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THE
The Forgotten City in Lowndes
And the Mystery Surrounding It.
A WRITER IN THE 8UNNY SOUTH TELUS OF THE RUINS ON AN
CIENT CITY NEAR VALDOSTA— 80ME CONJECTURES ABOUT
THE RACE OF PEOPLE WHO ONCE INHABITED IT—OLD FRANK-
LYNNVILLE IS PROBABY THE CITY REFERRED TO.
lar crescent-shaped embankments,
about three-quarters of a mile apart
Their convex Hides always face to
ward the northeast, and the Inside of
the soml-clrcle partly Incloses three
mounds, a larger one near the em
bankment, and two smaller ones at
Hhort distances, ranged In a direct
line from northeast to southwest.
These embankments represent an im
mense amount of labor, being from
one-half to three-quarters of a mile in
length. They are as mysterious as the
forgotten city Itself. Did they mark
the approach ttufome great temple, or
palace, or www they erected as a mon
ument to ^great victory? Some da7,
perhaps, our savants will tell us all
about these also.
Another of Nature's Puzzlee.
But even yet, we are not done with
the mysteries of this strange section
of the country. Five miles above the
forgotten city is another puzzle, but
this time it Is one of nature's making
without the help of man. It may, or
may not, have had somethiug to do
with the location of Its neighbor in
the ancient city. Certain It is that
the wonder of it has perplexed the
brains of the many generations of
white men who have lived there
abouts. At the point named, five
miles above the forgotten town, the
Withlacoochee river is about 500 feet
wfde, and flows over a bed of quick
sand. Then comes a long stretch of
swamp, and then a steep bluff. At the
edge of the latter, a part of the river,
some hundred and fifty feet wide,
leaves the main current, flows direct
ly eastward at right angles to the
course of the river, and plunges Into a
cavern In the face of a hill that Is at
least 100 feet high.
From time to time vain attempts
have been made to thoroughly explore
this weird retreat of the waters. Ono
courageous man succeeded in penetra
ting ihe cave to a depth of 300 yards.
In traversing this short distance, he
passed through a series of .spacious
chambers, connected by narrow gal
leries, througt%whfch tho water roar-
speed. The
' 6t sink holes
er a mile.
Then these /cease, but a fOw miles
Mysterious Mound. lower down, on the opposite side of
On the' bank of the Wlthlacoochee, ihe river, a great limestone spring
about half way of the crescent bend, bursts out upon the surface. As a
rises a large mound. Huge now. even rule. ‘he water of this spring Is as
after ages of crumbling away, but clear M crystal. Whenever there Is
showing plainly that It has once an unusual freshet, however, tho wa-
been still more huge. Why It was ter becomes clouded, so ihat it would
put there, nnd when and by whom tho seem that tho underground stream
immense amount of work was done, from which the' spring emerges must
no one knows, no one can even hazard have some surface connection. This
a theory on the subject. Theorrles mysterious spring is in a direct line
must have n standing point, a basis, with tho underground stream and It
Here there is neither. This big mound believed that- the stream divides in
la a fine field for the researches of ‘ho cave, or near it, part of Its waters
antiquaries and savants. The wonder flowing down below tho main channel
Js that It has not long since been dug ‘he river, crossing to the opposite
into and thoroughly explored. Who sl, Io nnd emerging again nt the
built that town? Wlm planted the spring.
shade trees, erected tho defensive An Obscure Ancient Race,
wall and heaped up that mysterious There Is another strnngo thing
mound? Echo answers "Who?” No about this mysterious region. Goolog-
one knows. History docs not give us lo.alty speaking, the country would
the very least hint of the answer to "com ho of comparative!/ recent
Everybody knows that there is in
South Georgia a busy, enterprising lit
tle town called Valdosta. Everybody
does not know, however, that there
It, ten miles north of Valdosta, a dead,
ancient town or city, In sharp con
trast to the living, modern town.
Is, In very truth, a forgotten city,
trace of what It once was, has long
since passed away, except.the lines of
noble oaks, set in parallel rows about
thirty feet apart and extending for
nearly a mile. Each street of this
clent town is thus laid out. They were
evidently about forty feet wide, and
Intersected each other at right angles.
There were many of these streets, for
the town was fully a mile square.
These hoary old oak trees show their
great age, towering heavenward far
above other trees near by, that are yet
very far from being In their infancy.
The graceful gray moss drooping frrom
their outspread branches, rests gently
on the tops of the smaller trees, as
though laid upon them in benediction.
