The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-08-11
Unknown Subterranean Regions.
(Conctuded.)

9
rocks as if it flowed through seive; and
falling upon the soft limestone floor, it has
worn a pit almost bottomless in depth and
fearful TO look into. At the southern end
of the eastern avenue, the traveller finds
himself in the caverns Of the earth, 800 to
I 400 feet below the surface, and about seUen
miles from daylight. The passages vary in
width from 3 to loo feet, and most of
the way the ceilings are high, and often as
cending into lofty vaults. In travelling
through them, the visitor, in order to ex-
anime all their beauties, goes down most of
the way on one side, and returns on the 9TH
er, as they are too wide to be illumed the
whole width by lamps. The ceiling over
head in some places, is as smooth and beau
tiful as the plasterer's art could make it
Where the drippings from the roof are CO.
pious small rills and petite brooks are formed,
and meander through the cave, making
music with their babbling waters. Every
avenue persents new and varied Beauties
In some the fantastic formations of stalac-
| tics resemble the forms of animals, in a
menagerie of wild beasts. The Hall of Rep
resentativeS is one of most spacious, though
not the most splendid apartment in the
cave. The Hill of Science is as difficult to
ascend in the cave, as in the world of mind,
and the ambitious climber is in great danger
of breaking his neck after he has reached its
summit. Yet it must be passed to gain the
world of wonder and beauty in the avenue
/ beyond it.
Delta Island appears to be single staiac-
tite of beautifully pure marble, so feet in
width by 100 in length, standing in one of
the prime ipal avenues and formed of pure
carbonate of lime, deposited by the dripping
water through ages of time.
To the North, the Eastern branch of the
cave is more extensive than the Southern
portion. 1t is filed with spacious halls and
temples, some of them more extensive and
majestic than those we have mentioned. In
journeying north, in the eastern branch, the
visitor passes over a sandy passage, up the
Mountain of Difficulty, into Mammoth Hall,
in which is Monument Mountain, lis feet
in height and from the summit of which
arises Wallaces Grand Dome, 20 feet above
the mountain making the height of the two,
245 feet; all embraced in the vast vault of
the room. In this chamber is a highly i'm
pregnated sulphur spring, which is good
chalybate. From this hall narrow tortu-
Gus passage connects it with large room
in the western cave, nearly half mile dis
tant.
From Mammoth Hall the visitor finds the
only passage to tie regions beyond is through
the "augur hole = only about Is inches in
diameter, which has been cut through the
solid rock four feet in thickness. The pass
age in this direction has once been spacious,
but the increasing stalactic columns had
completely closed up the entrance, and bar
red the passage. Into the augur hole the
visitor pitches head FIRST, and after much
screwins, works his way through, with a
slight descent into "Lilliputian HALL
thence into "SpadeS Grotto,p both full oil
beauties. Beyond these is the Hall of Ruins,
where the rocks seem TO have been broken
up and thrown into confusion by small
earthquake. To these succeed several beau
tiful rooms, and the traveller comes to Is
land number four, which, like the other
islands, is a mound of beautiful white mar
BILE, with sloping sides ascending to the roof
Passing through avenues and rooms, whose
incrustations were as white as snow, and
separated here and there with intervening
passages filed with sharp rocks, the perse-
vering traveller finds himself at last, near
two lslandS--onc called confusion and
the second, "Grand View the last appears
like an immense iceberg, covered with a
fleece of snow. Through this part of the
cave, are the pebbly bottoms of rivers and
brooks, whose waters have disappeared into
some deeper subterranean passage In this
region of the cave when it was first opened
were found the bare foot prints left by four
Indians walking together, a. WAS conjectur-
ed. In one place which bears the appear
ance Of having been the course of a river,
is a large marble formation resembling a
ship, which is denominated ship upon
the stocks" By the aid of a little fancy
one can imagine that she once floated and
that the receding waters left her in her
present position. I'm remote part of the
Northern avenue, is 90 Crawfsh Spring
around which arc found numbers of craw.
fish nearly white, and without eyes. Still
they are as timid and sensitive to the ap
proach of man as if they had experienced
the danger of his presence and had th'
power of seeing. Where did they learr
the sense of fear?
In another portion of the Northern Aven
ne is chamber called the &" Ice house, from
whose roof and sides hang beautiful stalac
tic icicles, pure and transparent as thost
formed of limpid waters. The wall ant
roof glisten in the light of the candles LIKE
, the halls in Russian ice palace; The sen