[From J. Ross Browne's Adventures in the Apache Country (1871); Illustrations by the author.]

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

I HAD enjoyed to my heart's content the amenities of social life in Aurora; had witnessed a Sunday procession to the badger fight of Mr. T. Jefferson Phelan, a high-toned European; had barely missed seeing a man shot dead in front of the Sazerac Saloon for throwing brickbats at another man's house; had taken a general view of the country from the top of Mount Brayley and the bottom of the Real del Monte. I was now prepared to vary my experience by a trip to Bodie Bluff and Mono Lake, the "Dead Sea of the West."

Of the Bodie district I had heard the most enthusiastic accounts. It was represented to be a region of peculiar interest in a mineralogical point of view; and the scenery was reputed to be as barren as any thing I had enjoyed during my recent tour through Arizona. For the matter of comfort, I was assured that if an utter lack of accommodation for man or beast, and a reasonable chance of suffering from chilly nights and dusty roads, could be accounted among the luxuries of travel, I would not be likely to regret the trip.

A friend politely offered me the use of his buggy, and agreed to drive the horses himself—a proposition which I gladly accepted for two reasons: first, because I knew nothing of the road; and secondly, because I had no confidence in horses ridden or driven by myself. Up to

394 BODIE BLUFF.

(Click on thumbnail images to enlarge)

that period of their lives they had always been very good horses; but they invariably underwent a radical change upon discovering that they had fallen under my control.

My friend was called the Judge, though I believe he claimed to be of no higher rank than an attorney at law. All popular lawyers, however, are judges in Nevada, whether they practice at the bar or sit upon the bench. He was a gentleman of good sense and genial manners, and although bred to the legal profession, took no mean advantage of me during the entire trip. No outfit beyond a few cold chickens, a ham; some crackers, and a bottle of medicine to use in case of snake-bites, would be necessary, the Judge assured me, unless I contemplated spending some time in the mountains. There was snake-medicine to be had on the way; but he advised me not to trust to it, as it was more poisonous than the virus of the snakes. I inquired if these vicious reptiles, of which I had heard so much in Aurora, were of the rattle or copperhead species; to which my friend replied that both of these were very prevalent in the country; but the

TO BODIE BLUFF. 395

greatest damage was done by a venomous reptile scarcely known to naturalists, of which a specimen dead or alive had never yet been caught.

On a fine morning in September we set forth on our expedition. The rugged cliffs along the road cropped out at every turn like grim old castles of feudal times, and there were frowning fortresses of solid rock that seemed ready to belch forth murderous streams of fire upon any enemy that might approach. I was particularly struck with the rugged grandeur of the scenery in the neighborhood of Fogus's quartz-mill; and on the occasion of a subsequent visit made a sketch of the mill and principal bluff.

At Haskell's toll-gate, about a mile from the town, we halted awhile to enjoy the hospitality of the worthy toll-keeper and his wife, who cordially invited us to stop and dine with them. I found here what I had not unfrequently before met with in the course of my travels through this wild region—refinement and intelligence. The cabin was a mere frame shanty of the rudest kind; yet it was clean and neat; nicely carpeted, and prettily ornamented with water-colored sketches, very cleverly executed by Mrs. Haskell. The tables were covered with books and periodicals, among which I observed a Magazine that takes the lead in civilizing new countries, but of which special mention would be superfluous. The readers of Harper will understand, of course, that good taste, good order, intelligence, pretty children, and domestic happiness are the necessary consequences, even in a mountain cabin, of a few years' subscription to a Magazine, which, according to the advertisement, contains in itself a library of useful and entertaining knowledge.

We stopped awhile at the foot of the grade to visit the magnificent quartz-mills of the Real del Monte and Antelope Mining Companies, of which I had heard much since my arrival at Aurora. Both of these mills are built of brick on the same plan, and in the Gothic style of architecture. Nothing finer in point of symmetrical propor-

396 BODIE BLUFF.

tion, beauty and finish of the machinery, and capacity for reducing ores by crushing and amalgamation, exists on the eastern slope of the Sierras. These mills were in operation at the time of our visit, but were not working to their full capacity, owing to the want of a sufficiency of ore. I had little expected to find in this out-of-the-way part of the world such splendid monuments of enterprise. The Real del Monte contains a battery of thirty stamps; thirty-six Wheeler pans, and other machinery in proportion; the Antelope a somewhat smaller number of stamps and pans. Steam is the motive power, and the machinery works with the neatness and perfection of clock-work.

Passing several other mills, as we proceeded up the canon, one of which was burned a few days after, we entered a singularly wild and rugged pass in the mountains, where it seemed as if the earth had been rent asunder by some convulsion of nature for the express purpose of letting people through. The Judge was of opinion that this curious piece of engineering was performed by the bursting through of a river or flood in by-gone times. It reminded me of the Almannajau in Iceland; which was evidently produced by the contraction of the lava as it cooled and dried. Whatever way it happened, the road thus formed is a great convenience to the travelling public.

Several fine valleys, now used as hay and cattle ranches, lie between Aurora and Bodie. They are small, but rich in soil and well watered by the springs that course down from the neighboring ravines, and produce some fine grass. The ranch-men were at work hauling the hay to the Aurora market, where it brings from $40 to $60 a ton. Hay ranches are as good as silver mines almost anywhere on the eastern slope—better, in some respects, for they are certain to yield something for the labor expended upon them. A scrubby growth of pine relieves in some measure the sterile aspect of the surrounding mountains, which, as we advanced on our way, seemed to become more and more barren. Some eight or nine

398 BODIE BLUFF.

miles from Aurora we reached the base of a conical hill, surmounted by a range of reddish-colored cliffs, very rough, jagged, and picturesque; a capital-looking place for a den of robbers or a gold mine. This was the famous Bodie Bluff. The entire hill, as well as the surrounding country, is destitute of vegetation, with the exception of sage-brush and bunch-grass—presenting even to the eye of a traveller who had just been surfeited with the deserts of Arizona a wonderfully refreshing picture of desolation.

We revelled in dust along the road that skirts the Bluff; it was rich and unctuous, and penetrated us through and through, so that by the time we arrived at the Judge's cabin, where he had some workmen employed, we were permeated with the precious metals of Bodie. A fine spring of water, aided by a little snake-medicine, set us all right; and a good lunch prepared us for a tour of exploration over the mountains.

I must here introduce the reader to the interior of a miner's cabin. The Judge had some ten or a dozen men employed, who lived in a frame shanty close by a fine spring of water, surrounded by the most luxuriant natural garden of sage-brush, weeds, wild flax, and other ornamental products of the earth which seemed to rejoice in the prolific soil of this region. These jolly miners were the happiest set of bachelors imaginable; had neither chick nor child, that I knew of, to trouble them; cooked their own food; did their own washing; mended their own clothes, made their own beds, and on Sundays cut their own hair, greased their own boots, and brushed their own coats; thus proving by the most direct positive evidence that woman is an unnecessary and expensive institution which ought to be abolished by law. I have always maintained, and do still contend, that the constant interference, the despotic sway, the exactions and caprices of the female sex ought no longer to be tolerated; and it is with a glow of pride and triumph that I introduce this striking example of the ability of man

TO BODIE BLUFF. 399

to live in a state of perfect exemption from all these trials and tribulations. True, I must admit that the honest miners of Bodie spent a great deal of their leisure time in reading yellow-covered novels and writing love-letters; but that was probably only a clever device to fortify themselves against the insidious approaches of the enemy. A miner's cabin in any of the outside districts is a very primitive specimen of architecture. Most people have some general idea of mining operations; but there are few who know any thing about the way in which the miners live. I do not speak of the laboring classes of Virginia or Austin, who herd together in boarding-houses or take their meals at restaurants. They are seldom seen in their characteristic aspect as working men-- the true heroes of the pick and shovel. Men who work in gangs and spend their leisure time in varied metropolitan pursuits are apt to lose their individuality.

