Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-10-18
A RACE FOR LIFE.

Talking sbout hairbreasith escapes
and iookizg over ths back fence into
ssernlty. SAID the man from Kentucky,
wien tns applanss which had followed
She Arkansas drnmmers bear story had
sabsidod- Well, n dida't rarE my hair
whlEe, bat time has since. f0a al
know, he continued, that | am a Ken
tackian BY rigid Of birth, buE you ara
not ali aware that was born and reared
within mila OK this very spot IN which
We how sit such IN the fact. however.
What | an going 10 Tell yoa happened
away back ia the sixties. was lnss
grown up, a. straight and tough a. .
hickory sspLng.
We lived al ths base Of Z. considerable
hlIl which rose toward the east and
stretched ia narrow ridge onward for
mile on two. Net 200 yards from our
door old Isaac Johnson built a modest
cabin aid brought his family down froa-
Ill1nods- Dudley. their only boy. was
just ahoas nay age, although not eli
dowed with hike endurance and strength
A warm friendshap soon sprang up be-
tween Us. however, and We spent many
hours together La the woods with our
riftss.
Il Wa near tho end Of May, remern-
Der. | had been idle for some weeks.
and idiensss, you know. Iust at that sea
soa. breeds restlessness u supersbun-
dance
had often heard Of the great Nam
moth cave. few dozen miles distant,
and l became convinced that the geolog-
teal formation Of the hall in the rear OF
our home indicated that another huge
cave must surely exist under the green
turfod mound, fOr IN the valleys which
lay at is feet found numerous sink
from which gurgling brooks usually
burst, or from which the warm breath
the internal caverns hoated up like the
smoke from some mountain wigwam.
soon conhded my conjecture 20 Dud
Johnson We talked the matter over
and decided that on the following day
We would begin a series Of systematic
explorations. Tho succeeding day. which
was bright and clear. though unusually
warm, found Us setting out with all
the necessary OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
matches. a rope. etc. We had poked
around IN every crack and Granny. and
near noon. having lost all hope, was
about 20 call % bud. who had wandered
OF up into little skirt OF wood, when a
faint shout reached my ears. hurried
of ia the direction whence the voice
seemed 70 come, and was soon stand
Ing on the brink OF what appeared 10 be-
the mouth Of our much sought after
cavern
Away down in tho bowels Of the earth
i could see the yellow fare OF bud car
die and family discern his outline a. he
bent forward. peering out into the dark
ness before him. The descent 20 his po-
sition was easy. and filed with JOY was
soon beside him. The sweet dampness,
the sepulchral stiffness and the con-
stantly trickling drops that fell from the
beaded ceiling thrilled me with strange
delight. We soon scrambled down from
the precipitous ledge on which We stood
and began 10 grope forward, our candles
Pickering fitfully. as IL in danger Of be-
ing blown ont at every step.
We bad not proceeded twenty PAGES
however. in the black winged darkness
when we came upon a solid adamantine
wall barring our way and seemingly
ending our journey. However. after
looking around for some time. we de-
cided that we could pass under the OBJ
struction just over the brook, which
flowed serenely from beneath its firm.
breast. The place was very narrow,
a.. tva hal
TO get down dn our hands and knees in
the water. We didn't mind that some
how, and were soon eiated to find our
selves in an opening IA large rs If not
larger than the first chamber that we
entered. although not nearly SO high.
From this room we pressed on through
a smaller aperture. which gradually as
suIned the proportion Of n passage. dan
gerous with jutting rocks and dubious
windings.
On we hurried. following the tortu-
Gus stream that ran pure and pellucid
from the immense cave which we IA
sured ourselves must Do Just ahead.
can never forget the effect of the low.
sweet murmuring Of that little brook.
loudly audible for the very absence Of
other sounds. We found 1t terribly
warm work crawling over rough faced
rocks and squeezing through narrow
openings: consequently We every now
and then halted % rest.
cant say how long we had been
fcunderinx about IN the sand and
water-scr we stiIl held the course Of
the stream--when allow. roaring reached
our ears. A waterfall we st once sur
rnised. certain that a miniature but
beautiful Niagara wac just before us.
Gathering new energy we pushed rapid
" forward. and had gone a dozen rods
perhaps when the roar. which percep.
tshiv gathered volume. seemed % curl.
cuslY shift itself into a position imme-
diatclY overhead. but We did not sxpec,
sounds o. obey The laws ~ nature here
After travsrsing another dozen rods
CT 81 va suddenly noticed that TIE
sw brook wss running muddy aud
bore Is ffw twigs aud dead leaves ON rs
hnrryiig surface Strangely enough
we were not in the least alarmed. Tor
We thought II was merely lsndslida
ahead and concluded o. push on towsy,l
The gal II cur hopes But AZ the wsteT
grew rapidly deeper and muddier sug
s.-ta.l that We should halt moment
sud fsrciuz small stick IN the hank
inst ct tho waters edge we watched The