THE MIRAGE OF DEATH VALLEY.
By Uthai Vincent Wilcox
THERE is no place so melancholy and desolate as Death Valley, California, described by one writer as "Nature's last word of horror and desolation." There no living thing grows or can dwell; its burning sand drinks up rivers. Many are the tales that it might tell of those who have sought for its fabled mineral wealth. Two hundred and ten feet below the level of the placid Pacific, seven miles in length, and so hot in summer that its temperature has never been recorded! Inside of this jagged rent in the earth's crust, this "abomination of desolation," where men have gone mad while in no apparent need because of the ghastliness of the surroundings, and the furnace-like aridity of the air, two young men, seduced by its oft-repeated tales of unlimited wealth, are toiling through nature's forbidden spot, when they discover that the water has diminished below the danger line. Eagerly they drain the last few muddy drops, which serve only to aggravate their thirst; and, as the burning sand fills their parched mouths, their ears and eyes, they would sacrifice anything for water. No vegetation, save here and there, half buried in the sand, starved grease root, which only serves to actuate the general appearance of death and desolation; and over the whole scene hangs a most profound and impressive silence, a silence that to the superstitious is frightful. In this tortured state of mind, the sun and the scorching breeze sucking every drop of moisture from the skin, the thirsty seeker suddenly sees, through the blinding sands and blistering heat, an object just ahead, that to his surprise has escaped his notice before; there are cool mountain streams pouring down on alfalfa fields, where cattle are quietly grazing. Reanimated by the vision, he presses eagerly forward for another hundred yards, when, as suddenly as it appeared, it vanishes, and he is aroused to the fact that he has been pursuing a mirage of the desert; and, instead of cool rivers and dales, he beholds the bleaching bones of his predecessors. His mind is unable to withstand the awful strain, and instead of pushing forward to the valley's outlets, he wanders in circles, goes raving mad, and finally expires where he has worn his fingers to the bone vainly digging for water. Such is the mirage of nature, an optical illusion! But, journeying across the wilderness of this world, many men thirst for happiness, altho Christ proclaims Himself the Living Fountain, at which the tired and thirsty pilgrim might quench his thirst and be satisfied. But the majority of those who pursue after terrestrial glory and joys, yea, all, find that they are as illusive as the mirage. As one is deceived by the mirage of pleasure, so another is by the mirage of wealth; and as each successive one vanishes a new one appears, until the unsuspecting victim is swallowed up in the Valley of Death, and the pleasing illusion is gone forever. "In vain the erring world inquires
For some substantial good;
While earth confines their low desires,
They live on airy food.
"Illusive dreams of happiness
Their eager thoughts employ;
They wake and see the boasted bliss
Was visionary joy." Such is the mirage of life. Altho some men have drawn the highest prizes in life's lottery, yet in forsaking the Fountain of the living waters, they find that they failed to give permanent, lasting happiness, and, according to the words of the wise man, "all is vanity and vexation of spirit." We may learn, if we will, by the mistakes and warnings of others, to trust in Him when passing through the dark trials and tribulations on earth, for He is "a great Rock in a weary land, a Shelter in the time of storm." But to any weary-hearted wanderer who has long chased the mirage, we would tender the Saviour's invitation to forsake all the inviting visions of wealth, honor, or riches, and take up His cross and follow Him to the place where the desert shall blossom as the rose, and where the parched ground shall become streams of water that recede not nor pass away. It shall prove the portal through which you shall enter upon joys infinite in degree and everlasting in duration, while through eternity you will bless that divine grace which first led you to abandon forever the vain pursuit of the Mirage of Death. See Isa. 55:1-3.