Road Projects Under Construction

Road Projects Under Construction in Arizona DISTRICT NO. 1

G. B. Shaffer, District Engineer N. G. Hill Co. have contract 24% completed for the grading and draining of 9.8 miles on U. S. 66, beginning about 32 miles northwest of Ash Fork Jct. and extending northwesterly, N.R. Η. 80-H (1935). R. D. Canfield, resident engineer.

Tanner and Hall have contract 50% complete for the grading and draining of approximately 9 miles of highway on the Kingman-Boulder Dam Highway, N.R.S.-102-B. J. A. Quigley, resident engineer.

Pearson and Dickerson have contract 50% complete for the furnishing and placing of a two inch asphaltic retreat surface and select material and miscellaneous grading and draining work in the town of Jerome, on State Route 79, M.R.H. 96-A. J. A. Quigley, resident engineer.

N. G. Hill & Co. have contract for the placing of aggregate and oil processing by the road mix method of approximately 6.5 miles of roadway, beginning about 7.25 miles west of Peach Springs and extending southwest on U. S. 66, N.R.H. 80-J, 46% complete. M. D. Glessner, resident engineer.

Lee Moor Contracting Company has contract for the grading, draining and oil processing by the road mix method of 4½ miles of the Prescott-Jerome Highway, N.R.S. 19-A, 50% complete. Jas. A. Parker, resident engineer.

Kenneth DeWitt has been awarded a contract for furnishing, hauling and placing of base course on approximately 23.6 miles on U. S. Route 66, N.R.H. 80 G. (1935), which begins at Canyon and extends N. E. approximately 24 miles to within two miles of Hackberry. R. C. Bond, resident engineer.

DISTRICT NO. 2

F. N. Grant, District Engineer Lee Moor Contracting Co. have contract 80% complete for grading, draining, placing select material, base course and mineral aggregate and oil processing approximately 1034 miles on the St. Johns-Springerville Highway, U. S. 260, beginning at the highway junction about 1-3 mile south of the town of St. Johns and extending southerly. N.R.H. 60-A. J. Kerr, resident engineer.

N. G. Hill & Co. and H. L. Royden have completed contract for the construction of the railroad underpass and incidental grading, draining and paving work within the town of Flag-staff on U. S. 66, N.R.M. 21.

Arizona Sand and Rock Co. has contract 24% complete for the surfacing and oiling of about 14 miles of roadway on U. S. 66, N.R.H. 83-E.

Southern California Roads Co. have a contract for removing old oil cake, placing new base, re-mixing and re-laying old oil cake, widening with new oil cake, constructing curb and gutter and seal-coating entire width, beginning at the west city limits, of Winslow and extending west on Second street. N.R.H. 22 (1935), 61% complete. Floyd Beeghley, resident engineer.

Lee Moor Contracting Co. has contract for the grading and draining, placing of select material on approximately 2% miles on U. S. Highway 260, beginning about 35 miles southeast of Holbrook and extending easterly, N.R.H. 78-H (1935), 24% complete. H. B. Wright, resident engineer.

Clinton Campbell has contract for the widening of one concrete bridge and replacing another concrete bridge with corrugated metal pipe and approaches. N.R.H. 8, 74% complete. The work is located about three miles west of Mesa on U. S. Highway 80. R. J. Holland, resident engineer.

William Peper has been awarded a contract for the widening of one concrete bridge located in the town of Miami on U. S. 180, N.R.M. 91-A (1935). R. J. Lyons, resident engineer.

Skousen Brothers have been awarded a contract for grading, draining and placing of base course on approximately 10 2-3 miles on U. S. Highway 89, N.R.H. 95-I (1935), which begins at the forest boundary approximately 28 miles north of Flagstaff and extends northerly towards Cameron. C. E. Benson, resident engineer.

DISTRICT NO. 3

R. C. Perkins, District Engineer Geo. W. Orr has contract for grading and draining of approximately 4 miles of roadway on U. S. 60, located about 46 miles northeast of Globe, N.R.H. 99-G, 14% complete. Gus Rahl, resident engineer.

William Peper has contract 99% complete for the widening of two concrete bridges within the town of Solomonville, and the construction of two new concrete bridges within half a mile of Solomonville, N.R.H. Project 67, on U. S. Highway 180. Dan Lyone, resident engineer.

DISTRICT NO. 4

W. R. Hutchins, District Engineer The Borderland Construction Company have contract 80% complete for the grading, draining, furnishing and placing of select material and road oil mix with emulsified asphalt, seal coat, in the town of Benson, N.R.M. projects 18-E and 79-D, U. S. Route 80. Oscar Maupin, resident engineer.

White and Miller have been awarded a contract for widening and re-surfacing existing concrete pavement with cut-back asphaltic plant mix on approximately 1.2 miles of U. S. Highway 89, beginning at the south city limits of Tucson and extending towards Nogales; N.R.H. 29 (1935). J. R. Van Horn, resident engineer.

BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS PROJECTS IN ARIZONA UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

G. L. McLane, Highway Engineer in charge.

W. R. F. Wallace, Assoc. Highway Engineer, Supervising Engineer.

F. W. Flittner, Assoc. Construction Engineer, Supervising Engineer.

R. Thirion, Assoc. Highway Engineer, Supervising Engineer.

W. P. Wesch, Assoc. Highway Bridge Engineer, Bridge Engineer.

W. J. Ward, Assoc. Highway Engineer, Locating Engineer.

Route 3, the Flagstaff-Clint's Well National Forest Highway: The grading and draining of a section of this route, 7.6 miles in length, beginning 8 miles north of Clint's Well and extending north, is under contract to Tiffany Construction Company. The work is about 3% complete. C. R. Brashears is resident engineer.

Route 7, the Oak Creek National Forest Highway: Skousen Brothers have the contract for grading and draining 4.6 miles of this route, beginning about 12 miles northeast of Cottonwood and extending in a northeasterly direction toward Sedona. The work is just starting. C. R. Brashears is resident engineer.

Grand Canyon National Park Highways: G. R. Daley and Vinson and Pringle are contractors for grading and sub-grade reinforcement of all of Grand Canyon Route 8, Hermit Rest, length 9.1 miles. The project extends westerly from the village of Grand Canyon

JANUARY, 1935 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

To Hermit Rest, along the rim of the canyon. The work is about 21% complete. J. H. Brannan is resident engineer.

Cameron-Desert View Approach to Grand Canyon National Park:

The grading of 3.2 miles of the Cameron-Desert View Approach is under contract to Skousen Brothers. This work lies at the east end of the route and connects previously constructed sections with U. S. 89 just south of Cameron. Work is about 90% complete. F. A. Bonnell is resident engineer.

Kingman-Boulder Dam Highway:

M. J. Bevanda has the contract for the grading and draining of 10.8 miles of this route. This project begins about six miles from the Boulder Dam and extends south. Work is approximately 97% complete.

All Arizona Engineering and Construction Company is contractor for the construction of 3.5 miles of the Kingman-Boulder Dam Highway, joining the section mentioned above and extending south. The work is about 98% complete.

H. L. Lyon is resident engineer on the Kingman-Boulder Dam projects.

WHEN A LEGISLATURE WAS BORN

(Continued from Page 7) eleven hundred and sixty-six ($1,166) dollars.

"For the printing of the journals of the legislature and other public printing, eleven hundred and twenty-one ($1,121) dollars.

"For the salary of the territorial treasurer, fifteen hundred ($1,500) dollars.

"For the salary of the attorney general for the next year, ending November tenth, 1865, two thousand ($2,000) dollars.

"For the salary of the adjutant general, five hundred ($500) dollars.

"For the necessary appropriations for school purposes, fifteen hundred ($1,500) dollars.

"For printing the laws of the territory, three thousand ($3,000) dollars.

"For reading the proof and superintending the printing of the Code, two hundred and fifty ($250) dollars.

"For enrolling the Code of the Legislature, one thousand ($1,000) dollars.

"For the contingent expenses of the territorial government for the year ending December thirty-first, 1865, fifteen hundred ($1,500) dollars.

"For the commissioner, the Honorable William T. Howell, for drafting a Code of Laws for the territory, two thousand five hundred ($2,500) dollars.

"For Milton B. Hadley, for translating the Governor's message into the Spanish language, one hundred ($100) dollars.

"Sec. 2. That in case there should not be sufficient money in the territorial treasury, the treasurer is hereby authorized to pay such appropriation in bonds, provided to be issued by an act entitled, 'An act providing for the Contingent Expenses of the territorial government,' passed at the present session of the legislature."

All of these appropriations were payable in currency which, at that time, was worth only about fifty cents of the gold dollar.

COMMISSION NOTES

(Continued from Page 13) and Mansfield, also, the State Engineer, Assistant Attorney General McDougall, and the Secretary. Officials present from the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads and the Forest Service were: Mr. C. H. Sweetser, District Engineer, Mr. Levant H. Brown, Senior Highway Engineer, Mr. Frank C. W. Pooler, Regional Forester, and Mr. C. A. Long, Regional Engineer Forest Department.

It was explained to the Government Officials that the Highway Commission had not gone on record authorizing the State Engineer to vote for the surveys on the Horse Thief Basin and the Verde Road Projects, but that a motion had been passed instructing the State Engineer to delay in signing for a survey on the Verde Road Project until such time as all interested parties could be heard at a public meeting.

Commissioner Addams advised that he had not voted on the Horse Thief Basin Survey because he wanted to consult his people and learn whether they wanted a survey without the designation, or a designation without a survey. However, he had tried to contact them but had been unable to get them together in the short time he had before the meeting at 8:00 A. Μ.

Mr. Pooler stated he definitely would vote for the designation and survey of the Horse Thief Basin Project and asked to be advised how the State stood in regard to the designation and survey.

