The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-05-19
9aAerspp gmtelligemeGr.
A Hidden River.

About three miles from this lively
little Kentucky town is a full-Acdgcd
river only 200 yards long, and yet
crowded with mystery and romance
almost every foot Of it's entire length.
It is known as the Hidden River,
probably because it issues from no
one knows where. and vanishes into a
cave, leading no one knows where,
and the rivers bottom at several
points is equally a matter of mysteri-
Gus uncertainty.
The presence of such a freak of ma
ture is explained by the fact that this
entire region is a limestone country,
Astounding in caves, the most famous
of which is the Mammoth Cave, about
30 miles distant from this place. The
limestone is found in layers, or strata,
frequently resting on other layers of
clay and sand. Water penetrates the
limestone easily and washes away and
disintegrates the clay and sand, lcav-
ing a cavern with the roof formed Of
the layer of limestone rock. 1t is i'm
possible to say how many such caverns
exist, but this whole country seems
to be more or less undermined, as is
seer by the deep holes or depressions
scattered here and there among the
fields, caused by the caving in of some
subterranean chamber.
From external evidences it would
seem as if the Hidden River owed its
birth to some such cavern of extern
sive underground passages. It flows
through a ravine s. feet deep; that
is, a great assure cut in a gently
sloping hill, neal it's summit. The
water appears first in deep pools, as if
it dubbed up from its former channel
and lay imprisoned there by the mass
of rock and earth that had fallen upon
it. Then the liberated river gushes
into daylight through a funnel-shaped
hole, that has been sounded repeated
ly without finding bottom, and flows
away through the woods and under
growth until it again disappears. The
sides Of the rayine are steep and rocky
and covered with woodland, and its
presence would be unsupported by the
unwary until the verge of the slope
was reached.
Indeed, the river is a series of mys-
teries. The water is uniformly Of a
temperature of So degrees, both winter
and summer. 1t flows without a rip
pie, is a pale bluish-green in color and
clouded so that the bottom cannot be
seen.
1t seemed like a pretty, harmless
brook to a regiment of Union soldiers
passing that way one day during the
war, aud a party of the men stopped
to have a swim. The spot they chose
was about halfway down the rivers
course and the fellows were frollicking
and splashing about in the cool shade,
utterly ignorant of the dangers that
threatened them, when suddenly there
was a wild cry, a helpless waving of
arms, and one of the men sank from
sight. A companion dived to his aid
and never came to the surface again ;
a third met a similar death before the
rest realized that there existed a whirl-
pool beneath the placid surface of the
brook, which was sucking them down
to certain death. Horror-stricken,
those that remained fed from the
place, and the existence of the danger
might have remained unknown had
not a farmer of the ne%ighborhood,
who saw the men drown, noted the
location of the hole, aud afterward re-
turned TO make soundings and learn
it's depth. But neither he moi numer-
Gus others have ever found bottom
and the bodies Of the soldiers never
came to the surface. 1t is supposed
that they were sucked down into some
unknown cavern, where their bones
lie surrounded by unexplored mystic
ries.
After passing this danger spot the
Hidden River flows another hundred
yards, and finally disappears into a
cavern, leaving its future course as
much a matter of doubt as is it's
source. The entrance to this cave is
most picturesque, the work of nature
and man making combination worthy
Of a painters brush. An arch, 100
feet wide and 30 feet high, spans the
stream, the curving lines from base to
keystone being almost as regular as if
chiseled by man. Above this arch
rises a perpendicular wall of gray
rock, 60 feet high, and upon its apex,
and directly over the cavern, is a
quaint wooden mill, with weather
beaten wooden walls, pierced with
dingy windows and topped by shingled
gables, standing so close to the cliff
that the spectator almost expects to
see it topple over into the ravine.
"The Cave MILL" as it is called,
was built about 80 years ago, and all
it's powers is obtained from the Hid
den River, 100 feet below. At the
point where the stream enters the
cavern a rough dam of stone is built,
affording sufficient water power to
turn a turbine wheel. This connects
with a shaft fully 100 feet long, which
penetrates the rock until it reaches
the mill. At certain times, however,
the river rises suddenly as much as 30
feet above it's usual level, through rea-
sons that have never been explained.
At such times the turbine wheel can
not be used, and the mill is run by
steam, water being pumped from the
river by pipes running into the cavern.
After the river enters the cave it
trickles wei a bed Of loose stone for
so feet or more, and then occurs an
other hole, whose bottom has never
been found. The roof of the cavern
gradually becomes lower and lower
until the explorer has to creep on
hands and knees to pass the overhang-
ing rocks. A short distance further
on, however, the roof rises again, and
by successive walking, creeping and
squeezing the buried course Of the
river can be traced for about half a
mile from the caves entrance. Then
the stream rushes away in the dark
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