197210 Desert Magazine 1972 October

8/14/2019 197210 Desert Magazine 1972 October

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OCTOBER, 1972 50c


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B o o k s MAI


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WILLIAM KNYVETT, PUBLISHERJACK PEPPER, EDITORGEORGE BRAGA. Art DirectorMARY FRANCES STRONG, Field Trip EditorENID C. HOWARD, Utah Associate EditorGLENN VARGAS, Lapidary EditorK. L. BOYNTON, NaturalistMARVEL BARRKTT. Circulation Manager

Volume 35, Number 10 OCTOBER, 1972

CONTENTSF E A T U R E S

THE COVER:The beautyand :he lone-linessof the desert is gra-phically presented in thisphoto by David Muench ofthe sand dunes near Sho-shone in California's Mo-jave Desert. David's latestpictorial works, 'T Mil berimeAncients, is reviewed onpage 5 f this issue.

FAST CAMEL CRUISET O N S FORT UM BL I NG

ROADRUNNE R VS. S I DE WI NDE RLOST SPANISH MINE

FREMONT'S FALLEN FORTUNEFLAMING GORGE

C A N Y O N OFBROKEN DREAMSPALLID BAT

REMME'S FAMOUS RIDE

Rita LewisMary Frances StrongHans B aeruialdGeorge ThompsonA . H. Watermanjack PepperEnid C.HowardK. L. BoyntonDr. ha B.Judd

D E P A R T M E N T SA PEEK IN THEPUBLISHER'S POKE

BOOK REVIEWSRAMBLING ONROCKS

NOTES FROM THE FIELDLETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

CALENDAR OFEVENTS

William KnyvettJack PepperGlenn andMartha VargasMary Frances StrongReaders' CommentsClub Activities

E D I T O R I A L , C I R C U L A T I O N AND A D V E R T I S I N G O F F I C E S: 74-109 Larrea St.. Pa l m D es e r t , C a l i f o r n i a 9 2 2 6 0 . T e l ep h o n e A r ea Code714 3-ICvHl-i l . Listed in St an d a r d R a t e and D a t a . S U B S C R I P T I O N R A T E S : U n i t e d S ta t e s, C a n a d a and M e x i c o ; 1 year , $ 5 . 0 0 ; 2 years,$ 9 - 5 0 ; 3 y ea r s $13 00. O t h e r f o r e i g n s u b s c r i b e r s add S I . 0 0 U.S. cu r r en cy for each y ea r . See Su b s c r i p t i o n O r d e r Fo r m in this i s sue. Al l o wf i v e w eek s for c h a n g e of a d d r e s s and s en d b o t h new and old ad d r e s s e s w i t h zip c o d e s . D E S E R T M a g a z i n e is p u b l i s h ed m o n t h l y . Secondclass pos tage paid at P a l m De s e r t . C al i f o r n i a and at ad d i t i o n a l m a i l i n g offices u n d e r Act of M a r c h 3. 1879. Contents copyr ighted 1972b y D E S E R T M a g a z i n e and p e r m i s s i o n to r e p r o d u c e any or all co n t en t s m u s t be s ecu r ed in w r i t i n g . U n s o l i c i t ed m an u s c r i p t s and p h o t o -g r a p h s W I L L N O " BF. R E T U R N E D u n le s s a c c o m p a ni e d by a s e l f - ad d r e s s ee and s t a m p e d e n v e l o p e .


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A S A DRILLBasic unit. Drills clean holes Easter. Comes withmotor, chuck, foot rheostat, drill pan and drilling tem-plate. Booklet of operating instructions included.Nickle Plated . $42.50(Does not include price of diamond drill point.)

DIAMOND DRILL POINTSGood drill points are necessary with any drillpress. Twostyles are listed below. The solid style hasa drilling point composed of a special alloy and dia-mond bort. This type of drill is delicate and needs carein its use. However, with care, the solid type is muchlonger lived and will drill more holes per dollar. Thehollow core style drill has a hollow steel tip which iscoated with diamond:; by a special process. This styledrill, drills very fast and is less delicate and can beused by the beginner with good success. We do recom-mend this type drill for beginners and for extra fastdrilling in Opal, Obsidian, etc.No. 142MM Hollow corediamond drill point _ $5.50 EachThe New"WH IZ-Z-Z Sintered Diamond Drills

No. Point Size Shank Size Price Each89 1.00 mm 1.00 mm $5.5090 1.50 mm 1.53 mm .._ _ 5.0091 2.00 mm 2.00 mm 5.5092 2.50 mm 3/16 inch _ _ _ 6.0093 3.00 mm 3/16 inch 7.0094 3.50 mm l / inch 8.0095 4.00 mm 1/8 inch _ 9.00

P r i c e s on r e q u e s t for l a rg e r d r i l l sup to 8 mmMetre Diamond DrillVitromet Bonded Diamond Drills

Here are the handiest Vitromet Bonded DiamondTools developed for the Jewelry and Lapidary Crafts-man for drilling, reaming and beveling Gemstones. ^ Drills With 3/32" ShankNo. 8 1 mm (3/113" diamo nd depth ) $7 .50No. 9 IV*mm (3 /16* ' d iamond depth) _ $7 00No. 10 1M> mm __ _... $"59

No. 11 2 mm $7.00No. 13 2V2 mm Sii.00No. 6 3 mm $9.50No. 7 3 % mm $11.50No. 5 4 mm . $14.00Be sure toinclude sufficient p o s t a g e

any overpayment wi l l berefundedSHIPLEY'SMINERAL HOUSEOn Hwy. 160 n southwest Colorado, 18mileseast ofDurango or l>/2miles west of Bayfield.Mail in? Address:SHIPLEY'S MINERAL HOUSE, G em Village,Bayfield D,Colorado 81122Phone: 303-884-2632SEND FOR NEWCATALOG No. 9-BLOTTIE M.SHIPLEY /timf*ti!

A P e e ki n theP u b l i s h e r ' sP o k eH I- IS INSCRUTABLE, docs notbelongto a political party, minds hisownbusi-ness, does notcreate discord, moves withslow deliberation, is loved by both youngand old and thus is not involved in thegeneration gap, hasancestors dating back200 mi l l ion yea r s and even has a Latinname Gopherm agasslzi.With these ejualifications, what politi-cally-minded legislator would vote againstnaming theDesert Tortoise as California'sofficial reptile. And that is just what theydid last month so now Gophenu canproudly take his place alongside theGrizzly Hear Ca lifo rnia 's official ani ma l.

A l t h o u g h heh a s s u r v i v e d for2 0 0 m i l -lion years, the Desert Tortoise is an en-dangered species and it isunlawful to ake-on e from his habitat . Unless yon owneda tortoise before March I. ]iP2,pos-session ol one is prohibited.

So when you see our new CaliforniaState Reptile in the desert, pet him, andthen leave him .done.

S p e a k i n g of Ca l i f o r n i a ' s official familyan d wedon't mean the Republicans or

Democrats, since Desert is non-partisand o y o u k n o w t h a t C a l i f o r n i a is the 3 1 s tstate to be admitted to the Union?

Also that the ( ahfornia Poppy is theofficial flower, theb i rd is th eV a l l e y Q u a i l ,the tree is the Redwood, the motto is" E u r e k a ! 1 Have I'ound It,"and the offi-cial s o n g is "1 Love You."Amithat Ca l i -fornia has more dogs and cats an esti-mated 50,000,000 than any other state-in the Union.

So who says California is going to thedogs? We are now going to Gopher//. 1.

FortheBirds?Youknowit is!

11IIiiiiniii :liird DRIPLESS BEE PROOF ANTPROOF NOTHING TORUSTONLY ! j * ' # ) PostpaidSend check ormoney order to:DtAVlL- MAGAZINEP alm Deser t . Ca l i f o r n ia 92260C.u I f o i (i \u r e s i d e n t J ac M 1 , 'K . la x

Desert Magazin


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B o o kR e v i e w sby Jack Pepper

All books reviewed are available throughDesert Magazine Book Shop

TIMBERLINEANCIENTSPhotos byDavid MuenchText byDarin/i Lambert

Whisper, windwhine through theblanches of pine:

1 he singing of angels, the music divine . .A tree growing here is joy Moses,

to ancient and strong on the peak7 he life of another encloses

the eras of Roman and Greek.A neighboring tree for the prophet Isaiah

still weathers the wind and the iceof the height.

A>iother one lives from the time ofthe Maya

whose day long ago was forgottenin night.

The above is an excerpt from a poemby Darwin Lambert who wrote the beau-tiful and moving text of TimberlineAncients, a pictorial presentation ofbristlecone pines, the earth's oldest livingtrees, "Methuselah" in ( alifornia's WhiteMountains, is the oldest" living tree i,600years. The youngsters" average from.',()()() to 3,000 years.

Lambert's poetry and prose is matchedby the unsurpassed artistry of DavidMuench, whose color photographs of theancient trees powerfully convey themulti-faceted essence of life in its morepersistent form. Muench's color appearsmonthly in national publications and onmany covers of DESERT Magazine.

With two previous pictorial presenta-tions Californid and Arizonathe pre-sent volume, in this reviewer's opinion,definitely establishes Muench as the most

October 1972

The Electric Winch,Perfected.

