The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-10-02

Remarkable Formations to Visitors.
Correspondence San Francisco Chronicle.
Since its discovery, about year and a
half ago, numberless articles on the mar
vellous cavern in Calaveras county have
been published, but as half the accounts
were penned before the cave had been
completely explored, and the remainder ex-
patiate far more upon the nature of the
surrounding country than on the subterra-
mean wonders, these latter were left almost
entirely to the more or less profound
depth of the readers Imagination. 1t is
to be hoped that the following article may
induce some few lovers of natures wonders
to visit the cavern, and that the universal
praise which will undoubtedly follow more
general familiarity with its mysterious
depths may raise it to the rank it certainly
deserves among the greatest natural curios-
tiles of California, After walk Of about
half an hour over the hill at whose foot
nestles the little country town of Murphy's
Camp, we reach the entrance of the cavern,
which is not, as may be supposed, in the
side of the hill, but directly at our feet
And it may here be mentioned that the
whole cave tends downward in one precip-
itous descent. 1t is, so to speak, an i'm
mense staircase in which the dozen cham
bers simply take the place of landings on
our downward journey, and are connected
with each other by most dangerous pas
sages, which were formerly absolutely i'm
IL lodi
And the chambers and passages are not
hewn out of the solid rock, being simply
immense clefts or spaces left beneath the
titanic boulders as they fell laundering
upon each other when torn from the noun
tain side by some frightful convulsion in
the dim ages of distant past. Descending
between immense boulders by means of
three almost perpendicular flights of steep
stairs, comprising in all some fifty feet,
we enter the first chamber-one of the
largest of all. At the foot of the stairs
yawns dark cavity, through which a
steep slide of yielding earth leads down
into the gathered gloom. The dismal
depths to which it gives entry are never
visited save by a very few adventurous
souls and lovers of the mysterious, From
the diary of young explorer 1 excerpt the
following description almost word for word :
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
Sliding down the earth with Mercer, the
proprietor of the cave, l found myself in
great chamber, whose dimensions must
have been fully 100x50 feet. At its fur
ther end we climbed over immense boulders
until | reached very small hole in the
wall, and on looking down this 1 could see
an immense cleft, stretching far down until
lost to sight in darkness, Squeezing
through this feet first and sliding down the
steep ledge at an angle of about thirty-6ve
degrees, to the great detriment of my wear
ing apparel, could look over the edge of
the ledge where it dropped off precipitately
into vault of great size, whose limits l
could not reach with my candies dim light.
This vault communicates with the first
chamber in the main cave at the eastern
end. was now some sixty feet down the
ledge, and, gazing down the ledge below my
feet, l could see what appeared to be the
termination of the cleft. To make certain,
| threw down several stones, and my hair
rose, as on reaching what supposed to be
the limit of the ledge to which was cling
ing, they continued to echo until lost to
hearing in the black depths beneath me.
| noticed, for the first time, that my candle
was but about half an inch long and was
commencing to burn my fingers, so started
to return. had to make most of my as
cent by resting my feet ON any projection
the steep ledge offered, and by pressing
against the ceiling with my hands and
shoulders, and at length, after sixty feet of
this laborious climbing, reached what /
supposed to be the same place whence l had
made my entry; but imagine my chagrin
when discovered that / had climbed too
far to the right or left, forget which, and
that the only means of exit was narrow
slit, scarcely nine inches across. Mercer
and his brother-in-law broke off a few
pieces of rock, thus enlarging the opening
by about an inch, and at length, by dint Of
prodigious amount of squeezing and
straining, l was extricated in an exceedingly
muddy condition. But l was repaid for
my exertions those hollow depths are so
dreadfully and delightfully."- gloomy.
THE FIRST CHAMBER.
But let us return to the first chamber.
It is about 300 feet long, 60 wide, and
stretches off toward the east in darkness
and gloom. The roof for many feet be-
yond the entrance is hung with immense
pendants of gloomy moss, which suddenly
give way to beautiful stalactites of the
most curious forms, some of which will
attract the eye at once from their extraor-
binary likeness to familiar objects They
vary from tiny needles, but just born to
masses like one vast Triton among the
minnows, which depends from the roof to
the right of the fourth flight of stairs,
which is about two feet in diameter by
eight long. But the southern wall is es-
pecially beautiful, nearly its whole length
being adorned with formations Of the most
diverse character, varying from thick,
massive rolls, which flash as if studded
with diamonds. to thin. Wino-like curtains