Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-05-06

| q rock, and then there was q fash o
! light, and the water sparkled with ths
pale phosphorescent light-foul water a,
. the fishermen here call it. 1t was
notwithstanding place for an unnervet
, man to swim into; but in my weak state
, dare not try TO face the rough water II
, the mouth; SO, as every wave came and
bore me farther in, swan on into the
darkness, with the fear upon me tina,
some dreadful monster would lace Its
arms around me and drag me under
More than once shrieked out, for the
seaweeds were thick here, and my fee,
were entangled; but swan on, till after
many trials found piece of rock upon
which i could climb. and sit with the
water washing round me and nearly
bearing me off.
But the tide was rising, and ! found
that l must leave the rock was on and
swim or wade farther in; while now the
horrible thought came-would the tide
I'LL the cavern, and should / be drowned
at lasts The thought was so horrible
that was very nearly jumping off and
trying to swim TO the mouth, where, in
my weak state, must have lost my life
for strong man could not battle with
the waves as the tide rises / had often
heard tell of this Hugo" as they call
1t here, but no one had ever explored
1t that l know of; for ii is only in
the calmest of weather that boat can
come near. However, l sat still Tor few
moments, trying to pierce the darkness,
and find a resting place higher up. ]
dared not lower myself into the water
again, for thought after thought kept
coming of the strange sea creatures that
\ ,yh st-a 10 81 I.
indecision was put an end to by heavy
wave that came rolling in, and / was
lifted from my seat and borne in again
for some distance, and dashed against a
stone, to whose Shiny sides chung as the
water rushed back ThenI tried to find
the bottom with my feet, but all in vain
and, striking out, / swan on farther and
| farther into the darkness, helped on by
a wave now and then, and clinging TO
some projection TO keep from being
sucked back-for once down again in the
water, the dread seemed to some extent
to leave me-
On reaching rock that could climb
upon, TO my great Joy / found that
could get beyond the reach of the water
but l had to feel my way, for by a bend
of the cave / could now see no moonlit
mouth, only shining reflection upon
one of the wet walls of the place; while
all around me was horrible black dark
ness, made ten times more dreadful by
the strange echoing wash and drip of the
water in the far recesses.
Perhaps holder man would have felt
his nerves creep, as IL were, sitting,
dripping, trembling, upon Shiny piece
| of rock In that dreadful darkness, con-
jLring up horrors of kind that at more
calm moments he could not describe;
but knowing all the while, by merely
stretching out foot now and then, that
| the tide was rising higher and higher to
sweep him Off. Now my feet were under
water, then my knees, and soon it rose
so high that at every ninth wave" the
death wave" as we call it down here on
the coast could feel myself lifted
little; and at last, just as il was before,
| was swept of, and swimming again in
the darkness 10 find another rock ON
which / could creep. More than once
| touched something with hand or foot
and snatched il shudderingly back !;
| while at such times the waves bore me
backward and forward as they ebbed
and flowed. As far as / could tell the
bottom was quite beyond my reach, for
1 let down my feet again and again. But
the cave grew much narrower for now
l struck my head against one side and
then against the other as i laboriously
swan along farther and farther, as il
were, into the depths of the earth,
! till once more l came against part
of the rock which | could climb up-ths
time by feeling carefully about till
struck my head against the roof; and
then crouched once more shiyeringly
down, waiting in half.dazed, swoon-like
state for the next time when / should
have to make struggle for life. ! felt
/ dull and listless, my senses seemed to be
numbtd, and il was almost in dream
that / half-sat, halliday upon the wet
rock, listening 10 the wash of the waves
and the dull roar echoing from the cave
mouth: while close to me there seemed
TO be strange, whispering sounds mingling
with the dripping from the roof, which
fell always with little melodious plash
in the water. ..@.
Sometimes seemed TO doze--a sort Of
stupor-like sleep from exhaustion and
| then started with cry, expecting that
i was hanging once more to the rock out
side, or being swept away by a wave
| from the rock upon which i was resting
and, at last, far In as | was, there came
what to me what was like hope of life
for, at first very faint and pale, but by
/ degrees stronger, the light OF day came
down into the thick blackness of that
awful hole, cutting it like srrows, and
striking upon the waters before 1t be-
came broken and spread around.
As far as l could see, it came down
from the room eight or ten yards from
where sat, but it was long time be-
fore ] could summon courage to lower
myself into the water and swim along
till came beneath the bright rays, when
! found that they came down through a
rift in the roof some ten feet above me
though as again drew myself out Of
the water on the rugged side, and then
clambered into the rough, long rift,
was so stiff and weak that every move.
ment made me groan with pain.
Now, come here again TO where the
rift Is and you can lonk down, and listen
TO the roar and Pubbing OF the water.
A strange, wild"place, but j made my
wey up II TO life and light once more;
but have never found any man here
yet with courage to go down, while
how much farther the hole penetrstes
into the bowels of the earth no