For 35 years, Koenig's automotivePTO winches have been rated tops inthe industry. Now wehave perfectedThe Electric Winch. It's The ElectricWinch byKoenig.I t provides youw i th s o u n d c o n s t r u c-t i o n and all the desirable featuresyou woul d spec i f y , such as 8,000 lbs.of dependable pul l ing power, revers-ible 12-vol t DC o p e r a t i o n - a l l in acompl et ed package inc l ud ing 150'cable and h o o k .W e inv i t e you to c o m p a r e TheKoenig E l ect r ic W inch w i t h o t hers .You' l l f ind that Koenig, as always,prov ides a lot ofextra design features.There 's pos i t i ve act ion t ouch cont ro lf or f orward, off and reverse. There'sa drum c l u t ch for f ree spoo l ing cabl e

The Electric Winch f i ts neatlyon ex is t ing Jeep bumper-bumper does nothave to bee x te n d ed -w i n c h d oe s notpro trude. (Mo del 48112)

c o m b i n e d w i t h an o p t i o n a l w o r mbrake for your ho is t ing operat ions .There's a doubl e-so l eno id assembl y,mechan ica l l y in t er l ocked to preventdamage due os t ick ing cont act s .A nd to insure complete, depend-abi l i ty, bat tery connect ions are fur-nished for b o l t e d c a b l e c o n n e c t i o n s -instead of the s t andard c l amp-onadapters for both pos i t ive and negat ivecable.Wri te for complete detai ls on TheElectr ic Winch by Koenig. It's avai l -able for all t rucks, please include makeand model of y o u r v e h i c l e .

Koenig I ron Works, Inc.P.O. Box7726, Dept. DHouston. Texas 77007

$ TREASURE HUNTING $PROVES TO BE LUCRATIVE HOBBY!

Ernest J. Clark wri tes, "In three weeks since I received my G ard iner Model 100AMeta Detector, I have found a t o t a l of approx imat e l y $685 wort h of miscellaneousco ins , jewelry and art i facts. Some of the coins dated back to 1302. I t h ink thefeatures of th is metal detector arereally way ahead of all theother makes, especial lyin thefact that it wil l d is t inguish bot t le caps andot her wor t h l ess i t ems. "Our oatented metal detectors feature push but ton and automat ic electronic tuning,lowest ground pickup, greatest detect ion range. Wil l d is t inguish pop top l ids, tincans,nails, bot t le caps, and gum wrappers fro m treasure. Saves unnecessary digg ing, Unaffected by salt water, easiest to operate, f ree f rom false detect ion.Free catalog of ourpatented metal detectors gives comparison tests of different makes.

( G A R D N E R E L E C T R O N I C SDept. 21 4729 N. 7th Avenue Phoenix A r i z o n a 85013


6/44

. - Canyon Tours'*^\ " c o w b o y skipper'1 Art Greene sez:Howdy, partner! Come try ourLAKE POWELLBOATINGADVENTURES

50 types of boat renta ls( i n c l u d i n g h o u s e b o a t s )f o r t o u r s a n d s p o r t s .W a t e r s p o r t s , j e e p t o u r s .g u i d e d b o a t t r i p s t osee fantas tic RainbowBr idge and s idecanyons

"Try a week's vacat ioni n a h o u s e b o a t ! "

TOURS, INC.L O D G E & M A R I N A

D k ,M e

VlJaridierers

- *f 'V

The tours by the Happy Wanderers con-ta in excel lent -naps , mi lea ge, h i s toryof t he areas , cos ts o f gaso l ine consump-t i o n , l odging meals , what t o wear andthe best t ime of the year to make thet r ips . A fami ly can p lan the i r t r ip anddetermine the exact amount o f t ime andmoney requi red.Vo lume Number One covers 52 toursthrough out Cal i f o rn ia s deser ts , mo un-ta ins , lakes and seashores . In Vo lumeNumber Two, Sl im and Henriet ta exploreA r i z o n a , N e v a d a a n d O l d M e x i c o , w i t hthe areas rang ing from m odern resortst o g h o s t t o w n s .Wh en o rdering BE SURE to state Vo lumeOne or Vo lume Two. Both books are largeformat , heavy paperback w i th 150 pages .

$2.95 eachCali f , residents add 5 % sales tax50c handl ing charge per orderon sale atD e s e r t M a g a z i n e B o o k S h o p

PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92260

BOOK REVIEWS, continuedouts tanding Western color photographer .

This reviewer also knew Darwin Lam-bert when the latter was editing a news-paper in Nevada during the 1950s. At thattime Darw in w as wag ing a one-man cru-sade to protect the bristlecones in Neva-da's Great Basin area.

Tiinberhne Ancients is the culminationof a writer and photographer who, formany years, have braved the elements andhiked up 12,000-foot and more mountainpeaks in winter and summer to graphi-cally present the beauty and majesty of theoldest living things on earth. Their trav-els and tr ials and tr ibulation s tookthem to the mountains of California, Ne-vada, Utah, Ar izona and Colorado. Theirfeeling s- -and the tenor of the bo ok issummed up in the following passage:

"The bristlecone tree is a dwarf, anogre, a misshapen giant, an abstract sculp-ture, an old m an . . . I t is ugly, bizarre,absurd, or it is startlingly beautiful, gen-erating larger and larger the charges ofesthetic current as acquaintance develops. . . I t is as if you are meeting a personage,perhaps a figure from mythology, halfthis, half that, like the Grecian Pan orhis nymph-friend Pitys who, old traditionsays, was transformed by the Earth-Motherinto a pine . . . It is still a tree, anchoredto the ground, but you have difficultythinking of it as merely a t ree ."Another artist who contributed beautyto the book is Bonnie Muench, David ' swife, who designed the presentation. Tmi-berline Ancients is I lx l4 format, hard-cover, heavy slick paper, 12S four-colorphoto graphs- plus Muench ' s informationof film, expo sure,, etc., used. Th is is apictorial presentation you will be proudto have in your library, or give as a gift.Si 9.00 until January 1, 1973, then 22 .00.

J EE P O W N E R S . C A M P E R S . H U N T E R S - F I S H E RM E NTHINGS YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FORAND SOME YOU'VE NEVER SEEN!F L O T A T I O N T I R E S

&W H E E L S

BI CYCLET R A I L SOFSOUTHERNCALIFORNIABy David Ki/rh an dRobert H. Miller

! Sis J

IWould you like to go for a r i d e / "

Tha t question once meant getting intothe family car and going for a Sundayouting. Today, it usually means cithertaking the family bicycles am] ridingaround the neighborhood, or packingthem into the trunk of a car or strappingthem on th e front of a camp er and head-ing for rural or back-country areas.

Bicycling has become the nation's num-ber one participatory sport and more andmore families are f inding "togetherness"in this outdoor recreation.

It certainly lias its advantages. Youdon' t have to "(ill her up" with gasoline,there are no obnoxious inines, no enginetroubles, no noise or dust, and, in goingslowly, you enjoy th e scenery, stop whereand when you want .mil kee p in goodphysical condition.

The authors, both veteran bicycle ex-plorers, have compiled a guid e which contains 69 trails, including sidetrips, ranging from three and a halt miles to morethan ">0 mil es. Most arc 10 to 20 milesand are circular and range from flat tohilly terrain . Th ere arc lours for beginners, intermediates and skilled bicyclists

Each trail has a detailed map, points oiinterest, facilities, traffic levels and mileage, plus other information to keep youfrom spinn ing your wheels.

Designed to carry easily, the book ipaperback, 128 pages. S i .9 5 .

9201 CALIFORNIA AVE O e p t DSOUTH GATE CAllfORMIA 90280

NOTICE all the books re-viewed in DESERT Maga-zine are available throughthe Desert Magazine BookShop. Please add 50 centsper order (not per book)for handl ing and postage.California residents mustalso add 5 percent salestax

Desert Magazine


7/44

Christmasf!cardsof theSouthwest v T557 Yucca Kings on Christmas Eve - M a y yoube blessed with health and happiness Vannerson

B E A U T I F U L T O P Q U A L I T Y ARTBright colorful scenes fold tomakea r ich card 5" x 7".We canprintyour name only, orname and brandin red tomatch greeting. Also, yourreturn address on the deluxe whiteenvelopes extras included. Youwi l l be proud tosend these beauti-ful cards and you'l l l ike our "stam-pede service" on orders r ight up' t i l Chris tmas. Thank you kindly.

