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No one can say with certainty how many adits and shafts have been dug in Arizona’s mining districts in historic times. Estimates vary considerably - even between state and federal agencies - but could range as high as 100,000 hard rock mine entrances. The vast majority fall into two broad categories: “past producers” and “prospects” and nearly all of them are now abandoned. The steady decline in gold and silver production during the 1920’s and early 1930’s led to the closing of many mines. Settlements were dismantled, or simply abandoned; as people moved on to seek their livelihood elsewhere.

After the earlier pioneer period, another wave of migration occurred following the economic collapse and ensuing depression of the 1930’s. These were jobless and homeless men and families. For some of them, their attraction to the mining districts was the based upon the hope that a few ounces of gold each month could keep them fed. For others, a lode claim provided a cheap way to live on the land - whether there was any ore or not. [Note 1]

Within a one mile radius of Morgan Butte peak [Note 2], there are more than sixteen mine shafts and adits. If you extend your search area to a radius of barely two and a half miles, there are several dozens of old mines and associated settlements. Although some of them date to the late 1800’s (and a few were good producers), the majority were established in the era that extended from the early 1900’s to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Unfortunately, the geology in this locale virtually guaranteed that most mines would turn out to be a disappointment. While there were many promising signs of ore, nature conspired to place much of it in small pockets and seams. What might appear to be high grade ore in an exposed vein could abruptly end after only fifty feet. More frequently, the vein contained low grade ore that could not offset the cost of extraction and processing for a small time operator.

Without investors, the only way to make a go of it at a low producing mine was to have little or no capital burden. This article will focus on a mine and small settlement near Morgan Butte that fits this broad characterization: It was a low producer, there was no mill or heavy equipment and, from appearances, there was virtually no operating overhead. Moreover, the features at this mine suggest that it was worked during the 1930’s. By that time, most of the successful mines in the area had already run their course.

A Depression Era Mine

The subject of this article is a mine located about .75 miles NNE of Morgan Butte, roughly 36 degrees east of true north from the peak [Note 3]. This area is literally blanketed with old (closed) and active lode mining claims and it includes a patchwork of patented land that is now deeded to modern day ranchers and investors.

We have discussed on previous occasions the use of arrastres. They were the “poor man’s mill” - a way to cheaply pulverize silver or gold bearing rock. The rate of processing would be limited to only a few hundred pounds of rock over a period of several days. Typically, an arrastre would add mercury to the ore charge to produce an amalgam. The older “Mexican” arrastres around Wickenburg were constructed using shaped stone in the walls and floor and did not use mortar or cement. Notice the more modern style of the arrastre at this site:

Figure 1, Depression Era Arrastre

Figure 1 shows an arrastre that is quite tall by normal standards, but which has a relatively narrow inner diameter. It was constructed with cement and boulders to a height of more than three feet. The area surrounding the arrastre is still quite flat and afforded ample space for a mule to pull the drag stone that crushed the ore charge.

Arrastres of this type can generally be classified as post-1900. In this example however, I believe it dates to the 1930’s, but not more than one decade earlier. More on that subject later.

Figure 2, Top View of Arrastre

Figure 2 shows an inside view of the arrastre. The interior wall was fully encased with cement and the metal center post is, if anything, over engineered. The floor was built using stonework in the traditional manner. This is probably because a cement floor could not have withstood the abrasive effects of the drag-stone. The width of the floor was wide enough to accommodate a single drag stone - suggesting that only two or three hundred pounds of ore was processed during each cycle.

There are two particularly interesting features in the interior of the arrastre. First, notice the two drain pipes to the right of center. The lower pipe is in a metal plate, while the upper pipe protrudes through the wall to the left. Second, notice the abrasion and water marks on the center column and inner wall.

There were several steps involved in the pulverizing and amalgamation process. Once the ore charge had been thoroughly reduced to a fine sandy texture, water would be added to produce a fluid, muddy consistency. At that point, mercury would be added and the drag-stone operation might continue for another few days. This was a critical point in the mixing of the ore/sand/mercury. The objective was to continually mix the components so that amalgamation (a chemical bonding between the ore and mercury) would occur.

