Litchfield enquirer., 1834-11-06
From tIe LS.ringgOH Ky. lntettigene'r. VISIT TO THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

COu0Ve Sq from LousvilIe and 94 from Nashville. The writer Inf ths article has recently visited this cave and rOpo- he's 10 give such description Of as the limited time allowed him to explore will permit.
 Our company consisted of the writer, two ladies' the guide Mir. GatewOod, and two servants, one ol whom acted ih the capacity of guide from the I""' Our hrsI descent after leaving the house, down an abrupt precipce into a ravine, rathe: basin, the bottom ot which extends the opposite side Ui :he caVe and some distance in front. It is mostly covered with growth of oaks and small under shrubbery. narrow yiudDg foot-paih conducted to tue mouth ot the cave near which the ruins of several furnaces, constructed many years since, aud employed i" the manufacture of saltpetre and about hy ITO" Ket''es' used for the same purpose. Before entering the cave,
 we had to descend another steep precipice about thr " feet. Standing upon ths felt cold atmospher- ic cOrrent rushing from the cavern. which, with the damp dark entrance below, (the water dropping from the rocks) rendered the pFpspect so ahospitabe and comforess as almost cha the curiosity, and forbid n further descent. Alter descending this precipice, guide lighted the lamps, the rush of air being too stroHg at the summit to descend with then burning and with slight inclination of the head, and shndder- ing sensations, we passed under the immense masses ot oveshaHging crags, iOto narrow winding avenue leading the high arched rooms ot the maiu cavern
 This avenue extends quarter of mile, aD6 was hrst rendered passable by visitors in an erect pos'l'on
 the sapetre manutacurers, whose Improvements, II they may be called, extend mile into the cave. wagon road was constructed b~ them this distance, md the wooden pipe for the cOnveyance of water from the mouth ofthe cave to the hoPpers and much other machinery made use of by the manufacturers, still re-
 main they Jeff twenty years ago. As we pass el along this rOad also observed the rnts, formed by The wagon wheels, aud the tracks made hy the OK en employed in Ihe cave, which ,n many places are perfec and apparently nean us if made yesierday
 Al the end o the avenue, we passed through small door, formed by the construction of an artificial wall across the cave, and aer gradually ascending and de-
 scending some ten or twenty feet over what s called the rocky mountaiD," the cavern wdens into lof'y ar.. r,acous room the arched ceiling oi which IS sev- eny feet from the floor, and the width hundred yards
 The roof or arch of the here resembles the ap- pearance of hazy sky dimy lighted by the moon, a" aliernaom of light and shade, occasionally deepening into blackness. This room extends perhaps one nun. d.cd and fifty yards in en2.h when me waIs coh'Iac' again, and the cave and is rooms continue compara- lively narrow until entered what IS called the Oa thedra which is another supendous arch, such as "a alone, in of her mighess convuls'ons' co@!d form. The roof of the cavern here is upwards o' hundred feet from the floor, and the width, including a recess one side, must be an eighth oI m''e.- The rocks composing the walls have brown appear ance but many of the rooms here as sns ,3 Mn T5r name cathedral given to this part ol the cave Tom the circumstance oi a religious meeting having been held in it short time s4ce ruaely construct ed pulpit, is still standing and the seats for the accom- mediation of the audience remain as they were of,g- nally placed. Our guide stated that large number attended the meeting, and that the room De'ng gn1ed by hundred lamps, presented splendid and sublime appearance. Near this, which IS about mlie from tire entrance were startled by what resembed the report of cannon Alter recovering from our ;ur sur which reverberated in long and loud echoes Hom various parts of the cave, was produced Dy sman stone hrow. 6 Sar guide had Ug ba short distance from this before the iadiee sgn'nea their wish return, and dismissing them with one o our guides and many particular snsr4c.oms, wS uesa ed as we had time visit bn, small part ot the cav. ern to take one of its most interesting Oranches aoout half mile beyond us, first exploreu last year, ana after examining some portions oI "' 'e'"r" !" '"e mouth. F.
 We lei. tite main cave our right hand and creep ing througi narrow winding avenue short d'sance' in which we descended abon. ee,i T an case, exsendiag a quarter of mile. At the end oi this we again turned to .oar right and experienced considerable difficulty !" making oar way m ssae h dred feet more. Here we found ourselves m another large cavern, the roof and walls ot which are white and ciaky I" travelling haf n,.e ~s Chcn came !o 1t this name from the prints of human feet n the shnd on one side of it. which are Ns perfect as made yesterday. These impressions exend some a,s, tance and appear 10 have been made by female leading small child. The sand here IS mo'st' whach s unusual in e cave, and is undergoing 'ne process of petfifaction. ., sometimes being compelled to stoop, when we came to pit 70 feet in depth by measurement Ene ',an of it's mouth is about ten or fifteen feet. hea some distance .downward which are perpend'e9lar' and appear as regular they were the work oi art: Near this pit in the floor of the cave. aNne coo! spring. from which all drank freely. We continued our walk short distance oyer smooth sandy floor, to what has been named tho sbottoless pit -a name applied with much propre'y. It extends que acfoss the in fron leaving narrow passage 'nlo aN"tn' CT branch of il on the ei', never yet exp'9red an" about 30 feet in diameter at it's monjh It's wn's as far as could be seen, are much the same ms ose oI the pit described above. Into this abyss, ilne with weighs attached ta has been lowere three hundred feet, without certainly then of having reached the bottom. We had prepared ourselves with some small fragments of rock for the purpose Of precp,a'ng into 1t. In descending, before a contact wMn the wa'is' they produced several sounds buxzlng sound, then the ound and loud echoes made by the first contact, tact ;-,hen fainter aud sill fainter report until all sounti died away upon tho ear, apparently From the great dslance, rather than from hnal stop m tho downward progress of the rocks
 Our forward progress here interrupted, tor al- though we could see the continuation oG the cavern beyond the casm just described, t would have beeu madness to have attempted to reach it: we therefore retraced our steps nearly quarter of mle: ano en- tered without difficulty, another branch ot me cave, the floor of which ile distance we followed li taoont flint rock. The curiosity that first attracted our par ticular admiraon,in this cavern was the " Dome eI Wushia etons' magnificent dune having she shape of bishops mre, about feen feet at lhe base, ana seveniy-fVe feet n height. We entered th's dome Oy descending feet through small door on the ieit o tbe cave Is form a he base is nearly round, and Us walls have all the regularity of construction ana per lection ofdesgn, characteristic of the incest masonry Leaving this by the same door we entered M ana Pur suing forward course flew hundred yards iar'ner we arrived at the entrance of the Dome Sp'sag"- on our right hand. This dome is larger At the base and ofier, than the just described, and excited full measure of wonder and admiration, both ior h' perfection 0f form md construction. and spacious ofdimensons It's shape s that oi areg",Sr cone about 20 feet n diameter at the base and 100 or lt feet from the floor io the apex ine cool sprung o the most iimpd liquid ever behed gushes from the wall, and covers abou, one half of the floor. From