The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-19 00:00:00

N°.17,727.] LONDON, 11111) RSDAY E
y JULY 19 1849,

NIANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD, and LIN-
COLNSHIRE RAILWAY.
OPENING of the LINE to LINCOLN, GAINSBOROUGII,
MARKET RASE N, HULL, GREAT GRIMSBY, &c.

The public are respectfully informed that the portion of the Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Line between Sheffield and Gains-
borough will be OPENED for pass: tiger and merchandise traffic en
the lith instant, thus forming a direct communication between the
south-eastern and north-western parts of England, as well as between
the ports of Liverpool, Hull, and Great Grims!:y.

TIMES of A ,RIVAL and DEPAR '1.1P1,: at the FOLLOWING
PLACES until ZURTIIEU NOTICE, viz.:

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FARES BEI' WEEN MANCHESTER A 1,1) HULL.
First Class. Second Class. Third Class.
Express .... .. 20s. Bd. ..... 16s. Od.
Ordinary........ 18s. 6d. I Is. 6d. ...... 9s. 3d.
* The classes above specified refer to the trail of the Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway only.
For further particulars, see the Company's Time Bills.
By order, C. W. EBORALL.
Traffic Manager's Office, Manchester, July 11, 1849.

A VISIT to the MAMMOTH CAVE
OF KENTUCKY, BY JOHN WILSON, THE
SCOTTISH VOCALIST.
MAMMOTH CAVE, KENTUCKY, MAY 20, 1849.—We
left the City of Rooks, as Nashville is called, on Thurs-
day morning, at half past four, and travelled ninety
miles to our place of destination fur the night, which
occupied nineteen -hours. The stages in this part of
the country lose a great deal of time needlessly by
stoyiaag for meals a great deal oftsner than pa .iple
ra quire them. During our ride we had breakfast at
twenty-one miles from Nashville, at a pl ace called
Tyree Springs, and that was acceptable enough ; but
before it was well digested we bad to step for dinner,
and then again for stepper, in three hours more ; and
as the people in this last hotel. which was at a pretty
iittle town called Bawling-green, did not wish to ba at
the trouble of making one supper for their own boarders
and another for the coach travellers, we were campelled
to " bide their dine," though not any of us wanted
supper at all, anal here we lost an hour and a half.
In our journey we were interested in the daytime by
the great variety of wild flowers we saw, and after
dark by the crowds of fire-flies in the air, in the trees,
in the field..-. We reached Bell's,* where we wore to
stay for the night at halt-past eleven, where we might
have had another Meal, but we did nut like. Bell, a
civil old fellow, is famed for making a kind of Atholl
brose of old peach brandy and honey, which we had a
tasting of, and then went to bed; but Mr. Bell's brose I
shall never taste again, for although it is pleasant enough
to taste, yet I could not get the disagreeable flavour of
the peach brandy out of my mouth the whole of the
next day. Afaer a capital breakfast, 801 l sent us in a
feur-horse stage to the Marnmouth Cave, a distance of
eight miles, over one of the roughest roads I ever en-
countered; but what we have seen in this wonderful
place amply compensates for any trouble or difficulty we
may have undergone. lam really quite at a loss how to
begin to give you the least idea of the place, for it is al-
most beyond description; at all events, I feel quite sure
that any kind of description given in writing, by any
mortal man, cannot afford to a stranger the smallest
notion of the wondrousness, the sublimity. the awfulness
of this cave—this stupendous work of Nature. First,
let me tell you, however, before I take you inside, that it
contains 226 avenues; at least that number has been dis-
covered, for there are more than that; forty-seven
domes, eight cataracts, pits innumerable, and eight
rivers, only three of which have been explored. It was
first discovered by the whites in 1802, and during the
last war with England immense quantities of saltpetre
were made in it, the remains of the utensils for the
manufacture of which are still to be seen at a short dis-
tance from the entrance, and even the marks of the hoofs
of the oxen the miners used can be traced in the ground.
It is only about ten years since the curious began to visit
the cave, and every year the visitors increase in number,
and they must continue to do so as the wonders of the
place become more talked of. About the end of June is
the time for crowds coming, and there is ample accom-
modation for more than two hundred people in a very
comfortable hotel, with an obliging and intelligent host,
',awed Mosher. There is no otner visitor here at pre-
sent but ourselves. Having given you so much pre-
liminary, I shall endeavour to give you an inkling of
what what we saw during our
FIRST DAY'S VISIT TO THE M MSIOTH CAVE.
The necessary alterations having been made in the
costume of tray two daughters, namely, the petticoat
being shortened, and trousers being domed—pants I
,aught to have said, for trousers are never named here,
and breeches are never made—and caps being placed
upon their craniums, a gentleman, who accompanied us
from Nashville, and myself, having been provided with
costs that had ba en coats once, and low-crowned soft
hats, we set off for the cave. We were fortunate in
getting the services of the favourite guide, Stephen, to
whom we had a letter from a lady in Nashville. He is an
active, intelligent, attentive, capital fellow, and after
walking some 200 yards through an avenue of shady
trees, we found him near the entrance, with his lamps
ready to light, his flak of oil on his hawk, and one
basket of provisions. We descended by about thirty
rude steps to the entrance, where our lamps being
lighted, we bid farewell for a while to the light of day.
In a very short time we cone to a wall that hail been
built by the miners, and in which there is a doorway,
instate of which we are fairly in the cave. The tem-
perature of the cave is always at 60, and where the tem-
perature out of doors is higher, tae air rushes out at
this doorway, so as to blow out the lamps if the com-
mand of the guide is not obeyed to keep your lamps
before you. At first one cannot see very well --the eyes
are not yet accustomed to penetrate the darkness— the
lamas only tended to make the darkness more visible.
13y and by we get more used to it. THE Cituricu, as it
is called, is the first apartment where we make a halt.
It is very large with galleries round it, and a projection
of rack at one side, called the pulpit. Being told by the
guide to put our lights behind us. he set fire to a Bengal
light, and then we were steak will wonder and awe
at the splendour anal the va-tness of this rocky apart-
men,. For size, Exeter Hall would be nothing to it.
Dm leg the season service is perform. d in it by some of
the clergymen suitors, and the effect must be very sub- a
lime, to see each worshipper sitting with his lamp, listen-
ing to the Word, joining itt prayer to the Lord of all, ,
,nd singing his praises. Each person enters with his a

