The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-03-08
Sigh of the Sea.


One day while we were at work changing
the direction of the railway lines to new
working, l went to look for some tools,
which had been left in slight hollow
was surprised to find the hollow level full
of water, the surface of which was glazed
over with thin sheet of salt, beneath was
pure brine, sparkling and as clear as a
crystal. 1t was then l began to surmise,
what shortly afterwards proved to be the
truth, there was tide in La Salina!
The following Sunday went down
alone to the Salinas, and dug we'll about
three feet deep. Returning again later, l
found my well full of brine to the brim,
with sheet of salt on the surface that
resembled silver gauze. Returning to
camp at once consulted my almanac, and
then glanced up at the sky. 1t was the
date of the full moon, and there was the
sound genial face of fair Luna soaring
radiant through the eastern sky. l thought,
"well, anyone could be sailor if he would
only look aloft!'' The tides correspond
exactly with the phases of the moon, just
as they do at sea. 1t is always at the time
of Spring tides that the Salinas are too wet
to be worked and at the time of s'neap"
tides they are drying. And all of the wells
in the Province of Cordoba, rise and fall
exactly in accordance with this well-known
natural law, although in nearly all of them
the water remains perfectly fresh and
untainted.
In regards to wells, l have often
witnessed similar phenomenas in other
parts of the world, but never at such a
distance from the sea. After returning to
Buenos Aires, had a talk with one of the
scientists concerning my discovery. The
scientist who was connected with the
National Observatory seemed very much
impressed with my report, and finally
anticipated my conclusion, that the thick
ness of the salt on the surface of the Salinas,
mark precisely the maximum rise and fall
of the tide.
The mere knowledge that distinct
tidal movement still holds sway in the
heights of Cordoba and other western and
northern provinces may not in itself be of
much practical value, but it opens the way
to new and interesting scheme in the field
of physical research. 1t may inspire
discussion, and speculation regarding the
age, history, and structure of the land upon
which we live.
There are many indications that show
that the ancient sea, which once invaded
Cordoba and all of the surrounding
provinces, was not an isolated inland sea,
or great salt lake, but great infowing
gulf of the mighty South Atlantic, which
in remote and distant age, doubtless
invaded the whole Argentine country
North and West as far back as the noun
tains, and in receding, it swept all of the
great mass of soft earth deposit along with
it, spreading it very evenly along the
sweep of its broad wake to form the vast
and fertile region now called the Great
Valley of the Plate. All the water levels of
Cordoba are still connected by their parent
sea. 1t is only the constant ebbing and
flowing of the South Atlantic that rises and
lowers the waters in the Salinas, and
renders the reclamation of salt by the
present methods at all possible. The shores
of the Salinas plainly show that the water
they contain are just sufficient to dissolve
the salt and bring it to the surface; and that
it is gradually voyaing away to mother
ocean. Eventually the Salinas will dry up,
then there will be no more tides, and no
more salt upon their surfaces. All that
originally belongs to the sea will return
again, for no land gets more water than it
gives. and the sea will claim its own.