To know what a genuine miner is, and how he lives, you visit the remote interior districts, and partake of

400 BODIE BLUFF.

his hospitality; but lest you should form an erroneous idea in regard to the accommodations, I must tell you as nearly as possible what a miner's cabin is made of and what it affords in the way of entertainment.

Usually it is constructed of the materials nearest at hand. Stone and mud answer for the walls where wood is scarce; but if wood be abundant, a kind of stockade is formed of logs placed close together and upright in the ground. The roof is made of clap-boards, or rough shingles, brush-wood covered with sod, canvas, or any thing else that may be available. I have seen roofs constructed of flour-sacks, cast-off shirts, coats, and pantaloons, all sewed together like a home-made quilt. Raw-hide, with big stones on the corners, is very good in dry countries, but it is apt to become flabby and odorous in damp climates. The chimney is the most imposing part of the house. Where the location permits, the cabin is backed up against a bluff, so as to afford a chance for a substantial flue by merely cutting a hole through the bank; but where such natural facilities do not exist, the

402 BODIE BLUFF.

variety of material used in the construction of chimneys is wonderful. Stone, wood, scraps of sheet-iron, adobe-bricks, mud, whisky-barrels, nail-kegs, and even canvas, are the component parts. Think of a canvas chimney! How an Insurance Agent would stare at it!

These primitive habitations are to be found wherever any valuable ledges are in progress of development; perched up among the rocks, out on the arid slopes, in the narrow canons, down under shaking earth-banks--the locations being chosen as the convenience or fancy of the occupants may dictate. Externally they are rural and picturesque, like the wigwams of the Digger Indians. Internally the triumphs of civilization are apparent. Push open the rough board or slab door, and you have before you the social and domestic life of the honest miner. If the walls are a little rough, and somewhat smoked in the vacant spots, what matters it?—they are abundantly ornamented. The chinks are stopped with gold and silver croppings; pegs project from convenient crevices, from which hang old boots, shirts, flitches of bacon, bunches of onions, and sundry other articles of apparel and subsistence; rough clap-board shelves heaped with books, hardware, crockery and groceries abound at convenient intervals; a bedstead made of pine logs, with blue or red blankets over it, occupies one corner, or there may be a row of bunks ranged along a side-wall, ship-fashion, to accommodate straggling or casual inmates. Frying-pans, tin cups and a coffee-pot hang over the fire-place, by way of pictures. But even pictures are no rarity in the miner's cabin. The battle-scenes in Harper's Weekly form the most artistic collections in the mining community. Entire walls are covered with them --whole houses are papered with them. You can sit on a three-legged stool in any of these cabins and see the great rebellion or the impeachment of President Johnson acted over from beginning to end.

I spent three days at Bodie, during which, owing to the kindness of the Judge, who was determined that I

TO BODIE BLUFF 403

should see every thing, my time was very fully occupied. In fact, it is a little remarkable that I am now alive to tell the story of my adventures. I penetrated more shafts in the earth, was dragged through more dangerous pits and holes in wooden buckets, was forced to creep over more slippery ledges, rich in mineral deposits, and to climb up a greater number of rickety ladders than I would like to undertake again for less than a thousand shares in the "Empire Gold and Silver Mining Company." But as I design these papers rather for information than amusement, I will state the results of my observations in as matter-of-fact a way as it is possible for a man of my temperament to write.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

IN the undeveloped condition of the mines, which are yet but partially opened, much is left to conjecture; but from the direction of the various lodes I should judge them to be ramifications from some great principal vein, or Veta Madre, as the Mexicans call it. Loose quartz in disconnected masses is found on the surface of the hill, within the limits assumed as belonging to the mother vein; and the probability is a rich deposit of mineral lies at the point of junction, which is estimated to be from three to five hundred feet below the surface of the earth.

I descended several of these shafts rather to oblige my friend the Judge than to satisfy any curiosity I had on the subject myself. This thing of being dropped down two hundred feet into the bowels of the earth in wooden buckets, and hoisted out by blind horses attached to "whims," may be very amusing to read about, but I have enjoyed pleasanter modes of locomotion. There was one shaft in particular which left an indelible impression upon my mind—so much so indeed that I am astonished every hair in my head is not quite gray. It was in the San Antonio, a mine in which the Judge held an interest in connection with a worthy Norwegian by the name of Jansen. As I had travelled in Norway, Jansen was enthusiastic in his devotion to my enjoyment —declared he would go down with me himself and show me every thing worth seeing—even to the lower level just opened. While I was attempting to frame an excuse the honest Norwegian had lighted a couple of candles,

A. STARTLING ADVENTURE. 405

given directions to one of the "boys" to look out for the old blind horse attached to the whim, and now stood ready at the mouth of the shaft to guide me into the subterranean regions.

"Mr. Jansen," said I, looking with horror at the rickety wooden bucket and the flimsy little rope that was to hold us suspended between the surface of the earth and eternity, "is that rope strong?"

"Well, I think it's strong enough to hold us," replied Jansen; "it carries a ton of ore. We don't weigh a ton, I guess."

"But the bucket looks fearfully battered. And who can vouch that the old horse won't run away and let us down by the run?"

"Oh, Sir, he's used to it. That horse never runs. You see he's fast asleep now. He sleeps all along on the down turn. It's the up turn that gets him."

"Mr. Jansen," said I, "all that may be very true; but suppose the bucket should catch and drop us out?"

"Well, sometimes it catches; but nobody's been hurt bad yet: one man fell fifteen feet perpendicular. He lit on the top of his head." "Wasn't he killed?"

"No: he was only stunned a little. There was a buzzin' about among his brains for a few days after; he's at work down below now, as well as ever."

"Mr. Jansen, upon the whole I think I'd rather go down by the ladder, if it's all the same to you."

"Certainly, Sir, suit yourself; only the ladder's sort broke in spots, and you'll find it a tolerably hard climb down; hows'ever I'll go ahead and sing out when I come to the bad places."

With this the Norwegian disappeared. I looked down after him. The shaft was about four feet square; black, and dismal, with a small flickering light, apparently a thousand feet below, making the darkness visible. It was almost perpendicular; the ladders stood

406 BODIE BLUFF.

against the near side, perched on ledges or hanging together by means of chafed and ragged-looking ropes. I regretted that I had not taken Jansen's advice and committed myself to the bucket; but it was now too late. With a hurried glance at the bright world around me, a thought of home and the unhappy condition of widows and orphans, as a general thing, I seized the rungs of the ladder and took the irrevocable dive. Down I crept, rung after rung, ladder after ladder, in the black darkness, with the solid walls of rock pressing the air close around me. Sometimes I heard the incoherent mutterings of voices below, but could make nothing of them. Perhaps Jansen was warning me of breaks in the ladder; perhaps his voice was split up by the rocks and sounded like many voices; or it might be that there were gnomes whisking about in the dark depths below. Down and still down I crept; slower and slower, for I was getting tired, and I fancied there might be poisonous gases in the air. When I had reached the depth of a thousand feet, as it seemed, but about a hundred and forty as it was in reality, the thought occurred to me that I was beginning to get alarmed. In truth I was shaking like a man with an ague. Suppose I should become nervous and lose my grip on the ladder? The very idea was enough to make me shaky. There was an indefinite extent of shaft underneath; black, narrow, and scraggy, with a solid base of rock at the bottom. I did not wonder that it caused a buzzing of the brain to fall fifteen feet and light on the top of the head. My brain was buzzing already, and I had not fallen yet. But the prospect to that effect was getting better and better every moment, for I was now quite out of breath, and had to stop and ding around the ladder to avoid falling. The longer I stood this way the more certain it became that sooner or later I would lose my presence of mind and topple over. With a desperate effort I proceeded, step after step, clinging to the frail wood-work as the drowning man clings to a straw, gasping for breath; the cold

