Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-01-24
Lake rahee

One Of the most attractive portions T.
Marx Taaiu's lecture. aud also one Of tht
most polished. Is a description Of Lax,
Tahoe, 10 Nevada I, is situated manY
thousand feet above the level of the sea. aQd
Z yet it never freezes. Not the rhiuest & m
Of ice is ever seen upon its surface. And
ytL Lake Bonner. which IS a. --Jos. -ha
same altitude, and not far distant, Is covered
thickly with ice every winter. Here is 9 nu,
for scientists 70 crack, said the hUmorist.
The question is not why Lake DoRuer
freezes, but Why Lake Tahoe does not freeze.
Silver mining not furnishing the seeker
after wealth very steady employment, q
large portion Of the time Tas spent iG =
boat on this beautiful lake. It was So
clear that the pebbles On its bottom we're
visible At q great depth. Tae extreme
depth of the water was about one-tour.n Of
mile The audience was asked lo Imagine
the number ol church spires that could be
placed one above the other before the sur
face was reached. The curative properties
Of the water ami tue atmosphere Of this
region are most remarkable. EverV con-
sumptive invalid was urged 10 throw physic
70 the dogs and make their system strong
aud perfect by 4 lit..e camp its at t.sse
Tahoe Said the speaker
Ifl don't cure them. | VIII bury them
I shs.. be glad 10 bury them-I shall ~
glad % DO ir. / viii give them flaesa.
that will be a comfort 20 chem 8 org ss
they live Bus it will cure them I 11-t
q man there-he had been r mau once
now he vas nothing but shadow, 48d i
very poor shadow az that--snd that man
had come there deliberately 10 die aud
what sick.y failure he msde of /; He
was "a dead earn--L lie mad searaed
tia; this air was easy and eoothjng 10
breathe. a. God knows it is aud he had
simply come there 20 have what comfor;
he might whilst life eboed away And n,
had brough. along plan Of his private
graveyard and pictures and drawings of
different kinds Of cofins and hearses. aud
such things. and he never did anything but
sit around and study Jbat graveyard. and
figure at coffins, aud such things. irving 10
make up his mind which kind he liked
best, or which kind would be most becoming.
Aud when / saw tha; man three mouths
afterward he vas chasing mountain sheep
over a mountain seven miles high, with
Sharp's rife He did not get them, but
be chased them all the same And ne had
used up all his graveyards and cofhns-all
his plans and pictures for wsdding-aud
sent for more.
When l fret saw him. his clothes hung
about him why, they did not fit him any
more than q circus tent fits the tent poles.
but now they chung to him ike court plas-
ter. He could hardly breathe without
starting q seam. He weighed q toa-he
weighed more than q ton. { throw Ia the
odd ounces-eleveu | think It was But
[ know what am talking about, because
took him to the hay sea es myself There
vas lot Of US stood on there with him.
But, really, that was a remarkable cure
and a very remarkable one. | wish you
would not heed my nonsense, but simply
take note Of my earnest words, think
if / could only persuade one invalid 70 20
there l should feel as if I had done one
thing worth having accomplished. I am
really sincere about that"
" If there IS a sportsman il this audience
[ say to him, shoulder your gun and 20 out
there. Il Is the best hunting place on the
face Of the earth You can hunt there
year. and not ind anything. You can
find mountain sheep, but cannot get near
them. You can see plenty Of them With a
spy glass. But that was the only game [
saw there that was worth speaking Of when
[ was there, except "seYeu up" l will here
remark that the sheep is our American
ehamois-French pronunciation he Is
the same kind they make chamois leather
of ia other countries. We would here if We
could catch him. He has enormous horns.
and is pretty large animal too. He Is
shy, 50 very shy. that it Is almost impos-
sible 70 get within rife shot of him. He
inhabits the rockiest fastDess Of the noun
tains''