ALONG THE ROAD TO AJO

Bored with such a wearisome existence he crept under the largest broad leafed fern he could find, there to curl up and expire just quietly. And there among the fossil impressions of his limited larder we, today, find the petrified, or should say "ossified," remains which being jig saw puzzled into a grand ensemble join the Lung Fish at Headquarters. And that, ladies and gentlemen, disposes of this not too handsome AmphibianThree-Eyed Salamander to you!

ANOMODONT

Will you look! Here before our very eyes we see the first creature that had sufficient backbone or intestinal forti tude to get off its belly and stand on all four legs! Yes sir! And his family name was Anomodont -not commonly found in Webster's Dic tionary, but it really means a big rhino like reptile. This distinguished monstrosity has another claim to deathless fame. In his veins ran real red blood, warm blood (maybe), if you please. And all because he rose above the common earth that had sucked the heat from the bodies of all his forefathers. Standing in the ozone and disdaining the earth, the fluid con tent of his circulatory system began to take on a little warmth from the tropic sun shining on his, and then, too, about that same time the plants started to de velop seed pods. I couldn't say what year that development took place, but it was around one hundred and sixty-nine million years ago (what's a few million centuries among friends, anyway?) and this reptile, like ancestress Eve, experi mented by eating a few of them. They gave him strength and heat, and when his children were born they, too, trod the earth, taking to water only when some subtle scheme suggested itself. You might feel safer should you be told this creature was completely herbiverous and toothless. Want to meet him? Along with the petrified trunks of his towering Arau carian cone-bearing trees, all his earthly remains were interred in the region of Northern Arizona. Wind and rain uncovered him and he now inhabits the Museum at Petrified Forest.

PHYTOSAUR

Last, but not least, comes this ferocious bad dream called a phytosaur-a mis nomer our naturalist tells me, because this grim grisly reptile was a flesh eater.

He ate lung fish and like ilk and in case of extreme privation he offset the pangs of starvation by devouring his own broth er, given a smaller and weaker brother to devour. He reached a length of twenty-five or thirty feet and weighed in the neighbor hood of fifteen hundred pounds. And his jaws were full of teeth that meant busi ness. What was the use of wasting such magnificent molars on fern sprays and cycad leaves? After all one must live, mustn't one, and here, early in the Trias sic time was coined the phrase: "Survival of the fittest!"

And, he must have been lonely, too, poor fellow. The lung fish just melted into the mud and lay there quivering when invited out to play, and the Stego Cepthalian had urgent business around the corner when he saw this villain ap proaching, and the Anomodont wiggled away as fast as his weak wiggly legs would wobble, leaving only the beetles and tree borers to keep our big friend company. Still, he managed to exist until old age and climatic changes laid him low and he also found a peaceful resting place with the other beasties of our story.Ashes to ashes and dust to dust didn't apply. They were all miraculously pre served and now that almost two hun dred million years have rolled away, these First Families of Arizona grin at you from these pages. "Come up and see them sometime!"

Phoenix lies in the heart of the Valley of the Sun, surrounded by imposing ranges of colorful mountains.

In the midst of the arid desert man made canals convey the waters from the Salt River and the Verde River to the fertile lands of the Valley of the Sun.

The word "Arizona" is supposed to have been derived from Indian words meaning "Little Spring."

Along the Road to Ajo-- An Arizona Highway Built Through a Crater

THE MOTORIST intent on visiting places not familiarly known within a radius of one hundred and fifty miles of Phoenix might well consider the attractions offered by a trip to Ajo. Located in a little known section of the southern part of our state, Ajo is more than just a mining town, it is a modern little city of paved streets, attractive homes, and numerous palms which give it the aspect of being a verit-able oasis amidst the brown foothills of the Little Ajo Mountains. Even the mines are conducted on a different scale here, for at Ajo are located the largest open pit copper mines in the state. Yet it is not from any mine or other similar activity that the city derives its name but from the wild garlic plant found in that vicinity. One of the oddest features of the city is its water supply which is entirely underground. When Ajo was first estab-lished the city's water supply was hauled in by the railroad in tank cars, which proved quite unsatisfactory, but obvious-

