Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-03-27
NATURAL CUR|OS|T|ES
Some Of the Geographical 0ddi-
ties of Our Country.
FRANKS OF A LAKE PRAIRIE.
A Section Of Florida That Plays Hide
and Seek With Itself-The Tickle
neutrality-suspicious. That Divide the
Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania.

missisSipP'-StTeSr1s That Divide the
Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania.
Some years ago a topographer was
sent out from Washington to make n
survey Of what was then Payne prai.
RE. Florida. q bit of land about s by ;
miles I'm extent. The survey was made
and the prairie described. Three or
four years later a new surveying expe-
dition found that this land had been
transformed into n body of water. and
IL was put on the map as Lake Ala
chua. 1t developed that this lake prairie
plays hide and seek game with itself.
This freak is explained by the fact
that stream loses itself I'm a sink ar
the northern part Of the prairie. and
when this sewer can carry Off all the
water the region is land When the
sink cannot drain off the water II ac-
cumulates until it becomes a lake.
One OF the natural curiOsities Of this
country Is the Hampshire Ice mountain
on the banks Of North creek. twenty
six miles from Winchester. Va. For
about quarter Of a mile the west side
Of this mountain Is covered with loose
howlders and stones OF light color. the
mass extending all the way down to
the river. by lifting these stones on
any day in the year crystals OF ice can
always De found securely hidden IN the
crevices beneath.
The Dismal swamp Is not q swami
at all. according 10 the usual definition
OF the term. Ii stands fifteen or TWEEN
ty feet higher than the surrounding
country ana instead Of receiving drain
age from rivers is itself a source of
supply 10 various streams. The eli
mate is said TO be pure and healthful.
The northern boundary line of Della
ware is circular in form. This has
been explained 10y the fact that in co.
lonial days William Penn wanted
enough land along the western bank OF
the Delaware river 10 give him an out
let To tho sea. lie procured from the
Duke or York Il release of all title and
claim To Newcastle. twelve miles
around it and to the land between this
tract and the sea" This survey de
scribcd scmicircle. and when this
particular colony became a state IT still
retained the old circular boundary line.
because man has never been able To
make the Mississippi obcdient and con
tent To stay in one particular channel
many interesting geographical Situa.
tons have arisen There are innumcr-
able old channels threading back and
forth through the forests Of the low
lands, and whenever there is an over
How or particularly heavy freshet
? the river is quite liable 10 wander of
down one OF these old channels and
leave some shipping point high and
dry. The town OF Delta used 10 be
three miles below Nicksburg. but 4
cutoff changed things. so il is now two
miles above that point. Another little
place called Blues Point was formerly
located in Mississippi. hut one spring
when times were dull and the river
needed diversion ii changed its chan
mel and transferred Blues Point over
into Arkansas.
Another pastime in which the river
INDUCES is island building. \ snag in
the river, the wreck Of an old boat or
Il submerged tree is all that IS needed
for foundation. Chicken island. near
Mound City. Ark. and lust above
Memphis. Tenn, was caused bv the
sinking Of the Sultana. Union trans
port which exploded in midstream
while carrying troops home from the
civil war.
In Lake county, Ind. there is a strip
OF land that has the sinking habit. This
sinking is an annual event taking
place about December Of each year
The point where il occurs is about
eight miles east Of Lake Michigan. ncar
the northern limits Of the region Of
swamp lands. Ii reaches about fifteen
miles north and south. The Indians
who lived in that locality in the thir-
ties had legend that in the swami
there was an entrance 10 the center Of
the earth and laid out their trails so
they widely Skirted the vicinity Of the
mysterious sinking land.
y popularity OF the Blue mountains
of Pennsylvania is that they are divid-
ed by rivers that break through the
walls At Intervals of twenty-seven
miles. From the SuSquehanna TO the
Swatara is twenty-Seven miles: also
from the Swatara IL the Schuvlkiu
from the Schuylkill 10 the Lehigh. from
the Lehigh To the Delaware and from
The Delaware 10 the hollow in New
Jersey known rs Culver'S pond the in
tervalS are the same 1t would be
most difficult to account for such 4 CO.
incidence in the similarity in these dis
tanceS.-Philadclphi Press.