Volume 35 (1877) (426 pages)

130 [September 1, 1877. MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS fe iGORRESPONDENCE. Lake Tahoe, the Loch Lomond of California—Its Character—Its Uses. {Written for the Perss by J. W. A. WaieHr.} My work forthe Press in parts of Nevada and Placer counties has recently taken me to that traly splendid body of fresh water, known now as Lake Tahoe, and formerly as Lake Bigler. Perhaps a sketch may be acceptable to your uumerous readers, giving some features and interests of that *‘ Big Water’—as the Indian name is,admitted to mean—and its prospects, much discussed of late, as a source of unfailing supply of water for at least twoof the chiet cities, and some of the richest mining regions of California. Pleasant personal experience has proved te me that Lake Tahoe may, with truth, be called the Loch Lomond of California. Loch Lomond. April 20th, 1S76—a day of bright sunshine, varied by a light shower from a few feecy elonds which floated quietly by—some 80 or more delegates of the Co-operative Congress of Great Britain, who, for three days previous, at Glasgow, Scotland, had worked hard in their eighth busy and nseful session, enjoyed a steam™ boat excursion on that most noted of the Scottish lakes, the writer of this sketch accompanying them, hy kind invitation, as their guest. On an early morning train we went over that most picturesque route from Glasgow to Balloch, 20 miles. Thence a cosy, Clyde-built steamer bore us over the lake to Rowardernan, at the base of old Ben Lomond—Scotland’s most celehrated mountain peak—whose summit, then clad with snow, is reached from this place by a walk or ride of four miles. We next went to Inversnaid, the farthest point on the lake, opposite Balloch, and 2] miles distant. Half way between Rowardeunan and Inversnaid we saw distinctly, in that clear atmosphere, ‘*Rob*Roy’s prison,” a rocky cave, of universal interest to tourists. Near Inversnaid are some beautiful falls noted as the scene of Wonlsworth’s charming poem—‘“ The Highland Girl” Our truly social party, having enjoyed to the full the wild beauty of these scenes with their pleasing associations in history, poetry, romance, and the novelty of the occasion itself, shared a well-spread lunch and after-dinner speeches, and reached Balloch, on onr return trip, before nightfall. The scenes and faces of new frieuds, made familar that day, will remain photohed forever on the memory of at least one of that party of co-operators. Lake Tahoe. July 4th, 1877.—To enjoy a quiet, cool, calm, restful celebration of our national birthday — business having bronght me near one of the most tascinating and picturesque regions of our «New World’’—atter helping to ‘* celebrate” at Placerville, in 75, hy a hard but pleasant day's work, and after sharing with many thousands the grand hut decidedly heated enjoyment of the World's Celebration, last vear, in and aronnd Independence square, Philadelphia, this thonght was npperniost. Is there any happier, better way for one to keep the day which every lover ot liberty should always cherish, than to take an uneventful sail on the placid waters of Lake Tahoe, peering into its deep, blue waters; basking in its bright sunshine; breathing its pure, light, invigorating air; gazing at a hundred distant, towering moantain peaks; the whole day long drinking in, until it should become, as it were, a part of one’s being, the true grandeur and beauty of its varied, odd, enchanting, almost mysterious scenery and surroundings—thus living, for a day at least, in seclusion from the bnsy world of action, and in converse with the domains of Nature? Scon after sunrise, on this Fourth, a stage load of us, animaied by some such thoughts, and bent on recreation. left Truckee, the uearest point on the Central Pacific railroad, some 14 miles from either Tahoe City or Hot Springs, on the shores of the lake. -Rapidly we made our way up the wild valley of Truckee river to the former place, where this river, so noted for its clear, dashing waters and unsurpassed tront and tront fishing, forms the ouly outlet of that vast body of fresh water, which nestles among the Sierra Nevada at a hight of more than 6,000 feet above the level of the Pacitic ocean, By 9 a. a some 15 or 20 passengers boarded the steamer Gor, Stanford, and, with flags gaily flying, the tour around the lake and observations began, which are the occasion of the present description and items. Between 5 and 6 Pp. M. this Inland Voyage Around and across the lake was completed by tonching at or passing the following points in snecession trom Tahoe City on the north shore back to the same place, going from west to east: First, eight miiles ont, MeKiuney’s, on the western shore; second, 10 miles further, Emerald bay, passing, on the way. Sugar Pine Point and Ruohicon Point; third, four miles to a point familliarly called Yank’s, though its name, asa post-otiice, is Tellac; fourth, four miles again to Rowland’s, which, with the preceding landing, is on the southern shore of the lake and in the lower part of Lake valley, a tine grazing andfhunting region,extending back some 14 miles and as much as six miles wide in places; fifth, 14 miles to Glenbrook, an important lumber town, about 16 miles from Carson City—the eapital of Nevada, our silver State—and conuected with it by