Finally, more water would be added (that is, to the level of the upper pipe) to produce a ’soupy’ texture while the mule would continue to pull the drag stone, but at a slower rate. This would permit the amalgam to slowly settle to the bottom of the arrastre. The water would then be drained away and the waste material would be scooped out. The ore (gold or silver) would have settled on the floor, where it could be removed and separated from the mercury.

Figure 3, Drag Stone with Cable

Further evidence that this arrastre dates to the early decades of the 1900’s is provided in Figure 3. Notice that this drag stone has a steel cable inserted on the top. Older, ‘Mexican’ arrastres used drag stones that typically weighed more than 200 pounds and featured a bent iron rod protruding from the top. I have never seen an ‘old’ arrastre (one that can be dated to the 1800’s) that used steel cable. [Note 4] Aside from the use of this more modern feature, the drag stone does not weigh much more than 100 pounds.

Figure 4, Another Drag Stone with Cable

Figure 4 shows another drag stone at the arrastre. Like the previous one, it used a steel cable to connect to the rotating arm that was pulled by a mule or horse. In this case, the stone is nearly the width of the drag area inside the arrastre. Notice that five edge faces of this stone and the bottom have been worn smooth from use. There are relatively few drag stones at this site (only four that I have confirmed). Considering the relatively small capacity of the arrastre and the nature of the mine, I believe it was not used continuously. Otherwise, there would be more drag stones.

There are two unanswered questions in the views of the arrastre. What was the source of water and, importantly, did this arrastre use mercury for amalgamation?

Figure 5, Wet Panning Site above Arrastre

There is a rather ingenious site approximately 100 yards above the arrastre that was used for separating ore from pulverized waste. Figure 5 shows a rock and cement structure that features a high wall, a ledge, two troughs and a drainage sluice (center of photo). This is the functional equivalent of a “panning” site that would have used water motion to separate the heavier gold ore from the lighter waste material. The design of this structure suggests to me that the arrastre did not rely upon mercury for amalgamation. In other words, the arrastre pulverized the ore bearing rocks and the “panning” site completed the separation of ore from waste material.

Another fifty feet or so beyond this structure there is a spring and well (perhaps more properly described as a cistern) that collected water for the arrastre and the washing/panning structure. See Figure 6.

Figure 6, Well/Cistern

Today, it serves as an occasional source of water for cattle in this section of land. The rancher has protected the opening to limit the inflow of debris. Not clearly visible, but importantly present, there is a metal ore car rail on the left side of the well opening. A feature such as this suggests that at least one of the three adits at this mine may have had rail tracks and an ore car. I have found no other rails outside the mine entrances, but tracks may remain in the interior of the mine.

When I examined the well site, the water level was several feet deep and was clear. Decadal drought conditions have reduced the flow of water, but would still provide ample volume via gravity feed to the arrastre, panning area and modern water trough. There are old metal and modern PCV pipes running down the gulch that show the original and modern uses of the well. Seasonal rains certainly contribute to the water level and probably produce some rather significant runoff in this steep and narrow gulch.

Figure 7, Upper Adit

This mine certainly qualified as a “hard rock” operation. As shown in Figure 7, the upper adit (one of three entrances) was dug and blasted into a very solid face of the mountain. The adit gives an appearance of a gentle slope in a westerly direction. The gangue pile in front of the adit indicates that a sizable quantity of rock was removed to reach the primary ore vein. I have not entered this adit and I do not suggest that you do, either - it may serve as habitat for snakes and other wildlife. Furthermore, it is not possible to assess the condition beyond the first few feet. The sizable boulders at the entrance show that rock has sloughed off the wall above the mine.

Figure 8, Second Adit

Figure 8 shows the second adit, west of the one in Figure 7. Judging from their width, both adits probably contained narrow veins of ore. I found no evidence of copper in the first dump and it is likely that this mine was chasing a vein of gold. This adit is characteristic of the rock formations commonly found in the area. The adit literally follows the slope and angle of the vein. The height and width of the adit was very conservative - that is, you could not enter without stooping, and the width at the entrance is not more than thirty inches.

