The Anderson intelligencer. (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, January 17, 1906, Image 3
TH?NDERI!
jiu!1.1." ?'*?"?_:,jna
j Helen Harcourt, ia
In Upson County, Georgia; four
teen roi es weet of TbomaBton, and
tbree mi ea from the Flint River, is a
very rei larkable spring. It is called
(be Thi ndering spring, and there is a
good reason for the mime, as vre shall'
see. The sprigg is little known. It
is in ap out of the way section, and for
this reason has lived out its strange
life in an unmerited obscurity.
At the foot of a steep hill, some
three or four hundred yards from a
public road, it bursts oat of the
ground in a volume sufficiently strong
to drive a mill wheel, and it is quite
possible, in these romantic and pro
gressive days, that it may yet be thus
utilized, if indeed, it has not already
been put to work.. It certainly baa, if
its power hae been needed. The
spring is about four feet across, and
is constantly boiling np fine sand,
which is thrown off every day, forming
a curious derk ring, jost the size of
the aperture. The strangest thing
about this sand is that it all stops
juBt sixteen' inches below the aurfaoe
of the water. From thia point up?
ward, the water is asolearas glass, be*
low it, as dark; aa if soap fat were
boiling. In fact, where* tho water is
at rest, this lower strata- looks very
mach like that evil-smelling concoc
tion, so far as color ia concerned.
Bot once in a while large bubbles
riso in tho center of the spring, stir
ring the, suspended sands as they
make their way through the -dark
strata, and burst on reaching tho sur
face. It is then that the sand rings
are thrown out On the margin of the
spring. The bubbles make a pecu
liar rumbling sound for some time be
fore they reaoh the surface, and it is
from this* fact that tho Thundering
spring received its name. No one
knowB how deep ,. tho spring is, but
that may be simply because no ono
has evey "tried to sound its mysterious :
depths. ; .
There ts a ourious legend connected ?'.
with this spring, and has been band- ;
ed down frcm father to son among the i
Indians for generations. This is the ?
blots- On top ?f th? mil,. ?Du ???r
the present publia road, is'.abig hole
in the ground, lt is about fifteen '?
feet deep, and ten feet in diameter, ;
from bank to bank. The latter ara ?
well covered with .stunted trees and
shrub?. Once upon a time, many,; !
many years ago? ^ie big hole contain- j
ed the Thundering:".r?pring.''V M?n?'' ?
years ago, and yet not iso long ago but -
that the indians had learned to lij&?j $
the fire-water o? tb?^^to" nwr^ and ":
that the white man had learned how t
to make hisprofit thereby. ?
A pasing traded i
thiB coveted fire-water to a certain In- i
dun? trijr? ^ ;,
the wonderful spring. ; ? <
who becan?^ ']
wear," waa the chieftain of the tribe, i
Self-willed and obstinate at ali times, j
the fire-water intensified these quali? ?
ties, and made havoc of his brain, i
until no fancy was too wild or out- f i
rageous for him to; attempt to carry .1
oat, Oo this special oooaoion tho i
idea came to him of riding over every- i
one and Jeycrything ho saw, and bf :
doing eyerything he w asked not lo j
do. M?unti?g his pony, ho rois j
hither and thither at full speed, over- j
terning the teepee of his people, r.nd j"
knocking down or riding overall wbf,
vero nojL?ni^ ^
fais way! Tho trader ?t? had.' ?o?d -
the misohief making firetwaterYoad ?.
erected a iittlo hot IO shelter hie gooda .
during bis brief strand now he met
jost reward, boronga the low :
dooiwgy rode the .erased, ohieftain
with wild whoops, nad a tramping of
hoofs thai caused tad havoo;: among J ?
toa ehaitcls of thev-Tftder to the dis
may of 5 the Utter* aaa* tho d??|?p|' 3
ibe Indians, ?
Having done ?li tho damage in hia
rower, the chi*ftain roda out again, i
took Ms: way,- heediOng, tc the
. fP?og,;shont?Dghis intention to ffl&: 1
. ^m}^ j
.?JW been -fte lapins ,
With awe and re^eno^, not liaised i
?Vi heott?ti? *MW&9-&t?tK ?)
bles that often zoso- to : th? ?urfaco, <
Wh low rumbling a^ia&terings, \
fs though ?ou?e terribie giant were !
lacprisoaed ?blow a?'d struggling ito to ?
