Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-19
FACES DEATH IN
FUNERAL RANCE
MINER FIGHTS OFF HUNGER
AND THIRST
n. w. Boyer Enters Valley Where
Hundreds Have Perished and Only
Escapes After Thrilling
Experience
Special to The Herald.

RHYOLITB, New, May 18.-H. w.
Boyer, a mining man of Goldfeld, while
on a prospecting trip to the Funeral
range became lost, wandered into Death
valley and narrowly escaped death
from thirst and hunger. Mr.. Boyer
arrived in camp today, and that he
lives to tell the tale is perhaps due to
the fact that through the trying ordeal,
while suffering the tortures of many
torments, he never lost his presence of
mind and never gave over his fixed
determination to reach a place of
safety. He was on the desert for two
days and three nights and covered a
distance of seventy-flve miles, fifteen
of which lay across a salt marsh hith
erto considered impossible His
story is:
ct left Greenwater in the Funeral
range early one morning without taking
either food or water, intending to pros
pect southwest, turn north, pass the
| Clark camp, and finish up the days
| journey at the Kunze camp, the whole
distance including not more than seven
or eight miles. A binding snowstorm,
however, came up early in the forenoon,
|
canyon which opens out into Death
| valley where even at this season of the
year the heat is terrific. In the dis
| tance, across salt marsh, / could see
| a line of mesquite which l mistook for
| Furnace creek, where / knew food and
| drink awaited. To avoid making de-
! tour of miles and miles, determined to
cross the slough, and lucky for me
1 was unaware that among prospectors
this feat is regarded as impossible.
Reaches Salt Marsh
| "It was late in the afternoon of the
| first day when ! reached the marsh and
| determined to camp there for the
night before making an attempt to
cross. While in the range had found
! a pool of water in the rocks which
helped me a great deal, but even at this
| time my thirst was overpowering. My
| first attempt at crossing the marsh
the next morning was far from encour-
aging. I sank to my knees in the mud
and water and it was with difficulty
| that | succeeded in eXtricating myself.
at soon found that my only hope lay
in a zigzag route, confining my journey
to the solid places. Late in the after
noon of the second day I reached to
within 300 yards of the farther shore,
when the blocks gave out, and 1T was
up to me to either brave the muddy
depths or retrace my steps, 1t looked
! to me like a case of die anyway, ana
| chose the former.
Strapping my boots to my back and
holding my leather coat in front of me
to avoid sinking as much as possible,
T desperately plunged In and after. a
most exhausting effort I succeeded In
reaching solid ground. Regaining my
| strength somewhat, l made for the
MESQUITE range, only to find that Fur
mace creek was not there. l camped for
the night and started early next
morning.
Torture of Last Day
"The last days journey was torture
which no human being can depict.
Footsore my tongue swollen and
rarched. and with fast failing strength,
/ dragged myself forward In the dlrec-
tion | thought Furnace creek lay.
"Once I came upon a puddle of rain
water 1t was five or six inches deep
and five or six feet long. 1 tried to
drink the water, but it was thick with
mud and nauseating. Then like hog
7 wallowed in it, While lying there l
went to sleep and slept for more than
an hour. This did me much good, for
the evaporation of my body had a cool
ing effect and I felt much refreshed
when / awoke
ABOUT 4 o'clock in the afternoon,
more dead than alive, reached Fur
mace creek, almost completely eX-
hausted. I do not believe l could have
lived another hour, and strange to re-
late I was not hungry. but the pangs
of thirst we're above every other form OF
suffering I experienced. I lost eighteeI,
mounds. and I never expect to be so
near death again untll the hnal SUM
mons comes"