Commissioner Addams made a motion that in order to make the records clear for the Bureau and the Forest Service Departments, that the road from Canyon into Horse Thief Basin, or on into Prescott, as suggested, be designated a Forest Highway. Commissioner Barth stated he was going to vote "No" on the designation, but in order to have the Commission on record, he would second the motion. On the call of the roll, Commissioner Addams voted "Yes", Commissioner Barth "No", Commissioner Mansfield "No", Commissioner Vyne "No", and Commissioner Dowell "No". The motion was lost.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne that the State Engineer be instructed to vote "No" on the survey of the Verde Road. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Mansfield and, on the call of the roll, Commissioner Addams voted "No", stating he wanted the State Engineer to vote for survey money on the Verde Road. Commissioner Barth voted "No" on the motion, stating he was for a survey of the Verde Road but not for the designation. Commissioner Mansfield voted "Yes", Commissioner Vyne "Yes", and Commissioner Dowell "Yes". The motion was carried.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Barth and seconded by Commissioner Addams that the State Engineer be instructed to vote "Yes" on the surveys for both roads, i. e. the Horse Thief Basin Road and the Verde Road, if it is recommended by the Bureau and the Forestry Department. On the call of the roll, Commissioner Addams voted "Yes", Commissioner Barth voted "Yes", Commissioner Mansfield "No", Commissioner Vyne, "No", and Commissioner Dowell "No". The motion was lost.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Addams that money be set up as recommended by both Bureaus for a survey of the Horse Thief Basin Project. The motion was lost for lack of a second.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Mansfield and unanimously carried, that the motion made at the meeting of December 7th instructing the State Engineer to delay in signing for a survey on the Verde until such time as all interested parties could be heard at a public meeting, be rescinded.

It was regularly moved, seconded, and carried, that the Highway Commission adjourn at 8:20 A. M., December 8, 1934, to meet again at the call of the Chairman.

December 28 and 29, 1934

The Arizona State Highway Commission met in special session in their offices in the Highway Building at 9:00 A. M., December 28, 1934. Those present were Chairman Dowell, Vice-Chairman Vyne, Commissioner Barth, State Engineer O'Connell, the Secretary and Assistant Attorney General Riney B. Salmon. Those absent were Commissioners Addams and Mansfield.

The Secretary read the tentative minutes of December 7 and 8, 1934, and they were approved with the following amendment: on Page 8, third paragraph, second line, the words "system audit" are to be amended to read "system survey".

State Engineer O'Connell recommended, subject to the approval of the Bureau of Public Roads, that the contract on the Ash Fork-Kingman Highway U. S. Public Works Project No. N.R.H. 80-G (1935) A.F.E. 6626, be awarded to the low bidder, K. De Witt, in the amount of $16,872.66. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and unanimously carried, that the recommendation of the State Engineer be accepted.

State Engineer O'Connell recommended, subject to the approval of the Bureau of Public Roads, that the contract on the Tucson-Nogales Highway, U. S. Public Works Project No. N.R.H. 29 (1935) A.F.E. No. 8930, be awarded to the low bidder, White & Miller, in the amount of $36,916.40. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and carried, that the recommendation of the State Engineer be accepted.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JANUARY, 1935

State Engineer O'Connell recommended, subject to the approval of the Bureau of Public Roads, that the contract on the Flagstaff-Fredonia Highway, U. S. Public Works Project N.R.H. No. 95-1 (1935) A.F.E. No. 8956, be awarded to the low bidder, Skousen Bros., in the amount of $75,796.58. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth, and carried, that the recommendation of the State Engineer be accepted.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and carried, that the only manner in which a bid on a highway project may be altered, is by the withdrawal of the original bid and the submitting of a new bid on the regular bidding form, prior to the time set for the opening of the bids.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth, and carried, that a resolution transferring funds in the amount of $36,738.69, be adopted.

A letter addressed to State Engineer O'Connell by Mr. W. L. Carpenter, Superintendent of Equipment, with reference to the Ford Safety car loaned to the Highway Patrol by the Ford Motor Company and stating that the car could be purchased for $790 was read. On the recommendation of the State Engineer and Superintendent of Equipment that this car be purchased, it was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and carried, that the State Engineer be empowered to buy the Ford Safety car from the Ford Motor Company in the amount of $790.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and unanimously carried, that the State Engineer be authorized to request the Bureau of Public Roads for an extension of the survey from the branch-off of the present project in the vicinity of Bisbee to Fort Huachuca-to Naco, Arizona.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and carried, that a resolution transferring funds in the amount of $8,115.27, be adopted.

The disposal of old FWD and Liberty parts, located in the Phoenix Warehouse, was taken up. Attorney Salmon advised the Commission that these parts can be disposed of providing they are not given away but are sold for their actual value. He stated they can be sold to the Counties for their actual value-not at the price they were purchased, but their actual value, providing, the Department has no use for the parts.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and carried, that inasmuch as our Editor, who has been given notice has had to break in a new man on our Highway Magazine, he be granted an extension of two weeks time.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth, and unanimously carried, that a resolution of respect to Former Governor Geo. W. P. Hunt, be adopted.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth, and unanimously carried, that a resolution of respect to Doctor John Kelly Moeur, be adopted.

It was regularly moved, seconded, and carried, that the Commission adjourn at 10:00 A. M., December 28, 1934, to meet again at 9:00 A. M., December 29, 1934.

December 29, 1934

The Commission met at 9:00 A. M., December 29, 1934. Those present were Chairman Dowell, Vice-Chairman Vyne, Commissioners Barth and Mansfield. Also, the State Engineer and the Secretary. Commissioner Addams and Assistant Attorney General Riney B. Salmon were absent.

