Harry Reid’s desert tale

At a Senate hearing yesterday, Sen. Harry Reid argued that a proposed gravel quarry at Sloan Hills in Henderson could threaten the features of nearby Sloan Canyon, where petroglyphs serve as proof of human habitation thousands of years ago.

Reid then told about Sloan Canyon also being a believed hideout of a renegade Indian named Queho, who was accused in a string of murders in the early 1900s but always evaded capture. Reid wrote about Queho in a 1998 history of his hometown, Searchlight.

Reid said a BLM archeaologist has told him there are rock writings at Sloan Canyon suggesting that Queho had been there.

"That is so interesting because one of the largest manhunts in the history of the state of Nevada was to try to get this man," Reid said. "He never rode in a car, he never rode on a horse. He walked with a distinct limp and they tried everything in the world to catch him but they could never catch him."

Reid ended the story there, "Anyway, if you want to learn more, read my book," he said as the audience laughed.