The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-10-30

Graf Cayerns of Page County, Nirginin,
Three Hundred Feet Under Ground-The
Bottomless Pit-Dan cling In the Ball
Room.
Letter to The Philadelphia Times.
LURAY, VA, October 10.
Years ago-nobody knows how many
somebody wandered up on what's now
known as Cave Hill. He discovered an
opening, which seemed to lead far into
the earth. He made a torch-or at least
I suppose he did-and started ont to ex-
plore it. No one knows how long he
wandered around in series of intricate
passages. He climbed over chasms,
crawled through damp and dark tunnels
and slipped into pools of water. On ev-
cry side stalactites, from which drops OF
water fell like rain, glistened as he
turned his torch upon them. Dazzled by
their beauty he kept on and on. His
torch burned low, and then he discovered
that lie was lost. He knew not which
way to turn. No matter which passage
he followed he seemed to get further
away from the light of day. His torch
fickered and sputtered and went out
He was helpless and alone in a vast cave,
which no one knew. His foot slipped
and he felt himself falling. Down, down
he went until he was dashed in pieces at
the foot of a steep precipice. Every
bone in his body was broken, and to-day
three hundred feet under the hill, some
of those bones, petrifed and as solid as
the rocks in which they are firmly fixed,
may be seen and are shown to all visi-
tors to the Luray Cave who have the
courage to climb down into Skeleton
Gulch.
A SIMPLE COUNTRY VILLAGE.
Lauray is pretty place. The only
way to reach it is by stage. The inhab-
itants have great expectations. A rail-
road is building, and when it reaches
here the charm of Luray will be gone.
Now it is a simple little Virginia village.
In few years it will be a bustling
town. For year past more people have
visited here than ever before. They
come by the scores to go through the
cave, which is still new and hasn't lost
its novelty yet, even to the residents
of Luray. The cave is the one great
thing they find to tslk about-that and
the coming railroad. The trip from
Philadelphia isn't such very long one.
Starting in the evening, you reach
Washington in ample time for the $50
train The next morning from the Balti-
more and Ohio depot. By IL o'clock
Harper's Ferry is reached, and then
comes delightful ride of about eighty
miles up the Shenandoah Valley, through
one of the prettiest and most fertile
strips of land to be found in this coun-
try. The valley is filled with places
made famous by the war. Plenty of
traces are left of the fierce struggle waged
over every foot almost of this ground.
At Winchester, the metropolis of the
valley, the great monument made. in
Philadelphia now stands as tombstone
over the uurecorded Confederate dead.
Sheridan's ride to- Cedar Creek every
body remembers. New Market Depot
is reached at about 8 o'clock, and then
comes the most delightful part of the
trip-the ride
OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
The stage-it is more of barouche
than stage-rattles away over branch
of the Shenandoah and drives up to the
New Market House with a flourish.
The town is three miles from the depot.
There are yet eleven miles to travel over,
and it will take upwards of three hours
to accomplish the distance, for the roads
are steep-very steep. The range of
mountains right ahead is the Massanut-
ton range. Up, up you 60, over the re-
markably good roads. Great, lumber
ing farmers wagons pass you OCCASION
ally going to town. Now and then the
carriage drives by spring-house-for
you are in the spring country now. Grin
ming negroes, who apparently haven't
found out yet that slavery has been abol-
ished, and care much less, look out from
their little log cabins. They are happy
set. know of no class of people who
take life so easy as the Virginia darkies.
On either side are fields of waving corn,
with an occasional patch of sugar cane.
But now the carriage is nearly at the top
of the gap-Pinafore Gap party named
it the other day, and as Pinafore Gap it
has gone down on the books of the
guides. "Take your last look of the
Shenandoah" says the driver; "in mo-
ment more you will lose sight of it and
cross into Page County" You may talk
of your Catskills, but I doubt if there is
finer scenery anywhere on the Hudson
than car be had from the Massanutton
range, $500 feet above the sea. Away
down at the base of the mountains,
stretching for miles, is the beautiful
Shenandoah Valley. OFF in the dis
tance the Allegheny Mountains rise.
"How blue they are" says some one.
"Wait moment" says the driver, "and
you will see some that are bluer." The
summit is reached, and in moment the
Shenandoah and the Alleghanies are
shut out from sight. But there is even a
more beautiful panorama in store. Now
Page Valley is in full view, and the Blue
Ridge Mountains tower up to wondrous
heights. 1t is, indo"d a perfect picture.
DRIVING 20 TOWN.
Down, down the carriage runs at good
rate speed. Now the journey begins to
get exciting. The wheels run uncom-
fortably near the side of the road, for to
slide off it would be death. The noun
tain is steep and the dark side does not
look very inviting. 1t does not take long
to descend or to ford the Shenandoah in
the valley beneath, and then the road
becomes more level. The little log
cabins of the negroes increase in number,
and occasionally white mans house is
passed. There is invariably something
the matter with it, however. Either the
chimney is propped up with pole or the
steps are missing, and a plank is neces-
sary to gain an entrance through the
front door. 1t is growing dark when the
carriage crawls up Cave Hill and dashes
down into Luray, mile or 80 from the
cave. The Washington House bell,
fixed on poles outside and rung with a
rope, sounds the supper hour in clear
tones which can be heard all over the