Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1843-01-26

tainly happen, IN the different Wibaa"Ss'
and galleries. and compartments, Oh The
caye-and be aioneein TIE darkness.
| We walked on. insaWe and wonder; the
guides lighting up the sides OF tue cavern
with their Torches. unfortunately, t.is
Understandable; as in the fantastic forms
of theselouds, every anessees sotse dliIer-
ent creation OF his fancy in these stupen-
deus. masses. 1t is said that the ffst sala
/ ffor travellers have pretended to divide
n -iuto halls. and very little imagiDa-
ton ina ydo SOY is about two hundred feet
long, one hundred and seventy wide. and
one hundred and fifty in helsht-a noble
apartment. The wallis are shaded With
different coIors Of green aud orange; great
| sheets of stalactites hang from the ROOT;
and white pllantoms. palm trees, lofty
/ pillars. pyra.aids, porehes, and thous-
i and other Illusions. surround US on all
sides. !One figure, concerning which all
| agree. is IA long-halred goat-the Evil
One in that form. But some one has
broken the head -perhaps to show the
Do Xerlessness of the enchanted guardian
ef the cave. Some say that there are
no living animals here, but there is no
doubt that there are bats; and persons
who passed the night here, not only
heard the Kissing of the rattlesnake, but
was startled by the apparl1ion of fierce
leonard. whose loud ioarlnss were echo
ed amongst the vaults, and which, after
gazing at then, by the light of the touch
-es, staIked majestically back into Tie
darkness.
| We passed Oil into the second sala.
coIiec citing, as we went. fragments OF the
shining stones our awe and astonshment
increasing at every step. Sometimes we
seemed to be IN a subterranean Egyptian
temple. The architecture was decided
ly Egyptian, and the strange forms OF
the animals resembled those of the ur-
couth Egyptian idols; which, together
with the pyramids and obelisks. made
me think that, perhaps. that ancient peo-
pie took the idea OF their architecture,
and many of their strange shapes. from
some natural cave of this description /;
just as Nature herself suggested the idea
of the beautiful CorlnthIan pillar.
Again: we seemed to enter Il tract OF
country which had been petried. =
Fountains ofccngea!ed water, trees hung
with frozen moss, pillars covered with
gigantic acanthus leaves, pyramids OF
ninety feet high, losing their heads in the
darkness of the vault. and looking like
the works of pre-Adamites-yet no being
but He who inhabits eternity could have
created them. This second ball, as lof-
ty as the other, may be nearly four hum
dred feet in length.
I'VE then passed into sort OF double
gallery, separated by enormous pyramid
al OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES which
are formed by water dropping on the
earth. The ground was damp, aud occa-
slonallv great drops trickled on our heads
from the vaults. above. Here Gothic
! shrines, odd figures, somesthat look like
mu mmcs, others like old ,Eaen, with long
boards, appal US like figures that we see
in some wild dream. These are inter-
mingled with pyramids, obellsks, baths
that seem made Of the purest alabaster,
Sc. A number Of small round balls,
petrifactions of a dead white, lie about
here, forming little holloWs instle ground.
Here the cave is very wide-abort two
hundred feet, it is said. :
When we left this double gallery, We
came to another vast corridor, supported
j by lofty pillars, covered with creeping
| plants; but especially with row OF the
most gigantic caulitiowers, each leaf del
lcately chiselled, and looking like tit
ting food for the colossal dwellers of the
cavern. But to attempt anything like a
regular description IS out of the question.
We gave ourselves up to admiration, as
! our torches flashed upon the masses of
rock, the hills crowned with pyramids,
j the concealed torrents that seem to Win
ter at the north pole, and the lofty Doric
! columns that bring us back to the pure
skies of Greece But, amongst all these
1 curious accidents produced by water,
none is more curiously exquisite than an
amphitheatre, with regular benches, sur
! mounted by great organ, whose pipes,
! when struck, give forth deep sound. -
! It is difficult not to believe that some gi-
4 oantic race once amused themselves III
I these petriied soIitudes; or, that we have
not invaded the sanctuary of some mys,
terioas and superhu,nan beings. 1t is
said that, this cavern has been explored
for four leagues. and yet that no exit has
been discovered. AS for US, did not
know how far we went. Our guides said
| a league. 1t seemed impossible 70 think
+ Of time, when we looked atsthese great
I.nas ses, formed drop by drop, slowly aud
rarely. and at distant intervals falling.
and looked hacksupon the ages that must
] have elapsed since these gigantic forma-
tions began. .
AT length, on account of the loose
stones,ahe water, and the masses ofcrys-
tai rock that we had to climb over, our
guides stronsly recommended US to re-
turn. 1t was difficult TO turn away our
ewes from the great Uniformed masses
hat now seemed to fill the cave as Far
as the eye could reach. 1t looked like
the world in chaos-Nature's vast work.
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