The water is much warmer than at other points after leaving the Bahamas with different marine5 conditions, such as containing no jelly fish, or showing sparkling waters by night and being always avoided by the whales and other tenants6 that are in adjoining waters. It is also claimed by those who have sailed many times[29] through it that the color of the water is so different as to be quickly noticeable as vessels7 enter the Stream. How such a stream can originate with such force in a reservoir like the Atlantic, connected around through the Caribbean Sea and returning to itself, is as obscure to the writer’s mind as to how a man can succeed in lifting himself in a bushel basket. A man that can adopt this conclusion ought to apply his energies to developing a machine for perpetual motion.
The Gulf Stream is, no doubt, an enormous spring tainted9 with sulphur, like many of the springs in Florida and up the coast as far as Charleston, whose waters are warmed from the same influence as the Gulf Stream, from passing up through a deep strata10 heated by volcanic11 influences so common in Central America. Its sulphurous taint8 will account for the absence of whales and jelly fish in its waters, in which waters of similar nature fish are never found. This sulphurous condition may account for the stormy features that prevail along its course. It may be claimed that the waters would smell of sulphur so as to be detected, but such is not necessarily the case; from springs in Florida that flow strong sulphurous water, many visitors will not drink at the spring, but after aërating an hour,[30] it will be drank at hotel tables and from water urns12 without a suspicion of its being sulphurous. The contact with salt water at the great depth from which the Stream originates diminishes any odor before reaching the surface and quite likely imparts the noticeable change in color. The deep-sea soundings off the coast of Bahama is another reason that the Stream originates there. It is claimed to be almost impossible at the commencement of the stream to get reliable soundings, as evidently sounding leads would be sensibly affected13 by the powerful current of water flowing outward.
The next evidence offered is, where does the enormous amount of water come from to supply our lake systems? Nearly all of the large lakes of the world are located in the highest parts. Lake Geneva 1,226 feet above the sea level, receives the muddy waters of the Rhone, but has so much other inflow as a spring as to discharge its waters blue and clear. Lake Constance is 1,290 feet above the sea and 912 feet deep; the Rhine rising at an elevation14 of 7,600 feet enters this lake. In 1770, the waters rose in one hour twenty feet above ordinary limit. It is said to contain twenty-five species of fish, including salmon16. Onega and Ladoga are high from sea levels, and by canal, connect with some[31] of the headwaters of the Volga. Titicaca, 12,800 feet above the sea, 720 feet deep near the shore, and probably very deep in the middle, contains many islands and abounds17 in remains19 of Peruvian architecture. Superior, 627 feet above the sea and mean depth about 1,000 feet, never freezing over except about the shores, and presents a temperature of about 45 degrees.
These are only a few in different countries to which the position is universal, for both great bodies of fresh water as well as small ones, as the general impression with people is that lakes are usually in low lands, while the opposite is the true state.
How few people in this country ever thought of our great internal seas of fresh water, Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Ontario, being on the highest lands between the ocean and the Rocky Mountains, yet such is the case. From these great fountains flow the waters that plunge20 down Niagara Falls, while a larger portion, it is thought, has a subterranean21 outlet through Lake Ontario, and uniting with the Niagara current to form the St. Lawrence.
Whence come these waters into those great lakes? They have no important rivers flowing in, and their waters are frequently highest in August and September when the country is commonly[32] suffering by drouth. If the supply were rain water, this whole surface would freeze, but spring water is exempt22 until well exposed to the air for some time. The lands about Lake Superior rise quite abruptly23, and as you ascend24 the hills, and riding from Ashland to Duluth, will see hundreds of small lakes, and from Two Harbors north as you ascend for fifty miles you see the same state of things till you come to the divide within less than 100 miles, when the waters go west into the Mississippi valley and north to Hudson Bay, and east and south to the Atlantic. Are these lakes supplied with rain and snows? If so, where does the water collect, and how does it get into this elevation? A subterranean river is supposed to run between Superior and Ontario, on account of similar fish being caught in each lake at particular seasons, but absent in Ontario at other times.
