Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1906-09-29
THRO DEAFHVALLEY
MAJOR TOOK WORD OF \
TREAcHERoUS MEXICAN.
The Greaser Needed Money and He
Got 1t but the Major and Jim
Get the Gold.

Death Valley, I reckon, is richer
In gold dust and human bones than
any other gold fields in the county
said the major. In the early days
it was about an even break about
whether an outfit returned alive or
later on was found bleaching on the
hot sand. 1t isn't half so dangerous
now
'1 reckon you all recall Jim John
son, known in the early days as The
Arizona Swede.' Jim wasn't Swede,
but he had light hair, and 1 guess
the boys dubbed him that for fun. One
night at The Needles gets bunch
from greaser about an abandoned
night at The Needles 1 gets a bunch
edge of the valley, and he shows me
samples of ore that sure looked good
to the eyes.
I'VE gets confidential over our
liquor, and the result is that 1 hands
over $50 for a plan showing the exact
location of the hole. He allows the
owner went plumb locoed for food
and water because he says he found
human bones close by. Well, 1 hunts
up johnson, and together we manages
to get grubstaked on the strength of
| the samples. We gets two horses and
a burro, some grub, all the water we
can carry and starts out We walters
| around that blistering hel1hole for
| four days and at the end of that
| time we finds ourselves with parched
tongues, smarting eyes and canteens
as hollow as base drum. When we
strikes camp that night the horses
stand with heads hanging to the
ground, lolling tongues and bloodshot
eyes. Jim and me don't say nothing,
but 1 reckon our thoughts were about
the same. We were all in.
In the morning I goes over the
plans to try and find a landmark.
| Nothing in sight. Just desert-hot,
blistering, shimmering, hellish desert.
North, south, east and west-just
| desert. Kind O. sudden like it dawns
on me that we've been bunked proper.
I goes over where johnson is ro1lin'
with the fever on his blanket and
| tells him to stick it out till I gets
| back. Then 1 mounts wobbly horse
and hikes for the mountains. All that
| day 1 travels through the sands OF
| inferno, and till IL o'clock that night
| before I reaches water and some stuff
| hle horse could eat. Early the next
morning I starts back for Johnson
| When I gets there I finds two blan
kets half buried in the sand, dead
| horse and the burro standin' up hall
asleep. Johnson was gone.
Ct follows his tracks two miles wesi
and finds him lying beside spring
of water. But the water was poison
and Johnson had drank it. I gives
him as decent a burial as I could
under the circumstances.
when 1 gets back to The Needles
1 amt saying much nohow. I learEs
that my wreaser friend has gone tc
Tucson, so down 1 goes to Tucson
| and hangs around for a few days
| careless like, restin' up"
did you ever find him?"
Eyes. 1 find him over in Bill Cum
ming's place one night watching a
faro game
| Did you get even, major?"
| "Only partially 1t was over too
soon to get even proper"
| What course did you take?"
| you all from the east are asking
| too many questions. Besides, the law
says, doesn't it, that no man shall
incriminate HIMSELF" = Milwaukee
| Sentinel.