The Anaconda standard., 1890-02-14
LONDON CAVERN FOUND.
q Partial Explorsstsw of Some of she An
rient Passage wnys.


a Partial Exploration or some of the An
ctent Passage ways.
The report that AN extensive cave had
been discovered i'm London has bsrcn in
vcstigatest. says "a recent number of uie
London Herald. Al first the story was
doubted; but such wonder does exist,
and many persons have visited IL.
A gentleman who has recently explored
the cavern was interviewed at his resi-
siencc in Bayswater. After giving ~ brief
outline of his experience l,c said he would
advise no one tn attempt further eNplora-
tions without "a guide. A visit To the cave
revealed rather dismal and uninvitinH
entrance. IL was almost Impossible To
see. and very difficult tn advance until the
eyes became accustomed to the darkness.
The gentleman kindly volunteered To ac-
company the reporter. He said that the
first time he made. the descent he did not
know whether he would get back with his
neck and limbs unbroken. A friend, who
is quite y daring fellow. had penetrated
several of the ranifications, and prepared
him for of the difficulties; but the
exploration was even much worse. than he
imagined. IL was on Monday when he
made the descent. accompanied ny his
daughter and "a party Of friends from
Brighton.
young lady. when they found themselves
al the bottom of the first level. The coal
black rocks and almost undistinguisiiabie
corridors. together with the damp val,ors
of the place, sent "a chill down the spine.
However they pushed on bravely. and
after "A brief tramp came tn "a sort of rest
ing place. where they examined the
geography of some of the passagcways.
Whether il was natural cavern or built
during the early wars of England il was
,iifiicult To tell. Owing to the slari, ness il
was impossible to distinguish whether
there were any inscriptions or marks of
tools the rocks. At one place IA loud
roaring was heard. a. IL portion of the
roof were coming down. AT another time
there was a frightful, dashing, explosive
4 .far h.tI ken IIyl
and were about To- burst into the cavern.
Old stories of being swallowed up in sub
the explorers pushed on. The young lady
proved quite az brave as the men. and
when the darkness was greatest she in-
sisted ON going ahead and seeing what
the place looked like.
About half mile from the mouth of the
cavern the party were startled hy the APP
pcarauce of am Immense volume OF smoke,
which poured into the cave, and for "a
time. they were "a little frightened, fearing
something dreadful was about to happen.
A. they advanced the situation grew
worse. and when they arrived at an open,
ing. in the wallis they were haif-biindet'
On reaching daylight they found their
clothing badly soilcal. and their faces
young lady had nearly ruined her dress
Her hat was crtImDled aud covered with
dust and moisture. The party were glad
enough to get back to their home i'm Bays
water.
The reporter penetrated somewhat fur.
thcr and found the dark ness and smoke AL
most impcnctrsibic. while the vapors tha
We're sucked through the pass.tgcways by
the siraught made the air unfit for respira
ton. The gentleman. who. 10y the way, lLts
had some experience as an engineer, s;,it
that he thought that tin. cavern might b'
made Of some us. to the metropolis, IA
one of the "sights'' of the town. il propcrl.
ventilated and lighted. IL would he ab
surd. he said. tn expect visitors tn go int
such a hole for mere pleasure. After al
h..ftr ft.au- MI hat