Sharp County record., 1877-09-07
THE GEM OF THE SIERRAS.
A Lake that Never Freezes, and Never
Gives Up Its Dead.
From the SAT- Lake Herald, ]


Truckee is thriving railroad town,
and the starting point for Lake Tahoe
called the "Gem of the SieTaS." The
road from Truckee winds along Truckee
River up a canyon bearing the same
name. 1t is fourteen miles long, and
succession of fine views the whole
length of the road. The snOw-clad 81
erras are on our right, and beautifully
timbered hills on each side of the river.
A few miles up the canyon a successful
fish farm is in operation, where tens OF
thousands of trout can be seen in every
stage of a trOut's existence. As we
read of the canyon we find we are also
at the outlet, or head Of the Iruckee
River, whose waters, like all the other
rivers of Nevada, are lost in sinks. None
of them have an outlet into the ocean.
The view as we emerge from the can
von is beautiful. The broad eXpanse Of
the majestic lake lies before us, encir-
cled on all sides by towering mountains.
Half of the lake is in Nevada, the other
half in California. 1t is % miles long
and from y to 16 miles wide, and has
been sounded to a depth Of 1900 feet.
Its waters are a beautiful ultramarine,
and it may be called the purest water in
the world, containing by analysis only
4 per cent. of impurities. 1t IS so light
and mobile as to be easily laShed into
foam, or Gained to a mirrOr-like sur
face In the early morning it is like a
looAng-glasS, with surrounding objects
reflected in it with surprising accuracy.
Several steamers of small tonnage are
used in navigating it. Its altitude is
about $500 fEeet it is always cool and
pleasant in tssS hottest weather. The
lake never freezes, and never gives up
its dead. No person that was drowned
has been known to rise to the sur
face. Wood, as soon as it is saturated,
sinks to the bottom. The water is as
clear as a crystal, and huge rocks fifty
feet down are plainly discernible. In
fact, it is a marvel, and the very contrast
of our own Salt Lake; for that is 50
dense and sluggish as to offer great re-
sistance to the human body, and every
thing else that will float.
The finest place on the lake Is Emerald
Bay. Ben Holiday owns a beautiful
place at the head of it-a very neat resi-
dence in a shady nook with the snow
clad SUBMITS of the Sierras for a back
ground, and a magnificent waterfall for
the middle distance. The foreground is
every thing an artist can desire. Near
by is the beautiful little iSlet called the
Emerald Isle, on which an old salt call
ed Sailor Dick built a home and grave
where he intended to be buried should
he die on land, but | am credibly in
formed that he got on drunken spree
and sunk, to rise no more, in the lake.
The property is now in charge of anoth-
er seaman, called Sailor Jack. He may
properly be called the hermit of Emer-
aid Bay, for there in the deep recesses
he lives without the society of any other
human being, his only companions be-
ing three dogs and four cats. He is in
deed a curiosity, but the soul of good
nature. Old Dicks fate seems to have
set him thinking, for he is a total alb
stainer now. The story of his CONVEX
sion is worth being told. He relates
that on one occasion, when crossing the
lake, a squall upset his small boat
Down he went with it, he says, seven
feet. He swan to the surface and
grasped firmly his demijohn of whisky
in one hand and the upset boat in the
other. He thought, "Now this might
be my last drink, and as it is cold | will
take a swallow" He then took a look
at the favorite bottle and hesitated to
throw away so much good liquor, and
thinking it was cold thought he would
try yet another. and there, on a cold
dark night, with the prospect of death
staring him in the face, he vowed to take
his last drink of tire-water. This reso-
luton he has firmly kept.
A cascade of surprising beauty is seen
ut the head of the bay. 1t is over 100
feet high. The towering masses of rock
or each side make beautiful setting for
thiS SbpUnr of paorlS