The herald., 1894-08-19
INSANE ON THE DESERT.
PETER MATHES RESCUED FROM
DEATH.
Brought to the County jail Raving
Maniac-His Hair and Board
Turned Gray-Desert
Diet.

Constable Juch OF Julian arrived in
the city last night in charge of a
strange looking specimen of humanity,
whom he placed in tho county Jail on
the charge OF insanity. The man, if he
recovers his reeson, will be the one in
stance on record where the Colorado
desert has given up victim after re-
ducing him to insanity and causing him
to run gibbering over the waste OF sands,
mad with thirst and heat. Though only
AZ years of age, the man is gray-haired
and has struggling gray beard that
causes him to appear ct least 80. He 10
confined in q cell, and although appar-
entity recovering his reason, is still alter
nately talkGtive and moody, telling abb
surdly different stories, and revealing
that his mind Is still unhinged with the
fearful experience.
SO far az could be learned from the
constable and the man himself, his nam Q
is Peter Mathes, and he is an old pros
pec.or. He had been in the Alham b ra
country, and left, nobody knows how
long ago, on prospecting trip south
ward through the mountains. He WAS
on foot, and 80 far as known had no
burro or other animal. Somehow,
either in search OF gold or by mietaks,
he GO. out in the desert and lost his
way, and nothing of him is known from
that time until he was found, q raving
maniac, on the Mountain Springs trail
some miles east of Campo. His ex-
perience on the desert may have lasted
| more than q week, or it may, consider
| ing the fearfully hot weather of this
season, have been only a day or two.
From Mathes' appearance, however,
and the length OF his prematurely white
beard and hair, he has been in the
furnace of the desert for many days,
and escaping by miracle, can point to
az actual experience that in horror far
discounts the vision OF Dante.
The strongest efforts failed last night
to secure a connected story from the
withered and rambling victim, nor could
he be prevailed upon to tell of his feel
ings then or now. He said at one time
that he had been without water for IA
hours, and another time stated that the
longest time he had been without water
was 10 hours. He is plainly deranged,
though not showing signs Of violence. as
was the case when he was first found.
Constable Juch said that the man was
seen by ranoher on the Mountain
Spring road. The rsncher was startled
by the apparition of strange object,
standing upright, but seeming more
like an animal, uttering inarticulate
cries and lodging as if to escape him.
He managed to coax the maniac to mis-
side, and got enough out OF him to learn
his name, and that he was dying of
thirst and hunger. Mathes would not
at first listen to anything, but was pre-
vailed upon finally to get in the wagon
and 90 to Julian, where he was turned
over to the constable. As soon as Msthea
was able to talk. the swelling Of his
tongue having been reduced, and the
more violent signs of insanity having
abated, he told fragments of his story.
1t seems that Mathes ran out of grub
almost as soon as his water supply
failed, and to add to the horror Of thirst,
he found himself lost without mouth
full of food. He managed to keep alive