A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 407

sweat streaming down my face, and my jaws chattering audibly. The breaks in the ladders were getting fearfully common. Sometimes I found two rungs gone, sometimes six or seven; and then I had to slide down by the sides till my feet found a resting-place on another rung or some casual ledge of rock. To Jansen, or the miners who worked down in the shaft every day, all this of course was mere pastime. They knew every break and resting-place; and besides, familiarity with any particular kind of danger blunts the sense of it. I am confident I could make the same trip again without experiencing any unpleasant sensation. By good fortune I at length reached the bottom of the shaft, where I found my Norwegian friend and some three or four workmen quietly awaiting my arrival. A bucket of ore, containing some five or six hundred pounds, was ready to be hoisted up. It was very nice-looking ore, and very rich ore, as Jansen assured me; but what did I care about ore till I got the breath back again into my body?

Stand from under, Sir!" said Jansen, dodging into a hole in the rocks; " a chunk of ore might fall out, or the bucket might give way."

Stand from under? Where in the name of sense was a man to stand in such a hole as this, not more than six or eight feet at the base, with a few dark chasms in the neighborhood through which it was quite possible to be precipitated in to the infernal regions. However, I stood as close to the wall as it was possible without backing clean into it. The bucket of ore having gone up out of night, I was now introduced to the ledge upon which the men were at work. It was about four feet thick, clearly defined, and apparently rich in the precious metals. In the specimens which 1 took out myself gold was visible to the naked eye. The indications of silver were also well marked. This was at a depth of a hundred and seventy-five feet. At the bottom of this shaft there was a loose flooring of rafters and planks.

408 BODIE BLUFF.

"If you like, Sir," said Jansen, "we'll go down here and take a look at the lower drift. They've just struck the ledge about forty feet below."

"Are the ladders as good as those above, Mr. Jansen?" I inquired.

"Oh yes, Sir, they're all good; some of the lower ones

A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 409

may be busted a little with the blastin'; but there's two men down there. Guess they got down somehow."

"To tell you the truth, Mr. Jansen, I'm not curious about the lower drift. You can show me some specimens of the ore-that will be perfectly satisfactory."

"Yes, Sir, but I'd like you to see the vein where the drift strikes it. It's really beautiful."

A beautiful sight down in this region was worth looking at, so I succumbed. Jansen lifted up the planks; told the men to cover us well up as soon as we had disappeared, in order to keep the ore from the upper shaft from tumbling on our heads; and then, diving down, politely requested me to follow. I had barely descended a few steps when the massive planks and rafters were thrown across overhead, and thus all exit to the outer world was cut off. There was an oppressive sensation in being so completely isolated -- barred out, as it were, from the surface of the earth. Yet how many there are who spend half their lives in such places for a pittance of wages which they squander in dissipation! Surely it is worth four dollars a day to work in these dismal holes.

Bracing my nerves with such thoughts as these, I scrambled down the rickety ladders till the last rung seemed to have disappeared. I probed about with a spare leg for a landing-place, but could touch neither top, bottom, nor sides. The ladder was apparently suspended in space like Mohammed's coffin.

"Come on, Sir," cried the voice of Jansen far down below. "They're agoing to blast!"

Pleasant, if not picturesque, to be hanging by two hands and one leg to a ladder, squirming about in search of a foothold, while somebody below was setting fire to a fuse with the design, no doubt, of blowing up the entire premises!

"Mr. Jansen," said I, in a voice of unnatural calmness, while the big drops of agony stood on my brow, "there's difficulty in saying 'Come on, Sir!' but to do it without an inch more of ladder or any thing else that I can

410 BODIE BLUFF.

see, requires both time and reflection. How far do you expect me to drop?"

"Oh, don't you let go, Sir! Just hang on to that rope at the bottom of the ladder, and let yourself down."

I hung on as directed, and let myself down. It was plain sailing enough to one who knew the chart. The

A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 411

ladder, it seemed, had been broken by a blast of rocks; and now there was to be another blast. We retired into a convenient hole about ten or a dozen paces from the deposit of Hazard's powder. The blast went off with a dead reverberation, causing a concussion in the air that affected one like a shock of galvanism; and then there was a diabolical smell of brimstone. Jansen was charmed at the result. A mass of the ledge was burst clean open. He grasped up the blackened fragments of quartz, licked them with his tongue, held them to the candle, and constantly exclaimed: "There! Sir, there! Isn't it beautiful? Did you ever see any thing like it?—pure gold almost—here it is!—don't you see it?"

I suppose I saw it; at all events I put some specimens in my pocket, and saw them afterward out in the pure sunlight, where the smoke was not so dense; and it is due to the great cause of truth to say that gold was there in glittering specks, as if shaken over it from a pepper-box. Having concluded my examination of the mine, I took the bucket as a medium of exit, being fully satisfied with the ladders. About half-way up the shaft the iron swing or handle to which the rope was attached caught in one of the ladders. The rope stretched. I felt it harden and grow thin in my hands. The bucket began to tip over. It was pitch dark all around. Jansen was far below, coming up the ladder. Something seemed to be creaking, cracking, or giving way. I felt the rough, heavy sides of the bucket press against my legs. A terrible apprehension seized me that the gear was tangled and would presently snap. In the pitchy darkness and the confusion of the moment I could not conjecture what was the matter. I darted out my hands, seized the ladder and jerking myself high out of the bucket, clambered up with the agility of an acrobat. Relieved of my weight, the iron catch swung loose, and up came the bucket banging and thundering after me with a velocity that was perfectly frightful. Never was there such a

412 BODIE BLUFF

subterranean chase, I verily believe, since the beginning of the world. To stop a single moment would be certain destruction; for the bucket was large, heavy, and massively bound with iron; and the space in the shaft was not sufficient to admit of its passing without crushing me flat against the ladder.

But such a chase could not last long. I felt my strength give way at every lift. The distance out was too great to admit the hope of escape by climbing. My only chance was to seize the rope above the bucket and hang on to it. This I did. It was a lucky thought—one of those thoughts that sometimes flash upon the mind like inspiration in a moment of peril. A few more revolutions of the whim brought me so near the surface that I could see the bucket only a few yards below my feet. The noise of the rope over the block above reminded me that I had better slip down a little to save my hands, which I did in good style, and was presently landed on the upper crust of the earth, all safe and sound, though somewhat dazzled by the light and rattled by my subterranean experiences.

It was not long before Jansen came up, looking as cool as a cucumber. He blew out the candle, and re-marked to the men generally, "Boys, they've struck it rich in the new drift! We must pitch into it to-morrow!"

