Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-06-03

uearly, out sam, on account OF nls
feet, would never try anything save
the pigeon wing or double shuttle,
} and consequently had never danced
in public. SalIie knew this but was
determined that he should learn In
spite of himself, and when the mu.
sic struck up the prompters called
Justify out, 'Select your partners
for the quadrille," Sallie grabbed
him by the coat and told him to
come on. Sam fatty refused to do
it, and giving a sudden wrench,
tore his coat out of Sallie's grasp and
fled like frightened deer to the
mouth of the cave. Rushing, in he
concealed himself in the Bar Room,
and waited in breathlesS suspense
for his pursuer. Sallie was a reSolute
young woman, and had no idea OF
letting her "beau" escape her in
this fashion, 50 catching up atallow
dip she lighted it, and slowly felt
her way into the cave. Sam trem-
bling in his dark corner, saw her
stumble past his retreat, and in the
eXuberance of his joy rea ched round
and took a bottle out of his coat tail,
took "long pull and strong pull"
at it and then executed his double
shuttle. The sound of his big feet
upon the rocky floor SO startled
Sallie that she suddenly turned and
saw him.
"Lands alive, Sam Caldwell, amt
you ashamed of yourself to be a
runnin' off from me jest as the fid-
dies is striking up, and every gal
on the ground dancin'? What will
ma and Bill Sykes say when they
all go home and tell it on you?"
"Sallie," said Sam sheepishly, "I
Jest come in here for leetle prac-
tice by myself and then / was a
goin' to git you. The fellers would
all have laughed at me cause L
dunno nothing about this here new
tangled thing they call the man.
drill, and amt a goin' to try it
nuther, till L DO"
"Sam," said Sallie almost melted
to tears by his evident distress,
"come along to the Ball Room and
1 will learn you,n and Sam deligt-
ed at her return to good humor,
slipped the bottle in its former
resting place, gathered the candle
in one hand and Sallie in the other,
and proceeded to the Ball Room.
Once there, he stuck the candle in
a cleft of the rock, and under Sal
lies tuition began slowly to bal
ance, bow and promenade. The
shuttle and pigeon wing would
creep in spite of all Sallie could do
at first, and he would tread on his
own toes, but after while he
caught the thing, and if you wanted
tofind the happiest man in the world
that day it would have been Samuel
Caldwell, Esq. When he and Sal
lie came out from their underground
ball room and took their places in
the quadrill. All, those were
happy old days, want they Squire,
though you don't tell anything
about them nowadays.
From the Ball Room a narrow
cut leads into Relief Hall, and just
here let me remark, the vast inn
provement Mr.. Rice has made in
the passages leading to and from
this Hall. Formerly it could only
be reached by crouching upon the
hands and knees, and, only by the
same uncomfortable locomotion
could the most beautiful portion of
the cave, which lies beyond this
point, be reached. Mr.. Rice has had
passages cut out sufficiently deep
in the earth to walk erect, and thus
one can easily go through both
crawling places now. From Relief
Hall we go by easy stages into In
dependence Hall, to my mind one
of the most curious and interesting
places in the cave. 1t includes
about two acres, and has a beauti-
fully curving roof, and a solid rock
floor. Near the center stands an
immense stalagmite eight feet
through, the largest known in the
world. Its peculiar form, fretted |
surface, and immense size makes it |
an object of peculiar interest to geol-
ogists, and if only known they |
would flock to see it. In front of |
this monster stalagmite are three Gu
rious figures of rock, called the |
"happy family" the figure of a
man, woman, and child, The poise
of the figures and garments of the
trio, being remarkably fine; crouch
ed down on a rock near these is a
petrified COOL, which is very fair |
representation, while further on in a |
pedestal rests petrified monkey. |
This is by far the best of the five |
figures since the face is as perfect as
a. living one, and grins at one as
sardonically as a living member of
the missing link would. A little !
away from these and back of the
great stalagnite is row of col
umnes, than which there can be no
finer in Mammoth Cave. Here |
and there ore has fallen and lies
like giant feiled by the war of the |
elements.
Within this room are three pools
of water which look like silver
breast-plates in the faint torch |
lights. One of these is called the |
Ice Pond, from the strange appear
ance of its waters, this seeming to |
be frozen half way over, and sheet
ed with clear, inredescent ice. The
other ones are called with an eye to |
the eternal fitness of things ttSolo-
mons Pools" They figure promi- /
nently in the lives of our hco great !