The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-16
ASLEEP FOR THIRTY SEVEN YEARS
Strange Story of Cave-bound Soldier
That Comes From Tennessee,

That Comes From Tennessee,
From the Nashville Democrat
A few days ago appeared on the register
Of Nashville hotel the name of gentle
man from Mariana, Fla. While in the
city former acquaintance, in the presence
of a reporter, asked him concerning the
famous sleeping cavern" and the answer
was so strange that the reporter took down
the whole story. 1t is believed by everybody
In that section of the state, land" said the
narrator, Il am not prepared to say it is
not true, as more than half the people in
that town saw the hero of the story"
Two miles from Mariana, a prosperous
town in Jackson county, Florida, is a
cavern, or rather number of underground
chambers and passages known as the
Limestone Cave" Many square miles of
territory adjacent is underlaid with a
cretaceous stratum which has been honey
combed by subterranean streams. How
many miles underground the ramifications
of Limestone Cave" extends, isnot known,
as because of a singular obstacle it has
never been explored more than half mile
from the opening.
On April l, 1874, a party of explorers,
consisting of two gentlemen and five ladies',
visited the cave. They followed the path
that led to a point known as ''The Spring"
where bold stream of cold, clear water
gushed forth from the rock and flowed in a
rivulet for some fifty feet. and disappeared
under mass of detached fragments oflime-
stone When the party reached the point
where the rivulet was lost, and were admir-
ing the myriad reflections of their torches
from the crystal drops of water upon the
mica shaleS which gemmed the walls and
roof of the passage, one of the gen.
temen in the party, with his cane, de-
tached jutting rock particularly brilliant
with mica spangles from what seemed the
solid wall of rock. A large mass of loosened
rock followed the fragments with a crash
which reverberated hundreds of times
throughout the cavernous depths. Then it
was an astonishing sight met the eyes of the
party, which at first rendered them motion
less with horror and fright. A hitherto
unknown chamber was seen through the
aperture, and but a few feet away, APP
parently motionleSs as the stone floor on
which it lay, was the body of a man, clad
In the habiliments of soldier, with his
musket beside him.
One Of the gentlemen recovered his pres
ence of mind and entered the chamber.
Although no outward sign of respiration
could be noted the body did not have the
appearance of being dead. The man I'M
dertook to lift the body, when he noticed
that the rightly of death was lacking. On
Delng moved all the clothing ana equipment
fell from the body. The gentleman wrapped
the body in his waterproof, dragged 1t
through the newly made aperture and left
1t in the passage beside the spring The
party then hurriedly left the cave. The
ladies' were sent to town by the vehicle
which brought them to the cave.
The two men then secured the services of
two stout negroes and re-entered the
cavern. They went directly to the spring.
10 their establishment they found that the
man supposed to be dead was lying with
half open ewes, breathing stertoriously,
while faint color tinged his cheek. Exami-
nation disclosed rapid but distinct pulsa-
non. The Mortified men carried the pheno-
menon to the open air outside the cave as
quickly as the burden would allow. They
poured brandy down his throat and carried
nm to a neighboring cabin Here they left
MIN and hurried to town.
Here the news of the discovery had pre-
coded them, and in little while every
physician in the village and half hundred
curiosity-seekers were on their way to the