The San Saba weekly news. (San Saba, Tex.) 18??-1???, 1892-02-12
THE MYSTERIOUS RIVER.
THE FORMATION OF a LAKE IN
A SINGLE NIGHT.
A subtsrransa6 River which sssds Itr
Water TO Lake Erie-Ths Land
May BE Over Flowed Again
at Any Time.

Flowing into Sandusky Bay. one o
the most beautiful land-locked bodie
of water in the United States write
an Ohio correspondent of the New
York Times. is a stream called Cas-
Italia creek. 1t is fed from springs o
ice-cold water This creek has beef
utilized by fishing club and stocked
with brook trout It is without AM
doubt the most complete private fish
ing preserve in the United States. ani
the great catches made by successful
anglers have often been given in publ
cations devoted to outdoor sports.
Whence comes the water which
supplies these springs is a mystery. II
fact throughout all that section there
are many mysteries connected with
subterranean streams and queer over
flows Of water in unexpected localities
A story is told of one armer neal
Bellevue who discovered a cave. into
which he wandered with considerable
trepidation and at last saw an under,
ground river OF great volume and
swift current rushing in the direction
Of the lake as nearly as he could 10.
cate the points of the compass. He
retraced his steps, and while making
his way out OF the cavern precipitated
fall of limestone that barred the
way TO further entrance
That such an underground stream
does exist there is no question. In
going over some papers the other day
an interesting document signed by I.
C. Mecca an old resident of Erie coun,
ty. WIS discovered.
My father, Thomas McGee." the
old resident wrote came to the state
OF Ohio in 1913 While waiting for
the Indian lands to be surveyed and
come into the market be made tenn
porary stop in a vacant house in the
southwest corner Of Groton township.
Erie county. Near the house was
quite a large prairie Ny father
planted about two scros with corn.
Aboat the 10th OF June that year,
when the corn wac some three inches
high, on getting up one morning to GO
and put some more fencing about his
field. he looked where the field had
been and found lake covering it and
nearly all the depression in the land
near it He had heard nothing but q
neighbor who lived near the spot had
heard in the night a loud but dull
sound.
My oldest brother William, who
always wished to know the reason of
things, with my help. built raft out
OF the floating rails and went out and
over where the water was boiling up
with great force from q space as large
as fair-sized haystack. No depth
could be found with any appliance VS.
had. The explosion had thrown up
great quantities OF limestone, much
OF it TO n distance of ten or twenty
rods away. Another smaller crater
was discovered in the same depression.
The season had been very dry.
and great numbers of animals and
snakes came around this phenomenal
Eake TO drink. The water thus throwr
up did not subside for months but
contin ued to flow until the water had
filed all the lowest land for miles
around.
We had occasion to go further
west and were gone four days and on
returning took the trail that we had
gone out on, but found our lately
trodden path now waist deep with
water. We had to go back and around
on the higher ground to get back to
our home.
My theory of this outburst of
water is that from some peculiar stop
page of the great underground flow o:
water from a marsh some forty miles
south to its outlet in Castalia creek Ii
had to have vent and came through
the surface where the crust was thin
nest
In subsequent days an underground
water course has been discovered in
and near Bellevue. Ohio which is now
within one and one-half miles of the
place I have attempted to describe.
Written from memory. at the request
OF friends this 2Sth day of MAY.
1888 the writer being twelve days
past his eightieth birthday"
The water o. this underground
stream has been remarkably sweet
though it is so thoroughly impregnated
with limestone that a calcareous crust
rapidly forms in a tea kettle in which
the water is boiled. The bubbling
springs and the underground river
have been sources OF much curiosity
for years The story Of the formation
of lake in single night is not known
to any extent among the younger
farmers and their families. 1t is a
fact however that the same thing is
likely to happen again should the sub
stream become damned. and
the people Of that part of Ohio may
wake up some morning to find their
farms ahoat