Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1880-02-25
From the Philadelphia Times.l
A CAVE OF GIANTS
The Wonderful Discovery That
is Exciting the Ohio Valley.
THE CARDIFF HERO NOWHERE.
sHDterranean Mausoleum, Decorated
With Paintings and Sculpture.
MANCHESTER, Adams Co., o.. I
January 10Th, 1880. I

MANCHEbIER, AQamS CO.s W..
January 10Th, 1880.
The Ohio Valley, and this immediate
section in particular, Is rich with remains
of that wonderful prehistoric race, the
evidences of whose civilization have
been perpetuated in those curious pie
ces Of engineering from which is deriv-
ed the Cu3honious name Mound Build
ers,' given them by arch@ologists.
Within the past few days wonderful dis
coveries have been made in this vicinity
which opened up new chapter in the
history OF this remarkable race. and
throw much light upon their manner OF
living, their character, their social hab-
its and their physical nature. In differ
ent sections Of the world, and at divers
times, there have been found the re-
mains of gigantic fauna and fora, and
of human kind Of enormous size. So
rare and far apart have been these dis
coYeries, however, that we have looked
upon historical accounts Of them as
clearly constructed pieces Of fiction, and
have been 10th to believe that there ever
existed a man to battle with fierce
mastodon or the savage megatherum.
Il remains for Adams county TO come
forward with a startling confirmation OF
the spiritual text And there were
giants in those days. For in Adams
county has been found not only the
bones Of a gigantic race of men, but
their implements Of warfare and hus-
bandry, and excellently preserved spec
linens Of their art in sculpture, paint
ing, engraving and writing. Whether
these prehistoric giants hada hand in
the creation Of those splen9ldly design
ed and durable constructed pieces OF
engineering which stretch across the
country from the headwaters ofthe Ohio
to the mouth Of the Rio Grande, there
commingle with similar chain ofroads,
mounds and Notifications coming down
the Pacific slope, and continue on
through Mexico, Central America and
the South American States, to be fnal-
ly lost in the unexplored barrens OF
Patagonia, will be left for the solution
of wiser head than your correspondent
possesses. He simply relates the facts ;
the scientists may build thereon the
theories.
THE OLD SMITH FARM.
In conversation with some Of the old.
est citizens Of this countyI haYe been
unable to learn the date Of the discovery
Of a cave on the old Smith farm. il
TInin township. For years it has been
place Of resort for the curious anC
| was always regarded a great natural Gu.
riosity. The old Smith farm is on tbs
Portsmouth pike, between fifteen ant
sixteen miles northeast Of this place.
1t is now owned by Mr.. Samuel Groom'
and is a fertile, well.cultivated body o
land. About q quarter Of a mile from
the house is level field Of two hundred
odd acres, occupying plateau, sur
rounded by lofty hills. In the centre
of this field is the entrance to the caye
AS you near the mouth of the cave
there is gradual depression Of the
ground on all sides, forming wha
! in the lOcOl nomenclature is denOmina
ted sink hole At the bottom o
this circular basin is hole thee feet di-
ameter and about twenty-five feet il
depth, at which distance from the sur
face you strike the floor Of the 6rs
chamber in the cave, dry cavern
twenty by thirty feet, with smooth, ever
floor roof and walls OF freestone. Crosi
this room you enter corridor six fee
in width, which connects with another
chamber smaller thanithe first, and this
IN turn is connected with third cham
Der by a similar corridor. The thirC
room is about the size of the first, but II
has a lofty arched dome and the wall:
floor and roofare Of limestone. Through
the rock the water has oozed for count
less ages and formed thousands of gls
ltening stalactites and stalogmites. No
where else in the cave do You find thes
slow-growing formations, and nowhere
else do you find the limestone cropping
out. To gain access to the fourth cham
Der it is necessary to climb a steep, we
bank and squeeze through a narrow fs
sure in the rock, which was once a CORR
dorlike those connecting theother rooms
Some convulsion of nature has force
the sides together. In one corner
this fourth chamber is an elevation
which, when once surmounted, disclose
a yawnlng well, with mouth ten iet
Ia diameter and of unknown deptf
Apply your ear to the edge Of the we
and you hear the hollow roaring Of a
underground stream hundreds Of feet b'
j, low. Beyound this fourth chamber al
five others. connected by narrow ga
. lerles. The cave comes to an en-
a against perpendicular wall OF sol
rock in the ninth chamber and abo'
FIVE hundred yards from its mouth. III
r floor of all the chambers except Il
y third one, where the limestone col
a ~