of the borates by the sulphuric acid generated by atmospheric action on the sulphur in which the soil abounds; or the same decomposition may be produced by the hydrosulphuric acid passing up in gaseous form from the laboratory nature has established beneath. The same action, doubtless, takes place in the water, but the boracic acid set free is at once taken up by the excess of alkaline matter, while, in the efflorescence, no fresh supply of alkali offering, the acid remains in its free state when once displaced by more powerful acids.

"These springs seem to be identical in the character of their waters with the Tuscan springs, and therefore doubtless possess the same extraordinary medicinal virtues. As a source of borax these springs could be made available, but as the owners of this locality possess others of superior richness, it is not likely to be ever called to yield its mineral treasure. The situation is a pleasant and romantic one. The distance from the town of Colusi is thirtyfive miles, over mostly a smooth and pleasant road. From Clear lake it is eighteen miles, and over rather a rough country. The Indian name of the place is Co-no-to-tok, a generic word having reference to the white appearance of the ground. Mr. Archibald Peachy located a three-hundred-and-twentyacre school land warrant on this place in behalf of the borax company. After satisfying myself with the examination of this interesting spot, noting nothing of interest save a 'soda spring,' the water being impregnated to a remarkable degree with carbonic acid gas, about eight miles from the lake. A chemical test also detected boracic acid in small quantity. The following day we reached the Hill of White Powder,' the goal of our hopes, on the margin of Clear lake. This White Powder Hill,' the goal of our hopes, proved an illustration of how little the recollections of mere casual observers are to be depended upon. The hill, in place of consisting of materials in a state of disintegration, so as to admit of being shoveled up, as my friend supposed, proved to be a concrete volcanic mass, bleached white by sulphurous fumes, and looking, at a little distance, like a huge mass of slaked lime, which the inattentive observer might readily suppose to be a hill of white powder.' The hope of a treasure in the form of borate of lime vanished forever.

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"The road had been rather toilsome, the weather exceedingly hot, and my guide not very well; and as he had gone the full length of the contemplated journey, and felt somewhat disgusted at the result so far, and had nothing more to draw his attention in this direction, he proposed to return at once by the way of the Irishman's 'borax lake' and Vanbibber's nitre placer. This was agreed upon; so, collecting a few specimens of efflorescent matters from the ground, and filling a bottle with the water in the ravine, I closed the examination of the Hill of White Powder.' The ravine I afterwards called the "boracic acid ravine," and the white hill is now called Sulphur Bank.' Of these I shall have occasion to speak hereafter.

"Before leaving the neighborhood I determined, however, to know something more of its surroundings. I learned, upon inquiry of Mr. Hawkins, who lives near the spot, that a place not far off, known by the name of Alkali lake,' presented a rather peculiar appearance. Hawkins consented to act as my guide. After travelling a short distance, and clambering to the narrow edge of an almost precipitous mountain ridge, we looked down the opposite slope, equally steep, on a small muddy lake that sent up, even to our elevated position, no pleasant perfumes. Thus, on one of the hottest days September ever produced, without a breath of air to dilute the exquisite scent exhaled from two hundred acres of fragrant mud, of an untold depth, I slid down the mountain side into Alkali lake,' waded knee-deep into its soapy margin, and filled a bottle with the most diabolical watery compound this side the Dead Sea. Gathering a few specimens of the matter encrusting the shore, I hastened to escape from a spot very far from being attractive at the time, but which I have since learned to have no prejudice against. Of this place I shall

have occasion to say more. On my return to Hawkins's, who had the kindness to entertain me with the genuine hospitality of a frontiersman, I looked to my last specimens and found encouraging results in the partial chemical examination I was able to give them. I now again placed myself under the guidance of my friend Lewis, and we started for the Irishman's house in Bear valley. We found the owner of the 'borax lake,' but the borax had evaporated with the water and left nothing but common salt, tinged of a beautiful bluish red color, which I suppose had given the notion that it was something out of the usual way. It was the only specimen of salt I remember to have seen in the coast range that contained no boracic acid in any form; it was guiltless of even a trace. The next step was to examine the nitre region. Major Vanbibber, the reputed discoverer, being a grandson of Daniel Boone, ought to possess, one would suppose, an hereditary knowledge of one of the essential constituents of gunpowder; and as Colonel Lewis had shown me a specimen of very pure nitre, which he said the Major had given him, I rather expected to find a few more left. This, however, was rather worse than the 'borax lake' disappointment; the major had actually forgotten where the lake was, and whether there were any more specimens than those he gave Lewis. The major, I believe, must really have forgotten, for upon subsequent examination the specimen proved to be refined saltpetre that undoubtedly came from some shop or drug store.

