Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1874-09-24

THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT OF A RKsERvoIs AND THE
WATER GOES APPARENTLY TO CHINA.
From the Phila. Buletln.j

WATER GOES APPARENTLY TO CHINA.
from the Phila Bulletln.l
year or two ago certain citizens OF Conslo-
hocken organized water company aud proceed.
ed to construct works with which to supply the
town with water. The supply Was pumped from
the schuylkill river to reservoir placed upon q
hill above the village. The works were COM
pleted last fall at cost Of s75,0 900 and the re-
seryoir, which was superb piece Of workman
ship. was filed with water.
All last winter the citizens were blessed with
plentiful supply Of water, and during tile past
summer especially they we're pleased with the
improvement, because the cisterns upon which
they had been accustomed to depend were nearly
empty in consequence Of the drought. Tho res.
ervoir is close to the turnpike to the northeast
OF tho town, and near by ia toll gate. The keep
or Of the gate reports that on Monday night,
when he turned in, the reservoir was in good
condition, aud apparently capable OF remaining
no for several centuries to come. On Tuesday
morning, when he turned out he was surprised
the reservoir had disappeared. He Instantly pro
ceeded to investigate the mystery, and, upon
ascending the hill he found that
VERY REMARKABLE ACCIDENT
had occurred. A portion Of the southern en-
bankment had sunk ont of sight leaving hole
about thirty feet in diameter and as the wall OF
the reservoir had disappeared the water had
vanished with i viii, the exception Of small
portion, about 4 feet in DEPTH which was re-
tanned because the floor was uninjnred and be-
cAuso the cavity does not extend clear down to
the ioor. A cautious inspection showed that
portion of the embankment had dropped
straight downward about % feet and upon
looking into the hole the top Of the bank with
fence and the sod was discovered at the bottom.
The side Of the vast hole contained huge pre-
cipitous rock down the side Of whicl, the earth
had slipped. but the most remarkable thing
about the accident was that no water could be
found in the hole. There were more than
ONE MILLION GALLONS
in the reservoir at the time, aud almost the
disappeared utterly. What became Of this vast
body Of water melody knows. II has not turned
up anywhere yet, unless il has broken through
somebody's cellar floor in China. That such an
enormous mass Of fluid should have quilted tho
surface of tho earth suddenly and left no trace
behind. is certainly somewhat startling, and It
Is natural that the people Of tile neighborhood
should feel a little uneasy at tho thought that
perhaps there is mammoth cave far down in
the earth, underlying the whole vicinity. The
cxstence Of such cavity aloue will serve to OK
plain this strange occurrence, FOR it is clear that
the ordinary snbterrRnean water courses, such
III supply the springs about the country, could
not 30 suddenly conduct away such large vol
ume Of water.
The country is OF limestone formation, and
this is not the first time that suspicion has been
excited that it IL underlsid with great caves. At
place called Marble Hall, about two miles east
Of Conshohocken, there hoa been for years Ut
marble quarry
A HOLE WHICH CANNOT DE FILLED
Enough dirt has been dumped into it to mako
tolerable large mountain, and still il remains
the same old hole. Some years ago large
quantity Of bran was poured into it, and this
subsequently came out at Spring Mill, Just be-
low Conshohocken. At this point there is IA
nous spring, from which the water boils out at
furious rate. Perhaps tho contents OF the res.
crvoir will find egress at tho spring, but thoy
have not appeared yet. In the meantime the wa
ter company is in sore sfiiction, andit is puzzled
to know what to do about reeonstructing its RES
ervoir. The task Of rebuilding upon bottom
less pit il not an easy one,