Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-07-06
THE GREAT UTAH MYSTERY.
The Discovery of the Outlet Of Great
Salt Lake.
From the Utah Reporter.

The Discovery of the Outlet Of Great
Salt Lake.
From the Utah Reporter.
To-day we give the facts, as we have
them, relative to the discovery of a subter-
ranean outlet to Great Salt Lake This
inland sea, the briniest of all the waters of
the world and which former investigations
pronounced as being kept at its level by
the action of evaporation, has itself solved
the mystery. Tne mountains, the lofty
hills and all the lovely islands have for
countless ages found a mirror for their
grand majesty in the bosom of our lake,
and it's FURNISHED face has been
kept bright with the crystal supplies of
thousand streams from out the roaring
canyons, clefts and snowy reservoirs of the
Rocky chain. The eye of science has scan
ned with care the agencies which, it was
supposed, held the aqueous wonder in its
place, and the HambOldts and Sillimans of
two continents saw no escapement for the
" Hanging Sea save through the aerial
pathways of the sun. Many years ago the
| Bureau of Topography sought to explain
the permanent equilibrium of Great Salt
Lake whose great thirst absorbs a greater
supply of fresh water than the Michigan Or
| Erie, but still the reduction was the same.
Every trial said it's shores were saved from
/ q
no longer a theory, and never was correct.
One night last week the schooner Pioneer,
Capt. Hannah, on her voyage from Corinne
to Stockton, when at point IN the lake be-
tween Fremont and Kimball Islands, nearly
opposite this city, came suddenly in con-
tact with something which the Captain
thought more solid than water, believing
his vessel to have stranded upon rocks
Instead of this, however, the men on the
Pioneer discovered that she was in the
whirl of maelstrom, for the vessel imme-
diately revolved as if in a circular current;
! and the motion was so rapid in the reyolu-
tons made that the men could scarcely
stand at their duties.
Capt. Hannah being an old sailor, and
, understanding the danger he was III, at
once added sail, and brisk wind blowing
5 at the time, the craft was, after about halt
an hours detention, borne beyond the vor-
tex of the eddy. He informs Gen. C0nnor,
5 the owner of the schooner, and from whom
t we get these interesting facts, that while
j In the trough of the ugly hole the deck was
fag lower than the water outside the whirl.
pool, and that he owes the safety of vessel
and men TO the stiff breeze which fortunate
" sprang up at the time. The noise Of the
waters as they descended, denoted that
some mighty airless cavity below gave
strength to the suction, and the surging
frothy foam above was like the boiling of
mammoth cauldron. That this is the safe
. ty valve of Great Salt Lake there seems tt
be no doubt, and we can reasonably as
! sumo that similar openings are numerous
= 4 on the bottom. The steamer Kate Como
will be ready Ia two or three days to go OF
. the lake, when the General, accompanied
by a party of gentlemen from this city
| 4
! The men Of the college and university
) will again &c called to make scientific sur
: vey of this great discovery, and geologis
3 and chemist will, in the waters of the Utal
; Mediterranean, find many valuable lessons
? to impart to student and graduate. How
marvellous are natures works around US !
. The Discoveries of Tin Ore IN CalifOrni;
From the San Francisco Bulletin, June 10.
Ii the San Diego gold excitement hat
produced no other practical good, its oc
4 currence might justly be termed fortunate
Z because II has led to great deal of ACTIVE
prospecting for other minerals, and to tht
I discovery of more extensive deposits of til
ore than were supposed to exist IN Thu
state. AS long ago as 1854 tin ore wa
: found in the Temescal mountains, In thu
= southwestern extremity of San Bernardint
Q county, and latterly the work of developing
; the deposit, thought to be the only body o
0 the metal in California, has been so IA
prosecuted by a San Francisco compan,
that small lots of ware and bars nave beer
made and offered in this market A very
fine exhibit of these manufactures wa,
made at the last Mechanics institute
} Fair, and attracted much attention
being the first exhibit of native tin bart
D and wares ever made in the United States
1t transpires now that there are other de
posts of tin in in the Temescal mountains
and quantities of the new found ores are
on the way to San Francisco. The meta
occurs in the form of an oxide, combined
with more or less earthly and mineral mat
ter. The deposits crop out, and are said tC
: be easily accessible. The hills in which L
is found lie south of the. point where the
Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada form
true Typographical union. Their geological
, formation shows great disturbance. I'M
mense masses of tertiary sandstone occur
! Copper, gold and silver are found, some
times in working quantities. The tin dis
trict, in short, has the same general char.
acterlstlcs as the other portions of the
lower coast range, which are the scene Of
the so-called San Diego discoveries, and
which were the scene of the first gold dis
coveries in California, nearly thirty years
ago.