Western Kansas world., 1886-10-23

Things waxed prosperous with -
party until We had reached point, -
presume, about 200 milee south ok Sal1
Lake, when We encountered party a
Mormons bound also to the west. We
camped together aid found thst IL
leader Of the Mormons, man named
Hunt, was possessed Of pass or right g
way document osar the hunting grounds
of the Utah Indians, and that this party
purposed taking q cutoff straight
through the Indian countay. Thus sh0Et-
ening the distance nearly 800 milss.
Anxious to reach my destination ]
speedily became an exhorter in the effort
to induce my party to join the Mormons.
A meeting was he d and, - . result,
over bali the party concluded to 60 with
them, and the next evening We separated;
our friends who had decided to continue
ON south bidding us good-by, and
speedily disappearing from view among
the hills.
Under the guidance OF the Mormon
leader We took up the new route, found
it prolific in the requisites necessary for .
wagon trail, and had prosperous jour
ney until the border Of the southern
part Of the state was reached Here Q
discussson arose a. to what route TO pur-
sue toward the mines. Many of The
company were Of the opinion that tie
Walker pass route was most practicable,
while I held that q journey toward The
south and west would bring u sooner
over the deserts to the fertile valleys be-
yond. In this opinion many Of the
company concurred, and another split
was the result.
My party at once began the work Of
crossing the trackless waste. and ON
Christmas day, 1849. We encamped ct
the hot springs IN Death Valley. Our
route from this point lay to the south
and west, and, after resting our animals
and overhauling our wagons, we took
that direction. The intense heat, lack OF
water and proper nourishment soon told
on our stock and they began to die by
the dozens. Coupled with this m1sfor-
tune was the overwhelming one that our
wagons were by reasons of the heat and
burning sand speedily becoming useless,
and not day passed but what some un-
fortunate party had to abandon their
wornout horses and broken-down vehi-
Gle and begin the task Of crossing the
terrible country on foot We had not
gone far when further dissensiOns re-
garding our route broke out and a. Q
result nine Of the party left us and struck
out on foot in opposite directions We
never saw them again and but two out of
the party succeeded, after untold suffer-
ing, in reaching the settlement Of the
north.
Several days after the separation se
crossed their path, and knew byit an
certain course that our friends ware lost.
That we were right was afterward
proven by party Of prospectors, who
discovered the bleaching skeletons Of
seven men who had, in an agony super
induced by thirst and starvation, crawled
into dry water hole to die. To recount
the untold miseries, suffering from star
vation, thirst and exposure, endured by
our party during the march through the
desert would fill volumes. The very
next Jay after separating from our
friends, the last wagon we had fell to
pieces, and we were left no other recourse
than to pursue our way on foot hoping
for deliverance from horrible death that
was every moment staring us in the face.
Swarms of vultures hocked about us, az
if by instinct made aware Of the fate that
in nine cases ont Of ten awaits the
traveller lost in the sands.
Ny wife, the only little woman in the
party, proved the salvation of us all /
had given entirely out and had to be
lifted from my bed on the sands every
morning. Another member of the party
by reason of mis- sufferings, had lost hls
mind, and the three or four little chill
dren crying piteously with horribly blis-
tered feet and bodies, had to be carried
in the arms of men. Utterly unable at
last to pack them the work fell to my
wife, and alternately one after the other,
the little sufferers were carried in her
oAUoS oSAOoo OCCOI@ W0 ~ lo0V
reached point to tie northward Of
where Mojave now stands, and decided
that by travelling south we would reach
the Tulars valley and find settlement.
This direction we took, and after two
days reached q rancho ~hich / found
was the wellknown San Francisco place.
We were within few miles Of Los An {.
geles, and no tongue can describe our
feelings as We once more saw the faces
Of our fellow beings and found ourselves
afe in a land Of plenty.
A DR.. Irving, then a prominens resi-
dent Of Los Angeles, was engaged in sur
veying q road near the rancho, and he
very generously furnished Us with teams
md drivers and brought US to Los An
geles. Ny son, who his fourth year
travelled over these trackless wastes,
lied but two years ago in Sacramento.
My wife still lives a. does an older son,
md I find myself, thirty-six years after
ny terrible experiences, within few
hundred miles Of them, recounting them
n city where was the first Protestant
o preach the gospel.
Mr.. Bier's acquaintance with th
of Death valley led the re