AJPOTJ AYE

n

xn

L

\

^'oW

THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

GOTHIC CH.1PEL

AN

HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE

MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY.

INCLUDING

EXPLANATIONS OF THE CAUSES CONCERNED IN ITS FOR-
MATION, ITS ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS, ITS
CHEMISTRY, GEOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, ETC.

FULL SCIENTIFIC DETAILS OF THE EYELESS FISHES.

BY

W.' STUMP FOKWOOD, M.D.,

MEMBER or TDE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATIOX, OF THE MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL
FACULTY OF MARYLAND, ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRAT IONS.

PHILADELPHIA:

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
1870. ,,

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Im fflork

RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED

TO

ONE OF THE COMPANIONS OF OUR JOURNEY,

AND A LIBERAL PATRON OF LITERATURE,

BY HIS FRIEND,

THE AUTHOR.

PmiADElPHlA, April, 1870.

1*

COI^TEI^TS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

Introduction 13

CHAPTER II.
The Cave 19

CHAPTER III.

Location of the Cave. — Means of Approach, and Character
of the Surrounding Country. — The Indian Cave. — Mam-
moth Cave Hotel, etc 29

CHAPTER IV.
Atmosphere of the Cave 43

CHAPTER V.

The Formation of the Cave, and its Connection vsrith Green
River 48

CHAPTER VI.

THE LONG ROUTE.

The Entrance. — The Rotunda. — The Vats and Water-pipes
used by the Saltpetre Miners. — The Methodist Church.
— The Giant's CofiBn. — The Bottomless Pit. — Fat Man's
Misery. — Bacon Chamber. — River Styx, and Lake

Lethe 55

(vii)

VIU CONTENTS.

CHAPTER YI I.

V PAGE

Echo River 77

CHAPTER VIII.

The Eyeless Fishes of the Cave 84

CHAPTER IX.

Silliman's Avenue. — Rhoda's Arcade. — Lucy's Dome, and
Pass of El Ghor 103

CHAPTER X.

Martha's Vineyard. — Elindo Avenue. — The Holy Sepul-
chre.— Washington Hall 110

CHAPTER XL

Cleveland's Cabinet, and the Rocky Mountain . . . 117

CHAPTER XXL
The Maelstrom. — A Perilous Adventure .... 129

CHAPTER XIIL
The Rats, Insects, etc. of the Cave 136

CHAPTER XIV.
Homeward Bound 141

CHAPTER XV.

THE SHORT ROUTE.

Grorin's Dome. — Pensacola Avenue. — Sparks' Avenue, and
Mammoth Dome. — Roaring River. — Marion's Avenue,
and the Star Chamber 144

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER XVI.

PAGE

Proctor's Arcade. — Kinney's Arena. — Wright's Rotunda.
— Fairy Grotto. — The Chief City, and Great Crossings . 160

CHAPTER XVII.

Of Ancient Mummies found in the Cave . ^ . . 170

CHAPTER XVIIL

Instances of Persons becoming Lost in the Cave. — The
Proper Course to pursue in such Cases .... 195

CHAPTER XIX.

GOTHIC ARCADE.

The Register Room. — Gothic Chapel.-^Romantic Mar-
riage. — How the Stalactites and Stalagmites are
tormed. — Bonaparte's Breastworks. — The Devil's Arm-
Chair. — Elephant's Head. — Lover's Leap. — Gatewood's
Dining-Table. — Napoleon's Dome. — Lake Purity. — Re-
turn to Daylight 200

CHAPTER XX.
Sanitary Influences of the Cave 209

CHAPTER XXL
Parting Reflections 213

APPENDIX.

Diamond Cave 217

Proctor's Cave 222

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.

1. Gothic Cbapel ..... {Frontispiece)

2. Eotrance to Long Route 64

3. Deserted Chamber 65

4. Bottomless Pit and Bridge of Sighs .... 67

5. View from Bridge of Sighs C8

6. Scotchman's Trap ........ 69

7. Bacon Chamber . .71

8. Grape Clusters in Martha's Vineyard .... 110

9. Rosa's Bower 125

ID. Angelico's Grotto 149

11. The Altar, in Gothic Arcade 2u2

12. Devil's Arm-Chair 205

(xi)

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.

1. Gothic Chapel ..... [Frontispiece)

2. Entrance to Long Route ...... 64

.3. Deserted Chamber 65

4. Bottomless Pit and Bridge of Sighs .... 67

5. View from Bridge of Sighs 68

6. Scotchman's Trap 69

7. Bacon Chamber . .71

8. Grape Clusters in Martha's Vineyard .... 110

9. Rosa's Bower 125

lU. Angelico's Grotto 149

11. The Altar, in Gothic Arcade 2U2

12. Devil's Arm-Chair 205

(xi)

THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

It is our purpose to describe, from our own
observations made in the spring of 1867, and
from the observations of others, that grand and
weird cavern known as the Mammoth Cave of
Kentucky, — a wonder of its kind, unequaled in
America or in the world, — within whose sub-
lime portals travelers have confessed the most
profound awe at entrance, and the greatest rap-
ture when its glorious mysteries were made visi-
ble to them.

We did not make the visit with the view of
informing the public what was to be seen, but
simply for the purpose of gratifying our indi-
vidual curiosity.

Finding the object to be one of greater magni-
tude than was anticipated, it occurred to us, as an
after-thought, that a short sketch might interest
a friend at home. In executing this intention,

2 (13)

14 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

it was soon discovered that a surprisiqg number
of pages were required to give even a brief in-
telligible outline of the great cavern.

It was then suggested that the sketch which
had been commenced sliould be extended, and
published in book-form, that the information it
contained might be accessible to the general
public, instead of being restricted to one or two
friends, as at first designed. This suggestion,
though not consonant with our feelings when
first proposed, has, upon reflection, been adopted.

Desiring to obtain some profitable information
in advance of our visit to the Cave, we applied
successively to the principal booksellers in Bos-
ton, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
Cincinnati for the purchase of a descriptive
work, and were greatly surprised and disap-
pointed by the answer in each case, — that not
one of them had any publication on the sub-
ject, neither had they any knowledge of the
existence of such a work. This deficiency in
the book-market appeared to us extraordinary,
for it is presumable that all persons of any
education in this country, and many abroad,
have heard of the existence of the Cave, and
are aware that it is a curiosity of more than
ordinary importance; it is therefore a matter

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 15

of astonishment that no general account of it
can be obtained among the booksellers by those
who are desirous of information regarding its
wonders.

Upon arriving at the Cave we found a small
pamphlet for sale, entitled "A Guide Manual
to the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. By
Charles W. Wright, M.D., Professor of Chem-
istry in the Kentucky School of Medicine,
formerly Professor of Chemistry in the Medical
College of Ohio." Printed at Louisville, Ky.,
by Bradley & Gilbert, 1860.

This manual explains very satisfactorily the
chemical and mechanical causes which were
exerted in the formation of the Cave, and
briefly indicates all the chief points of interest
which should attract the notice of the visitor
in his explorations, and, we believe, is thor-
oughly reliable in all these particulars. Its
circulation, however, is limited to those who
visit the Cave, rarely coming before the general
reader ; and it is probable that the majority of
visitors, as in our case, have no opportunity of
examining and profiting by it until after their
departure, and tlien it is generally thrown aside
and forgotten.

Since our visit we have made every effort to

16 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

procure all that has been written on the subject,
with the hope of thus making our account as
complete as possible. We have, therefore, de-
layed its publication for nearly three years.

We have succeeded in obtaining four short
articles, chiefly scientific, in as many different
numbers of Silliman's "American Journal of
Science and Arts," written by Professors Lock,
Agassiz, Silliman, and Wyman, — the first dating
back as far as 1842 ; also a rather lengthy
description given by our great American trav-
eler. Bayard Taylor, who charmingly invests
every sketch of Nature's works touched by his
pen with the glowing light of romance, so
appropriate in this case.

We have also found a copy of a manual
called " Pictorial Guide to the Mammoth Cave,
Kentucky. By the Rev. Horace Martin." New
York : Stringer & Townsend, 1851 ; with ten
illustrations, pp. (including blanks for notes)
116, — long out of print. A brief article on
the Cave, in a book entitled " The Hundred
Wonders of the World," has recently been
brought to our notice ; also an article in
Collins's "History of Kentucky" (1847), and
a few pages in Dr. Boucher's work on the
Universe, etc., translated from the French,

THE MAMMOTH CAVE, 17

1870. The pamphlet of Dr. Binkerd ("The
Mammoth Cave and its Denizens : A Complete
Descriptive Guide. By A. D. Binkerd, M.D."
Cincinnati : Robert Clarke & Co., Printers,
1869. — Pamphlet, pp. 96) has appeared since
the greater part of the present work has been
in manuscript ; and in completing our materials
for the press we are unable to derive any assist-
ance from the work of Dr. Binkerd.

Several newspaper articles, worthy of but
little attention, have also come under our
notice.

At the eleventh hour, since our manuscript
was placed in the hands of the printers, we
have succeeded, through the kindness of Mr.
John R. Proctor, of Maysville, Ky., in procur-
ing a copy of a work entitled " Rambles in the
Mammoth Cave during the Year 1841. By a
Visitor." Louisville, Ky.: Morton & Griswold,
1845.

This list comprises all the works on the
subject that we have any knowledge of, with
the exception of one by Mr. Lee, Civil En-
gineer, published about the year 1840, said to
be of some value, but the most diligent search
on our part has proved unsuccessful in finding a

single copy.

2*

18 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

In preparing this history of the Mammoth
Cave, we make as much use as possible of the
materials just mentioned, collating their agree-
ments and disagreements with our own obser-
vations. We are chiefly indebted, however, to
the valuable Manual of Professor Wright for all
measurements and material facts, such as can
be acquired only by a protracted series of obser-
vations ; and we trust that this general an-
nouncement of the authorities that we draw
upon will serve us in many instances instead of
quotation-marks.

CHAPTER II.

THE CAVE.

In order that the reader may form, at the
outset, some idea of the general outline and
physical character of the Mammoth Cave, we
will ask him to imagine the channel of a large
and winding river, with tributaries at intervals,
some of them the size of the main stream,
emptying into the chief river, like, for instance,
the Missouri and Ohio joining the Mississippi;
these tributaries also receiving their support
from creeks, branches, and rivulets, some of
them quite small and extending but a short
distance, while others are much larger, longer,
and more beautiful. Now, it is easy to imagine
these rivers as being under ground, or having
a surface-covering of earth and rock, and that
their rugged channels and banks have ceased,
from some cause, to be bathed with the waters
which, in ages long past, flowed so freely along
them; in fact, that they are perfectly dry, except
in a few of the avenues.

(19)

20 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

By the aid of this illustration it may also be
comprehended why so much travel' is neces-
sary, as will be presently stated, to visit the
different parts of the Cave. We are obliged to
follow each tributary of the chief river to its
source, and to return by the same route to its
mouth, at the point of our departure; thus
duplicating the distances of all the rivers,
creeks, etc.

It is exceedingly difficult to obtain informa-
tion regarding the early history of the Cave,
simply from the fact that it was not explored to
any great extent for several years after its dis-
covery, and that the early explorers did not
regard it as a curiosity of sufficient importance
to call for the publication of any detailed ac-
count. It has been stated by Bayard Taylor,*
and others, that the discovery of the Cave
dated back as far as the year 1802 ; but we are
fortunate in possessing a highly interesting and
valuable letter from Mr. Frank Gorin, a former-
proprietor of the Cave, addressed to the author
some months after his visit, and, with permis-
sion, hereto appended in full, which fixes the
^date of the discovery in the year 1809. The

* At Home and Abroad : A Sketch-Book of Life, Sceneiy, and
Men. By Bayard Taylor. New York, G. P. Putnam & Son, 1867.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 21

letter contains several facts that will liere
anticipate their regular order, and will again
be adverted to : —

" Glasgow, Ky., Feb. 9, 1868.

" W. Stump Forwood, M.D
" Dear Sir :

" I am in receipt of yours of the 27th ultimo.
You desire all the information I can give re-
specting the date of the discovery, the early his-
tory, the operations of the saltpetre miners, etc.
of the Mammoth Cave.

"This part of Kentucky was peopled and
settled in the latter part of the eighteenth and
early part of the nineteenth century. The
Mammoth Cave is situated on the south side of
Green Eiver, and not far from its banks. It
was discovered in the year 1809, by a man
named Houchins, by running a bear into it.
The entrance was small, although there was a
large ^sink' at the mouth. This is not the
original mouth or entrance : the original mouth
is about one-fourth of a mile north, or north-
west, from the present entrance. It is a deep
hole, perhaps fifty feet across at the top, and was
doubtless the site, years, years ago, of one of
those large springs so often found near the
south bank of Green River. There is a spring

22 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

at the present entrance of the Cave ; the water,
no doubt, caused the falling of the roof, and
closed up at that place the channel leading
from the former mouth.

"Very few persons know of the original
'mouth,' as the Cave at its present mouth is
filled up with rocks, dirt, etc.

" When first discovered, the Cave was not
considered of much value. It sold, with about
two hundred acres of land, for. about forty
dollars.

" McLean, t believe, was the first person who
attempted to make saltpetre there, perhaps in
the year 1811. He sold to Gate wood, who en-
larged the works. He, in turn, sold to Gratz
& Wilkins (Gratz of Philadelphia, and Wilkins
of Lexington, Ky.) ; they, during the War of
1812, made large quantities of saltpetre, and
wagoned it principally to Philadelphia. Their
agent at the Cave was an Irish gentleman by
the name of Archibald Miller. The work
during the War of 1812 was mostly done by
negroes, some of them working in the Cave
without coming out for an entire year.* They

* This is singular, as they were rarely ever more than one
mile from the entrance. — W. S. F.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 23

came out healthy, and had a beautiful gloss,
with shining faces and skins.

"After the War of 1812-14 it was no longer
profitable to make saltpetre at the Cave, on
account of the importation of the East Indian
article in the Eastern market, at rates much
cheaper than it could be wagoned from the
Cave.

"When Messrs. Gratz & Wilkins ceased to
make saltpetre, after having acquired sixteen
hundred and ten acres of land over and around
the Cave, they continued their faithful, true,
and honest agent, Miller, to overlook and take
care of the property and to show the Cave to
the curious. About the year 1816, Mr. Miller
placed the Cave and other property in the
possession of his brother-in-law, Mr. Moore, and
his wife, hoth Irish, of the old stock. Mr. Moore
had been wealthy, and a large merchant in
Philadelphia. Unfortunately, he was seduced
into unlawful acts by Blennerhassett, the friend
of Burr, and was pecuniarily ruined. The
Moores left there some time afterward, when
Gatewood took possession, and showed the
Cave to all visitors for years; but it did not
pay, and he left.

"In 1837 I purchased the Cave and prop-

24 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

erty, when it was in a dilapidated state, and
placed Mrs. Moore there (Mr. M6ore having
previously died), together with Archibald Mil-
ler, her nephew, and son of the previous oc-
cupant of the same name, as my agents. They
were residing there when I sold the Cave and
property to Dr. John Crogan,* who continued
Mrs. Moore and Mr. Miller, Jr. in charge
during their lives. Dr. Crogan devised the
estate to Mr. Gwathmey and Judge J. R.
Underwood, for the use of eleven nephews
and nieces. Judge Underwood is the surviv-
ing trustee, and is now managing the estate.

" It was while I owned the property that a
nephew of mine, Mr. Charles F. Harvey (now a
merchant in Louisville, Ky.), was lost in the
Cave for thirty-nine hours. After he was
found, I determined to have further explora-
tions made. At that time no person had ever

* We remember having seen a statement in the newspapers,
years ago, to the efifect that Dr. Crogan, while visiting objects
of interest in Europe, was repeatedly asked for information
regarding the Mammoth Cave; and, as the result of the mor-
tification induced by his total ignorance of the subject, on his
return home he visited the curiosity, and purchased the prop-
erty, with the view of imparting more extended knowledge
of this great American wonder to his countrymen and to travel-
ers from other lands. — W. S. F.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 25

been beyond the ' Bottomless Pit.' We dis-
covered ' Gorin's Dome,' covering nearly an
acre of ground, and perhaps five hundred feet
high.*

" I placed a gaide in the Cave, — the celebrated
and great Stephen, — and he aided in making
the discoveries. He was the first person who
ever crossed the ' Bottomless Pit ;' and he, my-
self, and another person, whose name I have
forgotten, were the only persons ever at the
bottom of ' Gorin's Dome,' to my knowledge.

"After Stephen crossed the ' Bottomless Pit,'
we discovered all that part of the Cave now
known beyond that point. Previous to those
discoveries, all interest centered in what is
known as the ' Old Cave,' the chief points of
attraction being the ' Star Chamber,' the
' Cataract,' * The Chief City,' ' Robber's Cave,'
' Lover's Leap,' ' Bonaparte's Breastworks/
' Gatewood's Dining Table,' ' Black Chambers,'
' Grotto,' etc. etc.; but now many of these points
are but little known, although, as Stephen was

* Mr. Gorin, in a subsequent letter to the writer, states that
possibly this estimate of the dimensions of the Dome is too
great, as our own observations confirm ; but he believes that Dr.
Wright's estimate, which we will hereafter give, is much below
the actual measurements. — W. S. F.

26 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

wont to say, they were 'grand, gloomy, and
peculiar.'

" Many attempted descriptions of the Cave
have been published in the newspapers ; and
several pamphlet publications have been made ;
but I know of none now existing. Many of
the newspaper articles were utterly false.

" Stephen was a self-educated man ; he had
a fine genius, a great fund of wit and humor,
some little knowledge of Latin and Greek, and
much knowledge of geology ; but his great
talent was a perfect knowledge of man.*

" I have been compelled to write you this
letter in great haste, but you may rely upon
the facts as stated.

" Yours truly,

" F."^ GORIN."

* It has been said that Stephen was partly of Indian ex-
traction. In reply to a subsequent letter addressed to Mr.
Gorin, on this and other points, he remarks, " There was not
any Indian blood in Stephen's veins. I knew his reputed father,
who was a white man. I owned Stephen's mother and brother,
but not until after both of the children were born. Stephen was
certainly a very extraordinary boy and man. His talents were of
the first order. He was trustworthy and reliable ; he was com-
panionable ; he was a hero, and could be a clown. He knew a
gentleman or a lady as if by instinct. He learned whatever he
wished, without trouble or labor ; and it is said that a late pro-
fessor of geology spoke highly of his knowledge in that depart-
ment of science."

* THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 27

From data that we have obtained from
various sources, we learn that the " Bottomless
Pit" was not crossed, nor the great curiosities
beyond dreamed of, for about thirty years after
what is called the " Main Cave" had been
explored. Indeed, it is known that many
avenues, with their hidden treasures, have not
to the present day been trodden by mortal
footsteps. So much has already been explored
that curiosity appears to be satiated.

It is said that about one hundred and fifty
miles of travel is required to visit the parts of
the Cave that have already been traversed; and
we were informed by the guides that avenues
were known to them which would probably
increase the extent of travel to two hundred
miles.*

* Since the foregoing was penned, we have been informed by
the proprietor of the Cave Hotel, Mr. L. J. Proctor, in a letter
dated March 12, 1870, that " Two years ago three of the guides
at the Cave, Messrs. F. M. De Monbrum and Charles and A. Mer-
ideth, discovered a new avenue in the Mammoth Cave, branching
off from the Pass of El Ghor, just beyond Ole Bull's Concert
Room. They first entered a narrow crevice, through which they
passed some seventy yards, when they entered a large cave,
which they explored for many miles, and from which many
branching avenues led off, which they did not explore. They de-
scribe this newly-discovered avenue as extremely grand, and in
many places beautiful. They crossed a large, and as yet unex-

28

THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

plored, river, and found that the main avenue terminated in a
dome more extensive than any that they had ever seen. What was
beyond this dome they could not conjecture, as they were unable
to enter it from the avenue. They estimate that they traveled
eight miles in this one avenue. I have not seen it myself. The
explored portions of the Cave that I have visited constitute
within themselves an under-ground world ; and I am satisfied that I
have traveled from 150 to 200 miles in the different avenues, upon
the Long Route especially. There is a perfect wilderness of Cave
that is never seen or dreamed of by visitors generally, and many
parts more beautiful than those ordinarily seen by parties making
the Long Route. I refer particularly to Marion's Avenue, Ali-
da's Avenue, Murdock's Pass, and out Boone's Avenue and the
regions of Mystic River."

CHAPTER III.

LOCATION OF THE CAVE, MEANS OP APPROACH, AND CHAR-
ACTER OP THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY. — THE INDIAN
CAVE. — MAMMOTH CAVE HOTEL, ETC.

The Mammoth Cave is situated in Edmonson
County, in the southern part of Kentucky.

It is most readily approached from the North
by way of Louisville, by the Louisville & Nash-
ville Railroad, which has long since super-
seded the old stage-coaches. The distance from
Louisville is about ninety-five miles, or about
one-half the distance between that city and
Nashville.

The station at which passengers left the rail-
road at the time of our visit is called Cave City,
a point about ten miles from the Cave.

Visitors from the South come by way of Nash-
ville to the same point. The high-sounding
name of " City," as applied to this place, re-
minded us forcibly of the vest of the hero of
the comic song, which, he snid, —

.3* ( 29 )

30 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

" was big euough for two ;
But there is nothing strange in that,^
For the tailor saw, without a doubt,
I some day would grow fat !"

This "City" consists of about a dozen ordi-
nary-looking houses; but, possessing an ample
title in advance, it may be presumed that it will
some day grow large.

The hotel from which the stage-coach line
starts is small, but the traveler is very comfort-
ably entertained.*

We were conveyed from this "City" to the
Cave in coaches, the distance being, as before
stated, about ten miles, — by some estimated at
nine, and by others at eleven. •]-

The surface of the country over which this
road passes is high, hilly, rocky, and the soil of
an apparently poor quality. It is interesting to
note the surface-aj)pearance along the route, for
the reason that, for some distance, this road is

* Since the above was written, we regret to learn that this little
city was, on January 17, 1870, almost totally destroyed by a tor-
nado, during which several of the inhabitants lost their lives.

t We have recently noticed in the newspapers that, to the great
comfort and convenience of visitors, horse-cars have been substi-
tuted for the stage-coaches on the route from Cave City to the
Cave ; but our inquiries, addressed to parties in the neighborhood
for a confirmation of this report, have not yet (April 1, 1870)
been replied to.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 31

supposed to pass directly over a considerable
portion of the Cave. At the date of our journey
— the latter part of May — this road was* in a
comparatively good condition ; but in the winter
and early part of the spring it is said to be al-
most impassable to travelers. The greater part
of the soil is a light-colored, sticky clay, with
a little sand at intervals. The rocks are com-
posed chiefly of soft white limestone, easily
acted upon by chemical and mechanical agen-
cies; hence we find them excavated and jag-
ged, presenting rough, irregular outlines; their
outside color is of a dirty, grayish character,
owing to exposure to the elements, but the inte-
rior is white.

There are small cultivated patches of ground
here and there, scarcely deserving the name of
farms. The country generally is covered with
straggling forests, consisting chiefly of "black-
jack," white oak, chestnut, etc. Frequently
along the road may be seen small circular de-
pressions in the ground, called '' sinks," the
surface having fallen in in consequence of sub-
terraneous excavation. The whole of the sur-
rounding country appears to be of a cavernous
nature ; and, if the traveler should be so unfor-
tunate as to possess a timid disposition or large

32 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

development of caution, he might be .apprehen-
sive of a sudden disappearance of the stage-
coach into the bowels of the earth.

There are several caves in this vicinity,
— namely, Proctor's Cave, aboul: three miles in
length ; White's Cave, Diamond Cave, and the
Indian Cave, each of which is about one mile
in length.

The Indian Cave opens directly on the stage-
route ; and, as the coaches halt sufficiently long
to give visitors an opportunity of examining it,
we embraced the occasion for preparing our
senses, in this minor cave, for witnessing the
stupendous curiosities yet in store for us. An
exceedingly loquacious young man acted as our
guide. He stated that he discovered the Cave
himself, six years previously, and was joint
proprietor with his father, who lived near by.

The ingress to this Cave is quite difficult.
The descent from the road to the mouth of the
Cave is almost perpendicular, and the distance
is about one hundred feet. The mouth itself
consists of a circular passage about three feet in
diameter, and eight feet deep. The descent is
made at this point by the aid of rude wooden
steps. In answer to an inquiry why greater
conveniences for entrance were not provided, we

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 66

received the unsatisfactory reply that he did not
wish to disturb the original appearances of nature.

Upon reaching the foot of the ladder, we
found ourselves in an open space, somewhat
higher than a man's head, and about ten or
fifteen feet wide.

This cave apparently extends in nearly a
direct line. We say apparently, for it is impos-
sible for an individual who enters a dark hole
under ground, for the first time, to form a cor-
rect idea of direction or distance.

The length of this cave, as before remarked,
is about one mile. The floor being compara-
tively smooth, and nearly level, there was but
little fatigue attending the exploration.

There is a considerable number of very hand-
/some stalactites and stalagmites to be seen in
this Cave, the beauty of which will fully repay
\lhe visitor for the time thus occupied.
y^ne of the chief curiosities of the Indian
(Cave is the Pool of Bethesda. It is a fountain
of pure, limpid water, about four feet in diameter,
and nearly circular in form, and is mantled
around with delicate, coral-like formation stalag-
mites, giving it the appearance of a rustic work
of art. We partook freely of the water, and
found it agreeable to the palate.

34 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

Another point of interest is Aline's Dome,
said to be named for Miss Aline Dii Pont, who,
we were told, was the first lady-visitor to this
Cave. This dome is not of large proportions,
but displays more than ordinary beauty, being
surrounded by what is known as Elphies's group
of stalactites.

There are several other parts of the Cave
having fanciful names, possessing more or less
interest, but they did not impress us sufficiently
to be remembered.

We inquired of our guide why the name
"Indian" had been applied to the Cave. He
stated that the name was suggested by the fact
that, upon his first entrance within the Cave,
he discovered several Indian skeletons. Upon
manifesting our curiosity to see them, he in-
formed us that, in consequence of the bones
having, on different occasions, been sacrilegiously
handled by some of the visitors, — even to carry-
ing them out and leaving them exposed upon
the ground, — he considered it his Christian duty
to deposit them in a place where they would
escape further desecration ; he then pointed out
to us a deep pit in the Cave, into the invisible
depths of which he had thrown them. Visitors
may take this explanation as fact or fancy.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 35

according to the amount of credulity they pos-
sess : in either case, their interest in the Cave
need not be lessened.

We re-entered the coaches, and, after a ride of
about five miles, reached the Mammoth Cave
Hotel, about five o'clock in the afternoon. An
exceedingly disagreeable, drizzling rain was fall-
ing ; and although we were in the southern part
of Kentucky, in the latter half of May, we
found the atmosphere so chilly as to require the
use of fires in our rooms.

For the benefit of the Cave visitors of the
present day, it is proper to add, in this place,
that we have recently (1870) received a com-
munication from Mr. Proctor, of the Cave
Hotel, in which he states that Glasgow Junc-
tion, as a stopping-place, on the Louisville &
Nashville Railroad, for parties visiting the
Cave, has various advantages over Cave City :
first, it is about three miles nearer the Cave
(being but seven miles distant) ; second, an
excellent stage-road has been recently made
between the points ; and, third, immediately
upon this route lie the Diamond and Proctor
Caves, both of which are exceedingly beautiful
and interesting.

