The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-02-12
Natural Wonders La Texas.

/ have In my time been in many of the
now have turned up, as 1 think. in that
which Is the nost Remarkable Of ali
Sour Lake Is circular pool Of an acre
or TWO In extent, situated in depression
on the most elevated tract of land in q
vide scoofe or country. 1t rises above
the contiguous territory as an island in the
sea rises above the waters. Now con.
ceiye q depression in the centre of our
island, filed with a bubbIine. boilipp
pond, as round as we'll, surrounded
by dense forest, end we have Sour Lake
and its topography.
uated most OF the wells, I've or sis feet
in depth, with piank curbing. Some oi
these are in @ vigorous state OF ebullition
while others have very little ebulIition
This ebullition is nothing but currents
of gas escaping from the earth. This il
made apparent by common experiment
here. Take common fruit can open OF
one erd and small hole bored In the
other. !mmerse h,lfofit in water whe. e
the ebullition is going on, and touch q
lighted match TO the hole. Instantly a
brilliant fame pops up, which will burn
e"iSoo Dio"u out Ey tuo WIuu uo long az
you choose to hold the can in its position.
There are jets of gas issuing cut of the
ground all about the pool, 80 that with
your fruit cans and milk cans you may
have flames without end. You may even
set IRE TO the pools, or apparently do 80,
by applying match TO the surface where
it's bubbling, or boiling, but these flames
speedily go out.
EnDpa nf fhaua ill, 4,
ish and blackish %, which collects on the
This smells very. st,ongly of tar or naph-
tina, but at little distance is pleasant to
the nostrils. The water on which this
substance collects tastes precisely like the
substance smells. He who drinks it gets
his whole body considerably infected by
the smell. This substance is gathered
here, and the people readily buy it at a
dollar quart. They say II cures sores.
burns with greet smoke. 1t is, I sup.
pose, liquid carEca.
Others of tie wells are as sour as crab
apples, and these invariably send up q
strong odor of sulphur. They bubble
and boil considerably, and have a whitish
appearance, as if pulverized chalk had
SSS' c''AiSN up III tuSbi. 4hlS 10 HIilto
sulphur. They have slight taste of the
fluid carbon. These are said to act pow
erfnlly upon the liver, and saveral have
told me no case of dyspepsia could long
withstand them. Then there il another
well that is strongly imprcgnated with
iron. It's wa.ers are distinctly marked
from the others in appearance, being ex-
ceedingly soft and limipd.
Then there is another we'll or pool,
which If what is said Of it be true, is, ii
not the most remarkable, yet certainly
destined to be the most renowned of all.
They call it "Youth and Beauty" It
deposits q peculiar sort of sediment on
its bottom, which, as they say. has the
remarkable property of identifying the
skin and removing the freckles. T am
told that this deposit is 30 much in de.
maud that it is not always easy to keep
supply Of it during the watering season.
The site 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, penetrates the labyrinthine
walks; oaks, magnolias, myrtles, hollies,
beeches, and naples, and gums, and vines
without end. How easy would it be to
light all this extensive ground into a
blaze of glory at might, by utilizing the
gas that pours in torrents ou. OF the
earth.-Letter to GaluestOn Netrs.