New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-08-13
YlsIT TO HOWES CAVE.
-. Of The N. Y. Tnbune.

7 ,r;te you from locality that shouid DC Ia
that il is not, is owing to no demen. be-
ii partial and easily-overcome difficulty OF dP-
,..ch' schOharie County, although Astounding In
III the native material necessary TO secure It a
,ouinent place in the esteem OF all lovers OF the
,od and beautiful in nature, is unfortunately de-
rrived of those facilities Of access" which so
pleasantly introduce us to the wonders Of Mag
cara. or the crowded salons Of Saratoga
The piercing whistle of the locomotive or the
crash of It's hurrying wheels never echoed from
these quiet mountain sides and within hall mile
Of where now write, resides nat yertabe dame
who, when informed there wasn project for bring
inc railroad through tbs CObleskill Valley, eacu-
lated fervant desire that 1t might come through
Gin the day time so that she could see IT,"
At Albany, where railroad connections exist
with all the nations Of the earth" you will in
ouire in vain for the depot Of the SchOharie road
an omission only to be accounted for on the sup
position that the good people here are members Of
that forlorn portion of the human race known as
the rest Of mankind" Obliged to resort 70 that
od-fashoned conveyance known as 3" The Stage
"Coach," il is not impossible that, with good com
pany. subdued sunshine, aud fresh breeze from
the distant Kaatskills, you may congratulate your
self on az escape from a crowded railcar, and be
willing TO admit that the pleasures Of travel
are not entirely dependent on rapidity of motion
ride of Is miles over an excellent plank-rOa
brings you to the famed Helderbeg summit, por-
lion Of the Kastskill range, from which view can
be obtained quite equal and in some respects supe-
rior 10 that from the Mountain House. At your
feet lie the rich and fertile valleys of the Hudson
and its tributaries, the broad fields and green pas
lures Of Albany, Greene, Rensselaer,, Columbia,
Duchess, and Saratoga; beyond these, the hills
and wooded slopes Of Hamilton and Berkshire
IL a. -. 1cft.o &c 10
AdiroDdscks aud the Green Mountains, with sad
dle-back looming up in serene dignity
Monarch Of all he surveys"
Eighteen miles further past waving meadow
and fields yellow with golden grain through q" dim
aises of the Forest by frowning mountain
lodges, through shadOwy glens, where the silver
voiced streamlet babies sweet music in your ear,
and the four smoking steeds that have borne you
40 neetly are refined in before the door of the Scho
barie Hotel, and you are in the metropolis of the
Mountain County.
substantial country dinner, which your free
inhalation Of the pure, elastic atmosphere will have
prepared you to relish with intense satisfaction,
will fifty prepare you for another ride OF eight
miles every foot OF it through scenery which, if in
WestmorelaDd, or at the foot of the Alps, would
set YOUR visual orbs in fine frenzy rolling" and
supply untold quantities of Beautifuls," Mag
/" nffcens" " Superbs"
Mr.. Howe, the proprietor and Columbus of the
Gave, will receive you with that emPresSemcHt
which if not entirely disinterested, is at least par
ticulary agreeable, and will introduce you at once
into room where he has ganered thousand
treasures Of the Cave" a careful inspection of
which and the pages of portly register whereon
js inscribed many a name OF high literary and sci
entihc renOwD, will fifty prepare you for an nita-
ton into the mysteries of the subterranean
Our party, Summer residents of the beautiful
Village of Middleburgh. than which no loyeier ex-
IA 10 TOT fa1 fEa Ar n apH
lady of Albany, Miss Anna d., Miss Fanny b., j.
w. d., ESQ., of New-York three juvenile mem
bers Of the d. family, and your correspondent.
At ~ o'clock NJ we had reached the Cave HO-
Eel, and under the kind superintendent of Mr..
Dewey one Of the prOprietors, had been furnished
with rooms and the necessary material for that
outside metsmOrpbosis which all must undergo
who seek acquaintance with the inner mysteries
Of Mother Earth The thermometer at the Cave
Hotel indicated temperature of 80 and heralded
by MIR Dewey, our party descended some twenty
rOcl -hewn steps into an artificial ravine, immedi-
ately adjoining the house, and 10 before us yawned.
dark and frowning, the portals of the Great Cave.
A blast of cool air, which indicated anything but
Tartarcan origin ssluted our advancing steps;
there was a moments hesitation, an involuntary
shrinking from thar dim unseen, last lingering
look at that Joyous sunshine, those waving trees,
which we were soon 20 exchange tor the gloom
and eUcnce of "liying tomb
Rugged buttresses of mOss-cOveYed rock, sur
mounted by horizontal slab of limestone of truly
cyclopean dimensions, introduce us to an ante
chamber Of ample dimensions This room is about
60 feet in length by II in breadth and 10 feet high,
its entrance bathed in light, while its further ex
tremity is shrouded in that dim twilight so sug
gestive of the unknown and mysterious. Each OF
our party having been furnished with lighted
torch, We traversed the smooth rock floor, and,
bending beneath low brOwed archway left every
CLEAN of day if not of hope, behind, and following
in long file the cleaning torch OF our guide pene-
trated with cautious step and beating heart the
gloomy world before us.
narrow passage-way of about forty yards in
length conducts from the first chamber to spa
cious room known as Washington Hall. On one
side the walls rise perpendculary, while on the
other they form successive shelves or platforms
leading TO recess at an elevation fifty feet from
the floor, known as the Bridal Saloon.
The Hall itself is capable of comfortably accom-
mOdating about 800 people, and has been fire.
quenty used for the performance of marriage cere-
monies can well imagine that when these lofty
walls, these spacious arches, nOw so indistinct are
illuminated by the light of hundred torches, when
that dizzy hight is crowned with gay bridal groups,
when these dead echoes are awakened 10 the voice
Of prayer the joyful song Of faith and hope TINS
Hall will present one of those brilliant, yet weirdly
scenes. half phantasm. half reality, which some
times haunt our slumbers and invest the distant
siream-land with its most brilliant hues.
Passing onward through many long and tortu-
Gus pasSace-way, where the sulen arches some
times compel us 20 unwilling submission and are
again lost in the sterOus gloom which our feeble
torches vainly seek 10 penetrate. are az length
brought to halt by the guide. As he stands there
with finger on lip every voice is hushed and every
foot stayed and then we become aware tha1 even
- II