Los Angeles herald., 1891-07-25
The SaltOn Flood at a Stand
still.
Kishakamook's X Story of His
Trip Across the Desert.
Something About the Heat Which
Prevails at SaltOn.
No Perceptible Decrease In the Water
An Old Indian and His Ex-
perience With the Des-
ert Sea.

The latest advices from Herald lake,
in the Salton basin, in the Colorado des-
ert, indicate that the evaporation is
about keeping pace with the inflow, as
the rise of the water is imperceptible.
KIsHAKAMooK's STORY.
Kishakamook, an old, old Indian, a
veteran OF nearly century, not believ-
ing the theory advanced by the desert
Indians, that another Noah's flood was
to drown all the whites on the 9th, left
his camp southwest of the Salton basin
the last of June, where he had been
hunting deer, for the Diguenos, says the
Arizona Sentinel. Just before he left
his camp two of his men had returned
from Salton marsh, where they had
been after salt with which to cure their
venison. On their way back they struck
Cariso creek, which was running a
full stream of water. When just above
the junction of Cariso with San
Felipe creek, they found that the
stream broke out OF the ground
with great force, land loud noise. Above
this outbreak there was no water. The
water was cool, fresh and clear.
Kishakamook came down near to Sack
ett's Wells, fourteen miles northwest of
Indian Wells, but found so much water
he could not follow the old stage road,
and was obliged to follow the rim which
divides the two great basins. He said
that when he was in the vicinity of Big
Holes, which are eighteen miles north
of the Mexican boundary line, and
eight miles northeast of Indian Wells,
the water was greatly agitated, with a
very strong current running to the west
ward from Alamo Mucho. When he saw
this water moving so rapidly he con-
cluded that it sank at Big Holes and
came to the surface on the other side OF
the rim in the bed of Cariso creek,
where the Indians saw it only day or
two before. He came on over to the
Algodones and found that the Di-
guenos had moved to the sand hills and
the parties he wished to see had gone
up the railroad towards Salton. He
went to point near Salton where he
found them. When he was ready to go
home he started directly across the des-
ert for Cariso, and when out about
thirty miles by the trail he encountered
a large stream OF water running north.
He followed up the east bank of the
stream which he says, was so far as we can
judge from his idea of distances, from
100 to 800 feet in width, and from two
to twenty feet in depth. He met the
Patton expedition near the west end of
the great bend, about fifteen miles from
Indian Wells. He said that the little
boat was jumping and bobbing on the
turbulent waves of the stream, that
thin man with gray beard (Carter) stood
in the bow, and that the boat was going
faster than horse could run. He said
that the falls in places were from five to
twenty feet high, and that the water
was cutting and tearing down the banks
and great masses of earth, clay and sand
were falling into the wild, roaring, mad
stream.
The old man said that the boat was
out of sight almost in a minute, going
down, down, the boiling, seething, mad
current to the new inland sea. He
marked in the sand the location of Sal
ton, the lake, Cariso, Indian Wells, Big
Holes and Alamo Mucho, running nor
therly for seventeen miles, cutting
through underneath the sands, which
fill this branch of New river; then turn
ing almost due west for twenty-five
miles testimated), then back to the east
and south of east for miles, making
grand loop of sixty miles or more in
length, and then coming back to within
short distance of the nearest point
reached towards Indian Wells, then run
ming directly for that point, and along
the level summit till it gets opposite
Indian Wells, and not more than fl
teen miles distant. The old Indian
said that they saw large number
of beautiful lakes, some large, others
small, some very deep, others shallow,
SO they waded out into them. The lakes
and river were full of fish. He saw sew
eral quite large streams coming in from
the west, which he believed came from
Indian wells or Big holes. He said that
they could plainly see the great sand
hills in front and near the old stage
house at Indian wells. There the river
takes zigzag course, running here and
there, lodging among the sand and clay
hills, on its mad way down to the Salton
bason. He says that never in his mem
ory, which extends back certainly for
eighty-fye or ninety years, have the
Indian wells or Alamo basins overlowed
into Salton lake. His grandfather told
him that he remembered when it did so.
Thursday his friends near Alamo took
across the new stream, and he left for
home.
THE HOTTEST PLACE ON THE CONTINENT.
j. III. Gilmour, who has spent six
months at Salton, CAL, gives the fol-
lowing information to the correspondent
of the St. Louis Globe-D Democrat: 'It is
probable that when the lake suddenly
appeared on the Colorado desert and the
news of it reached the world last week,
not one person in hundred who read
the accounts knew where Salton is. 1t is
pretty well known now as the lowest
point Of The great Colorado desert and
the hottest place in this country-not
even barring Yuma. 1t is just about
midway of the desert, and it was cele-
brated, before this lake appeared,
solely as the scene OF the largest salt
works on this coast. All the pro-
prietors of the salt works had to do was
to scrape the salt from the surface OF the
soil and clean and grind it. You can
judge that it was bonanza. Only four
white men renamed regularly at the
works through the summer. as the
heat became 30 uncomfortable. The Indi-
ans did not seem to mind the heat, and
they were able to work as well when the
thermometer was at 145 degrees in the
sun and 125 degrees in the shade as on
cool winter days. No one who has not
spent few DAYS in the desert in mid