Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 January 1884 — BATHING IN SALT LAKE. [ARTICLE]

BATHING IN SALT LAKE.

The Wonderful Buoyancy of the Wfttei, and the Bangers to Be Avoided. _ During one of my visits I saw a lady just about to step into the water miss her footing and fall face forward. She struggled violently for several seconds, but her friends, who were unacquainted with the peculiar properties of the Salt lake water, did not suppose she was in peril. An alarm was, however, raised from the pier, and she was lifted to her feet. But for this timely help she would certainly have been drowned in less than two feet of water. It seems almost impossible that any liquid can be .so intensely salt as this. The swallowing of a very small quantity produces violent vomiting, the action of the salt being aggravated by several other alkalis held in solution. The proportion of salt alone is over 20 per cent.—somewhat greater than that of the Dead Sea—and, even in the rough way of making salt common in this region, namely, flooding meadows and awaiting the results of evaporation, a gallon of salt is obtained for every live gallons of water. To those who cannot swim, and who have been duly warned of the dangers to be avoided, bathing in Salt lake is particularly delightful. As one lies upon the water a sense of lightness seems to pervade the frame. One appears to be half floating, half flying, for only a very small portion of the body will sink into the water, and only the exercise of great muscular strength can keep the limbs upon the surface ol the water. The exhilaration produced by this novel feeling of lightness is very remarkable. It seems to give the limbs absolute rest as they float in the air, upheld by no conscious volition or expenditure of physical force. But to the swimmer the bathing is by no means so enjoyable. The resistance of the water is so great that to force a way through it requires great effort. I saw a strong swimmer, who had got out about 100 yards from the end of the pier, obliged to call for a boat, as he was too exhausted to make his wav back. On coming out it is necessary ,to sponge the body with fresh water, as the salt forms a complete scale armor. One man of our party, who forgot to use fresh water on his head, speedily had his black hair changed to a very light gray. Salt lake is about 100 miles long and its greatest width is fifty miles. The average depth is forty feet, and soundings have nowhere reached beyond ninety feet. The bottom is a hard, white sand, with a very gradually shelving shore, and, so far as is known, no form of animal or vegetable life exists in the water, which is wonderfully clear, the white sand being easily visible where the depth is over twenty feet. There are several islands in the lake, and all are mountainous, although some have some good farming land between the peaks. The two islands nearest to the city are Church island, so called from its form, and Kimball island, named after a prominent light of the Latter-Day Saints. The former is farmed, %ut the latter is the haunt ol sea gulls, which, during the fall, come here to breed. They make the journey from the Pacific coast in about two days, the distance being fully 800 miles. Thr»y live, while raising their young, upon worms and insects, and do not suffer from the loss of their usual fish diet. It is amusing to see them sailing about, looking sadly at the water, which they know bv bitter experience is a cruel disappointment, but never venturing to insert their bills in it. The young birds, and even some of the older ones, are quite tame, and come at the call of the saloon-keeper to be fed. When the old birds think that their offspring are strong enough for the long flight they give the signal for a start, and, after circling for a moment or two, bend their course due westward, and are seen ho more till the next year. There is a Territorial law against the destruction of these birds, and they seem to be thoroughly aware of their safety. In winter the storms upon the lake are often heavy, but there is no mercantile navigation, and the yachts, of which there are a good many, belonging to wealthy Salt Lakers, are safely housed. Eventually, as the Mormons extend their settlements in this region, which they very rapidly doing, the lake will become a very valuable means of communication; but since the dismantlement of the Gen. Garfield th<£re -.-bas HOi beesp % sjngl«""steamrb»s#t; Tirfge or small, upon its waters. —Salt Lake letter. .