Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-07-16
Rival to the Mammoth Cave
of Kentucky.

OIL hcntuCky.
We have been furnished the following
description of large cave in Mareis coun-
ty, by NJ. Meyer Friede, of st. Louis, who
explored it on Thursday, the 18th inst
The cave is known by the name of Big
Salt Peter Cave
The cave is in Maries county, "A miles
from the Gasconade river, on creek called
Spring Creek, in township thirty light
section 21, range west He went to the
cave, guided by R. H. Prewett, young
man about twenty-five years old, who was
born and raised about quarter Of a mile
from the place.
In front Of the entrance was a small
stone house, which the oldest settlers
thought was built by the Indians, but is
now in ruins.
The entrance goes straight in the rock
on level with the surrounding surface
rock, is about one hundred feet wide, and
in the center about twenty FIVE feet high,
archeG. Messrs. Friede and Prewett en-
tered the cave for near four hundred feet,
where it narrows to about twenty-five feet
wide by fifteea feet high, and presents the
appearance of an ante chamber; from there
they passed into large chamber about one
hundred feet in height. where the galleries
branch off; they then passed into the left
gallery, which ascends near twenty feet on
bed of saltpetre. This gallery is called
the Dry gallery. and is five hundred feet
in length; the height varies from one hun
dred to about thirty feet. The ceiling and
sides are composed OF solid rock. Near
the end is large, round chamber, which
Mr.. Prewett calls the Ballroom, and that
gentleman states that his father had given
balls in the chamber frequently; the last
was in the winter of 1850, at which time
there were about eighteen or twenty per-
sons there. They went in the morning
and stopped all day, and arrived at home
in the evening, cooking and eating their
meals in the subterranean saloon, and had
a merry time of it.
After exploring this chamber, they re-
traced their steps and passed into the righ.
branch or fork of the cave, where they
ascended a rise of about twenty feet, and
entered another gallery, the end of which
is not known; they explored it three-fourths
of mile
gallery over two miles, and did not get TO
the end of it. In this gallery the drop
ping Of water has formed stalactites of the
most beautiful ceptions-statues of men
and animals, and large columns, support
ing the most beautiful arches, from the
ceiling, which is from fifty to one hundred
feet high, which forms several chambers
of various sizes. The ceiling is decorated
with different groups of spar, forming a
variety ofigures which represent the inside
OIL Cdtueufdl Lie SlLc VI SOluc VI tucSc
chambers is about forty feet wide by over
one hundred feet high, and look like rooms
in an old eudal castle.
They were afraid their lights would give
out, and therefore retraced their steps to
the main chamber, from which they as
cended the middle gallery, where a large
stream of clear water issues from the inte-
rior of the cave, and has fall of about six
feet, and falls in several round marble ba
sins. The water has pleasant taste;
flows all the year round without variation,
in sufficient volume to drive mill.
They ascended the galleries and found
themselves in several beautiful chambers
leading from one to the other, in which
they did not penetrate to more than 600
feet
There is strong draft of air setting in
from the entrance. Inside of the cave the
was mild.
The chambers are of unusual height and
extent.-Enqairer.