The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-08-11
DEATH VALLEY IS
PRETTY HOT PLACE
Victims Are Claimed Daily,
Despite Coming OF
Civilization.
WIND ALMOST FIERY
Men Are Swallowed Up by
Desert Wastes as by
the Sea.

A graphic story, describing Death VAL
ley. appears in the latest issue OF the Ter
Ia Bella News, edited by Earle r. Glenn
ems. formerly editor Of the paper a. Rhyo-
lite. Clemens is familiar with Death val
ley and was inspired TO write this story
by the tragic death In the valley a short
time ago. OF Peter Busch, with whom the
writer had long been friendly. The arti-
Gle follows:
Death valley has lost none of its ter
rors since 40. when the gold hunters Per
ished In their attempt to reach the bo,
nanza finds in California The relics OF
that expedition yet remain on Salt creek
10 remind passers-by OF heroic struggle
against great odds.
changed. True, prospectors have. cS-
plored It's remotest corner; miners have
dug for gold and silver and copper In
the hills on every side; camps have been
made and abandoned here and there;
water holes and stations established in
times OF oross-valley travel between the
Panamints and the Funeral range, a
ranch has been developed on which figs
and melons and vegetables grow in great
abundance-the mecca for hundreds OF
desert pilgrims and sightseeing parties; a
stamp mill and an aerial tramway have
been built and operated, with a teie-
phone line reaching to civilization; TWEEN
ty-mule teams have invaded the depth
and hauled out borax; yet Death valley,
sunken. ;reacherous. desolate. isolated. is
unaltered by the coming of man. 1t Is
still the valley OF death. claiming Its VIC
tins one and one. and harboring many
an unmarked grave.
These lines are prompted by the recent
news of the death of an intimate friend,
whose eight years OF desert experience
were of no avail in an encounter with
we think that San Joaquin valley is tor
rid In summer. as compared with other
clinnes, a visit TO Death valley viii! dis
sipate the iden, Death valley IS the hot
test spot on earth In summer. and its
near approach to that other warm re-
gion was aptly told on slgnboard which
the writer once saw In the valley, read
Ing something Ike this:
-Four miles TO Keano Wonder. eight
miles to Stovepi2e, forty feet to hell.
One has no Idea OF the oppression OF
personal experience of It. The sun
rises hot and sets hot, with night sky
fun OF strange lights. like the flashing OF
fire flies, the phosphoric phenomena OF a
some. relief but the new day dawns hot
ter it seems. than the day before The
water In your canteen Is nauseating as
II almost sizzles under the glare of the
from above and hot from below. almost
steggers you, while your thick tongue.
swelling rapidly from thirst, all but stran-
gles you.
The sand dunes. marked only by mes
quite, swallow you without affordng
refuge from the heat; the wind blows as
n from out a fiery furnace: the sand
shifts with the wind and the trail is
lost; the burros may stampede and the
last Of your grub may be hopelessly scat
Tered; MANY have suffered horrible deaths
In that far-away and lonely place
gone mad from thirst and hunger, thrown
away canteen, grub and clothing, and
wandered aimlessly only TO lie down and
die, the prey OF the coyotes and the grief
OF the loved ones to whom their resting
place Is unknown. Some day, perha ps
more fortunate pilgrim has found a
skeleton, and dug a grave. with an oc-
casional find of jewelry OF papers by
which the remains could be identified. but
In the years In which the writer was IA
miliar with the stories of the lost in
Death valley. but few missing ones were
located. The valley had swallowed them
up. as the sea-
And during the month of July. 1919
another victim has answered the summons
OF the Death valley call: a pioneer OF
desert mining camp who had braved
the terrors OF the valley MANY times
or on foot, This time he went into the
valley with an automobile. the machine
STUCK IN the deep sand. and with that
me story was soon over, Death valley
had not changed. The noon-day snn
overlook the unfortunate automobilist as
II mocking him for his audacity ia ven
turing yonder where the sure-footed bur
ro has hard work TO travel
The desire for gold Is unabated. {,
took men across Death valley In 10. 81
mas iured many A prospector there since
that historic day when Funeral range
was named: and today II Is calling yvIfL
sure ana certain toll OF human life