The Secretary read a petition from Woodruff, Arizona, signed by citizens of Navajo County, requesting a preliminary survey of State Highway 77 from Holbrook to Snowflake by way of Woodruff with a view of determining the feasibility of such a route, and requesting that in the event such survey is favorable the Commission construct State Highway 77 by way of Woodruff enroute from Holbrook to Snowflake. The Secretary was instructed to advise the petitioners that their request is being taken under advisement.

The Secretary read a letter from Mrs. C. D. Beeh, of Bisbee, Arizona, with reference to an assessment of the motor vehicle tax charged her as the operator of a bus between Bisbee and Bisbee Junction. Mrs. Beeth stated in her letter that she had made a trip to Phoenix some time ago and after discussing with Mr. Whitworth the computing of tax on "fares collected", she had been instructed as to the proper method to figure her tax returns. Also, that after following the instructions received, she had been mailed a statement for back taxes due in the amount of $235, which included a 25% penalty for failure to pay the taxes before the 15th of each of the 14 months preceding; this $235 being in addition to the tax already computed as per the instructions received from Mr. Whitworth. Mrs. Beeth requested that inasmuch as the amount she is asked to pay seems unreasonable, and in view of the fact that she has followed in good faith the instructions received, she be relieved of the penalty imposed on her and that she be classified as a Common Carrier.

Mr. E. M. Whitworth, Superintendent of the Motor Vehicle Division, stated that when Mrs. Beeth came in to pay the motor vehicle tax, the law was new and it was a physical impossibility to verify each sworn statement of anticipated revenues and the Motor Vehicle Division took her report in good faith and permitted her to make a return on that basis until they received knowledge that she was a contract carrier with an income of $600 a month. He pointed out that the Division, upon learning of this, sent Mr. Wm. J. Horan, Field Auditor, to check up on the case, and upon finding it to be a fact that Mrs. Beeth is a contract carrier, the penalty was assessed. Mr. Whitworth further stated that in no case has this penalty under like circumstances been waived, there being no authority by law. The Commission stated they felt they were powerless to act in this case inasmuch as the laws have been set up and the Motor Vehicle Division were carrying out their duty in setting this penalty. It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Mansfield, and carried, that the request of Mrs. Beeth be denied.

Mr. Whitworth submitted a report from Highway Patrolman William Petchell on Mr. H. R. Hunt, of Pasadena, California, who has been submitting false manifests to the Highway Patrol. He also presented a letter from Mr. Horace More concerning the case of the Lightning Delivery Company operating vehicles with excess loads and also operating vehicles in a territory not included in their certificate of convenience and necessity. The Commission instructed Mr. Whitworth to proceed to take legal action in these, and similar cases.

The Secretary read House Resolution No. 7, adopted December 13, 1934, by the House of Representatives of the Arizona State Legislature in its Third Special Session, as transmitted by Mr. W. G. Rosenbaum, Speaker of the House. The Resolution requested all administrative officers of the State of Arizona and of the several counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions thereof to make purchases and award contracts for materials and supplies for public use only to dealers and bidders complying with the provisions of the National Recovery Act and with the spirit of the executive order of August 10, 1933. The Secretary was instructed to forward Mr. Rosenbaum an excerpt from the Official Minutes showing where the Commission have gone on record to this effect.

The Secretary read a letter addressed to State Engineer O'Connell from Colonel Franklin of the 25th Infantry, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, under date of December 13, 1934, with reference to the Fort Huachuca-Elgin Road. Colonel Franklin in his letter states he has given this road considerable study and sets forth his conclusions and recommendations in the matter. The communication was referred to the State Engineer for reply.

The Secretary read a resolution adopted by the Phoenix Junior Chamber of Commerce under date of December 14, 1934, thanking the Governor for his support of the designation of the Horse Thief Basin Road as a Forest Highway and urging him to select men for nomination as Highway Commissioners who will be guided by his requests, and who will co-operate with him in carrying out his program of state development. The communication was ordered received and filed.

The Secretary read a resolution adopted by the Douglas Federal Labor Union No. 18877, protesting the transfer of funds which have been set up on Project 505, 79-H, Route 80, Douglas, Town W., to any other project. The Secretary was instructed to answer

JANUARY, 1935 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 17

the communication stating these funds will not be transferred out of Cochise County, and requesting the Labor Union to contact Chairman Dowell in regard to this matter.

It was regularly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Mansfield and carried, that a resolution granting permission to R. E. Canion to sue the Wm. Peper Construction Company and Leo. Frost on their bond in the name of the State for the use of equipment used on their contract on the Holbrook-St. Johns Highway, N.R.S. 42 (1935) A.F.E. 2625, be adopted.

The Commission went into executive session and meeting again in open session, the Secretary read a letter fram Mr. Allan Isaacks, Clerk of the School Board No. 30, Sahuarita, Arizona, asking to be allowed to use the 36 inch culvert pipe, located in the yard of the highway maintenance house at Amada, for the elimination of unsanitary conditions of the cess pool at the Sahuarita school. State Engineer O'Connell recommended against the disposal of any pipe, stating the Department can find use for all they have. Mr. Carl Mineer, of St. Johns, ap-peared before the Commission with re-ference to a position with the Highway Department. He stated he had suffered an injury to his hip while working for the Highway Department on March 19, 1927, and this injury has handicapped him since to such an extent that he can only do work which does not re-quire him to be on his feet. He fur-ther stated he had been working in Apache County and was just laid off, and would appreciate it if the Commis-sion would put him back to work at anything he is fit to do or any place in the State. Mr. Mineer was advised that his case would be taken into con-sideration.

