The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-02-14

ThcOhio Valley rs every one knows has long
been interesting on account Of the abundance
of its relics of the moundbuIlders and many
discoveries have been made ofremans tendingI
to throw ligh: on that strange people, But the
latest find in the state Is the most remarkable
of all those of which the world has rs yet been
informed As the New York IForid puts it
Grave.robbng has become iavOrltc sport
lin Ohio; but since the death of William Allen
the alleged antli uities of Ohio have been oh
ects Of just suspicIon. There Is Il pungent
and not altogether unpleasant aroma ol me
Cardiff Giant about the tale with which an IN
gcuious writer has enllveued the columns OF
our esteemed contemporary, the Cincinnati Com.
ncrcfdl and which is today transferred to our
own. The moundbuldcrs, whether or not they
had "decdedly lsraeitish cast" of features,
undoubtedly had a decidedly monumental turn
of mind and perpctuatcd themselves WIN
Egyptian industry if not with Egyptian art
| Their efforts however, so far Is previous re
searches have gone towards discovering them,
were dlreCte, to accommodating kitchen furnl.
ture In the interior OF piles oil earth so vast ana
| so purpOselCss rs To suggest to the modern IN
uuircr that there were canal contractors in those
prlmeval days. Many mounds have been eX-
plorcd but nothing has thus far rewarded the
explorers except an unmlstakabc exposition of
cooking utensils and a more shadowy sugges-
ton of unbalanced bids. The last explorers,
however, have found things so very much to
the purpose rs to bring to hopeless confusion
| the bloated arChrologists of the East and the
etIcte ethnologists of the Old World,
The Cincinnati Commercial tells the wonder
full story in about the words and figures follow
| ing the letter being written Jan. 81 from Man
chester, Adams Co.:
| In conversation with some of the oldest cit
liens of this county have been enabled to
learn the date of the discovery Of cave on the
old Smith farm IN Tiilin Township. lis eXIs
| tcnce was proven to the earliest settlers, and
they probably learned of it from the Indians
For years it has been place OF resort tor the
curious and was always esteemed great nat
|ural curiosity The old Smith farm is on the
Portsmouth pike, between fifteen and sixteen
miles northeast of here. The farm is now own
ed by Mr.. Samuel GrOoms About u mile from
the pike is II level plateau oftwo hundred odd
acres, surrounded on all sides by lofty hills.
As you near the mouth of the cave there is Il
gradual depression of the ground on all sides,
forming sink hole" At the bottom OF this
lcrcular basin is "A hole three feet IN diameter
land about twenty-five feet in depth, at which
distance from the surface you strike the llOor
lOf the first chamber IN the cave, a dry cavern
THIRTY by twenty feet, with smooth iOor ROOT
and walls of trecstOne Crossing the room you
enter Il corridor five feet wide, connecting it
with another chamber, smaller than the first,
and this IN turn is connected with third cham
Der by a similar corridor The third room IS
about the size of the first, but it has lofty,
arched dome and the walls. floor and roof are
of limestone Through this rock water has
oozed for countless ages, and formed thousands
Iof glistenng stalaCtltcs and stalagmltes No
where else III the cave do you nnd the lime
. stone cropping out, and nowhere else do you
find these slow-growng formations. To gam
access to the fourth chamber it is necessary to
climb a steep bank and squeeze through "A mar
row tissure III the rock. In one corner OF this
chamber is an elevation which, when surmount
ed, discloses yawning well, with amouth ten
feet IN diameter and of unknown depth. Apply
your ear to the edge OF the well and you can
hear the hollow roarings of stream of water
p hundreds of feet below Beyond this chamber
are five others connected by narrow galleries
, The cave comes to an end against perpendic
uar wall of solid rock, in the ninth chamber
and about five hundred yards from Its mouth
4 All the chambers are automatically regular
D in shape except this one. They are OF dificr
ent engths, but all are of the same width and
height. 1t Is a romantic place for picnic, and
. has been given up to such rural festivities toi
wears. Every corner OF the cave has been
thoroughly explored thousand times and the
walls of the limestone chamber are covered
= with the names of visitors and the date of their
i visit One, high up on the wall reads "Non
5 Brady, 1889" Won Brady was pioneer In
dian fighter and hunter who came here in al
, Vance of the "Ohio Company in 1856.
4 few days ago party of gentlemen visited
u the cave, provided with plentiful supply OF
lanterns, ropes and tools, for the purpose of ex
S ploring the mysterious well.
: Arrived at the cave, il was thoroughly eX
e plored, and then rope ladder, 100 feet long
h with which we had provided ourselves before
A starting out, was lowered down the well, and
Mr.. kirker headed the exploration. When
about fifty feet from the top of the well h,
called out to the party about to come down
We hastily descended, to find our friend stand
ing at the entrance of a narrow gallery lead
, ing out from the well. THIS gallery led back
a considerable distance and got wider, de
G touching finally into a spacious chamber.
The distance from the mouth of the well t.
the top of this gallery Is forty-seven feet. From
> The roof of the gallery to the floor Is ten fee
: six inches At its mouth it measures five fee
l. four inches in width. The gallery is straight
n fifty feet long, has gradual descent, and WHERE
&c II enters the main chamber twenty-five feet II
d width. The chamber is 225 feet long no fee
e wide, and twenty-four feet high. The root
. floor and walls of both the gallery and cham
Der are smoothly finished. In the centre o
= his chamber Is a sarcophagus and mausoleun
It combined The mausoeum measures ut 1T
base fifty. five by thirty-tive feet. 1t is Of sim
4 pie though wonderful design, and carved ou
N of the solid rock. Its base is panelled on al
n sides, these panels containing bas-relefs whicl
" are supposed To illustrate the four seasons il
s. mans hfe-childhood youth, manhood an
Lila A, lao of hn ,oSr iafa orp
OF lets full of written characters resembling tn
Of IIebraic, presumed to be memoriams of the pei
xt son or persons IN whose honor the mausoleun
r is erected. The carving on the bas-reliefs is q
. the most delicate description, and fully equa
y 10 the GrcCian school of sCulpture The limit