Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1858-10-06
3NistGllantOWs.
THRILLING ADVENTURE.
Descent into the Mammoth Cave.

At the supposed end of what has always
been considered the longest avenue ot the
Mammoth Cave, nine miles from its en-
trance, says the Louisville journal, there
4 is pit, dark and deep and terrible,
known as the Maelstrom. Tens of thou
sands have gazed into it with awe whilst
bengal-lights were thrown down it to
make its fearful depth visible, but none
! ever had the daring to explore it, The
celebrated guide Stephen, who was deem
ed nsensible to fear, was offered six hun
dred dollars by the proprictors of the
Cave il he would descend to the bottom of
it, but he shrank from the peril. A few
years ago, Tennessee professor, a learned
md 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 n strong rope 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 qpalling experiment,
4 couple of weeks ago, however, Il
Young gentleman of Louisville, whose
nerves never trembled at mortal peril be-
Wright. of our city, and others, deter
mined, no matter what the dangers and
difficulties might be, to explore the depths
of the Maestrom. Mr., Proctor, the en-
tcrrrising proprietor of the Cave, sent to
Nashville and procured a long rope of
great strength expressly for the purpose
The rope and some necessary timbers were
borne by the guides and others to the
point of proposed exploration. The ar
rangements beng soon completed, the
rope, with heavy fragment of rock aG-
fixed to it, was let down and swung to and
fro to disodge any loose rocks that would
be likely to fall at the touch. Several
were thus dislodged, and the long. contin-
ued reyerberations, rising up like distant
thunder from below, proclaimed the depth
of the horrid chasm. Then the young he
70 Of the occasion, with several hats drawn
over his head to protect it as far as posSi-
ble against any masses falling from above,
and with light in his hand and the 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 Cimerian gloom.
We have heard from his own lips an ac-
count 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 Il ledge, from which
as he judged by appearances, two or three
avenues led off in different directions.
About a hundred feet from the top, cat |
aract from the side of the pit went rush
ing down the abyss, and as he descended !
by the side Of the falling water, and in
the midst of the spray he felt some ap-
prehension that his light would be eXtin-
guished, but his care prevented this. He
was landed at the bottom of the pit a hum |
dred and ninety feet from the top. He
found it almost perfectly circular, about /
eighteen feet in diameter, with a small |
opening at one point, leading to fine
chamber of no great extent. lie found .
on the floor beautiful specimens Of slick Of
immense size, vastly larger than were ever
discovered in other parts of the Mammoth E..
Cave, and also multitude of excellent .
as pure and white as virgin
snow. Making himself 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 that
he had observed opening about forty feet
rom the bottom of the pit. Reaching the
mouth of that Cave, he swung himself
With much exertion into it, and holding
he end of the rope in his hand, he incau-
.iously let it 60, and it swung out apparent
y beyo his reach
This situation was fearful one, and his
riends above could do nothing for him.
soon, however, lie made hook of the
md of his lamp, and by extending himself
IS far over the verge as possible without
allng, he succeeded in securing the rope