Figure 9, Entrance to Adit 3

Figure 9 shows the entrance to the third adit, which is farther west of Figure 8. This is the only gated entrance at the mine site. It is again apparent that the entrance is quite small. The presence of the gate may indicate that a winze (vertical shaft connecting different levels of adits) lies beyond the entrance. Although one of my hiking partners is examining the entrance, we did not go beyond this opening. There is a rather sizable dump to the right of the photo that contains a few hundred tons of waste rock.

Notice that two of these adits have structures built with wood posts, boards and planks. They appear to be in generally good condition. Each adit is protected by steep (nearly vertical) walls in this gulch, which has probably protected the wood from rapid weathering.

Assessment

An evaluation of the first nine photos suggests the following:

1. The manner of construction of the arrastre clearly indicates the use of more modern materials than are found at the older, traditional “Mexican” arrastres.
2. Although the wall was unusually high, the capacity for pulverizing ore was quite limited due to the narrow inner dimensions.
3. Steel cables were not used for pulling drag rocks in the 1800’s or at any earlier point in time.
4. There is no convincing evidence that mercury was used at the arrastre. Instead, it is likely that the pulverized ore was taken to the “panning” site shown in Figure 5 where it could be gently washed to separate gold from the waste material.
5. The adits at this mine were quite small. The development of this mine shows considerable economy in effort and expense. In other words, the adits were “just wide enough” to get the job done.
6. In comparison to mines that were high producers of ore, the dumps at this site are not very large. This correlates with the small dimensions of the adits, but also suggests that the tunnels and drifts were not extensive. The “pay streak” at this mine, such as it was, must have been very narrow.
7. Given the low-budget nature of this site, the recovery of a few ounces of gold each month could have kept this operation going.

Part 2 of this two-part series, provides observations about living conditions, as well as historical context and information on how to find the site.

Notes

1. There are quite a number of mine shafts in the area east of Wickenburg that are only eight to 15 feet in depth. In most cases, there is little evidence of useful results. Many of these were “squatter” prospects. Others gave only the appearance of being a legitimate mining operation. Ranchers in this area have told me there were several thousand people living in the open desert and at old settlements during the Depression.
2. USGS Morgan Butte Quadrangle map. Morgan Butte is located at N 34D 03′ 03″ by W 112D 33′ 06″ (WGS84). See sections 1-4 and 9-12 as the primary reference area in this article.
3. Here are two sets of GPS coordinates. The first is for one of the adits and the second set is for the arrastre: Upper adit - N 34D 03′ 24″ by W 112D 32′ 49″. Arrastre - N 34D 03′ 35″ by W 112D 32′ 38″.
4. Steel cable (also known as wire rope) was first developed in the 1830’s by a German mining engineer named Wilhelm Albert and came into use in the late nineteenth century for hoisting heavy loads in deep mines. The early versions were a combination of wire wrapped around rope, hence the name “wire rope.” The cables shown in this article do not match the type of cable used in the latter portion of the 1800’s.

I’ve been experimenting again with time-lapse photography. Instead of using a junky, low-resolution Webcam, I’ve been creating time-lapse movies with still images taken with my Nikon D80 digital SLR. The difference is incredible, and the flexibility of multiple lenses and a standalone setup makes it easy to shoot almost any subject.

Here’s an example of a movie I created a few weeks ago, when the saguaro cacti in my yard were blooming. Saguaros bloom at night and close up during the day. I wanted to capture the closing of the flowers, so I focused on a bunch of flowers at the top of one of my cacti. In the resulting movie, however, the clouds steal the show:

If you’d like to learn more about my recent time-lapse efforts, read “Time-Lapse Mania.” You can also click the time-lapse tag on my personal blog to see all of the time-lapse movies I’ve published on the Web.

Part Five: Rock Cabins

In Part Four of this series we examined a variety of dry stack terrace walls that are found at old mines and settlements. These were built to provide flat areas for housing and cemeteries. In Part 5 we conclude the series with a discussion of Dry Stack Cabins.

