The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-29

RADIO. There are but few reliable Indian
pilots on the river and none of them can
be induced to so within miles of the val
ley, which they know as bad Mans
Hunting Ground" The route is uncertain.
owing to the unaccountable freak the
stream has of suddenly drying up when
1t is least expected. The best time is in
May or the latter part of April because
later in the season it gets too hot down
there
If the prospective traveller be a good
boatman he might be safe in attempting
the trip by the Colorado down to the point
where il meets the incoming stream which
thus early in the year is always dry. His
crait he can safely leave moored to the
banks of the Colorado for in this country
there are no rowing bands of Indians or
predatory boatmen to steal It, There are
probably not fifty human beings In that
whole region of the mouth of the Colorado
from one decade to another. The journey
across the intervening thirty miles of des-
ert and mountain can be easily made by
following the dry bed of the little river.
which Will bring one directly TO the edge
OF the basin wherein lies one Of the great
est natural wonders of the continent 1t
Is, perhaps, unnecessary to say that a
supply of food and water must be taken.
The valley of the volcanoes Is about
thirty-two miles long and from fifteen to
twenty miles wide. 1t has been found by
surveys to be one-third of mile north of
the line dividing the United States and
Mexico, and the territory is about 500
feet below the level of the sea To the
north, towering skyward. their snow Gov
cred tops glistening in the sunlight are
the lofty Cocopah mountains and to the
Tar west just within range of the vision
can be discerned the coast range. To the
south are also seen rugged crosts Of an
other chain of mountains not so lofty as
the Cocopahs, but more br token. Not "A bit
nf Tot lon Il.
bred miles around. The very mountains
look blasted and spectral. To the east Is
still another ragged ribbon of rocks tut
ting out sharply against the horizon.
In this rock-hemmed basin are active
and dead volcanoes spouting geysers
boiling springs a lake of some black
sticky substance resembling ink, craters
that blow out only dry ashes, others that
send forth stones and gravel and still
others that belch liquid and blazing
streams of mud There are other holes
which emit only indifferent puffs of smoke
or steam, while from all issues burn
ing odor of birthstone. Strangely In con
trast with this area of fire and destruc-
ton there are numerous springs of, clear
and sparkling cold water, exquisitely
grateful 10 the palate parched by the
heat and the sulphurous fumes What Is
more peculiar Is that the springs of cold
water are often found In proximity to the
only a few yards.
This is a land that has never been trav-
eled. Human beings have tried It. but
they never return to tell of their expert
ence or of their discoveries. Little heaps
of bleaching bones can be seen scattered
about here and there over the lava-strewn
surface of the ground. Bones of animals
also lie about telling the story of the fatal
wanderngs of beasts.
Ii is a dangerous spot in many ways.
sudden upheaval of molten earth, huge
rock shot up as from a catapult, or a
shower of scalding water-each or all Of
them may overtake the unwary traveller
and forever stop his progress. But these
are not the greatest dangers, for invarla-
bly, any upheaval or violent CONFUSION
of these forces of nature is heralded by
a sullen roar and rumbling noises that
shake the arth and give an ample warn
ing to get away. The greatest danger Is
from the suffocatng clouds of deadly
fumes that perpetually hang over this re-
gion and sometimes insidiously steal down
and overwhelm the traveller or which some
sudden gust of wind may drive down with
the same fatal results.
For this reason 1t is dangerous to ven
ture far from the edge of the basin. and
even then puffs of these death-dealing
clouds may swoop down upon one. The
only thing to do In such an emergency is
to run for it and get as far as possible
from the place. Several times members
of the recent expedition among the Vo.ca-
noes were suddenly overcome by the pos-
oned atmosphere and their lives were pos
sibly saved by their dropping PROSTATE
on the ground, but still enough of the pos-
onous vapors were inhaled to cause a feel
ing Of sickness and nausea that did not
wear off for several hours.
The scene Is one Of violent contrasts OF
glaring whites and dead blacks Some
parts Of the valley are wastes of hot sands
drawn In places into high mounds by the
whrling blasts that sweep down the can
yOnS of the mountains that wall this val
ley Of desoation There, too, Is the curious
'self-rising earth" AS far as the eye can
see IL appears in curVing outline, up and
down, as If pulled up by a natural yeast
The unfortunate creature who steps upon
the little hills will crash through, for they
are not much more than fragile crusts
Beneath Is swamp of thin, Shiny, salt
mud Of unmeasureable depth. stu strang-
er Is that section Of the Valley-a dozen
miles southeast, farther In Mexico-whlch
for want Of better name, is called salt
earth Innumerable pinnacles, tapering
TO points as fine as needles and over a foot
long, rise in close array from the ground
These are as hard as stone and as danger
GUS as sharpened steel
This land Is a desoate waste of mani
mate mineral objects. The volcanoes have
symmetrical, slopng sides and each has
the same distinguishing characteristic-a
crater. Some are dead, their fires having
been extinct for ages, and many OF these
are nearly filled with ashes or solid masses
OF lava which have cooled One Of these
extinct craters. near the edge Of the basin.
Is on mound whose apex ls about twenty
feet above the surrounding level This
mound is one Of the largest In the region
and It's base covers two or more acres. The
crater Is fully seventy feet across and is
filled with water so clear that one can see
the sides Of the crater for many feet below
the surface; but farther out this little eIe>
waited lake Is practically bottomess. A line
with sinker attached fell 800 feet and did
not touch the bottom. One never sees a
bird here. Nor even bug has been known
90 venture into this valley OF death. As
for trees or vegetation OF any kind, there
IL none. Even the cactus. that friend Of
the desert, cannot ind root here. At the
springs Of cold water not a blade OF grass
or a turf OF moss finds life
A very Interesting object IN this land Is
a huge volcano that n on the outskirts Of
the valley proper and therefore easy of
study II Is fifty feet high and has a cir