The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-11-01
LOST RIVER Is A WONDER
The Remarkable Features of an
Indian Sire am.
1t Disappears and Rises Again Several
Miles Away-A Subterranean Water
fall, and Caverns Descending
to It's Banks.

: Of all those vagaries of nature whic
, attract both scientist and curio seeke
, in southern Indiana there is none. pei
) haps, more interesting and more mys
, terious than Lost river, which takes
second lease of life in the upper worl'
this place, writes an Orangeville Und.
correspondent to the Chicago Record
For fourteen miles or more in an ali
line-for fifty miles and more if al
the ramifications and gyrations OF the
bed are followed-this river flows un
der the surface of the earth. 1t enters
its subterranean way by running into o
hill. 1t energies, clear and cold, from
beneath the base of tall bluff. In a
nutshell, a river, or, rather, a good
sized creek, rises in Washington county,
| flows a short distance, and disap-
pears in a hole in the ground. Miles
away, at Orangeville, in Orange county,
it reappears, and thereafter in most re-
spects behaves itself like any other
stream until it loses it's waters in the
east fork of the White river and event.
ually in the beautiful Ohio.
This stream has something of coun-
terpart in Stalnper's creek, which sinks
near where Lost river sinks and rises
at Spring Mills, forming the source of
French Lick creek. That these streams
flow for so many miles under ground
seems due to the curious geological
structure of this portion of the country.
There are hills rising from three to four
hundred feet, seemingly independent OF
each other. The country is wild and
the timber land in many cases is still
untouched. Lost river flows in ordi-
nary channels until it commences to
lose itself in sink holes. These sink
holes are common. The whole country
seems to be hollow. The subterraneap
channel of the river is not a simple.
straight, cavernous opening like sew
er, through which the water rushes.
but is a complex arrangement of mains
and leads in two distinct systems, each
OF which is counterpart of the dry bed
on the surface of the ground. In ordi- |
nary weather all the water in the river
is taken in at the first sink hole. The |
water simply flows into hole just as if |
it were flowing into a great sewer. |
When there have been heavy rains and |
the flow OF water is greater, it appears
that all the channels and chambers of |
the lower subterranean system are
filled, and the overflow water runs along
the dry bed for several miles until it
reaches second sink hole, where it dis
appears. In times of unusually high
water this second system of channel
chambers i s filled, and the overflow
rushes down the dry bed of the river
On the surface, like any other stream.
All of these systems reunite at Orange
at least, very near there. The
system through which the ordinary
current runs appears from the bluff on
which the village is built. The dry bed
,ircles around the village and merges
With the bed of the stream as it reap
'ears, just below the village. About a
nile further down the second channel
hamber system gives up it's water and
he reunited stream is regular there
fter. The channels do not follow the =
curse of each other, however. In sew
raj places the lowest channel is several
niles from the dry bed. All are more
r less in connection with each other
nd many curious phenomena result.
For instance, about ten miles east of !,
rangeyille the dry bed and the lowest
hanncl are connected by three OPEN
lgs, which are known as "wet-weather
ses." 1t is known that the lowest =
lannel receives a large amount of :.
alter from underground branches dur
g its course. Sometimes these a,
ranches supply more than the usual 8.
Mount of water and the overflow Ia =
reed up through these three openings T
to the dry bed. Then there is the in -
resting spectacle of water flowing in .,
e lowest and the top systems, but n
me in the middle system. =,
The dry bed of the river is not an open n
annel. 1t has the appearance of the O,
d of an ancient river long since gone
y. Not only is there the usual veRe-
BILE and timber growth common to n,
Ter banks along its shores. but In the Ia,