Imperial (223 page)

171. Imperial Reprise (1975-2005)

Epigraph: “The man of the land . . .”—
California Farmer
, April 5, 1975, advertising insert from Dow Chemical, unnumbered page before p. 29.

PART TWELVE

DEFINITIONS

173. Where Does Los Angeles End? (1834 -2005)

Epigraph: “The uncertain air that magnified some things and blotted out others . . .”—Steinbeck,
Novels 1942-52
, p. 244 (
The Pearl
, 1945).

L.A. in 1834—Dana, p. 118.

L.A. in 1873—McPherson, p. 33.

The female ex-Angeleno—Micheline Marcom.

174. Mexicans and Americans (1901-2007)

Epigraph: “
Gringo,
in its literal signification . . .”—Bell, p. 49.

Chung Lee, Richard Kim, Walter Park, the bookkeeper-accountant—Smith, pp. 84, 87-89, 145-46, 148-49, 129. (The bookkeeper-acccountant was Katie Miller.)

The zoot-suiter with hatred—Smith, pp. 3-4 (Rudy Salas, Sr.).

“I think I’ve considered myself Chicano . . .”—Marilyn P. Davis, p. 293 (Victor Orozco Ochoa).

“Chicanos are traitors . . .”—Matthiessen, p. xiii.

Stella Mendoza—Interviewed at her home in Brawley, 2003.

“Calculating, cold-hearted materialism of the Caucasian Other”—Pike, p. 45. How would a real estate developer put it? Just as smoke trees prefer sandy washes while palm trees prefer canyons or springs, Northsiders (my clients) want property to invest in while Southsiders want a place to live. That’s not to say that Mexicans won’t go for the money when they can, but south of the line there is less money to go for.

“The men are thriftless, proud, extravagant . . .”—Dana, pp. 214-15. He continues (p. 96): “From this upper class, they go down by regular shades, growing more and more dark and muddy, until you come to the pure Indian, who runs about with nothing on him but a small piece of cloth . . .”

“In person, the Californian
caballero
is generally tall and graceful . . .”—Ryan, vol. I, pp. 98-99.

Lupe Vásquez—Interviews of 2004, in a bus in Mexicali, and 2003, in Calexico.

“All those guys who lied . . .”—Taibo, p. 36.

The government worker in Colonia Santo Niño—Interviewed in February 2004. Terrie Petree interpreted. This man also said of Northside: “It’s cleaner there; the laws are better. I was in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Lemon Grove. I have a visa. I was up north somewhere by Salinas, twenty miles from Delano, just there. It’s more organized and there’s more money.”

“The border may indeed be unfortified . . .”—Ruben Salazar, p. 239.

“Malinche has always been venerated . . .”—Lanyon, pp. 98-99.

Footnote: The engraving of Malinche et al.—Meyer et al., p. 99.

Josefina Cruz Bermúdez, Tecate—Interviewed in 2003. Terrie Petree interpreted.

No all-inclusive phrase on Southwest Mexicans—UC Berkeley. Bancroft Library. Paul S. Taylor papers. Carton 5. Folder 5:41: “Perspectives on Mexican-Americans, Final Draft w/Footnotes, 1973.” Typescript, “Perspectives on Mexican-Americans,” p. 9.

Footnote: Description of
aztlán—
Carrasco and Moctezuma, pp. 179-95.

“Study for head of an Aztec migrant”—Orozco autobiography, gouache, first exhibited 1961-62.

PART THIRTEEN

INSCRIPTIONS

175. Still a Mystery (2003)

Epigraph: “Names Appearing in Black Letters . . .”—Imperial Valley Directory (1930), p. 24.

Wednesday’s newspaper, p. 1: “Judge orders full water allotment” and “Terror Alert ORANGE”—
Imperial Valley Press
, vol. 102, no. 243, Wednesday, March 19, 2003.

Wednesday’s newspaper, p. A2: “Holtville readies for Schwingfest,” “Man pleads guilty . . .” and “Identity of dead man . . .”—Same issue. The latter article was by Matthew A. Salorio, staff writer.

Thursday’s newspaper, pp. 1-A2: “U.S. invasion of Iraq begins” and “Filth an ongoing problem . . .”—Ibid., vol. 102, no. 244, Thursday, March 20, 2003.

Incident of the dead bird on Tuesday—
Imperial Valley Weekly
, vol. 98, no. 13 (Thursday, March 27, 2003), “Police Briefs” section, p. 7 (“City of Imperial: Tuesday, March 18: It Happens”).

Friday’s newspaper, “Liberation of Iraq” section, p. 1, quote from the President; p. A2, “Identity of El Centro asparagus thief sought”—
Imperial Valley Press
, vol. 102, no. 245, Friday, March 21, 2003.

Sunday’s newspaper, p. A1, “Halfway to Baghdad . . .”; p. A3, “Broccoli cartons . . .”—Ibid., vol. 102, no. 247, Sunday, March 23, 2003.

