Summary

In "Into the Wild," Chapter 1, Kolbert describes William Lewis Manly's travels through the American west in the winter of 1849. While on his way to California with "some five hundred other argonauts," Manly diverted the route, and arrived at Death Valley (64). There was no water, and the group was demoralized. When they found "a cavern that contained a pool of warm, clear water" in the valley, their "spirits briefly lifted" (65).

This cavern is now called Devils Hole. Although its water is "surrounded by rock and sand," it is the home to minnows known as pupfish (65). These desert fish "are a rich and diverse group" (66). However, the pupfish are now dying out. Biologists conduct pupfish counts "four times a year at Devils Hole" (67). The hole "descends 'over five hundred feet'" (68). No diver has ever reached the bottom and returned alive.

The pupfish...