The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-10

that Fort Mohave was the hottest place on
sarth. When discussing the matter a little
later; Mr., Jones said that Death valley,
Whlch takes in part of Nevada, some OF
arizona and part OF Inyo county. Calf
iornla, was probably the very hottest place
IN the world, for the longest time. we lost
SSIle OF our Weather Bureau men there a
rev years ago" he said. HE went in to
take sonle observations Went of his own
aoG G.., LOT we would send 40 rlan on such
q tourney as mat unless ho elected to go.
lie got bewildered and then lSst. we sun
pose, though no one Syer saw him alive
a,teI ne Meht IN the valley. Ind died OF
thirst. his body was :0uud a few days
later. II is an awful place. but there are
several OF them in that section of the coun-
The silent man said: Il have been in that
valley when the mercury went up to 100
degrees. 1 don know but it went higher
out we stopped looking after that-the
thought of II almost drove US mad sur
Veylng party was IN there, and several
OF the men went insane. Men who went an
hour without water went raving crazy
There is not a green thing that grows there
naturally, The thorny mesquite, sage
out foliage are all the vegetation that can
live in the arid region. Even cactus re-
fuses to grow there, pariah of the vegetable
world as II. Two rivers cross 1t. One
forms little lakes and marshes that give off
sulphuretted hydrogen. The other Is called
Furnace creek, and the water is hot in it.
This valley is at least two hundred feet
below the level of the sea and is walled in
by high mountains on three sides. In the
is a little ranch, a pasture and grain is
raised for the horses and cattle. Only one
man lives on 1t now. but it was once a
prosperous bOraX ranch. No human being
can live there, even though the ranch is
called Greenland, for six months and not
lose his mind Yet | once saw the mercury
freeze there and the cold registered at near
~ fifty below, so you see, my friend, that
the widest variation of temperature in the
world is in Death valley. That of the
Red sea only goes up to l27, and 1 am told
that more than once the mercury went up
to 1877 while the borax company was oper-
ating was not there then, so L do not
know that
Then another man remarked that his UNI
Gle had once crossed Death valley in the
late sos, and he said that hell would be
heaven beside the horrors that he expert
enced. When maddened for water they saw
most beautiful mirages, as it proved, and
these led them aStray, and when they re-
ally found a little stream of clear but warm
water they were afraid to drink it. and one
man pulled off his clothes and held them
high above his head, lest they should touch
the water which he imagined he was wad-
ing in. Then they all got to telling stories,
each one little wider than the other, so
Mr. Jones went back to his beloved maps.
The value of these little hand made
temperature maps was illustrated only
few days ago. Word came through the pa
pers that Atlanta, Ga, was suffering with
heat; that the mercury was up to LOG or
thereabouts, and that people were dying on
the streets. Senator Bacon was wild and
sought Mr.. Jones to know the truth about
it. why, we never had such a degree OF
heat that in the world, l am sure" the
senator said. Mr.. Jones Immediately con-
suited his red decorated map and showed
the senator that 100 was as hot as Atlanta
had suffered in thirty years. He then ex-
planned that probably somebody had been
consulting an old thermometer that was
hung against some good heat conductor.
and had reported the temperature from that
condition of affairs. The government in
struments registered somewhere IN the
small nineties
People are fond of watching the Their
mometers that are hung on the south SIDE
of a brick house in the boiling sun, ana or
declaring the temperature from them. when
in fact they may vary ten degrees from the
actual temperature. Humidity has much TO
do with the feeling of bodily discomfort,
and the high inland temperatures with the
dryer atmosphere are much more enduraole
than a lower temperature with greater hui
miditY.