stage: thence 22 miles directly across the lake to Tahoe City again. This round trip being completed, the httle steamer finished its day’s work by a run of 12 miles to Hot Springs, or, as it is sometimes called, Carnelian Warm Springs, Where it lies at a good wharf for the night, ready to start on its daily round at 7 o'clock uext morning, This affords an opportunity. for those who wish it, to stop over night or longer at one of the most noted and, in every way, most pleasant places of resort on the lake, where Mr. Wm. B. Campbell. the proprietor, farnishes the best of quarters, fare, fish, boats and fishing tackle. The warm baths, cooled down from the natural temperature of his noted sulphur springs. which give the nameto his place, are truly luxurious, refreshing and healthful, and cannot be had anywhere else around the lake, thongh there is a soda spring near Tellac. The natural temperature of one of these springs is about 120°, another 200° Fahr. On the way to this most attractive resort, yon pass Observatory Point, where Mr. Lick once proposed to place his great telescope: and farther in, to the left, are Carnelian and Agate Ways, so called from the small and sometimes very beautiful Specimens of Chalcedony Fonnd along the beach in large qnantities, especially after heavy wind storms. Near Hot Springs is Boundary Point, over which the line between Nevada and California passes, marked here hy ove monument of granite, another ofiron, Those who can spare a week or more. should, by all means, divide their time between this place and the others mentioned, for each point has its specialties and attractions. Mr. Bailey. at. Tahoe City: Mr. Clement, at Yanks, and Mr. Rowland, at his place, do everything in their power to secure the comfort and enjovment of their guests. <A stage runs between Hot Springs and Trnckee. The fares and charges abont the lake are not exorbitant, when we consider the short season and diificult transportation at an altitude of nearly a mile anda quarter above the sea. The Fourth of July excursion in qnestion was thoronghly enjoyed by all who shared it, coming fully up to expectation, with a few additions. By mid-day some clouds gathered rather ominonsly and a brisk breeze sprang up, so that when the steamer left Glenbrook, we experienced, ona small scale, some of those bewitching ‘‘chopseas,” for which the Straits of Dover and San Francisco bay are noted at times. The boat being small, the passengers scon found that they needed all the ‘‘sea-legs” and sea-digestion they could command. Some of our number having but a small stock of either, it was not long before the aforesaid, ‘‘peering into the deep, blne waters,” was accompanied by slight convulsions and npheavals—not, however, so destructive to life or lasting in their effects as those ceologieal ones which placed the Sierras where they are, and made for Lake Tahoeits place in nature. Under such circumstances, itis distressing to heara man exclaim, “Oh! my conscience !’—as if his conscience hurt him—while he rnshes to the side of the boat and hangs resignedly over the railing, But, fortunately, on this lake it is not long before his couscience is clear again, and he is none the worse for it. Lakes Tahoe and Lomond Compared. Vith the scenery of Loch Lomond fresh in memory, your correspondent could but be impressed at once with many points of similarity in Lake Tahoe. The general outlines of the shores, the contours and arrangement of surrounding mountains and several other objects of interest are wonderfully alike. There are the same bare granite mountain sides and peaks, overspread in places with similar patches of snow, Tahoe is, perhaps, the more heavily timbered nearits shores. Lomond is 21 miles long; Tahoe 22, though the latter has some advantage in width, varying from 10 to 15 miles. Tahoe City is the Balloch; Yank’s or Rowland’s, the Rowardennan; Mount Tellac, the Ben Lomond; Glenbrook, the Inversnaid; and the Cavern, in Cave rock, is the Rob Roy’s prison, of Lake Tahoe. These points all follow in the same order, and correspond very well in distances, From Yank’s or Rowland’s you make the ascent of Mount Tellac, some 3,400 teet abovethe lake, and from its dizzy hight have one of the tinest views on our continent, comprising 36 lakes in sight. From Rowardennan yon ascend Ben Lomond, 3,192 teet high, and from its summit have one ot the finest views in Europe, including many lakes, or lochs, as our Scotch friends would call them. From Lake Tahoe, a beautiful stream flows into Emerald bay, forming a fine waterfall some 250 feet high. which, though not coming in the same order, supplies the place of the falls near Inversnaid. As the steamer passes the month of Emerald bay, yon distinctly see the crystal water of these falls, several miles away, glistening in the snnlight, the whole effect of the scene being one of entrancing beanty. Other points of similarity, are the same trans. parency ot atmosphere, and the wonderful clearness of the waters of each lake, the bottom near the shore and bright objects and fish being distinctly seen at depths of £0 and 50 feet, or even more, when the water is perfectly calm. The waters of Tahoe never become at all muddy, which I -believe is also true of Lach Lomond. With bat little ‘etfort of imagination, then, we can see in Lake Tahoe a counterpart of