Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-09-26
UNDERNEATH FLORIDA.
THE EXPERIENCE OF A NEW ENG
LANDER UNDERGROUND.

THE EXPERIENCE OF A NEW ENG
LANDER UNDERGROUND.
Two College Boys in Search OF Plumes
and Skins-Into the Mysterious Abyss
by Observation-Disclosures Galore Below
Florida's Surface.
TIL train from South Florida brought to
Jacksonville two young men en- route from
| the Kissimmee river to Portland, Me. Their
names are James Dickinson and RolaL
Brown They affably explained their mis-
sion and unfolded the narrative of their
Florida experience. Mr.. Brown said:
"Well, to start at the beginning, we are
from a little Maine village on the coast,
not far from Portland. Dickinson and ]
were both preparing for college in the same
Portland academy, but we saw that our
funds were at a low ebb, and that although
we had worked our way through up to that
time, we would have to stop awhile and
pitch into something to be able to get back
next year and finish up. We had read a
great deal of Florida, and Florida hunting
in particular, as cunning was our common
hobby, and an article on gathering heron
and egret plumest in some magazine put a
new idea into our heads.
"We went by rail to Kissimmee. Here we
fitted out the canoe, and with all sail up one
breezy afternoon started down the lake
which commences near Kissimmee. We
pushed on through the canals into Lake
Kissimmee and on down the river. We
stretched a tent over the canoe nights and
got along very comfortably. Down this
marshy, slow flowing river we began to
find the herons and egrets and commenced
our plume harvest. You see the plumes
are worth from 81 to $3.50 each, and this
out.
FLOR1DA's WONDERS.
After twisting about the creek we final
ly ran right by q bluff, and about 5 o'clock
we hauled our canoe out on a sandy beach
and climbed to the top, where we found an
ideal camping ground, carpeted with fine
needles and abundant in firewood.
"We soon had our tent pitched, a fire
blazing and things fixed il comfortable
style. Our supply of water, however, was
short. the creek being muddy and brack-
ish, and our metal tanks, which were filled
the week before, were nearly empty. These
zinc tanks were made to fit in the bow and
stern, and | took one of them and started
off through the high pine woods to find a
spring. The hort twilight was over, but
u full moon gave plenty Of light. After
walking about a mile l heard a murmur.
ing, rushing sound at my right, and head
ed for the water evidently in that direc-
ton.
presently l saw q good sized stream glim-
mering through the trees. the silver river
seemed to end abruptly, and it looked very
puzzling until I reached the bank, when l
saw that I had run across one of Florida's
natural wonders, of which l had often read.
Here was a large stream of water flowing
between low banks for q long distance, and
suddenly pouring into the earth and disap-
pearing from sight. was a s~ubterranean
river.
But l was after the water, which was
clear n cold. So l stepped down the
bank quite a distance above the cataract
and tried to unscrew the cover of my tank.
The obstreperous piece Of metal was stuck
tight, and while / was wrestling with it
the crumbly clay bank gave way and l
slipped into the water, still clinging to my
water tank, which buoyed me up rs a life
preserver. I chung to it and kicked out for
the shore.
INTO h EARTH.
II had about a hundred feet to drift, and
although I could touch the bank at times
I could find nothing to grasp but thetreach-
erous crumbling clay. Buoyed up by my
life preserver, I swung round in a swirling
eddy, and with one last cry for help and a
kind of dreamy wonder as to how far down
l would drop, my breath left me. After
the first agonizing plunge down-it seemed
to me hundreds of feet-my head shot out
into the air for a moment, and l saw that
the stream was running horizontally
through the black, rayless cavern on whose
walls the spray was splashing. l caught
my breath when my head struck the roof,
and I was borne violently under again, and
in the mighty pressure Of water becamt
unconscious.
when my senses returned l was floating
quietly on the surface of a body of water,
my arms still held by the strap Of my life
preserver, which had indeed saved me,
holding me up while I foated unconscious
I padded slowly to the nearest shore, and
fell down in the grass, bruised and wearied.
In the moonlight 1 saw that the pool I had
just left was circular, and about a hundred
without a ripple.
II lay down under a big pirs tree to get
rested and wait for daylight, as l had en-
tirely lost my bearings. The pool was evil
IDENTIFY a sink hole, fed by the s~ubterranean
stream, and with probably IN underground
outlet. I had been drawn into the river,
carried underground and borne through
the opening into the pool, and could have
been in the water but u very few minutes,
as the rosy flush in the western sky had
not faded.
MADE MONEY, NEVERTHELESS.
"The quantities of water which l had
swallowed made me weak and sick, and !
fell asleep, and woke up to find the SUD
just rising. picked up my water tank,
determined to take it back filled, and start
ed in the direction l thought l had come.
After two hours tramping l heard q gun
fred right ahead Of me. and in a few min
utes was near enough to Dickinson to call
and attract his attention. He was nearly
frantic at my mysterious disappearance,
and thought that a panther had taken me
In. told him my wonderful adventure,
and we made for camp, az l was nearly
starved. go d
1--WE remained in camp on this bluff till
the plume season was about over. Then
we cruised back into Kissimmee river
without any more adventures and re-
Joined our sharpe in Lake Jessup. We
aoc11rai enoy1oh ,haroD and eoret nlumae