lamp, of course, but on canning to the church the lamps
are all placed together, so as to make one general grand
l'he church is in the Main Cave, whieh is five
miles in extent, and as we move along we see the marks of
the action of the wet- r upon the rt cks in every part. The
average height is 50 feet, its width 100 feet ; at one
place, however, it is 340 feet wide. We leave the
Main Cave, and enter the GOTHIC A VENUE, where the
fiat apartment we come to is called the flaunted Cham-
ber, from two mummies having been found there by the
miners in 1809. They were in a eating position, and
clothed with deer-skins. One of them is now in a mu-
seum in New York; the other was burned by the mu•
seam in Cincinnati taking fire. The friend who was
with me being somewhat of a utility sort of person,
wishes everything to be made proper use o', and sug-
gested that the cave would be a capital place for keeping
meat, vegetables, &c., when he was told by Stephen,
much to his satisfaction, that the hotel people used it for
that purpose. ge along farther, and soon find our-
sbeelovoetst
oni theh
tßteegeisetteiri
oßgoohnio,t, wiht i cihs hnaosw,
eo,rtorsattdheerar
hhlaydd,
ea.
7f,att,.clveeris bey- mwarn.tytnigrerthsceinirenwaintisnogn
theto roof with
worathalitshee
a candle. They must have had the candle attainh;h7kede-
EnEtoe, am,ptr.et(Tyhico.rneg eihs,:fonara
mtlhielr;ojolofh
suppose
phpiog
Smith—ithe.
h.
nßd .013e4ubstaRo
not
st England one
iospfoult
.tats where his locale is. but it is not unlitel
was Mr. Smith of the United States. After passing
t"
itg
Vulcan's Forge, so calved from the stone resembling
very much the refuse of a forge, we come to the Gt,thicg
Chapel. Before entering it, however, Stephen takes
our lamps, and leaves us in the dark for a time, while he
goes and places them on the stalactite pillar in the
chapel. He calls out to us to " come on--there's nothing
to stumble over," and we advance towards the chapel.
How splendid! how beautiful! The stalactite pillars
are all opposite to each other, as if they were really
supporting the roof. It reminded me of the crypt
under the Cathedral at Rochester, in Kent, excepting
that here the pillars were translucent. About ten or
twelve feet high are the pillars, and the stalactite
formations are still going on in some of them. It has
been ascertained, it seems, that it takes thirty years to
form the thickness of a wafer, then how many times
thirty years must it have taken to form these pillars 1
It was a solemn scene, the stillness was indeed quite
awful. I broke the silence by singing Luther's Hymn,
while those around me stood like statues. We came
next to what is called Napoleon's Breastwork, an im-
mense block of limestoee, that has evidently fallen
away from the roof at some time or other, and now lies
in a slanting form. It is about 60 feet long, 20 feet to
the tor, and lead". over into a d,ce ravint-. Now we
come to his Satanic Mrksty's Arnichai,, which is the
name given to a splendid stalactite column in the centre
of a chamber, and which on one side forms an excellent
seat. The back is round, and like one of the old-
fashioned chairs stuffed, and covered with silk. You
may have an idea of the size of it when I tell you that it
takes three men's arms to go round it. Not far from it
is another stalactite formation called the Elephant's
Head, from its exact resemblance to one—the eyes, ears,
anti trunk are perfect: some barbarian, however, has de•
faced the trunk. Now we approach the Lover's Leap, where
any hapless swain may have an opportunity of getting
rid of all his earthly cares by taking a dismal leap of
50 feet, but no one has yet been desperate enough to do it.
We descend to the left of the Lover's Leap and presently
enter an extraordinary passage in the rock, called the
Devil's Elbow; it is about three feet wide, and twelve
high, and leads to the lower branch of the Gothic
Avenue. The stone of the passage bears evidence of
water having rushed through it with tremendous force,
though how long ago it is impossible to ascertain. One
of the guides got a terrible, fright here some time since,
by a gentleman who • was gifted with ventriloquial
powers. He had arrived at the hotel in the evening, and
requested a guide to accompany him to the Cave.
While :hey were standing over the Lover's Leap he made