Scotland's famons lake. Other Points of Interest. The depth of Tahoe is very great. Until recently no deeper sounding had been made than some 1,600 feet, but Capt. Lapham, commanding our steamer, informed us that Prof. Le Conte’s deepest sounding gave the immense depth of 2,700 feet, off Rubicon Point, a bold, precipitons cliff. It seems strange that, as your boat passes over snch a vast expanse of water, you may draw a bucket full from any point, and the water is perfectly clear and pure an delicionsly cool. Dr. Blake recently showed, in a paper read before the San Francisco Academy of Sciences, that its surface temperature is 62°, while at a depth of 580 feet it is about 39°. The air is delightfully cool most of the 24 hours, the mercury indicating 76° as nsnally the highest in July. The winters are often severely cold, but the lake never freezes, thongh the whole surrounding country is covered with deep snow. It isa remarkable fact, whatever may be the cause, that the bodies of persous drowned there—and qnite a number of such instances have occurred—have never been found. This is supposed te account in part for the superstitious awe with which the neighboring Indians regard this *‘Big Water.” It is with the greatest ditiiculty that any of them can be persnaded to go upon the lake in any kind of boat. In a few instances. where they have been indnced to go on board a steamboat. they have invariably thrown themselves on their faces and remained in that position till the voyage was ended. The reason they give for this terror is <n Indian Tradition. That many, many moons ago, when their ancestors first came to that lake, many of them tried to cross on rafts and boats, and never were seeu or heard of afterwards. To one looking out upon the usually placid surface of this grand ke where a little steamer—or, occasioually, a schooner's white sails—may be seen ouce or twice a day, there is a mysterious silence, an impressive stillness and solitude, well calculated to inspire awe—a feature faithfully expressed in the accompanying engraving from the fiue painting of Thomas Moran. His view is between Glenbrook aud Rowland’s, looking south and west. To the left of the boat, Cave rock is seen projecting slightly into the lake. The cavern, 100 feet or more above the lake, is ouly about 30 feet in depth. Near Glenbrook, Shakespeare rock gives an excellent profile of the great dramatist. There are in all four steamboats on the lake—the Niagara, a fast little propellor, being used for excursions in calm weather, and towing a large passenger barge called the Palace; also, two others employed in towing rafts of logs from different points to Glenbrook, where four saw mills turn ont between 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 feet of lumber annnally for Carson and Virginia City. A narrowgange railroad, eight miles long, takes the Iumber to the summit of a ridge, 2,000 feet above the lake. whence it is conveyed, by a Y-flume, 21 miles to Carson, 4, OO0feet lower than said summit. The color of this mass of extremely pure water of Lake Tahoe is one of its most striking features. Itvaries from an indigohlue, when very deep, to a light green, where it is shallow. The line dividing these colors is marked with wonderful distinctness as yon leave Rowland’s to go north. You see it from quite a distance, and pass, all at once, from the green to the blue, so sudden is the change to the deepest water. Animal Life. The scarcity of water fowl was surprising. Ouly two or three white gulls were seen on the eastern shore. Nota duck or wild goose or swan ap ; not a grebe, or ‘*mud-hen,” snch as those that abound on Owen's lake None of the queer worms are found which I described, in a former paper. as so plentiful in the suri of the latter lake. At least fonr, possibly six, kinds of fish abound in Lake Tahoe— the silver trout, black tront, white fish, a sucker, a chnb, and a minnow, used for bait, the latter probably differing as much from the larger kinds as the brook minnow does from other fish in our streams, A harmless spotted water-snake is quite plentiful, but no venomous reptiles have been found in or near the lake. Mention has already been made of The Carnelians, Found ouly along the bay ‘of that name and Agate bay. A curious opinion prevails with souie of the old settlers as to the formation of these very pretty minerals, as there found. It may he worth recording and thinking of, whether the theory is correct or not. It is, that these carnelians are a species of fossil resin from the pines around the lake, just as the amber, tossed upon the shores of the Baltic, is known to be of resinous origin, as is proved by the insects sometimes imbedded within,it. The idea is, to say the least; ingenions and may deserve further investigation. Our party certainly found ‘pieces of resin still soit which were washed up with the hard carnelians, while some ot the latter, hard as any pebble. had very much the shape and appearance of fossilized resin, hut we lcoked in vain for imbedded insects, However this may be in regard to some of these socalled carnelians, there is hardly a donbt that many, if not all of them, are a very pure form q{San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and the of the well-known mineral, chalcedony. Prospective Uses of Tahoe Water. It remains to discuss