The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-02-22
A lIouutain On Fire.
a correspondent writes, calling at
tentlon to curious pIlep omenon which.

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tention to a curious phep onenon which
although we'll known in the immediat,
district III which 1t exists, will be ney
to many readers. He says, s.I hap
pened to be making a tour q few dnv,
ago through the RhoudGu Valley i,
wales and as was passing the Own
Park Mountain noticed what at little
distance appeared to mo to be a small
bonfire about halfway up its side. Not
seeing any one in the vicinity of the
fire, curiosity prompted me to climb the
barren bill tosee what was being burned
Aztec struggling through good den
OF mud and over marshy gIound. ]
reached the fire when, to my surprise.
L found that the flames were not caused
| by the burning Of rubbish or any otbe,
visible substance. The fire famed uu
through about three squa, @ feet of bar.
rem earth, which was hot and parohed
except whore covered with what at first
seemed to be boiling water. Upon closer
examination I found that oniy the wn.
ter hear the centre of the fire approached
anything like boiling heat. tho rest
beng i'll somo places lukewarm. and in
others quite cold. I was sorely puzzled
ut first to account for this difference of
temperature in tho water, tor it all
boiled and bubbled with equal violence
AS L happened to hayo q walking-stick
III my hand drove it into tho e,lrth
Two or three inches away from any spot
from which fire issued. whom, to nv
astohlshment, flames sh 1t up from this
newly-m"de hole at least foot high. L
rePeate the experiment two or three
lmcs with the same result. It seemed
ah though fierce fire existed under
this small patch of ground. The thing
that puzzled mo most was tho none xis-
tence OF any cracks or holes in the
ground except those which 1 had nv
sell made. The earth belohcd forth
hre without opening it's mouth. Ihad
not been many seconds at this spot be-
foro l discovered that l was to leeward
OF the flame, for l was half suftocated
ny sulphurous, gassy stencil. which
escaped from the fumes. l shifted NV
ground, and after considerable delibera.
ton como to the conclusion that this
extraordinary phenomenon was caused
ny the continuous escape of subterran.
ean gas through deep fssure iii tho
rocks. Subsequent inquiries in the
nelghborhood proved thut my conjec-
ture WINS right. The Inhabitants OF tho
district say that tho gas ascends through
a assure III the rocks from u scum of
coal several hundred feet below the
surface, and that it was set on fire many
Years ago by some unknown person.
and has burned continuously ever since.
also learned that this is not a unique
rh"nomenon III the district. A smaller
ior some years near ear tie g head Of the
Khoudd" Valley. l could not, however,
spare time to ascertain the truth OF
this statement. 10 witness tho earth
Oh lire III, 10 doubt, astonishing, but it
can hardly be compared with tho pne-
nomonun which fellow-truveller III
formed me exists near Aberdnre. Near
that town the gas from seam OF coul
forces ltself up through n 1issure in the
rocks, and through tho surface of tho
earth and tho waters OF stream, It
has been repeatedly lighted, when Il
large spot Oh tile water through which
the gas bubbled seemed to be on fire,
just as the ground appeared to me on
Own Park Mountain. My luformant,
however, stated that in the former iu-
stance the discharge Of gas was inter-
mittent, and that, consequently, the
fire went out ut intervals, whereus, so
fur as could learn. the fire on tho
mountain has boon burning for some
thing like forty or fifty years, and has
i'll that time materially increased in
body md force. Indeed, so strong is
it now, that considerable difficulty, Il
should imagine. would be experienced
in extinguishing 1t. It certainly forms
n notable feature in the landscape at
night, and gives kind of weird aspect
to the scene. The inhabitants, how
over, seem particularly attached to their
curious night-light."