Twenty Mule Team of Death Valley ― Tales of White Gold, Parched Desert, and Iron Men

The twenty mule team is an iconic legend of the Death Valley territory and Mojave Desert. Its operation was short-lived, but during that time, this team of animals, humans, and wagons became forever etched into the romantic psyche of all who learned about it. Common citizens who had no association with the desert used products that had their beginnings in the mystique of Death Valley and the team. Even today, most every supermarket in the United States carries products with the well known twenty mule team silhouette on them. These borax related cleaning products are likely found worldwide. Rarely has such an obscure operation gained such fame as the impressive twenty mule team.This book tells the story behind the legend, revealing also what it was like to have worked as a laborer to extract the borax for transport to market. It is a time forever lost to the shroud of history, but the spirit lives on, and is celebrated regularly by enthusiasts who relive the glory of those days at planned desert events. Next time you see a desert dust devil approaching, imagine the colossal wagons and team lumbering along.Borax is a compound of boron, also known as sodium borate, and it brought in more money for a few entrepreneurs than all the other mining activities (gold, silver, lead, copper, etc.) combined – this prized salt is what really put the Death Valley territory on the map of common public awareness. Borax was so valuable, it was also known as white gold. It is part of what is left on the valley floor after many years of mineral evaporation in the scorching summer heat, and the miners who sought precious metals such as gold and silver overlooked its value. Humble but useful, borax is what led to the operation of Death Valley’s famous twenty mule team, and was what thousands of Americans used during the mid-twentieth century to wash their hands and clothing.These giant wagons and rugged men responsible for hauling borax across the arid and merciless desert and through Wingate Wash in the 1880s are now legend, and have become an integral part of Old West Americana. Visitors to Furnace Creek can still view these wagons today.Choosing to do his own hauling from the Harmony Borax Works when borax prices dropped, William Coleman initiated this new method to get his borax to Mojave. Each team was comprised of 18 mules and 2 draft horses, the horse’s heavier weight being used at the lead wagon for making turns easier. The two wooden borax wagons each carried over 10 tons of the powder in a volume of 4 by 6 by 16 feet. The rear wheels were 7 feet high, and the front were 5 feet. They had iron tires 8 inches wide and 1 inch thick. The third wagon was a metal cylinder carrying 1,050 gallons of precious water for crew and animals to survive the arduous 20 day round-trip desert journey (there are some accounts that state the water capacity of this cylinder was 500 gallons). The team moved along at an average speed of two miles per hour. The fully loaded rig weighed in excess of 30 tons. One twenty mule team left the Harmony Borax Works every 4 days, but the runs from this location ceased during the scorching summer months, with production continuing at the cooler Amargosa Borax Works until the fall of each year. It was a lot of back-breaking work that did not last long, but history shall never forget what happened here.Also included in this book is the story of Death Valley, as written by John Randolph Spears. In 1892, a book called “Illustrated Sketches of Death Valley and Other Borax Deserts of the Pacific Coast” was published by Rand, McNally & Company, written by John Randolph Spears, and destined to become a long-time authority on the Death Valley territory. “The Story of Death Valley” is the first chapter of that book. John was among the first to write of this territory, thus the accounts of his visit were seen as noteworthy, although his stories are laced with some unsubstantiated tales amidst the factual backdrop and history.