, 1898-11-05
OUR SODA DEPOSITS
A CORRESPONDENT TELLS THE
WHOLE STORY IN A PLEAS
ING MANNER.
There Is Enough Natural Soda In Gu
Soda Lakes to Make All the Soda
Biscuits in the World for the Next
Two Centuries-And Then Some to
Spare.

Spare.
A correspondent writing from Lara
mic has the following to say about the
soda deposits Of Wyoming:
Out of her surprising exhibit Of natu-
raj soda at the Transmississippi expo
sition at Omaha, Wyoming expects soon
to take a front rank among the wealth
producing states of the union as a soda
producer. The great block OF natural
soda that Wyoming placed in the mines
and mining building at Omaha was the
establishment of thousands of people.
1t has been the means of bringing soda
experts from different parts Of the I'm
tied States into Wyoming to investigate
the extent and richness Of the states
deposits, with a view to erecting huge
alkali works along the margins of her
great soda lakes.
Wyoming has the most extensive So
da deposits in the world. The people
of the big western state believe they
have enough natural soda in their soda
lakes to make all the soda biscuits of
the world for the next two centuries,
and then throw in. for good measure,
sufficient sal soda and sodalye tocleanse
all the tribes of the earth" during the
two centuries they are feeding on the
Wyoming biscuits: and still have plen-
ty soda left to make window glass for
the United States for generations to
come. They believe that within the
near future. Wyoming will really be
furnishing the bulk of the worlds out
put of soda.
Wyoming is thought to have more
than twenty soda lakes of commercial
Importance. These lakes are widely
scattered throughout The state, and are
invariably found in depressions. Most
Of these depressions have an inlet but
no outlet: hence the opinion of geolo-
gists that the soda came in with the
spring water and leached out, the water
evapoFatiug, thus leaving, tn some in
stances, beds OF soda more than fifty
feet in depth and hundreds Of acres in
surface dimension.
The surface Of these lakes, through
the action of the sun and air, has been
encrusted over with a powdered soda
closely resembling the ordinary bak-
ing soda; and viewed from their mar
gins, the lakes resemble great patches
Of pure snow. One examining them
with a pick might well imagine that
he were on a lake of ice upon which q
light sncw had fallen, for the soda be-
meath is a transparent crystal closely
resembling ice.
Prof. Wilbur c. knight of the chair
of geology of the University Of Wyo-
ming here at Laramie has, perhaps.
done more than any other westerner
to ascertain the chemical richness OF
the Wyoming soda deposits. Speaking
of Wyoming's inland seas of soda,
Prof. Knight said.
Large companies are nov being or
works in Wyoming. These companies
are now being backed by capital in New
York, Chicago and elsewhere, and while
England and Germany, until recent
years, have produced the greater part
of the worlds sulphate Of soda from
common salt, we hope soon to replace
the imported product with our Wyo-
ming soda.
From my Investigations Of the soda
deposits of the state, l believe 1t safe to
say that there are at least 10 1000 ,OOC
cubic feet Of soda already in sight,
When we consider what development
work may bring forth. the soda beds
of Wyoming assume enormous pro
portions.
wyoming undoubtedly leads the
world in natural soda. We have per
haps, twenty soda lakes Of commercial
~F
|fmportance. Their commercial impor-
tance has already been proven. In the
immediate vicinity of those deposits
are excellent beds Of sand and lime
stone. and also an abundance Of fuel
in the form of coal, which insures the
people of Wyoming that these soda
lakes will be used in making glass
soap. baking powder and sal soda. II
has been already demonstrated that the
Wyoming soda makes a first a win
dow or plate glass. There Is little
doubt that plants will also be erected
for he manufacture of the ordinary
soda compounds, such as sodium car
bonate or sal soda, used In bleaching
and cleaning; sodium bicarbonate, OF
baking powder, and soda lye used In
making hard soap.
There Is absolutely no reason why
this natural soda cannot be converted
into soda compounds that are more
valuable than the s~ulphate, and sold
Let least in competition. with the east
ern or imported product made from
Iait."
The Mornsons were the first to maxi
prsctjcal use Of the Wyoming soda
IIThey discovered the carbonate OF sods