The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-10-25
The Cave of Be ellamar, In Cuba.

~'S. N"'S' may pOeo'so ONtl DclldllhT
surely none in the world eau surpass it
wonderous wealth of rare and exquisitel,
beautiful crystallizations Nature SEEM
to have exhausted her fancy in producing
these myraids of quaint forms aud curiou,
combinations. The stalactites are singu
larly capricious and beautiful. From the
gigantic Mantle of Columbus" to the
newly formed delicate tudes and cones
scarcely an inch in length, there exist.
every intermediate variety of size. Some
are Hat and transparent, and will vibrate
when struck, with sound as clear and
melodious as silver bell. Others are
tubelike, hollow, twisted or curved, some.
times branching like coral at others hang.
ing like coral, at others hanging like hook,
or darting sharply upward. According
to the accidents of their position, they
assume at times entirely different forms
Now they are frozon dribbets along the
yellow surface of the rock; again they
have worked into grotesque fringes, or are
scalloped into delicate frills now they
arc like glittering serpents flashing wild.
ly in the torchlight ; then the rock is
coated as it with heavy frost and again
the shapes take the form of crucibles, oi
cornucopi@, or of flowers tinged with del.
icate colors and resembling dahlias and
roses.
In the complex web which they form il
is difficult at times to separate the sta.
lactites from the stalagmites. The latter
form, in some places. rich curtains of the
whitest and most quantity patterned lace;
they hang like the rich drapery of silken
robes or like motionless cascades of gilt.
tering diamonds. they extend, wave after
wave, and fold after fold, from the ceiling
to the floor. Sometimes they assume the
most grotesque forms and resemblances
here and there we see them about the
floor like devotecs kneeling before fan
tastic idols, in silent and eternal adora.
tion again they seem like weary travel
ers stretched out rest at noon on the cool
grass by the wayside or, prehaps again,
plumed and naked savages gathered in
dread circles around the council fire to
plot the war-path, or to plan the chase.
And all this is accomplished simply by
the combination Of water with lime ! A
feeble stream Of water permeates the lime
stone above. and filters through it, carry
ing along some minute praticles of lime
in solution. As this water drops from
the roof Of the cave, or dribbles along the
suffice of its walls, it leaves behind these
calcareous particles, which, in the form of
carbonate of lime, harden and are crysta.
lized, forming thousand capricious fig
ures. If the drops fall from the roof, the
form is generally that of a pendent tube
or elongated cone, terminating in keen
point,to which every additional drop from
above naturally runs. Each drop remains
there suspended for moment, contribut-
ing its infnitesimal quota of lime toward
the lengthening Of the stalactite down.
ward it then falls to the ground, carry
ing with it the reside of lime, which is
there deposited and crystalizes, contrbu-
ting to the growth of the stalagmite up
ward. Thus every drop tends to increase
the two formations
1t the dribblct of water, however, flows
along the surface of the rock, then it
leaves the lime behind it to mark its de-
vious path in the form of delicate tracery
and fringes. If the quantity of water is
large, then the cascades and curtains and
snow.drifts are formed. The roof of the
cave its walls, and its floor, are thus all
at the same time being ornameuled through
the agency above described. Considering
the extreme slowness of the process, how
many ages it must have required to ag-
glomerate gigantic masses of crystalliza-
tion like that called the Mantle of Col
unbus !" And yet this, necessarily, is
not so old as the cave itself.
Caves such as Bellamar are to be met
with on smaller scale in all the calcar-
eous formations on the island, where ma
tural bridges. tunnels, and subterranean
rivers are likewise found The origin of
the Cave Of Belamar may be due to vol
canic action; but it is more probably
owing to the gradual erosion Of yielding
strata by the action of water. The won.
derful tunnel bored by the Cuzco River,
in the eastern part of the island, might
suggest the origin Of II cave like this of
Bellamar. The Cuzco is an insignificant
and shallow stream. which, however, in
the rainy season. becomes ii powerful
torrent. A lofty ridge barred the course
Of its ancient channel, and though the
heart Of this ridge it has carved u tunnel
large enough to admit of the passage of
of huge trunks of plans and eriodendrons.
After disappearing at the base of the hill
several hundred feet below the crest, il
does not appear again until it comes out
at the other side of the ridge. distance
Of nearly three miles Any volcanic uc.
tion tending TO alter the level or bed of
the stream might divert its waters into Il
different channel the former one would
be soon covered with dense vegetation
and all distinct traces of it be lost The
tunnel, or cavern. itself probably disturb
ed from its original horizontal position
would remain to puzzle future geologists