Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-05-18
SINKING LAKES.
A Curious Legend Of One Ia
Tennessee.


~
The inhabitants Of that part of west
Tennessee known a. the earthquake
belt" are considerably exercised over
the gradual sinking of the lakes formed
by the earthquake of 1911. The water
level is descending without any appar-
emit cause, although the streams that
empty into some of the lakes are not
affected. This is taken by the Pitts
burgh Dispatch to be evidence that the
soil at the bottom of these sheets Of
water is becoming seamy from seismic
action beneath. thus allowing the
water to escape into unknown basins
below. The effects of the unexplained
phenomenon are most apparent in
Stone lake, a beautiful body Of water
situated in Lauderdale county. The lake
is about a mile long and q half a mile
wide and has an average depth of TWEEN
ty feet. but so clear is it that the small
es: objects can be seen on the bottom.
A more inviting place for the angler
could not be found anywhere, but,
strange to say, while the other waters
in that regions are alive with fish, no
living thing has ever been seen in
Stone lake, and the people of the vicin-
ity contend that the water is certain
death to any creature that drinks it
The wild fowls avoid it, though they
swarm in the adjoining ponds and bay
Gus. Another popularity of the un-
c-hny water is that anything cast into
= quickly petrif;es; hence the name it
bears And thereby hangs a tale, which.
Incredible as it may sound, is neverthe-
less devoutly believed by the simple in
habitants of the locality. It goes back
to seventy years ago, when the country
was first esettled by emigrants from
North Carolina.
Tradition goes that on a hot summer
day, after his task was finished, an old
and trusted slave OF one of the pioneers
got leave to go fishing, and taking his
tackle and bait set out for the lake,
which he had remarked as a likely
place for bass. Arriving there he
walked out on a log that projected from
the bank and cast his bait. When night
came on he had not returned home,
and his absence at roll call was noted.
The master, however, paid but little
attention to the circumstance. thinking
that old Tsom had probably gone on a
lark to some neighboring farm. But
when Isom failed to show up next
morning old Capt. Bullard became un-
easy and went out in search of him.
He could learn nothing of the missing
slave from the neighbors. Then he
organized party and beat the woods
to find him Strange to say, he had not
remembered giving Isom leave to go
fishing. Toward shutdown fox hound
with the party struck trail and fol-
lowed it to the bank of the lake. The
hunters went after, and arriving at the
lake saw Isom sitting on the log with
pole extended and apparently fishing,
in deep meditation He proved deaf to
the vociferous calls of his master. The
hound sprang on the log and ran up to
the motionless form. shifted at it and
few back to the bank, bowling with
fright Then the old captain dismount-
ed and charged on the log. whip in
hand. to chastise the truant. He
brought his whip down on the motion
less figure with a resounding whack.
Still Isom sat still The old captain
caught him by the shoulder. He
grasped not flesh and blood, but stone.
The fisherman. his line and pole were
petrifed! The log on which he sat was
also solid When the captain and his
followers had recovered from their
fright they made their way home and
told their story. Next day large party
Of the neighbors went out and found it
to be true. They discovered by dropping
things into the lake the marvellous eff
feet Of the water. The stone log was
once giant hickory. Nuts that had
fallen from it were petrified on the bot
tom 1t was thought that Isom must
have slipped and fallen into the lake
with his pole, and the water on his
clothes and tackles took effect when he
regain edhis perch and began fishing.
The extraordinary figure is still intact
and there is a movement on foot to
transport it, with section of the log,