The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-04-09
FREAKS OF NATURE.
Rock Mounds and Sand Hillocks
Near the Gulf Coast.
SOOTY CAvITIE S.
Narrow Escape from Utter Exhaustion
and Starvation.

MONTICELLO Fla, March 3, 1877
Tho HERALD party looked dilap.dated enough whom
they arrived camp after their dlsmal wanderings In
The swamp. Jake's lace wore bagsard appearance
and his eyes had the distraught stare produced by
hunger and weakness The sJudge's rotund figure had
dim nished during the ordeal just escaped, but his
features were trle rubicund, their glow did
not return until he had been time seated BY the
generous FIRE Tho returned wanderers were not
aversc 10 onco moro parake OF food although Mr..
Lynn's true, old fashioned hospitality had some hours
before amcliorated the craving of the inner
Then came the tale OF their adventures.
A REcoSSoIss ANcE
Tho sJudge" had started forth with the intention OF
making final reconnaissance south OF the camp ana
q visit to certain sand hiilocks and heaps Of stone
which have before frequently alluded to stretch
Ing across the swampy region from the crags In the
Apaachce Bay, known to the Coast Survey as tho
Gray Marc and the Niggcr's Head. Unfortunately, a
few hours after his departure, the clouds in the sky
completely obscured tho Still more unfortu-
nately, he had provided himself with only
pocket compass, which too small TO be
thoroughly reliable. With difficulty the party
reached the rock mounds and devoted considerable
time to an examination OF their characters. Hunters
had previously CHANGED to come upon them
and had described them curious land
marks the origin OF which greatly puzzled
heard Of them have convinced me that they are but
imperrectiy known. The Judge" says that many Of
them thirty feet in height coniusedly piled up,
and consisting OF all manner Of twisted and grotesque
fragments some Of huge dimensions and others multi
tudinously small Their substance is a peculiar gray
and coarse nt the outer portion OF which appears to
have undergone gneous influence, as If by bath of
lava. II is perforated ike sponge, with holes and
bubbe-shared cavities. Many OF the former OF large
size are blackened as II by SCOT. Their appearance
gagged the earnest attention OF the Judge" He
scrambled to the top OF many Of the higher heaps and
was rewarded for the effort by making
DISCOVERY.
He found In nearly every OF them large 1ue,
che ragged walls OF which loaded with soot which
with age hao almost formed crust compact
stucco. The rock heaps are situated in the midst of
morasses and the b!ackened cavities filled with
water Evidently they had once given vent great
volumes Of smoke, ana IL may that they do still
certain seasons. But Tho HERALD party saw no
moving sign Of gneous activity below. Unfortunately
their orders to make q nasty recon- ossance SO
MS to obtain knowledge which would make tho plan
ming OF second expedition intelligent than was
that OF the hrst. short distance from the rock
mounds they found the sand hocKs, which many
in number and grouped much tho former They
may been hcapcd up bv cyclones OF remote peri
ods or, as Is more probable, BY the action of
Of still older date. singular feature of them,
which, however has undoubtedly geographical sig
nilcance is that the SUBMITS OF the largest them
have the form OF crater. Their height and slze
greatly varies Some almost perfect cones, rising
forty feet Their existence the midst OF i'm
mcnse tract, which elsewhere is than lew
inches above the level Of the Gulf natural curiosity
OF no mean importance.
A vExATTous LABYRINTH.
mart eff he Off hs nd md
mounds reluctantly TO continue their tramp toward tho
Gull, with the object Of making u survey Of u very
dense jungle, called Gum Hammock. II is sort of
bugbcar TO the Oldest hunters oil Middle Florida who
gnash their teeth whenever deer seeks covert under
Its tangled meshes and call back their hounds AS
mortal man is said have penetrated 1t, So
thick are the thorny shrubs and vines, and, as few
other portions OF the "nat, pney woods' remained
unexplorcd the "Judge" aspred assai mystery.
II might conceal in its depths a Of the smoky
problem which has SO long blurred tho Floridian
vision II might contain thermal spring geyser.
A GLOOMY PLIGHT.
Entering tho thcket which Rugged the boscs OF the
gum trees they found that 1t dcnser and denser
they advanced until further progress without deliberate
and difficult labor seemed impossible Discourage
ment selzed them, ana just then 1t suggested to
the Judge to look ut his watch The had grown
misty and night seemed at hand Tho afternoon had
glided away and they ie constcrnation as they
glanced about them and found Impossible look be-
yond the may wilderness which surrounded them. 1t
was growing dark rapidly that they could not even
retrace their steps with certainty, and in attempting
10 do so lost their reckoning entirely. The compass
was then examined but instead OF setting out directly
toward camp by It's aid they thought the sand
hiiocks again and by that recover their bear
ings The descriptions gwen by Theodore Irving OF the
wanderngs OF some o! Dc Soo's followers should be
rcac In order TO realize the plight OF our explorers
IL seems ne II they had been caught In the gigantic
web OF some monster spider. They wrcsteG with the
vines and thorns for three hours lii torches at last
aud soon thereafter, by sheer luck, emerged from
their embrace INTO hoary cypress morass, which
seemed TO their weary eyes OF infinite extent. The
night cncompasscd them with piichy darkness ana
tncy we're SO tired that they thought only OF ht,lo
rest They were surrounded by water and slush and
had no hope OF reaching armer ground before day.
tight They searched IN vain Tor a small hummock or
ISLAND on which to bvouac and meanwhile, at ire.
luent intervals, fired their guns and sounded tho
horn, with the hope that the wud might carry some
faint message OF distress to the camp.
NIGHT MoRAss.
They at length determined to sleep upon fallen
trees which lay above the water But the night had
grown chilly, and they were wet They were. besides
not little ia fear OF panhers and hasten cd as best
they could 10 bulld IRE on small platform OF logs
which they constructed They ploddcd about search
Of dry faggot, which they broke from dead branches
and alter time coaxed from them a little blaze
Around It they shverIngly hung, crouchcd on fallen
trunk The fire warmed. them for time, while they
discussed their plight, but inevitably Its flames would
diminish and finally nearly die, Just at the moment
that they became more comfortable Then would they
be obliged TO enter the water again and grope about
for iuei, swearing roundiy at the luck which had
forsaken them. The long night spent thus. They
were foodlcss and the slow coming OF the dawn was
eagerly watched for IL woke In clouds and mist--thc
sun stili hidden
A SAVING IDEA.
They once more endcavorcd to make direct line TO
camp and painfully plodded through the boys during
all the forenoon but the Judge" who had conceded
10 Jake as an old woodsman the guidance, now sat