With the view of gaining time, some of our

36 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

party were anxious to enter the vCave on the
night of our arrival, — thinking that it was a
matter of little consequence whether it was day
or night on the outside, knowing that perpetual
night reigned within. It was soon ascertained,
however, that parties were not permitted to
enter except at stated hours, — at nine and at
half-past nine o'clock in the morning, — accord-
ing to the route taken. This system was ex-
plained as being necessary for the benefit of the
guides, and for the proper regulation of the
hotel arransjements.

A guide who had been journeying through
the Cave all the day of course would not feel
willing to continue his travels through the night
also. Physical exhaustion, if no other consider-
ation, would render such a procedure imprac-
ticable. Our own experience afterward enabled
us to appreciate the force of the latter argument.
An additional number of guides, undoubtedly,
might be kept, but their services would be so
rarely required that the proprietors do not feel
justified in incurring the extra expense.

This delay gave us an opportunity of taking
a survey of the premises.

The Cave Hotel is large and commodious.
It is built in the Southern style, with wide

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 37

verandas, is amply ventilated, and is said to
be capable of accommodating between four and
five hundred guests at a time. The rooms are
of sufficient size, and are very well furnished.
The table is really deserving of praise, for it is
supplied with the best quality of excellently-
cooked food, and is accommodatingly attended
by experienced negro waiters. A large ball-
room is united with the hotel,' and is fitted up
with all the conveniences required by those who
pay court at the shrine of Terpsichore. Con-
nected with the main building, and running at
right angles with its front, is a long row of cot-
tages, with a -continuous veranda, extending at
least three hundred feet.

In speaking upon this point, Bayard Taylor
remarks, " The main body of the hotel, with
this wing, furnishes at least six hundred feet
of portico, forming one of the most delightful
promenades imaginable for summer weather."

About one hundred yards beyond the ex-
treme end of the cottages, well shaded by forest
trees, may be seen the remains of a tenpin-
alley building. This went down during the
war; and, as the proprietors suffered so severely
from the entire loss of business during those four
or five gloomy years, it has not yet been rebuilt.

4

38 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

Other marks of dilapidation are also apparent,
from the same cause; but as the return-tide of
visitors Segins to flow, with its attendant pros-
perity, evidences of restoration are visible.

The building and the surrounding grounds
are in marked contrast with those seen by the
way from Cave City. The visitor is surprised
to find in this uncultivated "backwoods" such
a large and cheerful-looking dwelling and so
handsome a lawn. The lawn comprises about
two acres of ground, is laid out with gravel
walks, and is tastefully ornamented with cedar
and other trees.

There* are not many summer resorts where
an individual or a family can pass a few weeks
more pleasantly or more profitably than at the
Mammoth Cave Hotel. Here are to be found
all the advantages of a first-class watering-place
hotel, with the addition of fine country scenery,
and daily opportunities of observing Nature's
great subterranean wonder.

In the yard, immediately in front of the main
building, stands a very curious-looking sand-
stone rock, about three and a half feet square.
One side of the rock has a regular surface which
is covered with perforations similar in size and
shape (though more widely separated) to the

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 39

openings in the ordinary cane-seated chair, about
half an inch in depth, and arranged in regular
lines. This rock, we are informed, was exca-
vated near the Cave about twenty years ago.
No explanation was offered as to the probable
cause of the perforations, but we were left to
infer, from their perfect regularity, that they
were produced by human agency. Perhaps some
rude Indian artist, hundreds of years ago, is
entitled to the credit of exciting our curiosity
at the present day.

We learned at the hotel that the Mammoth
Cave and the Cave Hotel belonged jointly to
nine or ten parties, to whom it had been devised
by its former proprietor. Dr. Crogan, for a period
of ninety-nine years. Only about twenty-five
years of the time have yet expired.

It seems to be regarded by the public as an
unfortunate disposition of the property, that so
many parties should be concerned in the owner-
ship. Owing to their diverse views, the Cave
travel is not so easy nor so agreeable to visitors
as it might be made with trifling expenditure.
It is said that some of the proprietors are
anxious to do one thing, some another, and
some nothing. Being unable to agree, nothing
is done; and visitors are compelled to undergo

40 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

much rough and fatiguing travel within the
Cave, over loose rocks, etc., which might be ren-
dered, at small expense, comparatively smooth.
Hand-cars might be introduced and easily made
available over more than half the Long Route,
stopping as frequently as the curiosity of the
visitor might require in making his observa-
tions.

Green River, with its towering cliffs, is but a
few hundred yards from the hotel.

Bayard Taylor, upon first beholding this beau-
tiful river, at the time of his visit to the Cave,
sixteen years ago, was struck by the appropri-
ateness of the lines of Bryant, which were
applied, strange to say, to another river of the
same name :

"Yet, fair as thou art, thou shunnest to glide,
Beautiful stream ! by the village side,
But windest away from haunts of men,
To silent valley and shaded glen."

It has been conclusively proven, by careful
observations, that the rivers of the Cave have a
subterraneous communication with Green River.

The entrance of the Cave is about one-fourth
of a mile from the hotel, and is reached by pass-
ing down a wild, rocky ravine through a dense
forest, — a fitting avenue to the hidden world.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 41

The opening surrounding the mouth of the
Cave is irregularly funnel-shaped ; the walls
being steep, and forty or fifty feet in height,
and between fifty and one hundred feet across
the top of the funnel.

"Trees," says Taylor, "grow around the edges
of the pit, almost roofing it with shade ; ferns
and tangled vines fringe its sides; and a slender
stream of water falls from the rocks which arch
above the entrance, dropping like a silver veil
before the mysterious darkness beyond."

At nearly all seasons a mist or fog may be
seen hanging over the mouth of the Cave.

When the.external air is warmer than that of
the Cave, the mist is produced by the condensa-
tion of the moisture of the former by the
reduced temperature of the latter. On the
contrary, if the temperature of the external
atmosphere is lower than that of the Cave, the
moisture of the air of the latter is condensed in
a similar manner.

When the temperature of the outer air is the
same as that of the Cave, no fog or cloud is
observable about its mouth.

The entrance of the Mammoth Cave, at an
early period of its history, as has already been
stated by Mr. Gorin, was situated about half a

4*

42 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

mile from its present location, constituting what
is now called Dickson's Cave.

This Cave terminates within a few feet of the
mouth of Mammoth Cave, but there is at present
no direct communication between the two.
The voice of a person at the end of Dickson's
Cave can be distinctly heard at the entrance of
Mammoth Cave.

The present entrance to Mammoth Cave was
formed, and its communication with Dickson's
Cave cut off, by the disintegrating action of the
water of the spring, which discharges its , con-
tents at the mouth of the former, and caused the
Cave to fail in at this point, — thus establishing
a new entrance, and shortening the length of
the Cave about half a mile. This is also the
theory put forth by Dr. Wright, and there seems
to be no reason for questioning its correctness.

Dickson's Cave differs but little in size and
appearance from Proctor's Arcade in the Mam-
moth Cave.

CHAPTER IV.

ATMOSPHERE OF THE CAVE.

As the circulation of the air, its temperature,
purity, etc., in the Cave, are subjects upon which
we are frequently interrogated, and which pos-
sess great interest to all anticipating a visit, we
proceed to give the explanation of these points
in the words of Dr. Wright, who thus treats
of what he very properly terms the respiration
of the cave. «

The Mammoth Cave breathes once a year.
That is to say, in summer, or when the tempera-
ture of the external air is above that of the
Cave, the current sets from the latter to the
former. In other words, the Cave is the entire
summer in making an expiration. On the other
hand, when the order is reversed, or the tem-
perature of the outer atmosphere is below fifty-
nine degrees, the Cave makes an inspiration,
or draws in its breath, which it accomplishes
during the winter. The respiratory mechanism
of the Cave ceases to operate — or, to carry out

(43)

44 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

the metaphor, it holds its breath-r-when the
mercury in the thermometer stands at fifty-nine
degrees in the outer air, which is the average
temperature of all parts of the cave, winter and
summer. Hence it is frequently observed, in
the spring and fall, that there is no motion of
the air in either direction at the mouth of the
Cave.

On entering the Cave a few hundred yards in
summer, when the temperature outside is at or
near one hundred degrees, the air rushes out
with such force as frequently to extinguish the
lamps. Passing into the Cave for about half a
mile, however, the motion of the air is barely
perceptible at any. time, from the fact that the
main avenue enlarges so rapidly that it plays
the part of a reservoir, where a current of air,
from any direction, is speedily neutralized. If
the current of air blows from without inward,
and is below fifty-nine degrees, it does not pass
more than a quarter of a mile before it is
brought up to that point. Air above the
average temperature of the Cave never blows
' into it.

.Thus it will be observed that a change of
seasons is unknown in the Mammoth Cave ;
and day and night, morning and evening, have

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 45

no existence in this subterranean world. In
fact, there is an eternal sameness here, which is
without a parallel.

In many parts of the Cave, time itself is not
an element of change; for where there is no
variation of the temperature, no water, and no
light, the three great forces of geological trans-
formation cease to operate.

The atmosphere of the Cave, contrary to
what might be generally supposed, is remark-
ably pure and wholesome.

The proportions of oxygen and nitrogen bear
the same relation to each other in the Mam-
moth Cave that they do in the external air.
The proportion of carbonic acid gas is less than
that observed in the atmosphere in the sur-
rounding country, upon an average of many
observations. This noxious gas is one of the
necessary constituents of vegetable existence ;
and, as there is no vegetable life within the
Cave, its comparative absence is a natural in-
ference.

In the dry parts of the Cave the proportion
of carbonic acid is said to be about 2 to 10,000
of air ; in the vicinity of the rivers, something
less. Not a trace of ammonia can be detected
in those parts of the Cave not commonly visited.

46 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

The amount of the vapor of water varies. Thus,
in those avenues at a great distance from the
rivers, upon the walls and floors of which there
is a deposit of the nitrate of lime, the air is
almost entirely destitute of moisture, from the
hygroscopic properties of that salt ; and animal
matter mummifies instead of undergoing putre-
factive decomposition. For the same reason, no
matter what state of division the disintegrated
rock may attain, dust never rises. In portions of
the Cave remote from the localities in which the
bats hibernate, no organic matter can be recog-
nized by the most delicate tests. Not a trace of
ozone can be detected by the most sensitive re-
agents.

From what has been stated, it will be ob-
served that the atmosphere of the Mammoth
Cave is freer from those substances which are
calculated to exert a depressing and septic in-
fluence on the animal economy than that of any
other locality on the globe. This great differ-
ence is observed by every one on leaving the
Cave, after having remained in it for a number
of hours.

In such instances, the impurity of the external
air is almost insufferably offensive to the sense of
smell, and the romance of a "pure country air"
is forever dissipated.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 47

The only instance that history (possibly ro-
mance) records, so for as is known to the writer,
in which these disagreeable effects of the ordi-
nary atmosphere were markedly produced, wa3
in the case of the unhappy Caspar Hauser, who
was confined in a subterranean dungeon at Nu-
remberg from infancy to adult age. When he
was finally brought upon the surface of the
earth, his life was rendered miserable by the
insufferable odors that constantly impressed his
olfactory nerves. The smell of flowers, that to
others were sweet, was so intensified in his case
as to be exceedingly disagreeable. He was
unable to pass a grave-yard, where others could
detect no odor whatever, without fainting from
the painful impression received through the
sense of smell. This shows that, to appreciate
" country air," our senses must be adapted to it
by constant contact.

CHAPTER V.

THE FORMATION OF THE CAVE, AND ITS CONNECTION WITH
GREEN RIVER.

Before entering the Cave, it will be proper
for us to consider the agencies concerned in its
formation. These may be divided into chemical
and mechanical. We strictly follow the words
of Dr. Wright in these explanations, knowing
that his education in this particular, and his op-
portunities for observation, eminently qualify
him for giving correct views on the subject.

Of the chemical agencies, which were un-
doubtedly the most remarkable and important,
he says, " There can be no doubt but that the
solvent action of water holding carbonic acid in
solution was the primary agency concerned in
the formation of the Cave. Thus the limestone,
or carbonate of lime, which constitutes the strata
of rock through which the Cave runs, is not sol-
uble in water until it combines with an addi-
tional proportion of carbonic acid, by which it is
transformed into the bicarbonate of lime. In thi.s
( 48 )

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 49

way the process of excavation was conducted,
until communications were established with run-
ning water, Jby which the mechanical agency of
that fluid was made to assist the chemical. The
little niches and recesses which are observed in
various parts of the Cave, and which seem to
have been chiseled out and 'polished by artificial
means, were formed in this manner ; for when
these points are closely examined, a crevice will
be observed at the top or back of them, through
which water issued at the time of their forma-
tion, but which has been partially closed by crys-
tals of carbonate of lime or gypsum. At the
time these niches were forming, water flowed
through the avenues in which they are found.
Examples of the action we have been describing
may be seen in Sparks' Avenue, leading to the
Mammoth Dome.

"The grooves which are observed in rock over
which water is or has been flowing are also
formed by the solvent action of water contain-
ing carbonic acid ; for in all such instances the
water has no solid matter in suspension. Ex-^
amples of this kind of action may be seen in
operation in Mammoth and Gorin's Domes ; and
evidences of its former action may be observed
in Lucy's Dome. What are termed the ' pigeon-

5

50 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

holes' in the Main Cave are cut out^of the solid
rock in the same manner.

"Another agency which contributes in part to
change the appearance of the Cave is the efflo-
rescence of the sulphate of soda, or glauber-salts,
and the crystallization of sulphate of lime, or
plaster of Paris.

"The sulphate of lime, which is known under
the names of gypsum, plaster of Paris, selenite,
alabaster, etc., exerts a much greater influence
in disintegrating rock than the sulphate of soda.
The avenues in which gypsum occurs are per-
fectly dry, differing in that respect from those
that contain stalactites. When rosettes of ala-
baster are formed in the same avenue with sta-
lactites, the water which formed the latter has
for ages ceased to flow, or they are situated far
apart, as the former cannot form in a damp at-
mosphere. The force exerted by gypsum in the
act of crystallizing is about equal to that of water
when freezing, and when it crystallizes between
ledges of rock, they are fractured in every direc-
tion, as instanced in Pensacola Avenue and
Rhoda's Arcade.

" The formation of nitre is due, in part, to the
decomposition of bats and other animals ; but it
must not be forgotten that limestone rocks are

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 51

never entirely destitute of nitrifiable matter.
The nitric acid which enters into its composition
may, in some measure, be derived from the at-
mosphere. The kind of nitre that is found in
the Cave is the nitrate of lime, which, when re-
acted upon by the carbonate of potash, is trans-
formed into the nitrate of potash, or common
saltpetre. This was the course pursued by the
saltpetre miners when that substance was manu-
factured in the Cave in 1812-14. The nitrate of
lime is found in the dryer parts of the Cave,
but is not discoverable till the earth which con-
tains it is lixiviated.

" The mechanical agencies concerned in the
excavation of the Mammoth Cave are trifling
when compared with the chemical. They are
instanced in the transportation of gravel, sand,
and clay from one part of the Cave to another,
and in the abraded appearances presented by
the rock composing certain avenues. Thus, it is
possible to tell the direction in which the water
ran in most of the avenues, and the rapidity of
its motion, by observing the points at which
gravel, sand, and clay are deposited, and the
order in which they come. For example, the
points at which gravel is deposited indicate a
rapid current; where sand is found, the move-

52 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

ment was slower; and where clay occurs, the
water was almost or quite stationary.

"At one time the water rushed with great force
through Fat Man's Misery, for in Great Relief,
which is just beyond, washed gravel occurs ;
still farther, sand is found, which is succeeded
by clay : showing that the current was in the
direction of Echo River, Before the mechanical
agency could have exerted any appreciable influ-
ence, the chemical must have been in operation
for thousands of ages.

"The loose rocks that are scattered on the
floors of many of the avenues have fallen from
the walls and ceiling, but in many instances the
points from which they were detached are indis-
tinct, from the fact that the rugged surface from
which they have fallen is either smoothed by
the action of water, or covered by crystals of
the carbonate or sulphate of lime.

"In those parts of the Cave where no rocks
have fallen, the floor presents the appearance of
the bed of a river, and is covered with gravel,
sand, or clay, according to the rapidity of th6
flow of the water at the time of the deposit.

" Visitors need feel no apprehension or alarm
in reference to falling rocks, for none have fallen
since the discovery of the Cave."

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 53

It may be well in this place to refer to the
interesting relation subsisting between Mam-
moth Cave and Green River. There can be no
.doubt that Green River has cut out the bed or
channel through which it runs ; for on ascend-
ing its banks on either side for a distance of not
less than three hundred feet, a plain is reached,
which is not succeeded by a valley ; establishing
conclusively that it has worn its bed to its pres-
ent level by the mechanical and chemical
agency of water, and that the avenues of the
Cave were cut through with nearly equal pace, —
those near the surface of the earth being formed
first, and the others in regular order from above
downward ; the avenues through which Echo
and Roaring Rivers run being the lowest and
last formed. Both of these rivers are on a level
with Green River, with which there is, as before
stated, a subterraneous communication. As
Green River continues to deepen the valley
through which it passes, the avenues of the
Cave will continue to descend, until the springs
which supply Echo and Roaring Rivers cease to
flow, when the avenues through which they run
will become as dry as Marion's Avenue, which,
at an early period in the history of the Cave, con-

5*

fc

54 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

tained the most beautiful subterranean river in
the world.

With these preliminary details, which we con-
sider essential to a proper understanding or an
intelligent appreciation of the curiosities of the
Cave, we will proceed to conduct the reader
within its portals.

CHAPTER VI.

THE LONG ROUTE.

The Entrance. — The Rotunda. — The Vats and Water-pipes
used by the Saltpetre Miners. — The Methodist Church. — The
Giant's Coffin.— The Bottomless Pit.— Fat Man's Misery. —
Bacon Chamber. — River Styx and Lake Lethe.

On the morning succeeding our arrival at the
Cave Hotel, our party, consisting of fifteen per-
sons, seven of the number being ladies, fully
equipped in Cave costume,* left the house at
nine o'clock precisely, to explore what is known
as the " Long Route," which terminates at the
Maelstrom.

Our party being large, and one or two of the

* For the information of the uninitiated, we will explain that
the costumes referred to are kept at the hotel for the use of the
visitors. It is necessary for its greater convenience in threading
narrow passages, and for the equally important object of pre-
serving from damage more expensive clothing. Ladies are pro-
vided with short dresses of stout material, generally of fancy and
picturesque colors, without the addition of crinoline. Gentlemen
have short woolen jackets, caps, and " over-alls." Many jocular
remarks are usually made by parties, thus oddly attired, at each
other's expense.

(55)

56 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

number being in somewhat feeble health from
recent indisposition, we deemed it prudent to
employ two guides to accompany us, so that one
of them might return from any point with such
parties as might become either unable or unwill-
ing to proceed, while the other could conduct
those who wished to continue the journey.
This proved to be a wise precaution, as one or
two of the ladies became too much fatigued to
be able to complete more than about two-thirds
of the route.

The present guides at the Cave are white
men ; and the chief one in charge of our party,
Mr. Charles Merideth, is a man of considerable
intelligence, is well versed in all matters pertain-
ing to the Cave, and, in common with the other
guides, is fully qualified for the performance c£
the duties of his important oflBce.

The guidance through the Cave was formerly
under the charge of colored men. Several of
them — Stephen, Alfred, and Mat — attained great
celebrity in this capacity; and all former visitors
remember these names as a part of their Cave
experiences.

Stephen, who was particularly famed for his
qualifications in this respect, as has been seen in
Mr. Gorin's remarks, after a long and honorable

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 57

career in exhibiting and explaining the curi-
osities of the Cave, with which his name has
become identified, to thousands of delighted
visitor's, departed this life about eleven years
ago.

Alfred is also dead. " Old Mat," as he is
familiarly called, who has trodden the dark and
mysterious paths of the Cave for more than
thirty years, still lives, and may be seen about
the hotel, but is no longer . on duty, yet he
thinks he is quite as capable of exhibiting the
Cave now as he ever was, and believes that he
possesses more knowledge regarding it than any
one else.

From the hotel we passed down the deep
ravine through the native forest, before men-
tioned, along the rugged pathway. The pre-
cipitous and rocky character of the path,
however, was not particularly observed until
our return at night. We then began to wonder
if some freak of nature had not occurred in our
absence to cause the picturesque and rather
easy-graded path of the morning to present a
nearly perpendicular front, every small stone
that lay in the way to attain the proportions of
an insurmountable rock, and the fourth of a mile
that we had passed so easily and so pleasantly

58 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

in the morning to be lengthened out to at least
three times that distance ! Then we were ready
to exclaim, " 0, for a horse !"

Upon reaching the entrance, which we (Jo by
descending the steep bank leading to it by
means of rough stone steps, the guides im-
mediately proceed to light the lamps, which
are kept within the mouth of the Cave for the
use of visitors.

Proceeding a few steps, each with lamp in
hand, we plunged into almost total darkness,
our aids to sight appearing to afford but little
light to our unaccustomed eyes. We were
ready to despair of ever getting a view of the
beauties of the Cave with such limited means
of illumination. But in a few moments, our
pupils having had time to expand, and adapt
themselves to the sudden change from light
to darkness, we were gratified to discover that
we could obtain a very satisfactory view of the
dark interior.

Upon entering the Cave for the first time, we
feel the force of the words of Dante :

" Who enters here leaves hope behind."

This is literally true, but not, however, in the
terrible sense implied by the poet. We not

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 59

only leave hope, but we leave care and sorrow
and all the feelings that make up the sum of
our mundane existence, in the world behind us.
We really enter a new phase of life. We
forget, for a time, the life we have lived before.
Here we find no objects of comparison, — nothing
to remind us of our pre-existence. It is worth
a visit to the Cave to experience these new and
extraordinary sensations.

We first enter a small archway at the mouth
of the Cave, called the Narrows. The sides are
walled up with rock, which the saltpetre manu-
facturers removed from the floor at this point to
allow of easy ingress.

After leaving the Narrows, the ceiling of which
is about seven feet high, and which does not pos-
sess any special interest, the Rotunda is entered.

The Rotunda is said to be situated immedi-
ately under the dining-room of the Cave Hotel.
The ceiling of the Rotunda is about one hun-
dred feet high, and its greatest diameter is one
hundred and seventy-five feet.

The floor is strewn with the remains of vats,
water-pipes, and other materials used by the
'saltpetre miners in 1812. The wood of which
they are made is in a remarkable state of pres-
ervation.

60 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

To the right of the Rotunda, Audubon's Ave-
nue leads off for about half a mile, to a collec-
tion of stalactites. During the winter, millions
of bats hibernate in this avenue. At the en-
trance of Audubon's Avenue several small cot-
tages, which were built for the residence of per-
sons afflicted with consumption, are still to be
seen.

On leaving the Rotunda and passing the huge
overhanging cliffs to the left, which are called
the Kentucky River Cliffs, from their close re-
semblance to the cliffs of that river, the Meth-
odist Church is entered. This apartment is
eighty feet in diameter, by about forty in height.
Here, we are told, from the gallery or pulpit,
which consists of a ledge of rocks twenty-five
feet in height, the Gospel was expounded more
than fifty years ago. The logs used as benches
occupy the same position which they did when
first placed in the church.

It is customary for visitors to leave their
shawls or overcoats, if required outside, tit this
point, there being no variation of temperature
beyond.

Next in order is " Wandering Willie's Spring,"
a beautifully-fluted niche in the left-hand wall,
caused by the continual attrition of water trick-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 61

ling down into a basin below. This spring is
said to have derived its name from an eccentric
young country violinist, who, in the spirit of ro-
mance, assumed the name of Wandering Willie.
He became separated from his companions while
within the Cave, had his lamp extinguished, and
was found lying asleep beside the spring. This
spring is about half a mile from the entrance of
the Cave

We pass the Gothic Galleries, which lead to
Gothic Avenue, of which we shall have occasion
to speak hereafter, and the Grand Arch is en-
tered, which leads to the Giant's Cofhn. This
arch is about fifty feet high and sixty wide.

The Standing Rocks are found to the left of
the path ; they are many tons in weight, and
have evidently fallen from above, standing with
the base upwards, extending eight or ten feet
above the floor. They maintain their upright
position from the fact that the earth was pene-
trated in the fall while in a soft state.. The
avenue, however, has been perfectly dry since
its first discovery.

A short distance beyond, on the right, the
guide bids us stop, and asks what we see before
us. We"" hold up our lamps, and all cry out
simultaneously, in an awe-struck tone, "A cof-

6

62 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

fin !" We are then informed that we behold
the Giant's Coffin. This immense sarcophagus
is a huge rock, forty feet long, twenty wide, and
eight in depth, and, at the point from which it is
viewed, presents a striking resemblance to a
coffin. It has been detached from the side of
the avenue against which it rests.

On the ceiling, a little to the left of the Giant's
Coffin, and looking into the Deserted Chamber,
is the figure of an ant-eater. It is composed
of the efflorescence of black gypsum, and rests
upon a background of w^hite limestone. Bayard
.Taylor, W'hose extensive travels enable him to
speak authoritatively, says that the resemblance
of the figure to the animal after which it is
named is very perfect.

A short distance beyond the Giant's Coffin, in
the Main Cave, after passing w^iat is called the
Acute Angle, a group of figures is observed on
the ceiling, termed the Giant, Wife, and Child.
These, figures are in a sitting posture, and the
Giant appears to be in the act of passing the
Child to the Giantess. They are also composed
of black gypsum, which rests on a white back-
ground.

Still farther on, the figure of a colosfeal mam-
moth may be seen on the ceiling.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 63

From the Giant's Coffin to the mouth of the
Cave, wheel-tracks, and the impressions of the
feet of the oxen used to cart tiie saltpetre,
made over fifty years ago, may be distinctly
seen. The earth, at the time that these im-
pressions were made, was in a moist condition,
having ^recently undergone the process of lixi-
viation in the manufacture of saltpetre, and,
upon drying, attained an almost stony soli-
dity. These tracks are on the immediate route
of travel, and have been walked over by
thousands of visitors during a' period of sixty
years. Yet the cleft foot of the ox, and the
regular indentations of the cart-wheel, can be
plainly distinguished in the petrified earth.
At one point we were shown where the oxen
were fed ; and, by the aid of a stick, we suc-
ceeded in digging out of the dry earth two or
three impacted corn-cobs, in a good, state of
preservation ; and we are perfectly satisfied that
they had not been placed there for purposes
of deception, as has been suggested by some
parties.

We were puzzled, at first, to understand
how the oxen and carts could be got into the
Cave, — the descent to the entrance being so
precipitous and the mouth so contracted. The

64 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

guide suggested that the oxen were introduced
separately, and the carts in piecemea4.

On the route from the Acute Angle to the
Star Chamber, several stone cottages, formerly
inhabited by the invalids already mentioned,
are still standing, — gloomy monuments of their
departed occu23ants. One of these cottages is
used as a card-room, where hundreds of private
and business cards may be found.

