The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-07-26
"A LAKE OF LATHER
IT'S SURFACE COVERED WITH WHITE
FOAM a FOOT THICK

IA wonderful Lake In southern wash-
isgtes-No Iniet or OutIet-Fed ny
springs-Its Peculiar Medical Prop
erties-Firss Discovered IN 1907.
There are in the world many lakes and
finland seas, each having water peculiar to
ITSELF Most noted Of these IL the Dead
Sea, whose surface Is l, 800 feet below that
Of the ocean, and whose depth - another
1900 feet The largest is the Caspian Sea,
also below sea level, and with an unfath-
-omable bottom. Exploration Of the Amer.
lean continent has revealed q number Of
saline and alkaline lakes, all Of which are
above sea level. Salt Lake, the largest
and perhaps the oldest. has an altitude Of
4 400 feet. Lake Como, In the new State
Of Wonders" lie 1000 feet up In the noun
tains while Tulare has less than 800 feet
altitude. The waters Of the last two are
quite brackisn, but light compared with
salt Lake, whose contents are 20 per cent.
salt, being but little lighter than Dead
Sea water, says the San Francisco Chron-
icle
All these lakes and seas have visible
inlet. fresh-water supply, that compen-
safes for evaporation, but there is little
Washington that has no visible inlet or
outlet, the supply coming from two hid
den springs IL Ii situated on the great
Columbia River plateau, sixteen miles
southwest from Spokane and 2,300 feet
above the rim Of the ocean.
From the remedial virtues OF the water
It has been appropriately called Medical
Lake II lies In the midst OF q great basal
tic region through which the granite
crops occasionally, as on the western
shore, The lake bed, too. is said TO be
granite. A high basaltic ridge TO the
westward is shaded by pine forest. On
the opposite side IL the thriving little vii
lage Of Medical Lake
Medical Lake has q maximum depth OF
sixty feet, Is half mile vida and twice as
long. No plant grows close to or In the
water, and the quiet that reigns over the
dark pool is impressive. The water has
been described AZ amber-eolored. II am
Der is dark. with greenish tinge, the de-
scriptioh IL good. Fresh water is to be
found only q few feet below the surface
not more than twenty feet away from the
lake shore.
The first date mentioned In connection
with the lake Is 1907, when. II Ii said, An
tome Dpfour. prisoner Of an Indian band
:. camping on the lake shore, discovered the
virtues Of the water In an accidental and
unpleasant way. Exposure had made him
the victim Of fniapmatory Rheumatism.
and one night while hobbling about In
vain attempts to escape from captivity. he
;. tuInbled into the water, He barely missed
being drowned, and expected the wettlng
10 make worse bis already stiffened joints
but TO his surprise and delight next day
ne was better. After this he frequently
bathed In the water, and was soon free
from, disease and eaptors. Fam,
For three score years after this we hear
nothing OF the healing waters. In 1871
Andrew le Fevre entered a quarter section
OF land where the town now stands To
this French Canadian the Indians were
quite partial, for other white men were
not allowed to stay unmolested But they
guarded jealously the .medical waters"
for they had long known OF their virtue
though they told the white man they were
bad waters" Some Of Mr.. lie Feyre's
sheep. however, led him to think differ
entity They had "scab," and their
instinct led them into the water,
which thsy drank and were healed. The
shepherd soon tried it for his rheumatism,
and was cured as II by magic.
The medicinal virtues OF the water, of
course, depend on the presence Of min
erals held in solution. For bathing the
~-Water Ii much preferable to sea or salt
lake water. and fathers, when rubbed on
the head. like fine toilet soap.
Whenever . rough breeze brushes the
lake surface the soapiness Of the water Is
said 10 manifest itself In q lathery foam
that sometimes rises foot high. A yalu-
able toilet soap 10 obtained by adding a
vegetable oil to the concentrated water
BY evaporating the water the salt is OBJ
l.
use In bathing as remedial agent.
Animal life in the lake IL not quite SO
scarce Is plant life. There IL 0 bug which
sports on the surface, species OF terra
pin living more on the bottom, and a
curious animal called the walking fish,"
which seldom comes to the surface The
last named, the axolotl, is quite remark
able In appearance and one OF the most
interesting OF American reptiles. The
name secretary tadpole," would be as
appropriate - walking fish,, for the
gills stick out Of the head in way to re-
mind one Of the secretary bird" and it
much resembles large tadpole, being
eight or nine inches long. A tinny men,
compressed tail. The fore feet have four
toes, the hinder i've. The eyes are small
and without lids. The mouth, like the
head, is large and ugly.
Our natural histories speak Of the axo-
lott as q Mexican reptile, and 1t has been
given 8 separate Renns-siredon. II Ii SO
abundant In Mexican lakes as to be o
source Of food for the natives, Not until
since the discovery Of Lake Como, Wyo-
ming. was II known that the animal lived
in the United States. Professor Marsh
took some Of them to New Haven from
this mountain lake. and the scientific
world was surprised to learn that In these
new surroundings they passed through
another metamorphosis, losing their gills
and tinny adornment. while their hitherto
undeveloped lungs expanded SO that they
would live In the open air, and their eyes
were protected with lids.
The Finest View.
Perhaps the finest view in the world is
that from the top Of the Kloof behind