Published by Roanoke Publishing Co.
"FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH'
W. FLKTCHER AU8B0N, EDITOR.
, C. V. W. AVSBOH, BUSINESS MANAGER.
VOL. III.
PLYMOUTH, N. O., FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 1892.
NO. (9.
DA YS AND NIGUTS.
IT'ghor the dally hours of anguish rise,
. And mount around me a ths swelling
deep.
Til punt my mouth and eyes their moments
flow,
And I am drowned in sleep. .
Hut soon the tide of night begins to ebb:
Chained on the barren shore of dawn I
lie, . '
Again to feel the day's slow-rising flood,
Again to live and die. .
Anne Reeve Aid rich, in Lippincott
a NIGHT RIDE.
"Yes, boys, they've left the Reserva
tion, nnd are killing and scalping ter
beat thunder. 1 met -a scout terday,
over in ther Big Coolies, an' he posted
me.
"How many are thar of 'em, Jack?"
"Wal, as near as he could tell, thar
was somewhars erbout thirty cr thirty
fivo." , "How are they off fer shooting irons?
tr didn't yer find out?"
"I should say they was all heeled for
keeps. The scout told me that they all
had Winchesters, an' a hull lot of 'em
had six-shooters as well. And now, boys,
we vo cot ter rule like Bin ter-morrow.
an' getlier in all the editors, an' push 'em
over into the Deep Creek country for
satoty. 1 hardly think the rods will
navigate thet way. So hore's fer a
smoke, and then bed."
The speaker, big Jack Burns, foreman
of the I. C. Horse Outfit, leisurely pro
duced pipe and tobacco as coolly as if
the murderous Apaches were a thousand
miles away instead of thirty.
We were only seven men, o tunting the
Mexican cook, in the dirg-out attached to
the corral, and were employes of the big
1. C Company; and well wo knew what
an Apsche outbreak meant, for wo all
had suffered more or less from their cruel
raids. But wo had been intrusted with
the horses, and we intended, if possible
for human power to keep them out of
the clutches of the redskins, to do so;
for we had all received many little kind
nesses from the company, and from the
highest to tho lowest there wns mutual
good-will and friendly feeling, very
different from some outfits, who treat
their vaqueros with far less consideration
than they do their horses or tattle.
"Jimmie did yer go down to the Cactus
Ranch fer the six-shooter cartridges?"
"Yes, bet I did, an' got purty close
ter a thousand rounds!"
"Thet's kind er comforting. Did yer
here tell of any news down thar?"
. - ' Nothing perticler. They was a-talk-'
in' erbout thet thar settler, over on Ante
lopo Flat; they allowed thot if trouble
como with the reds, he would be in a
purty tough place, specially as he are a
tenderfoot. I'd hate ter see anything
happen ter -fern. I passed thar the other
day, and his leetle gal come out, and
6ays, sorter anxious like;
" 'Mister, hev you got a leetle gal?'
"So I says, 'No, little sissy, I hain't.'
" 'Nor no leetle boys?' says she.
"'Nary one,' says I, and I told her
thet she w.:r tho fust leetle un I'd seen
fer many a duy, an' we bed quite a leetle
confab, an then her mother eome out,
an' she war a very pleasant lady, she
. war, an sho said she allowed thet the
leetle un war lonesome for other leetle
uns ter play with. They've got a right
young baby thar, too, but the leetle gal
says that baby can't do nothing but
sleep, an' laugh, an'
"Hark! listen, men, listen!" nnd in
second big Jack had pushed open the
door, and was looking intently out over
the moonlit prairie.
"What is it, Jack?" asked the boys, as
they gathered outside.
"Did yer bear shooting?"
"No, out thar s a shod hoss a-coming
like blazes."
Yes, the thud, thud, thud, of ironshod
hoofs were now plainly heard, and away
out a faint glimmer of dust could be
discerned.
"Boys, I'm nfoared thet thar'a tr mble
somewhar's" continued Jack.
