INSIDE THE SPECTACULAR SUPERSTITIONS

Whoever heard of beehives more than 30 feet high?

You ask: Are such giant hives possible? The answer is a qualified "yes," and you can view these 30-foot mounds for yourself if you would enjoy a pleasant day's outing from any location near Flor-ence, Arizona.

Florence, Arizona. There are five such "hives" perched on a hillside overlooking the winding Gila River. It's a beautiful, secluded spot near the ghost town of Cochran, about 30 miles east of Florence.

Down through the years, and especially since hiking, rock hunting and bird watching have become such popular avocational pursuits by city dwellers in search of outdoor adventure, much speculation has surrounded these Gila River mounds.

Hikers, who, by chance, stumble upon the hives without prior knowledge of their existence, most certainly must be stunned by what their eyes behold. The mounds are gigantic, situated miles from any inhabitation.

Shutterbugs can spend hours clicking from every angle, even from the near-top of any of the five mounds.

But when wonderment gives way to reality, the moment of truth is at hand. Truly, what are these stone giants?

It also was needed as a nonconducting pack-ing in ice houses, safes and refrigerators; in the galvanic battery and electric light, and also an ingredient in gunpowder and fireworks.

The beehive ovens are constructed of native stone, held together with a decom-posed granite in place of mortar. The five Gila ovens are 3 feet apart and each is approximately 32 feet in height and has a circumference of 72 feet. The walls are 2 feet thick at the base and taper to I foot.

SOLVING THE RIDDLE OF THE GILA BEEHIVES

By James M. Chemi

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DEBS METZONG

Articles have appeared in print concerning their possible origin and prime purpose.

One report romantically linked the stone, beehive-shaped structures with the adventuresome Spaniards and their rovings through southern Arizona centuries ago in their quest for gold and other precious metals.

Still another report sought to associate the beehives with an early operation of the old Silver Bell Mine, located about 7 miles to the north of the mounds-on-the-hill. It was known the old mine had operated between 1879 and 1882, and traces can be found of slag to indicate some ore had been smelted near the Gila.

One 'way out tale even attempted to connect the beehives with an ancient Indian tribe that had migrated from the Yucatan long before the white man walked the lands that now are Arizona.

And imagination still can be stretched, at one's first peek at the towering mounds, to rationalize they were initially erected by some pre-historic culture, maybe sun worshippers, then later adapted for other uses by a more civilized people.

Commercialism now takes over. The beehive-shaped mounds are huge ovens used in the manufacture of charcoal. The enterprise is believed to have flourished in the 1880's, but apparently it did not prove to be a financial success. The coke ovens, as they're labeled by old-timers, were abandoned.

The construction of the ovens is a tip-off to their prime usage.

Wood charcoal consists of wood burned with but little access of air. Wood - and the Gila River area has an abundance of mesquite is heaped, then fired at the openings left near the bottom of the pile. The gases escape at the small openings above.

Charcoal has many uses. In addition to the modern-day use for creating delicious Arizona charcoal steaks, the product

Each oven has a doorway measuring 3 feet wide and 6 feet high. There is an opening in the back top of the oven 3 feet wide and 5 feet, 10 inches in height. Vent holes are located in staggered rows 2 feet apart, starting from the oven's floor to a height of 4 feet.

One oven on the south end of the row, running parallel with the river below the hill, had been made into living quarters, possibly for overnight lodging of prospectors or cowboys working the range. The floor has been cemented and crude plumbing installed, with a stove and sink.

Closer inspection of the cozy quarters reveals the walls have been plastered and doors and windows placed in the openings and the oven's main entrance. However, the oven apartment was "for rent" during the writer's visit last fall.

Once Upon A Time...

Florence was the Queen City of Territorial Arizona; founded in 1866 by Levi Ruggles who came to Arizona as an Indian agent in 1865.

