St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-10-09
Natural Phenomena.
Eureka LEADER

Eureka Leader
Nayada is a land Of curious natu
raj phenomena. Her rivers have no
visible outlet to the ocean. She has
no lakes of any magnitude. She has
vast stretches of alkali deserts, how
ever. that give every indication OF
having been the beds Or bottoms OF
either seas or lakes. Down in L n
coin county there is spring OF ice
cold water that bubbles up over a
rock and disappears on the other
side. and no one has been able to
find where the water goes. Atanoth-
er point in the same county is large
spring, about twenty feet square,
that is apparently only some IL or
20 inches in depth, with a sandy bot
tom. The sand can be plainly seen,
but on looking closer it is perceived
that this sand is in perpetual state
ofunrest. No bottom has ever been
found to this spring. 1t is said that
q teamster, on reaching this spring
one day, deceived by its apparent
shallowness, concluded to soak one
ofhis wagon wheels to cure the loose
ness of its tire. He therefore took
it off and rolled it into the las he
thought) shallow water. He never
laid his eyes on that wagon wheel
again. Our mountains are full OF
caves and caverns, many OF which
have been explored to great dis
lance. Speaking Of caves, a redeo
was held last spring over in Hun
tington valley. During it's progress
quite number Of cattle were missed
and for a time unavailing search was
made for them. AT last they were
traced to the mouth Of a natural tun-
mel or cave in the mountain. The
herders entered the cave, and fol-
lowing it for a long distance, at last
found the cattle. 1t appears that
they had probably entered the cave,
which was very narrow, in search of
water. It had finally narrowed so
that they could proceed no further.
Neither could they turn around to
get out. They had been missed some
days, and if they had not been found
must inevitably have persisted in a
short time. AS it was they were eX-
tracted from their preslicamept with
difficulty, by the herders squeezing
past and getting in front of them
and soaring them into a retrograde
movement by tapping their hats
into the faces of the stupid bovines.
HE STOOD AT HIS PosT.-A Bal
timore journalist, who went into the
country to spend a vacation, hap
pened to stray into villas church,
where the clergyman was telling bis
rural audience what to do to be
saved. Suddenly a colony of pole
cats, which had pre-empted the Gel
lar Of the building, scattered their
fragrance on the receptive air. New
er was sleepy congregation so in
simultaneously aroused. The children
wriggled and giggied, the ladies be-
took themselves vigorously to their
fans and smelling bottles, the men
frowned and said bad words under
their breath. Even the horses out
in the church-yard p licked up their
ears, while they gave loud snorts of
disapproval, and the dogs showled
their Indignation. The rector, dear
good man, never faltered. He stood
at the open window, where each sue
cessive emission Of the diabolical
eff1uvia enveloped him in all it's orr
ginal undiluted streng h. AS the
highly scented waves rolled in and
struck him he could not restrain his
convulsive gasps, but steadying him
self by the altar rails, with forti-
tude before which the shining ex-
amples of the early martyrs pales,
he ceased not to call down wrath on
the evil-doers.-[N. Y. Sun.