After my pleasant little adventure in the "San Antonio" I took the down track over the western side of the bluff, with my pockets—so to speak—full of rocks, which I caused to be pounded up in a mortar and washed out at one of the springs in the valley. The "San Antonio" is on the same ledge with the "New Mexico," one of the Empire Company's mines. My specimens were obtained at a depth of 175 and 215 feet. I had some doubts as to their value until I saw the result of the washing process, which settled the matter satisfactorily. There was as nice a little deposit of pure gold in the bottom of the horn as ever I saw taken at random from any mine in

A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 413

California, Washoe, or Arizona. The quartz at this depth is decomposed, and runs in thin layers, between which, adhering to the surface, the gold is found. Silver exists in the bluish veins which permeate the quartz, but is not found in such abundance as the gold. The bullion rates at about ten dollars to the ounce. There seems to be very little difference in the quality of the ores in any of the lodes extending through Bodie Bluff. I subsequently explored most of them, as far as they were excavated, and made several tests, which produced a similar show of gold. Judging by actual results derived from the working of some two or three hundred tons in the Aurora Mills, where the waste was evidently great, it would be safe to estimate the average yield at from thirty-five to forty-five dollars per ton; though I am informed that during the past fall and winter the yield was sixty dollars and upward. With increased care and more perfect system of reduction it is not improbable a higher yield could be obtained.

For speculative purposes this is low; but there is a satisfaction to stockholders in knowing exactly what they possess, and upon what basis to found their calculations of future profit. The best paying mines on this coast are those that yield a moderate average. This is especially the case in the districts of Nevada and Grass Valley, California, which now, after having as it was thought been worked out, yield better average results than they ever did before. I speak of the quartz ledges, of course, not of the placer diggings. The Real del Monte in Mexico, according to the estimates of Baron Humboldt and Mr. Ward, yielded for a series of years, during a period of high prosperity, an average of fifty-two dollars to the ton. It is the certainty and abundance of the precious metals, and the facility with which the ore is obtained, that constitute the true criterion of excellence and give permanent value to the mine.

The history of some of the Washoe mines, which have yielded extraordinary results under a heavy pressure of

414 BODIE BLUFF.

expense and labor, and which are now suffering a depression resulting from exhaustion of the upper strata, presents the most striking examples of this fact. Had the inferior ores been properly economized, and the mines worked with a view to the future, stockholders in these mines would now have no cause to regret their invest-

A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 415

ments. I do not wish to be understood as advancing the idea that the Comstock ledge is exhausted or likely to be; for I have always regarded it, and do still, as the richest silver lode yet discovered in our mineral territories. But I think the world can present no such example as we find in the history of that ledge, of mismanagement, extravagance, and fraud. It would almost seem, indeed, as if the American people, owing to some inherent characteristic—an impatient, speculative, prodigal spirit, perhaps—were incapable of conducting the business of mining upon any principle of reason, honesty, or common sense. Why is it, otherwise, that, with the richest mines in the world—with untiring enterprise, inventive genius of the highest order, a larger average of intelligence than any other people possess, we have never yet made mining a permanently profitable business to all concerned? The truth is, we are too impatient and too exacting, and expect to make fortunes as we live—by telegraphic speed. We must tear out the entrails of the earth by novel and expeditious applications of steam, and turn our capital by galvanic speculations, or give it up in disgust.

In respect to the article of provisions, the proximity of the Big Meadows, Mono Lake, and Walker's Valley, where vegetable products of all kinds are now abundantly raised, is a great advantage to this district. Until within a year or two miners suffered much from the want of vegetables; scurvy was a common disease; but during the past summer the supply has been quite equal to the demand. Farms are being located and cultivated in all the adjacent valleys, where the altitude is not too great for agricultural purposes; and it is found that the land, though apparently barren, is extraordinarily rich, owing to deposits of fertilizing matter from the surrounding mountains. Of course every thing which has a tendency to reduce the cost of living must reduce the cost of mining this country—a very important consideration. No mines, however rich, can be profitably worked for any

416 BODIE BLUFF.

great length of time where the wages for ordinary labor are four dollars a day. Ores worth fifteen or twenty dollars a ton are necessarily cast aside, and only such as yield over thirty or forty dollars can be made to pay. There is always more poor ore in every mining district than rich; hence the preponderance of wealth is lost where the inferior ores can not be made available. The period is not very distant when the ores now discarded will be the source of permanent wealth in Nevada. It is to a general reduction of expenses, and not to the discovery of richer leads, that we must look for that high state of prosperity which I think, despite all the losses and drawbacks which have attended the investment of capital in Nevada, is the ultimate destiny of that region.

Whether or not the Bodie mines will be worked profitably on a large scale depends very much upon the system of operations introduced by the owners. As a general rule, large companies are less successful in the working of mines than small parties and private individuals. The cause of this may be found in the fact that mining,

A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 417

like any other business, requires judicious and economical management, and strict personal attention, to be permanently profitable. Indeed the risks are so much greater than in any other business, that those maxims of economy and accountability which apply to the ordinary transactions of life possess still greater force as applied to the business of mining. Unnecessarily expensive mills, a loose system of disbursement, incompetent managers, and inefficient experts, have effected the ruin of many mines and many stockholders in the Territory of Nevada. The same causes would produce similar results in any other business. Exorbitant and unreasonable demands for high dividends have been a fruitful source of failure. Capitalists are not satisfied unless they receive from two to five per cent. a month upon their investments; and superintendents work under a heavy pressure, and assume great hazards to produce that result. Now I am very confident that no ten mines in Virginia City have ever yielded an average of one per cent. a month over and above expenses, and I venture to assert that no mines in South America, Mexico, or Nevada have continued to pay such high dividends for any great length of time.

418 BODIE BLUFF.

Permanency and extraordinary dividends are incompatible. Where the yield is evidently reliable, a reasonable percentage, regularly paid, is better than a larger amount which must necessarily involve greater risk and increased expenditure.

At the head of the Bodie Valley, where I spent a day very pleasantly among the miners, is a beautiful natural location for a town, sheltered by surrounding hills from the chilling winds that sweep down from the snow-capped peaks of the Sierras. There are now some fifteen or twenty small frame and adobe houses erected for the use of the workmen; a boarding-house is already established; lots and streets are laid out by means of stakes; new houses are springing up in every direction, and speculation in real estate is quite the fashion. It was amusing to witness the enthusiasm with which the citizens went into the business of trading in lots. Groups of speculators were constantly engaged in examining choice locations, and descanting upon the brilliant future of the embryo city. A pair of boots, I suppose, would have se-

A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 419

cured the right to a tolerably good lot; but having only one pair, and that pretty well worn, I did not venture upon an investment. Some of the city dignitaries, however, duly impressed with the importance of having a view of their town appear in the illuminated pages of Harper, paid me the compliment to attach my name to the principal street; and thus, in future ages, I confidently expect my memory will be rescued from oblivion. Opposite is the promised view of the town.

Although the altitude is greater than that of any inhabited spot within the limits of the United States, and only surpassed by those of Potosi, which is 13,330 feet, and Quito, 9540 feet, the climate is exceedingly healthy; never too warm in summer, and rarely rigorous in winter.

This, at an elevation of nearly 9000 feet, is remarkable. Water is abundantly supplied from a fine spring distant a few hundred yards from the centre of the town; wood, for mining purposes and for the use of the inhabitants, can be obtained from a pine-forest situated on the side of a hill about four miles from the camp. The supply of latter article, however, is limited, and can not be depended upon for more than a few years; but the ravines of the main range of the Sierra Nevadas, bordering on Mono Lake, are clothed with inexhaustible forests, suitable for lumber as well as fuel. A good road is now open to the shores of Mono, the nearest part of which lies about fourteen miles from Bodie. A view of the lake from the eastern side of the bluff presents one of the finest specimens of scenic grandeur to be found in the whole range of the Sierra Nevadas. Mountain after mountain rolls off in the distance, like the waves of an angry sea. Perpetual snow covers the highest peaks of Sierras. Dark forests of pine stand in bold outline the inferior ranges, and vast chasms and rocky canons open out upon the shores of the lake, which lies dead and still apparently within a stone's-throw of the beholder. Circling deposits of alkali and drifts of wood mark the barren plains that lie on the eastern shore of the lake,

420 BODIE BLUFF.

showing that in by-gone centuries it covered a vast extent of country from which it has now receded.

