The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-12-06
NATURES ANTICS.
UnfatslomabIe Fissures In the Earth
Created BY Internal Convu1sions--
A Very Mysterious Region.

! A few months ago small party of
prospectors left San Diego for the lit
tie known country lying below the
Mexican boundary. just west of the
Colorado river. This region is sup
posed to be full of valuable mineral de-
posts and prolific in natural phe-
nomena.
| They spent a couple of weeks on
what is known as the Santa, ISABEL
ranch, some miles northwest of the
Cocopah mountains. While there they
heard that frequently during several
days a heavy rumbling had been
heard in the direction Of the Cocopahs.
/ Proceeding to Las Juntas, a. little set
Element made up OF a few Indians and
a white man or two, they spent several
days there in prospecting.
Here they were told by man named
Elliott that from a high hill he had
seen what seemed to be a cloud over
the Cocopah mountains, and had also
| heard heavy rumbIings, and once at
night had seen a dull light apparently
on the very top of the mountain He
believed it to be a volcano. Indians
| had also brought reports that unusual
disturbances had been observed in the
Cocopah region, and they were greatly
! frightened
They recrossed the line into the
| United States. and at INDIAN Wells, on
the Colorado desert, not only heard
more about the rumblings and smoke,
but for the first time saw the smoke
themselves, a cloud-Eke shape that
seemed to rest almost on the earth.
The party came westward, and on the
night when tine earthquake shock was
felt in San Diego were carnped on an
elevation some 5000 feet above the sea
| level
That night they not only felt the Sc
verest earthquake shock, but plainly
saw great light shoot upward in the
heavens directly over what was be-
tain. The light continued with great
er or less brilliancy late into the
night. while the runlbling was almost
incessant and the tremors frequent
The next morning murky cloud OF
the color made by burning sulphur
hung like vast umbrella low ON THE
horizon all day and there were fire.
quently recurring shocks of earth
quake. The party remained in camp
THAT night and saw the light in the
same place, but much fainter. George
Nickle, who has a ranch on the east
ern slope Of the mountains, said that
on the night of the great Shake he
saw an illumination of the heavens di-
rectly over the Cocopah mountains.
The light changed repeatedly, being
sometimes very bright, sometimes dull
and almost iJnpereeptible. The next
morning he saw an umbrella shaped
cloud where he had seen the light the
night before. There is no doubt in the
minds OF all who saw the light that it
was an active volcano.
George Campbell, an old stoclsman of
the Campo country and proprietor of
the Jacunlba ranch, on the edge of the
desert, states that a. few days after the
first severe earthquake he was on the
desert looking after cattle that had
strayed far in the direction of Indian
Wells. He found that the earth was
cracked in many places as a result of
the earthquake.
Some assures were nearly two feet
wide. One afternoon he was riding
fast when his horse stumbled on the
edge of a huge assure. He recovered
himself, however, and jumped across.
Campbell turned back to look at the
huge crevice, which was about eighteen
to twenty-five inches wide and extend
ed north and south as far as he could
see and apparently had no bottom.
The old stage road from Campo to
Yuma passes through a deep canyon,
uOuH SuueS Oh WHICH rise apparently 10
a great height. Mr.: eGaskell says that
one hundred huge rookie have been dis
lodged from the mountain sides and
rolled to the bottom of the canyon, OBJ
structing travel so much that it is al
most impossible to get through with a
wagon. This canyon Us near Coyote
Wells. in Jacumba. valley, where are
hot and cold springs to which many in
vaIids resort for bathing. Mr. Camp
bell the proprietor, says that the flow
of the hot springs has ceased entirely.