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Page 12 desert messenger celebrates the arizona's centennial with voices from the past in Quartzsite, AZ Excerpts from "In the Shadow of Saguaros" by Rosalee Oldham Wheeler PALM CANYON IN THE KOFA MOUNTAINS A hike up into the Kofa Mountains offers a mystery for which we may never learn the answer—the origin of the magnificent fan palms located in one of its steep rocky canyons. There are many stories about the origin of Palm Canyon's fan palms. Hundreds of years ago, the waters now known as the Gulf of California covered parts of present-day Southwestern Arizona. In an earlier geological period, a great earthquake emp- tied the Gulf below the 32nd Parallel thus changing where the fresh waters of the Colorado River met with the salt water of the Gulf. ARIZONA WESTCOAST REALTY Realtors: BARBARA COWELL 928-916-4222, Cell CAROLYN GUTHRIE 928-916-8469, Cell JOHN YACKLEY, BROKER 928-916-1195, Cell E-mail: j_yackley@yahoo.com 360 N. Plymouth Ave., Quartzsite • www.arizona-coast.com • 928-927-8900 www.DesertMessenger.com One legend of how the fan palms came to grow in the Kofas is that a ship from the Persian Peninsula was sailing up the Gulf of California on the very day of that course- changing earthquake. The ship's occu- pants waited for the "tide" to come back in. Days, then weeks passed while they waited in the blistering desert sun. Finally they packed up their remaining food and water and hiked east into the nearest mountain range in search of a shady place to wait for rescue by a sister ship. In a narrow canyon they found shade and a steady breeze. A summer rain brought water that collected in rocky pools where the ship-wrecked sailors survived on dried dates harvested from the palms of their homeland. Dates were a principal food grown in countries along the 32nd Parallel near the Persian Peninsula, where the terrain and growing season was much like that of the Desert Southwest. This legend suggests that the spat-out date pits could be the origin of the date palms that continue to grow in that steep rocky canyon. Several years ago I read another version of an ancient shipwreck out in the sand hills. The shifting sands mostly keep it covered but from time to time the wind blows away January 4, 2012 the sand, exposing broken parts of a ship. Those who have seen the remnants say they appear to be like those of the Spanish ships that ruled the waters of the Gulf of Califor- nia in the mid-1500s. Then there is the story about an old Indian who came into town and tried to pay a long-overdue bill with a handful of unusual coins. The storekeeper didn't know where the coins were from or what their value might be. He carefully checked out the peculiar coins but gave them back saying he preferred legal tender, gold dust, or nuggets to clear the bill. He asked the Indian where he got the coins who waved his hand toward the des- ert and said they came from the big white bird that used to glide on the sea and when it landed, men came out and walked upon the sand. The storekeeper thought the old man had made up the story just to fool peo- ple into believing the origin of the coins. Up in the canyon of palms of the Kofa Na- tional Wildlife Refuge is where desert big- horn sheep, mule deer, gray and kit foxes, badgers, coyotes, ring-tailed cats, rabbits, and many birds feed on the date meat and seeds of the palm trees. SEE PALM CANYON PAGE 16 Brand New Health Breakthrough Technology! Protect ~ Repair ~ Replace The World's First and Only Redox Signaling Supplement SPECIAL MEETING! TUES. JAN. 24th • 7pm 1.41 acres with ap- prox. 800 sq. ft. of living space. Covered patio. 10 RV spaces. 2 RVs al- ready hooked up, 2 oth- ers included. 2 carports. Building with restroom, shower, washer & dryer. Shop. 2 carports. 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