The western end of the forgotten
city overlooks a high bluff, at the foot
of which the Wlthlacoochee river
flows on Its winding course. For ages
the waters have been busy at the foot
of the bluff, washing away huge
pieces of the sandstone, of which it is
composed, and making its way up Into
the streets that were nearest to the
stream. Whatsoever race located and
built the ancient city, had an eye both
to beatity and defense. The river Just
there makes a deep, sharp bend In the
shape of a crescent, encircling the
town site. From a point Just above
the most northern line of trees and ex
tending in a. semi-circle a little below
the southern boundary, may still be
traced a line of earthworks. This
line was plainly the ancient wall that
defended the town, and Is ono of the
few known instances of walled towns
in whnt is now the United 8tates. In
some places this old wall is still easily
to by traced; in others It can scarce
ly be distinguiHhed. Its entire length
can bo followed all through the plney
woods on that side. Immense trees of
yellow pine have sprung up from
broken summits of
those questions. So one knows. Per
haps some day the government serv
ants will roll up their sleeves and go
delving below until they get nt the
heart of this mystery, and, then, per
haps. we, too, Nhitil know all about It.
This forgotten city was as much of
n mystery to the Creek Indians who
lived thereabouts for many genera
tions, ns to their successors, the
whites. The Indians wero removed by
the government In tho 30’s, but the
country was not so fertile ns to at
tract n large number of settlers, and
th's condition obtains still, It is
even now but thinly settled. The
Creeks hud no town or village of their
own anywhere near the old town
truth, the
formation. Yet from the prehistoric
evidences scattered about, it Is proven
to havo been old enough to have sup
ported generations of ancient race, so
very ancient ns to bo utterly un
known, not even tho most ancient of
tho known raceo having tho least
clew to its Identity. Tho oversight
that has left these mounds undisturb
ed for so long Is ns mysterious, al
most, ns the rest of this strange re
gion.—Helen Harcourt, In the Sunny
South.
ROOSEVEt
, SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1905.
ffc« PrMidnl
Books nnd Ki
It is remarkable
ties, President
do a good deal of
lbe April Century sa;
I have no record of
cent reading, but It
be is "keeping up
my friends are still
ley’s three thick volum
life. Tiie president,
them promptly, gainli
only a fresh but a
Me view of the great
confessed, he bad hl$bi
derstiind, A publisher not long ago
told me that Roosevelt seemed to liav
hi* eye on the authors of their bouse
auil now and then a private letter ful
of appreciation would pn" r trough the
publisher's bands on
thor. in the thick of t., ^Onpalgn o
1901 i happen to knovf W /£e reread
ull of Macaulay's ‘Tlin^Mof Kug
land,” all of Rhodes' “nmm; of the
I’nited States” and Dickens’ “Martin
Chuzxlewlt.”
• The other afternoon he was banded a
new book, a not very long dissfrtation
on a mutter of current iMerest. That
evening be entertained a‘number of
guests at dinner, and latex there was a
musical party ut the White House, at
which he was present. At luncheon
the next day the giver said to him.
“Mr. President, of course you have not
bad time to look at that book?" “Oh,
yes," sold the president, *“I have read
it.“ Wherftipon he proved thats^e had
done so by his criticism of the work.
One day lately a book of short stories
was sent to him. Almost by tpttpfrtnail
came a letter thanking the sender and
saying lie had already enjoyed the sto
ries greatly In serial publication.
How does be manage to do It? All
I know about this is that, in the first
place, he bas by nature or practice the
faculty of extremely rapid reading.
There are some men of letters and
genera] readers" who never have been
able to acquire this art Others can
take in paragraphs or pages well nigb
at a glance. The president must be one
of these photographic readers, who
take almost instantly the impression of
a whole paragraph or nearly a whole
page, tho eye running along tho line
with lightninglike rapidity and leap
ing fo the more Important phrases as
by instinct. I have known the follow
ing to occur: A congressman makes a
statement to him and bands him a type
written paper. Almost Immediately it
president hands It back to 1dm, where
upon tiie congressman any*' Atkr%r ^ n *-
Ingly: “Mr. President, may I
this paper with you? I an
that you should reaiT Ilj
era tho presli
Tax Receiver's Notice.
I will be at the following precincts 'on
dates given below, for the pprpoce of
receiving tax returns for the year 1905:
Naylor, - - April 8, 12 aid 24
Cat Creek, ■ • " 18 ajd
Halurn, • • /*■ 5, 14 and
Clnb House, - “ 17 and
Ousley, - - - “ 7, 18 and
attvillo, - - " 10, 20 Ma
ePark, - - “ 11,21 *'
Dorsey’s School House, - - H
Dasher, - “
Valdosta on all Saturdays, and rl^ily af
ter rounds are made, until books close
on Jnno 1st. C S. BACON,
3-7-mayl0 Tax Receiver.
The farmer who does his best al
ways nnd everywhere is the one who
does most to lift up his country, state
and township. Tho roots of good gov
ernment aro deep down among tho
good farmers of tho country.
Tho warm spring rains have
brought to the surfaco a number of
little Republican presidential boom-
lets, but It Is not yet too late for a
killing frost, and some of them are
pretty likely to get badly nipped.
Money to Loan.
Money (o loan, at ronMiuablo rates, on
Lowndes county farm lauds.
