The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-11-09
1t Is NOT A LAKE
WIO6ITA,s sUBTERRANEAN OCEAN
BRUTALLY ATTACKED.

Robert Hill of the United States Geological
survey Hears About the Revelation
Made by the Wichita Gas-Wen Drill
and at Once Declares that there are Nc
subterranean Ponds in this Part of the
Country-Likely that IT is a Lost River
is Probably the Big Arkansas-Whai
the Professor has to Say of the Waters
Wichita's subteranean lake has been
! attacked. Ever since the discovery Of
thirty feet of water beneath the city
was announced in the Eagle the papers
over the country have been discussing
| it and now Robert T. Hill of the Uni
| ted States geological survey comes out
and says there is no subteranean lake
| under Wichita at all.
| The chances are that Hill is right.
| There Is certainly an immense amount
! Of water about thirty feet under Wich-
| tia, but it is probably the water that
properly belongs in the bed of the Ar
kansas river. The bed Of the Arkansas
river leaks and the water which the
drill at the gas well struck and passed
| through is probably this missing water.
Geologist Hill heard Of the Wichita
lake in Pittsburg and at once delivered
himself of the following: Stories
about a great subteranean lake or sea
beneath Nebraska, Kansas and a part
of Indian Territory are going the rounds
Of the press. They are accompanied
by details relating to the bottomless
ponds occupying areas where patches
of land have sunk and disappeared.
Other reported phenomena supposed to
be in the same connection are roaring
wells in which water GIBBS and flows.
Such tales become current periodi-
cally. So far as the wells are concern
ed, they are based on fact. 1 myself
have seen a number Of wells in which
the water rose and fell at intervals.
This is not an uncommon phenomenon
in parts of the west. 1t has relation
to changes of the barometer. When
the barometer is high, the pressure of
the atmosphere being greater the water
in such wells and springs stand at a
low level. On the other hand, when
the mercury in the glass is low, the
diminished pressure permits the water
to rise. The surface level varies from
day to night, for the same reason.
There are many phenomena con-
nected with western wells and springs
tention Of the observer from the east.
They are puzzlng sometimes even to
a scientific student. 1 have never seen
we'll that roared, but / know of no
reason why such a'thing may not hap
pen. There are wells from which cur
rents of air come up. Stories are told
of magnetic wells. in the neighborhood
Of which the needle OF the compass is
affected. never saw one and no facts
appear to support this peculiar yarn.
Water is the most common substance
in the world, and there is nothing
about which so much humbug exists.
''The most remarkable well have ev-
er seen was on the old battlefield of
Stone River, in Tennessee. A man
digging for water struck an under
ground stream. He made a hole big
enough to hold a water wheel. The
stream ran the wheel and pumped wa
ter up to the owners house. Under
ground streams, of course, are common
enough. They are frequent in the lime
stone regions of Texas, in the gypsum
region of New Mexico, in the Appal-
achian region and in the limestone re-
gion of Iowa and Missouri. The very
fact that these streams are flowing
shows that they are seeking base lev
el, and hence it is useless to try and
tap them by artesian wells, because
the water will not rise.
There is no such thing in the world
as an underground lake or sea New
ertheless, such lakes have been created
frequently by the ina gination Of hope
full settlers in the west. The truth
in this matter was established years
ago by the government engineers who,
under the direction Of Colonel Nettle-
ton, journeyed across the great plains
of Kansas and Nebraska. They sound
ed every well they could find. studying
the underground water OF the fact
that there was no underground sheets
of water they made certain. The wells
were like any other wells, the water
coming from saturated rocks below the
level Of the surface evaporation"