"There was certainly a mistake about its origin; but I felt amply repaid for a hard day's ride in spending a night under the hospitable roof of a direct descendant of the renowned Backwoodsman of Kentucky.' I observed near the major's house a small pond. Some salt crystals I picked up had the pecnliar bevelled angles indicating the presence of borax. The quantity was inconsiderable. Thus ended my first expedition to Clear lake. We here set our faces direct for Colusi, as there seemed nothing more to be seen; and as I had engaged the horses we rode at rather a high per diem, I felt anxious to terminate the trip. From Colusi my guide returned to Sacramento and I to Red Bluff; from there I came again to San Francisco, for the purpose of testing my specimens more critically than I was able to do in the country.

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Convinced of the richness of my Alkali lake' specimens, it remained to be seen whether the quantity was sufficient to justify the hope of making it available for practical purposes. A further and more strict examination was neces sary. I felt, too, the propriety of a thorough exploration betwixt the Bluff and Clear lake, and more thence to the bay of San Francisco, thus rendering continuous the reconnoissance from Pitt river to the last-named point, a distance, in a direct line, of two hundred miles. After a hard struggle for the funds requisite, I returned to Red Bluff; and from thenee, in company with my son, commenced a pretty thorough examination of the coast range and the adjoining edge of the Sacramento valley.

"Nothing of much importance presented itself until reaching a saline district, about eighty miles south of Red Bluff. It is one of the branches of Stony creek. Valuable salt springs exist here. The water contains the borates in minute quantities; and one spring was remarkable for the enormous proportion of iodine salts held in solution. In our slow, onward progress borax now and again manifested itself; but as it had grown familiar, I no longer went into ecstacies over a mere trace. I still treated, however, the slightest indications with due deference, and noted their localities.

"In due time I again reached the 'white hill.' The disgust of the first disappointment had worn off, and I felt disposed to re-examine the locality more critically. I now discovered, for the first time, that the white hill' was mostly a mass of sulphur, fused by volcanic heat. The external dust, composed of sulphur, mixed with sand and earthy impurities, and formed a concrete covering of a whitish appearance, hiding the nature of the mass beneath. On

breaking the crust, numerous fissures and small cavities, lined with sulphur crystals of great beauty, were brought to light. Through the fissures, which seemed to communicate with the depth below, hot aqueous vapors and sulphurous fumes constantly escape. The fused mass, covering many acres and exhibiting a bluff front some forty feet high, is exceedingly compact and ponderous in structure; of various shades, from yellow to almost black. It seems to be very pure sulphur. The quantity is enormous, and at no distant day may be made available.