We are now upon what is known as the Long
Route, and we leave the Main Cave at the foot
of the Giant's Coffin,

One by one we pass into a crevice behind the
Coffin, at the bottom whereof yawns a narrow
hole. Half stooping, half crawling, we descend
through an irregular, contracted passage to a
basement hall called the Deserted Chamber.

The Deserted Chamber is a gloomy, aban-
doned-looking hall, and is fully entitled to the
name given it. This is the point at which the
water left the Main Cave to reach Echo River,
after it had ceased to flow out of the mouth
of the former into Green River. In other re-
spects it is not of particular interest.

The two illustrations which accompany this
part of our text — "Entrance to the Long
Route," and the " Deserted Chamber" — give the

E:NTIIA^CE TO"LONG-IIOUTE'

DESERTED CHA:MBER

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 65

reader a very correct idea of the singularly wild
and extraordinary surroundings in this part of
the Cave.* The entrance to the Long Route is
effected, as has been already stated, through the
narrow passage around the far end of the Giant's
Coffin. The guide is seen just entering the
contracted avenue. The next view represents
the guide as having accomplished the passage
upon which we saw liim entering, and as having
reached the dreary-looking " Deserted Chamber."
He carries upon his arm the basket of provisions
for dinner. This chamber is about one hundred
feet in length, but the ceiling, as may be seen,
is quite low.

An apartment known as the Wooden Bowl
Cave is next entered. It derives its name from
the tradition that a wooden bowl, such as was
formerly used by the Indians, was found ' in it

* Our lithographic plates are copied from 'pliotograiihs, to
the perfect accuracy of which we can testify. Forty-two stereo-
scopic views, taken within and about the Cave, have been pub-
lished. The interior views were obtained by the aid of the
magnesium light, the most intense artificial light that has yet
been produced. This set of views, which we recommend to
the attentipa of our readers, constitutes a novel and most tri-
umphant application of the photographic art, and materially aids
in the comprehension of our language as we treat upon tlie-so
unique curiosities. They are published by Messrs. Anthony &
•>.'o., of New York.

G*

66 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

when it was first discovered. The chamber
itself is shaped like an inverted bowj, which fact
may have suggested the name.

It is said that the Indians formerly explored
the Cave with long reeds, filled with deer's fat,
to light them along.

Black Snake Avenue, which enters the Main
Cave near the stone cottages, communicates with
Wooden Bowl Cave. It receives its name from
its serpentine course and black walls. It is
rarely shown to visitors, as it possesses but few
objects of interest.

We next pass a steep declivity and a flight of
steps, called the Steps of Time, and enter Mar-
tha's Palace. The Palace is about forty feet in
height, and sixty in diameter. It is not partic-
ularly attractive, and it appears singular that it
should have been accorded so grand a name.
A short distance beyond Martha's Palace is a
spring of clear, potable water, which visitors
generally take advantage of to quench their
thirst, as there is a considerable distance, in
some parts of the Cave, between the fountains
of good drinking-water.

The Side-Saddle Pit, over which rests a dome
sixty feet in height, is reached by passing
through what is called the Arxjhed Way; the

BOTTOMLESS PIT AND BKTOGE OF SIGHS .

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 67

walls, floor, and ceiling of which bear evidence
that it was once the channel of running water.
This Pit is ninety feet deep, and at its widest
part about twenty feet across.

About twenty feet -to the left of the Side-
Saddle Pit is situated Minerva's Dome. It is
fifty feet in height, and ten in width. It is
a miniature representation of Gorin's Dome,
hereafter to be noticed. The Dome and Pit
have been cut out of the solid rock by the sol-
vent action of water containing carbonic acid in
solution. They are still enlarging.

The aperture leading to the Pit presents the
outlines of a lady's saddle ; hence the name.

We next arrive at the brink of the Bottom-
less Pit. The very name causes us to shrink
with terror ; but we are presently reassured by
finding it to be a misnomer. The Pit, which
doubtless- appeared bottomless to the first discov-
erers, if we credit Mr. Horace Martin, has since
been found to be but one hundred and seventy-
five feet in depth.

The Bottomless Pit was formerly the limit of
excursions in this direction. It Avas not until
•the year 1838, we are informed, that any trav-
eler ever passed beyond this frightful chasm. In
that year the Pit, as has been stated in Mr.

68 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

Gorin's letter, was spanned by a substantial
wooden bridge known as the "Bridge of Sighs;"
and then was discovered the most beautiful and
interesting portion of the Cave.

Shelby's Dome, which is sixty feet in height,
rests directly over the Bottomless Pit. The Pit
and Dome have been formed, and are still en-
larging, by the same causes that excavated the
Side-Saddle Pit. '

Immediately beyond the Bottomless Pit a
room is entered, called the Revelers' Hall, which
is about twenty feet in height and forty in
diameter.

Here it is the custom of visitors to rest for a
short time and discuss the terrors of the Pit.
This is generally followed by bringing forth the
potables, when the safety and health of all par-
ties are duly toasted. So says Dr. Wright; and
so will every visitor say when he observes the
imrftense quantity of broken and unbroken bot-
tles strewn about the floor of this wild-looking
HalU

After passing through a low archway, about
four feet in height, very properly termed the
Valley of Humility, the ceiling of which is
smooth and white and appears as though it
had been plastered, the Scotchman's Trap is

TTEWFROM BETD&EOF SIGHS

Tltc-l/uyal StcanL Zlth^ijl ^nUa^

scotchma:^'s teap

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 69

entered. The Trap is a circular opening,
through which it is necessary to pass by de-
scending a flight of steps. It is about five feet
in diameter, over which is suspended a huge
rock, like a dead-fall, by an apparently slight
support, which, if it were to fall, would com-
pletely close the avenue leading to Echo River.
If, however, this opening should become closed,
we will state, for the comfort of the timid, that
there are three ways by which an escape might
be effected. Thus : there is an avenue beyond
it, which enters the bottom of the Bottomless
Pit, from which a person might be drawn up by
means of ropes ; another avenue of escape would
be by Bunyan's Way, which leads into Pensa-
cola Avenue; and a third, by Sparks' Avenue
and Mammoth Dome. The accompanying
figure shows this Trap, with the guide stand-
ing at the head of the steps.

A short distance beyond the Scotchman's
Trap, in what is termed the Lower Branch,
there is found a curiously-shaped rock, named
the Shanghai Chicken, from its fancied resem-
blance to that unsightly fowl.

The next curiosity of note that is reached in
our progress is one possessing great interest to
men, and to women also, who are blessed with a

70 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

respectable physical development. This place
of attraction has been accorded the^ euphonious
name of " Fat Man's Misery."

Fat Man's Misery is a narrow, tortuous
avenue, fifty yards in length, which has been
cut out of the solid rock by the mechanical
action of the water. The lower part of the
avenue varies in width from eighteen inches
to three feet ; and the upper part, — that is, from
the height of a man's chest to the head, — from
four to ten feet. In height it varies from four
to eight feet, — the greater part of the distance
averaging but four feet, — thus requiring the
passenger to assume a stooping position, which
is exceedingly painful to the back.

Contrary to the general impression, says Dr.
Wright, there never was a man too large to pass
through Fat Man's Misery. This is an error.
We have known more than one individual,
weighing over four hundred pounds, who could
not possibly have effected the passage. Bayard
Taylor says that the weight of the largest man
who ever accomplished this narrow way was
two hundred and sixty pounds, and he thinks
that it would be impossible for a man of greater
weight to see the sights beyond.

A hall of novel appearance, very appropri-

T!ie Jltaai Jteajn mM. Co Fhila.

BAG 01^ CHAMBER.

THE MAMMOTU CAVE. 71

ately denominated Great Relief, after the ex-
perience of bended backs and compressed sides
in the passage of Fat Man's Misery, is next
entered. This hall varies in width from forty
to sixty feet, and in height from five to twenty
feet. From the ceiling project immense- nodules
of ferruginous limestone.

On the floor of Great Relief, the direction of
the current of water that filled these avenues
can be traced. Thus, at the side next Fat
Man's Misery it is strewn with gravel, near the
center sand occurs, and still farther on mud is
deposited, — demonstrating the fact that it flowed
into Echo River.

The avenue termed Bunyan's Way passes
directly over Great Relief, and enters a short
distance from Fat Man's Misery, by which
communication is established with Pensacola
Avenue. ^

The portion of the avenue in advance, which
extends from Great Relief, to -the River Styx, is
called River Hall. It varies in width from
forty to sixty feet.

The Bacon Chamber is situated to the right
of River Hall. This chamber is decidedly
curious, and the name singularly appropriate.
Here may be seen a fine collection of limestone

72 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

hams and slioulders suspended from the ceiling,
as in a smoke-house. They were formed by the
solvent action of water charged with carbonic
acid, at the time when the lower portion of them
rested against a stratum of rock which has since
been detached.

The avenue which leads to the Mammoth
Dome and Sparks' Avenue takes its orighi in
the Bacon Chamber.

About forty feet below the terrace which
leads to the Natural Bridge is a body of water,
fifteen feet deep, twenty wide, and fifty feet jn
length, termed the Dead Sea. It is quite as
gloomy, we are told, as its celebrated name-
sake. Mr. Martin says, " The name so awful
and so referable to awful events cannot be
better illustrated than here. There is a terrible
grandeur in the place. Long after you have left
it, the mind's eye continues cognizant of its many
sights, the ear of its many sounds. The mem-
ory holds them, and they ever haunt the dreams
of night."

When this part of the Cave was first dis-
covered, the Dead Sea was passed on the terrace
over its left bank;- this passage, however, was
attended with great danger.

By a curious anomaly, our teachings in

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 73

heathen mythology are reversed in the Mam-
moth Cave. Here we pass the Bottomless Pit
before reaching the River Styx, — instead of
w ferrying over the latter on our way to the

former !

The " Visitor" (whose work was published by
Morton & Griswold, Louisville) remarks, " He
who could paint the infinite variety of creation
can alone give an adequate idea of this marvel-
ous region. As you pass along, you hear the
roar of invisible waterfalls ; and at the foot of
the slope the River Styx lies before you, deep
and black, overarched with rock. The first
glimpse of it brings to mind the descent of
Ulysses into hell,

' Where the dark rock o'erhangs the infernal lake,
And mingling streanas eternal murmurs make.'"

The River Styx is one hundred and fifty
yards long, from fifteen to forty in width, and
in depth varies from thirty to forty feet. It has
a subterranean communication with other rivers
of the Cave, and, when Green River rises to a
considerable height, has an open communication
with all of them.

The Natural Bridge spans the River Styx,
and is about thirty feet above it. When the

7

74 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

farther bank of the River Styx is illuminated
with a Bengal light, the view from th-e Natural
Bridge is awfully sublime.

Our attention is next drawn to a silent, peace-
ful-looking body of water, called Lake Lethe.
This lake is one hundred and fifty yards long,
from ten to forty feet wide, and in depth varies
from three to thirty feet. The ceiling of the
avenue at this point is ninety feet above the
surface of the lake. Lake Lethe extends in
the direction of the avenue, the floor of which
is covered by it.

The lake is crossed in boats. On the occa-
sion of our visit the boat was not sufficiently
large to carry all of our party at one time ; it
was therefore necessary that a number of us
should remain for the second trip. We sat
down upon the dark shore and watched the
boat glide slowly away. The novel scene was
peculiarly adapted to the production of a last-
ing impression upon the imagination of the
beholder, — the boat moving slowly and noise-
lessly over the water, carrying its phantom-like
freight, dressed in their fanciful costumes, the
dim lamps throwing fitful flashes of light and
shadow on the rippled surface, and through the
darkness to the high ceiling above; then, as we

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 75

silently gazed, with unutterable thoughts, the
boat and its specter-like voyagers passed entirely
from our view around a projecting angle of
rock; darkness reigned upon the face of the
waters, as in primeval chaos ; a long breath was
taken, and some abortive efforts were made to
express our feelings. After a brief interval of
darkness, the Charon of this stream, with his
solitary lamp in the prow of his rude boat, re-
appears in the distance, returning for those left
behind. The feelings inspired by this scene,
we say, were of a character that can never be
forgotten, and such, perhaps, as could be expe-
rienced under no other circumstances; for no
counterpart of the surroundings are known to
exist.

Being fatigued and thirsty, on our return from
far beyond, we drank of the waters of Lethe,
without, however, forgetting our troubles, — sore
feet and w^ak knees !

Upon disembarking on the opposite shore
of Lake Lethe, we enter Great Walk, which
extends from the lake to Echo River, a distance
of five hundred yards.

The ceiling is forty feet high, and the rocks
which compose it present a striking resemblance
to cumulus clouds. They are composed of white

76 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

limestone. The floor is covered with yellow
sand.

It requires a rise of only five feet of water in
Echo River to overflow Great Walk ; and that
depth is sufficient to allow boats to float between
the lake and the river. There are times, we
are informed, when Great Walk is filled with
water from the floor to the ceiling. Extraor-
dinary as the statement may appear, it is not
an uncommon occurrence for the water to rise
to the height of sixty feet in Lake Lethe, at
which times the iron railing on the terrace
above the Dead Sea is entirely submerged.
This great rise of water is produced by freshets
in Green River.

CHAPTER VII.

ECHO RIVER.

We next arrive at the banks of Echo River.

"Darkly tlioa glidest onward,
Thou deep and hidden wave !
The laughing sunshine hath not look'd
Into thy secret Cave.

"Thy current makes no music —
A hollow sound we hear,
A mufiBed voice of mystery.
And know that thou art near.

" No bright line of verdure
Follows thy lonely way.
No fairy moss or lily's cup
Is freshened by thy play."

Connected with this river are, perhaps, some
of the most delightful of the multitude of im-
pressions that we receive in the Cave. There
are sights more gorgeous, more awful, more
sublime, but nowhere are the senses of sight
and sound so beautifully and so charmingly
brought into unison. In point of sublimity,

7* (11)

78 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

impressing the senses through the sight alone,
the Star Chamber, in the Main Cave,. excels it ;
but all who are capable of being agreeably
affected by the " concord of sweet sounds" will
recall the voyage over Echo River as the most
charming reminiscence connected with their
visit to the Mammoth Cave. It is the fairy-
river that wafts upon its bosom the wandering
traveler to the mystic regions beyond.

Echo River extends from Great AValk to the
commencement of Silliman's Avenue, a distance
of three-quarters of a mile.

The avenue at the entrance of Echo River,
under ordinary circumstances, is about three
feet in height, which, as can be easily imagined,
is rather a contracted space for a boat with its
human freight to pass beneath. A large flat-
boat is kept here, which we found large enough
to carry the entire number of our party at a
single trip. Considerable stooping was neces-
sary to pass under this low arch on our out-
ward-bound voyage; but before our return the
river had risen several inches, so that it w^as
necessary to get down on the hands and knees,
and even lower, in order to pass the arch. The
unpleasantness of the situation may be inferred,
when it is stated that the boat, in consequence

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 79

of being frequently submerged by the rise of the
river, is always wet and muddy in the interior.
In effecting our exit from this narrow passage
on our return voyage, some ludicrous incidents
occurred, owing to the necessary sacrifice of
grace and decorum on the part of the ladies,
as well as on that of the gentlemen; some of
the party barely escaping being crushed by the
unexpectedly sudden descent of heavier indi-
viduals.

If a disinterested observer could have wit-
nessed the scene at this point, — the entire party
in every possible awkward position, stooping
low, lying down, some lustily crying out that
they were being crushed by somebody, some
laughing, and some complaining that the ceiling
had damaged their heads, — we repeat, if a dis-
interested observer had been present, the scene
would have appeared to him as ludicrous in the
extreme.

Fortunately, however, for the comfort of
visitors, this low ceiling does not extend more
than fifteen or twenty feet from the entrance ;
beyond that distance the average height is
about fifteen feet. At some points the river is
two hundred feet wide. In depth it varies
from ten to thirty feet. The ceiling is of an

80 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

arched form, and is composed of smooth, solid
rock, — more closely resembling a work of art
than of Nature.

From what has been said of the narrow open-
ing at the starting-point on the river, it may be
inferred that a slight increase of water would
render ingress impossible. There is a means
of escape, however, should any one be caught
beyond, by a small side avenue, called Purga-
tory, which commences at the end of Great
Walk, and terminates in the avenue of Echo
River, about a quarter of a mile from the land-
ing in Silliman's Avenue. A rise of eighteen
feet of water, however, fills the avenue of Pur-
gatory, and cuts off all communication with the
outer world.

When there is no rise in Green River for
several weeks, the water in Echo River becomes
remarkably transparent, so much so, in fact,
that rocks can be seen ten or twenty feet below
the surface, and the additional novelty is given
to the voyage of the sensation that the boat is
gliding through the air. The connection be-
tween Echo and Green Rivers is doubtless near
the commencement of Silliman's Avenue. When
Green River is rising. Echo River runs in the
direction of Great Walk ; when it is falling, the

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 81

current sets in the opposite direction. When
Green River is neither rising nor falling, the
water of Echo Kiver runs slowly in the direc-
tion of Silliman's Avenue, and is supplied from*
springs in the Cave. At such times its tempera-
ture is fifty-nine degrees, the same as the uni-
form temperature of the atmosphere of the Cave.
When the water of Green River flows into Echo
River at a temperature higher than that of the
Cave, a fog is produced, which in point of den-
sity, it is said, is not inferior to that off the
banks of Newfoundland. Inexperienced persons
have been lost in the fog on Echo River.

At the time of our voyage across this river
there was no fog, and the water, though not
transparent, was beautifully clear. After pro-
ceeding a short distance, the guide, who stood
in the bow of the boat, silently propelling it by
means of his hands,.when within reach, and, at
other times, by a staff applied to the ceiling
and side-walls, struck up, at short intervals, a
plaintive note of song. From the far distance,
as from another world, — we had almost said
from the spirit-world, — came answering melo-
dies, as though a thousand tongues, attuned to
different chords, had taken up the refrain,
repeating it again and again, fainter and

82 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

fainter, whilst we unconsciously strained our
ears and stayed our breathing to catch the last
dying tone. Here, one, without effort of imag-
ination, might easily conceive that he was really
passing over the "dark river," and within the
sound of the choristers that stand upon the
celestial shores to welcome him onward !

Lord Byron has beautifully described the echo
of thunder among the mountains :

" Far along,
From peak to peak, the rattling crags among,
Leaps the live thunder ! Not from one lone cloud,
But every mountain novF hath found a tongue,
And Jura answers, through her misty shroud.
Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud 1"

This picture lifts us to the sublime and in-
spires us with awe; but on Echo River all is
calmness and peace, harmony and love, — we for-
get the world behind us, we. forget our pre-exist-
ence, we realize our ideal of an approach to
spiritual life.

Two or three of the gentlemen of our party,
in a spirit of adventure, made their passage
through the rugged avenue called Purgatory.
They described the trip as one of exceeding dif-
ficulty. After terminating their purgatorial ex-
perience and arriving at the end of the avenue

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 83

on Echo River, which they accomplished several
minutes in advance of the boat-party, one of the
gentlemen fired a pistol. So remarkable was the
effect that it sounded to our astonished ears like
the explosion of heavy artillery, reverberating
for a surprising length of time.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE EYELESS FISHES OP THE CAVE.

As an interlude to the descriptive narrative
of the scenery observed in our journey through
the Cave, we will stop here to note the existence
of animal life, which is remarkable for maintain-
ing vitality under circumstances so unfavorable
for normal development. There are to be found
in the Cave eyeless fish, eyeless crawfish, lizards,
frogs, crickets, rats, bats, etc., — all, except the
two first named, being possessed of more or less
development of the visual organs.

In Echo River we find the eyeless fish and
the eyeless crawfish. These specimens of the
fish tribe have been looked upon by all classes
of persons, ever since the first published notice
of their existence, as remarkable curiosities.
They illustrate, however, a fixed rule in the
great laws of Nature. The presiding Deity
never supplies any living creature with super-
fluous organs ; and if organs already exist which
future circumstances render useless, they arc
(84)

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 85

eventually obliterated. In the never-ceasing
darkness of the Cave, eyes are unnecessary or-
gans to the fish that live in its waters. We
have every reason to believe that these fish were
originally possessed of eyes ; but after their in-
troduction into the Cave, and perhaps centuries
of existence there, these useless organs grad-
ually, through many generations, lost their ori-
ginal character, and finally disappeared, only a-
trace of the orbit remaining.*

Some months after our visit to the Cave our
attention was drawn to a newspaper article, from
an anonymous writer, which we believe originally
appeared in the Chicago ''Tribune," August 18,
18G7. The writer contended that the permanent
inhabitants of the Cave were not only blind, but
deaf also. The original letter in the " Tribune"'
was entitled "Important Scientific Observations,"

* " Their exclusion from tiie solar beam is well known to pro-
duce organic alterations in the visual organs of animals, such as
atrophy of the optic nerve, or those portions of the brain (the
corpora quadrigemina) more immediately associated with the
sight. It is supposed that the blindness observed among fish
found in the dark caves of the Tyrol and Kentucky arises from
the arrest in the development of the eyes as the result of a con-
stant deprivation of light." — Light: its Influence on Life and
Health. By Forbes Winslow, M.D., etc., American ed. New
York: Moorhead, Simpson & Bond, 18G8, p. 13.

8

86 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

etc., made in the Mammoth Cave. Feeling in-
terested in everything connected with the Cave,
particularly the scientific observations, we read
the letter with more than ordinary attention, but
were disappointed to discover that mere conjec-
tures of a sensational character were presented
to the uninformed public as the result of scien-
tific investigations. The writer begins by say-
.ing, "Will you permit me through the columns
of your paper to invite attention to some very
remarkable natural facts, communicated to me
by Dr. (naming a physician), of this city, which
came under his observation during a visit of sci-
entific research to that geological freak of nature,
the Mammoth Cave ? They seem to be worthy
of record, but, as the doctor modestly intimated,
may have been the subject of observation by
others as well as himself, although perhaps not
possessing the same degree of interest. Keenly
alive to everything, however remotely connected
with his favorite profession, the doctor, it seems,
was perfectly astonished at the fixed and chronic
state of blindness and deafness in which he found
the permanent inhabitants of the Cave. These
beings, it appears, are not only without eyes, or
even the trace of an orbit, but, so far as could
be ascertained by careful and indefatigable in-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 87

vestigation, evidently destitute of the sense of
hearing." This writer bases his theory upon the
assumption that there is no sound in the Cave to
produce vibrations upon ihe auditory nerve, for-
getting that the animals, the rats particularly,
cause sounds by their own voices and move-
ments. He does not confine his remarks, as to
the deficiency of sight and hearing, to the fishes,
but includes all " the permanent inhabitants of
the Cave."

A portion of the said letter was afterward
copied in some of the medical journals, and,
among others, in the " Medical and Surgical Re-
porter," of Philadelphia, vol. xvii. p. 479 (Nov.
30, 1867). We took occasion in a subsequent
number of the same journal to express our dis-
sent from the promulgation of such unsupported
assertions, and called upon the author for the ex-
periments which were said to have been insti-
tuted for determining the absence of the organ
of hearing in the inhabitants of the Cave. He
replied in an evasive and somewhat surly man-
ner, without giving any experiments or argu-
ments to sustain his theory.

We will first describe the general character-
istics of the fish, and afterward recur to the
point above referred to.

88 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

The fish are of a peculiar species, and are of
a class known as viviparous, which give birth to
their young alive, and do not deposit eggs after
the manner of most other fish. They have ru-
diments of eyes, but no optic nerve, and are
therefore incap <ble of being affected by any de-
gree of light. We are indebted to Dr. Wright,
who is perfectly familiar with the facts, for this
statement.

The eyeless crawfish give birth to their young
in the same manner as those provided with eyes.
Both the fish and the crawfish are of a color
almost white.

Ordinary fish and crawfish are sometimes
washed into the Cave from Green River. Frogs,
also, are occasionally washed into Echo River,
and, at times, may be heard croaking to the
echo of their own voices.

It has been proven that the ej eless fish prey
upon each other. In shape they somewhat re-
semble the common catfish, and rarely exceed
eight inches in length. One of these fish was
caught by the guide in our presence, placed in
a bottle of water, and taken out of the Cave
alive, and might have been brought home with
us, without impairing its vitality, if supplied
daily with fresh water. They are captured by

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 89

means of a small scoop-net, which is gently
carried beneath them.

Professor B. Silliman, Jr., who visited the Cave
in the autumn of 1850, published the following
observations on the blind fish and the blind craw-
iish, in " Silliman's Journal" for May, 1851 :

"Of the fish there are two species, one of
which has been described by Dr. Wyman in the
'American Journal of Science,' and which is en-
tirely eyeless ; some ten or twelve specimens of
the species were obtained. The second species
of the fish is not colorless like the first, and it
has external eyes, which, however, are found to
be quite blind. The crawfish, or small Crusta-
cea, inhabiting the rivers with the fish, are also
eyeless, and uncolored ; but the larger-eyed and
colored crawfish, which are abundant within the
Cave, are also common, at some seasons, in the
subterranean rivers, and so also, it is said, the
fish of Green River are to be found at times of
flood in the rivers of the Cave. Among the
collections are the larger-eyed crawfish, which
were caught by us in the Cave."

For the benefit of those who may feel inter-
ested in the scientific characters and peculiarities
of the Cave fish, we will quote the observations of
two authorities, whose names are generally recog-

8*

90 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

nized and respected in scientific circles. In " Sil-
liman's Journal" for January, 1851,, p. 127, Pro-
fessor Louis Agassiz, perhaps the most eminent
living naturalist, especially in the department
of ichthyology, in reply to a letter of inquiry
from the senior editor of the "Journal," remarks,

" The blind fish of the Mammoth Cave was
for the first time described in 1842, in the Zool-
ogy of New York, by Dr. Dekay, Part 3d, page
187, under the name of 'Amblyopsis spelaeus,'
and referred, with doubt, to the family of ' Silu-
ridge,' on account of a remote resemblance to
my genus Cetopsis. Dr. J. Wyman has pub-
lished a more minute description of it, with very
interesting anatomical details, in vol. xlv. of the
^American Journal of Science and Arts,' 1843,
page 94.

"In 1844 Dr. Tellkampf published a more
extended description, with figures, in 'Miiller's
Archiv' for 1844, and mentioned several other
animals found also in the Cave, among which the
most interesting is a Crustacean, which he calls
'Astacus pellucidus,' already mentioned, but not
described, by Mr. Thompson, President of the
Natural History Society of Belfast. Both Thomp-
son and Tellkampf speak of eyes in these spe-
cies ; but they are mistaken. I have examined

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 91

several specimens, and satisfied myself that the
peduncle of the eye only exists ; but there are
no visible facets at its extremity, as in other
crawfish.*

" Mr. Thompson mentions, further, crickets,
allied to ' Phalangopsis longipes,' of which Tell-
kampf says that it occurs throughout the Cave.
Of spiders. Dr. Tellkampf found two eyeless,
small, white species, which he calls • Phalangodes
armata' and 'Anthrobia monmouthia' — flies, of
the genus 'Anthomyia' — a minute shrimp, called
by him 'Triura cavernicola,'and two blind beetles
— 'Anophthalmus Tellkampfii' of Erichson, and
'Adelops hirtus;' of most of which Dr. Tell-
kampf has published a full description and
figures in a subsequent paper, inserted in Erich-
son's Archiv, 1844, p. 318.

