|
The Fatal Allure of JACOB'S WELL by Louie Bond Continued... Many young adventurers have been irresistibly drawn to the winding series of chambers and narrow passageways of Jacob's Well. "In the 1930s, young boys from Wimberley and San Marcos attempted to explore the cave in homemade diving suits made of cut-off water heaters with isinglass peep holes and with an old auto tire pump that forced air through a rubber hose to the diver below. The deepest they got was 25 feet," Kerbow recalls. |
(Photograph by Dan Misiaszek) |
The well that has been such a danger to others is now in danger itself. Water authorities warn that ever-increasing pumping and the disappearance of permeable cover in the recharge area could dry up what was once thought of as a "perpetual." When the spring dried up for the first time in history during the summer of 2000, the event was considered by many as symbolic of the region's increasing water shortage and quality problems. "Jacob's Well is like a canary in a coal mine," says landowner David Baker, who is in the process of giving up his own home and property to form a conservation easement for as much land around the area as possible. "When the spring stopped flowing, it was a wake-up call for everyone. We don't want it to turn into Jacob's Cave." Baker, who hopes to use his house as an environmental study center open to the public, has dedicated the past 13 years to preserving the site, forming the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) and promoting the well's environmental message to government agencies and the public. In August, a group of scientists and environmentalists gathered in Wimberley to set a plan of action for conducting extensive studies of Jacob's Well. The well continues to inspire not only scientists, but also artists who find their way to the remote, privately owned but quietly shared spot that Indians revered as sacred ground. Baker and the WVWA host a music and art-filled festival each spring, attracting local celebrities like Willis Alan Ramsey. Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jennifer Warnes is releasing a new CD titled "The Well" this fall. The title song (co-authored by Doyle Bramhall II) was written during a stay at a bed and breakfast near Jacob's Well. A children's mystery by Marcia Bennett set at Jacob's Well will be published by Eakin Press in October. "Jacob's Well is the essence of life, creating water every day for thousands of years," Baker says, "but it is also a great mystery, and that, too is a part of its mythology. Some are frightened by that, and some are drawn to it." » Return to beginning of the story... Page 4 of 4
» Wimberley
Valley Watershed Association Article by Louie Bond © 2001 |
