The Washington times., 1901-09-15
CALIFORNIA; SALT FARM.
The Most Curious Piece of Rea
Estate in Existence.

/
Estate in Existence.
| One of the most curious pieces OF real
estate in existence is now the subject of
a suit brought by the Government to re-
| cover the property. 1t is salt farm
one thousand acres of solid salt, which is
plowed and hoed and hilled up like SO
much earth. 1t lies in depression 26i
| feet below the level of the sea. in the
| midst of the great Colorado Desert, just
north of the Mexican line. in the State
| of California. and the town which has
grown up on it's border takes its name.
| Salton, from the crystal deposit
For many years salt has been taken
| from this district, but on a small scale.
In 1892 temporary stoppage was put to
| the local industry by the overflow of the
| Colorado River, forming what was known
as the Salton Sea. In time the water re-
| ceded evaporation followed. and there
was left a residium of almost pure crys-
| tai salt, a vista of unima ginable and al
most unbearable brilliance and beauty.
From a distance the effect was that of
| sheet of the purest snow, glittering In
the sunlight; but when the first explorers
ventured upon the newly formed crust
they were unable to endure for long the
fierce refraction of the light and fed
blindly with aching eyeballs from that
insufferable radiance. Equipped with col
ored glasses. they returned. and soon a
company was working the richest salt
crystal field in existence.
All that was necessary was to plow
out the salt and grind 1t up. A salt plow
was devised and built 1t has four wheels
and heavy and powerful steel beak, or
breaker, and the motive power is steam.
,,4fI1 x-frro r01a
was put up dummy line run up to con-
meet with the Southern Pacific railroad,
and the work Of taking out five and
half tons daily at from IS TO $50 a ton
begun The great difficulty, however, was
to get labor. Probably nowhere else on
the earth's surface do men work under
such terrific conditions of temperature
as at the Salton salt farm The normal
heat of the Colorado Desert, which is
such that few white men can live in that
region is enormously increased by the
refracted and reflected rays of the SUM-
For weeks at a time the temperature OF
the field reaches 14G degrees every day. I'm
der these conditions. of course, no white
man can work. The salt plowing is done
by Japanese and Indians, mainly the lat
ter, who seem to endure the rigors OF
the climate without evil effects To
watch the steady, stole performance of
the red-skinned toiler as he hoes, shovels
and scrapes the field, or operates the en-
gine that propels the plow, is to appre-
ciate the qualities of tie Indian as
worker under the most trying conditions.
Some of the Indian laborers even work
without glasses, but all the JapS pro-
tect their eyes from the baneful glare
with the darkest of spectacles. and even
so they are often laid off with optic in
fiammation. In addition TO the other dis
comforts of the salt fields the flying par
ticles generate particularly irritating and
persistent thirst. The workers drink
great quantities of water, and this serves
as a safeguard against. sunstroke, as it
Keeps them DerSpirfng freely.
The deposit of salt varies in thickness
from one to eight inches. 1t forms In a
crust, and the plow breaks this salt COW
ering by throwing a broad but sallow
furrow of salt Jumps up in parallel
ridges on either side of the machine. Here
and there underlying the crystal plain
broken the springs seep forth their dirty.
brackish water; and the Indian lads fol-
low the plow with hoe in hand. knocking
to and fro the clumps Of salt and mud In
this water, until the earth is dissolved,
and then the crystal salt is stacked in
conical pyramids to await transportation
to the mill.
The salt. crystals do not dissolve dur
ing the washing. doubtless account of
the quantity of saline already in the water.
No sooner has the plow gone over the field
than the crust begins to form again;
therefore. II would seem that the salt
fields of Salton are ineXhaustible. The
salt is allowed to remain in the pyramids
until complete evaporation of all water
takes place when II is transferred to the
fat cars and carried to the mills at Sal
ton. The factory Is structure about 500
feet in length. and consists of milling
and drying plant. When the salt arrives
at the mill 1t is thrown into a bulkhead
breaker and reduced to uniform particles
which are run through burr mill and
thoroughly ground. There is an almost
imperceptible portion of carbonate of soda
mixed with the native salt. and this SIM
ply aids in the cleansing process. When
thoroughly ground the salt is sifted like
-four through bolting cloth, put through
an aspirator, which removes all foreign
substances, and is then ready to sack
Aside from the refined or domestic salt
there are tons and tons of hide salt
shipped annually from Salton. This grade
is only sold for commercial and indus
trial purposes.
The most delightful time to visit the
crystal lake is upon moonlight night.
The spectacle is magnificent. but weird.
The rows of glistening pyramids, the
glitter of the moonlight from the facets
ground of low, black hills the expanse
and stiffness of the shadowless plain
strike one with awe and wonder that can
never be forgotten.
Last December the United States land
office unearthed some records which SEEM
cd to indicate that the salt farming COM
pany had no right or title to the valua-
BILE property ii is now working. Owing
to the peculiar geographical conditions
consequent upon the overflow of the river
forming the Salton Sea and the subse
quent subsistence and disappearance of the
sea the legal points involved are quite
intricate. The case will probably come |
up soon for adjudication.