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A phenomenon.

--During the night of Sept. 30, there was a fearful storm of thunder, lightning and rain in Palestine, Texas. The next day it was discovered that a Subterranean lake had discharged itself through a natural syphon. A large ditch was scooped out of the side of a red mountain by a huge volume of water, rocks weighting several tons were torn form their base and thrown a distance of twenty or thirty feet, saplings were torn up by the roots, everything gave way to the immense force of the water. The trench commenced near the top of the mountain on the north side, and there was no accumulation of water above the head of the ravine, and some idea may be formed of the volume of water from the fact that it left trace down the side of the mountain, by which it was determined that it was about thirty feet wide and ten feet deep; and descending at an angle of about 80 degrees, it swept everything before it. The main trench washed out was about ten feet deep.

The Daily Dispatch: November 17, 1860. Richmond Dispatch. 4 pages. by Cowardin & Hammersley. Richmond. November 17, 1860. microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mi : Proquest. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.

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