Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-02-11
THE ISLA DEL CARMEN.
A Wonderful Island of Salt in the Gulf
of California.

southwest Of Guaymas, Mexico, and
five miles east of the mainland of
Lower California, in the Gulf of
California, lies small island known
to the Mexicans as the Isla del Car
men.
Carmen Island, although only nine
teen miles in length and six miles in
width at it's broadcast part, is noted
as one of the most remarkable islands
on the American continent. At this
place is found the only pure white
natural salt deposit known, and the
value of such a mine is secondary
only to the failed gold mines of
King Solomon. The island is owned
by Spanish-American named James
ViOsca, who went to Lower California
thirty years ago and married a daugh-
ter Of the Governor
1t was not until 1865 that the salt
deposit was utilized for commercial
purposes In that year a Mexican,
who, OWNED the value of the mine,
bought the island from the govern
ment, but after owning it only two
years be sold his title to Ben Holli-
day, fof famous overland stage-line
notOriety, for 100000 The new pro-
pIetor engaged James Viosca to man
lge his acquisition, but after Holli-
day died the bankrupt estate was glad
to realize ready cash for the salt
treasure, and Viosca became the own
er of Carmen Island. To him it has
become veritable gold mine.
The salt deposits cover a surface of
1000 acres. About one-third of this
acreage is mass Of pure, clean, white
salt; the remainder is covered simply
with a layer of soil, brought there by
rains from the adjacent mountains,
and also in places with thin coating
of coral, all of which when removed
show the pure white salt beneath.
The salt deposits in this basin have
proved by actual investigation to be
fourteen feet in thickness, but it is
hard to work at any depth below the
surface, as the briny water seeping
through creates new layer of salt
of from five to eight inches in thick
ness in fifteen days. The most re-
markable thing about this deposit is
the fact that, although the salt has
been taken from the basin for ages,
the surface of the lake has never been
lowered, but always retains the same
level. Like the widows cruise of oil,
the supply is inexhaustible.
The method Of obtaining the salt
is very simple. A man armed with
an iron bar breaks off chunks of the
crystalline mass, which are then
loaded into carts and hauled to dry
land, from 600 to 500 feet distant.
Here the stuff is dumped, reloaded
and taken to the wharf, half mile
away, where lighters receive the salt
and convey it to the vessels lying in
the bay. Crude as this system is,
the cost of mining the salt and con-
yeying it to the wharf averages a
tri1le less than 20 cents ton. With
improvements that have been sug-
geSted and that are now under con-
sideratiOn, the principal features Of
which are the building of a narrow
gauge line to the salt deposits and the
erection of a pier extending $500
feet to the anchorage in the bay, it
will be possible to handle 1000 tons
of salt day. Under the new ar
rangement proposed it is hoped that
the present delay in loading vessels
will be avoided. The demand for
Carmen Island salt is so great that
there are seldom fewer than five
boats awaiting cargoes in the bay,
and sometimes there have been as
many as fourteen vessels lying at
anchorage.
Many theories have been advanced
accounting for the presence of this
wonderful salt deposit, but the one
most generally accepted is that the
surrounding hills and mountains con-
tain immense sodium deposits, which
are dissolved by natural courses of
Water, either rain or underground
veins, and then carried to the lowest
ground, which in this case is the ba-
sin that contains the salt deposits.
All creeks in this vicinity discharg-
ing their water into this lake have
salt water before getting to a point
even several feet higher than the sur
face water Of the lake, which has no
communication whatever with the
sea. 1t is only fed from these creeks
flowing from the adjacent hills and
mountains. According to tests made
on the ground, where standing pools
of water from four to eight feet
higher than the lake were found in
the creeks, the water on the west side
of the lake contains more sodium
than that on the east side, due it is
thought to the fact that a much larg-
er deposit of sodium exists in the
mountains to the west of the lake.
The salt found on this island is of a
very superior quality and is believed
to be the only pure, white, natural
refined salt-deposit or mine-in ex-
istence. Guy Lussac in his chemical
analysis of the Carmen Island salt,
defines it as follows: Natural sea
salt, or rock salt, in a state of purity.
consists of so per cent. of chlorine