<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap">xt7dr785j50x https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7dr785j50x/data/mets.xml Binkerd, Adam D. 1869  books b92-129-29191365 English R. Clarke, : Cincinnati : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Mammoth Cave (Ky.) Mammoth Cave and its denizens  : a complete descriptive guide / by A.D. Binkerd. text Mammoth Cave and its denizens  : a complete descriptive guide / by A.D. Binkerd. 1869 2002 true xt7dr785j50x section xt7dr785j50x 


,ammoth


KENisTU CKY.


By A. D. Binkerd, M. D.


    CINCINNATI:
ROBERT CLARKE  CO., Printers,
       I869.

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    Entered ;iccording to Aet of Congress. in the year 1869, by
                  A. D. BINKERD, M. D.,
in the Clerks Office of the Dist::ict Court for the Southern District
                           of Ohio.


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               To mny Brother,


        ISAAC B. BINKERD, ESQ.

                       IN

    Homage of his long and sincere devotion to the

            CAUSE OF EDUCATION,

and in grateful recollection of his generous aid and en-
                   couragement,


      is respectfully and affectionately inscribed

                       BY
              HIS FORMER PUPIL,

                                THE AUTHOR.


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CONTENTS.


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AUDUBON'S AVENUE..............
ARCHED WAY....................
AMERICAN EAGLE.................
ATMOSPHERE...  ..... ....
ACUTE ANGLE...................
AMERICANISM ......................
ARM CHAIR.......................
BALL RooM......................
BANDIT'S HALL.................
BOTTOMLESS PIT..................
BRIDGE OF SIGHS.................
BUNYAN'S WAY...................
BUCHANAN'S WAY...............
BACON CHAMBER .................
BACK TRACK.......................
BRIDAL CHAMBER................
BLACK-SNAKE AVENUE...........
CAVE CITY........................
CAVE HOTEL........  .....
CASCADE..........................
CHURCH ...........
CORNCOBS ...........................
CHIEF CITY........................
CASCADE HALL....................
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE...........
CLEVELAND'S CABINET...........
CRYSTAL FLOWERS ...............
CRICKETS.........................
CROGHAN'S HALL.................
CONCLUSION   .....................
DESCENT.     ... ........
DESERTED CHAMBERS............


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DEAD SEA........  
DESERTED VILLAGE..............
DISCOVERIES.....................
DISMAL HOLLOW..................
DRIPPING SPRING .................
ENTRANCE........................
EXPLORING PARTIES............
EARTHQUAKE .....................
EFFECTS UPON LIFE............
END OF SHORT JOURNEY........
EMBARKATION     ..................
ECHO RIVER.......................
EL GHOR..........................
ELINDG AVENUE.................
END OF CAVE......................
EYELESS FISH.....................
EYELESS CRABS..................
FIRST IMPRESSIONS..............
FIRST VATS.......................
Fox AVENUE ....................
FAT MAN'S MISERY ............
FLOATING CLOUD Room.........
FLOWER GARDEN.................
FRANKLIN AVENUE..............
GREAT BAT Room ...............
GRAND ARCH....................
GOTHIC AVENUE ................
GIANT'S COFFIN..................
GORIN'S DOME.....................
GREAT RELIEF....................
GOTHIC ARCADE ..........   22
GOTHIC CHAPEL.................


age
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43
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Mammrnoth Cave.


