San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-02-12

dashed upon the shores with force
scarcely less than that of the ocean
waves, grinding down rocks into fine
grains and washing away the last par
ticle of silt. So perfectly have the
sands been cleansed that the many
thousands of people who lounge upon
them every summer day may dress in
the finest and daintiest fabrics, for they
leave no mark.
A peculiar property of this beach ma
terial at least in certain localities, has
given 1t the name Singing sand" This
remarkable name has been given OH
account of the shrill creaking sound
emitted by the sand when vigorously
disturbed. By whirling a cane or sim
liar stick so that the end cuts through
the sand to the depth of an inch or SO
the sound made is very similar to that
of circular saw running rapidly
through timber, although, of course,
the two sounds are not to be compared
in intensity. Walking over the sand,
especially when the heel of the shoe is
made to pillow through it in stepping,
or even brushing through it briskly
with the finger, produces similar eff
feet. 1t is stated that government Of
fetal at Washington once had some of
this material sent to him for the pur-
pose of investigating its sonorous quail
tiles, but no satisfactory explanation
was found. Perfect freedom from dust
seems to be an essential condition, as
the effect can be produced only in the
portion that is washed by the waves.
1 am reliably informed that the same
phenomenon is displayed by sand at
places on the Atlantic coast. Can some
one inform me whether it is character
istic of all beach sands?
Another remarkable feature of this
sand is the sparkling of coal-black,
magnetic particles in it's composition.
These particles are generally smaller
than the quartz grains. In number
they constitute, would say at guess,
one-tenth of the sand. They are at
tracted by the magnet nearly or quite
as strongly as are iron filings, thus in
dicating an abundance of iron. In
what form this iron is contained have
ton of the waves separates thismaterial
from the quartz, leaving it in depos.
its, often many rods in extent, just out
| side the water line, and from one-eighth
to one-half an inch in depth, enabling
one to gather a considerable quantity
nearly pure. Before had learned the
nature of these deposits 1 had called
them accumulations of coal dust or of
fine cinders from some furnace, and
passed them by without second
thought, until at last it occurred to me
that the superstition was not reason
able. The investigation that naturally
followed resulted in discovery of the
facts stated above.
The sand is subject to freaks of the
winds as well as the waves, and with re-
suits still more remarkable. Walking
over the sand fields in strong wind is
| as uncomfortable and dangerous to
the sight as facing a severe storm Of
sleet. The air is then filled with flying
particles that sting sharply whenever
they strike an exposed part of the
body. Dead trees beaten for years by
this natural sand blast gradually wear
away below and finally fall. The NOV
ing power of the wind over this ma
terial is shown by the frequent for
nation of drifts more than q foot in
depth during a single storm, and by
the immense hills or dunes that have
been accommodating and shifting for
ages. These great piles, some Of them
several hundred feet high, line the