O R D E R D I R E C T F R O M T H I S AD ORS E N D FOR F R E E S A M P L E AND C A T A L O G

feCT508 A Surprise in the S k y - M err y Chris tm as T107 Tidings ofGreat JoyMay the warmth and 1640 Beet andBeans - W e wish you happy h o l i - T512 Happy Tracks -M erry Christmas and Happyand Happy New Year-Thomas love around us at Christmas tine, etc. - EchoHawk days, and a full chuckwagon Y e a r - D y e N ew Year -Chris tol le rsen

T654 "... a destiny that makes us brothers, etc." T618 A Cowboy's Prayer-M a y the Peace and 1652 " . . .old days , oldtimes, old r i e n d s . " - T613 A NewDay's Promise of BeautyMerry- P e a c e and Good Will at Chr is tm as, etc . - D e l a n o Joy of Christmas bewith y ou, etc . - S a l i s bur y Christmas Greetings andBest Wishes, etc . - N i c i e s Chris tmas and Happy New Year Engle

T655 "From th e rising toth e setting ot th es u n . . . " - M a y you have th e Spirit, etc.-Wagoner

T621 Desert Star M ay th e Peace and Joy ofChristmas be with you through till th e Year-Steffen

T568 Candelabra on the Desert Altar - Mayth eBlessings of Christmas bewith you, e t c .-H i l ton

T550 Winter Lig hts - M a y the Chrstmas Spiritremain within your home, etc. -Shaddi

H O W T O O R D E R : C i r c l e t o t a l q u a n t i t y and p r i c e . Mix anda s s o r t at no e x t r a c o s t . O r d ea ll of one k i n d or as m a n y of e a c h as d e s i r e d . F i l l out c o u p o n or o r d e r by l e t t e r and m a i l w i t h" c h e c k o r m o n e y o r d e r . Add p o s t a g e and h a n d l i n g fee to p r i c e of o r d e r . C a n a d a r e s i d e n t s r e m' i n U.S. d o l l a r v a l u e s . C o l o r a d o r e s i d e n t s add 3% s a l e s tax. No C . O . D . T h a n k you k i n d l y

T510 Desert Deco ration s -Chr is tm as Greet ings T5B4 ANew Day's Promise ofB e a u t y - M a y theand Best Wishes for all theYear Lau Peace and Joy of Chr is tm as, etc . - H a r v e y

T616 Bronc toBreakfast-May there come to T565 The Spirit of Christmas -W e are thinkingI you t h i s h o l i d a y t i m e . . . F r i e n d s h i p s -C . M. Russell of you oday because it is Chr is tm as, etc . - S n i d o wIV ^ EARS OF BACK GUARANTEEPY MAIL ORDER CUSTOME RS

T O T A L Q U A N T I T Y 1 2 25 37 SO 100 125 150 200 300 500W I T H O U T N A M E $ 2 . 5 0 $ 4 . 5 0 $6.75 $9.00 $ 1 3 . 2 5 $ 1 7 . 0 0 $ 2 1 . 0 0 $ 2 5 . 0 0 $ 3 3 . 0 0 $ 4 9 . 0 0 $ 7 9 . 5W I T H N A M E 3 . 7 5 6.00 8.50 10.75 15.50 19.25 2 3 . 5 0 2 7 . 7 5 3 6 . 2 5 5 3 . 2 5 8 5 . 7N A M E A N D B R A N D 5.25 7.50 10.00 12.25 17.00 2 0 . 7 5 2 5 . 0 0 2 9 . 2 5 3 7 . 7 5 5 4 . 7 5 8 7 . 2R E T U R N A D D R E S S 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.75 4.75 P O S T A G E A N 0 H A N D L I N G F E E : O R D E R S TO $ 7 . 9 9 A D D 35c S 8 . 0 0 TO $ 2 3 . 9 9 A D D 65c $ 2 4 . 0 0 A N D UPA D D 95

FILL IN0 U A N T I T YD E S I R E DO F E A C HC A R DB E S I D EC A R DN U M B E RAT R I G H T

T107T 5 0 8T510T512

T 5 S 7T564T S 6 ST 5 6 8

T 6 1 3T 6 1 6T618T 6 2 1

T640T652T654T 6 S 5

T S 5 0N A M E S TO BE P R I N T E D ON C H R I S T M A SC A R D S ( E N C L O S E D R A W I N G OF B R A N D ) .S E N D C A R D SA N O / O R C A T A L O G TO:R t e . . St., or Box NoC i t y S t a t e

T H lL E A N I N ' T R E EBOX 1500 BOULDER R A N C HCOLORADO 80302


8/44

F A S TG f t M E L

byRitaLewisPhotos by the author

P UTTING NEW emphasis on i ts role as"watchdog" of the desert, the Bur-eau of Land Management is policing theback country with the complete support ofits most arde nt adve nturers the organ-ized four-wheel-drive clubs.

A typical example was the recent 1 8thAnnual Sareea Al Jamel Fast Camelcruise sponsored by the four-wheel-driveclub of Indio, California and staged nearTwentynine Palms. Before the Indioclub's run was scheduled, members tookM a r i o Lo p e z , B . L . M . field representative,over the proposed course.

He approved the run and later was a

4*%*i

The Indio annual safariis always a familyaffair. Nylia McMillan(above) preparesbreakfast in herunusual covered-wagon-type trailer. All typesof four-wheel-drivevehicles (left) line upwaiting for the startof the one-day trekthrough the backcountry. Even theyoungsters participate(right) by filling upthe tires after thetwo-day event.

Desert Magazine


9/44

guest during the weekend safari whichhad more than 400 vehicles part icipatingin the various events. The Sareea Al Jamelis a member of the California Associationof 4WD Clubs, Inc., which works closelywith the B.L.M. and the U.S. Forest Ser-vice in policing the public lands of Cali-fornia.

Lopez approved the run after he wastaken on the conducted tour over theroute, through sandy washes, ridgebacksand rocky canyons which confined thedrivers to natural courses, plus hill climbsthat offered experienced off-roaders newchallenges and skills but, at the same time,preserved the desert 's landscape.

It was a weekend of fun for familiesfrom throughout California. There weremore than 400 vehicles with L ,500 men,women and children (no dog count avail-able) who feasted on barbecue aroundthe community campfire, renewed oldfriendships, listened to music and finallyreturned to their homes.

They left the area as clean and prist ineas when they arrivedready for the nextgroup of outdoor enthusiasts looking forfun and fresh air on public lands underthe desert skies.

Proof that organizedjour-wheel-drive clubs policetheir camping areas is shown

(right) in the two "before and after"photographs. The final cleanup

vehicle checks the area where onlya few hours before 1,500 persons

with 400 vehicles had camped.

^ ^ , . ; , . - . . ;


10/44

' -

by M ary Frances Stro ngPhotography by Jerry Strong

i

~

J * I * ^^r^-blown from Troy Dry Lake

is deposited around the collectingarea. The bajada (above, left)in background is covered withcutting material. Jerry Strong(left) examines colorful jasp-agate. Specimens range fromsmall tumbling pieces to largechunks for slabbing.

Desert Magazine


11/44

F O R T U M B L I N G !{{ \\TTHKRr. CAN I find some good

\ / \ gem material within a shortdistance of a highway?" is the guestionmost often asked by new rock hobbyists.Fortunately, Southern California's Mo-

if

jave Desert provides a number of easy-to-reach locations. For example, DesertOasis in the southern tip of the CadyMountains36 miles east of Barstow,offers a good supply of colorful agate andjasper.The Cady Mountains are well known forproducing a variety of fine cutting ma-terial and their south-western extensionis no exception. Though collecting hasoccurred here for over two decades, thesupply is not noticeably diminishing.There are still "tons for tumbling."The name. Desert Oasis Gem Field,originated from the first route to the areawhich began alongside a gas station andcafe so-named. When Interstate 40 wascompleted, it cut off this access road. It isnow necessary to travel east to the HectorRoad offramp and backtrack. The new

route turns north under the freeway andfollows a graded dirt road toward HectorSiding.All is quiet at the Siding today, but afew years ago it was in harmony with theactivity of several mines in the region.Forgotten stock piles of ore stand for-lornly near the tracks and are slowly melt-ing back into the earth. Small pea to wal-nut-sized balls of barite can be foundaround the ore piles. They make interest-ing T/N specimens.Heading west, the graded road divides.It is best to use the left branch as thereare stretches of sand along the route closerto the tracks. Two miles of travel lead tothe railroad crossing. It has a steep pitchand is a bit rough, but no problems wereencountered when taking a 22-foot trailerover it. However, watch carefully, as

dun-colored hills atDesert Oasis (above) appear

"frosted" with tons of agate andjasper. Ninety-nine percent of the

dark rocks are cutting material.There is a good campsite (right)at Area B. Bright yellow jasper isfound in slopes behind trailer.

October 1972

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12/44

TELEPHONE AMPLIFIERThis cleverly engineered telephone amplifierlets you hear phone voices several times loud-er and more distinctly. Unit is quickly andeasily attached to ary phone small enoughto carry in your pocket. Has an "On-Off" switchand volume control. Helpful for the hard ofhearing, long distance calling or noisy loca-tions. Battery powered. No. 194 ....$10.95Postage & handling 50*. Add 5% tax in Calif.

TAPE MEASURE-LEVELA BEAUTIFUL EXECUTIVE GIFT^I O ft. DirectReading tape measure in a Chromeplated steelcase features position lock, built-in compassdevice, shockproof level plus a special devicefor drawing parallels and perpendiculars. Anoutstanding instrument for the professional orfor the home workshop. No. 169 $6.45

No. 264 With Leather covered case $10.00Postage & handling 500. Add 5% tax in Calif.

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signals are absent and trains regularlyroar down the tracks.

After crossing, turn left, then in a shortdistance (imm easura ble) take the roadbranching right. See map. From thispoint, the route is dependent upon whicharea youelect to visit first and where youdecide to camp. We have always parkedour trailer at the vein material locationbut there is level ground near the old trail-ers west of Area A. Happily, both sitesar e far enough away from the railroadthat sounds of passing trains are dimin-ished.