The first house in Florence was built in the same year. Agricultural activity in the valley increased rapidly, and by 1868 the settlers of the upper Gila River decided that a name was needed for the community. Governor Richard McCormick was requested to name the town and selected the name Florence after his sister. By 1870 the census showed two hundred eighteen people living in Florence. Levi Ruggles took out a patent for the plat of the town and filed it on October 20, 1875.

The Casa Grande Valley, of which Florence is the hub was the cradle of ancient culture, the land of the Hohokam who engineered a system of irrigating the desert valley by means of an elaborate system of canals. With the completion in 1921 of the Ashurst Hayden Diversion Dam on the Gila River, and later the construction of Coolidge Dam, Florence surged to importance as the center of a prime agricultural area. It has been the county seat since the formation of Pinal County.

It was two o'clock on a bright moonlight night. Orange cliffs rose into the deep blue desert sky and saguaros stood like silent sentinels on the slopes below. As a predawn chill penetrated my sleeping bag, I crawled out, shivering, to build a fire of cow chips and dead cholla branches. The only sound to break the stillness was the murmur of quail as the firelight disturbed them. In this peaceful setting it was difficult to realize that within a short distance of our camp headless human skeletons had been found. For this was the Superstition Mountains of Arizona, whose history of violence has come down the years. From the time of warring Apaches who lived among these crags and canyons, attacking any who ventured in, down to comparatively recent times, killings have been common. A friend and I were camping in La Barge Canyon on one of numerous hikes in these mountains. I was exploring the Superstition Wilderness Area to see for myself its spectacular beauty and spots made famous by legends of lost Spanish mines. Lying in south-central Arizona, approximately forty miles east of Phoenix, the high spine of the Superstition Mountains proper rises abruptly from the desert, curving southeast for nine miles. Behind this bulwark lies a criss-cross of canyons, a jumble of cliffs, resembling from the air a sheet of crumpled foil. This area is spoken of collectively as the Superstitions, and the Superstition Wilderness Area covers 124,000 acres of this geological tangle. Reaching from the sheer cliffs at the spine's western end eastward for twenty miles, the elevation rises from the saguaro-studded desert to the juniper and pine clad slopes of granite peaks.

The history of the Superstitions extends back to the time this part of Arizona belonged to Spain. The Spaniards gave them the name Sierra de la Espuma or Mountains of Foam, referring to an Indian legend that a light layer of rock extending along the upper face of the mountains was the high water mark of a flood. The Indians also believed the rocky pinnacles edging many of the peaks to be their ancestors, who having fled to the mountain tops to escape the waters, looked down and were turned to stone. The Spanish name has not endured, but the more appropriate one of Superstition Mountains was given indirectly by the peaceful agricultural tribes of Maricopa and Pima Indians who lived in the Salt and Gila River Valleys. They believed a Thunder God dwelt in these rugged mountains who would destroy any daring to enter. Since the Wilderness Area was created in 1939, the Forest Service has built and improved a series of trails, opening up parts of this area for the enjoyment of the public. Many old prospectors' trails exist but these are neither suitable nor safe for the average hiker. A map issued recently by the Service shows the main trails, some secondary ones, the water holes and prominent geographic features, but for anyone planning on exploring the lesser known areas, a topographic map is a necessity. Also, one should never hike old trails alone. The inadvisability of venturing alone on poor trails was borne in on me when I took the Dons' trail above Peralta Canyon planning to come back on the good canyon trail. The trail follows a high ridge separating Peralta Canyon from Bark's and Needle Canyons. The first half of the trail was

The Spectacular Superstitions By Iris Webster

easy to follow in the sandy soil. As the elevation increased slopes of tawny rocks replaced the soil, with here and there rocky formations towering upward. Now the only sign of a trail was silver paint splashes and arrows on the rocks, mostly down trail.

