Helldorados, Ghosts and Camps of the Old Southwest

Description

Author: Weis, Norman D.  (1923-2000)

Publisher: Caxton Printers (Caldwell, ID)

Pub Date: 1977

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Book:  Good.  Binding tight.  No marks, tears, bends or folds.  Simulated wood grain boards (interesting choice).  Dust Jacket: Fair.  Price clipped.  Several small chips to upper edges, front and rear.  Wear at corners and front spine edge.  Solid book.

Notes:  Sixty-seven ghost towns (some now revived) arranged by state–the Four Corners states, plus California and Nevada.  Black-and-white photos and maps by the author.  Helldorado is a term used to describe a place where people seeking wealth or a new life found harsh or unforgiving conditions instead.  Both Tombstone, AZ and Las Vegas, NV adopted the term for tourism purposes (though in Nevada it is now called Las Vegas Days).   I have an issue with the author’s use of the term “MoNgollon” for “Mogollon.”  The author cites the 1910 USGS topographic map for the spelling, but that, to put it kindly, is not the case.  The 1910 USGS map lists all kinds of Mogollon–Peak, Canyon, Creek–but not a single instance with the extra “n”.  Bob Julyan, in The Place Names of New Mexico (UNM Press, 1996), has no listing for “Mongollon”, but numerous for “Mogollon.”   Likewise with Pearce’s New Mexico Place Names (UNM Press, 1975).  Not just a one-off error, but used continually through the listing.  Hallucination?  More likely an editing issue.  I’ll live.