Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1897-03-06
THE TRAGEDY OF .
o COYOTE HOLE.

r daybreak indian Tom emery.

A r dnybreak indian Tom emery.
~ ed from his wickiup and stood al
4 1.-the doorway. open. a. 10 the Gus.
tom, toward the east. whence the des-
ert tribes expect q Messiah. He sur.
veyed the f0rblddlng landscape with
an air Of prOprietorship. Tall, gaunt.
with an eyee like coyotes and skin
clinging close to his bony frame. tan.
ned to yellow parchment by hundreds
OF electric storms. indian Tom was q
verltable wizard Of the wllds. Half q
dozen snarllng ours scattered at sight
OF him, yelplng. ana the three squaws
who formed his household FASTENED
about their morning tasks. Evidently
there was excellent discipline at bis
rancheria.
Not far to the westward rose the
long, undulatlng outlines Of the Funer.
q Mountains bordering Death Valley.
On every other hand stretched the
monotonous wastes Of the Mojave Des.
srt. now q long why Of barren plain.
now range Of hills rising above II. A
Few yards from Toms habitatlOn was
pool Of black water which ooxed slow.
Y from the ground on q little slope.
When II reached q certain level, II over.
lowed and trickled In a narrow rivulct
along the sands into piece Of ground
Enclosed BY wires. Here It kept alive
Q scanty growth Of native grasses. In
the background Of Indian Toms imme.
dlate landscape were dozens Of burros,
which constituted his worldly wealth
and made him lord among bis fel.
lows. When burrO became famished
to the point Of starvation on the sparse
sage.brush. Il was admitted to the little
Enclosure and permitted to feed until II
could stand strong upon Its legs. Then
1t was dubbed forth upon the dese,t
again. Indian Tom often sold burros
to prospectors, but the number It'd not
diminish. aud the source of coustaut
supply waS a mystery which nc man
had fathomed.
Above the low mountains in the dis.
tant east the sun rose like a bali of Are.
There were no soft tints Of blue ana
purple along the SUBMITS to herald the
approach Of dawn and indicate little
moisture In the air. But instead came
. sudden dare Of light that burned Mt
once In the sky and along the mountain
sides and on the wide reaches of the
plains. The air was shot through and
through with penetrating, singing
rays. Here and there appeared puffs Of
wind. whirling sand aloft, with an
ominous. swinging. funnel.like motion,
And In the far north these gradually
Increased. until q cloud Of dust hung
like a curtain against the sky, higher
above the earth than the tops of the
highest mountains. Indian Tom sur.
veyed the scene, shifted the hot blasts
which saluted bis withered nostrils,
and muttered. In the composite lingo
which he had picked up from prospec.
tors Of different natlona Titles: "Ughl
Mucho cal0r! Heap dam hot windv'
Then, 40 one Of bis sQuaws placed be.
fore him chunk OF dlnay.lookinR
bread. . black bottle, and . sayory
combination Of jack-rabblt and bacon,
no squatted beside them. upon the
ground. and attacked. with great gusto,
. breakfast which. for desert Indian.
was an epicure's dream.
Three hours later the shifting gusts
OF wind had united In constant fur.
mace blast. And at q point nfteen miles
from Indian Toms. across the range.
ana upon the edge Of the basin.like de.
preston known a. Death Valley, two
men were suffering constant torments
from the almost insupportabls heat.
These were Anderson and Grimes.
propectors. At the arst indica tiopa Of
an electric storm they had prepared
IN insufficient shelter by making q low
tent Of some canvas. under which they
had crawled for protection. They had
also tried to shield their two burros BY
muming their heads In gunny sacks, to
screen them from the driving sands
which rode onthe sweeping blasts Of tho
norther. This sand penetrated every.
where. and cut the skin. II exposed, like
needles. Its drift was not sufficient TO
bury any living. moving thing alive.
but man or beast might become ex.
hausted by the heat, and 20 Incapable
OF motion. aud then suffocated. Grimes
and Anderson had placed the various
articles Of their mining outfit 40 a low
rampant on the side next the wind, and
the sand had drifted over them. When
Grimes lifted an Ak. to place 1t among
their other possessions, a spark Of cleo.
tricity passed to bis arm, with q report
like the crack OF a pistol. and the arm
was still benumbed from the shock.
The high electrical tension In the at.
mosphere' was. In Itself. q tremendous
strain upon the nerves. Moreover, It
burned all vitality out of the air and
added to its heat. To expose q hand
from the partial shelter Of the canvas
meant blister on the skin; and the
two men lay upon the ground. strag-
Cling for breath. moistening their lips,
every few moments. from the contents
Of their canteens. and swearing con.
slant succession of miners 0aths ut the
"luck" which had brought them to the
Of Death Valley on this dire
full day.
II wonder II the critters ID alive" |
said Anderson. In q lull Of the tempest |
which permitted the raising Of his |
voice above the whlstling Of the wind. |
III they be-" he added. "'tw0uld be q |
merry to wet their noses with q little |
water"
Grimes struggled to bis feet. throw
Ing on the weight Of the canvas, which |
had been pressed down upon them by |