Progress was fairly easy till, after negotiating the funnel, a long narrow cleft in the rocks, the trail approached the steep slopes below Geronimo's Cave. An arrow seemed to point right, but no more silver markings were visible. A semicircular scramble on high rock slopes produced no more, so I reluctantly turned back. To wander alone among these rocks could be dangerous; a slip might mean a broken leg or worse.

Once on the return trip, having lost the trail markings, I found myself above the funnel looking down sheer walls to the path below. Momentary panic possessed me as the thoughts of spending a night on the rocks crossed my mind. The after noon was far advanced; all I had besides a canteen and trail snack was my band-aid tin of survival supplies a few water proof matches, tiny candle, tweezers for cactus spines, water purification tablets and other small items. This was early spring and though the days were warm the night temperatures sometimes dipped to the freezing mark and a sweater afforded little protection. Neither were the matches of much use as the vegetation here was too sparse to afford fuel for a night-long fire. My rescue blanket a thin foil-like material which conserves heat by reflection was reposing securely in the car parked below. After some reconnoitering, including crawling over a couple of narrow crevices, I found the silver marks again. When the trail finally appeared in the soil ahead, I breathed a sigh of relief and firmly resolved hereafter to confine my solitary hikes to the well marked Forest Service trails.

Two roads lead to the west end of this region; two reach it from the north side, and four ramble several miles across rolling desert to the southern boundary; two of these end as jeep roads threading rocky washes.

The west end is the most accessible and therefore the most popular. Weaver's Needle, a massive volcanic core, dominates this area; rising to an elevation of 4,500 feet, the monolith is visible for a distance of forty miles. Of particular interest has been its connection with the legends of the lost mines all treasure maps give the needle as a reference point. Many pros pectors, believing the Lost Dutchman Mine to be located near the needle, have concentrated their searching here.

Mrs. Celeste Marie Jones, female negro prospector, for a number of years had a camp at the base of the needle, near a water hole. She filed claims on the needle itself and hired miners to drill test holes even on the very peak. A mining engi neer from Phoenix, hired by Mrs. Jones to investigate the sheer east side of the needle, lost his life when the rope from which he was suspended broke and he fell 500 feet to his death.

Red Jackson, Forest Ranger in charge of the western end of the Wilderness Area, showed me a photograph of the long ladder Mrs. Jones had constructed which reached nearly to the peak of the needle. Hanging precariously over the steep sides, it has since been removed by the Forest Service in the interests of safety. Ranger Jackson also showed me a geological report stating the needle and surrounding areas are composed of volcanic rock; specifically non-mineral bearing dacite. Mr. Jackson stated, "Many people, thinking they have found rich ore, bring us samples which assay out at about twenty-five cents per ton." Also prospecting near the needle was Ed Piper, whose camp was located a mile down canyon from Mrs. Jones. In a shooting fray Mr. Piper shot Robert Saint Marie, a miner employed by Mrs. Jones; he was later acquitted on grounds of self defense. All is quiet around the needle now; no longer does the sound of miner's pick and drill break the stillness. Ed Piper has died, Mrs. Jones departed, and the needle has been with drawn from mineral location to preserve its scenic value.

There are numerous versions of the legend of the lost Spanish mines, but the following, in brief, is one of the best known. In the late 1700's a member of the Peralta family of Chihuahua, Mexico, spent some time in these mountains, finding rich deposits of gold. Returning to Mexico he told his family of his find; they petitioned King Ferdinand of Spain, who granted them this land. On the next trip he brought many peons and burros with him to help extract the ore and transport it home. A number of trips had been made when tragedy struck. On the intended final trip (the family now being wealthy) the party with loaded burros had started out of the mountains when Apaches ambushed them, killing all but two young boys. Although this is strictly legend, evidences remain of mining done before the early settlers arrived. Hunters stumble on the ruins of arrastas crude stone mills for grinding ore. Then there is the ancient hidden trail up the eastern slope of Bluff Mountain, described by Sims Ely in his book "The Lost Dutchman Mine," and the walled spring at the base of that mountain, leading Mr. Ely to conclude that the mountain top was used as a fortress by the Spanish miners to keep their animals safe from the Indians. Grass was plentiful on the flat top and water available in the natural basins there.