Mr. E. M. Whitworth, Superintendent of the Motor Vehicle Division, discussed with the Commission the issuing of Li-cense Plates for 1935 and it was regu-larly moved by Commissioner Vyne, seconded by Commissioner Barth and carried, that the Superintendent of the Highway Patrol be instructed to fur-nish a Highway Patrolman to accom-pany the County Assesser of Apache County through the Indian Reservation in order that all vehicles belonging to the Indians, or located on the Reserva-tions, may be registered and licensed in the State of Arizona.

Commissioner Vyne read into the record a letter signed by the City Clerk of the Town of Wickenburg, transmit ting a resolution passed by the Town Council November 12, 1934, requesting that the Arizona Highway Commission give them a hearing before making any decision as to the routing of Highway 60, and also, requesting that they be permitted to discuss merits or demerits of an underpass or overpass in respect to the A. T. & S. F. Railway within the Town Limits of Wickenburg.

Mr. Peter Riley, of Greenlee County, appeared before the Commission and the Government Officials with the request that some forest funds be placed on the Coronado Trail in Greenlee County. He pointed out that the road is very narrow and dangerous and any work done on it would relieve the unemployment situation there to some extent.

Mr. Dodd L. Greer, of Apache County made a request similar to that of Mr. Riley. He stated the Coronado Trail in Apache County has not been kept up as it should have been, also, that it is very narrow and the appropriation of any forest funds for the improvement of the road would be greatly appreciated.

Others who spoke in favor of the survey, of the Verde Road were Mr. Walter J. Randall, of Globe, Mr. G. A. London, Secretary of the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Edward Dorsey, of Phoenix, representing the Druggists, Dr. A. J. Chandler, of the San Marcos Hotel of Chandler, Mr. Wm. Menhennet and Mr. Phil Isley of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. Numerous others were introduced and a wire was read by Mr. Moran from the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, stating they joined in asking the Forest Service to make a survey of the proposed road through the Verde Valley, as endorsed by the entire Northeastern part of the State.

Mr. J. R. Price, of the Utah-Arizona Highway Association, stated he was interested in favorable action being taken on the Verde Road from a personal viewpoint and from the viewpoint of the Mormon Church, with which he is affiliated. He stated that the Temple of the Mormon Church for the States of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, is located in Mesa, Arizona, and this highway would be of great advantage to members of the Church.

Captain J. B. Wright, Coconino County Engineer, in asking for a survey of this road, requested that consideration and careful study be given to its relative merits. He also stated that in making this request he did not want to jeopardize the reads that are being built at the present time.

Action on a letter received from Mrs. C. D. Beeth of Bisbee, Arizona, in connection with an assessment of the motor vehicle tax charged against her as operator of a bus between Bisbee and Bisbee Junction, was deferred until the next meeting of the Highway Commission.

Mr. W. L. Carpenter, Superintendent of Equipment, brought up the matter of charging F. W. D. and Liberty parts located in the Phoenix Warehouse off of our books. Action on the matter was deferred until a written opinion could be received by Mr. Carpenter from the Attorney General concerning the disposal of these parts.

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. Wm. G. Simonton, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, stating that the Board of Supervisors had by resolution agreed to furnish the right of way, 100 feet in width, between the Cochise County line and Elgin, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, for the proposed Elgin-Fort Huachuca road,and to maintain same should the said road be constructed.

The Secretary read a wire from Mr. J. E. Shirley of Grand Canyon, Arizona, relative to a direct route from Phoenix to Williams and stating that he and Fred Harvey, in behalf of the Williams-Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce, strongly recommended the completion of this road.

Mr. George W. Comparet, a member of the delegation, stated that naturally when travel over this road becomes great, they would like to have a firstclass highway but asked if it were necessary at this time in contemplating this road, to figure oiling and so on.

Mr. Sweetser stated he thought it necessary to consider the costs of oiling in figuring the project. Also, that he was not prejudiced against the project on account of the costs, however, the designation of the highway would be of no help at this time in the construction of the road.

Mr. Snell brought out the advantages that the Horse Thief Basin recreational area would be to the people of Phoenix in the Summer time and urged the designation of the Horse Thief Basin Highway from Canyon to Horse Thief as a Forest Highway.

Mr. Joseph S. Jenckes, Mayor of Phoenix, spoke on the needs of the people of the City of Phoenix for a recreational area located close to the City and stated that the City of Phoenix had passed a bond issue for the purpose of spending part of it in the Horse Thief Basin area under the Parks and Playgrounds Program. He advised that it is the understanding of the parties interested in the development of this area, that this money will be wasted and nothing further can be done unless this highway is designated a Forest Highway. Mayor Jenckes read a petition from the Members of the Board of Governors of the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, signed as individuals, urging all agencies concerned to aid at the earliest possible time in the designation of the road from near Canyon into Horse Thief Basin, as a Forest Highway.

