Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-03-31
ODD THINGS IN THE WEST.
WONDERFUL NATURAL cURIo5I-
TIES IN ARIZONA AND NEVADA.
Whole Mountains of salt-StranRe
Petrifaction. subterranean Rivers
and Prehistoric Remains.


and Prehistoric Remains
TN the State of Nevada and the Ter
rItory of AIiz )na occur tue most
extensive natural stores OF salt in
the United States. Not only are
there salt springs, wells, lakes and ponds,
with fields OF salt in the deserts, but
also immense deposits o. rock salt. In
the early days of silver mining on the
Comstock lode salt, for use in the ANAL
gamation of the ores, was brought over
the Sierra Nevada Mountains by teams,
as il had been seen by the emigrants TO
California in crossing the plains, but the
owners of the teams could not be induced
to venture out into those great wastes
aud waterless tracts. In 1862 csmels were
brought to the Comstock mines for use
in the deserts, aud train Of fifteen OF
those animals was employed in packing
salt from Sand Springs. THIS was IN a
desert of sand aud alksli, about eighty
miles east of Virginia City. Wagons
being used in tine transportation of salt
from this deposit, as we'll as the canels,
the price Of the article was soon reduced
to $50 ton. Soon the occupation OF
the "ships of the desert was gone,
prairie schooners" crowded them to the
rocks. They were sold to Mexic lns,
who used them in packing wood down
the mountains. Among the rocks the
poor brutes became footsore, aud by ill
usage were reduce to mere skelet Gus.
They were then sold to a compassionate
Frenchmau VINO owned ranch on the
Carson River. Their new owner turned
the animals out to roam at will. The
bitter and prickly shrubs CT our deserts
being the same as or akin to those Of
their native deserts, the herd soon in
creased to over thirty, great and small.
they were at last sold to parties in Ari
IONA to be used in packing ore from the
mountains to mills in the a'leys. The
Ariz ma men soon turned the whole herd
loose 10 shift for themselves in the will
lerness. At last accounts they were
running wild on the CHA River, where
they find congenial home.
Great quantities OF petriied wood are
seen in many places. In some localities
he trunks Of whole trees, three or four
'eet iu diameter, lie stretched along the
ground. These are row solid stone.
Jloudbursts, sweeping the soil out o!
.avines aud cutting throu yh mounta i
iats, have often brou ,ht to liglt tncx
,trata of logs aud bouyns, or long lines
If stumps OF large trees standing a; they
grew, the roots anl ali parts thoroughly
)etried.
1t is evident that a. one time trees
md vegetation must have been abundant
II the Great Basin Region, as it was the
home OF animals now only found IN the
orests and jungles OF tropical countries
Under stratum of sandstone about
twenty feet thick at the State prison
quarry, Carson City, in layer OF fine
grained stone that appears ID have once
oeen tie soft, oozy ar5in Of lake, are
20 be seen hundreds Of tracks Of various
6inds Of animals aud birds. These tracks
ook as fresh and distinct as those we
frequently see OF domestic animals in
the mud at and ABOUT ponds after the
soft material has hardened under the
heat of the sun. There are tracks of
elephants, rhnoceros, horse, deer, lions,
tigers, wolves, hyeuas, OF many kin Is OF
birds, large and small. There are also the
tracks OF what is supposed TO have been
man of prehistoric times. The tracks
are such as might have been made by a
big.tooted man. The tracks Of all the
larger auima's lead IN one direction and
all were evidently moving toward the
same object, winch object must have
been water-a lake or a spring. As the
soft mud, all now stone, is seen to have
been squeeze up or sp'ashed aside by
the feet OF some of the heavy beasts the
tracks Lnuot be far from where lay the
ancient lake or pond, and by stripping
oil the superiucum Del. strata Tor short
distance further some wonderful dlscov-
cries might be made.
The greatest single deposit Of salt in
! Nevada is that which is sometimes
called "Salt Mountain" aud is u range
of hills of pure rock salt situated in the
southwestern corner Of the State, in Lin
coin County. This mountain mass Of
rock salt is of unrly4ed purity and pos
sesses the solidity OF marble. 1t lies on
the Rio Virgin, tributary OF the Colo.
RADIO River, IN the northern portion Of
/ the Colorado basin. \ solid wall Of
salt is exposed on each siie OF Cave Hill
/ Canyon, which is so hard that it is nee
] 1. :. a II -, .,l
| like an open quarry and the salt IS taken
out in large blocks, which are 50 trans
| parent that newspaper can be read
/ through them. From this mountain
ridge of salt might be quarried an
| amount of that article sufficient to sup
! ply the whole United States for ,es.
In several places in this region, Lin
coin County, New, and the adjoining
country about Death Valley, CAL, are
found traces OF former occupation by
some race of civilized people, probably
the Spanish. In the Kingston range Of
mountains, on the eastern face of Clarke
Mountain, near its summit, is q perpen-
dicular cliff OF limestone $50 feet in
height aud with a smooth surface. On
the face of this cliff, at height of 100
feet from its base are engraved the fol-
lowing characters: TX L D. The
cross aud letters are of mammoth pro-
portions, being not less than sixty feet
in height. They are cut into the solid
rock to depth of two feet, and are
plainly to be seen at a great distance.
No one in the country knows how,
when or by whom the letters were cut.
The Indians living in the vicinity have
no tradition in regard to the inscription.
As the inscription is in Roman letters
and is preceded by a cross, it is sup,
posed that the work was done by jesuit