A century later two German prospectors, Jacob Walz and his companion Jacob Weiser, arrived in the Superstitions. They were said to have spent some time in Sonora, Mexico, where in return for a favor done a member of the Peralta family, they were given a map showing the location of the Peralta mines. Upon locating one of the mines, they began taking out gold which was said to be in veins of rose quartz, the nuggets so thick they needed only to be picked out by hand. Shortly after, Jacob Weiser was killed by the Apaches (some say Walz killed his partner), leaving Jacob Walz sole possessor of this wealth. He was along in years by this time and spent much of his time in a home he owned in Phoenix, only going to the mine occasionally when in need of more gold. After his death in 1891, many people have searched for his mine (which came to be called the Lost Dutchman Mine) without success, and some are still searching.

Many books and articles have been written about the lost mines. They vary from the strictly factual account of Sims Ely, a Phoenix businessman who, as a hobby, spent twenty-five years in a search for them, to highly dramatic yarns calculated to cause the gullible to start into the mountains the next day. Aiding in preserving the legends of the Superstitions is the Dons Club of Phoenix. This unique organization is composed of fifty business and professional men, who throughout the year conduct tours to points of interest in and around Arizona. The highlight of their activities each year is their Superstition Trek, held early in March at the base of towering cliffs in the Superstition Mountains. The purpose of the Trek is to acquaint people with the lore of the Superstitions in general and the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine in particular. A permanent base camp is established here, operated under permit from the Forest Service. Ramadas have been erected to furnish shade for exhibits, and an amphitheater for programs. The most hardy take a miles-long hike in a simulated search for the Lost Dutchman Mine.

ARIZONA CALENDAR Happy 1971

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PAGE SIZE 9" x 12"

APRIL 1971

If these mountains could speak, what tales they could tell, what mysteries they could solve! One of the most spectacular and headline-creating mysteries worthy of an Erle Stanley Gardner was that of Adolph Ruth of Washington, D.C. Mr. Ruth, believing he had obtained a genuine Spanish map giving the location of the lost mines, came to Arizona in 1931. Against all advice, he went into the mountains alone. Fearing for his safety, a local rancher and one of his cowhands went in search of him. They found only an empty camp. Weeks later his skull was found near Boulder Canyon, and still later his skeleton was found nearby. In 1948 James Cravey also was beheaded by parties unknown. Someone was determined to let none search for the gold, but who was responsible for the gruesome slayings has never been ascertained; some hold the theory Apaches were still hiding out in the mountains and attempting to keep others out. Whoever was responsible, they have either died or left the area as no more such slayings have occurred for many years. Deaths now are due to falls from precipices or heat, thirst and exhaustion. The summer temperatures in these mountains reach a body-searing, dehydrating 115 degrees and over.

Many adjectives have been used in an attempt to describe the Superstitions. They vary from mysterious and sinister to spectacular and beautiful. They are all these things at varying times, depending on time of day, weather and other factors. The moonscape area around the needle is the most spectacular, being the center of volcanic activity in ages past. Hillsides around the needle and on the Superstition spine are covered with a profusion of volcanic columns.

To the north of Weaver's Needle are numerous tilted mesas, many of them covered with black volcanic boulders, giving rise to such names as Black Mesa and Black Top Mountain. The latter has figured prominently in the lore of the lost mines. Cut into the desert varnish of boulders on the extreme southeast edge, overlooking the needle, are Spanish symbols believed to give directions to a Spanish mine.

