Show FISH LAKE lovely spot amid the mountain tops thou see the lovely and the wild mingled in harmony on natures face ascend our rocky mountains let thy foot gall not with weariness for on their tops the beauty and the majesty of earth spread wide beneath shall make thee to forget the steep and toilsome way it has been remarked that for extreme diversity ot scenery and climate the area embraced in the territory of ulab is almost without a parallel in chilly cold december can be found districts where the weather is delightful as spring and under a burning july aun numberless are the cool and retreats that barite attention while many of the lofty peaks are perpetu ally covered with snow not the least attractive feature of the wasatch range is the beautiful LAKES AMONG THE HILLS the great salt lake rests in its basin feek above the ocean level but at a much greater altitude some of them as high as feet in the very tops of the mountains are lovely lakes choso whoso beauties and surroundings are almost unknown to the dweller in the vales below one 0 these however whose attractiveness has made it a resort tor pleasure tor hundreds of people from the settlements for a considerable distance around is known as fish late the name itself is derived from the plentiful supply of the finny tribe especially a SPECIES OF which ia found in its depths the lake is situated near the southeast corner ot county close to and even over the border line ia to county west of the valley or rather pocket in which it is located is grass valley where there are three nourishing settlements and still farther to the ecat the valley of the sevier while to the northeast is castle valley in which pale the county seat of emery county and to the southeast about twenty miles distant is babbit valley where lie the settlements of loa fremont and thurber diute piute county the lakenan only be approached from the north and south the wagon roads from the sevier through grass valley and that from rabbit valley converging and coming in from the latter direction while at the opposite end are the routes to castle valley and through sauna canon to the east and west are high mountains over which not even a trail finds its way fiah lake is a beautiful sheet of water seven miles in length and about a mile and a half in average breadth it is feet above sea level and ona calm day is perfectly smooth scarcely a being observable n the morning it spreads forth like AN IMMENSE and on its bright surface are reflected the green wooded mountains and blue sky while in its clear waters can be seen at a great depth lively trout darting hither and thither and on its bosom when undisturbed are flocks of wild ducks geese and other waterfowl the mountains which hem in the lake on either side do not equal in grandeur those of other parts of the range especially in the rugged cartons to the northward but they present many interesting features along their base are level plateaus broken by ridges on which in summer is an abundance of vegetation providing a good grazing ground skirting these are forests of and balsam while farther ap among the snows the pine and clr thickly cover the gronna the mountains on the east side present a dark green appearance being covered with bushes and timber those on the west are more rugged and in places are almost bare fish lake mountains as these are called nse 2600 feet above the lake the altitude of the highest point being feet prom these peaks which are almost continually covered with snow and are but a couple of hours climb frem the warm shores of the lake A PANORAMA spreads out to the wondering gaze of lie who ventures there an area of about 10 square miles is brought within view on a clear day A hundred annles to tha went can be seen the hills and vales of bulard coun ty with the intervening country which is very mountainous to the northeast the rugged surface of a great portion of emery county la vw ar away county loom almost at hie limit of vision lii a direction an unbroken succession ot mountain tops stretches away to north and south till some huge peak towering above his fellows hides all beyond the road which approaches from the south though over sleep hills is campara lively easy to travel antil the lake is reached then lor about four miles it passes through a grove of timber along the western shore where the gro literally strewn with boulders making travel exceedingly i difficult there an excellent camping ground is reached with timber water grass and many varieties of flowering plants in abundance and for several miles farthier fart lier on the road is almost as smooth and level as a carriage drive here aye crossed streams of clear COLD WATER which merge from under the huge masses of snow and ice in the ravines and dashing down the rocky glens and over precipices reach the placid lake within a mile of the place whence they issued forth the greatest depth of the lake has never been ascertained though at a point about liala way across to the opposite side from the camping place referred to soundings showed it to be feet deep on abe east side the mountains come down to the waters edge but on the west a natural levee which looks as though it wera thrown up by the hands of men instead of the action of the water keeps the lake within bounds the outlet to this body of water xa at its north end where in the summer it fills the channel of about twenty feet in width to a depth of about two feet along the course of the stream are a number of smaller lakes bordered by verdant meadows the creek winds its way to the northeast several miles and turning into a steep and rugged canon the cataract strong anen plunges along striking and raging As it a war waging its caverns and rocks among ac then flows in a southerly direction along the base of the thousand lake mountain through babbit valley and being fed by other mountain streams it increases and forms fremont biver formerly called the dirty devil a misnomer for the water is clear as crystal exempt when rendered muddy through neavy raina the laae waff first visited by white men in when a party from salt lake city who were exploring the country passed that way in later years it has become A PLACE for a summers out as in addition to its natural beauty and the bountiful supply of fish it affords wild game of various kinds abound in the neighboring hills and all the facilities for a good camping place are close at hand for many years the indians held exclusive control there but they have now given way A few still come up from babbit valley to fish and hunt among them being the old fish captain who is not very far short of a hundred years of age and whose front teeth are worn down by biting fish a method followed by the savages iu preference to throwing them out on the ground to die there la a superstition among the red men ABOUT being in ahe lake and very few of them leave ever been induced to venture on it in a boat in july 1886 when a smaill steamboat was launched on iti at the time the sevier stake mutual improvement association conference was being held there some of them were exceedingly fearful lest it should be seized by the erand seemed relieved when such an event did not occur in the winter season snow falls to a great depth m the mountains around and the lake ilsek becomes a sheet of ice though at that time of the year it is almost impossible to reach the place the weather opens up very early in the spring tor such an altitude the lake is a never failing source of supply to provide irrigating water for the farming tends in the valley below JHA |