Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-10-15
the Tabernacle. Black Rock rears it's

feet from the foot OF the Cliff. LII
I waves dashed against these rocks wit
great fury, creating a noise not unli
the roar of The ocean surf The beac
is white sand, though in some place
it is ridged with pebbles of variegate'
colors. Along the marshes the actiol
OF the water has thrown up breast
works. of white sand, which line th
shore for miles. All the stories abou
men riding down to the shores of til
the lake, and shoveling up bushels O
clear salt are false. The sand beyont
the reach of the breakers has q coatin!
of salt, but it is as thin as sheet o
foolscap. Parties, however, go to tn
beach and boil down toe water in larg,
kettles, getting about 80 per cent. O
salt but it can be used only for Itht
curing of beef and pork. 1t must b,
/ refined before it is fit for. table use
The water tastes like spoiled brine, ..ant
smells like the seaweed OF Long Islaut
Sound at low tide. .9l pioh ~ 2.
THE BLACK SEA GUL1s. 7Had
Breakers dashed upon the beach IL
triple lines like the breakers at Coney
Island. They rolled in from ten tc
twelve feet. Within half an hour ou1
boots were encrusted with salt. My
RAIDS of small flies covered the shore.
The sand and pebbles were perfectly
black with them. They were the
| LATEST flies in the world. / crushed
| hundreds of thousands beneath my
feet. They were caught in the roll OF
the surf and licked up by millions,
making the water look as though bush
els of gunpowder had been strewn over
it's surface Black gulls tapped their
wings over the waves and rode upon
the swells of the lake. They lacked
the light, airy gracefulness of the sea
gull, and moved more like crows than
petrels. They were built like Dutch
galliots, broad in the stern, and their
wings and feathers were so stiff that
one Of the party remarked that the
birds acted as though they had just
come out of glue pot. ai
THE FLYING LIZARDS.
The high ground shelvingthe shores
of the lake is covered with lizards.
They are called swifts. They darted
over the ground like lightning. A
'dragon-fy could barely beat them in
and their eyes sparkle like drops of
dew. The Indians catch them with
sticks curved like the handle of a, cane.
and eat them. When a Piute sees a
swift he extends his stick, and by a
dexterous twist of the wrist spins the
lizard in the air, catching him in his
hand as he comes down. The flesh of
these lizards resembles the meat of
bullfrog, and they are said to be even
more delicious. AS fast as the Indians
catch them they string them around
their waists and necks, and roast
them one by one, as they become
hungry.
SWIMMING IN THES ALT LAKE. 5-alo
There are no fish in the Great Salt
/ Lake. d The ouly living thing beneath
it's waters is worm about quarter
of an inch long. This worm shows up
beautifully beneath the lens of a micro
+ scope. When storm arises the worms
are driven ashore by thousands, and
devoured by the black gulls.r We
found a pure stream pouring into a
lake. It was filed with little clubs
and sinners. The fish became fright
ened and were driven down the brook
into the briny lake. The instant they
touched it's waters they came to the
surface belly upward, and died without
gasp: 1A.'
1 The water is remarkably buoyant.
Eggs and potatoes float upon it like
corks. Mr. Rood and myself stripped
and went in swimming. I dove into
the lake from long pier, which had
been built for the use of small steam
boat that formerly piled upon the lake.
The sensation was novel. The water
was so salt that my eyes and ears began
to smart, but so buoyant that I found
no difficulty in floating even when the
air was exhausted in my lungs. AS I
struck out for the beach I felt as light.
as feather. In spite of all that [
could do my heels would fly out of the
water. [ found it impossible to stand
upon the bottom. The lightness of the
water and the surging of the waves
forced my feet from under me. A per-
son who could not swim might be
easily drowned in five feet Of water.
His head would go down like lump
of lead, while his feet would fly up like
pair of ducks. The water is as clear
as the water of Seneca Lake, SO clear
/ that the bottom could be seen at the
depth Of twenty feet. When we reach
ed the shore and crawled out upon the
sand in the light of the sun, our bodies
were quickly coated with salt We were
compelled to go to the little stream
| from which we had driven the clubs
and sinners, and wash off IN fresh wa
ter before We put on Our clothes. Our
hair was filed with grains of salt which
could not be washed out. The Nor
mons occasionally visit the lake in
droves fer the purpose of bathing.
Many of them say that their health is
improved by leaving he salt upon
their bodies and dressing without wip.
ing them selves with napkins.
Il AN OYSTER EXPERIMENT.
I saw no sailboats upon the lake.
But few people live near it's shores,
and probably none of them know how
to manage cat-rigged boat. The
steamboat lies hard aground, and is
rarely used. 1t is a one-horse affair,
and last year ran between Corinne and
the southern shore of the lake. The
company collapsed, owing to a lack of