A delegation headed by Mr. P. J. Moran, of Flagstaff, appeared before the Commission and the Government Officials with the request that favorable consideration be given to their application for a survey of the Verde River road from a point where it enters the Forest, about 32 miles North of Phoenix, to where it continues and joins the Fossil Creek road, going by way of Fort McDowell along the river. Mr. Moran stated that the people of the North are particularly interested in this highway because it will link, at Flagstaff, Highway 89 through Utah and will connect the Northern and the Southern parts of the state, as well as shorten the distance between Phoenix and Winslow approximately 75 miles.

It was regularly moved, seconded, and carried, that the Commission adjourn at 12:35 P. M., December 29, 1934, to meet again at the call of the Chairman.

JANUARY, 1935

by the old road to the Cieneja. From that point on we had but little road for the last 30 miles we traveled over country that had never been crossed before by automobile. We circled the south side of Ensenada Blanca mountain.

"We reached the Gulf at a point four miles from the island. Here we met a party of Seri Indians in their quaint canoes. We found plenty of big deer for the collector on an island made up principally of low plateaus and small hills. Fresh water was available at six places near the shore. We found vegetation to be plentiful and trees showing a better growth than on the mainland.

"The Indians were perfectly peaceful. Laziness is their marked characteristic. There is no danger that they will ever kill off all the deer inhabitating the island. It requires less effort to eat raw fish and turtles washed up by the tide.

"We visited the largest Seri camp. We saw a few salty, rusted 30-30 rifles but the Indians had no cartridges and no wealth to purchase them."

Arizona sportsmen may someday enjoy the unique experience of hunting deer by boat. Mexico is taking seriously her program of highway improvement and it may not be many years until good roads will bring the Tiburon point of embarkation to within a few hours of Central Arizona points.(Continued from Page 5) and up far above the rim of the crater. Not a single flap of a wing and not the least effort on his part. The breeze does it all as this aviator of Nature makes his way. High up in the air he goes until he can see the whole world around him, and then suddenly he folds his wings close to his dark body and drops like a plummet. Down he goes down and down into the depths of that black hole until he is almost out of sight hundreds of feet below, and then, and just at the right instant his wings spread without a flap and up he comes, borne on the breeze, up and up until he has again seen the whole world. Down he goes again, up again until time forces us to leave this old boy and his fun and we resume the trip around the rim.

NO MAN'S LAND BELOW THE BORDER

It will take over two hours and one-half to make the circle counting the rests. Some hole in the ground! Some hole! Large enough to put two meteor craters of Northern Arizona in it side by side and have room enough to throw Winslow, Holbrook and Joe City in the spaces left. It is too bad that we have

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

no time to hunt for some meteoric rock, but that would not jibe with the geology of this district. This crater was the kind known as an explosion crater. Under a flat and innocent part of the desert seven miles from the main Pinacate crater, a dynamic and powerful globule of Vulcan's mixture gradually worked its way to the surface, turning all moisture in its path to steam, and collecting hot gases as it forced its way through the crust. The overlying ground soon could not stand the pressure, and with a roar of millions of pounds of dynamite blowing up the Crater Elegante was formed. It was soon all over. A few days or weeks of feeble spouting of fine cinders and a few volcanic bombs and all remains of that once desert spot is a gigantic hole in the earth.

The Crater Elegante has been seen by few white men. Its absolute inconspicuousness and its small elevation above the desert floor and its resemblance to a low ridge from a distance do not call attention to its immense size beneath the surface. While taking a panorama of this crater, which consumed five large photographic plates, the writer's efforts were admired and approved by twelve mountain sheep which were on the trail a few hundred feet away, as they enjoyed the enthusiasm of the stranger who was so much interested in their world and their home. They trotted off as soon as the photographic work was done and stopped occasionally to look back at the writer who was following them on the trail around the rim.

Pinacate is about four thousand and three hundred feet above the sea. Its summit can be easily scaled from any side, but as the automobile can only approach it from the east it must be climbed from that side. In any case the explorer is due for some of the hardest walking and climbing he has ever done. It is due to the rivers of lava that poured down Pinacate's sides, and today these rivers are still there, but more like glaciers of lava than smooth rivers of congealed rock. The lava cracked up into large chunks of all sizes and all these chunks have sharp edges which the explorer must place his foot upon as he jumps from rock to rock and over holes and cracks. A fall in this lava field would be disaster. A sprained ankle would cause the entire party to spend days getting the unfor-tunate one back to camp. There are about two and one-half miles of this lava flow to go over before ordinary rocky and steep cinder slopes are encountered.The summit of Pinacate is composed

19

of two rounded peaks of cinders and some lava bombs, the whole being what was once a large volcanic crater that gradually became too high for the pressure beneath to overcome. So, with a roar, it blew its top off and started another crater, somewhere farther down on its slopes.

Our camp at Crater Elegante is still forty miles from the gulf, so we had better get going. Far to the south we see a white granite range that seems to be an island in the lava flow from Pinacate. It is the Sierra Blanca, an ancient granite formation probably the oldest in the world, and Pinacate has folded its arms of black lava almost completely around it. Also, there is a small row of black hills directly across our path to the gulf. Remember that we have been living on grub and drinking water that came from Arizona and that the water does not increase as we cook and drink. We have given up washing dishes and shaving and even washing more than once a day before breakfast. All the available water, even if we knew where to look for it, is up in the lava tanks of Pinacate and they are miles from any possible point reached by the car.

