196 strong's knob — cloth cap. 



riclily rewarded for our toil. Beneath us, to the west, lay an ex- 

 tended plain of bare, arid sand — stretching, apparently, to the 

 great range of mountains forming the ancient barrier of the lake- 

 waters in that direction. The water-line of the lake bounded this 

 flat on the north. South-west from the water, and bounded on the 

 east by the range upon which we stood, an immense flat stretched 

 far to the southward, until its termination was lost in the haze 

 which pervaded the atmosphere. This, doubtless, comprised within 

 its dreary waste the desert over which we had passed the preced- 

 ing autumn. 



To the east and north-east lay the lake in calm and placid 

 beauty ; while to the south stretched the broken and rugged moun- 

 tain upon which we were standing, whose fantastic peaks stood out 

 in bold relief against the pure and azure sky. But, beautiful and 

 interesting as was this vast panorama of mountain, plain, and wa- 

 ter, the view to the northward and westward was any thing but 

 encouraging. In continuation of the survey, the distance from this 

 point to Dolphin Island must be traversed ; but how, was a ques- 

 tion much more easily asked than answered. 



The cliff", or conical peak, which we climbed to-day, consists of 

 black and gray limestones, of various textures, and all of it highly 

 fossiliferous, its character, in this respect, becoming more marked 

 as we ascended, until we reached the summit, called the " Cap," 

 which is almost entirely formed of a mass of cyatliophyllce, im- 

 bedded in limestone, constituting a complete conglomerate of these 

 fossils. About halfway up the ascent, was a dark, coarsely granular 

 limestone, crystalline, and filled with minute fossils of Ortris. 



The cliff's were veined in many places with fine white, fibrous calc 

 spar, half an inch thick, some of which was beautifully variegated 

 and stained by iron. At the western base of the mountain, we 

 found quite a large cave, the walls of which were incrusted, in 

 places, with salt, half an inch thick; and cyathophyllce projected 

 abundantly from its sides. 



On our return to camp, a line of soundings was taken from the 

 knob to the island : the deepest water found was ten feet. 



Tuesday, June 4. — The last two days have been occupied in 

 surveying the island, in finishing the station upon its summit, and 

 reconstructing that on Dolphin Island, which had been destroyed 

 by the storm of Saturday. Our stock of water being reduced to 

 less than one day's supply, I started at sundown for the eastern 

 side of the lake, to renew it, determining to run all night, so as to 



