Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-05-03
THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE.
Ponce De LeOn's Famous Spring, i'm
the FIOWery Land

Ponce De Icons Famous Spring, in
the FIOWery Land
\ recent issue of the ,TdlIdhGSSee FIoTi-
diaH has an admirably written sketch of
Central Florida, contributed by Mrs. I. E
Long, of that State, from which We make
axe following extract:
1t was en- route to Suwannee Old Town
that Gen. jackson and his troops halted be-
side the famous fountain Of Ponce de Leon,
now miscalIed the Wakulla Spring. The
line of march made by the Spaniad con-
firms the supposition that this WAS the
spring sought by the adventurer, and its
curious character is quite sufficient to have
given it distant TenOwn. What makes it
a marvel of nature is its great depth and
exceeding tTanspa, ency-a Transparency
greater than that of the atmosphere, as
cvinced by seeing the smallest object at
ne6r two hundred feet below, and in pass
Ing over its unrippled surface in a floating
'Skiff. the novel sensation of being suspend
ed between skies is produced. The
Ponce de Leon fountain TO be seen
to advantage must De visited on a still
sunshine day, without breeze, and
with the sun as near his meridian as pOSsi-
bic. From beneath a rugged, jagged, grey
ish limestone precipice, and from dark
yawning, unfathOmable abyss, springs the
fountain, spreading out into circular form
of several hundred yards, forming the Wa
kulla river. The water is not particularly
cold and does not in its taste betray any of
that mystical power We would like to es-
tabliSh. 1t is the ingredient Of LINE that
gives transparency and also magnifying
quality to the spring. The smallest coin
and even pin can be seen twirling through
its depth, enlarged at every turn, until it
rests on the rocks below. and as a like OBJ
ject could not be seen through the atmOS-
phere at the same distance, this conclusion
is reasonable. Nothing but actual OBJ
SeTyatiOn can give an idea Of the pic
ture. The moss-covered stones jutting ir-
regularly from four to near two hundred
feet below, where they centre around a
boundleSS depth; the flexible roots and
grasses all bathed in rainbow hues; the
numerous fish, eels and even alligatOrs
sporting in their element, reiec.ing the
same prismatic colOring, aud the gentle,
dreamy, gliding over the depths Of aqueous
transparency, accompanied by the music
of the warble-thrOated mOcking-bird, make
il, with its Kaleidoscope changes, more
than a faiTy-like scene, end we lose
for a time our sense of the earth, earthly.
Dense hammOcks OF evergreenS, mag
nolia, bay laurel, inlerlaced with the
grapevine, clematis and ever-grace-
full ieSsamine, with their varied tints of
leaf and blossom, softened by a veil of
grey moss, affords a fit setting for so curious
a gem, suggesting a magnificent opal.
Several years AGO the frame of a masto-
don was, with the use of graphing wires,
drawn from the spring and sent to the
Patent-office at Washington. 1t was nearly
complete, but some portion was lost at sea
en- route.
This spring is supposed TO have subter-
ranean connection with Lake Jackson,
which lies twenty miles or more north of
1t, and more than once in the memory of
man the waters have escaped from the
lake, except at its greatest depths, leaving
it an extensive meadow, much priced as
pasturace 10y the land owners of the sur
rounding plantations.