Our modern concept of a cabin probably conjures the notion of a place up in the high country where you go to relax on weekends and during the hot summer. This typical ‘cabin’ has hot and cold running water, a microwave oven, indoor shower and toilet, and may even sport a solar panel on the roof. There will be double pane windows and a gas burner in the fireplace. Of course, the fireplace would be purely for enjoyment, since the cabin will have a heat pump that provides thermostatically controlled, whole-house warmth (or cooling) on demand. It may have two or three bedrooms and a loft, and probably has a security system for peace of mind when you are away.

Figure 1, Dry Stack Cabin at Columbia. Photo by Neal Du Shane

These so-called ‘necessities’ would have been unimaginable luxuries to the miners and settlers who built dry stack cabins in territorial Arizona. In fact, dry stack construction was necessitated by the paucity of other resources, such as mortar or lumber, in the early settlement days. Figure 1 shows a rock cabin that lacks all of the features described in the opening paragraph, yet it fulfilled the most basic requirement for shelter and safety. There are several noteworthy features about this structure at the Columbia ghost town:

• The entryway had no door. Wood planking would have been needed for the door and its frame, but no suitable materials were locally available. The entry was probably covered (from the inside) with a piece of carpet or other heavy material to block wind and rain, and to help retain heat from the fireplace during the winter season.
• The wood beam at the top of the doorway appears to be a roughly shaped piece of juniper; which could have been obtained from a higher elevation in the nearby Bradshaw mountain slopes. The (very) course nature of the wood indicates it was not made of Ponderosa pine, which would only have been available above 5500 feet and perhaps fifteen miles to the northeast of this cabin.
• The dry stack walls below the wood beam and the rear fireplace wall appear to have been constructed with shaped stone. The faces of these walls are generally smooth, the entryway is neat and vertical, and the courses of rock are tightly fitted.
• The area above the wood beam is not uniformly constructed. In some respects, this section of the wall appears to be a jumble of irregular rocks that were used to form the angle for the roof.
• The small openings on the right side of the wall may possibly have been for defense against attack.
• The opening above the entry (and a similar opening at the rear of the cabin) provided ventilation.
• The floor of this one room cabin was dirt.
• The relatively small size of the fireplace suggests it was used only for heating the interior. It was probably not used for cooking.

When you consider that the temperature in the high desert can range from the mid-90’s in April to 115 (or higher) in August and September, it is no wonder that food preparation would have been more pleasant outside of the cabin.

Figure 2, Reverse View - Dry Stack Cabin. Photo by Neal Du Shane

Figure 2 shows a reverse angle of the cabin at Columbia. I have selected it for two important reasons: First, it shows that the chimney was an external structure. In other words, the chimney walls were built on the outside of the cabin. Why is this? My assumption is that an internal chimney structure would radiate more warmth in the living area, but would take excessive space in this very small cabin. The second observation in Figure 2 is to show the foundation structure. Notice that the rear and right walls are inset from the base. This construction technique provided greater stability for the cabin walls and has contributed to its survival to this day.

The roof of this cabin may have been made with sapling poles that supported a canvas tarp. Regardless of the method of construction, it is unlikely that the roof would have been watertight. No evidence remains of the roofing material today.

Historical information on the earliest days of Columbia is scant, to be sure. There are anecdotal records indicating that mineral exploration began in the 1850’s, but the site was abandoned. A renewed effort to develop mining in this area occurred 1868. Whether this structure dates to the earliest mining effort or to 1868 is unknown. In either case, this was a dangerous area for miners and settlers due to persistent hostile actions by local Native Americans.

Figure 3, Natural Stone Cabins

The construction of dry stack cabins was not limited to the use of flat, shaped rocks. Figure 3 shows two small structures that relied upon material that is best described as boulders. The lower cabin (bottom center) is a small, single room structure. The cabin in the center differs only in size. In both cases it is likely the roofs used the pole and canvas method. There are no fireplaces or chimney structures in either cabin. Because they are located in the immediate area of a mine, it probably means that meals were provided to workers at a central location at the camp, since there is no evidence of cooking pits at either cabin.