"Wal, jedging from the way thet hoss
is a-hitting the trail, we can mighty
soon tell now," said Hank Shovcr
And soon the sight that greeted our
eyes showed us that there was trouble
BOinewhere, for out of the dust and
glimmer sprang a powerful white mare,
while on her back, securely tied to the
heavy frontier saddle, was the new set
tler's "leetle gol."
With astonished and anxious faces, we
sprang to. the mare's side, and lifted the
little maid out of the saddle; and big
Jack carried her tenderly into the dug
out, while with wondering faces the rest
of us quietly followed.
"Please, Air. Big Jack. I've brought
a letter from pop."
"A letter, child. You've brought a
letter twenty miles fer nip. What in the
name o' ti e Grgat Medicine war ver dad
, a thinkin erbout ter Bend a baby like
you with it?"
."l don't know, please, Mr. Big Jack,
perhaps he's hurt, 'cause his eyes were
wet and mnminu was crying. Then
papa wroto a letter and put me on old
Nan and told me to keep on the wagon
trail till I got to the Ions tree, and then
head for the .Black Canon, and he gave
mo a switch to beat old Nan, 'cause ho
said if Nan didn't run good, baby Frank
would never laugh any more, and that
would be awful. So 1 beat her all the
way, and caino drofful quick"- and
judging from the mare's heaving sides,
the little one had ridden her for all she
was worth.
' "Wal, g'vo mo ther letter, leetle un,
on' we'll mighty soon see what's wanted."
' - The letter had been securely fastened
to the little one's dress, but it was soon
in Jack's hands.
".Siesy, don't yer feel like eat in' a bite i
of grub, and drinkin a cup of coffee?" i
"No, thank you, sir, but I am sleepy,
and very tired, and "
"Juan, keep the child sort of amused
ft a min.it, an' boys come"; ami big
dacK leu trie way to the tar end of the
room.
4'Boys, here's the deuce ter pay.
In a low voice, he read the letter:
To the Bo.vi at the Stone Corral:
I was out on the ridge ufc the back of my
shanty, and not. over twenty miles nwayl
saw a big band of Apache coming. They
will be here inside of three honrH. My little
jrin is a goon rioer, and the mare is sure
footed and last, eo I Bend this by her, nuking
you lor aia. may uoa guue per to you.
If you cannot help un, our doom ie w-aled
My relatives live in L , Michigan; write to
theni in regard to my little daughter.
Hoping and pr lying you nre in euffluient
force f aid us, FRANK STAN ION.
God knows I would not want, help for ray-
sen, but thing of my wife and baby.
Tears were in our eyes, as Jack
finished "the short and rather incoherent
letter; and then, good heavens,, to think
that we were only seven in all.
"0 boys, if we were only a few more."
"What oan we do. Jackf "
"Wal, I'm afeared if we tried ter git
help from the Cactus Ranch it would be
too late."
"Do the leetle gal know the trouble?"
"No."
"Wal, let's ask her ef har dad hav got
Bhooting irons.
"Sissy, did yer pap hev guns, and
things ter home ter Bhoot jack-rabbits
with?"
"Yes, sir, he's got a shotgun, and he
bought a nice rifle that shoots without
loading, and please, Mr. Big Jack, oan
go to bed now? I'm bo tired."
"Jimmie, put the leetle un in your
bunk, an you kin turn in with me if we
gets time ter sleep.
"But Jack, hain't we ergoin' ter try
an- help em somehow?
"God knows I wish we could. But
we have ter leave one man with the
bosses, an' what are six agin a crowd?"
And truly it looked hopeless, but 0,
to think of the fate of that gentle mother
and tender babe.
"Boys, this is maddening. We must
do somethin'."
Jimmie had by this time fixed tho
bunk and taken off the child's Bhoes.
"And now, dearie, pile in, an' take a
real good snooze.
