The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-07-19
Kansas Mammoth Cave.

about n month since. THOMAS county be.
ing only sparsely settled, the discovery
wns accidental and made while following
wounded wolf, who took refuge there, and
finding human skull and other bones,
from which the flesh had long since been
removed, at its entrance. The discoverer,
supposng 1t TO be n VOLTS deu, obtained
the assistance of Mr.. Hamilton, who hap
lpened to be IN the vicinity, and the owner
of the land, and the three, well armed and
carrying lantern, proceeded to the spot
at the base of high bluff aud pushing
aside the underbrush found an opening in
the ground, irregular In shape aud about
three feet in diameter. Into this opening
the party cautiously proceeded on t':s!:
hands and knees n distance of three or four
feet, when the passage-way, enlarging in
every direction, permitted them to assume
an erect position, and they found them
selves in an irregularshaped room, its cell
ing slopng upward and out of sight. The
place was intensely dark, only few rays
of sunlight penetrating through the en-
trance, and the light of the lantern seemed
but to make the darkness more perceptibe.
Passing over the VOLTS body they found
that the floor of the room was covered
with human skeletons and bones entirely
denuded of flesh, placed in every conceiva-
able position some stood upright against
the walls, others in sitting posture, but
the greater part lay scattered on the floor
in confused masses. The room was some
hat ,tn Al. IA cho ito 10
being upward of forty feet and the others
about twenty each Hung on its walls or
resting against them, and lying among the
skeletons, were numerous shields and
spears and other implements Of warfare of
a savage race
On the next morning, having procured
two additional lanterns and improvised n
torch, the explorers fe.entered the cave,
and, camberng over the skeletons to the
aperture in the wall noticed the day previ-
Gus, they entered it and found themselves
in Il passage. way about four feet high and
ten wide, and arched overhead tho walls
were OF solid white rock and covered with
moisture. The floor of the hall way sloped
downward. The hallway was about
twenty feet long, and appeared to have
been cut in the solid rock by skilled work.
mon. At the further extremity it opened
into another chamber, on the threshold of
which the party was halted by noises re-
sembling the movements of animals with
in. Peeriug into the Egyptian darkness
and discerning nothing, and thinking that
they had found the VOLTS abode, one of
them fired his pistol, and their ears were
astounded with succession of reports as
from dozen pistols, repeated from all
parts of the room. An involuntary ex-
clamation of surprise escaped from one of
the party, and his words, "Great God ~
were in like manner distinctly echoed and
re-echoed as by dozen voices in as many
tones finally dying out apparently in the
far distance.
After their astonishment had subsidized,
they, were convinced that they had dis
covered veritabe echo gallery. Leaving
n light at the entrance to mark its locality,
they proceeded to explore it, and found it
60 be neatly circular in form and nearly
one hundred feet in diameter. The walls
were perpendicular and rising to great
height and having numerous inches, some
apparently being openings into other cham
bers the lights were not strong enough to
reveal the ceiling. The floor was solid
rock and quite level and smooth and very
damp. On one side of the room was found
platform of solid rock about twenty feet
square, rising abruptly from the floor to a
height of about four feet, otherwise the
room was quite empty. Mr.. Hamilton here
said emplatically Mature might have
furnished the outlines of the cave, but
nature never use square in its work and
never makes right angles aud never
chisseled that platform nor the hallway
through which we entered the room--it was
the work Of flesh aud blood.'
On the other side of the platform was
found two openings in the walls one of
which resembled the hallway between the
two chambers, but with its floor obstructed
with masses of rock. The other was an
arched way about twenty feet high, the
arch extending to the floor. Passing
through the arch short distance, they
came to a stream of water about foot in
depth, passing over bed of white sand.
The water was very clear and cold, and,
though evidently flowing, had but little
velocity. The width of the stream could
not be determined, but as far as the lights
could penetrate it was arched over by solid
walls of rock, approaching very near its
surface. Gaylord Kansas Herald.