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GUIDES .............................
GREAT WALK.....................
GEOLOGY..........................
HEBE'S SPRING ............;
IX THE MAELSTROM.............
KENTUCKY CLIFFS..............
KINNEY'S ARENA...............
LOCALITY..........................
LAKE LETHE.....................
LOVER'S LEAP ....................
LuCY'S DOME ...........    ......
MEANS OF ACcCESS..............
MAIN CAVE.......................
MCPHERSON'S MONUMENT......
MARTHA'S PALACE...............
MINERVA' SjDoME ............ .
MARTHA'S VINEYARD............
MAELSTROM ......................
MAMMOTH DOME..................
NEW ENTRANCE................
NATURAL BRIDGE ................
NICHOLAS' MONUMENT...........
NATURAL BEAUTIES..............
N'ARROWS .........................
OLD ENTRANCE.................
OLE BULL' S CONCERT ROOM....
Ox TRACKS.......................
ODD FELLOWS' LINKS...........
0.  M. RIVERS...................
OWNERSHIP......................
PIGEON BOXES..................
PICTURES ON THE WALL.........
PROCTOR'S ARCADE .............
PASSAGE OVER THE STYX ......
POEM BY PRENTICE ..............
PERFORATE -STALAGMITES ......
RAILROAD PASSENGERS .........


'age
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68
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76
81
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39
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ROTUNDA ........................
RocKY HALL .....................
RICHARDSON'S SPRING...........
REVELERS' HALTL.................
RHODA'S ARCADE.................
RIVER HALL.......................
RIVER STYX.......................
RETURN............................
REGISTER ROOm..................
ROCKY MOUNTAINS...............
RATS. .  
ROCK HOUSES....................
STANDING ROCKS..................
SOURCES OF AMUSEMENT........
SECOND HOPPERS.................
STEPS OF TIME ....................
SECOND VIEW.....................
SIDE SADDLE PIT.................
SOUNDING ROCL..................
SHELBY'S DOME .................
SCOTCHMAN' S TRAP..............
STAR CHAMBER..................
SILLIMAN'S AVENUE..............
SNOWBALL Roo3w.................
SERENA'S ARBOR .................
SYLVAN AVENUE.................
TEMPERATURE...................
TIMEPIECE .........................
TRIP ON THE ECHO RIVER.
TABLE OF DISTANCES...........
VALLEY OF HUMILITY.........
VEGETABLE ODORS ..............
WASHINGTON HALL..............
WRIGHT'S ROTUNDA..............
WILLIE'S SPRING.................
WOODEN BOWL....................
WINDING LABYRINTH............


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                 KENTUCKY.


                 LOCALITY

              locality of che Mammoth Cave is in
           latitude 37c North, and longitude 90 West
  Q   nfrom Washington.  Ils only known entrance
       is in tie eastern part of Edmondson county,
       Kentucky, on the south side of Green river,
one hundred and ninety-four feet above the level of
that stream and ninety-four miles nearly due south
from Louisville.

            MEANS OF ACCESS.
  The Louisville and Nashville Railroad passes within
a few miles of the cave. This road was projected as
early as 1850, and the first through train passed over
it on the 9th of November, 1859. It is now one of the
best roads in the State, and a part of the great line
extending from Chicago to New Orleans.


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0Mammoth Cave.


                  CAVE CITY,
eighty-five miles south from Louisville and one hun-
dred miles north from Nashville, is the point at which
tourists stop over to visit the great Subterranean Won-
der of the western world. A daily line of Concord
coaches has long been established between this station
and the cave.
  Mr. W. L. Myers is the genial proprietor of the Cave
City Hotel. He has, always on hand, something very
nice expressly for you.
  Mr. M'Coy, the proprietor of the stage line, keeps
excellent stock, and employs none but the most careful
and competent of drilvers. TJde jaunt of nire miles
over the country is a very pleasant one.  Several
points on the road command a wide range of beautiful
scenery diversified by rocky hills snd fertile plains.


        RAILROAD PASSENGERS,
holding through tickets, may stop over, visit the cave,
and resume their journey at pleasure on the same
ticket. Many persons avail themselves of this privi-
lege, generously extended by the railroad company to
their patrons.

            THE CAVE HOTEL.

  This is rather a primitive edifice, constructed in the
form of the letter L. It is, in the aggregate, over six
hundred feet long, and has a wide, covered porch


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Mammoth Cave.


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along the sides facing the inclosed angle. Fronting
this promenade is a beautiful lawn, thickly shaded by
natural forest trees and ornamental evergreens.
  Mr. L. J. Proctor and Son are the present proprie-
tors of the Cave Hotel and the Cave.

