Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-31
Wherein One Will Float Like a
Cork.
NO ANIMAL LIFE 10 Bite OR STING
A Sea Bath Nearly a Mile Above
Ocean Level.
STR ANGE EXPERIENC ES

breakers on the Atlantic coast, a descrip-
ton of the methods of taking ''sea bath"
1000 feet above the sea level, and a. thous-
and miles or more from the coast, may he
interesting; for this great inland salt sea-
twice as big as the state of Rhode Island,
four times as salt as the Atlantic 1000
feet above sea level, clear as crystal and
smooth as a mirror, is now the resort of
thousands, its visitors being now counted
by train loads each hour and by hundreds
of thousands in the season.
A dip in the great Dead sea Of America,
which is not dead sea, because fed by
four rivers and numberless mountain tor
rents, is a luxury which all who can OBJ
tain that opportunity seldom neglect. and
especially after a few experiences in it's
waters. And a bath in the Salt lake means
something more than dip" for in It's
warm. clear and peaceful waters, in which
you noat Ike cork, you may remain al
most Indefinitely, and with impunity. No
exertfon Is needed to maintain warmth or
to keep afioat, and those who choose to
float lazily in the pellucid waters by the
hour may do so without physical detriment.
Besides, there. is feeling of luxurious
ease in the fact that you make your en-
trance into the water from the finest bath
ing pavilion in the country, having over GOO
bath houses and costing over a quarter of
a million dollars.
Church Owns the Baths.
Like most of the great enterprises here,
the big bathing institution is backed by the
Mormon Church. The Rio Grande and
Western railroad carries the people to it,
across miles of sand and sage brush; but
the great Moorish pavilion, with it's go
bath houses, it's dancing floor Covering
nearly an acre., its 1900 electric lights,
standing nearly mile out in the lake, is
Mormon, or, at least, the work of sundry
wealthy Saints who probably operate
for the church in this stroke of business
enterprise.
The experiences of a bath in the great
Salt lake are unique and never to be for
gotten You walk down to the water from
your bath room over steps, from the lower
side of which hang tiny stalactites. They
look at first like icicles. but on examination
you find them of pure white salt, formed
from the salt water which drips upon the
steps from the costumes of the bathers
as they retire from the waters into which
the steps lead. Arriving at the bottom of
the steps. If you have been properly in
formed as to methods, you quietly continue
your way into the crystal water through
which you see the cleaning sand at the
bottom. There Is no plunging here, no
taking of headers into the approaching
breakers.
The Water Burns.
The man or woman who is accustomed to
that sort of thing must change his or her
ways. for the water which contains over
IA per cent of salt and other minerals,
burns the eyes, nose or throat and ears if
the head is permitted to go beneath the
surface. That is one thing that the ten
derIoot has to learn, and he learns it to
Ills cost If he is not enlightened by some
thoughtful friend before he enters the
water. As 1 was going to the bath room
man with glass in his hand hurried
past me, and stopped at the door of
bath room, about which crowd of people
had gathered. Just inside the door. in
charge of friends, was a lady, evidently
suffering the most intense agony, if her
groans and cries Of pain were an index of
the facts. Yet her friends did not seem par
ticuiarly alarmed They spoke soothingly
to her, as one would to child with
burned finger, assuring her that though it
was pretty rocky" she would soon come
round all right. A drink from the glass
which the barkeeper had sent her seemed
to give relief, and she soon recovered AS
was preparing for the bath 1 heard neigh
Dor in an adjoining room giving some adj
vice to a tenderfoot friend. Don't get
the water in your mouth or eyes or ears"
he said ITS awful. 1 tried it once, and
was unable to speak or do anything. A
gentleman who was near by saw what was
the matter and ran for some whisky, and
soon brought me round all right"
The Same Giggling.
So the bathing scenes on the Great Salt
lake are more peaceful, in. some respects,
at least, than on the seashore. To be sure,
there is the same giggling, the same
screaming and shouting, but there is no
plunging into the breakers, no splash
ing, no "ducking'' Of your neighbor.
The man or woman or boy or girl
who would attempt. to splash" his
friend or associate would soon find
himself in trouble, for the smallest drop
of the water in the eyes sets them tingltng
with pain, and renders them bloodshot for
hours. But when this fact is understood.
| and the method of handling oneself in
| this dense water is learned, the experiences
of the bath are novel and delightful Those
who have had few lessons are able to
| throw themselves back upon the water and
| float like CORK roll about on the surface
| they would on a bed of sand, or swim
| enormous distances, if they can manage to
| keep their feet beneath the surface. The
| antics which the experienced bathers per-
| form are very amusing, while those which
| the average "tenderfoot" involuntarily per-
forms are equally so. I saw half dozen
| or more, of both sexes, form themselves
| into tandem" lying upon their backs in
| the water, the feet of the first placed be-
| meath the arms of the second, whose feet,
! in turn. supported the shoulders of the
| third, and SO on to the end of the line.
| Each one was using his arms as paddles,
| end so this string Of screaming, shouting,
| shrieking humanity was padding itself
| along, back downward and head-first, look
| ing like an animated bologna sausage or a
| sea serpent with a bad case of jim-jams
Pushing Bather Along.
On another occasion I saw a man swim
| ming SONS distance from the pavilion,
pushing something in front Of him that
| looked like mall log. AS he came nearer I
saw that it was a human being lying calmly
on the top of the water, with arms folded
beneath the head and feet crossed, being
pushed along as the bather lazily worked
| his way tin, ough the water. AS they neared
| the pavilion the floating individual, who
| had not moved in the long distance ira
| versed, suddenly changed position with
| scarcely an effort. and moment later was
| standing on the white sand at the bottom
| of the clear water. as plump, shapely and
| pretty a woman as one might wish to see.
1t is the antics of the beginners. and es-
| pecially those having a tendency to a large
| waist measurement, which are most anus
ing to the heartless spectators. The waters
of the lake are so dense that the person
with a weil-developcd abdomen finds it
| difficult to maintain star ding position In
the water That portion of the anatomy
being probably the lightest under ordinary
| circumstances, ard displacing more water
| proportionately than other parts of the
person. the individual thus built" soon
finds great difficulty in keeping his or her
| feet on the bottom.
| Like a Cork.
The pesky stomach acts just like great