Show PANGUITCH antor deseret news through the kindness of presidents mahonra M steele and david cameron I 1 came to this romantic spot in the mountains last night in company with brother steele leaving pan duitch for the lake we travel south up the slope of a low mountain for several miles pawing passing through forests of cedar and then turn to the west up through a romantic canyon on either side of which grow stately pines with an undergrowth of quaking asp and cedars reaching beaching the panguitch creek and crossing the same twice in following it up for several miles we finally reach the summit of a low mountain ridge where one of the most beautiful landscapes that can be met with in the rocky mountains suddenly bursts into view for there right at our feet lies one of the finest sheets of water in america surrounded by forest covered mountains whose snow capped summits are reflected in the beautiful transparent water the panguitch lake is about two miles long from east to west and a little over one mile ir width it has well defined shores all around but while it washes the mountain base on the north side there is a narrow strip of beach land on the east and south sloping gently toward the mountains while a small body of meadow land skirts its shores on the west the lake of which the altitude to is about feet abounds in fine mountain trout which made it a favorite resort for the red man of the mountains mountain in past years as also of the whites panguitch is the indian name for fish A number of stories have been circulated about the enormous depth of the late lake some claiming it to be almost bott emles in some same places but our friend brother ibsen who has lived on the lake shore for many years and knows every nook and corner of it assures us that the average depth is not over forty feet the deepest place he has ever been able to find did not exceed fifty feet three streams of considerable sid erable size and several smaller ones that cease to flow in the latter part of the summer feed the lake rhe fhe largest of these i called blue spring creek puts in the south west canyon creek comes in from the mountains on the west and ibsen creek named after brother ibsen whose ranch stands near its confluence with the lake puts in from from the north the outlet panguitch creek is at the extreme northeast corner here the good people of panguitch have built a dam consisting of solid masonry of rock which ahn can back up the water ten feet but has so far only neon taxed to the capacity of raising it seven feet it is one of the most successful dams ever built and major powell is reported to have said once that the panguitch lake was waa the best beat natural reservoir within the borders of the united states and be by actual measurement came to the conc conclusion lasion that the water in the lake could be raised thirty live feet by building a dam seventy feet long across the outlet the present dam dain which is the product of president jesse W Cros bys frugal mind was built in 1883 at a cost of about 1600 1500 the wall is 18 eighteen feet thick at the bottom and ten feet on the top it Is ie built twelve feet high from the bottom of the creek and fifty feet long the natural channel of the outlet cuts cute through a ledge edge of solid rook rock for a distance of a quarter of a mile there is perpendicular rock walls wails on both sides and the stream leaps over three precipices making that many cataracts the lower and largest one of which is about feet high emerging from its narrow channel at this point the panguitch creek winds its way through a fine canyon until it reaches the valley below where it is used for irrigation purposes by the panguitch people in the summer time the panguitch lake is a favorite place of resort for the people of parowan carowan Pa rowan beaver panguitch and other who occasionally gather hereto here to celebrate independence dagand day and pioneer day A great number of tourists from a distance also visit here including a number of the leading men of the church who have paid frequent visits to the lake with their families the climate i n the hot summer months is very pleasant the night air is exceedingly pure and invigorating and the water in the mountain streams putting into the lake very good it is however quite muddy sit at times in fact the vind either blows quite hard or else it is a perfect calm the winters are usually very cold and dreary snow falls to the depth of many feet and the lee ice on the lake has a thickness of three feet or more it freezes every month of the year and only three days ago mrs ibsen broke off icicles from the roof ot her house that measured several inches in length there are over a dozen ranches on the lake shore or in its immediate vicinity but with the exception of two or three they are all deserted in the winter months james montague keeps a sort of a hotel at his ranch located on the south side ot the lake and near his place some parowan carowan people have built a dancing or amusement hall which is used for differ different eDt kinds of entertainment in the summer the panguitch lake cannot like boar bear lake in the north boast of its monsters brother ibsen said he be was the greatest monster around the lake and his bis avera average e weight is only pounds but brother steele told of a certain fish which his sister caught swimming in the lake many years ago who was six feet long his other name was joseph otherwise the fine mountain trout which abounds in the lake seldom exceeds one and a half pounds in weight the largest brother ibsen ever caught weighed three pounds at this time of the year the surface of the lake is covered with ducks and mud hens the surrounding mountains are covered with the dif different terent kinds of pine quaking asp cedar mahogany and sheep according to reports there were of the latter grazing in the immediate vicinity of the lake last summer there are also a large number of horses and cattle feeding on the mountain slopes about two miles south of the lake ig a fine little valley called little valle valley V or bluesprings Blue Springs valley at the foot of the mountains bordering this valley on the south is one of uie the largest and most peculiar springs I 1 have ever seen A stream which at once is large enough to run a grist griat mill arises from a pond circular in form which has a depth of fifty feet in the middle is about feet in diameter and surrounded by blurs bluffs the water in this pond is bluish in color a fact which has undoubtedly suggested the name it bears blue spring the creek which issues is also called blue creek hut unlike the blue springs in box rider elder county where the water to is brackish and bad the water in this blue spring is of the best and purest that can be found in the mountains leaving the lake at the west end and proceeding about six miles up west canyon the traveler reaches the summit of the mountains east of parowan carowan Pa rowan from which one of the grandest sights and most magnificent views is had the whole country westward including the escalante desert and as far as aa the pioche mountains in nevada is ig here exposed to view and the number of mountain peaks that can be counted from this point is simply astonishing this morning when brother steele drove around the west end of the lake with the team brother ibsen and I 1 rowed a boat across its placid waters if the scenery from the shore or a neighboring peak is grand and aw inspiring the view obtained from the centre of the lake is doubly so the transparent water in which the mountains cast their shadows all around the numerous crags cliffs cliff s massive rock walls walla canyons meadows forests and the cattle upon a thousand hills which greets the eye in every direction fills every admirer of the wonderful creati creations of the almighty with lofty and sublime thought and nils fills the hearth with respect and reverence for him who created the heavens and earth the sea and the fountains of water s ANDREW JENSON PANGUITCH TAKE LAKE garfield county utah june ath 1891 1801 |