ERNEST W. EDWARDS,
Attoraey-at-Law.
TO REMOVE
FRECKLES AND PIMPLES
In 10 Days. Use
. SATINOLA .
The Complexion Beautifler
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*>♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
The
No Diasappolntmentt.
Many a "tailor-mad* man’ has had
t» disappointing experience of find-
j n ing that ‘‘goods-in-thc-plece” and tho
were afraid of it as the finished garments look entirely unlike.
abode of spirits, whether good or evil. Thin is partly due to the colors—part-
they knew not. but either way, it was ,v t,u ' pattern—and at any rate, it
a place to be avoided. Their hunters j ts ofton to hid go how the fabric
would not go near it. and tho wild an
imals who sought refuge within the
bounds of the forgotten city, were per
fectly safe from pursuit. Tho old In
dian lore was full of traditions, but
there was never one word about this
strange spot. But from tlrao to time,
tangible evidences, beyond the walls
and streets have been found that an
alien race once had its being there.
Bits of ancient pottery, of stylet and
skill unknown by the Indians, and
queer stone implements, with flint
knives and arrowheads. These have
been found along the bluffs, and were
strange to the Indian tribes, strange
to every one of them, who Inhabited
America at the time when it was dis
covered by Columbus.
It is not alone within the bounds of
this ancient city that strange things
may be seen. Trending to the north
east for ten or fifteen miles, are regu-
will "make up.”
The new ready-to-wear system pro
vides particular men with clothing
equal to a custom tailor’s work,
about half his prices. It is easy to
Judge the finished garment and there
is no waiting whatever. Probably the
best of ready-to-wear garments aro
those bearing the famous Schloss
Bros. & Co. mark. These are sold
here by A. Converse, whoso announce
ment appears on another page.
The contract labor law and the
Chinese Immigration laws do not ap
ply to the Panama canal zone. This
is fortunate, perhaps, as tho canal
zone Is not a place where many white
men care to work anyway.
It costs more per pound to raise a
colt than a steer, and th£ fight kind
of colt will sell for four times as
muck.
C ATINOLA la s new discovery, guaranteed
*^and money refunded if n fails to remove the
wont case of Freckle*, Pimple*. Tan, Liver
8note, Sallowncee, Black heads or any other
akin eruption In 20 dava—leaves the skin clear,
•oft, healthy and restores the beanty of youth.
Thousands testify to the merits of Sstinola.
Miss Alace Lfretts writes; —Thibodeaux.
La.. Oct., 15, ‘04. "For four yean my face was
completely covered with freckles and pimples.
AU remedies failed, until I used two packages
ofSatinola, which completely removed the
freckles sad pimples. My complexion ts now
perfect, and hope every lady having freckles
or pimples will try Sstinola." Price QOc. and
$1.00, by leading druggists, or maiL
NATIONAL TOILET CO., Parle, Teua.,
Bold In Valdosta by
C. S. BONDURANT
And all leading druggist.
Spring
Fashion
COPTRIWJTEh 1909
SCHLOS^BRO;
ino Cloths*
BALTIMORE
’’NEW YORK
!
demands many little differ
ences of line and shape.
The coats, you will no
tice, are longer, the should
ers better shaped, a most
graceful effect obtained in
the whole suit.
These little style points
are better shown in Schloss
garments than any other
clothes we know.
And ■while the Schloss
clothes lead in style, their
^ quality is sure as the
Government stamp on a dollar bill, just as certain a guarantee
of value.
These are the clothes you ought to wear, the “BEST COR
RECT CLOTHES FOR GENTLEMEN,” simply because
they mean the most value for your money, look at it however
you will. We're anxious to show you the new styles and have
you slip on a coat or two, just to see how they “feel.”
You don’t have to BUY because you try, glad to see you
anyway. Specially glad to-day.
A. CONVERSE,
Valdosta, Georgia.
25.00?
“Outfitter to Particular People.”
Sptirtg,
tldli t if
Shoe FOR PPoAlEN
A LIGHT STEP.
No woman can afford to ignore her shoes unless she hands in
her resignation to polite society. For her shoes determine her
walk, and her walk decides her style, and her carriage, her pos
ture, her whole attitude and bearing as she moves about.
A lady’s shoe should
always be light weight
and flexible to the
foot to enable her to
walk in an easy, and
graceful manner.
This is the especial
charm of tho “Queen
Qhalitj” Shoes.
Queen Quality
OXFORDS.*''
$2.50.
KIBO
PATENT
KID.
Much
and more
flexible than
patent leather.
F.s*ct Reproduction of this Style Shot.
They aro trim and
neat ;in shape and
actnally create an
elastic, gracefnl step
which is worth ten
years of youthful-
ness to a middle-
aged woman.
W. T. LANE,
The Leaders in Staple Dry Goods, Heavy
Grocries and Farmers’ Supplies.
