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Wonderful Lakes in Calif*qrniaPerhaps the most wonderful lakes in the world—certainly the most wonderful on the American continent—may be found in Inyo county and Mono county, of this State.; The largest of these is called Big Owens Lake. It is situated in the southern portion of Inyo county, jit is 80 miles long and 15 inbreadth, bounded upon one side by the Nevada range of mountains and upon the other by the Inyo range.To a weary, thirsty traveler through burning sands, under a fiery sun, this lake from a distance looks a most cheerful sight. Its cool; glassy waters, with scarcely a ripple upon its bosom, invites the uninitiated to hasten to its cool embrace. Before reaching its shores a strange, strong, pungent odor greets liis sense of smell in a most unpleasant manner. He •wonders at this, but hastens on with a shrewd suspicion that “there is something rotten in Denmark/’ until he reaches the water’s edge. The water looks black, sullen and heavy. He thrusts his hands into nt and finds it soft and slippery, and if th?re is the smallest abrasion of the skin of his hand he jerks it out rather lively with an expletive more forcible than elegant. He tastes it. It bites and burns his tongue like lye from a leach.If he expected to drink from its cool depths and lave his tired limbs in this water, he very suddenly changes his mind in regard to it. No living thing can slake its thirst in this slimy water, and no living thing can exist in its black depths. It is like a huge molten mass, a mysterious com pound. Yet while this water of Owens Lake for drinking purposes is a failure, for cleansing purposes it is a grand success.No matter how soiled the garment, a couple of swishes through the water and it comes out clean as a whistle. Mark Twain says he tied his dog in there for a minute and when he came up all the bark was taken out of him.Various schemes have been con-sided for utilizing this water. Onei\iIIt(was to set up a National Laundry and wash the linen of the UnitedStates. .Another was to use it as a vast tannery and tan all the hidesin the world. Another to set up a vast sanitarium of immense proportions and invite the world to come and he cured. It is believed bv j* lsome to be a panacea from the prim-1 itive itch to the lepers of Asia, j Still another scheme is to bottle up j this water and sell it for a dollar a bottle for its medicinal qualities It certainly is excellent for everv 'f iform of cutaneous disease and is ;■said to be a sure cure for catarrh. It is also said that whoever wishes I to blondine their hair or make it jred as a fox’s tail can do so by us- jing this as a hair wash. However, j all this may be, it is said to be gradually drying up.If one-half of its reported merits are true, it will be rapidly used up by our enterprising people. Already it has been ascertained that soda ash can be extracted from it at less cost than elsewhere. One thousand five hundred tons have just been shipped to market at San Francisco.The annual consumption of soda ash in the United States 18 250,UiX) tons, four-fifths of which is imported from Europe. Its value in San Francisco ranges from $28 to $‘35 per ton. By analysis and calculation it is ascertained that Owens Lake holds in solution the enormous amount of 85,000,000 tons of soda and 5,000,000 tons of potassiumsulphate.Mono Lake, a lake very similar to Owens Lake, in Mono county,does not contain any soda, but is ! strongly impregnated with all kinds ; of mineral, and is still more mys-i terious than Owens Lake. ’ It is situated in the Nevada range, about ; 150 miles north of Owens. Like a I big cauldron without a bottom, it j holds its dark offensive liquor ready for the hand of enterprise to separ-: ate its chemical constituents and (levote them to the world of use. •The utilitarian sees the varied uses I which these waters may be put to, and the money that may be extracted by so doing, but the poetwould see alone the beauty of the ! scenery around. This strange little 1 lake, nestled in a rocky basin half way up the Nevada heights, is picturesque. The clinging vines that festoon and fasten in every nich of (earth on those nigged walls that surrvumd the lake do not depend ' i upon any of that water for moisture. Its very breath is death to vegetation.i Like Owens Lake, nothing can live within its waters. Numerous I ducks congregate there, t hey ride : majestically over it in squads, battalions and armies. Their feet : must be iron clad. The water is so ! buoyant it must be easy swimming,I but men do not try the experiment.With an effort it seems that one might manage to walk upon it, provided he was shod with steel. This lake has no inlet, no outlet, and it is said no bottom.
Newspaper Details
South Riverside Bee
South Riverside, California, US
Thu, Apr 04, 1889
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Dean T.
USA 10 Dec 2022
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