The Jayhawker emigrants, who started from Illinois in 1849, came to grief when they attempted to take a short cut through the sun-scorched wastes of waterless Death Valley. They almost perished from thirst and had to eat many of their oxen to avoid starvation. They then abandoned their wagons and marched on as shown in this picture of their desperate journey. Finally 32 straggling survivors reached a haven at Del Valle ranch near Castaic Junction, from which several later continued their journey to the mines.
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