Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1878-09-05
For the Journal.
Wonderful Discovery.
GREAT NATURAL CURIOSITY!!

save in his own country" So it Is
with natural scenery. We goto Yo-
semitic and Niagara and fail to see
the beauties of nature in our imme-
diate neighborhood.
In the afternoon of Aug, Mst,
Professor NJ. and Mr.. S. of Rebers-
burg, Prof. Chatham, Of Wayne
Station and the writer hereof, made
a visit TO Stover's Cave, situate near
the homes uf Messrs. Young and
Lose, one and half miles west of
Woodward. The cave opens into a
high hill on the right bank of Pine
Greek, and this creek when flooded
uses to discharge a large part of its
waters through the cave, as is shown
by the waters action on the smooth.
~ worn rocks and the drift-wood
found in the first few chambers of
the cave. The first chambers are
large and contain beautiful stalaeti-
ties and stalagmires. There were
the usual fantastic shapes-altars
thrones, gothic steeples, forms of
yatteus animals, punches Of tanan-
as and clusters of Bologna sausages
1t would take too long to describe
these. we saw stalagmites into
whese beautiful alabsster cups the
water was slowly dripping when
Alexander weeps for more worlds to
CONQUER and when the ISraelites
were making brick for the pyramids
of1Agypt.
I'VE had as yet penetrated only q
few rods into the seave, and the
search fora continuous gallery SEEM
ed to be in vain. Prof. G., who
had visited the cave before, declared
that the gallery he had previously
explored no longer existed-that it
was chokedrp. -Four or Eve open
ings ,we entered, but all had an end
checked up with mud and rocks.
AT Last, however, we found the
northwest passage" extending,
in this case, in a north-easterly di-
rection. Crawling through an open
ing. on .our hands and knees, we
cameinto large cleft in the rocks
which we saw was dangerous
place to pass through. Prof. NJ.
and Mr.. s. remained behind-their
dove of science was not great enough
and they had on their hest cl,thes.
But the enthusiasm of Prof. G. was
not to be daunted. With the most
precarious foothold we passed
through the slippery cleft: the rocks
that we threw into several openings
seemed to strike water many feet
below. The cleft passed. we went
through a gallery varying much in
width and highth. How far we
went cannot say, but we fetched
up in spacious chamber the like of
which Prof. c., who is well versed
in cave-ology, never saw before. In
the centre of this chamber we're
two affairs of stone, each some three
feet square. One of them was fiat
on the top and bore the marks of
fire. The other had basin in the
centre, as if for the reception of
wa ier, and around Ethe basis were
two circles cut into the stone, di-
viied into twelve sections, each Sec
tion containing character which
we could not deciper. On this lat
ter altar was found a slate tablet
covered with rude pictures of men,
elephants, birds, trees and various
hieoroelyphics. Scattered around
the chamber Prof. G. found four
huge bones which he recognized as
belonging to Elephas Anoer,canus.
These bones and the slate tablet are
now in the possession Of Prof.
Chatham of Wayne Station, who in
tends to take immediate steps for
the removal of the altar and the
further exploration of the cave.
He invites the attention of the Gu
rious to the slate tablet and the
twelve characters on the divided cir.
cles.
This is indeed one Of the great dis
coveries Of the age. What was the
use Of these two affairs, what mean
the inscriptions, and who were the
men who inhabited the cave-are
questions that will stir up the scien-
ti6c world to it's very centre. At
last the giories of the Penn Hall
cave aFe cast in the shade at last
will the fame of Prof. G. that has
trembled so long ia equiponderating
uncertainty, fash up into meridian
bFillianey and light up the walks of
future time with radiance that
will eclipse the roarings of Niagara.
the wrecks of the Spanish Lnquisi-
tion and the lightnings of the Auro,
Ia Bolivar
CARL SCHRRIBER.
iebersburg, Aug. 25th, 1878.