briefly the future value of Lake Tahoe forcertain city and mining interests of California, Could a feasible plan—say Col. Von Schmidt’s or any other—be worked out without extravagant fontlay, without more watering of stock than the lake water itself would do, without any of those notorious tricks in management which have given our people in town and country a mortal dread of moneyed corporatious, and almost totally destroyed their confideuce in all enterprises where a large fund is required—so that this inexhanstible source of some of the purest water in the world, literally fed by eterual snows, could hereafter supply the wants of gravel mines of a large part of Placer conuty, it would indeed be a God-send to millions of the future population of the Golden State. Those interested in the fullest prosperity of California cannot examine the extent of Lake Tahoe and enjoy the refreshing draughts of its splendid water, withont wishing this result could be consummated at the earliest possible date. Who can doubt, that by the eud of this century, less than 23 years hence, the first two cities named will (combined at least) have halfa million people with their varied wants to supply, while Sacramento will have growu greatly, and other places iu proportion. Receut visits to the mining regions of Placer county have {shown me that its two great “‘divides” of Forest Hill and Towa Hill, extending up as high as Michigan Bluff, Suuny South. and Last Chance, perhaps even higher, comprise some of the richest deposits ot gold in the State, to say nothing of the other valuable minerals, including the finest asbestos. One can hut be impressed with the belief, after examining the mining prospects of this and Nevada county, and other mining districts of the Sierras, that a thousand years from this, California will still be furnishing the precious metals and others in abundanee, if its people need them in thosedays. But the pressing waut to develop these valuable resoyrves, is just what the interests of agriculture aud temperance need in our State, viz, Plenty of Water. An examination of the many valuable hydranlic mines around the places uamed, also about Todd’s Valley, Bath, Smith’s Point, Yankee Jim's, Damascus, and other places lately pros. pected, proves how lamentable are the effects of the abseuce of water, snch a dry year as this has been. To my surprise, I find that many have not had enough water to work their mines more than two weeks, others ouly about a month altogether, the past season, All these Points are but 3,000 or 4,000 feet above the sea level, so that the fall from the lake is ample, when the uecessary tunnel is once made. Why eannot the interests of our larger cities, and these rich mining districts, and some of our agricultural interests along the route, be judiciously combined, and so managed as to furnish all these wants with an inexhaustible supply of the best of water for all these purposes? Shall the fear of ‘‘crooked” management pre-eut t Must we have the humiliation to admit that, with all our boasted institutions, good laws, the sagacity, inventive genius, and integrity of our people, we cannot have such legislation and control as will work ont any such enterprise for our people, or our Government, to a successful and houest result? For the sake of American honor, business tact, and statesmanship, we trust not. Valuable Mines. While the mass of mines in Placer need this supply of water, some, it is true, do not. Such are, the noted Weske mine, along El Dorado canyon; a new quartz lead, loeated by Mr. Durning and others, near Yankee Jim’s; and, last but not least, Bell’s rich and very wonderfal mine of decomposed qnartz, near Bald hill, four miles northwest of Auburn. The Weske mine is troubled, just now, with too much water. Their tunnel having been completed some 4,000 feet, this mine is remarkable, above all others, hy having a steam engine iu oue of its large chambers, 3.800 feet under ground. It is used to pump ont the surplus water. The local newspaper reports of the rich yield of Mr. Bell’s new imine, near Auburn, have by no means been exaggerated. It was discovered by him the latter part of February last by svstematic prospecting and tracing, which it is interesting and instructive to hear him explain, while going over the gronnd. With his pau, he followed np the wagon rnts and small gullies in an old road after a winter’s rain, till he found the outeropping rock from which the exceedingly rich deposits have beenitaken. It began to pay well from the surface. Early in June he had sunk his shaft 40 feet, and since March Ist had taken out somewhere hetween 225.000 and $35,000, This was done chiefly with pick and psn. a single panful of the decomposed rock yielding at times from $1,000 to 32,000. When 1 visited the mine, he was retimbering the shaft and preparing to go deeper. Descending the shaft with him. I saw him take out a panful of rock and clay from the side of the shaft, some 35 feet down, where the ledge is nearly four feet wide. I saw him wash out this panfal with no extra care, and wheu he finished, the result of about 10 miztutes’ work was some $25 or $30 in coarse gold, several lumps of which were worth 2 or S38 each. Most of this gold is very pure and of laminated form, the intervals between the folds being often filled by a subContinued on page 134