By MYRON KISSELBURG Resident Engineer

ly there was no sufficient water supply near by. Engineers of the New Cornelia Copper Mine solved the problem by sinking a shaft until they struck water. However the depth of the shaft necessitated the installation of a lift pump underground, and a room was dug hundreds of feet underground to house the pumps that would boost the water up to the surface. Perhaps it was this struggle for water that now makes the residents of Ajo so proud of their lawns and numerous shade trees, that the tourist sees as a real mecca. From Phoenix the traveler bound for Ajo takes U. S. Highway 80 through the lower part of the Salt River Valley and Buckeye Valley, across the Hassay-ampa River and onto the desert proper. Skirting the edge of the Arlington ValThey the highway crosses the Gila River on a fine steel girder bridge just below the old apron crossing at Gillespie Dam, and continues on down the Gila Valley to Gila Bend.

At Gila Bend the Ajo highway, state route 85, leaves the main highway and turns to the south, following alongside the Tucson, Cornelia, and Gila Bend railroad. The gently rolling country affords the traveler little of outstanding scenic beauty until he passes Midway, approximately twenty-two miles south of Gila Bend. Here a newly constructed highway, oiled and in the process of completion, is reached, and here the road leaves the railroad, turning toward a pass in the Little Crater Mountains.

After crossing Thirteen Mile wash the traveller should take notice of the varied desert flora that greets his eye, for although most of it looks quite familiar there are several new types claiming Mexico for their home. The most prominent plant life here includes the cresote bush, barrel cactus, and the (Continued on Page 32)

In forests such as this the Arizona mule deer are numerous. And on the pine-needle carpet the path of the animal is obscure and silent, a challenge to the hunter.

DEER FOR SMART HUNTERS

(Continued from Page 13) “On the other hand, mule deer are more often found in somewhat rougher and more open country. Then the character of the hunting changes. You will see the deer at longer ranges, you will have shots at 200 and 300 yards instead of twenty-five or thirty, and silence is not nearly so vital. In rough open country the game nearly always sees you, and you don't see it until it starts to run. As a consequence your shots are nearly all at long range at moving bucks.

“The old adage that the deer hunter should be out in the woods long before the sun comes up holds true with hunting mule deer. Early in the morning the animals are feeding and moving, and are consequently more easily seen. One hour before 9 o'clock is worth more than two hours after that time. Yet, if luck has not smiled on you by the magic hour of nine, do not despair. As a matter of fact, most of the big bucks I have shot have been taken after that time.

“As the sun gets high the bucks seek the points and ridges to lie down, digest their breakfasts, and keep eyes and ears alert for the enemy. Then is the time to hunt down a ridge, going quietly, keeping the wind in your favor, and watching for that telltale spot of gray in the rocks that will mean a big, sleepy buck. If you go quietly you may get within fifty feet of your game. Often you will start a deer on the opposite slope and get shots at more than 200 yards. But, only too often, you will find an empty bed still warm, and know that your own clumsiness cost you a shot at your buck. “In the semi-open pinon and cedar-clad canyon country of the West, young bucks can nearly always be counted on to run down off the ridge on which you have jumped them, and to go scooting up the opposite one. If you are a fast, cool shot, getting them is not particularly difficult.

yards. But, only too often, you will find an empty bed still warm, and know that your own clumsiness cost you a shot at your buck. “In the semi-open pinon and cedar-clad canyon country of the West, young bucks can nearly always be counted on to run down off the ridge on which you have jumped them, and to go scooting up the opposite one. If you are a fast, cool shot, getting them is not particularly difficult.

“Heads of draws and canyons are good places to look for bucks in the middle of the day. Warm air always rises, letting the deer smell anything coming up the canyon toward them. When frightened, the deer can slip over the top and away. They should therefore, always be approached from above. Many a time I have started to climb up through a canyon only to see a deer go out ahead of me. So work the ridges and the heads of draws.

“Young bucks, and even old ones that have never been hunted have a tendency to move out when they are first aware of your presence. In this way many have fallen by bullets at long range. But the old, wise ones will often lie tight as long as they think they are not seen.

“In northern Arizona, ninety percent of the bucks have their horns free of velvet by mid-October, when the season opens, and they are just starting to run after the does a month later, when the season closes. On the deserts of southern Arizona and Sonora, however, the majority of antlers are not free from velvet until the first week in November, and the bulk of the mating is done after the first of the year. Antlers sometimes are not shed(Continued on Page 25)