" The infusoria observed in the Cave resemble
'Monas Kolpoda,' 'Monas socialis,' and ' Bodo

* Speaking of the eyes of animals, it is remarked in the val-
uable school-book of Professors Agassiz and Gould, entitled
" Principles of Zoology," Boston, 1859, " Others, which live in
darkness, have not even rudimentary eyes, as, for example, that
curious fish (Amblyopsis spelceus) which lives in the Mammoth
Cave, and which appears to want even the orbital cavity. The
crawfishes {Astacus pellucidus) of this same Cave are also blind,
having merely the pedicle for the eyes, without even traces of
facettes." — p. .55.

92 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

intestinalis' — a new Chilomonas, which he calls
'Ch. emarginata/ and a species allied to ^Kolpoda
cucullus.'

"As already mentioned, Dekay has referred
the blind fish, with doubt, to the family of
Siluridae Dr. Tellkampf, however, establishes
for it a distinct family. Dr. Storer, in his
Synopsis of the Fishes of North America, pub-
lished in 1846, in the Memoirs of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, is also of opinion
that it should constitute a distinct family, to
which he gives the new name of ' Hypsseidae,'
page 435. From the circumstance of its being
viviparous, from the character of its scales, and
from the form and structure of its head, I am
inclined to consider this fish as an aberrant type
of my family of Cyprinodonts.

"You ask me to give my opinion respecting
the primitive state of the eyeless animals of the
Mammoth Cave. This is one of the most im-
portant questions to settle in Natural History,
and I have, several years ago, proposed a plan
for its investigation, which, if well conducted,
would lead to as important results as any series
of investigations which can be conceived; for it
might settle, once and forever, the question, in
what condition and where the animals now

TUE MAMMOTH CAVE. 93

living on the earth were first called into exist-
ence. But the investigation would involve such
long and laborious researches, that I doubt
whether it will ever be undertaken. It has oc-
curred to me that the final step would be a
thorough anatomical study of the species found
in the Cave, with extensive comparison of allied
species found elsewhere, — next, an investigation
of the embryology of all of them, — and, when
fully prepared by such researches, an attempt to
raise embryos, of the species found in the Cave,
under various circumstances, different from those
in which they are naturally found at present.

"If physical circumstances ever modified
organized beings, it should be easily ascertained
here. For my own part, however, I think that
the blind animals of the Cave would only show
organs of vision during their embryonic state, in
conformity with the normal development of the
respective types to ^hich they belong, and that
even when placed under a moderate influence
of light, incapable of injuring them, but sufficient
to favor the growth of their eyes in the allied
species provided with them, the young of those
species peculiar to the Cave would gradually
grow blind, while the others would acquire per-
fect eyes; for I am convinced, from all I know

94 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

of the geographical distribution of animals, that
they were created under the circumstances in
which they now live, within the limits over
which they range, and with the structural pecu-
liarities Avhich characterize them at the present
day. But this is a mere inference, and whoever
would settle the question by direct experiment
might be sure to earn the everlasting gratitude
of men of -science. And here is a great aim for
the young American Naturalist who would not
shrink from the idea of devoting his life to the
solution of one great question."*

* It will be seen from the foregoing that Professor Agassiz main-
tains the opinion that the fish and the crawfish of the Cave, with
their structural peculiarities, "were created under the circum-
stances in which they now live," but, as he very frankly adds,
" this is a mere inference."

We have already stated that the inference drawn from our
own observations and reflections is that these animals were
originally supplied with the organs of vision ; and since the
above was penned we have noticed tbat Professor Joseph Jones,
of Nashville, Tenn., has incidentally corroborated our view while
treating the subject of Albimsih. Referring to the effects of con-
tinued darkness upon various animals, Dr. Jones remarks :

" After extended investigation and examination of thousands
of living specimens, I have never observed an albino among cold-
blooded animals.

" When this class of animals have been confinecWn dark caves,
and excluded from the action of light, they present the appear-
ance of the albino ; and it is probable that, if the negro children.

• THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 95

Having now given Prof. Agassiz's general
views upon the natural history of the eyeless
animals of the Cave, we will proceed to the
anatomical construction of the organs of sight
and hearing of the blind fishes, in the words of
Professor Jeffries Wyman, which we take from
Silliman's "American Journal of Science and
Arts" for March, 1854, page 228. He says:

which are almost white at the time of their birth, were reared in
total darkness, they would in like manner be white.

" I have seen living sirens from the caves of Africa, without a
particle of coloring matter in their skins, and so transparent that
the form and pulsations of the heart and the circulation of the
blood could be discerned through the walls of the abdomen and
chest ; and Dr. Blackie has informed me that he has seen similar
colorless salamanders in the dark caves of Northern Georgia.

" I have in my possession specimens of the blind fish [Amhly-
opsts spelceus), the blind cray-fish {Astacus pellucidus), and of the
crickets with eyes, of the dark caverns of the caves of Kentucky,
which are entirely wanting in coloring, resembling albinos. The
absence of the ball from the socket of the eye in the blind fish,
and the absence of the eye from the peduncles of the blind cray-
fish, may be most philosophically attributed to the absence of that
agent upon which the production of color depends. And it is
now well established that we may arrest and alter the develop-
ment of the tadpole, and other animals, by raising the amount
of physical forces, heat and light." — Observations and Researches
on Albinism in the Negro Race. By Joseph Jones. M.D., Pro-
fessor of Physiology and Pathology in the Medical Department
of the University of Nashville, Tennessee. Published in the
Transactions of the American Medical Association, vol. xx.,
1869, pp. 703, 704.

96 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

" The general structure of the blind fishes was
described in a former number of .this journal
(July, 1843), but a more complete description
was given in the 'New York Journal of Medi-
cine' by Tellkampf, who, in company with J.
Miiller, of Berlin, for the first time detected the
existence of rudimentary eyes.* They are de-
scribed as one-twelfth of a line in diameter,
round, black, destitute of a cornea, having an
external layer of pigment, beneath which is a
colorless membrane. No nerve was detected in
connection with the eye, and the contents of the
globe were not determined with certainty. Pro-
fessor Owen has described the organ as a simple
eye-speck, 'as in the leech, consisting of a minute
tegumentary follicle, coated by dark pigment
which receives the end of a special cerebral
nerve.'f Dr. John C. Dalton, Jr., has also de-
tected the eyes, and describes them as minute
globular sacs containing blackish pigment, deeply

* ''New York Journal of Medicine, vol. v. p. 84. 1845. Dr.
Dekay had previously mentioned the existence of eyes, but was
evidently misled by some other appearance, since he states that
eyes exist of the usual size, but are covered by the skin. He had
not dissected them. — Fauna of New York." — {Note by Prof.
Wyman.)

t Lectures on Comparative Anatomy, vol. ii. p. 202. See also
his figure, p. 175.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 97

imbedded in the adipose tissue of the orbit, and
measuring a little less than one-seventy-eighth
of an inch.*

" Through the kindness of Mr. Charles Dean,
of Cambridge, and of Professor Agassiz, I have
.had placed at my disposal some specimens of
Amblyopsis, well preserved in alcohol, and have
been able to make, in some respects, a more
comj)lete description than has yet been given.
I have also had an opportunity of inspecting,
superficially, fourteen specimens, varying from
one inch and a half, to four inches and a half
in length, but in three or four only could the
eyes be detected through the skin. In the three
specimens recently dissected, the eyes were ex-
posed only after the removal of the skin and
the careful separation from them of the loose
areolar tissue which fills the orbit. In a fish
four inches in length, the eyes measured one-
sixteenth of an inch in their long diameter,
were of an oval form, and black. A filament
of nerve [the professor here refers to a diagram
of the eye, which accompanies his paper] was
distinctly traced from the globe to the cranial
walls ; but the condition of the contents of the

* New York Medical Times, vol. ii. page 354.
9

98 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

cranium, from the effects of the alcohol, was
such as to render it impracticablcvto ascertain
the mode of connection of the optic nerve with
the optic lobes. A few muscular fibres were
traced to the immediate neighborhood of the
eye, and even in contact with it, but were not
ascertained to have that regular arrangement
which is seen in the more completely formed
eyes of other fishes.

"Examined under the microscope with a
power of about twenty diameters, the following
parts were satisfactorily made out: first, ex-
ternally an exceedingly thin membrane, which
invested the whole surface of the eye, and
appeared to be continuous with a thin mem-
brane covering the optic nerve, and which was
therefore regarded as a sclerotic ; second, a
layer of pigment-cells, for the most part of a
hexagonal form, and which were most abun-
dant about the anterior part of the eye ; third,
beneath the pigment a single layer of colorless
cells, larger than a pigment-cell, and each cell
having a distinct nucleus; fourth, just in front
of the globe a lenticular-shaped, transparent
body, which consisted of an external membrane
containing numerous cells with nuclei ; this
lens-shaped body seemed to be retained in its

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 99

place by a prolongation forward of the external
membrane of the globe ; fifth, the globe was in-
vested by loose areolar tissue, which adhered to
it very generally, and in some instances con-
tained yellow fatty matter, — in one specimen it
formed a round spot, visible through the skin,
on each side of the head, which had all the
appearance of a small eye, — its true nature was
determined by the microscope only. It is not
improbable that the appearance just referred to
may have misled Dr. Dekay, where he states
that the eye exists of the usual size, but covered
by the skin.

" If the superficial membrane above noticed
is denominated correctly the sclerotic, then the
pigment-layer may be regarded as the repre-
sentative of the clioroid. The form as well as
the position of the transparent nucleated cells
within the choroid correspond, for the most
part, with the retina. All of the parts just
enumerated are such as are ordinarily devel-
oped from and in connection with the enceph-
alon, and are not in any way dependent upon
the skin. But if the lenticular-shaped body is
the true representative of the crystalline lens,
it becomes difficult to account for its presence in
Amblyopsis according to the generally-recog-

100 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

nized mode of its development (since it is
usually formed from an involution qf the skin),
unless we suppose that after the folding of the
skin had taken place in the embryonic con-
dition the lens retreated from the surface and
all. connection with the integument ceased.

•"According to Quatrefages, however, the eye
of Amblyopsis is contained wholly in the cavity
of the dura mater, and yet it has all the appear-
ance of being provided with a lens. If his
description be correct, then the mode of devel-
opment as well as the morphology of the eye
in this remarkable fish is different from that
of most other vertebrates, since the lens never
could have been formed from an involution of
the skin, nor could the eye, with its lens, as
Professor Owen asserts, be a modified cutaneous
follicle. That there should be different modes
of development of parts of the eye in different
animals is by no means improbable, since we
find this actually to be the case in another
organ of sense, the nose. In some fishes the
nostrils result from a depression or involution
of the skin simply, and do not at any period
communicate with the mouth ; while in all the
higher vertebrates they are formed by sub-
division of the primitive oral cavity. It is

THE MAMMOTH CAVE . 101

possible, therefore, that in Amblyopsis the lens
may have been developed where we find it, and
that it was never connected with the intescu-
ment. Whatever views be taken with regard
to its development, the anatomical characters
which have been enumerated show that, though
quite imperfect as we see it in the adult, it is
constructed after the type of the eyes in other
vertebrates. It certainly is not adapted to the
formation of images, since the common integu-
ment and the areolar tissue which are interposed
between it and the surface would prevent the
transmission of light to it except in a diffused
condition. No pupil, nor anything analogous
to an iris, was detected, unless we regard as
representing the latter the increased number
of pigment-cells at the anterior part of the
globe."

In continuation of the same observations,
the professor next treats of the Ear; and his
remarks on this point are conclusive in contra-
diction of the sensational newspaper article
previously mentioned. He says:

"It is said that the blind fishes are acutely
sensitive to sounds, as well as to undulations
produced by other causes in the water. In the
only instance in which I have dissected the

9*

102 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

organ of hearing (which I believe has not been
before noticed), all its parts were largely devel-
oped, as will be seen by reference to figures 2
and 3. [We regret that we are unable to intro-
duce the figures here.] As regards the general
structure, the parts do not differ materially from
those of other fishes, except for their propor-
tional dimensions. The semicircular canals are
of great length, and the two which unite to
enter the vestibule by a common duct, it will
be seen, project upwards and inwards under the
vault of the cranium, so as to approach quite
near to the corresponding parts of the opposite
side. The otolite contained in the utricle was
not remarkable, but that of the vestibule is
quite large when compared with that of a
Leuciscus of about the same dimensions as the
blind fish here described."

After these dry scientific details of some of
the inhabitants of the Cave, which may prove
interesting to those readers whose studies lead
them in such channels, and for which we ask
the forbearance of the general reader, we will
proceed with the narrative of our journey.

CHAPTER IX.

SILLIMAN'S AVENUE. — RHODA'S ARCADE. — LUCY'S DOME, AND
PASS OF EL GHOR.

, Upon landing on the farther shores of Echo
River, we immediately enter Silliman's Avenue,
— so named for Professor B. Silliman, Jr., who
visited the Cave in 1850.

This avenue is a mile and a half long, and
extends from Echo River to the Pass of El Ghor.
Its height varies from twenty to forty feet, and
it is from twenty to two hundred feet in width.
The walls and ceiling of this avenue are rugged
and water-worn. It is undoubtedly of recent
formation, as compared with other parts of the
Cave.

The objects of interest in Silliman's Avenue
come in the following order :

1. Cascade Hall is two hundred feet in diam-
eter, and twenty feet high. It receives its name
from a small cascade That falls into it from the
ceiling.

Of this hall Bayard Taylor says, "A few

C 103 )

104 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

minutes of rough travel brought us to a large
circular hall, with a vaulted ceiling, from the
center of which poured a cascade of crystal
water, striking upon the slant side of a large re-
clining boulder, and finally disappearing through
a funnel-shaped pit in the floor. It sparkled
like a shower of pearls in the light of our lamps
as we clustered around the brink of the pit to
drink from the stores gathered in those natural
bowls which seem to have been hollowed out for
the uses of the invisible gnomes."

The avenue which leads to Roaring River
takes its origin in Cascade Hall.

2. The Dripping Spring is a pool of water
that is supplied from the ceiling. Stalactites
and stalagmites are found at this point.

3. The Infernal Region receives its name
from the fact that the floor is composed of wet
clay and is exceedingly irregular. It is almost
impossible to pass over it without receiving a
fall. Several of our party would be willing to
testify to this assertion.

4. The Sea-Serpent is a tortuous crevice in
the rock overhead, that has been cut by running
water, the layer of rock that formed the floor of
it having been detached.

5. The Valley Way-Side Cut is a small ave-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 105

nue leading off from Silliman's Avenue and re-
turning into it a short distance farther on. It
presents several beautiful points, and is worth
exploring.

6. The Hill of Fatigue is appropriately
named, being hard to climb, but is not otherwise
worthy of note.

7. The Great Western, so called from the
supposition that in appearance it represents the
immense ship known as the Great Eastern, is
an enormous rock, many times larger than any
vessel, the end of which closely resembles the
stern of a ship. To make use of nautical lan-
guage, the rudder is turned to the starboard side.

8. The Rabbit is a large stone, which is sup-
posed to resemble the animal whose name it
bears.

9. Ole Bull's Concert-Room is situated to the
left of the avenue. It is thirty feet wide, forty
long, and twenty high. When the great vio-
linist made his first tour through the United
States, he visited the Cave and performed in the
room which has received his name.

At the end of Silliman's Avenue begins
Rhoda's Arcade, which arises half a mile from
the Pass of El Ghor ; it is five hundred yards
in length, and from five to ten feet in height.

106 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

The walls and ceiling are incrusted with crystals
of gypsum and carbonate of lime, of great bril-
liancy and indescribable beauty. The floor is
covered with white crystals of limestone, and is
unobstructed by fallen rock. In point of beauty
there is no avenue supenor to this.

Lucy's Dome is reached by passing through
Rhoda's Arcade. It is about sixty feet in its
greatest diameter, and over three hundred in
height, being the highest dome in the Cave.
The sides appear to be composed of immense
curtains, extending from the ceiling to the
floor.

We next reach The Pass of El Ghor, which
resembles Silliman's Avenue, but the clifis com-
posing its walls present a more wild and rugged
appearance. It is about two miles in length.

Of this Pass, Bayard Taylor remarks that he
supposes it was named by some traveler who
had been in Arabia Petrgea, and adds that the
name is a pleonasm, as el ghor signifies a
narrow, difficult pass between rocks.

Mr. Taylor regarded the Pass of El Ghor as
by far the most picturesque avenue in the Cave.
He continues : " It is a narrow, lofty passage
meandering through the heart of a mass of hor-
izontal strata of limestone, the broken edges of

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 107

which assume the most remarkable forms.
Now there are rows of broad, flat shelves
overhanging your head ; now you enter a little
vestibule with friezes and mouldings of almost
Doric symmetry and simplicity; and now you
wind away into a Cretan Labyrinth, most
uncouth and fantastic, whereof the Minotaur
would be a proper inhabitant. It is a continual
succession of surprises, and, to the appreciative
visitor, of raptures."

We will specify the objects of interest in this
avenue as they present themselves :

1. The Hanging Rocks look as though they
were on the point of falUng and closing the
avenue over which they are suspended ; but,
as before stated, no rocks from the walls or
ceiling have been known to fall in any part of
the Cave since its discovery.

2. The Fly Chamber receives its name from
the fact that crystals of black gypsum, of the
size of a common house-fly, project in great
numbers from the ceiling

3. Table Rock is twenty feet long, and pro-
jects from the left side of the avenue about ten
feet. It is about two feet in thickness.

4. The Crown is six feet in diameter, and is
situated on the right side of the avenue, about

108 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

ten feet from the floor. It closely resembles the
object after which it is named.

5. Boone's Avenue leads off to the left. It
has been explored only about one mile, and
nothing further is known as to its extent or
dimensions.

6. Coeinna's Dome rests directly over the
center of the avenue. It is forty feet high and
nine wide. It was formed by the solvent action
of water, which entered it through a fissure at
the top, when the Pass of El Ghor was filled
with water. Had it been formed after the
water had left the avenue, there would have
been a pit beneath it, as at Shelby's ^ Dome
and the Bottomless Pit.

7. The Black Hole of Calcutta is situated
on the left side of the avenue, and is about
fifteen feet deep.

8. Stella's Dome is two hundred and fifty
feet in height, and, in general appearance, re-
sembles Lucy's Dome. It is reached by passing
through a small avenue which enters the left
wall of the Pass of El Ghor.

9. The Chlmes consist of depending rocks, as
in the Bacon Chamber, which, when struck,
emit a musical sound. These are objects of
interest to the visitor.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 109

10. Wellington's Gallery is not attractive.

11. Hebe's Spring is about four feet in diam-
eter, and one foot and a half in depth. Its
water .is charged witli sulphuretted hydrogen.
Twenty years ago, as we are informed by
Dr. Wright, there was no sulphur in this
Spring, and at the present time, when it has
been undisturbed for several hours, pure water
is found upon the surface, and sulphur water
at the bottom, indicating the fact that it is
supplied with sulphur water at the bottom and
pure water near the surface which come from
entirely different sources.

Eyeless crawfish have been found in Hebe's
Spring.

At the distance of half a mile beyond Hebe's
Spring, the Pass of El Ghor communicates
with a body of water, the extent of which is
unknown, called the Mystic River.

10

CHAPTER X.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD. — ELINDO AVENUE. — THE HOLY
SEPULCHRE, — WASHINGTON HALL.

We leave the Pass of El Ghor at the foot of
Martha's Vineyard.

The avenue which contains Martha's Vine-
yard is elevated twenty feet above the Pass
of El Ghor, and is reached, with considerable
difficulty, by ascending a steep ladder near
Hebe's Spring.

Of this curiosity, Bayard Taylor expressed
his impressions in the following language :
"We were now, according to the guide's prom-
ises, on the threshold of wonders. Before pro-
ceeding forther, we stopped at Hebe's Spring,
which fills a natural basin in the bottom of a
niche made on purpose to contain it. We then
climbed a perpendicular ladder, passing through
a hole in the ceiling barely large enough to admit
our bodies, and found ourselves at the entrance
of a narrow, lofty passage leading upward.
When all had made the ascent, the guides exult-
ingly lifted their lamps and directed our eyes to
(110)

"GRAPE CLUSTERS':

THE MAMMOTH CAYE. Ill

the rocks overhanging the aperture. There was
the first wonder, truly ! Clusters of grapes,
gleaming with blue and violet tints through the
water which trickled over them, hung from the
cliffs, while a stout vine, springing from the
base and climbing nearly to the top, seemed to
support them. Hundreds on hundreds of
bunches, clustering so thickly as to conceal the
leaves, hang, forever ripe and forever un-
plucked, in that marvelous vintage of the sub-
terranean world. For whose hand shall squeeze
the black, infernal wine from the grapes that
grow beyond Lethe ?"

Dr. Wright tells us, in more sober language,
that the walls and ceiling of Martha's Vineyard
are studded with stalactite nodules of carbonate
of lime, colored with the black oxide of iron,
and in size and appearance resembling grapes.
A stalactite three inches in diameter, and ex-
tending from the floor to the ceiling, is termed
the Grape- Vine.

A large stalagmite projects from the right
wall, a few inches from the floor, and is termed
the Battering-Ram.

Elindo Avenue takes its origin directly over
the Pass of El Ghor. It presents no points of
special interest, except that the avenue leading

112 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

to the Holy Sepulchre, which is situated directly
over Martha's Vineyard, and which contains a
fine collection of stalactites, arises in it.

In speaking of this part of the Cave, Mr.
Martin remarks (p. 65) :

"AlDout one hundred feet from this spot, tak-
ing the right, over a rough and rather a difficult
way, the tourist at last reaches what is called
the height or hill. On this stands the Holy
Sepulchre. This natural chapel is about twelve
feet square ; it has a low ceiling, and is deco-
rated in the most magnificent style imaginable,
having well-arranged draperies of stalactite of
every possible shape. .You go to the room of
the Holy Sepulchre, adjoining. Unlike the place
you left, it is without ornament or decoration of
any kind whatever; it presents nothing but
dark and bare walls, and has been likened, by
many who have been there, to a charnel-house.
In the center of this room, which stands but a
few feet below the chapel, the visitor will be
shown what seems to be a grave hewn out of
the solid rock. So great is the resemblance as
to have suggested to a Roman Catholic priest
the exclamation that has .since passed as its
name. The reverend gentleman referred to no
sooner cast his eyes upon this opening in the

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 113

rock, than he cried out, on bended knees and
with uplifted hands, 'The Holy Sepulchre! The
Holy Sepulchre!'"

Continuing our advance, we next arrived at a
point of great interest, — a locality that had been
anxiously inquired for for more than an hour
previously to reaching it, — Washington Hall —
the place of dining.

Dr. Wright says that this Hall is generally
reached between twelve and one o'clock ; but
our party, being composed of slow travelers, and
of persons anxious to see at leisure everything
of interest, did not arrive at the Hall until half-
past two. The following are Bayard Taylor's
impressions of the dining apartment :

" Mounting for a short distance, this new
avenue suddenly turned to the left, widened, and
became level. The ceiling is low, but beautifully
vaulted, and Washington's Hall, which we soon
reached, is circular, and upwards of one hundred
feet in diameter. This is the usual dining-room
of parties who go beyond the rivers. Nearly
five hours had now elapsed since we entered the
Cave, and five hours spent in that bracing,
stimulating atmosphere might well justify the
longing glances which we cast upon the baskets
carried by the guides. Mr. Miller [the then

10*

114 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

proprietor of the hotel] had foreseen our appe-
tites, and there were stores of venison, biscuit,
ham, and pastry, more than sufficient for all.
We made our mid-day, or rather midnight, meal,
sitting, like the nymph who wrought Excalibur,

• Upon the hidden bases of the hills,'

buried far below the green Kentucky forests, far
below the forgotten sunshine. For in the Cave
you forget that there is an outer world some-
where above you. The hours have no meaning.
Time ceases to be; no thought of labor, no sense
of responsibility, no twinge of conscience, in-
trudes to suggest the existence you have left.
You walk in some limbo beyond the confines of
actual life yet no nearer the world of spirits.
For my part, I could not shake off the impres-
sion that I was wandering on the outside of
Uranus, or Neptune, or some planet still more
deeply buried in the frontier darkness of our
solar system."

We indorse all that we have quoted from Mr.
Taylor.

" There may be," remarked our corpulent
friend B., " a great deal of romance in this way
of eating, with your plate on your lap and
seated on a rock or lump of nitre-earth ; but.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 115

for my part, I would rather dispense with the
poetry of the thing, and eat a good dinner,
whether above or below ground, from off a bona-
tide table, and seated on a good substantial
chair. The proprietor ought to have, at all the
dining-places, tables, chairs, and the necessary
table-furniture, that visitors might partake of
their collations with some degree of comfort.'"^

We regard this as a very proper suggestion.
The proprietor of the hotel might, with very
trifling cost, keep permanently, at the two or
three principal places of dining, substantial tables
and chairs for the accommodation of visitors.

Cans of oil are kept in this room (Washington
Hall), from which the lamps are replenished.
Although the lamps are capable of holding oil
sufficient to burn ten hours, the depots for it are
so arranged that they can be filled every five
hours; and, as a greater security against total
darkness, the guide carries a bottle of oil in his
satchel.

Marion's Avenue, which rises in Washington
Hall, leads to Paradise, Zoe's Grotto, and Por-
tia's Parterre. These avenues will be again
referred to.

* Rambles of a Visitor, p. 53.

116 THE xMAMMOTH CAVE.

Upon leaving Washington Hall, and before
reaching Cleveland's Cabinet, we pass through
the Snowball Room. The ceiling is studded
with white nodules of gypsum, which vary in
diameter from two to four inches. The atmos-
phere of the room is too damp for the gypsum
to assume the forms of flowers and filaments,
as it does in Cleveland's Cabinet. The re-
semblance of these nodules to snowballs is
complete.

CHAPTER XL

Cleveland's cabinet, and the rocky mountain.

We now enter the last avenue on the " Long
Route," which, in point of attractiveness and
extraordinary beauty, is the crowning glory of
the Cave. We refer to Cleveland's Cabinet.
This avenue is about two miles in length, ex-
tending to the Rocky Mountain. The interest
connected with this avenue is so great that we
hope we will be pardoned for here inserting ex-
tended extracts from the observations of others
regarding the impressions produced upon them
while witnessing its curiosities.

Mr. Martin says, " This avenue is truly mag-
nificent ; it may be designated one of the most
magnificent objects in the world. It is replete
with formations that are to be seen in no other
place, — which even the dullest cannot behold
without experiencing sensations quite new to
them, but which in the cultivated and intel-
lectual awaken feelings of rapture.

"Professor Locke has designated some of these

(117)

118 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

formations as onlophilites, or curled leaf stones.
In lecturing on them he says, ' They are unlike
anything yet discovered, equally beautiful for
the cabinet of the amateur and interesting to the
geological philosopher.'

