YOURS SINCERELY

WEST LAND

From alien ones this austere land conceals Its beauties and denies its charms. The whole Of cactus, snake, and things forbid unroll; The drought and heat and wind and thunder peals.

But to her chosen sons the West reveals A glorious chance for widening the soul. The vasty silences of space extol The magnitude of God. And he who feels The magic of the West, can understand The pull of solitudes, and the lure that spreads Abroad and casts a spell on all, as, high Above the wide, gray stretch of desert land, Majestic, purple mountains lift their heads, And clouds drip gold into a sunset sky.

TO LIVE AGAIN

When I am gone, think not that I am deadLet thoughts of me be your heart's daily bread. Of each familiar thing within your view I shall be part; and there find life anew.

You'll find me in the murmur of the pine, Where sun and shadow closely intertwine; You'll see me in the smile of summer noon, When nature seems a drowsy song to croon.

Look for me in the wild wind's surge and might! Within the rapture of a star-drenched night, Where mighty trees before the storm winds lean, Or April showers fall soft on meadows green.

Where'er you find a lovely sight or sound, Say "There he loved he loved all living things, And from them now his living spirit sings."

WILD MORNING GLORIES

Once in a wind-swept, sunburned land Where long rough hills come crawling down, Crowding the little valley hard With buttes like paws, rock clawed and brown, One great split boulder in the sand Made spots of shade where wild vines grew, All hung with swinging bell of bloomIn sunset colors pink and blueSmall morning glory vines that clung Back in the rock-drifts dim and coolAnd two ranch children all through May Were tardy every day at school.

ON A PIECE OF ZUNI POTTERY

Before the white man saw the Western mesa from afar A patient Zuñi craftsman formed this painted earthen jar, Adorning it with all the skill his clever hands possessed, To make an object beautiful and different from the rest.

He drew an intricate design upon the rounded clay, A frieze of leaping rabbits and of antelope at play. He little knew how fair his work to later eyes would seem, Nor guessed how long his treasure would outlive the potter's dream.

IN STRICKEN WOODS

Night watched the jagged lightning ride on the storm's fierce wrath to make a death-lunge, shattering the redwood in its path.

Dawn walking through the stricken woods found a slim-stemmed violet on guard beside the fallen tree, her velvet face tear-wet.

YOURS SINCERELY HO-HO-KAMS AND AN OLD BIBLE:

All hail the Hohokam and ARIZONA HIGHWAYS!! The May issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is one of the very best of your always excellent magazine. How fortunate are we of Arizona to have such a fine publication for our own enjoyment and edification; also to spread the gospel of this lovely land far and wide. We have just returned from a rather long trip and everywhere we went we were greeted with, "Oh, yes, Arizona! You have a beautiful state magazine, don't you?"

Now that I have expressed a sincere opinion, I should like to ask a favor. The scientist who made up the "Comparative Chart of World Events in Basket-Maker-Pueblo Times" noted as one world event the publication of the Gutenberg Bible. There is in the possession of my family one of the few remaining Gutenberg Bibles (all four volumes). It is part of a collection of rare Bibles belonging to my Grandfather. Recently he died rather suddenly and the family is rather at a loss to know how to evaluate these rare books, particularly the Gutenberg Bible. I realize that this is a most odd request, but I thought that if the scientist who prepared the above-mentioned chart felt the publication of the Gutenberg Bible of such consequence he might be able to give a suggestion as to how one might go about evaluating such volumes.

Mrs. John E. Krebs Phoenix, Arizona

OF ANCIENT MAN:

Your May ARIZONA HIGHWAYS came while I was attending a social studies curriculum meeting in Albuquerque. We were struggling with the problem of how to link up the study of Ancient Man in the texts with the early peoples of the Southwest. When we saw ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, we stopped everything and went through it. We were so enthused that we promptly ordered copies enough to supplement our texts. It is so refreshing to find popular publications which can be taken into the classroom.. The material is authentic, informational and interesting. Congratulations to you, your authors and your artist for a fine piece of work. We hope you shall find it possible to do more of the same type of work. I know the students will be as enthusiastic as I when they see it. Congratulations again.

M. J. Mitchell U. S. Indian School Santa Fe, New Mexico

NO PHONY RUINS:

I wish to compliment you on the May issue of the magazine. We (our family) are enjoying it very much.

We have seen quite a few of the Indian ruins, and cliff dwellings and some day hope to make another trip to your state.

Our last trip was in April of this year. We tried to see Mesa Verde National Park, but were prevented by a sudden storm with a heavy snow fall. We, therefore, turned back to Holbrook and on down to Globe.

When in Globe, we visited the Indian ruins there, and were very much surprised to find such a ruin so close to a modern town. In fact we were disappointed in finding that apparently the City of Globe is not very much interested in what they have in their backyard.

We have checked the magazine and the map therein, and have not found any reference or mention of such ruin.

Therefore, we are wondering if the ruins are a phony.

George A. Gibson Stockton, California

FOR FEWER CRUTCHES:

Allow me to congratulate you on the fine article "Community's Crusade Against Crutches" by Roger O'Mara which appeared in your February 1951 issue.

All the people connected with this worthy cause are to be greatly commended and, as our local Junior Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the Cerebral Palsy School of Redlands, I am writing to ask your help in supplying information as to how I may obtain any pamphlets or other pertinent data whereby I can gather more details concerning the Square and Compass Crippled Children's Clinic. I am particularly interested in the money making projects and publicity, as these items are ones that are very necessary in a project of this kind.

H. H. BRANNON, JR., Chairman Cerebral Palsy Project Redlands Junior Chamber of Commerce Redlands, California

BACK COVER

"THE PAINTED DESERT" BY RALPH H. ANDERSON. This area of Arizona was aptly named. It is a wasteland but extremely colorful. Soil formation of the Painted Desert prevents growth of formidable vegetation. The expanse of desert shown here is part of the Petrified Forest.

OPPOSITE PAGE

"FOREST OF STONE LOGS" BY ROBERT F. UPTON. By the slow process of erosion millions of stone logs in Petrified Forest have been exposed. It is believed clean breaks in logs were caused by earth trembling after petrification had taken place. A few longer logs have been discovered.