Needle Canyon runs along the eastern foot of Black Top Mountain and in a thicket of brush is the camp of Al Morrow. Mr. Morrow has been prospecting in the Superstitions for many years. On a visit to his camp he showed me dates carved into boulders around his camp which he believes to be the work of the Spanish miners and also the initials J W which appear to be the work of Jacob Walz and his partner. He showed me a rocky formation crowning a hill back of his camp which he said was the Hat Rock, shown on old Spanish maps. Other formations in the Superstitions have also been called the Hat Rock (so named because of fancied resemblance to a high crowned Spanish sombrero). While at Al Morrow's camp an incident occurred which indicates the lust for gold is still strong. Al's young partner came into camp saying two men had been on the summit of Black Top all morning, apparently watching their camp. Al took a look through binoculars, then turned to me saying, "This is the sort of thing that causes trouble."

Further east the Wilderness Area is bisected by wide, rough La Barge Canyon, named for a pioneer rancher who ran cattle here. La Barge runs from the foot of La Barge Mountain on the southern boundary, in a northwesterly direction toward Canyon Lake. Still further east is Rogers Canyon, a south-north running canyon, whose rocky walls contain innumerable small caves in many of which are ruins of Indian Cliff dwellings.

At the north end of Rogers Canyon is the head of Fish Creek Canyon, an extremely rough, steep-walled canyon. Fish Creek drains the mile-high Reevis Ranch area and is a tributary of the Salt River, which it enters after first flowing west and then north, crossing the Apache Trail at the foot of Fish Creek Hill and finally descending to the Salt River Canyon. There are no trails in Fish Creek Canyon and in places the floor is choked with room-sized boulders, making hiking difficult. Eagles nesting on the sheer red cliffs shriek their anger at adventurous explorers who invade their realm.

The eastern end of the Wilderness Area culminates in the Reevis Ranch area. Elisha Reevis, a pioneer rancher, settled here in a small valley surrounded by chapparal and pine covered hills. The mile high elevation so tempers the Arizona sun that the temperature is pleasant even in mid summer; fruit and vegetables grow profusely. Mr. Reevis raised quantities of vegetables and packed them by burroback over steep trails to the Silver King mine several miles to the east, and to towns in the Salt and Gila River Valleys.

In the 1930's a group of ambitious real estate developers undertook to start a summer home area here. To this end they constructed a high, narrow, winding road from the Apache Trail into Reevis Ranch. The development suffered financial reverses but the road still remained. After the formation of the Superstition Wilderness Area, a corridor one-half mile wide on each side of the road was left to give access to the ranch. Recently the Forest Service purchased the ranch from the latest owner and closed the road to motor vehicles. The ranch buildings will deteriorate, the peach and apple orchards go wild, till eventually the valley will look as it did when "old man" Reevis first saw it in the 1870's.

With friends I visited the Reevis Ranch area shortly before the closing of the road. Particularly wanting to see the walled ruins on the slopes of Mound Mountain, southeast of the ranch, we spent a day in a fruitless search. However, later in a flight over the area in a small plane, two circular stone walls, each encircling crumpled ruins, were plainly visible on the hillsides. There are many more beautiful and interesting spots in the Superstitions I have yet to see and which I hope to reach sometime, but I have seen enough to realize why the mountains have become famous in books and legends.

Many will still enter these mountains only to search for gold, but to me the treasure lies in its mysterious, rugged beauty and the only gold I seek is that visible in early spring when brittle bush and poppies gild the steep slopes.

NOVEMBER IS A TIME

November, in the desert, is a time When heat has fled the night. When days are warm, but not too warm to climb A mountain's rugged height. The birds are passing through; some stay a while Where summer still remains To gather strength before the weary mile To other summer grains. The air is soft-almost like other springs A time for planting trees A time for planting fields of hardy things Before a winter freeze. Where hills are stark, and valleys often bare, November comes as softly as a prayer And leaves the mark of pure perfection there.How far away are the countless stars which softly light the clear desert night?

DESERT STARS

Just stand on tiptoe, for it's easy, you know, to gather an armful, or so.

