The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1907-08-03
IN THE JAWS OF HELL
BY W. MCCLURE GOTTwALDT

feet above sea level we found the tenn
perature in the late afternoon. in CRATE
full shade. to be 11s degrees, while in
the coolest hour Of the night the Their
mometer at this altitude registered 104.
Unsufferable as the heat Is in calm
when the eyes redden. a heavy weight
seems bearing down the chest and a con-
tracing band of semi-molten metal en-
circles the throat, when the perspiration
gushes from every pore and the sands
cannot be touched lest the hand bis
ter-unsufferable as is the calm. the
heat of the sun, even su~perlatively
heated, but there seems to be an open
furnace door in fror of the face. 1t
withers; 1t overcomes. No man can
face it.
What wonder hat men fall to the
sand and never rise again? In a few
days their bodies are unrecognizable.
1t does not become putrid. 1t dessi-
Gates, leaving a par~chment-like skin.
close clinging to the bones. But rarely
are the bodies found. Within a day.
perhaps a few minutes, the sands drift
over the fallen bodies.
The sands of this one time arm of
shO - ~ NV AhSy oAS
reduced almost to molecules. 1t is i'm
it. for the particles swiftly pass through
the celnched fingers. :.
There is nothing animate in the desert.
save for an occasional clump of mes
quite in that portion above sea level
line. or one more rugged varieties of
! cactus. The great. sluggish diamond
hack roff1ar ond the ltftlo pn0norfonS
sidewinder. prefer the rocks and coarse
sand of the foothills. as do the chuck
walla. scorpion and tarantular. One
sees no anthills. He is not tortured with
flies. the pest of the valleys environ
meat. AS a desert rat" remarked to
the writer; THE flies SINCE their wings
here in summer"
THE VALLEY AT MIGHT
At nightfall Death Valley tempera-
ture is bearable. ever during the sum-
mer months. The mercury rarely reg
listers over los degrees at nightfall and
, the effects are rather weaking than daz-
ling. as Is the case when the sun shines,
for the body is bathed in perspiration.
which evaporates so rapidly that the
wayfarer's temperature is considerably
below that of the air.
Aeh hoA0 ~ ~ ~ ' q that
the pedestrians sole safeguard is water
in copious supply. AS the water is warm
there are no evil effects from drinking
it to the extent of five gallons a day.
The only trouble is to secure and trans
port hat much. Even with a daily con-
sumption of five gallons. the perspira-
try organs are able to handle the entire
supply. very little being secreted by the
kidneys.
Lack of water is. next to the heat,
the chief terror of Death Valley. Be
tween Rhyolite and the valley on the
wagon road there are two springs, one
known as Daylight. which contains
about a quart of water at this season,
and the other is Hole in the Rock, now
perfectly dry.
Crossing the Funeral range. as we
did, with the compass for our sole
guide, we one watering
place, Keane Spring. where the supply
! is abundant and the quality excellent
throughout the year. Beyond this there
is nothing until the base of the Pana-
mints is reached. with the exception of
Stovepipe Wells, unless a detour is made
to the south where water is o~btainable
at the Keane Wonder mill.
4 CANE or CHANCE
1t is a game of chance. with Death
holding the top cards. for one to attempt
to walk across the valley in the sum-
mer with only sufficient. water to reach
the opposite side. for the water holes
are extremely difficult to find. Some
are dry and others contain water in