Neither structure shows indication of a peaked roof, as compared to Figures 1 and 2. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude these were semi-permanent ‘tent cabins’ that may have been used by a series of itinerant miner workers.

Figure 4, Dry Stack Cabin at Unida Mine

Figure 4 provides an example of a dry stack cabin that used a mixture of shaped and natural stone to achieve a tight fit. The courses of rock in the walls were carefully laid, but rise only to a height of less than five feet. Notice the absence of rock debris around the structure. If this building had collapsed from natural causes, you would see a lot of material lying along the wall margins. Instead, I speculate that portions of the cabin walls were intentionally removed, possibly to build another structure nearby.

Of particular note is the front wall in the left center of the photo, which is nearly three feet wide. Another distinguishing characteristic of the cabin is that these grayish stones do not match the local granitic rock. The material must have been hauled in from a quarry site.

Figure 5, Natural Destruction of Cabin

The rock cabin shown in Figure 5 is located near the bottom of a wash that flows into Buckhorn Creek, east of Wickenburg. Unfortunately, the builder selected a location that was a bit too close to the wash, resulting in the eventual demise of the structure. Even so, there are several important features of this cabin. For example, the interior wall was built into the hillside. The fireplace and rear wall serve as a retaining barrier against sedimentation from the uphill slope. The fireplace is quite large and would easily allow cooking.

The jumbled pile of rocks in the right foreground are the remains of the right (south) wall. Interestingly, there is no evidence that a front wall was ever constructed. Three- walled enclosures may have been a common occurrence, since an open structure would have provided better ventilation (but less radiant warmth) than a fully enclosed cabin.

This cabin appears to be quite old and probably pre-dates a settlement to the left (north) that may have had up to 300 residents in the early 1900’s. The area is dotted with abandoned mines within a one mile radius of the site.

Figure 6, Miner’s Cabin near Keystone

Figure 6 shows a rare example of a dry stack cabin that still contains wood components. A mine adit and shaft are about one hundred yards to the east (right) of this photo. This is a typical one room cabin that features a small fireplace in the upper left corner. Wall construction appears to be haphazard, as evidenced by the very large boulders resting on top of smaller rocks on the front wall.

The seeming abundance of wood beams suggests a roof structure that (again) employed a canvas tarp, since there is no evidence of other wood roofing materials or corrugated metal. Another mine settlement is located in the valley beyond this hillside, but the structures there were made entirely with wood, indicating a younger age than this cabin.

Figure 7, Primitive Tent Cabin

In Figure 7 you see a partially collapsed “U” shaped structure with rock walls that are about three feet in height. This is probably the most primitive type of dry stack dwelling you will find. It is known as a ‘tent cabin’ and was a common method for creating a temporary sleeping shelter to protect an individual from the weather. This particular ‘cabin’ had an interior dimension of approximately four feet in width by nine feet. The builder (probably a transient mine worker) dug a flat area out of the hillside and then stacked the rock walls. A canvas tarp - supported by one or two wood poles - would have completed the structure. This type of cabin could only have been used for sleeping and could not have accommodated more than two people. In contrast to previous examples, this structure does not suggest a sense of permanency on the part of the occupant. This dwelling could have been re-used over a long period of time, since it is located near two mines that operated from approximately 1885 until 1941.

Figure 8, Ravages of Time. Photo by Kevin Hart

Figure 8 shows a cabin near Columbia that is slowly succumbing to the forces of nature. In its day, it was surely an impressive structure and it is larger in area than any other dry stack cabin shown in this article. The walls were about eight feet high and the peaked roof would have provided a sense of spaciousness. The fireplace, located on the right wall, was large enough to radiate warmth throughout the cabin. Notice that the chimney structure is on the interior, in contrast to the example in Figure 2. Sadly, the near left corner has collapsed, destroying a significant portion of the wall.