130 [September 1, 1877. MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS fe iGORRESPONDENCE. Lake Tahoe, the Loch Lomond of California—Its Character—Its Uses. {Written for the Perss by J. W. A. WaieHr.} My work forthe Press in parts of Nevada and Placer counties has recently taken me to that traly splendid body of fresh water, known now as Lake Tahoe, and formerly as Lake Bigler. Perhaps a sketch may be acceptable to your uumerous readers, giving some features and interests of that *‘ Big Water’—as the Indian name is,admitted to mean—and its prospects, much discussed of late, as a source of unfailing supply of water for at least twoof the chiet cities, and some of the richest mining regions of California. Pleasant personal experience has proved te me that Lake Tahoe may, with truth, be called the Loch Lomond of California. Loch Lomond. April 20th, 1S76—a day of bright sunshine, varied by a light shower from a few feecy elonds which floated quietly by—some 80 or more delegates of the Co-operative Congress of Great Britain, who, for three days previous, at Glasgow, Scotland, had worked hard in their eighth busy and nseful session, enjoyed a steam™ boat excursion on that most noted of the Scottish lakes, the writer of this sketch accompanying them, hy kind invitation, as their guest. On an early morning train we went over that most picturesque route from Glasgow to Balloch, 20 miles. Thence a cosy, Clyde-built steamer bore us over the lake to Rowardernan, at the base of old Ben Lomond—Scotland’s most celehrated mountain peak—whose summit, then clad with snow, is reached from this place by a walk or ride of four miles. We next went to Inversnaid, the farthest point on the lake, opposite Balloch, and 2] miles distant. Half way between Rowardeunan and Inversnaid we saw distinctly, in that clear atmosphere, ‘*Rob*Roy’s prison,” a rocky cave, of universal interest to tourists. Near Inversnaid are some beautiful falls noted as the scene of Wonlsworth’s charming poem—‘“ The Highland Girl” Our truly social party, having enjoyed to the full the wild beauty of these scenes with their pleasing associations in history, poetry, romance, and the novelty of the occasion itself, shared a well-spread lunch and after-dinner speeches, and reached Balloch, on onr return trip, before nightfall. The scenes and faces of new frieuds, made familar that day, will remain photohed forever on the memory of at least one of that party of co-operators. Lake Tahoe. July 4th, 1877.—To enjoy a quiet, cool, calm, restful celebration of our national birthday — business having bronght me near one of the most tascinating and picturesque regions of our «New World’’—atter helping to ‘* celebrate” at Placerville, in 75, hy a hard but pleasant day's work, and after sharing with many thousands the grand hut decidedly heated enjoyment of the World's Celebration, last vear, in and aronnd Independence square, Philadelphia, this thonght was npperniost. Is there any happier, better way for one to keep the day which every lover ot liberty should always cherish, than to take an uneventful sail on the placid waters of Lake Tahoe, peering into its deep, blue waters; basking in its bright sunshine; breathing its pure, light, invigorating air; gazing at a hundred distant, towering moantain peaks; the whole day long drinking in, until it should become, as it were, a part of one’s being, the true grandeur and beauty of its varied, odd, enchanting, almost mysterious scenery and surroundings—thus living, for a day at least, in seclusion from the bnsy world of action, and in converse with the domains of Nature? Scon after sunrise, on this Fourth, a stage load of us, animaied by some such thoughts, and bent on recreation. left Truckee, the uearest point on the Central Pacific railroad, some 14 miles from either Tahoe City or Hot Springs, on the shores of the lake. -Rapidly we made our way up the wild valley of Truckee river to the former place, where this river, so noted for its clear, dashing waters and unsurpassed tront and tront fishing, forms the ouly outlet of that vast body of fresh water, which nestles among the Sierra Nevada at a hight of more than 6,000 feet above the level of the Pacitic ocean, By 9 a. a some 15 or 20 passengers boarded the steamer Gor, Stanford, and, with flags gaily flying, the tour around the lake and observations began, which are the occasion of the present description and items. Between 5 and 6 Pp. M. this Inland Voyage Around and across the lake was completed by tonching at or passing the following points in snecession trom Tahoe City on the north shore back to the same place, going from west to east: First, eight miiles ont, MeKiuney’s, on the western shore; second, 10 miles further, Emerald bay, passing, on the way. Sugar Pine Point and Ruohicon Point; third, four miles to a point familliarly called Yank’s, though its name, asa post-otiice, is Tellac; fourth, four miles again to Rowland’s, which, with the preceding landing, is on the southern shore of the lake and in the lower part of Lake valley, a tine grazing andfhunting region,extending back some 14 miles and as much as six miles wide in places; fifth, 14 miles to Glenbrook, an important lumber town, about 16 miles from Carson City—the eapital of Nevada, our silver State—and conuected with it by stage: thence 22 