The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-15
DREAD DEATH VALLEY.
story of the Experiences of the
Bennett Party.
From the chicago Record.

From the Chicago Record.
Death Valley received its name from an
emigrant train which went to pieces there
half century ago, and of which the wild
est reports went over the country. The
fact that the train contained a number
of families intensified the interest and
sympathy. One report was to the effect
that the entire trains crew perished an
other, which was most generally believed,
was that, owing to disagreements, the
train had divided, and one section of thirty
had lost twenty-five of its number and
all of it's stock. Even now weird stories
founded on that event come floating back
from distant or foreign papers. The con-
ditions were such, and means OF COM
munieatiOn were so slow and uncertain,
that II was no wonder such stories went
out; indeed, it would have been a 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.
1t can be put down as an axiom that
when crossing the valley it is not safe
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 in 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 disappeared. That desert has ansarea
of from 5000 to 5000 square miles Its aiti-
tude is more than 1900 feet, and, while
its heat is not so bistering as I'm Death
Valley when at its worst. ii is hot enough.
The alkali dust is ankle deep to knee
deep, and nurns the eyes and lips almost
beyond endurance The .dreary waste is
absolutely waterless and woe to the voy-
ager who has neglected to take a water
supply.
OF this event of half a century ago your
correspondent gives it as lately related by
Mr. A. Winters, who heard 1t from mem
bers of the Bennett party. Mr.. Winters
is now living twelve miles from keystone,
but within the state of California. He was
the discoveref of the borax mines twenty
years ago, has been all around Death Val
ley and crossed it scores of times. Mr..
Winters came overland from Missouri in
1850 and is now seventy-nine years old.
In 1S49 the California gold fever was ep.-
demic. The only routes to the newly dis
| covered El Dorado were by Cape Horne
| 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 encounter
| ed deadly feyers and the third taxed the
endurance to the utmost in the face of
death by starvation or thirst.
In that year about 1875 people. including
several families who had gathered from
| various parts of the country in Salt Lake,
organized a train and hired Capt. Bennett
as guide to take them through They ar
| rived at the sink by the dry Furnace creek
| in a Wornout condition. The famishing
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 be found by half an
| hours digging With disbursement and
| CONSERVATION in camp, Capt. Bennett ad-
| Vised 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.
As Capt Bennett would not proceed the
| train began to disntegrate aud broke into
| half dozen pieces. AS the nrst parties
| began to find their way to the coast, the
discouraging reports they made MED the
| whole of California with alarm, ana Inc
| outgoing mails spread it over the coun-
| creasing the tale of terrible sunerings
and privations and predicting greater dis
asters to follow, the public feeling be-
! came intense. At length all were IN or
| accounted for. except the fragment of
| twenty-five or thirty remaining with Capt.
I Bennett A relief party was organized to
20 in search of him, but met his parry
coming in. 1t was a year before the rela-
| tives and friends could be assured of the
safety of those for whom they had
mourned The graves Of those who per-
! ished are yet TO be seen, passing pilgrims
not permitting them to be obliterated
| The whitened bones OF animals and
wrecks of wagons and household goods
left by the loss OF stock yet lie scat
tered about, preserved by the dry atmos-
| phere.
by common consent that sink has since
been known as Death Valley, and tho
mountain by whose pass the party en-
tered has been known as funeral moun-
tain.
Death Valley is the most remarkable
effect OF seismic disturbance on the
continent; indeed. the world has nothing
which - IN semblanco TO IT, a quarter