A Desert Fishing Pool 385 



several enterprising men imported boats and fol- 

 lowed up the stream, which was found to be 

 pouring in and eating up the desert. For weeks 

 the mystery continued. Great clouds hovered 

 over the region, rising one thousand feet into 

 the air, and the report gained credence that this 

 fresh-water sea would change and render humid 

 the atmosphere, and all Southern California 

 would become tropical. 



None of these things happened. The water 

 poured in for weeks, the sea of Salton increased ; 

 but when the Colorado River went down the 

 supply ceased, and in a few months the thirsty 

 desert drank up the water and the desert reigned 

 again. 



It was found at this time that the Rio Colo- 

 rado had broken its banks between Yuma and 

 the gulf, and the water had poured into an old 

 river bed not far from the line and had entered 

 the bed of what was known as New River. From 

 here it ran south to a dry lake, about fifty miles 

 southwest of Yuma, about midway to the delta, 

 then striking the dip toward Salton flowed north- 

 west seventy-five or eighty miles, crossing the line 

 into California, flowing parallel to the moun- 

 tains. Finally, increasing in vigor, it found its 

 way into the sink of Salton and covered it, form- 

 ing a sea covering an area of five hundred square 

 miles in extent. Another river, called a branch 

 of New River, was formed at this time that 



