The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-04-03
ArAclrIo slopE NoNpER.
The BOILING GuIf Of California-Ita M
tuFo and Phenomena.

Ine hOlIluk ouIh VI NAAAbhAA8-A 80 80
turo and Phenomena.
Correspondents Of the Intelligoucet W
Les ANGLES, CAL, March 25.-I had oc-
casion yesterday to see one Of the wonders
OF this wonderful State. At nine In the
morning o company OF us-nearly II not
quite al from the States east Of the MisaiS.
sippI-leit Fl Yuma on the Colorado river
lor visit 10 the old lake bed, mirage dis
trict, and the. boiling gull, which are stu.
ated In the desert some forty or fifty miles
west Of the Arizona line. Atthe post, when
we started, the thermometer stood SS' IN
the shade, and every hour and every mile
The heat increased In geometrical ratio.
We went on the Southern Pacific Railroad,
and our route lay among barren wastes and
white sand dunes, where nothing oil AMI
nal or vegetable life was to be seen, except
striped scorpions and few species OF
thorny cactus.
It Is not:the purpose to speak at length
Of the country through which we passed
suffice II TO say that more hope-torsaken,
dreaty, doleful, desolate region Is scarcely TO
be 10 ind anywhere-hardly in the staked
Plains (Lano Esacados) Of Northern
Texas. Everything was covered with dust.
II the car windows were opened, the dust
came in and covered US with sediment II
Inc windows were closed, we smothered
for want Of air. The sky was clear, and the
sun poured down its fiery heat as It does
only in the Californian deserts. Be this as
1t may, the train swept on through naked
rayines, among sand drifts, some fity or
sixty feet high, down hill at the rate Of
thirty or forty miles per hour. toward the
very furnace whence originated and con-
conferred all that Is dry, hot and dismal.
Be it understood that we were entering a
district 264 feet below the level Of the sea,
and where in some past geological age there
was large lake. This Is now nearly dry,
but the ground is covered with deposits oil
salts and alkaline compositions, and as; we
drew nearer the bed Of this old lake, the
crust Of salt, warped and shriyeled by the
fierce heat OF the sun, gave the country. q
dnll whitish appearance, resembling old
shingles. twisted and bent into all shapes
and conditions.
We now began TO see mirages. ! had
before seen this phenomenon in New
Mexico and Arizona, but never In such
magnitude and variety. Illusions and
optical distortions made it appear that We
were surrounded by lakes and groves and
all manner OF vines and trees, while In re-
ality there was nothing Of the kind near
| Us.
Atlength the train stopped in the middle
Of q wild plain, where nothing living was
yisible-not even cactus and scorpions.
This plain was traversed by deep gullies
and bitches, which indicated that terrific
transforms sometimes visited this region.
By this time the suns heat was fearful.
We had no Thermometer to measure 1t,
but never feltsuch temperature before
10 my life. There was brisk breeze
blowing from the direction OF the Gull OF
| California; but It seemed to be hotter than
the furnace where we were. It seemed to
scorch our faces, and to inhale II was like
breathing the air from burning brick.
kiln.
Half smothered as we were, We climbed
from the cars TO the ground and started on
foot to the Boiling Gulf, which was only a
few minutes walk distant. The crust Of
salt and coarse gravel over which we
walked was 80 hot that 1t burnt the so!es OF
our shoes. This may sound unreasonable,
but It Is fact. But that was no detriment,
and in a few minutes we were standing on
the brink oil formidable pit, some ninety
feet In circumference and ten ortwelve feet
deep. This was the Boiling Gull. It was
nearly full OF black mud which was blubber.
ing and boiling and Kissing, like that bottom.
less pit Of fire and birthstone which we read
Of in Dante, where the tormented spirits
come up from the fiercer depths below to
cool themselves. l said that the pit ia
ten or twelve feet deep. l might as well
say that 1t Is ten hundred feet deep. for
nobody knows lis depth. The mud fills 1t
to within ten feet Of the top, and what the
depth OF the mud IL cannot be told. There
is an intensely nauseating odor coming up
from the foul den. II savors strongly OF
sulphuretted hydrogen, and one turns dizzy
to breathe 1t. l.n.
Seine OF US climbed down the bank and
tested the temperature OF the foaming mud,
and TO our surprise we found it cold. The
boiling is not on account Of the escape Of
ealoric, but Is due to the escape Of gasses
from the lower regions.
This is in reality a volcano, although q
small one. What kind Of an arrangement
Is connected with It under the ground, OF
course we can only guess; but Il may be
not too wild conjecture TO predict mod.
ern Vesuvius or Etna there at some unex-
pected hour.
The surroundings were equally, weird
and fantastic. The mirage was most won.
derfully distinct Lakes and rivers could
be seen in every horizontal direction.
Rivers seemed TO flow among groves Of the
most luxuriant trees and lakes outspread
in calmnpgs and beauty .r
Indeed, it was fine sight to see, and
one not soon to be forgotten. From that
desolate domain, we boarded the train and
came over here, where everything is green
as summer, orange trees are blooming, figs
are nearly ripe, tomatoes are in the market,
and the spirit Of spring is breathing every.
where Ii. NJ.
Y L p nukeha