The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-17
WONDERS OF THE 0ZARKS.
4 REGION WHERE FREAKS or NA-
7ULE ABOUND ON EVERY HAND.
A Remarkable Box Canyon Rooted Over
With n CIin-Tbe Elevated Farm OF
Settier-A Waterfall Nobody Has Ever
Seen, and Cayerns. Lost Rivers ana
Other Freok. gniore in Great supply.

| settier-A waterfall Nobody Has Ever
| Seen, and Cayerns. Lost Rivers and
Other Freaks Galore In Great supply.
From ne ST. Loui, Globe. Democrat
Wonders are many in the Ozark country. Ma
ture has scattered freak work generously in south
Missouri and north Arkansas Time and tho
elements have wrought marvels above and below
ground Riding out Of Springfield to the south.
ward the traveller looks from the car window
upon what at flrst sight appears TO be the fossil
lied form Of prehistoric monster Body. legsand
head are there In massive proportions. Tho
animal, as il appears TO be, stands firmly on It's
feet But nearer inspection reveals that tho
| mammoth Is a product Of the work Of water
| course upon an enormous mass OF lime rock
Along " hi,e River about twenty miles below
| the town Of Forsyth, Is n collection OF strange
effects The water has moulded and left standing
| erect pillars Of rock thirty and forty and hi'y
| feet high There ore places on the Buffalo where,
as one approaches, the towering rocks take on
a startling likeness TO castles, with walls and
battlements. The cliffs even have natural open
| ings which at a distance seem TO be port holes
| Of Notifications.
| These rivers make great circuits OF miles,
| then return upon their courses so nearly that
! only a mighty mass OF rock 800 feet thick sepa-
| rates The water on side Of this narrow
| partition is dozen feet or more higher than on
the other side. the equivalent OF the natural iai
In tho circuit Of miles
On Pine Mountain, near the Missouri Arkansas
border. are scattered the Murder Rocks a.
iron ore have rusted and blotched the gray lime
| stone like splashes Of blood: IL was among INC
Murder Rocks ihH' ar bolen Sysh m.n nnd
| made the name seem historically appropriate,
;, South Of White River. in Tansy county "
the great hill is ore. because Iron Mountain waits,
| like many. other resources OF the OzGrks, upon
practical development But scattered over the
| but which upon examination are discovered TO
be masses of red hcmattc. Specimens Of this
high average Of purity Many years ago COM
pnny WAS formed with plan TO barge this iron
| down White River 800 miles to he nearest rail.
| road point A road was built TO the river, ware,
houses were erected. some tons Of ore were h9uisd
TSnc s'% county Maintain Ma" tni snGsG VIC
| Where Bee Creek cmptics into the White thero
is distinctly visible creyasse extending across
to bank That crcyassc Is filled with lead, pure
galcnn, as IL it had been melted and run into a
| can see this streak Of lead through ten fifteen
The box canyon is a striking feature Of the
| Ozark topography. Cataract Creek in Baxter
county Ark. may hc taken az a type Of the pecu-
liar formation. Riding his surciooiCd mule up
face with lofty, exchanging cliffs which bar
| further progress and present an enormous am
| n
tons of the cliffs are 100 feet from the ground.
They project over far enough TO shelter the space
| in which regiment OF men might camp In two
places streams Of water from springs one Of the M
| two feet wide, flow To the edge and plunge down
ward becoming spray before they reach the rocks
| below. The mountain brook into which the two
streams unite IN the centre Of the anphithcn;re
noisty Passes down The s9TSSe 100 Yards and sinks
are the fayori,c roasting places for wild turkeys.
| In the early days, when hunting was limited TO
home needs ilOCks numbering 800 might b. found
1 hell he
| back in the ages, when the different strata were
bring deposited and before they had had time 10
| harden. mammoth whirlpool ate out the am
| phithch'rc and lcft II for mans wondrrmcnt,
The ozark country pioneers could think Of no bet
| ter name for this particular box canyon than
"Slow Joe" because a hunter Of most deliberate
movement used to camp there and wait for the tur.
