Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-07-02

| runs 10 tue nOrIneIn DdSe vi tuo
mountain, and has formed sub
teraneOus passway under the noun
tain, and bursts ont in a large
spring in the gap. Near the east
ern termination of the gap, nature
has formed natural dam Of solid
rock, quite across the cavity, TWEEN
ty.fve or thirty feet high. BY the
aid of this dam, Messrs. Harness
and Turley convey the water to
their iron works on Patterson'S
Crrek.
"A LARGE CAVE IN BERKELEY
COUNTY.
Near the mouth of the Opequon
in the county of Berkeley, exists
large cave. In the year 1913, a
man named -, called IN the
evening at old Mrs. Furnman's,
staid till next morning, and after
breakfast, told the old lady no
would 60 into the cave and examine
it. in order to ascertain whether he
conld or not obtain Saltpetre clay.
for the making Of powder. The
old lady furnished him with can
dies, and he left her house alone,
promising to return in the evening.
lie entered the cave, and was not
seen or heard of that day. The
second day passed over, and no
tidings were heard of him. The
old lady grew uneasy, apprehend-
ing he had lost himself in the cave,
and would perhaps perish. The
third day his absence continued,
and the old lady proposed to two
of her grown sons and another
young man who happened to be at
her house, to 90 in search of him.
They at first objected, suggesting it
was probable he had gone down
the Potomac in some Of the trad
ing boats to Georgetown. She
declared if they would not 20, she
would herself 60 and make the
search. The young men then
agreed TO go, furnished themselves
with sufficient lights, and forthwith
proceeded to make search. They
| had not proceeded far into the
cave before they found the poor
fellows hat, which satisfied them
that he was in the cave. They
continued the search, and at length
found him in a most perilous and
distressed condition. lie stated to
them, that he had not proceeded
far into the cave before his candle
by accident became extlnguished,
and he was left in more than
"Egyptian darkness The second
day he became distressed with
thirst, hut could find no water lie
continued scrambling in the cave,
/ in the hope of getting out, but
instead of finding the entrance,
got farther from it. At length he
heard the dropping of water, and
groping his way, he found the
water was dropping into deep
cavern. He cOntrived to get into
the cavity, and after reaching the
bottom, the only chance he had TO
pet the water into his mouth, was
bv LAYING himself down on his back,
and letting the water drop into II.
But after his thirst was assuaged,
he could not get out of this sink,
and he had given ont all hope OF
relief. and reconciled himself 70
his fate-expectIng to die in very
little time.
The young men, in searching tor
him, frequently called aloud he
could hear them, but was so ex
hausted and weakened, that lac
could not make himself heard by
them until they approached very
near his place of secluslon. They
succeeded in raising him ont of his
confinement +; he soon recovered
his strength, and lived some fifteen
or eighteen years after this perllou'
experiment.
There is an amusing tradition
related in connection with tins
cavern. An old German, by th'
name of Bidinger, had acertalnet
= that by buildinga a fire in the moutl
of the cave, the smoke would as
cend and pass ont at a small
aperture in the rocks on the top o
the hill, about three hundred yard
from the entrance. This shrewd ole
i, man persuaded several young mel
that he could raise old Nick out o
the cave, and invited them in tn
morning to go 10 with him, and SCI
2 his experiment. lie directed
negro man to 90 to the mouth o
. the cave and raise a large PINE
fire. The old gentleman had ascer
tained about what time it woul'
take for the smoke to show at tn
top of the hill; they assemble'
near the aperture, and he engaged
in many incantations and juggling
whilst watching for the smoke t.
appear The young men waite'
; with trepidation and fear. Whel
the smoke burst out, the old maj
. exclaimed "See, there he comes
. see his smOkel'' 1t was enough 70
=, the young men; they saw tn
DEVILS smoke, and precipitatel.
- took to flight, leaving the oil
gentleman to make the best term
= that he could with his satanic ma
p esty.
: There is most extraordinar