The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1858-11-25
The Mammoth Cave Macistron,.
A FEARFUL ADVENTURE.

FEARFUL ADVENTURE.
The following thrilling narrative is given in the
Louisville Journal of September llth. The he
re of the exploit is said to be William e. Prentice
son of George d. Prentice, edi tor Of the Journal
At the supposed end of what has always been
considered the longest avenue OF the Mammoth
Cave, nine miles from its entrance, there is pit,
dark, deep, and terrible known as the Maelstrom.
Tens of thousands have gased into it with awe,
while bengal lights were thrown down it, TO make
its fearful depths visible, but none ever had the
daring to explore it. The celebrated guide, Ste
phen who was deemed insensible TO fear, was ot-
Tered six hundred dollars by the proprietors oi
| the Cave il he would descend to the bottom Of
it, but he shraDk from the peril. few years ago
| q Tennessee professor, learned and bold man, re-
| solved to do what no one before him had dared
to do; and making his arrangements with great
! care and precauton, he had himself lowered down
| by strong rope hundred feet but at that point
| his courage failed him. and he called aloud to be
drawn out again. No human power could ever
have induced him to repeat the appalling expert
ment.
A couple Of weeks ago, however, q young man
from Louisville whose nerves never tfembed at
mortal peril, being at the Mammoth Cave with
Professor Wright, of our city, aud Others, deter
mined, no matter what the dangers and difficult
ties might be, to explore the depths of the Mae-
StTOm. MT, TTOCIOC, tuS ptloluS
of the Cave seat to Nashville and procured long
rope of great strength, expressly for the purpose.
The ropes and some necessary timbers were borne
by the guides and others TO the point OF proposed
exploration. The arrangements being soon COM
| pleted, the rope, with heavy fragment Of rock
affixed to it, was let down anu swung to and fro
to dslodge any loose rocks that would be likely to
fall at the touch Several were thus dslodged and
the long continued reverberations, rising up like
distant thunder from below, proclaimed the depth
of the horrid chasm Then the young hero of the
occasion, with several hats drawn over his head
to protect it as far as possible from any masses
falling from above, and with light in his hand,
and rope fastened around his body took his
place over the awful pit, and directed The half
dozen men who held the end of the rope, to let
him down into the Cimmerian gloom.
We have heard from his own lips an account OF
| the descent. Occasionally masses OF earth and
rock went whizzing past, but none struck him.
Thirty or forty feet from the top, he saw ledge,
from which, rs he judged, two or three avenues
led oil in different directions About hundred
feet from the top, cataract from the side of the
pit come pouring down the abyss, and he de-
scended by the side of the falling water, and in
the midst OF the spray, he elt some apprchcn ion
that his light would be extinguished, but his care
prevented this. He was landed ut the bottom of
the pit a hundred and ninety feet from the top.
He found it almost perfectly circular about eight
cen feet in diameter, with small opening at one
point leading to fine chamber Of no great extent
lie found on the floor beautiful specimens of black
sex of immense size, vastly larger than were ev-
er discovered in any other part of the Mammoth
Cave, and also multitude of exquisite formations
, as pure and white as virgin snow. Making HIM
self heard with great effort by his friends, he at
length asked them to pull him partly up, Intend.
ing to stop on the way and explore q cave that
he had observed opening about forty feet from
the bottom OF the pit. Reaching the mouth OF
the cave he swung himself with much cXcrtion in
to it, and holding the end OF the rope in his hand,
he incautiously let it go, and it swung out, appa-
rently beyond his reach!
The situation was fearful one, and his friends
aboYe could do nothing for him. Soon, however,
he made n hook of the end OF his lamp. and by cx-
tending himself as far over the verge as possible,
without falling, he succeeded in securing the end
OF the rope. Fastening it to the rock, he
followed the avenue one hundred and fifty or
two hundred yards, to point where he found it
blockuded by an impossible avalanch Of rock and
earth. Returning to the mouth this avenue, he
bche!d an almost exactly similar mouth of anoth-
er on the opposite side of the pit. but not being
able to swing himself into it, he re-fastened the
rope around his body, suspended himself again
over the abyss, aud shouted to his friends to raise
him to the top. The pull was an exceedingly Sc
we're one, and the rope being ill-adjusted round
his body, gave him excruciating pain. But soon
his pain was forgotten in a new and impending
peril. When he was ninety feet from TIE top Of
the pit and one hundred feet from the bottom,
swaying and swinging in md-air, he heard rapid
and exciting words of horror and alarm above,
and soon learned that the rope by which he was
held had taken fire from the friction Of the tim
Der over which it passed!
Several moments OF awful suspense 10 those
above and still more awful to him below cnsued.
To them and to him fatal and instant caastro-
phe seemed inevitable. But the fire was eXtin-
guiShed by bottle Of water belonging to himself
and then the party above, though most exhausted
by their labors succeeded in drawing him to the
top. He was as calm and self possessed as on his
entrance into the pit, but all Of his companions,
overcome by fatlgue, sank down upon the ground,
and his friend, Professor Wright from over-exer-
ton and excitement tainted aud remained for a
time insensbe
The young advcnturer left his name carved in
the depths of the Maestrom-the name of the
first and only person who ever gazed upon its
mysteries.
NUr CRA CKIEG EXTRAORDlNART.-A deniZen
of the smokr-covered district few mics south
Of Newcastle having heard that his lanlord
with whome he was particularly desiriOus to in
gratiate himself, had great predileCtion for
nuts, on his last-day presented himself at the
hall with large bag of those delicate com.
estibes, of which he bashfulIy requested the
squre's acceptance. The good-humered land,
lord las who would not be good humored on re-
ceiving his entsO smilingly accepted the gift;
but opening the treasure, "Why, how is this
Mr.. B." said he, 81 find they are only kernels
you must have been at q great deal of trouble
in breaking tkem?' cay, ay, sir"replde the
farmer saw warrent ye they mead NAB jaws
wark, and t'wife's wark, and l'barns' jaws wark
afore We gat em all cracked'-[ [Gateshead (Eug,
land) Observer.
Com AND PoRK.--A subscriber at Dundee ;,
Ohio, desires TO know what the price Of pork
should be when corn is at given rate, and we
would say that when corn is twenty-five cents
a bushel, pork, to be in the same proportion.