Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-03-06
A ROARING WELL.
Washington Farmer Has Freaky
Water Supply.

Iui Oh - rJIt'l Oh 'ii'ti rs ' ~ 'Ntib-
phcrsor, ten miles southeast D: Taco
ma, thcr" is 4 ''brcathing" Vel that
the people for miles around consider
ono d. The most phenomenal freaks Of
nature they had ever seen. says a dis
patch to The Seattle Post-Intclligcn-
rrr''
Year III ANA year out for the four
teen Wears since the well was dug Il
-tron" gale Of wind is either going into
Or coming cut of III" we'll current
"f air is :tlNays strong. and sometimes
it amounts {" a gale, th" suction power
If Whi,h. if tn" mir happens 10 b. 60
inS into the well. will carry newspapers
or other light objects into i.
ii the air IL flowing ont when tile
Il is on one Of these rImpagcs, as
Christ r,,ilsrsnn calls them. the wind
viii blow ones hat off, ana the roar
Of II can y" heard for some distance.
"'rnc i'uet-IHtelIigcnccr' correspondent
visited ,hc well today, and from the
Christophcr>nn family and nrighhors
NJ TIE family heard naay peculiar
stprir.; told Of the strange actions Of
tho wen. A strong current Of air was
flowing into it this afternoon. but Mr..
CGriStnph"rson said il would change
ana tie mir hogin coming out Of it as
soon rs the tide turns.
Il nav" better tid+, Indicator than
any one living along the Snur,i." said
I Id. FOR the four years / have lived
Ii, T." this well has recorded the coming
ana going Of the tides and the turn Of
the tid,s with precision and regular
~ that nave been aS infalliblc as the
unconscious movements of the heaven
~ bodies.
'Wiltr"Vc" the tide begins I" come
IL al TaruIna eight miles away, as
the crow ili"S. from this Wen. iii" air
begins to come out of tive well At
first. as the tide slowly lur!is, the out
gong rush Of air is scarcely. rercel ia
! Bic. A. tie tide strengthens ana begins
| 10 roll in swift and powerful the all
/ current Strengthens with il. reaching
| IT. maximum ut power as the tide does
! When the tide climbs up to fun til,
/ ;iir current from my W(n dies down
ana ut TIE turn Of the tide there is NJ
! prrCtl'tibie motion of atmosphere al
! tbs mouth Of the we'll. | have taken
{; the tide tables rs they are published i'll
! H." newspapers ana verified the actions
| of the air currents into and Uut Of the
| we'll"
When there is heavy tide the a.ir
current coming from or going into the
| Fcii II at oncc changed INTO q bolster
Gus gale. This also happens Frequently
I when Their" is a storm If v'ind tuat in
n, aSrs the height Of the tide. For in
stance. the first Of last week, when
when there vas heavy NinI from the
southwest that was dri.;nS high water
iuto TIN meets ana Bays surrounding
THcn,.,a. tho wind coming from tho well
produced such Il sale that surface
4 Wat"r Nhicn l,ouIa into the well was
hlo"n ont, giving ill., appearance OF
fin stray of artcsian wHt"". The noise
IF tie air was such that it could bf
heard for So:mc distance.
About :, year ago Mr.. thriStophcrSnu
'G,d 4 hired m&n with an inGenius turn
pi i"rnd, VINO took z great interest III
the wei. and attempted to devise soy
cral ways OF utilizing the power of the
air currents after. BY watching tht
"Hll. he found that they came and went
| with rcCurrcnt regularity. He was UNI
1bic to accomplish anything Of UTILITY
| ono day, however. he cam" into Tacn-
| nat ana bought = number Of small
."fiS, each keyed differently. lie thcr
covered tile top Of the we'll giving !;
vent Tor the air To come and 60 through
2 wooden uire. over this pipe h,
stretched lightly a skin. and into thi.
| 10 planted the horns. The well wa.
| instantly transformed from breath
| ing into Z singing wen, and until tn,
roTelty wnr" uf the thing wore off wa,
| the talk of the ncighDorhood. The horn.
Kept up th"i" noise night ana day un,
III they became n nuisance and wcr,
removed. This is tiIr only way il
which tho air has ever been utilized.
"And il nearly set US crazy while i
lasted" said Mr. Christopherson.
The well was dug by Philip Wood
N engineer now employed at the gov
eminent naval station at Bremerton
Wood resolved to have Il lasting sup
niy Of water and went down 1856 feet
For the first seventy or eighty feet h
met with the ordinary formations o
sand and hard pan. Then he ran int,
grayoly stratum, which continues
on down until he was 175 feet in tn,
earth. There he struck few feet o
clay. and Immediately below this cam
ouicksand. Work was stopped on
night with about two feet of water il
Tie bottom. The next morning Their,
was eight feer. and work ceased fo
good Will" digging the well th'
Woriunen noticed a peculiar roaring
sound when they reached a depth o
=, llo feet. and thereafter in descending
or coming out Of the well they re-
peatcdlv Heard this GecI, roaring If
passing that spot.
John Hosenficld. neighbor of Mr.
Cllristopherson, Whc has been dowr
n the we'll and has bean observing i
for eight years. believes there is a sub
terranean passage from, scine point il
tire Mell to the shores Of the Sound
Notwithstanding tie fact that tn,
4 sound is eight niles diefauce