HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT

Vol. 19 No. 2 February 2004

FEBRUARY MEETING; HISTORY OF CLOTA

A panel of pioneering members of CLOTA will tell of the history of CLOTA at the February meeting of the Historical Society. The meeting will start at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, February 17, at the Maturango Museum. Everybody is welcome to attend the Society's meetings.

The Community Light Opera and Theater Association was founded in 1964. Among the earliest members were Vivian Childers, Ted and Elenore Lotee, Ralph Vuono, and Larry Sawyer, all of whom, along with Judy Ditzler (a mere 19-year member) will form the panel at the February meeting. They will share stories and memorabilia about the early years of CLOTA and how the association was started, the first production being "My Fair Lady" in 1965. The CLOTA story continues with a major fund-raising drive that culminated in the construction of CLOTA's building in 1979. The building was used as a storehouse for the club's costumes and sets until 2002 when they began to use it as an actual performance space as well.

Activities of the Society planned for the next few months include presentations on the Death Valley '49ers and the Reilly Mine. For more information about this month's or future meetings, call President Bruce Wertenberger at 375-2369 or leave a message at 375-8456.
Andrew Sound

MANZANAR TOUR PLANNED

Mark your calendars for April 24! The Historical Society is planning a field trip to the MANZANAR National Historic Site for the grand opening of the new Interpretive Center located in the old auditorium building. The center will include 8,000 square feet of exhibits, two small movie theaters, a bookstore, and park offices. The auditorium was originally constructed by internees in 1944 and utilized for high school and community gatherings such as dances, movies, recreational games, meetings and funerals. Immediately after the war, the building was purchased by Inyo County and used for local events. From the 1950s until the 1990s, the structure served as the county's road maintenance facility. It was purchased by the National Park Service in 1996. Major work began on the building in May 2002 to restore its 1940s appearance and upgrade its architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical systems.
The Grand Opening will coincide with the annual MANZANAR Pilgrimage. Future issues of the newsletter will contain more details about the HSUMD field trip as they are developed.

Andrew Sound

HSUMD AND MUSEUM CELEBRATE CENTENNIAL OF FLIGHT

The new Centennial of Flight exhibit in the Maturango Museum is a joint project of the museum and HSUMD. Stop in during open hours (10 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week) to visit the exhibit, which grew in Liz Babcock's mind until it occupies two areas of the museum.

The HSUMD cases in the vestibule feature the Wright brothers and their accomplishments as well as milestones of flight that have occurred over the past 100 years. Liz did the research and exhibit preparation with a big assist from Bruce Wertenberger, who mounted the exhibit materials on foam core and made easels for some of the boards to stand.

Another key contributor was Lou Pracchia, who loaned the exhibit his collection of vintage airline playing cards. Lou also suggested that Liz get in touch with local airplane model maker Ted Taylor, a significant suggestion, since Ted's models in all three cases of the exhibit add very welcome touches of color and three-dimensionality. (Take a look at the early de Havilland aircraft in the Wright case -- they are exquisite!)

Other items of interest in the vestibule cases include a scale model of the Wright brothers' first aircraft. Liz obtained the model kit on eBay, then Carroll Evans painstakingly assembled it. Come and take a look at this wonderful model. When you compare the Wright's first frail craft to the aircraft of later years depicted in the Milestones of Flight case, you won't fail to be astonished at the ingenuity of man throughout the past 100 years.

You also won't want to miss the exhibit pertaining to local aviation that's on the back wall of the main gallery. Again, a pair of authentic 1930s goggles contributed by Kathy Armstrong really makes the romance of early aviation come to life! Several items loaned by local sail plane expert Bertha Ryan, as well as more of Ted Taylor's wonderful models are also featured in this case. Liz Babcock

This is the first year in which we have solicited support of the Historical Society (a 501(c)3 organization) and created a series of support levels. Our members have responded nicely. It is with pleasure we announce the current donors supporting of our organization:
Benefactors: Dan & Mary Kus, Mike & Jerry Mumford, John & Roberta Ward, Fred Weals, and Bruce Wertenberger.
Contributors: Curtis & Gretchen Bryan, WR & Judith Ditzler, Ken Kelley, Robert & Mary Phillips, Anthony & Dori Magliari, James & Carolyn Shepherd, and Don & Mary Witcher

It is never too late to make a contribution ­ contributions are welcome at any time. If you have not already renewed your membership this year, just fill out the membership renewal form which appeared in the three recent HSUMD newsletters, and include your contribution along with your membership fee, or for membership alone, send in your check for $15 to Fred Weals, Treasurer, HSUMD, P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556. Thank you.

BUSINESS MEMBERS

Please patronize our business members: Jack & Dana Lyons (new listing), the Swap Sheet, Ridgecrest Moving & Storage, Granite Construction ­ Sand & Gravel, Farris' Diner & Italian Gardens, and Indian Wells Valley Insurance Co.

VISIT TO THE "COLLECTORS' HOUSE"

We had a small, but appreciative group of guests who attended the recent (January) tour of this house with its large and varied collections of many historical and interesting items. Our thanks to Mrs. Marie Allen who presided over the beverages and cookies and to the host and hostess of the house and to the cookie bakers (Kathy Armstrong, Eileen Dietz, Mary Lee McBride, Pat Silberberg and Bruce Wertenberger) who baked cookies for the guests.