The low row of black hills hide what is the most important water in the entire Pinacate region and at the time of the writer's explorations the Indians alone knew of its location.

The Sonoita River spills itself all over the desert here and water is found only by digging about one hundred feet in the bed of this stream. However, there is one place where a malapai formation has made some depressions under ground in the bed of this river and by digging in one particular place about five feet, fresh cool water may be found and in abundance.

We make the Batamote water hole and dig a large sump in the sand. The water is two feet deeper than where we quit digging, as we were too tired, but we try it again and dig two more feet and there she is. A little muddy at first but it soon clears up and we drink until we are full to the chin. We then wash all our greasy dishes and even wash our faces and hands. We put some water in the car, take another drink from the pool and then start for the Gulf.

LEE MOOR CONTRACTING COMPANY 807 BASSETT TOWER EL PASO, TEXAS

Night overtakes us as we hit the immense sand hills and at dusk an ante-lope is so frightened by our lamps that he runs directly in front of the car and with one graceful leap he is over the hood and no one hurt. We are glad we did not touch him. Put the car in second gear and hang on and hit the ball. If we stop giving her the gun for an instant we are sunk. The sand is soft and it is a little down hill so let her go. We stop once and have to put a big piece of canvas under the wheels to get traction for a start. The moon comes out and we roll along for mile after mile until at last the waters of the Gulf of California glisten in the moonlight. Thirty miles from Batamote, fifty miles from Cerro Colorado and one hundred miles below the southwestern horizon at Ajo, U. S. A.

The Gulf of California, where it washed the shore of the Sonora desert, sparkles in the eternal sunshine of that region. Rain falls so seldom that it is almost a stranger and sinks so rapidly in the sands that there are no drainage lines, no arroyos, and no visible waterways. Sand everywhere, gleaming like gold and silver, sheets that stretch from the blue waters of the Gulf inland for many miles. Occasionally a rocky headland juts out from some isolated granite range into the sea to break the monotony of the far-reaching beaches. The waters of the Gulf literally abound with sea life of all kinds, where the sportsman may have any kind of fishing he desires, from picking up the finest kind of oysters and shell fish to the hunting of the immense sea bat, tiger fish or shark. A hook thrown into the sea will be grabbed so quickly by some fish that if the fisherman is not quick on the trigger his catch will be in turn voraciously struck by a still larger ocean denizen and the reward will be only part of the first catch or perhaps nothing but the head of the original catch, or, many times, the entire end of his line will be swallowed with a rush and nothing but the broken end of his gear will be drawn ashore. In other words, the old saying, “hook, line and sinker” will be lost forever.

Lobsters, crabs of gigantic size and oysters abound on the rocky shores. The Papago Indians for centuries came to the Gulf and took their salt supplies and dried fish back to their desert homes, while they prayed to the guardian Elder Brother and went through a very exact and complicated ceremony to prevent disaster on their expeditions to this land of danger. They knew their desert and respected its rules to the letter. Even the soldiers of the American army in Tucson at one timebought salt from the Papagoes, salt which had been brought overland two hundred miles on the backs of those hardy Indians from the Gulf. There is water obtainable right on the shore of the salt water gulf, water that is good and which kept the Indians alive while on these journeys, but the ordinary white man would look in vain for it. It comes seeping through the sands near the Gulf from some underground channel and it is often found in hummocks of sand that are islands in vast expanses of salt deposits.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

The salt beds of the Pinacate gulf shore have long been known but their inaccessability makes them of no value. The salt deposits are formed by the flooding of certain inlets only during the highest of spring tides and after one or two successive floodings they are left high above the next tide and a year of evaporation follows. Many feet of salt cover these areas.

The tide here in the Gulf has a very high range of rise and fall. The tide of the Gulf at Guaymas, two hundred miles south, is only thirty inches, while on the Pinacate shore it is twenty feet and more, due to the configuration of the gulf. The bore at the head of theGulf of California is tremendous and has for centuries been known to seafaring men who have attempted a voyage up to the mouth of the Colorado River.

After getting all the fish we need and as our hooks and lines have all been lost to the giants of the sea, we think it better to start back to civilization by a different route than we came, so back up the trail we go, fighting the sands and boiling the car water away as we wend through the immense sand-hills of the coast.

The sandhills are immense, making the dunes of the Imperial valley seem like ant mounds. These sand dunes stretch for over one hundred and twenty-five miles northwestward. The large ones are from two to three hundred feet in height and about three-quarters of a mile long. The belt of sand dunes is about four to ten miles wide. The dunes are the most dangerous of the many dangers of the Pinacate region. The Mexican name for these hills is “Medanos,” and they say that no horse or mule that enters them ever comes out. The fatigue and thirst that come upon the animals taken into the sand hills is too much for them and they drop behind and are never seen again. Disaster is sure to overtake the prospector who ventures into the Medanos as he will soon be afoot and soon enough he cannot even carry himself and his canteen out of his trap-like surroundings.

The back track to the United States is over the same trail we took to get to the Gulf, as far as the border and west of Papago Mountain. Here the trail branches to the west and we take to the old Camino del Diablo, a trail known since 1690 by Father Kino in his search for the head of the Gulf of California. He had Indians to guide him and he came and went at will through this dreary and dangerous land.

