The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-08-16
A WONDERFUL CAVERN.
Charles Dudley Warmers Description
OfLuray Cave.

Nutcu1 dOOuI GWSuCy>AV0 S00I ia W.
ameter, called Washington's column.
All the chambers and most of the OBJ
jects in the caverns have been named
and generally from their resemblance to
natural or artificial objects. From the
vestibule we enter long narrow pas
sage called the Vegetable Garden, from
its displays of vegetable forms, very
good limitations of potatoes, carrots, and
the like. We then enter the theatre, q
great audience hall, and thence to the
fish market. Here hang along the walls
as if for sale, but perfectly sweet in this
constant temperature, varieties OF fish.
almost ;he v Rfsse'yb el Ss%ed and eve" tho
wigg!e in the tail; one can iden.
and the illusion is perfected by tho
look to the objects. There is the Elm
Ramble, Enthusiastically ornamented, six
hundred feet long and three hundred in
breadth, and beyond that Pluto's
Chasm, a rift five hundred feet long, ten
broad, and seventy deep, = dive into
subterranean gloom. From this pointAre
wonders on every side. In the distance
is seen suspended in air, projected ON
the darkness, a white Spectre. We pass
on to a miniature lake, where the forma.
ton of crystals is still going
on, the Bridal Chambers,
with its delicately yelled and stalag
mites, and it's long, trailing arms of ala
baster; to the Giants Hall with columns
of Egyptian nassiveness and sculptur-
ings of Grecian fineness. And We here
pass near other objects-Diana's Bath,
Titania's Veil, and the Saracen's Tent,
the latter a perfect representation ofths
folds of a conical tent, with the ..curtains
drawn aside in front. Elsewhere il q
throne with a hanging canopy: These
objects require no aid Of the imagina-
ton to make them out. Some of the
shawls, scarts and lambrequins,ing grace
FIJI folds, and some of them with Dor
ders striped in c0IOrs. llumined by
placing candles behind them the illusion
Is beautiful.
One of the great sights is the cathe-
dral, q vast, lofty apartment with Rigsn-
tic columns and profuse roof orn amen
tatlon. At one end is the stone organ,
with its rows of regular pipes. When
these are struck they produce musical
notes. Striking them in irregular sue
cession with stick, the guide plays
"Days of Absence" without missing .
note, and lively quickstep with only
the loss of note or two. There are up
right masses of aIabaster which sound
like drums when struck. In one place
is vast fallen column fifty feet long and
fourteen feet thick. 1t once hung sus-
pended with its great c0mpanions, and
the place in the roof where it. broke Oh
is still visible. 1t has lain PROSTATE 90
many ages that a stalagmite column bas
slowly grown up from the drip ON
one end of it. Dropping near it 10 An
angels wing of alabaster Wilderness, ten
feet high and seven broad, tapering like
q wing, and finished on the surface With
feather like sculpture.
Everywhere one sees masses Of gigan-
tic glfttering columns, the Tower Of b.
tana, the double column, frozen CAS-
cade and hundred wonders. There 10
. very good imitation of All elephants
head and trunk, the long neck and head
of a camel, with the dropping lip.
Through the hollow column it is said an
ascent can be made 10 chamber sixty
feet above. Near this the eye ls ares
ted by the retreating form fan alabas-
ter lady in party toilet. Her head is
hid by the jamb Of the doorway, but
says truly visitor, the rounded shout
ders, delicate arms, shapely waist, and
long flowing skirt and train, profasely
ornamented are all there. It has been
named cinderella Leaving the Ball"
Beyond this. by the way of the Bridge
Of Signs, one comes to Skeleton Gulch
At the bottom of this, in a narrow
trench are several human bones more
or less imbedded in the calcereou s drip.
| made ont clearly an arm bone. From
they have probably lain here 200 years.
here or his object in leaving it here,
but the notion gains ground that these
are the bones of q characteristic much
heard of since the war, q fossil politi-
clan.
One of the minor curiosities in the
floor of one chamber is birds
nest containing three small white birds
eggs, pebbles rounded by the action of
water. The guide, who is q man OF
truth, swore that the nest and eggs were
found exactly as we saw them. When
he asked me if did not believe it.
told him that l believed anything he
said 80 long as was underground with
him and he was the only man present
who knew the way out.
I understood the guide to say that the
lowest point we descended in the cave
10 $50 feet below the entrance. have
nothing more to say of it except that I
believe it is the most highly ornamented,
fantastic, bewilderingly beautiful piece
of work know to man that nature has
anywhere executed unaided. But then
we know very little moro about the
t~AAkA
Dudley Warmers Lur-
~, Va, letter in Hartford Courant.