The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-22


from the melting glacier, and also the storm
waters that were thrown down when the south
winds, laden with vapor, came in contact with
this great ice-sheet and were stripped Of their
waters. These sideways began without path
or trend to find their way TO the south and
southwest. This discharge for many ages found
its way through the present drainage of White
river and its affiuents. The amount of erosion
gravel deposits, and also by the transported
powders which existed to limited extent at
the top of the great clay sheet.
1.-THE basin of White river and it's af1uents was
dug down by the removal of this clay and
other matter $50 feet The finer clay and
sand is supported by current at the rate of one
or two miles an hour; coarser sand, three or
four; gravel and pebbles, FIVE or six; big gravel
and small stones require current of eight or
ten miles. Wearing down in this way the upper
White river and Fall creek, in Marion and ad-
joining counties, made deep cuts, bearing away
the finer material to build up the alluvial plains
and bottoms Of the lower Ohio and Mississippi,
while the gravel and coarser stones were de-
posted when the velocity of the current failed
to carry them.
when confined between lines of hills and
ridges these streams had great velocity, but
just at their confluence, where broader valley
existed, they suddenly slowed up, dropped their
gravel and powders and so formed the top of
Crown Hill mound.
"Of course, as the mound was begun early in
the history of these streams it is probable, if not
certain, that the central portion of the Crown
Hill mound is of the blue clay which crops out
at the banks of White River and underlies the
entire county, and from under which we get the
pure waters, while the top and sides are of
gravel deposited by the falling current Of the
two streams.
Sometimes White river, and sometimes Fall
creek, as governed by low or high flood water In
their upper sources, has passed on each or either
side OF the mound, rounding it off in the sym
metrical way we now find it.
Il expect you will ask me how White river
got so far from the mound, and how Fall creek
now empties two miles below. Well, all rivers
form sandbars on their upper sides at their
mouths, and so keep gouging and emptying
lower down, and so the Fall creek and White
river have in later times parted company.
Marion county is divided from north to south by
the White river valley, which is four or five
miles in width. Grown Hill is simply portion
of the valley which was not excavated, and so
retains the original height of the entire valley
OF which it was once part.
THREE sUBTERRANEAN FORESTS
but there is another matter that will interest
you much more than all this resumed the Pro
fessor warming to his subject did you ever
hear that there were very distinct evidences Of
three subterranean forests beneath the State
houset MOI Well, they're there. There is no
sign Of flaw or crack from unequal settling in
the building This is due 10 the excellence of
the stratum on which it rests. 1t consists of a
uniform and homogeneous layer of river gravel
over forty feet in depth and the particles of
which vary from the size of small shot to
bullets, making bed nearly as firm as brick
itself This layer is only wanting in space of
sixty to eighty square feet in area in
the southwest corner, where the soil
was excavated by the falls of 'Minnow
brook This little stream, now dry,
formerly rose in the region between the fair
grounds ana the State-house, and its most no
ticeable feature little falls and minnow
hole, prominent in the early days of the city. A
heavier concrete was put down at this place
But the most notable feature of the exca-
vation for the new building was the appearance
of three well defined submerged forests, which,
judged by the ramifcation of the roots were
undoubtedly of cottonwood and sycamore trees
These trees were from six inches to two feet in
diameter; there was no wood left but only black
sticky humus organic matter, which was
formed by and took the place of the rotting wood
These trees were killed by the sand of river
freshets piling up about their trunks. as the river
gradually worked its way to the westward
The State Geologist here made sketch of the
White river valley, and showed the reporter how
the river had run, now here and now there, in
the wide valley between the terrace level of
bluffs running by the Female ReformatOry, and
the corresponding terrace level of bluffs running
along by Mount jackson and the Insane Asylum.
1.-THE river-bed, you see, has worked westward;
1t used to be right here in the city: sometimes it
ramon one side of Crown Hill and sometimes on
know, has been two hundred feet above its pres
ent level; indeed, for that matter, it's bed has
been also seventy five feet below its present
level.
it destroyed these forest growths on it's sides by
sand and three of these forests are shown in the
State house excavation.
'sRivers play some strange freaks. as for exam
pie in the vicinity of New Madrid, Mo- The site
of the old Spanish town of New Madrid is now
in Kentucky, mile and half from the Missis-
sippi river What, with the earthquake of 1871
and the erosive action of the river itself, the
town Of New Madrid has been driven a good two
miles from its former site, and Congress has
been invoked once certainly, and I think twice.
to grant them new site further westward.
IF you were to bore down on the old site of
New Madrid, now in Kentucky, about 200 feet
you would find castings, Spanish coins and the
like, which, if you followed the estimates and
teachings of Lyell and Hilgard. would lead you
to think they were deposited 200 900 years ago
instead of since the Spanish march from Florida
to the Mississippi.
of rivers and deposits in them take place very
rapidly and New Madrid is a good example Of
it, and so is White river
LOST RIVERS
What do you think about there being sub
terranean river under the city?' asked the re-
porter. 'sThe Common Council listened for an
hour to the demonstration of plan for boring
down to such a stream and draining Pogues run
through it, as you no doubt remember"
Impossible, impossible! There are no sub
terranean streams in this region. They occur
where the country rock is lava or soft limestone
Rivers disappear in Florida. ingulfed in the
earth and continue to the sea under the ground.
Lost river. in Orange county, runs several miles
under ground-a complex system of mains and
leads, a counterpart of the surface drainage
There is also dry surface bed, which carries
off the excess of rainfall The river has four
different sinks. The channel has been partly
explored by boats. These streams contain both
blind fish and crawfishes. A good part of
Orange county has no springs or brooks, or any
continuous system of surface drainage, the excess
of storm-water runs off by these underground
channels. 1t is queer country. There is some
thing like 1t in Florida, where for an area OF
fifty miles around there are no surface streams,
and the country rock is a soft and cavernous