Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-11-23


were We'll repaid for doing it, The first
apartment we entered was mass OF
beautiful columns of all sizes and shapes:
slabs OF immense length, hanging like
curtains in folds. and 50 thin we could
see our lights through them.
MYSTERIOUS ANIMAL FOOTPRINTS.
CHANGING at the floor we discovered
the footprints OF animals. They wcr.
not only distinct. but as perfect as if
just made The clay WAS SOFT. and these
prints III many places were sunken at
| least an inch. showing that heavy ami
mails had passed over the ground. We
examined them closely. but could not
made ont whether they were bear tracks
| or the track, ui other Wild beast. Fol
lowing these marks they led u into sew
| cral other cavernS. and rs we proceeded
the tracks became more numerous. They
had not lInrdrnctt. as we very easily OBJ
| liberated many OF them with the suleS OF
| our boots. We found thousands OF them
Al every turn Nothing in the shape ot
w!ld animals have been known in this
| region nearer than the mountains tor Il
century back. One OF our party thought
| the tracks had been made hundreds OF
Years ago. his may bc correct the
ory, bat not a probable one, in my mind
| | cannot lmag ne now they would retain
| their distinct formation Tor such Il length
ol time. unless they had become hard
ened like the other formations of these
caverns. 1t may be that these caverns
extend ont To the mountains. some
thing III the shape OF a boulder or earthly
| -. tlti ltIn
years ana closed up some opening
through which these animals passed into
the chambers We We're exploring. In
that case it Is probable we may never
trace out their exit. and the animals
themselves may never be able to revisit
these hauntS The proprictOrs. how
ever. intend making strenuous efforts to
find any openings through which they
may have found their way. Where there
is any probable opening, digging will be
rcSorted TO. In many parts OF the cave
) the tracks of foxes were found, and IN
one place the skull and several of the
bones OF one. At this the party were
: not surprised, Tor fox may craw
: through avery small opening, not larger
than the rabbit hole through which
! the Caverns were first discovered. Larger
animals wou'd require larger space. and
where they could pass man could prob
ably do the same. So We felt all the
more anxious to trace them up. 1t Is
the impression that thee cavernS Wi.
eventually be found to extend in a chair
to the Shenandoah river, tor at varlou:
; points along that river side huge open
| inGs have been found leading into cav
! ernS of various sizes. but none OF then
have been particularly explored. owins
l to large bodies ot water found in then
and the difficulty "t climbing over thei
: steep and rocky interiors. This chair
/ ut Caverns may even extend under tn
bed OF The river and on toward tn
= mountains. The whole country look
i more or less cavcruou, from its lorna
ton, bat the equal OF these great caves
| think. viii never be found.
= ANOTHER LIST Oh WONDERS.
d, The explorers left the chambers cor
; tanning the tracks, and procccdin,
, through several narrow openings. an,
g. following Il .ung gu.ch. climbed anothc
hill. and c,tlnr suddenly into an apart
+ lnrut with walls Of crystal. who's
j.. polish reflected our faces. One halt III
e, ilpor w.- elevated three feet above III
: iower halt. and in the upper part was
series ui hrau'ltul springs. probably tc
in all. Each Mas distinct, and different!
! turIn,h from the other. The largest Wa
: about three icct square and tour feet il
3, depth The lower portion Of the foo
| containing tive large .,th"> and one >rnaI
one, the hauI>uu,.>t think. in tn
cnvrrmS. \ column. ten lcct III dame
:. ter aud perfectly white, supported tn
= i me. and sprenl out n the top lih
r branches of large OAK Lcadin,
/ directly from the spring was a stec
ascent up which we helped each other
: finding 4 ,mai. hole at the junction {
the ceiling. Through this we draggc
i, uu. selves. and found four medium SIZE
;. rooms Ul the usuai character, and in on
, "i them an aperture too 81 ll to g
Il through. but leading to on or NOR
II larger rooms. AS we could perceive /,
:, passing a candle through. The roc
n surrounding this opening was so thc
i we could not break it. So that route Wi
have tn he reserved tor a future occasion
:. when the explorers have their sledge
: with them. The party came back to tn
=, lake room and passed into another sti
. larger, whose floor was mass OF heay
r dark clay. cracked in the form of bricks
T. It was just IN proper condition for
=, brick kiln. In one corner was q spring
and adjoining it three OF four teet ,
a white formation. which we At first too
- to be the same rs that surrounding an
# near other springs. but upon closer ii
spection found it to be pure lime in :,
unsiaked state. How il came there II
impossible to imagine. 1t was iorme
e through some process unknown to tn
d writer. Adjoining this chamber wa
Il another, with Il Mosaic floor and wall
Il ot Il blush color, surmounted by
Il pure white dome. from the middle {
Il which hung suspended cluster OF sem
l. transparent stalactitcs resembling
i chandelier We named it the Blu
d Drawing ROOM and made our ex
with high opinion OF its beauty an
1t elegance.
II Quite in contrast was the next chan
q ber a sombre hued room, seeming I
= be composed of dark stone, but it ha
:. its attractions as we'll as others. .
!. large formation lowered up in the shap
= OF Il camel back locomotive and tender
II and the more light we threw on it tn
: better it looked would state here thg
q instead of carrying the simple candle, n
;, we did on former occasions, the propr
a etors furnish US with candle sticks. I
l. which small tin retlectnr> were attached
d These made decided Improvement i
n the strength of our light and we wer
: able to discern objects nj least thre
!. times the distance, md could rcadil
see the bottoms nf many OF the chasms
d springs and lakes. We eit the "canl,
: back after christening the apartment
eth" Engine Room" and then on
y mcnced cliniGg over various boulder
d and formations, jumping from rock t
g rock: sometimes hanging over ;mmens
II CULTS, and again letting ourselves dow
t gradually by the aid ni small staIagmitc
i into their bottom. Sometimes wadiu
II through small ponds and streams an
II then into masses ut mud knee deep. W
' reached a narrow passage which led Il
:. into II cavern notable tor its Sleude
Il >,uIaCtites and their peculiar shape:
Il They measured generally about six an
e seven feet, perfectly round and not Il
Ii inch III diameter. Some OF them ht
d arrow heads, which rendered them sti
r more beautiful. Upon breaking o
a several we found them entirely hollo,
!. an,. very light IN weight. On one sid,
e about five feet from the door, we Iii
n covered All opening about two and ha
4 feet square and OF great length. w