A direct communication from the valley of the San Joaquin, via Sonora, has recently been opened by the citizens of Mono and Esmeralda; thus saving in transportation, from the head of navigation at Stockton, at least four or five days of wagon travel from the usual time required by the old route from Sacramento via Carson Valley. This will greatly reduce the cost of transporting supplies of machinery and provisions from San Francisco.

THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

CHAPTER XL.

AT the town of Bodie I witnessed one of those impressive Sunday exhibitions which seem to be the popular mode of recreation in this country—a badger fight. Some Indians from Mono Lake came in during the forenoon with a remarkably large badger, .which they offered for sale to the miners. The price demanded was ten dollars. As that amount of ready cash did not seem to be within the resources of the multitude, the Diggers, upon consultation, agreed to take three, which was finally made up by some enterprising members of the community. The usual mode of digging a hole in the ground, as a fortification for the badger, was deemed unnecessary, owing to the formidable proportions and ferocious temper of the animal on hand; and it was decided that there should be a pitched battle in the open valley. All who had dogs were invited to bring them forward and enter the ring gratis. In about ten minutes there were about half a dozen dogs brought to the scratch, and the battle opened cautiously on both sides.

The badger was fresh and vigorous. Long experience in the noble art of self-defense had taught him skill in the use of his natural weapons. He lay close down to ground, flattening himself as the rattlesnake flattens his head prior to the fatal dart. With a keen and wary eye he watched the dogs. First a large, ill-favored,

422 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

yellow cur was let loose upon him. The badger never moved till the mouth of his enemy was within an inch of his tail, when, with a motion as quick as lightning, he had him by the under-lip, and a fierce struggle ensued. The dog howled, the badger held on, the dust flew up from the dry earth, over and over the combatants rolled; the spectators crowded in, laughing, shouting, clapping their hands, and urging on the yelling cur, whose grand object seemed to be to get away. A favorable turn enabled him to break loose. Panting, whining, and with bleeding mouth, he sneaked off amid the jeers of the crowd.

"Here's a dog that'll settle his hash!" said the owner of a bull-terrier; " let him in!"

"No, no!" cried a chorus of voices. "Hold back! Don't kill him yet! Try the other dogs first!"

A vicious-looking black dog, part wolf, was next let loose. The badger had meantime crept close up to a bank of earth, against which he fortified his rear. The wolfish cur surveyed the prospect warily, smelled the

A BADGER FIGHT. 423

badger at the distance of a few feet, peered into his eyes, and quietly walked away. The crowd drove him back. "Fight, you durned coyote!" shouted his master, catching him by the back of the neck and dragging him close up to the badger. "Now fight!" Wolf looked as if he'd rather not; but there was no help for it. With hair erect and a wolfish bark he flew savagely at the enemy; jumping first to one side and then the other; back and at him again; snapping, barking, snarling, and howling; but to no purpose. The badger seemed to be all head; there was not a vulnerable point about him that did not show a head and a sharp row of teeth the moment it was assailed. During some of the dog's gyrations Mr. Badger got him by the bind-leg, and then there was a very pretty scene of howling and running. Wolf flew all over the ground; badger held on; dust, shouts, shrieks, yells, oaths, and clapping of hands were the natural consequences of this achievement. Badger-stock ran up fifty per cent.; dog-stock was rapidly declining.

Tell you what, gents," cried the Committee on the Badger, " we'll fight him agin all six of yer dogs for ten dollars!"

"No, no!" shouted every body; "give him a fair show; his mouth's full of dust; 'tain't fair—six to one."

"Then come on with yer bull-terrier!" cried the Committee, exultingly; "here's the boy for him!"

Bull was let loose—a white, clean-made little fellow, with massive jaws, thin flanks, and a sharp, hard tail, that stood out from his body like a spike. There was neither growl nor bark about him; it was all serious work, in which he evidently delighted; and he went at it with a will—straight, quick, fierce, like a well-trained bruiser who meant blood. He had been accustomed, as evident from the many scars on his head and face, to enemies of his own species. He could get hold of a fellow-dog, however large, and throttle him. Getting hold of a badger was quite another thing. Both animals were nearly of the same size. The dog perhaps had the

424 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

advantage in muscular strength; but the badger was the quicker with his head and teeth. The moment Bull's mouth was within reach the badger had him by the under jaw, fast and firm as a vice. Now commenced the grand tussle—teeth against teeth, neck against neck. Thick dust covered the combatants; to and fro, over and over, they rolled, in their scarce visible struggle; the crowd pressing close in; not a word spoken; for this was a genuine fight at last — earnest and thrilling — a fight to the death. Sunday as it was, I could not but push in closer and look on. I was getting profoundly interested in the fate of the badger. In fact, I don't know but I might have made a bet had any body bantered me at the moment. I would have bet on either side, no matter which, as many a man does who gets excited and has no definite opinion on the subject at issue.

"Stand back! give him a chance!" shouted some of the men in front.

"Take him to water! he's choking with dust!" cried others; and I must say a pang of regret shot through me at what I supposed to be the fate of my badger friend.

But it was not the badger that suffered most. The dog was dragged out, his mouth full of hair and dust, gasping for breath. I looked again when the dust cleared away. Bleeding and torn, but dauntless as ever, with the same fixed and wary eye, the badger awaited the next assault.

"Too bad! too bad I" remonstrated several voices. "That's murder in the first degree!" Sympathy seemed to lean toward the side of the poor animal which was making so gallant a struggle for life. "Kill him! kill him with a club!"

"No ye don't, gents!" shouted the exultant Committee, who had paid their three dollars for a Sunday fore-noon's sport. "We'll fight him against all the dogs first; if he don't whip 'em, then you can kill him."

A BADGER FIGHT. 425

Incredible as it may seem, the six dogs, large and small, were next let loose, and for over an hour they fought that poor badger without doing him any material damage. While some attacked him in front, others picked him up behind, gave him a shake, and then dropped him. He seemed to possess more lives than a cat. He bit back a dozen bites for every one he received; and at every respite faced his enemies with that peculiar fixed and indomitable eye which had at first attracted my attention. It was almost human in its expression, and seemed to say, "Shame! shame! Cruel as you are, you can not make me quail: I die game to the last!"

Some such thought must have entered the heads of the by-standers, two or three of whom now rushed in with clubs and attempted to batter his brains out. Even then he fought fiercely, biting at the clubs, and in his dying throes glaring with undaunted eyes at his assailants. I am free to confess that I turned away with a strong emotion of pity. The fight had lasted two hours. When I next looked back and saw the crowd move away, dragging after them the dead body of the badger, I could not but feel that there was something about the whole business very much like murder.

My friend the Judge was obliged to return to Aurora from this point. I was committed to the charge of a very pleasant and intelligent young man, one of the owners of the Bodie Bunker, who kindly volunteered to procure horses and accompany me on my proposed expedition to Mono Lake. The horses were ranging in the hills, and there was some difficulty in finding them. In due time we were mounted and on our way.

CHAPTER XLI.

