Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-05-31
HENL0PENS SAND WAVE
A MIGHTY ROLLER THAT is SWEEP
| ING ACROSS TIE CAPE.

Able to Obstruct Its Course-Uncle
Sans Lighthouse buildings Mainly
Buried-A Prank Of wild Nature.
Without doubt one of the most interest
ing features OF the Atlantic coast of the
United States, and, Ia fact, one Of the most
interesting phenomena Of the whole eoun-
try, is the travelling Hill Of Cape lIenelopen.
A ridge Of sand, more than mile long,
80 feet high and 200 yards wide at the base,
Is rolling inland, like mighty wave from
the sea, and with power that is irresisti-
BILE Formed at the waters edge, nobody
knows certainly just when it began to
move inland. Within the memory of men
barely past middle age, it has trayersed
space worth describing in detail
In 1876 when Gen. Joe johnson, as
government engineer, was engaged in sur
veying this part of the coast, he found on
the north side of Cape Henlopen a great
ridge Of sand II was in appearance like
the ridges that divide the Great South Bay
of Long Island from the sea, save that 1t
lowered seventy-two feet above high water
mark 1t was n ragged ridge, with coarse
grass growing over a few parts of its sur
face and few gnarled and stunted pines
on fits southern or land side. Behind it
was salt marsh or valley, where the water
was from m inch TO two or three feet deep
at the lowest ebb tide Inland from the
marsh, and indeed on low ridges in this
marsh, was n great growth of pine trees.
Half mile back from tho beach trees
were found from two to three feet In di-
ameter, and tall in proportion.
In making the survey, Engineer Johnson
noted that whenever the wind came in
from north'ard it picked up the sand on
the weather side Of that great ridge in such
clouds that no one could travel along the
ridge except when the face was covered
with o thick veil, and even then only with
great effort and much pain. 1t was like
facing blast from the desert of Sahara,
and sometimes almost like facing charge
of bird shot.
DEALING DEATH TO THE FOREST.
The sand thus picked up by the wind was
carried up over the brow of the hill, across
the narrow plateau on the southern side,
where the wind formed an eddy that could
not support the weight Of the sand The
wind was very thorough in its work, for it
gathered the sand from the entire face of
the ridge TO carry over to the rear. Thus,
with every northerly gale, inch after
inch was cut away in front and car
ried back. Inch by inch the face Of the
ridge receded inch by inch the rear face
advanced. The gDarled and twisted pines
on the back surface disappeared under the
wave OF sand The edge of the marsh was
reached and covered. The little tree coy
cred ridges were next buried out Of sight,
Then the great forest was reached Where
the trees stood thick and formed solid
wall of limbs and lcayes the sand wave
rolled up into perpendicular wall before
them, higher and higher, until level with
the tree tops, and then curled over and
broke on them as n wave Of water might
have done. Where the trees wero far apart
the sand flowed into and filed the opening
In one why and another it steadily adj
yanced and the people saw with wonder
ahe forest buried before their eyes. The
great trees, that seemed to be able in their
strength to defy all that nature might |
bring against them, stroye to put forth |
new branches above tho rising tide, grew
faint in the struggle, turned their green
leaves to yellow, their yellow cones to gray |
end black, and died Of sutfocation.
As the years passed the receding wave |
began to uncover tho old surface of the |
ground That had been buried Old land |
marks along the edge Of the marsh reap |
peared Even tho little ridges themselves, |
with tho old sod dead but eaaay recognized, |
appeared, and finally tho wind scooped the |
sand out Of the holioWs of the marsh and |
today tho lido GIBBS and flows there, and at |
low tide the water is about rs deep as it |
used to be before the sand wave swept |
across, the chief difference between the
marsh as it used to bc and as it is now being |
that there are now no bitches in it.
Then, strange to'toll, new growth of |
n,,oes sprang up on tho little old ridges and |
a NAV ridge of sand formed along shore |
where th2 cid ono had stood The new
ridge along CHORD js only small one-pcr-
hans twelve or fifteen feet above the water
In places, but it j. growing as the new
trees behind it grow, md II may possibly |
start inland Is tAa big one that preceded 1t
did.
As the big sand wave continued its way
tho old forest that had been buried began
to be uncovered again, so that now the
stranger that travcrscs the ridge sees on
one hand the living giants of the forest
gasping iu the last thrOcs of death, and on
the other the bicgchcd and decaying skele-
tons of those that had TO succumb, 1t is
picture that is Mt once desolate and de-
pressing
the OLD ROAD.
The old road that once led through what
was the heart of the strip of forest land be-
tween tho beach and the creek that runs
westerly through lewcs is now just about
under the crown of the advancing sand
Nvnvo. Could the a0ve by any means be
stopped in its course, SO that the old road
would bn forgotten after a hundred or two
of years, some sayant in digging there
would reach the old milestones, and may
hap piece Of old buggy wheel or tire, and
would stop 70 marvel What untold mill
ions of years, he would say, must have
elapsed since these milestones and that old
Buggy wheel were madcl
At its rNaTt1nc eastern end the great
wave has entered upon the domain of and
made n deaf of trouble for Uncle Sam.
Uncle Sans lighthouse stood right in tho
path of the sand roller There was a COM
Portable old fashioned two-story house be-
side the tall white tower that held the
lamp, and ON the weather side of the tower
n house used for storing oil. Back (southl |
of the house was a garden, At first the
spray from the wave served merely to an
noy the housekeeper; IT was carried on the .
wind and dashed against doors and win
dows. No kind c: @cathcc strip could |
keep that spray from seeplng IN through |
cracks and creyices, ana covering furni- |
ture and carpets and even filling bureau
drawers. That was bad enough, but the |
wave was all the time advancing, and pref
fy soon drifts Of sand for all the world like !
drifts of yellow snow began to accumulate /
ut the house corners, and, worse still, to |
spread across the garden and interfere seri- |
ously with the cahbagcs and sweet potatoes |
Then the wave itself arrived Rising like |
a comber on the beach, it lowered for |
time above tho oil house, and then over II /
iup,bled and buried the little building ont /