Evening star., 1898-04-23
Corps of Field Music,
THE SINKS OF FLORIDA.
Objects of Interest to Strangers Visit.
ing the State.
From the Gainesville Sur

From the Gainesville Sun.
! The sinks of Florida are numerous and
| one of the states most attractive features
| to strangers visiting this part of the coun-
| try. Around Alachua lake, three miles
! south Of Gainesville, there are hundreds
| OF sink holes of various sizes and depths.
| 1t is apparent from the existence of so
many sinks that the whole country is
! honey-comhed with subterranean passages
Portions of the land in that region have
! been sinking for ages. Many of :he sinks
| have trees growing in them, the dimen-
| sions of which indicate that they must be
centuries of age. There is no telling at
| what moment the earth may give way and
a new sink be formed.
Only a few years ago the ground under
| the track of the Florida Southern railroad
near Alachua lake, gave way, and in the
darkness OF night train ran INTO hole
seventy or eighty feet deep. The train
was completely wrecked, but fortunately
all aboard escaped an untimely death.
There are sinks in various parts of
Alachua county, but they are more numer-
Gus in the vicinity of what the Indians
called big Jug" or Alachua. meaning
the deep sink hole through which :he
water in the lake at different periods has
run out, leaving an immense savanna, or
| many thousands Of acres of prairie land.
Many years ago several acres of ground
on the public road leading from this city
to NewnansYille sank and formed a lake.
III WHICH the tops Ol Tall trees cOuin De
seen beneath the surface of the water
This spot Is known the Blue Sink
Seven miles northwest of Gainesville Is q
mammoth sink known as the Devils Mill
Hopper. 1t Is a great natural curiosity
and is popular resort for picnic parties,
as well as for pleasure seekers who, during
the winter season, visit this part Of
Florida. One mile west of Gainesville is
the Green Sink, containing d considerable
volume of water, in which it has been the
custom for many years Of colored people to
bathe, and many untimely deaths have oc-
| CURED in this sink by drowning. nota-
BILE sink Is that in which Hogtown creek
empties, about five miles southwest of this
city Hogtown creek is quite a stream,
Which runs into this sink hole and grad
ually disappears through subterranean
outlet. AT this point quite lake Is form
ed. which is well filled with all species Of
fish known to inland Florida waters.
The natural wells, which are numerous
in the western part of Alachua county.
are but sink holes reaching to large un-
derground passages, through which hum
dreds of thousands of acres Of land are
drained.
The Natural Bridge over the Santa Fe
river, in the northeastern part of Alachua
county. is one of Florida's unique and most
interesting scenes, presenting the spec
tacle of large stream sinking from view
for a distance of Eeveral miles All the
streams in the San FeIaska hammock. q
large body of land few miles west of
Gainesville, disappear into underground
passages. Most of the sinks are dry, but
hundreds Of them are well filled with
water. flowing from springs. The depth of
the sink holes varies all the way from
twenty-five feet down to where no bottom
can be found.
The water in sink hole three miles
west of Winter Park was measured short
time since and 1t was found to be $50 feet
deep. The hole is 1875 to 1t0 yards from
side to side and about forty feet in depth
to the surface of the water at the bottom.
From the top of the bank the water has
the deep blue tint OF the ocean. The
banks are SO steep as to render descent
and ascent somewhat difficult.