The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-07-21

down the Virgin river and to Mineral
/ park, but il was some distance west Of
I Grand Wash and over "a desert country
| he had never tTsversed and was not
familiar with He was taken up into a
high mountain by an old man named
/ Pierce and shown the general direction
of the road 10 the Virgin river. He was
/ told where he could find water half way
along the trail, at a well known spring.
] He Saddled up his mules. and, with two
canteens of water. started out alone.
When he got down into the valley he
lost the trail. but kept travelling all
that day and the following night. Some
/ time the next morning, when the sun
got pretty hot and he became almost
exhausted, he stopped TO make some
coffee, having stil one canteen of wat
er left. He was holding his mules by
the bride when along came a desert
WhirlWind and enYeloped them, fright
enlng the mule, which dragged him
/ through cactus plant, and breaking
away from MIN. started back over the
/ trail He followed the mule for couple
OF miles, then gave up the chase and
again started toward the Virgin river
on foot and without water or anything
else save an unquenched thirst.
Just how long he wandered he does
not know, but before night he began to
get deliriOus and after that he remem-
bered nothing except the Authorizations
/ that passed through his mind before he
became unconscious. He was, oh, so
thirsty! 1t seemed as if his throat
was literally on fire, and he was ach-
ing all over his body. He tried every
method he knew of mOistening his
/ throat, but the relief was but tempo
rary. He tore open the cactus plants
and everything that gave promise of
I containing the slightest bit of moisture
but his thirst seemed to be an ever-in-
( creaSing one. He could think of moth
ing but water.
Finally, as his strength gave way.
pleasant dreams began to fit through
his mind. He fancied he saw f1the Ma
CARA Falls, and the vastnesS of the
rapids below them Then he seemed to
lace the broad eXpanse of a great fresh
water lake. He could not see across
it. It looked so cool and refreshing he
could not restrain himself and Waded
into it clear up to his neck. Then he
fancied he could feel the fish cavort-
ing about his feet, and everything
seemed so peaceful. He was perfectly
happy and cOntented; did not know
whether he was alive or dead, and did
not care.
About a week later, when he recov-
cred consciousness, he found himself
in the camp Of some cattlemen who
had found him some hours after he lost
track of himself His lips were swollen
and full of cactus thOrnS where he had
cheWed up the prlckly pear in his desG
peTate thirst. The Cattlemen said that
when they found him he was stark
naked, doubtless having disrobed and
thrown his clothes away when he fam
cied he was going down into the lake.
His fingers were raw and bleeding
from wounds made while digging in
the sand for water.
He says that the agony that comes
over one when he first begins to realize
that he IS about to perish for water is
simply indescribable and II increases |
every minute till he begins to lose con-
seriousness. But when the body gives
up the struggle the mind seems to be
come unnatUrally active in its efforts
to soothe by seemingly furnishing that
for which the body suffers. and the
final hours of the thirst victim are
hours of sweetest anticipation.