PHANTOM FIRES

Sycamores, warm-golden now are tinder for the sun that lights in them a phantom fire where tree filled canyons run. Boulders, flecked with maple glow along the dry stream bed are simmering in cauldrons of fallen leaves, fire-red. Autumn air ignites the heart with crisp leaved dreams returning where flame and glory recklessly pile memories for burning!

LIFE CHANT

Child of the dawnlight Child of the earthlight Fleet as a young deer In the green forest Grow in the sunlight Dream in the moonlight Wind takes the dark cloud. Sun brings a rainbow. Child of the firelight Child of the starlight Listen to whispers Of mountain and mesa Sent by the night wind Sent to the green corn Lifting your singing Lifting your singing.

QUIEN SABE?

The trees in the canyon Are crackling with dryness. There has been no water For some time. Why doesn't it come, the rain? The trees have committed no crime.

Yours Sincerely WELCOME ΤΟ ΡΙΜA COUNTY:

A special word of appreciation to you and your staff for the September issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. We, of course, think every issue is absolutely marvelous but we were particularly interested in this issue because we plan on spending the winter in Tucson and Pima County. There was more information about Tucson and Pima County contained in this issue than all the brochures we have received from other sources to date. Thank you so much.

AUGUST ENCORE:

A good friend in Washington, D.C. was kind enough to enter a subscription to ARIZONA HIGHWAYS for me this year, as he knew I had spent some time in your beautiful State and intend going back one day, perhaps to stay. May I compliment you on a beautifully produced color magazine, admired by many of my friends who see it. Your August article on Arizona's 'Magic Garden' was of particular inter-est here, where space is at premium.

FROM A BEAUTIFUL LAND:

The Oak Creek feature in your August issue is the most outstanding combination of art and literature I have had the pleasure of reading and viewing in many years. Mr. Van Campen's photographs are always marvelous and these are some of his best. The story of the flowing water from its origin through the descriptive and very beautiful journey makes it come alive. This story is as spellbinding as any drama ever written. Also, Mr. Izuela provides many excellent

points on photography in the same issue. I shall use some of these on the Acropolis and at other Hellenic scenery.

RELAX AND ENJOY IT:

I have received many wonderful, meaningful gifts during my lifetime, however, one of the most treasured is my ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, given to me by dear friends who left Long Island to make their home in Scottsdale. I take my copy each month and go off to a quiet corner where I can digest each page and view the magnificent pictures . . . and almost find myself off in an imaginary world of my own reliving the old and appreciating the new. I commend you and your staff for such a contribution to the beauty of America and from what better State can it come?

Perhaps I am prejudiced, but I think the pictorial presentation in the October issue is truly sensational. I am sure I do not have to tell you that it is a great comfort for an author to have his manuscript surrounded with such "eloquent" illustration. My congratulations to you and Joe for another brilliantly presented issue.

BACK COVER

"IN BOYCE THOMPSON SOUTHWEST ARBORETUM" BY DARWIN VAN CAMPEN. The Arboretum entrance is on the driver's right going toward Superior from Apache Junction, and is not easily seen from the road. It is, however, more than worth the time because since its beginning by the noted industrialist Boyce Thompson, it has developed into one of the major desert botanical gardens and exhibits in the southwest. Known officially as the University of Arizona Desert Biology Station, Superior, Arizona. Guide booklets are available at the gate house. Linhof camera with 150mm Symmar lens. Ektachrome exposed 1/25th sec. @f30 in bright sunlight.

OPPOSITE PAGE

Aravaipa Canyon, located between Winkelman and Mammoth, is always a welcome haven for patient photographers. Canyon walls and filtered light set up brilliant compositions as shown. The photographer had only to find a spot where an overhang in boughs formed a foreground prop. Crown Graphic camera with 135mm Graphic Optar lens. Ektachrome exposed 1/25th sec. @f16.