       SOURCES OF AMUSE-MENT.
  A couple of billiard tables; a dancing hall, thirty by
ninety feet, and a natural park of ambitious propor-
tions afford the chief amusements of the place. In the
months of May and June the air is fragrant with the
aroma of roses and other flowers cultivated in the gar-
den adjoining the buildings. On fair days the wild
birds beguile the hours with their varied songs. During
the traveling season a band is employed to discourse
music to the patrons of the dance.

       ENTRANCE TO THE CAVE.
  A few minutes' walk, out through the garden, over
the stile, and down a flight of wooden steps, brings us
into a rocky ravine deeply shaded by tall forest trees.
Here the air is cool and bracing. The sensation is
delightful, and we catch new inspiration from each
long, deep draught of the vitalizing element.
  Proceeding on our way, we presently reach a dilapi-
dated old log building, in front of which there is a
yawning chasm fifty feet deep, with irregular and pre-
cipitous sides. This is the dreary portal to the subter-
ranean world. Green ferns and climbing vines cling


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Mammoth Cave.


everywhere to the projecting rocks as if striving to
cast some adorning drapery about their nakedness.

               THE CASCADE.
  A little spring of water pours a ceaseless stream
of silvery beads from a shelving rock above the
entrance and dashes it to spray in the chasm below.
One fancies that the monotonous hum of the falling
water and the gloom of the thick, overhanging foliage,
render the place a fit habitation for gnomes. The first
emotions awakened at sight of the entrance, and its
weird surroundings, are less agreeable than we could
have wished.

           THE OLD ENTRANCE.
  Formerly, ingress was effected farther down the hill,
near the Green river, where the cave may still be en-
tered and explored as far as the breach forming the
present entrance. At the old entrance we walk into
the cave on a horizontal line, as into a coal mine or
railroad tunnel.
  That part of the cave between the old and the new
entrance is about half a mile long, and is known as
Dickson's Cave. It contains nothing of special interest
and is rarely visited.

          THE NEW ENTRANCE.
  At the new entrance we descend into a deep pit or
shaft till we reach the floor of the cavern, about on a
level with the old entrance. The present entrance was


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                  Mammoth Cave.                  13

occasioned probably by the action of a little stream of
water, causing the rocky roof, which was not very firm
at this place, to break through. A knowledge of this
fact may excite apprehensions of danger, but having
once entered the cave, a sense of security steals over us,
and we dismiss fear.

               TEMPERAT URE.
  In these rocky chambers the temperature is uniformly
about 590 F. The cave exhales or inhales as the tem-
perature outside is above or below this standard. In
summer, a strong current of cool air rushes outward
with such violence as to endanger our lights. In the
cold weather of winter, the current sets inward. In
the spring and fall, when the temperature outside is
about equal to the temperature inside of the cave, there
is no action whatever. This natural phenomenon is
called the breathing of the cave.
  Coming out of the cave on the last day of March
of this year, I noticed a strong current of air tending
outward, increasing in violence as I approached the
entrance (it being a fine day).
  When I had approached so near to the door as to be
able to recognize the gray dawn of the daylight with-
out, I tried the effect of this current of air upon my
lamp, and found it sufficient to extinguish the flame.
I had carried the lamp more than two hours, and it
was partly exhausted. The breathing inside of the
cave is never perceptible more than a few hundred


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1M acmmoth Cave.


yards from the entrance, except in case of a violent
storm raging without, accompanied by sudden and
great change of temperature.

  Change of season is unknown in the cave. Mornings
and evenings have no existence in this nether world.
Time itself produces no change in many parts of the
cave; for where there is no variation of temperature,
no water and no light, the rocks may defy the three
great forces of geological transformation.

          EXPLORING PAIRTIES.
  Exploring parties are not properly equipped for the
underground journey until each member of the com-
pany is provided with a pair of thick-soled shoes or
boots, a cap, blouse, and staff. The ladies should be
arrayed in Turkish costume, with a hood of woolen
stuff covering the head and ears.