“Body found in mountainous area”—Ibid., vol. 103, no. 30, Friday, June 13, 2003, p. A2 (staff report). The Salton Sea item appears on “Sports” section, p. B1 (Al Kalin, “Outdoors Report: Poor fishing continues at Salton Sea”). “Fishing success is nonexistent on the Salton Sea as south winds continue to create more algae blooms that rob the water of oxygen and keep the fish from biting.”

Footnote: Sweeney Pass accident—
Borrego Sun
, vol. 52, no. 12, June 5, 2003, p. 4.

Monday’s newspaper, p. A1, “ ‘Dramatic’ progress . . .” and “Iraqi resistance . . .”; p. A7, asparagus news from the “Trading on the Floor” column—
Imperial Valley Press
, vol. 102, no. 246, Monday, March 24, 2003.

Tuesday’s newspaper, p. A1, “Written order on IID suit . . . ,” “Sandstorms thwart air missions . . .” and “Border Patrol reports fewer apprehensions”; p. A10, deaths of illegal aliens in Texas (“Five immigrants die in field fire”)—Ibid., vol. 102, no. 247, Monday, March 25, 2003.

Thursday’s newspaper, p. A1, “U.S. vows to intensify attacks” and “Guards posted at IID dam . . .”; same page, Michael A. Salorio, “One dead . . .”—Ibid., vol. 102, no. 249, Thursday, March 27, 2003.

The death of Señor Dolores Martínez—Gostin, pp. 538-39 (records #1011-12).

Figure for 1853 of one violent death a day in Los Angeles—Bell, p. 13.

Great events of 14 May 1914—
Imperial Valley Press
, vol. XIV, no. 7, Friday, May 8, 1914, p. 4.

Testimony of Mr. Rose—Senate Committee on the Colorado River Basin (1924), p. 264.

“ADMIT CORPSE AND CASKET FREE ...”—N.A.R.A.L. Record Group 36. Records of the U.S. Customs Service. Calexico Customs Office. Incoming Official Correspondence (9L-60). October 15, 1902-March 23, 1916. Box No. 3 of 5: November 1913 to July 1914. Folder: “Nov. 15, 1913-Feb. 11, 1914.” Western Union telegram, to Deputy Collector Customs, Calexico Cal. From Cretcher, Deputy Collector. 1:30 PM. Undated but prob. about 2 January 1913.

176. The Line Itself (2003 -2006)

Epigraph: “Yet across the gulf of space . . .”—Wells,
The War of the Worlds
, p. 8.

“Our primary mission . . .”—See below, “mission statement of Border Patrol Agent Michael McClafferty.”

Treasury Department: “The general belief that opium in powdered form ...”—N.A.R.A.L. Record Group 36. Records of the U.S. Customs Service. Calexico Customs Office. Incoming Official Correspondence (91-60). October 15, 1902-March 23, 1916. Box 4 of 5: July 1914-June 1915. Bound volume labeled “Letters.” Letter from James W. Bevans, Acting Chief, Div. of Customs, Treasury Department, Washington, to the Collector of Customs, Los Angeles, California, March 1, 1915.

“The southern border is literally under siege . . .”—
New York Times
, national ed., Monday, March 14, 2005, p. A16 (Eric Lipton, “Despite New Efforts Along Arizona Border, ‘Serious Problems’ Remain”).

“Hundreds of thousands of years of genetic weeding-out . . .”—Harrison, p. 16.

“ ‘Praise Perimeter!’ she breathed . . .”—Ibid., p. 60.

Description of the red-eyed Aztec sculpture—After a photograph in Carrasco and Moctezuma, p. 55.

Mission statement of Border Patrol Agent Michael McClafferty: “We’re going to send a robot down” and “The investigation was not in response . . .”—
San Diego Union-Tribune
, February 26, 2005, no page number available (Onell R. Soto, staff writer, “Tunnel between Mexicali, Calexico discovered”).

“Tunnel to U.S. starts inside Mexican home”—Ibid., February 28, 2005, no page number available (Sandra Dibble, staff writer, headline as given).

“U.S. officials seize house at end of border tunnel” and “several altars . . .”—Ibid., March 2, 2005, p. B4 (Onell R. Soto and Sandra Dibble, staff writers, headline as given).

Kay Brockman Bishop—Interviewed on her ranch near Calexico, 2006.

Poem about Juan Soldado—Torre and Wiegers, p. 623 (Heriberto Yépez, “On Coahuila Street,” 2000; translated by Mark Weiss; “retranslated” here and there by WTV).

Footnote on “The Grave” and “Hell”—Bull, p. 35.

Footnote: Israel’s wall—
Berlin Journal: A Magazine from the American Academy in Berlin
, no. 9, fall 2004, p. 19 (Roger Cohen, “Israel’s Wall”).

Footnote: Arrillaga’s view of the Mexicali Valley [from the Sierra Juárez)—Op. cit., p. 65 (21 September 1796).

Rosa Pérez—Interviewed December 2006. Terrie Petree interpreted.