Tr ; Whoo before, tho drautan*.
?hJcfta?n propose* io 4e???t^
Jtfcrs by p\*?^*il$^m*ft !
m own pstsc?; but tha^f hi? pony, ]
jila > uMm&??m^^^?M^&
S?G SPRING.
if 3o\it?i Gr borgia.
ibo Sonny South.
grow moro and moro violent, and the
mutterings swelled almost to a roar.
Tho Indians drew back from the brink
affrighted. AH but the crazed
chieftain. He alone stood his ground,
and shouted with laughter at the awe
stricken terror of thc others.
"See how I will serve the bubblosl"
ho oricd. Then he struck his restive
pony, and with one wild leap it spr&ag
out into the ecu ter of tho boiling,
spring. As the water wa.3 a lr-ok, it
ceased to boil upward, but instead,
went downward with a rush and roar
us of a whirlpool, carrying with it tho
chieftain and hia pony, f! In a few mo
ments all that remained to mark the
spot where had been the sacred spring,
was tho dry hole that may be econ to
day. A short time afterwards the
spring reappeared at the foot of the
hill, where it now is, hui no trace of
the chieftain dr his pony was ever
found. His terror stricken tribe left
the fatal spot, and never dared return.
And this is the legend of Thundering
spring.
Lei ?B now turn from a legend to a
known and modern fact. Io previous
papers we have econ instances where
natnre voluntarily drained great lakes
through open sink holes, and left dry
or marsh lands, where before had been
large bodies of sparkling water. We
have afao seen how, when science and
capital united to supplement this
drainage, and increase and render it
permanent, the said sinks seemed to
be endowed with life, and io *. "*ke in
resentment j refusing to go fu^ .her in
their volunteer drainage, or even to
retain such lands as they had already
reclaimed.
But sometimes the sinks reverse
their plan of action. The eastern
suburb of the pretty little town of
Orlando, in Orange County, Florida,
has boon having such an experience,
ui late that ie somewhat unique, and;
moire than somewhat unpleasant.
From time immemorial thei'e has been
in that locality, a deep sink hole with
a subterranean outlet. It was o? in
estimable Value to all that section, as
lt could be relied on fco carry on ali
the overflow water of more than a
dosen lakes in thai vicinity, and has:
probably served this beneficial part
a thousand years or more. -?
?hef water ran into the sinkt in a
large streSm. The north j side of the
sink ?B a lop-sided oponing at the base
pt^^a hil look. A stranger, taking a
walk, and following up the banks of a
Spod-Bisfd jBtream.; would fied his,
ramble by its banks brought suddenly
to eu end by too sight* bf the stiseaur
Sliding Out of sight into a big bolo in
the/ground. This on au approach
"rom ono direction. - Coming up from
mother he would bo startled by seeing
the stream sinking into the ground-at;,
^?yeir??,??e?f: with i;faji?t?d.' rush
that gave.... warnin^4^ :irjiai)ger from
mother step forw?*4/ ititi
icBui .the, strangei(^;late would have
seen something. . different from this.
Only a few moo tbs gates
below; ;were swjldei&?^: <i'lo??eidv ;;;??r".tfe?i.
?rsiliime';wjtWn the >nem?Vy ot man,
and no doubt far beyond. The down
rush of t?ie'w?t?rs e??sed. Soon they
alte^,^
ther/begau to spread over the adjacent
^'autty, ,
'\ Now? if .all that ??untiy, yli ke many
par^ of ths to
aha^eedHa
would hay merely a . cunoslty,
^hd nothing more.
i chanced; thai there ; was: a negro set- '
ement in ; that swthin^^aei^aS there
i on the outskirts of most of the
these, superstitions as mo?t ??groes^
are, and ever - on the watch for: the
presence
temhly irlgntenedi as soon >svthby'.'
found that the tink Was folding: fast
^be^atertbaii
7 were y ot morofrightened when
^siwftVhe Water spreading away
onx U in vey?ry direetjion? and ba?k
- p to thoir ver>-door yards. ,' : Ii so '
?$^efes&^
them had,: only,
??ore^ f^en ii^
or wHh dire^e?A;terrible pun$shmen|:
tot their aies. ?ndnow th?y thought
??hat they were geiUng ii ib tho a! _
f on otb er flood. It was tb^??ji
outwit ?4?e ?ood, these sin
m //.jo :p?itk... ^p^.igjg^raonal
with tho largo cod down, and theo
cut off across tho middle, so that the
pointed upper part is missing. Such
is the shape of the open mouth .of
thia naughty sink hole. It is about
35 feet ?leon, and from the base of the
.r??iuuj, the opon?cg of more than 45
feet, so that tho depth of the entire
sink is about 80 feet.
