Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-10-02
DESERTS AND THIRSTS.
California Man Tells Why Loves One
Desert and Hates Another.

IL III
Desert and Hates Another.
There is a difference in deserts,
says Colonel Juan d. Mccarthy, of
California. in an interview published
in the New York Sun." land | don't
mean to say that I'm stuck on the big
sand valley that stretches between the
Colorado river and the San Bernadino
Mountains. I've we'll established
horror of that bit of country. and I'll
that the section of the Southern Pacific
crossing the Yuma desert was the last
portion of the road built. While the
road was being constructed | owned
some stage lines in Arizona, and the
Southern Pacific asked me to put on a
line between Yuma and seven Plains
to connect the two lines of the railroad.
Before deciding | thought it best to
drive over and inspect the route, and,
taking one of my best drivers. [ start
ed from Cotton in light wagon drawn
by two good horses. Our load was
made up mainly of water barrels. and
we calculated that we had more than
enough to carry US through. The real
sand desert, in which there is no living
thing. animal OF vegetable, is about
$50 miles wide. and in those days not
drop OF water could be had on the
route. The distance was too great to
be made in the night, and in the day
time no shelter from the heat could be
found. and it was no worse to be NOV
ing slowly than to be at rest. The
heat was appalling, and we couldn't
put a hand upon anything metallic.
Why, when they built the railroad
across there, the men had to use wood
en- tongs to handle the rails, and they
needed gloves even then.
Half way across the desert we came
upon a party of four men whose horses
had given out, and as they had no wat
err we divided our stock with them so
that they could get back alive. Then one
of our barrels sprung leak, and
we lost lot before we knew it. Our
| horses suffered horribly. but we could
do no more than cool their mouths now
| and then with Il wet sponge, and when
! we had thirty miles yet to 90 they col
| lapsed in the afternoon. We had just
a pint of water left at that time. and
both of US were parched with thirst.
1 drank a third of the pint and set out
a-foot for Yuma, leaving the rest of
the water for the driver, who was too
| much used up to walk.
walking in the sand was hard,
slow work, and Ii was broad daylight
when l sighted the Colorado river.
That strip of silver CLEAN in the SUM-
light was the most blessed sight my
eyes ever rested upon, and [ broke in
to a run toward the river with wild
desire to plunge into the water and
drink the stream dry. [ was half
crazed with thirst and fatigue and
| had DO more sense than mile post,
and if | hadn't been stopped I'd have
! killed myself with drinking. That's a
pointer for your cold water cranks.
Incorporate use of water at that time
would have killed me quicker than all
the whisky my skin could hold. BY
good luck somebody in Yuma saw me
running zizzag across the plain toward
the river and knew by my actions that
| was desert crazy. A party of men
ran out and stopped me, and [ fought
them in my frantic desire TO reach the
river and plunge into it. But they
overpoWered me, and gave me Just a
|
of my thirst was quenched, and then
| l became rational and told them about
the driver.
| 'Wlthin an hour a relief party was
made up and started out with plenty
of water in wagon, and l had re-
covered sufficiently to 90 with the
party. When we got to where | had
left the outfit. we found only the wag-
on and the two dead horses. The driv-
er had disappeared. It was easy to
track the man, however, as the wind
had not blown his footprints full of
sand. and in an hour or two we found
him, after following his aimless errat-
ic wanderings. I'll never forget the
sight. The mans tongue swollen and
| black Is Your boots protuded from his
mouth, MS eyes were bullying from his
| head and staring like maniac's, and
! he was covered with blood that flowed
from two wounds in his throat. Thirst
! had made him crazy, and when the
feeling of sutfocation in his throat had
| become intOlerable, he had slashed his
neck vertically on each side of the
windpipe. in the vain hope of relieving
the tension. OF course the cutting
| did no good directly, but possibly the
letting of blood did no harm. The
mans suffering must have been hid
eous. We caught him with some diff
| tculty and took him back to Yuma,
| giving him little water every few
minutes on the way, and he finally re-
covered after some weeks in the hos
pital.
Il didn't put any stage fine across
that corner of the desert, you can bet.
When think of that trip even New
York seems better than the desert
| that kind of a desert, | mean"
The old master was given another
commission, and naught was heard in
| the art gallery save the gentle gurg-
| ling of two works of art through two
straws. as Colonel Mccarthy and the
other man meditated upon the horrors
of unquenchable thirst.