The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-04-18
FACTS THAT BEAT FABLE.
Ono of the Wonders OF that Enormous
wilderness, Southwest Texas.
Sour LAKE, March 6,

rises above the waters. Now conceive q
depression in the centre Of our island,
filed with bubbling, boiling pond, as
round es a well, surrounded by q dense
forest; and we have Sour Lake and its
topography. This similitudes lis exact.
All the region around is very low and
fat. and sometimes the Lake tract is sur
,roanded by water. The extent of the
elevated region is probably about two
miles in any direction. The hotel and
other buildings areon the highest point
ofthe elevation. Don't let any one sup
pose, now that this is hill. The eleya-
ton is only sufficient to throw the water
off its back into the region around it.
The pool sends of 8 small stream to the
east.
On the edge, of this lake or pool are
situated most Of the wells, fys or six feet
IN M depth, with plant tcurbing. sSomeiof
these are in q state of vigorous ebullition,
.ShileEothers shaye very little ebulition,
This ebullitioneis nothing but currents
of gas escaping from the bowels of the
earthg This is made apparent bysa COM
mon experiment here. Take common
fruit can, open at soney end and "a small
hole bored In the other. Immerse half
Of it Id the water where the ebullition is
going on, and then touch q lighted match
to the2h6le. INSTANTLY s. f1amc pops up,
which will burn, unless blown out by q
wind, as long as you choose 70 hold the
can ini its position. There are Jets ofgas
'Ssuing out of the ground ell about the
pool so sthst with your fruit cans and
milk cans you may have flames without
end. You may oven set FIRE 20 the pools,
or apparently do so, by applying a match
to the surface where it is bubbling or
boiling; but these flames speedily go
out. While burning, however, they look
exceedingly queer, and one cannot help
but think of the, old straditionalI he'll,
which of late seems to be falling into
contempt. Now, as some may be in
clined TO doubt all this, / state that saw
it all. last night and this morning with
my owmeyes. II ~ ~ as
Some of these wells throw up yellow
ish and blackish oil which collects on
i the surface iand may be skinned like
cream. This smells very furiously of tar
sor naptha, but at little distance is pleas
antito the nostrils. The water on which
this substance collects tastes precisely
like the substance smells. He who
drinks of it gets his whole body consid-
ferably y'infected ,Sitn the smell, to such q
degree thaG he evsnSmakes his bed smell
OF It. This, substance is gathered here,
and the people around readily buy it at
des'7a asquart. They; say it beats all
creation ferlcuring sores, cuts and burns.
It is inHammable, and.burns with a great
smoke. 1t is, I suppose, liquid carbon.
Now, suppose we would take this stuff
and solidify it, and crystalize it, and pu-
1sify It to perfect cleafness, why, we
would have the true diamond. Where is
the alchemyst WIN can;do this?
Others sof the; wells; are as sour as crab
apples, aud 3these invariably send up q
strong odor of sulphur. These bubble
aud boil considerably, and have whitish
appearance, as if ,pulverized chalk had
been stirred up in them. This is white
sulphur: They have a slight taste of the
fluid carbon. These are said to act pow
erfully upon the liver, and several have
told me that no case of dyspepsia could
withstand them. Then there is another
well that is strongly impregnated with
iron., Its waters are distinctly marked
from all the others in appearance, being
exceedingly soft and limpid; so much SO
that it looks like g little pool of liquid
air, if such thing may be. 4 few feet
from this chabyleate well is another
which is called "the Yermifuge,pr Il
tastes rather nasty, and I do not doubt
that it deserves its name. They say that
children sick with worms are efectually
cured by it. A gentleman stopping here
testifes about this well as follows: u
drank its waters because I somehow took
aliking to It. Il have been q great snf.
ferer from dyspepsia, and that is what
brought me here. had not the re.
motest idea that was 'wormy,' but this
we'll demonstrated to me that astounding
fact. Ifelt like shooting my head off" :
z Then there is anothers well or pool
which, isiThat is said of it be true, is, il
not the most remarkable, yet certainly
destined to be the most renowned of all
They call it .south and beauty" II de.
posits peculiar sort of sediment on it
bottom, which, as they say, has the re-
markable property of beautifying the
skin and removing freckles. Let a lady
having splotches or freckles on her hand!
or face apply little JUNCTION of this, two
nights in succession, and they say she
will wake up the second morning as beau
tiful as nymph just risen from hel
bath. an. told. that this deposit is sc
much in demand that it is not alway.
easy to keep a supply of it during The
watering season. = The ladies 90 to the
pool and gobble it up and store it away
in their trunks to make presents to theil
friends who have freckles. What truth
there may be in all this, Of course / dt
not know, but it is curious that have
net seen single freckled lady in all thil
country, and the piney-woods girls ART
often thunder on freckles.
Indeed, these wells, as numerous a
they are, all differ from one another il
the nature of their waters; certainly they
do in taste, and / judge that they mus
also differ in chemical properties; ant
this great multitude of various waters is
to me, the most remarkable feature o
this remarkable place. 1t is strange, in
deed, and difficult to- accorntsfo B.
what freak of nature we're all thes
strange waters thrown SO closely together
Or was it freak, or was it design o
the Builder of Nature to create fountain
'for the healing of the nations?" Ina.
be laughed at as very stupid by the har'
scientists, but will take this latter horn
I doubt not that this is to become one o
the greatest watering places in the world
can myself testify that the waters al
powerfully medicinal, and l have beef
here only little over twenty-four hours
If one wishes to be easy and comfortable
in company, 1 would advise him to be a
shy of aNo. 4" as he would he of epson