St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-09-04
The FE:assi moth Cave of Ken
tucky.

Thinking that perhaps some OF the
many readers Of the DEMOCRAT would
like to learn something of this great
natural curiosity and wonder, the Mani
moth Cave of Kentucky, we copy from
the Iberia Sugar Bowl Il we'll written
description of it by j. y. Gilmore, the
talented editor, who is on tour OF
recreation with his family out East.
During the forenoon we reached Cave
City, where we stopped Oft, to visit that
wonder of nature, the Mammoth Cave,
ten miles from the railroad. 1t is sit
uated in Edmundson county, % miles
south of Louisville, or half way between
the latter place and Nashville. After
dinner, leaving our two younger children
and their grandmother, at Cave City
Hotel, our better-half," eldest son and
daughter and a fellow passenger, from
Pennsylvania, accompanied us on our
Journey to the Cave. Our vehicle was
afour- hourse coach, which always leaves
on the arrival Of the trains, and the road
was one of the most hilly, rough and
rocky we ever rode over. 1t took us
three hours to make the journey to
Mammoth Cave Hotel, but we were all
greatly interested in the wild scenery,
and pleased with crowds Of children
who besieged us at a llaltlng place to
water horses, each with basket OF
apples or peaches, and some with small
rattlng-rocks," which are hollow lime
stones, with naturally enclosed loose
particles which rattle, and they were
| sold as curiosities of the locality.
|
of us was provided with a lantern and
walklng-s stick, and our gnide-Mat, a
| faithful and intelligent mulatto man,
who has acted in that capacity for up
wards of forty years-announced that
he was ready to conduct us to the Cave,
few hundred yards from the hotel
| We entered ravine, crossed the bed OF
q dry brook, and on the opposite side
saw the black, yawning, misty mouth
of the Cave. AS the temperature out
side was about S5 degrees, and our party
all warm from the exertion OF walking
when we stepped before the mouth of
the Cave, the cool air which rushed
from it so chilled us we had to retreat
from the current awhile, to cool off,
before entering place whose uniform
| temperature, winter and summer, is
50 degrees. We then learned that the
entrance to the Cave, which IS about "a
feet high and so wide, is 1914 feet above
Green River, which is but a short dis
tance away. To enter this subteranean
passage, a descent of about 20 feet has
| to be made over rough stones, and 1t
required considerable persuasion to
induce the female portion of our party
to do so. At first, all were so chilled
with cold that we feared we could not
endure it, but our guide assured us the
exertion of walking would soon over
come the chilIness. However, he warned
MS to guard our lamps as we passed
| through narrow gateway, AS the out
| going air frequently extinguished the
| lights. In this connection, it should be
| stated that in winter, when the outside
atmosDhere is colder than that in the
Cave, the current of air rushes in-but
| in this case, ii is changed to the standard
temperature of 80 degrees when quar-
| ter of a mile inside. After passing a
| short distance inward, the opening was
so large. the motion of the air was nc
longer felt. Many bats, were found
clinging to the rocks overhead, near the
entrance, and it was curious to see how
| tbey held on with their two hlnd-legs,
sleeping head downward. After en-
tering the arehway near the mouth,
! where the gate is usually Kept lockeo
| to nreyent persons from entering With
ont on having the usual fees, we We're
usherei into the Main Cave, which is
s;x miles in length, from GO to 800 feet
vide and from 30 to 100 feet high: The
first noI tiou entered is called the Rotun-
da. and the rock ceiling is 400 feet high,
and the place 175 feet wide. Here are
found remains of vats and wooden water
pipes, used by salpeter miners IN 1872
and, strange to say, the wood-Work ap-
| nears as sound as ever. Farther back
OK tracks and marks Of wheels, used IN
hauling the materials, are plainly seen
in the now hardened soil, and even
corn-cobs. left by the oxen at that re,
mote neriod, are lying upon the ground
as sonnd as when the grain was first
taken from them. At this. point, we
were shown smoothly worn holes IN the
rocky sides Of the passage, where ropes
had been passed through to tie up the
oxen. who seldom or never saw day
light. The wOrkmen remained perfectly
healthy. for the air has been found more
pure tllan anv on the surface. This mas
| led many afflicted persons to seek tins
Cave, hoping to regain health, and while
| the perfect quiet and constant darkness
are decidedly beneficial in some com,
plants, the majority OF those VINO Weh'
there were afflicted with consumption
and made a fatal mistake by tnus de'
priving themselves OF snnlig1lt, TOT ete,i
one died, either there or within a very
short time after leaving. In the ROtunda
and near the Star Chamber we were
| shown some small stone cottages, bull
for the consumptises fifteen years ago
and several of them remained there fol
| months without seeing the light OF day
They are represented as presenting q
frightful appearance, on leaving tllt
| Cave. their faces being bloodless, eyes
sunken and the pupils SO dllated tlla
they covered the whole eye, aud tnui
blue aud gray eyes became black. Not
| withstanding this, more pleasant place
| to walk cannot be found for healthy
person, and all iHyalids are believed tf
experience beneficial results from max.
| ing short visits there.
| Naturally the visitor expects to ilno
the place filled with loathsome reptiles
| and the ground and walks covered Will
dampness and slime. During a foul
| hours walk throughout the Cave, we
saw no living thing except the bats
and found it perfectly dry everywhere
except near the river, In fact, 1t IL
owing to the remarkable dgynesS anG
eyenness of temperature that nothing
| therein seems to decay. In the extreme
| inward portion OF the cave, (wilere 1t Is
believedSthere is some communication
with the surface Of the earth,e an abun.
dance of living creatures are found,
embracing a rabbit-like rat, with gray
| back and white belly: a large lazy
striped cricket, perfectly silent, will
immense eyes and very long feelers, and
fomr or five inches long. These speci-
mems of animal life are not found else.
In Echo River, eyeless fish and craw-