               THE DESCENT.
  The guide, with a canteen of oil slung to his side, a
box of matches and a good supply of Bengal lights in
his pocket, and a basket of refreshments on his arm,
hands to each a lighted lamp; then leads the way while
we follow down a flight of rude stone steps till we
reach the floor of the cavern. Here we pause a mo-
ment, take another look at the sunny sky, and then pass
behind the sheet of falling water and enter the door in
the artificial wall that separates the outer world of
sunshine from the realm of darkness. From the time


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Mammoth Cave.


we pass this door, our minds are so occupied with new
and interesting sights that we rarely think of anything
else till we return to daylight again.

           FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
  On entering the cave we feel a slight chilliness, and
perhaps, too, a touch of fear; but these sensations soon
vanish as gently and imperceptibly as childhood glides
into youth. Before we have gone half a mile we feel
ourselves the dauntless explorers of unknown realms,
ready to enter the darkest regions of the cave, guided
by the light of a single taper. The courage of the
timid tourist sometimes wavers before reaching the
cascade, but we never knew any one to turn back vol-
untarily after having gone as far as the vestibule.
  We can not see distinctly for some time after enter-
ing the cave. But by the time we shall have reached
the first point of considerable interest, the eye will be
somewhat accustomed to the darkness, which will en-
able us to see more clearly.

               THE NARROWS.
  For the distance of fifty yards or more beyond the
entrance, there is a low narrow passage with an arti-
ficial wall on each side, rudely constructed of the frag-
ments of rock that were quarried from the bottom and
forced from the low ceiling, in order to enable a span
of oxen and a cart to enter the cave. These were em-
ployed in the manufacture of saltpetre or nitrate of
potash, which was extensively collected here from 1808


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16MamnmTfioth Cave.


to 1814, by persons in the employ of the United States
Government.   The numerous rude appliances that
were used in the manufacture of this salt, are still scat-
tered along in the cave. Many articles of wood and
some of iron may still be found here as firm and fit for
use as when they were laid aside over half a century
ago.

                  FIRST VATS.
  Just beyond the Narrows, on the right hand side,
are two huge bins or boxes, twelve feet long, six
feet wide, and four feet deep. These boxes were
constructed of strong oaken plank, and are still full of
leached dirt that is almost as firm as a block of lime-
stone. These bins, with their contents, have been care-
fully preserved, just as they were left by the miners in
1812. A great number of the trunks of thrifty young
poplar trees, from eight to twelve inches in diameter
and from twenty to twenty-five feet long, perforated
longitudinally with a two-inch auger, lie scattered
along the floor, from the entrance to the distance of
half a mile into the cave. Through one line of these
old pump logs, fresh water was conducted from With-
out for the purpose of leaching the dirt, and through
the other the lixivium was forced back by means of a
hand pump, to the entrance, where it was evaporated
to crystals.


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                 Mammoth Cave.                 17


      THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1812.
  Mr. J. Gatewood, a native of the county, and an
employe in the saltpetre mines, frequently stated dur-
ing his lifetime, within the hearing of Mr. A. L. Mal-
lory, my informant, that he was in the cave with a
number of other workmen, during the occurrence of
the earthquake that formed the lake in the lowland
known as the " Kentucky Purchase," in the southwest-
ern part of the State, bordering on the Ohio. The
tremulous motion of the earth filled the miners with
alarm, and they fled in the wildest confusion toward
the entrance, which they did not reach till long after
the danger was past, when they stepped forth with
thankful hearts from what they feared might prove
their supulcher. Fortunately no one was hurt, nor
were the mining operations interfered with. Since
the cave has proved a safe retreat during a violent
earthquake, it is hardly probable that it could be unsafe
at other times.  No accident or loss of life has yet
occurred in the cave, from carelessness or foul play,
within the memory of that reverend being-the oldest
inhabitan t.

