Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-11-27
DEATH WILEY.
A California Vale as Fatal as the
Guevo Upas.
Scientific American.

O0sfS y HN~
Scientific American.
The name is fearfully suggestive,
and yet few places in the world
deserve their appellations 50 well
as does the Death valley Of Cali
fornia, nor is it easy to find any
other locality in any country what
ever which gathers about itself so
much that inspires horror and
dread. a region were a man can
die of thirst while he has water
within his reach, more than he can
drink, may well bear the most
terrible title that can be given If;
and this namc-Death valley
given from the first known event
in It's history, thirty-hve years ago,
will doubtless cling to the spot TO
the end Of time.
1t is in the southeastern part Of
Inyo county, California, and the
point at which the meridian Of 1l6
degrees As minutes west crosses 30
degrees 10 minutes north is as
nearly as possible in its center OF
horrOs. Probably only one other
spot of which we have any knOwl-
edge, the GuevO Upas, or Vale OF
Poison,in Java, exceeds the fatality
of Death valley. The valley itself
is forty miles by eight, running
nearly north and south, and every
portion of this is desert and barren
in the extreme, as is in fact the en-
tire surrounding country; but a
narrow central space along the
eastern side, about fifteen miles in
length, embodies the typical feat
ures of their highest intensity.
Into this very few persons have
ever gone, that is, who retured to
tell the tale, and what is here re-
lated pertains to the higher and
comparatively moderate parts to-
ward the borders Of the valley.
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS.
The dangers are the result of
atmospheric conditions solely.
Lack of water may be fatal evil,
but this can be avoided; supplies
of water may be carried, or better
still, it is now tolerably well ascer-
tanned that water is available by
sinking even shallow wells in much
the greater extent Of the upper p0r
tions of the valley. But the water
fails to afford its usual life giving
value from two causes. The first
of these is the heat. OF course
this is moderated during two OF
three of the winter months, and
for that space of time a residence
on the borders Of Death valley Is
possible without any exceeding
great risk. But this soon passeS
away, and the furnace is in blast
BY about April the average (oi
day and night is liom 80 to 80
degrees; by May it is % to lOt
degrees; and Il little later it aver
ages over 100 degrees, reaching
often 100 to l2J degrees in the
coolest place that can be found. /
this was with damp atmosphere
| it would stiflc any human life witt
great rapidlty, bat certain amount
of dryness enables il to be borne
with more safety.
Here, however, comes in the
second of the two evils which have
been indicated the intense dry
ness of the atmosphere. This is 81
excessive as to be in many instan
ces fatal, in spite of every pTecan
F ton. The writer has never tasteC
the full severity of this feature Il
Death valley itself, but his expefI
T ence along its immediate borde
renders him ready to give iul
credence to the statement tina
many cases of death have occurre'
when water was plenty, but coul'
not be drunk fast enough to suppl.
the drain caused 10y the desiccatiy
, power of the dry hot air. In fact
in one instance he himself near
reached that condition, and f ie'
. hours longer of the heat and dry
ness would have placed his ov
name among those of its victims.
IN THE VERY FOCUS"