in 1805and first produced commercially in France in1857. Electrolytic production dates from 1896.In 1915, the annual production in this country

was 87,500 pounds, valued at $5 a pound . To-day, the price is 22^2 cents per pound, andmillions of pounds are produced.

Oi a RockhoundBy LOUISE EATON

W h e n the Duration is over 'n our sol-diers come back, they're all goin ' to loveU.S.A. better 'n ever. The more they seesof other places 'n ways of livin1, th' morethey likes their own home towns. It's notcause it's what they're used to, nor causeit's home where they grew up. It's justthe feel of bein' an American onhis ownstampin' groun'. He may not know 'xact-ly what he wants , but he sure know;what he does not wantposit ively . Hewouldn ' t t rade one square inch of homefor all th' rest of th' world . Didja ever lissen to three folks a talk-in' when one of 'emwas a unrockhoun '?The unrockhoun' tactfully tries to switchth' conversation to something he knowsabout too. But the rockhouns is hardlyever polite, at least for very long. Theyjust goes on comparin' notes about fielJtrip locations, 'r specimens, 'r the rocksin sight, 'r what rocks some other fella'sgot, leavin' th ' poor unrockhoun to hisown thoughts, if he doesn't wanta lissento rock talk. It's sortta nice to be a rockhoun' in 1small town where you knows everybodyn his specimens. But it would be kind 1interestin to live in a big place n meetnew folks 'n t rade for rocks from differ-ent localities that they've visited 'n youhaven't.

New Jersey mineralogical society observedan exchange night November 9. Members tooktheir surplus specimens for trade. The W i l l /collection of Hawthorne, New Jersey, specializ-in g in zeolites, was offered for sale to members.An additional day, November 14, was devotedto sale of mineral specimens for members.

ROCKHOUND'S CRE E DBy C H A S . G. SCHWEITZERLos Angeles, California"Here, take a lot of rocks," he said.An d all toogladly I was ledWhere piles of rocks, a treasure storeOf agates, nodules, quartz and moreWere wa i t ing for thecutter's wheelTo fashion them with felt and steel."So fill your sack, I like to startJust such as you in the cutting art;And think not I am over-kind,For there are many whom you findWill gladly share and gladly showThe tricks of trade that you should know.One th ing we pass ondon't forget,The more you give, the more you get." Dr. Olaf P. Jenkins spoke on geologicalstory of the Franciscan chert at November 4meeting of East Baymineral society, Oakland,California. Julian A. Smith discussed crystalsand why they belong to particular crystal sys-tems at November 10 meeting. Leland S. Chapman acted as auctioneer atthe annual rock auction of East Bay mineralsociety of Oakland. The auction netted the club$35 which was donated to a local service or-ganization. Cleavage in iceland spar is so perfect thatactual fractures are comparatively rare. Finequality spar cleaves or breaks easily into almostperfect rhombohedrons, and even cloudy poorgrade material shows the same cleavage. Manypoor grade rhombohedrons show what apparent-ly is a fracture, but the imperfection is due toweathering or injury done to the original mass

of spar and not to the single cystal. Iceland sparhas a hardness of only three, so that weathering,rubbing and scratching damage it easily.

T H E R O C K H O U N D C O L O N Y . . .is growing beyond our fondest dreams. Temembers to date, all enthusiastic workers andboosters. Can you suggest a name? Must beGOOD.

THE COLORADO GEMCO.Bayf te ld , Co lo rado

W E W I L L B U Y . . .. . T H E F O L L O W I N GB ACK NUM B E RS OFDESERT MAGAZINE

T h e y s h o u l d be in fa ir condit ion to per-mit re sa le . Chec k you r li s t of Dese r tM a g a z i n e s a n d if y ou h a v e e x t r a s s e n dthem to us.November . 1937 .. $3.00February, 1939 ..... ._ 1.00April, 1939 _ 1.00M a y , 1939 1.00June , 1939 1.00D e c e m b e r . 1939 ..... 1.00

DESERT MAGAZINE636 State Street El Centre California

MINERAL BOOKS . . .There's no more fascinating a h o b b ythan co l lec t ing minera ls . Foryour edu-ca t ion so that you can thoroughly enjoythis study. Desert Magazine has a com-plete l ist of books , a few oi w h i c h areg i v e n b e l o w .

