The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-06-27

so the lake has an area OF 1924 $4,000
square feet, Take 20 feet as its average
depth; then 20 times I527i $4,000 will
give us l,505, 1873 600 600 cubic feet as the
contents of the lake. Now IS % per cent.
or one-sixth of this. according to the
analysis OF eminent chemists, is salt and
sulphate of soda.
That is. the lake contains go sos $1,000
cubic feet of salt and sulphate of soda. OF
this vast mass eighth is sulphate Of
soda and seven-eighths common salt, So
there are of Ma s. o. 4. or sulphate OF
soda and seven eighths common salt. So
soda 1883. 100000 cubic feet and OF Ma
Cl., or common salt, 2l9,5i2, 400 900 cubic
feet
These figures seem astounding, but they
are hardly beginning. Proceed u little
farther. A cubic foot OF sulphate of soda
weighs 80 pounds and n cubic foot OF conf
mon salt. so pounds: so we have, the
contents. in part. of this unparalleled res
ervor of wealth, l sos 100 O00, 900 pounds,
or 1Si0S0 900 tons of sulphate of soda; and
II 800 1893, 10000 pounds, or $3.50. l69 600
tons of salt Allowing ten tons to a car
load that would be 7S.i0S 900 cars OF soda.
and S7S.0l6.960 cars OF salt. Taking thirty
feet as the total strength of a freight car
and its couplings. we would have u train
OF soda 4i5,5O0 miles long, or nearly TO the
moon and back; and train of salt 4,9SS.7S
| miles in length, or long enough to reach
1876 times around the earth, and leave an
5000 mile string of cars over on a side
track. Running twenty miles an hour and
never stopping night or day, 1t would take
the salt laden train twenty eight years five
months and twenty-three days to pass a
station.
When figures mount. as these do. into
billions and trillions they become too vast
for any careless handling. These are, thus
far. correct and reasonable though almost
ineomprehensible. Carry the computation
one step more. The ordinary valuation Of
sulphate Of soda is cent a pound, or $40
ton: so our 7Si 1850 900 tons OF it would be
worth. in the markets OF the world 49,
bsl .oOOo 900 Common salt at low esti-
mate is worth u cent pound, or $40 a
| ton; our $3.50. l6S6OO tons OF II would con-
seduenuly have n money value of SST SOL
$4,000, That is a gigantic. almost incon-
ceivable total for salt and soda. OF Sl03-
1895 600, or enough In two ingredients
OF this watery wonder OF the new world
To nav all the National debts in Christen-
dom and leave fair fortune for every man.
woman. child and other person in the
hemispheric republic Of Yankeeloodledoo,
inc entire assessed valuation of the
United States. including all real estate and
personal property. under the census OF 1856
was sid.so2 993,5i3. so the salt and soda OF
TINS one mountain-girt lake are worth more
than sN times as much as the whole forty
nine States and Territories Of the Union. as
shown bv the National assessment books
ten years ago. DO these figures seem az
founding? The facts are astounding, md
the figures but do them Justice, The con-
'iuslons are memorable. and the figures,
though overwhelming. are absolutely ac-
curate and trustworthy. But cut all the
hSures IN Two. halye all the estimates. and
we would sun have a sum so prodgious
That all the arithmetic classes OF creation
would stagger before IL.
IL may seem preposterous To talk of tbs