Of course, something had to bc
done, and done quickly, not only OD
aooount of the frightened negroes,
and tho threat against their homes,
but ap*rt f-ora this, there was th<
danger of flooding all the oouofrj
thereabouts. Ii was only when thc
sink closed its great mouth thar, th<
people realised what it had beet
doing for their benefit. It has boei
one of the many familiar blessingi
that are not recognized as such unti
they aro loBt. The first thing to b<
done ?as to relieve the negro settle
ment of danger, and also to save th<
surrounding country fron: tho over
flow. This was accomplished for th
time by outting off the water that wa
flowing towards the sink all the tim
from the surrounding lakes.
Bat this was only a temporary re
lief and effective only so long as th
dry season oontinued. In Juno th
rainy season began*, and thereaftc
until the end of September rain fe
almost every day. With the fi?
heavy rains the water in the-sin
began to rise, even though the las
overflow waa still shat off. The lake
wonld soon rise ?ad must be pn
vided with aa outlet, and this eon)
only be done by digging a oaual to
lower level, which meant the expei
dituro of not loss than $20,000.
Bat the danger was imminent ac
some action must be taken. Aocor?
iogly, an expert sink diver was sar
moned to Jonestown, the negro se
tlement ia question. He had be<
successful a few years before in ope
ing another clogged sink, who
waters had overflowed for a distan
of twenty miles, and it was hop
that be would be equally fortuna
here.
The diver went down to thc botte
of the Orlando sink and on his retu
tb terra firma reported that the on
chance waBln doing as he had do
in tho other osBe, ox plod e a charge
dynamite at the bottom. A fifi
pound oh argo was secured and pl ac
at the bottom of tho eighty-foov, ho
and then . exploded. But so far
could be judged from results, the h<
was left'as:tightly dosed as over,
was, thenr: suggested : that the si
j might be pumped dry, and cloggi
'.debris be ?ag or sagged oat. Mei
while, wtilo plans were being di sou
od and rejected, the waters kept
encroaching on the flats and meade
adjoining, uotil it looked aa if (
negro settlement would have to
abandoned io the "evil" spirit^: iof t
sink hole, whom many of tho negri
(irmly believed to be at the bottom
tho trouble-and of tho sink.
An effort vms made' to p?n?p %hen
ter but of the holey bot this waa an
tor failure. It waa then decided, a!
i many pros and : cons, to sink a i
j inch abafti v ThiB" was) done,. and s
jjd?ptb of 137 feet deep th* water be
!^o flow downward. Bat this trian
.;**8 ot short ;.; duration. The on
w?s utterly iosnffioie&t to carry off
-water aa fast as it CoHee ted. Ano!
shaft waa sank, aa eight-inoh 1
t?me. Tais one also penetra
the obstruction and Carried off a k
Tolarno of water. But still, even \
the. two shafts in .operation, ^?-il
relief waa ie^^ he
rains of tho rainy season were d
being added co the depth of the lakes
and streams whose overflow had always
before been carried away by the sink
holo. Finally, a third shaft was sank;
a thirteen-inoh shaft thia time, and
this supplementing th? other two,
has at last solvod th> problem of how
to disposo cf the surplus wators aud
restore tho surrounding country to its
normal condition.
The overflow has been a ead thing
for tho colored settlement, many of
tho negroes having had to abandon the
homes they had boon toiling for year6
to acquiro and to improve. They are
now, however, again installed in their
homes and making up for their IOBBCB.
With tho threo shafts in operation, it
is not likely that suoh a catastrophe
can ever ooour again. If it did, the
solution has beon found. It would
simply moan more sh&ft3..
