all ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: ILLUSTRATED SKETCHES OF DFATH VALLEY Douglas Steeples Mercer University ABSTRACT

ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: ILLUSTRATED SKETCHES OF DFATH VALLEY Dougls Steeples Mercer University ABSTRACT Illustrted Sketches ofdeth Vlley (1891) originted s hstily-written se ries of journlistic sketches of our Western borx deserts. They were writ ten on commission to supplement their uthors income. Conceived s mens subtly to promote the borx industry the Sketches in time won unin tended recognition s dssic source for their subject. They lso ssumed unforeseen importnce s n illustrtion of the role of dvertising in Americ s chnging economy The ide of the West is one of the most prominent nd durble fetures in the lndscpe of the Americn imgintion. Even now, when we re ccustomed to news of progress on the construction of n interntionl spce sttion, spce shuttle lunches, nd mind-boggling new discoveries bout the nture of the remote recesses of the cosmos, it remins vitl. The conditions of urbn, post-industril life hve mde it less compelling thn it ws in n erlier er. Yet it still summons recollections of hopes for fresh strt in New World. It stirs memories ll too often romnticized of frontiersmen courgeously pushing hed nd bringing civiliztion to vst emptiness. Ech genertion of pioneers left its own contribution to our imgined West. So we my consult the records of those who pushed cross the Applchins into the Ohio Vlley nd the Old Southwest. We my journey with Meriwether Lewis, Willim Clrk, nd their Corps of Discovery to the Pcific shore, with Zebulon Pike to the sources of the Mississippi nd the Arknss, with Stephen Long cross the Gret Plins to the pek tht now bers his nme. We my red the journls of bever trppers, Snt F trders, trvelers on the Oregon tril, nd 49rs nd 59rs seeking gold in Cliforni nd the Colordo Rockies. We cn trce the pths of Ltter Dy Sints trekking up the Pltte River Vlley, cross South Pss nd southwestern Wyoming, nd down Emigrtion Cnyon into the vlley of the Gret Slt Lke to estblish their Zion in the wilderness. We cn lso in our minds, if we wish, join thin nd irregulr strem of souls brving fierce hets to trce fint trils in the sering deserts of the Southwest. John Rndolph Spers Illustrted Sketches ofdeth Vlley nd Other Borx Deserts ofthe Pcific Cost stnds squrely in the trdition of these importnt ccounts. This is ironic, for his book ws n unintentionl, even n ccidentl, clssic. Spers did not im, s we shll see, for it to rnk mong his more importnt works. In fct he nd his fmily thought so little of it tht it ws unmentioned in published sketch summriz ing his life s ccomplishments nd in the obituries reporting his deth. Spers ws not himself pioneer, but newspper reporter nd feture writer who redirected his u 195

ESSAYS IN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS HISTORY (2001) thoril efforts shortly fter reching his mid-forties. He wrote Illustrted Sketches friend nd ssocite. He did invittion of interest in, or specil previous knowledge of his subject. He wrote it so t the without ny prior contct with, direct s commissioned ssignment, to ugment his income. The book s purpose ws nothing more nor vehicle for dvertising borx products. How it figured in Spers creer nd in time erned respect thn to serve s Deth Vlley history is s fscinting story less one of the essentil sources for Mojve Desert nd Spers ws born to Richrd Cry nd Louis (Sper) Spers in Vn Wert, Ohio, on April 21,1850. By the time he ws twelve yers old he ws working in the printing office of country newspper. During the Civil Wr yers he quickly mstered ll spects of newspper-mking. In July, 1866, fter the gret conflict between the sttes hd ended, he decided to pursue mritime creer nd entered the United Sttes Nvl Acdemy t Annpolis. Although he rnked within the top third of his clss, he con nvl officer nd resigned fter three yers of study. He fterwrd returned to journlism. cluded tht he ws not destined to be By 1875 Spers ws in Est Auror, New York, editing the Advertiser. Between 1876 nd 1882 he edited the Silver Creek LocL After stint Bufflo Express he mde his most importnt creer move, ccepting on Chrles Adms Dn s New York s reporter on the post s reporter Sun. He remined with the Sun for fifteen yers, erning prise from mnging editor Chester Lord for helping to mke it the gretest newspper ever printed. In ddition to crfting regulr news stories, Spers trveled widely to write specil interest rticles nd series for the pper. His journeys took him to the Tennessee mountins, Arknss, Greenlnd, Deth Vlley, Ptgoni, Mexico, nd Centrl Americ. The most-respected book of his life-time to result from his trvels ws The Gold Digings of Cpe Horn. A Study oflf in Tierr del Fuego nd Ptgoni (1895). In 1898 he bndoned newspper journlism nd turned exclusively to writing rticles for mgzines, nd books. The ltter rnged from t lest one novel to historicl studies of Anthony Wyne nd Dvid Frrgut, the United Sttes Nvy the Mississippi Vlley, the Americn slve trde, the Americn merchnt mrine, nd New Englnd whlers. He lso erned reputtion s n expert on ychting, publish ing extensively on tht subject in periodicls. Spers died in Utic, New