OCR Text |
Show HAZINESS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 201 from what quarter the wind may come, nor how great its force, the air continues to be hazy, so that it is impossible to see any distant object with distinctness. Whether it be owing to the elevation and consequent rapid evaporation from the lake, I cannot say, but it occasions great vexation and delay in the observations upon distant objects, and renders the work liable to uncertainty and error. About two P. M. a most furious gust came up from the south- west, with heavy thunder, and a copious shower of rain and hail- stones as large as hazel- nuts. The squall lasted about twenty minutes, forcing the water up over the beach, overthrowing the tents a second time, completely flooding us with brine, and forcing us to re-pitch our camp higher up the beach. In the course of an hour a fresh gust came up from the west, but it soon hauled into the north, and blew with fury all the night. The weather was quite cold, and the wind piercing, so that we were obliged to bank up the bottoms of the tents, inside and out, with large stones and sand, to keep them from being blown away, and to exclude the chilling blast, which rendered great- coats indispensable to comfort. The yawl is doubtless out on the lake to- night, and the crew exposed to all the inclemency of the storm. Tuesday, June 11.- The gale still continues, the temperature resembles that of an October morning much more than one in June. Closed tents at breakfast, and the survey party running their line buttoned up to the throat. The morning is bright and clear with flying clouds. The haze, however, envelops the sides of the distant mountains in a mist which renders their outlines distorted and indistinct. The yawl arrived in the course of the morning under oars, having dragged her anchor and drifted to leeward. The night upon the lake, in the open boat, was any thing but agreeable: the gale had raised a heavy sea, which frequently broke over the bows, drenching every one to the skin, wetting their blankets, and rendering sleep impossible. They had reached the promontory on Sunday night, but, in the darkness, had struck it too far north. Yesterday they clothed the station, ( which is now quite visible,) filled up their water- vessels, and were about leaving the springs when the storm overtook them. They had very little hail, although in camp it fell very abundantly. They represent the lake as being much higher than when we were last there; owing doubtless to the increased melting of the snows in the mountains, consequent upon the advance of the season. The water, |