Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1869-04-29
The Unseen Rivers of the West

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tain system, the books of travellers in
that region TEEN with accounts of par
adoxes that set the ordinary courses OF
nature at defiance. OF these there sre
almost numberless different classes,
but two or three will serve for illustra-
ton. Large rivers. they tell us, after
flowing hundreds of miles aud receiv-
ing the waters of a large tributary sys-
tenn, suddenly disappear. vanish from
sight, and give no clue to their exit.
In some cases the mouth of stream
seems to be at or near its middle, the
currents flowing both ways till they
meet and disappear. Salt Lake. with
all the waters it receives, never rises a
single inch nor loses drop of water
through any visible outlet. Again. the
traveller standing upon some of the i'm
mense masses of rock among the hills
feels a tremendous quivering motion,
as though some Titanic railway train
thundered along beneath the surface.
Through assures in the cliffs strange
currents of air roar and whisper, and
from far within there comes the faint
murmur as of mighty organ. From
Fremont to Dixon, travellers have been
content to repeat the phrases of their
Indian guides, and call these phenom-
ena simply blowing caves" ''tremb-
ling rocks" and "lost rivers" If any
have dared to theorize, they have
dreamed. There is at last, however,
book in press which boldly attacks
the mystery. The writer is Mr.. George
Catlin, who for many years dwelt
among the Indians of the West, and
whose portraits of noted red men form
the principal record by which that race
will be remembered. Mr.. Catlin bold
ly announces his theory that under the
entire Rocky Mountain chain, from
Alaska to the Caribbean Sea, there
flows vast subterranean river, whose
tributaries burrow beneath all the
principal and divergent ranges, and de-
rive their waters from the constant
melting of the ice and snow of the
mountain slopes, and from the flow o.
the "'lost rivers" of the plains. Tht
"trembling rocks" are the roof ofsomt
roaring subterranean cataract, who's
spray, rising through. the assures
gives us the "steaming caves" of th'
Rocky Mountain story.
Among the mountains of Oregon tn,
traveller finds lake whose shores are
sheer wall of granite two thousand
feet 4n depth. No human foot ever
scaled its perpendicular face, no human
hand ever touched its silent waters
Like huge well it sinks away into the
earth like the guardian door of realm
which human discovery can never pene
trate. May not this be window look
ing down upon the submontague Am
azon which the Indian painter has at
tempted to describe. single peep hole
down to the silent river which flows
thence under a thousand miles of noun
tain rock to mingle st last with the wa
ters of the tropic gulf?
NO WelI-kuOWH ldClS Seth W poih'
strongly toward the truth of Mr.. Cat
Inns theory. A glance at any MAP
will show that the river system Of the
Rocky Mountain country is entirely in
adequate to carry off the water which
the snow and rain of that district would
create.
Secondly, the level of the Carribear
Sea at the point where Mr.. Catlin's the
oretical river would naturally pour out
its submarine effiux is noticeably high
er than the open sea outside. What
ever other facts may sustain or dispute
this high apothesis, it is certain tc
open the way to much more minute
and intelligent investigation of the sub
iect than it has ever before received
The study of the submontane river sys
tenn and the Aztec monuments o.
Mexico and California should make
that corner of the Republic the chosen
haunt of science and discovery for 8
century to come.