"From the sulphur bank' I again turned my attention to the ravine. The water, as I had before ascertained, was strongly impregnated with boracic acid, in a free state. The stream is small, yielding only about three gallons per minute, and is soon lost in the sandy soil, in its progress toward the margin of the lake. From the porous nature of the ground surrounding the spring, and saturated with the same kind of acid water, it is probable a large quantity escapes without making its appearance on the surface. The soil for some yards on either side of the ravine is, to the depth of an inch or two impregnated with boracic acid in summer. Sulphuretted hydrogen escapes in continued bubbles through the water, a feature common to all the borax localities I have yet found; in some places, however, the carburetted takes the place of the sulphuretted hydrogen. The head of this ravine is about three hundred yards from the margin of Clear lake, winding around the base of the sulphur bank,' receiving some small springs in its course, which seem to have their origin beneath the sulphur. The flat land bordering the lake, some eight acres in extent, through which the ravine runs, shows a strong impregnation of boracic acid in its soil. The point where the ravine enters the lake is marked by a large quantity of water of a boiling temperature, issuing through the sand, a little within the margin of the lake. This percolation of hot water covers an area of one hundred and fifty by seventy-five feet. This fact I observed on my second visit, but not until the third or fourth visit did I ascertain that the water contained a considerable quantity of borax, along with an access of boracic acid. From a gallon I obtained four hundred and eighty-eight grains of solid matter, consisting of borax, boracie acid, and a small portion of silicious and other earthy impurities. On digging to a slight depth just outside the lake, the hot water burst up and ran off freely. From one of these places a stream issued of sixty gallons per minute. I have estimated the entire quantity at three hundred gallons per minute, and feel very confident of being largely within bounds. The stream seems to come from the direction of the sulphur bank, and it would probably be easy to intercept it be fore it enters the lake, by digging a little above high-water mark. It may be well to note here, that the difference between high and low water marks in Clear lake is never more than three feet.

"The enormous amount of borax these springs are capable of yielding would equal half the quantity of that article consumed both in England and America. The large quantity of water in which it is dissolved would, of course, involve the necessity of extensive works for evaporation. Graduation, as a cheap and effective method of evaporation, would be exceedingly applicable here, from the continued prevalence of winds throughout the entire year. These winds blowing almost unceasingly from the west, form a peculiar feature of the country about Clear lake.

"There is nothing to hinder the manufacture of many million pounds of borax per annum, at a cost but little beyond that of producing salt by graduation. Fuel for final evaporation could be had in any quantities from the extensive oak forest in the immediate vicinity. With these observations I dismiss this locality, adding, however, that Mr. Joseph G. Baldwin located this with a four hundred and eighty acre school land warrant, for the benefit of a borax company.

"Having wandered from my story of my second visit to the sulphur bank,' and blended with it observations made in several subsequent examinations, I

now turn to my second visit to Alkali lake, or Lake Káysa, as the Indians call it. I need only say, however, I became fully satisfied of the great value of the locality, the extent of which has only been recently developed. I observed that the lake itself contained but little water, but that wells dug anywhere near its margin immediately filled with the same kind of water; the conclusion, therefore, was, that an almost inexhaustible supply was obtainable. I learned, too, that what seemed to be mud at the margin and shelving off and covering the entire bottom to the depth of some feet, was a peculiar jelly-like substance of a soapy feel and smell. This matter I found to be so rich in borax, that I supposed it might be advantageously used for the extraction of the mineral. Thus satisfied of the value of the lake, I little thought that within a few yards of me lay an additional value in the form of millions of pounds of pure borax crystals, hidden by the jelly-like substance I was then contemplating. This important fact was not observed until some six months afterwards.

"This locality is by far the most important of any I have yet discovered. It is situated, as may be seen by reference to the accompanying map, in the angle formed by the two prongs into which Clear lake is divided at its eastern extremity. The elevated hill land that fills the angle separates into two sharp ridges, each following its division of the lake and leaving a valley between, of a triangular shape, near the apex of which lies Alkali lake. Clear lake is, therefore, on two sides of it, distant to the north about a mile, and to the south about half the distance. The open part of the triangular plain looks to the east, and expands into an extensive valley, from which it is cut off, partially, by a low volcanic ridge running across from one hill to the other, and thus enclosing the triangle This ridge is composed of huge masses of rock resembling pumice-stone, which float like cork in water. A thin stratum of ashy-looking soil, scattered over with obsidian fragments, covers the ridge and affords root to a stunted growth of manzanita shrubs.

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"The whole neighborhood bears marks of comparatively recent volcanic action. Indeed, the action has not ceased entirely yet; hot sulphurous fumes issue from several places on the edge of the ridge just named, on the side next Alkali lake.

