The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-05-21

1.foun,o+ion has reached Washing
tom through report to Acting oecie
tary of Agriculture Willltts' ol 'rs
terrible experience Of Prof. Theooore .,
Palmer in charge Of the AgrleulIufsi
Departments exploring party IN oeStu =,
Valley, Southern California. Inc pssl,s
left here last November in charge o.
Prof. Palmer, who is the asSist1n'
ornithologist of the Agricultural Ue
nartment, and has been surveying ~:
South valley region under his dlreceion
mil his recent terrible experience
49, he walked forty miles tnr19SSpI tp
being for tW0 usa.a~Af-the.dssE
On the 18th of March Prof G. R.
Merriam, the chief ornithologist of the
department, left here to join the explor-
ing party, which was, after his arrival,
Z to divide into two parties, one under
Prof. Palmer. He had directed Prof.
Palmer to meet him at Daggett the
nearest supply station, on the Sante Fe
3. Railroad, and it was on his way there
that Prof. Palmer nearly lost his life.
In his report to the department Prof.
Merriam says that he arrived at Dag
gett the 18th. of March. Prof. Palmer
did not reach there till several days
later. He had started across Death
Valley to Daggett, according to the ar
rangement, travelling by team. One
night the team had broken away, leav-
ING him in the midst of the desert, with
nothing to depend On but his legs and
the supply of food and water IN the
wagon, which, ofcourse, be could not
take with him. He tracked the horses
for forty miles through the desert to
spring, to which the horses instinct
had guarded them.
But before Prof. Palmer reached the
spring the horses had gone away, and
he could not follow them further, hay
ing no overcoat, no food, and only the
water at the spring in the midst Of the
deadly Mojave desert. He could not
stay there, having no food, and he set
out and walked seventy miles, most of
the distance through the burning sands
of ofDeath Valley to Daggett. He was
almost dead when he reached there, and
had to be sent home at Claremont to
recover. It is understood that driver
who was with Prof. Palmer was driven
temporarily insane by his experience
in Death Valley.
Prof. Palmer is only % years old and
one of the Agricultural Departments
valued scientists. His great-grandfather
was jeremiah Day, former President
of Yale University.
The exploring party sent out last
winter by the Agricultural Department
includes, besides Prof. Merriam and
Palmer, two other ornthologists, one
Mr.. Fisher, from this city, and the
other detailed from work in the field in
Utah; two botanists, Mr.. F. V. Coville
of this city and Representative Fun
ston's son; an entomologist from Cali
fornia. Prof. kloeber; signal service
officer, who was sent with the party to
establish signal station in the Death
Valley region, and a topographer sent
by the Geological Survey to make a
Typographical survey of the region,
which has never before been explored.
Helpers and others were added to the
party in California, including Tin Sin,
tie Chinese cook.
The partyis making study Of the
distribution of life in this wonderful
region. Death Valley is an alkali desert
seventy-fve miles long by thirty wide. |
sunk 800 feet below the level of the sea.
At one side of it Mount Whitney rises
$4,000 feet skyward, and the party will
endeavor to accomplish its ascent as
soon as the snow melts. Death Valley |
is well named. People enter upon it
with scant supply Of water, and de-
celved as to distances by the constant
mirages, press onward after their sup
plies are exhausted, thinking to reach |
the pleasant region they see just before
them in the mirage. They often die Of
thirst before they discover that they
have been deceived by natures wonder
full optical illusion. The exploring |
party has sent to Washington hum
dreds of valuable specimens, valuable
enough in commercial sense alone. |
Secretary Willitts says, to pay for the
expedition. 1t is expected back in |
August.