Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-05-16
A SALT ISLAND.
THE WONDERFUL ISLA DEL CAR
MEN OFF MEXICO.
1t Contains the Only Pure White
Natural Salt Deposit in the
WOrid-Mined by Va
qui Indians.

MIA. in the Gulf Of california, les Il
small island known 20 the Me2nans'as
the Isla del Carmen.
Carmen island, although only nusteel
miles in length and SIX miles IL VtEn at
It's broadest part, is noted as oneaof the
most remarkable islands on the Ameri-
can continent. At this place is'found
the only pure white natural salt deposit
Known. and the value of such anime IS
secondary only to the tabled gold,mlnes
of King Solomon. The island IS ,owned
BIZ ii Spanish American named James
Viosca. who went to Lower. California
thirty years ago and married q daughter
Of the Governor. He lived at La Paz,,
| the capital of the lo%wer!half Of the State,
where he has been American Consul for g
number Of years.
Carmen Island is for innate III having
a tiue harlor in Salinas Bay where ldrge
vessels find all anchorage'ln four fathoms
Of water. Within a mile.of this anchor
age the salt is mined. Just how long
| since this saline deposittwas discovered
no one can state with anvtaccuracy. Two
hundred years ago there was a Jesuit
| mission at Loreto on the mainland west
Of the island, and it is known that the
fathers obtained the salt they used for
domestic purposes from Isla del Carmen,
but among the Iaqui Indians there is u
legend that their torefathcrs knew Of the
deposit long before the mission was es-
number who first acquainted the plous
brethren Of the existence Of the mine.
But it was not until 1865 that the salt
| deposit was utilized for commercial pur-
poses. In that year a Mexican, who di-
vined the value of the mine, bought the
island from the Government, but after
owning it only two years he sold his title
to Ben Holiday, of famous overland
stage.linc notoriety, for $50, 600. The
new proprietor engaged James Viosca to
manage his acquisition, but after Holli-
day died the bankrupt estate was glad to
realize ready cash for the salt treasure,
aud Niosca became the owner of Carmen
Island. To him it has become veritable
sold mine.
The salt deposits cover a surface .oi
1000 acres. About one.third of this
acreage is a mass of pure, clean white
salt the remainder is covered simply
with a layer Of soil, brought there by
rains from the a. adjacent mountains, and
also in places with a thin coating of coral,
all of which when removed show the
pure white salt beneath. The salt de-
posts in this basin have proved by actual
ness, but it is hard to work at any depth
below the surface, as the briny water
sweeping through creates a new layer OF
salt of from five to eight inches in thick
ness in fifteen days. The most remarka.
BILE thing about this deposit is the fact
that although the salt has been taken
from this basin for ages, the surface Of
the lake has never been lowered, but nj.
ways retains the same level.
The method of obtaining the salt i.
very simple. A man armed with an iron
bar breaks of chunks Of tee crystalline
mass. which are then loaded into carts
and haule1 To dry land, from 600 to SOC
feet distant. Here the stuff is dumped.
reloaded and taken to the wharf. half 5
mile away, where lighters receive the salt
and convey it TO the vessels lying in the
bay Crude Is this system is, the cost
Of mining the salt and conveying it to tie
wharf averages a tribe less than twenty
five cents Il tor.
The entire salt basin is always covered
with a briuy solution averaging four
inches in depth. The workmen, who
are mostly Yaqui Indians, wade around
all day long IN their bare feet in this
pickle deposit, and the result OF their ex
posure is seen in numerous cases of sore
ankles to which the indians are sub
lected. Before they became hardened
to the work the poor fellows suffer ex.
cruclating toruents the moment their
joints come in contact with the salt
water, but, like everything else, the svs.
tenn finally gets accustomed TO the expos
ure. and, once thoroughly seasoned, the
Indians cease to complain. But irritat
ing as this is. it does no. compare witt
the agony suffered by the poor fellows
who. while pounding the brinv CRYSTALS
receives a splash OF salt water in his eve.
Half q dozen OF the Yaquis have partial
~ lost their sight in this way and one In
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