Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1857-01-07


produces sensation of most profound awe ;
and it is with JOY that we begin to perceive
in the distance the faint glimmer of the retur-
ming light. that as it advances dispels the
gloom and restores our composure. How can
any one endure the agony of being lost in
such place?
Going along wide, high arching galleries,
through chambers where the sense of isolation
is supreme down rude stairways throlgi.
narrow passages where a cleft in the solid
rock barely admits the body, in some places
compelling postures of extreme humility
ysspping occasionally in some wild ball while
the guide produces an illumination with a
Bengal light, which, casting its brilliant blu
ish glare over broken masses of rock piled in
wild confusion away upwards to the lofty roof,
and into the distance along the extended gal
leries, and upon the faces of the party as they
are upturned IN mute admiration, produces a
scene the reality of which we have cause to
doubt, and that seems as though it could be-
long only to our dreams or the Improbable
visions of diseased fancy In fact, when
ever for moment my consciousness caused
me to reflect, ] could scarce believe my own
identity.
Turning aside to visit Govan's Dome, we
lind ourselves in a circular and very high
room, resembling the interior of tower, with
sides of smooth perpendicular rock. Looking
th rough loop-hole. as it were. in wall of a
few inches in thickness, we see into an awful
chasm, the bottom of which is upwards of a
hundred feet below our standing place, of
circular form, twenty feet in diameter. the
sides perpendicular plummet string, and
the roof apparently out of the reach of vision.
forming an object of wonder that can scarcely
have PARALLEL in Nature
The Bottomless Pit is of another character.
The path passes by a ledge along its very
brink, and by bridge from a ledge which di-
vides it, we cross to the cave beyond. 1t is
said to be extremely deep, and as to its being
Bengal light it descends lower, lower, and
lower until it reaches the bottom, where it
quietly consumes, and commences its repose
among the ashes of its brilliant predecessors.
Beyond the Pit we come to the first water,
called the Dead Sea, contained in a small ba-
sin above, whose precipitous sides the path
winds. Thence coming upon the river Styx,
which we cross by what they call the Natural
Bridge, and being carefulin passing along the
ledges of the precipices, we descend to the
placid waters OF Lake Lethe, upon whose rocky
shores l could find not even pebble mo-
mento, where We are ferried for few hun
dred feet.
Leaving the lake, which is situated in a
grand gallery Of Immense height, we proceed
for little distance further, whore boat waits
to convey Us long the Echo river, distance
of taree-quartcrs of q mile Entering the
boat, we stoop Tor few moments as we 20 un-
der a low browed arch, and looking around
find ourselves floating along the subterranean
river through a cavern arching to about twelve
feet above our heads, fifty or sixty in width,
the arch commencing at the surface of the wa
ter. The sensations remind US of what we
have read of Charon's boat, and when forget
ting, as we do, that instead of spectres it is
filed with substantial men and women who
will shortly return to the light of day, and
the ordinary round of what some consider this
humdsum world, which the spirits c:nnot do,
however strong may be their desire, together
with the profound silence. as even the voices
of the party are hushed and the boatman rests
upon his oars !; the intensity of the darkness
beyond, which the partial illumination seems
only to ren Ger more visible, we cannot be
considered as drawing too much upon our i'm
agination when we feel as though we were
about 10 drift out upon the great ocean of
time and that the feeling of the infinite is be-
ginning to stir in our contemplations. And
then, coming back to ourselves aud realizing
where we are. the distance beneath the surface
and from our home, we are even yet fafn to
believe that we are sported with by our own
fancy. Becoming alive to what is around US,
we are amazed at the size of the arch and the
existence of the river. The conversation isre-
peatcd in distant echoes, and the occasional
shout arouses them as though they were the
voices of the place. A pistol shot
creates an effect that is almost stunning. The
reverberations are reflected from side to SIDE
of the arch, and seem to roll away to so great
a distance as to render their return lnapprecl-
able to the ear, as though their repetition
proceeded even to infinity.
The rivers and the lakes exist in one con-
n lxion, being fierently raned as they reap
pear IN different places as Is proven by noat-
ing articles from one TO another AFTER
heavy rains they rise sometimes even to the
height of forty feet. l saw a boat lodged up
the cliff quite that distance above the present
surfarce of the water, and the galleries lea
ding to the river show the effects Oft the hoods
The rivers are the greatest wonders OF the
cave. Their sources are mysterious ana thelr
disappearance is sudden Whence they come
and whittier they go no man knoweth
Leaving the river we proceed Tor one mile
and a half along Siliman's avenue. which, al
ter what we have seen, appears someshat a,
thence into the passage OF III
Ghor, one mile aud half futher. which we
find to be still more so.
We next ascend into Martha's Vineyard, a
large hall piled with rocks. which the iliumi-
nation shows to be covered with incrustatlons
resembling large clusters of grapes IN bunches
of perfect FORM This is the entrance INTO
Cleveland's Cabinet, which extends tor up
wards of two miles through succession OF