SEEP DVD AVAILABLE SOON

Our stock of SEEP videos ran out, so we ordered a "reprint" of Mark Pahuta's great production of the story of Sand Canyon and the SEEP program, but had it produced on DVDs for a better quality image. They will soon be available through the Historical Society and probably the Maturango Museum, too.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

A Nominating Committee has been named to handle this year's board member nominations. The members are Katie Bell Pomeroy, Mary Kus and Dan Burnett. If one of them gives you a call about being a nominee to the board of directors, we hope you will seriously consider being nominated and respond affirmatively

IT'S MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME AGAIN!

Many of our members have renewed, but some of you have not. It would help us greatly if those of you who haven't renewed to do so right away. Help us keep our treasurer busy and happy! Our membership year is the same as the calendar year. Membership fees help pay for newsletter printing and postage costs, utility costs for our office building, production costs of our exhibits and various other activities. Membership costs are $15 per family and there are categories for contributions to our nonprofit organization, if you so desire, e.g., contributor ($50), benefactor ($100) and patron ($200 and up).

OLD PHOTOS, HERE WE COME!

We have a number of old previously published photos of public activities from the 1950's which were donated to us by Larry Fox. With this issue we begin to publish them one at a time, asking you for help in identifying the people in the pictures. Below is the first of these photos. Do you know who these young dancers are, and what was the story behind the photo? If you do, please drop us a note to P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, or call and leave a message at 760.375-8456, or send us an e-mail to the e-mail address on the back page. Many thanks for your help!

SAND CANYON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (SEEP)

Spring is here and activities will soon begin again with SEEP. Chris Mattingly, BLM, is handling all the scheduling of the volunteers needed to staff the seven stations along the hike which the fifth graders make in Sand Canyon. If you haven't already heard from her, give her a phone call to volunteer in this worthwhile educational activity for our local school children.

HISTORICAL ARTICLE

BANDITS AND SHOOT-OUTS

Below is another article from our great local historian member, John Di Pol, drawn from his library of local history books. Ed.)

Part 2 -- Shoot-out in Sage Canyon

Sage Canyon is one of the several mountain canyons which open up into the Indian Wells Valley on the west. It is the second canyon south of Walker's Pass, bordered by Cow Heaven Canyon on its north side and Horse Spring Canyon on the south. It is a very picturesque canyon, with a seasonal stream and, prior to the advent of ORVs, an abundant population of valley quail in the bottoms, with mountain quail and chukar partridges in its upper reaches. In 1891 this canyon was the site of a bloody gun fight.

The trouble started in the summer when Wampei Jiggens, an Indian ranch hand at the Smith Ranch on the south fork of the Kern River, broke the handle of a pitch fork. Young Tommy Smith believed that Wampei, who had a reputation for surly disposition, had done this on purpose and informed him that the price of the handle would be deducted from his wages. Harsh words followed. Wampei, who was a member of a Shoshone tribe led by Chief Kiowa which was living in a small rancheria in Sage Canyon, drew his pay and started back to camp. On the way, he stopped at Scodie's store where he illicitly obtained a supply of whiskey. Resuming his journey, he passed by the Smith Ranch on which loomed a number of haystacks, three of which soon became blazing torches lighting up the night sky.

Young Johnny Powers, a native of the South Fork area and a popular member of the extended Smith-Powers pioneer family, was constable at Onyx at the time. On July 2, 1891, Powers drew out a warrant for Wampei and left for Sage Canyon accompanied by Sam Gann, constable at Kernville. They stopped at Freeman's Station (Coyote Holes) for the night. Early in the morning they started for Sage Canyon. On the way they passed a camp of coyote trappers, where one of the trappers, Oliver McCoy, rode with them after being deputized by Constable Powers.

On arrival at the rancheria they were met by Chief Kiowa. After a few words, Kiowa turned, signaled to a son in the doorway of one of the shacks, who opened fire with a rifle. Kiowa, himself, pulled a pistol and also fired on the constables. The officers returned fire in the fierce shoot-out which followed. Powers lay dead, McCoy mortally wounded, Kiowa and his two sons dead. Gann, out of ammunition and seeing the situation as hopeless, caught McCoy's horse in the melee and escaped.

Gann made his way back to Coyote Holes in record time, Raymond Freeman hid Gann's horse in the barn, covered Gann under a canvas atop a wagon load of wood and started for the South Fork Valley and successfully misdirected a band of mounted Indians. Gann's safe arrival in Onyx caused an uproar. A posse of ten was organized and departed with Gann for the scene of the tragedy late in the afternoon, followed by an additional twelve in the evening. The entire posse reached Sage Canyon at daybreak. There they found the bodies of Powers and McCoy. The three dead Indians had been buried in shallow graves. The rancheria was deserted; the posse set fire to the buildings and other appurtenances.

The Indians, when leaving camp, had split up into two groups; the one consisting mostly of women and children fled directly west into the mountains and successfully evaded capture by hiding in caves and rocks. The posse, consisting of twenty horsemen led by Deputy Sheriff Jim Powers, brother of Johnny Powers, followed after the second group. The Indians of this group also headed into the mountains, but turned north and passed to the west of Walker's Pass. When north of the pass, they turned east and dropped down into Indian Wells Valley via Indian Wells Canyon. The posse remained on their trail for fully two weeks, headed north past Little Lake, thence into the Coso Mountains and beyond. The rough terrain made tracking increasingly difficult until Wampei and a few of the remaining Indians evaded the posse altogether.

Some three months later, Wampei showed up in Lone Pine wearing a hat that had Johnny Powers' constable badge pinned to it. He was quickly arrested by the authorities, taken to Bakersfield and tried in Superior Court. On December 11, 1891, Wampei Jiggens was sentenced to life imprisonment in the State Penitentiary.

(References: SOUTH FORK COUNTRY, Bob Powers, 1971; CANYON COUNTRY, Bob Powers, 2002) John Di Pol