The evening world., 1891-07-11
IT IS A POOL OF DEATH.
A Sparkling Spring Which E1-
hales a Poisonous Gas.
Yet There Is Nothing to Warn Tour.
lists OF Their Danger.

Talking about Death Valley" said
Gavin McNab, according TO the San
Francisco Chronicir, II lnow q spot in
this State where no living thing can exist
five seconds, and the plpcs is within
twenty feet of n travelled country road.
Tell us about H." aud the gentlemen
clustered around the speaker.
Well, SAID NV. MoNtb ! will, Tut
If l did not know thero was q super
abundance ot proof concerning the story
] am about to reiRtc To you Should hcsi-
tate tote it.
Along the foot Of the Mendocino
Mountains, IN the county by that name,
runs much-travelled road which leads
ttom the town of Hoplnnd to UkiRh. The
road ia On n bench or shelf above n val
ley created by the Russian River. which,
lks all California streams, 10 constantly
changing lis channel and hence IL is
within hundred yards of the road at
the nearest point AMI again n halt mile
away.
When this annual overNows occur it
spreads over tho whole valley and is a
mile or more wide. ! mention this in or
der that you NAV understand the nature
OF the valley. II IL dry river bed, all
sand and g.avel, with here and there a
bunch of scrubhy willows.
" In clump OF these stunted trees. at
pomt about three miles IRON Hopiand
and about thirty feet from the road have
mentioned, there bubhleR spring of the
clearest, most sparkling water you ever
saw. The only thing peculiarly notice
nhle about the spring from distance is
the loud Missing sound It makes as il
gushes up out OF the Grayelly soil.
1t sounds more like boiling water
with occasional Jets of steam escaping
than il does Ike the ordinary purlinG of
n stream. Approach, and you will be
startled to see lying around the rpring the
skeletons Of hundreds Of birds and scores
OF small animas, such as coons. foxes,
and the like.
| Nearly always there will be body or
two OF birds or animals in more or ltEs
advanced stage Of decomposition near the
edge of the spring. If n mnn is wise he
Will be content with Rn inspection of the
unattraCuve Epot from n dlstRnCe, more
especially II there happens to bS the car
cRss Of steer lying beside 1t with the nose
ali inch or two from the water.
The fact 10, gentlemen, that there rises
constantly from the. spring gas so no1-
ious and 30 deadly that one Whit of II is
sufficient to eXtiuguish life
The terrible character Of the spring.
continued Mr.. McNRb lis well known
10 all who reside in the neighbo hood,
and they tell some horrible stories con-
cerning il. Ono day the little six year old
daughter of farmer living near the
spring wandered away from home. Her
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 Il little dead bird
cluthed In her hand.
She had evidently seen the bird lying
beside tho spring, and being attracted by
the bright colorS Of its plumnge. had tried
to pick it M, and in so dong had inhaled
the gas rising from the wafer and died
with the bird.
Another time" said the narrator OF
| this strange story, "A squaw who was sup
posed to be recovering from spree wan.
dered down by the spring. She probably
started to the river 10 get a drink, when
she discovered tho spring and knelt beside
it, lying in that position.
The Btrnngest thing about II is that
well known as is the deadly character OF
the spring, there il absolutely no warn.
ing posted, no fence around It. nor pro-
lection against it of any kind other than
= few limbs of trees and bushes thrown
over tho place by farmers to keep Their
stock away from it. and the last time
saw the place even tho brush had been
scattered until the spring was uncovered.
yentqresome, man once held his
breath and nostrils and leaned over the
spring to hear the noise it made, which
he describes as something terrible.
The water is thought to be compare
lively wholesome, but nothing is known
positively about 1t, as II has never been
analysed. There can DO no doubt. how.
ever, that the spring Is certain and in
stant death TO every living thing that up
proNches it."