"But, Mr. Jimmie, you must hear me
say my prayers first.
Jf a shell had come crashing into the
dug-out it could not have created more
astonishment than the simple request of
the child.
Quick-witted Jimmie had, however,
pulled himself together quicker than a
flash, and before the child noticed the
astonished and confused looks, he had
carefully spread a bearskin on the dirt
floor, and gently as her own mother bade
her "say her prayers.
I he beautiful Lords 1 ray er was re
peated in the clear voice, and them came,
"And please, my Heavenly Father, bless
my own dear papa and mamma, and little
baby brother, and JHr. Hie Jack, and alt
the boys at the atone Lorral.
Starting up and drawing the back of
his hand hastily across his eyes, and en
deavoring to steady his voice, big Jack
said: "Jimmie, you an' Juan stay an'
tend ter the leetle un. We nns are
ergoin' to help the folks."
Crash, and the dug-out door new open,
and hve determned men yes, men in
every sense of the word that night
rushed to the corral, buckling on tne
heavy six-shooters as they ran.
I he heavy stock saddles are Blapped
on, and m.iseular arms tug and tug at
the long latigo straps, until the chinchas
seem as if they would cut through hair
and hide, so tight are they.
"Be sure and oiuch era well, boys, we
can't stop to tighten 'em after we get
started.
"Ay, ay, yer kin bet on us, Jack."
"Are yer all 0 K?"
"You bet."
"Then head fer the Baldy Mountain
an' if ever you spurred, spur this night."
Out and away, leaning low, until our
breasts almost rested on the saddle horn,
and with spurs tightly pressed against
our bronchos' sides, we swept swiftly
away from the 6tone corral. Big Jack
wns'on the left and a little in the lead;
nnd as we rushed over a low sund ridge,
I saw him and his horse showing dark
and clearly cut against the sky. He was
riding his best this night, and his blue
roan was -stretching himself like a
thoroughbred.
Aud now we came to a long stretch
covered with loose and jagged granite;
at any other time we would have pulled
up and carefully picked our way over.
But to-night the stake we were riding for
was far too precious to care for horse
flesh, or even our own necks; so with
slightly tightened reins and only our toes
resting in the broad stirrups, we pushed
madly across, the sparks Hashing as the
iron shoes gjpshed against the rough
rock. AcroiSf at last, thank God, and
once more on the smooth plain, our gal
lant cayuses, with ears well forward, and
distended nostrils, were stretching them
selves and throwing dust like heroes.
Out of the sand and up on the rim
rock we tried a Bpurt, but the jaded ani
mals were doing their best, and the steel
failed to cet an extra jump out of them.
Another mile would"bring us to a point
where we would be able if it were day
light to see the settler's cabin.
Through a long Bag, then a ary cree
bed; crashing through the stunted wil
lows that lined its banks, we breasted
tho Blight ascent, and in another minute
were on the summit. e involuntarily
Checked our panting horse, and a thrill
of horror ran through us as we saw a
bright glare of light ahead.
"Too late, too late, boys, l he reus
have got 'em." Jack's voice sounded
almost like a groan,'
"How far are wo irom the placer
"Erbout live miles 'round by tho
wagon road, dut wo kin lead our horses
down the deer trail, s-id git ihar in two."
'ihen Jet s follow the doer trail; tr,e
may yit be in time ter help 'em some
way."
Leading our staggering, trembling
horses, we cautiously crept down the
precipitous trail, and mountain, headed
straight for the glare, which even in the
valley could be distinctly seen.
Nobody now remembered that we were
only five to thirty, and, goaded and cut
by tho spurs, the cayuses carried us rap
idly over the ground.
When within half a mile wo halted in
the shadow of some overhanging rocks,
while Hank cautiously crawled up, and
out on a projecting sholf to reconnoitre,
for if the Apaches had any scouts
thrown out we should have to be careful,
as our only chance of success was to
surprise them.
