Daily Republican., 1886-09-01

Is"pPsL ~ tho roeioence or Mr.. Earnest
Schaeffer. In that town. We accepted
the invitation, and greatly enjoyed the
noepitapie banquet given by that
worthy ciuzen and his accomplished
wife. After spending very plessan
evenipg We weuded our way hack ~
the hotel, where we enjoyed oood
fnight's rest. and next morning we're
fully prepared to take in other won
iders.
! On Monday, August 10th, 1 saw old
Captain Chipps, the head chief of ali
the Digger Indians In that locality. He
10 very old man, but pretty imart
yet. | also became acquainted with au
old 49er named Robert Daley; be
served during the Mexican war and
was q captain during the rebellion. He
Towns splendid mine, and he gave me
a fine specimen OF gold. I visited
several gold mines aud aaw the men
and -mills ut work. Mr.. L. b. Christ
took me In the morning and showed me
Everything that was interesting about
mining. He gave me some very fiue
specimens Of gold bearing quartz from
his .own mine, which he has named
after bis nephew. "E Idle DsWalt." He
also gave me q tarrantuler nest, which
/ prize very highly. / hope that may
the best aud kindest men l ever met: /
shall never forget him as long as memory
lasts.
Mr.. Curtis, another old Forty liner.
took me arouad In the afternoon and
showed me the great Calaverss quartz
mines and several others; he also gave
me some very fne specimens. / visited
the "Mercer Calaveras Cave" which is
one Of the greatest curiosities in the
land. 1t is situated about one mile
from Murphy's, and was discovered oy
w. j. Mercer, by accident, Sep.embe
lst, 1886. He was prospecting for gold
and having sit dowr to rest on rock
he found that there WAS stropg draft
OF air coming from some quarter. He
l commenced search to ascertain where
1t came from, and found that the rock
on which he WAS sitting WAS hollow un.
derne cath.
By hard work be eu ,ceeded in remoy-
| ing one OF the rooks, and discovered an
entrance down into the earth. After
procuring a rope, he let him sc If down,
and found that 1t led TO - cave, but he
kept the discovery q secret until he
could investigate 1t further, when he
came 70 the conclusion that as it was
very interesting, there would be money
In 1t for him by fixing it up, 30 that he
could lake tourists and 9th 9rs into it
without danger. Tha cave IL 100 feet
deep, and he has pui in twenty lad ders,
averaging fifteen steps each, with p a.
| forms at different points, to allow
visitors the opportunity of stopping TO
view its many beauties
In passing through the different
cham bers saw many that were very
beautiful and life like, which have been
formed by the constant dripping of lime
water during many years. The first Is
called the Gothic Chamber" and In it
Is what he calls "The Piano" and
although 1t may seem strange 1t is o
fact that by humping Oh IL with the
fingers 1t makes beautiful music, and is
said TO have every note of the insiru-
msnt from which IL takes Its name.
There is also a formation called 1.-THE
Twins" they are about four feet high,
and have very life.like appeaIano,.
There is scme OF the handsomest dra-
perry in this chamber that ever saw,
and also the Diamond Cascade" while
of 10 the right stands the "Giant Pill
lar" There Ia also an Immense "Demi-
John," which is nearly perfect in shape,
and on the top OF which Mr.. Mercer has
placed glass. When he discovered the
e"No bhoiS " no q vi WdltT
alongside OF the "Dsmljohn," which
has since dried up. Tots chamber lie
300 feet long, go feet wide, and IS feet
Ligh. and while in some places 1t is
weird and wild, In others 1t Ia just as
handsome as 1t Is possible for anything
10 be.
The second chamber is o4llei HTbe
, Organ I,ofr," and in IL are tne '.Augei's
Wings" feet lOng, ,one-h hab inch taics
and colored red and white They guard
the entrance and are very handsome;
there Is q plenty of beautiful coral In
this room. Next comes the "Bear's
Dem which derives its name from the
/ fact that he found the bones Of an im-
/ nense bear in 1t. There Is also sh in
| this chamber perfectly formed, even to
the eyes. Then GENES the Flower
Garden" which has some of the ncst
beautiful flowers imaginable, and jus,
as delicate as though they were the ma
tural article.
The fourth chamber is called the
chapel, and 10 1t are some very hand
some curtains aud other drapery
There is also what is termed "The
Milk Pan," and 1t Ia fair representa-
tion; the milk in 1t LOOKS good enough
to drink. but 1t, like everything else in
this wonderful place, Is as bard as
| flint, The next Is "Fbe Grotto," and
as soon as you enter 1t you can feel q
current OF air pouring through from
some quarter. Mr.. Mercer is of the
opinion that there is another cave con
Dected with this and hs intends TO
make an effort TO find il. From here
ION pass into the Cay Jstai Chamber"
which has many forma,ioLs OF bsauti-
fol crystals.
The seventh chamber is flied with
wonders, and the eighth is known at
The Devirs Canon. The most of this
apartment is surrounded by very rough
and unsven places, still IL 10 graf d, and
II tue devil had anything TO do with
making it think he must have fully
unders TODD just what his sn 81 scts would
like to look at. He has, however, left
something there which cannot fail to
remind visitors of his majesty, which
is an everlasting smell OF brinstone,
and think 1t would bs good place to
start a match factory on large scale.
Still it might be necessary to get some
Thomas u. TO inc uce :he government to
restore the stamp act and create another
monopoly, I'D without such protection
~ would probably prove failure.
From the "Devil's Den" you start up,
and pass through some Of the most
beautiful scenery you would wish to-
ereas Snow Bankh" and the "Bridal
Veil Falls" both Of which are magnif-
cent. There ID dangling from the CELL
Ing spotltss 30 white sheet, six (, ct long,
Two feet wide and One-haf an inch
thick, which Is beautiful to behold
pom entering the cave every one is
| furnished with suit of clothes sn that