The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-09-22

The earth displacements and depres:
sions mentioned III Yesterday mornings
paper did not occur at Newton as report
ed but. instead, took place near the juno.
tion of Harvey, Butler and Marion eoun-
ties
The state geologist has been sent for to
investigate the matter aud until then the
real cause OF the peculiar sinking OF the
esrth's surface cannot be ascertained with
any degree of accuracy. The disturbances,
it appears, extend at irregular intervals
and in an irregular line, like that of a
stream, for a distance of twenty-four
miles. There are many of them, but the
largest one was at Plum Grove, on the
farm of Sid Jones. Here the earth sunk a
depth of $50 feet, and the hole left is now
almost filled with water and is in dimen
sions about 20 feet by 100 feet.
The CAVERN of this section of
the earth took place where thresbing
machine and engine were standing They
are now at the bottom of the lake. Beyond
this no damage was done, and Mr.. Jones
has an inexhaustible supply of water on
his farm, from some vast underground
flow of water.
The next most important cavern was
three miles from Whitewater on tie farm
of Thomas Essington. Here an area of
ground thirty by sixty feet sunk to
depth of twenty-ei9hU feet. and when a
man was let down the hole afterwards it
sunk three feet more. There Is no water
IN his depression, but il Is thought the
earth which caved in is resting temporarily
on a sheet of wafer, aud that 1t Will
eventually go farther down. The cave-in
is close to the home of MIR. Swan, the man
who has made such a reputation as
weather prophet There are smaller
cave-iu's in the vicinity of Annelly, rang
ing from six 10 forty feet In depth. No
damage has been done in either place,
with the exception of the loss sustained by
Mr.. Jones at Plum Groye
Mr.. Bert Walker, editor OF the Peabody
Graphic, who was In Town last night, aud
who gave most OF the above information.
talked with many persons from the vicin-
lty OF the displacement OF the earth. The
theory among them seems to be that the
river Of water, known to exist under the
ground, had either become exhausted or
partially exhausted from some cause. ana
that the roof of the cavern thus lett va
cdnt gave way and caused the earth to fall
in. There seems to be theory also that
there were gas pockets in the earth which
became exhausted and vacant, and left
nothing to support the earth overhead.
Mr.. Walker said that some time ago par
ties, while boring few miles from Pea
body lost their drill, and the supposition
was that it had dropped into one
of these caverns in the earth. 1t
was also said at the time that a
slight volume of gas arose from the hole
for short time.
About eight years ago a cave-in of this
nature occurred in Fiuney county, only on
a much larger scale. An era of nearly five
acres caved in $50 feet at that place, and
for four years il remained dry. The con-
staBt washing of an under sheet of water
finally washed away all the earth and the
hole sis now brIm full of water, which is
used to great extent for irrigation pur-
poses. There seems TO be no bottom to it,
and if there is 1t has never been found.
That is the only instance of cave in of
such proportions aud to such a depth
heard of heretofore in Kansas.
The people in the vicinity of Plum
Grove aud Whitewater are very much eX-
cited over the occurrance, everybody fear
ing that the ground will give way and
swallow them up. The downward slid.
ing of the earth was accompanied by no
noise or shock although all of the dis
placements occurred about the same time.