The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-07-15
TAHOE.
The Gem Of the sierras-A Lake that Never
Freezes, and Never Gives Up Its Dead.

EtoGGGSt aH3 NCuOt abSS ~ sh~ SSs>~'
Truckee is thriving railroad town,
and the starting point for Lake Tahoe
called the ''GeIn of the Sierras." The
road from Truckee winds along the
Truckee river up a cafiOn bearing the
same name. 1t is fourteen miles long,
and succession of fine views the whole
length of the road. The snow-clad
Sierras are on our right, and beautifully
timbered hills on each side of the river
A few miles up tine cafion a successful
fish farm is in operation, where tens of
thousands of trout can be seen i'll every
stage of trout's existence. AS We
reach the head of the canon we find We
are also at the outlet, or head of the
Truckee river, whose waters, like all
the other rivers of Nevada, are lost in
sinks. None of them have an outlet
to the ocean.
The view as we emerge from the
caflon is beautiful. The broad expanst
of the majestic lake lies before us, en-
circled on all sides by towering noun
tains. Half of the lake is in Nevada.
the other half is in California. 1t is
twenty-eight miles long and from twelve
to sixteen miles wide, and has been
sounded to depth of sixteen hundred
feet. Its waters are a beautiful ultra
marine, and it may be called the purest
water in the world, containing 10y anal
ysis only per cent. of impurities. 1t
is so light and mobile Gs to be easily
lashed into foam, or calmed to mir
ror-like surface. LII the early morning
it is like lookmg-glass, with surround
ing objects rejecting i'll it with surpris-
ing accuracy. Several steamers of
small tonnage are used in navigating it
1t altitude is about $3.50 feet; it Is al
ways cool and pleasant in tile hottest
weather. The lake never freezes, and
never gives up its dead. No perseIi
that has been drowned has been known
to rise to Il e surface. Wood, as soon
as it is saturated, sinks to the bottom.
The water is us clear as crystal, and
huge rocks fifty feet down are plainly
dlscernible. In fact it is marvel, and
the very contrast of our own Salt Lake;
for this is SO dense and sluggish as to
offer great resistance to the human
body, and everything else that will
float.
The finest place on the lake is Emer
aid bay. Ben Holiday ownsa beautiful
place at the head OF it-a very neat
residence in II shady nook with the
snow-clad submits of the Sierras for
background, and Il magnificent water
fall for the middle distance. The fore
around is all an artist can desire.
Near by is the beautiful islet called the
Emerald isle, on which an old salt
called Sailor Dick built Il home and
grave where he intended to he buried
should he die on land, but am credi
bly, informed that he got on Il drunken
spree and sunk. to rise no more, in the
lake. The property is now in charge
of another seaman called Sailor Jack.
He may properly be called the hermit
of Emerald bay, for there in the deep
recesses lie lives without the society of
any other human being, his only COM
panions being three dogs and four cats.
He is indeed curiosity, but the soul
of good nature. OH Dicks fate seems
to have set him thinking, for he is a
total abstainer now. The story of his
conversion is worth being told. He re-
lateS that on one occasion, WHEN
crossing the lake, squall upset his
small boat. Down he went with it, he
says, seven feet. He swan to the sur
face and grasped firmly his demijohn of
whiskey in one hand and the upset boat
in the other. lie thought, NOW this
might lie my last drink, and as it is
cold will take swallow" He then
took Il look at the favorite bottle and
thinking it was cold thought he would
try yet another, and there on cold
dark night. with tue prospect of death
staring him in the face, he vowed to
take his last drink of tirewater. This
resolution he has firmly kept.
A cascade of surprising beauty Is
seen at the head of the bay. 1t is over
100 feet high. The towering masses of
rock on each side makes a beautiful
setting for this shower of pearls. Salt
Lake Herald.