Silver Lake

“ For soon the picnic and excursion crowds will be coming to Silver Lake, and I’ll be so busy attending to the boats, the soda-water and the ice-cream, that I won’t have any time to fish.”
As I have told you, Uncle Ben was to be in charge of Mr. Martin’s dock at the lake, and the old sailor was to have a man and a boy to help him. The man had come, but the boy had not yet been hired. Mr. Martin spent many days at Sunnyside Bungalow, at Silver Lake, as he had some one he could leave in charge of his store at Cresco. ”

“ At Four Lakes is a junction with a paved road: Right from the junction the road zigzags through a bunch-grass and farming area, occasionally spotted with clumps of bull pine. Orchards here, once fairly productive, are now far from prosperous-looking. Slightly to the left of the road is SILVER LAKE BUTTE, partly wooded at its base, nearly bald at the summit. SILVER LAKE, 3.4 m., once offered excellent bass, perch, and crappie fishing. ”

“ Down the hill they raced to the boat dock, where Uncle Ben was waiting for them in the motor launch. Nora carried down the baskets of lunch, and soon the little party was on its way across Silver Lake to the picnic grounds.
Of course there were plenty of picnic places on the same side of the lake as Sunnyside Bungalow, but Mrs. Martin thought it would be more fun to take a little trip and find a new place. You can often have plenty of fun in your own yard, but, sometimes, it’s more fun to go to your chum’s. ”

“ The fish in Silver Lake had never seen a bait or felt a hook in their lives before that day. They actually fought for the prize. A big bully—as is usually the case in other spheres of life—gained it, and found he had “caught a Tartar.” He nearly pulled Nelly into the lake, but Roy sprang to the rescue, and before the child’s shout of surprise had ceased to echo among the cliffs, a beautiful silvery fish, about a foot and a half long, lay tumbling on the strand. ”

“ Then the shining object fell back into the lake again with a splash.
“What was that?” cried Ted.
“Did somebody throw something?” Janet asked.
“Maybe it was a turtle,” said Trouble.
“That was a fish that jumped out of the water and clean over the rowboat,” said Uncle Ben. “Fish sometimes leap out of the water that way when they want to catch a bug or a fly that is just above them. But I did not know there were such large fish in Silver Lake. I must bring a hook, line, and pole the next time I come out.” ”

“ It was very beautiful at Silver Lake after the storm. The rain had washed all the dust from the leaves of the trees, and when the sun shone on the leaves they were such a bright green that it was most pleasant to look at. The showers, too, made more blossoms come out in the woods, and Jan gathered a fine bouquet for her mother, who liked blossoms in the bungalow. But Jan took good care not to slip into any more bog holes as she picked the posies.
One day Uncle Ben had to go up to the far end of the lake, to a small town named Cardiff, to get some things Mrs. ”

“ I rode on up the valley to the settlement of Silver Lake City without meeting a soul.
“That city, as they call it, is beautifully situated, and is composed of adobe houses, the people seeming to have very little to do. Some mine in the mountains, others of the men are cowboys on the ranches down the valley, there are several stores, saloons, and a blacksmith shop or two, with an old mission chapel and a priest. There is a halfway inn there, and if the landlord is not a villain, then his looks belie him. ”

“ The views from the summit reach far and wide, eastward over the Mono Lake and Desert; mountains beyond mountains looking strangely barren and gray and bare like heaps of ashes dumped from the sky. The lake, eight or ten miles in diameter, shines like a burnished disk of silver, no trees about its gray, ashy, cindery shores. Looking westward, the glorious forests are seen sweeping over countless ridges and hills, girdling domes and subordinate mountains, fringing in long curving lines the dividing ridges, and filling every hollow where the glaciers have spread soil-beds however rocky or smooth. ”

“ SILVER LAKE, Lake County. Silver Lake post office was established on December 9, 1875. It was first in the home of G. C. Duncan at a point considerably east of the present site of the town of Silver Lake. Duncan was the first postmaster. The office was discontinued in March, 1880, and reestablished in July, 1882, at the ranch of C. P. Marshall one and one-half miles west of where the town now stands. The most important happening in the history of the community was a fire which occurred on December 24, 1894, in which 43 people lost their lives in the burning of one building. ”

