Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1852-12-11
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the valley of the great snit Lake

From The Li9iitluti Aitisittptii1 we taks
tle following notice Of Capt 9taisbnty's
"~itspediiinp TO the Great Ealt Lake fei
Gently published ny Lipriina't ufafnNt
X Go. Cieainiati. The article ID trade
up mainly IL extracts Ifith tlls work IN
jirionsly taken, aid IL exceedingly inter
eating.
trlla esistetse Of Il vast lake rf salt
water sottiew i,efe finitl iie wtttlai wsst ei
the Rocky Mountains, liaa l'aan kioWh
aimee 1880, when Btfsh In ~liontan wrote
NH aeeonht@Whirfi, however eeaii,s 10 he
IA mitch iiiiehfpi ~ iina t~ira'ioi Az - uEil
sefvatien4-er hIs Ill seheefies ia that ~.
piun. sothe attempts have, si,ee tliat
time, been made 10 explore ifs shores butt
Captain stahslshfy's party are The Hf4t
white men that have made the circuit Of
its waters. Tie results OF the Captains
observations. Wltiei, were carried e,i With
IN vel, akill al linn Lac latjof, make the
circumference If the like, exclusive ufeff.
setts. 10 lie two hundred and ninety oiie
miles. The t~eiglb3fhoed around Ia ui
the satia gigantic scale, consisting oF tles.
erts sisty aud seventy miles ntfbss, snta,.
rated FROM each other by PERCEPTIONS rocky
eminenees Of great elevations Many of
thess deserts Caot. Riansbufv says wonld
furnish extended plniiis, absolutely level,
ult,h which d tlegfee Of the meridian eould
be measured TO great advantage,
THIS inlaud yea IL believed by Captain
S'ah$biry 10 have been IL a past aye Of
infinitely greater extent. He saysi
"Upnt the slope Of a ridge connected
with this plaiu, thirteen distinct sheees-
sitp benches, Bf water marks, were eoitnl.
ei, which had evidently al one time, been
washed by the lake, aud tnt,st have been
che tpaiilt W its action, continued for sohip
time At each level The highest OF these
IL now alwut two bundled feet above the
valley, which has itself been Ieit BY the
lake, owing, probably. TO gradual elevation
o1essiebed he sahtetraneoiis eattses. II
this superstition he totteet@ahd all Az.
pearahees aotistiife TO support it@ti,ete
m',at have l,aen here at some former peri.
ol n vast inland spa, extending FOR hun
drads of miles; aud the isolated mountains
which now tower from the I,ts, E,tmine
its westefli and south western sliores, were
dbhltless lihge islands similar to those
which now rise from The diminished WA
ters of the lake"
The first view that the party obtained
uf this extraordinary lake Ia as well de-
sntit@d II the following words:
AT o,tf feet, and Oh eaet, aide, lay the
waters of The Great Salt Lake, which we
had so long and so ~artlently desired to see
They were clear aud calm, aud stretched
Tar 10 the south ard west, Directly be
fore us, and listaht only q few milea, ali
ialand rose Iroth eight hundred 10 ote
Thousand feet ~ height, while IN the dis
taane other aud Larger ones shot up from
the b,som Of the waters, their SUBMITS
appearing 10 reach the clouds On the
vast appeared several dark spots, fesen,.
bling outer isiauda, but the d,eamy haze
hnveftuv ovef thi5 still aud 80 itnfv sea,
threw it's dim ulleeftail, veil over the more
ilstaiit features OF The landscape VI, prevent
ing the eye from Discerning any one oh.
jent with %distthetiless, while it half reveal.
I'd the whole, leaving ample seone Tor the
imagination Of the hehohlef, The still.
hess ct the grave seemed to pefvade both
ait aud water; aud, excepting here aud
there a solitary wild duck ibatti,g notioii-
hess OF the bosom of the lake, not a living
thing was to be seen. The night proved
perfectly sefpna, aud a Young moon allpl
ia tfennlotis light upon Il sea OF profound
unl,roken silence. was surprised to inh
although so TEAR q body Of the snltesi wa.
ser, no0e OF that feeling Of tnvignfating
freshness which Ia always experienced
when IN the vicinity Of the ocean. The
bleak aud naked shores, without a single
tree TO relieve the eye, presented a scene
40 different Irvin what | had pictured In
my imagination or the beauties OF this far.
famed spot, that my disappointment was
extreme"
This intense tepese Ia broken ut times
by the pfesenar Of myfiads of wild towli
"fhe Salt Lake, which lay about half d
mile to the eastward, was covered bv i'm.
,nense iiocks OF wild geese aud ducks,
anetg which many swans were seen, he.
ilg~ dlstingnishable by their siye and white.
,ess OF their pl0mage. | had seen large
aocks Of these birds before, III various
parts Of our country, and especially upou
the Potomac, but never did | behold any
thing like the immense numbers here can.
Eregated together, Thousands OF a. "a,
as far AZ the eye could reach. seemed liter.
ally covered with them, presenting a aeeue
OF busy, animated eheeffilness, in most
graceful noiisrast with the dreary. silent
solitude BY which we were immediately
surrounded
The water ~ described nv one Of the
rurest and most concentrated brines known
IN the woela--oieae and Transparent IA the
diamond; and on analysis 1t was toand to
oontaaa twenty per cent Of pure chloride
OF sodium. with about two per cent OF
other salts. OF course such a ~cotnponnd
must possess M extraordinary b~uoyant
property, and Capt. Stansbary thus re-.
lates bis hathing experiences.
Mo one, without witnessing Il, can
form ANY idea of the huoyans properties
OF this singular water, A man may loat
stretched u full lenstil, upon his back,
having his head aud neck, both his levs 10
The knee, aud both arms to the elbow.
entirely oas Vt water. If n sitting posi-.
hon 10 assumed, with the arms extended
20 preserve the equilibrium, the shoulders
will renaaia above the surface. The wa.
ter Is nevertheless extremely difficult Is
swim IN, on aeuouns Of the constant ten.
dencs o. the lower extremities To rise
Z. The brine, too, is 50 strong that
least particle Of It getting into the
eyes produces Tie most acute pain. aud ifl
accidentally swallowed ran;,l .,xnnu,,la