Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1873-10-04
AvIsIr TO THE sALr-PErnE CAVE.


Maddy, we started again for the cave. Just |
before reaching IL we came to larg" log barn.
IL Il built Of white oak logs, hewn square. aud
Is 90 years old aud still In COED condtioh
Al 2 O'Clock, =. NJ, We reached the mouth
Of lie "Singing Cave" The place where we
previously came out This is in large clear
cd pasture lot and is situated about three rods
from The highway. A person might travel this
road without even having his attention attract
ed particularly by IL. This entrance is about
20 feet below the level Of the lot. II Is formed
in the rock exactly in the shape Of quarter
NOON, about thirty feet wide, and Just high
enough in the center 10 admit man standing
erect, with his hat on. A wild grapevine
runs across aud hangs very gracefully in front
of the rock above the entrance
Here we pass into an underground chamber
about u quarter OF II mile long, 80 feet vide
and 80 ieet high. The sides aud rUOl are
smooth rock, the hoor earth. On The right
hand Of the entrance Tor about 25 yards there
Is a shelf in the rock about ten lect from the
floor, wide enough for person t. walk upon.
This room is quite dry.
A quarter OF mile from the entrance we
came 10 where the passage forks. We took the
passage leading directly forward, leaving tue
one we travelled in the forenoon, to the left.
This passage led US into what is called the
"Bi5 Room" which occupies space equal to
ten acres This may bc called the teaching
room, Tor they carry the dirt'irom the other
rooms into this TO leach it in the hoppers, Tor
the salt pe,re. In this room are many natural
curiOsilics. About 100 yards from the entrance
is the Rams Head" This is IL rock susp, nd
ed from .he roof, made by the dripping of
the limestone water II is six feet long and
four or five thick and is called the Rams
Head" because il is in very much that shape.
AT the end of the room and close up to the
top is a crevce in the rock where the water
boils out. Here the wOrkmen placed spUuts
To conduct the water to the bottom into small
basin which was formed with dirt seventy
years ago. This dirt has become sOidfed and
is now hard rock. Where the water has run
down the rock at the end of the room, il has
ryslaized into large, gracefully shaped tas-
sells with heavy fringe border above them.
In one corner is AN opening in the rock large
enough to admit u man; this leads 10 a sub
teraneous lake, the size of which is unknown
no one yet has ventured 10 explore it.
| Coming back 10 the other end of this room,
we struck out in southcrly direction under
what is called Gave HILL" into the "gravel
pit" This is the only place where is found
any sand rock-ihe whole of the cave beside
is limestone. The gravel pit is about IS yards
long, 30 wide and 10 deep on an average.
From the garvel pit we entered passage
which is fifty yards long, so small that we had
to s,oop double, and in one place we could
only squeeze through by crawling like a
snake, and that, too, without extra wraps
This is called the Turkey Track"
Emerging from this fearful passage, we en-
tered room fifty yards long, twenty wide
and about twenty high. Passing TO the fur
ther end of this room, we reached the Lad
der" so called because there used TO be lad.
der here made of dirt, which led down into
another room twenty feet below. Sixty years
ago, one of the work hands was lost in the
cave by his torch going accidentally out. Al
ter three days, Mr.. Maddy's father found hin
at this point All he had TO eat during the
time was three hickory nuts which he happen
ed to have in his pocket.
By going round about twenty yards, we sue
ceedcd in reaching the lower room tount
that we had been travelling tor some time il
the sccond.story, for here was presented To III
the entrance TO another immense, lark cham
Der, running under the one from which we hat
Just descended. This lower chamber is abon
ten feet high and is quite damp, for the waite
runs through it in the spring of the year AT
ter exploring this damp, dismal chamber, w
came back 10 the Ladder"
From what is called the ladder-room, we en-
tered tunnel in the solid rock, of tubula
form, about six feet in diameter. We Travelled
about two hundred yards in this, to what
called the Devils Writing Desk" Thi
"desk" is shelf of rock reaching across th
tunnel about four feet from the bottom, abou
, four feet wide and three or four inches thick
As his satanic majesty did not seem 10 b
present, occupied his desk few moments
while l took down some of my notrs; and
ventured to mutiate his wriling-lable h.
breaking off a small piece, which | carrie
home with me. We then retraced our steps l.
the ladder-room.
Passing on south, about four hundred yards
we entered magnificent underground pf
. vilion. The floor, which is dirt, is very eve
f and around the sides are lodges of rock. Th
I roof is in the form of DOME and is quit
smooth This is called the dancing room, bt
Cause parties have sometimes danced here
such times the musicians occupy the leGges o
# the sides.
y Leading from this pavilion are two room
- on one side, and one on the other. One
- these rooms reaches to the water cave--a d
:. tance OF half "A mile; the other is called
d S,l-Pctre room. In the Sall-Petre room, job
d Mady deposited his papprs during the Ia
# wtr. He took an oak chest and careful
a packed 1t with his derds mortgages, notes, d
to The value of fifty thousand dollars, and Ca
10 ried il to this room. He took his daughter
i woman grown-and showed her where Il
u chest was, So that ii anything happened
him, she would know where to find the p
" pers. The chest remained there two years, al
he said the papers were perfectly dry at Il
= J, end of that time.
- Leaving the dancing room and traveliI
y about two hundred yards, we reached 4
is .'drops" Here we could look up two hundr