The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1891-06-11
FHE WATERS OF DEATH.
l Spring Kills All VlO Touch It--FitaI
10 Nan Gnd Beast.
Ths Terrible sPOG Near . BSansaaa
Read n lSaaSelaO COansT,
CallaOPnla.

San Francisco Chronicle: Talk about
death valley" said Gavin McNab, the
well known hotel man, last night, ,"I Know
. spot in this state where no living thing
can exist Eve seconds, and the piace b
within thirty feet Of . travelled county
road"
Tell % about It," said the gentlemen
clustered around the speaker.
"Well," said Mr.. McNsb, II will, but
Il did not know there was . super
abundance Of proof concerning the story
I am about to relate 70 you ! would hesi-
tate to tell It. Along the foot Of the
Mendocino mountains, in the county BY
that name, runs . much Travelled road,
which leads from the town Of Hopland
to Ukiah. The road ID on . bench or
shelf above the valley, created by the
Russian river, which, like nearly all
California streams. is constantly chang
ing its channel, and hence Il is Some-
times within Q hundred yards Of the
road at the nearest point, and again .
half mile away. When the annual over
flows occur It spreads over the whole
valley, and is q mile or more wide.
mention this in order tnat you may un-
derstand the nature Of the valley. It
10 dry river bed, all sand and gravel,
with here and there q bunch Of scTubby
willows.
''In q Clump Of these stunted trees, at
4 point about three miles from HoplAnd
and about thirty ieet from the roud I have
mentioned. there bubbles Q spring Of the
clearest sparkling water you ever saw.
The only thing peculiarly noticeable
about the spring from . distance ID the
loud kissing sound It makes as Il gushes
up out Of the gTavelly soil. II sounds
more like boiling water with occasional
Jets Of steam escaping than Il does like
the ordinary purling Of . stream. Ap-
proach II and you will be startled to See
lyirg around the spring the skeletons ol
hundreds Of birds, scores Of small ami.
mails such a. coons. foxes and the like,
and nearly Away there will bs . body Of
two Of birds or animals In more Of len
advanced stage Of decomposition neaI
the edge Of the spring. II . man b wis,
he will be content with an inspection oi
the unattractive spot from . distance,
more especially Il there happens 70 b
the carcass Of q steer lying beside Il with
the nose an inch or two from the water.
The fact is, gentlemen, that there rises
constantly from the spring . ,gAS 90 nor.
ious and so deadly that one Whit Of Il ID
Sufficient 10 extinguish life.
"The terrible character Of the spring" !"
continued Mr.. McNab, ''is well known
to all who reside In the neiRhborhood,
and they tell some horrible stories con-
eerning Il. One day the little 6-year-old
daughter Of . farmer living near the
spring wandered away from home. IL
absence was not noticed for an hour or
two, and then the parents went In search
Of their child. They found her lying dead
beside the spring with . little dead bird
clutched In her hand. She had evidently
seen the bird lying dead beeide the spring
and, being attracted BY the bright cOlOrs
Of It's pluinage, rad tried 10 pick itup and
In 90 doing bad inhaled the gas rising
from the water and died with the bird.
another time" said the narrator ol
this strange story, "a squsw who was
supposed to be recovering from q spFes
wandered down by the spring. Ehe
probably started to the river 70 ct q
drink When she discovered the spring
and knelt beside Il, dying In that posi-
ton. The Strangest thing about Il ID
that, well known as Il the deadly char
acter Of the spring, there iS absolutely
no warning posted, no fence around Il,
nor protection against It Of any kind
other than . few limbs Of trees and
bushes thrown over the place BY farmers
to keep their stock away from Il, and the
last time I saw the place even the brush
had been scattered until the spring was
uncovered. A venturesome man once
held bis breath and nostrils and leaned
over the spring 10 hear the noise II
made, which he described as something
terrible.
"The water Is thought TO be compare
lively wholesome, but nothing b known
positively about Il, a. q has never been
q