               THE ROTUNDA.

  We next enter the vestibule or rotunda. This is a
large cavern at the beginning of the main cave, and is
said to be directly under the hotel. It is over seventy-
five feet high, and one hundred and sixty feet across the


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8Mammoth Cave.


floor. Several avenues put off in different directions
from this, as from most other of the large rooms. In
some parts the wall is abrupt, in others the ceiling
slopes down gradually to the floor. Off to the right
is a passage rarely shown to visitors, as it contains
nothing of special importance. This is called

           AUDUBON'S AVENUE.
  Being near the entrance, it is generally passed by
without much attention, and the guides have finally
dropped it from their course altogether. One part of
this avenue presents an unusual attraction to the nat-
uralist. Countless thousands of bats have taken pos-
session of one of these caverns, wherefore it is known
as
         THE GREAT BAT ROOM.
  Here the leathern-winged little animals cling to the
walls and ceiling like huge swarms of bees, in bunches
of many bushels, and doze away their existence in a
semi-torpid state, in darkness and repose. What they
feed upon is a question not easily settled. Some of
them must remain here many months without once
going out of the cave, as but few are seen outside at a
time. It was formerly believed that they spent only
the winter here; but I have never visited their
apartment at any season without finding numbers of
them. We will find plenty of them in the Rotunda
for any experiment we may wish to make.
  They are cold to the touch, and when seized between
the thumb and finger, they shrug up their shoulders,


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                  Malmcmoth Cave.                 19

move their wings lazily, and perhaps utter a feeble cry.
Their eyes are about the size of a cambric needle's head;
these they persistently close when brought to the light.
I carried one out of the cave, and after examining it to
my satisfaction, threw it up into the air, thinking it
would fly, but it only used its wings as a parachute, lit
gently upon the ground, and did not seem to have vital-
ity enough to appreciate its freedom. They are very
small, not over an inch and a half, or, at most, two
inches in length, measuring about six inches across the
wings.
  Notwitstanding their diminutive size, they are nev-
ertheless capable of inflicting a severe wound. If we
hold one of them by the fur and skin on the back of the
neck, and blow into its face, it will curl up its nose as
if in derision, open wide its mouth and display a beau-
tiful set of the most perfect and delicate teeth, similar
to a cat's and sharp as a needle. These little animals
are classed by naturalists with the true quadrupeds or
mammals, as they bring forth their young alive; and
are grouped with the carnivora or insectivora.

              THE MAIN CAVE.
  The main cave begins at the Rotunda, under the hotel,
and extends to the distance of five or six miles. It varies
in width from fifty to three hundred feet, and in some
places it is one hundred feet high. For the distance of
a mile it is straight, then turning to the left it forms
with itself an acute angle; after which its course is


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0Mammoth Cave.


irregular. Some of the small passages putting off from
the main cave, after prolonged and tortuous windings,
communicate with other caverns and domes, surpassing
in grandeur and magnificence even the most renowned
part of the main cave. We can not, in a small work
like this, give a minute description of all that is inter-
esting in so great a cavernous region. We propose
to mention in the order of their occurrence only the
main points of interest to which the tourist's attention
is called, stating such facts regarding them as we have
been enabled to gather by diligent research, inquiry of
persons now living, and by personal inspection.
            KENTUCKY CLIFFS.
  As we move forward in the main cave, we notice on
our left a rough ledge of beetling rocks, resembling the
cliffs on the Kentucky river, after which they are
named. On the right there is nothing peculiar, save
sometimes a gradual sloping of the roof toward the
floor.
           THE PIGEON BOXES.
  About four feet up the left hand wall there is a clus-
ter of holes, very regularly formed, and about large
enough to admit the hand. These being a distinct
group, limited in number, while the adjoining wall is
smooth, naturally suggests the name of Pigeon Boxes.
                THE CHURCH.
  About a quarter of a mile beyond the Rotunda, we
enter a second dome or enlargement, in the main cave.
This has a gothic roof or ceiling spanning the vast


