Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-01-17
THE LAKE WITHOUT BOTTOM.

hOnaef1HI Sheet OF Water Hish Up
Among Mountains---P yramidal Islands
Hundreds of Feet Higli---A Rocky Isle
Alive with RattIesnakes--A Sailors
Attempt TO Scale the Pyramid.
Nevada Enterprise
Pyramid Lake is nearly forty miles
in length by from fifteen to twenty in
width. 1t is but 1000 feet above the
level of the sea, while Lake Tahoe is
6,216 feet above the sea level The lake
contains many islands, several of which,
near the middle of the lake, rise to the
height Of some hundreds Of feet, and
are pyramidal in form and light gray in
color. One tall spire, seen far down to
the northward, where the lake seems
shOreless, is perfectly white. A large
island, probably the largest in the lake.
contains five or six square miles of
comparatively level ground, and is COW
cred with vegetation. Upon this island
a number of goats were turned loose
some years since, and they have in
creased at a wonderful rate. so that
they may now be seen feeding upon
every hill. They need no care, winter
or summer, and are about as wild as
the goats found by Robinson Crusoe on
the Island of Juan Fernandez. The
lake is of immense depth. 1t is said
that near the center 600 fathoms of line
failed to find bottom. The waters of
the lake are brackish, except immedi-
ately about the point where the waters
of the Iruckee river flow into it.
Owing to the brackishness of its wa
tiers, to its great depth, or to both
depth and brackishness. the lake never
freezes.
Although the lake is generally very
rough, owing to its being exposed to
sweeping westerly winds, the Piute In
dams fearlessly navigate it in all direc-
tions and almost at all times on their
tule RATS. These RATS are often moth
ing more than a single bundle of tule ::
but when the raft is intended to accom-
modate more than one person two or
three bundles are dashed together and
drawn into the shape of a clumsy
boat. Near shore they generally pole
these craft about, but they frequently
hoist d sail made Of blanket and fear
lessly steer away so far out upon the
lake that only their sail remains visible.
These tule boats very closely resemble
the catamarans used by the natives of
some of the islands of the South Pa
citic. They are SO buoyant that it is
impossible to sink them. Far out in
the lake among the islands they set
their long lines, strung full of hooks.
These they visit on their RATS, and
sometimes bring III not less than three
hundred pounds of trout at one trip.
The trout are sold at ten cents a pound
at the lake therefore it will be readl-
ly seen that fishing is a profitable bust
ness.
At the north, or lower end of the
lake, are a dozen Or more islands of
rock of peculiar and picturesque form.
These are Of solid rock, and are from
three to four hundred feet in height.
At distance they look like monster
mush1 ooms or eggs standing on stems
such eggs as might have been produced
by the rock, that bird of anciedt times,
one wing Of which, according to Ibn-
El-Wardee, was ten thousand tathoms
long.
1t is impossible to climb these rocks,
as, while their stems form perpendicu-
lar walls, it is beyond the power of man
to ascend those parts where they begin
to swell out in domes Mr.. Stiles saws
he has sounded the lake at the base of
these fantastic islands, and, with the
longest line as his command, was unable
to find the bottom.
One of the largest Of these islands, the
tall white one seen from toward the head
Of the lake, is not wholly perpendicular
on all sides. On one of its sides there
is a steep slope which it is thought
might be scaled in some way. A story
is current at the lake that John G. Ere
mont, the great "path- finder" found a
path to the top of this rock. 1t is be-
lieved that he left his field glasses and
some other instruments of value on the
summit Of the rock, and many attempts
have been made to climb it in order to
secure these articles.
The last attempt to scale the pyramid
was by a sailor. who used long rope,
throwing it upward till it caught upon
q projecting point of rock, then drawing
himself up and again throwing his rope
to a rock above. He reached height
of about $50 feet, when he was unable
to find any more projections over which
to throw his rope, and came near never
reaching level ground alive. He was
obliged to descend in the same way as
he effected the ascent, and when he
finally got down he was completely ex-
hausted ; his hands were bleeding, and
he was cut and scratched from head to
foot. The fishermen have now con-
cluded that the only way in which the
field glasses and other plumber can be
secured is by attaching line to rock
and then firing it over the top of the
pyramid from a mortar
One of the small rocky islands of the
lake is alive with rattlesnakes. It is
supposed that the first of the stock were
waited to the island on a raft of tules
or driftwood. Doc. Wood, who has
visited the island, says there's millions
In it" The reptiles have their homes
among the rocks, and live on the eggs
and young of waterfowl, and upon the
dead fish that are cast ashore on the
island. Mr.. Wood says that the stories
that have been told Of the snakes rush
ing in body, kissing and rafting, to
attack any man landing on the island.
is untrue. He found that whenever
they were disturbed they ran away and
concealed themselves in the crevices of
the rocks. just as would have been done
by any other snakes.