a cry for "-lights and some water," which seemed to come
through the Devil's Elbow frim the Apartment below.
The guide, fancying it was some one of his companions
whose lamp had gone out, called out to him to stay
where he was and he would come to him immediately;
as het was descending by
the Devil's Elbow, the voice
came from another part in front of them. He returned,
and was ascending again to the Lover's Leap, when the
voice once more caine through the Elbow, at which he
became consideraf.ly alarmed, and it was with great dif-
ficulty the gentleman could prevent him from running
fairly off out of the Cave, and leaving him in the lurch,
which perhaps he deserved. On their return to the
hotel, the guide told the landlord a woeful story, in the
midst of which, however, he was stopped by some one
coming in to say there was a maniac about the
grounds, when they went out and heard a voice
calling out for some tea and bread and butter. " That's
it 1" he said, " that's the same voice that was in the
cave." The ventriloquist made the landlord aware of
the trick, and the mysterious affair ended with a hearty
laugh at the poor alarmed guide's expense. As we enter
this part of the Gothic Av,nue we ewe to a basin of
beautiful clear water, called the 'Cooling 7'ub. It is about
six feet wide, and a stream of the purest water is falling

* Bell's house, when Nvo leave the road, is midway between
Nashville and LOttisville, and 90 miles from Imola city.

constantly into it from the ceiling, which is he re about
thirty feet high. In various parts of the cave there are
streams of this description, and the sound of this falling
water is the only thing that breaks the awful, stillness
that constantly reigns. After passing Aapoleon's Dome,
which is about sixty feet in height, we come to another
iitt!e pool, called Lake Purity, the water in 'which is de-
licious to drink, sti pure, that no dis•ui hence can thicken
it. Now we retrace our steps to the Main Cave, where
at almost every step we take;soine new won( ler is opened
tin to We are in an apartment called the Ball
Rooth, for it is frequently used as such by the visitors
during the season. The floor is smooth anti level, and
continues so for several hundred feet, so t'aat there is
plenty of room for a large party. There are
spacious galleries above, toe, formed by the
!edging rocks; and there is an orchestra, capable of
holding twice the number of the Philtiarmouic Band.
As we go along gazing in wonder at everything, the eye
suddenly rests un a nice little niche in the wall, just like
the niche that is at the door of a !,toman Catholic
Cathedral fer holding the holy water. It has been
formed by the trickling down of the water, and is called
Wandering Willie's Spring; as I have considerable re-
gard for all Wandering Willies, I partook of the water
of his spring, and can vouch for its purity and refresh-
ing qualities. The Standing Rocks that we by and bye
approach, are immense blocks of stone that have evidently
fallen from the -roof, some of 'them twenty feet long, and
six or eight feet thick, and many of them even larger,
and what is something remarkable, it is the thinnest
part of the stone that has sunk into the earth. The
next very prominent object we come to is the Giant's
Coffin, an immense block of limestone that has evidently
fallen away from the side, and which perfectly resembles
a coffin, but may well be called a giant's, for it is sixty
feet long and about twenty feet thick. It has the curved
lid which I have observed in the fashionable coffins in
the south, and which I hetetd an auctioneer; who was
selling some by auction, recommend as being much more
accommodating than the plain lids, for the person could
turn round whenever he left inclined to do se. At some
distance beyond this, perhaps 150 yards, the cave takes
a gigantic turn, called the Acute Angle, or Great
Bend, which the guide illumines by one of his Bengal
lights, and displays to the astonished spectator one of the
most wonderful sights that ever mortal eyes beheld. It
has the appearance of a vast amphitheatre. •It must be
about seventy feet high. In front of us is the great
corner-stone or.bend, and on each aide the avenue looms
away into unfathomable darkness. The Bengal light
dies, and we trudge along to the right, with our lamps in
our hands, single file, with Stephen at the head, and ere
long he says, " Stop, we are now in the Star- Chamber."
Wonders will never cease, for here is something more
wonderful than anything we have yet seen. How can I
convey to you an idea of it ? Let me see. It is as if we
were at the bottom of a deep ravine or pass, about sixty
feet wide, and one hundred feet high, the top of the ra-
vine being terminated by jutting-out rocks, and above
those projecting rocks- we see the blue firmament of
heaven, as it were, with the stars shining above us. The ,
rocks at the top are white in many places, and cloudlike,
which shows the starry firmament to greater advantage.
The stars are formed by the sparkling gypsum in the
dark limestone, and a more complete optical illusion
Dame Nature never called into existence. We felt as if
we should never tire gazing on this, and ex-
patiating to each other upon its wonders. Stephen
asked us how we should like to have all the lights
extinguished, to try the effect of it in that way,
which we readily agreed to; bin not a particle
of anything could we see. There was, of course, not the
smallest ray of light—there could not be, for we a ere
two miles from the mouth of the cave, and 170 feet
below the surface of the earth. I put my finger close to
my eye, but could see nothing. When no one spoke, the
silence was awful. I don't know what the others were
thinking of in the midst of this total eclipse, but I could
not help thinking, now, if Stephen should have forgot his
matches we shall be in a line fix. I spoke to him of this
afterwards, when he said he should soon have got lights
for us if he had forget his matches, for he knows the
cave so well, having been a guide in it for thirteen years.
that be could have forced his way to the mouth. This
star-Chamber is one of the most pleasing sights in the
me. Not far from from it are the remains of some
small houses that were built some years ago for con-
sumptive patients. The sir is so pure and the tempe-
rature so equal, that they enjoyed very good health while
they remained in the cave, but as soon as they went
above ground they became as bad as ever ; the idea,
therefore, of m.king the cave an hospital for consump-
tion ha been abandoned. I forgot to say that while we
were admirirg the wonders of the Starry Chamber we
sang a sacred trio, the effect of which was beautiful, for
every thing was so still—no interruption by whisperers,
or thwe persons who are not aware that it is the height
of rudeness to speak while any one is singing—the voices
sounded large and full. The sublimity of the scene could
not altogether withdraw the attention of cur utility
friend from the things of this earth, for while we were
gazing in astonishment on the scene around us, he asked
me whether, as I came from Loudon, I had ever seen u
work on the art of brewing. by fermentation, anti
without yeast ! The Star-Chamber was the extent
of our walk in -the Main Cave -to day. We re-
turned as fur the Giant's Coffin, behind which we
entered an avenue, and cescended some 12 or 14-step.,
then through a very low aed narrow passage into the
Deserted Chambers, which we got to by crawling some
part of the way on our bands and knees. The first ut
the Deserted Chambers is called the Wooden Bowl. from

