Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-08-07
TAunpEstpsc SPRING.
One OF the Wenasrs OF Gsorria and Its
Ine1fan Legend.


THuNDERtlsc SPRING.
One or the wenaers Of Georgia ana Its
Indtan Legend.
In the countycf Epson, fourteen miles
west Of Thomaston, three miles from
Flint river. among the hills of Pine
Mountain, is most remarkable spring,
known as the s'Thundering Spring"
Forty to fifty years ago was familiar
with all the surroundings of that To-
cality, and Is have never seen q de-
scription of the spring. and so far as
know it is not mentioned in any history,
propose to give q brief outline of the
spring as 1 saw it about forty-two years
| ago:
At the foot of q steep hill, some two
hundred or three hundred yards from
| the public road, it bursts out of the
ground in a volume sufficient to drive a
mill. The spring is about four feet
across, constantly boiling up fine sand,
which is thrown of every way. forming
| a dark circle or ring the size of the
/ aperture. The most remarkable thing
about it is that the sand all stops about
sixteen inches below the surface of the
water. The water for sixteen inches is
as clear as glass, below that dark as a
soap pot boiling, which it very much re-
! sembles when at rest.
| Occasionally large bubble bursts at
the surface. stirring up the sand. which
soon settles back to the same position.
The depth of the spring is unknown.
The bubbles make a peculiar rumbling
sound before reaching the surface, hence
its name. The water is said to be effica-
cious in the cure of many diseases, and
a great many people resorted hither in
The summer time to battle. The force of
the water upward was so great that one
could not sink deeper than to the arm
pits, even by jumping in feet foremost
1t took some practice to stand erect in
the spring. 1 will close this description
by relating a legend about the spring,
as handed down by the Indians.
On the top of the hill, and near the
public road, is hole in the ground
some fifteen feet deep and ten feet
This was once the ''Thundering" spring.
Some white man put up a doggery
where he sold ''fire-water'' to the In
dams. One day the chief of the tribe
| got drunk, mounted his pony and seemed
to want to ride over every thing and
everybody lie saw. He had rode his
|
sternation of it's keeper and the delight
of the Indians. After firing of this
kind of sport he concluded to ride into
the spring. His friends tried to dissuade
him, but he, with a great oath (for the
whites had learned him to curse) said:
81 will ride my pony into that spring if
1 sink to - in a minute Oh! what an
awful imprecation. His friends, his
wife and children among them, ceased
their efforts to prevent him, and in he
plunged. AS the pony struck the water
it ceased to boil upward and went down
in whirlpool. Indian, pony and all out
of sight.
The water burst out in short time at
the foot of the hill, where it now is, but
the Indian nor his pony were ever heard
of afterward.-Flowery Branch Oa.)
Journal.
A BOA IMPERATOR.
Rare Reptile Brought to Chicago In q
Bunch of Bananas.
DIR. Joseph L. Hancock, the natural
ist, has just forwarded to the United
States National Museum at Washington
young boa about three feet in length
and an inch and half in diameter al
the middle of the body. THE speci
men," says DIR. Hancock, sis of more
than ordinary interest, inasmnch as il
was transported all the way from Aspin
wall to Chicago wrapped about the stem
of bunch of bananas, and fell into my
possession through the kindness of DR.
| Martin Matter, who obtained it from
one of the employees of grocery
store on Wabash avenue in this
city. The specimen dropped from a
bunch OF bananas onto the side
walk when about to be carried into the
store by one of the men, and was after
wards caught and placed in a glass.
fronted cracker-box. Insects, frogs and
toads were placed in the box as an ex.
pertinent, but these it rather regarded
as companions than as food. AS starva-
ton seemed imminent 1 hit upon a
novel ideaof joining several small pieces
of glass tubing together with bits OF
rubber fastenings, forming hollow
flexible rod, through which warm milk
was Fed directly into the snakes mouth,
which sustained life during the period
it was confined en- the bog FOR . number
of weeks here.
II have just received from Prof. G..
Brown Gosode, OF the Smithsonian In
stitution, % communication in which he
says the Curator OF Reptiles, Dr. Leon.
hard Stegneger, OF the National Mus
cum, had examined the living specimen
sent, and pronounced it young boa
imperato1,' a species closely allied to
the South American boa constructor but
confined to Central AmericA Chicago
Tribune
Something He Gould Drae.
Lummix-Old Hevyrox is not recog-
nized as an artist, is he?
Skimgullet-Not at all. Why do you
ask?
| Lummix-Because saw him Craw Z
| very handsome check yesterday.-Chi-
eago Inter Ocean.
THE GENERAL a.ARkETS.