Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-02-17
TAPPING A VOLCANO.
The Results Thae Followed Well
Digging IN Texas
Joseph MuIhatt0n Makes Another Won
derfui Discovery Throwing Red Balls
Of Fire from the Bowels
of the Earth


The citizens Of our quiet little city are
all thrown into a great state OF wonder
ment. and the question in every ones
mouth Is, what is it," To give proper
description t0 the Teade OF the Herald
your correspondent is not able, aud as for
technical terms, more scientific pen than
mine will have u take up the work 10
crafty a scientific world and give the
causes which lead 10 this wonderful yomit
from mother earth. It will have 70 suffice
for me, therefore, 20 give an account OF
that which has led % the discovery OF
this wonderful furnace that is now throw
fng out from the bowels OF the earth far
into the heavens, red balls Of fire.
About two months ago our enterprislng
townsman a. 6. Epplin, undertook to
bore for water ia the rear Of his place OF
business he bored down four-inch hole
some sixty feet, and finding good indica-
tiOns Of water, he concluded he would sink
a well of regulation size. He accordingly
engaged men and set them at work, and
told them TO prosecute the work down
ward until they found plenty OF water,
even should they have 10 invade the King
dom of China. Accordingly, each
out any interruption until last Thurs
day, when the late rains interfered
with them. This mo ming the work was
again resumed As the work progressed
nothing of very peculiar nature was OBJ
served in the different stratas of clay, sand
and rock that were passed through. AT
depth OF about five feet the workmen
st uck a strata OF limestone which, by
blasting, they got through In thirty six
feet. At this depth (forty feet they struck
a rather curious formation, which par
takes of the nature of concrete, or rather
of "a conglomeratiOn of pebbles, shells and
clay, cemented together by some internal
furnace. This was got through after
blasting some twenty feet. The next
formation reached, and the one in which
the men were working at the time of the
bursting of the crater, is kind of soap
stone of beautifulspink color. The stone
is soft and easily cut, but as soon as ex-
posed TO the air andss it becomes quite
ha d and partakes of about the substance
of marble, and is capable of a fine glossy
polish. A ledge of five feet of this forma-
ton was gone through when the last
blast was made. Your correspondent
China, it brought them close in the neigh
borhood of Limbus.
After the last blast was touched off,
which was about $50 O'Clock this evening,
loud, roaring noise followed the echo of
the blast, which was heard for miles So
great, indeed, was this that vibration after
vibration followed, that houses in the vi
cinity of the well shook, and everything
seemed 60 shake, earthquake-like; chickens
that had gone to roost on adjoining trees
left their roosts; housewives who were pre-
pairing the evening meal ran TO the doors;
men in their workshops took TO the street;
stores We're deserted; dogs barked; horses
dilated their nostrils and seemed restless;
everything endowed with reason seemed
terrified and awe-stricken. The roaring
sound abates not in the least. People are
afraid TO go within block of the place.
And now, oh, horrors from the mouth of
this well great red balls of some sort of SUBJ
stance are thrown far up into the heavens
until lost sight of. What becomes of
them no one can tell, as none have
yet been found or seen to fall.
These balls, at regular intervals of ten
minutes, illuminate the heavens for miles
stops as the balls are emitted. The balls
when passing through the air, look like
sxy-rockets, only that they do not burst,
but pass right on out of sight. 1t is hard
to estimate their size, but should Judge
they are as large as twenty pound cannon
balls.
What scientific men we have here are at
a loss TO account for this wonderful fur
mace, which is located near Cisco. Drs.
Stout, Vance, Mancile, Fisher and Prof.
Mcdonnell concur in the belief that crater
has been tapped II such is the case a vol
canic eruption has been avoided, perhaps,
and we have been saved a dreadful calam-
ity by the boring of "a well.
The town is grandly Illuminated; the
roaring still keeps on. The people are
frantic; some are crying, others are pray
ing. The streets are crowded with country
people. Nearly every one asks the ques-
tion "What is it2" and your humble SER
want is waiting for developments.
The Prize Roy for Bad Luck.