“ The ice-house was one partly owned by Mr. Martin. In the winter, when Silver Lake was frozen, men cut big chunks of ice from it, and packed it away in sawdust in a small house, not far from shore. In the summer the ice was taken out and used to make ice-cream and to cool soda=water.
“OH, TEDDY MARTIN! ’OOK WHAT YOU DID!” CRIED TROUBLE.
The cakes of ice were so large and heavy that they were lifted from the house and lowered to the ground outside by a rope and pulley. ”

“ He is, ain't he?"
"Yes, he's loaded up to the muzzle with stocks, but the market's going up for him, all right."
The woodsman, turning his toes in a bit, softly strode away, and the next time Mr. Dougal Croupes heard from him, something was doing.
IV Corte returned home, and a day later he went to the Silver Lakes, arriving in the Treefall preserve soon after dusk. When he emerged, three days later, he was ready for Mr. Treefall's week-end on the Silver Lake preserve. ”

“ Every day the Curlytops had fun at Silver Lake, and the fun did not always end at night, for Uncle Ben or Daddy Martin would take them out on the water either in a sailboat a rowboat or in the motor launch. ”

“ Corte knew many things about Treefall. His most valuable information was the fact that Treefall enjoyed long walks alone over the trails of his preserve. The trail that led toward the highest knob in the Silver Lake range was a favorite, but Corte knew that the man had not as yet climbed the peak. He knew, moreover, that two of the preserve's guides had built a little lean-to camp beside the highest spring of water on the mountain, and that it was too small a camp to be meant for more than one man. The only man likely to use it was Treefall. ”

“ Lange and I advanced along the winding paths of the wood till we reached the great high road, where we were to meet the diligence by which I was to proceed to Madison, while Mr. Lange returned to Millwankee. Many incomparably lovely lakes, with romantic shores, are scattered through this district, and human habitations are springing up along them daily. I heard the names of some of these lakes—Silver Lake, Nobbmaddin Lake, as well as Lake Naschota, a most beautiful lake, on the borders of which I awaited the diligence. ”

“ This great park, that covers an area equal to the State of Connecticut, was, in the early years of the world’s life, a vast inland sea, though its elevation is now more than 7,000 feet. The earth has absorbed nearly all its waters, though San Luis Lake still lies near its center, shining like a sheet of silver, and is fed by thirty mountain streams. All around this lake, whose length is sixty miles, is a waving savanna of luxuriant grasses, which form the frame of as pretty a picture as the eye of man ever wandered over. ”

“ For these were the outguards of the Host; and the place whereon they were was at whiles dwelt in by those who would drive the spoil in Silver-dale, and midmost of the green-sward was a booth builded of rough stones and turf, a refuge for a score of men in rough weather.
So the men of the vanward gat them down the hill, and made the best of their way toward the grassy plain through that rocky maze which had once been as a lake of molten glass ”

“ And sometimes, when the lingering moon sheds a broad trail of light along the still waters of the lake, the graceful swimmer will glide across and disappear in the darkness, breaking the bright reflection into a multitude of chasing, quivering, trailing threads of silver. ”

“ But a thaw came suddenly and spoiled all their fish. A wolf carried off the greater part of their dried meat one day while they were absent from the hut. After this the frost set in with extreme violence, game became more scarce, and fish did not take the bait so readily, so that, although they procured more than enough for present consumption, they were slow in accumulating a travelling store; and thus it came to pass that November found Roy and Nelly still toiling wearily, yet hopefully, on the shores of Silver Lake. ”

“ On a sultry afternoon, the wanderer over High Cross from Hawkshead suddenly sees a gulf beneath, a delectable vision of waters, the ancient Thurston mere; a lake of shining silver, chased with darker lines and patches as faint catspaws play here and there, with calm pools irradiating the sunlight like clusters of diamonds, the glow fining down to a distant wisp of blue threading between hills and woods. ”

