Desert Messenger

nically under drought conditions 60 to 80-percent of the time, and the current drought could last as long as fi ve years. A drought was defi ned as an extend- ed period of less than average stream fl ow which made me wonder how that worked for Quartzsite where the Tyson Wash has water only when the rain falls on the Kofa Mountains and the La Posa Plain. I supposed that since our desert washes are normally dry and contain no running water, the Upper Sonoran desert is almost always in a state of drought. From the 1989 U. S. Geological Sur- vey of Water Supply, we now know the extent of the Arizona drought in 1942. It actually lasted until 1964 with two very short periods of rainfall in 1949 and 1952. That 1989 Survey reported that stream fl ow volumes had been esti- mated for as many as 350 years at three Arizona sites on the basis of measured rates of tree growth. Departures from 16 www.DesertMessenger.com December 17, 2014 1949 was our tenth Christmas in Quartzsite, ten wonderful years of learning how to be a beekeeper in the beautiful Upper Sonoran Desert we had fallen in love with after that fi rst Christmas at the family's Jack of Dia- monds placer gold claim in the La Paz Mining District west of Quartzsite. Back in 1939 we had purchased the bee business and home of 76-year-old Charles R. Mott (1863-1946) who had agreed to stay on and teach us what he knew about beekeeping before leaving in 1943 to be close to the families of his daughters Margaret Durkee of Pasade- na and Clara Pratt of Los Angeles. Our fi rst three years of depending on the honeybees to gather nectar from wild desert fl owers, mesquite, catsclaw, ironwood, and Palo Verde blossoms went quite well. But the spring of 1942 did not produce the early rains that were necessary for the tiny dormant seeds of the desert wildfl owers to germinate. In fact, all of Arizona had not had a good rain since early the previous summer. Hot winds blew almost every day, some spawning giant dust storms, others were stifl ing hot and hatched dozens of dust devils at one time, sucking up precious topsoil. Charles read in the Yuma Daily Sun that Arizona's streams were tech- Smoke Tree Christmas of 1949 Excerpts from "In the Shadow of Saguaros" by Rosalee Oldham Wheeler "In the Shadow of Saguaros" Vol. I & II are now available exclusively at the Tyson's Well Museum and Reader's Oasis Book Store Voices from The Past in Quartzsite, AZ SEE 1949 PAGE 32 the average of the estimated annual fl ows indicate that the 1942-64 drought was the second most severe on record. By 1946 the drought was affecting ev- ery aspect of life on the Upper Sonoran Desert. Open-range cattle outfi ts like the Scott, Wilbanks, and Crowder fami- lies were devastated when their herds were dying from lack of water and feed and had to sell-off or drive their herds hundreds of miles to somewhat better pastures in northern counties. Shallow hand-dug water wells were going dry. Even the wild desert animals were ven- turing closer to town for food and water. In June of 1948 the owners of Quartz- site's Crossroads Café reported a large cat-like animal, very dark or black in color was observed getting into a gar- bage container. The ruckus alerted nearby dogs causing folks to go out and check on the commotion. The big cat, eyes glowing from the refl ection of the café's lights, ran off through a group of stray cattle looking for water causing even more turmoil. The next morning, everyone was talking about the sighting of another black panther in the district, this one venturing into town. Those who saw the beautiful animal said it had a small head with short ears and was about 3 1/2 to 4 feet long (not including its tail) and probably weighed around 40-45 pounds. Lehre Erdman said it was probably the same big black cat he had observed by the light of a camp- fi re at his Gold Eye Mine southwest of Quartzsite. Fred Kuehn agreed that the description was not that of a mountain lion and was probably a young male Mexican panther that had strayed north in search of a mate. In the spring of 1998 we drove out to Horse Tanks, southeast of Quartzsite, hoping to take pictures of big horn sheep coming in to water. * Full Bar and Lounge seats 44 * 1st. dining room seats 40 * 2nd dining & Banquet Room seats 60 56480 Hwy. 60 (1/2 mile West of Vicksburg Rd.) 928-859-3057 Now serving BREAKFAST! (8 am-2:30 pm) Full Mexican & American BREAKFAST MENU from Biscuits & Gravy to Chorizo & Eggs! NEW WINTER HOURS! 8 am - 8 pm If You Like Good Tex-Mex Food JUST TRY US David Zarkou, DPM Foot and Ankle Surgery PODIATRY (928) 669-3033 At La Paz Medical Services 150 E. Tyson Road, Quartzsite Fridays 9 am – 5 pm At Parker Professional Bldg 1713 Kofa Ave, Parker Mon, Tues, Wed 8 - 4:30 pm At TriValley Medical Center Harquahala Road, Salome 2nd and 4th Thurs each month SMOKE TREE

• Cover