The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-12-18
AN ELECTRIC SPRING.
The Most wonderful Natural ICuriosity
Yet Discovered.

| along JnP eastern DanR OF Ullau lovely
mountain stream, the Caney Fork.
this valley stands San old water-mill,
whose huge iron-bound wheel, it is said,
performed its last revolution somewhere
about the year 1918. The mill in its
day was no doubt wonder in that part
of the country, for, judging by its pres
ent appearance, it must have been the
most wonderfully constructed building
of its kind ever erected in that vicinity.
1t is now the home of rats and owls, and
the ashes of the jolly old miller, who
long years ago was the life and light of
the place, sleep peacefully on a neigh
boring hill, Under this old mill is tie
most wonderful. spring of which the
world has ever heard. Among the in
| habitants il is known as the Devils
! Spring" No one seems to know how or
when it received this unpleasing, | n
Fortunate appellation. Few people,
other than those living in the immediate
neighborhood, know ofits existence, and
they rarely visit it, from the fact that it
is believed to exert powerful and evil
| influence over all who are rash enough
to venture sufficiently near its confines
to allow single drop of the bubbling,
boiling fluid to fall on them or their
garments. Besides. the old mill is said
to be haunted, and this alone would
keep those superstitious people from
risking their lives bv frequenting the ac-
cursed place. Notwithstanding the
narrowing tales related by the natives of
| the loss of fortune, reason, and finally
death to those who had ventured in too
close proximity to the unhallowed spot.
a gentleman recently visited the mill
and the spring, the latter of which he
thoroughly examined. pronouncing it
the most remarkable patural curiosity
he had ever seen. The spring is de-
scribed as boiling up from the center of
a solid rock, its shape being very like
that Of bushel measure and about as
large. The sides of this basin or hole
are perfectly smooth, having the appear
ance of having been polished by the
hand Of man; Its depth is not known.
The people who reside in the immediate
vicinity say it is without bottom. How
this may be we are not prepared to
state, but true it is that IN iron wedge
and three hundred feet of cord failed to
reach it. The water is of a dark blue
color and boils up with great force--so
great that it spouts up several inches
above its proper confines. And not only
does il boil up with immense force, but
it whirls around with tremendous veloc-
ity, something after the fashion of II
whirlwind.
The gentleman who describes it says
that he dipped an ordinary tin dipper
into the spring for the purpose Of pro-
curing some of the water for closer eN-
animation of its qualities, and that the
moment the dipper touched the water it
was wrenched from his grasp as though
it had been struck from his hand by Il
stroke of lightning, and indeed, he
states, that his arm felt very much as if
it had been suddenly paraly2ed. In en-
deavoring to regain the dipper, when
did not sink more than six inches below
the surface, but which kept whirling
round and round 80 fast that it was
almost impossible to see it, he placed
his hand into the water. lie says that
the sensations he experienced at he in
tant his fingers touched the water were
ingularly strange, causing him to think
that thousands of needles had pierced
his body at one time. But he didn't
succeed in getting the dipper out. He
tried time and again to wrench ii from
its f,stenings, but the greedy waters
seemed loath to give up their strange
captive, to which they clung with more
than vise-like grasp. Giving up al
hopes of rescuing the dipper with hi:
, hands, the gentleman bethought himself
: of an empty flask which he carried il
his companion. With this he again at
:, tempted to lift some water from the
! spring, and was rewarded with success
not, however. without considerable
> effort, for it required his entire strength
= to prevent the angry waters from snatch
ing the flask from his hands. Pourin
i a single drop of the strange fluid i'll til
q palm of his left hand he examined
:. minutely with a magnifying glass will
= / hn CT Sati iCf fn ptnry rpsnltS III a state
: that the drop of water closely resem
:, bled flake of snow viewed with tn
:. same instrument. He examined severa
A other drops, and, strange to say, eacl
4 presented u marked difference in appear
!, ance. The first assumed the shape of
> star, the second that Of crescent, tn
third q dagger, the fourth a comet, an
7 so on. After concluding his examir
9 alton, the gentleman resolved to fllrthC
h test the qualities of the water by tastin
= it. Letting drop fall on his tongue, /
= was surprised and delighted to find TIL;
If it sparkled like the best brand of chan
- pagne. He then concluded to swallo
portion, which he did with the mo
delightful effect. lie says the momel
the water began descending his thro
he enjoyed the most peasant sensatic
sr of his life. II was indeed as if he wel
a. truly slipping the nectar of the gods. III
ie draught seemed to divide itself into
re million parts the moment il passed h
- throat; portion passing with the spec
~ of lightning along every vein of h
H. body. So delightful was the effect tn
=; he forgot for the time where lie was, N
III uttered peal after peal OF the wilde
~ possible laughter. Owing to the pee
vi liar effects which the water has on Il
r. human system, the gentleman heio
IL leaving the place christened the sp
cp "Thc Electric Spring" He claims til
Vi this name is peculiarly appropriate, I
re there is no doubt but that the water
III heavily charged with electricity.
III will endeayOr next summer TO form
ne company foy the purpose of merging
81. place into summer resort, rs it is
tay licved that the waters of the spring W
ne cure any and ali ills that flesh is heir
% % -MshUille (ltnn.) Btaner
en- Accidents in the deep shafts of \
we vada mines are usually caused by fl
Id ing; but there was an exception
ity Gently. The iron cage in which n
me and metal are hoisted out of the Uni
ul- mine is raised with Il wire rope sew
or inches thick by an engine Of thousaI
of horse power. Six men started on
,al- rise of over Il quarter of mile, and
mi half the distance were lifted at the
the dinary safe speed. Then the cage moN
i've faster and faster, until it was shoot
ieir upward at rate that TOOK their bre;
AXIS away. The engineer had lost cont oil