“ It also receives the aqueous contributions of almost innumerable ravines, gorges, and canyons. It drains an area of over 500 square miles, composed largely of lofty mountains on which the snow falls to a depth of many feet, and by the melting of which the numerous streams are fed. There are also many living springs on the sides of the surrounding mountains, with a great number (both hot and cold) along the shores of the lake, and doubtless a much larger number deep beneath its surface. The only outlet of the lake is the Truckee 117 River, at its northwest corner. ”

“ It abounds in trout—a very game variety, introduced nearly thirty years ago. About the lake are numerous attractions. About a mile south from the lake, on a tributary creek, are falls over 100 feet in height; a mile north is a little gem of a lake, with an area of 50 acres, which is called the Lake of the Woods, and which is 7,500 feet (nearly a mile and a half) above the level of the sea; near at hand is Prospect Peak, from the top of which, in a clear day, mountain peaks distant 300 miles may be made out, while all about are other 134 tall peaks and objects of interest. ”

“ The lake is surrounded with grand old mountains. Lake Ridge, to the southward, rises to the height of 8,234 feet, and its lower part is covered with pine and other evergreen trees. To the west rise huge, bare granite mountains. The track of the Central Pacific Railroad runs along the side of the ridge to the southward, and presently disappears in a tunnel under the bald mountains in the west. Owing to the track being covered with snow-sheds, passengers get only occasional glimpses of the lake. ”

“ Small mountain game is plentiful near the lake. Bear may be found by those anxious to see them by taking a tramp in the chaparral thickets of the higher peaks. There is a good hotel at the lake, yet it is a great place of resort for campers. Where the greatest depth of water is only 80 feet, no one is afraid of drowning. The lake has an outlet, which is one of the affluents of the Little Truckee. ”

“ The waters of this placid subterranean lake are the brightest, loveliest blue that can be imagined. They are as transparent as plate glass, and their coloring would shame the richest sky that ever bent over Italy. No tint could be more ravishing, no lustre more superb. Throw a stone into the water, and the myriad of tiny bubbles that are created flash out a brilliant glare like blue theatrical fires. Dip an oar, and its blade turns to splendid frosted silver, tinted with blue. Let a man jump in, and instantly he is cased in an armor more gorgeous than ever kingly Crusader wore. ”

“ The road up the valley from Silvaplana lies straitly between the left shore of the lake and the mountains that rise precipitously from it. Walkers will do well, after Camfer, to take the path that skirts the lakes on the right side of the valley, every step of which is beautiful. It leads now under shady trees, now over parklike or rock-strewn slopes; picks its way along precipitous hillsides, amid many-hued crags, set with steadfast-rooted pine and larch, festooned with red roses, inlaid with dwarf rhododendron, blue clematis, and countless lovely flowers ”

“ The people on the east side of the valley who do not go to the sea coast find no lack of delightful summer camps among the foot-hills of the Cascade Mountains. The eastern half of Marion County is a natural park, where green hills overtopped by snow-peaks, solemn forest depths, mountain gorges, precipitous cliffs, lakes, and cataracts, alternating with s be reached in a few hours of travel. Silver Creek Falls, near Silverton, is a noted resort of the Salem people. The creek drops off a projecting shelf of rock one hundred and eighty feet in height, being dashed into a white cloud of spray. ”

“ There is a quiet horror about the Great Lakes which grows as one revisits them. Fresh water has no right or call to dip over the horizon, pulling down and pushing up the hulls of big steamers; no right to tread the slow, deep-sea dance-step between wrinkled cliffs; nor to roar in on weed and sand beaches between vast headlands that run out for leagues into haze and sea-fog. Lake Superior is all the same stuff as what towns pay taxes for, but it engulfs and wrecks and drives ashore, like a fully accredited ocean—a hideous thing to find in the heart of a continent. ”

“ The face of the water, that from a distance looks as smooth as a mirror, is broken into innumerable waves. The banks of this lake that seem to you as clean as if they were cut out of metal are really covered with reeds, waving their light plumes, and with irises, whose flower is like a human eye among drawn swords. Each morning white mists cover the lake, which shines like armour under the midday sun. But you must not go near it, for the Sylphs live there who draw travellers down into their crystal manor. ”