York, on Jnury 26,1936, t the ge of eighty-five, fter wife, Celesti (Smiley) nd sons Rymond S. long struggle with hert disese. His Spers survived him. J. R. Spers cme to write bout Deth Vlley through the gency of fellow reporter t the New nown s York nd Eldridge A. 2 friend nd Sun, Stephen Tyng Mther. Mther lter erned re the first Director of the Ntionl Prk Service. Tht, however, ly in the future. For the moment wht mttered ws tht he ws not only member of one of New Englnd s most distinguished fmilies, but the son of industry His fther ws Joseph Wkemn Mther, who hd been key figure in the borx New York commis sion gent for the Cliforni borx industry from its origin in 1856. The elder Mther hd for hlf dozen yers been llied with the dominnt figure in the borx industry Frncis Mrion Borx Smith, first s principl stockholder in the Pcific Borx, Slt 196

ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: DEATH VALLEY nd Sod Compny, formed in 1886. Since its incorportion in 1890 he hd served s vice president of the Pcific Cost Borx Compny. While importnt for his contcts with Estern mrkets nd sources of cpitl, J. W. ws even more so s resourceful mrketer. This ws criticl. Borx output in the country hd burgeoned. Between 1864, when the industry ws in its infncy, nd 1872, yerly production grew from negligible figure to 1,000 short tons. In 1884 it pssed 3,500 tons. By 1891 it ws 6,690 tons. This increse outrn industril demnd, which bsorbed only bout hlf of the constntly growing strem of white crystls. As result, prices concurrendy plum meted, from 50 cents pound to 25 cents, to less thn 10 cents, nd finlly to 7 ½ 3 cents. Fced with this severe price depression, Frnk Smith fshioned strtegies tht plced Pcific Cost Borx mong the firms leding in the contemporry trnsformtion of the ntionl economy. These included concerted efforts to win triff protection for borx products, formtion of crtels to ssign production quots nd stbilize mrkets, nd series of leverged buyouts of competitors to strengthen his dominnt position. For present purposes, shift to industril reserch nd development, to increse de mnd through cretion of new products for mss home consumption, nd dvertising to sell them, were even more pertinent. These mesures gve Smith s compny con spicuous plce in the emergence of consumer economy. J. W. Mther performed crucil role in efforts to crete new consumer mrkets. A born promoter, he dvertised ggressively despite Smith s opposition to the tctic nd qudrupled sles of borx prod ucts for home use within yer of the founding of Pcific Cost Borx. Smith s behv ior countered populr notions of the ctions of monopolists. But mintining profits by incresing sles s prices fell, rther thn by curbing output nd holding prices to rtificilly high levels, fit the ctul norms of monopolistic competition. J. W brought Stephen into the firm shortly fter its orgniztion, initilly s prt-time dviser. Steve promptly conceived novel strtegy to publicize borx s n item for household consumption. He proposed to bndon use of the Smith nme nd trdemrk. His pln ws to highlight the story of the desert temsters who used twentymule tems to hul trins, consisting of two huge, borx-lden freight wgons nd wter wgon, the 166 forbidding miles cross the Mojve Desert from Deth Vlley to Southern Pcific nd Atlntic & Pcific (A. &. R) rilrod connections respectively t Mojve Sttion nd Dggert. These hd been developed nd put into use by Willim Tell Colemn, opertor of the Hrmony Borx Works in Deth Vlley, in the 1 870s. Smith t first resisted, even though he hd gined control of the Colemn properties fter the ltter becme insolvent t the end of the eighties. No, he sid, with chrc teristic immodesty, I cnnot sy I like the ide of the mule tem brnd of borx. My nme nd tht of the compny should be in the foreground. Spers entered the picture. 4 This is where J. R. Accepting Steve Mther s invittion, he trveled to Cliforni nd Nevd to ex plore the borx mines nd collect mteril for series of nineteen stories for the New York Sun. These rn in 1891. They were so populr with the Sun c mss redership tht 197

ESSAYS IN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS HISTORY (2001) they were collected nd published, simultneously in cloth nd pperbound editions, s Illustrted Sketches of Deth Vlley nd Other Borx Deserts of the Pcific Cost the following yer. The Ntion, Jnury; 26, 1893, cknowledged receipt of copy of the book, helping us to fix its dte of ppernce. 