THE ART OFGEM CUTTING, c o m p l e t esecond ed i t ion , F red S. Young , gem-molog is t . Con ta in s in fo rma t ion on c a b o -chon cu t t ing , f ace t cu t t ing , me thods totest s t o n e s , the v a l u e of gem s tones anduse fu l l ap ida ry no te s . Index . 112 p a g e s .. . .$1.50GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH MINER-ALS. G. L.Eng l i sh . F ine in t roduc t ion tom i n e r a l o g y . 258 i l lus . , 324 p p $2.50HANDBOOK FOR THE AMATEUR LAPI-DARY, J. H. H o w a r d . On e of t he b e s tg u i d e s for the b e g i n n e r , 140 p a g e s .Good i l lu s t ra t ion $2.00QUARTZ FAMILY MINERALS. D a k e ,etc.N e w and a u t h o r i t a t i v e h a n d b o o k for them in er al co lle ctor . I l l u s t r a t e d . 304pp $2.50DESCRIPTIVE LIST of th e ne w m i n e r a l s1892 to 1938,G. L.Eng l i sh . For a d v a n c e dco l lec to r s . 258 p p $3.00

Mailed PostpaidA d d 3% tax in California

^ El Centro, CaliforniaJ A N U A R Y , 1 9 4 4 37


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RXthe completelapidary shop inone small machineNo more salesduring duration

W . A. FELKER 3521 Emerald St. , Torrance, California

A M A T E U R G EM C U T T E R

L A P I D A R Y E Q U I P M E N TG R I T BUV W IT H O U T P R IO R I T YW e m a d e a lucky buy of a ton oi gritwithout priority and are p a s s i n g ourg o o d luck on to you in this . . .

S P E C I A L10- lb . package 300 (FF) grit foruse with Old Miser only ando ne jar Old Miser LappingC o m p o u n d , all for . . .

$3.50 F.O.B. RedlandsCOVINGTON LAPIDARY ENG. CO.Redlands , Ca l i forn ia

A M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S . . . a n dH A P P Y N E W Y E A R . . .To All Rockhounds EverywhereTHE ROCKHOUND COLONYTHE COLORADO GEM CO.FRANK AND GRACE MORSEBayfield, Colorado

MINERALIGHTInstantly IdentifiesFluorescent O r e s

A n a l y z e al l p r o sp e c ts w i thth i s m a g i c l a m p . F o r tu n e shave been found in old min-ing dumps. Use it in min ingoperations for fasterbettersorting and g r a d i n g .Satisfaction guaranteed ormo ney re fu nd ed . Co mp lete WrteDept. todaylist of fluorescent ores and J ' f20 representative samplesfree with each lamp.

ULTRA-V IOLET PRODUCTS, INC.

HILTON'Sand QemJOHN W. HILTON, OwnerOn U. S. Highway 99, Ten

Miles South of IndioACROSS FROM VALERI E JEAN D A T B

S H O P . P. O. ADDRESS, THERMAL, CALIF.

This page of Desert Magazineis for those whohave , or aspireto have, their own gem cuttingand polishing equipment. Lelande Quick, who conducts this department, is former presi-dent of the Los Angeles Lapidary society. He will be glad to answer questions in connec-tion with your lapidary work. Queries should be addressed to Desert Magazine, ElCentro, California.By LELANDE QUICK

Merry Christmas to all! You CAN make itmerry despite all that has happened and is hap-pening for we still have the spirit of Christmaswith us. This is our third "war" Chris tmas andthe feeling is strong upon me that come nextChristmas we shall be at peace again. I am hop-in g to spend Christmas away out on the desert ifaccommodations can be had. But in early No-vember, as this is written, everyone says "soldout" so popular is the desert this year for "get-ting away from it all." The first Christmas wason the desert and I want to get that "feel" bybeing there on Christmas eve. Phillips Brookshad that idea once and wen t all the way toBethlehem itself to get the true Christmas eveatmosphere . It put him in the mood so well thathe wrote one of the most beautiful and enduringof all Christmas carols "O Litt le Town of Beth-lehem."It will not be a Christmas that brings manyof the gifts we amateur gem cutters want to re-ceive in the way of rocks and equipment be-cause equipment is not to be had and good rocksare scarce items with the dealers. I do believethat many folks have equipment they would liketo sell and the realization must have come romany that they have stored away more sawblades than they need, more sanding cloth thanthey can use and they would be will ing to letsome of their supplies go to someone else whoneeded them if they only knew where they were.Elphage J. Mailloux of 9536 Otis street,Southgate, California, comes up with the splen-di d and unselfish idea that he will act as Aclearing house for all exchange items. This ispurely an altruistic endeavor on his part . He

