Evening star., 1905-08-22
ABOUT DEATH VALLEY
The New Mining Regions in
Southern Nevada.
LINES OF AUTOMOBILES
FORM METHODS OF DESERT
TRANSPORTATION.
Big Crowds Expected in the Spring on
Account OF Tales Of Fabulous
Wealth.
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Snec,al correapondeuce of The Star and tn

By WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
specal Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record d-Herald.
DAGGETT. Cal, August 13 1900.
The new mining regions in southern Ne
vada-Goldfields. Bullfrog. Rhyolite' ION
opah and other towns-which are now at
tracing the gold hunters in large num-
bers, may be reached by three routes.
From the north by the Central Pacinc raii-
road and its Nevada branch. via carson 10
Tonopah. from which line Of automobiles
take passengers over the desert TO Goio-
fields in ten hours. narrow-guage rail-
road Is under construction, and will be mn
ished this fall From the south you can
enter the country by the Santa Fe roao
from Ivanpah, from which another line OK
automobiles will be established by Fred
Gregory, the San Francisco agent OK the
White Machine Company. within re"
weeks You can reach Rhyolite from the
east by the new road which Senator clark
of Montana has recently built from Los
Angeles to Salt Lake City. He Will nave
a line of automobiles running before fall.
Since it has been discovered that gooo
hard road may be made by pouring OIL On
the desert sand. the transportation pIopleh
has been considerably Simpllfted 1t is very
difficult for mules or horses to exist In this
climate. They are not only expensive 70
buy in the first place, but they nave 10 De
fed and forage costs great deai Oh money.
Then they are very slow. whereas HIteeh-
horsepower automobiles can average Twelve
miles an hour and when the roads are Wen
made they can. go much faster. 1t Will nol
be long before regular lines or automoples
are running to all parts OF the deSert Inih-
ing regions-to the camps which are not
yet developed sufficiently to justify the con-
struction of railroads. They have been
used in South America for severai years, IN
the mining regions of the Andes at anu
tudes where the atmosphere is so rare that
mules and other animals cannot Dreatne.
There Is a regular line running from tne
terminus of the railroad at Puno. on LaRe
Titicaca, to CuSco, the ancient capital ol
the Inca empire. Their route Is over the
famous road imperial highway described
by Prescott in his Conquest of Peru.
There is another line hauling ore and sup
plies for the famous Santo Domingo mines
in Bolivia which are situated back in the
Andes. overlooking the headwaters of the
Amazon
Automobiles for Desert Transportation
Automobiles are going to be the chief re-
lance for desert transportation, and the
fact that roads can be made so we'll and
so cheaply by the application of Oil sim
plifles matters. Over ordinary road an
automobile can carry six people a an aver
age of twelve miles an hour, and five tons
Of freight at an average of eight miles an
hour
1t does not cost much to make the roads.
They graded to begin with and made as
level as possible, the big stones being
thrown out of the way. Then oil Is spread
on with sprinklers attached to tanks, very
much like street sprinklers. Then sand Is
sprinkled upon 1t and a roller passed over
ii several times. which gives hard surface.
BY adding oil and sand 1t grows harder and
firmer, until you can get surface almost
as good ordinary asphaltum pavement.
Although the automobile Is great con-
venience, you must not think that 1t Will
dsplace the patient and enduring burro,
which has been and always will be the chief
reliance of the mountain and desert pros
pector. 1t is impossible to conceive how
the people down in this arid country could
have got along without him. He has mark
ed every trail preceded every stage route
and railroad and has carried in the material
to found every town in the mountain re-
gions of the United States. Like the camel
of the Asatic and African deserts, he is ab-
solutely Indispensable. An attempt was
once made to substitute camelS Tor DurroS
for the army
When Jefferson Davis was Secretary OF
War, under President Pierce, he made a con-
tract with a man named Redwine of Los
Angeles, and they were brought to Fort Mo-
have for military purposes. AS a means OF
transportation they were a success, but the
horses and mules employed at the military
posts struck and would not work with them
1t was 1OunQ lmpOSSlDe 10 recOncllo tnem
For several months the soldiers tried to ac-
, custom them to the camels, but 1t was not
possible. Whenever a camel appeared the
horses and mules would bolt and stampede,
and the soldiers and teamsters became so
prejudiced against the camelS that they
shot them at every opportunity. 1t was
also difficult to train the American from
tiersman soldier to handle a camel They
are ugly, stubborn beasts. and II takes the
patience Of an Arab or a Hindu to drive
them. The prejudice against them became
so intense that the remnant OF the herd was
turned loose in the desert and were finally
exterminated by hunters who shot them FOR
sport. The last camel was shot about ten
years ago down in the Colorado desert; at
least, none have been seen since that time.
Redwine, the contractor who brought
them from Egypt. had been active in the
development of Arizona and southern Cali
fornia, and was one of the founders of the
town OF Imperial. the metropolis OF the I'M
perial valley. where he died at ripe old
age in 1902 He was one of the most reit-
able and useful of all the early settlers in
this region.
History of the Burro.
The burro came over with Cortez, and
carried the armor. ammunition and lug
gage of the conquls tadores. He assisted
In the subjugation of the Aztecs and In
dams. and in the settlement of the CONT
nent His part in the development of the
southwest has been most important one
with missiona rles. miners and farmers as
well as the military. He has never made
q complaint. He Is sure footed as the
mountain sheep; he climb any trail
that the feet of men tread; he can
carry twice his own weight; he can travel
all day without food or water: he is never
vicious: he is affectionate. loyal and obedi-
ent; he never runs away: he never bites
or kicks. and he loves children. The burro
Is the most patient. l think. of all living
creatures. He never argues or resists. If
his load Is too heavy lie will lie down on
the ground and wait until 1t Is lghtened.
If danger is in his path land his instincts
are as keen as those of any living creature)
he will stop until it Is removed; you cannot
drive a burro into an unsafe corner or over
70 hrii -farri it,ta acfro AIa4 ha