5 Its origin s series of newspper fetures nd its design for mss, populr udience ssured tht reviewers for contem porry literry periodicls would ignore it. Only the most creful of reders might hve inferred from Spers finl chpter, CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT BORAX, tht his entire book ws sustined dver tisement. There they could discover tht borx ws preservtive for met nd milk, could be pplied to wounds s n ntiseptic without producing ny corrosive or dn gerous effects, nd is used for vrious kinds of sore throt successfully. It ws key ingredient in tooth powders, cosmetic powders, nd powders to combt cne. It ws employed in mking porcelin, in dyes for printing fbrics, in sops nd clensers, in shmpoos, in fluxes for soldering, nd s fire-proofing mteril in plster nd pint. It ws lso fct, interesting to housekeepers, tht the most effective insect destroyer ws plin powdered borx. There were in ll more thn fifty different uses of borx, but, becuse until within recent yers it ws high-priced drug, insted of chep slt, the knowledge of its uses hs not been widespred mong ordinry people. Fortu ntely, rpidly rising output hd resulted in fll in price to bout 8 cents pound in cr-lod lots, nd the supply is such s to wrrnt the confidence tht it will remin chep commodity in the future. If this lnguge seems hyperbolic, it is, in fct, quite restrined when compred to pnegyrics to borx tht ppered in other promotionl 6 mteril! Nothing succeeds, s the sying goes, like success. Impressed with the populrity of Illustrted Sketches, Smith soon greed to employ n illustrtion of the tems nd wgons, with the Twenty Mule Tem Borx lbel, s the compny trde mrk. Steve Mther joined Pcific Cost Borx full-time on Jnury 1,1893. Menwhile, he ex pnded his promotionl efforts. Besides pying for dvertisements, he pioneered brod rnge of uses of newsppers to stimulte retil sles. He plnted letters purport edly from housewives, extolling borx, in ppers. He trgeted ppers with syndicted fetures bout the purported virtues of borx. He rrnged to hve coupons plced in borx boxes, promising dollr to ny consumer who published letter to n editor bout borx. Other coupons could be sved nd exchnged for chep merchndise. The results of these efforts so impressed Smith tht he becme convert to dvertising. In 1903 twenty-mule tem nd rig ppered t the St. Louis World s Fir for dily exhibition. Not long fterwrd, shopkeepers who ordered twenty-five or more cses of one-pound household pckges of Twenty Mule Tem Borx or other compny prod ucts could rrnge for trveling tem nd rig to visit their plces of business. In short order Twenty Mule Tem Borx becme fmilir cross the United Sttes s multi purpose clenser nd lundry sweetener. 7 Recourse to the twenty mule theme nd the role of Illustrted Sketches of Deth Vlley in tht effort were notble for severl resons. Whether or not Chrles Adms 198

ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: DEATH VALLEY Dn recognized the Sketches for wht they were is not known. He probbly did not. He is credited with hving introduced the humn interest feture to newsppers nd my well hve regrded them s fine exmple of the genre. Dn fervently believed tht dvertising ws wste of vluble spce. He hoped one dy to eliminte it nd let sles support his pper. Given these views, it is ironic tht the series ppered in his Sun. There is more. Dn still fvored the old pre-civil Wr ideology tht regrded ll ginflilly employed working people s bound by hrmony of interests, illustrted Sketches, however, ws prt of new tendency in dvertising to nourish consumer, rther thn producer, mentlity 8 In prticulr, the Sketches re clssic exmple of successful erly ttempt to stimulte consumer brnd loylty Finlly, the Hrmony Borx Works hd cesed opertions in 1888, fter Colemn begn to mine recentlydiscovered ore deposits. These were fr from Deth Vlley. They ly t the hed of Mule Cnyon in the Clico Mountins close to the silver mining cmp of Clico, bout fifteen miles northest of modern Brstow. Two of the tems nd rigs were still in use in 1891, but they now trveled the twenty-two mile round trip between the new center of borx mining, Borte, in the Clicos, nd the A. & P siding t Dggett. Thence ores were shipped to Almed, Cliforni, for refining. In fct, the twenty-mule tems nd rigs were lst used t Clico. The Clico mines fr outstripped the Hrmony Works in importnce. For decde preceding 1907, they ccounted for lmost hlf the output of the world. It did not mtter. A 332-mile round trip from Deth Vlley, despite the crucil role the Clico mines plyed in giving Smith globl preeminence in the indus try, seemed in 1 891 to hold fr greter possibilities for ttrctive story telling thn did the still reltively undeveloped mines t Borte in the Clicos. Even so, in the hnds of hck writer or reporter lcking in intelligence nd scruples, Illustrted Sketches might hve fllen entirely from view. As it ws, the book becme rrity by the mid-twenti eth century. By the 1990s, fine condition, cloth bound copies commnded s much s $500 from collectors of western Americn. 9 Tht Spers volume did not enjoy but brief moment of notoriety nd then dispper entirely from sight ws the result of severl fctors. Hppily, few privte collections, reserch librries, nd the files of the Pcific Cost Borx Compny held copies. Historins of the desert in time discovered nd cme to pprecite them. It ws mster stroke to select Spers for the tsk t hnd. Desert historin Hrold 0. Weight in the 1950s ptly referred to him s Deth Vlley s first trined reporter. Moreover, he ws knowledgeble trveler nd n cute observer. He hd keen er for good story. Even when succumbing to the tempttion to embellish, he held to the idel of ccurcy. Mny of the individuls who hd pioneered the borx industry in the Mojve Desert were still live nd were hppy to shre their recollections with n ble interviewer. A dely of even few yers would hve thinned their rnks pprecibly, resulting in the loss of much first-hnd testimony. Add to these the perfection of technology cpble of printing pssble reproductions of photogrphs, s illustrtions, nd Spers fcility with cmer, nd ll of the ingredients necessry to produce potentil clssic were redily t hnd. Our uthor seized them. Without purposing to 199

