Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1875-01-07
NEVADA'S GREAT CAVE.

A Monster Cavern in the Humboldt
Range-Underground Chambers that
Measure Forty by Sixty Eeet-Bats-
that Scream Like Wildcats.
A correspondent of the Winnemucca
SiIuer State writes to that journal de-
scription of mammoth cave which has
recently been discovered in the Hum
boldt range of mountains in Nevada.
The entrance to the cavern is located
about three miles northeast from Star
City, and about 1900 feet higher than
the town, in the Humboldt range, eight
miles from the Central Pacific railroad.
1t has been known to the Indians per-
haps for ages, and they say That many
years ago 1t afforded passage through
the mountains to point opposite where
the Humboldt House now stands. A
Piute legend says that it has been the
home of the evil spirit for many gener-
atoms, and the bravest warrior of the
tribe will not venture near its mouth
for any purpose whatever. They say
that before the whites came among
them they put bad Indians in the cave
to appease the wrath and hunger of the
spirit that inhabited it. The last In
dian put III there was not as bad as rep
resented, and was guided to thu OPEN
ing on the other side by the spirit. The
cave was partially explored in 1863 by
Capt. Pres colt, James 4. Banks (whc
was since killed by the Indians near
Camp Scott, and A. j. Simmons (now
an Indian agent In Montana Territory.
Some time ago party OF four, of which
your correspondent was one, proceeded
to explore the cave. We had heard a
great deal about it, and were anxious.
to see little of it ourselves. On arriv-
ing at the place we discovered, to our
surprise, that the entrance was fifteen
feet above the ground rock on which we
stood. The rock rises almost perpen-
dicularly $50 feet above the mouth and
for several hundred feet on each side.
Having been provided with ropes, one
was thrown over point of rock which
projects over the mouth of the cavern,
by means of which the entrance was,
gained. Lighting our pitch-pine
torches, We proceeded cautiously in
single file about one hundred feet in
what appeared like a large mining tun-
mel. The ceiling was from ten to fif-
teen feet high in this distance, after
which it narrowed down to track just
large enough to get through. Suddenly
we came TO square jump-off or perpen-
dicular drop of thirty feet. Again the
rope was brought into requisition, and
by means OF it the bottom was reached d.
Immediately under the road we had
traversed We found large chambers, the
largest of which 1 should Judge to be
forty feet square and sixty feet high,
the entrance to which was scarcely
large enough to crawl through. Here
in this chamber we noticed vertical
ton of the adage that constant drop
ping will wear away a stone" In sew
eral places drops of water from the
ceiling, which continually fell in one
place-there being no air current to
change their course-had worn holes
in the solid finty floor from five to
seven inches deep. We explored the
cave to distance of a mile from the
entrance, and our lights burning well
showed that the cavern is well venti-
lated. We did not find passage
through, though we travelled for three
hours and half by the watch, and ar
rived at the entrance very much ia
tigued We started two bats at about
three-fourths of mile from the en-
trance, and they screamed like wildcats
when they saw our lights.