The Elbert County tribune., 1905-12-28


- feed and after nearly per-
9oo~ ishing in a sandstorm. be-
sides suffering terribly from the heat
and thirst. ]. d. Neville. of this city,
stin has such faith in the gold-bearing
district surrounding the famous Death
Valley that he is planning to return to
IT for second prospecting trip.
Mr.. Neville, who is manager of the
Free Coinage Gold Mining Company. of
Cripple Greek. and resides at No. S3c
Ogden street. this city. has just re-
turned from a trip through Death Val
ley. where so many prospectors have
met their fate. 1t was a trip fraught
with peril at every step. yet Mr.. Ne
vibe and William Hurley, also we'll
known Colorado prospector. covered
practically every foot of the mineral
lied district surrounding Death Valley,
and were so impressed with what they
saw that they are planning to return
That place is rightly named said
Mr.. Neville. "Many people have per
ished there, and it is a wonder that
more have not died in the valley. The
heat is something terrific. Around Salt
Greek and Furnace Greek is about the
lowest and hottest place. Why. last
May we suffered with the thermome-
ter at 135 in the shade. and it was 1o3
degrees at midnight when we were on
Furnace Creek. Our hands and faces
sweued up like roasted meat. and the
hot winds almost burned out our eyes.
1t is only within the last few days that
my hands have resumed anywhere
ct. A.
are blistered and cracked.
"One of the most exciting exper-
fences we had was at Breyfogle's tank.
when our burros left us and went back
twenty miles in search of feed before
we caught them. There was water.
but no feed at Breyfogle's. OF course.
the great question in the valley is get
ting water. At Salt Creek, for in
stance, there is barrel sunk in the
earth, and if you find it the water is
good for stock, but not for man. We
were unable to find this barrel. / ear
ried canteen that held about a gallon
and half, but that would last man
only about three hours.
I'VE found that heavy wooden under
wear was the best 1t would remain
wet and the evaporation would keep
you cool SO you could stand the heat
better
The sandStorms are treacherous and
the cause of many deaths. The sand
drifts with the least excuse lust like
snow 1t piles up in hills that change
the whole character of the landscape
and make you lose the trails. so that
sometimes you travel dozen miles to
go five or six miles between springs.
The sand covers the springs and you
nave to dig several feet to find water
Most of the prospectors meet death
from Surveyors wells. south The
Colorado men. Titus and Wells, were
found by party OIL the way to these
wells.
I'VE had a narrow escape by being
caught in a sandstorm while going
from the Hole in the Rock to Stoyepipe
Springs We got out of our way about
six miles and when the storm caught
us, about in the afternoon. we could
hardly see our hands in front of our
faces We sought shelter behind
sand hill and mesquite bush and had
to remain there until after sundown
The burros We're unable to take a step
while the storm was in progress.
The country surrounding Death
Valley is all heavily mineralized. and
what it needs is men to do some work.
There has been some prospecting, but
the country now needs some one to get
below the surface and develop what
probably will mean n great big camp.
4 met lots of friends of the now IA
nous -Scotty.' Walter Scott. the cow
boy miner who makes the record -break-
ing railroad trips, ut Ballarat None of
them knows where his mine is al
though they know of several of his
camps and claims. Most people in
that country surmise that 'Scotty' has
found the caches of robbers who oper-
ated on the stage lines in the early
days Others believe that he is paid
for advertising by the railroads. Any
way. no one seems to know of his sell
ing any large amounts of ore
Prospectors are going into Death
valley rapidly now, for the winter il
the best time. They are talking oe
building mill at Bullfrog and the sur
veyors of the Clark Road told us that
they expected to get line into Bull
frog from Las Vegas by August next.
Then the indications are that it will be
a big camp. There is plenty of ore
there now. but nothing under $50
ton is worth shipping at present
To show you the difference in the
country up there, telescope Mountain.
on the, western edge of -he Valley, is
lo,963 feet high, while the sink of
Amorgosa, in the south-central part of
the valley, is forty-five feet below sea
level-"-Denver Times.
MARTINS SKITTISH MARE.
Sunday evening, about 7.3O when re-