when ESSAYS IN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS HISTORY (2001) do so, he dshed off book tht in time won recognition mong devoted bnd of scholrs nd desert history buffs s msterpiece nd n indispensble source for the history of the borx industry nd the Deth Vlley region. Elv Ivn Edwrds ccorded Illustrted Sketches of Deth Vlley one of the longest entries, n entire pge, in his comprehensive nd uthorittive bibliogrphy, The Enduring Desert. Edwrds wrote tht Spers fvored: his reders with n intimte word-picture of Deth Vlley s it ppered in 1891. It will be noted tht his book precedes the [Willim Lewis ]Mnly [Deth Vlley in 49] by two yers. Illustrted Sketches is noted for its erly photogrphs in lmost the sme degree s for its textul content. It is conceivble tht these my be the first pictures ever published ever tken of ttches to them. the Deth Vlley region. Mximum importnce... perhps It [the book] is s dequte nd s dependble commentry on Deth Vlley nd the Mojve Desert tody s it ws in tht dy book; nd it will probbly continue to remin so. Certinly no desert col yers go Spers wrote it. It is Deth Vlley s number two lection even merits the nme without copy of Spers. 2 A turn to the pges of Illustrted Sketches redily shows why it is so importnt volume. Spers drew his reders in t the outset, with prefce entitled A FAIR WARNING. There he wrote briefly of how the book hd come to be, going on to sy, tntlizingly, tht the borx desert region of the Pcific Cost ws lnd of myths nd mirges ; the biding plce of novel rce of Arbs [white Americn denizens of the desert] ; tht it hd originted n entirely unique species of trmp [the prospector] nd more. He hoped tht reders would find these subjects nd others to be interest ing. The opening chpter, THE STORY OF DEATH VALLEY, cst wider net. Spers quite correctly chrcterized the scores of rticles nd even the leding historicl ccount previously published on the subject s imgintive nd unstisfctory The history of Deth Vlley, he continued with disingenuous phrse clculted to entice nd disrm his reders, is found only in trdition. As I gthered it, here it is. 14 The reminder of this, nd the following, sketches set in print much mteril for the first time. They grnted mny tles nrrtive form tht becme, in time, fixed. They lso estblished historicl frmework for considering the evolution of the borx industry. So it is tht on the first pge of the first sketch we red of the extremes of climte, geogrphy, nd geology typiiing Deth Vlley. We continue through rehersl of the wfiil experiences of the 1849 emigrnt prty tht gve Deth Vlley its nme. 5. In ensuing sections we encounter wind-driven, boiling brown dust storms, the desert equivlents of Dkot blizzrds. We meet Aron nd Rosie Winters, who in the 1 880s were eking out living t Ash Medows, the next depression est of Deth Vlley. One evening strnger stopped by their cbin nd the converstion turned to borx. Before 200

ws ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: DEATH VALLEY leving the next morning, the visitor hd explined how one could test minerls for the presence of borx by pouring some chemicls over them nd lighting them fire. A green flme indicted tht borx ws present. Remembering some likely deposits in mrsh close to Furnce Creek, the Winters trveled to Deth Vlley nd collected some of the mteril. After drk Aron poured the chemicls over it nd struck mtch to it. She burns green, Rosie! We re rich, by fmous by repetition in countless lter reports of the incident., sid Aron in n exclmtion mde 16 Eqully fmilir is Spers first-telling of the discovery of bortes t wht cme to be known s Serles Lke, by John G. Serles. Likewise ws his description of the eight-mile wgon tril hcked through jgged slt crystls in Deth Vlley. Fmilir, too, too, his tretment of the origins of the twenty-mule tems, the wgons they huled, nd how the tems nd trins were mnged. One cn scrcely red n ccount of freighting on the desert without finding Spers description of the huge borx wgons: The hind wheel ws seven feet in dimeter, nd its [steel] tire ws eight inches wide nd n inch thick. The forwrd wheel ws five feet in dimeter, with tire like tht on the rer wheel. The hubs were eighteen inches in dimeter by twenty-two inches long. The spokes were mde of split ok, 5½ inches long t the butt, nd four inches wide t the point. The felloes were mde double.... The wide, nd six feet deep. The tred of the wgon wheels wgon beds were sixteen feet long, four feet the width cross the six feet. Ech wgon weighed 7,800 pounds, nd the cost of the lot [often wgons] ws bout $9,000, or $900 ech. Probbly the lrgest wgons ever used, these immense vehicles were completely successful. Ech could contin ten tons of borx, or hlf the cpcity of rilrod 17 freight cr. Illustrted Sketches nticipted subsequent histories with its recpitultion of Dr. John A. Vetch s ccount of his role s discoverer of borx in Americ, in Tehm County; Cliforni, in 1856, nd the expnsion of the industry to Cler Lke nd then to mrshes in Nevd. Mny lter