The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-03
THE BELLE PLAINE-GEYsER.
Two Rivers Still Running from the Hole
Measures to Prevent Further Damage.

Two Rivers Still Running from the Hole
Measures to Prevent Further Damage.
Belle PLANE (Ia.) Special.
The outburst of water from the earth here con-
tinues with undated violence. Two rivers are
running from the hole each from ten to fifteen
| feet wide and averaging over foot deep. Both
are running at speed of ten miles an hour
Banks of sand from three to FIVE feet~deep and
about ten feet wide extend on either side of the
| stream for a distance of five hundred feet. One
of the streams flows east and into creek
Meeting with the Iowa river and the other flows
west for about block and then south directly to
the river. about half mile distant. All the
south part of the town is more less flooded
and the cellars all filed with water but no
serious damage has yet resulted. George
Morgan, the Chicago engineer, arrived to-
day, and after careful examina-
ton of the outbust, expressed unqualified
approval of the plans now being followed by
Engineer Palmer of this town. A sixteennch
| pipe fifty feet long has been driven below the
| surface, and inside this three inch nipe has
| been driven through to the bottom of the sub
| terranean lake. The bottom was reached at
| depth of 2l0 feet, and, as water was struck at
| depth of 1913 feet, this would indicate that the
| lake or river is seventeen feet deep. Over 100
| men were at work about the we'll today. The
chief feature of the plans now being carried out
| is the sinking of great iron cones, or Y shaped
| contrivances of heavy boiler iron, which will be
securely fastened to the tubes that are driven into
tube will be fitted with rocks and sand
and the cone driven into the clay. 1t
| is expected that by this means the water will
| finally be got under control by being confined
| to threeinch pipe. Mr.. Morgan had confer
| ence with the Town Council this afternoon, at
| which he stated that he could do nothing better
| than was already being done. He has therefore
| gone back to Chicago Palmer Brothers foundry
| Is working night and day getting the cones com.
| pleted. One cone is almost finished and will be
| tried tomorrow. It is twenty feet long, thirty
| inches in diameter at the bottom, and twelve
| inches at the top, and is made of heavy boiler
| iron. The seven other artesian wells in the
town are from forty to fifty feet deeper than this
| one, and all have stopped running. If the cone
| system fails to control the water it has been de-
| cded to sink we'll with three-inch cast
| ing adjacent to the present outburst. This
would probably relieve the torrent SO that it
| could be controlled With the present experi-
ence IL would not be difficult to control
new outlet The main difficulty just now seems
to lie in the fact that tho hole is oblong instead
| of round. 1t is egg-shaped and measures about
four feet by two feet six inches. If it is of this
! shape to any considerable depth the cones will
/ De useIess, About ten reru below the surface 3
| bed of fine sand is reached, and the outpourng
torrent of water has carried so much of this
sand along that the hole is probably thirty feet
| in diameter twenty feet below the level Thirty
| FIVE feet down bed of blue clay is reached and
| to-day's experiments show that the sixteen-inch
| casing practically fills the hole in the clay. At
| midnight to night, notwithstanding the increased
width of the hole, the water is boiling up with
! terrific force to height of three to four feet
| above the level. A huge derrick has been erect
| ed at the well to drive the castings into the hole.
The town is full of strangers; the country peODle
| for miles around flock in to see the wonder and
stand around in hundreds watching the overflow