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JMatmmoth Cave.


arch, forty feet above the floor. The hall is somewhat
irregular, and has an area of many thousand square feet.
At the left hand corner as we enter this hall, there is
a solid stone projection or platform about three feet
higher than the main floor, and wide enough to hold a
stand and several chairs. This is called the pulpit, and
from it the Gospel was formerly preached to the large
and attentive audiences that were probably attracted
thither by the novelty of the occasion. These old pump
logs arranged into rows of seats may still bear testimony
that the story of Christ crucified has been toll even in
the sunless caverns that underlie the "dark and bloody
ground." A rude gallery extends around a part of this
hall, perhaps twenty feet above the main floor.

             SECOND HOPPERS.
  We have now reached a second series of vats or shal-
low pits, constructed of round sticks or split logs. Some
of these are full of dirt and others are empty, resembling
old pig pens. The great number of these rude appli-
ances still remaining give some idea of the extent to
which the work of saltpetre mining was carried on here.
Notwithstanding the imperfect state of chemical knowl-
edge half a century ago, and the primitive method em-
ployed in extracting the salt, it is said the yield of a sin-
gle year was estimated in value at twenty thousand dol-
lars. These mines are very rich, and it is believed that
the dirt which has once been leached, has the power of
absorbing this salt again from its great source, and may
be worked over with profit every three or four years,


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22               JXMamnmolh Cave.


thus affording an endless supply of the nitrate of pot-
ash.
             GOTHIC ARCADE.
  Just in this part of the cave, where the mining op-
erations were most extensively carried on, we notice a
flight of wooden steps leading up to a large opening
in the wvall on our right. This is the entrance to a
very interesting part of the cave, which we will visit
on our return. As it is the best part of the day's
work, we will reserve it to the last-make dessert of it.

              THE BALL ROOM.
  The Ball Room is the next place of interest that
claims our attention. It is an enlarged portion of the
main cave, perhaps one hundred feet long, sixty feet
wide,and forty or fifty feet high. The floor is even, the
walls and ceiling are regular, and with a little labor it
could be made one of the most charming and commo-
dious halls in the entire series. But the proprietors are
anxious to show the cave as nearly in the natural state
as possible, and therefore all the embellishments of art
are scrupulously discarded.

        OX-TRACKS IN THE ROCK.
  In this part of the cave are still to be seen the tracks
of cattle and of the carts that were used by the miners.
In one place is a distinct ox-track in a hard substance
similar to limestone rock. It will be borne in mind
that these tracks were made in the soft mud over half
a century ago, and since this part of the cave is very


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Mammoth Cave.


dry, and has been so for many years, the mud has be-
come so thoroughly baked that it has assumed the con-
sistency of rock. Thousands of human feet have trod-
den over it, and still the intaglio remains indelibly
fixed in the hard substance. Cart tracks are too nu-
merous and well defined to be mistaken by even a
blind man.
              OLD CORN COBS.
  Close by the wall on the left side of the room, may
still be seen the fragments of corn-cobs, but whether
they were brouglht here by the miners, as is the tradi-
tion, or by Mat, the guide, for the purpose, as he says,
of gratifying the curiosity of relic hunters, we have no
means of determining. Three or four feet up the wall
from these fragments, where the cattle were most prob-
ably fed, there is a kind of hitching ring naturally
formed in the rock. To this the guide informed us the
cattle were fastened, during the intervals allowed for
rest and for taking nourishment. The smooth groove
worn by the rope into the rock, proves beyond doubt
that the prevailing opinion has some foundation in
truth.
         THE STANDING ROCKS.
  At the farther end of the Ball Room, there are
several large flat rocks that must have tumbled from
the ceiling, perhaps ages ago. Several of these most
probably turned edge foremost in the descent, in
which position they buried themselves so firmly in
the dirt and rubbish, that they still stand as un-
yielding as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Two of


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23

 
Mamjwoth Cave.


these deserve special attention.  They are, perhaps,
fifteen feet long and project ten feet above the
floor. The one nearest the wall stands nearly perpen-
dicular, and has a heavy molding along the top. The
other is about two feet thick, and stands parallel with
the first, three feet from it, but leaning over toward it
at the top. Playful boys and girls seldom fail to pass
between the standing rocks. There are no dangerous
pits in this part of the cave.  The-floor is covered
with a fine dry dust that never rises like the dust
of the outer world, in spite of the pattering of many
feet. It will neither adhere to a polished boot nor
scarcely soil our garments.

