The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1905-09-02
no Be eoatinusd.,
RUSH INTO DEATH VALLEY.
The liant for Pots of Gold at the Foot
of the Rainbow


OF the Rainbow.
The moral OF the old Persian PROV
erb, The cheapest thing Ia the king.
dom Is what men bold most dear" Is
called to mind by the story which
comes from San Francisco Of the daily
sacrifice OF human lives III the mad
search for gold In the Death valley.
Past Funeral mountains. which stand
wa1der at the gate, men are struggling.
luRed by the lust OF Iucre.
Men have strayed into Death valley
many a time before. says the Des
hoInes Register. but II was when they
were crazed with thirst and knew that
no torment OF the unknown could sur
pass the agony Of the Anown. From
end to end Death valley is strewu with
bleaching. sun-dried and vulture-
picked skeletons. II Is the most bar
rem and forsaken place tn North Amer
lea
Death turks on every hand, but men
are giving up comfortable homes by
the hundreds. with chances a million 10
one against them. aud stormlnR Fu-
neral mountains in hope to struggle
into Death valley to despair because
gold has been found a little further
on. The fortunes awaiting them have
been heralded widely. but cannot daunt
the adventurous spirit OF the argo-
nauts
Al Through Death valley. a. well
as along the fringe OF both the MoJave
and the Colorado desert. the atmos-
phere is 50 devoid Of moisture that ev.
erythiug Is as dry as a bone. The
new arrival finds that all superfiuous
fat and fesh appear to melt away from
him. He has to take up several holes
in bis belt and be- has to drink gal.
Ions Of water every day where be or
dinartly drank several glasses
I'm fact. the system Graves 50 much
water thHt when It cannot be procured
the mans strength fails rapidly, and
10 he without IL. even in the shade,
IS sure death after a day or two. To
run ont Of water on the trail md to be
forced TO travel over the desert In
the fierce glare Of the sun means In.
sanity In a few minutes aud death Ia
few hours
Not even the seasoned resident can
resist this heat for long The only re-
course OF the old resident VINO loses
his water supply In any way Is to seek
shelter under a mesquite bush and to
walt until the sun goes down. Then
he must hit the trail and reach a well
before sunrise. or unless be has won
derful vitality his skeleton will be add +.
ed 70 the large collection that lines all
the roads through Death valley.
The old Persian proverb has been
proved over and over again. but never
more cOncluslvely than In this case. !
The hunt for gold has always been the
hunt for death. The Western plains, /
over which the argonauts Of 1s4D I
struggled toward California and gold, /
the silent places along the Chilkoot
pass, the great steppes Of Siberia. the
great wastes Of South Africa, wher.
ever gold has been found, men have
offered in bonnteous measure that 4
which they hold most dear and yet
that which Is cheapest in kingdom or
republic.
Men by the thousands have left
riches at home to tempt fate and that
wilI-o the.wisp gold. and have added
their bones to the funeral pyres that
mark every such struggle. The Death
valley rush Is only another IN the long
list since men sought TO find the pots
n gold at the foot Of the rainbow.