When you examine all photos in this article, it becomes evident that dry stack cabins were quite small by modern standards and were utterly Spartan in their features. They may have supported a single individual or an entire family in a one room structure. They are found in places that were then, and remain today, in remote and rugged areas. That remoteness is, perhaps, why they have survived to the present time. These cabins and the other structures shown in the previous articles, endure because of the respect and forbearance of visitors who admire the effort and struggle of pioneers who came to the Arizona Territory in dangerous times.

Every dry stack structure you have seen in this series, regardless of how well it was crafted, is a treasure from our past. They were built by Mexican, Chinese and Native American laborers as well as immigrant miners and settlers from Ireland, England, Germany and even Brazil. You may think they are silent markers to our history, but each one has a story waiting to be told. They cannot be replaced.

My thanks go to fellow members of the Arizona Pioneer and Cemetery Research Project for their photo contributions to this series. APCRP.org is dedicated to the location, documentation, preservation and ongoing research of Arizona’s derelict pioneer settlements, cemeteries and mines. It is truly a labor of love.

The Journal of Prevarication
The Most Trusted Name in Lying 

By Jim Cook
Official State Liar of Arizona

When I had my right hip replaced recently, the only replacement joint the surgeons could find in my size was manufactured in New Zealand. 

As you know, things from south of the equator run opposite to the way things operate in the northern hemisphere. Clockwise becomes counterclockwise, and versa vice. 

When my right leg steps forward, my left leg responds by taking a step backward. This is the closest I’ve ever come to knowing how to dance. 

I keep coming face to face with myself. Or, we’re dancing cheek to cheek.

Miss Ellie demanded to know what I had done with the old hip. “Did you throw it away?” she asked.

She never throws anything away, and she watches closely to make sure I don’t sneak something out of the house. She still has frayed towels that her ancestors borrowed from the Mayflower.

“I donated the old hip to Habitat for Humanity,” I said. 

“Did you get a receipt?” she wanted to know.

“Yes, but I lost it.”

Walking in circles actually helps me navigate the clutter in our house, and it saved my life the other day when I stumbled into a nest of angry rattlesnakes. 

Ellie’s cousin Elizabeth, better known as Tippy, knows a lot about snakes. She used to keep exotic snakes as pets, and she’s fearless when pursuing rattlers. 

Tippy is also a fine photographer, and she was looking for scenic photographs.  But she knew I wanted to find evidence of crotalus furious, the world’s only fur-bearing rattlesnake. It is  known in Arizona as the Hassayampa Argyle. You may read the “furious” in crotalus furious as meaning very angry. Think “fur”  instead.

We went crawling along the Castle Hot Springs road, stopping to poke the bushes for snakes. It was a grand expedition.

This land belonged to Mexico in the 1820s when mountain men, trappers and illegal immigrants from the U.S., discovered the fur-bearing snake. By 1835, women in New York and London were wearing rattlesnake stoles.  

Other snakes shed their skins several times a year,whenever they outgrow them. During an Arizona summer, the Hassayampa Argyle can’t wait to get out of his fur coat. He sheds his pelt every few days, starting at his lips and peeling backwards until he can slide out of his fur tube, like a woman wriggling out of a tight dress.  

Snake pelts littered the ground when the mountain men came here. Finders keepers. The furs were turned inside-out as the snakes shed them, and the mountain men had only to turn them outside-out. Collecting the long tubes was much easier than trapping and skinning larger varmints.

The largest snake fur on record was nine feet long by eight  inches in diameter, worn as a wrap by a scrawny queen of Belgium. She had it fitted with rattles of 14-carat gold.

Then the furry snakes began to thin out. By 1898, scientists had declared them extinct.

I reported recently that herpetologists and game biologists suspected that the Hassayampa Argyle was back. They would not know until the snakes came out of hibernation in the spring.

On our recent expedition, we stopped at Castle Hot Springs ant talked to Mr. Castle. He said he’d heard there were some fuzzy rattlers over on Snowball-in-Hell Mesa.

When we found crotalus furious, it was almost an afterthought. We had located two western diamondbacks. Then Tippy found a speckled rattlesnake in its red phase.

