The Lamar register., 1893-04-22
JACOBS SINK.
Americas Nost Remark ,b'e Spot. ..rhs
Dev.i's Dancing Ground

America,s Most Remark tbfe Spot. ssThs
Dev,rs Dancing Ground
Early in the spring of 1892 enter
prising citizens of Hcnrique. Mexico.
fitted ont an expedition for the pur-
pose OF thoroughly exploring the
most remarkable spot on the Amcri-
can continent-.Jacob' Sink"-that
long-supposed-to-bc mythical basin
in the SAN Garcia mountains. .Ja-
cob's Sink has been known. tradition
ally at least, for more than 100 years;
under its present name. however.
only since 1S47. when '.Lanky" Jacob.
the intrepid scout and erstwhile
friend of the great Western Kansas
wolf poisoner. veutured to break the
perpetual stiffness and tread the
cursed soil OF what the Mexicans
firmly believe to be the DEVILS dane
ing ground. According to the popu-
lar notion Jacobs Sink" was once n
part and parcel of the fertile table
land that lies between Tom Hills
peak and the main range of the San
Garcia mountains. At one time, in
the dim mists OF past ages. this re-
markable. not to say extraordinary.
depression was II, 900 feet above the
level of the Pacific; to-day il would
be lake 5000 feet deep. with per
pendicular banks on all sides but orc,
should some convulsion of nature or
freak OF the elements fill the sink"
with water. The true native would
rather suffer death by any known sys-
tenn of torture than to venture into
the awful solitude that is known to
reign supreme at the bottom of the
great basin. but Jacob, with the fool
hardness that induces or impels men
to press on where angels fear to
tread" boldly permitted himself to be
lowered into the grand but terrible
abyss, which stretches like the mouth
of some yawning death-trap for eleven
miles in one direction and seven and
one-haI in the other. When once at
the bottom. our bold explorer says.
sense Of extreme buoyancy or specific
lightness seemed to pervade every
fiber Of his anatomy. This feeling
was probably due to the presence of
noxious gases that had collected at
tho bottom of the sink; at least IL
would be hard to explain the pho
nomena OF such sensations with any
other hypothesis as a basis After
becoming partially accustomed TO
feeling like an animated balloon. Mr..
Jacob ventured to explore his unique
surroundings. Eternal silence reigned
supreme. As he afterwards expressed
it. 'he could hear his own blood
coursing through his veins and the
grinding noise made by the turning
of the wheels Of the universe. Near
the center of the basin. about six or
seven miles from where he had made
the descent, he found fresh water
lake about mile in circumference.
This was fed by a fountain having q
fratory motion and strange periods
o. activity and intermission. What
finally became of the water was a
puzzle, there baing no visible outlet
to the lake. The only inhabitant OF
this queer lake. as far as our ex-
plorer was able to ascertain. was
short but very thick snake. complete
ly armoured with round plates. which
were, in the language of the ventur-
some Jacob. "exac; counterparts OF
bolt washers, such rs are kept on
,.le at hardware stores. each having
disk about the size Of dime cut
from its center" At the far end Of
the sink he found about POO ''cow
brutesn of an unknown species. These
he believes were perfectly dumb, as
they emitted no noise when they
went through every detail of ''low-
ing or believing.
The Henrique party o, 1892 failed
to find living caturo in the great
sink. says the St Louis Republic, but
large stacks of horns and bones and
few stray plates from the armoured
serpent testify to the truthfulness of
the story told by the first and most
daring explorer of Jacobs Sink