the fact of a wooden bowl having bt en found in it by the
miners some years ago. At a short distance from this
bowl we stepped to dine, sitting on the edge of a large
Hat rock, which we used as a dining-table. Close by
there was a apt bag of clear, delicious water. We enjoyed
our repast amazingly; drank in the pure. unadulterated
water to all our: friends round St. Paul's; had some songs
after dinner, then resumed our walk. Our attention was
first directed to the Sidesaddle Pit, vzhich is about 60
feet deep; and to prevent one's having a chance of falling
into it, it is railed round by spars of sassafras tree, un
one of which are two sprouts, which made their appear-
ance about a month ago, and are looked upon with in-
terest, for there is no other sign of vegetation within the
place. The ceiling here, from water oozing through
the stone, is just like honeycomb. A little further on
we come to the Bottomless Pit, a frightful chasm with a
fragile wooden bridge across it. A piece of lighted
paper thrown from the bridge into the pit, shows us the
depth of it, which, from the water to the top of the
dome above us, is 280 feet. As we found that the
splendid dome over heads had no name, we called it St.
Paul's and insisted that Stephen should henceforth call
it by that name, and no other.
As we go along we see on the roof of the avenue the
most beautiful stalactite formations—rosettes, &c., in
innumerable variety; there is indeed here a mixture of
the sublime and beautifuL We come to the Wild Hall,
well named from its appearance, go through the Arch.
which is one of the most-beautifully formed natural
arches that can be seen, return through what is called
the Labyrin:h, and go to Gorin's Dome. Much as we
had seen to astonish us, we were not prepared for the
magnificence of the scene we were now to witness.
Stephen placed us at an aperture about the ordinary
size of a window, told us to lay down our lamps behind
us, then he left us. By and bye we discovered him on a
point a considerable way above us, and he lighted one of
his Bengals and unfolded the wonders of the dome to us.
It is nearly 300 feet in height, and we were standing
about half way up. The sides of the dome are fluted,
and have the appearance of having been polished, for the
water is still trickling down. It is utterly impossible to
give any idea of the splendour of this place when lighted
up. We had not seen half enough of it. We called
for another Bengal light, but Stephen had not one more
left, so we were obli4ed to leave, which we did, express-
ing our determination to visit the dome again in our
next ramble.

We had now been five hours in the cave, and
RS we had more than two miles to walk to the mouth,
we set off on our homeward rouse. and passed
again some of our old acquaintances, the
Giant's Coffin, the Church, walked a little

way down Audribow's Avenue, and finally we saw the
light of day glimmering before us, and as we drew

nearer to Ih© Mouth I thought the'sun never shone so
beautifully before, and that the green grass and the
foliage of the trees, in fact the whole face of nature, was
more lovely than ever. When fairly out of the cave
we felt as if hot air was being blown upon us, so op-
preisively warm did the atmosphere feel. Aud so
fini:hed our firkt day in the Mammoth Cave. We re-
turned to the hotel, spent the evening in thinking over
and talking of the wonders we had seen, then went to
bed pretty early, to prepare ouraelves ur being up be-
times to start upon
_ _

OUR SECOND DAY'S RAMBLE IN THE MAM-
MOTH CAVE.
To-day there were three grand points of the Cave
which we hoped to visit, namely, The Chief City, or
Temple, The Mammoth Dome, and The Fairy (;sotto. We
entered about seven o'clock, after a capital breakfast at
the hotel, and passed over a good deal of the ground we
visited yesterday. We left Audribon's Avenue on our
left, came to the Church again, which we could not help
taking another look at, went on through the Main Cave,
passing the Giant's Coffin, coming to the Great Bend,
then entering again the Star-Chamber, through which we
passed, and came to the Salts Room ; here there are
layers of salts in the sides of the chamber, and from
the roof they hang in crystals. They taste very
pure, and not at all unpleasant, and are used
medicinally by the people in the neighbourhood of
the cave, when they can coax any of the guides to bring
them a supply. By kindling a fire in this apartment, or
putting all the lamps together so as to create a tolerable
heat, the salt comes down in flakes like a fall of fleecy
snow. As we trudge along the Main Cave (so called
because all the other avenues branch off from it), the
mind cannot but be filled with awe while contemplating
the wonders of this immense tunnel. It is as if we were
walking through the bed of a river, and the ceiling,
generally about sixty feet high, looks something like a
cloudy sky; indeed one part of it is called the Floating
Clouds. Soon, however, our ceiling becomes very low,
and our road very rough; we are compelled to crawl a
cjnsiderable way on our hands and knees, and are not at
all displeased when we reach the Banquet Hail, for here
there is plenty of room to stand up, the ceiling being 40
feet high and the width of the apartment about 700 feet.
We were very glad to sit down too, and Stephen went
to a distance and lighted one of his Bengal lights, which
showed us the glories of this immense apartment. While
we were resting here Stephen sang SOW sego mg;

