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Show SALT FLAT NEWS, JULY, 1971 f totem if Utaifli One hundred miles due west of Salt Lake City across a panoramic sweep of salt flats lies Wendover, home of the SALT FLAT NEWS. One mile south of Wendover lies the Wendover town dump , presided over by a deputy named Floyd Eaton. Residing in a modest establishment constructed of indigenous materials collected from his immediate environs, he is' known fondly to the residents of Wendover as Deputy Dump. " In his colorful career. Deputy Dump has been a range detector for a cattlemen's association and man of many parts. Armed with a to prevent felonies in the area of the dump, he poin ts with pride to his spotless record since assuming his present position; not a single felony has occurred in his territory, a record unsurpassed by few lawmen in any part of the nation, exceeding even J. Edgar Hoover. In addition to the faultless discharge of his responsibilities, Floyd uses his spare time writing a novel. Admittedly imaginary and creative, it dips liberally into his experiences of the past. The SALT FLAT NEWS has obtained first serial rights to the novel, Queen of Blood. "By cornering Wendover's leading novelist (in fact, its only one), the NEWS has achieved a publishing coup ranking with the New York TIMES' publication of the William Manchester book on the Kennedy assassination or the current publication of the Kruschev memoirs in LIFE. Don't fail to follow this gripping tale of adventure and suspense in each issue of the SALT FLAT NEWS. Utah-Nevad- a, sixty-five-year-o- ld six-shoot- er FIFTH AND FINAL INSTALLMENT Summoned to Mexico C 7 on business of an urgent nature, El Nino de Puma, seasoned crime fighter and commander-in-chie-f of - Chihuahua City Branch of the Desert and Mountain Police, Incorporated, is dispatched to seek out and t r!'-- to justice the notorious Dorotea Margarita de la Vargas. Miss Vargas, otherwise known as the Queen of Blood, has been waging her own guerilla war for five years against the government, killing soldiers at a hundred army outposts, each time leaving a note for President Diaz reading, Diaz, your time is drawing near. " Pausing in his search to catch a fish for supper, El Puma luckily lands his airplane in the midst of the Queen's hideout Taken to the outlaw rancho in the company of sinister bodyguards, El Puma plots to capture his woman. She unwittingly asks El Puma to fly to Mexico City on the morrow. Butas we left our hero, he was awakened by the feeling he was not alone, and there beside his bed stood his hostess. The g NEWS photo by R. Manzin POISONOUS WEED OR HEALTH FOOD? Mrs. Haycock cooks up a pot ofhalogeten stew. Spring greens taste like spinach. Queen of Blood. nl(C7 X by R. Menzies Feeling fit and in no particular hurry,. Shirley Haycock and her sons Ray, 13, uid Jessee, 11, were sauntering their way across the northern tip of Utah's great salt desert under a blazing summer sun, still nearly nine hundred miles from their Seattle destination. Hiking along the historic transcontinental railbed, the Haycocks paused near Promontory Point to discuss their adventure' with this reporter over a bowl of halogeten stew. The desert weed was described by the outdoorswoman as an observation delicious that may be the makings of an edibility gap, since state authorities have named the plant culprit in the poisoning death of 1200 sheep earlier this year. Hie questionable plant is salty with a flavor vaguely like spinach a good sign, according to Mrs. Haycocks college survival instructor Larry Olsen, whose theory is that anything that tastes familiar is good for you. But Shirley, whose formal education is augmented by years of haphazard experimentation at this sort of thing, has a more liberal test of palatability. Eat it, she says, then wait an hour. If youre not sick by then, its edible. The Haycocks began their journey of a thousand miles in early June, starting out afoot from their home in Spring Glen, Utah. From tiie old railbed the intrepid trio will follow the Oregon Trail into Boise, where they will raft down the Snake River to Lewiston. From there they plan to retrace the trail of Lewis and Clark to Pasco, Washington, and on to Seattle, where they hope to arrive in early August. The long hike over the Wasatch range was through unseasonable snowstorms and freezing