While near the luminous peak no smoking…
source date: 1891
availability: public-domain

od the sulphur mountain, rising in pure yellow from a spur of the great Cocopah mountains. The cone that sends back the sun’s blazing rays in their own hue is about 150 feet high. The sides are not smooth, great boulders of clear sulphur, tons in weight resting on others. While near the luminous peak no smoking was permitted, and no matches were lighted, for a single spark would set on fire the whole mountain and send a cloud of smoke heaven- ward that would do for a signal to the people of Mars. Near sulphur mountain were found thous- ands of acres of deposit of alum, and two miles north of the alum, was discovered a vast bed of nitre of great purity. The deposit is easily accessible from the water and the value is in- calculable. When the surveyors reached Lake Jululee another surprise startled them. The waters of the lake formerly were salt; now they are pure and fresh, and during a part of their sur- vey in the arid regions, twenty Indians were constantly employed carrying water from the lake over rugged mountains, for the use of the surveyors. The change from salt to fresh is attributed to the great overflow of the Colorado river last year.