Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-13
IN DEATH VALLEY.
The Experience Of One Exploring
Party in the Desert.
THE FURNACE-LIKE HEAT
Personal Recollections Of One. Of the Mem
bers Of the Wheeler ExpeditiOn-Charac-
terisfics of the vallcy-How II Got Its Grue-
some Name.
Written for Tho Fveniu0 St.r

| Written for The Evening Star.
| DREvIOUS to the year 1871 the area now
Il designated as "Death valley" was a verit-
able terra incognita- No reliable information
had yet been received from any source respect
ing the physical characteristics Of the southern
portion Of the "Great American Desert OF the
school Biographies of our boyhood days. FIRE.
mont, on his return from California in 1874,
followed the Spanish trail which was the then
! existing route between Salt Lake and Los An
geles. This trail passes across the lower por-
ton Of Death valley, but the name is not men,
toned by him in his report He gives as his
belief that the great interior basin covered an
| area of at least -four or five hundred miles
each way" and refers in his Journal to springs
| of water as much as sixty miles apart.
| For the purpose Of obtaining official infor-
nation respecting the condition and resources
| of southeastern California. southern Nevada
and Arizona. the War Department lifted out
placed under the command of Maj then lieu
| tenant) George n. Wheeler. United States en-
gineer corps. 1t was not until May, 1871, how
ever, that the exploration of the desert country
was attempted, and 1t was late in August be-
| fore Camp Independence and Owens lake were
left behind. when the column moved eastward
across Ganamint Desert
1t was with considerable difficulty that guides
| were found who could be relied upon as
possessing knowledge Of the country across
which they were to direct us. Two only could
be found. and both of these men subsequently
persisted from want Of water within the bor-
ders of the valley.
During our stay at Camp Independence, and
while prosecuting inquiries as to our future
course, many old prospectors and miners who
called upon us gave most disheartening ac-
counts of Death valley. According to general
belief it was a great inMnd dried-up sea. sur
rounded by inaccessible cliffs ond vertical
walls of rock. with but single trail leading
down into the desert, which was anywhere from
100 to 600 feet below sea level. Should any one
venture to descend into this area of desOlatiOn
and lose his trail death would inevitably follow,
Water ard vegetation there we're none. and the
temperature was SO high that the dried and
shriveled carcasses of animals and the bodies of
human beings were to be found at frequent inter-
walls and indestructible by ordinary decomposi-
ton. 1t WAS on account of such reports that
guides were difficult to secure.
AN IMMENSE DRIED-UP LAKE BED.
1t may be well to state at this juncture that
Death valley is an immense dried-up lake bed,
the lowest depression, as determined by OBJ
seryatiOns at numerous barometric stations,
being 10 feet below the level of the sea. The
valley lies in the direction of the oblique
boundary line separating California from
Nevada and lies almost due east of Owens lake,
is bounded on the west by the Telescope range
OF mountains and on the east by the Funeral
and Armagora mountains. 1t is about $50
miles in length by an average width of from rs
to 30 miles, the southern extremity merging
into the northern extension OF the
MOjave desert. while the northern ter
inmates in broad. arid washes, ending in
the Grapevine and Gold mountains, as we'll as
| thanking their western foothills. The surface
OF the valley consists mainly of hard crusts of
salt and mud, intermingled with other saline
ingredients. such rs soda, borax, lime and
pOtassa; at frequent places there are preserved
distinct sOldified waves as il at their formation
and preservation there had been a strong south
wind. Numerous places occur where crlsts of
salt and mud cover hollow cavities. and others
again where such crusts have broken and
fallen in. exposing holes and deprcssions caused
by drying and contraction Of the OOZe under
meath. Such localities are dangerous for a
, careless rider, particularly SO when mounted
on discontented government mule.
Death valley was traversed by parties OF the
expedition at four different points. but shall
cOnfine myself only to the division of which
Maj. Wheeler was himself in command, and to
which l was attached.
THE VIEW FROM THE HEIGHTS.
Upon arriving at the summit of the Telescope
range we beheld at our feet, from an alti-
tude of about 5000 feet, an immense
white and glistening basin. the opposite border
OF which was lost in the haze Of the dazzling
heat. but which could be apparently determined
by the broken a3i irregular outline of the
grayish- blue summit of the Funeral mountains.
From the mouths of numerous canons lead
| ing out into the desert from the range upon
which we stood could be observed immense en-
| bankments Of sand, gravel and boulders result
| ing from the erosion of frequent cloud bursts.
while farther away could be traced with vivid
dlstinctness the meandering courses OF earthly
coloring matter obtained from the banks of
earth and sand; these resembled gigantic,
dried-up venOus system, the course of drainage
being toward the southeast in the direction of
| IA supposed marsh. The eastern border of the
valley was sharply defined about twenty five
miles below ~ "a huge promontOry. beyond
which the desert became broader and stretched
farther away to the east.
Half way down the mountain side we went
into camp, filling our canteens with coffee
for the mOrrOws trial. Water becomes nauseat-
ing if not absolutely injurious when the
thermometer indicates 120 degrees in the shade
and from past experience recognized the
fact that coffee was not only more grateful to
the taste, but less was required to obtain the
same beneficial results.
THREADING THE DESERT PATHS.
Upon leaving camp on the following morning
the party struck across the desert in a north
east direction in search of Furnace creek, while
my hospital steward and went southwark to a
point almost due east of Telescope Peak there
to ascertain altitude, temperature, DC, and TO
that might be of interest. BY 0 o'clock we
reached desirable point, q small pond of tol-
| ernbly fresh water, the shores Of which were
covered with tule rushes and in the immediate
vicinity of which was q clump of mesquite
bushes, upon which we hung blankets to pro-
duce sufficient shade to protect the instru-
ments.
Ant hills were not uncommon about the
pond, but the only signs of there having been
| life found in few bleached gopher skulls,
quantities Of partly deyoured large black
beetles and few dead ants The hills were
covered with the dry husks O. mesquite beans
upon which these insects had subsisted.
| At 10 o'clock the thermometer registered II 8
| degrees, and from IL o'clock until in the
afternoon the temperature was 120 degrees in
the shade. About midday the steward exposed
| to the direct rays Of the sun one of tine instru-
ments when the mercury rose rapidly to 1GO
degrees, at which it was deemed advisable to
| place the instrument under cover to avoid pos
| sible fracture. At 4 o'clock the sun was hid.
den by the lowering summit of Telescope Peak,
but the hot blast of The desert continued to
| come from the south. On account of the ex-
| treme dryness of the atmosphere the skin be.
came harsh and dry, the perspiEatiOn being
insensible, and we were constantly obliged to
pull down the broad brims of our hats to keep
| OH as much Of the furnace-like heat as possible
Upon returning to the canon, where We
parted from our companions i'm the morning
| 1t was almost dark, and We could barely detect
| the trail formed by the pack train. We were
ignorant of the location of Furnace creek but
headed across the desert toward the deepest
| and DrOaRpst visihla M had