very well; a merry fellow is Stephen, and has a good
voice. One of his ditties pleased us very much—it was
about " Uncle Ned, an old nigger who died long ago,
and vvho'hail no wool on de top ob his head, de place wheie
de wool ought to grow." I sang my poor friend Rooke's
song of "My Boyhood's Home," from Amilie, and
then we resumed our journey, passing by two cataracts.
each of which falls about fifty feet. Our road was very
diasult, indeed, and exceedingly toilsome, notwitli
standing the fact that one can uedergo a great deal more
fatigue in the cave than it is possible to do in the opee
air; but when we reached the point at which we were
aiming, our toils were amply repaid by the magnificence
of the Chief City, or Temple. This dome is 120 feet
high, the roof b‘ing of smooth solid rock; it is 300 fee
across, and 960 feet in length. In the middle of it is a
large heap of stones called the Mountain, up which we
clambered to see this immense area of darkness illumi-
nated. It is impossible to conceive anything more sublime
than this rocky hall, when lighted up by the Bengal;
and it is as impossible for words to convey to one who
has never seen it, the least idea of its magnificence. But
the light went out too soon. "Another Bengal! An-
other Bengal, Stephen!" was the cry that immediately
burst from every one. " Ah," said Stephen, "I knew
that would be the case." He then formed a light not
quite so brilliant as the Bengal, but which lasted longer,
and in whose softness there was more awe in con-
templating this vast place. We remained here
a long time, sometimes in dismal silence,
and sometimes breathing forth a sacred song, or One of
a serious character, for one of any other description
would have been quire out of place. Moore's " Oft in
the Stilly Night," I sang very softly, but it sounded im-
mensely in the silence, and it I may judge of the effect
of it upon Stephen, it was very solemn, for he said it
made him cry. He sang us no more nigger songs till we
were fairly out of the Temple. We turned our stofs
now towards the Faiey Grotto, the way to which is also
very difficult; a great deal of crawling again under low
ceilings, but which is generally got over very good-hu-
mouredly, each one's mishaps causing a hearty laugh to
the others. When you reach the apartment you dis-
cover that it is not inaptly named the Fairy Grotto, and
are soon rapt in admiration of the beautiful stalactites
before you.. The lamps are• placed in the pillars and
ether parts of the grotto, in the same way as at the
Gothic Chapel, and the effect is very fine. The stalac-
tites were once whiter than they are now, for the smoke
of the lamps has darkened them not a little. While ad-
miring the endless variety of stalactite beauties before
us, one cannot help feeling sorry that visitors should be
so barbarous as to break them off, for they but rarely
can get a rosette or anything else whole; they therefore
spoil the beauty of the grotto, without being able
to carry away a satisfactory trophy of their
destructive deeds. The stalactite formations are
still going on in the grotto, for the water
is constantly oozing through, and many a crystal drop
may be seen hanging from the end of the bunch of beau-
ties already formed. There are some thick massy pit
-
lan, some stalactites and stalagmites not yet met—the
stalagmite is the formation on the ground, caused by the
dropping of the water from the stalactite, which hangs
as it were from the roof ; many of them are beautifully
and fantastically shaped, and the effect of the light
shining through them is rich in the extreme. After
feasting our eyes on this splendid scene, we left the So
litary Cave, and entered again the .\lain Cave, and when
we got as far as the Giant's Coffin, we once more dived
down behind it into the Deserted Chambers, and passing
through the Wooden Bowl, we regained our dining-hall
of yesterday, and finding ourselves quite ready for a re-
past, we again dined here, and drank of the clear delici-
ous spring, and after a long rest and a chat, and some
music, we set out on our further travels. We soon came
to the Bottomless Pit, and our new-named St. Paul's
dome, and passing on entered the V ally of Humility, so
called from the visitor being obliged to stoop very much
while walking through it, for it is only about four feet
high; a short avenue takes us to the Winding Way,
otherwise called the Fat Man's Misery, a most extra-
ordinary freak of nature. It is 109 yards long, and
about 15 inches broad, and of solid rock. It widens about
three feet from the ground, so that one has play for his
arms; but it keeps constantly winding, there being not
more than two or three feet straight at a stretch, and
must perplex very much any tolerably stout person who
finds himself winding through it. Although it is called
"The Fat Man's :Misery," yet it has sometimes proved
the fat woman's misery too, for a very stout lady, if
there is such a thing in the world, got into it once, and
stuck fairly. The appendix, to her quite unnecessary,
of a bustle, was squeezed out of existence ; and, in
winding her way, she nearly winded herself; she
breathed fast, but stuck faster; she, being so great, be-
cause greatly alarmed, and her friends were compelled
to haul her through till they get into Great Relief, which
the avenue at the end of the Winding Way is very ap-
propriately called, and which she frankly confessed was
the greatest relief to her that she had ever in her life
rapt rienced. Its the avenue of Great Relief we saw the
point to which the river rose in January lain which is
fifty six feet above i's usual level. In going along we
come to two routes, one which leads to the river, where
we intend going to morrow, and another to the Mam-
moth Dome, whither we now steer our course. We come
first, however, to the Bacon Chamber, another curious'
freak of dame Nature; the ceiling is low, and has the
appearance of being hung with canvass covered bacon
hams and shoulders, so curiously has the action of the
water formed these stones. There is another curious
fornsation in this chamber. In a part of the ceiling there
is the appearance of a stratum having dropped out for about
20 feet, about one foot broad, and the same in height, and
the vacuum is in the form of a serpen t. Our next place to
gaze at is the Bandit's Hall, a wonderfully wild.looking
apartment of great magnitude, the floor being covered
with rocks of varieus s'zss, that have evidently fallen
from the ceiling. It was like being among some wild
rocky mountains, with the sky far above us, and when
lighted up was a magnificent spectacle of wild, rugged
scenery. Now for the Moanmoth Dome. We sineerely
hope it may be something worth looking at when we
get to it, for our way is the most difficult, tedious, and
toilsome that we have yet encountered; by this time,
however, we were getting quite expert at creeping, and
going sometimes in crab fashion, sideways on our bands
and feet. At last we emerge out of a hole, and find our-
selves standing on the brink of a precipice, and hear
the railing of water from a great height, and by the dim
glimmer of our lights we see that there is something be-
fore us awfully grand and stupendous, and this is the
Mammoth Dome! But we do not see it yet as we shall
see it. We must descend twenty feet by a crazy-looking
ladder, on which human foot has not been since last
summer, in order that we may see the dome in all its
glory. Well, we are down, and not a very easy task it
is to get down; and we are standing there enjoying a
kind of shower bath, while Stephen goes upon a
height to light up—and when he does light up we
forget the water that is showering down upon
us—we forget everything but the grand scene be-
fore us. We look on the vast space lighted up,
and we see the sides of this immense dome, or tower it
might be called, for it is nearly four hundred feet high,
fluted, polished, here pillars, there capitals of the most
elaborate description, as if the cunningest hand of the
cunningest craftsman had been there—ay, and has he not
been there? It is something like Gorin's Dome, which
we saw yesterday, but much larger. It may well be
called the greatest wonder of this wondrous place.
Stephen must give us another Bengal. Again we gaze
in astonishment at this unparalleled wonder, and see
beauties we did not see before. The light fades and
dies, and again deep impenetrable gloom holds its sway.
We ascend the ladder to our old ledge of rock at the
mouth of the hole by which we must return, and feel
thankful when we find ourselves safely at the top of it,
take one last look at the dome, and then retrace our steps.
When this dome was discovered in 1842 a lamp was

