Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1856-07-25

Earle, H. 2. collelt. o. T. Harrison. VIM.
Gof, JEFF. Earle, YIN Ewin. jr.. p. Cols
let oarsel and the ginimitabie q JOB =
lwho thoughtsome body had better stay
and care Of the horses, )-all capital
fellows ferithe business on hand = embra-
cling two Surveyors 81 take courses and
distances. three Lawyers in pursuit of the
. Cedsnof4thesto be discosered=inhabi>
tants. three Farmers eager for adyaptsa-
geous locations, two Merchants in quest
new-articlessoft trade one Commissioner
ofslhe fRgvenue to assess the yalue.s and
one Editor to report progress: These en-.
tered The cave to q greater or lesser dis
lance. according to their CURIOSITY, Or c6aF
ageT4-the terrible stories of Profs Jordan
having a stron9atehdeneyl to, deter those
Of atacreaulous mind. We went with
Marstiilsf and JEFF EaffIe Two as 900 good
and tue. felloYssas need be, to the end. Of
the cave, distance oft650 yards fromits
mouth Thefentrance is 'somes25 or 80
feet high, 1897 9o'wide. and continues Of
about the, Same dimensions for some disS
lance in. At,about75 or so yards from
the mouth, the cave makes short turn
to the left, and becomes higher and mar
rover one side being perpendicular and
the other slopipg up TO a heighlh Of from
go to SO feet and, joiaingjt. There is
considerable differences in itslheighth and
width. varying from three TO 90 feet in
width. and 10 heighth about as indicated
above. In some places the top could not
be seen. 1t seemed formed for most Of the
way by two huge limo rocks, one on
each side, and was compact and solid at
che top, for the whole distance. The
bottom was uneven and rocky. and full Of
hol, 3 from few inches TO an unknown
depth, and a small stream Of water which
ran through the greater portion Of The
cave, had rendered it as slippery as glass,
making it the most perfect break neck
place we cveryasaw. This was particu-
larly the case for about 25 or. 80 yards
Between testing he.sclidity Of the bottom
with our shins. and The strength of the
top with our heads, few of our party that
passed overithis portion. escaped without
more or less bruises. The course Of the
cave is crooked, with most of The turns
to the left, but at about 500 yards from
the mouth. passage leads off at right
angles to the right. It was through This
passage that tie water came into the cave.
We went up this passagea short distance.
but finding ii was too narrow for comfor~
table progress, without presenting any
new features. returned and pursued our
way up the main channel. For the rest
of the way, We found the cave lower,
wider, with asmoothtr bottom, and fine,
smooth, grey, fiat op-rescmbIing very
much plastercd ceiling, This was de-
cidedIy the most pleasant. ). part of the
whole concern. Tho .bottomsascends4rom
nearly the commencemeht,g generally grad
ually, but sometimes perpenilicularly for
from two 10 Eve feet creating quite, a cas-
cade in the stream--and the cave finally
terminates by the bottom uniting with
the top which runs about horizontal the
whole course. Fra portion Of the dis
lance flat shelves project from each side
Of the cave, at the heighth Of about three
feet, whichin placesTaPpronch each other
too close to admit Of the passage Of more
than small man. After arriving at the
end. AMI leaving some memorials of the
presence OF man, we commenced relracing
our steps with more haste than discretion.
While returning, one Of the party, appa-
rently not pleased with the discoveries
made around and above him, turned his
attention below, and pitched into hole
filled with water, to the depth of some l2
or IS feet, but without finding any bot
tom. He, however, appeared to be salts
fed with the experiment, for he declared
as be rose TO the surface half,strangIed,
and wiped the waterfrom his dripping
face, that it was call right !" As we
approached the mouth of the cave, in
coming out, the pretliest imaginable scene
presented itself TO our view. The sun
was shining in The mouth. and its reAec-
ton upon the evaporation gave it the ap-
Pearance OF having been. blocked up
with rainbow OF huge dimensions. This
view alone paid fqrtall our trouble. After
an absence Of two hours and a half, We
once more emerged into the open air.
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