On this occasion I witnessed the finest I have ever seen.
The hot sun playing upon the damp breeze rising from the lake, transformed
this desolate sea of salt and clay, into a charming picture. The horizon
and the sky were joined by a mirage of beautiful clear water, from which
islands and hills seemed to rise; even their shadows and those of the
trees with which they were clothed were reflected in the unruffled surface
of the lake. The long stretch of sand between, gave the picture the
appearance of a peaceful, natural harbour, which the tide was about to
fill.
We were unable to pay more than a flying visit to Mount Ida, but
sufficiently long to assure us of the auriferous character of its
neighbourhood. It is quite an imposing hill, rough, dark, and rugged, and
formed as if layers of black slate had been thrown violently against each
other. It rises some five hundred feet above the surrounding country.
We needed all our time to reach Siberia, before our provisions gave out.
There we arrived in due course, passing close, on our way, to the hills
near which Menzies afterwards made his great "find."
At Siberia a Government survey party, under Messrs.
