ala? [ 174 ] 
-was danger of being blown into one of the open reaches beyond the island. 
At the distance of half a mile from the beach, the depth of water was 16 
feet, with a clay bottom; but, as the working of the Aa was very severe 
labor and during the operation of rounding it was necessary to cease pad- 
dling, during which the boat lost considerable way, I was unwilling to dis- 
courage the men, and reluctantly Ms up my intention of ascertaining the 
dépth, and the character of the bed. There was a general shout in the 
boat when we found ourselves in one fathom, and we soon after landed on 
a low point of mud, immediately undér the butte of the peninsula, where 
we unloaded the boat, and carried the baggage about a quarter of a mile to 
firmer ground. We arrived just in time for meridian observation, and 
carried the barometer to the summit of the butte, which is 500 feet above 
the lake. Mr. Preuss set off on foot for the camp, which was about nine 
gas distant; Basil accompanying him, to bring back horses for the boat 
baggage 
o The rude- ‘looking shelter we raised on the shore, our scattered baggage 
and boat lying on the beach, made quite a picture ; and we called this the 
erman’s cam asirts graveolens, and another new species of 
oBIONE, (O. contertifolia—Torr Frem.,) were growing on the low 
- grounds, with interspersed spots of an unwholesome salt grass, on a saline 
clay soil, with a few other plants. 
The horses arrived late in the afternoon, by which time the gale had 
inereased to such a height that a man could searcely stand before it; and 
we were obliged to pack our baggage hastily, as the rising water of the 
lake had already reached the point where we were halted. “Looking back 
as we rode off, we found the place of recent encampment entirely covered. 
The low plain through which we rode to the camp was covered with a 
compact growth of shrubs of extraordinary size and luxuriance. The soil 
was sandy and saline; flat places, resembling the beds of ponds, that were 
bare of vegetation, and covered with a powdery white salts, being inter- 
d among the shrubs. Artemisia tridentata was very abundant, but 
e plants were principally saline ; a large and vigorous chenopodiaceous 
a five to eight feet high, being characteristic, with Fremontia vermicu- 
laris, and a shrubby plant wiih seems to be a new salicornia. We reached 
the camp in time to eseape a thunder storm which blackened the sky, and. 
were received with a discharge of the howitzer by the people, who, having © 
been unable to see any thing of us on the lake, had begun to feel some 
uneasiness. 
September 11.—To-day we remained at this camp, in order to obtain 
some further observations, and to boil down the water which had béen 
brought from the lake, for a supply of salt. Roughly evaporated over the 
fire, the five gallons of water yielded fourteen pints of very fine-grained 
and very white salt, of which the whole lake may be regarded as a saturat- 
ed solution. A portion of the salt thus obtained a ogy subjected to 
analysis—giving, in 100 parts, the following proportio 
Analysis of the salt. 
Chloride of sodium, ae _) . - 
Chloride of calci an * - ot 
ide of magnesium ee eee : : * bog meee 