writers followed his led in chrcterizing mrsh borx mining of the minerl ulexite, or cottonbll. This ws formed through precipi ttion nd crystlliztion of minerls in briny desert mrshes. They lso repeted his tretment of the chemicl nd industril processes through which ores becme refined borx. They rehersed his summry history of uses of nd trde in borx since Romn times. In doing so they often emulted him even to the extent of omitting, s he hd, reference to the isoltion, in 1808 by Sir Humphrey Dvy; of boron s one of the chemicl elements. Numbers employed his interpretive frmework. This highlighted the significnce of the development of the ores in the Clico Mountins. Crude bo 8 The rtes there, clled colemnite, differed in chemicl composition from ulexite. beginning of their commercil exploittion mrked turn in the industry from mrsh to deep rock mining phse. They lso told, told gin, nd retold, stories tht figured in Illustrted Sketches. Spers review of the short nd violent lives of bndoned desert nd djcent moun 201

ESSAYS IN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS HISTORY (2001) tm mining cmps such s Columbus, Belleville, nd Pnmint helped fmilirize sto ries of ghost towns s genre. His brief of the rrivl of Frncis Mrion Smith in Nevd, Smith s creer s wood huler, nd his discovery nd development of borx t Teel s Mrsh in Esmerld County is the model for ll lter considertions. So, too, is Spers discussion of the chemicl processing nd the milling of ores. No Mojve Desert history worthy of the nme omits the story of swmper s brutl murder of temster in Dggett, by smshing in his skull with wgon spoke, nd the subsequent hnging of the culprit from conveniently nerby telephone pole. Likewise, the rob bery of the pyroll of Clico s Run Over Mine by Hrry Dodson in 1889, nd the trcking nd shooting of the fugitive by Tecop John nd mine superintendent Jmes W. Ptterson (136-137) hve become stples of regionl history Even the finl sketch with its obvious promotionl purposes hs set pttern. No tretment of the develop ment of the borx industry is complete without some reference to, nd preferbly some quottion from, erly promotionl mteril such s Spers wrote. None of the foregoing is intended to imply tht Spers ws not mn of his times, nor tht his book ws free of flws. The story of the nming of Deth Vlley tht he retold hs since been discredited. The ntive inhbitnts of the region were not Piutes, but Tumbish Shoshone. He hd to use vilble, inccurte estimtes of the height of Telescope Pek, nd of the depth of Deth Vlley, which we now know to be 11,049 nd -282 feet. 19 Some reders tody might find his references to Euro-Americn deni zens of the desert s Arbs disprging. His references to Indin squws nd bucks, colorful nd even droll to his contemporries, offend the sensibilities of reders t the end of the twentieth century We hve referred bove to his omission of the discovery of boron nd of the importnce of twenty mule teming t the Clico mines yers fter the Hrmony works hd cesed opertions. We cn dd tht his is unlike mny first hnd ccounts in tht he rrely discloses his own emotions directly. This defect, if defect it be, must be tempered by recognition tht he conveys them s skilled reporter would by creful crfting of the story line nd choice of words to crete emotionl effect through the medium of nrrtive itself Tken ltogether, the qulities of Illus trted Sketches re such tht if it gins wide redership it will become, through its cpcities to muse, inform, nd instruct, populr s well s specilists clssic. The Pcific Cost Borx Compny in 1907 closed its mines in the Clico Moun tins, their ores exhusted. Frnk Smith hd prepred for this eventulity Alredy, his firm hd completed rilrod to connect new mine ner Deth Vlley with the Atlntic & Pcific. When ore extrction shifted to the Lil C. Mine, in 1907, the mbitiously-nmed Tonoph & Tidewter Rilrod ws redy to hndle its trffic. Workingmen dismntled Borte, in the Clicos, slvging s mny building mterils s possible. Smith s mountin-top house ws moved to Ludlow, where the T. & T R. R. connected with the A. & 1, fr out in the desert. 2 Rils nd ties for the Dggett & Borte Ril Rod, which hd replced the lst twenty mule tems nd rigs in 1898, were tken up for reuse. The clcining mill erected t site clled Mrion, t the estern end of Clico Dry Lke, met the sme fte. When ores plyed out t the Lil C. 202

ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: DEATH VALLEY nd then other new mines in the vicinity; production left the Deth Vlley region for the lst time. Its center moved to the immense deposits of bortes djcent to the 21 present site of Edwrds Air Force Bse, t Krmer (now Boron). If the borx compny hd pursued customry prctice, it would hve disssembled fcilities t Deth Vlley for use t some other loction. These were extensive. One of the most importnt ws the Deth Vlley Rilrod. This line, completed in 1914, provided crucil new link. It rn twenty miles from the Ryn brnch (connecting with the Lil C. Mine) of the T. & T. ner Deth Vlley Junction to more recently opened mines in the Greenwter Mountins. 