The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1858-02-06
NJ | 5 & + LII A y EOU S.


\ correspondent OF the Cincinnati Ga-
zette, writing from "Melruse Farm, :"
Grundy County, Iowa, gives the follow
ing description Of great curiosity which
exists in that vicinity:
Lave intended for some time, to give
the readers .: tue Gazettea description Of
Walled Lake, which is situated in Wright
Co.. Iowa To me it was one Of the grca-
test curios.ties haievcr seen, enyeioped
A. its history is with mantle that viii
prob bly never bc Withdrawn III Lake
ias IN the midst of vast pialn-the
rich, gently unduating prairie extending
tor many miles IN every direction. The
/ Lake covers AN area Of 1900 acres The
water Is clear aud cold, with hard, san
dy bottom, from two TO twenty five feet
deep. There is strip of timber about
halt way round it, probably ten rods wide
being the only tlaber in many miles
Thers is wall Of heavy stone all round
it,
! It is no accidental matter 1t has been
built with human hands. La some places
/ the land is higher than the Lake, In which
/
like Rip Rap protection. This, I be-
| licye, is what engineers call it, But in
/ other places the water is higher iu the
lake than the prairie outside of the wall
/ The wall in sone places is lO feet high,
! is l3 feet wide at the base, sloping up
| both sides to feet wide on the top
The wall is built entirely of boulders,
/ from three tons i'll size, down t. fifty
pounds. They are what are called lost
rock am no geologiSt, and consequent
ly can give no learned description OF
them. They are not, however, natives
ito the manor born," Nor has the wall
been made by the washing away Of the
earth and leaving the rocks. There is
10 native rock in this region. Besides
this is a continuous wall, two miles oi
which at least, Is higher than the land.
The top Of the wall is level, Will: the
/ land Is undu!atng SO the wall Is III some
places two feet, and in others ten fee,
high. These rocks, many Of them al
least, must have been brought long dis
tance-probabiy or 10 miles. In
Wright county the best rocks are seat
tered pretty freely, but as you approach
this lake they disappear-showing thai
they have been gathered by some agency
when or by whom, history will neveI
unfold Some Of the largest oaks in tn,
grove are gowin- up through the wall
pushing the rocks III, in some cases, out
side, in others, accommodating thei
shape to the rocks. The lake abound
with excellent fish. The land 10 tha
township yet belongs to the government
When was there in the Spring .
1856, the wind had blown large piec
Of ice against the southwest part Of tn
wall and had knocked it down SO that tn
water was running out and flooding SON
of the settlers, and they were about to re
pair the wall to protect their crops.
i beautiful farm land nearly all aroun'
this lovely lake.
The readers Of the Gazette should no
imagine that the wall around this lake i
as regular aud as nice as the wall aroun
the fountain in front of the City Hal
New York, nor need any entertain th
theory that it is natural wall; but it ha
been built hundreds, aud probably thou
sands Of years The antiq larian ma
a speculate by whom this mighty, as we
0 Il ornamental work was done, but it wi
! only be speculation.