"Another gentleman (a clergyman) also speaks
of these formations. His remarks are to the fol-
lowing effect : ' So exquisite and beautiful is
Cleveland's Avenue, that it is out of the power
of painter or poet to conceive anything like it.
Such loveliness cannot, indeed, be described.
Were the sovereigns of wealthy states to spend
their all on the most skillful lapidaries they could
find, with the view of rivaling the splendor of
this truly regal abode, the attempt would be
entirely vain. What, then, is left for the nar-
rator? People must see it, and then they will
be convinced that all attempts at adequate de-
scription are useless. Tlie Cabinet was discov-
ered by Mr. Patten, of Louisville, and Mr. Craig,
of Philadelphia, accompanied by the guide Ste-
phen. It extends in a direct line about two
miles. It is a perfect arch of fifty feet span, and
of an average height of ten feet in the center,
just high enough to be viewed at ease in all its
parts. It is incrusted from end to end with the
most beautiful formations in every variety of

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 119

form. The base of the whole is sulphate of lime,
in one part of dazzling whiteness and perfectly
smooth, and in other places crj^stallized so as
to glitter like diamonds in the light. Growing
from this, in endless diversified forms, is a sub-
stance resembling selenite, translucent and im-
perfectly laminated. Some of the crystals bear
a striking resemblance to celery, and all are
about the same length, while others, a foot or
more in length, have the color and appearance
of vanilla cream candy ; others are set in sul-
phate of lime, in the form of a rose ; and others
still roll out from the base in forms resembling
the ornaments on the capital of a Corinthian
column. Some of the incrustations are massive
and splendid ; others are as delicate as the lily,
or as fancy-work of shell or wood. Let any per-
son think of traversing an arched way like this
for two miles, and all the wonders of the tales
of youth, not forgetting those gorgeous fictions,
' The Arabian Nights,' seem tame and uninter-
esting when brought into comparison with the
living, growing reality. The term 'growing' is
not a misnomer ; the process is going on before
your eyes. Successive coats of these incrusta-
tions have been perfected, and then crowded off
by others, so that hundreds of tons of these

120 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

gems lie at your feet and are crushed as you
pass, while the work of restoring the ornaments
for Nature's boudoir is proceeding around you.
Here and there, through the whole extent, you
will find openings through the side, into which
you may thrust the person and often stand erect
in little grottos, perfectly incrusted with a deli-
cate white substance, reflecting the light from a
thousand glittering points. Many visitors are
so enraptured with the place that they cannot
repress exclamations of surprise and worship."

This beautiful avenue (Cleveland's) is of suf-
ficient importance to justify us in giving the
views of various authors with regard* to it. We
will next add an extract from the sketch of
Bayard Taylor:

" It is completely incrusted from end to end
with crystallizations of gypsum, white as snow.
This is the crowning marvel of the Cave, — the
pride and the boast of the guides. Their satis-
faction is no less than yours, as they lead you
through the diamond grottos, the gardens of
sparry efflorescence, and the gleaming vaults
of this magical avenue. We first entered the
Snowball Room, where the gnome-children, in
their sports, have peppered the gray walls and
ceiling with thousands of snow-white projecting

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 121

disks, SO perfect in their fragile beauty that they
seem ready to melt away under the blaze of
your lamp. Then commences Cleveland's Cab-
inet, a gallery of crystals, the richness and
variety of which bewilder you. It is a sub-
terranean conservatory, filled with the flowers
of all zones ; for there are few blossoms expand-
ing on the upper earth but are mimicked in
these gardens of darkness. I cannot lead you
from niche to niche, and from room to room,
examining in detail the enchanted growths ;
they are all so rich and so wonderful that the
memory does not attempt to retain them.
Sometimes the hard limestone rock is changed
into a parterre of white roses ; sometimes it is
starred with opening daisies ; the sunflowers
spread their flat disks and rayed leaves ; the
feathery chalices of the cactus hang from the
clefts ; the night-blooming cereus opens securely
her snowy cup, for the morning never comes to
close it ; the tulip is here a virgin, and knows
not that her sisters above are clothed in the
scarlet of shame.

" In many places the ceiling is covered with
a mammillary crystallization, as if a myriad
bubbles were rising beneath its glittering sur-
face. Even on this jeweled soil, which sparkles

11

122 THE MAMMOTH CA.VE.

all around you, grow the lilies and roses, singly
overhead, but clustering together toward the
base of the vault, where they give place to
long, snowy, pendulous cactus-flowers, which
droop like a fringe around diamonded niches.
Here you see the passion-flower, with its curi-
ously-curved pistils; there an iris, with its lan-
ceolate leaves ; and again, bunches of celery,
with stalks white and tender enough for a
fairy's dinner. There are occasional patches
of gypsum, tinged with a deep amber color by
the presence of iron. Through the whole
length of the avenue there is no cessation of
the wondrous work. The pale rock-blooms
burst forth everywhere, crowding on each other
until the brittle sprays cannot bear their weight,
and they fall to the floor. The slow, silent
efflorescence still goes on, as it- has done for
ages in that buried tropic.

" What most struck me in my under-ground
travels," continues Mr. Taylor, " was the evi-
dence of desig?! which I found everywhere.
Why should the forms of earth's outer crust,
her flowers and fruits, the very heaven itself
which spans her, be so wonderfully reproduced ?
What law shapes the blossoms and the foliage
of that vast crystalline garden ? There seemed

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 123

to be something more than the accidental com-
binations of a blind chance in what I saw, —
some evidence of an informing and directing
will. In these secret caverns, the agencies which
produced their wonders have been at work for
thousands of years, perhaps thousands of ages,
fashioning the sparry splendors in the womb of
darkness with as exquisite a grace, as true an
instinct of beauty, as in the palm or the lily,
which are moulded by the hands of the sun.
What power is it that lies behind the mere
chemistry of Nature, impregnating her atoms
with such subtle -laws of symmetry? What but
the Divine will which first gave her being, and
which is never weary of multiplying for man
the lessons of infinite wisdom ?"

Professor Locke, of the Ohio Medical College,
under date of Cincinnati, October 26, 1841,
published in Silliman's " American Journal
of Science and Arts" for 1842, p. 206, a
sketch entitled " Alabaster in the Mammoth
Cave of Kentucky," from which we make the
following extracts :

" After crossing within the Cave several
streams in boats, an apartment has been
reached (Cleveland's Cabinet), the roof of
which is decorated with the most gorgeous

124 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

ornaments of alabaster, so much like a work of
art as to surpass credibility. They are white
and semi-transparent, and are thrown out from
the rock in the form of rosettes, leaves, and
curled enrichments of the composite capital of
architecture, * * * * I was at first at
a loss to account for such beautiful formations,
and especially for the elegance of the curves ex-
hibited. It is, however, evident that the sub-
stances have grown from the rocks by increments
or additions to the base, — the solid parts already
formed being continually pushed forward. If
the growth be a little more rapid on one side
than on the other, a well-proportioned curve
will be the result; should the action on one
side diminish or increase, then all the beauties
of the conic and mixed curves would be pro-
duced. The masses are often evenly and
longitudinally striated by a kind of columnar
structure, exhibiting a fascicle of small prisms,
and some of these prisms, ending sooner than
others, give a broken termination of great
beauty, similar to our form of the emblem of
Hhe order of the Star.' The rosettes formed
by a mammillary disk, surrounded by a circle of
leaves at every flexure, like the branches of a
chandelier, running more than a foot in length

I

ROSA'S BOWER,

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 125

and not thicker than the finger, are among the
varied frost-work of the alabaster groltos ; com-
mon stalactites of carbonate of lime, although
beautiful objects, lose by contrast with these
ornaments all of their effect, and dwindle into
mere clumsy, awkward icicles."

Having given a general idea of the beauty and
grandeur of Cleveland's magnificent avenue, we
proceed to mention in detail the objects of in-
terest as they present themselves :

1. Maey's Bower is fifteen feet in height
and forty in leno;th. Its walls and ceiling are
covered with rosettes of gypsum. Immediately
adjoining Mary's Bower, and by many regarded
as surpassing it in beauty, is to be seen Rosa's
Bower, a very good representation of which has
been produced by our artist.

2. The Cross consists of two crevices in the
ceiling, intersecting each other at right angles,
and lined with flowers of plaster of Paris. It is
about eight feet in length.

3. The Mammary Ceiling is formed of nipple-
shaped projections of gypsum.

4. The Last Rose of Summer is about eight
inches in diameter, and is of snowy whiteness.
It rests against the ceiling, in the center of the
avenue.

11*

126 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

This is indeed a marvel of beauty. It is a
perfect representation of a very large rose. It
hangs alone, a short distance beyond the thou-
sftnds of clusters, and it is really the last to be
found in the avenue.

5. The Dinixg-Talle is fifteen feet wide and
thirty long. . It is a flat rock that has been de-
tached from the ceiling.

6. Bacchus's Glory is an alcove, three feet
in height and five feet in length, the whole
interior of which is lined with nodules of
gypsum which in size and form resemble
grapes. It is situated to the left of the
Dining-Table.

7. St. Cecilia's Grotto is remarkable for the
size of the stucco flowers found in it.

8. Diamond Grotto is lined with crystals of
selenite, ^vhich, when a light is waved to and fro
in front of them, sparkle like the gem after which
the grotto is named.

It is to be hoped that the beautiful but deli-
cate formations in Cleveland's Cabinet will ever
be carefully guarded against the destructive
hand of man ; for by human agency all those
wonderful rock-blooms which have occupied
thousands of years in their production might
be destroyed in a few hours. The Cabinet is

THE MAMMOTH CAVE 127

named in honor of Professor Cleveland, the
disthiguished mineralogist.

At the terniination of Cleveland's Cabinet we
arrive at the base of the Rocky Mountain. This
mountain is one hundred feet high, and is en-
tirely formed of rocks that have fallen from
above. On the top of the Rocky Mountain there
is a stalagmite two feet high and six inches in
diameter, termed Cleopatra's Needle.

On the farther side of the Rocky Mountain is
a gorge seventy feet deep and one hundred feet
wide, termed Dismal Hollow. The Cave at the
Mountain divides into three branches. That to
the right leads to Sandstone Dome, which is in-
teresting from the fact that the stone of which it
is composed indicates that the top of the Dome
is near the surface of the earth. The branch to
the left communicates with Crogan's Hall.* The
central one is termed Franklin Avenue, and ex-
tends from Dismal Hollow to Serena's Arbor.

Franklin Avenue, as before stated, extends
from Dismal Hollow to Serena's Arbor, a dis-
tance of a quarter of a mile. It varies in width
from thirty to sixty feet; it has a wild and
gloomy appearance.

* Named for Dr. Crogan, a former proprietor of tlie Cave, —
improperly spelled Grogan by Dr. Wright.

128 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

- Serena's Arbor is' twenty feet in diameter and
about forty in height. The walls and ceiling
are covered with stalactite cornices, columns,
grooves, ogees, etc., many of which are semi-
transparent and sonorous.

At the base of the Rocky Mountain the guide
stopped, intimating that the terminus of the
journey had been reached. Having read a
thrilling account of a descent into the Mael-
strom some years ago, we expressed a desire to
see the awful pit, which was some distance
beyond. All the gentlemen of the party, and
one or two of the ladies also, expressed a will-
ingness to climb the Rocky Mountain. The
other ladies awaited our return. The ascent of
the mountain was extremely difficult, and it is
not to be wondered at that the guides do not
insist upon visitors passing over it.

Beyond the mountain we enter Crogan's Hall,
which constitutes the end of the Long Route,
and which is about seventy feet wide and twenty
high. The left wall is covered wdth stalactite
formations, which are white and semi-transpa-
rent and of great hardness, and fragments of
which are sometimes worked into ornaments.

CHAPTER XII.

THE MAELSTROM. — A PERILOUS ADVENTURE.

The Maelstrom is a pit one hundred and
seventy-five feet deep and twenty wide. There
are avenues leading from the bottom, which
may be seen when a light is lowered into it,
but which have been, as yet, imperfectly ex-
plored.

In connection with the Maelstrom, we cannot
refrain giving the graphic and thrilling account
of the adventure, already alluded to, of William
Courtland Prentice, son of George D. Prentice,
the venerable editor of the " Louisville Journal,"
who was an officer in the Confederate Army,
and was killed in a raid on the banks of the Ohio
in 1862. In referring to his untimely death, the
"Journal" said :

" He loved to seek the wildest and loneliest
portions of Kentucky. Repeatedly he went far
up among the bald and desolate crags of the
cliffs of Dix River, a region haunted by the
bear, the wild-cat, and the catamount. The

.(129)

130 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

piercing scream of the panther even then was a
sound of rapture to his ear. He ^was ever in
search of natural curiosities, and he discovered
and explored caves previously unknown, in all
probability, to any man of our generation, and
in one of them he found immense numbers of
human bones that seemed to him to have be-
longed to a different order of beings from any
now upon our continent. He subsequently be-
came as familiar with the Mammoth Cave as
the best of its guides. An adventure of his in
that subterranean realm attracted much atten-
tion four years ago. An account of it was pub-
lished in our columns, and, as we have often been
requested to republish it, we will do so now :

" Terrific Adventure in the Mammoth Cave.
— At the supposed end of what has always been
considered the longest avenue in the Mammoth
Cave, nine miles from its entrance, there is a
pit, dark and deep and terrible, known as the
Maelstrom. Tens of thousands have gazed into
it with awe while Bengal-lights were thrown
down to make its fearful depths visible, but none
had ever the daring to explore it. The cele-
brated guide Stephen, who was deemed insen-
sible to fear, was offered six hundred dollars by
the proprietors of the Cave if he would descend

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 131

to the bottom of it; but he shrank from the peril.
A few years ago, a learned and bold man resolved
to do what no one before him had dared to do;
and, making his arrangements with great care
and precaution, he had himself lowered down
by a strong rope a hundred feet, but at that point
his courage failed him, and he called aloud to be
drawn out. No human power could ever have
induced him to repeat the appalling experiment.
"A couple of weeks ago, however, a young gen-
tleman of Louisville (Wm. Courtland Prentice),
whose nerves never trembled at mortal peril,
being at the Mammoth Cave with Professor
Wright, of our city, and others, determined, no
matter what the dangers might be, to explore
the depths of the Maelstrom. Mr, Proctor, the
enterprising proprietor of the Cave, sent to
Nashville, and procured a long rope of great
strength expressly for the purpose. The rope
and some necessary timbers were borne by the
guides and others to the point of the exploration.
The arrangements being soon completed, the
rope, with a heavy fragment of rock affixed to it,
was let down and swung to and fro to dislodge
any loose pieces of rocks that would be likely to
fall at the touch. Several were thus dislodged,
and the long-continued reverberations, rising up

132 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

like distant thunder from below, proclaimed the
depth of the horrid chasm. . Then the young
hero of the occasion, with several hats drawn
over his head, to protect it as far as possible
against masses falling from above, and with a
light in his hand and the rope fastened around
his body, took his place over the awful pit, and
directed the half-dozen men, who held the end
of the rope, to let him down into the Cimmerian
gloom.

" We have heard from his own lips an account
of his descent. Occasionally masses of earth and
rock went whizzing past, but none struck him.
Thirty or forty feet from the top, a cataract from
the side of the pit went rushing down the abyss,
and, as he was in the midst of the spray, he felt
some apprehension that his light would be ex-
tinguished ; but his care prevented this. He
was landed at the bottom of the pit, a hundred
and ninety feet from the top. He found it
almost perfectly circular, about eighteen feet in
diameter, with a small opening at one point,
leading to a fine chamber of no great extent.
He found on the floor beautiful sj)ecimens of
black selix, of immense size, vastly larger than
were ever discovered in any other part of the
Mammoth Cave, and also a multitude of exqui-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 133

site formations as pure and white as virgin snow.
Making himself heard, with great effort, by his
friends, he at length asked them to pull him
partly up, intending to stop on the way and
explore a cave that he had observed opening
about forty feet above the bottom of the pit.

'• Reaching the mouth of the cave, he swung
himself with much exertion into it, and, holding
the end of the rope in his hand, he incautiously
let it go, and it swung out apparently beyond
his reach. The situation was a fearful one, and
his friends above could do nothing for him.
Soon, however, he made a hook of tlie e.id of
his lamp, and, by extending himself as far over
the verge as possible without falling, he suc-
ceeded in securing the rope. Fastening it to a
rock, he followed the avenue one hundred and
fifty or two hundred yards to a point where he
found it blocked by an impassable avalanche of
rock and earth. Returning to the mouth of
this cave, he beheld an almost exactly similar
mouth of another on the opposite side of the pit,
but not being able to swing himself into it, he
refastened the rope around his body, suspended
himself again over the abyss, and shouted to his
friends to raise him to the top. The pull was
an exceedingly severe one, and the rope, being

12

134 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

ill adjusted around hivS body, gave him the most
excruciating pain. But soon his pain was for-
gotten in a new and dreadful peril.

"When he was ninety feet from the mouth
of the pit, and one hundred from the bottom,
swaying and swinging in mid-air, he heard rapid
and excited words of horror and alarm above,
and soon learned that the rope by which he was
upheld had taken fire from the friction of the
timber over which It passed. Several moments
of awful suspense to those above, and still more
awful to him below, ensued. To them and to
him a fatal and instant catastrophe seemed in-
evitable. But the fire was extinguished with a
bottle of water belonging to himself, and then
the party above, though almost exhausted by
their labors, succeeded in drawing him to the
top. He was as calm and self-possessed as upon
his entrance into the pit; but all of his com-
panions, overcome by fatigue, sank down upon
the ground, and his friend. Professor Wright,
from overexertion and excitement, fainted, and
remained for some time insensible.

" The young adventurer left his name carved
in the depths of the Maelstrom — the name of
the first and only person that ever gazed upon
its mysteries."

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 135

The guides informed us, upon reference being
made to this terrific adventure, which had pre-
viously come under our notice, that since the
occasion of Prentice's descent, two other parties
have been bold enough to incur the same
hazards, — one an Englishman and the other an
American. They, however, did not meet with
the appalling experience that is so graphically
narrated in the foregoing sketch.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE RATS, INSECTS, ETC. OF THE CAVE.

Having now reached the end of the Long
Route, and presuming that the minds of our
readers are sufficiently filled, for the present,
with the beautiful, the sublime, and the terrible,
we embrace the opportunity, before wending
back our weary way to the land of verdure and
sunshine, to draw attention for a few moments,
by way of diversion, to some of the animals and
insects of the Cave which have not already been
described, — several of which are found at this
point.

A peculiar kind of rat is sometimes found in
Crogan's Hall as well as in other parts of the
Cave, which is a size larger than the Norway
rat. The head and eyes resemble those of a
rabbit, and the hair on the back is like that of a
gray squirrel, but that of the legs and abdomen
is white.

Cave crickets and lizards are also found here.
The Cave crickets are about an inch in length.
(136)

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 137

The body is yellow, striped with black. They
are provided with large eyes, but seem to direct
their course, mainly, by their antennse, or feelers,
which are enormously developed. They are
sluggish in their movements, and, unlike other
crickets, observe an eternal silence.

The Cave lizards vary in length from three
to five inches. The eye is large and prominent.
The body is yellow and dotted with black spots,
and is semi-transparent. They are sluggish in
their movements.

The abundance of animal life at this point
(Crogan's Hall) would seem to indicate that
there is a communication with the surface of
the earth at no great distance.

Bats are found in all parts of the Cave, we are
told by Dr. Wright, but most abundantly in Au-
dubon's Avenue.

Professor Silliman, a portion of whose remarks
have alrea;dy been quoted ("Silliman's Journal"
for May, 1851), says :

" There are several insects, the largest of
which is a sort of cricket with enormously long
antennae. Of this insect, numerous specimens
will be found among the specimens sent to Profes-
sor Agassiz. There are several species of coleop-
tera, mostly burrowing in the nitre-earth. There

12*

138 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

are some small water insects also, which I sup-
pose are crustacean. Unfortunately, three vials,
containing numerous specimens of these insects,
were lost with my valise from the stage-coach,
and I fear will not be recovered.

" The only mammal, except the bats, observed
in the Cave, is a rat, which is very abundant,
judging from the tracks which they make, but
so shy and secluded in their habits that they are
seldom seen. We caught two of them, and, for-
tunately, they were male and female.

" The chief points of difference from the com-
mon rat, in external characters, are in the color,
which is bluish, the feet and belly and throat
white, the coat, which is of soft /wr, and the tail
also thinly furred, while the common, or Nor-
way rat, is gray or brown, and covered with
rough hair. The Cave rat is possessed of dark,
black eyes, of the size of a rabbit's eye, and en-
tirely without iris ; the feelers, also, are uncom-
monly long. We have satisfied ourselves that
he is entirely blind when first caught, although
his eyes are so large and lustrous."

We interrupt Professor Silliman here to sug-
gest that the inability of the rat to see was per-
haps owing to the unaccustomed, blinding light by
which it was examined. It will be seen that the

I

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 139

eye of the animal, gradually accustomed to light,
finally becomes adapted to the new medium, and
manifests the ability of exercising the sense of
sight. This being the fact, it is to be inferred
that the organs of vision were originally in a
perfect condition, and afterward adapted to the
state of darkness in which the animal existed;
which may be conjectured to be a transitory state
to a total obliteration of the visual organs, as has
been accomplished in the fishes.

Professor Silliman continues:

" By keeping them [the rats], however, in
captivity, and in diff'use light, they gradually
appeared to attain some power of vision. They
feed on apples and bread, and will not at present
[soon after capturing them] touch animal food.
There is no evidence that the Cave rats ever
visit the upper air, and there was no one who
could tell me whether they were or were not
found there by the persons who first entered this
place in 1802.*

" Bats are numerous in the avenues within a
mile or two of the mouth of the Cave, and Mr.
Mantell thinks he has secured at least two spe-
cies. Several specimens are preserved in alco-

* As before stated, the Cave was not discovered until 1809.

140 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

hol. It was not yet quite late enough in the
season when we were at the Cave, Oct. 16th-
22d, for all the bats to be in winter quarters, as
the season was very open and warm. Still, in
the galleries where they most abound, we found
countless groups of them on the ceilings, chip-
pering and scolding for a foothold among each
other. On one little patch of not over four or
five inches, we counted forty bats, and were sat-
isfied that one hundred and twenty at least were
able to stand on the surface of a foot square ;
for miles they are found in patches of various
sizes, and a cursory glance satisfied us that it
was quite safe to estimate them by millions. In
these gloomy and silent regions, where there is
neither change of temperature nor difibrence of
light to warn them of the revolving seasons, how
do they know when to seek again the outer air
when the winter is over, and their long sleep is
ended ? Surely, He who made them has not left
them without a law for the government of their
lives."

It is supposed that the rats obtain their sub-
sistence chiefly from the remnants of food left in
various parts of the Cave by the visitors.

CHAPTER XIV.

HOMEWARD BOUND.

We now turn our faces toward the outer
world, — the world which had, until this mo-
ment, been forgotten. We had been beguiled
along from one scene of novelty and of grandeur
and beauty to another; ever surprised and de-
lighted with the endless variety, and mutely
wondering what next would appear, until at
length we found that we had reached the end of
our journey — the " Ultima Thule " of the Cave,
as Stephen was wont to say — without being con-
scious of bodily fatigue, and without remember-
ing that we had already been eight hours away
from that world where the sun shines, where
the birds sing, and the fields display their ver-
dure. But at the moment of turning back all
these thoughts flood over us: a sense of phys-
ical weariness steals on us, and we are startled
by the reflection that we are nine miles from
the mouth of the cavern, and that there is no
way of reaching it except by the same road over

(141)

142 - THE MAMMOTH CAVE. ^

which we have already traveled, and by walk-
ing. Under such circumstances we feel a keen
appreciation of the value of horses and railroads.

On our outward journey our party did not
manifest the same degree of gayety or agility as
during the inward passage. The contrast was
striking : they filed along with heavy gait, and
often in moody silence, — it being frequently
necessary for the leaders to halt, count heads,
and drum up the stragglers. All appeared will-
ing to take advantage of every opportunity to
be seated without being fastidious as to the
character of the seat.

On returning through Cleveland's Cabinet, all
were anxious to secure specimens of the flowers,
etc. The floor is ' strewn with fragments of
these flowers, and visitors are privileged to take
therefrom as many as they wish, without let or
hinderance, but are not permitted, of course, to
disturb those on the ceiling or walls. Many of
the party selected the largest they could find.
We, on the contrary, took pains to collect a va-
riety of the smallest that would give a proper
idea of their character, anticipating their op-
pressive weight on the long journey yet before
us. Our conjectures proved correct. Before
proceeding a mile several of the party began to
throw down their specimens without a word of

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 143

comment. The three or four pounds that were
in our coat pockets became an intolerable burden
upon the shoulders and neck. A young gen-
tleman from Virginia, a Baptist minister, who
accompanied our party, very accommodatingly
proposed that we should place our specimens
with his in his handkerchief, and carry them
alternately. By this arrangement we succeeded
between us in bringing out a very fair collection
of some of the minor curiosities of the Cave.

It is unnecessary to refer to the incidents of
our outward passage ; they possess but little of
interest. We made our exit from the Cave,
footsore and weary, at half-past nine o'clock in
the evening, having been under ground for a
period of twelve hours and a half We climbed
the rugged hill and reached the hotel, feeling as
though it would have been impossible to have
walked another step.

Though being exceedingly fatigued, for the
reason that we had long been unaccustomed to
much pedestrian exercise, yet we felt a thousand
times repaid for our exhaustion in having visited
a new world, and witnessed with our own eyes
its multiform phases of wonder.

Awaiting our return, we found prepared a
bountiful supper; and, happily, all were in a
condition to do it full justice.

CHAPTER XV.

THE SHORT ROUTE.

Gorin's Dome. — Pensacola Avenue. — Sparks' Avenue, and Mau-
moth Dome. — Roaring River. — Marion's Avenue, and the Star
Chamber.

After the first day's underground journey it
is decidedly better for the tourist to take at least
twenty-four hours repose, for the purpose of
recuperating his physical forces, before under-
taking further explorations. In our case our
programme did not permit such a disposition of
the time.

Although we had slept soundly through the
night, it was discovered on arising in the morn-
ing that our muscles were exceedingly stiff and
sore. The greater number of our party, not
having time at their disposal for further explora-
tions, left for the. North immediately after break-
fast. In the mean time three or four new visit-
ors had arrived. Our reduced party set out on
the Short Route at half-past nine o'clock. After
exercising for a time, and witnessing new scenes,
we soon forgot our corporeal fatigue.
(144)

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 145

We proceeded about one mile by the same
route traveled the day previous, until we reached
the Deserted Chamber. Here we left the Long
Route, and, turning to the right, descended a
pair of steps and entered the Labyrinth. This is
a narrow, rugged causeway. The only object of
interest to be found in it, says Dr. Wright, is the
figure of the American Eagle on the left wall.
The guide did not regard the resemblance of this
figure to the bird, after which it is named, as very
striking, but stated that he drew our attention
to it for the reason that after leaving the Cave
we would probably read in Dr. Wright's M.mual
that in this avenue was contained the figure of
the American Eagle, and we would then censure
the memory of the guide for not having pointed
it out to us. We compUmented the guide's
views of ornithology, as also his conscientious
discharge of duty.

