Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-03-12
Wi SCeIlanne Gus.
The Gave Of Adullam,

You will remember tnaL IL was III the cave vi
AdulIam that David encamped, when he fled
from Saul and where number of persons to
the amount of four hundred, of such as were of
broken fortunes and discontinued minds, Joined
David, who became the captain over them: |
Samuel % From the same cave, on later
occasion, we read of three mighty men Of Da-
vd who were probably imbued with the same
spirit of confidence in God as their captain,
sailed FORTH broke through the hest of the Phil
istnes, who were then encamped in the valley of
Repham, and drew water out of the well of
Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it and
brought it to David, 2 Samuel, %: 1913.
The approach to the cave is SO dangerous and
perilous, and when once in it, SO safe and Sc
cure, that it at once explains why David selected
it as one of his places of refuge, though the
cave was in the face of his enemies, both of
Saul and the PhiIistines. The path leading to
the cave runs for some distance over narrow
santng ledge Of rock, that projects from the
middle Of precipice of some thousands Of feet
deep, and where only one can pass at time;
so that the one who happens to be at the caves
mouth if he chooses may set at defiance an
enemy, let his strength and numbers be ever so
great, for the least resistance of him who is in
the possession of the cave would send down his
enemies one by one into the great gulf below.
The extent of the cave has never vet, nor could
be qscertaned, in which not only four hundred,
but thousand times that number might hide
themselves unperceiyed and unsupported Num-
berless passages are branching off in every d.
rection, and those passages again ramify to the
right and to the left without any kind of order
and regularity, and so on. To venture and dis
lance into the interior of the cave, without hav-
ing clue to take you back-whch is generally
string one end of which is secured at the
mouth OF the cave-s to surrender ones self to
sure and premature death. We provided our
selves with three thousand four hundrcd yards
of strong Irvine, and after fastening one end of
it at the entrance Of the cave, and leaving two
armed servants to watch against the probability
of its being cut asunder by some Struggling
Arabs, which would be literally cutting the
strings of our existence, we set ont on our ex-
petition, with lighted candles, allowing the Irvine
to drag along as we went onward. We alighted
in many chambers of various sizes, shapes, and
appearances, and which fancy might picture
magnificent cathedrals, palaces, amphitheatres,
&c, the same being interviewed by long, narrow,
and low passages, which we had to crawl throuh,
and on many occasions we had to be let down
and drawn up again by Arabs, by the aid of
ropes regret that the lateness of the day
obliged us to return, after having expended less
than one fourth of our Irvine, and right glad
were we to find ourselves safely back at the
mouth OF the cave; for should the string have
been broken by some accident, we might prob
ably have been buried alive 1t would require
days, and not hours, to explore the cave, which
tradition extends to Hebron, four hours distant
The cave, evidently has been formed by thc
action of water, either previous to or during tho
Deluge; ripples like that made by water, are
observable throughout the cave. Probably tn,
apostle, Heb 1 refers TO David, amongst 9th
ers of the Old Testament saints who wandered