The herald., 1897-06-27

and the first rays strike you on the des-
ert, you are seized with almost intoler-
able thirst If you are used to drinking
when ever you feel little thirsty.
Often In less than twenty min
utes after swallowing your fourth
cup Of coffee you are seized with thirst
the most intolerable you ever felt. II
you yield now it will be the same in ten
minutes more and that dose, however
big, will last little longer than the first.
All very we'll if you have plenty of good
water and are sure Of having 1t within
few minutes of the time when you
want it. If not, don't touch drop ex-
cept to rinse your mouth, until the mid
die Of the afternoon, and then put 1t off
until night If you can. And don't go far
from the wagon without big canteen
on your back, and don't go too fan even
then. And never set 1t down somewhere
while you ''just take little look around
that point"
A terrible sensation deludes you like
cloudburst when you make the awful
discovery that you are out Of water,
with none near by and are suffering for
want of it. Your thirst is increased In
stanter hundred-fold and the whole
world seems spinning round. Then
comes the crucial test. The man who
gets "rattled" then and goes tearing
about looking for water will probably
never drink again. His chances are far
greater if he will keep cool and even sit
still until he can decide what to do. In
getting lost in the woods the first thing
to do is to do nothing, and there Is far
more need of it on the desert. One train
ed to going without water has absolutely
nothing to fear, if he knows anything
about the region he Is in, and If he does
not he should be at home.
Those who know the desert feel az
much at home there as anywhere. The
air is so dry and the breeze 80 certain
most of the time that there is no such
discomfort as one would imagine. One
can gorge beans and bacon, drink whis-
ky and do various other horrible things
at temperature of 100 as well as else
where You don't have to leave your
liver at home, for in spite OF the heat
you will never know you owned one. Tho
heat simply makes you mad because SO
wickedly unnecessary, but there Is no
suffering from it when you are well pre-
pared.
once found old man Hayden, as fe
was called, preparing for journey on
the desert. He was on the edge of the
Colorado desert, at Turks Head springs.
where he lived for many years. 1t was
the same as the desert. except being at
the base of the hills, there was a spear
or two Of grass to the acre and. a little
dribble Of water from the blazing rocks.
He spent most Of his time floating
around over the desert. where he be-
lieved about every kind Of mineral on
earth was to be found. He really en-.
joyed It, and could live nowhere else.
His wagon had large body, and It was
filled with five-gallon kerosene cans
filled with water. The entire floor was
covered with them, then there were two
tiers above, with the interior filled with
feed for the horses. His own baggage
was a coffee pot and a blanket, little
sack Of dried meat or 'jerky," and a
little sack Of pinole, all Of which
weighed practically nothing. This is
probably the best bill Of fare one can
take for a long trip, as 1t enables one
to carry so much more for the horses.
They must be kept up at all hazards.
and a man can live on pinole alone for
weeks and keep perfectly well and
strong, even when doing considerable
work. The addition Of good "jerkey''
helps out greatly. and gives one some-
thing to chew when thirsty besides peb-
bles.
Pinole-la comida del desierto, or food
of the Deserts the meal Of parched
grain, corn. wheat or oats, or all mixed.
but not the parched meal Of grain. The
grain is parched before grinding. Pop
corn makes the best to taste, but not for
strength. 1t Is simply stirred in water,
with or without sugar, thin enough to
drink. In about six average gulps one
can have a square neal that will last
for six hours Of pretty hard work. 1t
is known to all the Mexicans and ma
tive Californinas. and is probably thou
sands of years old. It Is the only form I
know in which you can carry in
small compass with little weight a con-
densed food on which you can live con-
| tinuously for weeks without any disor-
der of stomach or bowels, or loss of
strength. 1t is as good on all camping
trips as on the desert, and can be quickly
| made of common rolled oats, parched in
the oven and ground in spice MILL It
can be favored with popcorn or choco-
late and used with milk, and they do say
that even cream does not damage the
combination. The only objection is
that it is so disgustingly cheap, a COM
plete square costing only about half a
cent at the best. There are various
ways in which these principles may be
applied, but the nearest one comes to the
outfit of Hayden, prepared by ten days
or more Of abstinence from water in any
shape, the farther and faster he can
travel the worst parts of the desert with
safety, and even comfort. For the
horses must be kept UP. and everything
sacrificed to them. But to start out as
one would for an ordinary trip into the
mountains is almost the height of in
sanity. T. S. VAN DYKE.
Eo,,aryry fo,. Mr. poiS