692 THE SPRIhGS OF SOVTHERN FEVADA. 



oases bountifully watered with cxhaustlcss springs, some of which are very- 

 large, and the confluence of their waters form quite a large creek thatflow^ 

 off tewards the southwest, but is soon los-t in the sand. Splendid grass- 

 abounds all along the banks of this water course. Immediately around 

 the springs a band of southern Pah-Ute Indians is located, and by irriga- 

 tion succeeds in raising a quantity of corn, squashes and watermelons. 

 Willow trees and wild grapes are indigenous, the latter growing in the 

 greatest abundance. 



Mound Springs. B3' this appellation it is proposed to designate those 

 springs situated upon small mounds rising above the general surface of the 

 country surrounding them. The most prominent mound noticed by the 

 writer avhs upon the Yegas plains in Southern Nevada; its base was ciicu- 

 lar and about twenty-five feet in diameter, it was fifteen feet in height and 

 was covered with ^'tides'' and coarse grass. Several small sulphur springs- 

 oozed from its nearly fiat top, and provided moisture for the tangled vege- 

 tation. 



It appeared as if built up by the partial decay of organic matter and 

 the depositions of these numerous springlets. The soil was tremulous and 

 yielding to the tread, and resembled in that particular the sphagnous bogs 

 of Alaska. The fumes of sulphuretted hydrogen were strongly apparent 

 even at some distance from the mound. 



A short distance beyond the mound above mentioned, occurred the Las 

 Yegas Springs, the largest of which was appareutl3' about three feet deep, 

 with white Cjuicksand constantly " boiling up" from the bottom. Quite a 

 large creeli issued from it and ran in a southeasterly direction for a mile or 

 more. This spring had been regarded by the Indians and squatters as a 

 ratlier supernatural one, and among otlier improbable legends was said to- 

 be bottomless. This myth, at least, was exploded when a sixty pound 

 weight tied to a cord Avas used to sound its depth. This weight sank eigh- 

 teen feet and three inches through the ever varying quicksands, and then 

 came to rest. Further on ran the other springs, which also ])oured th^ir 

 waters in tlie creek flowing from the first one. On the left bank of this- 

 creek stood an old adobe enclosure, rectangular in shape, built by the Mor- 

 mons some years before. 



Two or three long cottonwood trees shaded the creek near the quadran- 

 gle. Here the bed of the stream was broken into a series of little rapids or 

 falls, none exceeding four feet in height, formed by rocks of calcareous tufa. 

 At the foot of these miniature waterfalls was a quiet pool, about five 

 feet deep and ten feet in diameter, used in former times by the Mormons as 

 a baptismal font. The land along the banks l)f the creek had been culti- 

 vated, and at this time were seen the remains of irrigating ditches, which 

 attest the industry and enterprise of this strange, and to our minds, de- 

 luded people. These fields are now overgrown with mesquite and thistles, 

 the latter attract numberless goldfinches, humming birds and bumble bees. 



