Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-10-21
MANITOU'S CAyERNs.

! BoneS-POStOffices in the Rocks.
| Manitou is the most delightful spot to
be found in the Rockies, writes a CORES
pondent of the the Philadelphia Times, a
| little village of hotels and boarding
houses, arranged along a canyon that
/ leads up into the great rayine bringing
one to Pixies peak, and after that over
maze of peaks and ranges interminable
IN their extent and variety. Down the
center of the village flows the Fountaine-
qui-Bouille, in the spring formed by the
melted SHOWS of the Rockies and added
| to by the wealth of springs soda, iron
and others-that are the boast of Mani
tou. Here, environed by the great noun
! tains, is the former cottage of Grace
! Greenwood; over yonder the remains of
"Briarhurst," where Thomas Moran's
picture of the Mountain of the Holy
Cross" was exhibited to visitors, while
not far away is the cottage where III. H."
did much of her work, and her last rest
ing place on the old Cheyenne mountain
may be seen from the canyon.
The attractions of Manitou are not few
Five thousand people have already as
cended Pixies peak this season. 1t can
be assembled in a day, and gives one an
elevation of something like fourteen
thousand feet: or imagine another Mount
Washington piled on top of the present
one and hill two hundred feet high on
that and you have. it. Hundreds of square
miles, in fact an unlimited view of the
country is obtained. The sunrise and
the grave of Mai. O'Brien's daughter are
the attractions, not to speak of the
pleasures of wading through a snowbank
in August.
nT1'S faT 1S IN O-4
under a monument of stone, upon which
is inscribed: Sacred to the memory of
the daughter of Maj. O'Brien, who was
killed by mountain rats" etc. Nine per-
sons out of ten behave in this yarn, and
much sympathy is expressed by the ten
| der hearted who are victims of q Rocky
mountain joker of no mean order Of mer-
| it:the mountain rats as we'll as the daugh-
! ter, are a myth. Besides the peak
there are various canyons to visit, the
garden OF the gods, described in a form
er paper, and finally the caves that
abound in all the natural regalia that ma
ture generally provides in such cases.
There are two distinct caves both having
features equally interesting, and [ should
Judge from the rock formation that
much of the adjacent country is under
mined with caves similar to the caves
here
What is called the grand cavern or cav
erns is about One-and One-half miles from
Manitou, directly up the Ute pass a
road worn and cut out of the rock. that
winds up into the Rockies, over which
the Utes were accustomed to pass in the
old times of thirty years ago. In pros
pecting among the lodges about a thous-
and feet above the pass the present own
er G. W. Snider, discovered a small OPP
ening, and by working at it soon found
himself in the large hall that is the COM
mencement of series of rooms and tun-
nels that now constitute one of the won
ders of the country.
A little tent has been pitched at the
entrance and a fine carriage road made,
winding up to within few steps of it,
and here Mr.. Snider collects a dollar,
provides each visitor with a lamp and the
party with two guides. Standing at the |
entrance one doubts which is the most at !
tract1ve, the cave or the view, the latter |
being from this point particularly fine. !
PiBe's peak is directly opposite, while all
about cluster other SUBMITS of more or
less grandeur, and the fact tfrat the cave
is about eight thousand feet up on the
brow of mountain adds much to the in
tereSt.
The cave is similar in its structure and
formation to Mammoth, Luray and
Howes', though on much smaller scale.
The stalacties are, however, much finer
than those of Howes' cave. The Manitou
caverns, moreover, are dryer and partic
ularly adapted for nervous people, there
being nc extremely dangerous places.
The relic-hunting American was a
Init in this and not q
stalactite within reach but was wrenched
in the cause of relics. The choice speci- |
mems, however, were all protected by wire
cages.
The first one of these that appeared
like the cage of some animal in the Zoo,
and one of ladies asked what it was.
"That's is a stalactite," replied the
guide.
at won't get out, will it?" questioned
the lady, falling back, already little
nervous with the weirdness of the place.
mo, ma'am, it will not" replied the
long -suffering attendant.
All along the path numerous stalactites
and stalagmites were seen but perfectly
tame and Harmless, confined by the4wire
netting and safe from the hands of van
dals. On right were lot of bones, also
prote cted by wire, said to be those of a
bear, but they were fox and wildcat bones
and probably those of some other animal
that had crawled in the cave to die. If
Mr.. Snider had the energy and enter
prise that characterizes the real Yankee
Snowman he would get human skeleton
manacle it with rusty chains and fasten
it to the wall. This would be stroke of
genius.
From this interesting walk we
enter Stalactite hall, where many strange
forms have been modelled by nature.
Here is deer's head seemingly in white
marble, the antlers almost perfect, birds,
trees, human faces, and a hunded and one
fanciful shapes worthy of attention.
Passing on the rotunda is reached, where
some fine stalactites reach down to the
floor, forming pillars. Near here is a
large room sixty feet high, called very
appropriately the opera-house, having a
parquet and two tiars of galleries all
around. Further along is natural or
gan or set of chimes. This is by far tho |
best in the country and in this respect
the Manitou cavern is ahead of all others.
The chimes are set of stalactite forma-
tions connected in the wall, forming a