The Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1834-184?, 1844-08-15
THE MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY.
A " ritter in the Boston Morning Chronicle,
fnrn Dies an interesting article upon the subject
Of IL ammoth Cave, which he exploded with
care. He concludes as follows:
The air in the cave is so pure that the sense OF
smell becomes very acute $50 That when you first
come ont il the weather be warm, theialr seems
impregnaied with vegetable matter, and you
feel az il entering a bos. close stove room lion
the contrary, il is cold il is said the air without
seems as though It would pierce you through.
These sensations however, soon wear of, as the
system adapts T~elf TO the atmosphere.
1t is believed hat it was once inhabited, and
that bv a race wnoly different from any existing
Indian tribe. As proof of this. traces Of the saw
age is still found here-two mummies having
been found several years nee, with red hair. in
a good state OF preservation Also the skeleton
OF a mammoth human fra me-besides OF ends of
cane. which were used for their torches and
their fires; one OF which, an unusual long speci-
men, Steve presented me with, which he had
held Tor several years.
But the most striking characteristic of this cave
is lis vast dimensions. Before entering | had
no idea that there could be such a hole under
the earth and what now mortifies me the most
is, that ! am totally unable TO descTibelt. This
is now cave-tbat name is inappropriate Tor
this ma g~Hifcent grotto--this stupendous tunnel
this boundless territory, or neither world. In
fact, should the truth be told of this cave, il
would not be believed. Who believes that tn
air rushes six months IN, and six months out, at
its mouth, sufficient to extinguish the fame ola
torch, and yet one half a mile in there is not
sufficient draught TO wave the blaze of a candle?
Not one in twenty. Who believes there is a
pit 100 feet deep and directly above it dome
200 ieet high? Not one in thirty. Who be
Iieyes that the thermometer never varies fIom 81
degrees OF Fahrenheit, the coolest days of VIM
ter or the hottest OF summer, and that too, when
the cave door is left open all winter long? Who,
that in winter a cart load of bats can be sho vel
led of from a space fifteen feet square, and that
millions hang on some parts of the wall two and
three feet thick !! Who, that two mummies
have been found, with red hair a mile inside of
the cave? Vino, that animals will not enter II
without being compelled! That il was once in.
habited by the Indians? That its different pas,
sages united measure over one hundred miles
in length? Who. that s~al.petre was once obtain,
! ed there? That oxen were oace worked ano
] fed there-that tn the tracks made by their fee
over thirty years since are distinctly seen, and
that the corn cobs, left in their trough and on
thegroand remain in a perfect state of preseFva-
ltion? That animal flesh dries and becomes
hard? Who,that meat will not purify, nor veg
etabie matter ~decompose? That u stage coacl
can drive. for miles without obstruction? Thal
the heaviest thunder cannot be heard inside
even at the first hopper? That formations. as
white as the driven snow, line the side and CELL
ing of a grotfo for two miles? That there are
streams 90 feet deep and a mile in Length, and
fish in tn EN- without eyes? Who believes this
Not one In hfty-nO, not one in a hundred. Ye
all this is the fact. | believe it and much of i
| have seen. felt, and handled, and the whole
jnward!y memorialized.