Gorin's Dome, a curiosity of considerable mag-
nitude, is reached by passing over a small bridge
and ascending a ladder, ten feet in height, in
the Labyrinth. It is viewed from a natural win-
dow", situated equidistant between the floor and
the ceiling of the Dome. We are told by Dr.
Wright that it is about two hundred feet in
height and sixty feet across its widest part. The

13

146 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

farther side presents a striking resemblance to an
immense curtain, which extends from the ceiling
to within forty feet of the floor. The window
through which Gorin's Dome is viewed is circu-
lar in form, and not more than two or three feet
in diameter, allowing but one person at a time
to enjoy the view of the interior. By imagin-
ing an immense well or deep circular excavation
in the earth, without any opening at top or bot-
tom, and supposing one's self to approach it about
the center, or at a point midway between the
floor and ceiling, and finding a small aperture
through which a view of it can be obtained,
would we not feel almost as much astonished at
the novelty of the point of view as we would on
beholding the curiosity itself?

Bayard Taylor speaks thus of this Dome :
" We now reached another pit, idong the
brink of which we walked, clambered up a ledge,
and at last found a window-like opening, where
Alfred (the guide) bade us pause. Leaning over
the thin partition wall, the light of our united
lamps disclosed a vast glimmering hall, the top
of which vanished into darkness, and the bottom
of which we could only conjecture by the loud,
hollow splash of water-drops that came up out
of the terrible gloom. Directly in front of us

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 147

hung a gigantic mass of rock, which, in its folds
and masses, presented a wonderful resemblance
to a curtain. It had a regular fringe of stalac-
tites, and there was a short outer curtain over-
lapping it at the top. The length of this piece
of limestone drapery could not have been less
than one hundred feet. In a few moments,
Alfred, who had left us, reappeared at another
window on the right hand, where he first dropped
some burning paper into the gulf, and then kin-
dled a Bengal-light. It needed this illumination
to enable us to take in the grand dimensions of
the Dome. We could see the oval arch of the
roof a hundred feet above our heads ; the floor
studded with stalagmitic pedestals as far below ;
while directly in front the huge curtain that
hung from the center of the Dome — the veil of
some subterranean mystery — shone rosy-white,
and seemed to wave and swing, pendulous in the
awful space. We were thoroughly thrilled and
penetrated with the exceeding sublimity of the
picture, and turned away reluctantly as the
fires burned out, feeling that if the Cave had
nothing else to show, its wonders had not been
exaggerated."

Gorin's Dome was formed in the same manner
as the Side-Saddle Pit, which, it will be reraem-

148 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

bered, was by the solvent action of water
charged with carbonic acid.

We are told that there are avenues which
communicate with the top and bottom of the
Dome. When Echo River rises, the floor of the
Dome is covered with water, in which eyeless
fish are sometimes found.

Gorin's Dome bears the name of its discoverer,
and former proprietor of the Cave.

Pensacola Avenue is about a mile in length,
from eight to sixty feet in height, and from
thirty to one hundred in width. It is entered
from Revelers' Hall.

The following objects are worthy of exam-
ination :

1. The Sea-Turtle is about thirty feet in
diameter. The rock of which it is composed
has fallen from the ceiling

2. The Wild Hall in size and appearance
resembles Bandit's Hall. Bunyan's Way, which
communicates with Great Relief, enters Pensa-
cola Avenue at this point.

3. Snowball Arched Way receives its name
from the fact that its ceiling is covered with
nodules of gypsum, like those in the Snowball
Room.

4. The Great Crossing is the point at which
four avenues take their origin.

.%

n^ JJi^al Steaan. IM..C1,. ThUa.

ANGELICA'S GROTTO

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 149

5. Mat's Arcade is fifty yards long, thirty
feet wide, and sixty in height.

Between the floor and ceiUng there are four
beautiful terraces, which extend the full length
of the Arcade.

There is a collection of beautiful stalactites,
called the Pine-Apple Bush, in Mat's Arcade.

6. Angelico Grotto, the ceiling and walls of
which are incrusted with crystals of carbonate
of lime, is a beautiful apartment. The artists
have succeeded in obtaining a very handsome
photograph of this grotto, in the couch of which
a young girl was reclining at the time of its ex-
ecution. We find the following lines in the
Rev. Horace Martin's book, addressed to this
fairy grotto:

" Some Fairy of the oldea time

Her dwelling sure had here,
And here she rested, with no grief

To shade her spirits clear.
How fit the place for one like her —

So fanciful and light —
A creature jocund as the dawn,

And as the morning bright.
A spot like this, did he, the Bard

Of Avon's fiow'ry stream.
Imagine, where, in ' frenzy fine,'

He had his wanton ' Dream.'
Titania here might move along,

And Puck his frolics play,
13*

150 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

And Hermia, in her race of love,

Outpace the hours of day.
The fancy sees them passing now,

How beautiful they seem !
And now they're gone — we have them not,

They vanish'd in the gloom."

Pensacola Avenue terminates about half a
mile beyond Angelico Grotto, in a low archway.

Sparks' Avenue extends from River Hall to
the Mammoth Dome, a distance of three-fourths
of a mile.

The objects of interest in this avenue occur
in the foUowino; order :

1. Bandits' Hall is sixty feet long and forty
wide, the Hoor of which is covered with large
rocks that have been detached from the ceiling.
It is truly a wild-looking hall ; its appearance
naturally suggesting the name. Here bandits
might retire, and hold their revels in perfect
security.

To the right of Bandits' Hall is an avenue
of great extent, which has not been fully ex-
plored, called Brigg's Avenue.

2. Newman's Spine is about ten feet in
length, and consists of a crevice in the center
of the ceiling, which is the exact image of a
cast of a gigantic backbone.

3. Sylvan Avenue extends from Sparks'

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 151

Avenue to Clarissa's Dome, and is about three
hundred yards in length. This avenue con-
tains a number of ferruginous logs, which vary
from five to fifteen inches in diameter. Some
of them appear to be chopped in half; others
have lost a portion of bark, displaying a white
surface of petrous wood ; and others again look
as though they were in a state of partial decay.
Anywhere else these masses of stone might be
mistaken for petrified wood.

Clarissa's Dome is entered at its base. It
resembles Gorin's Dome, but is much smaller.

4. Bennett's Point is directly opposite Sylvan
Avenue, where the avenue turns at an acute
angle to the right. The floor of the avenue at
this point is covered with yellow sand.

5. Bishop's Gorge is a low and narrow part
of the avenue, which is passed with difficulty.

Sparks' Avenue is named in honor of Mr.
C. A. Sparks, of New York.

The Mammotli Dome is viewed from a ter-
race about forty feet from its base. It is two
hundred and fifty feet in height, and in appear-
ance closely resembles Gorin's Dome, but is more
than five times as large. At the left extremity
of the dome there are five large pillars cut out of
the solid rock, called the Corinthian Columns.

152 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

The awful sublimity of this dome, when
strongly illuminated, exceeds anything ever pic-
tured to a mind frenzied by opium or hashish.

The Mammoth Dome is still enlarging.

The brief time that we were unfortunately
restricted to when we visited the Cave, did
not permit us to make a personal inspection
of either Pensacola Avenue or Sparks' Avenue
and Mammoth Dome, which we very much
regret, and therefore are wholly indebted to
Dr. Wright for the description which we have
just given.

Ihere are several avenues not often fre-
quented by visitors, of which we need make
no mention whatever, — for the very good
reason that we have no information to offer.

Roaring River is another portion of the Cave
which we did not visit, but Dr. Wright informs
us that the avenue which communicates with
Roaring River is entered at Cascade Hall, and
is half a mile in length. He adds, that Roar-
ing River resembles Echo River in size and ap-
pearance, but' has a louder echo. There is a
cascade which falls into it, from which proceeds
roaring sounds, and from which it has received
its name.

Eyeless fish and eyeless crawfish are found in

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 153

Roaring River, as well as sunfish and black
crawfish, both of which are provided with
eyes.

Marion's Avenue, Dr. Wright informs us, is
about a mile and a half long, and arises in
Washington Hall. Tt varies from twenty to
sixty feet in width, and from eight to forty in
height. The floor is covered with sand, and
the walls are composed of white limestone,
which resembles cumulus clouds. The far end
of the avenue divides into two branches, — that
to the right leading to Paradise and Portia's
Parterre, and that to the left to Zoe's Grotto.

The walls and ceiling of the avenue termed
Paradise are covered with gypsum flowers.
There is a dome in Paradise Avenue which
is composed of sandstone. It is called Digby's
Dome.

Portia's Parterre is entered from the left
wall of Paradise Avenue. It is half a mile in
length, and contains the same kind of flowers
that are found in Cleveland's Cabinet. It was
discovered about twelve years ago, and is com-
monly known as the New Discovery.

Upon leaving Gorin's Dome we returned to
the Giant's Coffin, on our way to the Star
Chamber.

154 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

The Star Chamber is situated in the Main
Cave, which leads off to the left^ as you enter,
at the Giant's Coffin, as before mentioned. It
is sixty feet in height, seventy in width, and
about five hundred in length. The ceiling is
composed of black gypsum, and is studded with
innumerable white points, which, by a dim light,
present a most striking resemblance to stars.
These points, or stars, are produced, in part, by
an efflorescence of Glauber's salts beneath the
black gypsum, which causes it to scale off, and
in part by throwing stones against it, by which
it is detached from the white limestone. In the
far extremity of the chamber a large mass has
been separated, by which a white surface is ex-
posed, termed the Comet.

We give below the observations and remarks
of Bayard Taylor on approaching the Star
Chamber, and his impressions upon witnessing
it. He says :

"We passed several stone and frame houses,
some of which were partly in ruin. The guide
pointed them out as the residence of a number
of consumptive patients, who came here in Sep-
tember, 1843, and remained until January. 'I
was one of the waiters who attended upon
them,' said Alfred. ' I used to stand on that

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 155

rock and blow the horn to call them to dmner.
There were fifteen of them, and they looked
more like a company of skeletons than anything
else.' One of the number died here. His case
was hopeless when he entered, and even when
conscious that his end was near he refused to
leave. I can conceive of one man being bene-
fited by a residence in the Cave, but the idea
of a company of lank, cadaverous invalids wan-
dering about in the awful gloom and silence,
broken only by their hollow coughs — doubly
hollow and sepulchral there — is terrible. On a
mound of earth near the Dining-Room I saw
some cedar-trees, which had been planted there
as an experiment. They were entirely dead,
but the experiment can hardly be considered
final, as the cedar is, of all trees, the most easily
injured by being transplanted."

It is surprising that such an observing traveler
as Mr. Taylor should have fallen into so pal-
pable an error as to imagine that trees, or any
other species of vegetation, could possibly main-
tain vitality under circumstances where light,
moisture, and heat are absent. This part of the
Cave is perfectly dry ; but the want of light
would alone be sufficient to prevent, or destroy
vegetation.

156 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

Mr. Taylor continues: "I now noticed that
the ceiling became darker, and that the gray
cornice of the walls stood out from it in strong
relief. Presently it became a sheet of unvarying
blackness, which reflected no light, like a cloudy
night-sky All at once a few stars glimmered
through the void, then more and more, and a
firmament as far off and vast, apparently, as
that which arches over the outer world, hung
above our heads. We were in the celebrated
Star Chamber. Leaning upon a rock which lay
upon the right side of the avenue, we looked
upward, lost in wonder at the marvelous illu-
sion. It is impossible to describe the effect of
this mock sky. Your reason vainly tells you
that it is but a crust of black gypsum, sprinkled
wdtli points of the white limestone beneath,
seventy-five feet above your head. You see that
it is a fathomless heaven, with its constellations
twinkling in the illimitable space. You are no
longer upon this earth. You are in a thunder-
riven gorge of the mountains of Jupiter, looking
up at the strange firmament of that darker
planet. You see other constellations rising, far
up in the abyss of midnight, and witness the
occultation of remoter stars."

The starry firmament which Mr. Taylor has

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 157

SO graphically described, could not be seen to
advantage under ordinary circumstances, — every
visitor having his lamp in hand. The guide
seats the visitors upon a bench provided for the
purpose, placed against the right wall of the
avenue; he then takes all the lamps from the
party, and, stepping back ten or fifteen feet, on
the same side, he holds them within a small
recess naturally formed in the rock, in such a
manner that none of the direct rays of the
light fall upon the eyes of the beholder, but are
thrown upon the ceiling. By this manoeuvre
the illusion of a starry sky is as complete as it
is possible to be ; a perfect representation of a
comet, as if especially provided to add to the
reality of the sublime scene, is also plainly dis-
coverable in the distance.

After indulging the visitors in the fascination
of the scene long enough to produce a lasting
impression, the guide, with the lamps, passes to
the opposite side of the avenue, in front of us,
leaving us seated as before, and descends into
the -mouth of an avenue still lower. As he
slowly disappears below, we have the finest dis-
play of lights and shadow^s that it is possible to
imagine. A black cloud gradually passes over
the sky, and it is difficult to divest one's self of

14

1-38 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

the idea that a storm is approaching. Tt needs
bat the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder
to make the ilUision complete.

After producing the storm illusion, the guide
disappears entirely with the lamps through the
nether avenue which communicates with the one
by which we entered several hundred yards in
the rear. We are thus left in total darkness,
without even the sight of the midnight sky to
console us. Of these moments, Bayard Taylor
remarks : "Yes, this is darkness— solid, palpable
darkness. Stretch out your hand and you can
^grasp it; open your mouth and it will choke
you. Such must have been the primal chaos
before Space was, or Form was, or ' Let there be
light!' had been spoken. In the intense stillness
I could hear the beating of my heart, and the
humming sound made, by the blood in its circu-
lation."

After waiting a short time, sufficiently long
to enable us to appreciate the sense of total dark-
ness, we observed the faintest rays of daylight
in the eastern horizon ; and then, to heighten
the illusion, we heard the well-imitated crow of
chanticleer. Day was breaking after that period
of awful darkness; lighter and lighter came the
morning as the guide slowly approached, — for it

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 159

was he, — until finally his lights came in full
view, giving us one of the finest artificial sunrises
that could possibly be produced.

The sights and illusions of the Star Chamber
are so wonderful and so complete, that when we
reluctantly take our leave of it, we feel as though
we had passed a night in a new world, and that
the morning had unexpectedly broken upon us
before our astonished faculties had had time to
comprehend the extraordinary transition of time
and circumstances.

With the exception of Echo River, says Dr.
"Wright, the Star Chamber is, perhaps, the most
attractive object in the Cave.

The Floating Cloud Room connects the Star
Chamber with Proctor's Arcade.

The clouds are produced by the scaling off of
black gypsum from the ceiling, by an efflores-
cence of the sulphate of soda beneath it, by which
a white surface is exposed. They appear to be
drifting from the Star Chamber over the Chief
City. The Cloud Room is a quarter of a mile
in length, and in height and width corresponds
with the Star Chamber.

CHAPTER XVI.

proctor's arcade. KIXNET's arena. WRIGHT'S RO-
TUNDA.— FAIRY GROTTO. — THE CHIEF CITY, AND GREAT
CROSSINGS.

Proctor's Arcade, which is entered imme-
diately beyond the Star Chamber, is, says Dr.
Wright, the most magnificent natural tunnel in
the world. It is a hundred feet in width, forty-
five in height, and three-quarters of a mile in
length. The ceiling is smooth, and the walls
vertical, and look as though they had been
chiseled out of the solid rock.

AVhen this tunnel is illuminated with a Bengal-
light at Kinney's Arena, which is its western
terminus, the view is magnificent beyond con-
ception. This arcade is named in honor of Mr.
L. J. Proctor, the proprietor of the Cave Hotel.

Kinney's Arena is a hundred feet in diameter
and fifty feet in height. From the ceiling, in the
center of the Arena, there projects a stick, three
feet in length and two inches in diameter. It
rests parallel with the ceiling, and is inserted
(160)

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 161

into a crevice in the rock. How it was placed
in its present position is a difficult question to
settle, inasmuch as it could not have been in-
serted in the position it occupies by artificial
means.

After passing the S Bend, which has no par-
ticular points of attraction, Wright's Rotunda is
entered.

This Rotunda is four hundred feet in its
shortest diameter. The ceiling is from ten to
forty-five feet in height, and is perfectly level,
the apparent difference in height being produced
by the irregularity of the floor. It is astonish-
ing that the ceiling has strength to sustain itself,
for it is not more than fifty feet from the surface
of the earth. Fortunately the Cave at this
point is perfectly dry, and no change of any
kind is transpiring in it, otherwise there might
be some risk of it falling in, as evidences of such
occurrences are to be found in the surrounding
country.

When this immense area is illuminated at
the two extremes simultaneously, it presents a
most magnificent appearance.

At the eastern extremity of the Rotunda is a
column, four feet in diameter, extending from

14*

162 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

the floor to the ceiling, termed Nicholas' Monu-
ment, after one of the old colored guides.

The Fox Avenue communicates with the Eo-
tunda and S Bend. It is about five hundred
yards in length, and is worth exploring.

A short distance beyond Wright's Rotunda
the Main Cave sends off several avenues or
branches. That to the left leads to the Black
Chamber, which is one hundred and fifty leet
wide and twenty in height, the walls and ceil-
ing of which are incrusted with black gypsum.
It is the most gloomy room in the Cave.

There are two avenues leading off to the
right. The far one communicates with Fairy
Grotto, which contains a most magnificent col-
lection of stalagmites. It is a mile in length.
The other avenue communicates with Solitary
Cave, at the entrance of which there is a small
cascade.

" We will at once enter the Fairy Grotto of
the Solitary Cave. It is in truth a fairy grotto;
a countless number of stalactites are seen ex-
tending, at irregular distances, from the roof to
the floor, of various sizes and of the most fantas-
tic shapes, — some quite straight, some crooked,
some large and hollow, — forming irregularly
fluted colunms; and some solid near the ceihng.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 163

and divided lower down into a great number of
small branches like the roots of trees, exhibit-
ing the appearance of a coral grove. Hanging
our lamps to the incrustations on the columns,
the grove of stalactites became faintly lighted
up, disclosing a scene of extraordinary wildness
and beauty. 'This is nothing to what you will
see on the other side of the rivers,' cries our
guide, smiling at our enthusiastic admiration.
W>th all its present beauty, this grotto is far
from being what it was before it was despoiled
and robbed some eight or nine years ago by a
set of vandals, who, through sheer wantonness,
broke many of the stalactites, leaving them
strewn on the floor, a disgraceful memorial of
their vulgar propensities and barbarian-like con-
duct."*

What is called the Chief City is situated in
the Main Cave beyond the Rocky Pass.

It is about two hundred feet in diameter and
forty in height. The floor is covered at different
points with piles of rock, which present the
appearance of the ruins of an ancient city.

Of this, and contiguous parts of the Cave,

* Rambles in the Mammoth Cave, during the year 1844, by a
Visitor, pp. 54, 55.

164 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

Bayard Taylor says : •• Just one mile from the
Star Chamber a rough stone ckoss has been
erected to denote that the distance has been
carefully measured. The floor here rises con-
siderably, which contracts the dimensions of the
avenue, although they are still on a grand scale.
About half a mile farther we come to the Great
Crossings, where five avenues meet. In the dim
light it resembled the interior of a great cathe-
dral, whose arched roof is a hundred feet ab«ve
its pavement. Turning to the left, at right
angles to our former direction, we walked (still
following the Main Avenue) some ten minutes
farther, when the passage debouched into a spa-
cious hall, with a cascade pouring from the very
summit of its lofty dome. Beyond and adjoin-
ing it was a second hall, of nearly equal dimen-
sions, with another cascade falling from its roof.
We turned again to the right, finding the avenue
still more irregular and contracted than before,
but had not advanced far before its ceiling began
to rise, showing a long slope of loosely piled
rocks, lying in strong relief against a back-
ground of unfathomable darkness.

"I climbed the rocks and sat down on the
highest pinnacle, while Stephen descended to the
opposite side of the slope, and kindled two or

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 106

three Bengal-lights, which he had saved for the
occasion. It needed a stronger illumination
than our lamps could afford to enable me to
comprehend the stupendous dimensions of this
grandest of underground chambers. I will give
the figures, but they convey only a faint idea
of its colossal character: length, eight hundred
feet; breadth, three hundred feet; height, one
hundred and twenty feet; area, between four
and five acres. Martin's picture of Satan's Coun-
cil-Hall in Pandemonium would hardly seem ex-
aggerated if ofiered as a representation of the
Chief City, so far and vanishing is the per-
spective of its extremities, so tremendous the
span of its gigantic dome.

" I sat upon the summit of the hill until the
last fires had burned out, and the hall became
even more vast and awful in the waninsr liirht of
our lamps. Then taking a last look backward
through the arch of the avenue, — to my mind the
most impressive view, — we returned to the Hall
of the Cascades. Stephen proposed showing me
the Fairy Grotto, which was not fiir off; and to
accomplish that end I performed a grievous
amount of stooping and crawling in the Solitary
Cave. The Grotto, which js a delicate stalactite
chamber, resembling a Gothic oratory, was very

166 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

picturesque and elegant, and I did not regret the
trouble I had taken to reach it." v

To show the similarity of the impressions pro-
duced upon different individuals by these novel
and remarkable sights, we quote from the "Vis-
itor," who, in turn, quotes from Mr. Lee :

" Returning from the Fairy Grotto, we entered
the Main Cave at the Cataract, and continued
our walk to the Chief City, or Temple, which is
thus described by Lee, in his ' Notes on the
Mammoth Cave':

"'The Temple is an inmiense vault covering
an area of two acres, and covered by a single
dome of solid rock, one hundred and twenty feet
high. It excels in size the Cave of Staffa ; and
rivals the celebrated vault in the Grotto of An-
tiparos, which is said to be the largest in the
world. In passing through from one end to the
other, the dome appears t(j follow like the sky in
passing from place to place on the earth. In the
middle of the dome there is a large mound of
rocks rising on one side, nearly to the top, very
steep, and forming what is called the Mountain.
When first I ascended this mound from the Cave
below I was struck with a feeling of awe more
deep and intense than anything that I had ever
before experienced. I could only observe the

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. \ 167

narrow circle which was illuminated immediately
around me ; alcove and beyond was apparently an
unlimited space, in which the ear could catch not
the slightest sound, nor the eye find an object to
rest upon. It was filled with silence and dark-
ness ; and yet I knew that I was beneath the
earth, and that this space, however large it might
be, was actually bounded by solid walls. My
curiosity was rather excited than gratified. In
order that I might see the whole in one con-
nected view I built fires in many places with
the pieces of cane that I found scattered among
the rocks. Then taking my stand on the Mount-
ain, a scene was presented of surprising magnifi-
cence. On the opposite side the strata of gray
limestone, breaking up by steps from the bottom,
could scarcely be discerned in the distance by the
glimmering light. Above was the lofty dome,
closed at the top by a smooth, oval slab, beauti-
fully defined in the outline, from which the walls
sloped away on the right and left into thick
darkness. Every one has heard of the dome of
the Mosque of St. Sophia, of St. Peter's and of
St. Paul's ; they are never spoken of but in terms
of admiration, as the chief works of architecture,
and among the noblest and most stupendous ex-
amples of what man can do when aided by

168 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

science ; and yet when compared with the dome
of this Temple, they sink into comparative insig-
nificance. Such is the surpassing grandeur of
Nature's works.'

"To us," adds "Visitor," "the Temple seemed
to merit the glowing description above given ;
but what would Lee think, on being told that
since the discovery of the rivers, and the world
of beauties beyond them, not one person in fifty
visits the Temple or the Fairy Grotto; they
are now looked upon as tame and uninter-
ng. ^

From these justly-merited descriptions of this
portion of the Cave the reader may form some
concej^tion of the surpassing beauty and mag-
nificence of other parts, when infjrmed, as
above, that the Chief City is now very rarely
visited.

From the Chief City to the end of the Main
Cave, a distance of three miles, there are
several points at which the appearance which
this avenue presented when filled with running
water may be observed, where the overhanging
cliffs closely resemble those in the Pass of El
Ghor, of recent formation.

* Rambles, etc., pp. 55, 56, 57.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 169

The Main Cave is terminated abruptly by
rocks that have fallen from above. It must
not, however, be supposed that this is the end
of it, for there can be no doubt that it was
closed at this point in the same manner as
Dickson's Cave was terminated, and that the
removal of the obstructing rock would open a
communication with a cave of the same size as
the one v^e have been attempting to describe.

Retracing our steps by the route just passed
over, we now return to the Second Hoppers,
used by the saltpetre miners, mount a flight of
wooden steps, fifteen feet high, to the right of
the Gothic Galleries, and enter the Gothic
Arcade.

15

I

CHAPTER XVII.

OF ANCIENT MUMMIES FOUND IN THE CAVE.

Upon ascending the ladder, and entering the
Gothic Arcade, the first object to which our
attention is directed is what is called the Seat
of the Mummy, which consists of a niche in the
left wall of the avenue, about forty yards from
the steps, just large enough to accommodate a
human being with a comfortable seat.

Dr. Wright informs us that the body of an
Indian female was found in this niche, dressed
in the skins of wild animals, and ornamented
with the trinkets usually worn by the taborig-
ines. We are also told, by the same authority,
that, within a few feet distant, was at the same
time discovered the body of an Indian child,
attired in a similar manner, and in a sitting
posture, resting against the wall. Both bodies
are said to have been in a mummified condition.
Dr. Wright suggests that they wandered into
this avenue, and, becoming bewildered, sat
{110) '

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 171

down and died in the position in which they
were found.

Dr. Wright does not state what became of
the bodies, or any other particulars in addition
to those we have just mentioned. We made
inquiry of the guide as to what disposition had
been made of the remains. He replied that he
had no personal knowledge of the matter, as the
discovery had been made long anterior to his
Cave experience, but he had been informed that
the bodies had been sent to Louisville, to some
museum or medical college. We expressed
our surprise that such extraordinary curiosities
should have been removed from the place
where found, — where the changes of Time were
unknown, — or that they should have been
carried beyond the Cave Hotel, at all events.
The guide did not attempt any explanation.
There are two niches in the side-wall of solid
rock, one about large enough for an adult to sit
in, and the other of a size adapted to a child.
When we come to reflect upon the subject, we
are first astonished at the thought that a woman
and young child should venture so far, without
companions, into the dark cavern ; and, as the
entrance to the Gothic Arcade, from the Main
Avenue, is effected bv the aid of a ladder fifteen

172 THK MAMMOTH TAVE.

toot hiiili. plaooil thoiv sinoi^ tho ilisoovorv of tho
Cavo bv wliito inou.- wo iioxt n\-\)iuKm' how it
ooiild liavo boon possiblo lor a woman ami oliiUl
to havo inailo this dillioult asooiit without tho
aiil oi' a buUlor, and. if possiblo, what objoot
oonld liavo boon in viow snlVioiontly s^tron;:; to
havo induootl tlio woman with \\ov inlant to
havo surnunuitod snob oxtraordinarv obstaolos?
And, at'tor ovoroomin^ all tboso ditlionltios, is it
prosumablo that tho woman anil ohild j^hould
havo oontinuod to wandor nntil thov llnuul two
niohos in tho wall oxactly adaptod to thoir
rospootivo si/.os, and thov porhaps tho oi\\\
niohos suitod to tho purposo in tho Cavo?

