194103-DesertMagazin.. - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

IRIECCO
GEfll CUTTING EQUIPfliENT
Learn to cut and polish beautiful
gems using VRECO Lapid
a r y Machinery. Practical
equipment makes easy the
work of producing finished
gems and polished specimens.
Send for Free Catalog
•
VREELAND LAPIDARY MFG. CO.
Dept. DM
P. O. Box 4371 Portland, Oregon
RALIGHT
FOR BEST
ULTRA-VIOLET
FLUORESCENCE
Improved High Intensity Genuine Cold
Quartz Lamps — Portable 6 Volt and
110 Volt Sets. Essential for prospecting
and mining Scheelite.
Send for free list of fluorescent minerals,
literature and Money Back Guarantee —
Dept. DP 7
ULTRA-VIOLET PRODUCTS, INC.
5205 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.
MINERAL
IDENTIFICATION
SIMPLIFIED
Hy O. C. SMITH, A.B., A.M.
"CLASSIFIES ALL
MINERALS TO 1940"
Simplicity for the amateur, Completeness
for the professional.
Complete BLOWPIPE METHODS and
TABLES.
Price — $3.50 — Plus tax in California
Order from - O. C. SMITH - Dept. D
5167 Santa Ana St. — Bell, California
HOBBY!! Make this yours
Nothing more interesting, entertaining, educational
and so inexpensive. GEM CUTTING
now made easy for the beginner. Cut the
pretty stones you find on your hikes into
Gem Stones.
Write for free folder or send 25c for interesting,
illustrated, 22-pagc booklet describing
the Johns Gem Cutter and the
fascinating art of gem cutting.
THE JOHNS COMPANY
Dept. El Sappington, Missouri
RX—the complete
lapidary shop in
one small machine
Write for circular
and free working chart.
W. A. FELKER 3521 Emerald St, Torrance, California
RAMBLING ROCKNUTS
On a rock-collecting and trading trip through the Southwest with her husband,
Bertha Greeley Brown kept a notebook of her experiences—the places visited and
the "rocknuts" she met along the way—and is writing about them for Desert Magazine
hobbyists. This is the third article in her series.
«HEN we four Rocknuts, Dr. and Mrs.
C. T. Lill, my husband, E. K. Brown and
I left Seattle for a vacation through the
South and Southwest, we made tentative itinerary
plans. By the time we had reached the
land of "poco tiempo," New Mexico, we were
three days behind schedule.
Leaving Albuquerque we traveled north on
Highway 85. Out a few miles the sign TUR-
QUOISE POST stood out in bold letters across
the front of a building just ahead. E. K. swung
in and stopped. A moment later Dr. Lill had
pulled his car along beside ours.
"What to heck, E. K.?" he demanded, "I
thought we were going to make time today."
But I saw a flicker of agreement come over his
face when E. K. answered, "We will, but poco
tiempo, Doctor, poco tiempo."
The Turquoise Post is well worth the stop.
Here is an abundance of Indian rugs, pottery,
jewelry, etc., and in addition to this is a real
museum of mineral specimens, Indian artifacts
(ancient) and historical relics. These are the
collection of Bryce Sewell, owner of the post,
and with the exception of a few minerals, none
of the museum pieces are for sale.
With animation, Mrs. Sewell told us of
prospecting trips she had taken with her husband.
Too, she gave us a location of petrified
wood.
• • •
Late the next afternoon I found myself saying,
"I think I made a good trade, E. K.—two
Oregon thundereggs for five arrowheads."
"Yes, Bee, that's a bargain 'specially when
you stop to think the thundereggs were mine."
We laughed with happy spontaneity. Not a
single thing could spoil this beautiful day in
the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. No thought
of the import of the particular date had entered
our minds. Later we wondered how this had
happened.
Chalcedony rocks about gas stations and indifferent
crystals in windows evidenced the fact
we were getting into the quartz crystal territory
near Hot Springs.
I had made my trade near Mt. Ida and as we
drove along I was filled with pride over my bargain,
particularly the "twirler," a vicious looking
chert arrowhead made in spiral shape so it
would cleave the air in whirling motion and
tear an ugly hole in whatever it hit—a killer.
• • •
Eight miles northwest of Crystal Springs, we
stopped again beside a bench, close by the roadside
and covered with small crystals. A comely,
sunbonneted woman looked over a picket
fence and started an explanation.
"Them is crystals the chillens find hereabout.
We sell them to get money for school pencils."
This was enough to interest E. K. He reached
for his reading glass and started at once to
examine them. I knew he would buy. I felt the
woman's eyes on me and as I glanced up I met
an earnest, questioning look.
"What you all think of the war?" she asked.
War? It had been days since I had thought
much about it.
"My boy signed up for the draft today," she
continued, "and it sorter touches a mother's
heart." "Yes," I answered. "My boy signed up
for the draft too, and it does touch a mother's
heart." It was the 16th of October and until then
I had forgotten.
E. K. selected the crystals he wanted, paid
for them and inquired if there were any larger
ones to be found.
"Yes, down the road 'bout two miles. That
feller has crystals and what I mean, Mister, he
riley has some crystals."
After dismissing E. K. with this information
she turned to me and said, "I reckon I ain't
seed you before but it 'peers I knowed you
allus."
I understood that Ozark mountain mother
for that day she and I stood, with thousands of
other American mothers, in a real shadow of
the world's storm clouds.
• • •
Garland Milholen was the "feller" down the
road who had the unusual crystals. With great
pride he showed us the most wonderful of all
his stock.
This is "the crystal that went to the fair."
Milholen told of its exhibition at the New
York fair, and, "It sure attracted attention,"
he asserted. No one would dispute this. The
specimen is, in fact, two double terminated
crystals, several inches long and grown through
each other in such a manner they make a perfect
crucifixion cross. It is perhaps the most significant
crystal ever found and we are told the
owner has refused a thousand dollars for it.
Quartz, a silicon dioxide, is the most common
of all minerals. It is almost ubiquitous and it
has a larger number of distinct varieties than
any other mineral. In and about Hot Springs,
Arkansas, is probably one of the greatest quartz
crystal areas in the world. Here, warm silicated
waters have crystallized out in underground caverns
and seams. The crystal structure is all the
TEACHERS— interested in obtaining
gems for rings and bracelets to use
in Jewelry and Arts classes . . .
Please Write Us For information
Prices . . . 25c to $2.00 apiece . . . includes
Turquoise, Jasper, Agate, California
Bloodstone, California Lapis
and many others.
IE WEL CRAFT INC.
TU. 5554
704 S. San Pedro - Los Angeles, Calif.
GEMS and MINERALS
Hundreds of fine minerals in stock.
Send for 5c catalog. Ultra-Violet lamps
for collectors and prospectors. Circular
free. Argon lamp and fluorescent mineral
samples, $1.00. Educational monthly
Mineral Bulletin 25c a year. Sales
tax on above in California.
W. SCOTT LEWIS
2500 N. Beachwood Dr.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA
MINERAL SPECIMENS
Hundreds of fine minerals. Cutting
and polishing material. Students 24
piece set $1.00. Excellent crystal groups.
Fluorescent minerals. Polished pieces.
Mineralights for field and home use.
J O H N R. W A L K E R
5608 LaMirada Hollywood, Calif.
44 The DESERT MAGAZINE