The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-08-05
Thursday Evening, August s, 1868.
THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND soMErhlNa
OF ITS HISTORY

A correspondent of the Louisville oV"
Ter Journal writing from the M" -, Y'D
Cave, gives some interesting '"''' 80 n'o
,o,v which are no, familiar to the general
.nt,;o Tba manner in which the property
..,.;l,d aoo0ents for the incongruous
building, provided for the entertainment OF
tho thousands who flock to the place in search
oc ,Iessure and the satisfaction of their Gu
rio,ity. The correspondent says;
Mammoth Cave was originally the prop.
ertv of - lakewood believed TO have
been the progeuitor of the family OF that
name now residing in the vicinity oil hich'
mond, Madison county, who at some time
nravious 10 the war of lsl2-the precise
data not known-sold it to Messrs. dratH
and Wilkins, Of Lexington. During the
war Of 1872. these gentlemen used the cave
for the manufacture Of satpetre, and 1t Is
probable that it had been used Tor that pur.
pose previously, as Messrs. Il. d W. entered
upon the work Immediately upon securing
poSsesSion of it. With the close OF the
war, the production Of "ylllanous saltpetre'
ceasing TO be profitable, Gatz d Wilkins
disposed Of the property TO Mr.. Franklin
CORN, now of Bowling Green, who first
opened it to the public as q place worthy OF
resort, though with but few visitors, and
conseq uently limited pecuniary success
CORN in turn sold out to DR.. John Croghan,
of Locust Grove, near Louisville, who con.
,inued the business inaugurated by Frank
lin CORN, i. g., keeping it open for public
visitation as the greatest and most wonder.
full natural curiosity in the known world
DR. Croghan, diving without children, and
having, during his European travels, been
greatly prepossessed with the entailment
laws which he there found in operation, he
devised this property to his nine nephews
and nieces by a will equally remarkable for
the succinctness and lucidity Of its provis.
ions and it's singularity. Under this will
three trustees we're named, only one o.
whom, J. r. Underwood, accepted the trust
and who has since managed the property.
By the provisions of this remarkable ties,
tamentary document, the trustee 10 required
70 lease the hotel property for terms not ex.
ceeding five years, and to keep an agent to
receive "cave fees" THAT is, fees charged
for exhibiting the cave,) whose duty it
should be to provide guides, lamps, oil and
all things necessary to the safe and salts
factory exhibition of the property, the prof
;ts accruing from all sources to be divided,
after defraying all expenses, in equal por'
tons, among the legatees during their lives.
After the death Of all the nine nephews and
nieces. the trustee was directed to sell the
property and divide the proceeds among the
children OF said nephews and nieces.
Some of the devisees being much younger
han the trustee, il is more than probable
that he will die before some Of them, in
which case he WAS authorized to appoint
successor with ike powers to carry INTO Ell
feet the wishes Of the testator.
Such briefly is the nature Of this singular
viii, the stringent provisions Of which have
rendered it impossible to impro re the prop
erty, as would otherwise have been doue.-
Propositions have been made TO erect. {
magnificent hotel, with all the modern i'm
provements, costing 500, 900, provided the
could obtain lease for twenty years but
this being impossible under the will, fel
through.
The requirements that the income shall
be annually divided between the devisees
has equally prevented Improvement. But
for this ] doubt not that Mammoth Cave
would be today as it should be, the most
popular and the most extensively patron
lied place Of resort in the III ited States or
the world. Give to the Cave the faeii-
ties of access and the conveniences Of Sar
atogs, aided and assisted by judicious ad.
vertisement which last, by the way it does
not have even to limited degree, because
they now have more than they can accom-,
modate during the SEASON., and Baden Ba
den, with all its gambling and other fast at
fractions, would not have greater crowd
In proof of which assertion / would men
ton the arrival to day OF l22 guests.