BORAX  LAKE  AND  SULPHUR  BANKS  IN  CALIFORNIA.  157 
is,  in  brief,  a  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano,  or  at  least  presenting 
that  appearance.  That  my  reader  may  duly  appreciate  the 
rarity  of  the  curiosity  before  him,  I  would  remind  him  that  pro- 
bably no  white  man  ever  saw  its  like — there  being  no  other  of 
the  kind  save  in  Thibet.  Before  the  discovery  of  Borax  Lake 
in  California,  there  were  but  two  sources  of  supply  of  borax  to 
meet  the  demand  of  the  world  : — that  of  Thibet,  and  that  of  a 
firm  in  Liverpool  who  manufacture  the  article  by  a  chemical 
process.* 
Iron  coffer  dams,  having  chambers  about  five  feet  square,  are 
sunk  in  the  lake  ;  the  water  is  bailed  out  of  the  dams,  the  mud 
in  them  being  pressed  by  men  stamping  on  boards  that  cover  it, 
and  the  concrete  mass  taken  ashore  and  dried  in  the  sun,  the 
largest  borax  crystals  being  picked  up  during  this  operation. 
Crystals  are  found  from  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg  to  that  of  a  pea. 
The  earth  is  strongly  impregnated  with  borate  of  soda — biborate, 
strictly  speaking — is  subjected  to  lixiviation,  and  the  saturated 
water  is  slowly  evaporated  in  heated  boilers  until  the  octahedral 
crystals  are  formed.  In  the  sediment  are  iodine,  silicic  acid, 
silicate  of  lime  and  alumina  ;  the  first  is  likely  to  prove  valuable. 
At  the  present  time  about  four  thousand  pounds  of  borax  is  ob- 
tained daily ;  ten  to  fifteen  tons  will  be  the  daily  yield  on  the 
completion  of  the  works.  The  supply  may  be  regarded  as 
illimitable,  and  sufficient  for  the  demands  of  the  world.  It  is 
constantly  forming,  and  soon  there  will  be  no  borax  in  use  in 
the  arts  and  in  medicine  save  that  which  the  Golden  State  will 
furnish. 
SULPHUR  BANKS. 
A  hill  about  six  hundred  feet  high  separates  Borax  Lake  from 
the  sulphur  banks.  The  view  from  the  pass  over  that  hill  is  one 
of  surprising  beauty  and  grandeur.  A  lofty  mountain,  the  Uncle 
Sam,  in  front,  sections  of  Clear  Lake,  like  two  silvery  arms  em- 
bracing the  borax  peninsula,  and  the  tiny  mineral  lake  itself 
reflecting  the  landscape  more  distinctly  than  could  a  metallic 
mirror,  are  but  a  few  of  the  attractions  of  this  charming  spot. 
There  is  no  human  habitation  in  sight  save  the  works  of  the  Bo- 
*  The  author  forgets  the  lagoons  of  Tuscany. — Ed. 
