The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-11-19
From the Illinois Journal.
4 Day in the Desert Of California.

Our cncamWnCnt was on the slope oi the /
mountain, and the valley lay spread out at
orr feet Illuminated sufficiently by the red |
glare of the moon and the more pallid elui- .
goncc OF the stars, to display mQenccily is
broken and Grieh,lul barreuncNs. and is sol /
cmn doSolation. No life, except the little I
oasis occupied by our camp and dampcued
by the sluggish spring, by evcavatn% which /
with our hands, we had obtained impure
water sufficient to quench our own and ann !
mails thirst, existed as far a. the eye could
penetrate over mountain and plain. There
was no voice of animal-no hum OF insect.
disturbing the tomb-likc soomn.ty. All
was silence aud death. The atmosphere.
chill and frosty, seemed 20 SympatHiSe with
this Sepnlchral stiffness. No waillng ori
whispering sounds sighed through the cav
ems of the mountains. or over the gully and
watcflcss raviucS of the va!lcy-no ruStIlng
2cphyrs sweep ovCrihe Scant and dead grass
or disturbed the crumbtTG leaves OF the
gnarlcd and Stuntcd cedars, which seemed
TO draw prccar,ous existence from the
small patch of damp earth surrounding MS.
Like the other elements sustaining animal
and vegetable life, the yyiudsfecemed stag
nant aud poralysed by tie universal death
around us.
As we moved onward . member Of our
party in the rear called our attention toagi'
gantc moving object Oh our left. at an mp
parent distance OF six or eight miles. l. is
very difficult to determine distances accv-
ratcly on these plains. Your estimate as
based upon the probable dimensions Of the
object, and, unless you know what the Oh
joct is, and its probable size, YOU are liable
TO be deceived. The atmosphere seems,
. frequently. 10 act %, u2gnihcr, so uuch
SO, that have often seen raven Vcrthed
/ upon q low shrub or an undu,aton Ci the
| plain, answering TO the dimensions Of man
! on horseback. But this object was so cnor-
! mously large, considering its apparent dis
lance, and its movements forward parallel
with ours. so distinct, that it greatly excited
our wonder and curiosity. Many and yaT.-
Gus were the conjccturcs (scriouN and face
I tou,l OF the party, a. 10 what Il might be-,
or p0ucud. Some thought it might lie Mr.
! lIudspaih, who had concluded 90 follow us:
others that il was some cyclopcan monde
script animal. lost upon the desert; others
/ that i: was the ghost Of . mammoth or lc-
carIhcrium, wandering ON this "rcude2vous
/ Of dtath," others that it was the d. moUu-
ted on an Ibis" sc. twas the general CON
clusion. however, that no animal composed
/ Of flesh and blood. or even n healthy ghost
could here !uhabit. \ partner Of equal size
soon joined it, and for on hour or more they
moved on rs before. parallel touS. when
/ they disappeared apparently bch.ndthe nor
/ i2on.
As we proceeded, the plain gradually
Soitcncd. and our mule, sunk TO their knees
| in the stiff composition Of salt. sand and clay.
! The travelling at length. became SO difficult
and iatiguing TO our animals that several Of
tie party d>mountcd, (myScIf among the
nuuhcr) and we consequently slockcuad
our hitherto brisk pace into walk. About
= O'Clock Z. NJ, We discovered through TIE
smoky vapor the dim outlines Of the noun
taiuS in front Of us. the foot Of which. was
to terminate our days march. ifv were so
fortunate rs to reach it. But still we were
n long aud weary distance from il. and from
the "-gasS and water which we here cv-
pec'ed to find. \ cloud rose from the south
soon afterwards, accompanied by several
distant pcals Of thunder and furious wind
rHShCd across the plain. and filling the whole
atmosphere around us with the PARTICLES OF
salt. and drifting 1t in heaps like the newly
fallen snow. OnrcycS became nearly blind
ed and our threats choked with the saline
matter, and the very air we brcathcd tnStcl
of salt. During the subsistence Of this tenn
pest. there appeared upon the plain ono ol
the most extraordinary phenomena, dare
to assert. ever witnessed. As have before
stated, had diSmonnted from my mule. and
turning il " th the c7b1lqGr, was walking
severn rods in front of the party, in order to
lead in direct course to the point of ON
destination. Dingoually in front, our COURSE
being west, there appeared the figures Of a
number Of men ami horses, some fifteen ul
twenty. Some OF these figures were noun
ted and others diSmountcd, and appeared &c
he marching in front. Their faces and the
heads Of the horses were turned towards us
i and at first they appeared as il they were
rushing upon us. Their apparent distance
iudgiNG from the horizon, was from three tC
five miles. But their size was not cores
pondcnt, for they appeared nearly rs large
rs our own bodies. and consequently were
of gigantic stature. called to some Of ON
:. party nearest 10 me TO hasten forward, n.
there were men in front coming towards us
. Very Sonnt the fifteen or twenty figures wcr,
multiplied into three or four hundred men
. and appeared 20 be marchiu" forward wit,
tho greatest action and speed. spoke e
Brown, who was nearest to me, and as':c.
him If he noticed the figures of the men au,
- horses in rroEt2 He answered that he did
aud tha. he had observed the same appear
anccs several times previously, butthcy ha,
disappeared, and he believed them 20 De op
" lcal illusions. similar to the mirage.
= 1t was then for the first time, so rcr,ec
TO- was the deception, that conieclurcd TN
, probable fact, that these figures were the re
!. Election Of ourownimNgc by the atmosphere
filed, rs il WIS, with particles of cryslal2c
matter, or by the distant horizon, coycrc
by the same substance. This induced
more minute observation Of the uhcuomc
y non, in order 10 detect the deception, IL sue
it were. noticed n single figure, oppN
rcnily in front. in advance of the others, an
was struck with It's likeness to myself; II
motions, too, thought were the same q
= nina. 10 test the hypothcsiS above SIG
gcsted, wheeled suddenly round, nt u
:. same tinc stretching my arms al. their fu
y length, and turning my face sideways TO nc
i. ticc tho movements or the figure. II wcr
through precisely the same motions. 1.-The
D.. marched deliberately and with long stril,
several PAGES, the frurp did the same. T
tpst II moro thOrOuphlv rcnr,icl tho ~,