The herald., 1893-02-10
THREE THREE DEAD MEN ON THE DESERT
John Lang's CHASTITY Find on
the Yuma Road.
Beasts and Birds Had Picked the
Bones Bare.
No Indication Found of the Unfor
tunates' Identity Beyond an Un
finished Message on
Card.

When the Oregon branch of the Union
Pacific road was completed as far west
as pocatello, on the Port Neuf river. in
Idaho, couple of cattle buyers from
Kansas City named respectively Ryan
and Lang invaded the northwest coun-
try and bought mp all the marketable
cattle in the great basin of the Colum-
bia, extending from the tributary waters
of the Yakima on the west to those Of
the Des Chutes on the south and the
Powder on the east. In the seasons Of
lSS9-9Q they must have driven out OF
the three northwestern states close up
on $4,000 head of cattle, many Of which
were shipped to England, while the
residue met their fate in the abattoirs Of
Chicago and Kansas City.
The supply OF cattle in those states
was so cut down by the hard winter OF
l990-91 that many of the larger breed.
ers were thrown into bankruptcy and
further operations in that vicinity were
futile. MIR. Lang began to look south.
ward as field Tor business and settled
in this city as home for his twilight
years. His SONS at once took hold of the
business with him, and In the course oi
their pefegrinations through this coun,
try, at no inconsiderable risk and hard
ship, discovered an abundant supply oi
flowing water about 40 miles
from Indian Wells, on the Colorado
desert. These little rivulets, like the
Truckee, the Carson, the Malheur and
the Harney, sink again into the desert
sands whence they first emerged to life.
John Lang's find has been of considers
able value to him, as he found many
cattlemen down in Arizona, during the
droutha OF the lsst two years, who were
ready to give him all the cattle he could
pasture and water, upon terms that could
not fail to prove remunerative. During
the summer months he keeps pretty
close to Los Angeles and leaves the stock
to his vaqueros, but in the other eight
months in the year he is generally ION
the range" with headquarters in the
saddle.
About six weeks ago John Lang and
couple OF his vaqueros were riding along
the old telegraph road leading from San
Diego to Yuma when suddenly, at
short distance from the road he deserted
the wreck OF wagon. The party were
in search of ,estrsys from their herds,
so they took diversion from the trail
and rode towards the wagon, which WAS
completely broken down. The sight
that met their eyes was sickening one,
for the skeletons OF three men were
scattered about che region, their cloth
ing torn into shreds by the ravenous
coyotes and vultures. There was not
scrap Of paper in the pockets by which
,. ArrlA hR Al
were no pockets left. But the box of
the wagon bore stains of blood, half OBJ
liberated by the rain, showing that the
unfortunate men had gathered into the
box for safely until they became too ex-
hausted to fight the ravenous jacksls
which tore them limb from limb.
But "the voice from thegbush" r
silenced. Even from the desert the
voice of expiring nature cries aloud to
heaven with its faintest breath. On
card tackled to the bed of the wagon was
distinctly written in hand that had
grown tremulous with the pangs of
famine, the words "We are lost-there
is no water on the telegraph road" And
this pathetic message from the men
whose three white skulls lay bleaching
in the stunted grass beside the wagon
world that had closed on them for
ever.
"One of these was fat man, :" said
Mr.. Lang, "and the other two were
thin. You can always tell the bones of
fat man because they contain larger
percentage of iron which turns reddish
brown after the flesh is removed and the
bones are exposed to the air. These
men were less than four miles from q
fairly good supply of water, but they did
not know it,
They had evidently started on pros
pecting tour from San Diego or Yuma,
it is hard to cay which; and to Judge
from the appearance of the bones and
the partial obliteration of the blood
stains on the wagon had evidently been
dead about five months. No ox-yokes
nor harness could be found anywhere
near the wagon, nor were there any
weapons in sight. As people do not
travel on such errands without weapons
to aid them in procuring food, as we'll as
for defense against the Indians, 1t is
quite likely that the wagon had been
previously discovered by other parties
passing that way, who robbed the wagon
of its CHASTITY find and kept their dis
covery to themselves.
The life of cattlemen is full of dan
ger and vicissitude, so much 90 that
they frequently discover things that
other people would consider sensational
but with which their daily vocation rem
ders them SO familiar, that they pay
little or no attention thereto. It is to
be hoped the Yuma and San Diego pa
pers will reproduce the story of John
Lang's ghsstly discovery, in the hope of
bringing to light some trace of three
missing men. The slow and terrible
fate that overlook these three poor fell
lows is something calculated to make a
man OF true humanity shudder; and the
agonizing wall of their utter desolation,
in the last moments of their struggles
with the infuriated beasts, must have
Sudden Death!