American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1858-02-19
Walled Lake i'm Iowa-A Curiosity.

4
! correspondent Of the Cincinnati
/ Gazette writing from Iowa. gives tn.
following account of wonderful relic
Fof antiquity existing in. that State.
T. We presume that it is new to most
iof our readers, as ii is to us: i',s
isI''l have intended for some time 10
give lie readers Of the Gazette a de-
scription Of Walled Lake, which is sit.
d nated in3Wright county Iowa. To me
1 1t was one of the greatest curiosiIies |
had ever seen encyclopedias it's histo-
Jry is with mantle that will probably
never bo Withdrawn. This lake lies in
The midst of large plain--tho rich.
lytundulating ptairie extending for
many miles in every direction. The
Lake covers an area Of about 1900 acres.
The water is clear and cold, with a hal d
sandy bottom, fiom two 10 twenty five
! feet deep. There is strip Of timber
abont half way around it, probabley ten
rods wide, being The only timber, in ma,
my miles. a There is a ,calk Of hcarv
St0ne arOHnd Il.
1t is no accidental matter. 1t has
been built with human hands In some
places 'he land is higher than the lake,
IN which case The wall amountstp some
thing like Rip Rap protection. This,
believe is what the engineers call il.
! But in other places the water is higher
in the lake than the prairie outside the
] wall. The wall in some places is ten
.ieet high; 1t is l3 feet wide on the top:
lhe wall is built entirely of boulders,
from three tons in size down TO fifty
/ pounds. They are all what are called
lost rocA. am no geologist, and CON
seauently can give no learned descrip-
OF them. They are not however, ma
l'tives TO the manor boru Nor has the
wall been made by tho washing away
OF the earth and leaving the rocks
There is no native rock in this region.
BesiGea this, it is continuous wall,
two mi'es of which, at least. is higher
than the land. The top of. the wall is
nAdu'ating, sorthe wall is in some pla
ces two feet and in others ten feetjhigh.
These rocks many of them at least m ust
e have been brought a long distance
probably five or six miles. In Wright
county the best rocks are scattered prct.
~ freely, but as you approach this lake
} they disappear, showing that they have
been gathered up by seme agency, when
or by whom history will never unfold
Some Of the largest oaks in tho grove
are growing up through the wall push.
J. ing the rocks in, in some cases, outside
IN others, accommodating their shapes
to the rocks. The lake abonuds with
excellent fish. The land in that town.
shin a hnlnppo to 10
When was there in The Spring ot
+ 1856, the wind had blown large piece
OF ice against the southwest part of the
wall, aud bad knocked it down, so that
: the water was running out, and flooding
! tho farms Of some Of the settlers, and
they were obont to repair the wall &c
/ protect their crops. 1t is beautiful
farm land nearly all around this lovely
lake. ....
The readers of the Gazette shonId
not imagine that tho wall around this
lake is as regular and as nice as the
wall around tho fountain in front Of the
City Hall n. York, nor need entertain
the theory that it is natural wall; bu'
1t has been built hundreds, and proba
bly, thousands OF years. The aniiquari-
an may speculate by whom this mighty
as we'll as ornamental work was done,
, but 1t will only be speculation. ...
Notwithstanding the water in tho lake
, is pure and cool, thore is 40 visible feed.
) er or outlet. This lake is about twelve
miles north Of the located limo Dubuque
aud Pacific Railroad, aud about $50
miles west OF ihe former place. The