The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-05-24
8aaerson 9ntelligenfer.
BAT CITY, TEXAS.
4 Wonderful Cave la Texas.

Mexico. JOnn C0OinDS ana hau Dcen
in the same class and were ut one time
roomma:es; but it had been five or six
years now since | had seen or heard
much from him. He was located in
Texas he told me.
''I'm working q NINE" said he.
"a mine-in Texas? Gold or sil.
ver?"
"Neithcr"
What, copper
mo"
"Oh, coal then"
Wrong again; and it is no, iron, nor
tin, nor quicksilver
"WelI, well, some metaplorical sort
of mine, suppose. Some bonanza in
stock. come sheep ranch, some ostrich
farm" | suggested.
"No, no; q bona fde mine. Fact I'm
getting out good five tons Of ore day.
And it goes fifty dollars TO the ton. too"
began to wax curious, having light
attack of the mining fever that month
myself.
One cannot travel in Colorado and
New Mexico without catching it. 1t is
in the air-this mining malaria. But
my friend Immediately shut his mouth.
"Not lisp about it, unless you'll come
over and see me-" he said, and | could
get nothing further from him concerning
it, though we spent very pleasant even
ing together.
This anomalous mine haunted my Gu
riosity for week, till / determined to
look in on my old ctum at his new
place, and see what it was he held there
all to himself So first sending him q
telegram, set off for Texas.
At F., the station indicated by my
friend, found him waiting with a wag-
on and two mules and ride of ten or
eleven miles up in to the Nano estacddo
brought us to his place.
!. 'Tss getting dark when We arrived,
but discerDed the dim outline of der.
rick and windlass over what presumed
to DO the shaft Of the mine; and there
was long shed filled with barrels near
the new board house in which we were
soon comfortably installed for the even
ing.
AS my friend did not broach the sub.
ject Of his mine, concluded that he
wished to reserve il all for the next day;
and after long chat with him about old
hunk in the corner to sleep soundly.
Very early next morning, ~ early an
four o'clock, for it was still dark, n sin.
guar noise aroused me, at first thought
it was heavy wind, and that north
er" had swept down; but I missed the
bitter chill in the mir. The noise, too,
was rather regular for wind; more like
some huge Touring mill, or "smelter"
at full blast. John was up and moving
about.
"What 10 that roaring? Is the chin.
ney afire ?" demanded.
tito my mine sucking in," said he.
1T commences to suck in Mt about three
o'clock every morning. and makes just
such noise as that till after light Aud
at night it begins to 6lop of at some.
where's from six to seven, and goes till
nine or ten."
"You must have droll engine" said.
'Oh, 1t is not the engine ut ALL" said
lie. "Its the mine"
"Look here, old fellow !" exclaimed.
"What are you giving me? What
kind of mine have you got here any.
way?"
Come out and see it suck in" he re.
piled. "Its really quite sight"
l hastily rose and followed him out.
just the faintest tipge of dawn had be.
gun to show in the far east, and q seq.
ment Of old moon hung very low over
the post oaks out back of the windlass
and shed but it was still dark. The
moment we stepped outside the door the
roaring noise was increased tenfOld and
81! out to the left Of the shaft WAS what
looked to be dense cloud of the blackest
OF smoke, rising like en- immense invert.
ed cone Of ebony clean to the zenith
With sense of wonder such rs had
not experienced for years, I followed nv
friend out past the derrick for hundred
yards or more, it may be-the tremend.
GUS whirring noise getting louder each
moment-till we came to the brink of a
deep cannon, or chasm, in the limestone
strata, four or five hundred feet wide
perhaps, and Of unknown depth.
Down into this chasm the vast, black
whizzing cloud was descending-not ris.
ing-with maelstrOm. like velocity and
force which was absolutely terrific. The
same fatefui sense OF blind, overmaster.
Ing force stole on me as when, years ago,
first stood at the foot of Niagara; only
now there was the feeling Of mystery
combined with it.
What is this thing9" I shouted.
why, bats! /! Don't you see them
Bats" answered Ccou.bs. there's a
bat cave oil down under here-acres and
acres of 1t. I've sunk shaft into it
back there, and am getting oat the earth
there, which is powerfully charged with
ammonia. and as q fertilizer commands
good price. That's my mine. There's
no end of it in the cave. In places it
llea twenty feet thick. All bave to do
to it 10 to haul 1t up, shift 1t and pack it
in sacks or barrels for shipping. TIA
better than aiIver mine; no crushing
of ores, no smelling, no expensive ma.
chinery.
Meantime the plunging torrent of bats
dived downward to. the mouth of the
cave without the least intermission. or
sign of cessation. AS it grew little
lighter could begin to see them better.
The column seemed 10 come down from
the very zenith. 1t was like looking
upward into thick snowstorm. To the
uproarious whiz of their myriad wings
was added a strange squeakiDg sound.
which had wonderfully mournfui
cadence.
The velocity with which each indivld.
ual bat seemed to fall from high in the
sky into the pit beneath us, was the
most astonishing thing of all. How they
over made the turn at the bottom of the
chasm and entered the mouth of the
cave was, and Is still to me mystery.
Their descent was like the whizzing
fight of q ride ball. Hundreds. thou.
sands, shot down each second and were
sucked in, as it e.emed, at the cavern
mouth below; and yet from four o'clock
to six there was no noticeable thinning
Of the black pillar,
But as It drew toward sunrise their
numbers suddenly fell of. Struggling
clouds of them, however, continued to
coma for half nm honr 1onoer md ~ ,vh;,