The vein material requires digging butthe reward will be nice specimens of redand brown moss agate.

The slopes immediately north of thislocation contain scattered specimens ofbright-yellow jasper.

There is so much agate and jasper atArea A that, from a distance, the dune-colored hills appear chocolate-frosted. Na-ture has already preformed the j asp-agateso collecting is actually a matter of selec-tion for size and pattern.

Tumbl i ng is an easy method of testingthe polishing quali ty, aswell as producingfree-form gems. Jerry and I always try topick up a fewhandfuls of small specimensfrom each collecting area we visit. Uponreturning home, they are high-graded.Materials of like hardness are combinedand started in our small tumbler (2l/2pounds. ) Within a few weeks we have

polished stones collected from thevariouslocales of our trip.

Most hobbyists have their special meth-od for producing a high polish on tumbled stones. Some of these methods aredownright complicated. Ours is very sim-pl e and productive. The only requirementis that specimens to be tumbled must beof good to excellent quality.

I shall not at tempt to reiterate here thebasics of tumbling. However, for those ofyou whomight be interested- here is oumet hod :

Tumbler running 24hours daily.Barrel filled % full with specimens.Water added to just cover specimens.Amoun t of grit added in Steps 1-2-3 i

heaping tablespoons.Each grind runs 7 to 10days.

Step #1Rough Grind (80 g r i t ) .

Step #2Intermediate Grind (220 g r i t ) .Step #3

Fine Grind (400-600 gr i t ) .Step #4

Pol ishing: (We use a separate barrelfor pol i sh) . 6 level teaspoons of ceriumoxide. 6 teaspoons of polishing pellets. A!/2-inch cube of hand soap. Run 7 days.Step #5

Final Cleaning: 1 tablespoons Tide (orother granulated det ergen t ) . Add waterto within 1 inch of top of specimens. Run3 hours.

2 \ \ Tons ofagate fx jasper in f loat

D E S E RT O A S I S12 Desert Magazine


13/44

Step #6Rinse, dryand enjoy!There has been limited mining at Des-ert Oasis mainly for Hecf.oritea highmagnesia, low silica type of bentonite,used in oil-well drilling. Thecommercial-grade clay deposits consisted of lensesand pockets ranging in size from a few toseveral thousand ton:;. The orewas hauledto Hector Siding where it wasair-dried toreduce the moisture content from 30 to10%.

It was then loaded into railroad cars andshipped to a grinding plant in Los An-geles. Themines have long been idle andonly ruins remain at the old camp of theBaroid Sales Division, National LeadCompany.Desert Oasis qualifies a:; a good loca-tion for a weekend trip to a secluded re-treat. It also provides more than just rock

collecting. Several jeep trails lead norththrough sandy canyons toward the mainmass of the formidable Cady Mountains.Riding trail bikes over the jeep roads canbe challenging and rewarding.Because of the slightly higher eleva-tions of the campsite there arebroad pan-oramic views in Ihree directions. To thewest lie nearly a mile of sand dunes withnumerous hillocks topped by giant mes-quites. On the horizon beyond, the flat,shimmering expanse of Troy Dry Lake

marches west to join thevolcanic bulwarkof the Newberry Mountains.Looking south, themain artery of trav-el, Interstate 40, ruts a wide swath acrossthe belly of the desert floor. In the dis-tance, the Rodman Mountains jut sharplyskyward to form a fortress-like barrier.The eastern view discloses the classicLowest Photo Print PricesHighest Quality

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shape of Pisgah Crater on theskyline. Themany lava flows fanning out from thecrater are readily discernable.Californa's Great Mojave Desert is aland of extreme contrast and variation oftopography. It is this diversification ofland forms, climate and flora which lurethe visitor to come and see for himself.Once there, the capricious desert will

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October 1972


14/44

by Dr. Hans BaerwAlso called the "pais ano " or chaparral cock, the roadrunner is known for h is cockiness. A l-thoug h insects are h is main bi l l of fare, h is favor i te menu cons ists of ratt lesnakes . A ndonce he spo ts one, the po or rattler do esn't s tand a chance. These pho tos depict how a roadrunner

overcomes a sidewinder.

M r. Roadrunner exhausts the sidewinderby circl ing the snake and keeping hisprey in the sun. Rattlers cannot existlojng under direct sunl ight.When the snake is too exhausted to str ikethe roadrunner moves in and with a swiftjab grabs the rattler just behind the head.He then starts h is adagio dance.

Never letting go of the snake, the road-runner whips the sidewinder around andaround unti l he is satisfied his prey isqui te dead and harmless.Dragging the snake into the shade, theroadrunner starts the slow process o fdevouring his meal, head first. If i t is alarge repti le, i t may take three hours.

arcy

Desert Mag


15/44

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16/44

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IS THE "HOLE" IN THE RUGGED MOUNTAINS OF UTAH A LOSTSPA NISH MIN E OR IS IT MERELY A NATURAL CAVITY? ONLY AMAJOR EFFORT BY VETERAN SPELUNKERS CAN SOLVE THEMYSTERY, ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR WHO WAS UNABLE TO

DETERMINE THE DEPTH OF THE PUZZLING SHAFT.

b y G e o r g e T h o m p s o n

A STORY ABOUT a lost Spanish minein Utah which appeared in a West-ern m agazine in I 970 b rough t let ters tothe editor from several interested read-ers. One who wrote was Lortin Morten-son, a California reader who was raisedin Utah, and who remembered seeing anold Spanish mine there as a boy. I liketo search for lost mines, and Spanishmines in particular, so it wasn't long un-ti l Mr. Mortenson and I were exchangingcorrespondence on the subject .

In his first letter. Mr. Mortenson de-scribed the location of the old mine asbest he could, recalling events of morethan ">() years ago wh en he was a yo un gboy on his father's homestead in themountains near Henefer in Utah's Sum-16

mit County.'Dad's homestead was on Taylor

Creek, about a mile from where i t emp-tied into East Canyo n Creek. W e livedin a one-roo m log cabin. It mus t havebeen in 1915 or 1916 when father andhis younger brother, Martin, covered theold mine shaft . W e traveled from dad'sproperty to Clarence Spicer 's homesteadon Dixie Creek, and then up over Hog-back Summit to where there was an aban-doned two-story house. The mine wasabout a mile or a mile and a half fromthe old house, in a westerly direction."

I later learned from hard work andfruitless search that more than a half cen-tury had dimmed Mr. Mortenson's mem-ory of directions, as well as of distances!

Site of the oldshaft (above)

as seen fromthe highway

with the farmhouse in theforeground.

The "hole" inwinter (right)has a different

appearance thanin the summer

as shown inphotograph

(above, right)where it ishidden by

thick, brushabove deer trail.

AH photos bythe author.


17/44

"There was a small canyon or drawrunning east and west, and the old minewas on i ts north slope," he continued."Everything was brush-covered, but ifmemory serves me right, there was adump or mound of waste rock by themine. The mine opening was a vert icalshaft, and apparently very deep, for I dis-t inctly remember Uncle Martin droppinga crow bar into it. We could hear it ring-ing as it fell, bouncing from side to sideof the shaft for what seemed like a long,long t ime.

"George Ritter. an old man who hadlivestock in the h Us there , hired my folksto cover the shaft to keep his sheep andcattle from falling into it. He told themthat it was an old Spanish mine, and thatit is what it looked like it was. As I re-member the mine, it: m ust h ave b een veryold, for it seemed to be just part of thehil ls even then. W e decked the shaft overthe logs, and covered them with about afoot of dirt to keep them from moving."

The location described by Mortenson isonly a few miles from the route of theold Mormon Trail , followed by the pio-neers in 1847. Their wagon tracks canstill be seen where oxen pulled the heavy

wagons over Hogback Summit. There isno record to show that band of pioneerssaw the old Spanish mine shaft, but nodoubt their stock herders quickly discover-ed it, for the first white settlers in thearea knew of it.

No one knows how many head of l ive-stock fell into its black depths beforeyoung Lorin Mortenson helped his fatherand uncle cover it over. Folks don't getout into the hills anymore like they usedto , so the old shaft, heavily timbered andcovered with dirt, probably would havebeen forgotten if Mr. Mortenson hadn'twritten his letter to the editor.

When spring came I began my searchfor the old mine site, but I soon discover-ed that Mr. Mortcnson's memory of dir-ections seemed to be in error, for I foundno evidence of the shaft in the area he de-scribed, or anywhere within the distancefrom the old house that he remembered.Of course he was only five years old whenthe shaft was covered, and besides, it waspossible that it was still covered with thelogs his father and uncle had "decked" itover w ith mo re tha n >() years befo re. Ialso learned that almost anything couldbe hidden in the thick jungle of oak brushwhich covered the mountain front!

I made three searches for the old minthat summer, but when snow came in thfall of 1971 it was still lost. I probablwouldn't have looked for it again if MrMortenson hadn't checked with his auna lady in her seventies who had been 17-year-old girl when the shaft was covered. She not only remembered the Spanismine just as he had described it, but alsclearly recalled her Uncle Martin dropping the crow bar into it. She also remembered that Uncle Martin was loweredown into the shaft on three lariats tiedtogether, a descent of about 1 20 feet, bhe was still unable to reach its bottomwith that much rope. She said the shawas always know n in those days as ThOld Spanish Mine."

