The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1876-02-17
AKENTUCKY CAVE STORY.

About the middle of the past week
two yong men named White, while idly
wandering in large tract of wild, dense
forest, in the southeastern part of Colun.-
bia, discovered what they supposed to be
sink-Lole or fox den and with that
ida proceeded to explore it. After a
little trouble in making their way through
the entrance, the cave forsuc it proved
to be- became large enough to admit of
their walking upright. They had pro-
ceeded thus in this passage probably
$50 yards, when they emerged into a
large and picturesque gallery, the beau
ty and grandeur OF which will rival thai
of the old Mammoth itself. The room,
according to their calculations, is about
$50 by 100 feet, and abounds in all the
varieties Of the stalactites and talagmites.
But It's not the things that we naturally
expect to find in the caves that I wish to
mention particularly, but the curious re-
mains that were discovered therein. In
the northeast corner of the first gallery,
(for there are five of which I will here
after speak, about five feet from the
ground, they noticed some strange char
acters or hieroglyphics neatly carved in
the wall, which, upon examination,
proved to be the head rock of vault.
A few minutes pricing served to loosen
this and disclose to view the interior of
an Enclosure in the solid rock of about
five by ten feet, which contained the re-
mains of three skeletons, which mea-
sured eight feet seven and half inches,
and eight feet five inches and eight
feet four and three quarter inches in
length respectively. The heads were
living toward the east, each body par
allel to the others. Beside them lay
three huge-what looked to be-swords,
but they were SO decayed that upon be-
ing touched they crumbled to dust.
After examining the remains closely, bu'
finding nothing that would serve to
throw any light on the question as to
who and from whence they are, they
closed the vault, but, in doing SO,
knocked their torch out, which they had
contrived before entering, leaving them
in anything but pleasant predicament.
After searching sometime for their lost
treasure, they concluded to try to escape
by feeling their way out, but in this
| they made the matter worse. They
stated that after leaving the first large
room they struck a good sized branch,
and continued following it until forced
to turn into another passage the stream
disappearing suddenly in huge perpen-
dicular gulch-which led them into
another spacious hall, the size of which
they believe to be quite as large as the
first. Out of this second opening, and
through what they conceive to be three
others similar at least ID size, their way
seemed to gradually ascend until their
hearts were made glad by the discovery
of light ahead, and finally emerged from
their ugly confinement through hole
about midway the cliff of Russell's Creek
having been confined In their subuerran-
can discovery over thirty eight hours.
The whole country thereabout is rife
with speculations concerning the entale
| ing discovery, and numbers of citizen
will visit it as soon as the Messrs. White
finish their work of rendering the en-
trance less difficult to pass. The above
is correct account and may be relied
on, as the young men are of unimpeach-
able vel acity. With party from town,
your correspondent will start in the
morning to further explore, and should
new curiosities present themselves, will
give you then the account of an eYe-wit-
ness.