Sunset Crater

THE Cattleman

It is not correct to say that all cattlemen are tall, thin and taciturn. They are just like the rest of us. They come in all sizes and shapes. They wear marks, though, of their profes-sion and it takes a long time away from the range to obliterate the certain signs showing they spent long years in the saddle, long years in all kinds of weather looking over the endless miles of country that is their domain. An Eastern business executive, purchasing an Arizona ranch (and many of them have done so in the past few years) in a short time wears well the signs of his new calling. It would be difficult at a cattlemen's convention to pick out those who were born on the range and those who have just traded a swivel chair for a saddle.

It takes more than boots and a big hat to make a cattleman. Cattle is a business, an exacting, demanding business that requires experience, knowledge, a sense of humor and a bit of philosophy and lots of religion. It requires of one a love of lonely places, an appreciation of far horizons, some luck per-haps, and a belief in the beneficence of Heaven that the rains will eventually come. Merciful God is just about the Top Hand in any cattle outfit. The finest spread ever planned can become a sunburnt waste in a few short years of continued drought; so the cattleman has to learn patience and have hope and gratitude and humility beyond that of most men.

Cattle is a crop that must be cared for so that the crop will continue year after year. It isn't a hit-and-miss business. The great strides in improving their business made by cattlemen have been an achievement in the American economy and particularly in Arizona they have contributed so much to the well-being of our economic structure. For many years Arizona ranges have produced a bountiful cattle crop for the American market. This crop will continue to be produced year after year.

To assure himself of a continuous crop from his range, the cattleman must work and plan toward that end. It isn't a question of sitting idly by and watching cattle fatten. Here are a few of the things Arizona cattlemen have accomplished in the past decade to keep their ranges productive: they have constructed over 12,000 dams and reservoirs so that precious rain water can be saved; they have put in over a thousand wells in developing needed water for periods of drought; they have developed over 900 springs and seeps, to greater utilize this source of water; they have assisted in natural reseeding of 5,000,000 acres of range land by deferred grazing; they have built thousands of miles of roads and trails to make accessible vast range lands and isolated areas in the state; they have made of value millions of acres of land that would otherwise be valueless. It takes a lot of savvy to conduct a profitable cattle business in an arid land where the average cow must have 27 acres to survive. By constant breeding and experimen-tation our cattlemen have improved their herds to the point where Arizona cattle are considered the finest in the country. The vast sciences of range management and animal hus-bandry have been drawn on in many ways to produce better beef. Cattlemen have kept apace with the times.

Their tax burden is proportionately large. The cattle dollar in this state flows through all channels of trade, benefiting the many. The Arizona scene is inexpressibly more colorful because away back in the hills, desert and mountains men on horses are mending fence, herding cattle and squinting at the far horizons with the sun in their eyes.-R. C.

FRONT COVER-"ON SUNSET CRATER" BY STAN MIDGLEY. "I was so intrigued by Sunset Crater the first time I saw it from high up on the San Francisco Peaks 10 miles away that I went a long way out of my way to visit it at close hand," Mr. Midgley explains. "From the San Franciscos Sunset Crater's brilliant red rim stood out as the most eye-catching object in all of the 50,000-plus square miles of landscape spread out below. It looked as if the sun were shining only on that spot through the small hole in the clouds-except there wasn't a cloud in al in all of Arizona that day." The photograph was taken with a 4 x 5 B & J Speed Press Camera with a 125mm 16,8 Goerz Dagor lens, Daylight Ektachrome (processed by photographer) exposed at 1/10th second at f14 through a CC33 filter. This photograph was published in that excellent travel journal, "The Ford Times," in their May issue as an illustration with an article "Adventure in Publishing," which treats of the whys and wherefores of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS.

