, 1870-07-10
Underground Lake At Slooming-
to1s, Ill.

from fhe bloomington f1shA17rdPh- JHyA
A1lusions have been male in the P7nta-
graph. from time to time, tn the vaHt suppty
IT excellent water which hns been found 1t
the great well Of the Chicago l. Alton Rail-
road Company. ut the first opening OF the
North Coal Shaft, and elsewhere We have
recently made sone observations upon this
water suppls. which are Of much interest,
considering that our city has no considerable
running stream rcar it; aua ot1r conclusion
is that there lies Just Oh our northern border
i subtctTauean and practically ine1Laustible
lake OF most excellent water, near enough to
the surface 10 make it usefn1 for all practical
purposes 1t has been known to local geo1o-
eists for come rea1s that at some time after
the drift Period very considerable run-
ming etIeam had cut 3 channel in the drift to
the north OF the city, and t1lis channel has
been traced for sou.e distance to the northeast
and southwest. And this water bed which
furnishes the present supply gives many in
tications OF being . portion Of that an
c:ent RIVER, in come excavation Of which
lnow filed with grayeD the drainage Of
the country for miles around appears TO be
collected GU clay BOTTOM Over the south
excess OF Water finds m outlet into Sugar
Greek, at the old railrosa pumping engine
Here it has been running over iato the creek
ever since the Est settlement OF the country,
without intetuiesion. nnd with but little esria-
tion az to quantity. When the first coal shaft
Atcn machine sbops, this body OF water
was struck at come comparatively sho1t dis
tauee from the surface, and the company
was compelled to abandon the attenpt to open
ehAft through It.. Tho great raiiroad we'll is
only few hundred yar1s from that watery
shalt, and tho water in it is practically mex
hauet,b1e. This well is some thirty feet in
depth to the bottom), much Of Which was er-
! cayated in the wafer The saule body OF
| water appears TO hive been reached By various
wells in tho valley north OF US, but the most
remarkable well is that ut tile ;" Soldiers
| water suriacc in this we'll has not been ac-
cura,ely determined: but it appears to ba
| the same a. that Of the rAilruad and the coal
shaft The Eurfaee OF the water is como Hi1-
/ teen feet below the earth surface, and the
water is consumed to the amount OF about
cne hundred bsrrels per dag, without prodnc,
ing any apprcciable diminution in the supply
And the value Of this supply may be estimated
/ Wien il is ttAted thai 10 much water il con
stansly used in the institution. aud that Whe.
tees depended upon : single well Oh tht
premises, which went dry before the houa,
| lad been occupied \ week! It is fac
that the Commissioners for Locating the Stat.
Reform School siti:ed that littl,
dE vel. md supposing. there wa
School 10 be obtained in the ueighborhood
abandoned III idea Of locating it At Normal o,
that account! Eut the t.nth is. the Aou.4
stands on the margin Of an ine1haussiplc bed,
Of pure water, from which an abundant suppl.
IL now pumped into the buildings BY wind
mill
We are satisfied that this water supply ma
10 reached It almost any p1sce between tbt
Orphans Home and tie old pumping engine II
sugar CTeek: We knoT the water It host e
ce1lent in quAltr, aud there il every reason t
I believe that the on2ntity is practlca0r mex
1 h~s, r. hall nj