Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1884-09-13
A LAKE OF FIRE.
An Artificial Body OF Water that Ressm
bles Melted Gold.

An Artinctal BODY OF water that hessm-
bIes Melted Gold.
A correspondent of the New York
Times, writing from Waterloo, an ex-
tensive estate in Nassau, describes Gu
rious body of water to be seen there.
The lake is nearly one thousand feet
long and two hundred to three hundred
feet broad. II is an artificial lake, the
former proprietor Of Waterloo having
built it to store green turtles in. The
plan was to buy the turtles alive and
put them in the lake and let them in
crease i'm size and numbers, when they
would always be ready to be caught and
eaten. Millions of fish could be kept in
the lake at the same time, and thus the
occupant of Waterloo could always have
a good dinner waiting in the yard. The
lakes bed is cut out of the solid rock,
and is only few hundred feet from the
ocean. 1t is connected with the sea by
small canal, also cut through the rock;
and when the gate of this canal is left
open the tide rises and falls in the lake.
1t was one of the darkest nights |
ever saw. We went into the bOat-hOuse
and pushed out heavy row-boat.
took the oars, and we pulled off. The
first stroke gave me fine start. There
had not been any unusual appearance
of phosphorescence on the surface of the
water more than is often seen on trop-
ical seas; but as soon as the oars stirred
it they seemed to be dipped in melted
gold. There was actually fire there, 1
was compelled to think. While I was
wondering at It, fish, startled by our
splatter, darted across the pond near the
surface, and in his trail was left a streak
of yellow fire. Then we saw at different
places en- the surface little vapory clouds
of fire flashing and darting about like
the northern lights.
"If you have a newspaper in your
pocket" said my companion, "lay it out
| on your lap and splash the water with
| both oars, to see whether you can get
light enough to read by"
| / did 80, and was able to read the
heading and all the large lines without
difficulty. l took an oar and sulashet
the water, and wherever a drop fel
back into the lake was round spot o
fire. There was something startling il
seeing 80 much fire floating about, and
had not the taintest notion where w
were. had gone out upol an unknown
lake, in total darkness, and no idea hov
large or deep it was, nor where the cur
reut-if there was any-might carry us.
"If you pull hard and watch the boy
and stern of the boat you will see some
thing curious"
did so, and was well paid for the ex
ertion. When a boat moves fast ther
is always cutting of the water at tn
bow and little eddy left just bebiD,
the stern. That cutwater and that edd
were of flaming fire. More fish darte,
about, leaving fiery trails. Inc eeC
wherever the water was aeitated it turn
apparently into fire. When the agits
ton ceased the fire disappeared, excep
that there was always a little sparklln
upon the surface. We splaShed, an
rowed, and watched. One Of the mos
curious effects was to throw somethln
from the boat to distant part of tn
lake and see the fire splash. A fountain
put in the center of the lake would be
fountain of fire. We measured the dept
with an oar and found it to be four
five feet. 1t is mentioned as curiou
circumstance that the water can b
, changed as often as desired without dt
, stroying its phosphorescence. Variou
analyses of the water have been made
but without any great results.