RESULTS OF THE RECONNOISSANCE. 119 



circumnavigate it in canoes, by some trappers in search of beaver ; 

 but they all proved unsuccessful, from want of fresh water. 



The examination just completed proves that the whole western 

 shore of the lake is bounded by an immense level plain, consist- 

 ing of soft mud, frequently traversed by small, meandering rills 

 of salt and sulphurous water, with occasional springs of fresh, all 

 of which sink before reaching the lake. These streams seem to 

 imbue and saturate the whole soil, so as to render it throughout 

 miry and treacherous. For a few months, in midsummer, the sun 

 has sufficient influence to render some portions of the plain, for a 

 short time, dry and hard : in these intervals the travelling over it 

 is excellent ; but one heavy shower is sufficient to reconvert the 

 hardened clay into soft, tenacious mud, rendering the passage of 

 teams over it toilsome, and frequently quite hazardous. 



These plains are but little elevated above the present level of the 

 lake, and have, beyond question, at one time formed a part of it. It 

 is manifest to every observer, that an elevation of but a few feet 

 above the present level of the lake would flood this entire flat to 

 a great distance north and south, and wash the base of the Pilot 

 Peak range of mountains, which constitute its western boundary ; 

 thus converting what is now a comparatively small and insignificant 

 lake into a vast inland sea. This extensive area is, for the most 

 part, entirely denuded of vegetation, excepting occasional patches 

 of artemisia and greasewood. The minute crystals of salt which 

 cover the surface of the moist, oozy mud, glisten brilliantly in the 

 sunlight, and present the appearance of a large sheet of water so 

 perfectly, that it is difficult, at times, for one to persuade himself 

 that he is not standing on the shore of the lake itself. High rocky 

 ridges protrude above the level plain, and resemble great islands 

 rising above the bosom of this desert sea. 



The mirage, which frequently occurs, is greater here than I ever 

 witnessed elsewhere, distorting objects in the most grotesque man- 

 ner, defying all calculation as to their size, shape, or distances, and 

 giving rise to optical illusions almost beyond belief. With the ex- 

 ception of the two valleys lying at the south end of the lake, the 

 country is, as a place of human habitation, entirely worthless. 

 There is, however, one valuable use to which it may and perhaps 

 will be applied : its extent, and perfectly level surface, would furnish 

 a desirable space on which to measure a degree of the meridian. 



