Floating on Salt Lake.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 40, 8 March 1884, Page 4

Floating on Salt Lake.

Salt Lake City, Dec. I.—People1 .— People who have not visited the Mormon Mecca, or whose knowledge of geography is not very accurate, think that Salt Lake City is situated on the chore of the great lake. But although the lake has given its name to the city, the waters of desolation are not at the nearest point less than fifteen miles from the centre of the town ; and the distance by rail to Black R(ck and Point Garfield, the places where during the summer bathing and boating are most indulged in, is a trifle over twenty miles. These Points are reached by the Utah and Nevada Railway, which skirts the eastern shore lor a considerable distance. Duringtheseason, which lasts from June to October, frequent excursion, or as they are called, bathing trains, are run, and the traffic is heavy. The road, after passing through some excellent farming land on the outskirts of the city — land, however, that owes all its present fertility to irrigation — passes into a portion of the Great American Desert, where the ground is white with alkali dust, and nothing grows but the everlasting sage brush. Looking from the windows of the cars, it is at times difficult to believe that the country has not recently been visited by a snowstorm, so thick and white are the alkali dust and the brush. On the left of train, as it speeds towards the lake, is a spur of the Wasatch Mountains, which extends to within about half a mile of the shore at Point Garfield. Black Rock is the first point on the lake that is reached. Here theie is a small hotel, and boats can be hired. Tho bathing is, however, nearly all done at Point Garfield. A large pier, running about 300 feet into the lake, is covered with little bathing houses, and there are also some built upon the sands. Accommodation for not fewer than 400 bathers at one time is proxided. Steps lead down from the pier to the water, but wo. 1 to the bold and unwary diver who ventures to take a header. He will think he has struck a paving stone and swallowed a combined sulphur and salt mine, for in his astonishment at the concussion he \\ ill be pretty sure to open his mouth. The density of the water is so great that to dive into it is simply impossible. The greater the force w ith which one stiikes it, the greater the rebound. There is some danger, too, of slipping into the -natcr face downward, and not being able to turn over, even where the depth is not greater than two or three feet, for the resistance of the water is so powerful that only a very strong person can force a foot through it to the ground. During one of my visits I saw a lady just about to step into the water miss her footing and fall face forward She struggled violently for several seconds, but her friends, who were unacquainted with tho peculiar properties of the Salt Lake water, did not suppose she was in peril. An alarm was, however, raised from the pier, and she was lifted to her feet. But for this timely help, she would certainly have been drowned in less than two feet of w ater. It seems almost impossible that any liquid can be so intensely salt as this. The swallow ing of a very small quantity produces violent vomiting, the action ol the salt being aggravated by several other alkalis held in solution. The proportion of salt alone is over twenty per cent.'— somewhat greater than that of the Dead Sea— and, even in the rough way of making salt common in this region, namely, flooding meadows and awaiting the results of evaporation, a gallon oi salt is obtained for every five gallons of water. To those who cannot swim, and who have been duly warned of the dangers to be avoided, bathing in Salt Lake is particularly delightful. As one lies upon the water a sense of lightness seems to pervade the frame. One appears to be half floating, half flying, for only a very small portion of tho body will sink into the watei*, and only the exercise of great muscular strength can keep the limbs upon the surface of the water. The exhilaration produced by this novel feeling of lightness is very remarkable. It seems to give tho limbs absolute rest as they float in the air, upheld by no conscious volition or expenditure of physical force. But to the swimmer the bathing is by nc means so enjoyable. The resistance of tli€ water is so great that to force a waj through it requires great effort. I saw a strong swimmer who had gone out aboul 100 yards from the end of the pier, obliged to call for a boat, as he was too exhausted to make his way back. On coming out it is necessary to sponge the body with fresl: water, a=? the salt forms a complete scale armour. One man of our party, who forgol to use fresh water on his head, speedily hae his black hair changed to a very light grey. Fastened alongside the pier is an ole steamer, the General Garfield, which used te take excursion parties upon the lake, About two years ago a fire destroyed hei machinery, and since then she has beer turned into a floating restaurant. An excellent dinner is served to the hungry bathers at a veiy modci'ate price, and during the season trade is very brisk. Foi some time capitalists have talked of ei'ecting a summer hotel at Point Garfield, and at last the site is said to have been selected. Salt Lake is about 100 miles long, and its greatest width is 50 miles. The average depth is 40 feet, and soundings have nowhere reached beyond 90 feet. The bottom is a hard white sand, with a very gradually shelving shore, and so far as is known no form of animal or vegetable life exists in the water, which is wonderfully clear, the white sand being easily visible where the depth is over twenty feet. There are several islands in the lake, and all are mountainous, although some have some good farming land between the peaks. The two islands nearest to the city are Church Island, so called from its form, and Kimball Island, named after a prominent light of the Latter Day Saints. The former is farmed, but the latter is the haunt of sea gulls, which, during the fall, come hear to breed. They make the journey from the Pacific coast in about two days, the distance being fully 800 miles. They live, while raising their young, upon worms and insects, and do not suffer from the loss of their usual fish diet. It is amusing to see them sailing about looking sadly at the water, which they Know by bitter experience is a cruel disappointment, but never venturing to insert their bills in it. The young birds, and even some of the older ones, are quite tame, and come at the call of the saloon keeper to be fed. When the old birds think that their offspring are strong enough for the long flight, they give the signal for a start, and after circling for a moment or two, bend their course due westward, and are seen no more till the next year. There is a Territorial law against the destruction of these birds, and they seem to be thoroughly aware of their safety. In winter the storms upon the lake are often heavy, but there is no mercantile navigation, and. the yachts, of which there are a good many belonging to wealthy Salt Lakers, are safely housed. Eventually, as the Mormons extend their settlements in this region, which they are very rapidly doing, the Lake will become a very valuable means of communication ; but since the dismantlement of the General Garfield there has not been a single steamboat, large or small, upon its waters.

Emilie Melville's Opera Troupe will make a descent upon New Zealand as soon as our present visitors leave.