The Placer herald., 1864-01-02

Of power, and that State rights "mu.,. At
every hazard, be preserved &c.
The forsfathers admitted and respected
States rights. They did not suffer State. in
the Union to wage war, &c, agains: States
which acre once in, but afterwards were out
Of the Union. They knew they had the
might, but not the right" They knew
had they done 80, and "after much loss on
both Sides" there would be mo gain on
either" They continued upon friendly re-
ations with States not in the Union, aud at
the same time respected their rights, when,
after time, these States were by kindness
won over, and they voluntarily all became
members Of one Union again.
Who doubts but that this WAS n jus, and
wise policy, and that it would have been
otherwise had force and coereive measures
been resorted to. Alas! alas that Mr.. Lin
coin did not practice what he preached in his
Inaugural. Had he have done so, and taken
example from our forefathers, there would
have been no war; no loss OF life, of treasure,
property, distress, nor walls Of widows and or
phans. Instead of curses upon his head, he
would have had blessings. Cursed be he
that removeth his neighbours landmark; and
ALL THE PEOPLE shall say Amen"
Borax Lake---Its Peculiarities and valuo
to Man.
correspondent of the S. +. Bulletin,
who has recently been visiting the "Clear
Lake country" thus describes Borax Lake:
In the afternoon we remountel, and set
out for Borax Lake 1t lies in the hollow Of
the point Of land which separates the two
lever limbs of Clear Lake Our road Law
through fields Of obsidian and lava, and soon
we were at the place about which our curios,
ity ad been so excited by the Generals de.
scription. The little lake, known to the In.
dians as Aqua Mala," is an oval bery set in
narrow rim Of silver, upon a surface Of
emerald-colored enamel, or in pain English,
an olive tinted lakelet, with its beach snowy
with borax and soda and salt, in meadow
of the greenest grass. Its margin is alive
with ducks, who live surreptitiously upon
the flies that are bred upon the waters
Nothing except sort of minute snake lives
in its unhealthy depths. We tied our horses
and proceeded to investigate the merits of
the Borax Co.'S "claim." The water is thick,
viscous, feels soapy, and has famous cleansing
properties-so thoroughly is the rain water
lmpregnated by the borax spring which
oozes up through the clay in the centre. The
lake is scarcely anywhere more than 3 feet
deep, and the bottom, for space Of at least
20 acres in the middle, is rich in deposits of
crystals Of borax, packed in layers according
to their size. You plunge through stratum
of the sofLsst, stckest blue mud, and find a
layer, several inches thick, Of crystals as small
as those of fine salt. Then you reach slra'
tun of yellow clay and then another of as
sorted crystals, middle sized, from one inch
TO six inches in length; another foot of
stickey blue mud, and then splendid crystals,
some Of them weighing two pounds piece.
About l2 feet lower you come to the waters
which supply the borax spring in the centre!
To collect this solid borax, and to save the
strong solution which lies beneath or spills
itself into the lake, has been the object OF the
various owners of this property. The most
recent operations, though still only experil
mental have been the most satisfactory. A
strong Golfer dam, 8 feet square, has been
built around the spring, and is connected
with the land by narrow. nerveltesting foot
bridge, SIS feet long. Within this Golfer
dam they have dug and bored with exciting
results, which, when they get ready they
may publish for themselves. We found our
selves incompetent to solve the geological
enigmas of this region. Apparently great
changes have taken place in the topography
of the country-for though now there is
ridge SO fee: high between Clear and Borax
Lakes, the Indians profess to have been able,
once uDon a time TO sail from one tn tho
other in their canoes.