22 Ryn hrbored employees dormitories. At the Junction there ws smll civic center. In Deth Vlley proper ly the Greenlnd Rnch, n emerld osis gleming in the sering desert sun. Mny yers erlier, it hd furnished rest, provisions, nd fodder for hrvesters of cottonbll, nd their tems. A crew there still mintined pstures, fields, nd orchrds. When it shifted mining to Krmer, Pcific Cost Borx did not bndon Deth Vlley. It hung on to the rnch. It left scores of old tunnel entrnces pocking hill nd mountin sides, heps of tilings, nd the foundtions of dismntled buildings. But it left mny structures intct, lending, in time, n spect of romntic decy to the scene. It did not remove the rilrod. The mines no longer disgorged ores, but the mnge ment of the compny hd new plns for Deth Vlley. It ws to generte fresh profits s tourist center. Conversion from mining to tourism proceeded swiftly. The Greenlnd Rnch pssed through trnsformtion to become the Furnce Creek Rnch. Nerby, tems of rtisns constructed the Furnce Creek Inn nd Resort. The civic center t Deth Vlley Junction ws reincrnted s the Amrgos Hotel. The dormitories t Ryn, remodeled, becme the Deth Vlley View Hotel. Built to trnsport mining supplies nd ores, the T. & T. R. R. now huled tourists to enjoy the weirdly beutiful scenery; ply golf, swim, nd rusticte luxuriously. Reloction to the Inn of one of the old twenty mule tem rigs dded to the ppel, reinforcing memories of the ssocition of the vlley with borx mining nd life on the mencing tril over which wgons hd long go lumbered. The cretion of Deth Vlley Ntionl Monument, in 1933, with 23 the energetic promotion of Pcific Cost Borx, mplified these recollections. The process of fixing the imge of the borx industry tht hd first won wide currency through n dvertising cmpign in the 1890s culminted between the 1930s nd the 1980s. Two min currents were evident. One ws the rediscovery of Spers by historins nd others who wrote bout the Mojve Desert nd Deth Vlley. Hrold 0. Weight s Twenty Mule Thm Dys in Deth Vlley (1955) ws n importnt exmple of such work. Also of note ws Russ Ledbrnd, A Guide to the Mojve Desert of Clfbrni (1966). Other memorble titles include George Herbert Hildebrnd, Borx Pioneer: Frncis Mrion Smith (1982) nd Normn J. Trvis nd E. J. Cocks, The Tincl Thil: A History ofborx (1984).24 Activities of the Pcific Cost Borx /United Sttes Borx nd Chemicl Compny propelled the second current. True to form, the compny continued to exploit the now 203

ESSAYS IN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS HISTORY (2001) fmilir twenty mule theme. It rrnged for publiction in 1951 of The Stoy ofpcific Cost Borx Compny. This brief corporte history lso depended in prt on the work of Spers, lending it heightened prominence. The flncl Tril, mentioned immeditely bove, lso enjoyed support from the compny nd mde importnt use of Spers book. Vstly more influentil in fixing populr conceptions of the ssocitions linking Deth Vlley, twenty mule rigs, nd borx were the hundreds of episodes on rdio nd television t lest 558, the series under vrious titles of Deth Vlley Dys. These were comprbly importnt in reinforcing consumer product identifiction. Mny of the tles recounted in Deth Vlley Dys resonted with mterils from or inspired by Illustrted Sketches ofdeth Vllejt Stories first published in 1891 s centrl feture of n dvertising cmpign cme to light gin, with other, similr stores, in nother, similr dvertising cmpign. The medium hd chnged, from print to rdio, nd then to television. The messge ws the sme. 25 We hd, in sense, come full circle. In doing so we encountered gin John Rndolph Spers nd the enduring legcy tht he left with his ccidentl clssic. We continue to do so whenever we explore the origins of our borx industry nd its singulr roots in the desert Southwest nd Deth Vlley. It is n intriguing footnote to this fscinting story tht strring role in Deth Vlley Dys might lso hve contributed to growing public recognition tht helped in time to propel Ronld Regn to the governorship of Cliforni nd the presidency of the United Sttes. Notes 1. Clssic symbol include Henry Nsh Smith, Virgin Lnth TheAmericn West s Symbol ndmyth (New York: Vintge Books, The Myth ofthe Wist: Americ s the Lst Empire. by Herbert H. Rowen Rpids: Willim B. See lso Richrd White, 7t1 YourMisJisrtune ndnone ofmy Own A History oftheamericn Writ Press, 2. Also see Utic Disptch, The Ntionl Cyclopedi ofameri cn Biogrphy York: nvl Beverly Lyll, Archives Technicin, NimirzLibrry United Sttes Nvl Acdemy, to 26 April, 1999. Sun, E. Steele, The (Syrcuse: Syrcuse University Press, Books: The Slszve Trde: An Account ofits Origin, Growth, Suppression Scribner s Sons, 1903); OW-time Silor ofthe Se 1922); The Compny, 1995). Americn tretments of the West Trnslted (Normn: University of Oklhom 1957) nd Jn Willem Schulte Nordholt, 1991). Quottion from obitury in New York 7lmes, (Grnd Jnury 26,1936. Jnury 25,1936; biogrphicl sketch, SPEARS, John Rndolph, (New cdemy record, personl letter For the (New York: 1900); Anthony Wyne, Sometimes Clled MdAnthony (New York: D. Appleton nd Compny, Jnet tin Nthniel Brown Plmei Jmes t White & Compny, 1899), 9:162; An Sun ShinesJbrAll nd Erdmns Publishing [New Yorki Observer- the uthor, Chrles 1993). (New York: The Mcmilln Compny, Corbin Gme Prk (Wshington: Smithsonin Institution Annul Report, 1891); DvidFrrgsst G. W. Jcobs & Compny, 1905); Chrles