Fort Mojave Indians
People Who Live Along The Water

In First Times, there was chaos. And from the union of Earth and Sky was born the Great Spirit Matavilya.

Before he could teach his people all they needed to know about the world, he was killed by his sister, Frog Woman. It was then that his little brother Mastamho took charge of the world and of the people. There were only people then, no animals, birds or fish. Mastamho had to teach the people everything about living, for they knew nothing, not even that they were hungry, thirsty or cold.

He drove a willow stick into the ground and drew out the waters that became the Colorado River, and with the river came fish and ducks. Mastamho made the mountains on both sides of the river using the mud of its banks. He planted seeds of melon, corn, pumpkin and beans in the overflow, so the people would have food to eat.

He taught them to build fire when they were cold, and a shade from the sun when they were hot. He showed them how to build a house, to know day from night. And after he gave them fingers, he taught them how to count. He taught them about the four directions, about the foods they grew, and he showed them how to make pottery vessels in which they could cook and store the food. He made the animals and insects and birds, and he gave the people the names for all things.

Mastamho gave the people the river and everything along the river. Whatever grew there was theirs, as he said, and they were the Aha Macav, the Mojaves, the people who live along the water.

 

The Original People of the Mojave dessert
A group of Mohave Native Americans, photographed in 1871 during a geographical survey.

Two Mohave braves dressed in loincloths; full- length, standing, western Arizona. Photographed by Timothy O'Sullivan, 1871. American Indian Select List number 136.

 

Barrowed from www.Suite101.com   desertgardens.suite101.com/organic_matter_for_composting

Organic Matter for Composting

No different in the desert

© Robert Dailey  Oct 3, 2007

Materials used for composting are no different for desert compost than they are for areas that are more humid.

There are a number of materials, which can be used for desert garden compost. Almost any organic matter can be used. Remember though that it needs equal amounts of green material (which provides nitrogen) and brown material (carbon).

• Grass clippings (if you don’t have a lawn, check around your neighborhood or area. Someone is bound to have a lawn and probably mows it or has it mowed regularly.) If so, ask them for the clippings. They are high in nitrogen and will help kick-start your compost.
• Leaves (preferably chipped or shredded)
• Pine needles (also chopped or shredded)
• Kitchen refuse (although not cooked foods, meats or dairy products.) Coffee grounds, tea bags (yep, bags, paper tags and all), eggshells, melon rinds, vegetable peelings, leftover lettuce, tomatoes past their time, eggshells and anything that is organic and not going to be used.
• Garden waste. Spent plants from your garden should also be added to the compost. If there are hard or woody parts, shred the plants.
• Manure. Horse, chicken, cow, rabbit, sheep. In fact, if you can obtain any of these raw manures, it is best to compost them instead of incorporating them into the soil immediately.
• Other items: sawdust, hair, newspaper, cardboard, nutshells (particularly pecan and peanut), hay or straw, seaweed. As long as it is organic, it can usually be used. There seems to be some confusion over using newspaper. At one time, people were cautioned not to use newspaper with colored ink (comics, magazine sections, etc.) and there were even concerns over some black inks as well. However, at least in the United States and Canada, newspaper ink, including colored ink, is made from soybeans, and along with the paper it is printed on, is completely biodegradable.

Items not to use

• Meat and dairy products. These will decay, but they have the tendency to draw unwanted animals (raccoons, opossums, skunks and other scavengers). They also exude a terrible smell while decaying.
• Wood ashes. Since desert soil is generally high in alkaline salts, it needs to be sweetened (made more acidic). Wood ashes are also high in alkalines, and therefore would not be appropriate to use in your compost.
• Pet droppings. Pet droppings, along with the droppings of pigs, are not recommended for compost. These may contain pathogens dangerous to humans and will not necessarily be killed by compost heat.
• Human waste. For the same reasons as pet droppings.
• Weeds. Some weed seeds may survive in compost and germinate after you use the compost in your garden. To be safe, don’t put weeds in your compost pile to begin with.
• Twigs and sticks. Although these will compost in time, unless they are chipped or shredded, it will take a long time for that to happen.

INDEX & LINKS:

Weather & Climate
What's killing the Jaoshua Trees?
People: A-muc-ha-ba's (Mojave Indians)
Nature Poster: Bureau of Land Management
Fauna of the Starland Desert
Flora -an extensive list of general desert plants... be prepared to down load nearly 200 pictures on this one HTML page.

We start with the curious Coyote Melon Gourd or Coyote Gourd.

