Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-12
RECENT visit to Fillmore, Wi

~ slafu County, Ia locality form
cry familiar % The writer, but
which he has not visited dur
ing the past &c years) was enjoyed as
q rare treat a three-dnSs, encnmp-
ment of tho Indian War Veterans.
scheduled for the list, Ind, and 3rd inst .
FURNISHED the occasion, an urgent III
vitatlon to attend having been rocoly-
ed from County Commander Virgil
Kelly.
Early morning. Aug. 81. found state
Commander Westwood ana his staff
: tlhiee OF the party being accompanied.
by their wives) at Clear Lake statinn
on the San Pedro. prepared to make
tho trip to Fillmore BY stage, III dis
nance Of Is niles. Tho Immediate
localtty and such other portions Of
Mlilard county as had been viewed
from the car windows while on the
Journey s.',il southWard did not appe.ss
specially attractive, as the alkali was
more IN evidence than anything else,
we learned, however, that it would
not be fair to Judge of the districts
more remote from the railroad by what
We saw, although the present is not
favorable season for crops The late
cold spring and unusually copious
growth of vegetation and bringing to
the surface ail unusually heavy crop
OF aikali. The farmers In this region
have faced two problems of vital im-
portance ever since tho country has
been settled. The first was that of:
Sewer river with which 10 irrigateI
without having their dams wash away
and canals break every time a freshet
occurred. The other was that of ir-.
rigating the extremely fertile land that
abounds in that region without arousing
the resentment of the mineral In the
SOIL. a little Of which Is favorable to
fertility but too much. especially on
the surface. fatal to all useful vegeta-
uoi. Some progress Is being made
notwithstanding the numerous backsets
of the past, for the latest dam con-
structed across the river bed appears
to Withstand the. floods. The alkali
problem will doubtless be solved also
BY the adoption of u system of drains
into the river bed below where the ir-
rlgatlng streams are taken out 1t has
been demonstrated too that there is
far more danger of irrigating too
much than too little an extravagant
nse of tho water being the most Ger
tain means Of bringing the mineral to
the surface. IN coure of time these
matters will become adjusted, and as
result the many thousands OF acres
Of arabic land in the western part of
Millard county be made to produce
bountiful crops.
ALFALFA tFLOuRIsHES.
For many years past this region has
produced more alfalfa seed than all the
rest of the state combined, but grave
fears Were entertained that the killing.
frost which occurred on the night OF
the 30th ,llt. would very materially
lessen the yield
The ride by stage from Clear Lake
station to Fillmore is apt to be of more
interest to the scientist than the or
binary teacher. After having the To-
cation of Fillmore fixed in mind with
reference to the distant mountains, the
first query likely to arise in the mind Of
the traveller is as to why the road is
not more direct. The frequent detours
rendered necessary by lava beds do
not wholly account for the winding, cir
.cuitous road. An air line between tile
two points would doubtless shorten the
distance travelled by wagon fully one
third.
EXTINCT VOLCANO.
Lava was soon encountered In the
journey eastward, not in a. continuous
bed. but In broken patches, due possibly
to sand or scoria having covered the
Intervening spaces. Sand dunes in the
vicinity indicate the shifting charac-l
ter of the material of which they are
composed. A cone-shaped mountain
Of considerable size to the north OF our
road, with tho south half of its top
Worn or broken away, bore mute evil
dence of its once having been an ac-
tive volcano-possibly the only one in
this region, though tho existence OF
lava beds extending for a long dis
lance south and of varying, height
would indicate that this single crater
was not it's only source. Possibly
Clear lake, a body of water n few
miles south OF this extinct volcano. oc-
cupies the site Of Il former crater. In
some places several successive layers of
lava can be traced, proving that the.
flow must have been intermittent, and
the wavy or wIirikled appearance of
Its surface--in some places--indicate
that it was rapidly solidifying when
deposited. One might think from the
fresh appearance of the surface of the
lava that 1t is Of recent origin, but
the huge cedar trees growing at inter-
walls over its surface where occasional
cracks afford opportunity for their roots
tos penetrate, prove to the contrary.
An occasional perpendicuar OF over
hanging wall Of lava indicates that the
surface of the country must have great
~ changed since the lava was deposited
there, the banks or ridges Whieh then
checked or limited the spread OF the
lava, having worn or washed away, have
left the edge of the lava as they helped
to mold or shape it exposed to view.
FOOTPRINTS IN TIE LAVA.
1t was in Il continuation of tho lava
formation, though considerably farther
south that human foot prints were dis
covered some years since. They were
apparently made by human beings
walking thereon when the lava was
.hardeping, leaving the impression of
the bare feet as one might be walking
upon layer or potter's clay. those
footprints had the power Of speech,
what a tale of adventure they might
unfold!
When a few miles west of Fillmore.
our attention was called to u ridge
composed of fine gravel and soil ex-@
teuding through the country north and
south like u huge turnpike road, that is
believed by some to beof artificial con-
struction The strongest evidence OF
this is the fact that the material of
which the ridge is composed Is the same
. yIfNs o..