Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1844-08-15
The Mammoth Cave OF Kentucky.

A writer in the Boston Morning
Chronicle, furnishes an Interesting arl
Gle upon the subject Of the Mammoth
Cave, which he explored with care. -
lie concludes as follows -
The air ia the cave is so pure that the
sense oi smell becomes very acute 50
that when you first come ont, If the
weather be warm, the air seems impreg
mated with vegetable .mdtter, and you
feel as II entering hot, close stove room
on the contrary, IL ~ cold, II Is SAID the
AIR without seems rs thong h It would
pierce YOU through. These sensations,
however, soon wear off as tho system
adapts itself 10 the atmosphere.
II Is believed ihai II was once inhabit-
ed, and that by u race wholly different
from any existing Indian tribe. As
prnf Oi thus, traces of the savage are
still found hcre--two nIumnies having
been found, some years since, with icd
hair, ~ u gond state Of preservation. -
a lso the skeleton Of "a mammoth human
frame sides ends ot cane, which were
used for their torches and their fires one
VI whIrh, an unusually long specimen,
Steve presented me with, which he had
held for several yrnrs
l'ui the most striking characteristic Of
this cave Is lis vast dlmenSions Before
entering had no idea that there could
be such Z hole under the earth; aud what
now mortilirs me the most is, that ! am
n, IL
ever a cave-ihat name is inappropriate
for tins magnificent gro'to-this stupend-
ous iunnel-this boundless territory, or
neither world. In fact, should the h'Wh
be told Of this cave, it will not be beIiev-
ed Who believes that the air rushes
siX months IN, aud six months out, at lis
mouth, sufficient 10 eNiinguiSh The flame
OF "A torch, and yet one hall mile in
there is not sufficient dranght to wave the
blaze of a candle ? Not one in twenty.
Who believes that there Is a PIT 100
feet deep, and directly above il dome
900 feet high Not one in thirty
Who believes that the thermometer
never varies from 81 degrees OF Fahren-
helt, the coolest days of winter or the hot
test of summer, and that too, when the
cave door is left open all winter long
Who, that in winter, y cart load OF bats
can be shoveled of from space fifteen
feet square, and that millions and millions
hang on some parts Of the wall two and
three feet thick Who, that two mum
,orcs have been found, with red hair, a
milo inside the mouth Who, that AMI
mals vii no enter il without being COIN
p"llcd That II was once inhabited by
The Indians ! That its different passages
uniledIy measure over one hundred miles
~ length Who, that saltpetre was
once obtained there That oxen were
once worked anI fed there that the |
tracks made by their feet over thirty |
years sincc are distinctly seen, and that
the corn cobs, left IN their trough and on
the ground, remain in perfect state Of
preservation That animal flesh dries
ano becomes hard? Who, that mea,
viii moi putrlly, nor vegetable matter de-
compose That stage coach can
DIVE for miles without obstruction p \
That the heaviest thunder cannot be
heard inside, even al the first hopper p
That formations, as white as driven snow II
Inc the side aud ceiling OF grollo for I
two miles That there are streams 2oI
feet deep aud mlie IN length, aud fish
~ them without eyes Who believes
this Not one IN fidy-no, not one ~
a hundred. Yet all tins - the fact. I
believe II, aud much 81 have seon.
felt, and handled, and The uhoi, urudigl
mtmorioh.ed. L