THE road crosses a hill back of Bodie, and thence down through a canon into Cottonwood Valley. For a distance of some five or six miles the country is rolling and barren. Rocks and sage-brush, with desolate mountains in the distance, are the principal features. During the trip my companion entertained me with many interesting reminiscences of his experience in the country, his adventures as a police-officer during the Vigilance Committee excitement at Aurora, his mining speculations, and many other matters which to me possessed all the charms of romance. From him also I obtained the particulars of a very singular and tragical occurrence which had taken place about two mouths previously on the road to the Big Meadows, not far from where we were travelling. I had heard of this on my first arrival at Aurora, and had seen some account of it in the news-papers. Subsequently I crossed the cañon in which the disaster occurred, and made a sketch of it.

Some time in the month of July two men, with their wives, and three children belonging to one of the parties, started from Aurora in a small wagon for the Big Meadows. The distance is twenty-eight miles. When about half-way, as they were passing through a rocky cañon, unsuspicious of danger, they observed some signs of rain, but thought it would be nothing more than a casual shower. Suddenly the sky darkened, and they heard a loud roaring noise behind them. Mr. Glenn, one of the men, and his comrade, who were sitting on the front seat, finding the horses become unmanageable

TERRIBLE CLOUD-BURST     427

from fright, jumped out to see what was the matter. The lead horses had swung round, and were making frantic efforts break loose from their traces. Scarcely had the two touched the ground when they saw sweeping down toward them a solid flood of water about six or eight high, presenting a front like a prodigious wave of

428 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

the sea as it breaks -upon the beach in a storm. They attempted to force the horses up on one side, so as to haul the wagon out of the channel. Before any thing could be done the torrent burst upon them, carrying all before it. The wagon was capsized and dashed to pieces among the rocks. The screams of the women and children rose high above the wild roar of the flood; and for a moment they were seen struggling amid the shattered wreck of the wagon, but were soon dashed out and whirled against the rocks. One of the men, by superhuman efforts, succeeded in getting a foothold a short distance below, and, grasping an overhanging bush, caught his wife as she was swept along on the raging current. He had dragged her nearly out of the water when she was struck by a heavy piece of drift-wood and torn from his grasp. The next moment she was whirled away beyond reach, and her body, maimed by the jagged rocks, was buried in the current a shapeless mass. Mean-time the other man was disabled by his struggles amid the wreck, and barely escaped with his life. The shrieks of the poor children were heart-rending. "Oh, father! father! save me! Oh, mother, save me!" were all that could be heard; but soon their tender limbs were crushed amid the boiling surges of drift and flood, and they were swept beyond all human aid. In less than a minute nothing was left to mark the tragedy. Women, children, wagon, horses, all had disappeared. Such was the force of the torrent that rocks and trees were carried away like feathers. I saw myself prodigious boulders of solid stone, six or seven feet in diameter, which had been rolled for miles through the cañon.

When the news of this sad event reached Aurora the most intense excitement and sympathy prevailed. Parties went out immediately to afford what assistance they could. The unfortunate men who had suffered so strange and sudden a bereavement were provided with such aid as their suffering condition required. Search was made for the bodies of the women and children.

TERRIBLE CLOUD-BURST. 429

Their mutilated remains were found scattered among the rocks from one to three miles below the scene of the disaster, and were taken in and buried amid the sympathizing tears of relatives, friends, and strangers.

An interesting circumstance connected with this sad event was mentioned to me by Mrs. Voorhies, a highly intelligent lady from Oakland, who happened that day to be out riding on horseback near Aurora, accompanied by her husband and a party of friends. They had reached the summit of Mount Braley, when the attention of the party was directed by Mrs. Voorhies to the peculiar appearance of a cloud which appeared to hang over the earth like a huge black funnel in the direction of the Big Meadows. It had a dark-greenish tinge around the edges as if charged with sulphur or electricity. Other clouds were in the sky, but the weather was warm and pleasant. The attention of the whole party was fixed upon the black cloud. Suddenly it changed its form, and disappeared almost like magic. Apparently the attraction of the earth had scattered it or absorbed its contents. This was doubtless the same cloud which had burst and swept all before it in the Rocky Cañon. The time and direction corresponded precisely with the tragic event above recorded.

The only other instance known to me of the bursting of a water-cloud with such disastrous consequences occurred about four years ago in the San Francisquito Cañon between Los Angeles and Fort Tejon. I have frequently passed through this cañon, and can readily conceive how disastrous a sudden flood would be anywhere between the points of entrance and exit. It is some ten or twelve miles through, and closely bounded on each side by precipitous hills and mountains. Within this distance the road crosses a small stream that courses through it eighty-seven times. In this cañon a family belonging to Los Angeles, who were on their way home from the valley of the San Joaquin, were overtaken by a heavy rain-cloud, which burst close behind them. The

430 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

man jumped out of his wagon and strove to urge his animals up a steep bank; but the flood came upon them so suddenly that the wagon was swept away, dragging with it the animals. The women and children were all drowned.

I have been told of similar instances of water-spouts, or, more properly, the bursting of rain-clouds, in the canons of the Colorado, and in other parts of Arizona. Owing, perhaps, to the fact that few people travel through the mountainous parts of that country in wagons, they have not often been attended by any loss of life, though Governor Goodwin, of Arizona, recently gave me an account of an entire mining camp that was swept away. Two lives were lost and much property damaged.

Proceeding some fourteen miles on our journey, we turned the point of a hill overlooking the lake. It seemed to be just at our feet. We had to travel twelve miles further before we reached Lawrence's Ranch.

Down in the cañon on the right of the road we passed some placer diggings, which attracted considerable attention two years ago. White labor could not make it pay, and the usual herd of Chinese had crowded in and taken possession of the abandoned huts and sluices. They seemed to be doing well, if one might judge by their noisy jargon, and barbarous gesticulations.

CHAPTER XLII.

FEW miles beyond we passed the town of Mono, consisting at present of three or four shanties, one of which only was inhabited.

A ride of twenty-five miles over the rough mountain gave me such an appetite as I had not experienced many months. The atmosphere is wonderfully clear and bracing in these elevated ranges. An ecstatic glow of health pervades the system; the sight becomes keen; the blood flows freely through the veins; the digestion is perfect; and the world-worn traveller feels something that elasticity and freshness with which he set forth early life to put a girdle round about the earth. I was well disposed to enjoy the hospitality of Mr. Lawrence, owner of the ranch at which we proposed stopping the night. It was a pleasant, home-looking place, hay-stacks, wagons, and lowing cattle about the barn-yard; and the honest watch-dog bayed a deep welcome as we rode up to the house. The weary settler came out on the grassy slope in front and greeted us with the hearty cordiality of a frontiersman.

"Get down, gentlemen; get down and come in. We haven't much in this wild country, but what we have is at service."

It was a pleasant surprise, when I was introduced to him, to find that we were old fellow-travellers.

"Bless my soul!" he exclaimed, grasping my hand with the grip of a vice; "is it possible you have arrived here at last? I have been expecting you for over two years. I knew you'd visit Mono Lake some time or oth-

MONO LAKE. 433

er. Why, my dear fellow, we are old friends! I have travelled with you all over the world—in print."

And here let me say, in all humility, that some of the happiest moments of my life have been derived from just such meetings as this in the wild regions bordering on the Pacific. To find myself known where it was least to be expected; to receive a cordial greeting as a friend where I could only hope for the ordinary civility due to a stranger; to feel that a few trifles of travel cast adrift upon the world in the pages of a Magazine, without a thought of their fate beyond the current month, had inspired, far away from the haunts of civilization, a friendly personal interest in the writer—these, I say, affected me with no ordinary emotions of pleasure; for they proved in some degree that my wanderings in lonely countries had not altogether isolated me from the great brotherhood of man.