While wo were waiting we carefully
examined our six-shooters, and in
another minute, to our great joy, Hank
was telling us that the barn was on fire,
but the dwelling-house was still intact,
and that he could distinctly hear the
crack of rifles, showing us plainly that
the brave settler was still defending his
loved ones.
"Now boys, here's ther best plan I
kin think on I hain't extra much of a
gineral, but I hev an idea thet it's the
best way fer us ter do. We'll lead our
critters down this gully till we git ter
thot scrub brush we kin do thet without
the reds ketching on ter us then we'll
mount. Yer see by that time the cayu
ses will be gitting their wind purty well.
Then wo'll ride 'right square down on
'em, yelling like fury an' wharever a
red gits up we'll down him. Then if
they make it too hot for us, we'll dodge
inter the cabin."
"An' what then, Jack?"
"Wal, we'll sorter help the settlor to
hold the fort. .Anywny we kin keep
'em from setting the shanty afire, 'till
the cavalry comes. By this time the
troopB must be on the trail an' after 'em
red hot. They can't be a great ways
off, nohow."
Silently as spectres then we led our
horses down the gully, carefully avoid
ing the rocks that here and there cropped
out through the sand.- Reaching the
scrub willows, we found ourselves within
300 yards of the house, and perhaps
about 400 from the burning barn.
Climbing quietly into our saddles, we
bent low to keep out of the glare, and
Jack whispered. "Are yer all ready?"
"Yes, whispered back, and we
pressed our sombreros tightly down on
our heads.
With a rush and a crush we tore
through the brush and rode at full speed
out into the clearing, now almost as light
as day, tor the big, heavy barn timhers
were burning clearly and steadily.
Across we went, our excited animals
plunging and leaping like panthers, but
still no Indians.
Past the house and within a few yards
of tho burning barn we pulled up. The
snonee.conruseu us. were we to lute
after all? Mechanically we closed up
a fatal move, for with unearthly yells
and blood-curdling whoops, the Indians,
from a low sng in the ground on the left,
sent a murderous volley crashing into
our midst.
Down went our bravo horses, and
down went their riders, 1 Four of us
scrambled to our feet ns we cleared our-
selves from the stirrup leathers, only to
throw ourselves behind our lead-riddled,
dying animals just in time to save our
selves; for again the villains poured
their lead into us this time, thank
heaven, doing us no harm.
Using our horses for breastworks, we
tried to return their tiro, but they were
effectually concealed.
"Anybody hit?"
"Yes, I saw Hank throw up his hands
and fall face down."
" Boys, we've got ter get out of this or
they'll surround us sure."
"Km we mako a break tor the cabin.-'
"I think we might manage ter crawl
thar, by kinder keepinc the horses be
tween us and the red cusses."
"Hark, somebody is holleringl"
Lookinc over our shoulders, we saw
that the door of the shanty was partly
open, and the settler vigorously beckon
ing to us.
"We must try an see it poor llnnk is
clean done fer, fust."
One of the boys crawled cautiously
around to the dead horse and fallen rider,
and returning in tho same manner, whis
pered' sorrowfully that "poor Hank hed
passed in his checks."
"Now, boys, we 11 mane a run ierit,
stoop low," and with a spring, away we
rushed for the door.
Another Btream of lead whistled by us,
but nobody fell, and in another second,
we were inside the heavy door, and help
ing the pettier barricade it.
"I heard you when you cnargea by,
men, but it took me some time to open
the door, as I had a hull lot of things
piled ngin it?"
"Are ye all sato so iar, Stanton f '
"Yes, thank God. My wife is guard
ing the back of the house, and I'm
watching this part. What we feared
most is that they will fire the place, like
they did the barn. My little daughter
reached you Bafely, did she?"
"les, and is staying in the dug-out at
the corral. Wo left two of the-boys
with her."
"Now, men, I'll show you the loop.
holes in the logs, and I'll go and tell the
wife the little one is safe.