General Hamilton's Order. I
Ia the Boer war ono of tho columns,
half Canadian and half regular, under
General Ian Hamilton, became so no
torious for looting that the soldiers
wero nioknamed "tho Thousand
Thieves." Consequently General
Hamilton reviewod them one day in a
small village nea? Bloemfontein, says
the writer of "Some South African
Beminiso?noes" for the purpose? of
warning them agaiuBt any futuro de
predations.
The ooltrma had jost drawn up and
was waiting for the general to begin
the review when a ragged rooster ran
out from a hut and aoross the front of
the line. Suddenly a private left tho
\ line and ran after the rooster.
"Halt!" shouted Hamilton.
The soldier ran on. Ho soon over
took the rooster and turned baok,
wringing the neck of the fowl. As he
passed the general ho noted tho ? o roo
scowl on his face. The soldier, an
Irish Canadian, was not easily denot
ed, but this time he temporized.
Throwing tho defunct rooster at the
feet of the general, he said, "There,
now, I'll tacho yo fe*' halt whin the
gineral says so!'*
At whioh the column roared with
laughter, and even the general smiled,
and the soldier got only two days'
imprisonment for one of tho most
bare-faced breaches of disciplino in
. the records of the army.
The Curse of RicheB. \
From an address by President Eliot
of Harvard:
.The very rich aro by uo meanB the
healthiest members of the community,
and to escape the perils pf luxurious
living require unusual will po ?or and
prudence.
Great capital at the disposal ?2 a
bingle individual confers on its pos
sessor great power over the cou *LO of
industrial development, over his fcl
io w-men and sometimes over the
great public events, like peace or wir
between nations. It enables a man to
do good or harm, to give "joy or pain,
and places bim in a position to bc
feared or looked up to.- There ls
pleasure in the satisfaction' of .direct*
i og suoh ? power,' and the greater tho
ch ar ac ter the gr eater may bo thesatis
faction. ?n givingthis ; direction the
great capitalist : may find au enjoyable
and strenuous occupation; For a? con
scientious, dutiful man a great sense
pf ; responsibility accompanies this
power.. It may boppmeso powerful as
to wipe out the enjoyment itself. '
There are no more suooessfnl busi
j'noss enterprises^ than ire thpse .'con
ducted by remarkably intelligoat au
tocrats, and probably the same would
be true of governments if any mode
had been inveuted of discovering ?ad
puttiug into pla?o desirable autocrats.
The prevailing modes of selection,
such as heredity sod transmission,
havo been so very unsuccessful that
autocracy as a mode of government
has fallen iuto disrepute. In business
enterprises tho existing modus o? dis
covery and selection of autocrats seem
to bo better than in tho government,
for autooracy in busiuess has been
juotified by results. j
Tho most serious disadvantage un
der which tho very rich havo labored
is tho bringing up of children. It is
well-nigh impossible for a very rioh
man to devolop his ohildren from
habits of iudiflcrence and laziness.
These ohUdron aro so situated that
they havo no opportunity of doing
produotive labor, and do nothing for
themselves, parents, brothers or sis
ters, no oue acquiring tho habit of
work. In striking contrast are thc
farmer's children, who oo-oporato at
tender years in the work of the house
hold. _^ w _
Good Wishes Misapplied.
It was at tho closing session of the
annual eonvention of a a certain re
ligious body held in a town near this
oity some time eiooe, and the preaoher
who occupied the chair announced
that they were $100 short of a desired
fluui and hoped that the amount might
be rained before Anal adjournment.
"I will start the good work with
$251" oried a man who was a stranger
to the preaoher.
"Thanks, brotherl Thankst" ex
claimed the nomine, effusively, "I
don't know your name, but may
Heaven bless your kind heart and
may your business during the coming
year bo doubled !"
Instantly there was a laugh that
was both long and loud, and the per
plexed preaoher gazed at tho dele
gates in astonishment.
"What hove I dono?" said he.
"What"
"Nothing," replied a fellow preaoh
er, "only the man who donated that
$25 is an undertaker."
Kentucky Literature.
"I understand," said tho publisher
to the oritio, "that Wiggins is engaged
upon what is promised to be the best
novel ever written of Kentucky man
ners and euotuias, past and pres
ent."
"Not'is,' bat'was.*' oorrooted tho
oritio.
.?Wfco? Has hs gi?en it up?"