Wo aiv somowhat surpris(Hl that Ih". Wright,
tho latost roooiini/.od authority in oavoology,
doos not outer moro into dotail rospooting this
important subjoot. partionlarly as sovoral of his
prodooossors in oavo history havo boon nnu-h
moro minuto in thoir aooounts ol" tho disoovory
and tho disposition oi" tho niunnnios. Not doubt-
ing Dr. Wright's ooilviotion of tho truth oi' tho
romarks that bo has mado upon tho subjoot. wi>
ropoat that ho. and othors oonoornod. owo it as
a duty to thomsolvos to oxplain io tho satisiao-
tion ol" tho publio why tho said bodios woro n>-
niovod from tho position in whioh they woro

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 173

found (which, if* remaining, would have consti-
tuted one of tlie greatest curiosities of the Cave),
how they were disposed of, and in what condition
they are at present.

In our researches relating to this interesting
subject, we believe that we have found every-
thing of importance that has yet been published;
}ind witli the design of laying before our readers
the accounts that are at present accessible to but
few, we hereby detail all that is known to us
respecting the human mummies, and the bones
of the lower animals, said to have been dis-
covered in the Cave, that others may have the
same data that we have upon which to found
their conclusions.

The first record that we have regarding the
mummies is to be found in a book entitled "The
Ifiuidred Wonders of the World, and of the
Three Kingdoms of Nature, described according
to the latest and best authorities, by the Rev.
E. C. Clark," published at New Haven, 1821,
which refers to the Mammoth Cave as one of
the conspicuous wonders, under the title of
" The Grciat Kentucky Cavern."

Many of what are now regarded as the chief
wonders ol" the Cave, however, were totally
unknown at that date (1821). The description

15*

174 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

is taken from an account given by Dr. Nahum
Ward, which was published in the "Monthly
Magazine," so far back as October, 1816. This
account possesses but little value at the present
day, except in the fact that it contains the
earliest published notice, so far as we know,
of the discovery of human remains within the
Cave. In speaking of the mummy, Dr. Ward
says (p. 109) :

" It was removed from another cave for pre-
servation, and was presented to him (Dr. W.),
together with the apparel, jewels, music, etc.
with which it was accompanied. It has since
been placed in the Washington Museum, the
proprietor of which thinks it probable that this
mummy is as ancient as the immense mounds
of the Western country, which have so much
astonished the world."

No information is given us as to the location
of the Washington Museum. This account does
not contain anything further on the subject than
above quoted, which is much to be regretted.

Collins' Kentucky,* a work containing much

* Historical Sketches of Kentucky : embracing its History,
Antiquities, and Natural Curiosities, Geographical, Statistical,
and Geological Descriptions ; with Anecdotes of Pioneer Life, and
more than one hundred Biographical Sketches of distinguished

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 175

valuable information regarding the early history
of the State, but which has become so scarce that
we were unable to procure a copy until our
manuscript was nearly ready for the press, in
treating upon Edmonson County, gives a very
entertaining account of the Mammoth Cave
(pp. 254-61). The following is the opening
paragraph :

" In Edmonson County is situated, perhaps
the greatest natural wonder in the world, the
celebrated Mammoth Cave. In no other place
has nature exhibited her varied powers on a
more imposing scale of grandeur and magnifi-
cence. The materials of the following sketch
of this Cave are derived, principally, from a
small publication issued by Morton & Griswold,
of Louisville, entitled '' Rambles in the Mammoth
Cave, during the year 1844, by a Visitor.' This
publication contains, we believe, the most com-
plete and accurate description of this subterra-
nean palace that has yet appeared, and gives
the reader a very vivid conception of that amaz-
ing profusion of grand, solemn, picturesque, and

Pioneers, Soldiers, Statesmen, Jurists, Lawyers, Divines, etc.
Illustrated by forty engravings. By Lewis Collins. Published
by Lewis Collins, Maysville, Ky.; and J. A. & U. P. James, Cin-
cinnati, 1847. 8vo, pp. 560.

176 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

romantic scenery, which impresses every be-
holder with astonishment and awe', and attracts
to this Cave crowds of visitors from every quarter
of the world."

After speaking of the surroundings and of the
entrance of the Cave, the author, referring, we
suppose, to what is now known as the Rotunda,
says :

" The entire extent of this prodigious space
is covered by a single rock, in which the eye
can detect no break or interruption, save at its
borders, which are surrounded by a broad, sweep-
ing cornice, traced in horizontal panel work, ex-
ceedingly noble and regular. Not a single pier
or pillar of any kind contributes to support it.
It needs no support ; but is

' By its own weight made steadfast and immovable.'

"At a very remote period," continues our au-
thor, " this chamber seems to have been used as
a cemetery ; and there have been disinterred
many skeletons of gigantic dimensions, belong-
ing to a race of people long since vanished from
the earth. Such is the vestibule of the Mam-
moth Cave, The walls of this chamber are so
dark that they reflect not a single ray of light
from the dim torches."

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 177

This is the first intimation given by the writer
of the discovery of liuman remains in the Cave,
and is all that he says upon the subject in
this place. After proceeding, however, for some
time, describing the various objects of interest
upon entering the Gothic Arcade, he recurs to
the subject; and, in consideration of the fact
that we had expressed doubts regarding the
whole question, before this account came under
our notice, we here quote the entire remarks
concerning the mummies, that our readers may
decide for themselves what amount of credibility
the account is entitled to :

" The Gothic Avenue, to which the visitor
ascends from the main cave by a flight of stairs,
is about forty feet wide, fifteen feet high, and two
miles long. The ceiling in many places is as
smooth and white as if formed by the trowel of
the most skillful plasterer. In a recess on the
left hand, elevated a few feet above the floor,
two mummies, long since taken away, were to
be seen in 1813. They were in good preser-
vation,— one was a female, with her extensive
wardrobe placed before her. Two of the miners
found a mummy in Audubon Avenue in 1814;
but, having concealed it, it was not found until
1840, when it was so much injured and broken

178 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

to pieces by the weights which had been placed
upon it as to be of no value. There is no doubt
that by proper efforts discoveries might be made
which would throw light on the history of the
early iahabitauts of this continent. A highly
scientific gentleman of New York, one of the
early visitors to the Cave, says in his published
narrative :

"•^On my first visit to the Mammoth Cave in
1813, I saw a relic of ancient times, which re-
quires a minute description. This description is
from a memorandum made in the Cave at the
time.

"'In the digging of saltpetre-earth in the Short
Cave a flat rock was met with by the workmen,
a little below the surface of the earth, in the
Cave : this stone was raised, and was about four
feet wide, and as many long ; beneath it was a
square excavation about three feet deep, and as
many in length and width. In this small nether
subterranean chamber sat in solemn silence one
of the human species, a female, with her wardrobe
and ornaments placed at her side. The body was
in a state of perfect preservation, and sitting erect.
The arms were folded up, and the hands were
laid across the bosom ; around the two wrists w^as
wound a small cord, designed, probably, to keep

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 179

them in the posture in which they were first
placed ; around the body and next thereto were
wrapped two deer-skins. These skins appeared
to have been dressed in some mode different from
what is now practiced by any people of whom I
have any kncuvledge. The hair of the skins
was cut off very near to the surface. The skins
were ornamented with the imprints of vines and
leaves, which were sketched with a substance
perfectly white. Outside of these two skins was
a large square sheet, which was either wove or
knit. The fabric was the inner bark of a tree,
which I judge from appearances to be that of the
linn-tree. In its texture and appearance it re-
sembled the South Sea Island cloth or matting ;
this sheet enveloped the whole body and head.
The hair on the head was cut off within an
eighth of an inch of the skin, except near the
neck, where it was an inch long. The color of
the hair was a dark-red ; the teeth were white
and perfect. I discovered no blemish upon the
body, except a wound between two ribs, near
the backbone; and one of the eyes had also been
injured. The finger and toe nails were per-
fect and quite long. The features were regular.
I measured the length of one of the bones of the
arm with a string, from the elbow to the wrist-

180 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

joint, and they equaled my own in length, viz.,
ten and a half inches. From the examination
of the whole frame I judged the figure to be that
of a very tall female, say five feet ten inches in
height. The body, at the time it was discovered,
weighed but fourteen pounds, and was perfectly
dry; on exposure to the atmosphere, it "gained
in weight, by absorbing dampness, four pounds.
Many persons have expressed surprise that a
human body of great size should weigh so little,
as many human skeletons, of nothing but bone,
exceed this weight.

"'Recently experiments have been made in
Paris which have demonstrated the fact of the
human body being reduced to ten pounds by
being exposed to a heated atmosphere for a long
period of time. The color of the skin was dark,
not black; the flesh was hard and dry upon the
bones. At the side of the body lay a pair of
moccasins, a knapsack-, and an indispensable, or
reticule. I will describe these in the order in
which I have named them. The moccasins
were made of wove or knit bark, like the wrap-
per I have described. Around the top was a
border to add strength, and perhaps as an orna-
ment. These were of middling size, denoting
feet of a small size. The shape of the mocca-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 181

sins differs but little from the deer-skin mocca-
sins worn by the northern Indians. The knap-
sack was of wove or knit bark, with a deep,
strong border around the top, and was about the
size of knapsacks used by soldiers. The work-
manship of it was neat, and such as would do
credit, as a fabric, to a manufacturer of the
present day. The reticule was also made of
wove or knit bark. The shape was much like a
horseman's valise, opening its whole length on
the top. On the side of the opening, and a few
inches from it, were two rows of loops, one row
on each side. Two cords were fastened to the
reticule at the top, which were passed through
the loop on one side, and then on the other side,
the whole length, by which it was laced up and
secured. The edges of the top of the reticule
were strengthened with deep, fancy borders.
The articles contained in the knapsack and reti-
cule were quite numerous, and were as follows:
one head-cap, made of wove or knit bark, with-
out any border, and of the shape of the plainest
night-cap ; seven head-dresses, made of the quills
of large birds, and put together somewhat in the
way that feather-fans are made, except that the
pipes of the quills are not drawn to a point, but
are spread out in straight lines with the top.

16

182 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

This was done by perforating the pipe of the
quill in two places, and runnipg two cords
through the holes, and then winding around the
quills and the cord fine thread to fasten each
quill in the place designed for it. These cords
extended some length beyond the quills on each
side, so that on placing the feathers erect the
cords could be tied together at the back of the
head. This would enable the wearer to present
a beautiful display of feathers standing erect,
and extending a distance above the head and
entirely surrounding it. These were most splen-
did head-dresses, and would be a magnificent
ornament to the head of a female at the present
day. Several hundred strings of beads ; these
consisted of very hard, brown seed, smaller than
hemp-seed, in each of which a small hole had
been made, and through the whole a small three-
corded thread, similar in appearance and texture
to seine twine; these were tied up in bunches,
as a merchant ties up coral-beads when he ex-
poses them for sale. The red hoofs of fawns
on a string supposed to be worn around the neck
as a necklace. These hoofs were about~twenty
in number, and may have been emblematic of
innocence. The claw of an eagle, with a hole
made in it, through which a cord was passed, so

i

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 18B

that it could be worn pendant from the neck.
The jaw of a bear, designed to be worn in the
same manner as the eagle's claw, and supplied
with a cord to suspend it around the neck. Two
rattlesnake-skins ; one of these had fourteen rat-
tles ; these skins were neatly folded up. Some
vegetable colors done up in leaves. A small
bunch of deer sinews, resembling catgut in ap-
pearance. Several bunches of thread and twine,
two and three-threaded, some of which were
nearly white. Seven needles, some of which
were of horn and some of bone ; they were
smooth, and appeared to have been much used.
These needles had each a knob or whorl on the
top, and at the other end were brought to a
point like a large sail-needle. They had no
eyelets to receive a thread. The top of one of
these needles was handsomely scolloped. A
hand-piece made of deer-skin, with a hole
through it for the thumb, and designed proba-
bly to protect the hand in the use of the needle,
the same as thimbles are now used. Two whis-
tles, about eight inches long, made of cane, with
a joint about one-third the length ; over the
joint is an opening extending to each side of the
tube of the whistle ; these, openings were about
three-quarters of an inch long and an inch wide,

184 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

and had each a flat reed placed in the opening.
These whistles were tied together with a cord
wound around them.

" ' I have been thus minute in describing this
mute witness from the days of other times, and
the articles which were deposited within her
earthly house. Of the race of people to whom
she belonged when living we know nothing ; and,
as to conjecture, the reader who gathers from
these pages this account can judge of the matter
as well as those who saw the remnant of mor-
tality in the subterranean chambers in which
she was entombed. The cause of the preserva-
tion of her body, dress, and ornaments is no
mystery. The dry atmosphere of the Cave, with
the nitrate of lime with which the earth that
covers the bottom of these nether palaces is so
highly impregnated, preserves animal flesh, and
it will neither putrefy nor decompose when con-
fined to its unchanging action. Heat and moist-
ure are both absent frorai the Cave, and it is
these two agents acting together which produce
both animal and vegetable decomposition and
putrefaction.

"'In the ornaments, etc. of this mute witness
of ages gone we have a record of olden time,
from which, in the absence of a written record,

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 185

we may draw some conclusions. In the various
articles which constituted her ornaments there
were no metallic substances ; in the make of
her dress there is no evidence of the use of any
other machinery than the bone and horn needles.
The beads are of a substance of the use of which
for such purposes we have no account among
people of whom we have any written record.
She had no warlike arms. By what process the
hair of the head was cut short, or by what j)ro-
cess the deer-skins were shorn, we have no means
of conjecture. These articles afford us the same
means of judging of the nation to which she be-
longed, and of their advances in the arts, that
future generations will have in the exhumation
of a tenant of one of our modern tombs, with
the funeral shroud, etc. in a state of like pres-
ervation, with this difference, that with the
present inhabitants of this section of the globe
but few articles of ornament are deposited with
the body. The features of this ancient member
of the human family much resembled those of a
tall, handsome, American woman. The fore-
head was high, and the head well formed.'"

This constitutes what appears to be, in the
estimation of the historian of Kentucky, the
most valuable part of the history of the Mam-

IG*

186 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

moth Cave. The name of the writer is not
given. It is simply stated that the account of
this mummy was published " by a highly scien-
tific gentleman of New York, one of the early
visitors of the Cave."

In examining Collins' account of the Cave, from
whom we had a right to expect a very full his-
tory,— for he speaks of it as being "perhaps the
greatest natural curiosity of the world," — we were
much disappointed to find that all reference to
its early history was omitted. He does not state
the year of the discovery, by whom it was dis-
covered, or what led to its discovery. In this
respect the letter we give from Mr, Gorin con-
tains information that, to our knowledge, has
not hitherto been published. Mr. C. dwells at
great length on what we regard as minor points
of interest, while Echo River and the great
curiosities beyond are scarcely mentioned, and
no attempt made at description, the whole being
summarily dismissed with _ the remark that " a
detailed description of these wonders would not
consist with the plan of this work." And this
statement is made after the minute description
of the mummies and their ornaments.

The work before mentioned, entitled " The
Universe; or. The Infinitely Great and the In-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 187

finitely Small," by F. A. Poucher, M.D., Corre-
sponding Member of the Institute of France,
etc., translated from the French, illustrated,
and published by Charles Scribner & Co., New
York, 1870, has recently fallen under our notice
CMarch, 1870). The, character of the work is
not very definitely implied in the title; it is de-
signed as a popular natural history, and treats
of botany, zoology, ornithology, geology, etc.
Under the latter head five or six pages are de-
voted to an account of the Mammoth Cave. Of
the nature of the curiosity the author remarks :

"The Mammoth Cave of the United States
owes its renown not to the celebrity of those who
have visited it, but to its extent, which is per-
haps greater than that of any other existing Cave."

Again he says :

"The Mammoth Cave is always an object of
great interest to the Americans. They go there
in crowds, and there is not always accommoda-
tion in the great hotel intended to receive the
tourists, although it is arranged for three hun-
dred guests.*

* In the above paragraph the author commits two errors :
Americans do not go in crowds, as they should ; and the enter-
prising and gentlemanly proprietor of the hotel, Mr. L. J. Proc-
tor, has so far always been able to accommodate satisfactorily all
the crowds that have presented themselves.

188 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

" The exploration requires five or six days,
and an army of guides is always J5:ept for the
service of travelers."

Farther on the author states that, " Up to the
present time 226 avenues have been made out,
besides 57 domes, 11 lakes, 7 rivers, 8 cataracts,
and 32 abysses, some of which are of immense
depth." Those readers who have followed us
closely will recognize that the above estimate is
considerably magnified, on the principle, we pre-
sume, that "distance lends enchantment to the
view;" for it does not appear in the record that
the writer had ever made a personal inspection
of the things whereof he speaks.

Dr. Poucher speaks of the human mummies
and human skeletons found in the Cave; also,
of the discovery therein of the bones of the bear,
hyena, and mastodon. We are not aware that
he obtained this information from any American
authority. Indeed, he does not cite authorities
for any of his assertions regarding the Cave.
Dr. P. mentions the blind fishes of the Cave, and
gives a tolerably accurate diagram of them. He
does not refer to the recognized name given them
by Professor Agassiz [Amhiyopsis spelseus), but
calls them Cyprinodonts. He adds that they
appear to be devoid of eyes. This question, as

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 189

our readers will have already learned, has long
since been settled in this country. Dr. P. also
alludes to the fact that the Cave has been (and
he appears to think still is) used as a sanitarium,
— speaking of it as "the sulphurous atmosphere in
which medical men kept their patients afflicted
with chest affections." Of all affections those of
the chest would be the most aggravated by a
sulphurous atmosphere; and we are surprised
that Dr. P., a medical man, should make such a
statement without interposing an interjection of
astonishment, and without giving his authority
for it. There is no sulphurous atmosphere in
any part of the Cave, though one or two sul-
phur springs are found.

In connection with Dr. Poucher's remarks
upon the Mammoth Cave there is an illustration
of a view of the Dead Sea, which is drawn en-
tirely from fancy. There is also another very
conspicuous illustration of the River Styx. In
the scene a boat is represented, propelled by a
negro standing in the prow, with a single oar or
paddle, who is shown to be hatless and naked
to the loins,* and appears to be making frantic

* The negro cannot endure as much cold as the white man,
and it can scarcely be presumed that he would enjoy any amount
of comfort in this condition at the temperature of 59°.

190 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

efforts to advance, as though hoping thereby to
escape from some desperate pursiier. In the
stern sits a white man holding in his hand, in
front and above his head, a flaming torch, strain-
ing his eyes as if in expectation of discovering
in the impenetrable darkness before him the
forbidding gnomes of this nether world. This
picture is in striking contrast with the reality.
Instead of the wild excitement manifested in
the countenances of the boatman and voyager,
this passage is one of the calmest, most placid,
and dreamy that can be imagined ; it is a quiet,
though grand, embarkation " over the smooth
surface of the summer sea," where no fear is
ever felt regarding the intrusion of evil spirits.

Dr. Poucher's notice of the Mammoth Cave,
we are compelled to say, is full of errors : there
is scarcely a paragraph that can be accepted as
literally true.

The discovery of so many errors upon this
subject (the Cave) in such a pretentious and
expensive work as that of Dr. Poucher's Universe,
at this late date (1870), the more clearly con-
vinces us of the necessity for the publication of
an historical narrative of the Cave which, while
entering more fully into detail than any previous
work on the subject, can be relied upon as accu-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 191

rate in its statements, so far as their nature is
susceptible of positive demonstration.

The most recent, and best authenticated in-
formation we have been able to find upon the
subject of the Cave Mummies, is contained in a
letter from Mr. Proctor, the present proprietor
of the hotel, dated March 12, 1870. He says
(in reply to our inquiries) :

" There was a mummy found in the Mammoth
Cave, and one in Short Cave, a cave in the
neighborhood of the Mammoth. The one in
Mammoth Cave was found in the Gothic
Avenue, in 1815, by Mr. Ward, of Marietta,
Ohio, and was sent to the Antiquarian Society
of Worcester, Massachusetts, and is now there,
as I learn by a letter of the Secretary of the
Society ; but is in a dilapidated condition. The
one found in the Short Cave was taken and
placed in the Museum at Cincinnati, and was
burnt with that establishment many years ago.
I have in my possession a photograph of the one
taken out of the Gothic Avenue by Mr. Ward,
in 1815."

In concluding our remarks on this subject, we
emphatically agree with the author of ''Rambles
of a Visitor," etc. when he says, "The removal
of those mummies from the place in which they

192 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

were found can be viewed as little less than
sacrilege. There they had been, perhaps, for
centuries, and there they ought to have been
left." The author adds, " What has become of
them I know not. One of them, it is said, was
lost in the burning of the Cincinnati Museum.
The wardrobe of the female was given to a Mr.
Ward, of Massachusetts, who, I believe, pre-
sented it to the British Museum."

Note. — An article of some length, entitled "Underground
Territories of the United States," appeared in "The Interna-
tional Magazine of Literature and Science,'' published by Stringer
& Townsend, New York, in 1852 (vol. v.). The writer remarks:

" In Virginia, New York, and other States, the caves of Weyer,
Schoharie, and many that are less famous, but not inferior in
beauty or grandeur, are well known to travelers ; but the Mam-
moth Cave under Kentucky is world-renowned ; and such felon
States as Naples might hide in it from the scorn of mankind."

It is stated that the paper was prepared " chiefly from a letter
by Mrs. Child, a very full description of this eighth wonder of the
world — illustrated by engravings from recent drawings made, .
under the direction of the Rev. Horace Martin, who proposes
soon to furnish for tourists an ample volume on the subject."

The writer speaks of the mummies found in the Cave, and adds,
" I believe that one of these mummies is now in the British
Museum."

Nearly all the materials of which this article was composed,
including the illustrations, were subsequently incorporated in
Mr. Martin's book, from which we have repeatedly quoted. The
original, however, did not come under our notice until quite
recently.

We will also state that, since our text has been in type, we

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 193

have obtained a copy of " The Mouthly Mao'azine ; or, British
Register; reprinted, with American Intelligence, in Boston,
U. S." In the number for April, 1816, under the head of Ameri-
can Intelligence, is given a " Description of the Great Cave in
Warren [now Edmonson] County, Kentucky. — Extract of a
letter from Dr. Nahum Ward, formerly of Shrewsbury, Massa-
chusetts, now resident in the Western country, to his friend in
Worcester, giving an account of an excursion in Kentucky in the
fall of last year; dated Marietta, April 4, 1816."

This account appears to be copied from a newspaper called the
"Worcester Spy;" and this is the original publication, of the
history of the mummy which we have extracted from " Collins'
Kentucky." "The Monthly Magazine," however, did not copy
the details relative to the mummy (dress, ornaments, etc.) which
we have seen was so fully copied by Mr. Collins. We find
nothing in this article the quotation of which would afford addi-
tional interest to our readers. In a subsequent number of the
same magazine, July, 1816, Dr. Ward furnished a map of the
Cave, together with an engraving of the mummy which was
therein found, and with which he had been presented.

The map, of course, is chiefly drawn from imagination : at that
early date no surveys had been attempted. Nearly all the names
by which the various parts of the Cave were then described have,
since that date, been changed.

As might naturally be expected in describing a curiosity so
extraordinary in its dimensions and characteristics, and of which
so little was known at that day, we find considerable exaggera-
tion and some misstatements in the account of Dr. Ward. He
speaks of various chambe. . jich constitute an area of from six
to eight acres, and estimates that he explored a continuous avenue
to the distance of eleven miles. The "Bottomless Pit" was not
crossed for more than twenty years afterward ; and the extreme
length of the " Long Route," now known, does not exceed nine
miles. The writer also speaks of Green River as passing over
several of the avenues of the Cave, the incorrectness of which
statement has long since been eistablished.

U

194 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

The drawing of the mmnmy, which accompanies Dr. Ward's
map, represents much more faithfully the features and form of the
male than the female. It is in the sitting posit-iou, with the arms
folded across the breast, — the position which it is represented to
have occupied when discovered.

The map, the drawing of the mummy, and the account of the
Cave, as furnished by Dr. Ward and Mrs. Child, are interesting
to the student of the Cave history, but, at the present day, are
really of no practical value ; and we simply note the articles in
these magazines to indicate to our readers the character of the
field over which we have traveled in pursuing our design of mak-
ing our work as complete as possible.

CHAPTER XVIII.

INSTANCES OP PERSONS BECOMING LOST IN THE CAVE. — THE
PROPER COURSE TO PURSUE IN SUCH CASES.

It is said that a person lost in the Cave, with-
out any hope of escape, would undoubtedly die
in a very short time. That this is the case the
history of those who have been lost in it would
seem to prove.

Thus, on one occasion, says Dr. Wright, a gen-
tleman wandered from his party, when by some
accident his lamp was extinguished. In endeav-
oring to make his escape he became alarmed,
and finally insane, and crawling behind a large
rock, remained in that position for forty-eight
hours ; and although the guides repeatedly passed
the rock behind which he was secreted, in search
for him, he did not make the slightest noise; and
when finally discovered, endeavored to make his
escape from them, but was too much exhausted
to do so.

In another instance, we are told, a lady
allowed her party to get so far in advance that

(195)

196 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

their voices could no longer be heard, and in
attempting to overtake them, fell and extin-
guished her lamp, when she became so terrified
at her situation that she swooned ; and when
discovered a few minutes afterward, and restored,
she was found to be in a state of insanity, from
which she did not recover for a number of years.

The author of " Rambles," etc. quotes the
following case from the author of "Calavar:"

"In the Lower Branch is a room called the
Salts Room, which produces considerable quan-
tities of the sulphate of magnesia, or of soda, we
forget which, — a mineral that the proprietor of
the Cave did not fail to turn to account. The
miner in question was a new, raw hand, — of
course neither very well acquainted with the
Cave itself, nor with the approved modes of
averting or repairing accidents, to which, from
the nature of their occupation, the miners were
greatly exposed. Having been sent, one day, in
charge of an older workman, to the Salts Room
to dig a few sacks of the salt, and finding that
the path to this sequestered nook was perfectly
plain; and that, from the Haunted Chambers
being a single continuous passage without
branches, it was impossible to wander from it,
our hero disdained, on his second visit, to seek or

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 197

accept assistance, and trudged off to his work
alone. The circumstance being common enough,
he was speedily forgotten by his brother miners ;
and it was not until several hours after, when
they had left ofi' their toil for the more agreea-
ble duty of eating their dinner, that his absence
was remarked, and his heroical resolution to
make his way alone to the Salts Room remem-
bered. As it was apparent, from the time he
had been gone, that some accident must have
happened to him, half a dozen men, most of
them negroes, stripped half naked, their usual
working costume, were sent to hunt him up; a
task supposed to be of no great difficulty, unless
he had fallen into a pit. In the mean while the
poor miner, it seems, had succeeded in reaching
the Salts Room, filling his sack, and retracing
his steps half way back to the Grand Gallery ;
when, finding the distance greater than he
thought it ought to be, the conceit entered his
unlucky brain that he might, perhaps, be going
wrong. No sooner had the suspicion struck
him than he fell into a violent terror, dropped
his sack, ran backward, then returned, then ran
back again, — each time more frightened and be-
wildered than before; until, at last, he ended his
adventure by tumbling over a stone and extin-

17*

198 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

guishing his lamp. Thus left in the dark, not
knowing where to turn, frightened out of his
wits besides, he fell to remembering his sins —
always remembered by those who are lost in the
Cave — and praying with all his might for succor.
But hours passed away, and assistance came not;
the poor fellow's frenzy increased ; he felt himself
a doomed man ; he thought his terrible situation
was a judgment imposed on him for his wicked-
ness ; nay, he even believed, at last, that he was
no longer an inhabitant of the earth, — that he
had been translated, even in the body, to the
place of torment ; — in other words, that he was
in hell itself, the prey of the devils, who would
presently be let loose upon him. It was at this
moment that the miners in search of him made
their appearance. They lighted upon his sack,
lying where he had thrown it, and set up a great
shout, which was the first intimation he had of
their approach. He started up, and seeing them
in the distance, the half-naked negroes in ad-
vance, all swinging their torches aloft, he, not
doubting that they were those identical devils
whose appearance he had been expecting, took
to his heels, yelling for mercy ; nor did he stop,
notwithstanding the calls of his amazed friends,
until he had fallen a second time over the rocks,

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 199

where he lay on his face, roaring for pity, until,
by dint of much pulling and shaking, he was
convinced that he was still in the world and the
Mammoth Cave."

