The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-12-02
DANTES HE'LL IN TEXAS.
HORROR AND DEATH BROADCAST IN
SLEEPY HOLLOW.

|
Fifteen Miles Long and Fifteen Hundred
Feet Wide-Region Internal Seen by thu.
man Eyes.
SLEEPY HOLLOW. TEXAS, Novem-
Der 29.-The greatest excitement pre-
walls here. Nothing is talked or thought
of but natures great CONFUSION last
night. At "a point seven miles South
east of this little country postoffice oc-
CURED last night one of the Ss.Liscst
freaks of nature recorded in the annals
of the worlds history. At the above
mentioned point is the confluence of
two creeks, Post Oak and Chambers,
the latter quite an important stream,
and what would be called river in the
New England States. Here is located
the cause for the terror and excite
ment that have got hold of the people.
An immense upheaval has occurred at
that point. causing Il rent in the earth
that is horrifying to look upon. The
toDOgraphy Of the country before this
arOniZing kick Of old mother earth
was almost dead level. 1t is one vast
creek bottom, covered with dense tim
Der: or was such before this occurrence.
To-day Il yawning chasm, fifteen miles
long and more than fifteen hundred
feet broad, stares one in the face who
has the courage to look ut it. \ dense
cloud Of black, sulphurous smoke rises
slowly from its rumbling mouth. In
tense heat prevails ut i distance OF half
a mile on either side of this vast and
terrible crater, and, to add to its awful
grandeur, it interSects Chambers Greek
lust below is union with Post Oak,
thus forming quite II large body OF
; water that plunges into this bottOmlesS
chaSm with 4 jar and laundering tone
that can be felt and heard for twenty
, two miles. The nearest telcgraphic
station to this point is Corscana thirty
five miles away. The people in this
neighborhoOd are composed OF Il thrifty
though illteratc class of planters. They
are naturally supersttionS, and this
wonderful phenomenon has Just run
, them wild. They spend their entire
time PRAYING and singing. They have
abandonled their fields to prepare for
the awful doom. lis they suppose in
store for them. They neither eat nor
sleep, only .aS they are exhausted. \
norton Of the time today Il strong
East wind has been blowing, driving
the heat to the Vest side of the open
ing, SO that your correspondent could
approach sufficiently close to examine
PARTIALLY the inward appearance OF the
laws of hell. No language, however,
awful or eloquent. coullapproach even
the faint picture OF so grand yet SO
fearful scene. 49,.
Imagine lirery opening in the earth
fifteen miles long and 1900 feet wide,
belching forth great clouds OF black
I sulphurous smoke, from beneath which
come the deep muttcrings OF slbter-
raneous thuntlers, whose voices speak
only through the open mouth or hell.
then you may form but slight idea OF
this scene. AS the wind moves the
huge volume Of smoke aside it reveals
huge monsters of every hidcous and
conceivable shape writhing and twist
ing in the molten mass beneath. Sounds
and murmurs like human voices IN the
awfuleSt agOnieS seem to come from
right under your feet, us you stand on
the brink of this horrible chasm. Var
iouS theories have been advanced by
experts and old women as to the mean
ING of all this unrest of old mother
earth. There is no doubt in the mind
of YOUR correspondent that it is asso"
ciated with the recent earthquake at
Charleston, 5. G..
What the result may be before nature
resumes her equilibrium in this sec
ton is hard to tell. 1t has already re-
suited in the destruction of twenty-five
fine ranches. TOO head Of stock, thirteen
dwelling houses, and about three thorl-
sand acres of fine timber have been
swallowed up. The loss of human life
amid the present excitement is lmpoS-
siblc to ascertain, but it is supposed to
: be frightful People are gathering up
. their effects and fleeing from the coun-
try in wagons or horseback, in wheel
, burrows and on foot. Great suffering
: and dcStitutlon must follow in the
wake of such wholesale destruction ot
life and property. The atmosphere for
, twenty miles around has an intense
snlphllrollS smell. Unless t"-morroWs
) sun has Il tendency To purify the atlnoS-
5 phrrc lift this SlllphrrouS ortlory your
: correspondent will be compelled to take
, up his retreat with the break OF day.
| Animals, birds and insects. even to
/. the vivaciOuS Texas mosquito, are leav-
| ing the ncighborhOOd pG this awful dis
play of natures fire works. Horses.
cattle. hogs and dogs are lying dead
through the timber. Sl,iIOrat"l with the
!: sulphnrous gases that seem to he cnZ-
ing from the ground. The gfoHnt is
! 80 intensely heated for ten miles around
that every living spear "' ErlSS and a
! the timber is dyin: Tho nict%rc OF
dcSnlaton and woe i, l'riGhttui even to
: contemplate. but imagine what IT Is to
one in the midst Of I'LL this lnncllnrSs.
Aside from the rumhlng noise bc1rath
vollr feet the silence is painful.
| send this communicating hy horse
I, back mail to the nearest railroad point,
.. thirty-livc miles away AMI Will write
vol more fully when my brain and
+, nerves get Stradicr and ret out of this
internal region. LANWELLEN.
4 Manitc's Revolving Criiue.