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.

i Leaving Salt Lake City for the far off shore
of the proud Pacific, we ride along for man,
miles in full view Of the great Salt Lake, TIT
most wonderful body of water on the Ameri
can continent and perhaps in the world. Herr
is great salt ocean whose waters are slime ant
blacksh utterly unfit for use, and uninhabitet
by representatives of the finny tribes Tha
such II vast body Of salt water should be foun(
4 200 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 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 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 incrustatons, at the vari,
Gus points ON the surrounding shores, indicate
clearly that some portion Of the earth Is satur-
atcd with this ingredient; 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 il washes some vast bed of salt or sa-
line deposit in the bottom Of the lake" But
this Is a 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 It 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, difference of ljl 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 evaporation
being greater andmOrc rapid in dry regions
than in moiStcncd atmosphcrcs"- the fail.
urc of evaporation to take up the surplus wa.
tiers 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 it will continue torisc
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 If, in the dim, distant future, il should
reach Il height of thirty feet or more, it will
first have to overflow low, sandy and alkali
desert larger than itself and in this case its
evaporation will he doublcd-a fact which will
operate To rctard its rise; and when this event
tranSpIrcs it will be long after the oldest in.
habitant of today will have passed in his
CUPS IllN bttl ldlNl away ~ ltSl
Leaving Ogden in the evening we see but
little of the habiatIons of the MormonS. which
/ lingcr ON the road side" The great Dead
Sea Of America" is dimly visible in the moon
light, and the drcaiy desert, with its white al
kali and sage graSs-ihc CHASTITY range of Wah
sa,ch mountains. keeping guard presents a
scene that is dismal and drcary A. the train
glidcs ON We strain our eyes to catch a view
of this great desert With the moonlight shin
ing upon It's gho,ly alkali patches, it 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 stir, in all this
great Shadowy stretch. there j. not Leaf Ia
quiycr nor a bcugh to rustic, nor "a solitary
living thing in sight to cross the dead face OF
thi, iorsakcu land, which, through mile after
mile lifts up Ia the moon the same low sandy
hills the same glaring alkali patches, and the
same knottcd 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 H..
orchards blossom, flowers bloom and grains
shoot up in their season where ihc dry alkali
dust used To DRIFT 10 and fro still onward We
rush over the level plain through sage brush
and patches Of alkali, with the Intervening
spaces, which, in tie moonlight, resemble pet
rificd sand hills
| Onward-still onward and morning finds Us
at Elko. where We are given twenty-five min
utes for breakfast and a few moments 10 breathe
There is no, much in this region Ia indicate