386 Recreations of a Sportsman 



skirted the old shell or sea beach from Cook's 

 Wells past Seven Wells, forming two great lakes, 

 and finally flowing into Salton. 



It was evident that this was not a new phe- 

 nomenon, and that it would occur again when 

 conditions were right. The expedition that de- 

 termined the cause of the inflow was under the 

 charge of a man named Patton. Previous to 

 this an Indian had been sent out, a famous run- 

 ner, to run around the sea, but he failed, as did 

 a party of miners in a boat. They travelled 

 one hundred miles, then returned, fearing that 

 they would be stranded. Patton began at 

 Yuma, sailed down the river in a skiff, with a 

 temperature of 112 in the shade. Fourteen 

 miles below Yuma he found a break, which he 

 entered, then passed into a slough, and after 

 fourteen miles of that came out into a large 

 lake near the little Indian camp of Sigeno, from 

 which a number of rivers were carrying water 

 to the northwest. In a word, he had struck the 

 beginning of the flow toward Salton. 



The appearance of the country here baffled 

 description. It was evident that the desert was 

 being licked up and the entire face of the land 

 washed away. The main stream was twelve feet 

 deep, and appeared to be rushing in every direc- 

 tion, giving the country the appearance of a 

 vast and constantly changing delta. The party 

 saw the tops of tall mesquite trees above the 