Origin (NewYork: Chrles Cp (Phildelphi: (New The Fugitive:A Tle ofadventure in the Dys ofclsppershsps nd S/vers York: Scribner s Sons, The History its to the Present Dy, Scribner s Sons, sippi Vlley From its Discovery to the End offoreign Domintion (New York: A. S. Scribner s Sons, the WBr With Scribner s Sons, The Missing Ships Stories ofthe Se ofthe Scribner s Sons, The Story ofthe Americn Merchnt Mrine (New York: The Mcmilln Compny, 1910); The Story ofthenewenglndwhlers (New York: The Mcmilln Com pny, United Sttes Nvy (New York: Compny, 1912); Our Nvy in Americn Nvy 1908). nd Other 1899); Chrles (New York: Chrles ofour Nvyfrom 1775-1897 1897-1899); in collbortion witharthur H. Clsrk,A History ofthemissis Clrk, 1903); A History ofthe 1908); Mster Mriners (New York: Spin (New York: Chrles 1898); (New York: The Mcmilln Compny, 1897); A 1907); Henry Holt nd Short History Port of 204

ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: DEATH VALLEY 3. United Sttes Geologicl Survey, Minerl Resources ofthe United Sttes, 1915, Prt II, Nonmetls, (Wshington: Government Printing Office, 1917), 1,017; Dougls Steeples, Tresurefrom the Pinted Hills: A History ofclico, Cliforni, 1882-1907 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999), 50-52. 4. Quottion, Normn J. Trvis nd E. J. Cocks, The Tincl Tril:A History ofborx (London: Hrrp Limited, 1984), 45. 5. Books oftheweek, The Ntion, 56 (Jnury26,1893), 73. 6. See, for exmple, Borx Producers of the Pcific Cost, Borx Products ofthe Pcific Cost: Fcts nd Figures Regrding Borx (N. R, September 1,1893); nd Trvis nd Cocks, 7i ncl Tril, pssim. All quottions re from John Rndolph Spers, illustrted Sketches ofdeth Vlley nd Other Borx Deserts ofthe Pc/1c Cost (Chicgo: Rnd, McNlly Compny, 1892), 224, 226. 7. For bckground, Trvis nd Cocks, Tincl Tril; Normn J. Trvis nd Crl L. Rndolph, United Sttes Borx nd Chemicl Corportion: The First Hundred Yers (New York: The Newcomen Society in North Americ, 1973). The use ofcoupons generlly redeemble for inferior goods even injected new definition into the Americn lnguge, borx, mening chep merchndise. 8. Steele, The Sun ShinesfrrAll, nd _, The 19 th Century Worldversus the Sun: Promoting Consump tion (Rther thn the Working Mn),Journlism Qurter&, 67 (Autumn, 1990), 592-600; Stewrt Ewen, Cp tins ofconsciousness: Advertising nd the Socil Roots ofconsumer Culture (New York: McGrw-Hill, 1976); Thoms S. Cochrn, Medi s Business:ABriefHistory JournlofCommuniction, 25 (Autumn, 1975), 155-165; Chrles J. Rosebult, When Dn ws the Sun (New York: R. M. McBride nd Co., 1931); nd Dniel Boorstin, TheAmericns: The Democrtic Experience (New York: Vintge Books, 1973), 136-150. 9. By 1999, used book delers were sking tsp to $500 for fine-condition cloth bound copies of Illussrted Sketches. 10. Quottion concerning Weight, Elv Ivn Edwrds, The EnduringDesert:A Descriptive Bibliogrphy (Los Angeles: The Wrd Ritchie Press, 1969), 227. 11. Willim Lewis Mnly, Deth Vlley in 49 (Sn Jose: Pcific Tree & Vine Co., 1894); uthorittive version, edited by Milo Milton Quife (Chicgo: The Lkeside Press, R. R. Donnelly & Sons Compny, 1927). 12. Edwrds, Enduring Desert, quoted 227. 13. Spers, Illustrted Sketches, 7. 14. Ibid., 15. 15. Ibid., 16. 16. Ibid., 59. 17. Ibid., 89. 18. Nmed for Germn chemist Georg Ulex, who first determined its chemicl composition, ulexite ws sodium clcium pentborte octhydrte (NCB6O9.8H20). The Clico deposits were designted cole mnite for Willim T. Colemn, who bought them up shortly fter their discovery Much more difficult to refine thn ulexite, colemnite ws clcium hexborte penthydrste (C2B6O1 1.5H20). SeeJohnA. Vetch, Report of to the Borx Compny ofclifrrni (Sn Frncisco: Whitten, Towne & Co., 1857);, Discovery ofborx in Cliforni, in J. Ross Browne, Ed., Report ofthe Minerl Resources ofthe Sttes nd Thrritories West ofthe Rocky Mountins (Wshington: Government Printing Office, 1867), 179-187; Steeples, Tresure from the Pinted Hills, 35-63. 19. For summry, Richrd E. Lingenfelter, Deth Vlley d The Amrgos: Lnd oflllusions (Berkeley: University of Cliforni Press, 1986), 3-6, 473-474; United Sttes Geologicl Survey, Bennetti W ell, Furnce Creek, nd Thlescope Pek Qudrngles, 15 Minute Series (Wshington: Government Printing Office, 1951). For the Shoshone, Dvid H. Thoms, Lornn S. A. Pendleton, nd Stephen C. Cppnri, Western Shoshone [Ethnology), in Wrren Dc. Avezedo, Hndbook ofnorth Americn Indins 11: Gret Bsin (Wshington: Smithsonin Institution, 1986(, 264-283; Lingengelter, Deth Vlley ó TheAmrgos, 11. 20. For erly Mojve Desert history, nd Borte, see: Clifford Wlker, Life nd Adventure Along the Mojve River Tril, Sn Bernrdino Vlley Museum Assocition Qurterly, 44 (Fll, 1967), 1-31; Robert E. Reynolds, A Wlk Through Borte, ibid. [New Series) 44 (Winter, 1997), 107; Gordon Chsppell, The Mining Cmp of Borste nd the Borte & Dsggetr Rilrod 1890-1907: An Interlude in the Borte Mining of the Deth Vlley Region, Proceedings Fourth Deth Vlley Confirenceon History nd Prehistoiy (Deth Vlley, CA: Deth Vlley Nturl HistoryAssocition, 1995) 114-144. 21. Trvis nd Cocks, E[incl Tril, nd Anonymous [Ruth Woodnin nd Aim Rosenerl, The Story ofthe 205

