The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1886-12-09
RESULTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.


RESULTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.
Rain from q Cloudless sky ana wells
Without Bottoms-Other Phenom-
E ena.
Ever since the great earthquake
shock of Aug. 81 the most remarkable
natural phenomena, in various portions
st the south Atlantic and gulf states,
have been reported, writes q CORE
spondent of The New York 111baAe.
In several instances the statements re-
lative to these phenomena were SO in
credible and extraordinary that I de-
termined personally to investigate
some of them. A careful reseach, COW
ering a period of nearly three weeks,
has developed some exceedingly inter-
esting facts.
One of the most inexplicable of the
many phenomena ITO be seen at the
house of MI. M. P.sHoyle, who resides
within a hundred yards Of the oorpo-
rate limits of the town of Dawson.
this state. Here is seen a constant fall
Of rain from a cloudless sky. The
area of Mr.. Hoyle's premises that is
covered with the shower is about 81
feet square. Many OF the best and
most, trustworthy citizens of that
neighborhood testify that there is a
genuine and almost c~easeless fall of
r%aindrops. and that the strange occur-
uence has been going on nearly, or
quite, a month. At times the rainfall
is much mor dense than at others
Usually the heaviest fall of rain is
when the sky is blue and absolutely
cloudless-such days as come frequent
~ in the south during the autumn
months. Mr.. Hoyle does not pretend
ito account for the rainfall. and says
that a thousand people at least have
visited the spot since the rain began
dropping a day or two after the Char
lesion earthquake.
James Majors, who lives four and a
half miles from Laurens, s. c., dug a
well on his farm the day after the big
earthquake. The we'll was located on
a small hill, some distance from, and
elevated above, a small creek. When
he had reached a depth of sixteen feet
the earth in which he was digging be-
gan to sound hollow, and in a few mo-
ments his pickaxe cut through and a
mass of dirt fell into a seemingly bot
tomless pit below. Mr.. Majors pro-
cured a long dine, but could not sue
coed in touching the bottom of the pit.
Just then a rumbling was hear and
water began to rise. In another mo-
ment the well was full and overfowing.
Since then water has conttnasd to flow
from the we'll with no decrease o4focce.
All attempts to find bsttem have sig
nally failed.
At Shallotte, in Brunswick county,
North Carolina, a strange ''sink'-so
called by the natives-has appeared in
the main road about two miles from
that place. The earth has sunk down,
leaving a hole about five feet in dia-
meter, full of clear cold water. There
is apparently no bottom to it. as every
attempt to fathom it has proved utterly
unsuccessful.
A short distance from Ninety-six, in
South Carolina, quits famous in Re-
evolutionary history.-is another strange
phenomenon, which local scientists are
vainly endeavoring to explain. During
the war an old negro, who lived in the
suburbs of Ninety-six. claimed that he
could distinctly hear Fighting at Char
lesion every time there vas an engage
ment OF the discharge of artillery
there. In those days there was no tele-
graph line between the up.country and
the ''City of the Sea-" and the only ac-
,curate information to be had was OBJ
tanned through the Charleston daily
newspapers, which reached Ninety-six
the day following their publication. The
old negro. who was named Walker,
noted for his t~ruthfulness, and he soon
became the wonder of the community.
Each day he would come to town he
would tell the exact number of guns
fired that day; the hours at which the
firing began and the exact time at
which it ceased. The next day. when
tho papers came, the negro's stories
were invariably corroborated. When
asked how he could hear q distance of
nearly two hundred miles the old dark
ey would declare that he ''done heard
it, and everybody believed him. Since
the Charleston earthquake a family liv-
ing on the same plantation where
Walker formerly dwelt have experience
led some remarkable sensations. Al
most every day they hear rumblings and
shocks Of earthquake, accompanied by
a noise similar to the growing Of an
approaching storm. 1t is now claimed
that a great s~ubterranean passage exists
between Charleston and Ninety-six and
that the sounds are thus communicated.
Several times when shocks were felt at
Charleston they were p~erceptible at
49, a. -. - 49, "S $