Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1901-06-22
REMARKABLE SALT DEPOSIT.
II is One of the Most Wonderful Sights Of
California.

California.
Few readers of the Scientific Ameri-
can had heard of the sea Of Salton up
to 1892. At this time the Colorado
river broke its barriers and flowed into
the desert of California, flooding 1t
to an extent of hundreds of square
miles. In the vicinity of Salton was
one of the largest salt deposits in
America; the water encroached upon
it. and for Il time threatened the III
dustry. but after creating an excite
ment which spread over the entire
west. it recedcd. The rumOr was to
the effect that the new sea was so vast
that it would change the climate OF
southern California.
The deposit of salt at Salton is
one of the sights of California. 1t lies
in depression almost 800 feet below
the sea level, and was at some time
in the past the bed of Il sea. or eXten-
sion of the Gulf of California. From
the train. which passes near by, the
tract looks like Il vast snow field, and
in the early morning is frequently the
salt deposit, which is essentially rock
salt. covers about 1000 acres, and is at
present the centre of interest on ac-
count of the dispute of rival COM
panies over the possession of the
property. The company in possession
has shipped from this place annually
about 20OO tons of salt, valued at from
tn fnn
The outfit of the salt mine consists
mainly of IA crusher, a drying building
and Il dummy line from the salt beds
to the Southern Pacific railroad. not
far distant. The work Is carried on
mainly by Indians, who can Withstand
the intense heat of the desert-l5O
degrees in June-and the glare better
than white men. The work is interest
ing and novel The drying house is 4
building 600 feet in length, about which
hundreds of thousands of tons of salt
are heaped. having all the appearance
of snow. Here the salt Is dried and
milled The salt is collected at first
with a plow--a singular machine with
four wheels. in the centre of which
sits an Indian guiding it, the motive
power is dummy engine some dis
tance away. which hauls the plow
along by cables. AS It passes, the steel
breaker is seen to cut a broad but
shallow furrow. eight feet wide and
three feet long, throwing up the ridges
on either side. Indians now follow
along, and with hoes pile up the salt
in pyrimidal forms, which later Is
transported to the mill. Each plow
harvests 700 tons of salt per day. A
singular feature of this bed is that
the salt is being deposited daily by
springs which run into the basin, and
as the water evaporates 1t leaves
crust of almost pure chloride Of sodi-
UNI. which ranges from 10 to 20 inches
in thickness, over the lake. 1t Will
be seen that there is no danger of ex-
hausting the supply, which Is form
ing all the time; and, in point OF fact.
the plows have in the past years
worked almost continually over the
same area, only about 10 acres having
been plOwe0.
The salt. when delivered at the plant,
is hoisted to the upper floor, and
placed in a bulkhead breaker. where
it is reduced to particles of the same
size. 1t then passes through burr
mill and is well ground. After this 1t
is sifted and is finally passed through
an aspirator, which cleanses 1t of all
foreign material, when it Is ready for
packing in bags. The salt is used for
a variety of purposes. and is of several
different grades, the lowest being un-
refined-a product called hide salt.
used in manufactures. Large quanti-
ties are sold for sea bathing purposes,
certain amount producing very
similar chemical equivalent to sea wa
ter. Other grades are prepared for ta-
BILE dairy and for the use Of druggists.
Scientific American.