The Diary Of Death Valley Many Sought Their Fortunes In Death Valley, Leaving Behind Tales Of Hard Work, Hope And Intrigue For Today’s Travelers To Explore

“The game on the desert is to make money,” declared the shortlived magazine, Death Valley ChuckWalla, in 1907.

Tales of riches without limit seemed natural sidekicks to the valley’s mysterious dangers. Why shouldn’t there by vast rewards to those who braved the burning perils of the hottest place in the United States?

That was the pull on the goldseekers, the borax kings, and the con men who came to Death Valley, California, to make their fortunes. For almost 150 years, the hand of modern man has writ large on this desert landscape, and the visitor can still read much of it today. Preserved by the National Park Service, the valley’s human heritage is on full display, surrounded by a land of severe beauty.

In 1849, impatient emigrants stumbled into the valley, searching for a shortcut to the California gold fields. Most of the hundred-odd forty-niners made it across, but the weary Bennett and Arcan families decided to wait it out. They camped their wagons by a water source after sending two others, Manly and Rogers, ahead on foot to get help. For 26 winter days they waited, wondering if the two would return. To joyful cries, the heroes finally appeared with food and the route to safety.

A dusty drive down the bumpy West Side Road today takes you to their encampment. Only a lonely historical marker tells the story of Bennett’s Long Camp. West of the salt flat, the site is arid and spotted with brush. Nothing remains of their ordeal but the blowing wind and the legend that grew up around it.

Small pieces of gold and silver ore, found by the forty-niners on their way through the Death Valley region, soon impressed treasure hunters on the West Coast. One survivor made a silver gunsight from a rock he had picked up. Within months, prospectors set out to find the sources of these precious samples. And thus began the boom-and-bust history of the infernal valley that would last into the 20th century. Dreams of finding fabled strikes like the Lost Gunsight Lode died hard.

Ghost towns, empty mines, and abandoned hopes are all that are left. The Keane Wonder Mill and Mine retain the worn trappings of a productive gold mine. Farther north at Leadfield, reached by highclearance vehicle on the Titus Canyon road, watch for the remains of tin buildings. The town of Skidoo on the west side of Death Valley has no ruins, but it was the site of the valley’s only hanging. These three locations are on unpaved roads, and you should consult park staff about driving conditions before visiting them. By contrast, the Ashford Mill ruins are just off the paved road to the south and appear as bombed-out shells.

Don’t miss the Wildrose Charcoal Kilns. The 10 beehive-shaped ovens, 25 feet high and set out in a line, resemble ancient shrines to pagan gods. Built in 1877, they operated for only about a year, making charcoal from pinyon pine. These coals fired smelting furnaces for silver-lead ore across the Panamint Valley to the west.

Near the valley’s large sand dunes are two more reminders of times gone by. A sign along the road heading to the north end of the park tells of tracks left by wagons running between Skidoo and Rhyolite. The tracks are hard to see in the morning, but if you peer west under the late afternoon sun, they are plainly visible.

The real mineral riches of Death Valley turned out to be the “white gold” of borax. This cleaning and industrial agent was first produced at the Eagle Borax Works in 1882, but the operation was unprofitable. Its despondent founder, Isadore Daunet, committed suicide two years later. All you can see of it now is a gray-white mound and a rusty pipe next to the West Side Road.

More successful were the Harmony Borax Works just north of Furnace Creek Ranch. From 1883 to 1888, the famous 20-mule teams solved the transport problem by hauling huge wagonloads over the desert to the railroad at Mojave, 165 miles away. Two of the original five sets of wagons are on show in the park, one at Harmony and the other in front of Furnace Creek Ranch.

Still rusting at Harmony is the 17-foot-long steam boiler that heated the tanks for liquefying the borax. Chinese laborers sweated all day for $1.50, scraping up the raw mineral from the salt flat. After dissolving, the purified borax was then recrystallized for transport.

Furnace Creek Ranch nearby includes the Borax Museum, which explores the lore of the borax days. Look for the 20 hitching rings on a long feed wagon that carried mule fuel for the desert trek. At the ranch entrance, inspect Old Dinah, the steam tractor that unsuccessfully tried to do the work of the mule teams. Stroll through the lush date palm grove close by and listen to swarms of scolding birds feasting on the fallen dates. The fruit itself and date bread are on sale at the ranch.

The most notorious fortune hunter in the annals of the sun-bleached valley was not a prospector. Flamboyant con man Walter Scott, known as Death Valley Scotty, mined instead the deep pockets of gullible grubstakers who wanted to believe in easy wealth. His years as a cowboy in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show prepared him for a career of selfpromotion. As he had no real mine for his investors to see, he tried to scare them off with a fake ambush in 1906, which turned into a fiasco when his own brother was mistakenly shot.

Yet, his most faithful backer, Chicago insurance millionaire Albert Johnson, enjoyed Scotty’s camaraderie and the healthful desert air. The wealthy Midwesterner eventually built an elaborate Spanish-style estate at the north end of the valley, now know as Scotty’s Castle. Although Johnson financed the construction, Scotty impishly claimed to have spent “two million dollars on the shack.” Johnson explained his affection for this rogue by saying, “He repays me in laughs.”

Join a guided tour of the castle interior. The two-story-high main hall sports a carved wooden ceiling and a fountain at one end. Custom china still waits for Johnson’s guests in the dining room as arches of beams form a canopy overhead. In the upper music room is a full-size theater organ, which still plays. All work stopped on the incomplete grounds during the Depression in 1931.

The final wave of entrepreneurs came to the valley in the 1920s, building lodging for the tourist trade. Travelers who came after wanted to enjoy the history and scenery, especially after the creation of the national monument in 1933. With the elevation to national park status last year, this modern rush of pleasureseekers will only grow.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with story: If you go HOW TO GET The park - mostly in California, but straddling the border with Nevada - can be approached by highway from all four directions. The nearest large city is Las Vegas, Nev., 138 miles from the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. WHEN TO GO: The weather is most pleasant from October to April. Summer is very hot with an average high temperature in July of over 116 degrees. WHERE TO STAY: Lodging is available in two areas of the park. At the Furnace Creek area are Furnace Creek Ranch (moderate rates) and Furnace Creek Inn (upscale). Call (619) 786-2345 for the ranch or inn. At Stovepipe Wells Village, lodging is moderately priced. Call (619) 786-2387. There are several campgrounds in the park. WHAT TO BRING: A hat and some sunscreen. Carry plenty of water if you go hiking. Be sure your car is up to the extreme conditions of summer. OTHER THINGS TO SEE AND DO: Opportunities abound for four-wheel driving, mountain biking, and hiking in this spacious park, which is larger than Delaware. Horseback riding and golf are available at Furnace Creek. INFORMATION: Superintendent, Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, CA 92328. Telephone (619) 786-2331. FURTHER READING: “Death Valley & the Amargosa” by Richard D. Lingenfelter, (University of California Press).