HIr - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

the dried leaves of the numerous agaves
or century-plants which are so common
here.
The first land snail collected in the
Sonoran Desert was found by an early
explorer and traveler named Frick who
was going over the Old Yuma Trail to
California. This was in 1865 and the
place of discovery was in southwestern
Arizona in the barren but beautiful
Gila Mountains. In 1894 Dr. Edgar
A. Mearns while on the U.S.-Mexican
Boundary Survey took a few specimens
near the same area. The only
other collection of this mollusk was
made by two of my students and me
in the vicinity of the famous Tinajas
Altas along the historic Camino del
Diablo. This was in 1934 and was
considered a very important rediscovery.
This land mollusk was described
under the name Micrarionta
Rowelli.
People often wonder how new plants
and animals get their scientific names.
A good way to illustrate this is for me
to tell of a snail I collected in Black
Canyon in the mid-Mojave Desert in
1928. It is an area deeply covered by
black volcanic rocks. My snail specimens
were sent to Dr. S. Stillman Berry
of Redlands, California, recognized as
one of the leading western land snail
specialists. Because this snail belonging
to the well known desert genus
Micmrionto, was found beneath and
around black rocks at the entrance to
the canyon, he described it under the
specific name of rnilanopylon which is
derived from the Greek adjective melanos,
black, and the noun pylon, a
gate, an entrance way.
To a snail I discovered in the Eagle
Mountains of the Colorado Desert he
gave the specific name aetotes which
is Greek for "of the eagles."
A snail discovered on Sidewinder
Mountain (named after the prevalent
rattlesnake of the region) was named
crotalina, derived from the New Latin
adjective crotalinus, meaning pertaining
to a rattle (snake). The stem of
this word also occurs in the generic
name Crotalus, a name chosen by the
early Swedish naturalist Linnaeus for
the rattlesnakes.
The hilly and mountainous area
surrounding the four corners area
where Arizona, New Mexico, and the
Mexican states Chihuahua and Sonora
meet is said to be richest in representation
of species of land snails of any
place in the United States. Often a
single arid mountain canyon will have
numerous species, and every somewhat
isolated rocky hill may boast of
its own snail candidate for scientific
fame. Much of it is limestone country
where the genera Sonorella and Oreohelix
are in ascendency, especially in
the lower canyon rock-slides. Much
of it is unexplored snail territory and
rich rewards await the patient, intelligent
collector.
The desert floor of southern Arizona,
as is often true of other flat areas,
is poor snail country, but the surrounding
low mountains and even the low,
isolated conical hills are often good
land snail territory. But these mol-
TRUE OR FALSE
lusks may be hard to find since one
may have to dig four or five feet to
locate them. When the hills are made
of volcanic rocks milleniums old, collecting
is generally very disappointing,
the region having been too recently
burned out. The older cinder may
yield most interesting material, however.
It is too hot these days to be
out prowling around the desert
— and the best substitute we
can suggest for enlarging your knowledge of the Great American Desert is
this set of True or False questions. These questions have to do with
geography, history, mineralogy, botany, Indians and the lore of the Southwest.
Twelve to 14 correct answers is a fair score, 15 to 17 is good, 18 or
better is excellent. The answers are on page 38.
1—Rattlesnakes normally have four fangs—two in each jaw. True
False
2—There are 36 sections of land in a township. True . False
3—The Devil's Golf Course in Death Valley National Monument was
built by Death Valley Scotty. True False
4—Desert mistletoe is conspicuous for the beautiful coloring of its
leaves. True False
5—It is tribal custom among the Navajo to burn or abandon the hogan
in which a member of the tribe dies. True . False........
6—The Mormon battalion was formed to protect the Mormons from
religious persecution. True False
7—The only poisonous lizard in the Southwest is the Gila Monster.
True False
8—Sunset crater near Flagstaff in Arizona is still a smoldering volcano.
True False
9—The highest mountain in the United States is visible from the California
Desert. True False
10—Albuquerque is the state capital of New Mexico. True . False
11—Lake Mead spreads over parts of three states: Arizona, California
and Nevada. True False
12—Geronimo was a war chief of the Navajo tribe. True . False
13—Chrysocolla comes from iron mines. True False.... ._.
14—The junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers is in Utah. True
False
15—Dipodomys is the name of a desert rodent. True _ _. False_ ....
16—Jackrabbit Homesteaders are required to reside on their 5-acre tracts
for a year before they can obtain a government patent to the land.
True False
17—The blossom of the Nolina is purple. True False
18—The mesquite tree sheds its leaves in winter. True .... False
19—Davis Dam in the Colorado River is downstream from Hoover Dam.
True False
20—The reservation of the Goshute Indians is in Nevada. True
False
KIT CARSON WAS FEARLESS.
BRAVE AND VERY CAUTIOUS
In 1848 a young army officer,
George Brewerton, was ordered to ride
with Kit Carson, already a celebrated
person, from Los Angeles to Santa Fe.
Brewerton kept a record of his travels
through the Indian infested desert, and
made particular note of Carson and his
trail habits:
"During the journey I often watched
with great curiosity Carson's preparations
for the night. A braver man than
Kit perhaps never lived. I doubt if he
ever knew what fear was, but with all
this he exercised great caution. While
arranging his bed, his saddle, which
he always used as a pillow, was disposed
in such a manner as to form a
barricade for his head; his pistols half
cocked were laid above it, and his rifle
reposed beneath the blanket by his
side, where it was not only ready for
instant use, but well protected from
the damp. Except now and then to
light his pipe, you never caught Kit
exposing himself to full glare of the
camp fire. 'No, no, boys,' Kit would
say, 'hang 'round the fire if you will,
it may do for you if you like it, but I
don't want to have a Digger slip an
arrow into me, when I can't see him.' "
—Old Spanish Trail, LeRoy and Ann
Hafen
20 DESERT MAGAZINE