Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-09-08
ATRIP TO BELLAmY,s CAVE.

our candles and started, Mr.. Riley
Wiley, our guide, in the lead. The
entrance is nearly half way up the
side of a big hill, and is entered by
a steep descent of about fifty feet into
a spacious room, then rising we went
up short slant. There are three
passages here the middle one leads
down the hill into a hollow. Our
guide leads to the right. After going
short distance the pathway is more
broken, first up hill, then down,
through narrow passages, wide
rooms, in some of which there are
chasms from ten to thirty feet deep
and one to three feet wide, across
which we must jump. Along this
passage the walls are generally alb
rupt, the roof high; in one place it
was so high we could scarcely see it.
We found great many curiOsities
and pleasing objects. There are five
or six hoppers here, used in the
manufacture of saltpetre a great
many years ago. The boards and
troughs in these hoppers are entirely
decayed, and, except when broken,
retain their original shape. Saltpetre
was made here in 1912 by B. BayIess
and others. A short distance further
is an immense cOne-shaped rock on
the edge of chasm about thirty feet
| wide. This rock is about six feet
high, the same in diameter and is
steadily increased by the drip, drip
from above. 1t is very pretty, being
of a bronze color with sparkles of
silver. The floor here has caved in
sometime within the last three years,
since which time no one has ven
tured beyond until one young man
in our party, bent on sightseeing,
climbed down in the chasm and up
on the other side. After going a
short distance he returned and re-
ported such beautiful views that four
or five of us were induced to follow,
and it is well we did, for we had
seen nothing so beautiful. In the
first place, short distance from the
chasm the passage forked, and here
in the mud at the edge of a small
branch we saw the print of a naked
foot, made by some one coming
from the left-hand passage, which is
very low. When and by whom this
track was made is not known. We
turned to the right and entered the |
most beautiful room / ever saw. 1t !
is low and broad and profusely or
namented with innumerable stalac-
titles and stalagmites of every size
and shape, also a great many col
umns beautifully shaped-One in |
particular was Il statue of a beautiful |
woman, which would do honor to
any artist. One candle is almost !
sufficient to light the whole room.
Leaving this rival (by candle
light to the ''inner chamber of King
Solomon's temple" we pass into a
hallway along the side of creek
and ascend a narrow passage, which
soon comes to an abrupt end large
rock has fallen into and completely
blocks it. This is about a mile and
a half from the entrance to the cave.
In this narrow passage we find
scratched on the wall the names ga.
Faucet, 1851, +" "W. HI. Browning
and ''P. L. Henderson, May, 1854"
The last two, believe, are Method
ist preachers. We return through
a side room leading from the hall,
and before reaching our friends we
find "B. BayIess, 1872" and near
this "H. H. POston" (nO date) in
large letters. Also near together,
written on the ceiling with candles,
are the names of Miss NJ. G. Jones,
John c.. Jordan, r. Armstead and
l.. NJ. Barksdale, 1856. On reaching
the big chasm we cross without ac-
cident; the party then returns leis-
urely, examining the different side
rooms more infinitely. On one side
of the main passage is a complete
well, which is four feet across and
about twelve feet to the water.
When we reached the top of the hill,
where the main passages fork, four
or five of the party went up the
passage about quarter of a
mile and found another well some
deeper than the first. Over this we'll
is a perfect eagle wing formed by
the dripping. While they were :
gone the rest of us were busy look
ing for names ON the walls near the !
entrance, a few of which / give you:
Nathan Aldridge and Jas. III. Brig
ham, 1872; Jas. Bayless, 1920; w. :
A. DOrtch, 1921; w. S. HattOn and =
w. H. KiddeII, 1843, and many
Others, the latest being Blanche
Reed, 1872.
Reaching the entranceat 3 O'clock, !:
having been in the cave four hours,
a nice and bOunteous dinner was
spread before us, which we parto0k
of with a zest, our appetites having
been whetted by our long walk. We
are indebted to Mr.. Riley Wiley,
our guide, Prof. Fessey, Mr.. John
G. Thomson and others for this and
other courtesies shown us. / think
if a little money was used in bridg-
ing the chasms and improving the
walks this cave would become a
noted place Of resort, for it is indeed
4 pleasant and beautiful place. Near
this are two other caves, one at Mr..
and the other at Bloom :
ing Grove Furnace. :
While writing of these I might s
statea circumstance that shows there
are other caverns in our vicinity.
About the year 1887 Mr.. Alex. Out
law had a man named Mcclure
blowing in field on the hill near
his house, when all at once the horse {
broke through the ground and dis