will sell nothing, he wil l buy nothing, he willact merely as go-between without charge tobuyer or seller. If you have a saw blade you canspare, drop him a card and tell him so. If youwant a saw blade, drop him a card and registeryour wish. Then Mr. Mailloux will write acard to Joe Jasper who has a blade for sale andtell him that George Geode wants to buyandthen he's out of the picture. Look around yourshop and see what surplus material you cap.spare, perhaps a pulley belt or even a motor,some surplus grits or paper, some extra tin ox-ide or perhaps you want to sell the whole she-bang because you're tired of the hobby or you 'removing to the Virgin Islands. List it all withMr. Mailloux and send him postage and wairan d see. Perhaps you want to buy a lap wheel ora felt wheel or need a motor for some piece ofequipment you do have. Cry on Mr. Mailloux 'shoulder (with some postage) and register yourwants and see what happens. Don ' t write to meor to Desert Magazine about it, write only toMr. Mailloux who is deserving of the highestgratitude from the gem cutting fraternity forthe generous contribution of his t ime. I feelthat he is going to be busier than he wants to be.

Weather instead of climate has come to Re-dondo and the "moon stones" are churning onthe beach so that those of us in the Los An-geles area can spend a Sunday afternoon scam-pering away from the waves as we try to re-trieve a likely piece of gem materia l . If onlythe stuff looked as good when you get it homeas it does when you get wet feet just becauseyou must have that particular rock! I expectpeople to show their usual impatience with mewhen they show me a flower stone and I say"so what." I expect to come home with a sugarsack of pebbles that I'll never cut. I expect to

catch a cold from the fog and wet feet but Iwouldn't miss it for a bucket of gold. There must be folks who like it because it issold but I don't know why. I refer to lucite"jewelry," scrap pieces of lucite with scraps otgems imbedded. In my opinion the rings weused to make from horse shoe nails when I wasa boy had more aesthetic value than these lu-cite baubles . What a way to desecrate an opal!I agree with the dealer who said "every time Isell a piece of it I can't digest my lunch." Thestuff should be suppressed. Have you been cutting any of the new Wy-oming jade? It really is jade and it really is fineand because it is quality material the pricesasked by the dealers are reasonable, although

they are high in proportion to other materials.This find is important and it has commandedthe attention of Big Business. The Wall StreetJournal itself recently said, "discoveries of greenand black jade (nephrite) in the vicinity of Lan-der, Wyoming, are reported by the bureau ofmines to be so extensive that 'it is by no meansimprobable that after the war American jadewill be exported to China. ' Boulders of jade,some of which weigh almost a ton, have beenreported in an area 20 miles long and threemiles wide. The black jade occurs in granite, thegreen almost wholly in boulders. Burma hasbeen one of the principal sources of jade forChinese artisans."

DID YOU KNOW . . . There is lots of jasper in northern Californiatooon Red mountain at the head of Pros-pect peak in Trinity county; yellow andbrown jasper at Shaw's Flat in Tuolumnecounty; red, brown and green jasper is com-mo n in the serpentine of San Francicso;banded red and green jasper is found westof Meadow valley in Plumas county; redjasper abounds on Mt. St. Helena in Napacounty and on the Reed ranch in Marincounty. LAPIDARY HELPS AND HINTS . . .(As to ld by Rudolph Von Huene of CaliforniaInstitute of Technology)

Brittle materials should be ground with loosean d not fixed abrasive. In other words use alap wheel instead of a sander for materials likeobsidian. Don't overcrowd the abrasive. The profes-sional lapidary uses as much grit as would coverthe thumbnail to do one stone; amateurs useas much as an ounce. After many years of research on all materialsat the California Institute of Technology it wasdecided that of all materials within reach ofthe amateur lapidary ordinary boiler plate wasbest for lap wheels . Never run a lap wheel faster than 800 r.p.m.If you want to increase the cutting speed in-crease the diameter of the wheel rather thanthe r.p.m.