The house was a snug frame shanty, containing three or four rooms, roughly but comfortably furnished, and decorated with some curious specimens of colored engravings, which evinced at least a leaning toward the Fine Arts. Beds were plenty—deep, full feather beds, in which the sleeper was luxuriously buried for the night. I found that feathers were a staple product here. In truth, I had a dream, after my burial in the deepest of these beds, that nature had gifted me with wings, and that I was flying about among the pine-trees pursued by some adroit sportsmen, who amused themselves peppered me with snipe-shot. But this might have been owing to the supper prepared by the skillful hands of the good housewife. It is but simple justice to that lady to say that such a supper would have done honor to the best hotel in New York. For where else but in the mountain regions of the Pacific is there such delicately-flavored mutton, such rich yellow cream, such pure fresh milk and sparkling butter? The biscuits, too, were delicious; and there were preserves of wild mountain berries, and jams and tarts and pies that must have taxed the

434 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

ingenuity of the inventor. As for vegetables, there was any variety; and the potatoes were as rich and mealy as the best Irish murphies. I never tasted any thing in the potato-line superior to them. Upon warmly expressing this sentiment to our kind host he was naturally elated, and offered to take me at once to his potato-patch. "You shall see for yourself," said he; "I rather calculate you never saw such a patch."

I was pretty stiff, however, after my long ride, and suggested that the morning sunshine would be the best light perhaps in which to view this remarkable potato-patch.

It was a pleasant scene that evening at Lawrence's Ranch. A gentleman and his wife from Aurora were stopping at the house for the enjoyment of the lake air; and their conversation contributed greatly to our enjoyment. We sat on the front porch, overlooking the whole magnificent panorama outspread before us. The glowing atmosphere hung over the lake like a vast prismatic canopy. Myriads of aquatic fowl sported on the glassy surface of the water, which reflected the varied outlines and many-colored slopes of the surrounding mountains. Trees, rocks, islands, and all visible objects were duplicated with wonderful clearness and accuracy. The white mountains of Montgomery fifty miles distant stood out against the horizon in their minutest details, every rock and furrow as if seen through a telescope. A soft, delicious air, fragrant with the odors of wild flowers and new-made hay, made it a luxury to breathe. High to the right, tipped by the glowing rays of the sun, towered the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevadan. To the west and south, grand and solitary—monarchs among the mountain kings—stood Castle Peak and Mount Dana, as if in sublime scorn of the puny civilization which encircles their feet. These mighty potentates of the wilderness, according to the geological survey of Professor Whitney, reach the altitude respectively of 13,000 and 13,500 feet above the level of the sea. Still higher mountains have been found to the southward, during a

436 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

recent expedition of the survey, of which very interesting reports by Professor Brewer, Mr. Charles F. Hoffman, Mr. King, Mr. Gardiner, and others, are now in progress of publication. A new and most interesting region between Kern River and Owen's Valley was explored by these gentlemen during the past summer, of which a brief notice has recently appeared in Silliman's Scientific Journal.

The shores of Lake Mono, in the vicinity of the water, have a whitish color, arising from the prevalence of calcareous deposits. It well deserves the name suggested by an early visitor—the "Dead Sea of the West." Not even that wondrous sea, whose bitter waters wash the ruined sites of Sodom and Gomorrah, presents a scene of greater desolation. Fourteen years had passed how short a time it seemed!—since my trusty guide, Yusef Badra, pointed out to me from the St. Saba road the shores of the Dead Sea. I could almost imagine myself there again. Yet for grandeur of scenery, and for interesting geological phenomena, this lake of the Western Sierras is far superior to the Oriental Sea. Here the traveller, whether artist, geologist, botanist, or poet, might spend many months, and find ample occupation for every hour of his time.

Lake Mono was visited in 1852 by Lieutenant Moore, whose adventures in that wild region, during the Indian war, gave him a high reputation on the Pacific coast. I am not aware whether any official report of his visit to Mono has been published. It would doubtless be most interesting; for few men have seen it under such novel and interesting circumstances.

The lake is eighteen miles in length by about ten or twelve in width. On the western side are distinct water-marks, showing that in former years it attained an elevation of 800 to 1000 feet above its present level. This would indicate a superficial area of such vast magnitude that it must have resembled a great inland sea. On the eastern side is a gap or depression in the hills,

MONO LAKE. 437

through which it must have flowed, covering an immense area of the great Walker River basin. It is not improbable that it was once a continuous sea to Walker's Lake. But I will not hazard any conjectures on this point; for when one goes beyond the bare facts, as he sees them, in such a country as this, the imagination is bewildered. A vague idea possesses the mind that all the great interior basins, including that of Salt Lake, might have formed a grand intermediate ocean, stretching from the far north to the Gulf of California, between the great parallel ranges of the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas to the west, and the Rocky Mountains to the east.

On the Sierra side of the lake there are points of woodland which extend some distance into the water. Back from the shore deep cañons, rocky and precipitous, with ridges of pine on each side, cut their way into the heart of the mountains; and huge boulders, hurled down from the dizzy heights, stand like castles on the beach. From innumerable ravines fresh-water springs and streams pour their tribute into the lake. There is no visible outlet; yet the bitterness of the water is retained, and there is seldom a perceptible rise. Even in the great flood of '62, when every ravine poured, down a roaring torrent, the rise did not exceed a few inches; and during the continuance of the flood, after the reception of the first volume of water, the level of the lake remained unchanged. It would seem that there must be a subterranean outlet; yet there is no evidence that the surplus water again reaches the surface. The probability is it becomes absorbed in the dry sands of the desert.

On the eastern shore low plains or alluvial bottoms, incrusted with alkali, show in distinct curvicular rims, composed of calcareous deposits, the gradual retrocession of the lake to its present level. The beach is strewn with beautiful specimens of boracic or alkaline encrustations. Weeds, twigs, stones, and even dead birds and animals, are covered by this peculiar coating, and present the appearance of coral formations. Some

MONO LAKE. 439

specimens that I picked up are photographic in the minuteness and delicacy of their details. When broken open, the fibres of leaves, the feathers of birds, the grain of wood are found impressed in the calcareous moulding with exquisite perfection. Almost every conceivable variety of form may be found among these incrustations. White columns and elaborate facades, like those of the ruined temples of Greece, stand on the desert shore to the north. Archways and domes and embattlements are represented with astonishing fidelity. It is commonly supposed that these are formations of white coral; but there can be no doubt that they are produced by the chemical action of the water, which at frequent intervals is forced up through the fissures of the earth by subterranean heat. These springs are numerous, and probably form around them a base of calcareous matter, which by constant accretions rises above the surrounding level.

A curious and rather disgusting deposit of worms, about two feet high by three or four in thickness, ex-tends like a vast rim around the shores of the lake. I saw no end to it during a walk of several miles along the beach. These worms are the larvae of flies, originally deposited in a floating tissue on the surface of the water. So far as I could discover most of them were dead. They lay in a solid oily mass, exhaling a peculiar though not unpleasant odor in the sun. Swarms of small black flies covered them to the depth of several inches. Such was the multitude of these flies that my progress was frequently arrested by them as they flew up. Whether they were engaged in an attempt to identify their own progeny, or, cannibal-like, were devouring the children of their enemies, it was impossible to determine. The former seemed to be rather a hopeless undertaking amid such a mixed crowd. The air for is circle of several yards was blackened with these flies, and their buzz sounded like the brewing of a distant storm. My eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were filled. I

440 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

could not beat them off. Wherever they lit there they remained, sluggish and slimy. I fain had to rush out of reach and seek a breathing-place some distance from the festive scene.

