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'Agua, Agua'

In 1905, prospector Pablo Valencia survived a week without water as he walked more than 100 miles in the Sonoran Desert. 75 years later, teacher Bill Broyles retraced his route.

I n August 1905, the geologist and anthropologist William McGee was working at a field camp at Tinajas Altas, a series of water-carved pools in the granite mountains on the border between the Arizona Territory and Mexico. With help from his camp manager, a local from the Tohono O’odham tribe named Jose, McGee spent his days gathering data on the weather, studying the area flora and fauna, and sleeping under the stars. When his canteen was empty, he started shoving anything that might have the tiniest bit of water into his mouth: the thick, spiny leaves of a mezcal plant; bitter wild gourds called calabacitas; even a few spiders and a scorpion he managed to catch.

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