HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT
P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556
Vol. 22 No. 1 January 2007 ___________________________________________________________________________
JANUARY MEETING: FORT COSO, RUSS KALDENBERG

The Society's January meeting will feature Russell Kaldenberg speaking about Fort Coso. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 16 at 7:30 PM at the Maturango Museum.

Fort Coso, located in the Coso Mountains on the base, is thought by many to have been a U.S. Cavalry base, an outlier of Fort Independence. One focus of Russ's talk will be to explain planned research to help determine if that theory is true. He will also discuss and show slides of the recent preservation work done at Fort Coso during National Public Lands Day last September 30. This involved cleaning up the fort and shoring up its walls against further decay.

Russ Kaldenberg has been the base archeologist for four years. A Kern county native born in Taft, he received a Masters in Anthropology from San Diego State University. He has worked as an archeologist for the Forest Service in Wisconsin and the BLM in California, most recently as the BLM's California State Archeologist.

The HSUMD meets on the third Tuesday of the month. All are welcome to attend. For more information on this or future meetings, call Society President Bill Nevins at 375-4764.

The Elks Lodge, 201 E Church St., is hosting a chili cook-off and dinner on Saturday evening January 13th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. as a fund raiser for the restoration for the old USO building. The Historical Society fund raising committee is sponsoring the affair. There will be entertainment, judging of the chili, prizes, 50/50 awards and video and book sales. A KZIQ personality will be the master of ceremonies. Tickets for adults are $10, for children (hot dogs) $5. Come make it a fun-filled evening!

OTHER USO BUILDING FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES PLANNED

In addition to the chili cook-off and dinner this coming Saturday, there will be another yard sale in March. Donations would very much be appreciated. The Big Band Express has a great USO show planned for April. More details in upcoming newsletters. For fund raising information, please call committee chairperson, Kathy Armstrong at 375-2643.

In addition, sponsorships are being sought by the committee for sponsorships of three replacement outside metal doors at $1700 each which will be recognized with a donor/memorial plaque at the site. The committee recently added $13,000 to the building fund by acquiring sponsors for the 51 windows in the building.

The Phase I funding goal has been achieved, thanks to our generous community donor and volunteers. We soon will expect the building to be usable The committee continues fund raising plans for Phase II which is estimated at $137,000. These tasks, over the next two years, include air conditioning, heating, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, refinish/replace all flooring, wall and ceiling insulation and installation of new ceilings, etc.

LOIS CARR MEMORIAL STATUS

We are pleased to report that $425 has been received in memory of Lois Carr, a longtime member who recently passed away.

HELP IS NEEDED FOR PLANNED JOE FOX BOOK

Board member Fred Weals is in the process of preparing for publication a book of selected Joe Fox newspaper columns from the 1960's and 70's. Fred could use some help in this endeavor. Please give him a call at 375- 9485, if you feel you can be of some assistance.

HELP NEEDED FOR SIX SEEP TRIPS

The Sand Canyon Environmental Education Program (SEEP) will have four trips in March and two in May. Help is needed to present materials and guide the students in the historical part of the program. Give John Di Pol a call at 375-2610 if would you like to participate in helping give our local youngsters a great experience. Fresh air and congenial companionship are part of the half day experience.

IT'S MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME AGAIN

As noted previously, our membership year is the calendar year, so if you haven't already renewed for 2007, it's time to fill out the form elsewhere in this newsletter and send your check to our Treasurer, Fred Weals, at Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 92555. Family memberships are $20 per year, business memberships are $30 per year. Thanks for being timely.

OLD BUILDING SEARCH

The Historical Society board is interested in identifying the oldest buildings in Indian Wells Valley. If you have information, please contact Fred Weals at 375-9485 or send him an e-mail at fhweals@mchsi.com

CORRECTION

We sold over 150 tickets for the two Zabel prints, not over 115 as reported last month.
HISTORICAL ARTICLE

(Following is an article prepared by our great local historian member, John Di Pol, drawn from his personal library. Ed).

FRANK HARRIS, PROSPECTOR

Better known as Frank "Shorty" Harris due to his 5' 4" stature. His modest claim to fame: he was the epitome of the simple, dedicated to a passion, seeker of gold and silver in our remote desert areas; a prospector, with a burro, a pick and a pack.

Shorty was born in Rhode Island in 1857, came west in the late 1870s, bounced around Leadville, CO, Idaho Country, Tombstone, AZ and finally landing in the Death Valley country circa mid-late 1880s. There is no known biography of Shorty's life, but he consistently appears in many, if not most, books and writings of the Death Valley area of Eastern California and Western Nevada. A sentence or two, a paragraph or two, even a page or two, he has made a niche for himself in history.

