The Deserts of Nevada 



+8 7 



To the east is the trail to "Eden," 

 which we follow, crossing the Kawich 

 Range, the highest peak of which is 9,500 

 feet. 



From the pass we look along the sum- 

 mit, which is flat and broad — the rem- 

 nant of an old surface which has been 

 much eroded. We find the "town" to be 

 a scattering lot of tents, but aptly named, 

 for there is a small creek of running 

 water, green, fresh grass, willows and 

 small cottonwood trees, rose bushes, 

 ferns, and grateful shade. The first 

 man we greet states his name to be 

 Adam(s), and asks us if we have seen 

 any snakes, of which he assures us there 

 are plentv, but Eve and apples we do not 

 find. 



The prospectors here show us claims, 

 some having ores of gold and others of 

 rich silver. We spend some days in map- 

 ping this country and examining the 

 rocks, and then take up our journey 

 southward along the range, which is usu- 

 ally supplied with timber, springs, and 

 grass. Here there are numerous bands 

 of horses, some of them wild, others ac- 

 quiring wildness, and in turn endeavor- 

 ing to thrust wildness upon the beasts of 

 the traveler (three of ours strayed and are 

 not even yet recovered). At one spring 

 seven dead animals are found, killed by 

 the shots of the stock-owners, who wish 

 the water for beasts of use and value. 

 Like the Cactus, this range is largely 

 made up of volcanic flows. 



We cross the Kawich Range on the 

 pass above the "Wild Rose" Spring, and 

 camp at the Sumner Spring, where there 

 is water and wood, and after removing 

 various rats, gophers, and insects from 

 the spring, we are well located, with a 

 beautiful view of the Reveille Range, 

 which rises 3,000 feet above the valley to 

 the eastward. In the desert it is very 

 difficult to get satisfactory photographs — 

 the distances are so great that the pic- 

 ture may include a whole range, miles 

 away and several thousand feet high, but 

 there is nothing to give scale to the 

 view — nothing by which one can measure 

 it. In the Reveille and adjacent valleys 



antelope are sometimes seen, but animal 

 life is not abundant. 



From Sumner Spring we journey by 

 buckboard to the Reveille Range, which 

 is crossed by the steepest wagon road I 

 have ever seen. Over this road the ores 

 from the mining camp, Old Reveille, 

 were hauled to the mill in the valley, 16 

 miles away. 



At the top of the mountain we look 

 across another rolling summit of volcanic 

 rocks ; near by are a few buildings, a new 

 boarding house, and several wooden 

 shelters. Here "outside" capital is in- 

 terested in the development of "pros- 

 pects ;" the water is hauled four miles,, 

 from the spring at the "Old Camp," 

 which thirty years ago was a busy town, 

 but now going to decay. 



Horses and mules unaccustomed to 

 the region are afraid of the deserts, and 

 it is often very difficult to get them 

 started over an unknown road when leav- 

 ing a good campground behind ; a nerve- 

 wrecking delay may follow and heroic 

 measures become necessary. Some of our 

 animals lay "hog tied" in the cooking 

 sun for hours before proceeding over a 

 new route. 



KAWICH— A GOLD CAMP 



While the northern end of the Kawich 

 Range is well supplied with water, grass, 

 and trees, the southern part is dry and 

 barren. Here, about 80 miles from Gold- 

 field, at the foot of Quartzite Mountain, 

 some of the ledges of rhyolite which 

 show through the drift carry gold, and 

 as this is the magician that turns a deso- 

 late waste into a semblance of civiliza- 

 tion, we find a camp, complete, yet lack- 

 ing everything. The description of an 

 investor from Italy I quote : "Kawich is 

 a h — 11 of a place ! No mines, no water, 

 no feed, no women," which discloses one 

 point of view. 



The water is hauled by team from Cliff 

 Springs, 12 miles away, making a jour- 

 ney of 25 miles a day to keep the town 

 from drying up, and is sold at $3.00 per 

 barrel. (Extensive bathing is not gen- 

 erally practiced.) If this spring fails, 



