The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1873-11-07
Y Morning. November z, 1873.


still and past finding out, yet they
serve a good purpose upon the soul
of poor pigmy, mortal man remind-
ing him of his feebleness and little
ness and of the might, the grandeur,
the glory and hidden mysteries of
Him who formed them so! The
guide begins to sing hymn-"Je>
sus loevs meas we silently float
along upon the waters of this UNDER
ground river. That sound | shall
never forget, nor is it easy to de-
scribe it, for though it is called
Echo river, the guide very justly
said that it "eched but did not O."
And this is in fact as just descrip-
ton as almost any one be he ever SO
wise and learned, can give, for the
sound does not come back to US, as
a true echo but seems to go on loud
ening admit the word y widening
and growing till it sounds like moth
ing but ITSELF | have never any,
where above ground heard a similar
sound, and have, therefore, nothing
to which | can compare it. The
nearest approach can give Of the
peculiar sound on this river is (where
the guide struck the boat with the
paddle) that of the roll given out by
artillery. We had to lie down in
the boat at two places as we jour
neyed along, the roof being at these
points very low, even in the lowest
stages Of the water, and when Green
riveris flush, no one can visit this
portion of the cave at all, for the
water rises far above the most de-
pressed points in the passage way,
and woe to the haploss visitors who
should be caught beyond THE place
in the Mammoth Cave, if the rising
waters should shut up bis egress. !
was told that such a calamity has
never yet occurred.
Just as we came to the end OF
Echo river the guide caught blind
fish. This was the browning inter
est of the toilsome visit, and | felt
gratified to know that we had each
seen blind fish taken out Of these
cavernous waters. Leading from
the side of Echo river, is Purgatory
Avenue, and somewhere else the
cave--S forget exactly whereas
Black Snake avenue. These aven-
ues are all supposed to have been
the channels of former streams
which entered Green river when it
ran through the main cave--for this
is the theory and belief of all the lit.
erary Swans who visit this place,
that Green river once coursed ita
darksome way along the main aven>
ne of this great cave. As we had
now seen the grandest parts of the
cave, excepting Mammoth Dome,
SNOWFALL Chamber, the Rocky
Mountains and Clevelands Cabinet,
and being three miles to the next
point of much interest and beauty,
and the men all being very tired, as
well as myself, we turned about, and
were soon debating among ourselves
whether we shonld go back through
Eat Mans Misery, or whether Will
liam should drag me on sheepskin
through the Bunyan Way, which is
very low but wider than Fat Mans
Misery. We decided at length to go
back by the way we had come, and
after another heavy "tug" among
the rocks and dripping water, we
arrived at eight place" again, and,
sitting there upon the slippery side
of rock, / took a lard oil lamp and
smoked my name on tho roof just at
the most difficult place in the pas
sage Of Fat Mans Misery. When
we emerged from the mouth Of the
cave the rain was pattering upon
the ground, and Eve all felt very
thankful that we we're once more
| where the sunshine and the rain
could visit us and enliven the fair
world which we are permitted for
while to inhabit. Thirty years ago
| visited Weyer's Cave, and ] must
say that there are, in comparison to
its size, many more beautiful stalac-
tites in it than Mammoth Cave, but
each has its peculiar glory, and each
ought to be seen by all who can pos
sibly do SO. I. +. JEFFRIEs.