Birmingham state herald., 1896-11-08
DREAD DEATH VALLEY
STORY OF THE BENNETT PARTY.
How the Gold Seekers Broke Into Fac tions in That Vast Waste of Alkali-
 Utah's Alkali Desert Is Worse.


 received it's name from an emigrant train which went to pieces there half century ago and of which the widest reports went over the country. The fact that the train contained a number of families in- tensfied the interest and sympathy. One report was to the effect that the entire trains crew perished; another, which was most generally believed, was that owing to disagreements the train had divided and one section of thirty had lost twenty five of it's number and all of it's stock Even now wierd stories founded on that event come floating back from distant or foreign papers. The conditions were such and means of communication were so slow and uncertain it was no wonder such stories went out; indeed it would have been wonder were it otherwise.
 Death valley is bad enough, but not so terrible as it has been pictured. Lives are lost every year, generally of those who do not know the water supply places or who are lily prepared for such trip. It can be put down as an axiom that when crossing the valley it Is safe not to pull the cork from the whisky bottle. AS a matter of fact, Death valley Is not so much to be dreaded as is the great alkali desert of Utah. This desert is west and south of the Great Salt lake and was the) last land that became visible to the world when the immense prehistoric sea disap- peared. That desert has an area of from 5000 to 5000 square miles. It's altitude is more than 4,000 feet and, while it's heat is not so blistering as in Death valley when at its worst, it is hot enough. The alkali dust is ankle deep to knee deep and burns the eyes and lips almost be- yond endurance The dreary waste is absolutely waterless and woe to the voy ager who has neglected to take a water supply
 STORY OF THE BENNETT PARTY.
 ofL Lo1 correspondent gives it as lately related by A. Winters, who heard it from members of the Bennett party. MT. Winters is now living twelve miles from Keystone, but within the state of California. He was the diScoVerer of the boraX mines twenty years ago, has been all around Death valley and crossed it scores of times. MT. Winters came overland from Missouri in 1850 and is now 76 years old.
 In 1859 the California gold fever was epidemic. The only routes to the newly discovered Fl Dorado were by Cape Horn, across the isthmus or over the unknown mountains and perilouS deserts The first route twice crossed the torrid zone and for months the voyagers faced storms through a succession of climatic changes on a sailing vessel. The second en- countered deadly levers and the third taxed the endurance to the utmost in the face of death by starvation or thirst.
 In that year about 125 people, including several families who had gathered from various parts of the country In Salt Lake, organized a train and hired Capt. Ben nett as guide to take them through. They arrived at the sink by the dry Furnace creek in Wornout condition. The fam ishng stock drank of a salt spring and began to die. Four or five of the party also died and the outlook could not well be worse. They did not know then, as now, where water could be procured, and that there were places where it might hp fO1IO6 hV half a n hOllr'S digging With Encouragement and consternation in camp, Capt. Bennett advised falling back to the mountains, where there was feed. and waiting until the next season. To this proposition the train would not agree. If die they must they preferred that death should overtake them while making heroic attempt at escape.
 TRAIN BROKEN IN PIECES.
 As Capt. Bennett would not proceed, the train began to disintegrate and broke into half dozen pieces. AS the first parties began to find their way to the coast, the discouraging reports they made filled the whole of California with alarm and the outgoing mails spread it over the country. As succeeding parties arrived increasing the tale of terrible sufferngs and privatio and predicting greater dis asters to follow the public feeling became intense. At length all were in or ac- counted for except the fragment of twenty-five or thirty remaining with Capt Bennett. A relief party was organ ized to go in search of him, but met his party coming in. It was a year before the relatives and friends could be as- sured of the safety of those for whom they had mourned. The graves of those who perished are yet to be seen, passing pilgrims not permitting them to be obit- erated. The Whltened bones of animals nd wrecks of wagons and household goods left by the loss of stock yet lie scattered about, preserved by the dry at mosphere.
 By common consent, that sink has since been known as Death valley, and the mountain by whose pass the party entered has been known as Fueneral mountain.
 Death valley is the most remarkable ef- feet of a seismic disturbance on the con- tinent; indeed, the world has nothing which is a semblance to it, A quater of a century ago Lieut.. Wheeler declared that it was 450 feet lower than the water but a decade later Engineer Mou, of the borax company, found 1t to be 26O feet below sea level. Whatever its depth may be, it is compensated by the height of it's temperature 140 degrees in the shade not being uncommon. The valley is 125 miles long, with width not exceeding twelve miles, and for much of its length not half of that. Panamint range of mountains forms the western boundary. The Arma- gosa river, with its thirsty bed curving around from the elevations, Is sometimes a rOaTlT1R lOTTeHl lTOIn lcfIliC bursts, but 1t never emerges from that mysterious sink. It's waters are swal- lowed up by the velvety sands and disap- pear forever from view. At that depth below sea level, what becomes of the vast volumes of water Is one of the hidden se- crets of nature which man has not fath- omed.
 TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS.
 Funeral mountain rises to an altitude of 6754 feet, or 7014 feet from it's base. Immediately opposite is Telescope peak of the Panamint range, with an altitude of 10,937 feet or .197 feet from the val ley at its base. Probably on account of difficulties of access this grandest of all scenery has not attracted the attention of writers. Volumes have been written about the Grand canyon of the Colorado, but the peaks in Colorado are insignifi- cant in comparison.
 Funeral mountain may be ascended from the rear, but so far as known Tele- scope mountain cannot be ascended from from any side A mountain seems to have broken in two and the two halves