SOURCES OF WATER ON THE DESERT—WELLS. 
245 
season of floods only, and not then unless the river attains an unusual height. It is frequently, 
and perhaps generally, the case that the annual freshet subsides without filling the channel. 
The wells, if such they may he called, along the trail from the Colorado to Carrizo Creek, 
have already been described in the Itinerary. They exist chiefly in name, and require little 
description ; their condition at the time of my observations was abominable. Cooke’s Well was 
a muddy hole in the clay, to which the mules and animals of travellers had free access, and it 
was prevented from becoming a mere mud-puddle only by a few short boards surrounding the 
water. The water, consequently, was always muddy, and there was but a small supply in the 
pool. The Mezquite Well was in a similar condition, but could be considered as in better order, 
a barrel having been placed in it. The Alamo Well is about eighteen feet deep, and is planked 
and curbed. The pressure of the moist clay at the sides had, however, pressed the planks 
inwards, so that they were in danger of giving way, and permitting the well to become closed. 
The lining of the well was secured by cross strips of plank, which were insufficient, and should 
be replaced by strong timbers, arranged as in the shaft of a mine. 
Several other wells or holes in the clay have been excavated along the road, but at the time 
we passed they were filled up by the caving in of the banks, or by sand, so that they were use¬ 
less. There is, however, a well between the Big Lagoon and Carrizo Creek which was not 
visited by the Expedition, but is said to contain water. It is known as “ Sackett’s Well,” and 
its position is indicated on the map. The operations of the United States Land Survey have 
brought to light two new localities of water in the central part of the Desert. One is an Indian 
well, dug in an arroyo, of New River, probably, about eight miles north of Big Lagoon. The 
second is a group of springs, of highly carbonated water, directly west of Salt Creek. According 
to Mr. Charles H. Poole, who discovered them, they furnish a large supply of water of a 
very agreeable taste. The water boils up in several places, and has formed conical hillocks of 
earth about the openings, as shown in the sketch by Mr. Poole. 
SODA SPRINGS, COLORADO DESERT. 
The little hillocks vary from three or four to six and eight feet in height, and their sides are 
covered with grass. The water is found in the centre of these mounds ; and it is kept in con¬ 
stant motion by the escape of large quantities of gas, with which it is so highly charged that 
it was difficult to keep the corks in bottles that were filled with it. This gas was, without 
doubt, carbonic acid. The water, in its taste and effervescence, resembles soda water so closely 
that Mr. Poole gave the appropriate name of Soda Springs to the locality. They are about 
sixty miles distant, from the Colorado River, in a direct line, from the mouth of the Gila. 
The existence of an extensive lagoon, or dry lake-bed, covered with salt, in the northern and 
lowest part of the Desert, is reported, but its precise locality is not known. The Indians are 
accustomed to resort to it for salt, which they say is found there in large quantities. It is said 
that this lake is sometimes flooded with water ; and it is possible that it is supplied by New 
