Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-11-30
REMARKABLE SINKH0LE.
ONE IN CALIFORNIA OF ESPECIAL
INTEREST, ANOTHER IN NEVADA.
People Living In the Bed of an Old Lake
In the ConciiIa Valley. Cai.-Their Chief
Industry Is Gathering saIt-Curious Hab-
It's and Customs of the Indians

Few divers care To descend more than
eighty feet below the surface of the ocean.
yet there are many persons on the Pacific
coast who think nothing of descending from
300 to 300 feet below the surface level of the
facific, and not only that, but live there
This statement one often hears in Califor-
MIA, especially in the southern portion, and
IL is somewhat puzzling to the ''tenderfoot. ~
IL contains, however. the elements of truth,
as almost every one who comes into southern
Canfornia through San Diego county passes
below the ocean level
The Southern Pacific railroad engineers
found, when building the road, that in East
San Diego county there was remarkable
depression, evidently the dry bed OF an an
cicnt lake This is known as the San Feline
sink, and presents a singular appearance.
calling to mind the famous Humboldt sink
further north. The San Felipe sink has an
other name-the Concilla valley-so called
IRON the fact that its surface is covered with
shells, showing conclusiveIv that it has baep
the bed OF lake that at least had a dense
moiluScan population some time in the past,
but how long ago it would be difficult TO say.
THE CALIFORNIA CURIOSITY.
The spot was first noticed by Surveon Vid
ney, of the United States army. many wears
ago. He observed the shore line and came 10
the conclusion that in the distant past a large
body of Water stood there When the sur
veyors ran their lines across the depression
they found that it was one of the most re-
markable places on the continents cavity
near what Is now the town of SaIton 2,;S feet
below the surface of the Pacific.
This sink, or old lade bed, is 1870 miles long
by 10 miles wide, and the point of greatest
depth Is 800 feet below the ocean level. The
region Is one of great interest In the sum-
mer II Is SO hot that the Thermometers. ac-
cordlnS To native, are made on "A telescopic
plan, and lu5 degs. Is normal in the shade
Still, sunstrole is never known in the sink
owing, probably, to the low relative hu-
midity
In wandering through this remarkable place
there are many things to attract the attention.
On Its northern side are some fine date pslms
that have been growing here for ages, at least
beyond the memory of the Oldest inhabitant.
lhey range from sixty to eighty feet in
height, and present a grand and picturesque
appearance against the mountains. The trees
bear dates of commercial value, the punches
weighing from % to l25 pounds. The trees
can be seen by the passengers on the train as
It passes the town Of lndio, and one wonders
how long they have watched over the dismal
Shores and If the lake was a lake in reality in
their day.
That the lake was salt is shown by the
enormous deposits of this mineral. 1t is es-
pecially noticeable at the town of Salton.
where for many miles the pedestrian travels
on perfect crust OF salt, ranging from few
inches TO several feet in thickness.
The principal business followed here is the
collection of salt. A number of large mills
collect and grind it, and several tons are
shipped every week to various parts of the
country. In some parts of the sink artesian
wells have been developed, and what was
once desert is now rich in greens. and vari-
Gus tropical and semi-tropical fruits and
flowers are raised. The tourist should sion
at the town of mdio and make this the central
point from which investigations can he made.
and he will be well repaid.
THE INDIAN INHABITANTs.
The native inhabitants of this curious re-
gion are a tribe of about 400 CohuiJIa Indians
who have apparently strayed out here from
the COhuilla valley. Those examined by the
writer near the valley were as a rule worth
less set, with little or no ambition beyond oh
tanning their living from the government
and no little sympathy has been wasted upon
them, though 1t is true that they have been
cheated and had lands stolen from them. DR.
Stephen Bowers, in an interesting paper read
before the Ventura County Natural Histor,-
cal society, gives some new ideas regarding
them. He considers them lineal descendants
of the old Aztecs. Their religion includes
sun and fire worship at the present day, and
they believe in the transmigratlon of souls
Many OF their ideas resemble those of the
Buddhists Thus, while the latter believe
that the soul of friend enters into the ele-
phant perhaps, the Cohuilla believes that the
coyote that prowls around may perhaps be
all that is left Of some Of his people The
dead are cremated This band makes and
uses the stone mortars so common through
out the country for grinding the mesquite
bean and coffee, when they happen TO have it.
The great Humboldt sink, in Nevada, is a
good example OF these depressions. and a
more desolate, dreary region it is difficult to
imagine. Semmes must have obtained his
original idea Of the hole here, as from dis
tance one appears approaching vast hole in
the earth. The country has a weird appear
ance, and one can well imagine almost any
thing. There Is something uncanny about the
place, as river runs into It and disappears.
- the Indians think-in short, sinks, and
tuut - bne cuu OF W mere IL goes thew do
not care or think, but it fows into this region
and stops, and of course there is something
very mysterious about it.
The Indians will tell you that the sink has
no bottom, and it is true enough that the
actual bottom has not been discovered. A
vast deposit Of mud, the accumulation OF
centuries, lies here, and wisl probably in time
Oil up the sink, so that water will not stand
there. In riding along the foothin country
Of the Sierra Madres, about twenty miles
west Of San Bernardino county, one sees a
curious sink or depression just below and to
the west of Riverside The Southern Pacific
railroad runs along its bed. and from far
away looks like some uncanny monster,
breathing fire and smoke from its nostrils.
creeping along in a Slough of Despond Cor
New York Times.
Only an Australian Maiden.
1t was on Gippsland train. In second