the magazine y - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

dared to be the most satisfactory was the sane as that which
we use ourselves in winter and on other occasions when we
employ fire—the flattened side of a square, five gallon coal
oil can. Lumholtz, earnest scientist as he wis, knew his desert—and
his tortillas.
Perhaps one of the chief virtues of the tortilla is the fact
that it is, under all conditions, largely uncooked food. It must
be whisked from the fire before it is scorched to a chip.
Therein lies its tastiness and healthfulness. And never, never
actempt to use a rolling pin in making tortillas! Theoretically,
pressing the dough out to a flat, wafer-lile thinness on a
board by such means may be all right. But actually it is disastrous.
The resultant product, when baked, is a dreadful
thing, as tasty as a piece of old leather. A tortilla must be
patted out by hand, patted lovingly and wit! the discernment
and care of an artist. Then, when the limp disk of dough is of
the correct wafer-like thinness, it must be dropped quickly
upon the sizzling hot iron sheet, let stand lor just the right
number of seconds, flicked expertly over, t Dasted for a like
space on the other side, then whisked off. So made, it is a
delectable morsel—a little cake over which the gods might
fight.
Tortillas should be served and eaten whi e still fresh and
warm if possible. There is significance to the words of the
Mexican song—of Villa days:
"... I come to thy window,
Porfirio Diaz
Give him, for charity,
Some cold tortillas ..."
Nevertheless the tortilla, even when cole, is pretty good
too. Those that we sun dry never fail to hive the attention
of enthusiastic and appreciative appetites. Particularly if Tanya
mixes a little honey in the dough, as she often does.
The big rock is gone. It was the last of four—a hunched
granite quartet of graduated sizes that, ever since the days
of our first tent pitching, crowded upon the north flank of
the home site. In those first days they looked too formidable
to battle with. We had no tools. And their size made mock
of our puny strength.
But steadily, as the house has grown, we have cast thoughtful
eyes upon them. And plotted. Now the) are vanquished.
One—the smallest—we left where it was. It now forms part
of a foundation wall of what will be a bg fireplace. The
second largest succumbed to persistent, gnaving attacks with
a heavy hammer. The third was doomed from the day we
proudly brought home our first set of miner s drills and iron
wedges.
The fourth was different. Huge and squa: and flat-topped
like an Aztec altar it defied even the drilling for a long time.
Drilling holes by hand with steel drill and singlejack is a
long process. And the granite was tough; many times it defied
the wedges to split it. But, bit by bit, the big rock has
been going. Now the last great, unmanageable fragment has
been broken into blocks that can be boostec out of the way
with the iron bar.
We feel a little sorry for the old monarch weatherer of so
many thousands of years of desert wind anc sun and storm.
But our regret is overbalanced by satisfacticn at the greater
space his going gives us. Rider and Rudyard however are
genuinely depressed. When granite rocks are drilled a fascinating
white powder of pulverized stone is saooned from the
drill hole. This, with much chatter and consultation, is collected
and carefully saved in bottles and cms—later to be
used in all sorts of weird experiments, concoctions and mixtures—and
so no more powder. Rudyard is accusingly glum.
And Rider, eyeing his hoarded store of battled rock dust
with much the eye of a thwarted miser, has already begun
to ofler suggestions as to other rocks that "ought to be broken
up."
But the ear of the driller is deaf to hints. Over the gravel
lie the jumbled remains of the huge monolith. They have to
be laboriously rolled away before the new walls can go up
and the roof beams of the north room can span the space.
Somehow the site looks like a quarry just now and the air
is still fragrant with the scent of aromatic shrubs and sage
that the rolling fragments have crushed.
But already Tanya is planning where the beds shall stand
in the new bedroom, when it is built.
• • •
SEASONAL FLOODS IN SOUTHWEST
BELOW NORMAL ACCORDING TO FORECAST
Seasonal flood run-off in the Colorado river this year will
be between 40 and 50 percent below normal, according to
estimates of the U. S. Bureau of Agricultural Engineering,
based on snowfall reports in the watershed of April 1.
The government report quoted the following figures showing
depth of accumulated snow, and water content of the
snowpack in the Rocky mountain headwaters of the various
tributary streams:
The accumulated snowfall on March 31st was below normal
in all areas. The range was from 72 percent below normal on
the Rio Grande to 22 percent below on the North Platte.
With normal weather conditions hereafter, the seasonal flow
in the various rivers, expressed in percentage of normal, will
be approximately as follows: North Platte, 78; South Platte,
57; Arkansas, 50; Rio Grande, 28; San Juan and Dolores, 44;
Gunnison, 68; Colorado, 56; Yampa and White, 67. As compared
with 1939, the flow in the various rivers this year will
be as follows, in percentages: North Platte, 84; South Platte,
57; Arkansas, 48; Rio Grande, 33; San Juan and Dolores,
90; Gunnison, 81; Colorado, 56; Yampa and White, 69.
At the close of March the average depth of snow, with water
content, both in inches, on the different watersheds was as
follows: North Platte, 21 and 6.60; South Platte, 12 and
6.79; Arkansas, 10 and 2.29; Rio Grande, 5 and 1.64; San
Juan and Dolores, 10 and 3.35; Gunnison, 21 and 6.52;
Colorado, 19 and 6.17; Yampa and White, 24 and 8.69.
The water content, in inches, on the corresponding date
last year was as follows: North Platte, 8.05; South Platte,
4.72; Arkansas, 5.36; Rio Grande, 4.27; San Juan and Dolores,
3.42; Gunnison, 7.54; Colorado, 9.79; Yampa and
White, 11.77.
• • •
ANCIENT PITHOUSES TO BE EXCAVATED
BY UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA STUDENTS
Summer school students at the University of Arizona are
looking forward to important archaeological discoveries this
summer when they will be excavating prehistoric Indian pithouse
ruins in Forest Dale valley of the Apache reservation
in eastern Arizona.
Directed by Dr. Emil W. Haury, head of the department of
anthropology, they will excavate for two months in an area
denned for the first time a year ago by the university class as
a stage of Indian occupation hitherto unknown. Over 700
years of human occupancy can be studied at the location of the
ruins which lie south of Showlow. While these pithouses,
dwellings dug into the ground, are not so spectacular as cliff
and pueblo types, they are of an earlier period, said to date
from 700 A. D. to 1400.
Students are to be spared none of the detailed work of excavation.
They not only dig, but clean and repair objects
found in the pithouses. They interpret the significance of
buildings and artifacts, and gain the experience in field work
needed for independent archaeological work. After studying,
mapping and photographing the ruins excavated, the students
will refill the pits in order to preserve them against erosion
and for future generations of archaeologists.
At a cost of $100 for two months, including tuition, lodging,
board, and tools, the students will camp at the ruins site.
The country is beautifully wooded and cool, at an elevation
of 6,500 feet. They will live in tents.
,20 The DESERT MAGAZINE