In March, 1972, while snow still laon the mountains three to four feel: deepI used a pair of snowshoes to hike intthe area again, traveling with ease throughthe rough country that had been a junglof thick oak brush during the summer. knew that the shrinking snow driftwould outl ine whatever lay beneath themand just as T expected , high on the m ountain front, but much farther from the oldfarmhouse than Mr. Martenson had remembered, in a steep rocky gulch wher

1


18/44

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few hikers would venture, I found thelong lost shaft!

A snow comb was r if ted nearly over it,but its entrance was wide open, making adangerous t rap forwhoever might ventureout onto that solid looking snow cap. Itook several photos of the deep pit andthe area around it, which were later mail-ed to Mr. Mor tenson. He quickly verif iedthat they were photos of the shaft hehelp-ed cover over 57 years before.

I returned there in June, when brush,vines and wild f lowers grew in a densethicket around the shaft, nearly concealingit and m aking a dangerous t rap for theunwary. A person could easily step intoit before it was ever seen. I took somemore photos and searched for tool marksor other signs to prove that the hole wasman made, but the danger of its crumb-ling edges and the heavy growth of mosson its rocky sides made close examinationimposs ible . A winch or other heavyequipment wil l be required to safely low-er someone into itsdepths. After listeningto dropped rocks echo from its seemingly

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bottomless depths , 1 decided that some-one would have to be someone else,

I did learn several other puzzlingthings about themystery hole. An air flowrises from the shaft, indicating the possi-bility that there is another entrance to itsomewhere lower on the mountain. Also,several old-timers at the nearby tiny townof Henefer recalled that many years agostudents from one of Utah's colleges at-tempted to explore the mystery pit. Oneof them waslowered on a cable for morethan 250 feet without reaching bottom!The s tudents did learn, however, that thehole is not a single vertical shaft, but in-stead descends in offset levels, each ofwhich is nearly vertical.

A few local people whohave seen theshaft think that it might be a naturalsink hole, but any text book on geologyteaches that sink holes occur in limestone,while the mountain where the shaft is lo-cate is sandstone, a formation not usuallyassociated with sink holes. In a recent let-ter Mr. Mortenson wr i te , 1 do not believe the shaft is caused by natural seep-ag e or erosion, for I've never heard of asink hole in sandstone. Also, air risingfrom the shaft appears to indicate anotheropening, or underground s tream."

Is the mystery hole a lost Spanish mine,or only a sink hole? If you want to try tosolve this puzzle, follow Utah State 65west from Henefer for 5.7 miles to Hog-back Summit. You' ll see the weather-beaten ruins of the old two-story farmhouse mentioned by Mr. Mortenson onthe right side of the road just a mile be-fore the summit is reached. The highrocky ridge where the mine is locatedparallels the highway about twomiles tothe west.

Y ou can spot the canyon where theshaft is located from theroad, for the firstcanyon to thesouth of it is brightly color-ed with especially bright red sandstone,while the first canyon to thenor th is linedwith dark green pines and is colored adull gray. The shaft is about: a half mileup the rocky face of the mountain front,just off a visible trail used by livestock,deer and elk.

The only way to learn for sure whetherthe mystery shaft is really a long forgottenSpanish mine or only a sink hole is to explore its bottom. If you do, let me knowwhat you f ind. After looking into theblack depths of the hole, I have decidedthat , as far as spelunker explor ing is concerned, it's not for me !


19/44


20/44

Now called the OSO Hall, theelude a more desirable piece of land andeliminate a portion thought to be of l i t-tle value. Confusion caused by these"floating" grants took years of l i t igationto settle before title could be confirmed.

It was charged by many that, after thediscovery of gold in the Mariposa area,Fremont had "floated" his grant to en-

old I.O.O.F. building still stands.compass that valuable mining region andclaim it as part of his huge estate. Mexi-can miners, grubstaked by Fremont, haduncovered valuable gold placer depositsnear Mariposa and so had others.

Rival mining interests refused to re-linquish their claims and at once took le-gal action against Fremont and his Mari-

and prosperous Fremont mine office.ll that remains of the once busy

posa Grant, which continued until titlewas confirmed to him in 1856. The sec-ond floor courtroom of the old MariposaCounty Court House, built in 18*54 andstill in use, provided the stage for thelong and costly series of legal contests in-volving the estate.

The early mining sett lement of AguaFria, about five miles west of Mariposa,was the first seat of the county, but wasreplaced by Mariposa when gold placerdeposits tailed off at the old camp. Coun-ty business had been conducted in a logcabin at Agua Fria and also at Mariposa,at a rental fee, until the erection of thepresent court house.

Each town lacked a jail and prisonerswere kept at Agua Fria on the sheriff'spremises, which doubled as a calaboose.Haulage to Mariposa and return, forcourt appearances, cost the county $4each way, payable to the sheriff. Oldrecords show a charge of $2.50 a day forboard, and no records exist of any com-plaints as to the quality of jail oatmeal.

Bills presented to the county by thesheriff for one miscreant, found guiltyof murder, show charges of $17.50 forseven shirts, $10 for two pair of pantsand $4 for shoes. It must be assumed thefelon was properly attired for his execu-tion.

He was duly dispatched by means of arope and noose at a fee of $50, plus $5additional for a shroud and $2 for therope, payable to the sheriff. For moreeconomical operation, a jail was built atMariposa in 1852. It still stands on a hillabove the main street.

When placer mining began to dimin-ish, some of the first gold quartz outcrop-pings in California were discovered in thesurrounding hil ls, but most miners at thattime lacked the know-how to separategold from the quartz. Colonel Fremontthen appeared at Mariposa, in 1849, withexperienced Mexican miners and an ar-rangement with a San Francisco firm tosupply the equipment necessary for orereduction.

A stamp mill was set up to crush theore for gold recovery, and Mariposa be-came one of the very earliest, if not thefirst, of the hard rock mining camps onthe Mother Lode.

The Mariposa Grant, as finally estab-lished by the court after lengthy legal tur-moil , was an "L-shape" area of land ex-

Continued on Page 36Desert Magazine


21/44

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22/44

Sheep Creek Bay nestlesbetween wooded mountains and

colorful sandstone cliffs.

by Jack PepperPhotos by author

HE BLUE and serpentine waters ofthe historic Green River windthrough the rolling hills and plains ofWyoming and then intrude into the color-ful canyon country and coniferous greenforests of northern Utah and the southernsection of the Flaming Gorge NationalRecreation Area.

The "youngest" of the three vast na-tional recreation areas formed by majordams along the Green and Coloradorivers, Flaming Gorge is within the Ash-ley National Forest, one of the few scenicand yet uncrowded wilderness areas stillremaining in the West.Backed up by Flaming Gorge Dam, justbelow the Wyo ming and Utah border, thewaters of the once turbulent Green Rivernow form a sprawling recreational lake 91miles long with clear, cool streams cascad-ing into the lake where you find isolatedpublic camping sites and where you canliterally fish from the back of your camperor outside the flap of your tent.One fisherman told me he hooked atrout and, in the process of pulling it outof the stream, the fish got loose in mid-

air, and landed in the frying pan outsidehis camper!22

And, since this is "water country"which gives abundance to wildlife, it iscommon to see mule deer, antelope, elkand many varieties of small animals andwild birdsplus waterfowl such as coot,great blue and black-crowned nightherons, American bittern, geese, redheadand ruddy duck.

Golden and bald eagles make the areatheir home and, in the back country, arefound bear, mountain lion, coyote andbobcats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-vice and the Wyoming and Utah state de-partments constantly stock the lake andstreams with bass and trout. Fishing isopen the year-roundduring the summerin open water and during the winter bycutting through the ice!

Major tributary to the Colorado, theGreen River originates near Green River,Wyoming where Major John WesleyPowell began his historic expedition in1868. Encountering his first rapids on thethen untamed river near what he describ-ed as a "brilliant red gorge", he namedthe area Flaming Gorge.

From Flaming Gorge, Major Powelland his nine-man crew explored theGreen to its confluence with the Colorado


23/44


24/44

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River in what is today Canyonlands Na-tional Park. Below the confluence of thetwo rivers he encountered the most dan-gerous rapids of his entire trip. (See Des-ert, Sept. '72.)

Today the Green and Colorado Rivershave been tamed by concrete, flood-con-trol dams which have created three vastrecreational areas. Hoover Dam backs upthe Colorado near Las Vegas, Nevada andforms Lake Mead; Glen Canyon Dambacks up the same river waters at Page,Arizona, forming Lake Powell, and theFlaming Gorge Dam dedicated onlyeight years agohas created the newestof the aquatic recreational areas.

Lake Mead is surrounded by the desertlands of Nevada. Lake Powell is encom-passed by the sheer and brilliantly coloredsandstone formations of Utah and Ari-zona. Flaming Gorge is nestled in theplains and green forests of Wyoming andUtah.The area was once so isolated, however,24

;

a # 3 r F O i r

that when construction of the FlamingGorge Dam began in 1957 only primitiveroads lay across the Uinta Mountains andnot one road was even close to the damsite.But it was even more primitive in 1 776when two Spanish priests, Fathers Domin-guez and Escalante, the first white men to

set foot in the area, crossed the Green Riv-


25/44

Sheep Creek Bay (opposite page)is one of the hundreds of

excellent camping and fishingareas where deer and antelope

(left) are comm on sights.The landing at BuckboardCrossing (below) is one of

several modern marinas aroundthe lake. A favorite sport is

riding rubber rafts down theGreen River below the dam.

