Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-10-31
The descent is gradual and

several years ago two white men and .
negro took a boat in and explored the
river for several miles, finally being
stopped by waterfall. The current
became very swift just before they
started to return, and for awhile it
looked as though the party would be
carried by the dark waters over the
falls to fate fascinating in its horror.
The stream can also be reached through
q small cave in the side of hill near
this point. Indeed, natives say that it
can be reached almost anywhere. Sink
holes, large and small, are to be found
in every valley. For native to stick n
fence rail down one Of these, climb
down and get drink and then out by
the same means, is a feat of only or
binary occurrence. The whole country
hereabouts seems to be honeycombed
by underground streams, of which
Lost river and Stamper's creek are but
surface developments.
One of the most interesting phenom-
ena of this great underground water
system is what is known as Lost River
gulf. Less than mile north of the
village there seems to be q sort of
break in the high tableland on which
the surrounding farms and homes are
located. Here deep ravine, or, rather,
a series of four ravines uniting in the
shape of great star, are formed.
These ravines are covered with dense
underbrush and many large forest
trees. On the southeast side the land
is somewhat lower than on other sides
and river bed seems to stretch away
for half mile or so, one of the features
of the depression being q huge pile of
weather-worn limestone rocks which
appear in the ancient river. These
ravines run down about seventy-five
feet from the level of the surrounding
country and there meet the surface
of this gulf. The gulf itself is about
four hundred feet in circumference.
its waters come from no one knows
where. No one knows how deep 1t is,
for its banks are the sides of the ravine,
and are almost perpendicular. The
water is clear and very cold, showing
that it has long been under ground.
IT perfect silence on the part of the
visitor is maintained for some time,
blind fishes will appear on the surface
of the gulf and will swim slowly
around with their upturned white
mouths close to the surface in search
of food. The slightest noise will
disturb them; their sense of hear
ing is their only protection from an
enemy. Blind crayfshes also are to
be found in the gulf in the shallow
water where the great white pool emp
ties Itself.
To the west and to the northeast
the great ravine lengthens itself, and at
the extremes of the ravine in these
directions the waters of the gulf proper
flow under the bluffs at these points.
The opening into which the west
streams discharges itself is somewhat
larger than its counterpart and can be
entered for ten or twelve feet. In
times of wet weather on the area
drained by this stream the water in
the gulf rises higher and higher, until
it overfows the southeast side, where
the land is lower, and the rushing
flood sweeps across the fields over the
great limestone rocks heretofore men,
toned, losing itself in the dry bed Of
Lost river. Just what portion of the
county is drained by this stream is
not known. The stage of water in the
gulf is entirely independent of the wa
ter at Orangeville or in this vicinity,
and the GOODNESS of the water, the
blind fish, and all other circumstances,
clearly show that the water flows for
great distance through subter-
ranean channel. The pressure neces-
sary to raise the water in the gulf high
enough to overflow into the dry bed of
Lost river is enormous, almost enough
to move the everlasting hills them
selves.
There are no wells at Orangeville.
IN the first place, no one would dare to
dig one for fear he would fall through
the bottom into one of these subter-
ranean streams. The earth hereabouts
is hollow. Sink holes in barnyards,
into which one might toss q stone and
hear the splash of water, are too COM
mon to be noticed by native. Then,
wells are not necessary. These CULTS
and springs are too numerous. At the
top of the bluff from under which Lost
river appears there is windlass ar
rangement, called telegraph" by
the natives, by means of which bucket
is drawn up full of water. A similar
arrangement is in use at the gulf of
Lost river.
Orangeville is some distance from
any railroad, has no hotel, and, gener-
ally speaking, is not much of town,
but in matters of interest to tourist
it has more to the square foot than any
other village in the Ohio valley.
The Migration of Brains.