Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-06-06
A SINGULAR SAND WAVE
The Mighty Roller That is Sweeping
Across Cape Henlopen, Defying
Every Obstruction.
Marshes Filled Up and Forests Buried
by the ResistlesS March of the
Gigantic Travelling Hill.

Without doubt one of the most interest
ing features of the Atlantic coast of tn
| United States. and, in fact, one of tn
| most interesting phenomena of the who'll
country. is the travelling hill of Cape Hen
lopon, SAYS a Lewes (DeI) cores ponden
of the New York Sun. A ridge of sand
more than a mile long, so feet high, anC
200 yards wide in the base, is rolling In
land like mighty wave from the sea. ant
with power that is irresistible Formed
at the waters edge, nobody knows jus
when, it began to move ialand. Within
the memory of men barely past middl,
age, it has traversed a space worth describ
ing in detail.
In lS45, when Gen. Joe Johnson. as !
government engineer, was engaged in sur.
veying this part of the coast he found or
the north side of Cape Henlopen a grea
ridge of sand 1t was in appearance like
the ridges that divide the great South bay
of Long island from the sea save that i
lowered seventy-two feet above the high
water mark 1t was ragged ridge will
coarse grass growing over few parts o.
its surface and few gnarled and StunteC
pines on its southern or land side. BehinC
it was a salt marsh or valley where the
water was from an inch to two or three
feet deep at the lowest ebb tide. Inlanc
from the marsh, and indeed on low ridges
in this marsh, was great growth of PINE
trees. Half a mile back from the
beach trees were found from two t
three feet in diameter and tall IN proper
ton
Winding along through this forest was
a road established in the old colonial days
and having milestOnes by its side to show
the wayfarer how far he had travelled from
Lewes on his way to HenlOpen lighthouse
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 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 birdshot
The sand thus picked up by the wind
was carried up over the brow of the hill
across 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 carried
back. Inch by inch the face of the ridge
receded. inch by inch the rear face advanc-
ed. The gnarled and twisted pines of the
back surface disappeared under the wave
of the sand. The edge of the marsh was
reached and covered. The little tree-cov-
cred ridges were next buried out of sight.
Then the great forest was reached. Where
the trees stood thick and formed solid
wall on limbs and leaves 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 over them as wave of water might
have done. When the trees we're far apart
the sand flowed into and filled the opening.
In one way and another it steadily ad-
vanced, and the people saw with wonder
the forest buried before their eyes The
great trees, that seemed to be able in their
strength to defy all the that nature might
bring against them, strove to put forth
new branches above the rising tide. grew
faint in the struggle, turned their green
leaves to yellow and their yellow cones to
=
AS the years passed the receeding wave
began to uncover the old surface of the
ground that had been buried. Old land
marks along the edge of the marsh reap
peared Even the little ridges themselves.
with the old sod dead but easily recognize
ed, appeared, and finally the wind scOoped
the sand out of the pillows of the marsh.
and to-day the tide Gibbs and flows there.
~, OF 4 10 hn D+oY. l.
as it used to be before the sand wave swept
across, the chief difference between the
marsh as it used to be and as it is now be-
ing that there are now no bitches in it.
Then, strange to tell, new growth of
pines sprang up ON the little old ridges
and new ridge of sand formed alOngshore
where the old one had stood The new
ridge aIOngshOre is only a small one-per-
haps twelve or fifteen feet above the water
In places-but it is growing as the new
trees behind it grow, and may possibly
start inland as the big one that preceded it
did.
As the big sand wave continued its way
the old forest that had been buried be-
gan to be uncovered again, so that now
the stranger that traverses the ridge sees
on one hand the living giants of the forest
gasping in the last thrOes of death. and on
the other the bleached and decaying
skeletons of those that had to succumb. 1t
is picture that is at once desolate and de-
pressing.
The old road that once led through what
was the heart of the strip of forest land be-
tween the beach and the creek that runs
westerly through Lewes Is now Just about
under the crown of the advancing sand
wave. Could the wave by any means be
stopped in its course, so that the old road
would be forgotten after hundred or two
of years. same savant In digging
there would reach the old .milestones, and
mayhap piece of old buggy wheel or tire,
and would stop to marvel. What untold
millions of years, he would say, must have
elapsed since these milestones and that old
buggy wheel was made!
At its extreme eastern end the great
wave has entered upon the domain of and
made deal of trouble for Uncle Sam
Uncle Sans light house stood right in the
path of the sand roller. There was a
comfortable old-fashioned two-story house
beside the tall white tower that held the
lamp, and on the weather side of the tower
a house used for storing oil. Back (south
of the house was a garden. At first the
spray from the wave served merely to an
noy the housekeeper; it was carried on tn,
wind and dashed against doors and win
dows. No kind of weather strip cOulC
keep that spray from sweeping in through
cracks and Crevices, and covering furni
ture and carpets. and even filing bareal
drawers. That was bad enough. but tn,
wave vas all the time advancing. anC
pretty soon drifts of sand for all the worlC
| like drifts of yellow snow began to accum
ulate at the house corners, and, worse still
! to spread across the garden and interfer,
seriously with the cabbage and sweet pOta
! toes. Then the wave Itself arrived. Ris
| ing like eombar on the beach, it towere,
| for a time above the oil-house, and thel
| over it tumbled and buried the little build
| ing out of sight Then it gathered abou
the old home Of the Hght-keeper, and Il
! time that. too, was covered as the oil
house had been. while all trace of the gar
den had disappeared long before the bur
! iaI of the oil-house.
! 1t is possible that the old home of tn
| keeper could have been saved by moving ii
but it was old and not very good. and :
| Unae Sam built new one. He placed thi
! in the lee of the tower, where an eddy ha
! kept a small clear space. As the wave ad
/ vanced the eddy was changed and now tn
sand is heaped high On the yeranda on tn
| south side Of the house, while the mort
/ -;Ia - -, l-,5Iainr- Ty-o5ac-s ont iDtp