The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-29
SPOOK PROMENADE
IN DEATH VALLEY
Newspaper Prospectors, Re-
turning From the Panamlnts,
Witness Phenomena.
QUEER BALLS OF FIRE
DANCE ON THE DESERT
Certain Rock Formation That
Is Subject at Times to Spon-
taneOus Combustion.

tdUeUWS NVlllDuNtlVN.
Special to The Tribune.
RHYOLITE. New, June 2S.-News-
paper representatives who returned
from mining locations in the Panamlnts
and crossed Death Valley at night
report n phenomena which bas hereto
fore been unknown except TO the rev
prospectors who have crossed the val
lev in the night time. Prospectors who
have been interviewed upon the SUB
iect knew Of the phenomena. ont
could give no explanation OF H.
The newspaper representatives stopped
in the dead of night in the desolate
rerion and made an investigation, ana
what appeared to be promenade oil
spooks turned out TO be an effect caused
by the natural processes Of the chemi-
Gals of that region.
eve were somewhere about the
center of the sink. = said Il. 3 Le-
Compte. ,'when we saw blaze or hre
suddenly rise up In the desert far 90
the south. II appeared TO be consider
3nlN auONt lut S'psih' "''N
Simpson my companion. saw l6 at
the same time. and remarked IN wonder
that an automobile should be pass
inp along in that portion OF Death
Valley at such an hour. We stopped
our team and watched the light. We
soon discovered that it was not NOV
ing, but that IL was giving forth
Aamc not unlike a Chinese splitter,
The fame fairly shot forth, as If blown
of Mum her
furnace.
q IT is somebody with torch, and
probably lost. remarked Simpson.
.'Wc shouted at the top of our
voices. but the fame Aared on, and
there was no change in its position.
We started TO drive out that way, but
remembered the treschery of the val
ley, and decided to wait,
Another Light Appears.
''While we were watching another
light appeared a little 10 the west. 1t
was dim at first, but soon began to
. fare like the other. Then another and
another appeared. following each other
in quick succession, until the sink
looked like torch.light procession, but
they were all stationary. When we
would drive on they looked as if they
were moving. too.
- 1t looks like q demonstration of
q, dambeau club, l remarked.
% 1t looks more like spook process
SION replied my companion.
''It was a sultry night. We had
travelled by night on account of the hot
day that preceded A suffocating heat
seemed TO rise up from the earth.
You could feel il like the hot air
coming from house furnace through
the door. We had our revolveTs
buckled about our waists, and Simp-
son reached for his rife Then we
smiled grImly at each other as we
could see from the dim light from the
phenomena which lighted up our faces.
''We were not afraid, and yet, the
stories Of Death Valley loomed up in
our minds; that Is. in my mind, and
Simpson afterward acknowledged the
same thing, and we could imagine all
kinds of things. We had passed num-
Der Of mounds that night, and while
we could not read the inscriptions at
the little head boards by the light from
the stars, we remembered many Of
them, as we had read them going over
One told about an unknown prospector
being found with skull crushed, and
how the party had found the body
and buried it. Another told the story
of death from thirst. and another told
how the companions had fallen out in
bidb uNcpldtf fbuublN dui uph pHe
had murdered his companion and fled
the country.
Wholesale Massacres.
''Then the stories Of the wholesale
massacres of immigrants by Indians
IN early days came up in our minds,
We saw all kinds of visions, and the
lights Aickered about the desert like
so many jack o lanterns: Simpson
and hroafblaec
Neither spoke for several minutes. We
would watch new light appear, and
then watch another exhaust itself.
Ihei whole valley, SO far as we could
see, was gruesome sight of dying and
rekindliug lights. The mules were
restless. and finally walked on, drawing
us along with them, though we paid but
little attention TO them.
was looking away TO the south at
4. new blaze of FIRE, when suddenly the
place lighted up right in front of us,
binding our eyes and frightening the
mules badly For moment the 'hair
fairly rose on my head, and [ saw
from the pale face Of Simpson that he
was in no easy mood. We looked in
front of the lead mule and saw ball
Of fire lying on the ground We got
out TO investigate. We found blaze
that made Sizing noise. 1t was com
your fst. We kicked it about and
as the fragments would fall apart
the blaze would continue. We. dis
covered that it was composed Of a
whitish substance, and that the fire
had come from spontaneous combns
ton. 1t was saltpetrc, or some suh.
stance formed from the salt and other
chemical matter of that region, and
the processes had caused the hame.
We ran across plenty of the phenomena
within the next few hours In fact,
II became so frequent that VIC quit
investigating, and come to pay no at.
tcntion to it,.
Old prospectors corroborate the
phenomena 1t is brought about at
certain times and under certain condi.
tlons Of the atmosphere.
America nAssociation Games
At ST. Paui-St. Paul, e. Kansas City, o.