Los Angeles herald., 1892-04-03
"A Desert Story With a Grue-
some Finale.
How the Celebrated BOrax Find
Was Located.
Daunet Escaped the Desert Only to
Commit Suicide.
The Story Told by M. Harmon, Of Dag
gett-Isidor Daunet and His Ex-
perience In the Valley.
His Sad End.
The Daggett correspondent OF the New
York Sun writes.

The Daggett correspondent OF the New
York Sun writes:
Among the men who have sought for
fortune in the great desert that stretche g
away to the north of this ragged mining
camp is M. Harmon, the proprietor of
little restaurant near the Daggett rail-
road station. He is full of desert stories
perhaps no man here is more familiar
with the tales OF prosp ectors who have
braved Death valley ter rors hoping to
strike it rich. Among the stories he
sometimes tells ia that OF an unfortunate
Frenchman named Isidor Daunet. Dau-
net was born in Basses Pyrenees, France,
in April, 1850. He emigrated to Cali
fornia when 10 years old, finding home
in San Francisco until 1868. Then, al
though but boy, he began to wander
up and down the mining-camp region,
picking up knowledge OF ores, and
eventually becoming, while yet not of
age, typical prospector. When fully
grown he was noted as remarkable
specimen of manly strength and vigor,
and was, moreover, possessed Of great
courage and energy of character-quali-
ties which saved his life in a trip
through Death valley when others died,
but qualities which failed him, never
theless, at a critical period later on.
In the year 1880 Daunet was in the
mining camp OF Panamint, on the west
side of the Panamint range and but a
few miles in direct line from the most
depressed portion of Death valley.
Finding no prospect of striking lead
there that would make him rich, he
joined party of other adventurous
spirits bound on a prospecting trip
into the deserts of Arizona. The party
numbered seven men in all, and after
buying supplies and getting pack ami
mails together they started away, though
1t was in midsummer, by an unfamiliar
trail that the next day led them into
Death valley. AS they went down the
cailon they knew very we'll that it was
they were in the prime OF life and health
and secuted the idea that they could not
pass its narrow breadth. Nevertheless,
as it's arid atmosphere sapped the
moisture from their bodies they strove
in vain to supply the lack by drinking
from the canteens. Almost before they
realized their condition their water was
gone, and they had no knowledge of the
location of the springs there, and half
wild through their sufferings they cut
the throats of their pack animals
and drank the blood as tigers might have
done.
Then Daunet and another, the strong
est and most resolute men in the party,
started off for help, and after shockin G
hardships reached an Indian camp
where water was abundant The In
dians at once returned to help those left
behind, but found only two of them
living; the other three h ad perished for
want of water.
Not long after this adventure the
story of the borax find of old Aaron
Winters in the upper end of Death val
ley was told throughout the region and
Daunet heard of it. He had had hard
experience in Death valley, but associ-
ating himself with J. M. Mcdonald, M.
Harmon aud G. G. Clanch, he went down
near the lowest part OF the valley and
secured 260 acres of good barley land i.
There was an abundance OF mesquite
wood for fuel, and water was got by
digging. They carried boiling pan
and crystallizing tanks suitable for pre-
pairing the borax for market, and bv the
end of 1882 had turned out 100000
pounds, for which they received 10 cents
a pound and upward. Their first ship
ment was thirty-seven tons OF crude ma
terial, and for that they got cents.
Nevertheless, the enterprise being far
away on the desert from Daggett, the
nearest point of shipment, they could
not succeed in competition with more
favorably located concerns.
On October /, 1882, when at the
height of what seemed very prosper
GUS career, Daunet was married to Clio.
tide Garraul, a French Canadian. Clo-
tide had made one matrimonial ven-
ture already, although Daunet did not
know it; but she had been divorced.
Everything went on pretty well
with the couple until 1884,
when business troubles accumu.
lated and then there were quarrels in
the Daunet family. In May these
troubles eliminated in the wife leaving
Daunet and applying for divorce. The
service OF the papers on Daunet was
made on his arrival in San Francisco
from his works in Death valley. He
had hoped to effecta reconciliation with
his wife, and the shock to his nerves
when the papers were served proved toe
much for him. Going to his lodgings al
53o Post street on the m ,rning of May
18th, he wrote rambling letter ito the
public" tied up his head with white
handkerchief, sat down facing the
mirror, and fired bullet through his
brain.
The borax plant and grounds were
eventually sold, aud M. Harmon, one oil
Daunets partners, is now running a
restaurant in Daggett.
A Lucky Escape.
s{ns'a f1rsMn Me y tne man or woman residing in
~ uvrh, A. l..