Connecticut western news., 1890-03-05

FOOT overhead. My guide told me that this was the mother of all the rivers of the world. No other person except himself knew of its existence. It flowed from the end of the north to the extreme south. It grew ever warmer and warmer. There was a time when people lived along its channel, and there were houses and cities of the dead there, and many strange things. It was full of fish without eyes, and they were good to eat. If I would help him build a raft, he would float me down this river. The old stories suid that one could go upon it for many miles. It ran down a hollow under the mountains.
 We built and equipped our raft and launched it on the most foolhardy ad- ve iture, do believe, that ever occu- pied the attention of men. We lit torches, and set them in sockets on the raft, and we were well armed. For two weeks we moved down the high archway, at 8 steady rate of only about three miles an hour. The average width of the stream was about five hundred feet, but at times it widened out to almost twice that. It swarmed with many kinds of fish, and they were very easy to secure. The rock walls and roof seemed to be of solid granite. We were below the later formations.
 As nearly as I can calculate, we were about a thousand miles from where our voyage began, and nothing had yet happened to disturb its monot- ony, when we began to find traces of ancient work and workers. An angle in the wall was hewn into a titanic figure; at another point there seemed to be regular windows, and dwelling was perched far up in the granite .dome.
 Suddenly we found t at the river was f,wing much faster, and we failed to check our raft. We went over waterfall, perhaps seventy feet high, and were thrown on shelf of rock at the side of the river below. was unhurt, but my companion was SO badly injured that he died in few hours. I repaired the raft after fashion, and continued the voyage, find scale the sides of the waterfall and at- tempt return. All our torches were lost, and the attempt to proceed fur ther seemed but the last act of despair. A few hours later, raw light gleam over the river in 8 very remarkable way, shining clear across, as if from the headlight of a locomotive high up on the wall. This aroused me some what from my stupor and misery. I sat up on the raft and stecred it close to the edge of the river to see what wonderful thing had happened.
 As came nearer, I saw that an ir- regular hole was in the wall thousand feet above the water, and the light shone out through it. It was cheer full thing to look at, and I hung to the granite and shouted, but to no effect. Then saw broken place in the wall little further down, and let the raft drift along to the base of a broad though much worn and broken flight of steps winding up the cliff. That brought me at last to the place of the light, domed hall overlooking the river, hewn out of the rock, and hav- ing in its centre metal baisin with jet of natural gas. l have had to cut off + art of this metal basin since, but 1 have not harmed the inscriptions. There are many gas-jets, but ir the other chambers l have had to light them.
 have lived here for months, and l have explored all the chambers of the place. There is no escape. so far as can see. The river, twenty miles be- low, plunges down vaster descents, and the water gets so hot that should be boiled alive if | tried the voyage. l have discovered log of tropic wood like palm, and geode in which can send a message to the world of sum- light. Perhaps this will get through the fires and float to the surface some where. I am convinced that the river which brought me here flows on into the Gulf of Mexico, and that, sooner or later, my log will be picked up., Perhaps this river is really the source | of the Gulf Stream. From a sort of a map, painted on one of the walls, 1 obtain the idea of many and thickly populated communities which used this place as the sepulchre of their chosen few.
 Evidently that was before volcanic outbursts made the channel of the river Ike caldron boiling over endless fires. All along the course are towns marked, groups of rock-hewn rooms on the cliffs, populated islands on the river, promontories from whose sides foun- tains of light seem 10 spring. Did thousands of people once live and find happiness in these vast vaults of death? ? Things must have been very different then from now. They must have had many reservoirs of natural gas. The animal life in the river must have been much more varied. Indeed, there are pictures in the Hall of War, as I have named it, that show two things plainly that there were thousands Cf caverns, extending over hundreds of miles, and peopleds by animals with which the heroes fought; and that the river was swarming with existence.
 I have tried to put together all can of their picture-writings and paintings, so as to understand what sort of men and women they were. confess that have learned to admire them greatl 7. They were strong, brave, loving and beautiful people. am sorry they are all gone. never cared half so much about the dead Etruscans or Carthagin- ians. The earliest chapter in their history, so far as discover, is a pie ture of line of men and women de- scending into cave, and dragon pursuing them. This seems to point to former residence on the face of the earth, and to some disaster-war, flood, Restilence or some fierce mon ster-Which drove the survivors into
 the depths of the earth for shelter.
 But all these thoughts are vain and