The Red Cloud chief., 1880-01-08
An SPRING.
Most Wonderful Natural Curiosity Yet
Discovered.

An ELkC1klC SfRlNOs
! The Most Wonderful Natural Curiosity We
Discovered.
From the Nashville (Tenn.) Banncr.l
, The beautiful Buffalo Valley-tbe
J mo~untaineer's paradise, and n Of TIA,
most romantic spots in Tennessee-lic,
along the eastern bank of that Lowell,
mountain stream, the Caney Fork
Three or -four miles from the mouth 81
this valley stands an old water mill
whose huge irOn-bOund wheel, il is said,
performed lis last revolution somewhcr,
about the year 1878. The mill in if.
? day was no doubt a wonder in that part
of the country, for, Judging 10y IL pres
ent appearance, il must have been the
most wonderfully constructed building
of its kind ever erected in that vicinity.
Ii is now the home of rats and owls, and
the ashes of the jolly old miller, who
long years ago was the life and the light
of the place, sleep peacefully on a neigh
, boring hill. Under this old mill is the
most wonderful spring of which the
world has eycr heard. Among the i'll
habitants il is known as the Devils
Aspiring No n seems 10 know how
, or when it received This unpleasing, inn
Fortunate appcllation. Few people,
other than those living in the immedi-
ate neighborhood, know of lis existence,
.and they rarely visit il, from the fact
that il is believed TO eXert a powerful
and evil influence Over all who We're
rash enough to venture sufficiently
near its confines 10 allow a single drop
~ the buAhlin@, boiling fluid Ia fall on
DTsem or their garments. Besides, the
eld mill is said to be haunted, and this
alone would keep those superstitiouS,
though piouS, people from risking their
lives hy ~frcgucuting the accused place,
much less the fact that the devil keeps
RIM underneath it. Notwithstaud-
INC the many narrowing tales related by
The natives of the loss of fortune, rca-
Non, ard finally death of those who had
1snturcd in too close proximity To the
unhalloWcd spot, 4 gentleman recently
visited the mill and the spring, the lat
ter of which he thoroughly examined,
pronouncing IL the most remarkable
natural curiosity he had ever seen. The
spring is described rs boiling up from
the center OF "a solid rock, its shape be
irH very like that of "A bushcl measure
and abost aS large. The sides of this
li>in or hole are perfectly smooth, hay
ING the appearance of having been pol
iShed 10y the hand of man. Its depth is
'sot known. The people who reside in
the immediate vicinity say il is without
bottom. How this NAV Ice we are not
prepared To state, hut true il is that an
iron wedge and 500 feet of cord failed
Ia reach il. The wafer is of dark blue
atlor and builS up with great force-Sn
great that it spouts up several inches
anoyc lis proper level. And not only
does Il boil up with immense force, but
IL whirlS around with tremendous veloc-
lily. something after the fashion of n
whirlwind.
The gentleman who describes il saws
that he dipped an ordinary tin dipper
INTO the spring for the purpose of pro-
curing some of the water for a closer
examination of its qualities, and that the
moment the dippcr touched the water
il WAS wrenched from his grasp as
though il had been struck from his hand
by a stroke of lightning, and indeed, he
states, that his arm felt very much rs if
itAra been suddenly paralyzed. In en-
asring To regain the dipper, which
did NOT sink more than six inches below
SIae surface, but which kept whirling
= Pund and round 50 fast that it was Al
mo impossible 10 see il, he placed his
hand into the water. He a Y that the
sensations he experienced Al the instant
his fingers touched the water were sim
gularly strange, causing him 10 think
cllat thousands of needles had pierced
mis- body at one time. But he didn't
succeed in getting the dipper out. He
tried time and again 10 wrench il from
lis f~aStenings, but the greedy waters
seemed loaih TO give up their strange
captive, Ia which they chung with more
than 4 viSe-like grasp. Giving up all
>aope of rescuing the dippcr with his
ShandS, the gentleman ~bethought
himself of an empty flask which
he carried in his companion.
With this he again attempted to lift
some water from the spring, and was
rewarded with success, not, however,
without a considerable effort, for it re-
quired his entire strength To prevent the
angry waters from snatching the flask
from his hands. Pouring a single drop
III the strange fluid in the palm of his
left hand he examined it infinitely with
a magnifying glass with the most salts
factory results. He states that the drop
of water resembles 4 flake of snow
viewed with the same instrument. He
examined several other drops, and,
strange TO say, each presented a marked
Adherence in appearance. The first as
ydmed the shape OF a star, the second
that of a crescent, the third a dagger,
the fourth a comet, and so on. After
concluding his examination, the gentle
man resolved TO further test the quail
ties of the water by tasting it. Letting
a single drop fail on his tongue, he was
<Slrprised and delighted T. find that ii
Nrkled like the best brand of imported
champagne. He then concluded 10
swallow a portion, which he did with
the most delightful effect. He saws the
moment the water began descending
throat he enjoyed the most
~ Il eeaSation of his life. 1t seemed,
ihfee. asm he Were truly slipping the
nectar of the gods. The draught seemed
To divide itself into a million parts the
moment it passed his throat, a portion
passing with the speed of lightning
along every vein of his body. So de-
l~igiltful was the effect that he forgot
for,the time where he was, and uttered
psSA after peal of the widest possible
iaurhter. He AYERS that the sensation
of squeezing a pretty girl is Nc compare
son 10 the e~cstatic joy which he derived
from one draught of this water.
Owing TO the peculiar effects which
re water has on the human system, the