Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-08-11
KANSAS MAMMOTH CAVE

Discovery of a Mammoth Cave Con-
tanning Many Aboriginal Remains.
Gaylord (Kas.) Herald.
The discovery of the cave was made
about a month since. Thomas county
being only sparsely settled, the discov-
cry was made while following wound
ed wolf, who took refuge there, and
finding a human skull and other bones.
from which the flesh had long since
been removed, at its entrance. The
discoverer, supposing it to be VOLTS
den, obtained the assistance of Mr..
Hamilton, who happened to be in the
vicinity, and the owner of the land.
and the three, well armed and carrying
a lantern, proceeded to the spot, at the
base of high bluff, and pushing aside
the underbrush, found an opening in
the mound, irregular in shape, and
about three feet in diameter. In this
opening the party cautiously proceeded
on their hands and knees a distance of
three or four feet, when the passage
way enlarging in every direction, per-
mitted them to assume an erect position,
and they found themselves in an IT.
regular shaped room, its ceiling sloping
upward and out of sight. Ire 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
perceptible. Passing over the VOLTS
body, they found that the floor of the
room was covered with human skele-
tons and bones entirely denuded of
flesh, placed in every conceivable posi-
ton; some stood upright against the
walls, others were in a sitting posture,
but the greater part lay scattered on
the floor in confused masses. The
room was somewhat triangular in
shape. its longest side being upward of
forty feet and the others about twenty
each. Hung on its walls or resting
against them, and lying on the floor
among the skeletons, were numerous
shields and spears and other nipple
ments of warfare of a savage race.
On the next morning, having pro-
cured two additional lanterns and an
improvised torch, the explorers re-en-
tered the cave, and laundering over
the skeletons to the aperture in the
wall noticed the day previous, they en-
tered it and found themselves in a pas
sage way about four feet high and nine
feet wide, and arched overhead; the
walls were of solid, white rock and
covered with moisture. The floor of
the hallway slOped downward. The
hallway was about twenty feet long,
and appeared to have been cut in the
solid rock by skilled workmen. At
the further extremity it opened into
another chamber, on the threshold of
which the party was halted by noises
resembling the movements of animals
within. Peering 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 astonished with sue
cession of reports, as from dozen pis-
tolls, repeated from all parts of the
room. An involuntary exclamation of
surprise escaped from one of the party,
and his words, Great Godw were in a
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 establishment had subsid-
ed they were convinced that they had
discovered a veritable echo gallery.
Leaving a light at the entrance to
mark its locality, they proceeded to ex-
plore it, and found it to be nearly cir
cular in form and nearly 100 feet in di-
ameter. The walls were perpendicular
and rose to great height, and had
numerous inches, some apparent
ly 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 a 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 emphatically: Mature might
have furnished the outlines of the cave,
but nature never uses u square in its
work and never makes right angles and
never chizeled that platform nor the
hallway through which we entered the
room-it was the work OF flesh and
blood"
On the other side of the platform
were found openings in the walls, one
of which resembled the hallway be-
tween the two chambers, but with its
floor INSTRUCTED with masses of rock.
The other was an arched way about
six feet high, the arch extending to
the door. Passing through the arch
a 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 veloci-
ty. 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.