The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1877-09-22
LAKE TAHOE.

], W. A. Wright, connected with the San
Francisco Mining and Scientific Press, furnishes
that paper with the following interesting items
relative to that beautiful lake:
The depth of Tahoe Is very great Until re-
Gently no deeper sounding had been made than
some l, 600 feet, but Captain Lapham, command
ing our steamer, informed us that Professor LIE
Conte's deepest sounding gave the immense
depth Of 2,7O0 feet, off kubicon Point, bold,
preciptious cliff. 1t seems strange that, as your
boat passes over such vast expanse Of water,
you may draw bucket full from any point,
and the water is perfectly clear and pure and
deliciously cool DR.. Blake recently showed,
In q paper recently read before the San Fran
cisco Academy of Sciences, that its surface tenn
perature is 60 degrees, while at depth OF $50
feet it is about 80 degrees. The air is delight
fully cool most of the "a hours, the mercury
indicating 76 degrees as usually the highest In
July. The winters are often severely cold, but
the lake never freezes, though the whole sur
rounding country ia covered with deep snow.
1t is a remarkable fact, whatever may be the
cause, that the bodies Of persons drowned there
and quite a number of such instances have
occurred-have never been found. This is sup
posed to account in part for the superstitious
awe with which the neighboring Indians regard
this "Big Water" 1t is with the greatest diff
Guilty that any Of them can be persuaded to go
upon the lake in any kind Of a boat. In few
instances, where they have been induced to 60
on board steamboat, they have invariably
thrown themselves on their faces and remained
In that position until the voyage was ended.
The reason they give for this terror is an In
dian tradition, that many, many moons ago,
when their ancestors first came to the lake,
many OF them tried to cross on RATS and boats,
and never We're seen or heard of afterwards.
To one looking out upon the usually placid
surface of this grand lake. where little steamer
--or, occasionally schooner's sails-may be
seen once or twice a day, there Is q mysterious
silence, an impressive stiffness and solitude,
we'll calculated to inspire awe-a feature faith
fully expressed in the fine painting of Thomas
Moran, His view is between Glenbrook and
Rowland's, looking south and west. 10 the
left of the boat, Cave rock Is seen projecting
slightly into the lake. The cavern, 100 feet or
more above the lake, is only 80 feet in depth.
Near Glenbrook, Shakespeare rock gives an e1-
cellent profile Of the great dramatist,
Ths steamers Niagara and Governor Stanford
do all the passenger and freight transportation
to all parts of the lake, and two small steamers
are constantly employed towing RATS Of logs
from different points to Glenbrook where four
saw mills turn out between 10000, 600 and 3d.
1000 feet of lumber annually for Carson and
Virginia City. narrow-guage railroad, eight
miles long. takes the lumber to the summit ola
ridge 1000 feet above the lake, whence it is con-
veyed, by q V.fume, 81 miles to Carson, 900
feet lower than said summit.
The color of this mass OF extremely pure
water Of Lake Tahoe is one Of its most striking
features. 1t varies from an iDdigo.b blue, when
very deep, to light green. where 1t is shallow.
The line dividing these colors is marked with
wonderful distinctness as you leave Rowland's
to go north. You see it from quite distance,
and pass, all at once, from the green to the
blue, 80 sudden is the change to the deepest
water.