The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-11 00:00:00

Terrible Adventure in a Cave.

The Indianapolis Herald of the 12th of April contains a
letter written at Lavenworth on the Bth inst., in which an
account of an exploration of the celebrated " peal Man's
Cave," situated near Leavenworth, is given. It contains
several thrilling incidents. The exploring party consisted
of Major Throckmorton, of Louisville ; Captain Holcraft,
Sheriff Swayne, Dr. E. R. Hawn, and Lyman E. Knapp,
of this place ; Mr. Jesse Brandon, of Nashville ; and the
Herald Correspondent. The party proceeded to the sub-
terranean river, which flows through the cave, when, says
the Correspondent, "a consultation was had on the bank,
to determine whether an attempt should be made to cross it
in its present swollen condition. Mr. Knapp, myself and
Sheriff Swayne, suggested an abandonment of the expe-
dition, but were overruled by Dr. Hawn, Major Throck-
morton, Capt. Holcraft, and Mr. Brandon, who, while ad-
mitting the danger of the attempt, declared they would
rather perish than abandon the expedition now, and stand
the ridicule which such a movement would entail upon
their heads. The boat was accordingly launched, and
Capt. Holcraft, Dr. Hawn, and myself entered, the doc-
tor playfully romarkinu that some men who were
destined to die another death could never be drowned. We
found the passage much easier than we expected. Capt.
Holcraft took the oars, while I grasped the tiller, and the
doctor held aloft the flambeau. A few vigorous strokes,
and, with a sensation of relief, we felt the keel grate upon
the peebles of a sloping bank on the other shore, in still and
quiet water. A lusty cheer from the doctor made the cavern
ring, and informed the rest of the party that the passage
had been safely accomplished. Captain Holcraft then re-
turned, and soon brought over the remainder of the party.
Continuing the exploration, the party came to a place where
was discovered a deep circular hole, apparently almost bot-
tomless. Stones dropped into its gaping mouth would be
heard sullenly plunging from side to side, until the noise of
their descent was lost in the abyss below. Mr. Knapp being
the lightest of the party, was let down by a strong cord a
distance of some 30 yards, when he vigorously signifiedthat
he had seen enough by jerking the rope. He was drawn up,
looking a trifle paler than usual, and declaring that his
curiosity had been amply satisfied, Mr. Knapp said that,
after descending a distance of 15 or 20 feet, numerous winged
things, apparently bats, flitted constantly about his ears,
viciously snapping their mandibles together with a devilish
sort of twitter. One of these, cold, clammy, and inexpres-
sibly nasty, alighted on his face and inflicted a severe bite.
Mr. Knapp nearly fainted with disgust, and declared that if
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was persuaded to continue the explorations a little beyond,
when the most painful portion of the story commences. The
party entered a new cavern, which suddenly narrowed.
Mr. Knapp, going first, passed through the opening on his
hands and knees, and entered another large chamber. Dr.
Hawn, who is a very heavy man, attempted to follow, and
became inextricably axed in the passage. He could neither
go forward nor back. For three hours the party worked
incessantly, but all to no purpose. We sent back to the
river and got the iron stakes with which the boat had been
fastened, to use as a crowbar. With this the doctor might
have ben extricated, but here a new calamity manifested
itself. One by one the lamps had burned out, until barely
enough oil was left to light us on our way back to the
river. The thought of being imprisoned in that living
tomb was too terrible to be endured, for we knew that,
without light, we could never find our way back. A panic
seized upon the party, and hastily leaving the doctor and
Mr. Knapp to their fate—for the doctor's body blocked up
the way against Mr. Knapp's return—we rapidly retraced
our steps, crossed the river and returned to the town. A
supply of oil, tools, ecc., were procured, and although
fatigued almost to the point of disability, we returned to
the cave, determined to rescue our comrades, or perish in
the attempt. The river was crossed, and we proceeded to
the grand chamber where we had taken our lunch, accom-
panied by numerous citizens of Leavenworth. But, search
as closely as we could, we could not find the gallery in
which the doctor and Mr. Knapp were entombed. In vain
we explored and shouted, until worn out and fainting. All
to no purpose. Nearly three days have passed since we first
entered the cave, and during all that time it has been full of
people uselessly hunting for the two unfortunate men. One
after another of the various galleries leading from the grand
chamber have been explored and blazed with chalk-marks,
but still the missing men cannot be found. We are begin-
ning to lose heart, but will persevere as long as there is the
faintest hope. The guide of the Mammoth Cave, in Ken-
tucky, has been sent for to assist in the search. I shall
remain here a day or two longer, to do what little I can,
and will inform you if the men or their bodies are found."
Mr. Knapp has since been found. He wandered about
the cavern, and was at last fortunate enouglt to find an
opening in an old sink-hole, where he was found by a hunter,
56 hours after he was left by the party in the cavern. Dr.
Hawn had not been discovered at last accounts.

CRYSTAL PALACE.--The great Flower Show of
the season takes place to-morrow, when the gardens
of Rockhills (the residence of the late Sir Joseph Paxton)
will be thrown open to visitors. On this occasion the tro-
pical department, in addition to the naves and transept,
will be made available for the show, thus forming a covered
promenade the whole length of the palace. Should the
weather prove at all unfavourable the military bands will
play inside the palace.

OPENING OF A DRINKING FOUNTAI/I IN THE CITY
—A very beautiful public drinking fpuntain which
has been erected as a memorial to communicate the gifts of
the benefactors to the parishes of St. Lawrence Jewry and
St. Mary Magdalene, Milk-street, for the ase of the inha-
bitants, was opened yesterday with some ceremony. The
memorial has been erected in the open space on tho west
side of Guildhall-yard, between the church of St. Lawrence,
Old Jewry, and the office of the City law officers, and forms
quite an ornament and a structure of much ,nterest to that
immediate neighbourhood. Divine service having been
performed at 12 o'clock in the church, the vicar, accompa-
nied by the churchwardens and other parochial officers,
proceeded to open the foruitain.