In the 45 or so years that Shorty prospected, he made only one big strike, and it was BIG, the Bullfrog lode in western Nevada near the present town of Beatty. (More about the Bullfrog later.) Like many others of his genre at the time, he plodded along, living in a hand to mouth existence. However, he developed a sense for detecting gold and periodically did find "color" which generated a few dollars, and with the aid of grubstakes from the many friends he made, he survived. Shorty never owned, or operated a mine. If his finds and claims were of any significance, he would sell out his entire interests to the first buyer. The proceeds would rapidly sift through his fingers like sand in the next mining camp, with lavish spending for whisky (which he called "Oh, Be Joyful" ) and celebrations until the last dollar was quickly gone.

At the other end of the spectrum were shysters who found their "gold" in mining stock promotion and manipulation. A classic example is the case of Charles Julian who bought some silver-lead claims in Titus Canyon in 1925 and organized the Silver Lead Mine Company. In early 1926 he started promotion of "Death Valley Treasures", built a road in Titus Canyon, layed out the town site of Leadfield, sold town lots and stock in the mine company via L.A. Stock Exchange. Heavy publicity, stock zooming up in price, some development for show, but not one ounce of silver produced. By the end of 1926, the bubble burst, stock share value sunk to a few cents. The stock scandals caught up with Julian by 1927, lawsuits, etc. etc. He had invested $300,000 in his "project", but got away with $1.2 million.

But, back to Shorty. In August, 1904, he and companion Earnest "Ed" Cross were on their way from the Keane Wonder Mine in Death Valley to the established mining city of Goldfield, prospecting enroute. Northwest of the present day city of Beatty they started to cross a line of hills when they noticed outcroppings and ledges of greenish rock. Upon examination, they saw that the rock contained free gold. They took more samples from several ledges. All showed free gold. WOW! After staking several claims they hurried to Goldfield. The assay showed $600 to $700 per ton - rich ore. The word was out immediately. Shorty and Cross were besieged with offers to purchase their claims. Ed was talking to some buyers, and had reached agreement to sell for $10,000. He looked for Shorty to sign off, but Shorty was long gone. Now, Goldfield at that time had dozens and dozens of bars, gambling halls, and other entertainment. It was six days before Shorty was found. He had sold his one-half share for $1,000 and proceeded to go on a wild binge. Ed Cross hung on to his half (it's reported that Cross sold his interests much later for $125,0000).

The stampede to the Bullfrog District was on in full force. Claims were filed by the hundreds. Tent camps sprung up, mines were being opened. The "boss mine" of the district, the Montgomery Shoshone, opened up in 1905 and was a major producer. The history of the Bullfrog and establishment of the metropolis of Rhyolite is a story all of its own - and possibly the subject of a future article in this newsletter.

In the summer of 1905, nearly a year after the Bullfrog discovery, Shorty and companion Pete Aguereberry were traveling out of Death Valley to spend the 4th of July at Ballarat. When crossing the Panamints they diverted from the main trail to examine some outcroppings in a nearby row of low hills. They found color, staked several claims and hurried on to Ballarat. The assay showed significant gold. Miners flowed in to the site, erected a tent city which Shorty named 'Harrisburg". And, as usual, Shorty sold out his share and moved on.

Shorty continued to prospect for many years, into his 70s, but never again finding a Bullfrog or Harrisburg. He finally settled in Ballarat where he lived until his death in Lone Pine in 1934 at age 77 years. At his request he is buried in a grave next to that of his old friend Jim Dayton. The site is in the west side of Death Valley near Bennett's Well. It is marked by an imposing rock monument, erected in 1936 by the boys of the CCC camp, with a bronze plaque inscribed:

"BURY ME BESIDE JIM DAYTON IN THE
VALLEY WE LOVED. ABOVE ME WRITE: 'HERE LIES SHORTY HARRIS, A SINGLE
BLANKET JACKASS PROSPECTOR" - EPITAPH
REQUESTED BY SHORTY (FRANK) HARRIS
BELOVED GOLD HUNTER. 1856 - 1934.
HERE JAS. DAYTON, PIONEER, PERISHED, 1898
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TO THESE TRAIL MAKERS WHOSE COURAGE MATCHED THE DANGERS OF THE LAND, THIS BIT OF EARTH IS DEDICATED FOREVER.

Ref:
DEATH VALLEY: A GUIDE. Federal Writers Project, 1939
DEATH VALLEY: THE FACTS. W. A. Chalfant, 1936
DEATH VALLEY & THE AMARGOSA. R. E. Lingenfelter, 1986