"The lake,' as it is called, is rather a marsh than a lake. In winter it covers some two hundred acres, with about three feet depth of water. In the dry portion of the year it shrinks to some fifty or sixty acres, with a depth of only a few inches. The soapy matter' covers the entire extent with a depth of nearly four feet, the upper part, for a foot in depth, being in a state of semifluidity, the lower having the consistency of stiff mortar. Beneath this is a rather tenacious blue clay. This water was nearly as highly charged with solid matter as that of the lake in its highest summer concentration; the proportion of borax to other substances being greater. The soapy or gelatinous matter, however, presents the greatest feature of attraction, being filled with the prismatic crystals of pure borax. They vary from a microscopic size up to the weight of several ounces. These crystals are semi-transparent, of a whitish or yellowish color. The form is an oblique rhomboidal prism, with replaced edges and truncated angles. In some cases the edges are bevelled, and in others the unmodified hexahedral prism exists. Beneath the gelatinous matter, and on the surface of the blue clay, and from sixteen to eighteen inches in it, crystals of a similar form, but much larger, are found. They weigh from an ounce, and seem to have been formed under different circumstances from the other crystals. My first impression was that they had been formed in the upper stratum, and, sinking by their own gravity, had found their present position. An examination proves, however, that they were formed where they lie, as particles of the blue clay are found enclosed in their centres, which could not have been the case had the upper crystals been their nuclea, for no blue matter is ever found in them.

"The first inquiry of practical interest relates to the quantity of borax already formed. On this subject I cannot speak with perfect confidence. The quantity is very considerable, but I do not look on the experiments heretofore made to test this matter as conclusive. The area covered by the crystalline deposit is not coextensive with that of the lake, but has been found over a space of about twenty acres in the examination made so far. A very valuable collateral product, iodine, with the compounds of which the water seems to be exceedingly rich, could be made a source of revenue with but little additional expense. With regard to the quantity of iodine I cannot speak positively, not having isolated the product; but from the brilliant reaction with the qualitative tests, there can be no doubt of its being great. Should this article be manufactured largely the sulphuric acid required might be made on the spot from the products of the sulphur bank,' one and a half mile distant. With this I leave Alkali lake.' I would state that I located this place in my own name for the company.

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"There is yet another important borax locality in the same vicinity, resembling much the foregoing in its more prominent features. It consists of a pond of water of about twenty acres. The bottom is covered with the same soaplike substance, but seems to contain no crystals. The water contains less solid matter in solution, but the percentage of borax is greater in proportion to the other substances than in the Alkali lake. The borax separates readily by crystallization, and forms about thirty-three per cent. of the whole matter. Like the foregoing, this pond has no outlet and no visible source of supply; yet it is said never to be dry, although the water is never more than three feet deep. It would perhaps be a profitable source of borax if the millions of pounds the before-described localities are capable of yielding be not enough to supply the demand. It is in the midst of a magnificent grove of pines and oaks. This place was taken by Mr. Archibald Peachy, by the location of a three-hundredand-twenty-acre school land warrant. The borates are also known to exist in other localities between Clear lake and Napa City. In Siegler valley there is a hot spring, in the waters of which I detected borate of strontia and other borate salts. Near Napa there is a borate spring, and one in Suisan valley, near the marble quarry. None of these places are important. The foregoing are the only borax localities known in the northern part of this State; and I feel confident there are no others in that quarter that can ever compete with the inexhaustible stores of the Alkali lake and the hot springs. I had expected to find something worthy of attention at or in the neighborhood of the geysers, but there was no trace of borates in the hot waters of those springs, nor anywhere totally in the surrounding district. The geological features of the country were so different from those of that where I had theretofore found the borates, that I was able to predict as soon as I saw it that nothing of the kind existed. In a hasty reconnoissance of the great Tulare valley I found traces, but nothing more, of these substances. I have reasons for doubting the existence of any large quantities in that region. That portion of the valley bordering on the Coast range might be worth examining further. It is there, if anywhere, valuable deposits may be looked for.

"There probably are as many as three districts in the lower part of the State presenting the borates. One or more valuable localities may probably be found among them."

4.-PRODUCT OF BORAX IN CALIFORNIA.

Up to this date but one borax company has been formed in California. There was some talk of organizing another company eight or nine months since, the parties interested having discovered on the shores of Owen's lake, in the southern part of the State, a substance resembling the borate of lime of South America