I believe, the ones at Starland are this particular species, the Cucurbita palmata.  Lots of pictures of the Coyote Gourd (Cucurbita palmata): Click Here

This picture and the text just below it was taken from this site: Southern California Wildflowers and Other Plants

Botanical name: Cucurbita palmata
Common name: Coyote melon
  Family: Cucurbitaceae (Gourd)
  Habitat: Dry sandy places below 4000', creosote bush scrub, both deserts, coastal sage scrub, valley grassland
  Blooming period: April to September
  Click for name derivations: 
 1) Cucurbita Cucurbita: Latin name for the gourd (ref. genus Cucurbita)
 2) palmata palmata: lobed like a hand (ref. Cucurbita palmata)

 

An interesting native perennial gourd that grows wild along roadsides and open fields throughout southern California is the coyote melon (Cucurbita foetidissima). It is also called buffalo gourd or calabazilla. The coarse, gray-green foliage gives off a fetid "underarm" odor, hence the specific epithet of "foetidissima" (very fetid). Two related species (C. palmata and C. digitata) grow on the desert side of the mountains, and extend into Arizona and Mexico. The striped, green gourds are fibrous and unpalatable inside, but ground seeds were eaten by native Indians, and the dried gourds were used as rattles in dances. During fall when the melons are ripe and plentiful, the flat, watermelon-like seeds are often found in coyote scat. The coyote melon is well-adapted to dry, sandy soils with an immense, taproot that may extend several feet into the ground. The taproot often sends out many lateral, sprouting branches, and this vine can become an invasive weed in vegetable gardens. Scientists are experimenting with hybrid buffalo gourds as a food crop in the vast Middle East deserts. The seeds are a vital source of protein-rich oil in parched desert lands. The vines can be propagated readily and they resprout each year, thus eliminating the need for buying fresh hybrid seed each year. A similar sprawling, perennial melon along roadsides of Arizona and New Mexico is loco melon (Apodanthera undulata). Like coyote melon it grows from an immense taproot, but unlike coyote melon, its curious gourds have prominent longitudinal ribs. Another interesting "melon de coyote" (Ibervillea sonorae var. peninsularis) is endemic to the Cape Region of Baja California and several of the Gulf Islands. It is a climbing perennial with a large, tuberous taproot and bright red melons which are smaller than Cucurbita. Another species (I. insularis is endemic to the mid-peninsular Pacific coast and some of the adjacent Pacific islands. The Baja California peninsula also has several fascinating gourd species with minute, prickly fruits, including Brandegea bigelovii, Cyclanthera tamnoides, Echinopepon minimus, Sicyos peninsularis and Vaseyanthus brandegei.

Taken from this great site... Welcome to the Home Page of Botanical Word Meanings and Name Derivations and Southern California Wildflowers by Michael L. Charters http://www.calflora.net

Another great site: http://www.calflora.org/ Information on California plants for conservation, research, and education.

Picture below taken from this site: Dept Anthropology Commonly called "coyote ear" because the shape of the leaves resemble the pointed ears of coyote, this plant produces gourds during some seasons which were used for a variety of purposes. These gourds are called "coyote melons".

Click on image to see a bigger picture. This image taken from Michelle, member of Dave's Garden: www.davesgarden.com

"My Painted Coyote Gourds"
Illuminations by Luna

These cone-like structures are the flower stalks of a seldom-seen wildflower called "ground cone" (Boschniakia strobilacea). The small flowers protruding from the purplish scales are proof that these are not pine cones.

Photo from www.desertusa.com
Page: Rational & Irrational . . . Curious Common Names of Wildflowers,
Text & photos by Wayne P. Armstrong

Back to Top

People of the Mojave before Columbus

A-muc-ha-ba's (Mojave Indians)

"Whatever grew there was theirs, as he said, and they were the Aha Macav, the Mojaves, the people who live along the water." I guess this is why they were called the Mojave Indians, from the Phrase "Aha Macav"

Some history taken from this site: The National Park Service
Mojave National Preserve
Jedediah Smith's Journals Across the Mojave
"They call themselves A-muc-ha-ba's (Mojave Indians) and appeared quite friendly bringing me corn beans dried pumpkins which I paid them for in Beads Rings vermillion."

Back to Top

Weather & Climate
Click here for our Current weather

Starland is a four-season retreat and campground. The elevation at Starlight Ridge is 3500ft above sea level.

Here are some general comments about Starland's climate. Note that the weather can change suddenly in the Mojave Desert. Yes, it once snowed in mid-April, one year, and was dry and hot through December, during another year. We suggest calling Starland, for the current weather and climate conditions.

Winter:
Our winters typically begins right after Thanksgiving (late November), and last thru February. Expect windy, chilly, but sunny and mostly dry weather during Winter. Snow falls rarely, but is delightful to see. We recommend bringing warm clothing for outdoor hiking and adventure.

Spring:
The earth at Starland warms up in March, and gradually gets warmer into mid-May. Expect cool nights and warm days. Occasional rain, but the wind diminishes at this time. We recommend jackets, sweats and casual shoes for
outdoors.

Summer:
The heat of the Mojave Desert is felt sometimes gradually, sometimes
suddenly. We open the windows, and turn on the coolers from mid-May
through late September. Wear shorts or less during this time, both day and night. Some guests enjoy sleeping naked outdoors! Expect some cloud cover and "monsoonal rainfall" in July and August.

Fall:
October and November are the most delightful months of the year. The air is typically warm in the days and nights, and it is calm and clear most of the time. Jackets and light clothing recommended for outdoors.

