The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1900-10-23

4Ms | ~ x "a log farmhouse
Hffg IGV mr. with the baby in
~ - Ma w her arms, he
>''7|$s7@ called out:
: I'm going to plow in the back field
the rest of the day, Mamie. Don't
you bother about the COWS if I'm a
little late getting home, I'll milk them
after supper"
Turn ont MS carly us YOU can. Lem
She called back.
"All right" hc answered. chccrfullv.
Waving his hand TO the baby. he rode
away across the field. whistllng. while
the harness. claims tangled a loud ac-
compartment
Al the farther edge of the cultivated
land he stopped, got down. and put
the horse To Il turning plow that had
hcen left sticking in the ground. Let
ting the plow slide on its bar. he fol
lowed rocky road over a hill until
nc came To cultivated land again. Both
fields were thicl>ly covered with dead.
girdlcd trees
The back field was surrounded low
hills. and the field itself was by no
means level BESIDES other uneven
ness. il contained three or four sinks.
sinks, or sink holes. are numerous I'm
this part of Missouri These funnel.
shaped dcprcssious are generally sup
posed to have been made by earth
quakcS, particularly Ivy the great earth
quake of 1872. which sunk vast tracts
of land along the Mississippi River. in
the southeastern part of the State.
But however they originated. most of
them are probably centuries old.
They vary in size from Il few yards
in diameter and few feet deep. to
hundreds of yards i'm diameter, nj the
top, and depth. at the centre. of a
hundred feet or more Now and then
one IS closed up. and becomes a deep
pond. Most of them. however. have
invisible openings at the bottom. and
consequently the water draining into
them finds its way into the under
ground streams with which this and
other limestone regions abound
1t was Il mild day in the spring and
Lem was feeling unusually cheerful
The first thing to do was to lay off
II land to pillow around. With the
lines over his head. he chucklcd to the
team and struck out across the field.
holding the plow with one hand and
guiding the team with the other Ills
eyes were fixed ON Il conspicuous dead
tree at the far side of the field.
Before going many rods the team
came to one OF the sinks. shallow
one, aud went down into it. The low
est part was perhaps ten feet below
the general level. In the bottom was
n small. muddy place. where water
had stood after recent rain
The horses separated rs far MS the
harness would let them on opposite
sides of the mud-holc. Lem. having
the heavy plow To hold up. stepped
into the mud The pillow was already
on the firm ground beyond when sud
denly Inc felt himself going down. The
earth seemed To bc opening and swat
lowing him up,
As hc fell he clung To the pillow.
handles with All his might. The bot.
tom of the sink had dropped out. and
he was hanging i'm the hole. The lines
being still around him and under One
arm part of his weight was ON them.
and the horses were pulled backward.
AS jhc pillow beam rose up ana the han.
dies came down. LENS hands slipped
of Now his whole weight was Oh the
lines and ON the horses bits lie
clutchod M The edge of the hole. but
could not grasp it, and sank lower
md lower.