The Ottawa free trader., 1850-07-27

cArrAlS sTAssDrRY's RECONNAISSANCE,

be SHOWS Of the surrounding mountains, mtclli-
gencc has at length been received from Captain
Stansbury, ofthe Typographical Engineer Corps,
who is engaged in the examination of the valley
ofthe Great Salt Lake and photographic sur
vey Of that singular sheet Of water I he last pre-
vous news Of the whereabouts of his party was
dated in October last The present dispatches
come down to as late as the 10th Of March
Capt, Stnn,bury says
The winter season here h0s been long and very
severe, commencing about the middle Of Noyem.
GeT To-day (trbualY 26) the mountains are
white with snow aud in many e the oauVn5 (pro
nounccd kauyon,j il is upwards ol ~ feet deep,
reaching to the tops Of the tallest trees, Altno
in the latitude of 1O~ 4G' it has more than equal
led the severity Of Last year in Philadelphia
which was an unusual one, and it is even now
quite uncertain when 1t will terminate
Again, hc says, writing on the 18TH Of March !:
"Ihc mountain passes are fuller Of snow than
ever Yesterday morning we found that 3 inches
Of snow had fallen during the night, and last night
nenrly rs much. This is on the plains in the
mountains the fall is from to times greater
the condensation Of the atmusaheric yapur being
there much more rapid and complete. Al thi,
moment, while the sun Is shining brightly on the
plains it is showing iuriousy among the peaks"
4
"After completing the reconnaissance Of Cache
Valley, we returned to our camp on Bear River.
hen Col. Porter returned to his post the urOyis-
ion train was despatched down the east shore Of
the Salt Lake, under Lieut. Rowland the rifles.
with ordOrS to report To Lieut. Gunuison whilst
!, accompanied by Dr. Blake, with party of 4
men md ! & mules, addressed myselfto make the
tour around the western side of the lake This
uip was, by many Of the old molmtaineers, con
sidored rather hazardous, especially at that late
season of the year. Many Of them had tiod it,
but none had ever succeeded in achieving it.
The country was represented 10 he barren in
the extreme, and almost, if not entirely, destitute
of fresh water. In addition To- which. some dis
turbanccs and i'll feeling had taken place between
the whites and the Snake Or Sho-honcc Indians,
arising out Of gross outrage which had been in.
ilcted upon the latter by band Of unprincipled
cmigrants in which several Of their men were kill.
ell and women violated and murdered | WAS de.
terminej, however, to proceed; and having pro
yled ourselves with some india rubber BAGS for
packing water IN case Of necessity, on the l9th
OF October VIC commenced our journey. We were
also provided with one soldiers tent and one wall
tent n.y. for protection from rains; but they were
Of little use, rs but in one or two instances could
poles be procured for stretching them, so utterly
destitute Of timber was the zion through which
We passed The journey occupied Us until the
Sth Of November
We found that the whole western shore Of the
lake consists Of immense level plains Of soft mud,
inaccessible within many miles Of the water S
edge to the feet ufmulcs or horses being truver-
scd frequently by meanGeiinZ rs Of salt and
sulphur water, which apparently sink and seem
to- imbue and slturae tie whole soil rendering il
micry and treachcrous These plains are butlit.
! tie elevated above the present level Of the lake.
and have, without doubt, at one time. not ycry
long since, formed a part Of il, for it is evident
that rise OF Int few inches will at once cover
the greater portion If those extensive areas Of
land with water again do not think hazard
much 10y saying that a rise Of one foot in the lake
would nearly itnot quite double its preson; area
| "lhc plains are, for the most part entirely de.
nuded OF vege'atlon excepting occasional patches
! OF artemesla and grease wood, and they glitter
IN the sunlight, presenting the appearance DIVA
ter so perfectly that it Is almost impossible for
one to convince himself that be i, not on the i'm
med1tc shore ofthc lake Itself This is owing TO
equalization of minute portions Of salt on the
suffice ofthe mud and the oozy slime occasiuned
by the complete ,aturatiou the soil with moist
urc From thi, cause, also, arises ,lirage. which
i greater here than | ever witnessed elsewhere.
dl-turtmg objects in the most grotesquc manner.
au' giving rise to optical Illusions amus, buyond
bcurf | anticipate serious trouble from th..
cause in making the trangulaton.
In an estimated distance Of onc hundred and
fifty miles on one part Of the route, fresh water
aud grass were found only in one sput, about mid
way of this stretch, and we were obliged 'u sub.
sst our animals that Is, TO keep lie in them, by
serving them ont pint OF water each night and
morning taken from the India rubber baa, packed
uTon their backs. The first part Of thi, desert
was about seventy five miles IN extent, and cccu
pied Us two days and half to cross It. travelling
all day, and the greater part of the night; wal,
ing great portion Of the way torclicyc the mules
which began TO sink under the want Of tustenInce
and water
In the latter portion Of this first desert We
crossed II field oi solid salt, which lay cucrusted
upon the level mud plain, thick that il bore up
the mules loaded with thick packs, SO perfectly
that they walked upon it US if Il had been u sheet
e solid ice, slightly covered with snow. The
Whole plain was A. level as floor. We c.tima-
ted this field to be at the least ten miles in length
10y seven in width, and the thickness of the salt
a from oue.halt to three quarters of an inch 4
'trip of some three miles IN width had been pre-.
Vi nsly crossed but il was not thick, nor hart e.
ro1gh tu prevent the animals from sinkiu through
'' ''' '''' ''''' 'N' wv i' NAt ~ Nlit sNi
ld field WAS perfectly crystalzed, and where il
had not become mixed wi,h the soil. was as white
and fine rs the best specimens of Salna table
alt. Some of it was collected and preserved
After crossing the lioldof salt we struck upon
fine little stream of running water, with plenty
Of grass, lying ut the foot Of range of mount.
ans, which seemed to form the western boundary
of the immediate valley Of the lake. Here we
were obliged to halt three days to give our ami.
mails an opportunity to recruit The latter part of
the desert was about seventy miles in extent aud
was passed in two days, by prolonging our march.
rs Ear in the night Had We not found grass and
water midway of this barren waste both animals
and mon must have persisted
We were, as | have every reason to believe.
the first party of white men that ever succeeded
in making the entire circuit of the lake 10y land
| understood that il was once circumnaviguted by
canoes, III early times, 10y some ,rappcrs, in search
Of beaver but no attempt by land has ever been
successful.
From the knowledge gained by this expedition.
am Of opinion that the size of the lake has been
much cxaggcnted; and from observation, and
wha, have learned from the Mormona, who have
made one or two excursions upon il in a small
skitf ann Induced to beipyp thui iis dpnth has