Such is the story of the Haunted Chambers,
the name having been given to commemorate
this incident.

Not a year passes, we are informed, but the
guides have to go in search of persons who have
been foolhardy enough to leave their party, and
who, in every instance, become speedily bewil-
dered, and when discovered are in the act of
crying or at prayer. In such cases the guides
are overpowered with kisses, embraces, and other
demonstrations of gratitude.

The proper course for persons to pursue when
lost in the Cave is for them to remain in the
place where they first became confused, and
not to stir from it until rescued by the guides.
They will not have to wait more than from
three to ten hours from the time at which they
should have returned to the hotel.

CHAPTER XIX.

GOTHIC ARCADE.

The Register Room. — Gothic Chapel. — Romantic Marriage. —
How the Stalactites and Stalagmites are formed. — Bona-
parte's Breastworks. — The Devil's Arm-chair. — Elephant's
Head. — Lover's Leap. — Gatewood's Dining-table. — Napoleon's
Dome. — Lake Purity. — Return to Daylight.

The Gothic Arcade is entered by ascending
a flight of steps, as before mentioned ; and,
after passing the seat of the Mummy a short
distance, there is to be found a large stalactite,
which extends from the floor to the ceiling,
termed the Post Oak, from its fancied resem-
blance to a variety of oak-tree that grows in the
vicinity of the Cave.

The First Echo is the name given to that
part of Gothic Arcade which passes over Pen-
sacola Avenue, the floor of which, when
forcibly struck, emits a hollow sound. This
hollow sound is observed even in walking, —
conveying the impression that some danger
of falling through might result from too heavy
a tread.

(200)

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 201

For more than a quarter of a mile this
avenue has a ceiling perfectly flat, with every
appearance of having received a coat of plaster.
It is smoked over in all parts with the names of
vulgar visitors, from which circumstance one
locality is called the Register Room. Persons
formerly carried candles in their trips through
the Cave, and, by tying them to poles, suc-
ceeded in not only smoking their names upon
the ceiling, from eight to sixteen feet overhead,
but in many instances their portraits, — for there
were frequently rude attempts at drawing the
figures of sheep and pigs, as we are told by
Bayard Taylor, and as every visitor may see
for himself The lamps now in use are much
more convenient for carrying, and have the
additional advantage of guarding against all
such desecration.

The Register Room, to use the words of Dr.
Wright, is about three hundred feet long, forty
wide, and from eight to sixteen in height. The
ceiling is white, and as smooth as though it had
been plastered. In this room hundreds of per-
sons have displayed their bankruptcy in every-
thing pertaining to good breeding and taste by
tracing their obscure names on the ceiling with
the smoke of a candle.

202 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

After passing the Register Room, the ceiling
gradually becomes broken and rugged, studded
here and there with unfinished stalactites.

The next point of interest reached is the
Gothic Chapel. This is a large room, the
ceiling of which appears to be supported by
gigantic stalactites, which extend -to the floor.
These stony icicles become large enough to form
ribbed pillars and fair Gothic arches. When a
number of lamps are hung upon these columns,
this room presents a beautiful appearance.

We are informed that a romantic marriage
once took place in this chapel, which family in-
terference prevented occurring on the earth. It
is said that the fair lady, whose lover was op-
posed by her parents, in a rash moment prom-
ised them that she would never marry her be-
trothed on tlie face of the earth. Afterward,
repenting her promise, but being unable to re-
tract, and unwilling to violate it, she fulfilled her
vow to her parents, as well as to her lover, by
marrying him under the earth. This is but an-
other illustration of the proverbially ingenious
management of woman.

Two of the stalactites in this chapel are called
the Pillars of Hercules, which are said to be
thirty feet in circumference; and we are told

THE ALTAK.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 203

that, in the formation of a stalactite, a period
of fifty years is required to produce an incrusta-
tion of the thickness of a wafer. We have not
attempted to calculate the time necessary, at
this rate, to form a stalactite of the size named.
Geologists, in estimating the antiquity of the
origin of the earth, might find important data
here that, to our knowledge, has not been here-
tofore used. But it would be impossible to ap-
proximate accuracy in such calculations, from
the fact that it may have been, for all we know,
twentj^ thousand years since the cessation of the
process of formation, for this appears to be one
of the oldest avenues in the Cave.

To the ceiling of the Chapel are attached
great numbers of small stalactites, from six to
eighteen inches in length, giving a very singular
and handsome view overhead.

The Gothic Chapel has been very accurately
and strikingly photographed by the parties be-
fore mentioned.

Speaking of the immense stalactites found in
Gothic Chapel, reminds us that we have not ex-
plained the meaning of the terras "stalactite"
and " stalagmite," which formations being pecu-
liar to caves, it is presumed that the majority of
* readers are not familiar with the process of their

204 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

formation. We will explain the process in the
language of Dr. Wright, which we do not think
can be improved upon either in point of fact or
brevity :

"When water, holding the bicarbonate of
lime in solution, drops slowly from the ceiling,
by which it is exposed to the air sufficiently
long to allow the escape of one equivalent of car-
bonic acid gas, the lime is deposited in the form
of the proto-carbonate of lime. If the deposit
occurs in such a manner that the accumulation
takes place from above downward, in the form
of an icicle, it constitutes what is termed a sfa-
lactite; but if it accumulates from below up-
ward, it is called a stalagmite. Stalactites and
stalagmites frequently meet in the center and
become cemented, by which a column of support
is formed."

If the limestone which forms the stalactite is
perfectly pure, it will be white, or semi-transpa-
rent; if it contains oxide of iron, it will be of a
red or yellowish color. The black stalactites
contain a large proportion of the black oxide of
iron.

Leaving Gothic Chapel, and pursuing our
course, we are next introduced to Vulcan's
Smithy, a room the floor of which is strewn*

it

DEVIL'S ARM CHAIR.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 205

with stalagmitic nodules, colored with the black
oxide of iron, which resemble the cinders of a
blacksmith's shop.

Bonaparte's Breastworks, immediately be-
yond, consist of a ledge of rocks that have
been detached from the side of the avenue
against which they rest.

The Arm- Chair, called by the guides the
Devil's Arm-Chair, is the next object of interest.
It is formed by the union of stalagmites and
stalactites. It is told that the celebrated Jenny
Lind rested in this Chair for some time during
her visit to the Cave. Unless we make the
statement ourself, we fear it will not be handed
down to posterity, that we also rested for a few
moments in the same regal Chair ! The Chair is
rather high for convenience ; but still it accom-
modates an individual very comfortably.

The Elephant's Head is a large stalagmite,
projecting from the left wall of the avenue,
which is supposed to bear a striking resemblance
to the head of the animal for which it is named.

A rock projecting sixteen feet over a pit
which is seventy feet in depth, is fancifully
denominated the Lover's Leap. It is not re-
corded, however, that any lover ever regarded
his case so extremely desperate as to have

18

206 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

induced him to take this fearful "leap iu the
dark."

After passing down a very precipitous bank,
some thirty or forty feet on the left side of
Lover's LeajD, we enter a narrow avenue, very
properly termed the Elbow Crevice. This
avenue, though not more than from three to
five feet wide, is fifty feet high, and twenty
feet in length. It is another Fat Man's Misery,
on an enlarged scale.

Gatewood's Dining-Table is a flat rock which
has been detached from the ceiling. It is about
twelve feet long and eight wide, and is named
after one of the former proprietors.

Next we reach Napoleon's Dome, which is
fifty feet high, and from twenty to thirty wide.
It was formed in the same manner as, and very
much resembles, Corinna's Dome, in the Pass of
El Ghor.

A pool of perfectly transparent water, called
Lake Purity, is situated directly under Vulcan's
Smithy ; large amounts of the cinder-like for-
mations are to be seen in and around the minia-
ture lake. Many small stalagmites are found
in the bottom of the pool, which is quite
shallow. By the aid of the guide we sue-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 207

ceeded in breaking off and securing two or
three small specimens of the stalagmites from
the bottom of Lake Purity.

The Gothic Arcade terminates half a mile
beyond Lake Purity, in a dome and small cas-
cade ; but visitors are rarely conducted beyond
the lake.

This was the final end of our explorations in
the Mammoth Cave. We retraced our steps to
the Main Avenue, and wended our way to the
mouth of the Cave. At the time of our exit on
this occasion the daylight still prevailed, and
the bright sunshine, besides being painful to the
retina, presented a most singular appearance to
our temporarily unaccustomed sight. Upon
reaching the entrance, and looking out from
behind the falling skein of water, the trees
seemed to be illuminated with an unnatural
fire. The daylight had a warm yellow hue,
intensely bright, and the sky was paler, but
more luminous than usual. The air, by con-
trast with the exhilarating and pure atmos-
phere of the Cave, felt close, unpleasantly
warm, and oppressive, — like that of an ill-ven-
tilated greenhouse in winter. There was too
much perfume in it, — too many varieties of

II

208 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

vegetable smells; for a short absence in the
Cave, as before remarked, produces great acute-
ness of the olfactory nerves. A few minutes
only, however, are required, after leaving the
Cave, to enable the senses of sight and smell to
resume their normal conditions.

CHAPTER XX.

SANITARY INFLUENCES OF THE CAVE.

Before quitting the Cave, we will refer to its
sanitary influences. This was an interesting
question some years ago. It has been asked
what diseases are benefited, and what diseases
are aggravated, by a brief Cave residence.

Persons afflicted with pulmonary consump-
tion at one time resorted to the Cave for the
benefit of its pure air and uniform temperature,
in the vain hope of recovery. Several of them
died there, and all of them succumbed soon after
exposure to the external air. One patient did
not see the light of the sun for a period of five
months.

Several cottages, previously spoken of, built
over twenty -five years ago, for the residence of
consumptives, at the entrance of Audubon's
Avenue, and within the Gothic Arcade, are
still to be seen. The idea that consumptive
patients could be cured by a residence in the

18* ( 209 )

210 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

Cave must have resulted from a total miscon-
ception of the nature of the disea.se, as it is
well known to the medical profession that the
absence of light will develop the scrofulous
diathesis, and cause a deposit of tubercles in the
lungs.

The truth of this position was established in
the cases of those who resorted to the Cave for
relief; and the majority of those who remained
any considerable length of time died within
periods varying from three days to three weeks
after leaving it. Those patients who remained
in the Cave three or four months presented a
frightful appearance. The face was entirely
bloodless, eyes sunken, and pupils dilated to
such a degree that the iris ceased to be visible,
so that, no matter what the original color
of the eye might have been, it soon appeared
black.

Very few diseases, not even consumption, are
aggravated by short and easy trips in the Cave.
Chronic dysentery and diarrhoea are said to
have been cured by a short visit to the Cave,
after all the usual remedies had failed.

In those diseases in which absolute silence
and the total exclusion of light are indicated,
the Cave, above all other places, possesses pre-

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 211

eminent advantages; for nowhere else have we
these conditions combined. Hence it may be
inferred that brain affections — abnormal excite-
ment of the brain, incipient insanity, etc. — would
undoubtedly be benefited by a temporary Cave
residence. But loractieaUy we cannot assign any
sanative virtues to a residence in the Cave. Too
many conditions are absent that are necessary
for the comfort and happiness of the patient.
Dr. Wright remarks : " The only condition in
which risk is incurred is during the menstrual
period. Serious, and even fatal, results have
been the consequence of inattention to this fact."
No reason is assigned for this assertion, and we
are unable to conjecture any ; on the contrary,
one or two instances have come under our notice
where no bad effects resulted.

It is surprising how rapidly the quieting influ-
ence is felt in the Cave, it being indicated by
pallor of the cheeks, yawning, and an almost
irresistible tendency to sleep. Upon the first
visit to the Cave this disposition is not so
strongly manifested, for the reason that the
attention is so constantly attracted by the
novelty of the situation, and the ever-changing
and extraordinary sights. This tendency to
sleep is not due to any impurity of the atmos-

212 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

phere, — for, as already stated, it contains less
carbonic acid than the outer air,-r-but is refer-
able solely to the complete silence and total
absence of light.

Owing to the purity of the atmosphere and the
even temperature, even delicate persons are ena-
bled to take a much greater amount of physical
exercise in the Cave than without. It is not an
uncommon occurrence for an individual in deli-
cate health to accomplish a journey of eighteen
or twenty miles in the Cave, without suffering
unusually from fatigue, who could not be pre-
vailed upon to walk a distance of three miles on
the surface of the earth.

After having accomplished our first day's jour-
ney in the Cave, we remarked to one of the
gentlemen connected with the hotel, that we
supposed ladies must suffer extremely from
fatigue in going through the Long Route. He
replied that such was not the case; and stated
that, as a general rule, ladies endure the journey
much better than men; and added that it was
not an uncommon occurrence for ladies, after
coming out in the evening, from a walk of
eighteen miles, to enter the ball-room and dance
until two o'clock in the morning!

CHAPTER XXI.

PARTING REFLECTIONS.

We now take our leave of that dark, "mys-
terious realm," a wiser, if not a better man.

In the language of Professor Silliman, in the
same article before quoted from, "I wish all my
scientific friends could visit the Mammoth Cave ;
it teaches many lessons in a manner not to be
learned so well elsewhere, and in this respect I
was agreeably disappointed. I had heard that
its interest was chiefly scenic; but I found it
to exceed my utmost expectations as well in
its illustrations of geological truth as in the
wonderful character of its features. I will not
detain you," he continues, "with any attempts at
description of single parts, as no description can
awaken those peculiar and deep emotions which
a personal study of its details is calculated to
produce."

In closing our narrative of the Cave we can-
not more appropriately conclude than by giving

(213)

214 THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

the farewell words of Bayard Taylor. He ex-
presses the same idea that we gave to the public
in a brief newspaper notice (" Mobile Register,"
June, 1867) immediately after our visit, and
before his sketch had come under our notice,
and almost in the same language. His corrobo-
ration, together with that of Professor Silliman,
gives additional weight to the remarks we made
at that time regarding the character and magni-
tude of the curiosity. Mr. Taylor says :

" Before taking a final leave of the Mammoth
Cave, let me assure those who have followed me
through it, that no description can do justice to
its sublimity, or present a fair picture of its
manifold wonders. It is the greatest natural
curiosity," adds this great traveler, "that I have
ever visited, — Niagara not excepted; and he
whose expectations are not satisfied by its mar-
velous avenues, domes, and sparry grottoes, must
either be a fool or a demi-god."

Whoever has seen a cascade, however diminu-
tive in volume, can readily imagine a larger one,
and by a greater effort of imagination, may con-
ceive of the magnitude of Niagara ; but he who
has not entered the Mammoth Cave can form
but faint conception of its character, or of the
varied and lasting impressions produced upon

THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 215

the soul of him who has been wafted over its
beautiful rivers, and whose spell-bound steps
have traversed its dark labyrinths, its vineyards,
and its ever-blooming floral bowers. Such scenes
go with us in after-days, and parting is truly a
" vain adieu."

" Adieu to thee again ! a vain adieu !
There can be no farewell to scenes like thine, —
The mind is color'd by thy every hue."

In terminating this narrative of the Mammoth
Cave, which has thus long, pleasantly and agree-
ably occupied our own thoughts, — and profitably,
we trust, the thoughts of our readers, — in part-
ing from those who now "have traced the Pil-
grim to the scene which is his last," in this labor
of love, we cannot, upon laying down our pen,
give more fitting expression to our feelings than
in the oft-repeated, and oft-to-be-repeated words
of the peerless Byron, —

" Farewell ! a word that must be, and hath been —
A sound which makes us linger; — yet — farewell !"

APPENDIX.

DIAMOND CAVE.

Diamond Cave is an object of interest, and from its
proximity to Mammoth Cave is worthy of mention in this
connection, and should be visited by all curiosity-seekers
who may be attracted to the neighborhood by the great
cavern, the account of which we have just completed.

This Cave is situated in Barren County (Ky.), one mile
and a half from Glasgow Junction ("Bell's Tavern"), on
the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and five miles and
a half from Mammoth Cave, being immediately on the
road leading from the latter place to Glasgow Junction.

The first exploration of Diamond Cave, we are informed
by its present proprietor, Mr. John R. Proctor,* was made
in July, 1?59, by Dr. J. T. Andrews, of Montgomery, Ala.;
Prof. T. A. Richardson, M.D., of New Orleans; Theodore
H. Lowe, Esq., of Louisville ; Mr. John Bell, proprietor
of the well-known " Bell's Tavern;" George Bliss, Esq.,

* Since the above has been written, we are informed by Mr. P. that he
has disposed of Diamond Cave to his father, Mr. Geo. M. Proctor.

19 (217)

218 APPENDIX.

of New York; and Prof. C. W. Wright, of Louisville
(author of the Guide Book of Mammoth Ciive).

Mr. Proctor informs us that near this Cave there is
another, rivaling it in beauty, which he explored in 1866;
and, from the fact that many of the avenues are closed
with masses of stalactites, he feels confident that a com-
munication can be effected between the two. The stalac-
tite and stalagmite formations in Diamond Cave are more
numerous and far more beautiful than any found in Mam-
moth Cave. An English traveler remarked that, after
many years' travel through Europe and America in search
of geological and other objects of interest, he had not met
with such a gem as Diamond Cave.

The following is a brief outline of the principal objects
of interest to be found in this Cave :

In the Rotunda, which is seventy feet in diameter and
thirty feet high, are to be seen Cleopatra's Needle, a sta-
lagmite, five feet high and six inches in diameter, incrusted
with the oxide of iron ; Serpent's Head, directly over the
Needle, five feet in length, depending from the ceiling, and
bearing a striking resemblance to the head of a large
snake, with its mouth open; Closed Lily is suspended
from the ceiling, and closely resembles the flower after
which it is named : it is eight feet long and two feet in
diameter ; Elfin's Grotto is a lovely alcove, fifteen feet
above the floor of the Rotunda, the entrance of which is
ornamented with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites : the
crystallizations within assume every imaginable shape.

APPENDIX. 219

among which can be seen a perfect resemblance to a cas-
cade ; Mammoth Stalagmite is eighteen feet high and sev-
enty feet in circumference at its base, being by far the
largest stalagmite known in the world.

It is stated that here, as in other caves, human bones
were found in abundance at the base of the Armadillo, or
Fallen Tree. They are said to have been discovered by
Dr. Andrews, and that many were incrusted with the
carbonate of lime.

After leaving the Rotunda we enter Lowe's Avenue,
which varies from six to forty feet in height and from ten
to forty in width. In this avenue are to be seen Stella
Grotto, Vermiculated Ceiling, and many other objects of
interest and beauty. After leaving the avenue we come
to Andrews' Cascade, which is, without doubt, the most
singularly beautiful formation of the kind ever discovered,
exhibiting, when viewed from its base, a perfect resem-
blance to a water-fall, twenty-eight feet in height and
eighteen feet wide.

In Wright's Avenue, which extends from the Cascade to
Diamond Grotto, are many tubular stalactites, which emit
musical sounds when struck. Beyond Cascade Hall is
seen the Magnolia Flower, a colossal flower six feet long
and four feet in diameter, suspended twenty feet above the
floor. It is composed of stalactitic plates of calcareous
spar, and presents a perfect resemblance in form to the
grande Jieur of the Southern States. There are other
formations near this of like character ; and near the Co-

220 APPENDIX.

lumbian Column there is a perfect representation of an
immense Chandelier. From here a spar pavement extends,
with slight interruptions, to the end of the Cav^e. It is
composed of crystals of calcareous spar, which sparkle
with great brilliancy as the lamps are moved to and fro
above them. Next comes +he Oriental Crystal Fans.
From here to Fink's Acute Angle the avenue is really
grand, having the appearance of white chalk cliffs.

Talia's Grotto is entered on the left of this avenue
opposite the Atlantic Steamer. This is regarded as the
most beautiful grotto in the world. The stalactites here
are of the purest white, and rival in beautiful symmetry
the finest Grecian carving. The Curtain Stalactite hangs
upon the walls, which, from their peculiar tint, are called
Blush Walls. It extends from the ceiling to within a few
feet of the floor, and is so translucent that, by holding a
light on the opposite side, the examiner can see through
it. When struck it emits musical sounds.

The Pope is a stalagmite about ten feet in height and
five feet in diameter at its base. It is composed of light
stalagmitic marble, the surface of which reflects with
great distinctness.

The Curtain Galleries and General Scott's Marquee
cannot be excelled in beauty. Immediately to the left
of the latter there is a miniature representation of Ni-
agara Falls in winter.

Columbian Column is thirty feet high and ten feet in
diameter at its base. It is most beautifully ornamented

APPENDIX. * 221

with fluted columns, ogees, cornices, and mouldings ; and
the entire surface displays innumerable crystals which
sparkle on the approach of light like countless diamonds.
We scarcely have any hesitation in saying that this par-
ticular point exhibits the most wonderfully beautiful
formations of any to be found elsewhere; and this view,
of itself, will more than repay the visitor for the time
occupied in exploring Diamond Cave.

To the left of the Column is a collection of water called
the Fountain of Orpheus. Bunker Hill Monument is a
stalactite six feet high and six inches in diameter. Coral
Pillar is a stalagmite four feet high and four inches in
diameter, the surface of which is studded with little
prominences resembling madrepore coral. A number
of columns, similarly incrusted, are to be seen under
the base of Columbian Column.

Eviscerated Body is to the left of the steps leading to
Lover's Bower. When light is transmitted through it,
it is a perfect representation of the body of a man from
which the lungs have been removed.

Ameda Grotto has within it a pool of water lined with
crystals, and encircled with stalagmitic formations. The
stalactites in this grotto are of delicate form and of great
variety.

Lot's Wife is a stalagmite four feet high, representing
a figure draped in white. There is also to be found here
an excellent representation of a Church Organ.

19*

222 APPENDIX.

Diamond Grotto is twentj-five feet in diameter and
eight feet in height. The floor is covered with crystalline
plates of calcareous spar, which sparkle with a brilliancy
almost rivaling the gem for which the Cave is named.
The ceiling is vermiculated, like the ceiling in Lowe's
Avenue.

Among other places of interest in this beautiful Cave
may be mentioned Bell's Spring, The Grand Retreat,
Nettie's Palace, Mason Grotto, etc., which cannot here be
more fully described.

All who visit Mammoth Cave should, before leaving
the neighborhood, see the beauties of Diamond Cave.

PEOOTOR'S CAVE.

Proctor's Cave, the property of Mr. L. J. Proctor,
is quite as remarkable for its beauty as Diamond Cave ;
and as our object is to give information to those desiring
it, not only in relation to Mammoth Cave, but regarding
the important curiosities in the immediate vicinity, our
work would be incomplete without a special notice of
Proctor's Cave.

This Cave is situated three miles from Mammoth Cave,
and four miles from Glasgow Station, on the Louisville
& Nashville Railroad. The picturesque scenery surround-

APPENDIX. 223

ing the entrance of this Cave ; the wonderful succession of
domes, — many of which are viewed from the base ; the
endless variety of stalactite and stalagmite formations, all
contribute toward rendering a visit peculiarly attractive
and interesting. Some even go so far as to say that there
is not another Cave on this continent in which there is
such a magnificent display of the chemical and mechan-
ical action of water. The gypsum formations, such as
rosettes, fibers, etc., are not less attractive. Dr. Wright
tells us that the largest dome to be found in any Cave is
to be found in Proctor's Cave. "It is at least three
times as wide and long as Mammoth Dome in Mammoth
Cave, and not less than one hundred and forty feet in
height. The Curtain Dome is not less wonderful. Vast
sheets of stalactite, yards in length and less than an inch
in thickness, are arranged in the form of curtains, scrolls,
etc. in endless variety."

Mammoth Cave is deficient only in stalactite forma-
tions. A visit to Proctor's and Diamond Caves renders
cave-knowledge and experience complete.

About three miles of this cave is now open to the
public, through the greater part of which there is a sub-
stantial plank walk.

In a recent letter from Mr. Proctor to the author, he
remarks, in speaking of this Cave, "I am constantly
making new discoveries in this Cave; among others a
large river, as yet inaccessible to visitors, and many

224 APPENDIX.

beautiful domes and grottoes ; and the probabilities are
that it will prove to be a very large, as welU as a beauti-
ful Cave."

Glasgow Station is the site of what was for many years
renowned as "Bell's Tavern," the stopping-place hereto-
fore for all Cave visitors ; and was noted as being kept in
a style superior to any country hotel in America. This
building was burned in 1860 ; and hence Cave City took
the start. The property is now owned by Mr. Proctor,
of Proctor's Cave, who is also the proprietor of the Mam-
moth Cave Hotel. He has a comfortable-sized hotel now at
Glasgow Junction, equal in capacity to the hotel at Cave
City ; and he informs us that he has laid the foundations
of a fir.st-class stone hotel, and has the basement and
second stories already up. The size is one hundred and
twenty by sixty feet ; it is to have sixty rooms, and will
be completed during the present year (1870). Mr. Proc-
tor promises to sustain the ancient reputation of "Bell's
Tavern."

For the still further accommodation of Cave visitors,
Mr. Proctor informs us that a cha-i-ter for a railroad has
been granted from Glasgow Junction to Brownsville, the
county-seat, and thence to intersect with the Elizabeth-
town & Paducah Railroad, which will pass directly by
Diamond Cave, and Proctor's Cave, and within two and
a half miles of Mammoth Cave. This road is expected
to be completed about the middle of 1871. At present

APPENDIX. 225

stage-coaches run from Glasgow Station to Mammoth
Cave, stopping at Diamond and Proctor's Caves, at a
charge of one dollar per passenger.

Thus it will appear that, by this arrangement, visitors
have offered to them the very desirable opportunity of
seeing these three remarkable Caves with but little addi-
tional cost of time or money over that usually required
in visiting the Mammoth Cave.

THE END.

Mammoth Cave.

-?^^S3-

DuRiNG THE Summer Season the

AA/'ILL ISSUE EXCURSION TICKETS

FROM THE FOLLOWING POINTS

TO :vc j^ nvn ny: o T h: o^^ve

AND RETURN AT

GREATLY REDUCED RATES:

MEW romm^ ^mm^MME^prnMs

'^9

\MBB&Mm

Excursionists selecting this route pass through the finest farming
land of Eastern Pennsylvania, through the beautiful valley of the
Juniata Eiver, and cross the Alleghany Mountains at a height of
2200 feet above the level of the sea. No other route affords the
tourist the same variety of river and mountain scenery.

HENRY W. GWINNER,

General Passenger and Ticket Agent

A. J. CASSATT,

General Superintendent.

3 1205 00476 6935

THE LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Santa Barbara

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW.