The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-09-11

Amargosa river, but as one OF the
most unique features of the least
known region i'm the United States, it
should not be let off so easily.
I recollect that when a small boy
attending school at Maple Grove l
read one Friday afternoon a thought
burdened essay on Dogs" the first
bright statement in which was about
as follows: "There are many different
kinds of dogs, the meanest and ugliest
IF which is the eur dog" am tempt
ed to follow out the same line OF
thought in describing the Amargosa
river. 1 don't suppose there is any
thing just like it anywhere else,-at
least, hope not.
In some out of the way place in
Western Nevada, just where. nobody
seems to know, a number of mineral
hot springs start little stream, which
sneaks off toward the south. winding
and twisting in and out among alkali
flats and sand dunes-here and there
sinking from sight only to reappear
little larger few miles further on,
fed by salt, soda and sulphur springs
until its waters look and smell like
over-ripe soap suds, surrounded by
dangerous boys and quag-mires and
flowing through land treeless and
desolate until it makes a sharp turn
around the southern end OF the Funer-
al mountains and is lost for the last
time amid the salt marshes of Death
Valley. Such is the Amargosa. It's
waters are not only bad, they are
rank, deadly poison, and of course
their use for irrigation is out or the
ques ton. We are told that nothing
was made i'm vain, but 1 am thinking
that when the final roundup comes
the Amargosa will be classed with the
dude and the mosquito as one of the
things pr city hard to explain away.
We first made the acquaintance OF
the Amargosa at place called Rest
ing Spring, one of the few localities in
this region where fresh water is to be
found. Here live two white men,
"Cub" and Phi Lee, who settled here
many years ago, married Piute squaws
and seem well contented with their
lonely life. One day Cub Lee was
giving me some "reminiscences of the
early days in Nevada when Virginia
City and Gold Hill were great mining
camps, and incidentally mentioned a
young TELLER name of Sam Clemens
what I hearn tell wrote book about
the country what was mostly pack
of lies" 1 was not long in guessing
that the "young Teller" was Mark
Twain and the pack of lies, Rough
ing It." The only description he
could give of the immortal Mark was
that he was "hatchet-faced young
smart Aleck."
At Resting Spring the expedition
was joined by Mr.. w. c. Burnett, of
the San Francisco Examiner, who was
sent out by his paper to write up tie
desert region, and who reached us by
driving overland from Daggett. Mr..
Burnett is a native Kan.an, having
been born at Humboldt. Very natur-
ally he induired of me the present
standing Of his birthplace. I broke
it to him gently and he took it like a
man, only saying that he had expect
ed as much.
From Resting Spring ten days
journey was made to Charleston Peak,
in Lincoln county, Nevada, and the
next camp established in the Amar-
gosa at Ash Meadows. There may
have been some reasons for naming
the spot Ash Meadows, the main one
being, I think, because there was not
all ash tree nor blade of grass within
u days ride. 1t was here that we ex-
perienced what is now referred to as
"the starving time" Owing partly
to the long distance from when our
supplies had to be hauled, two hum
dred miles,-and partly to someone's
inexcusable laundering our provisions
were exhausted and we lived for about
two weeks OH climate, helped out by
such delicacies as gophers, black birds
badgers, chuck-wallies, etc. The
chuckwally is big, clumsy lizard,
about foot long. Its flesh is white
and tender, somewhat suggestive of
spring chicken. However 1 do not
predict that the chuckwally is destin-
ed to become a populSr dish with the
best people. There is something fun
ny about this starving time" as 1
look back on it now, though at the
time it was very serious affair. I'll
was from here that L made my eight
days ride to Panamint for the mail, a
round trip of go miles and had some
not mentioned in the hand
bills.
But everything has its end-and so
bad the starving time" The supply
wagon came in from Daggett, the ex-
petition got on its feet again and,
leaving Ash Meadows and the Amar-
gosa, turned westward once more and,
down across the stony wash
Of Furnace Canon, crossed Death Val
ey to the mouth of Johnston's Canon
n the Panamint Mountains. The as
cent of JOhnston,s Canon to the Sho-