Los Angeles herald., 1891-08-15
THE SALT MILL AT sALToN.

The Yosemite valley, the Yellowstone
park, the grizzly bear and the mountain
Gheep still stand unchallenged, each in
its way, as attractions for sight seers or
daring hunters. Despite all these mar
vels of physical development, animal
magni6cence and mineral wealth, Dame
Nature seems to have decided to endow
the Pacific coast with two other visible
specimens Of her mighty handiwork
One has just been created and the other
! has just been explored, and each in its
way has no rival on the continent.
As long back as we have any knowl-
edge of the stream the Colorado river has
flowed in tempestuous volume between
lofty canyons and over long stretches
Of prairie to the Gulf of California.
Now its course is to large extent divert
ed and much Of its current is pouring
through q break to the northwest of the
Mexican border into sink hole far be-
low the level Of the sea, and has formed
on saline and sandy desert, which is
traversed by the Southern Pacific rail
road, a vast lake that takes the name Of
Salton from station now nearly SUBJ
merged by the resistless rush of the
aqueous intruder.
For years the Indians of that arid and
fr0wning region have cherished proph-
ecy made by an ancient wise man of
their race, that some time the waters
would rise out of the earth, destroy the
invading whites and restore to the alb
original inhabitants the supremacy first
wrested from them when Coronado, the
famous Spanish adventurer, marched
north from Mexico in search of the IA
bled seven cities of Cibola. So when
the food came they fed to the noun
tains, and from their eyries now watch
with eager eyes for the fulfillment of
the old time prediction. Meanwhile the
waves roll inland with increasing vol
ume, and the once torrid sink of death
and desolation. responding to the touch
Of unwonted moisture, is beginning to
<blossom like the rose.
In short time indeed the transforma-
tion has been wonderful. Vegetation is
springing up along the banks of the new
lake, and by meara of irrigation it is
thought that all that portion of San
Diego county, CAL, can be turned into
farming and grazing lands.
The other day a venturesome CORE
spondent Of the San Francisco Examiner
settled by personal exploration the ques-
ton of the source of this phenomenal
overflow. He took boat at Yuma, on
the Colorado river, descended the stream
some miles, and, when on Mexican ter
ritory, turned northwest into wide
slough. The course from this on was
nearly westward over a newborn river,
averaging 800 yards in width and widen
ed,at intervals into lakes.
During part Of the journey the chan
mel ran between huge sand hills, which
were rapidly crumbling under the infu-
ence Of the torrent. Finally, beneath
farce sun and on a current like that of
Niagara above the falls, his boat shot
ont into the great Salton lake. Owing
to.the heat the evaporation from this
body Of water is tremendous, but the
supply seems equal to the demand. Ma
jor Powell, the well known geologist,
aayB that If the basin fills to the river
level it will present a surface of 1000
square miles.
Az rival to southern California's
strange inland sea Oregon offers for in
spection huge cave, in comparison with
which the dimensions of the world ia
NOUS Mammoth cave of Kentucky are
rid to be as those Of pigmy to giant.
That. however, is matter to be de-
termined by future comparisons and ex-
plorations.