ESSAYS IN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS HISTORY (2001) Pcific CostBorx Compny: Division ofborx Consolidte Limited (N. Ii: Borx Consolidted, Limited, 1951), summrize generl opertions. 22. For the rilrod see Gordon Chpell, By Ril to the Rim of Deth Vlley: Construction of the Deth Vlley Rilrod, Journlofthe Wig, 31 (Jnury, 1992), 10-20. 23. Ofprticulr interest is H[rrison]. P[reston]. Gower Fifty Yirs in Deth Vlley: Memories of Borx Mn (N. P [Sn Bernrdino?]: Published by the Deth Vlley 49rs, 1969), 10-11,26-27, 107-109, nd pssim. 24. Hrold 0. Weight, Twenty Mule Thm Dys in Deth Vlley (Twenty-Nine Plms: The Clico Press, 1955); Russ Ledbrnd, A Guidebook to the Mojve Desert ofcliforni (Los Angeles: The Wrd Ritchie Press, 1966); George Herbert Hildebrnd, Borx Pioneer: Frncis Mrion Smith (Sn Diego: Howell-North Books, 1982); Trvis nd Cocks, lincl Thil. 25. [Woodmn nd Rosener], The Story ofthe Pcific CostBorx Compny; Ruth C. Woodmn, The History of the Pcific Cost Borx Compny (unpublished mnuscript, 1969, in Ruth Woodmn Ppers, Deprtment of Specil Collections, Librry, University of Oregon. Also Ruth C. Woodmn, Hrold E. Noble, Homer McCoy, John K. Butler, Robert S. Smuels, Joe Tiffenbch, Dorrell McGown, Els K. Jensen, Deth Vlley Dys [series title vries, 1930-1975]. Syndicted series, produced 1951-1975, 558 episodes, relesed in fll, 1951; North Hollywood, Filmster Productions, 1959-1975. Also in Ruth Woodmn Ppers, Specil Collections, Librry, University of Oregon. Home consumption oftwenty Mule Tem Borx lost reltive importnce during nd fter the turn from cloth to disposble pper dipers, which required neither sweetening nor lundering, plyed 1 960s. A Menwhile, industril pplictions of boron compounds expnded. Populr recollections ssociting twenty mule tems nd Deth Vlley with borx, indeed populr wreness of borx, fded priorities. s role. dvertising pursued new References Boorstin, Dniel. TheAmericns: The Democrtic Experience. New Yorlc Vintge Books, 1965. Borx Producers of the Pcific Cost, Borx Products ofthe Pcific Cost: Fcts nd F;ures Regrding Borx. N.R: 1893. Chppell, Gordon. The Mining Cmp of Borte nd the Borte & Dggett Rilrod 1890-1907: An Interlude in the Borte Mining of the Deth Vlley Region. Proceedings Fourth Deth Vlley Conflrence on History &Prehistory(1995), 114-144.. By Ril to the Rim ofdeth Vlley: Construction of the Den Vlley Rilrod. Journlofthe Wist, 31 (Jnury 1992), 10-20. Vlley. To Deth Vlley By Ril: A Brief History of the Deth Vlley Rilrod. Proceedings Third Deth Conference on History tkprehistory (1992), 89-131. Cochrn, Thoms. Medi s Business: A Brief History. Journl of Communiction, 25 (Autumn, 1975), 155-165. Edwrds, Elv Ivn. The Enduring Deserts A Descrxptiue Bibliogrphy. Los Angeles: The Wrd Ritchie Press, 1969. Ewen, Stewrt. Cptins of Consciousness: Advertising nd the Socil Roots of Consumer Culture. New York: McGrw-Hill, 1976. 1969. 1982. 1966. ni Press, 1986. Gower, Hrry Preston. Fifty Yers in Deth Vlley: Memories of Borx Mn. Np. Deth Vlley 49rs, Hildebrnd, George Herbert. Borx Pioneer: Frncis Mrion Smith. Sn Diego: Howell-North Books, Ledbrnd, Russ. A Guidebook Lingenfelter, Richrd E. Deth Vlley Mnly Willim Lewis. Deth Vlley Donnelly & Sons Compny, 1927. New York to Times, Jnury 26,1936. Reynolds, Robert E. themojvedeserrofclforni. Los Angeles: The Wrd Ritchie Press, in drtheasnrgos: Lnd ofillusions. BerkeleT University of Clifor 49. Ed. Milo Milton Quife. Chicgo: The Lkeside Press, R. R A Wlk Through Borte. Sn Bernrdino Vlley Museum Assocition Qurterl:y, 206

ADVERTISING AND AN ACCIDENTAL CLASSIC: DEATH VALLEY New Series, 46 (Winter, 1999), 3-3 1. Smirherm, Willim H. Memories of Old Borte. Sn Bernrdino Vlley Museum Assocition Qur terly. New Series, 44 (Winter, 1997), 1-7. Spers, John Rndolph. Illustrted Sketches ofdeth Vlley nd Other Borx Deserts oft/se Pcific Cost. Chicgo: Rnd McNlly Compny, 1892. Sreele, Jnet F., The 19 Century World versus the Sun: Promoting Consumption (Rther thn the Working Mn). Journlirm Qurterly, 67 (Autumn, 1990), 592-600. Steeples, Dougls. Tresurefrom the Pinted Hills:A History ofclico, Cliflirni, 1882-1907 Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Trvis, NormnJ. nde.j. Cocks,. The TinclTril:A History ofborr. :London: Hrrp Limited, 1984. United Sttes Geologicl Survey. Minerl Resources ofthe United Sttes, 1915. Prt IL Nonmetls. Wshington: Government Printing OffIce, 1915. Bennett s Vt Government Printing Office, 1951. Utic (New York) Observer-Disptch, Jnury 25,1936. Vetch, John A. Report ofjohn A. 1 -cch to the Borx Compny ofcliforni. Sn Frncisco: Whitten, Towne&Co., 1857. Weight, Hrold 0. Twenty Mule Thm Dys in Deth Vlley. Twenty-Nine Plms, CA: The Clico Press, 1955. Woodmn, Ruth C. et L Deth Vlley Dys [Series title vries, 1930-19751. 558 scripts, North Hollywood, CA: Filmster Productions, 1959-1975, nd in Ruth Woodmn Ppers, Deprtment of Specil Collections, Librry University of Oregon. The History of the Pcific Cost Borx Compny. Unpublished mnuscript, 1969 in Ruth Woodmn Ppers, Deprtment of Specil Collections, Librry, University of Oregon. nd Ann Rosener, The Story ofthe Pcflc Cost Borx Compny: Division ofborx Consolidted, Limited, Np.: Borx Consolidted, Limited, 1951. 7ell, Furnce Creek, nd Thlescope Pek Qudrngles. 15 Minute Series. Wshington: 207