The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-18
RS 4 NATURAL WONDER.
.r CAVERNS DISCOVERE ,
xz5R SAN ANTONIO, TEX.

o.centiv-White Bats and Strange
creatures.
From, the 81 Louis Republic.
AxToNIo, TEX, July S.-One of the
.,.t underground wonders of the world
I'm discovered in Kendall county,
miles northwest of San Antonio. 1t
immense cave with a subterranean
lin it. and has just been partly ex-
n.,,,,ors Of a wonderful cave had been
-, around for several weeks r. W.
-lrays general passenger agent OF the
A,+onio and Arkansas Pass railway,
.-,,r, went up in person TO see about it. He
- ,,nprssseJ that he Immediately or
.i,sd An exploring party, consisting Of
,.4lf the Republic correspondent,
4, Nonson If the San Francisco E.c-
,,.sr A. Brock, our photographer, DIR.
,rry Bgrnitz Of Boerne and Capt. Frank
,,o, Of tbs Texas Volunteer Guards. the
,vo being safeguards against accidents
M attacks OF hidden foes.
he purity went out to Boerne Saturday
;,s, and WISH to pause right here to re-
80. that this town and surroundings are
o-Io1 ,lrprise to a northern man. IL is
800 than 400 feet above the sea, nestles
e. a valley that stretches away to the north
nd vest ike the floor of some vast amphi-
,ssctsr covered with an azure frescoed
4 mo and the hills, in shape and range like
i,.p,eflre Alus, seem as if intended by the
c-,,+ a-ch Ceet o. this earthly taberna-
e'.r As = &C ronet Of beauty on the brow of
fauge.r studded with emeralds, and
ne atmosphere is SO clear and pure
t1er one feels while drinking in great
drauyhts Of breath that throbbing Jingle of
Hfe the Young debutante experiences in
opaffipg her first glass of champagne. |
Tevqr felt such clinnate-so full of buoy
ancy, so full of invigorating purity. l
nscertained that lung, throat and nose
| troubles are things unknown, and that any
! one coming here in advanced stages I'M
rroves. As to the temperature, it was de-
| Irhtful and as C Id as the lake regions Of
| Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The entrance to the cave is a huge OPEN
ing in the hill about fifty feet from the level
Of the valley, and is about 35x40 feet. 1t
presents q most magnificent spectacle, and
inspires q feeling of awe when you stand
and gaze in until your eyes seem to look
away into the secret recesses of the earth
and rest on a wall of solid darkness. The
great, vaulted ceiling of the entrance gilt
tiers with millions of fossil gems and drops
of water that cluster on each stalactite, and
the afternoon sun, as it filings pencils of
light on vesribules, arches, miniature domes
and architraves, makes the roof and walls
Of the cave sparkle with the respIendent
glory Of a million diamonds.
The entrance is almost parallel with the
cave for about 500 feet. just below the
roof on either side about fifty feet inside
are two great shelves, like abutments made
for the end of some vast arch. Then the
roof gradually descends as the cave goes in
until the vault comes down to within six or
seven feet Of the floor. The floor is dry for
about 800 feet, when we came TO a stream
Of water. 1t looked like river of ink, as
It's dark surface could hardly be seen by the
dim torchlight. When first discovered the
stream IS disappearing beneath the south
wall OF the cave. The floor suddenly dips
down there and the mountain seems to have
Lifted itself W as if to let the river pass
beneath II, and it does and is lost. But it
can be followed up and back through
the earth. For about $50 feet it
flows along in a narrow. deep channel
against the south well, leaving dry floor
elevated about three feet to tho north.
Tten the river widens and soon occupies all
the bottom of the cave, and it can only be
boat.
To reach this point we had Travelled about
$40 feet, first east, then southeast, then east
again, then northwest. Here the river takes
possession, and we had to build our raft
After a great deal of work and much IN
christian talk over mashed fingers the raft
vas completed. Now for the first launching
under ground ever experienced, perhaps, in
the world.
Away we haul! Altogether! Steady!
Here we gol Look out therel Catch her
There she floats"
Oar raft was at last launched, and we
then found that she would not hold one
man.
Some more remarks not in harmony with
the Sabbath, and THEY'VE stopped to think
In the meantime, | and Mr.. Brock, our
photo grapher, prepared to make the came
ras reveal the splendors and grandeur no
torch could ever show us. We set our
cameras and fired magnetism powder flash
hghts, and such picture as ravished our
eyes when that white light flashed. Over
there, just where the river made a bend to
the southwest, as if to avoid q dark chasm
was group OF gigantic stalactites, reach
lug from the roof almost to the water. The
whole interior OF the cave showed vaults,
comes, architraves and recesses, in each of
which hung the most fantastic and re-
splendent stalactites imaginable. And
those myrlds of drops OF water, each ready
ttofall. but never falling, made it appear as
II we had discovered liking Solomon's
Mines. =" Eye never beheld o more mag
nlllcent spectacle, and yet it was such as to
1nodue every vulgar and profane feeling.
we felt as if in the very presence of the ON
Impotence and omniscience, for only be-
ing OF All-powerful mind and one who has
hou
WORK There was no more profanity.
BUT what was to be done? Clearly not TO
give 1t up. No. Off went our clothes and
- lew minutes there was seen party of
Sauen-clad figures, with kerosene torches,
uounderlng In very cold water up to their
waists 1t was a weird and solemn sight to
zee them disappear around point in the
fave fave several hundred feet away, and as the
,ights were swallowed up by the darkness,
" \. see the parties melt away like specters
t ~ seemed as If Pharos had come, minus his
o1A'' ana taken all our friends up instead
VI across the Styx. And those who re-
Ialned were left In Aohaian darkness,
Aud hush like death fell on US. as the
'olces OF the explorers merged into loud
I Suu re-echolng roar, then into a subdued
n1h and then died away into silence. It
was awful.
D., ana then we lighted bull's-eye lantern
sir neep ourselves company aud to see what
i I,uly things we kept touching. They were
hue hue water puppies, name we gave to the
W. rny, oiack, shiny, alligator-looking reptiles
puppies "-'0 anu
,.. Ltney are jet black. with eyes like beads of
ION ION, Dooy aud eyes to harmonic with the
n Dsernal darkness in which thev dwell. They
s s1ser get out to the light. They have five
ioo IN oh each foot and are web-footed. Each