The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-05-21
BIG CAVE.
And 30 Fuii of Bsts ss 60 Give . Dark
shade 60 the Ceiline--Othsr Curfesi-

And 30 Fail Of Bsts ss 60 Give . Dark
shade 20 the CeilinR--Othsr Curfesi-
ties. f %. .f 81,
A recent letter dated Evansville, Ind,
says: Wyandotte cave is in Crawford
county, Indiana, near the Ohio river.
1t is not accessible by rail, but must be
reached by packet from Louisville OF
Evansville, and from there by carriage.
The carriage ride is five miles, over rs
bad a road as can be found this side OF
the Sierras. The country is very hilly,
heavily wooded and sparsely settled.
Wyandotte Is smaller than the Mann
moth cave, and much larger than either
Of the Virginia caverns. In its general
character it resembles the Mammoth,
and like the latter Is vastly inferior TO
, the Virginia caves in beauty. 1t is un-
guarded, and visitors have been accus-
toned to wander through it unattended.
committing every kind OF vandalism
Patent medicine advertisements have
been painted a ;on the walls, ceilings
have been blackened with smoke, and
the best of tho stalactites hnve been
broken. IsT uW ...
tits said to be twenty-three and one
half miles long, but this estimate is un-
trustworthy. The writer carefully
paced, in the presence of one OF the pro-
prietors, q section embracing four Of the
supposed twenty-fobr and one-hnlf
mi .es, and found it to measure 1900
yards. This ratio OF reduction applied
to the whole estimate makes the entire
distance about nine miles, hnd this is
probably about the actual length @.
cave. The ov' 'mstt..ng In this case
been surv :, and measuring by even
steps. when the way is through low
passages and over Jagged rocks, is very
ADorious. while distance underground
IS very deceptive. One of the caverns
in Virginia, which is said to be two
miles in length. and is comparatively
level and straight, measures Just three
fourths Of mile, and another, that con-
tains . route for visitors said to be five
miles long, all lies within the diameter
Of half mile.
At Wyandotte, as ut Luray and the
recentiy-discovered Newmarket caves,
openings are to be seen that lead to
chambers beyond the furthest points
that have been visited, while in Weyer's
and one or two others of the smaller
caverns. an end to progress il found in
heavy stalagmitic walls or accumula
tions of clay. The older part of w yam
dotte mas Deen known since the first set
tlement OF the country. In 1850 an ex-
tensive addition was opened, and quite
recently another large section has been
explored. A few Of the passages are
exceedingly narrow and tortuous, and
some OF them are 30 low as to make
travelling painful, but most of the way is
through broad and lofty avenues. The
story is told of very corpulent man,
who is a prominent politician, that in
going through one of The narrow places
he became 50 tightly wedged in that the
combined efforts of several friends were
required to extricate him.
None OF the funnel-shaped domes,
caused by surface drainage, that are
common to Mammoth cave, are to be
seen here, but there are several enor-
nous halls with vaulted tops, having
mound Of rocks on the floor correspond.
ing in outline to the curve of the ceiling.
These have been formed by the gradual
disintegrstion of the rock above and it,
deposit below. One of these is 1000
feet In circumference and 245 feet in
height, and the hill in the center rises
us feet above the level of the original
floor, nearly blocking up the approaches
One apartment is $50 feet long, 20 feet
wide and IS feet high; another, iOf
feet in diameter; a third, 40 feet wide
and 100 feet long; another, 200 feet in
diameter and SO feet high; and still
another, $50 feet long, 100 feet wide and
30 feet in height. One passage closely
resembles q railway tunnel in size and
form. The most notable of the forma.
tions are stalagmite twenty-five feet in
diameter and thirty feet high, and
semi-circular group of stalactites having
the appearance Of canopy. Flint in
veins and nodules is plentiful in some OF
the rooms, and gypsum and EPSON salts
are abundant in others. But little water
is seen. One spring is strongly impreg
mated with sulphur, and small stream
contains eyeless fish. The temperature
Of the air-is fifty six degrees throughout
the year.
The Indians, and probably the mound
builders, were familiar with most or all
of the parts oi the cave that have vet
heen opened, as flint chips, stone ham
mers and other relics of their visits are
found in the branches most difficult OF
access and latest explored. A singular
feature of the place is the presence Of
bats in the rooms nearest the entrance
in such vast numbers as to give dark
shade to the ceilings. They suspend
themselves head downward, and remain
in a dormant condition during the cold
weather.