e The drum sander is better for flats than thedisc type because the waste material falls awayand does not remain to cause scratches.38 T HE D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E


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Qu5tetureen If on and Me

Illinium ig

By RANDALL HENDERSON11 / ITH THE ALLIED FORCES IN AFRICATo pre-Yy war tourists, the narrow cobble-paved streets in thecrowded North African city where I am now stationedwere "picturesque." But to those of us who now find it neces-sary to drive U. S. army cars along these crooked streets, theyare a headache. After bucking this traffic for a couple of monthsI would tackle the rockiest, sandiest, rattiest trail on the greatAmerican desertand call it a vacation.These Arabs still are living in the horse and buggy age. Theirhorses are mostly skin and bones, and their "buggy" generallyis a two-wheeled cart with jittery wheels. When the load isheavy and the hill steep, the driver and his helpers unload. Partof them push the cart, and the others pull the horse. Even then,they sometimes get stalled.You can imagine the confusion when this happens in themiddle of a narrow street, with a long procession of GI jeepsand recons and trucks and French jalopies strung out behindwaiting for the Arabs to clear the right-of-way and honkingtheir encouragement to the horse.There are no stop and go signals here, and not many traffic

cops. The pedestrian crouches on the curb, waiting for a chanceto dodge through the parade to the other side of the streetjust as it was in American cities in the old days when the motor-ist was king of the road and if those on foot did not get out ofthe way it was their own funeral.Yes, even that tortuous washboard trail that winds throughthe dunes and rocks and greasewood up the canyon to HiddenSprings in Southern California's Orocopia mountains will be arestful jaunt after this experience.

* * *I never did care much for the city anyway. Just why thesefree born Arabs left the sheltering date palms of their oases onthe great Sahara to come and huddle together along the darkalleys of the native quarter in this city, will always remain amystery to me. :


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H e r e Are T r a i l s to E n c h a n t m e n t . . .Trails leading into dimly lightedc an yon s , up sheer cliffs to an-cient ruinsi . . . Trails acrossbright distances glowing undera jewel-sky between vermilion-and-cream colored mesas andbuttes, through black-green juniper and pinyon . . . Trails intothe heart of Indian Countryland of ancient gods and faiths,land of kcctchinas and snakedancers, o:E beautiful weavingand pottery making . . . land ofturquoise and silver.NO W ATYOUR LEISURE learnthese trails by heart throughDesert Books. WHEN YOU TRA-VEL again the joy of followingthese trails will be multiplied.Enjoy these books yourself.Share them with your friends.

134 CEREMONIAL COSTUMES OF THE PUEBLO INDIANS.Virginia More Roediger. Evolution, design, significance inprayer-dramas of Hopi, Zuni and Rio Grande tribes. Superbillus. of costumes, turquoise dance moccasins, headdresses,masks. 40 plates full color, 25 figs, black-and white , coloredmap . Notes, appen., biblio., 268 pp. 73/4xll_ $15.00133 MY ADVENTURES IN ZUNI. Frank Hamilton Cashing. Lim-ited reprint edition of the distinguished scientist's experi-ences in the land of Zuni. Beautifully illustrated by FanitaLanier in lint! drawings and hand-colored marginal paint-ings. 8x9 incnes $7.5075 RHYTHM FOR RAIN. John Louw Nelson. Drama and an-

cient culture of the Hopi Indians, told in the epic story ofthe Great Drought. Interpretation of Hopi rain dances bya man who has a sensitive understanding of the Indianmind. Paintings by Indian artists, photos, glossary of Hopiwords. 263 pp. $3.2578 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS, George Whar-ton James. Study of Navajo and Pueblo weaving art. Clas-sification and analysis of types, development and back-ground. Appendix includes section on dealers. De Luxe1937 edition, 71/2XIO1/4. 64 illustrations, 32 color plates. 213pp . Limited number of copies available, boxed $3.0080ACOMA, Mrs. William T. Sedgwick. Story of the Indiancivilization of New Mexico's Sky City. Substance of allthat has been written on Acoma. Based on diaries, archae-ological notes of Bandelier, Fewkes, Parsons and Hodge,and legends and folk-tales. End-maps, photos, app., bib-lio., index, 318 pp. $2.50

120 THE RAIN MAKERS, Mary Roberts Coolidge. Absorbingstudy of Southwest Indian civilization. Compre

194401 desert magazine 1944 january

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