Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-01-28
TEXAN WONDERS.
a Curious Lake..-vVels That Emit Gas and Con-
tain Sour Water.

Correspondent Galveston News.
[ have in my time been in many of the
most remarkable places in the world, and
now I have turned up, as I think, In
that which is the most remarkable OF all.
Sour lake is q circular pool of an acre on
two in extent, situated in depression
in the most elevated tract of land in a
wide scope of country. 1t rises above
the contiguous territory as on island Ill
the sea rises above the waters. Now
conceive depression in the centre of our
island, filed with a bubbling, boiling
pond, as round as well, surrounded by
q dense forest, and we have Sour lake
and its topography.
On the edges of the lake or pool, are
situated most of the wells, five or six feet
in depth, with plank CURLING. Some Of
these are in vigorous state of ebulli.
ton, while others have very little ebulli-
ton. The ebullition is nothing but cur
rents of gas escaping from the bowels Of
the earth. This is made apparent by IA
common experiment here Take COM
mon fruit can open OF one end and a
little hole bored in the other. immense
half of it in the water where the ebulli-
ton is going on, and then touch light
ed match to the hole. Instantly a
brilliant flame pops up, which will burn
unless blown out by the Wind, as long as
you choose to hold the can in it's posi-
ton. There are jets of gas issuing out
of the ground all about the pool, so that
with your fruit cans and milk cans you
may have flames without end. You may
even set fire to the pool, @or apparently
do 80, by applying match to the sur
face where it is bubbling or boiling, but
these flames speedily go out.
Some of these wells throw up yellow
ish and blackish oil, which collects on
the surface and may be skinned like
cream. This smells very strongly of tar
or naptha, but OF little distance is
pleasant to the nostrils. The water on
which this substance collects tastes pre-
cisely like the substance smells. He
who drinks it gets his w ole body con-
siderably infected with the smell. This
substance is gathered here, and the peo-
pie readily buy it at a dollar a quart.
They say it cures sores, cuts and burns.
1t is inflammable and burns with great
smoke. 1t is, [ suppose, liquid carbon.
Others OF the wells are as sour as crab
apples, and these invariably send up
strong odor of sulphur. They bubble
and boil considerably, and have whitish
appearance, as if pulverized chalk had
been stirred up in them. This is white
sulphur. They have slight taste of
the fluid carbon. These are said to act
powerfully upon the liver, and several
have told me that no case of dyspepsia
could long Withstand them. Then there
is another well that is strongly impreg-
mated with iron. Its waters are distinct
ly marked from the others in appearance,
being exceedingly soft and lilnpid.
Then there is another well or pool,
which, if what is said of it be crue, is, if
not the most remarkable, yet certainly
destined to be the most renowned of all.
They call it "Youth and Beauty" It
deposits a peculiar sort of sediment on
its bottom, which, as they say, has the
remarkable property of identifying the
skin and removing freckles. [ am told
that this deposit is SO much in demand
that it is not always easy to keep sup
ply of it during the watering season.
The sight here is really glorious one
for watering place; great prairie to
the south, filled with fragrance and wild
flowers, and great forest in every other
direction, penetrated with labyrinthine
walks; oaks, magnolias, myrtles, hollies,
beeches and naples and gums, and vines
without end. How easy it would be to
light all this extensive ground into a
blaze of glory at night by utilizing the
gas that pOrrs in torrents out of the
earth.