The New York herald., 1877-02-10

gent and highly educated men, and no solution has
yet been suggested which has been proven. Indeed
the mystery napproachabe. II IL like fabled
fawn which, when In danger OF discovery, became In
visible. Explorations. though ardentiy conducted.
have always failed. Tho fame OF tho strange object
has begun get abroad aud likely 10 give rise to
very wide spread interest aud speculation. with tho
hope OF furnishing . valuable contribution to
science, the proprietor OF the HERALD instructed
me to examine into the truth Of the reports
which had out Of Florida and transmit my
opinion 10 him. After funliDg this misson d.
rccted TO organize expedition for the discovery Of
the OF the mysterious phenomenon, and If
possible to penetrate to It through whatever
impediments might Intervene. The effort has
beon commenced; the expedition is at work
and has already accomplished much In actual
exploration. have gained TO knowledge yet that
points to brilliant result but resolved that be-
fore II bo determined whether the object
10 reality or an illusion.
DISCOVERY OF MYSTERY OF NATunE-AD-
VENTURES OF THE HERALD xxPEDrTroN-A
NIGHT IN THE wooDs-AN ISLAND OF
WONDER.
MONTICELLO, Fla, Feb o. 1877.
For two score OF years this portion OF Florida has
been haunted by strange natural mystery which var'
poIsOuS nave
cess Bordering the Gulf OF Mexico a vast region
consisting Of fens and morasses, cypress ponds and
jungles, and iniersected by curious streams which
sink into the earth and Pse again frequent intervals
In an unac ccountable manner Much OF II has never
been penetrated by human being and still greater
portion has nevor known the foot OF any ex-
plorer excepting the Indian or the fugitive
slave. The oldest nhabtant Of Jefferson county
that long he remember he has seen at
certain pillar Of black suphurous smoke ris-
ing from the unexplorcd wilderness. The only emf
from which is visible is called the Linn HILL
but 1t frequently from the surface OF Appa
lachee Bay. Fishermen, hunters and tourists havo
watched the phenomenon; judges. lawyers, planters
and ongineors have searched for it, some with tho
theory that they might discover the OF vol
cano; others In the belief that we'll of petroleum
or mine of lead would repay them for thor
enterprise and toll Your correspondent, in accord
anco with Instructions organized small exploring
party January and set forth to visit this region
natural wonders and horrors. They toed through
the most uninviting morassos aud sloughs for two
weeks and the evidences Of singular freaks OF
met them at every STEP
WHAT WAS SEEN HERALD OBSERVATORY
lookout was first built which was chr,stened the
.HERALp Observatory" From its summit constant
watch was kept, and singular inky smoke OBJ
served and carefully located line projected with
the compass was then pursued in the drec-
ton obtained Day after day the explorers
plunged through the mre aud slime They arrived ut
last at the Wacissa River, which Is supposed to limit
tho unexplored country on the east. Tho source of
tho smoke not found, but othor curious objects
surprised the explorers Your correspondent wadod
breast deep for two miles, and at last behcld
high dry ground advance. Tho party approached
and found island with its shores well defined, and
shaded by the most enormous live oaks and magno-
las that they over behold A heavy at
mosphero Of dampness ana gloom brooded
over It Its shore was closely protected
by dense growth of brambles and vines. The party
broke through with shout Of relic, and gathering
light wood In great pile, built fire, by
which they warmed their chilled limbs. Night was
necessary to hasten back to
camp, only hasty survey could be had of the island
AN UXExPEcrED DISCOVERY
They wcrc astounded by unexpected discovery
In secluded nook singular, silent 1guro burst sud-
denly on the view they were threading their way
through the bushes. ''Look a. here," exclaimed
tho foremost, shcre's man, enough" On looking
ahead there appeared human image, but 1t stood so
fixed and immobilc that they soon realized that 1t
could not living Tne eyes OF the negroes protruded
from their sockets with supersttous alarm, but your
correspondent approached the solitary presence 1t
was of stone On drawing the faithful likeness to
humanity produced by the combined effects OF light
and shadow less distinct, but it struck the
explorers with and wonder II is rotund column
of sot vertically In tho Garth, but not attached
to any neither ledge OF rock, as 1t might have been
had Nature been its artisan, for 1t loose enough
to be swaycd by tho application OF force Tho upper
extremity is rudely fashioned into tho form OF
human head IN which there are doprcssons and pro-
tuberances which resemble the eyes, nose and
The figure seems of majestic stature and mien. At its
base, by dclicatey removing moss, fcw strange
and unfamiliar characters were disclosed. They do
apparently resemble any hieroglyphcs OF ancient
language They are still less allied to the
picture writing Of the Aztecs Near tho image
lies second column OF stone, but 1t is thrown TO tho
ground. II it fashioned to a resemblance OF
the human form divine tho head has been broken off,
1t was nowhere TO be found The idol itself is
pondcrous that it found impossible to overurn IT.
although repeated efforts were mado
A TREASURE
On the suppostion that 1t might mark the grave of
some Spanish advcnturer who had followed the
standard OF Dc Soto whom he marched Lake Micca-
sukc, Of tho party dug the earth around.it,
but found nothing The negroes freely expressed the
opinion that here buried treasure trovc, once
the booty OF pirates from Barcelona Tho HERALD
party remained on the island all night On tho next
day It found that the island extended far south
ward aud that the southern extremity were SOW
eral large Indian mounds II would be easy to con-
ccvo that they erected by prehistoric race
which also offered worship to tho stone idol. In
these wds may be found rich field for archaeological
research
MAX WELL AND THE CHECK.
CONTINUATION OF THE TESTIMONY AT THE