The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-15
aTHE GARDEN OF HE'LL"
rxPERIENCR OF TWO MEN
IN THE ARIZONA DESERT.

mar Van Horn from Deeth-The Two
Mems stories.
F,op1 the Son francisco Examiner.
rrosox, June 2O.-"Who goes into the
garden OF hell plucks blindness and death"
This sounds like the text from latter
d.v sensational sermon. The sermon is
,-ssched by the bleaching bones of men
Tho have sought the gold that lies beyond
the dreadful place. No one remembers
,,bo il was first used the sentence. The old
Mexican prospectors who knew and hated
.hs Mace got 1t from their fathers. The
,srdin del Inflrno lies TO the southwark of
this CITY. and to the west near its southern
boundary, is low. solitary line Of rocky
nils. the outline of which against the
skv is that of giants profile.
There are not many who have looked,
and lived to tell it, on the face Of the giant
who has been scowling back at the blazing
sim from the beginning, but those who have
tell wlerd stories of what happens there
when the water is all gone from the can
teen and your brain is on fire and your
tongue cracks and bleeds. At the eastern
end of the range is a deed ravine-that
makes the lips of the giants face. When
the sun is in the west it shows a turn of the
canyon hidden before, that bends toward
the sunset. Then the face seems to grin-a
malignant grimace Of those feature Of rock
and sand.
The desert stretches from Tucson to
Yuma, and to the south ward God only
knows how far. 1t is a gray waste Of sand,
and its few ragged mesquite bushes and
protesque cacti 10 to vegetation only what
picture is to a real landscape. They say
that even snakes and lizards cannot live
there. Maybe because OF the lawful desola-
ton and hideous dangers Of this country the
story is believed that somewhere beyond
the desert there is gold more than would
make whole nation rich. ls It a relic of
the superstition of the time when the
headless men and fire-breathing dragons
we're thought to guard treasures that men
always believe gold is most plentiful where
thirst and death threaten?
A few days ago Two men came back to
Tucson out Of the desert. They found no
gold, and they are gaunt and fever-wasted,
but they came back alive, and they are
thankful for that. J. A. Van Horn aud
Martin WaeF, both Of this city, are the men.
They knew what they were undertaking
for they have been on the desert before, but,
with all their precautions and experience,
Of white on the sand but for the iron
strength and endurance Of the younger
man, Waer.
About the middle OF May Van Horn and
Waer decided to take trip down to Sonora
for the purpose of obtaining bond on a
mine. They had heard Of some rich mines
in the mountains near the line on the
American side, and they decided that, after
getting bond on the mine in Sonora, they
would continue their journey to these noun
tains to see for themselves whether or not
the reports circulated were true
They left this city on May %, at Q O'Clock
on Sunday morning In light wagon drawn
by two good horses. They had two kegs of
water with them-ten gallons for the horses
and five for themselves. They carried an
abundance OF provisions, including good
supply of canned goods. They went from
Tucson to mining camp known as Qui-
jotoa, and from there they proceeded to
Sonita, small village on the Sonita river,
in Sonora, near the line. They experienced
no difficulty in reaching this point, and
after remaining there over night they made
their way to place called Quita Vacquita,
which is situated on. the line between Ari-
IONA and Sonora. Then they went into the
wilderness to look fer the gold. They had
to cross FL Tule, the approach to the Garden
of He'll. They were aware that they had
not water enough to make the trip, but
they had been on the desert before and
knew a water-hole at the base OF Ell Tula
mountains. They would be q few hours out
Of water, but that is nothing when gold lies
beyond.
So they drove over FL Tula, past the hun
dreds OF rocky mounds-eaoh showing
where gold seeker had lain down to die
Of thirst and madnesS-and on to where the
unburied skeletons dot the road. When
men get as far as this they have no time 60
h,,rwx k1a-u D.,N Va, y ]
seen mounds and skeletons before, and ii
gave them no anxiety thar their water kegs
*entdry even earlier than they expected,
and all day they travelled without water.
and very thirsty they were before they
reached the rising ground that hid the
water hole.
At last they were there. They broke
through the thick clump Of mesquite that
marked the only water for miles. They
stood on the edge and looked, Van Horn
and Waer side by side. and behind them
the quivering, dropping horses. with their
hot, infiamed nostrils. At the bottom of
the natural tank was a patch of caked
cracked yellow earth. The water hole was
dry
The men knew of another water hole
seven or eight miles further On around the
mountain. 1t was sunset, but there was
nothing to do but make the other tank. Sc
they urged the wretched horses on. For
two miles the wagon ground its way through
the sand. Slowly they went, and more
slowly, and at last the horses stopped and
would pull no more They Embarrassed the
horses, and Waer went on leading them
while Van Horn waited In the wagon until
his companion should come back with the
horses refreshed and water for him. Sc
Waer left him, and with his canteen and the
horses passed out of his sight Van Horn
crawled under the wagon to wait In the
shade for his return.
Night came and Waer did not come; an.
other day and another night, and still be lid
not return. At the end of two days he de-
cided that his companion bad persisted and
tried to save himself.
Both came out alive and both are here.
This is the story of his wanderiugs Waer
told your correspondent:
u looked back as | passed around the
point and saw Van Horn crawl under the
wagon. That was the last l saw of him un,
Nl-out let me tell you about it as it hap
pened.
When got near the tank I tied the
horses to bush. They were wild for water
and was afraid they would break from me
and founder themselves and foul the water
into mud. might have spared myself the
trouble. The water holes we're dry. Thess
water holes are not living springs you
know, but merely basins that catch the
water that drains from hill and hold it.
Ihere was not much rain last winter, and