"BRAHMANS" BY CHARLES W. HERBERT. Mr. Herbert, who operates the photographic studio and feature service in Tucson known as "Western Ways," has photographed the west extensively from Montana to Sonora. The picture of the Brahman cattle was made at Ruby Star Ranch near Twin Buttes, 20 miles south of Tucson. Brahman cattle are quite easy to photograph, according to Mr. Herbert, and are very photogenic subjects. They are very gentle when allowed to live under peaceful conditions. When treated kindly they soon become practically tame and actually come up and eat out of one's hand. Being curious of nature, it is easy to get an interesting shot of them looking alert. This photograph was made with a 2 x 2 Rolliflex Camera (post-war model). It has a Schneider Krauznach lens [3.5-7.5 cm focal length. The shot was made in the afternoon, exposure half second between f5.6 and 18, Ektachrome. The focal distance was 25 feet, which gave opportunity to get enough depth of focus to include the cholla in the foreground for framing.

Home ON THE RANGE ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

Arizona is a big state in many ways-big copper, big climate. big cotton, big citrus. It is also big cattle. Cattlemen have contributed a great deal to the development of the state, and the cattle scene is an intimate part of our picture. It would take a mighty big book to tell the story of Arizona cattle. The story of last winter on the ranges of Northern Arizona is alone an epic. Herein we merely skim the vast subject that is Arizona cattle. We tell you a little about our prize Herefords-tops in the Nation. We introduce you to Matt Craig down at Ruby Star ranch and tell you a little about his experiments with Brahmans. We take you on a roundup and try to give you some of the flavor of the cow country. There are many homes on our ranges and to the folks living in them is this issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS dedicated.

To many travelers, Arizona's most interesting town is Jerome. It clings to a steep hill overlooking the Verde Valley, and if you go from Flagstaff to Prescott via Oak Creek Canyon on alternate U. S. 89 you climb right up that hill and right through the town. Jerome describes itself as "unique." It is unique both in location and story and Charles Morgan, a Jerome resident, tells that story for us.

Another high-up place in Arizona, where too few travelers have been, is Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains of Southern Arizona. Weldon F. Heald of Hereford conducts us on a trip to the Stronghold and tells us something about the heroic person for whom it was named-the Apache chieftian, Cochise. Mr. Heald has a hobby: mountains. It began when he was eight years old and living in Switzerland. He contributed to "The Sierra Nevada: the Range of Light," Vanguard Press, N. Y., 1947, and is one of the principal contributors to that classic volume: "The Inverted Mountains: Canyons of the West," Vanguard Press, N. Y., 1948. Mr. Heald is a director of the Sierra Club, vice-president of the American Alpine Club and member of the Explorers Club. When he is not writing, he is ranching in Cochise County. "Mrs. Heald and I are newcomers to Arizona," he says, "having moved down from suburban Southern California two years ago. Although we believe we have discovered the ideal climate and surroundings we have by no means settled down to enjoy it at our leisure. We have three ranches down here, none of them gentlemen's estate, but all practical ranches on which we raise cattle, poultry, swine, rabbits, feed. a small dairy, and five other commercial ranch ventures including raising fish and frogs for market." Incidentally, he has a right smart sized mountain of his own on one of the ranches. We are happy to welcome him to ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. - R. C.

LEGEND

"Sunset Crater" Front Cover Stan Midgley shows Northern Arizona as it is from the rim of old volcano.

Arizona Herefords 4 When it comes to prize beef you can find the best of them all in this state.

Jerome 8 Portrait of one of Arizona's most interesting and unique copper camps.

The Arizona Story-In Movies 14 The movie makers use our scenery to advantage in making western pictures.

Roundup 18 A description of the West's finest spectacle-as it was and as it is.

Brahmans Invade the West 26

What's new in the cattle world and

why "braymers" are getting attention.

Cochise Stronghold 30 A visit to famous retreat high up in the Dragoons where the Apaches hid.

Sunset Crater 36 Telling of a national monument that was once a "lost weekend" of Earth.

Yours Sincerely 40

The mail, which comes from near and

distant places, is always welcome.

"Old Fishin' Hole" Back Cover

Now is the time to find the trout in

their cool streams up in the mountains.