The lakes named are only mentioned for their importance; we will now call attention to lakes universally. Whoever reads this subject will be obliged to come to only one conclusion as to the general locality of lakes. Take our Adirondack region, with its thousands of pure, clear lakes hidden away among the rugged25 hills. The White mountain country where lakes abound18. Chautauqua on its elevated ground, Mt. Desert[33] in the ocean with its Eagle lake and others 1,200 feet above the sea. Lakes and living ponds, full of lilies, on Block Island. All through the mountains and wilds of Maine, and so on in every state the same condition exists, till you get to the level and prairie states where upheavals26 are rare for producing lakes and springs.
If a reader will peruse27 in “Picturesque America” the descriptive scenes on the French Broad River and the wonders through Delaware Water Gap, it is very doubtful if the various displays of waterfalls and profusion28 of springs and lakes will impress him with the idea that they are to be attributed to special rainfall in that locality. One particular evidence ought to be enough to dispel29 any such conclusion.
To quote from page 100: “As one of the wonders of the Gap must be counted the marvelous lake upon Tammany; a lake so singular that popular superstition30 has been tempted31 to add a final touch to its surpassing strangeness, and declare it has no bottom. As if in quaint32 climax33 to her wild work, Nature, after riving the mountain to its very base, here places beside the chasm34 on the very apex35 of the lofty peak a peaceful lake.”
This feature of lakes could be extended indefinitely, but something must be said about the[34] smaller influences that produce them. Every lake is but a mammoth36 spring, or reservoir of numerous springs that feed into its base. The provision by nature of this inexhaustible reservoir of fresh water is beyond doubt the most essential of any other bounty37 bestowed38 upon every living thing on Earth’s surface. The principle of centrifugal motion and power is here developed to its highest advantage.
Every man that has ever turned a grindstone at early morning to prepare a dull scythe39 for its day’s work, has no doubt observed the result of frequent pouring on of water. If he turned slow, it would drizzle40 off at the bottom, supposed to obey the Law of Gravitation; but if he turned just fast enough, he could keep about a pint41 of water on the surface of a stone four inches thick and two feet in diameter. Increasing the speed results in throwing the water off in all directions.
If yarn42 or cloth wet from a tank or vat15 is put in a tub latticed outside and subjected to rapid revolutions, it can be thoroughly43 dried in a brief time. The process of separating cream from milk is done on the same principle by which butter can be made in ten minutes’ time from milking.
The familiar trick of whirling a pail of water[35] over one’s head, is complete proof in itself that water seeks the surface and center of motion, and that all these results are from centrifugal force. A funnel44 of large, or any capacity, filled and a plug at the bottom removed to admit its discharge, will evidence that motion at once forms a circle, and that the center is bare while the outside is full.
At this point it may be well to call attention to another feature in the river system. The water on the grindstone will give force to this suggestion. At a certain speed the water will tend to the outside of the stone; below speed required to do that, the tendency will be toward the center of the stone, or strictly45 toward the center of the Earth’s motion.
Now let us see what the river system says. Look on your maps and see about where the common divide occurs, which is seemingly not far from the 50th parallel, where centrifugal force is apparently46 not strong enough to carry the waters toward the Equator, and the principal waters flow toward Symmes’s Hole.
Look on your maps.
On the 40th parallel sailors have what they call a roaring sea, which is approximately near the divide of waters, going either toward the poles or toward the Equator.
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1
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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3
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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7
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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8
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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tainted
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| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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urns
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| n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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14
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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vat
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| n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶 | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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abounds
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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upheavals
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| 突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起 | |
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peruse
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| v.细读，精读 | |
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profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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32
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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apex
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| n.顶点，最高点 | |
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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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38
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
scythe
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| n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割 | |
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40
drizzle
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| v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨 | |
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41
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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42
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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43
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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44
funnel
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| n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集 | |
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45
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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46
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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