The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-12-02
lfrs Orilia HiohoI.s
MEYER GIVES UP m, DE1D
New York Lake From Which No Drown.
ed Body Was Ever Recovered.

|
\ week or so ago pretty and plucky Miss
Yeargin, Of Lourens county, S. c.. and
| Professor Merriam. while out boating.
/ were drowned in Lake Cayuga. in New
| York. The New York Sun of yester-
! day tells this remarkable story about that
| body Of water
! III they succeed In recovering the bodies
| or Instructor Merriam and Miss Year
| gin from the depths Of Cayuga Lake by
means of electricity as / see by The
| sun they intend TO try 10 do" said a res
l1eht OF this city who grew up on the
shores Of Cayuga Lake, lit will be the
first time in the history Of the lake that
the body Of any person drowned in its
waters was ever seen again. ] always
had a liking foT geological research.
and INDUCED IT for many years in investi-
gazing the bottom of Cayuga Lake. My
experiments satisfied me that the bottom
OF the lake is a series Of large openings
ana cavities, many of them crater-like.
Some OF these are hundred feet in diam
eter These craters, as | believe them
to be- lie at different depths, or rather.
their raised edges are Of different heights.
iheir depths are fathomless. They have
undoubtedly become the receptacles OF
the bodies OF the hundreds Of people who
are known TO have been drowned in the
lake since that country was settled. and
OF the undoubted thousands OF people kill
ed In the fierce battles that were frequent
~ waged on the shores Of the lake be
tween hostile tribes Of aboriginal war
riors during the centuries preceding the
coming OF the white man.
1T was In Cayuga Lake that the fend-
ish murderer, RuloT lowered the bodies
Of his wife and child thirty years ago. az
ter he had murdered them. The bodies
were enclosed in a chest, as he confessed
before he was hanged at Binghamton for
another murder. The weeks that were
spent In dragging the lake for this chest
was simply time wasted for il had sunk
into the mouth Of one OF those bOttomless
openings, and is il is not sinking yet. is
still floating about ia those mysterious
depths.
within half a century more than 100
persons have been drowned i'm Cayuga
Lake, TO recover the bodies of whom
the graphing iron and drag were used in
dustriously. but in vain. If II were pos
sible for one to make the rounds Of this
lakes crater-like bed be would. without
doubt, encounter hideous charnel houses
beyond number-caYerns where hosts of
gFinning skeletons have found sepuichre.
submarine catacOmbs without end. Per-
haps the electricians. exploring the lake
bottom with their intense lights, as they
purpose doing, may make some such dis
cOveres.
Another mystery about Cayuga Lake
that used 10 puzzle me was its curious
tides. They We're irregular i'm their oc-
currence, but very decided. / remember
one year when the phenomenon appeared
twice. Three years passed before it APP
peared again. During one of these tidal
motions Of the lake the water receded
fifty feet. The recession Of the water was
gradual. but the returning tide came I'm
with considerable force and rapidly. |
Water taken from Cayuga Lake from |
depth Of 300 feet. probably from one of the |
crater cavities. is highly. charged with |
sulphuretted hydrogen. nitrogen. carbonic |
acid and the carbonates of lime. potash, |
soda and rnapuecfa