The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1905-12-13


age, The rattle and roar of a Sec |
ond thunderstorm made the horses
mad with fright, and they broke away, J
upsetting the wagon before kicking ,
free of the harness. Now death star
ed at the little party, and threatened I
them step by step. AT this juncture one /
of the children was missed. Search |
ing for it Sepulveda mounted a swale, |
and saw in the distance a camp OF
miners. The child was found. The |
campers guided the Sepulvedas to
Ivanpah after satisfying their fearful
veda had gone 100 miles out of his
course.
Somewhere in the solitudes Of
Death Valley lie the whitening bones
of Earl Weller and L. M. Titus OF
Telluride, Col. They gave up their
lives in search for the glittering
beds of placer gold that some believe
10 be hidden in that furnace valley.
Accompanied by John Mullin, they
left Rhyoite on June 20 with two
horses and 10 burros. Five days later
the horses dropped dead of heat and
thirst, the men having lost their way.
Titus at once left camp on blind
search for a water hole. Weller and
| Mullin found damp spot near camp,
and by digging got small ration OF
water each day for themselves, but
none for the burros. The animals
died one by one. Then Weller filed
three canteens and started out to find
Titus. Fifteen days Mullin kept the
camp against their return, but they
never came. They died somewhere
alone in the desert Mullin was pick
ed up delirious wandering by Mex
ican, who gave him drink and guided
him back to Rhyolite.
Matt Riley, an old-time prospector
left X mine, in the Dale district OF
Riverside county, July 3, on pro-
specting trip. He was accompanied
by James Kit, also an experienced
miner Twelve miles out Kite was
| taken sick and turned back. In so
doing he escaped death with Riley.
The latters water supply became ex-
hausted while he was searching with
out aid of signboards (of which there
were none) for Cottonwood Springs.
Following his tracks two weeks later
a searching party found Rileys body
fostering under clump of brush. He
had wandered so miles aside in his
blind hunt for water.
On June 80 the west bound South
ern Pacific overland brought into Col
ton, near San Bernardino, pitiable
passengor--Frank Seaman, residence
unknown. He was almost naked, COW
cred with mud, and the flesh of his
hands and feet was streaked with
! blood. Tho ends of his fingers were
split TO the bone from digging in
moist earth for water. His tongue
wa. sMuLen to twice its natural size,
his lips were hlackened and cracked
open. He had tagged the passenger
train by taking stand between the
rails and refusing to bulge at the
frantic whistlings of the engineer. He
had started from Indio TO walk 10 Los
Angeles across the desert and became
lost.
On September party of prospec-
tors brought Tom Newton, crazy and
dying, into Goldfeld They brought
also the news that they had buried
his companion, William Peterson, a
former resident in the East, beside II
cactus tree nine miles out in the de-
scrt, at a spot half a mile from where
they had found. Newton wandering
naked. in delirum Newton and Pet
erson, both of them well known pro
spectors and camp men in the South
ern Nevada districts, had started out
from Rhvoite on a search for the sup
posed fabulous diggings in Death Val
ley. They lost their way and exhaust
cd their slight supply of water. Three
days out Peterson died of heat and
thirst Newton wandered on, losing
his reason as he went. When found
by rescuing party, he was naked and
leaping about in the blazing sun like
a frog. His whole body was swollen,
and in many places the skin had
burst. They fei him water in drops
until he was sufficiently revived to be
carried into Goldfeld.
And so the terrible list could be
heightened through page after page if
anything more than mere recital OF
distressing details we're to be gained.
The cases cited are but few among
scores of similar ones brought to the
attention Of the newsreading public
this year.