miles directly across the lake to Tahoe City again. This round trip being completed, the httle steamer finished its day’s work by a run of 12 miles to Hot Springs, or, as it is sometimes called, Carnelian Warm Springs, Where it lies at a good wharf for the night, ready to start on its daily round at 7 o'clock uext morning, This affords an opportunity. for those who wish it, to stop over night or longer at one of the most noted and, in every way, most pleasant places of resort on the lake, where Mr. Wm. B. Campbell. the proprietor, farnishes the best of quarters, fare, fish, boats and fishing tackle. The warm baths, cooled down from the natural temperature of his noted sulphur springs. which give the nameto his place, are truly luxurious, refreshing and healthful, and cannot be had anywhere else around the lake, thongh there is a soda spring near Tellac. The natural temperature of one of these springs is about 120°, another 200° Fahr. On the way to this most attractive resort, yon pass Observatory Point, where Mr. Lick once proposed to place his great telescope: and farther in, to the left, are Carnelian and Agate Ways, so called from the small and sometimes very beautiful Specimens of Chalcedony Fonnd along the beach in large qnantities, especially after heavy wind storms. Near Hot Springs is Boundary Point, over which the line between Nevada and California passes, marked here hy ove monument of granite, another ofiron, Those who can spare a week or more. should, by all means, divide their time between this place and the others mentioned, for each point has its specialties and attractions. Mr. Bailey. at. Tahoe City: Mr. Clement, at Yanks, and Mr. Rowland, at his place, do everything in their power to secure the comfort and enjovment of their guests. <A stage runs between Hot Springs and Trnckee. The fares and charges abont the lake are not exorbitant, when we consider the short season and diificult transportation at an altitude of nearly a mile anda quarter above the sea. The Fourth of July excursion in qnestion was thoronghly enjoyed by all who shared it, coming fully up to expectation, with a few additions. By mid-day some clouds gathered rather ominonsly and a brisk breeze sprang up, so that when the steamer left Glenbrook, we experienced, ona small scale, some of those bewitching ‘‘chopseas,” for which the Straits of Dover and San Francisco bay are noted at times. The boat being small, the passengers scon found that they needed all the ‘‘sea-legs” and sea-digestion they could command. Some of our number having but a small stock of either, it was not long before the aforesaid, ‘‘peering into the deep, blne waters,” was accompanied by slight convulsions and npheavals—not, however, so destructive to life or lasting in their effects as those ceologieal ones which placed the Sierras where they are, and made for Lake Tahoeits place in nature. Under such circumstances, itis distressing to heara man exclaim, “Oh! my conscience !’—as if his conscience hurt him—while he rnshes to the side of the boat and hangs resignedly over the railing, But, fortunately, on this lake it is not long before his couscience is clear again, and he is none the worse for it. Lakes Tahoe and Lomond Compared. Vith the scenery of Loch Lomond fresh in memory, your correspondent could but be impressed at once with many points of similarity in Lake Tahoe. The general outlines of the shores, the contours and arrangement of surrounding mountains and several other objects of interest are wonderfully alike. There are the same bare granite mountain sides and peaks, overspread in places with similar patches of snow, Tahoe is, perhaps, the more heavily timbered nearits shores. Lomond is 21 miles long; Tahoe 22, though the latter has some advantage in width, varying from 10 to 15 miles. Tahoe City is the Balloch; Yank’s or Rowland’s, the Rowardennan; Mount Tellac, the Ben Lomond; Glenbrook, the Inversnaid; and the Cavern, in Cave rock, is the Rob Roy’s prison, of Lake Tahoe. These points all follow in the same order, and correspond very well in distances, From Yank’s or Rowland’s you make the ascent of Mount Tellac, some 3,400 teet abovethe lake, and from its dizzy hight have one of the tinest views on our continent, comprising 36 lakes in sight. From Rowardennan yon ascend Ben Lomond, 3,192 teet high, and from its summit have one ot the finest views in Europe, including many lakes, or lochs, as our Scotch friends would call them. From Lake Tahoe, a beautiful stream flows into Emerald bay, forming a fine waterfall some 250 feet high. which, though not coming in the same order, supplies the place of the falls near Inversnaid. As the steamer passes the month of Emerald bay, yon distinctly see the crystal water of these falls, several miles away, glistening in the snnlight, the whole effect of the scene being one of entrancing beanty. Other points of similarity, are the same trans. parency ot atmosphere, and the wonderful clearness of the waters of each lake, the bottom near the shore and bright objects and fish being distinctly seen at depths of £0 and 50 feet, or even more, when the water is perfectly calm. The waters of Tahoe never become at all muddy, which I -believe is also true of Lach Lomond. With bat little ‘etfort of imagination, then, we can see in Lake Tahoe a counterpart of Scotland's famons lake. Other Points of Interest.

