The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1861-01-30
Remarkable Cave.

A writer in the Schuylkill CID
Citizen, who has visited remarkable
! cave near Hannibal, Missouri, thus
speaks Of it:
The Thermometer in this cave, as
in others we have examined, stands
through the whole year near so or 10
degrees
A short time since man went alone
into this cave, taking the southern
course, and after travelling, he thought
about three miles, discovered a small
light or opening, and in going out at
the place found himself in a town be-
low Hannibal some seven miles below
the mouth of the cave where he had
entered-for so bracing is the atmos-
phere in all these underground cav
ems, being surcharged with oxygen
gas-that one can travel with much
less fatigue four or five times as far
inside as out of these caves. This
man found no more ending In his
southern, than ourselves in our eastern
route.
Near the same time, some three
weeks after, five men from New York
came to explore this wonderful cavern,
and having furnished themselves with
compass, lamps and food for the occa-
sion, and with determination to fully
examine the full extent of IL cave,
commenced their tour; having taken
the most rash step of going in without
guide. After their absence for five
days, the people of the town became
anxious and alarmed for their safety.
/ They raised a company of fifty persons
to make q search. for them; and al
though they discharged guns many
times in different portions of the cave,
yet could hear nothing from them I'M
til after searching for thirty hours,
they found four Of their number they
being in total darkness, the oil for
their lamps having been exhausted.
They had CROPPED in vain to find
some way out Of this dark and endless
cavern, but as yet a ffuitless effort.
They became so much dfsheartened,
worn down with fatigue and want of
food, that they had set themselves
down, not to rest, nor to wait for ex-
pected help; no, nothing of this but
to die-and thus in this state, dying a
lingering and tormenting death In
this state of suffering and despair were
these four found, despairing of help
from any source. The fifth man in
crawling from room to room, had be-
come separated far from them, in a
room below the others; for, as far as
explored, these caverns have rooms
one above or below the others. This
man was found, after a further search
Of fifteen hours, in q stupid and insen-
sible state, just saved from death !;
and, as he afterwards said, that the
last he remembered was that, on feel
ing round in the darkness of the cav
ern, he had found a bat and devoured
it as precious, and, as he supposed,
his last morsel. &
This cave contains many stalecti-
tites, and some of them are of i'm
mense size, being from seven to tw elve
feet in diameter, forming at the top Of
a room like an icicle-such as are of
ten found from the caves Of a house on
a cold wet day-coming down in q
tapering form, with vari Jus and many
curious formations on the surface
About three miles from the mouth
of this cave, on the eastern coast, we
found human body !; having been
placed there ia a copper box, resting
on a natural projecting shelf, at the
side of the room, put there some foul
years previous, for the supposed pur'
pose of petrifaction, which process hat