found at the bottom of it, which puzzled the finders not
a little as to how it could hare got there. Inquiry was
made of an old man who Jives near the cave, and who

worked in it 'when a boy at the saltpetre factories, and
he remembers of a man being let down by a rope to look
for saltpetre, and that he dropped his lamp. What a situ-
ation to be in! Dangling at the end of a rope in the
dark, with perhaps a vacuum of 300 feet below him I We
now set eff for the mouth of the cave, and had to go over
the same rough ground we traversed before. Having
been nine hours under ground to-day, we were
very glad to see the light of heaven again, and some of
our party wore heartily tired.
THIRD DAY'S RAMBLE IN THE MAMMOTH
CAVE.
Although we had a day's rest yesterday, it being
Sunday, my eldest daughter was not sufficiently reco-
vered from the fatigues of Saturday to encounter another
day's journeying in the cave, which might perhaps be
more fatiguing than any we had yet undergone, and so
my youngest and myself sallied forth, both of us being
very anxious to see the ferlies across the river: It has

been doubtful for some days whether we should be able
to cross the river, t r, like all the rivers for a consider-
able time past, it has been so high that there has not
been sufficient room for a boat to pass between the river

and the rocky ceiling above. However, Green River,
which flows ut about half-a-mile's distance from the

mouth of. the cave has fallen considerably since last
night, which affords some hope that the river in the cave
may also hare fallen, and Stephen assures us that he will
get us to the other side some way or other, if we should
go through purgatory, which he suspects we shall have
to do. W e take an additional guide with us, named
Alfred, in case his services may be required. We trudge
along the Main (and at a'pretty smart pace), till we
reach the Giant's Coffin, behind which we again descend,
and go through the Deserted Chambers, pass the. Bot-
tomless Pit and again get into the Winding Way,
through which having winled, we leave the Bacon
Chamber on the right, and take the passage
to the left, which leads to the Dead Sea,
which may be seen by looking over a precipice, and
sending a blazing piece of paper to the regions below.
At eighty feet distance it reaches the still water of :be
Dea4 Sea. We journey on through avenues till we
reach the river Styx, which we cross in a boat, then
walk a little farther till we get to Lethe. We sail along
it in our frail barque till the water becomes so shallow
that we can go no farther. Echo River is the great one
we have to cross, and as the guides are uncertain. about
the state of it, they leave us till they ascertain by what
other side. It was no vet.)
dmeelaignhstwfuel sairteuatotiognelftoor.tshoelitary, helpless individuals
.
be left alone in a bast in the middle
. of a river,. so far
under the face of the earth,
.and with no sound of any.
thing hear us save the trickling of invisible 111044115,

