Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-08-24
DEVILS CHIMNEY.
THE MYSTERY OF A CENTURY SOLVED
BY A BAND OF EXPLORERS.


Was Merely the Burning Of Surface OIL.
An Exploration In Which There Was
Danger OF Death In the Jungle,
Mr.. P. NJ. Oliver Of Gainesville, Fla,
writes to The World that he has solved
what he calls the great Florida volcano
mystery. He was q member Of an expo
Ilition that went out and solved 1t. He
has come to the conclusion that the so
called volcano was caused by the ignition
of gas, oil and sulphur.
Mr.. Oliver shall tell what he found In
his own picturesque way:
Having accomplished our work, will
now give to your readers the result In
plain facts, to which we will make afh-
davit. On our arrival at St. Mark s,
within 10 miles of the supposed volcano,
we first interviewed the keeper of st.
Marks lighthouse, from the tower Of
which this mysterious column of smoke
has ever been plainly visible, and after
also interviewing quite number Of the
intelligent old settlers in that section we
learned that the smoke from the Devils
Chimney, as they all term 1t, ceased to
exist during the volcanic and seismic dis
UuTDlntbS dU CDhIlCSUOllt VI 1OE Ull1OO VI
four years since.
"All admit having seen frequent forest
fires, but that permanent and plainly visi-
BILE DEVILS Chimney column of smoke,
entirely unlike any ordinary forest fire,
had ceased. This fact having been estab-
lished to the satisfaction Of our expedition,
and having no object to run our compass
to or to direct our observation, we moved
our expedition to the famous Pinhook
Sink, where Judge White, Judge James
Bell of our city, Mr.. Cox and Colonel
Barber of Washington and number Of
others had camped and laddered immense
pines to height of from 100 to $50 feet
from tho ground to gain observation.
ave divided our expedition into squads
and all under the direct guidance Of Cap
tain James L. Oliver Of St. Mark s, an old
and Intelligent settler and hunter, each
party or squad closely searching for the
extinct volcano. We found three distinct
assures or chasms in the cone or top Of
rock mounds, varying in height from IS
to 35 feet-hssures from which q column
Of smoke and fire had in the past issued,
leaving melted lava, broken and shapeless
rock thrown or upheaved in every direo-
ton.
Tho material upon which this fire fed
must have been gas, oil and sulphur and
burned until the coal supply was exhaust
ed, cooled down and extinct, leaving in
assures or round wells, seemingly Of great
depth, water covered with a perceptible
coating Of oil, while tho walls or fues were
fire charred, leaving great tags of lava and
broken rock to Enthusiastically show hot
seething furnace once existed. Specimens
of this material can be seen on exhibition
at the store Of Judge James Bell at Gaines
Vile
Tho only plausible cause Of these erup-
lions is the great supply Of oil, gas and
sulphur present In that section Of country.
Every stream and pond has perceptible
coating Of oil, and oil keeps issuing from
the rocks and banks Of streams and sinks,
while sulphur Is plainly visible In the
cracks and crevices of the rocks. The
natural oil and gas, escaping, we believe
caught from time to time from forest fires,
and, exhausting themselves, burned out
1--WE do not doubt or deny that there
may be other assures existing and perhaps
Of more recent date In that great wilder
ness of unexplored 1ungles of three rivers
But we are positively certain that all are
of the same nature, fed by the same mate
rial, and are surface burnings and not
chimneys from the internal lakes Of vol
canic fire,
"Only two Of our Gainesville expedition
saw these assures, accompanied by James
L. Oliver, Mr.. Comforth and one or two
others. The Times-Union correspondent
and coexplorer at this time had struck out
in n direction Of his own accompanied by
one of tho Gainesville expedition. They
got lost down in the salt marshes, and
perhaps would have persisted or been de-
voured by wild beasts had not Providence
finally come to their aid (when thoroughly
humbled) and directed them to cedar
camp where a good Samaritan fed and
rooted them until they were able to re-
trace their steps, feeling on entering camp
wiser if not better men.
mo man who has ever attempted to
penetrate that awful jungle of three rivers,
rising and sinking, forming fathomless
sinks and whirlpools on their treacherous
and partly subterranean course to mother
ocean, can form any idea of its wild, rough
and hideous appearance. There is nothing
to cheer the explorer in his work. No
sound of hammer or hum of saw; no
sweet, refining notes Of female voices;
nothing save the most hideous wilderness
of jungles that the Almighty, in his mys-
FERROUS providence, ever stuck together
with black muck, saw palmetto and BAN
boo br1ers, where only the boot Of the owl,
scream of the panther and believing and
muttering of the alligator can be heard on
every side-the last two of which with
keen eyes to discover and ravenous jaws to
devour the exhausted explorer-while the
owl Is perched upon limb, waiting and
hoping that a morsel may be left for his
share, while hooting a farewell requiem
over the bleaching bones Of the poor way
farer. After these ravenous beasts are
done with man the vulture stands a poor
show In his strange taIte for putrid flesh
to satiate his cravings
"Thus has been solved the great Florida
volcano mystery which has existed for q
century, with facts which are substanti-
ated by the unflinching Gainesville expe-
dition, and to them belong alone the credit
and honor. New York World