The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-04-02

Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania.
Some years ago a topographer was
sent out from Washington to make
survey of what was then Payne prai-
RE, Florida, bit of land about by 5
miles In extent. The survey was made
and the prairie described. Three or
four years later new surveying eXpe-
dition found that this land had been
transformed into a body of water, and
it was put On the map as Lake Ala
chua. 1t developed that this lake prairie
plays a hide and seek game with itself.
This freak is explained by the fact
that a stream loses itself in sink at
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 it ac
cumulates until it becomes a lake.
| One of the natural curiosities of this
country is the Hampshire Ice mountain
| IN the banks of North creek, twenty
| six miles from Winchester, Va For
| about a quarter of mile the west side
| IF this mountain is covered with loose
powders 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 be found securely hidden in the
| crevices beneath.
| The Dismal swamp is not a swamp
at all according to the usual definition
| of the term. 1t stands fifteen or TWEEN
| ty feet higher than the surrounding
| country and instead of receiving drain
| age from rivers is itself source of
| supply to 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 by the fact that in co
lonial. days William Penn wanted
enough land along the western bank OF
the Delaware river to give him an out
let to the sea. He procured from the
Duke of York a release of all title anC
claim to Newcastle twelve miles
around it and to the land between this
tract and the sea-" This survey de
scribed a semicircle, and when this
particular colony became state it still
retained the old circular boundary line
Because man has never been able t
make the Mississippi obedient and con
tent to stay in one particular channe
many interesting geographical situa
lions have arisen. There are innumer
able old channels threading back ant
forth through the forests of the low
| fes
flow or a particularly heavy freshe
the river is quite liable to wander OF
down one of these old channels an
leave some shipping point high an
dry. The town of Delta used to
three miles below Vicksburg, but
cutoff changed things, so it is now tw
miles above that point. Another litt
place called Blues Point was formerl
located in Mississippi, but one sprin
when times were dull and the rive
needed a diversion 1t changed its chal
mel and transferred Blues Point owe
into Arkansas
Another pastime in which the rive
INDUCES is island building. A snag
the river, the wreck of an old boat {
a submerged tree is all that is needle
for foundation Chicken island, nes
Mound City, Ark, and just aboV
Memphis, Tenn, was caused by tt
sinking of the Sultana, Union tran
: port which exploded in midstreal
while carrying troops home from IL
civil war.
In Lake county, Ind, there is str
of land that has the sinking habit. TIL
sinking is an annual event, takiI
place about December of each yea
The point where it occurs is abo'
eight miles east of Lake Michigan, nei
the northern limits of the region
swamp lands. 1t reaches about fiftet
miles north and south. The Indian
who lived in that locality in the thi
ties had a legend that in the swan
there was an entrance to the center
the earth and laid out their trails
they widely skirted the Vicinity Of t
mysterious sinking land.
A popularity of the Blue mountain
OF Pennsylvania is that they are divi
ed by rivers that break through Il
walls at intervals of twenty-sev,
miles. From the Susauehanna to t
Swatara is twenty-seven miles; al
from the Swatara to the Schuylki
from the Schuylkill to the Lehigh, fro
the Lehigh to the Delaware and fro
the Delaware to the hollow in NJ
Jersey known as Culvers pond the
tervals are the same. 1t would
most difficult to account for such a {
incidence in the similarity in these d
tances.-Philadelphia Press.