The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-24
LAKE IAM0NIA RUNS OUT
THOMAS COUNTY THE SCENE OF
TIE PHEN NoMENoN.

In9 ACJlOu Oh bno AAQ0 OupDO1o4 70
Have Had Some Connection With the
Mystery.
THoMAsvILLE. Ga, Nov. 90 The beau
tiful Iam0nia lake Is no more. Its tranquil
beauty had given IL fame which had been
spread to every part OF this broad land by
many Of the thousands Of visitors who an
nually frequent Thomasville. But its
serene waters. so long crowned With luxuri-
ant magnolia forests. and so long affording
a home for myriads Of living creatures,
have glided through an opening In the
lakes bottom, and are now in the close aud
dark embrace OF mother earth. So the
beauty OF charming 1amonia has departed,
but only for a time. For like the fair one
who disappears before her bridal day only
to reappear afterward more lovely than
ever, so this charming lake will ill again
some day as IL by magic. and shine forth
beneath the sun with its crown Of laurel
and beech with beauty more radiant than
before.
For several weeks il has been reported
that Iamonia was running dry, but news
came yesterday that the rush Of waters had
been very rapid and the lake had run out.
This carried the NEWS correspondent aud
scores OF others TO the scene to-day.
WHERE THE LAKE LIES.
IamonIa lake is about twenty miles from
Thomasville across the Florida line. II Is
about thirteen miles long ana from three-
fourths 70 two miles wide. There are
thousands Of acres of land In the lake, but
the greater part IL covered with grass,
where the water generally stood from two
to three feet deep. There are about $50
acres where the water was quite deep and
free from grass and bonnets. This was the
basin In general. The basin proper prob.
ably has forty acres in IL aud is nearly
circular In shape, dipping at a short de-
cline and whore the water stood from thirty.
five to forty feet deep.
The lake has the popularity common 90
certain other Florida lakes of running out
at the bottom at certain times. There ia
left at present an oblong pool of muddy
water over the main exit 0feet the longest
way and so feet across, and 81 feet In tne
deepest part, except over the fissure through
which the water escapes. The 81 feet In
this pool added to 30 feet of general depth
Of basin gives the depth of pool now left
when the lake is full at SO feet. A sounding
line was lot down 100 feet into the fissurs
when the lake went dry before but did not
roach the bottom OF 1t.
AN AMAZING SIGHT.
An amazing sight greets the visitor as be
looks over the Undiscovered bottom OF the
basin. There are many thousands Of yellow
streaked-neck terrapin TO be seen literally
every Some are crawling heavily
rhrough the soft mud, and stopping at in
tervals 10 rest. Many have dragged them-
selves 20 drier mud, where they continue I'd
crawl, leaving perfectly distinct and long
trails behind them. Others, STILL have
climbed TO dry land; some into the
grass, hundreds into the woods.
scores Of the poor hunger tortured
<.nA frfohfanad 30 .
declivitles Of the basin and have to start
their weary journey anew. Thousands OF
them have reached the high lands and are
scattered over the surrounding country.
Their number cannot be well exaggerated.
They would make many carloads There
are also hundreds upon hundreds of soft
shell turtle. They too are visible on every
side. These have been hauled away BY
wagonloads and are still being carried Oh
by the score. Large numbers of loggerA
head or swapping turtles, sometimes
called alligator turtles, are to be
seen pulling along In the mud. These and
the terrapins looked upoa at some little dis
tance, with load Of dried mud upon theit
backs, slowly plodding along, resemble
miniature caravans travelling In desert OF
mud.
The carcasses of alligators are TO be seen
on every hand. Many hundreds of them
have been shot, while many have escaped
TO other waters,
DEAD FISH WITHOUT NUMBER.
Another sight Is theSbarrels, and wagon.
loads. and tons Of dead Ash left by the SUBJ
siding waters. Suckers with their glisten-
ing scales choice Dream, blue and common.
pretty red gills, noble trout. catfish, polly.
wogs and Blue heads, the lordly jackiish.
sluggish mudfish, giant gars aud delicate
silvsrs, with many smaller fry, all lie In
heaps, the noble and the ignoble piled to-
getner in grim death. The stencil arising
from these purifying masses Is sickening.
Still another queer sight which made the
flesh creep and crawl on the bones of those
who looked on were tens of thousands Of
black eels from few inches
shallow pools of water they lay In masses,
thousands Of them. with their snake-like
bodies, crawling, squirming, wriggling.
climbing upon and over each other, twist
ing around each other, while ever and anon
some poor fellow, more tired and sickened
than the rest, could be seen to struggle to.
land and give up the ghost, /. g., IL such
miserable, wriggling creatures have ghosts to
give up. As a matter of curiosity entered
a boat and worked my way TO such a
squirming mass, which was found to bs
more than foot deep. Imagining myself
cast naked among them, l fancied would
know the terrors of deliriun tremens.
THINGS ON THE BOTTOM.
In walking over the lakes bottom large
numbers of shells Of the fresh water clans
and snails were noticed also old plow
shares and iron weights OF many kinds ones
used as anchors for fishing boats; also,
many stranded boats. Yesterday negro
found an old rusted shotgun, accidentally
dropped In the lake by duck hunter nina
years ago. The carcass OF q 4-foot gar
fish, which must have weighed twenty-five
pounds, was seen lying to one side. There
was not only black mud in the lake bot
tom, but quantities of iron ore and rock,
fiint, phosphate, lime and sand stone. The
distinct tracks and trails left by the crawl
ing terrapin and the cross checks In the
shrinking mud as it dried aud cracked
sometimes two inches wide, showed very
plainly how footprints and cross checks
and water marks were impressed upon
rocks remote ages ago. Already noticed
one place where the wind had blown the
dry white sand over these checks and tracks
which will preserve them indefinitely.
A TIDAL CONNECTION.
In some places along the shore the dif-
ferent stages of the falling water were
plainly impressed This would suggest
some tidal connection, especially as the wa
ter subsidies awhile and then increases
awhile. So while found the water left in
the pool about stationary 1t may begin TO
move at any hour and soon run completely
out.
People coma from every direction TO see
the wonder, and they will continue to come
for saveral days Several thousand nlust