i6S 



The American Angler 



is still flowing at a steady rate of 2,100 gallons 

 a minute, and it bids fair to keep on indefin- 

 itely. 



The cavity struck by' the drill was undoubt- 

 edly the tunnel of a subterranean river. That 

 the waters of this underground stream was full 

 of life is satisfactorily proved by the great 

 number of animals of various kinds which are 

 thrown out at the surface through the artesian 

 pipe. But it is not their quantity that excites 

 astonishment nearly so much as their strange 

 character. All of them appear to belong to 

 species hitherto wholly unknown to science. 

 There are shrimps of a queer kind, of which 

 the well yields about half a pint a day on an 

 average ; sowbugs of a new genus, not related 

 to any hitherto found in fresh water, and, 

 most remarkable of all, salamanders six inches 

 long, with surprisingly developed legs. 



Where does the river come from? That 

 seems to be the first question. It is a mystery 

 up to date. In that region the phenomenon of 

 the "lost" river is frequent and familiar. 

 Such a stream runs merrily for a distance and 

 then sinks into the ground ; perhaps it may re- 

 appear further on and disappear again. The 

 supposition is that the subterranean river in 

 question is a continuation of some river that 

 has got itself lost far to the north. The geo- 

 logical strata in the neighborhood of San Mar- 

 cos dip southward toward the Gulf of Mexico, 

 and it is believed that there exists at a higher 

 level a hidden cavern of considerable size, 

 through which the stream runs. This undis- 

 covered cavern, with no visible opening from 

 above ground, furnishes the necessary supply 

 of air to the creatures that live in the water 

 that flows through the tunnel. 



From any point of view the discovery is 

 quite extraordinary. All of the species of ani- 

 mals thus far brought to the surface are blind 

 and colorless, resembling in these respects the 

 crustaceans and bafrachians of the great caves 

 where there is everlasting night. Dr. Stejn- 

 eger, who knows as much about salamanders 

 as any man living, has been making a special 

 study of the San Marcos specimens. He finds 

 that they have no near relatives with which 

 science is acquainted in this country or abroad. 

 Their nearest of kin are the so-called mud- 

 puppies of our streams and certain batrachians 

 of Austrian caverns. They have remarkably 

 long legs and their noses are shovel-shaped. 



It is likely that Dr. Stejneger will put these 

 salamanders on record as representing not 



merely a new genus, but a new family in the 

 order of batrachians. One of the females laid 

 five eggs after it was caught. The scientists 

 are waiting with interest for some fishes to 

 come out of the wonderful well. They are 

 sure to turn up sooner or later, it is believed, 

 because they are not at all likely to be absent 

 where there is so much food for them in the 

 shape of shrimps, <Src. Perhaps they also will 

 prove to be of an entirely new species. It 

 should be remembered that, the source of sup- 

 ply being inaccessible, the only animals thus 

 far secured are those which have been brought 

 to the surface of the ground by the merest 

 chance. There would surely be good fishing 

 in that subterranean river if one could get at 

 it with a hook and line. 



Most numerous by far among the creatures 

 cast up from the depths have been the shrimps. 

 They are about three-quarters of an inch long, 

 colorless and blind. In and attached to their 

 bodies are found immense numbers of parasitic 

 protozoa, which are nearly related to the mi- 

 cro-organisms that breed malaria in the human 

 system. This fact has an interesting bearing 

 upon the theory hitherto accepted that artesian 

 water is necessarily free from malaria mi- 

 crobes. The sowbugs already referred to, 

 which are crustaceans, have only been peculiar 

 up to now as salt water forms. They get a 

 living commonly by attaching themselves to 

 fishes, out of whose flesh they are able to take 

 large bites by means of their strong jaws, 

 which are furnished with a sort of knife-and- 

 fork arrangement. One small and new species 

 of leech turned up with the rest of the animals. 



The artesian well is only a few rods distant 

 from the famous spring of San Marcos, which 

 has an enormous outpour of water. In fact, 

 this spring is the head of the San ^larcos 

 River. Presumabl}^ it is fed by the same sub- 

 terranean stream. 



Signs of tlie Times,— If the present Long Island 

 Sound line travel is any indication of what is to follow, 

 the traffic via that great highway during the coining 

 summer season will exceed anything heretofore known. 



The magnificent "Priscilla" and "Puritan" are in 

 commission on the Fall River Line for the season, having 

 taken the place of the "Plymouth" and "Pilgrim" a 

 few days ago, and are running to their full capacity. On 

 Monday last the " Puritan " was called upon to accom- 

 modate over 1,200 passengers. This, however, is nothing 

 unusual even at this season of the year; in fact, when 

 the number on board is less than eight or nine hundred, 

 it results in surpri-se to the management of that most 

 popular route between New Yorii and Boston. 



Surely the success of the Fall Kiver Line is something 

 remarkable. 



