Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1901-11-15

by Cattlemeu.
It was In the summer of 1877, and
Mr.. Porter1e was working at the Grand
Gulch copper mine on Grand Wash, as
IL Is now called, north Of the Colorado
In the supai plateau In the northwest
ern part Of the territory. The mines
were being worked by Mormon com.
pany from ST. George, Utah. The com.
pany could not get the proper huxes for
Its ore, and therefore did not make a
success of the enterprise. 1t closed
down the mine, and all who were en-
ployed there wanted to go back to
Utah except Mr.. Porterie, who desired
to come south into Central Arizona.
He knew there was a good road down
the Virgin River and to Mineral Park,
but 1t was some distance west OF Grand
Wash and over desert country he had
never traversed and was not familiar
with. He was taken up into high
mountain by an old man named Pierce
and shown the general direction of the
road to the Virgin River. He was told
where he could find water half way
along the trail, ut well-known spring.
He saddlei up his mule, 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 ex-
hausted, he stopped to make some cof-
fee, having still one canteen of water
left. He was holding his mule by the
bride when along came desert whrl-
wind and enveloped them, frightening
the mule, which dragged him through
a cactus plant, and, breaking away
from him, started back over the trail.
He followed the mule for Il 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 delirioIis, and after that he re-
membered nothing except the hailu-
cinatiOns 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
aching all over his body. He tried every
method he knew of moistenlng his
throat, but the relief was but temper
airy. He tore open the cactus plants
and everything that gave promise of
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 Niagara
Falls and the vastness of the rapids
below them. Then he seemed to face
the broad expanse of a great fresh.
water lake. He could not see across it.
1t looked so cool and refreshing he
could not restrain himself, and waded
into 1t clear up to his neck. Then he
fancied he could feel the fish cavorting
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 recover
ed consciousness, he found himself in
the camp of some cattlemen, who had
found him some hours after he lost
track of himself. His lips We're swollen
and full of cactus thorns, where he had
chewed up the prickly pear In his des-
perate thirst. The cattlemen said that
when they found him he was stark
naked, doubtless having disrobed and
thrown his clothes away when he fan
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 indescrlbable, and it 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 antlcipatlon.-Ari
zona Republican.