Cold water makesexcellent trout fishing.

er near the present site of Jensen, Utah,seeking a shorter route to California.

In 1824, Wil l ia m Ashleyaf ter w homthe 201,000-acn. area of scenic land wasnamedand his far traders invaded theterritory and left v/ith $75,000 worth offur pelts. It is believed that his was thefirst fur-trapping Indian rendezvous totake place in the West.

Fur trapping continued until the beav-ers became scarce and civilization movedin. W ith "c ivilization " came the outlawsand Browns Park for many years was ahideout for the gangs. The terr itory be-longed to Mexico until 1848, when it wasceded to the United States.

F laming Gorge National Recreat ionalArea is not only the "youngest" of thethree major Department of the Interioraquatic developments a long the ColoradoRiver complex, but it is also the most iso-lated and the farthest from major metro-politan areasand thus the least crowded.

From the north, the area is reached bytaking the paved state highway fromGreen River , Wyoming south to Manila .From here the highway goes throughscenic Sheep Creek Canyon, around thesouthern periphery of the Ashley Nation-al Forest to Flaming Gorge Dam. SheepCreek Canyon has been designated as a"Geological Area" by the Forest Service.It is one of the few places in the worldwhere tourists can view from their carsgeology representing millions of years inonly 1 5 minutes dr iving t ime.

From the south, F laming Gorge Damand the main body of the lake and thelower Green River are reached by takingU.S. 40 from Vernal, Utah. The 30-miledr ive f rom Vernal winds through anothergeological time-strata. Approaching thedam there are many isolated public camp-grounds which are just off the highwayand accessible by passenger car.

Driving through this section of thearea during the late afternoon I spottedseveral antelo pe and mu le deer. Evenwhen I stopped my car to take photo-graphs, they merely looked at me and thencontinued to forage on the grassy slopes.

Gree ndale function is the confluence ofthe north and south highways and fromhere it is a short drive (o the dam and apan oram ic view of the lake. Ther e is aVisitor 's Center at the dam and a selfguided tour through the power plant.

Also at the dam there is a public boatlaunching ramp (one of 36 within theRecreation Area), camping facilities, ageneral store and motel with limited ac-commodations .

There is also a store where you can rensmall rubber rafts (or bring your own)and float down the Green River from alaun chin g area below the clam. Th is is afavorite pastime for families who glidedown the river for seven miles to a publiccamping area where they go ashore andfry the trout they have caught during their"f loat t r ip. "

Whether it is a "f loat tr ip" down theGreen River, camping under the pinetrees of the Ashley National Forest, boating, fishing or water skiing on the lakewaters, or just driving through the historicand colorful geological formations aroundthis wilderness area, you will find theFlaming Gorge Recreation Area is a landof living color- and a land to which youwill want to return.

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CANYON OBR

st during the day, whichtended to make things especially interest-ing for bats and scientists alike. Intent onfinding answers, the men stuck with thethe heat. The bat^ had their problems, too.

Pallid bats, it seems, do not hang freelywhen roosting, bin: like to have their un-dersides against a surface, and they wantclose protection from above. Cracks andjoinings in the roof and rafters seem to fillthe bill best. The other two kinds of batspreferred the same area for roosting, andso that was where everybody was. Withthe direct sun hammering down, the highloft section was bound to get the hottest.

Restlessness and squabbling and vocali-zation increased as the temperature roseand it became apparent that the bats werefaced with a derision: stay in their pre-ferred spots and stand the heat, or movedown lower in the barn where it was cool-er to be sure, but the roosting spots moreexposed. The myotis bunch gave up earl i-est and moved down; but the freetails andthe pallids consistently faced higher tem-peratures rather than give up their ceil ingroosts. In fact, pallid bats voluntarily en-dured heat of 19 i degrees , pan ting andsalivating rather than move. But whenthe temperature continued to climb, theyfinally had to gi re up, too, moving downthe barn sides and once relocated shovedeach other to be spiced further apart.

Nobody needed to tell the biologists itwas TOO HOT m the barn and that anymammal in his r "lit mind should get outof it. Yet there .vere the bats voluntarilyundergoing stress for hours in heat thatwas at least 50 degrees higher than bur-rowing desert animals were standing atthe same time. And this is apt to be thecase for some -'in clays in a typical sum-mer. Surely the fact that the bats were ableOctober 1972

to exploit hot buildings for roosting mustbe associated with considerable heat re-sistance and the question at once arose: isthis unique heat tolerance a survival char-acteristic developed in bats in general andraised to the nth degree in desert dwell-ing species such as the pallid bat? Itwould indeed seem to be the case, so morestudy is going on.

It is thought that the pallid bats hiber-nate in winter roosts fairly close to theirsummer grounds. They do seem to befamiliar with considerable territory arange of about 30 milesand are prettygood homers. Zoologist Davis found thefemales did a better job of homing thanthe males in the early summer and that forsome reason did best when released in asoutheast-northeast direction from the ma-ternity colony. Working with LendellCockrum in Cochise County, Arizona,Davis released a batch of bats. Whilesome never got back at all, several individ-uals showed unusual consistency in re-turn. One female was particularly good athoming, no matter what direction homewas and clocked in in good time each tripfrom points 21 to 68 miles away. Shetraveled some -1^0 miles in all during thecourse of the study between May 28 andOctober 1. Much of the territory she hadto cross was well outside her home rangeand therefore unfamiliar. So good was herscore that chance alone could not be thereason for her success. How did she do it?Nobody knows.

Nobody knows either why the lady hasglands on her nose that can release a scentdefinitely not Chanel # 5 . To the humannose it is uncomfortably reminiscent ofskunk, and zoologists, biased from sadexperience, cannot imagine how anythingthat smells like that could be used for any-thing but defense. However, tastes do dif-fer, to be sure, so her perfume is just onemore of her quirks that make the pallidbat still one of the desert's mysteries. Q

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34/44

L o u i s REMME, stockman, had just com-pleted a profitable drive of cattle upthe inland valley of California. He dis-posed of a few here, a score there, adozen in another place until he hadtraded his steers and cows for yellowgold. The clinking gold, $12,500.00 ofit, was on deposit with Adams and Com-pany in Sacramento. Now Remme wassitting down to a leisurely breakfast inMarius Bremond's restaurant.

Marius put a copy of the "DailyUnion" in his hands. Newspapers in the1850s did not shout all they knew fromthe front page. Before the stockman hadread through many of the pages, hecaught the news from the dining room'scjueerly excited chatter. Fragments werecrashing about like crockery. "PageBacon is cleaned out." "Adams, too.Looks bad." "They say Woods hasskipped."On February 17, 185 5, the ship "O re-gon" had arrived at San Francisco heavywith mail and passengers and fairly alistwith news. The big news concerned thefailure of Page, Bacon and Company ofSt. Louis. This was not only one of thelargest banking concerns west of the At-lantic seaboard, but its main branch wasthe largest bank on the "west coast.

Remme tore open his newspaper. Thestory had just come up the river fromSan Francisco by boat. Page Bacon'sdownfall had started a run on its branch.Other banks had been sucked in. Allwas seething, boiling panic. Remme cameto his feet. The stockman was a smallman, about f ive feet eight, weighingaround 155 sinewy pounds and bearingthe blood of French-Canadian voyageursin his veins. All he could see was hisgold on deposit in Adams' Sacramentobranch. In a few sir ides he was shoulder-ing through to the counter at 46 SecondStreet. Outside a roaring, milling crowdwas gathered. He demanded his money.

"You' ll have to see the receiver," thecashier told Remme. He intimated thatthe line was going to be long and thewaiting considerable.

Remme thought rapidly. Should hedash for Marysville and try and cash theclaim there? But the news just arrivedfrom San Francisco must already be atMarysville. He could picture the sceneaccurately. The excited, jamming popu-lace. The shouts for torch and rope. Theclosed doors, the smashed windows. The34

R E M M E ' SF A M O U SR I D E:

- ' " ' : rj=

by Dr. Ira B.Judd

A TOUG H LITTLE FRENCH-CANADIAN RACED 6 00MILES FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO PORTLAND, ORE-GON IN 143 HOURS AND SAVED HIS FORTUNE. HISHISTORIC RIDE IS ONE OF THE FAMOUS FEATS OF

THE OLD WEST.

P h o t o c o u r t e s y C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e L i b r a r y

locked or empty vault and the cries tohigh heaven of anguish, despair and in-digna tion. His Si 2,500 in gold. G rassValley, then? Georgetown? Placerville?The news would be ahead of him every-where. But the savings of his five year'slabor ! Then Remme s topped shor t! Whyhadn' t he thought of it before? Portland!

