Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-05-20
4 REMARKABLE DISCOVERY.


VuIture caves I'm the sespe.
A correspondent Of the Ventura Free
Press tells the following strange story;
"The writer has for the last few years
offered liberal reward for set OF vul-
ture eggs, and numerous have been the
attempts of both hunter and urcbin TO
procure them with one common result,
they were unable to find where they
nest. Believing that the Pacific condor
nests somewhere in the Sespe noun
tains, determined to make one grand
effort il possible 10 obtain the eggs.
After considerable search | finally dis
covered the locality where these birds
bring forth their young High up
in one of the deep dark gorges
that put into the turbulent
Sespe, few miles above Devils Gate.
ON the west side Of the stream, at an
altitude of over four thousand feet, the
home OF the vulture was discovered
with all its strange and peculiar fea-
lures. Climbing up the rocky gorge to
a point where a perpendicular wall Of
rock fifty feet high stopped my further
progress, and following along the base
of the rocky cliff a few yards, | observed
a cluster of pine trees that grew near
the base Of the cliff; and, seeing one
that shot above the projecting rock some
sixty feet, being full OF limbs that pro-
ieoted at right angles from the trunk,
/ determined to climb the tree and, #
possible, get ON top of the great rocky
shelf that, like a terrace, extended for
hundreds Of feet around the rocky bluff.
With but little exertion l climbed TO a
point parallel to the rocky shelf, and by
careful attention walked out on one of
the projecting limbs six or eight feet
and stepped upon the terrace. Here l
found rocky shelf some ten feet wide,
and extending far along the bluff and
back to an overhanging wall, ar.
ranged something after the manner of
the Cliff Dwellers of Arizona, in which
were exoavated chambers, large enough
for person to comfortably pass In, be-
ing on an average ten feet deep. On
the floor of the caverns lie scattered
around very Golgotha Of bones, while
neal the back | observed a pile Of
sticks, grass and other debris resembling
a woOd rats nest, about three feet high,
eliminating in an uniformly pointed hill
lock. Taking dry stick that lay near
by, | proceeded to tear down this
pile. believing that | had found
at last vulture's nest, and
that the birds had covered up the eggs
before departing in the morning. HAY
ing denuded the pile few inches | came
to the heads of half decomposed car
cases of numerous small animals, in |
which / recognized the head of pig, |
sheep, several jack rabbits, and other
small varmints. The stencil was so
great that | was compelled to retreat. l |
entered second chamber, where found |
a similar pile, and pursuing my further
investigations, | entered a fourth |
one, containing one of these pecu-
liar nests. in which | observed hole at |
the base, about six inches in diameter, |
and at the point of thrusting stick into |
the hole, out came most miserable |
looking creature remaining for moment
and then darling back again, it once |
more appeared at the hole, completely
filling il up, and this time L discovered
that was gazing upon young Vulture
and that these piles were in reality Nul-
lures nests, the sole object of my peri
lous adventures. Stepping round into
the second chamber, began to tear down
one of these heaps believing thatI would
find the eggs somewhere within the
CHASTITY pile. just then, casting my
ewes upward, beheld far to the north
ward the old bird sailing high in the
cloudless vault, and with renewed vigor
| hastily demolished the pile, and when
about one-third of the top had been torn
off, consisting of partially decomposed
careasses of small animals, to my horror
and surprise, their lay, half buried in
the heap, protruding from beneath, torn
and lacerated, the hand and forearm of
some human being, sufficiently in
tact, not to be mistaken as to
its identity. Appalled, at this
CHASTITY sight, and again look.
ing to the northward l beheld the
old birds approaching the caverns.
Knowing as did that they would swoop
down in few minutes, sprang to the
edge of the rock, seized a protruding |
limb, and rapidly descended to the foot
of the tree, Just in time, for that mo-
ment, like great avalanche, with the |
velo ity of lightning they came, shaking |
the very earth | stood upon. Stimuli |
taneously they alighted upon the pro-
jecting shelf, where with their great |
wings still out-stretched, they seemed to !
know at once that some daring intruder
had ventured to enter their home of
death and desolation. Quickly vending
my way down the mountain side l
finally reached my gun and outfit, and
casting a look in the direction of thei
cave, beheld that there were unmis-
Standardization Of turmoil in the camp.
The great birds attacking each other
for a moment in their imperial alti-
tude, then alighting upon the over
hanging rock, but too far distant for the
range Of my rifle. Hurriedly retracing
my steps down the dismal and rocky
stream, with the horrible and strange
discoveries ever wildly before my eyes,
it was not until was past the DEVILS
Gate, where halted, that | once more
regained my normal condition of mind,
determining that at some future day |
would again visit the Vulture Caves OF
the Sespe.