This 1920s or 30s vintage silent home movie titled “The Quest for the Boojum Tree”, shows a botany expedition to Mexico mounted by prominent residents of Tucson, Arizona. It includes a segment about the making of tequila.
The names of the persons in the expedition (according to the title cards) were Kreider, Shreve, Sykes, Gilbert, Graham, Hobbs and “Joe”, Uhlela, and “the Photographer.” “Shreve” is most likely Forrest Shreve, a botanist and desert plant ecologist who served on the staff of the Desert Botanical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution in Tucson. Unfortunately we don’t know much more about who shot this film or who is in it. The film was de-accessioned by the University of Arizona in the early 2000s from their film collection.
The film provides a fascinating look at people and places in territorial Arizona starting with Sasabe at 1:28 and the town of Altar, Sonora at 1:44 and Pitiquito at 2:16. At 2:40 a barrel cactus is opened to obtain moisture — but the plant is mostly enjoyed by a steer. At 3:15 “starving cattle” are seen on a Sonora ranch apparently owned by Senor Borrego. At 4:03, Pozo Verrugo is shown, possibly the name of a ranch but it’s not clear.
At 4:30 the process to make tequila is shown, with water taken from a deep well using a horse. At 5:25 the still is shown. At 6:16, a Saguaro is shown. At 6:30, Libertad on the Gulf of California is shown and Gilbert goes fishing while others swim in the 100-degree heat.
At 7:25 problems are encountered with one of the automobiles on the trip, stuck in the sand and given pushes by the group on the primitive dirt road. At 8:00 a title card announces “fresh water” as the group digs on a beach. At 8:40, the “botanists” are seen returning to the group with samples from the field. At 9:00 fruit is harvested from a cactus. At 9:53 ocean samples including sea stars are packed up. At 10:00 Datura flower is shown, at 10:17 the outskirts of Pitiquito are visited again. At 11:00, a group fo Mexican women poses with their children. At 11:22 a tiny oasis is seen. At 12:13 the group is seen either chugging beer or Cokes in the desert heat.
At 12:30 a “court in Altar” is shown at at 12:40 a big dust storm. The three cars in the convoy are seen on a dirt road. At 13:10 a snake is shown being handled by one of the botantists, looks like a rattler but the title says it’s “harmless”. At 13:30 the group crosses the U.S. border on its way back home, encountering a sand storm along the way.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