Wildflowers on Our Hillside:
Typically, if the winter brings rainfall and cloudy weather for several days, the flowers on our hillsides benefit greatly. Spring wildflowers appear mid-March through early May. Joshua Trees and other members of the Yucca family, bloom unpredictably. The native cactus blooms throughout summer. Our rosemary bush blooms year-round, as long as there is warm sunlight shining on it!
 

Below, taken form this web site: Arizona Desert Museum

Cucurbitaceae (cucumber family)

Mark A. Dimmitt

The cucurbits, as they are called, number 750 species worldwide; most species are vines. The flowers vary from barely noticeable to large and conspicuous. The fruits range from small and dry to large and tasty; the latter include cucumbers, squash, and melons. Gourds are hard-shelled squash that are used after they dry.

Two genera of bees (Peponapis and Xenoglossa) are tightly associated with this plant family. Squash or gourd bees are more effective pollinators of cucurbits than most other bees. They seem to be holding their own under competition from introduced honeybees (which collect the pollen but are inefficient pollinators of these flowers), probably because squash bees are active earlier in the morning.

Cucurbita digitata

English names: coyote gourd, finger-leafed gourd
Spanish names: calabacilla (little squash), chichicayote, meloncillo (little melon), melón de coyote (coyote melon), calabaza amarga (bitter squash)

Description

The large, underground tuberous root produces several to many herbaceous stems as long as several yards (meters) in the summer. The stems typically lie flat on the open ground; occasionally they climb into surrounding vegetation with their tendrils. The palmately-divided leaves with very narrow lobes are widely spaced on the stems. (Cucurbita palmata is similar but has broader lobes; the 2 species intergrade in the western Sonoran Desert.) Vase-shaped, bright yellow flowers about 2 inches (5.1 cm) across open before dawn, and wilt by late morning. After pollination, female flowers develop 3-inch (7.5 cm) spheroid gourds, green with yellowish stripes when young, and maturing to straw-colored.

Coyote gourd (Cucurbita digitata)

Range

This species occurs from the lowest and driest desert elevations into desert grasslands, from southeastern California to southern New Mexico and into northwestern Sonora.

Notes

The fruit pulp contains toxic and extremely bitter chemicals that humans use to make soap; clothing laundered in it reportedly repels body lice. Humans eat the nutritious seeds which contain up to 35% protein and 50% fat. Coyotes, porcupines, and some other animals can eat the seeds even when tainted by the pulp. Javelina dig up and eat the bitter tuberous roots, which they can sniff out even when there is no vine above ground. People have used the gourds as containers since prehistoric times.

The modifier “coyote” is in the name of a number of Southwestern plants. Most often it identifies wild relatives of domesticated plants. In the mythology of the O’odham and other native cultures, Coyote (a spirit who often appears in the form of the animal of the same name) is, among his other attributes, a trickster and all-around rascal who makes a great deal of mischief. One of the things he does is ruin useful objects by defecating on them. That’s how the world got coyote gourds, coyote tobacco, and coyote passion flower, among others. The actual animal coyote marks its territory by defecating on conspicuous landmarks.

Buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima)

Cucurbita foetidissima (buffalo gourd) is a related species from higher elevations. It has a similar growth habit, but the leaves are large gray-furry triangles and have a rank odor when bruised. The starches from the very large root are edible after processing, and it is being developed as a potential feed crop. The seeds are a potential commercial source of oil.

Coyote gourd has a cool-season counterpart in Marah gilensis. It sprouts in early spring after winter rains and dies back to the huge root by the onset of the dry foresummer. During its brief season it produces a few very large seeds in each of its small, dry prickly fruits. Little else is known about the ecology of this plant.

Tumamoc globe-berry (Tumamoca macdougalii) provided an opportunity for the U.S. Endangered Species Act to work as it was intended. This diminutive plant, with a fist-sized underground tuber and wispy vines that grow and bear small red fruits during the summer rainy season, was thought to be very rare. When a population was discovered in the path of the Central Arizona Project canal during the environmental impact study, the species was quickly listed as Endangered in 1986. The Endangered Species Act funded surveys and ecological studies on the plant over the next several years. The studies revealed the Tumamoc globe-berry to be both common and widespread; it was rarely encountered simply because it’s difficult to see among the shrubs it climbs in, and few people had previously looked for it. The species was delisted in 1993.

Back to Top

Fauna of the Desert Mojave:

*Wind Scorpion A curios harmless little eight legged creature of the arachnid family without a venomous bite, but a piercing bite non-the-less, if provoked... it rarely bites, if ever.
A female wind scorpion (Galeodes sp.), endowed with startling speed, the wind scorpion, also known as the sun spider or camel spider, is equipped with jaws larger in proportion to its body size than almost any other animal on Earth. Though rarely longer than two inches (five centimeters), wind scorpions are capable of easily snapping a grasshopper in half. Some 1,100 species of wind scorpions, known to science as solifugids, inhabit the desert regions of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. More at the National Geographic site: Click Here

Back to Top