Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-06-18
LOST IN THE DESERT.
The Crazy Notion That Saved the
Life of a PrOspector.

Life OF a PrOspectOr.
1.-THE craze to find a metal is a funny
thing" said the old prospector. Il al
ways had it, and once, in British Co
lumbia, away north, il gave me a close
call. l was alone when / got as far
as the last settlement. There were
four Indians and a fur trader there.
They all advised me not to go into the
barrens; but, like good many others,
/ / thought 1 was wiser than the ma
miles. There was no1hIhg 10 do but
foot it and carry your provisions and
blankets on your back.
The country was as fat as a floor
and bald and smooth as my head, with
| no landmarks. The only way l could
get direction was by the sun and stars.
when L had been out for about two
days my provisions were nearly gone
was going to turn back and make a
dash for the settlement. All day long
| a gray cloud had been moving up from
the west very slowly. / suppose it
was coming on SO slow / didn't realize
what IL meant to be without the sun
to guide me. There wasn't even a
blade of grass on that desert nor a liv-
ing thing nor a stone sticking up. The
clouds kept bending over more and
more, and finally they closed down
over me like trap.Jitr 90 lFs -
II shall neveri forget the Ionesome-
ness of that place and how whenever
/ stopped walking l would strain and
strain my ears without hearing a thing
but the thump of my own heart. But
Al. L. 4
walking toward the settlement steadi-
ly until it was nearly night. Then 1
saw something white a few yards off to
one side. In one gasp the breath went
out OF me. The white thing was a bit
Of cracker 1 had dropped when had
eaten my lunch!
II sat down and tried to think. 1
knew it was no use to walk that way
any farther. began TO think my
bones would whiten out there on the
barrens, but finally l went to sleep. In
the morning 1 was crazy with hunger.
1 ate my last piece of hard tack, and
nearly all day 1 walked aimlessly. hop
ing to find some landmark. There was
no sleep in Inc that night Whenever
1 shut my eyes L could see nothing but
a great fat plain with line across it
the straightest line you ever saw.
"Well, it was that crazy notion that
saved my life. 1t suddenly occurred
to me that L could draw a line across
this desert. When il was getting light
in the morning there were a few mir
utes when l could see (which side of
the circle was east by the aglinTfner
through the clouds. So l worked with
my sheathknife till ! had built little
pile of earth and waited for daystO
come. The moment saw the glimmer
and had the direction l ran toward the
south a hundred yards or so and built
another pile. Then l ran q hundred
yards more, sighting back across the
two piles, and built third. They
were only little piles of dirt, but they
looked like towers on the desert.
'All that day L built piles Of earth
southwark until 1 lost count, and the
next day when l saw the glimmer of
morning l knew 1 had the right direc-
ton. Toward night l struck n dogs
track, and finally l sighted clump of
trees and a group of cabins. 1 fired
my revolver several times until 1 saw
two men on horseback coming out to
me- Then 1 swung down on my knees
and fell over fiat on my face.
ut was several weeks before 1 could |
close my eyes at night without sighting |
along little piles of earth. Youths |
Companion.