Hour after hour we strained our eyes,
peering through the loop-holes trying to
catch-Bight of the redskins. But they
wore very wary and seemed to have a
wholesome dread of venturing into the
fi relit space in the front of the house.
I resently btanton came quietly m and
said: "Boys, thero's something going on
at the back that I don't understand."
Leaving one man in the front room.
wo repaired with him to the room in tho
rear if the building.
Jack presto I his lace close to a loop
hole nnd stared steadily out into the
darkness. Suddenly he stepped back.
and, pulling his six-shooter, pointed it
through the loophole aud fired.
A wild jell of rage answered the shot,
i "Aha, Ithought 1 could fetch him. I
saw him crawling up, an' had a burning
stick under hit blanket. I guess ho
won't burn no more shanties. Give me
a chaw of terbacker, somebody."
And now we saw a faint streak of
dawn in tho east, and soon the sun was '
gilding the distant Baldy Mountain, and
what to us was a far more welcome
sight still was glistening on the scab
bards and accoutrements of a company
of Uncle Sam's boys as they came
through the pass at a sharp rot.
The barricadod door was quickly
thrown open, and rushing out we Baw
tho Indians in full retreat a mile out on
the mesa. . Judging from their haste
they must have seen the cavalry, for
they were pushing their ponies.
The cavalry had also caught sight of
them, for they were coming like the
wind, and as they swept by, in spite of
our weariness and grief at the loss of our
pard, we cheered them until we were
hoarse.
The next day we obtained horses and
safely escorted the settler, his wife and
baby to the Cactus Ranch. Overland
Monthly.
Wild Mustangs in Pennsylvania,
On Black's Island, fivemiles from the
City of Philadelphia, on the Delaware
River, are a drove of eighty or more un
tamed mustangs, not one of which has
ever been shod or touched with a strap
of harness. The island is a bleak waste
of meadow land, covered by a heavy
growth of thick grass. Here the mus
tangs live, as wild and uncared for as
though on the Western plains. Tho
horses are owned by Messrs. Richard and
Lewis Wistar, two wealthy and eccentrio
Philadelphians. In 1873 they took a
couple of Chincoteague mares up from
the South and placed them on Black's
farm, just below Fort Mifflin. Both the
marcs were in foal, and they were turned
out on the island and allowed to run
wild. From that beginning the herd has
increased as stated. The ponies are at
perfect liberty all the year round, and nre
without shelter in winter as well as sum
mer. In fact, they are to all intents
and purposes, as wild as the wildest
mustangs in the West. The coils are
foaled without shelter of any kind, and
grow up strong, rugged and as wild as
though hundreds of miles from civiliza
tion. During the winter, when the
ground is covered with snow, the horses
are obliged to paw holes in the snow in
order to get at the dead gra under
neath. After the manner of wd horses
they divide themselves into smaller
herds, each having a stallion for a leader.
There appears to be a rivalry between
these herds, and royal battles are waged
between the stallions. In color the horses
are mostly bays, creams aud piebalds,
aud range from thirteen to fifteen hands.
Although' the Wistar brothers have not
visited the island for thirteen years, they
steadily refuse to part with any of the
ponies under any consideration. Phila
delphia Record.
The Use of the Tonsils.
When one gets a sore throat he ia apt
to wish that he had no tonsils, but medical
science, it is said, has lately demonstrat
ed that in such a case he would be in a
very sad state. The tonsils are the
factory where the white blood cells are
made, and whence they start on their
beneficent mission through the system
to destroy the enemies of health. More
over, it has been discovered that they
stand at the very entrance of the throat,
ready to challenge every enemy that
enters through tho breath or food. This
explains why so many of tbo germs
which enter our mouth do not perform
destructive work. They are met, chal
lenged and killed by the white cell sen
tries in the tonsils. It appears from this
that people who are subject to quinsy
and inflammation of the tonsils are not
so well protected as those who have
strong, healthy tonsils. Weakened fiom
some cause, the work shops of the sani
tary agonts are attacked by the enemies
and yield to the inroads of the very
germs which they are intended to kill.