to !" t G% And SoS ,hc 9ds
country aud very little that is picturesque in tho
| nomenclature.
| county. Ark. il n wonder of the OLnrks barring
the homrly name Of The old sand field" A, a
than its name, II Is apparently nothing elso
than one Of the fields Of the Stacey farm. Tho
| ground rises in the centre aud slopes gently to-
| ward the sides, giving the look II an ordinary
| knoll. Clos examination il necessary 10 appr'.
ciar what freaks nature has wrought. Scattered
chimncys. They are ike grc", nGrs and and arc re
ten to forty feet deep. I, is easy 10 descend into
some II them. At the bottoms are found tunnels
| leading on IN various urcCtlunS. hcSs tunnels
OPEN into large cavities in at least case rs
| large as a good szrd house., The interior IL
honcycombcd with passages and caves. Nothing
| like complete exploration has been attempted.
| but from the partial examination IL seems quito
probable that the tunnels and shafts and larger
| openings connect in a vast network underlying
the whole field Yet there IL a good covering
NJ soil on top, and with little care Ia avoid tho
ehWnSEs Sn,Ts ION gus on year nt,rT ysnr
settler has farm which il probably unlik' any
other in The world This farm occupies the table;
| land on the summit Of n ridge The owner did
not pile a stone or lay rail or plant post Yet
his farm is inclosed with fence which no animal
one foot above the surface of the farm II is not
built that way II falls sheer from the edge dis.
81 mSn e fec" u bret this farm entirely
steaded the tabcland had hard climb up the face
Of perpendcular cliff TO reach the COMPARATIVELY
level summit lie made the entire circuit Of his
farm before he found way 10 set foot upon il
Az one point ledge ju,'cd out q few inches and
grade by following this and making use 81
| occasional points NJ rocks and " shrubs growing
| summit and found surface well coated with soil
and covered with luSnrant vegetation. Gradll.
ally hc improved the place Of ascent and descent
| ing and drilling he cleared narrow trail up which
he was able to take first some pigs and then COW
h"rs And thai day the 's so"S % Of sn ,hs
| curously protected farm, No vehicle has turned
a wheel within i,s limits Of palisades The live
| raised Some stones thrown across the trail
| completely fence IN the hogs and cattle When
the farmer has stock To sell h" drives the animals
down the trail and strikes the road TO Jasper.
Among the ,hGusends Of caves in the Ozarks
| will occasionally I've found one upon which ma
| tlifc has lavished its work 10 such q dcgrre and
| " such variety Of Ways as To make II famous
| The Diamond Mine" is the name given 10 a New
| ton county ave. There ATE no diamonds in tho
minc There is no formation approaching
| mat Of n diamond min" But wnen tho visitor
| has threaded In" three quarters Of n mile of mas.
| sagcs 10 the interior and stands Al the entrance
OF "Ihc Crystal la!acc, he acknoN Lodges instant
| apnr9va 81 Me name The Diamond Mine" The
p-liS1ed wealth Of all Gnlconda could moi approx.
| mate me gil'tcrinS splcrdnr 81 the scene, \
| great CHAMBER 1900 feet long, worrying from 800
10 900 feet IN width and from 10 10 80 feet high
| sbrfoIC him In lis n wilderness II " alter f0rma-
tons Stalnctltcs almost meet staag mites and coca
| si9nally Join so completely rs 10 present massive
| columns, These formations flash back Ia The
| light Of the torches rays many times magniilcd
| until the illumination daZ?lcs the eyes. And
10 add 10 tho fascination of the scene these forma,
| tons present various colors There are columns
| Of pure white and cream color. In the forest Of
| stall actites and stalagmitcs the rave from tho
| torches lose themselves and come back reiractcd
| In many hrcs
| 4 stranger passing along the road of one of