Area of the Mexicali Valley: 3,000 sq. km.—Whitehead et al., p. 307 (Eduardo Paredes Arellano, Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulicos, Mexicali, “Water, the Most Important Natural Resource for the State of Baja California, Mexico”).

Francisco Manuel Preciado Martínez—Interviewed in a restaurant in San Luis Río Colorado, December 2006. Terrie Petree interpreted.

177. Subdelineations: Marsscapes (2004)

Epigraph: “Could the gray-green areas in an otherwise reddish disk . . .”—
Astronomy
, vol. 31, no. 8 (August 2003), p. 20 (Glen Chaple’s Observing Basics: “Mars revealed”).

“Gone are the oases, canals and cities . . .”—Ibid.

“Their ranks were continually replenished . . .”—Miller, p. 80.

“The actual accomplishment of . . . a suppression . . .”—Wells,
The War of the Worlds
, p. 198.

“Those who have never seen a living Martian . . .”—Ibid., p. 32.

“He did not ask
why
God would choose . . .”—Miller, pp. 276-77.

“The blighted landscape and its empty violence . . .”—Ballard,
The Drought
, p. 49.

Excerpts from
Dune
—Herbert, pp. 398, 326-27, 328.

“You speak
English
!”
—
Bradbury, p. 16.

A terminal zone—Ballard, op. cit., p. 68.

178. Rancho Roa (2004 -2005)

Interviews with Natalio Morales Rebolorio—Conducted on Rancho Roa, February 2004, Terrie Petree interpreting; February 2005, Micheline Marcom interpreting. I visited Rancho Roa briefly on two other occasions in 2004.

Footnote: Javier Lupercio—Interviewed in Mexicali, April 2004, José López from Jalisco translating.

179. Brock Farms (2004)

Richard Brogan—Interviewed in Calexico, April 2004.

Ben Brock—Interviewed on the premises of Brock Farms in Holtville, 2004.

Footnote: Asparagus data, 2004, 1994—ICAC papers, 2004, pp. 6, 11; ICAC papers, 1994, pp. 5, 10.

180. Salvation Mountain (1996-2005)

Epigraph—Leonard Knight, interview with WTV, 2003.

“The Main Line City,” etc.—Imperial Valley Directory (1914), p. vi.

Description of the Niland train depot—ICHSPM photograph, cat. #P92.52.

Footnote on Deane Haughtelin’s family—ICHSPM document, cat. #A84.20.1: Undated letter to Elizabeth Harris, Holtville, California, from Deane Haughtelin in Winterhaven

Harry Chandler as a stockholder of the First National Bank of Niland—Tout,
The First Thirty Years
, p. 361.

“The opening was attended by trainloads from Los Angeles . . .”—Ibid., p. 195.

John D. Reavis, 1930: “Some day Niland’s dream of commercial and horticultural greatness . . .”—Ibid., p. 410.

“The building of the All-American Canal . . .”—Imperial Valley Directory (1914), p. 361.

WPA guide on Niland—WPA, p. 459.

181. Signal Mountain (2003)

Epigraph: “When America was young. . .”—Tout,
The First Thirty Years
, p. 413 (“Scenic Imperial Valley, Land of Desert Oddities”).

José Quintero—Interviewed in Mexicali, 2002.

Arrillaga’s description of Signal Mountain—Op. cit., p. 92 (23 October 1796).

Arrillaga’s description of Laguna Salada—Op. cit., p. 75 (18 October 1796).

Concretions: “They were so numerous that we thought little of their scientific value,” etc.—McCollum (Hyde, both of her 2 unnumbered pages).

182. Between the Lines (2003 -2005)

Epigraph: “The third, or Desert division . . .”—Douglas Gunn, p. 48.

Footnote: “There is a peculiar charm and surprise about the odors of the desert . . .”—James,
Wonders of the Colorado Desert
, p. 38.

“Perhaps nowhere is the inexorable nature of the northward migration of Mexicans . . .”—
New York Times
, Wednesday, March 23, 2005, p. A8 (James C. McKinley, Jr., “At Mexican Border, Tunnels, Vile River, Rusty Fence”).

Francisco Cedeño’s story—From an interview at his residence in Mexicali, August 2005. Terrie Petree interpreted.

Definition of weep holes—International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, after item no. 5198.

“Border deaths hit records” and following text—
Sacramento Bee
, Saturday, October 2, 2005, “National Digest” section, p. A12.

Description of the Pancho Villa prayer card—After Griffith, p. 99. This card was collected sometime between 1994 and 2003.

Imperial County Development Agent’s 1916 report—Imperial County Agricultural Commission papers. A. M. Nelson, Development Agent, Imperial County, El Centro, Cal. “CALIFORNIA COTTON PRODUCTION—1916.” Page 1 of 2-p. typescript (the second page relates to butter production in the same year and was cited in my chapter on Wilber Clark).

“Unlike CWD’s service area, where the sandy soil soaks up the water . . .”—IID
de novo
Part 417 brief, p. 18.