Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-05-23
. !! !. Of HIRAGES'
Death Valley and its Treacherous
Lures Of Beauty.
WORK OF A GOOD SAMARITAN.

-
Beck, The P%rospeetor, Who Has Made
the Desert Bloom With, Guideposts
Pointing the Way to Water and
Saved Many Men From Death.
In the American Magazine - 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 q plain
prospector in the Cripple Greek coun-
try. He was in on the ~diggings ut
Leadville. and he panned around In
Montana awhile. Likewise he rushed
into the Big Horn ut the time Of the
mineral strike there, but he never
struck q lead that made him rich. I
Eventually be drifted down through
Nevada and into Death valley. chasing
rainbows. Wild rumors about Death
Valley Scotty's big find In that section
electrified the country. and scores Of
prospectors rushed into the desert. ex-
,pecting to make their fortune in q few
days. Beck was among those pres
emit g. .~t. i.
"There we're 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
trickiing out Of a canyon at the base
Of, the Panamint mountains. Va
"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. sTe =
Game spring. and Beck made nm
other trip through Death valley. At
his side was a Newfoundland dog.
The prospector carried . bundle Of tin
strips. They we're signboards to guide
the wanderers steps Alright
Each summer since then the pros
pector and his dog have made 4 jour.
ney, to the land Of the purple mist, pill
ing up rocks and attaching signs to
them. searching for 9ost travellers and
incidentally keeping a lookout for Z
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 a number of thirst mad, rain
bow chasers and has also in remote
districts stumbled np0n the bleaching
bones Of dead men who may have
found fortunes ia 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 a
spring. er
1.-THE country that Beck traverses is
the most arid section of the American
eontinsnt-a., dreary stretch OF hun,
dreds of miles Of desert, dotted here
and. there with foothills. buttes. dry
creek beds. c%hnparra,. prtckly pear and
sagebrush. Springs are miles upon
miles apart. Most Of them nre bitterly
alkalk and some are poison. r.
ION an ordinary summer afternoon
the thermometer runs up to about 1874
degrees In, the shade ont in Death val
Icy, andr the most unpleasant. thing
qbont it ia that there h &earthaS1
shade. When man ventures out uFon
this trackless expanse the shimmerlng
heat dazes him. the scarcity Of water
crazes him. and the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
GUS. lying thing OF beauty that 1t is
looms ever before him. flashing, upon
the canvas, Of his mipd's eve q verdant
valley. a%g0rgeonsly green with growing
things, fresh with flowers. wet with,
water and waiting to welcome him.
"Hs can ssee8grassy bill slopes just
ahead. and the mirrored lake appears
to Ne just beyond some reckoning
meadow. He follows on and on and
afterward drains the last drop ssfrom
his tcanteen: Then his throat beGbtnes
panched. his tongue cleaves to, the lgbot
Of his mouth. and strange, thingsypnss
before his eyes. The buzzards begin
to soar over him. and the coyotes sill
upon their shunkers and watch him
chase .rainbous until, he pitches for
ward upon his face and closes his eyes
upon a world that Is too mysterious
and merciiess for him to finger in
longer"
500 ~ an =. ;.Ss fii, ,Nb, ia, !.
!, Song Of = Little River. "
There's'no music like e.little rivers
1t plays the snme tune (atd that's the
favortes oyer and over again. and vel
it does not weary OF 1T like men I'D.
diers. 1t takes the. mind out Of doors
| >-S AAA..~1, -.n h>,.IS 49, -~.s.kpER 80