Extreme caution in the winter time to
preserve these gmnds from colds and ir
ritation might be the means of warding
off many diseases of a violent nature.
These discoveries are not only interest
ing, but of great hygienio valuo. Here
tofore medical science has marked tho
use of these glands as "unknown."
New Orleans Picayune.
Animals and LocoiuotiTes.
In a German engineering journal a
writer contrasts the behavior of different
nniirmls toward steam mnohincrv thus:
The ox, that proverbially stupid animal,
stands composedly on the track of a rail
way without having any idea or tno aan-e-er
that threatens him: dors run amonir
r j u '
th whnnU of n, department railwuv train
without suffering any injury, and birds
seem to take a particular aeiignt in tne
steam engine. Laikis often build their
nests and rear their young under the
switches of a railway over which heavy
trains ar constantly rolling, and swal
lows make their home in engine houses.
A pair of swallows have reared their
vouncr for a vear in a mill where a noisy
30O horse power engine is working night
and day, and another pair have built a
nest in tho paddle box of a steamer.
Boston Budget.
FIE KNEW HIM.
"Algernon," sho said dramatically, "!
a man titter my own heart."
"No, he isn't, my dear," replied her
practical father, "he's aftor your pocket-.,
book."
DEATH VALLEY.
A UAIQUE DESERT IS THE FAR
SOUTHWEST.
It Is Walled in on Three Sides and
200 Feet Below Sea Level.
Effects of Its Terrible Heat.
Death Valley proper is unique, writes
John R. Spears in the New York Sun.
It is about 74 miles long, running from
north to south, and from five to fifteen
miles wide. At its lowest point, where
its climate is worst, the width is not
above eight miles from foothills to foot
hills. It is opposite this depression to
the west that the Punamints reach their
highest altitude, while east of the Funer
al Range . is a huge ridge with almost a
vertical precipice on the side next to tho
valley. A few miles to the south a
mountain range running east and west
shuts in the foot of the valley so that at
its lower end Death Valley is walled in
on all sides but one.
Just what the depth is I do not know.
A California mining bureau report writ
ten by Prof. Hanks puts the lowest de
pression at 110 feet below the sea. One
of Dr. C. Hurt Merriam's paity of Gov
ernment experts who went iuto the
valley in the samnierof 1891 said the
depression was 200 feet bolow the sea.
I have see one statement in print which
placed the depression 400 feet below the
sea. No doubt that was an exaggeration.
Whatever the real depression is, it ia
interesting to note that fifteen miles west
of this depression is Telescope peak,
rising moro than two miles above the
sea, while within an equal distance
easterly ia Funeral peak, rising 8,000
feet above the sea. Where can two
mountains like these be found with such
a rent between them ?
In its general aspect Death Valley is
gray and sombre; it is even desolate and
forbidding. To admire the scenery from
any point in the valley one must have a
love of nature in her sternest moods.
The natural vegetation is scant and
stunted, and there is not a green thing
that grows there naturally 1 he thorny
ruesquite trees are of a yellowish green
tinge; so, too, are the grease bushes,
while the sage brush and weeds, of which
there are several varieties, are either
yellowish gray or the color of ashes. A
little round gourd grows in some of the
canons. It turns yellow when ripe, and
has a thin meat that is exceedingly bit
ter. It is called the desert apple. The
cactus, that grows beyond tho valley in
abundance, is raro here. In short, tho
vegetation of Death Valley is terribly
scant in comparison with that of even
the Mojave desert.
Arid as tho valley is throughout its
whole extent, thoro are two running
streams within its confines. One comes
in at the north end, where it forms a
marsh that gives 6ut volumes of sulphu
retted hydrogen. Some who have seen
it believe that the water comes through
a subterronean passage from Owens
Lake, beyond the Pnramint Mountains.
