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Show [ 174 J 154 verted into a crust of common salt, which co,·ered also our hands and arms. u Captain," said Carson, who for some time had been looking suspiciously at some whitenirlO' appearances outside the nearest islands,'' what are tho e yonder ?-won'tyou just take a look with the g.lass ?'' We cease.d paddli.ng for a moment and found them to be the caps of the waves that \\ere begtn· niug to break uhder the force of a strong breeze. that was comir!g up the lake. The form of the boat seemed to be an admtrable one, and 1t rode on the waves like a water bird ; but, at the same time, it was extremely slow in its progress. \Vhen we were a little. more than half way a~ross th? reach, two of the divisions between the cylinders ~ave way, and tl requtred the constant use of the bellows to keep in a sufficient quantity of air. For a lona time we scarcely seemed to approach our island, but gradually we wo~ked across the rougher sea of the open channel, into the smoother water under the lee of the island; and began to discover that what we took for a long row of pelicans, ranged on the beac~, were only low cliffs whitened with salt by the spray of the waves; and about noon we reached the shore, the transparency of the water enabling us to see the bottom at a consider· able depth. It was a handsome broad beach where we landed, behind which the hill, into which the island was gathered, rose somewhat abruptly ; and a point of rock at one end enclosed it in a sheltering way ; and as there was an abundance of drift wood along the shore, it offered us a pleasant encamp· ruent. \V e did not suffe·r our fragile boat to touch the sharp rocks; but, getting overboard, discharged the baggage, and, lifting it gently out of the water, carried it to the upper part of the beach, which was composed of very small f1 agments of rock. Among the successive bc..nks of the beach, formed by the action of the waves, our attention, as we approached the island, had been attracted by one 10 to 20 feet in breadth, of a dark-brown color. Being more closely examined, this was found to be composed, to the depth of seven or eight and twelve inches, entirely of the larva; of insects or in common language, ()[the skins of worms, about the size of a grain' of' oats, which had been washed up by the waters of the lake. Alluding to this subject some months afterwards, when travelling through a more southern portion of this region, in company with Mr . .J osepb Walker, ?n old hunt~r, I was informed by him, that, wandering with a party of men In a mountam country east of the O'reat Californian ranrre he surprised a party of several Indian families enc~mped near a small salt lake, who aban· ?on~d their l?dges gt ~i~ approach, leaving every thing behind them. Be· tug Ln a starvwg condttwn, they were delighted to fi11d in the abandoned lodges ~ number of skin bags, containing a quantity of what appeared to be fish, dr:ted and pounded. On this they n1ade a hearty supper; and were g~thermg around an abundant breakfast the next morn ina when Mr. Walker du;covered that it was with these, or a similar worm, tha~'the bags had been ~ll~d. The stomachs o_f the stout trappers were not proof against their pre· JUdtces, and the repulstve food was suddenly rejected. Mr. Walker had furth~r opportunities of ~eeing these worms used as an article of food ; and 1 am mchned to think they are the same as those we saw and appear to be a product of the salt lakes. It may be well to recall to y'our mind that Mr. Walker was a~sociated with Captain Bonneville in h~s expedition to the Rocky m~untams; and has since that time remained in the countr)', gen· erallY t·e st d m· g · · In some one of the Snake villages, when not engaged to one |
