Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1922-05-20
LOCAL MEN IN
Death VALLEY
FIGHT STORM
Hurricane Cause of Anxiety for
Safety as Trip Is Made to
the Famous Cyty Mine.
TRAVELLERS HOURS IN DANGER
Experience OF E. W. Blair and
LetSOn Ballet Will Ever
be Remembered.

f. w. BlaiI, cashier of the Tono
pah Banking Corporation, and Letsor
Ballet, mining engineer, went
through an experience on Thursday
that they will not soon forget, when
they had a session with a hurri-
cane in Death Valley that is consid-
cred by old timers to have been the
worst in the history Of old desert
rats.
Messrs Blair and Ballet were ac-
companied by John Cyty, old pros
pector and Death Valley rat; w, R.
Calvert, geologist of Salt Ike City,
and F, V Perkins, president and
general manager of the American
Carrara Marble works, the latter
driving a new Franklin car. The
party was on its way to look over
what is known as the Cyty mine in
Death Valley, which was recently op-
toned to eastern capitalists
The story is best told by one OF
the party, as follows:
1--WE were going into Death Valley
to the Cyty mine, and stopped at
Daylight Springs, Is miles south of
RhyOlite to adjust aneroids The
elevation is 43O7 above sea level.
A strong wind was blowing at Day
light Springs, which is the summit.
From there we dropped rapidly
down into the giant bowl of Death
Valley
in the next six miles we dropped
5000 feet. The wind was stronger
the lower we went into the valley;
so strong that the driver had to
drive with the throttle wipe open to
force the car ahead on a grade with
5000 feet drop in six miles
THE wind had reached a velocity
of 80 miles an hour, and was still
increasing in a steady hurricane,
wholly devoid of any cyclonic or
whirlwind motions. Two miles far
ther the wind had reached a velocity
of about 10 miles, when the cover
ing of auto top was suddenly torn
loose, like a sail from the spars of
ship would be released. The auto
was heavily loaded, and with the
wind almost dead ahead, did not
upset
Ballet grabbed the flapping lea
thereto between the bows from the
rear seat and was pulled up against
the bows of the top. Calvert and
Cyty came to his aid and the three
managed to hang onto the cover until
the car was stopped and survey
of the damage was made. Away
down the valley a terrific sand
storm could be seem but the Death
Ealley snow (sand) had not reached
the edge where the party was de
scending into the valley.
Death Valley holds no terrors
for men who do not lose their heads
and as all members of the party
were acquainted with the desert and
had fought the battles with nature
many times, we decided to proceed
into the teeth of the storm until
we could find a canyon or gulch
that would furnish protection from
the wind. We proceeded seven miles
further, and turned into a gulch at
the old Keane Wonder mine for
shelter.
so strong was the hurricane that
after stopping the car, the driver was
unable to get into high gear for
some distance, even on the noun
tain side where the car would ordi,
narilly coast in low gear. For the
entire distance Cyty, Calvert and
Ballet hung to the Tapping top and
bound it over the bows with their
weight until shelter at Keane Won.
der was reached. Here we tied the
top down with lash ropes and a few
hours later we came out, and with
the wind still blowing drove up the
canyon on high gear to Daylight
Springs, with. the wind dead be-
hind strong enough to be that much
helm to the ear.