While she tried to flush the red snake out of a bush so we could photograph him, I got so excited that I was careless about where I stepped.

I heard an odd noise and looked down. I was standing in a nest of crotalus furious. Some of them were wriggling out of their pelts. 

I tried to step away, and my left leg went backwards, as it does nowadays. That took it out of the reach of a striking rattlesnake, who hit another snake right in his beard.

The funny thing was, their warning noise was not the buzz of your normal rattler. It sounded more like a cell phone ringing.

I was so rattled that I picked up a snake and tried to answer it. Miss Ellie called out for me to put the snake down, and Tippy used her snake hook to jerk it away from my ear.

Tippy was taking photos, and Ellie was stuffing snake pelts into a pillow case that she had brought along, just in case.

One modest rattler tried to get back into his pelt. He made a backing-up sound: ”Beep……beep…..beep…” 

Most days around here, dullness comes in bunches. But when a day turns exciting, it stays that way.

On the way home, we stopped at a supper club. Walking toward  the restroom to wash up, I won a dance contest.  The band was playing “Shake Rattle and Roll.”

Part Four: Terrace Walls

The third article on Dry Stack Walls provided photos and interpretive text on the identification and construction of walls that can be found at mines and settlements; including heavy walls for mining operations, corrals, retaining walls and foundations. Part Four describes walls built for the purpose of constructing terraces for housing and cemeteries.

Previous articles have focused on dry stack walls that were primarily built for transportation, mining activity and corrals. We now turn to walls that served a much more personal need - the construction of terraces for housing and for cemeteries. The fundamental purpose of a terrace is to provide a flat area in terrain that is not naturally level. I submit that there are no naturally occurring flat areas in the mountainous mining districts of Arizona.

Figure 1, Terrace Wall for Buildings

The criteria I use to classify a terrace are based on two simple, but essential, points: First, there must be an upper retaining wall (whether natural or man-made). Second, a lower wall must also be present. The area between these upper and lower structures is (or was at some past time) essentially ‘manufactured’ flat ground. Figure 1 provides a clear example of a terrace. In this case, the upper wall was cut into the rocky hillside and the lower dry stack wall was constructed using shaped stone. It should be evident that the terrace area was created by providing additional fill soil. This terrace provided space for two houses, as evidenced by the remains of the wood structures in the center of the photo.

Figure 2, Typical Dry Stack Terrace Walls

Figure 2 is possibly the best illustration I have found of a terrace wall structure that provided a ‘nearly perfect’ flat area. The combined height of both walls is nearly five feet (from the bottom of the lower wall to the top of the upper wall). Sedimentation at this site has been effectively eliminated for more than one hundred years, even though the two walls were constructed using irregular (unshaped) native stones. As in Figure 1, fill soil was used to create the flat terrace.

In case you haven’t already noticed, the two walls in Figure 2 and the lower wall in Figure 1 rise a few inches above the level of the soil. Why is this? Take another look at the uphill side of the terrace in Figure 1, where two things become obvious: (1) Steep hillsides, and (2) very thin topsoil. In fact the term ‘topsoil’ is, practically speaking, a euphemism. Persistent exfoliation of granitic rocks in the mountainous areas produces a loose, sandy material that is easily washed downhill by seasonal rains where, ultimately, it is deposited in the creeks, washes and gulches. Consequently, the ’soil’ that you find on the steep hillsides is exceedingly thin and loose. The essential point is that these terrace walls were not only constructed to provide flat areas at a point in historical time, but to also guard against future erosion and sedimentation from the uphill slopes.

Figure 3, Terrace Wall Covered by Foliage

Figure 3 shows a terrace wall that is only visible from a close distance. Two search methods can be used to infer the location of walls of this type. First, the terrace above this wall can only be observed from a distance and at a higher elevation. I found this wall by scanning the terrain from several hundred yards from the west and about three hundred feet above. The terraced area was ‘flat’ and relatively free of vegetation - a definitive indicator of past pioneer activity. Second, notice the line of mesquite and acacia trees that are located on the margin of the wall. These trees have prospered from the soil used to create the terrace. I believe they have also benefited from the reduced rate of runoff (that is, an improved rate of moisture absorption). Whenever you observe a straight line of vegetation in a remote area, you can be reasonably certain that human activity was involved. Naturally straight lines are exceedingly rare!

