The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-09-13
=, r..xe,s or EGO and Alter.

rorTY MILES / DAY IES VIZ "io-N
causcH-sTAuNToS-Hu MPBACS--A ALBE-
MARIE.
TCorresnonaence Of the Richmond Dispa;ch]
ALBEMARLE COUNTY. VA,
September s, 1879.
p,,o gave YOU an account OF our trayeis
an m the eve OF our departure from Luz
~ ~sx He had OF course great deal 10 say
~ the cave. That wonderful curiosity ol
,a,ure was so absorbing Gus ana every
hody there that it engrossed conVetsa''on,
p mJ mt out Of mind many things that we
had intended to notice.
INV" pr ,' sor the cave, Luray would have prob
No continued It's quiet existence, far re-
"u't from the noise and hustle OF tue
md an ancient German settlement
VII" S;,snr the worse nor the better lof ti'e
49, ~ time. The explorations OF tue
lar, a Soweyer, have brought about great
ts,.' 80 IN the lie of this seqnesserea niue
cu CUE Now there is continuous stream
" xiSi,ors from all parts OF the country,
I'd every available space nost VI anT
.uu ~ dsmana for the accommodation OF
. .,'n. who come from far and near 10 see
.t,o wonders OF the subteTTancan "o''u'
'"I has curio,,s to know where Luray got
om,. did not recollect ever meeting
,,i,h il in my reading or travels elsewhere;
.,,,,ivnted gentle man OF the village tola
~ - ,,os a corruption 0; "Lor-2lne,"
tom which province many OF the old set
,}rrs had emigra'ed.
There are some interesting and suggestive
z,rts connected with the history OF the great
cavern which have come to my notice, anu
which, in the light OF subsequent events,
afford striking illustration or the o'a
,po,hecm that "tbcre IS nothing new I'M
der the SUM-" The hill which caps the cave
has been known for nearly century as cave
Hill. People about Luray tell you the cave
wos discovered year ago last August; Dut
that means the present entrance 10 the cave
,yos discovered ut that time. more
than fi,y-!our years ago lengthy and beau.
,ifuI descr,ption OF the cave was published
IN the Shenandoah Sentinel. Even before
that early rcriod the presence of large
.ubtcrranean cavity was acknowledged be
meath the hill one mile west OF Luray. and,
memorial OF this fact, the locality 1or
wars past had gone under the name OF
cave lillian appelation 1t still enjoys
The party who undertook the eXplo'
ration Of the cavern at the period refer-
red to numbered fifteen gentlemen; and
though they were not The hrSt, tney
we're the most determined and the best pre-
norcs] for q GOOD investigation OF those eX-
tcnsiye underground chambers that bad
hepn spokcn OF vaguely for years In Luray.
The entrance to the cave ut that time was al
the summit OF the hill, while now it is to-
wards the loot. lying in the directlon OF
the village. Congress Hall, which was de
cIared by the explorers 10 occupy noor o.
nearly quarter Of an acre, ana WDlcn recen'
visitors Will recognize by different name
now, was rirSt discovered. and after that, 10
rapid succession, the Mnslc-Room, the Gal
icrv. the Glazed Chamber. and Masonic
IInlI-names quite different from those the
same chambers have at present. 1hea ccount
referred to wind, up thus: 49,,
"This cave is situated on the lands OF
Mr. David Mckay, and is said to have been
first partially explored in the following sim
~nlar manner: A Mr.. Rutlner, who was
nearly as much celebrated for deeds OF sYl-
van proves as the renowned Putnam, IN
passing this cave some thirty years ago
that is to say in l795-conceyed the bold
and hazardous design OF entering 1t alone.
He accordingly prepared himself flamOeau
OF pine and placed his rifle across the mouth
to indicate, i'm case OF accident, to bis
friends, if they should happen to see 1t,
that he was in the cave. He descended,
but soon fell and put out his light, and as
might have been expected, was soon be-
wldered and lost in its labyrinth or pas
sages. 1t happened that some o. his friends
i'm passing The cave discovered his gum and
rightly concluding that he had gone into it,
thew procured lights and entered in search
OF him, and found and brought him out
again, after his having been In fo1ty-elghi
hours. This brave fellow was among the
pioneers who were foremost in exploring
and settling our western frontier; ana was
Al last killed by the Indians, after having
performed deeds of valor and daring PROV
c>s which would have done honor 10 the
character Of hero. II / mistake not, this
Rutfner was a native of Germany, man
OF varied accomplishments, as highly edu-
Gated as he was bold and adventurous 10
spirit. The legend goes that he left his
native land for the wilds OF America with
IT the consent of his father, and that,
selecting the beautiful Valley OF Luray, he
made common cause with the then recent
settlers OF that place against the Indians,
who were fierce and Warlke. Here he
met Miss Marye, the daughter OF large
Iluguenot family recently settled there,
and pcrsuading her to share his fortunes
through life, they were happily married.
Later on Rufiner met the fate OF many u
brave pioneer, aud was slain by the Indians,
Is mentioned by the writer OF the article in
the Shenandoah Sentinel. The article from
which have quoted may be found in full
in alartin'S Gazetteer of Virginia, an old
book now rarely met with, and bears the
date Of May II, 1925. Does it not seem
strange that this wonderful cave, which is
now attracting so much attention from all
parts OF the country, should have been so
long unnoticed that in 1878 it seemed Il new
discovery. Here is princely possession,
which has changed hands repeatedly for a
mere soug--a mine OF wealth known posi-
lively to exist eighty-odd years ago, and
extensively explored so long since that the
very proiusion of its wonders had been for
gotten.
The day we left Luray was clear and
beautiful. TO the east lay the Blue Ridge,
with its outlines distinctly visible. The
inhabitants of this valley have legend
that the Knights Of the Golden Horseshoe
passed through the depression in the ridge
near Luray called Thornton's Gap, Just
beneath Mary's Rock--the two places named
after Mary Thornton, the only female bold
enough to accompany that transmontane
expedition under Governor Spotswood. To
the south Of Mary's Rock, which has at
tached to it 4 touching legend, the Stoney
Man rears bis lofty head-the next highest
peak, 1t is said. ~ tue Peaks OF Otter.
Pursuing d course somewhat northwest
OF Luray, we came to the South Fork Of the
Shenandoah, which we forded. Within
lille after leaving the river we began the
toilsome ascent OF the Southern Ridge OF
Inc Massanu,ten-an undertaking OF the
iHost arauous nature, but rendered tole-
faDie-nay, enioyable-by the magnificent
ana eVer-chansing views of the lovely Luz
ray valley. The descent on the other side
brought Us into Fort Valley, one OF the