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A REOT Bakieiie 
BRST aos nea Tear crea een a 
— 
ro Noe EF ane 
eee 
80 
tions. The good water enhances its value. 
The next canyon is that of Carrizo 
Creek, which drains a large area of terri- 
tory from the summit of the Laguna 
and Cuyamaca mountains with the oak 
and pine forests to the pinyone forests in 
Lower California. The large Vallecito 
valley and the Jacumba valley drain 
into it and fair storage reservoirs could 
be secured in its upper portions sufficient 
tor the irrigation of large portions of the 
alluvial plains below. 
The San Felipe canyon and the Coyote 
creek, which joins it from near Borregio 
Springs, also drain a large area of the 
eastern slope of the Peninsula mountains 
—and the remarks about storage reser- 
voirs may be here repeated. The San 
Felipe and Carrizo creeks, it will be ob- 
served in consulting a good map, become 
one soon after emerging from the moun- 
tains, and their surplus waters flow 
united into Dry Lake. 
The San Felipe for a good portion of 
the length of the canyvun is usually dry, 
and neither it nor the Carrizo creek ever 
flow with any regularity after leaving the 
canyons. 
Borregio or Sheep Springs are situated 
in a low marshy meadow where water in 
a few spots may be obtained by digging 
a foot or two below the turf. A few spe- 
cies of grass, including, of course, Dis- 
tichlis maritima, which is the most 
abundant of all. Whenever even a few 
plants of this grass are found water may 
be found within a few feet of the surface 
that usually no man need to fear to drink. 
The turf is crisp asif frozen, and every 
bare piece of earth carries the illusion 
still further by its snowy whiteness — 
denoting the presence of alkali in the 
soil. 
On the northern slope of the Supersti- 
tious mountain, in a little cienega, there 
is said to exist a pleasant and healthful 
sulphur spring. ; 
A group of soda springs lie ‘‘ directly 
west of Salt Creek,’’ but I have not vis- 
ited the locality, the location of Salt 
Creek not being very clear in my mind, 
They have heen visited by several par- 
ties, who report the supply of water as 
abundant and verv agreeable to the 
taste. Carbonate of lime and carbonic 
acid gas are supposed products of these 
springs, though the water I believe has 
never been analyzed. 
The Dos Palmas springs are saline and 
have a temperature of 80 deg. F., accord- 
ing to Dr. W. F. McNutt. Reference 
will probably be made to the locality 
azain, as it is one of great interest. 
The springs at the Cahuilla Indian 
villages ‘‘ contain soluble salts in small 
quantities ’’ At Palm Springs the water 
in the hot springs appears to be very 
pure and free from solid impurities. 
‘“‘The unpleasant odor of sulphuretted 
hydrogen is removed by boiling.”’ 
Another source of water well known 
to travellers are the tanks or natural 
cavities in rocks which catch and hold 
rain water for long periods of time. Such 
a tank exists on the eastern point of 
Carrizo Mountain, and small ones are 
not rare in any of the mountains. To 
the north of the Southern Pacific railway 
in the mountains there is a large natu- 
ral reservoir which gave its name to 
the nearest railway station — Mammoth 
Tank. Between Canyon and Chucka- 
walla springs these tanks are abundant, 
and each, or each group of tanks, receives 
some appropriate or fanciful name. 
These tanks will retain the water in a 
pure state for a long period of time, and 
if large enough become coated over with 
slime and dead matter, which renders 
evaporation slower. Beneath the filth 
the water is found to be cool and to retain 
its purity. Often they are filled with 
sand or entirely obliterated, with only a 
moist circle of sand to denote the pres- 
ence of water. Such a find bas proved a 
blessing to many a solitary prospector in 
the arid mountains of this desert and in 
Arizona, New Mexico and Sonora. 