                GRAND ARCH.
  This portion of the cave is very similar to that
which we have already seen, except the peculiar arch
in the ceiling, which, when well lit up is one of the
grandest sights we have yet witnessed. Like a paint-
ing, it should be studied in order to get the best effect.
It will amply repay us for all the time we spend in
contemplating its beauty. This arch is about fifty feet
high and sixty feet wide.

             WILLIE'S SPRING.
  On the left side of this beautiful stretch of won-
ders, a thread of water about the size of a Faber pen-
cil, has chiseled a fantastic little niche into the solid
limestone rock, and gathered itself into a spring or
basin at the foot of the niche. Tasting the water, we

 
Matcummnoth Cave.


find it fresh and palatable. A little reflection here,
upon cause and effect, will do much toward explain-
ing the theory of cave formation. Three conditions
are required to enable the water to carve these mag-
nificent halls into the solid rock.  These conditions
all exist at the spring above referred to.    The
limestone is a very pure carbonate, the water con-
tains carbonic acid, and in order to do work it must
be in motion. The water containing the carbonic
acid, in running over the rock, dissolves, takes up and
holds in solution the lime and carries it away. While
this process is going slowly on, at a very low temper-
ature, the conditions are every instant renewed, by
which the work must be continued. While the water
is taking up the particles of lime, the carbonic acid
is liberated from its union with the lime in the rock,
and now the acid is taken up by the water to which it
adds the solvent power over the rocks. The peculiar
shapes in the various caverns are due mostly to two
causes: first, the different degrees of solubility in the
different parts of the same rock; and, second, the cur-
rent or motion of the water. The tourist will observe
many freaks of shape and direction in niches and cav-
erns directly traceable to the causes above enumerated.

              THE TIMEPIECE.
  Behind some loose rocks on the left may be heard
the slow dropping of water, at such regular intervals
as to imitate the ticking -of a timepiece. It requires
but little effort to imagine oneself in a quiet old-fash-


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Mammroth Cave.


ioned house, lulled to repose by the drowsy tickings of
the old moon-faced clock. Mr. Samuel Meredith, the
guide, informed us that this natural chronometer con-
tinues to mark time, from year to year, with wonderful
uniformit; of intervals between drops.

                ROCKY HALL.
  On our left there is a high opening in the wall half
blocked up with huge bowlders or immense rocks that
have tumbled down from time to time. Notwith-
standing the roughness of the passage, it may be fol-
lowed for more than two miles, but it is doubtful
whether we would feel sufficiently rewarded for the
trouble should we attempt to explore it. It is never
shown to visitors.

        PICTURES ON THE WALL.
  Now we are upon the threshold of that part of the
cave so fall of wonders and attractions for all lovers of
pictures. The prevailing color of the floor, walls, and
ceiling of the cave is dark gray. Here the ceiling is
covered with an incrustation of gypsum, manganese
or iron, producing the different shades of white or
dark in proportion: s the gypsum or the iron pre-
dominates. In some cases there is a dark picture upon
a white background, in others a white picture upon
a dark background, and in still others, a black and
white picture upon a gray background, giving the
whole a variegated and fancifi I appearance. We pause


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Mammoth Carve.


here a minute and look around, tracing out the differ-
ent kinds of animals. In the dim light of our lamps, they
appear wonderfully true to life. The longer we look
the more difficult it becomes to resist the impression
that we have actually entered the studio of some
young artist who has just blocked out a fi</pre>