end nothing with any sign of life but gnats that flut-
tered about our lamps, and now and then a large cricket
with immerse long legs, but there was no " hearth" for
it to be on, nor did it chirp. In this river are the
eyeless fish; there are two kinds of them, neither
havitig the least resemblance of a place for an eye, for,
e course, they have no need of eyes. The solitariness
!such a scene can scarcely be conceived. However, we
oust not think of it; see sang and chatted. The echo
eas magnificent, and sounding chords afforded us some
ituusetneet; the four notes of the chord, sounded by one
voice, continued to sound altogether for a very long
ime, and at length died away by almost inaudible
sounds. After being in this lonely situtieion for
so hour, we were cheered by hearing the
voices of the guides, singing at a long distance from us.
As they came nearer we discovered that it was "Auld
:erg sync" they were singing, and I am sure I never
?card that favourite air with greater pleasure or satis-
eiction. At length the glimmer of the lamps is seen in
the distant darkness, and the guides approach us,
swakening the echoes with " Oh. Susanna," e Old Uncle
Ned," and other negro ditties. We learn that we cannot
mbark at the usual place, but must go round by Par-
4atory Avenue. They have to carry us through the
eater about fifty yards, 0,1 we come to walking
ground, then we reach a ferry which we cross in a boat,
rod Alfred takes the boat through the archway at the
usual place for embarking, to meet us at the end of the
.venue ; for we hear the water splashing against the
ceiling, and we cannot go that way. He must lie down
dit in the boat, and get through as he best can. We
reach the point of the river where he had come to, and
there is no sign of him. We wait patiently for a time,
Arid at length the awful silence is broken by thu sounds
of his voice, singing to let us know he has got through in
safety. The effect of the solitary lamp on the water is
astounding. We now all embark, and sing our way down
the Echo River for about a quarter of a mile, when we
et out, and walk again for some distance, then cross the
river again on Stephen's hack, and at last we are fairly on
the other side. The river was discovered in 1839, and first
crossed in 1841. As we go along, although we are fir ty
er sixty feet above the river, marks of its recent rise
are visible, for the sand is very wet, and our road very
slippery. The avenue in which we now are must have
oeen filled with water to the very ceiling, and our path
is an awailly wild. one, strewed with immense rocks that
lave fallen from above, and the ceiling is like a dark
midnight sky. The walls are beautifully ornamented
with rosettes, &c., of stalactite in great profusion. We
are now in Lil/ynian's Avenue, and have come to a bend,
something like the Great Bend on the other side of the
river. This bend resembles exactly the stern of a large
ship, and we see it as if we were in the water looking
ap at it. It is called the Great Western. The avenue,
which is two miles long, is terminated by an apartment
:idled Ole Buli's Concert Room, for here the great
violinist discoursed eloquent music to a large party whom
he accompanied into the cave some years ago. We now
enter the Pass of El Ghor, which is two miles long, very
narrow, that is, it averages a breadth of six or eight
feet, and a height of about fifteen or eighteen. There is
a singular-looking place in it called The Hanging Rocks,
which are immense blocks of stone rent from the roof,
and hanging as it were in air, ready to annihilate any
half-hundred people that may venture under them, but
fortunately they don't. We leave the Pass, and enter
spring-side, but when we ascend a ladder abut fifteen
feet into a place called Viwyard, one of the most
extraordinary freaks in the whole cave. It looks as
if all the dark-coloured grapes had been collected from
halt' the vineyards on the Rhine and deposited here. The
clusters are perfect, and the formations are still going
00. It was lighted up with a Bengal, and the effect of it
is indescribable. We pass on to Washington Hall, or
the Spar Chamber, as it is sometimes called, a large and
beautiful apartment, where the walls and roof are co-
vered with beaurful ornaments, and by and bye we reach
the Snow-ball Rom, which has the appearance of there
having been a formidable battery of snow-balls directed
against the roof, many of which are beautifully formed,
like large white roses. 'We proceed to Cleveland's
Cabinet, which is about two miles in length, and filled
with stalactite beauties, various ports of it being distin-
guished by particular names, such as Mary's Bower, a
beautiful part; St. Cecilia's Grotto, Charlotte's Grotto,
' Mary Reedie's Festoon, &e.; the walrosettes,e ls of th whole for
several miles being covered with Prince of
Wales' feathers, tulips, lilies, &c., and often we see a
piece like a richly carved Corinthian capital. We must
not forget the Diamond Grotto, where, by holding
your lamp behind you, a never-ending profusion of
sparkling diamonds is seen among the stalac-
tite beauties. Many beautiful specimens have fallen
on the ground, and many have been knocked from the
place where Nature deposited them by the ruthless hand
of some visitor. We brought away some specimens
with us, but they are very brittle and very heavy, which
makes it difficult to procure many. It is said there are
rats in this part of the cave, though it is difficult to
imagine what the y can support themselves and the it fa-
milies upon, for they cannot exist on the beautiful orna-
ments by which they are surrounded, any more than the
California miner can live on the gold he finds; but some-
times they get a chance for food. It is riot long since
two young men came from New York with the determi-
nation of exploring the cave. They took provisions
with them to last for three days, and had Stephen for
their guide. They bad their blankets with them, and
after ono day's exploration, they fixed on Cleveland's
Cabinet for their sleeping chamber. When they got up
in the morning, and went for their basket, to breakfast
before setting out on their travels, they found every
particle of food gone, and they had a trudge of eight
miles to the mouth of the cave for a breakfast. The rats
are different from the usual species, they leap
something like a rabbit, and are very seldom
seen. Beyond Cleveland's Avenue, we came to the
Rocky Mountains, an exceedingly difficult place to travel
over, then get to the Dismal Hall, a gloomy-looking
place, about 100 feet high, Sereno's Arbour, well worthy
to be visited, and Medora's Spring, are at the furthest
extent of the explored part of the cave, and hire we are
nine miles from the mouth. We now returned, and saw
on our way the Snow-ball Chamber lighted up with a
Bengal, which, if possible, increased its beauty. We
stopped to dine at a little spring, not tar from the foot of
the ladder by which we descended from Mary's Vine-
yard, and, after resting for a time, we entered once more
the Pass of El Ghor, and continued our way, looking
with regret fur the lust time upon the many wonders we
had already explored. As we approached the river we
found the walking as bad as ever, but we got over safe.
As Alfred was carrying me along the Styx on his back,
he stepped upon a quicksand, and sank considerably,
which I not liking, and being quite ignorant as to where
he was likely to sink to, I jumped from his hack, in spite
of Stephen's shouts to " hold on to him! hold on to
him! " It afforded me a hearty laugh, for the
water scarcely came to my knees, and the
exertion of clambering over rocks, and walk-
ing along on the rough road, soon made all dry. Once
on this side the river, we trudged on nimbly through the
Fat Mau's Misery arid the Valley of Humility, and get-
ting into the Main Cave from behind the Giant's Coffin
again, we were not long in seeing the light of day. I
nearly forgot to mention that as we were sailing up the
Echo River on our way home, Alfred, the guide, caught
two of the eyeless fish. They are small, about a finger's
length, one of them like a minnow, and the other some-
thing like a shrimp. There is not the slightest appear-
ance of eyes about them. We heard also the sound of a
voice at some distance, which Stephen knew to be that of
one of the guides, arid when we gut up on the about
fifty feet above the river, we saw at a great distance
.a
three individuals standing beside the
i their
sepulchral—they
beside them. The effect was awf y
regions.o By the bye,
the place through which we
looked like beings of thenether
traversed to the spot where
we saw them, is called the Infernal Regions. The visi
tors soon joined us, and we left the cave together. They
had only gone to the bank of the river. It will be long
ere we forget our visit to the Mammoth Cave. The

