The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-04
A LAKE OF MYSTERY.
Wonders of the Deepest Body of Wa
 ter in America.

Wonders of the Deepest Body of Wa
 ter in America.
 New York Times.
 Most wonderful of all the so-called pot tornless lakes" is undoubtedly Mystery; or, Deep Blue Lake. as IL was named oy it's white discoverers half a century ago, but better known nowadays as Crater Lake, in Oregon. There are very few places in 1t where the depth Is less than l.5oo feet, and no other lake on the Vest ern Hemisphere approaches this. It is no wonder, then. that Crater Lake was at first supposed to he bottomless.
 However, the truth is that all lakes over 15o feet deep possess similar repu- tation. Any body of water that is deep CT than the longest feeling line is sure to lack a bottom in the popular beltef. Crater Lake is 6,251 feet above the sea level five miles in diameter, nearly cir- cular. and occupies the crater of an ex- tinct volcano in the northwest portion of Klamath County, twenty-two miles west and north of Fort Klamath, and aoOut ninety miles northeast of Ashland. The Indians of Southern Oregon have known of it's existence for many generations, but until recently few red men had seen 1t i for the reason that a tradition, handed down from the fathers of the tribe, de- | scribed the lake as the home Of myrtads | of sea devils. or. as they were called. Llaos. and 1t was considered certain death | for any brave to even look upon it. This | superstition still haunts the klamaths l While a few of the tribe have visited It l In the capacity of guides to white expior- | CTS. they, do So with a dread or conse- | quences.
 | It is bad medicine'' in the fullest sense | of the term. There is probably no point
 of interest in America that so completely | overcomes the ordinary Indian with fear. 1 To the savage mind the lake is clothed I with deep veil of mystery and is the
 abode of all manner of demons and mon | sters.
 l old Alin Davy. chief of the Klamath | tribe, once gave the following history of the discovery of the lake by his people: "A long time ago, long before the white | men appeared to vex and drive the ,ln- ! dian out. band of Klamaths, while out | bunting came suddenly upon the lake and
 were startled by its remarkable walls and awed by it's majestic proportions. i Their spirits subdued and trembling with | fear. they silently gazed upon the face | of the heaven-hued lake. Something | within them told the braves that the
 Great Spirit dwelt there and they dared
 not remain, or explore the shores Of the
 lake. but passed silently down the side | of the mountain and encamped far away. By some unaccountable influence, | however, one brave was induced to re- | turn. He went up to the very brink of | the precipice and started his campfire. | Here he lay down to rest: here he slept
 till morn; slept until the sun was high in the heavens, and then rose and returned | | At night he went again. and again he slept until morn. Each visit bore charm
 than drew him back again. Each night | found him sleeping above the blue lake: | and each night strange voices arose from
 the waters; mysterious noises filled the | air.
 At last, after a great many moons. ne | was invited to bathe in the waters of the
 lake by a stranger who appeared to him
 In the night. This stranger. looked and | was dressed like a Klamath Indian. but
 he was really a Llao. There were many
 of these people in the lake and they
 seemed to exist almost entirely in the | water.
 ''rhe Klamath brave suddenly became
 hardier and stronger than any man in his
 tribe because of his plunge In the mys-
 terious waters. Others then began to seek
 Its influence. Old warriors sent their sons for strength and courage to meet the con flicts awaiting them. First they slept on the rocks above, then ventured to the wa
 ter's edge, and last of all plunged into
 the lake and the coveted strength was
 theirs.
 "On one occasion a brave who visited
 the lake killed monster fish, and was
 at once set upon by untold numbers of | excited Llaos. who carried him to the top | of the cliffs, cut his throat with knife,
 and then tore his body into small pieces,
 which were thrown down to the waters far l below, where he was devoured ny other | angry Llaos; and such shall be the fate | of every Klamath brave who from that
 day to this dares look upon the lake" Bearing in mind this legend 1t Is not l strange that the existence of Crater Lake | was not suspected by the first white pfo- | neers in Oregon, nor was it heard Of | through the Indians themselves. It was
 discovered by party of prospectors June | i2. 1S53-J. w. Williams, George Ross. | James Louden, Pat McManus. Isaac Skee-
 ters. and a sixth man named Dodd. These | had left the rest of their party below and
 were not looking for gold but la 'ihg run | short of provisions, were on a hunt for game For a time hunger forsook them | as they stood upon the cliffs and drank | in the scene that stretched before them.
 The water of Crater Lake is of deep. | cold blue color, and is completely sur | rounded by cliffs from thousand to
 more than two thousand feet in height.
 scanhly covered with coniferous trees. To | the southwest of this great ''bowl' in the | mountains stands what is known as Wiz l ard Island, which Is S45 feet high. circular
 in shape. and likewise slightly covered
 with timber. In the top of this inland | island Is a depression or crater-the | Witches Cauldron-100 feet deep and 475 | feet across, evidently the last smoking
 chimney of once mighty volcano But l the fire mountain which once found its | vent through the bottom of what Is now | Crater Lake, must have made its neigh | bor volcanoes look small indeed.
 l Will G. Steele says, in writing Of trip l he made to the lake in 1886 Near the
 base of Dutton cliff stands solitary rock, probably 100 feet high by 2O0 in | length, and nearly the same in breadth, 1 that while never having been seen by l the present generation of Indians. Is new | ertheless known to them, and is a spe- | cial object of superstitious dread. They ! consider it peculiarly ferocious monster, hut are unable to describe its character 1 istics.
 "It stands In the lake entirely alone and
 about fifty yards from the shore. Standing | on the cliffs about five miles to the west l and looking across the lake. this strange
 rock is plainly visible in the sunlight, it's
 rugged peaks giving the appearance of a
 ful-rigged snip at anchor. ShoIld a | cloud pass before the sun, as the shadow
 strikes the rock 1t will pass from view