131 



At one time and another a nnniber of wells have been sunk in this 

 valley at West Baden and French Lick. These wells are the Ritter well 

 on the bank of Lost River north of West Baden (3S8 feet deep) ; the 

 Howard well on the east side of the valley, opposite French Lick (529 

 feet deep) ; the Caves and Wells well (510 feet deep) ; the two wells of 

 tiie Colonial Hotel Company (each 93 feet deep) ; and a well near the 

 French Lick station, known as Cerberus (4(i5 feet deep). The most 

 noted of these, and the most imi)()rtant in the present connectinn, is the 

 Ritter well. This well had at lirst a strong artesian How, that very 

 soon affected all the springs of the valley. Those at French Lick, the 

 famous Pluto, etc., were the first to be affected, because their outlets 

 are highest al>ove that of the well. These springs are a mile and a half 

 away from the Ritter well. Later even the springs at West Baden 

 ceased to flow. The same result, so far as the French Lick springs were 

 concerned, was experienced from the wells near French Lick station 

 (later purchased and plugged l)y the French Lick Springs Company), and 

 especially from the wells of Howard and Gagnon. The pumping of these 

 latter wells interfered so seriously with the flow of IMuto spring that 

 the Springs Company was driven to resort to the courts for relief, and 

 succeeded in obtaining an injunction against the pinni)iiig and wasting of 

 the water. The injunction was granted by the court sitting at Paoli 

 and at Salem, and was afterwards confirmed and made permanent by the 

 Supreme Court of Indiana. 



It was brought out in the hearing on this case that the pumping of 

 the wells of Howard and of (iagnon inunediately affected the flow of the 

 Pluto spring at French Lick, thi'ce-iiuarters of a mile away, and that as 

 soon as the pumping ceased, the spring resumed its tlnw. This effect was 

 noticed repeatedly^ 



Another evidence of the same thing is the frequency of sinkhole.-^ 

 in the valley floors themselves. This is illustrated in many of the valleys 

 to the west of Bloomington, as on the headwaters of Richland Creek, 

 Blair Hollow, etc. In the excavation for the foundations of the bottling 

 works at the French Lick Hotel, cavennms rock \\as met with under the 



1 The distances of these various wells and springs from Pluto are as follows: 

 Pluto to the wells near French Lick depot, 1,.500 feet; Pluto to the (ias^non (Colonial 

 Springs) wells, 4.000 feet; Pluto to Howard well, 4,000 feet; I'luto to Ritter well. 

 8,000 feet ; Pluto spring to Bowles spring, 050 feet ; Pluto spring to Pagoda spring 

 ft West Baden, 5,000 feet; West Baden Hotel to Ritter well, 3,000 feet. 



