The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1878-02-19
The Lake Without Bottom.

DYRAMID LAKE is nearly forty
Il miles in length by from fifteen to
twenty in width. 1t is but 1000 feet
above the sea level. The lake contains
many islands, several of which, near
the middle of the lake, raise to the
height of some hundreds of feet, and are
pyramidal in form and light gray color.
One tall spire, seen far down to the
northward, where the lake seems shore
less, is perfectly white. A large island
probably the largest in the lake, contains
five or six square miles of comparative
ly level ground, and is covered with veg
citation. Upon this island number of
goats were turned loose some years since
and they have increased at q wonderful
rate, so that they may now be seen feed
ing on 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 centre 600 fathoms of line
failed to find bottom. The waters of the
lake are brackish, except Immediately
about the point where the waters of the
Truckee River flow into it.
Owing to the braclxishness of its waters
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 the
sweeping westerly winds, the Piute In
dians fearlessly navigate it in all direc-
tions and almost at all times on their
| tule RATS. These RATS are often nothing
more than single bundle of tule, but
when the raft is intended to accommo-
date more than one person two or three
bundles are lashed together and drawn
into the shape of clumsy boat. Near
shore they generally pole these crafts
about, but they frequently hoist sail
made of a blanket and fearlessly steer
away so far out upon the lake that only
their sail remains visible. These tule
boats very closely resemble the catama-
rams used by the natives of some of the
islands of the South Pacific. They are
so buoyant 1t is impossible to sink them.
Far out in the lake among the
islands they set long lines, strung full
of hooks. These they visit on their
RATS, and sometimes bring in not less
than three hundred pounds at one trip.
The trout are sold at ten cents pound
at the lake; therefore it will be readily
seen that fishing is profitable business.
At the north, or lower end of the lake,
are 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 dis
tance they look like monstrous mush-
rooms or eggs standing on stems-such
eggs as might have been produced by
the roc, that bird of ancient times one
wing of which, according to Ibn-El-
Wardee, was ten thousand fathoms
long. hh M ,iia14ed ~ 0itH,i
1t is impossible to climb these rocks,
as, while their stems form perpendicu-
lar walls, 1t Is beyond the power of man
to ascend those parts where they begin
| oswell out into domes Mr.. Stiles says
he has sounded the lake at the base of
these fantastic islands, and, with the
longest line at his command was unable
TO find the bottom. he pR tnh
One of the largest of these islands,
the tall white one seen from toward the
head of the lake, is not wholly perpen-
dicularlon all sides. On one Of its sides
there is asteep slope which 1t is thought
might be scaled in some way. A story
Is current au the lake that John Q. Ere
mont, the great "path FINDER found a
path to the top of this rock 1t is be-
lieved that he left his field glass and