Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-08-10
A CAVERN OF CROCODILES.
A Dreadful Palace OF Death In the
Bowels OF the Earth.


q ter three hours of roasting heat we ar
rive at last at naked plateau, where
q we rest awhile. Before us mountains
d and valleys stretch away out of sight;
q beyond and above more mountains
Il and more valleys; beyond others still
u superimposed to the very end Of the
q horizon. There are yellow hills above
green; blue hills above red; violet
q ones in the very furthest background,
each being colored by distance or tint
ed by the peculiar nature of its rocks;
and here and there in the distance a
yellow thread indicates valley or the
4 dry bed of an ancient river. Taese
dried-up rivers are called by the Arabs
baharabelama waterless rivers), and
when it rains, which happens perhaps
only once in century, they roll down
torrents of SETTLING, foaming water,
which carry the sands and wrecks Of
the desert into the Nile, leaving behind
! them on their path Goals and jaspars
4 and agates and carnolians, and many
other precious stones torn from rocks
that have been calcined and assured
\ by the sun. All about us there is not
bird visible, a blade of grass, an in
n sect, the desert stretches away every
y where, with its vast silence. which
weighs down upon you and makes you
n melancholy and dreary. One of us
speaks. nevertheless, the msn vho car
ries the compass. He exclaims; "By
this route the Red sea. is four days
journey" We all stare, but nobody
replies. One begins now to understand
the terror which comes upon the sed-
entary Arabs when the desert is ever
mentioned. Even in full MONDAY they
fear to think of it, just as child fears
to think of ghosts by night.
q At last we stop. The men unload
packages, uncoil ropes, prepare torches.
Meanwhile follow little ravine, look
ing for opals and jasper. stones, and my
attention is suddenly attracted by
something dazzlingly white that CLEANS
in the sand far away. | go there and
pick it up. 1t is the half of a human
skull, white as chalk, which was lying
there on the ground surrounded by the
bones of animals! No doubt the skull
of some poor devil surprised by the
Khaaasin on these sand heights, and
strangled by the consuming breath of
the evil wind. God only knows how
long it may have been lying there! l
take the sad relic, put it into one ofmy
bags, and prepare for my subterranean
journey.
In the ground at my feet yawns y
narrow black hole They are going to
let me down this hole with a rope.
The Arabs are all as naked as worms,
for the temperature below is simply
sitting. | refuse to initiate them, and
keep on my helmet-hat, belt, trousers,
and boots. Ben-Siloum, the dragomap,
does likewise. My companions at the
edge of the hole shake hands with me,
q thousand Recommendation to eau
ton are given me, and | seize the rope
by which they let me down to the bot
tom of the well. Once my eyes become
accustomed to the darkness, observe
that am surrounded by reddish rocks
with sharp edges. The twilight OBSCURE
ty lends them fantastic aspect. They
have very strange shapes. Ny Arabs
have all descended. | crouch down
upon all tours, and crawl into hole
about sixty centimeterS high. Ben
Siloum precedes and encourages me.
He hands me candle and ( crawl
after him, keeping in my hand the end
the entrance, and is to serve as a clew
to prevent us from losing our way. A
Russian who once went in without talk
ing this precaution never came back!
So we crawl along thus, in file, for
at least half an hour. Immediately
above us are the sharp edged rocks,
which scratch my back the moment |
try to rise up; | crawl over bat dung
which mas a most sickening odor.
When the ceiling gets higher we can
sit down moment and rest; but no
body speaks, and we recommence our
journey as soon as possible. Our
Arabs look exactly like devils, crawling
all naked through the darkness. We
travel along this way for just one hour
and ten minutes. | cannot get air
enough to breathe; the heat is suffo-
eating; / really want to go back. Ben
Siloum assures me that we will get to
the cavern in ten minutes more, and
begs me to continue. | follow him,
and for twenty minutes more travel
on through this nightmare. / must
confess that if it had depended upon
my will only to find myself back in
the sunlight, even in the middle of the
searching desert, | would not have
hesitated moment. The difficulties
are DOW complicated with novel
attliction-the bats which we disturb
fly in all directions through this
hideous tunnel, which one OF us can
hardly crawl through at time. They
strike us in the face and put out our
candles, which we are, therefore,
obliged to relight almost every mo-
ment. Their touch upon my skin is
odious, and sickens me to the last de-
gree. In my fight with these disagree
able enemies do not notice at first
that Ren-Siloum and the Arabs are all
standing up. ] jump to my feet at
once. We have arrived.
l find myself in The middle of an
enormous grotto, from fifty to sixty
feet high, as well as can judge in the
darkness. Superb stalactites are hang
ing from the ceiling. As for the
Al