Tho water of this stream is liko that of
tho lake, and the flow never vurie3 from
one season to the other. Incredible as
the proposition seems, this brook may be
an outlet of the lake.
The other stream, Furnace Creek,
which rises in springs in the Funeral
Mountains, has pretty good, if warm,
water, and is the only support of the
ranch that was made by the borax people.
But more interesting to the tourist
than al that can bo seen or said about
tho lay of the land nre tho stories told
about its climate. The story of Death
Valley is full of apparent contradictions.
Here was a ranch, for instance, on which
three men found work in caring for the
meadows and stock ; a little over a mile
away were tho buildings whore forty men
were employed in making borax, most of
them in the open air, wholly unprotected
from the sun's rays, and some engaged
about n furnace where a great heat was
maintained. How could these things be
if it wero true that men died from heat
and lack of moisture when they had
water in their hands? It was a curious
case, but both, statements of fact were
true.
With the prevailing wind from the
west, Death Valley, deep and narrow,
is guarded on tho west by the lofty and
precipitous Pnnamints, while four other
ranges and four valleys, for the most
part absolutely arid, lie between it and
the sea, the only source of moisture.
Even west of tho Sierras tho plains of
Tularo county must be irrigated to make
them productive. Imagine now what the
condition of the air must be when, hav
ing been drained of its moisture by the
ranges near the sea, it sweeps inland
over the wide and undulating desert cast
of the Sierras, whore the sun's rays beat
down relentlessly from above and are
reflected back np from yellow mesas and
white hot salt beds. It becomes not only
bo hot that it Btrikes the face like a blast
from a furnace, but it is well nigh de
void of moisture. People who talk to
tho weather sharps of the Signal Service
Bureau are told that'with 70 per cent, of
humidity tho air is about right. With
but GO or 50 per cent, as when the air in
a room is heated by a stove or furnace,
the moisture is taken from the body in
a way to produce headaches, but should
the percentage be reduced to 40 or to 30
the air becomes positively dangerous to
health. In Death Valley, the air, raised
to furnace heat by its passage over the
deserts to the west, is kiln dried in the
pit below sea level till the percentage of
moisture is said to be at times less than
one.
Of the effect of the heat there abund
ant and trustworthy testimony may be
had. While making the ditch which
supplied the ranch with water, J. S.
Crouch and (). Watkins slept in the run
ning water with their heads on stones to
keep their faces above the fluid, although
that was not in the hottest season. Phil
ander Leo, an old desert man well inured
to tho heat, while at work on the ranch
regulurly slopt in the alfalfa where it
grew under the shade of some willows
and was abundantly irrigated.
Other effects of the arid air ore found
in the utter ruin within a few days of
every article of furniture built clsewbero
and carried there. A writing desk curled
and split and fell to pieces. Tables
warped into curious shapes. Chairs fell
apart. Water barrels incautiously left
empty lost their hoops in an hour. Ono
end of a blanket that had been washed
was found to have dried while the other
end was manipulated in the tub. A,
handkerchief taken from the tub and
held up to the sun dried in a flash
quicker than it would have done before
a red-hot stove.
Meat killed at nine and cooked at 6 in
tiia mnrninir Virwl Hlinilflfl fit. ). Cllt thin. '
dipped in hot brine, aud hung in the sun,
it is cured in an hour; Flour breeds
worma in less than a week. Egs are
roasted in the sand. Fig trees bloom
. i . . i i
spring, but the figs mver mature.
Though water flows about the roots of
the trees, the figs dry up and fall off in
July.
Surveyor McGillivary said after run
ning out the land for the borax compa
nies: "The heat there is intense. A man
cannot go an hour without w!ater without
becoming insane. While we were sur
veying there we had the same wooden
case thermometer that is used by the sig
nal service. It was hung in the shade
on the side of our Bhed, with the only
Btream in the country flowing directly
under it, and it repeatedly registered 130
degrees, and for forty-eight hours ia
1883, when I was surveying there, the
thermometer never onoe went below 104
degrees.