During the gold rush of 1849 to California some misguided immigrants took the southern route through Northern Sonora and south of what is now the Arizona border. They depended on the water tanks of nature, the tinajas, so called. As these tinajas are only filled after a rain and are not refilled until there is another rain, it was quite often the case that some party would practically empty one tinaja and go on their way westward. As it would not rain for months or a year later, the next party expecting water at for instance the Tinajas Atlas, would find the tanks nearly dry. Too far to go back and not enough strength to go ahead. Those able to proceed would reach some water ahead but too often many of the party would not be able to carry on and died from thirst and hunger. There are countless graves at each water hole, and in the case of the Tinajas Atlas, it is possible to count over two hundred graves visible, and time has erased probably that many more.

The Camino Diablo, which we have taken on our way westward, winds over the north end of the Pinacate lava field where it crosses into Arizona, and the sands of the intervening deserts as the Tule mountains, Sierra del Tuseral and Cabeza Prieta are passed through. Hot, rocky, and dry, its winding length claimed the emigrants one by one as they staggered along, famished for water and exhausted by weeks of the privations of travel. The desert shrubs hide now the graves of those who gave up on the Camino del Diablo.

The Sierra del Tuseral and the Tule

JANUARY, 1935

JANUARY, 1935 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 21

Mountains are granite ranges quite out of the lava field as the Pinacate volcanic flow did not extend much beyond the Arizona border. The trail leads along the Sonora-Arizona border but there is no way of telling where the explorer is unless he catches a glimpse once in awhile of a monument, one of the series of rock markers put up by the boundary commission many years ago. These monuments were erected at distances where one east and one west could be seen from any point. In this country of magnificent distances they are frequently many miles apart. Monument No. 185 lies high up on a granite spur of the Sierra Tuseral, where we camped for one day to explore the mysteries of the desert ranges. White granite peaks, sharply outlined against the sky and deep gorges cut by the time it took the world to form greet the explorer on every side. These mountains are of a formation consid ered the oldest in geological history. Black and greenish dikes with crosscutting dikes of white quartz invite the prospector to a world of mineral wealth that has hardly ever been gazed upon, due to its isolation and dangerous situation. Many are the tales of gold specimens that came out of these rocky ranges, but no man has ever displayed gold of his own finding. The gold has not perished but the finder has often been found unable to tell where he obtained his sample, as Death had claimed him for many months before he and his gold were seen again.

At night silence reigns. No sound, no wind and the loosening of a pebble by the mountain sheep as he softly walks high up in the granite slopes sounds like an avalanche as it slides down the hill side.

Forty miles to the south lies Pinacate basking in the sunshine of the gulf region, but now hidden from sight by the army of small and large granite ranges that cut across diagonally toward the southeast. To the north, lies the Tule granite mountains and farther northwest, the Cabeza Prieta jumble of volcanic rock piled high on top of an ancient granite formation make up a landscape of strange forms.

The Cabeza Prieta, or Black Head, is well named. For millions of years, in fact as many millions of years the geologists have the nerve to ask the common herd to believe, these granite ranges basked in the sun and gradually wore away until they are only nubbins of their once high peaks.

Down below them, however, a dark and virulent stranger was working his way through the granite, eating his way like a mole in the sand. Hot and liquid, he forced his crown upward until at last with a shake of his head he burst the granite rocks apart and then spread all over the gulches and piled himself higher and higher until today this most recent of volcanic periods of the earth's history makes its mark as a black capping over the old granite ranges, drowning them beneath hundreds of feet of black malapai and wrapping them from base to summit in tenacles of dark stone. Sometimes there is but a slight covering of lava on the steep sides of the white granite, perhaps two feet in depth and of uniform thickness that has with time cracked in myriads of places leaving the white covered with large rocks of black, evenly distributed for many acres in area.

Cabeza Prieta is well named, and could appropriately be called the death of the granite range.

As we are now well on our way out of the Pinacate region and headed north toward the nearest point of civilization which is at Wellton on the Southern Pacific Railroad and on Highway 80, the main route to Yuma and California, and as our water has nearly given out, to say nothing about the coffee, sugar and flour, it is time to hit the high spots and beat it for home.

We have arrived at the Tinajas Atlas and as the water is rather green and not a few bugs in it, we only replenish the radiator, eat supper and have the last deep sleep that only comes to one when on the desert.

We cannot help thinking of the ones who lie in the rocky graves all around us, those who braved the unknown dangers of the days eight-five years ago, and who were almost within sight of assistance before they gave up the thin hold on life. The lower tanks were empty when they arrived and the smooth, rocky, steep sides of the narrow gulch leading to the tanks above prevented a hand-hold of already exhausted fingers and arms. A few feeble attempts to scratch their way up the granite sides, fingers worn to the bone in the last frantic attempt, and then a slowly sliding form rolled down to the bottom of the cliff and another grave dug by the next outfit arriving and which had some strength left. More often there was nothing to put in a grave as Mr. Coyote well knew he had only to hang around the Tinajas Altas for his board, and had no doubt followed the emigrant train for a day or so to be on hand when the inevitable happened.

There are nine tanks in the Tinajas

(Continued on Page 24)

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