The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-22

reaching the centre Of this vale OF desolau n
their ~ es rested only on the glaring san ts
bounded by the scorohed peaks. Arou I'd
the valley they wandered, one by one. TIE
men died, and the painting hocks stretch d
themselves in death under the burning sun.
Can any one question the appropriateness
OF the name ever since applied to it, the Vat
ley Of DEATH In marked contrast to this
dreaded region is the beautiful Valley of the
Virgin, nesting in the Black Ridge range at
the southern ridge of the Great Basin of Utah.
The enorcling mountains rise TO an eleva alton
OF twelve hundred feet; with numerous peaks
passing above the limit of perpetual snow.
From their summit you look down upon a
vast extent Of country, with it's hllsides and
valleys, plains and glens, while the Virgin
river is seen rounding its course along the
foot of the range many miles, now Overlooking
a valley, here gliding beneath overhangiug
cliffs, leaping from rock to rock, and then in
grand cascades rolling off granite lodges in
sheets of featheTy foam, on its way to Join the
Colorado. In the dim vista appear rugged
peaks rising tumultuously heavenward, tinted
by the sunshine that streams through the
mighty ravines and hollows, filling them with
lines of silvery light aud purple shade.
large portion of the Black Ridge range
consists OF bare rock, but there are districts
covered with soil ana good growth of pine
trees. There are several passes in the range,
the best, called the Harmony, leading to St.
George, the chief town of Southern Utah.
The climate Is SO mid and genial that the
fig, olive, grape, and cotton thrive. The hot
test season is from the middle of June to July,
when the thermometer raDges from 95 to 120
degrees, at noon. Frost lasts from November
to March, but snow is rare, aud ice never ex-
ceeds a thin film.
Beyond the enchanting valley are the re-
markable mud volcanoes, located below the
sea level in the Colorado desert; and if the
- Nha hraa fhA s..k1
vening mountain barriers, they would be lost
to sight. They are situated in most DESC
late country, covering space of quarter of
a mile long, and an eighth wide. This area
is one mass of soft mud, through which steam
and water are constantly escaping, making a
noise that can be heard ten miles, and rising
vapor forms clouds that are visibls at a greater
distance. In some places the steam rises
steadily with kissing, roaring, sputtering
noise; in other spots it bursts out with an ex-
plosion, throwing the mud q hundred feet into
the air.
There are places where the mud rises in
huge bubbles and bursts as il boiling with in
tense heat, while in other portions regular
cones, varying in shape from sharp points to
little mounds have ben formed. There are
boiling springs which eject their water fifty
feet high others are merely large basins
several hundred feet across, in which a lead
coloIed paste is continually boiling. Their
margins are enoirced by incrustations and
arborescent connections OF lime and deposits of
sulphur. They are we'll worth visit, though
an excursion to them is attended by serious
hardships.
Another object of note are the Summit Soda
Springs situated seven miles south of the line
of the Central Pacific Railroad, in Summit val
ley, between Lake Tahoe and Donner Lake.
With the exception of the Yosemite, there is
not in all the Sierra Nevada spot of wilder
magnifcence or beauty.
The road that leads TO them runs through a
continuous succession of natural beauties of
forests, glades, streamlets, and mountains.
The springs are near the head waters of the
American river, one OF the most beautiful OF
mountain streams, that forms series of cas-
cades near the source. The lofty peaks of
the Sierra loom up in all directions, divided
by precipitous cahons, which shelter dense
forests of lofty evergreeDs. The mineral
water is most agreeable and apetiziDg, pos
sessng great medicinal virtues in the cure of
affections of the digestive organs. The springs
can be reached without fatigue by invalids,
and the rough log cabin, now the only house,
will be replaced this season by a neat hotel,
erected by the railroad company. The mar
vellous beauties of this wild region will make
it the future Saratoga Of the Pacific.