The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-06 00:00:00

A TERRIFIC CAVERX.

Mr. J. W. Atkinson, F.R.G.S., delivered a lec-
ture at the Mechanics' Institute and Literary So-
ciety a few days ago, and in the course of his lec-
ture described a fearful cavern with which he met
in the course of his travels. While travelling along
the steppe, near the foot of the Alaton mountains,
he said he came to the brink of one of the dry
river beds frequently found in those regions. This
was the evident trace of the sudden disruption of a
mountain lake by a fearful earthquake at some pe-
riod. Travelling along the bed of the stream he
came to a deep valley, about 15 miles long and four
miles wide, surrounded by mountains varying from
5,000 to 7,000 feet in height. This had been a
deep mountain lake, proved beyond all doubt by
the sand and shells spread over its bed. " I also
found," continued Mr. Atkinson, " the water line
on the cliffs, showing that the depth was 560 feet.
Nearly opposite to the • gorge by which he had
entered there was another in the mountains to the
north. On reaching it I found this was also a deep
and narrow ravine, and no doubt formed by the
earthquake; through this water had rushed, drain-
ing the lake, and had formed the great watercourse
on the plain. We shortly entered the chasm,
which I found was about 120 yards wide,
covered with fallen rocks, among which a tor-
rent was foaming with, great fury. Our way
was a rough and dangerous one; sometimes
several hundred feet above the stream, and
then descending nearly to the level of the water.
At last we reached a spot beyond which to all
appearance we could not proceed. We were now
a little above the torrent, which was hidden from
our view, and close in front of us the rocks rose up
like a wall to an enormous height. A loud roaring
of the water was heard, which induced me to sup-
pose it was rolling over a deep fall. The old guide
told me it was Shaitan's Cavern, swallowing up
the river. The mouth of the cavern was formed
by a rugged arch about 50 feet wide and 70 feet
high. The river entered this opening by a channel
cut into the solid rock ; it was about 30 feet wide
and 10 feet deep. A ledge of rocks, about 12 feet
wide, formed a terrace along the edge of the stream,
and just above the level of the water. When my
astonishment had somewhat subsided I prepared to
explore the cavern by placing my packet of bag-
gage and my rifle on a rock, and the two Cossacks
followed my example. The guide watched these
proceedings with great interest, but when he be-
held us enter the cavern he was horrified. Having
proceeded about 20 paces the noise caused by the
falling water was fearful, and a cold chilling blast
met us. From this point the cavern extended both
in width and height, but I could form no idea of its
dimensions. We cautiously groped our way on in
the gloom for about 80 yards from the entrance,
when we could see the river bound into a terrific
abyss—' black Erebus,' while some white vapour
came wreathing up, giving the spot a most super-
natural appearance. Few persons could stand on
the brink of this gulf without a shudder ; the roar-
ing of the water was dreadful as it echoed in the
lofty dome. It was impossible to hear a word
spoken, nor could this scene be contemplated long
—there was something too fearful for the stronger t
peer into these horril-fe
nerves when trying to
depths. We turned away and looked towards the
entrance ; for a distance the sides and arch were
lighted up, but the great space and vast dome were
lost in darkness. I sat down about 50 yards fi om
the entrance, and in the twilight made a sketch o
the scene. Having emerged from the ravine, w'
looked down on the last low ridge ; this appear, d
. it