Adams had a branch there and it couldnot have heard the news. There was norailroad, no telegraph. Yet Portland was700 miles away and the steamer fromSan Francisco would be sailing next morn-ing. In deep thought Remme walked tothe river levee. Should he go down to SanFrancisco and take the ship? If he did so,he'd arr ive at Portland simultaneouslywith the bad news. Again there would bethe milling crowd, locked doors, shatter-ed windows and the sheriff 's notice.

A stern-wheeled r iver paddler was juststarting for Knight's Landing, 42 milesupstream. Remme made up his mind as

the gang plank was being drawn. He(Limped for the boat. At Knight's Land-ing he got a horse, rode to the head ofGra nd Isla nd, swapp ed for a fresh steedand bent grimly to the long trail north.

He had friends scattered on ranchesand in towns here and there up the val-ley. The Maryvilie Buttes were bathed in[he long shadows of sunset when he madehis fourth change of mounts. Where-necessary he paid a bonus with his blownhorse and spurred on. Ten hours fromSacramento, he galloped into Red Bluffs.Five minutes later, sandwich in hand anda fresh mount under him, he was offagain. Twenty miles farther a camp firegleamed in the dark. "Who's there?"

"Remme, stockman. I 'm after a thiefand need a fresh horse."

The teamster helped him shift saddles.In darkness the rider swept throughShasta City and Whiskeytown. Dawnfound him breakfasting at Tow er Hou se

Desert Magazine


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156 PAGE SO F D E T E C T O R S - B O O K S - M A P S . . .M E T A L - M I N E R A L D E T E C T O R SI3Y

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F o r t h e R E S T o f y o u r m e !Enjoy Nature's best . . . relaxing hotmineral waters, lovely vis tas, desertd a ys, coo l , starry nights. Hotels, mo-tels and mobi le h ome park s, with ther-mostat ical ly control led hot mineralp o o l s , for every dcislre in luxury andp r ice . Vis i t once, yo u ' l l ret urn . . . f o rthe rest of your l ife! 10 min. frommaj or a i rp o r t . . . FREE BROCHURES:CHAMBER of COMMERCE, Dept. DM,Desert Hot Springs, Calif. 92240D i r e c t i o n * : O n I n t e r s t a t e 1 0 , n e a r P a l mSprings, 9 0 north on one of three turn-offs toDesert Ho t Springs;

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tending from Bridgeport at the southernend, northward for about 17 miles to theMerced River. Peculiarly, about all ofthe important mines of the area lay with-in the boundaries of the grant, as it wasfinally laid out. State 49 runs throughthe entire length of the estate, passingseveral spots of historic interest.

Five miles north of Mariposa is thesettlement of Mount Bullion, once namedPrinceton, near the site of the old Prince-ton mine, a rich producer of gold and abitter legal antagonist of Fremont andhis estate. Eventually, the Princeton in-terests were forced to relinquish the prop-erty when title was confirmed to Fremont.

About two miles farther north onState 49, on a road branching a little tothe left, is the site of the old Mount Ophirprivate mint, authorized by the FederalGo vernm ent to stamp out hexagon al f if tydollar gold slugs. Adjacent to the site arethe stonewall ruins of pioneer merchantLouis Trabucco's trading post, built inthe early 1850s.

Continuing northward for about threemiles, the highway arrives at what is leftof the old town of Bear Valley, famousas the headquarters of Fremont and hisMariposa estate. The town had been builtalmost entirely under his planning anddirection, boasting a hotel, the OsoHouse, a large company store and his ownresidence. Inducements were offered toattract merchants to the town and a busyand thriving settlement resulted.

The Oso House and Fremont res idencehave disappeared along with many of theold stores and houses. Old streets havelong since gone to grass and brush. Theold I .O.O.F. building still stands on themain street, now named Oso Hall. Acrossthe road from it is the decaying facade ofan ancient adobe structure with massiveiron doors, at one time a livery stable.

Opposite this ruin are the jagged schist,stone side and rear walls of an old build-ing within which grows a tree with atrunk measuring over 2 feet in diam eter.On the slope to the east of the main streetis the old schist stone jail with a heavyiron r ingbolt deeply imbedded in theground to which the prisoner 's leg ironwas attached. No record exists of any es-cape from this pokey. An old Bear Valleyschool stands nearby. A little to the rear

of this is located an old cemetery whererests pioneer merchant Louis Trabucco.

Two miles beyond Bear Valley, at thetop of a steep-walled canyon, a dirt roadbranches sharply to the left, off 49, lead-ing about a quarter mile to Fremont's ol dPine Tree mine. It was reactivated byothers later, but is dormant now. An oldmine dump testifies as to the scope ofoperations. His Josephine mine is nearthis location.

Huge amounts of gold were taken byFremont from his mines, his wealth atthe height of his career being estimated atabout $10,000,000. Bear Valley was thebustling hub of his empire with a popu-lation numbering about 3,000.

Never known as an astute business-man, a lavish spender and too trusting ofothers, his estate gradually drifted intodifficulties. Frequently absent from hisbusiness on extended tr ips to Washing-ton and Europe, the management of hisproperty was handled by others, somenot chosen too wisely. Short military ser-vice in the early days of the Civil W aradded to his troubles.

Plagu ed by a con tinu ing series of law-suits against his property, exhorbitant le-gal fees and a mounting debt against theestate, estimated at about $2,000,000 in1862, Fremont decided to sell out in1863. Although receiving only a smallportion of the true worth of his holdings,he still was a wealthy man.

An optimistic speculator, of a restlessnature, he soon was involved in the pur-chase and p rom otion of a southe rn rail-road. His entire fortune was invested inthe project with disastrous results. Fail-ure of the railroad to meet paymentsthrew it into receivership and Fremontwas ruined.Friends interceded in his behalf, and in1 878 he w as appointed Territorial Gover-nor of Arizona at a small salary. Ill healthfinally forced his return to New Yorkwhere he was placed on the Army retiredlist with the rank of major general in1890.

He died the same year m a Manhattanboarding house in drastically reduced cir-cumstances, a strange ending to the careerof the noted trail blazer, soldier, politi-cian and one-time owner of the famousand productive Mariposa Grant.

Desert Magazine


37/44

with a

( J o n d m p l o yS a n t a C lo u

t i m e s a g e a rSI

MAGAZINE GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONWh o ev er sa id " t h er e i s no t h ing new under t h e sun" ev ident ly i s no t f am i l ia rv ,i :h D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E . T h e r e is a lw a y s s o m e t h i n g n e w w i t h u s n e w c l ue st o l o s t m ines , new depar t m ent s , new ins igh t s , new f eat ur es and new and un-usua l p lac es t o ex p lo r e . And 1973 w i l l be ev en m o r e ex c i t ing as eac h m o nt h wec o v er t h e nat ur e and an im al k ingdo m s, h i s t o r y and l i t t le kno wn ar eas o f t h eWest . Fo r an unusua l Ch r is t m a s G i f t o ne t h a t w i l l r em in d y o ur fr iends andr e la tiv es o f y o ur t h o ugh t f u lnes s ev er y m o nt h o f t h e y ear g iv e t h em a sub-s c r i p t i o n t o D E S E R T M A G A Z I N E . I t g i ve s E a s t e rn e r s a f i r s t - h a n d a n d v i vi ddesc r ip t io n o f o ur c o unt r y and i t o f f e r s Wes t er ner s new h o r iz o ns and adv en-t u r e s . Do y o ur Ch r is t m as sh o pp ing ear ly and t h e easy way by send ing in t h enam es o f y o ur f r ien ds t o day . We w i l l see t h ey h av e t h e i r f i r s t i s sue and a beau-t i f u l G i f t Car d f r o m y o u in t im e t o h ang o n t h e i r Ch r i s t m as Tr ee.

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October 1972

USE ORDER FORM ON PAGE 4 1 , OR JUST SEND YOUR G IFT LIST TODESERT MAGAZINE, PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 92260


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This method ol cutting a diamond isvery slow , but wi :h the values at stake,time and the loss of some bort are notimportant.

Cutters of other gems looked at thissaw, bu t fou nd t le cost and tim e losswere against them Finally, a method ofembedd i ng the diamond bort in the rimof a blade was developed. No w the bladecould be turned a: any reasonable speed.T he only loss of diamond was that ofwear, and cutting was found to be rapid.

The first diamond blades were madeby notching the edge of a soft steel discand working the bort into these notches,then roll ing the metal down and over tohold the grits. The first of these bladeswas offered to the a rate ur abou t 1935.

They were so advantageous over themud saw, that most serious gem cutterstook to them immediately in spite of thegreat difference ir price. It was possibleto cut a piece of ^ern material in a tinyfraction of the time necessary before, thusincreasing the gem cutter 's output manytimes. These earl) gem cutters could nothave realized how very inefficient thefirst blades were in comparison to thoseoffered today. Technology and methodsof manufacture mve improved enor-mously.

There is an interesting side issue ofthe diamond saw being used to make finalpreparations for rutt in g a gem. In theearly days, after the larger pieces had beenreduced to workable sizes, unwanted cor-ners or other projections still needed to beremoved. This was usually done with aspecial plier-like nippers that bit off theunwanted portion. Again, this was waste-ful, and accidents were common.

After the introduction of the diamondblade, all that was necessary was to adaptit to a machine th.it would enable theoperator to hold :he piece needing to betrimmed, and let the saw do the job. This

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type of saw is appropriately named a trimsaw, and its value to the gem cutternearly surpasses that of the saw designedto cut the larger chunks.