rain; however, the boys kept warm trying to rustle up a rabbit for dinner, and the better part of one day in a futile attempt to lasso a woodchuck. Supplementing staples of cheese, rice, and flour, the Haycocks eat native plants they find and whatever wild animals they can catch. The trio has so far sampled baked homed lizard, pan bread and stinging nettle soup. Drinking water for the most part is drawn from local sources, boiled, and flavored with powdered chocolate. For entertainment, the Haycocks are reading for the fourth time J.R.R. Tolkiens adventure fantasy The Hobbit and Ayn Eleven-year-olJesse d Haycock appraises Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Tolkiens SNAKE FOR SUPPER? popular trilogy, The Lord of the blowsnake, among other incredible edibles in the family diet . Be not alarmed, Senor, its sand pesos. I felt like telling her only your hostess, came the Id throw my badge in the lake sweet feminine reply. It gets and she and I could fly to the mighty lonesome sleeping alone U. S. or South America, whichevery night. I crave a little ever shed prefer, and wed live tiappily the rest of our days. companionship. I pray Senor Kolt that you Whats wrong with your cowI asked boys!? slept well. teasingly. Hie best, I said, in many a Theyre truly good and capable men, but Senor, it is unsound night, thank you. I declined breakfast, a meal 1 judgment to love with one's help. It would only lead to serious trou- seldom ever ate, and all went down to the lake to wish us a Bon ble between them. Guess youre right,-said, Voyage. I taxied the sleek, streamlined crawl in and be comfortable as well as useful. Ive been dreaming craft to the north end of the lake, 1 what a wonderful night it would be to have you within my arms. As she nestled beside me, the odor of her perfume was delightfully intoxicating. You can bet your last cent there was no more sleeping. We were drinking coffee laced heavily with tequUla the next morning. She appeared with a cheerful bueno dias, looking as d rose and just fresh as a as lovely., She was dressed in a . dew-kisse- light tan traveling suit that showed the magnificent curves of her body as if shed been poured into it. Yet gazing upon all that outside beauty, on the inride I knew she was the bloodiest woman Mexico had ever known. I was inclined to tell her that Iwas a cop and had come to arrest her and take her to prison for a term of thirty years or a little more, and tell her she had no business in Sand City, for there was a price on her head of one hundred tiiou- Rings had to be left behind for the sake of reducing pack weight. The numerous birds of Box Elder County and the quick liz- ards have so far proved to be unwilling dinner guests; however, as I was leaving a fat blowsnake slithered into camp and was promptly clubbed into oblivion. Shall we eat him now? asked Jesse after a critical assessment of the unfortunate reptile. Might as well, replied mom laconically, while it's fresh. This reporter, needless to say, had a pressing engagement and had to run. rechecked the instruments, dropped flaps to thirty degrees, revved up those twins and watched the sprays fly beneath the wings. When the air speed indicator said sixty-fiv- e mph, I conon back the slowly pulled we were airborne. trol; in seconds My beautiful little Kewpie doll was on her way to be safely tucked away behind bars. I picked up the mike and said in sing-son- g Chinese, XET03902 from XET03902. Come in, Skyspy, came the same sing-sonreply. Good old Jess was on the ball. He was black outride, but white inride with a heart of gold. He was once a U. S. sailor and learned Chinese while stationed for two years in China. On returning to the states, hed jumped ship and come into Mexico. Once on a patrol hed taken a slug in the shoulder that had had my name on it The guy who fired it now rests beneath a pile of rocks on a lonely mountainside. Skyspy reporting both missions completed, subject aboard, no trouble occurred. I'm returning, will arrive approximately 1600 hours. Roll out the red plush welcome mat. Skyspy from Watchdog, will do just that. Happy flying. The use of Chinese language was so she couldnt understand what was being said. The joke was on me, however; she understood every word that was spoken. With throttles set at an easy mile eating cruising speed of 250 (Continued on page 10) g |