Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1858-09-24

Terrific Ah4rNftae II TIE MuNoIu
CAYE.-.it the sul lesid end Of what has al
ways been considered the longest avenue Of
the MANN nh Cave, nine miles from is ea-
trance, there i. Il pit, dark and d,ep and
t'rrbIc, known as the Macl4,r1m. Tens u
thousands have { elel into i: with awe willis.
hn.al lights w.r1 tlir5wa i 5wu il b. lntEt
its fearful lepths visi''ls. bdt none hAl I'll,
daring ever to explore it. TIE celebrate.
guido Stephen, who us dean / inseHsibla
t.. fear, WAS Offered six hnnIr dollars nv
the prppriat,rs oil the ttya il ha would L.
e,nl t. Ia, bottom IT i, bat h. a}lrla., from
ihc peril. \ few years aso, u Tenn ~
prlf s.or a learned AMI bsll m4a, rss7'5si
t. do what ~ oae Ds.5se .iaI had dare 10,
and, making lbs arF.,ac 'maats with graf
care an prccauti1n he hii hims IL lowered
down by strong rpp,a :sandrsl feet, ba',
at that + int, his e,urag, failed hifn, and he
called al1id t. be dr.twA out. NJ haula
power cpu ever have induced him to repeat
TIC appalling experiment.
\ couple u wa,ks as1, however,, 4 yDuaI
g'ntlamln OF Louisville, whose nerves nsfer
1remblcd at IN irtal peril, being ut the VI IN
moth Cave with Professor Wright Of oar
city, and others. determined, no matter what
the dangers and dill ,uties might be, to c.
piorc the depths Of the Maolstrom. Mr..
Proctor, the cnterprising proprietor OF the
Cave, sent to Nashville and procured u long
ropa, Of great str myth, expressly for the
purpose. The rope aud some necessary tim
bers were borne by the guides and others to
the proposed point OF exploration. The
arrang sneats hsins s5on completed. the rope,
with heavy fragment OF rock affixed to it,,
was let down and swung to and fro to dislo l-c
tb,y ii f,Il
at the touch. Several were thus dislodsed
and the long continued reverberatious, rising
up like distant thunder from below. proclaim
ed the horrid ctasln. Then the young hero
of the occasion, with several hats thrown
over his head to protect it as far us possible
against any Masses falling from above, and
with light in his hand and the rope fasten-
cd around his body, took his place over the
awful pit and directed the half dozen mon,
who held the end of the rope, to let him down
into the CiuImerian gloom.
We have heard from his own lips an
account Of his 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, as he
Judged by appearances, two or three avenues
led off in different directions. About humid
red feet from the top q cataract from the side
of the pit went rushing down the abyss, and,
as he descended by the side of the falling
water and in the midst of the spray, he felt
scme apprehension that his light would b.
extnsulshed, but his caro- prevented this
lie was landed at the bottom of the pit,
hundred and ninety feet from the top.
lie found it almost perfectly circular about
eighteen feet IN diameter, with a small open
Ing at one point, leading to fine chamber
of no great extent. lie found on the door
BEAUTIFUL specimens Of black slick ofima-i,se
size, vastly larger than were ever discovered
IN any other part Of the Mammoth Gave, aud
also multitude Of exquisite formations %.
i'are aud white Us ,irgia snow Maxim,