"Well," explained the oritio, "you
see ho permitted his two loading
oh arno tors, a colonel and a judge, to
get into a quarrel, io the first chap
ter, and the lie-passed between
them." V
"That's a fine start-realistic and
with, the proper verisimilitude. 1
should think it would be a great
book. I moat soe about getting hold
bf it." ". ..'
"Tao needn't try," said the oritio,
"it was too realistic-too much veri
similitude. They killed each other
on the spot and Wiggins lost the ma
terial for the remaining 27 chapters
and had to give it up as a hopeless
undor taki ng. "-Lo uisvillo Times.
- The Plasma ebmmiBBiou thinks
it will take twenty years to build the
canal. But we won't want the canal
then, as we will bo using airships.
It is thel^di?^ fertilizer of the South
?B1? v- ? ? ["Works freely tomo?
im
.it bod been proven by ?Ver ; twenty-one years of successive use that, 'i
; ' Fish; and ^t^mal matter. ia' superior to any other Jcoown ammoniate
for grpwiug cotton. :Fa^ne^3,, Bone is the fertilizer ; ??ffii.
?ECAUSE
I* GROWS
CROPS
?non
?OTTON fields need never "wear out. .
A complete fertilizer, with the right
amount of POTASH, feeds to the soil the
.nourishment that cotton must have, and
milich the cotton removes from year to year?.
"Cotton Culture," our interesting 90-page
book, contains valuable pointers on cotton
raising, and shows, fi om comparative photo
graphs, what enormous cotton yields POTASH
has produced in different states. This book
will be sent you free of any cost or obligation
if you will just write us for it.
Address, GERMAN KALI WORKS.
Mew York-93 NUMU streut. or Atlanta. Qa.-Ziyi So. Broad Street.
FRED. G. BROWN, Pr?t?, and Treas. | H. F. MAULDIN, Vice? rs il I ?
A. 8. FARM KR, Secretary.
The Anderson Real Estate
and Investment Co.,
- BUYERS AND SELLERS OF
REAL ESTATE, STOCKS & BONDS.
J. G. CUMMINGS, Sales IDep't.
Our facilities for handling your propezty are perfect, as
we are large advertisers all over the country. Eight now
we are having considerable inquiry for farms in this and ad*
oining Counties, and owners of farm lands in the Piedmont
section who wish to dispose of their property will find that
we are in a position to maka quick and satisfactory sales.
Now is the time to list your pioperty with us, and wo
will proceed at once to give attention to all properties en
trusted to us.
Address ali communications to J. C. Cummings, Sales
Department.
1HDERS0H BUL EST?TE & IHVESTMEHT COBRP?HY.
Now comes the "Good Old Summer Time"
when you want one 6? our
Up-to-Date VEHICLES for Pleasure.
Carriages, Surreys,
Photone, Buggies,
Sun a Bouts,
Bucs board, Traps,
And in fact anything you need in the Vehicle line you will find at our Re
positories. A tine line of HARNESS, SADOLK3. UMBRELLAS, CAN
OPY SHADES, DUSTERS, &o.
Call and examine for yourself, and if we cannot suit you it will be our
fault . Vf?ry truly,
FB?TWELL-HANKS 00., Anderson, g. 0.
Mmm uaw
THE SOUTH'S GREATEST SYSTEM J
Excelled Dining Car Service,
; Through Pullman SleepingLC?rs onall fea?ns.
Convenient Schedules on all Local Trains.
WINTER TOURIST RATES aie now in iflf?t'tc all Floiida Pciiste
For full information aa to rates, routes, etc., coctult nearett Southern
Railway Ticket Agent, or
R. W. BUNT, Dividion Passenger Agent, Charleston, S. C.
BROOKS MORGAN, Asst Gen. Pas. Agent/Atlanta, Ga.
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ONE CAE OE HOG FEED.
vvr<
mm
Hare just received one Car Load of HOG FEED
(Shorts) at vet j close prices, Come before.they are
&?1 gone. Now is the time for thro^Hng
1 J
Around your premises to prevent a ease of fever or
ii ?aome other disease, that will cott you very much more
than the price ot? barrel of Lime (?LCO.) ? We have
? fresh shipment in stock, and will he glad to send yon
l&V^UtiM ? barn or any
other Dtii?ding, iee wt Ufore buying your
?#r-V.; CEMENT and LIKE,