Figure 4, Cemetery Terrace Wall

Figure 4 shows a short section of terrace wall at a large pioneer cemetery. Close observation of the general slope (from left to right) shows a steady downward incline and it is doubtful there was any intent to create ‘flat’ ground in the upper portion of the cemetery. Instead, this dry stack was probably intended to mitigate erosion. There are two additional terrace walls to the right of this photo that rendered more level ground for graves. This wall faces just a few degrees north of west, so it is exposed to considerable sun light. Notice that these westward-facing rocks have been ‘bleached’ by a century of exposure.

Figure 5, Cemetery Wall and Wood Post

Figure 5 shows the corner of another dry stack cemetery wall. In my experience, at least, I have found very few derelict cemeteries that still have wood posts or other structures (such as grave markers). In this example you can see a post at the upper right that served as part of a fence along the southern margin of the cemetery. The wall in this photo appears to lean into the steep hillside, but it has not been effective in preventing sedimentation. The area between this and a lower terrace wall has seen the deposition of several inches of soil over the decades.

It is usually a straightforward matter to infer the original purpose of a dry stack wall, as the photos in previous articles will attest. Figure 6 shows one of the terrace walls at the site known as the ‘Arrastre Cemetery.’ Although the upper and lower areas now contain twenty-two graves, the walls were actually constructed to provide work and (probably) living space at a Mexican arrastre; located out of view to the right. Historical accounts indicate the arrastre could have been in use by the middle 1880’s, but was abandoned near the end of 1890. The two terrace areas were subsequently used for burials and the arrastre was partially dismantled to provide headstones at some of the graves. The site was cleared of undergrowth and dead tree limbs during a series of restoration projects in 2008. Otherwise, this wall would be barely visible - even from distance shown here.

Figure 6, Terrace Wall at Arrastre Cemetery

This dry stack gives the appearance of having been crudely built, and that is indeed true. Arrastres were known as ‘the poor man’s mill’ and were primarily used to ‘prove’ the value of an ore vein. This wall lacks the craftsmanship and aesthetic qualities evidenced in other walls; possibly because there was no objective beyond the immediate extraction and amalgamation of ore. While the size and weight of these stones have kept the wall in place, the irregular shape of the rocks has allowed sediment to flow over and through the wall in the time since it was constructed.

Notice the surface in the foreground of the photo. It has a reddish cast and is relatively dark. Seasonal rains have steadily washed soil from the hillside onto the terraces. More than a century of undisturbed plant growth has been deposited on the site and mixed into the soil by animals. The ground slope between the upper and lower walls only became apparent after the lower terrace was cleared of undergrowth and debris. In fact, the actual base of the wall is more than twelve inches below the visible surface and there are at least two more courses of rocks. This photo is an example of why careful observation is important. If you believe you have located a terrace (that is, with upper and lower dry stack walls), remember that the purpose was to create a flat area. If you observe a sloping surface, that is an indicator of sedimentation.

It can be challenging and, at times, frustrating to separate what you see ‘today’ from what a site would have looked like more than a century ago. Be patient and do not let your first impression drive your understanding of a pioneer site. There is always more than meets the eye!

What Do These Photos Tell You?

1. Good craftsmanship and thoughtful placement of dry stack walls can produce terraced spaces that will prevent erosion and sedimentation.
2. Low terrace walls are easily masked by plant growth and can be very difficult to locate, particularly if they are above your line of sight. However,
3. If you can gain advantage with elevation, the flat area behind a terrace wall will be more easily revealed.
4. Look for other indicators, such as straight lines of tree growth as an aid to locating dry stack terraces.
5. Sedimentation from slopes and soil deposition from flash flooding may mask the height of many walls.

In Part Five, the final article of this series, we will examine dry stack rock cabins that are found in the mining districts and settlements of pioneer Arizona.