AND PACIFIC COAST GUIDE.

167

 

The medicinal qualities of the water are | boldt, Winnemucca and Carson lakes,

highly spoken of by those who never tried
them, but we could learn of no reliable

analysis of its properties. To the right of

the track is located a 10-stamp quartz mill,
the ores for which come from the moun-
tains on the left. The Rye Patch and El-
dorado mining Districts are to the left,
from five to fifteen miles distant, for which
most of the supplies are hauled from this
station.

Oreana— is reached after passing over
a rough, uneven country for 10.:2 miles.
To the southeastward are located a num-
ber of mining districts, in which are lo-
cated a number of stamp mills and smelt-
ing works.

ving the station to the west, the long

gray line of the desert is seen cheerless
and desolate. We draw near the river
again and catch occasional glimpses of
narrow, green meadows, with here and
there a farm-house by the river-side;
pass a smelting furnace and stamp mill—
on the Humboldt River—to the right, which
has been dammed near by to afford water
power. Five miles from the station we
cross a Howe truss bridge over the river,
which here winds away on our left until it
reaches the lake a few miles beyond. The
current and volume of the river has been
materially reduced since we left it at the
head of the Big Bend.

Lovelocks—11.86 miles from Ore-
ana, derives its name from an old meadow
ranche which is situated near, upon which,
during the summer, large quantities of hay
are cut and baled for market. Some at-
tempt has been made at farming near by,
but little of the country is adapted to the
purpose. Cattle and sheep raising is the
principal occupation of the people—but
few herds will be seen hereafter on our
route. Reliable authority places the num-
ber of head of stock now along the Hum-
boldt River and adjacent valleys—1877—
cattle, 340,000 head; sheep, 30,000 head.
During the year there were shipped from
the same section to Chicago 60 car-loads of
cattle, and 456 car-loads to San Francisco.

Passing on over alkali beds, sand-hills
and sage-brush knobs, the meadow-lands
along the bottom get narrower, and
finally fade from sight altogether, and we
find ourselves fairly out on the

Great Nevapa Drsert—This desert

occupies the largest portion of the Ne-

vada Basin. In this section, to the north-
ward, is Mud Lake, Pyramid Lake, Hum-|

 

which receive the waters of several large
rivers and numerous small creeks. As we
have before stated, they form a portion of
that vast desert belt which constitutes the
central area of the Nevada Basin. The
desert consists of barren plains destitute of
wood or water, and low, broken hills,
which afford but little wood, water or

ass. It isa part of that belt which can
ve traced through the whole length of the
State, from Oregon to Arizona, and far
into the interior of that Territory. The
Forty Mile Desert, and the barren country
east of Walker’s Lake, are part of this
great division which extends southward,
continued by those desolate plains, to the
east of Silver Peak, on which the unfortu-
nate Buel party suffered so terribly in their
attempt to reach the Colorado River.
Throughout this vast extent of territo
the same characteristics are found—evi-
dences of recent volcanic action—alkaline
flats, bassalt rocks, hot springs and sandy
wastes abounding in all portions of this
great belt.

Although this desert is gece? spoken
of as a sandy waste, sand does not predom-
inate. Sand hills and flats occur at inter-

vals, but the main bed of the desert is lava

and clay combined—one as destitute of the
power of creating or supporting vegetable
life as the other. The action of the
elements has covered these clay and lava
deposits with a coarse dust, ged ae
sand, which is blown about and deposit
in curious drifts and knolls by the wind.
Where more of sand than clay is found,
the sage-brush — appears to have
obtained a faint hold of life, and bravely
tries to retain it.

Granite Point—a flag station, is
8.33 miles from Lovelock’s. Passing on,
an occasional glimpse of Humboldt Lake,
which lies to the left of the road, can be
obtained, and in full view 7.65 miles fur-
ther, at

Brewn’s—This station is situated
about midway of the northern shore,
directly opposite

HumBoipt Laxp—This body of water is
about 85 miles long by ten wide, and is in
reality a widening of the Humboldt River,
which after coursing through 350 miles of
country, empties its waters into this basin.
Through this basin the water flows to the
plains beyond by an outlet at the lower end
of the lake, uniting with the waters of the
sink of Carson Lake which lies about ten