The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-04-20
THE FAR WEST.
The Great Salt Lake Springs Of the
Humboldt-Freaks of Nature
The Noble Red Man.

!, Leaving salt Lake City for the far of shore!
of the proud Pacific, we ride along for many
miles in full view Of the great Salt Lake, thu
/, most wonderful body of water on the Amcri
! can continent and perhaps in the world. Hero
is great salt ocean whose waters are slime anG
blackish, utterly unfit for use, and uninhabtcd
by representatives of the finny tribes. That
such a vast body of salt water should be found
200 feet above the level OF the sea is rcmarka
bic, and still more SO when we take into con
sidcration that it has no outlet and that several
large rivers are continually pouring into it.
The water of Salt Lake has been time and
again Analysed and found that its specific
gravity, corresponds exactly with the analysis OF
the waters Of the Dead Sea of Palestine. This
analysis shows, what is now generally known,
! that here is Il source from which salt enough
can be obtained to supply our entire continent.
When it is considered, however that all the
streams flowing into this lake are fresh water,
draining the watershed Of a large area of
country, and discharging from the springs,
melting SHOWS and rains of the great basin an
! immense volume Of water, the pulling qucs-
| ton arises As to the source of this abundant
supply Of saline matter"
The various saline incruStations, at the vari-
Gus points on the surrounding shores, indicate
clearly that some portion of the earth Is satur
atcd with this ingredients still this lake is with.
out any visible outlet; and with all the great
influx Of fresh water annually, why does it re
main 50 salty? "Thc inference naturally fol
lows that ii washes some vast bed of salt or Sa-
line deposit in the bottom of the lake" But
this Is Il eupposltion which may or may not
be true.
"Thc shores Of this lake, especially towards
the city, have now been settled nearly thirty
years, and 1t would be strange, indeed, if the
changes which have been gradually going on
in this lake should not be noticed" The Gle
walton Of the lake is 1900 feet above the level
of the sea Salt Lake City IS 1851 feet above
the level Of the sea, u difference of 1jl feet
The observations of the settlers is that the lake
is from ten To fifteen feet higher now than it
was thirty years ago; and that in 1850 three
barrels of water cvaporatcd would make one of
salt while now four barrels are required for the
same result This fact leads TO the opinion
that the humidity Of the atmosphere in this re
| giOn of the continent is increasing, and in con
/ sequence there is less evaporation transportation
being greater and'morc rapid in dry regions
than in moiScncd atmosphcrcs"- the fail
IRE of evaporation to take up the surplus wa.
tcrs discharged into this lake has not only in
creased its volume and extent but lcsscncd its
saline character"
The result Of the evaporation in the lake is
growing gradually less il will continue torsc
and overflow its banks in the lowest place, but
no fears need be entertained for the country for
the present or any portion Of its inhabitants
thereof IT, in the dim, distant future, it should
reach a height Of thirty feet or more, it will
first have to overflow II low, sandy and alllali
desert, larger than itself, and in this case its
evaporation will he doubcd-a fact which will
operate to rctard its rise; and when this event
transplrcs, it will be long after the oldest in
habitant Of to-day will have passed in his
chips" and been laid away to rest
/ Leaving Ogden in the evening We see but
little of the habtatIons of the Mormons, which
! lingcr on the road side" The great Dead
Sea of America is dimly visible in the moon.
/ light, and the drcary desert, with its white al.
kali and sage grlSs-ihc CHASTITY range of Wah.
satch mountains, keeping guard presents Il
scene that is dismal and drcary A. the train
glidcS ON we strain our eyes To catch view
. of this great desert. With the moonlight shin
ing upon It's ghostly alkali patches, ii looks
very much like some great sea. The little
tufts of sage brush dot it everywhere, and the
alkali glimmcr. here and there, while waves
of sand roll away m long, low swell,
against the horizon Nothing >lir> mall this
great ,hadowy stretch; there is not ia leaf To
CULVER, nor bcugh To rustic, nor solitary
living thing in sight To cross the dead face of
thi, lursakcn land, which, through mile after
mile lifts mp To the moon the same low sandy
hills, the same glaring alkali patches, and the
! same kuottcd tufts of scant grey sage. You
cannot imagine that drop of dew has ever
lain here or that green blade of grass could
ever grow; and vet sixty miles behind us, -
orchards blossom, flowers bloom and grains
shoot up in their season where the dry alkali
dust used TO DRIFT To and fro. Still onward We
rush over The level plain through sage brush
and patches of alkali, with the Intervening
spaces, which, in the moonlight, resemble pet
rified sand hills"
1 Onward-still onward and morning finds Us
at Elko. where We are given twenty-five min
utes for breakfast and a few moments TO breathe
There is not much in this region la indicate