season not commencing till about the end of June,
we had it all to ourselves, and enjoyed it
much ; but even when there is a crowd of
people there, it must add to the amusement to meet
parties as one rambles through the cave, though one
would scarcely get into such a place for amusement. It
fills the mind with thoughts something deeper than
amusement. No accident of a serious nature has ever
happened in the cave, for the guides are very careful,
and every precaution is taken to prevent accidents. Very
soon atter the river was discovered two young gentle-
men, accompanied by two young ladies, went to cross
it. They were full of spirits and too full cf fun, for
despite the guide's warning that the boat was very crazy,
they, in getting into it, upset it. Their lamps were all
extinguished, and their matches lost. Fortunately, the
guide got them out of the water, and placed them on some
rocks, where they were obliged to remain for several
hours, till the people in the hotel sent to see what de-
tained them so long in the cave. They were in a ter-
rible fright, and no wonder. Another gentleman who
had left his party, in his ardour to examine some par-
ticular point, lost his way in attempting to rejoin them,
and wandered about shouting till his lamp went out,
when he sat down, and he was thirty hours alone be-
fore they found him. There is no danger if thbeutpaCro
ties keep together and with the
attempt to find the way oneself were glunuidshneests,vetnasinkg.:
We left the Mammoth Cave Hotel at. six g
and bad a pleasant ride to Bell's,
rough, but
at eight il:emryiles distance.
The road is through the wood
and bye, when there is more traffic
will be smoother by
very much this spring
b:e' it "
on it. Mr. Bell has improved
fur he has the conveying
proved
of all the
at his own expense,
visitors from the house to the cave, and very reasonably
he does it.As I before mentioned, he is an obliging
and attentive old man, Mr • Bell, and if you get into his
good graces, he will not be sparing of his peach
brandy and honey, though he very witely takes none of
it himself; and perhaps he may take you
into the garden,
where he will show you something
that will strike you
it being very singular, if you are an
Englishmen. In a
corner of the garden, undvr a uiet tr
neat tomb-stone, wh wi tell ich •111 ee, 3ou will see a
you that there the old

- - _
* In St. Louis I saw part of a panorama of the Upper Mis-
sissippi, which a French artist named Pomerade has been en-
gaged on for some years, and which he has nearly finished.
It is beautifully painted, and must prove very interesting, for
he has introduced Indian scenes, customs. &c., and has also
machinery which sets the steam-boats a•going, &c. lle in-
tends to have four views from the Mammoth Cave as drop-
scenes; if he succeeds in giving anything like a faithful
representation of them, it will add mach to the eclat of his
pittirt