The depth of Tahoe is very great. Until recently no deeper sounding had been made than some 1,600 feet, but Capt. Lapham, commanding our steamer, informed us that Prof. Le Conte’s deepest sounding gave the immense depth of 2,700 feet, off Rubicon Point, a bold, precipitons cliff. It seems strange that, as your boat passes over snch a vast expanse of water, you may draw a bucket full from any point, and the water is perfectly clear and pure an delicionsly cool. Dr. Blake recently showed, in a paper read before the San Francisco Academy of Sciences, that its surface temperature is 62°, while at a depth of 580 feet it is about 39°. The air is delightfully cool most of the 24 hours, the mercury indicating 76° as nsnally the highest in July. The winters are often severely cold, but the lake never freezes, thongh the whole surrounding country is covered with deep snow. It isa remarkable fact, whatever may be the cause, that the bodies of persous drowned there—and qnite a number of such instances have occurred—have never been found. This is supposed te account in part for the superstitious awe with which the neighboring Indians regard this *‘Big Water.” It is with the greatest ditiiculty that any of them can be persnaded to go upon the lake in any kind of boat. In a few instances. where they have been indnced to go on board a steamboat. they have invariably thrown themselves on their faces and remained in that position till the voyage was ended. The reason they give for this terror is <n Indian Tradition. That many, many moons ago, when their ancestors first came to that lake, many of them tried to cross on rafts and boats, and never were seeu or heard of afterwards. To one looking out upon the usually placid surface of this grand ke where a little steamer—or, occasioually, a schooner's white sails—may be seen ouce or twice a day, there is a mysterious silence, an impressive stillness and solitude, well calculated to inspire awe—a feature faithfully expressed in the accompanying engraving from the fiue painting of Thomas Moran. His view is between Glenbrook aud Rowland’s, looking south and west. To the left of the boat, Cave rock is seen projecting slightly into the lake. The cavern, 100 feet or more above the lake, is ouly about 30 feet in depth. Near Glenbrook, Shakespeare rock gives an excellent profile of the great dramatist. There are in all four steamboats on the lake—the Niagara, a fast little propellor, being used for excursions in calm weather, and towing a large passenger barge called the Palace; also, two others employed in towing rafts of logs from different points to Glenbrook, where four saw mills turn ont between 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 feet of lumber annnally for Carson and Virginia City. A narrowgange railroad, eight miles long, takes the Iumber to the summit of a ridge, 2,000 feet above the lake. whence it is conveyed, by a Y-flume, 21 miles to Carson, 4, OO0feet lower than said summit. The color of this mass of extremely pure water of Lake Tahoe is one of its most striking features. Itvaries from an indigohlue, when very deep, to a light green, where it is shallow. The line dividing these colors is marked with wonderful distinctness as yon leave Rowland’s to go north. You see it from quite a distance, and pass, all at once, from the green to the blue, so sudden is the change to the deepest water. Animal Life. The scarcity of water fowl was surprising. Ouly two or three white gulls were seen on the eastern shore. Nota duck or wild goose or swan ap ; not a grebe, or ‘*mud-hen,” snch as those that abound on Owen's lake None of the queer worms are found which I described, in a former paper. as so plentiful in the suri of the latter lake. At least fonr, possibly six, kinds of fish abound in Lake Tahoe— the silver trout, black tront, white fish, a sucker, a chnb, and a minnow, used for bait, the latter probably differing as much from the larger kinds as the brook minnow does from other fish in our streams, A harmless spotted water-snake is quite plentiful, but no venomous reptiles have been found in or near the lake. Mention has already been made of The Carnelians, Found ouly along the bay ‘of that name and Agate bay. A curious opinion prevails with souie of the old settlers as to the formation of these very pretty minerals, as there found. It may he worth recording and thinking of, whether the theory is correct or not. It is, that these carnelians are a species of fossil resin from the pines around the lake, just as the amber, tossed upon the shores of the Baltic, is known to be of resinous origin, as is proved by the insects sometimes imbedded within,it. The idea is, to say the least; ingenions and may deserve further investigation. Our party certainly found ‘pieces of resin still soit which were washed up with the hard carnelians, while some ot the latter, hard as any pebble. had very much the shape and appearance of fossilized resin, hut we lcoked in vain for imbedded insects, However this may be in regard to some of these socalled carnelians, there is hardly a donbt that many, if not all of them, are a very pure form q{San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and the of the well-known mineral, chalcedony. Prospective Uses of Tahoe Water. It remains to discuss briefly the