Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1843-01-26
MISCELLANEOUS.
sEhe Cave OF CacarasEaHssaEpa.

Oae of the great wonders of Mexico is
the cave Of CacahuanHpa, near the city
of Cautamilpa. 1t was visited by the
.auther of Life in Mexico, during her
soiourn in that city. She thus describes
it:
The cave of Cacahuamilpa whose ac-
tual wonders equal tie failed descrlp-
tons IF the palaces Of genii-was, .until
lately, known to the Indians alone /; or,
If the Spaniards formerly knew any thing
about it, its existence was forgotten am
..n.gst them. But, atthg' in former days,
it may have been used rs "a place Of wor-
ship, superstitiGgs fear prevented the
more modern Indians from exploring its
shining recesses ). for here it was firmly
believed, the evil spirit had his dwelling,
and. in sthe form Of a.gcat, with long
beard and horns, guardee. the entrance OF
tie cavern. The few who ventured there,
and rbeheld this apparation, .brou2h back
strange tales to their creduluus compan-
ions and even the nel.hborhood of the
enchanted cave was avoided, especially
at nightfall. l
The chain Of mountains into whose bo-
-som lit leads, IS bleak and bare but tie
,lavine below is refreshed by rapid
stream, that forms small waterfalls as it
tuns5les over the rocks, and is borhered
by green and Towering trees. Amongst
these is ore with smoatl,, .satin-llke
bark. of pale golden color, whose roots
have something snaklsh and witch-like in
their appearance, INTERVIEWING each 9th.
er, graphing as it were with the hard
rock, and stretching out to the most .eS-
traordinary distance.
tsV arrived at the entrance Of the cave
asuperb portal, upwards of seventy feet
high and one hundred and fifty wide, &C
cording to the computation OF learned
traveller; the rocks which support the
great arch are so Systematically disposed
as TO resemble work OF art. The sun
was already high in the heavens, shining
with intense brightness on the wild seen
cry that surrounded US, the rocks and
trees and rushing waters: a sensation Of
awe cane over us as stood at the moutl
Of the cave; and, turning from day t.
night, strained our eyes TO look down {
deep descent into Il gigantic yaulted hall
family lighted by the red embers of ;
fire which the Indians had kindied nes
the entrance. We made our way dow
dect;yIty OF tit may beg one hundret
and fifty feet, surrounded by blocks o
stone aud rocks. and remained lost il
astonishment at finding ourselves in this
gloomy subterranean palace, surrounded
sby. the most extraordinary gigantic. and
mysterious forms, which, it is scarce!,
possible to believe, are the fantastic pro
ductfons of the water which constantly
trickIes from the roof
i am shocked to confess i'll woult
preferpsssing it over; butwe had TASTED
nothing that morning; and we had rod'
fore sight hours, aud were dying for hun
per! Moreover, we travelled with
cock, "a very tolerable native artist, bu
without septiment--his heslt liz his stew
lk,an;) and he, without the least colppunc
tion, lad begun his frying and boiling
operations in what seemed the very yes
thule Of Pharaoh's palace. Our own
uaa1os and our Indian guides were assis
ting his operations with the utmost zeal
and III few minutes-so.ne sitting ar
ound the IRE, and others upon broker
pyf4mids--we refreshed ourselves will
fried chicken, bread and hard eggs, be-
fore proceeding farther on our explorin.
expedition. Unromantic as this procee
ding was, we looked, Indians and all, +;
Their awful, with no other light than, tn,
ruddy glare Of the fire Pickering upor
the strange, gigantic forms in that vas
iabyrinth and as to what we felt. soul
yalor and strength Of mind were increas
ed sevenfoId.
rwenfy-four huge pine torches were
1ien lighted, each man carrying one.-
To e. and me were given Lighted
war capdles, ii case, BY accident, any
one Should go astray from his compan
ions, and fose his ways would too Ger