The Placer herald., 1858-11-06
From the Louisville Journal
Terrific Adventure in the Mammoth Cave.

AT the supposed end of what has always
been considered the longest avenue of the
Mammoth Cave, nine miles from its entrance
there is a pit, dark, deep and terrible, known
as the Maelstrom. Tens of thousands have
gazed into it with awe, while Bengal lights
were thrown into it to make it fearfully
visible, but none ever had the daring to ex-
plore it. The celebrated guide, Stephen
who was deemed insensible to fear, was offer.
ed six hundred dollars by the proprietors Of
the Cave if he would descend to The bottom
Of it, but he shrank from the peril. A few
years ago. a Tennessee professor, a learned
and bold man, resolved to do what no one
before him had dared to do and making his
arrangements with great care and precaution,
he had himself lowered down by strong
rope a hundred feet, but at that point his
courage failed him, and he called aloud to
be drawn out. No human power could ever
have induced him to repeat the appalling
experiment
A couple of weeks ago, however, young
gentleman of Louisville, whose nerves never
trembled at mortal peril, being at the Nam
moth Cave, with Professor Wright Of this
city, and others, determined, no matter what
the dangers and difficulties might be, to ex-
plofe the depths of the Maestrom. Mr..
Proctor, the enterprising proprietor Of the
Cave, sent to Nashville and procule ed large
rope of great strength expressl for the pur
pose. The rope and some necessary timbers
were borne by the e1des and others to the
point Of proposed exploration. The arrange
ments being soon completed, the rope, with
a heavy fragment of rock affixed to it, was
let down and swung to and fro to dislodge
any loose rocks that would be likely to fall
at the touch. Several were thus dslodoed,
and the long-continued reverberations, rising
up like distant thunder from below, pro-
claimed 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 against any masses fall
ing from above and with a light in his hand
and rope fastened round his body, took bis
place over the awful pit and directed the
half dozen men, who held the end of the
rope, to let I'M down into the Cimmerian
gloom.
We have heard from his own lips an ac-
count of his descent. Occasionally masses
of earth and rock went whizzing past bat
none struck him. Thirty or forty feet from
the top he saw a ledge from which, he judg
ed from appearances, two or three avenues
led off in different directions. About a
hundred feet from the top a 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 some apprehension that lis light
would be extinguished; but his care prevent
ed this. lie was landed at the bottom of
the pit, bundled and ninety feet from the
top. lie found it almost circular, about
eighteen feet in diameter, with a small open
ing at one point leading to fine chamle
of no great extent. He found on the floor
beautiful specimens of black silex Of immense
size, vastly larger than were ever discovered
in any part Of the Mammoth Cave, and also
multitude of exquisite formations which are
as white as the virgin snow. Making him
self heard with great effort by his friends, he
at length asked them to pull him partly up,
intending to stop on the way and explore
cave he had observed opening about forty
feet from the bottom of the pit Reaching
the mouth of that cave he swung himself
with much exertion into it, and holding the
end of the rope in his hand he lncautiously
let it 60, and it swung out apparently be-
yond his reach
The situation was a fearful one, and his
friends above could do nothing for him.
Soon, however, he made hook of the end
of his lamp, and, by extending himself as far
over the verge as far as possible without
falling, he succeeded in securing the rope
Fastening it to rock, he followed the avenue
one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards
to point where he found it blocked by an
impossible avalanche of rock and earth.-
Returning to the mouth of the avenue, he
beheld an almost exactly similar mouth of
another on the opposide side of the pit, but,
not being able to swing himself into it, lie
refastened the rope around his body, suspen-
ded himself again over the abyss, and shout
ed to his friends to raise him to the top
Tte pull was an exceedingly severe one, and
the rope being lily adjusted around his body
gave him the most excruciating pain. But
soon the peril was forgotten in new and
dreadful peril. When he was about ninety
feet from the mouth Of the pit and one hun
dred from the bottom, swaying and swing
ing in mid,ar, he heard rapid and excited
words of horror and alarm, and soon learned
that the rope by which he was upheld had
taken fire from the friction Of the timber
over which it passed. ..
Several moments of awful suspense to
those above and still more awful to him be-
low ensued. To them and him an imminent
and fatal catastrophe seemed inevitable.-
But the fire was extnguished with bottle
of water belonging to himself, and then the
party above, although almost exhausted by
their labors, succeeded in drawing him to the
top. He was as calm and self possessed as
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