As an example, a slice of agate aboutone-fourth inch thick can be sawed, whilehand-held against the blade (with com-plete safety), cutting about a linear inchin 15 seconds. This cut can be made inany direction, as long as it is a straightline, and portions removed with little orno possibility of breakage or other loss.

The present-day diamond saw is a pre-cision instrument. Those designed to cutlarger pieces are known as slab saws, withmost of the pieces cut into slabs of vary-ing thickness. The stone to be sliced islocked into a clamp, which is designed totravel toward and past the saw blade ata predetermined rate. As the blade turns,the stone is forced toward it, and a cool-ant (usually a light oil) is fed to the pointof contact of blade and rock. If there wasno coolant, the blade would be destroyed.Many of the machines on the market aredesigned so that these three operations areautomatic after the initial set-up work isdone. It is possible for an operator to tenda number of saws, turning from one toanother as each operation comes to an end.

Today's gem cutter has other machineryavailable to him to assist him to cut excel-lent gems. Some of this machinery is verysophisticated and elaborate. W e are certainhowever, that gem cutt ing would not bepopular with the amateur, if the diamondblade did not exist. The saw is always the.starting point, and most individuals wouldsimply not bother to start with the oldmethods, regardless of how excellent theother machinery might be.

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Beach B l v d . , Buena P a r k , Calif. 9 0 6 2 0 ( 7 1 4 |5 2 1 - 6 3 2 1 .NEW BREED OF METAl LOCATORS. Transistor-i zed, l i gh tw e i gh t co nstruct i o n . M o ney backguarant ee. Free I 'eratu re. Roth Indus tr ies,Bo x 909 93, Dept. 6 , L os Ange les , Ca l i fo rn i a9 0 0 0 9 .TREASURE-METAL and mineral locators. Free 24page bo o k le t . GecMnder Co , Bo x 37, L ake-wo o d, Ca l i f . 90714GOL DAK Treasure L o cato rsPleasure and pro f i tin a hobby you' l l enjoy. Find co ins, rel ics,g o l d , s i l ver . Ch arge o n Bankamer i card . Go l -d a k , D e p t . D M , 1 1 0 1 - A A i r w a y , G l e n d a l e ,

Cah fo rn i a 91 201 .GOLD, SILVER, RELICS1 L o cated wi th " po w er fu lDetectro n Meta l [ i e te : tcrs . Free i n fo rmat i o n .Detectro n , Dept DM ) , Bo x 243, San G abr i e l ,Ca l i f , 91778. MISCELLANEOUS

OIL PAINTING, kn i fe : , b rush . Fo r beg i nners o radva nced. Free} broch ure. Degrees gran ted.Roy Keister College1, 19 Washington St., SantaClara , Ca l i f . 95050. B .BACK PAINBe yo ur o wn Ch i ro practo r . Get i mmediate rel ief. Easy to cio i l lustrated boo kletCo pyr i gh ted 1972. Send $3.00 to Se l f -A l i gnment, P.O. Box 315. Corona Del Mar, Cal i f.9 2 6 2 5 .G U M M E D N A M E A N D ad d re s s la b e ls : 1 0 0 0 $ 1 , 3 0 0 0 $ 2 . 2 5 T w o w e e k d e l i v e ry . C .Fr iday, 4705 Adam Road, Santa Susana.Calif. 93063.FOR NEW JOB o pen i ngs i n L o s Ange les, Ca l i fo r -nia, wr i te Mary ' s Wo rk Sh o p. Send $2.00 fo ri n f o r m a t i o n . M a r y G re e n , 1 2 5 9 N . E l M o l i n o ,Pasadena, Ca l i fo rn i a 91104.CAMERA OWNERS! Cap i ta l i ze o n yo ur vacat i o n-h o l i day ph o to s, s i des. Repo r t te l ls Ho w,Wh ere. On ly $ 1 . 0 0 . Handy Steph en, Bo x_ _ 203 83, L os Ange les, Ca l i f . 900 06.ELECTRIC M OSQUITO repel ler, $12. 00; H and l ing ,taxes pa i d ! 24-K go ld nugget facs i mi le sam-p les, $1 .25 ! Mo ta lo y, $6 .50! Do n Bush , 639-D_R_osemont, Pasadena, Cal i f. 91103.Z E N O " D I V I N I N G R ODS l o c at e a n d a m a z e -sa t i s fact i o n guarantee?$5 wi th fu l l i ns t ruc-

t i o ns o r i n fo rmat i o n Fry , 879 Park Per ri s ,Ca l i f . 92370.October 1972

N o t e s fr o m t h e F i e l dCALIFORNIA

National Chloride ( n.Bristol Dr y LakeMr. Melvin Stephens, president, in-

formed DESERT that no collecting willbe permitted at the company's miningoperation south ol Amboy. In the past.many groups and individuals have beengranted permission at the office to collectthe fluorescent salt specimens. Mr. Ste-phens states he does not want his workersdistracted by people coming to the office.Stay away fo lks , it's ofi lim its!

Lake County DiamondsThe Lake Berryses Estates have closedtheir area to the collecting of Lake County"diamonds." The locale is now under newownership. "Doc" Burrows, CaliforniaFederation of Mineral Societies trouble-shooter, is making every effort to have thesite reopened.

Owlhead Crystals ClosedFor nearly three decades, rock collec-

tors have been trying their luck at thequartz crystal location in the OwlheadMountains, Inyo Count)'. The Owlheadsform the southwestern border of DeathValley National Monument. Access tothe crystal area (collection is done out-

side th e monument boundary thoughc r y s t a l s o c c u r w i t h i n i t ) h a s b e e n v i a adirt r o a d l e a d i n g w e s t I r o n : t h e W e s t -Side Road.

This road has been used regularly andit was not posted .is late as November,1971. However, a group ol collectorswere cited by park rangers for un-authorized off-road travel and collectingwithin the Monument."

It is within the authority ol the Monu-ment administration to close the road andpost it winch they have done at otherlocations. However, when use has beenallowed over many, many years, it seemsunfair to make scapegoats ol persons un-aware of any changes .

Collectors ar e advised not to use thisroute to reach th e crystal a r e a .

W e welcome items of interest from ou rreaders fo r this c o l u m n . Please send to theaddress b e l o w .

I will be glad to answer any ol yourquestions about held t r ip s . Please enclosea self-ad dressed, stamped envelope formy reply.

"Mary Frances StrongField Trip EditorDesert MagazineV A L Y E R M O , Calif. 93*>6l

INSCRIPTION FORM 1 0 - 7 2

ENTER A NEW SUBSCRIPTIONPALM DESERT, CAL IFORNIA 922 60

f j RENEW MY PRESENT SUBSCRIPTION

NAMEADDRESS ZIP CODE SEND GIFT SUBSCRIPTION TO:

NAME __ADDRESS .

S i gn G i f t Card : "Fro mOne Year $5. 00 Two Years S9.50 Three Years $13 .00

(Or 2 One Years) (Or Three One Years ! PAYME NT ENCLOSED BILL ME LATER

D ALSO SEND DESERT'S 12-ISSUE HAN DSOM E BROWN VINYL BINDER FOR $3.5 0( includes tax and postage)

Date Binder(s) wi th Year(s) Undated


42/44

L e t t e r sLetters request ing answers must includestamped se l f -addressed envelope.

irresponsibly are the ones that we must protectourselves from.

So the citizens of Salton City have presenteda petition against off-roaders to the CountyBoard of Supervisors? I say. "Good for you.Mr. Smith 1" But while you are attempting toprevent the use of ORVs near your town, pleaseremember that the off-roaders are spendingthousands of dollars in our your communityevery weekend.

Most of all, I resent Mr. Smith's last para-graph. The citizens of Salton City do not per-sonally own that desert nor are they itL onlycaretakers. It is public land and it belongs tome as well' as it belongs to them. Our familyand thousands of other off-road-vehicle familiesrespect it, love it and he lp keep it clean. We arc-sick and tired of being blamed for the actions ofa few irresponsible individuals.

PAT PARKINSON.Fallbrook. California.

" S i c k an d T i r e d " . . .As a member oi an avid four-wheeling fam-

ily, I was completely infuriated after readingthe letter and viewing the photo that was sub-mitted by Orville Smith in the August, 1972i s s u e

I'm quite sure tha! Mr. Smith must knowwhat a 4W D v chirle or dune buggy looks like,yet he insinuates thai a four-wheeler or dunebuggy owner was responsible for the abandon-ment of a '55 "r '56 Plymouth in the desert.This virtually valueless vehicle did not belongto a true off-road enthusiast.

It was left I hen- by some irresponsible idiotwho never should have taken it off a main-tained road. Mr. Smith states that "Many ve-hicles are wrecked or fail in the desert and theowners walk away from them." The averagef o u r - w h e e l e r l i a s b e t w e e n $ 4 , 0 0 0 t o $ 5 , 0 0 0 i n -vested in his vehicle and you can be sure thatits owner is not going to walk away from it ifit is wrecked or rails.

Mr. Smith complains about the dust that"descends upon" his town when the "windstorms occur" and places

197210 Desert Magazine 1972 October

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