future value of Lake Tahoe forcertain city and mining interests of California, Could a feasible plan—say Col. Von Schmidt’s or any other—be worked out without extravagant fontlay, without more watering of stock than the lake water itself would do, without any of those notorious tricks in management which have given our people in town and country a mortal dread of moneyed corporatious, and almost totally destroyed their confideuce in all enterprises where a large fund is required—so that this inexhanstible source of some of the purest water in the world, literally fed by eterual snows, could hereafter supply the wants of gravel mines of a large part of Placer conuty, it would indeed be a God-send to millions of the future population of the Golden State. Those interested in the fullest prosperity of California cannot examine the extent of Lake Tahoe and enjoy the refreshing draughts of its splendid water, withont wishing this result could be consummated at the earliest possible date. Who can doubt, that by the eud of this century, less than 23 years hence, the first two cities named will (combined at least) have halfa million people with their varied wants to supply, while Sacramento will have growu greatly, and other places iu proportion. Receut visits to the mining regions of Placer county have {shown me that its two great “‘divides” of Forest Hill and Towa Hill, extending up as high as Michigan Bluff, Suuny South. and Last Chance, perhaps even higher, comprise some of the richest deposits ot gold in the State, to say nothing of the other valuable minerals, including the finest asbestos. One can hut be impressed with the belief, after examining the mining prospects of this and Nevada county, and other mining districts of the Sierras, that a thousand years from this, California will still be furnishing the precious metals and others in abundanee, if its people need them in thosedays. But the pressing waut to develop these valuable resoyrves, is just what the interests of agriculture aud temperance need in our State, viz, Plenty of Water. An examination of the many valuable hydranlic mines around the places uamed, also about Todd’s Valley, Bath, Smith’s Point, Yankee Jim's, Damascus, and other places lately pros. pected, proves how lamentable are the effects of the abseuce of water, snch a dry year as this has been. To my surprise, I find that many have not had enough water to work their mines more than two weeks, others ouly about a month altogether, the past season, All these Points are but 3,000 or 4,000 feet above the sea level, so that the fall from the lake is ample, when the uecessary tunnel is once made. Why eannot the interests of our larger cities, and these rich mining districts, and some of our agricultural interests along the route, be judiciously combined, and so managed as to furnish all these wants with an inexhaustible supply of the best of water for all these purposes? Shall the fear of ‘‘crooked” management pre-eut t Must we have the humiliation to admit that, with all our boasted institutions, good laws, the sagacity, inventive genius, and integrity of our people, we cannot have such legislation and control as will work ont any such enterprise for our people, or our Government, to a successful and houest result? For the sake of American honor, business tact, and statesmanship, we trust not. Valuable Mines. While the mass of mines in Placer need this supply of water, some, it is true, do not. Such are, the noted Weske mine, along El Dorado canyon; a new quartz lead, loeated by Mr. Durning and others, near Yankee Jim’s; and, last but not least, Bell’s rich and very wonderfal mine of decomposed qnartz, near Bald hill, four miles northwest of Auburn. The Weske mine is troubled, just now, with too much water. Their tunnel having been completed some 4,000 feet, this mine is remarkable, above all others, hy having a steam engine iu oue of its large chambers, 3.800 feet under ground. It is used to pump ont the surplus water. The local newspaper reports of the rich yield of Mr. Bell’s new imine, near Auburn, have by no means been exaggerated. It was discovered by him the latter part of February last by svstematic prospecting and tracing, which it is interesting and instructive to hear him explain, while going over the gronnd. With his pau, he followed np the wagon rnts and small gullies in an old road after a winter’s rain, till he found the outeropping rock from which the exceedingly rich deposits have beenitaken. It began to pay well from the surface. Early in June he had sunk his shaft 40 feet, and since March Ist had taken out somewhere hetween 225.000 and $35,000, This was done chiefly with pick and psn. a single panful of the decomposed rock yielding at times from $1,000 to 32,000. When 1 visited the mine, he was retimbering the shaft and preparing to go deeper. Descending the shaft with him. I saw him take out a panful of rock and clay from the side of the shaft, some 35 feet down, where the ledge is nearly four feet wide. I saw him wash out this panfal with no extra care, and wheu he finished, the result of about 10 miztutes’ work was some $25 or $30 in coarse gold, several lumps of which were worth 2 or S38 each. Most of this gold is very pure and of laminated form, the intervals between the folds being often filled by a subContinued on page 134