The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-09-15
A Scientific Exploration of the Mann
moth Cave.


AT the close of the meeting OF the
American Association for the Advance
ment Of Science, at Indianapolis, an ex'
CursiOn was made to the Mammoth Cave,
Kentucky, by d large party OF ladies and
gentlemen, about one hundred and ninety
in all. On arriving at the cave, 1t was
thought best BY some of the party 10
have the cave explored in the spirit Of
scientific investigation, and, accordingly,
special party Of scientists was formed
for this purpose, and provided with the
best guide The result Is told by PROBES,
sor McChesney, who says that Professor
Cope collected fourteen different speci-
mems Of the animals that inhabit the cave
the blind fish, insects, crickets, cent?.
ped IS, spiders, blind crawtish and Craw'
FISH, that can see, and blind fish that the
crawtish eat. The crickets and spiders
occur In considerable abundance, but
most of the forms of LIE are quite rare.
The blind fish are not abundant, and
quite as shy as though they had eyes;
they dart off from the slightest move.
ment ol the water. The best way TO
capture them Is 70 let fine dippet down
gently into tho water and watch till one
swims over 1t, and then raise the net as
quietly as possible. n 40 ''''.'--
Small bats were occasionally seen fit
ting. Thesel little creatures have eyes,
but they are said to be no larger than the
head of CambriC needle. r \ Il
Prof McChesney adds;s
This field Is not new one, but was new
g., Y,,npt nf no ou1 iutapan1tyE inloedbttur,
A walk Of few hundred yards places
the observer in the midst OF forms OF life
in many respects more remarkable and
more unlike those no Is accustomed TO see
than he could find by avoyage half around
the globe. ~. ~,
Geologically this cave is we'll Under.
stood We found all the ordinary miner
ais known to exist there, such as fibrous
and curved crystals Of gypsum, the latter
Of which form the rosetles and wreaths of
the floral halls, and the most brilliant
decorations OF the cave also Calcites In |
many notifications -. nodules of iron
pyTites, the formation Of saltpeter, Carbo-
rate lime in the form Of stalagmites and |
slalaCtitcs, &c.
The curved crystals of gympsum which
constitute an exception In the mineral
world to the law Of equalization In
straight lines, may CLAIM little space at
another time, in the way OF a theory TO
account for this formation, Immediately
over this limestone is considerable
thickness of heavy bedded sandstone,
which forms the transition beds between
the 81. Louis and Kaskaskia limestone OF
Illinois. .m
We saw some of the characteristic fos.
sils of the 1t, Louis limestone, but they
are very rare,' The ooltic structure Of
some of the lower portions ol these rocks
Is visible in the coal. ~
These agencies are about the same in
all coal formations, the only difference In
this case being the much more gigantic
scale on which these agencies have ope-
rated. Water is the chief agency. This
connected with Carbonic acid, always
held by surface waters, helping forward
lIsintcgration, has chisGled out all the
passages, halls, galleries, domes, &c, of
this cave.
1t Is too evident to need discussionthat
Mammoth Cave was the work of sub.
terranean river and It's tributariesy tho
water Of which has been turned from its
course by finding IN outlet on slightly
lower level, which river still shows itself
in few places in the cave. .' 10