The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1913-11-06
land OF MIRACES
Death Valley and Its Treacherous
Lures of Beauty.
WORK OF A GOOD SAMARITAN,

Beck, the Prospector, Who Has Made
the Desert Bloom With Guidepost.
Pointing the Way to Water anc
Saved Many Men From Death.
In the American Magazine is an arti
Gle about Lew Westcott Beck. who is
known as the good Samaritan of
Death valley" He and his dog, Ru.
fus, have saved many prospectors from
a horrible death by making the desert
blossom with guideposts showing the
way to water. The following is an ex-
tract from the article:
'"Time was when Beck was a plain
prospector in the Cripple Creek coun-
try. He was in on the diggings at
Leadville. and he PANIED around in
Montana awhile. Likewise he rushed
into the Big Horn at the time of the
mineral strike there, but he never
struck lead that made him rich.
Eventually he drifted down through
Nevada and into Death valley. chasing
rainboWs. Wild rumors about Death
Valley Scottys big find in that section
electrified the country. and scores of
prospectors rushed into the desert, ex-
pecting to make their fortune in a few
days Beck was among those pres
ent'
There were several in Beck's party.
They hiked many miles through the
mirage land. finding nothing worth
while and worrying constantly lest
they exhaust their supply Of water
For two days they sought water holes.
and when out Of water they went for
hours with tongues swollen and lips
parched from want of moisture Then
when death seemed inevitable they
suddenly discovered a tiny stream
trickling out Of canyon at the base
of the Panamint mountains.
when Beck returned to civilization
he was a changed man. He had seen
sands that were strewn with skulls,
and that sight had put a big idea into
his head.
"Came spring, and Beck made an
other trip through Death valley. At
his side was a Newfoundland dog.
The prospector carried bundle Of tin
strips. They were signboards to guide
the wanderers steps Alright
Each summer since then the pros
pector and his dog have made a jour-
ney to the land Of the purple mist, pill
ing up rocks and attaching signs to
them. searching for lost travellers and
incidentally keeping a lookout for a
piece of precious metal Once or twice
Rufus has led his master to prospectors
who, after long suffering from thirst,
had fallen upon the burning sands to
die.
I'm signboarding the desert Beck has
saved number Of thirst mad rain
bow chasers and has also in remote
districts stumbled upon the bleaching
bones Of dead men who may have
found fortunes in the silver sulphuret
district, but who did not live to tell
the world about it. At one time he as
sisted at the burial Of four men who
died Of thirst within two miles Of
spring.
"The country that Beck traverses is
the most arid section Of the American
continental dreary stretch of hun
dreds of miles Of desert. dotted here
and there with foothills, buttes, dry
creek beds, chaparral. prickly pear and
sagebrush. Springs are miles upon
mil no ,sf ~
alkali. and some are poison
ION an ordinary summer afternoon
the thermometer runs up to about 1874
degrees in the shade out in Death val
ley, and the most unpleasant thing
about it is that there is a dearth of
shade. When man ventures out upon
this trackless expanse the shimmering
heat dazeS him. the scarcity of water
crazes him. and the mirage -treacher-
GUS. lying thing of beauty that it is
looms ever before him. flashing upon
the canvas Of his minds eye verdant
valley, gorgeously green with growing
things. fresh with flowers. wet with
water and waiting to welcome him.
He can see grassy hill slopes just
ahead. and the mirrored lake appears
to lie just beyond some reckoning
meadow. He follows on and on and
afterward drains the last drop from
his canteen. Then his throat becomes
parched. his tongue cleaves to the roof
OF his mouth. and strange things pass
before his eyes. The buzzards begin
to soar over him. and the coyotes sit
upon their hunkers and watch him
chase rainbows until be pitches for
ward upon his face and closes his eyes
upon q world that is too mysterious
and merciless for him to linger in
longer"