It would appear that the worms, as soon as they attain the power of locomotion, creep up from the water, or are deposited on the beach by the waves during some of those violent gales which prevail in this region. The Mono Indians derive from them a fruitful source of subsistence. By drying them in the sun and mixing them with acorns, berries, grass-seeds, and other articles of food gathered up in the mountains, they make a conglomerate called cuchaba, which they use as a kind of bread. I am told it is very nutritious and not at all unpalatable. The worms are also eaten in their natural condition. It is considered a delicacy to fry them in their own grease. When properly prepared by a skillful cook they resemble pork "cracklings." I was not hungry enough to require one of these dishes during my sojourn, but would recommend any friend who may visit the lake to eat a pound or two and let me know the result at his earliest convenience. In fact, I don't yearn for fat worms as an article of diet, though almost any kind of food is acceptable when my appetite is good. There must be hundreds, perhaps thousands of tons of these oleaginous insects cast up on the beach every year. There is no danger of starvation on the shores of Mono. The inhabitants may be snowed in, flooded out, or cut off by aboriginal hordes, but they can always rely upon the beach for fat meat.

No other insect or animal that I could hear of exists in the waters of the lake. The concurrent testimony of the settlers is, that nothing containing the vital principle is indigenous to the water. It is possible, however, that scientific research may develop various forms of animalcule. Fish are not found in any of the streams that fall into it, even high up in the Sierra Nevadas. Yet in adjacent streams that form the sources of supply

MONO LAKE. 441

to Owen's and Walker's rivers there is a great abundance of fish.

No analysis, I believe, has yet been made of the water of this lake. It is strong and bitter to the taste, and probably contains borax and soda. To the touch it feels soft and soapy; and indeed has much the effect of liquid shaving soap. Upon being rubbed on the skin or any foreign substance, it makes an excellent lather. For washing purposes it is admirable. I washed my head in it, and was astonished at the result. To quote the language of a patent advertisement—it removes the dandruff from the hair, purifies the skin, causes a healthy glow, takes the grease out of cloth, and is especially successful as a general expurgator. The only difficulty I found about it is that it shrinks up the flesh when steeped in it for any great length of time, like a strong decoction of lye, and is hard to get rid of without a subsequent application of fresh water. I think it would extract all the flesh, blood, and muscular tissue out of the human body, and form the usual calcareous deposit over the bones in a very short time. Its buoyant properties are even more remarkable than those of the Dead Sea. To sink in it requires the strongest efforts of a strong swimmer. But one might almost as well sink as float in a case of wreck; for in either event his chance of life would be slender.

There are two islands situated a few miles from the northern shore, one of which is about two miles in length by one and a half in width; the other is smaller. Detached rocks extend around these for some distance into the water.

The larger island has a singular volcano in the interior, from which issues hot water and steam. Within a few yards of the boiling spring, the water of which is bitter, a spring of pure fresh water gushes out of the rocks. This is justly regarded as the greatest natural wonder of the lake. Fresh water bursting up from the very depths of a volcanic pile, surrounded by a sea of soda

442 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

and borax, is surely one of the most striking anomalies of which we have any record.

The smaller island is evidently an extinct crater. Lava formations abound upon it. No springs, either hot or cold, are found upon this island.

Immense swarms of gulls visit these islands during the spring of the year and deposit their eggs on every available spot. Myriads upon myriads of them hover over the rocks from morning till night, deafening the ear with their wild screams, and the water is literally covered by them for a circle of many miles. It is a common practice for the settlers to go over in their boats, and in the course of a few hours gather as many eggs as they can carry home. In some parts of the main island the open spaces between the rocks are .so thickly covered with eggs that the pedestrian is at a loss to find a vacant spot for his foot. The Indians, until recently, derived a considerable portion of their subsistence from this source; but the white man, having a better right, of which gunpowder is the proof, has ordered the aboriginal egg-hunters to keep away. I have heard that a Yankee speculator now monopolizes the trade. The eggs are strong in flavor, but good for hotels and restaurants, those of the Farraleones are much esteemed. A few go a long way in giving flavor to an omelette. The miners seem to relish them.

During the winter months the waters of the lake are literally covered with swans; geese, brant, ducks, and smaller aquatic fowl. It is incredible the number of these birds that appear after the first rains. Sportsmen find it a laborious job to carry home their game. A regular gunning expedition in this region results in nothing short of wholesale slaughter. Twenty or thirty teal duck at a single shot is nothing unusual.

Frequent and violent storms visit the lake in autumn and winter; and during the summer the sudden gusts of wind from the mountains render navigation in a small boat somewhat perilous. A visit to the islands is at-

MONO LAKE. 443

tended by considerable risk and uncertainty. Only a few small skiffs have yet been built, and these are generally in a dilapidated condition. The tourist must calculate upon spending a night on the bare rocks, and go well prepared with blankets and provisions, otherwise he may suffer more than he bargains for. I would suggest June, July, and August as the best months in which to make the trip.

At the southern extremity of the lake are three remarkable volcanic peaks, of a conical form, the sides of which are covered with loose pumice-stone and obsidian. Regular craters are found in these peaks, showing signs of volcanic eruptions at no very remote date. The highest is 1500 feet above the level of the lake. It is extremely difficult to ascend, owing to the loose stratum by which it is covered; but there is a consolation in the facility with which the descent is made. At the base the ground is covered with various specimens of lava, of the most fanciful shapes and beautiful colors. I saw some that would be an ornament to any cabinet of curiosities in the Atlantic States. Unfortunately I had no convenient way of packing them on my horse. There are some twenty settlers living on the shores of Lake Mono, most of whom are engaged in stock-raising and hay-cutting. The best ranches and farms are owned by Mr. Lundy, Mr. Van Read, and Mr. Lawrence. Most of the lands available for cultivation have been taken up. These are timbered, or adjacent to timber, and are well watered by springs. A saw-mill has recently been erected, and now that there is a chance of getting lumber it is probable a number of new houses will be built during the next summer.

The country is not strictly agricultural. The amount of arable land is small; but the mountains abound in mineral veins, and gold mining and prospecting for gold occupy considerable attention. Within a year or two, when the facilities for crossing the Sierra Nevadas are increased, visitors from the Yo Semite Falls will doubt-

444 THE DEAD SEA OF THE WEST.

less pay their respects to Mono Lake by the way of the Bloody Cañon. A rough trail now crosses from that point by which the falls of Yo Semite may be reached in something less than two days. I have known the trip to be made in thirty hours on a good mule.

In this isolated region, abounding in grand primeval forests, magnificent scenery, natural curiosities of the most remarkable kind; deer, sage-hens, quail, rabbits, and water-fowl; a fine bracing climate, and entire exemption from the petty annoyances of crowded communities, bow peacefully and contentedly life might be passed! And yet the settlers have their troubles, their quarrels about landmarks and cattle, and the usual bickerings of frontier communities. I suppose man is born to trouble everywhere as the sparks fly upward.

My friend Lawrence was very anxious that I should spend a month with him, and make a detailed exploration of the country. He offered to get up his horses and travel with me entirely round the lake; through Bloody Cañon, across to Yo Semite, anywhere for variety and adventure. Pleasant as the prospect was, I was compelled to decline it. My time was limited. I had the Walker River Country to visit, and the season was getting advanced.

Next day, after a hard ride of thirty miles over the mountains, I reached Aurora. Hurried and unsatisfactory as my trip had been, I had seen a good deal in so short a time; and if the reader has derived any pleasure from the recital, I certainly have no cause to regret my visit to Bodie Bluff and the "Dead Sea of the West."