"Several of our men went insane.
One of them was a Chinaman, who had .
wandered away as soon as he had lost
his senses. We hunted for him for a
while, and were then forced to give him
up as lost. A few days afterward we
went to a town sixty or seventy miles
from there to get some provisions, when
an Indian came into the town, leading
our lost Chinaman, still insane, and per-
in n n 1 1 i ueugni oi me , luumu, miu ,
thought he had found a prize clown, and
regarded it as the bestj oke of the sea-,
eon."
The human body, when suffering from
a fever, is dangerously hot at 105 de
grees Fahrenheit. It has been known to
reach 112 degrees, but death quickly. "
f 3 1- 1 -C iL. 1JS 1
r 1 1 . j
A thermometer hanging nnaer tne
wide veranda on the north Bide of the
adobe house in Death Valley has regis- .
tered 137. It is in such weather as this
that the sand storms in their deadly fury ;
b weep through the valley, and even
desert birds caught away from the sav
ing spring or stream fall down and die.
It is a fact that since the ranch was es
tablished one man had died from the
heat while lying still in the house, while
another, riding with a canteen in his
hand on top of a load of borax bound
down the valley, fell over and expired.
"lie was that parched his head cracked
open over the top," said a man who saw
the body.
Such is Death Valley in the heat of
summer. In October Death Valley be.
comes a dreamy, sunqy, climate, tho
home of the Indian summer. The
change of climate which the whole desert
country undergoos in the course of a
year is remarkable. One reads in the
authentic reports of the California "Min
ing Bureau about unow falling in the
mountains west of Death Valley to a
depth of three feet, while Superinten
dent Strachan of the Teels Marsh borax
works in Esmeralda county, Nevada,
noted a temperature of 120 degrees, in
the shade of his house in August, and
yet before the winter was over he saw
mercury freeze and the temperature sink
to 50 degrees below zero. There is prob
ably no place on earth where a wider
variation of the thermometer than this
has ever been observed, just as no plaee
so hot as Death Valley has been found,
the greatest heat of the arid region about
the Red Sea being less than 127 degrees.
But one feature of Death Valley
weather remains to bo noted here. - It
will not do to say that rain never falls in
1 t . . .) 4 l. VallAtr' H valtalir folia Kaio. Ktt
J '-(.111 T aHUJ 1, ( l V 1 , .UI1U LUVJSV, n
cloud bursts, concentrated storms of the
utmost fury, are often Been about the
mountain tops as well as around the
mountains throughout the whole desert
fArrioti A a A ofiarika V xr V a laiarf man
they come in the hottest weather and
usually when least expected. Right in
a clear sky appears a cloud, black and
ominous, streaked with fire, growing
with wonderful rapidity, and eventually
sagging down like a great sack. The
olfinrt ia nUrnra fnrmofl u hnrn tYiA moun
tains, and after a time its bulbous body
strikes a peak. Floods of water are re
leased on the instant, and in waves of in-,
credible size they roll down the cliffs and
canons. Precipices and peaks are-carved
away, gulches are filled with the debris,
mesas and foothills covered. The face
of a mountain may be so changed in an
hour as to be scarce recognizable, and
even the lighter storms rip the heart out
of a canon, so that only gulches and
heaps of broken rock are found where
once perhaps a good trail existed.
Mr. Litti.edate, who has just been
traveling through the Pamir country of
Central Asia which figures largely in.
Russo-British politics just now, Bays that
it is one of the most desolate regions im-'
aginable. The mountains are high and :
wild, robed in eternal snows, while below
the mountains, instead of verdant fields
and forests, is a picture of utter desola
tion that would be hard to match in any
other part of the worlu. The country at
tho base of the mountains Is so high
above the oa that vegetation is very
Bcanty, and the plains are most forbidd
ing in aspect.