The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-14
CATTLE MAKE a CAVE.
They Consume the Salt of Mine and
Construct Wonderful Interior.

Construct Wonderful Interior.
From the Detroit Free Press.
Speaking of caves said the thin man
with large mouth and ears that iutted
far out over his shoulders, Il seen a cave
once that beat any cave ever heard Of"
The drummer, who had himself told a
very fair cave story, or. at least, one that
he thought was very fair, nodded to the
thin man not to wait, but to go right on
with his narrative, which he did as fol-
lows:
at was in a range of mountains rising
sharp out of the level" continued the
thin man earnestly, land opened in the
face of a cliff pretty much as you may
have seen doors opening into rock spring
houses. We had camped near the place
and we fixed torches and proceeded to go
on an exploring expedition. Just before
getting to the opening, that is, about Il
quarter of mile away | noticed a couple
OF cattle going in, and thought it was
mighty strange, and we went ahead fast
to see what it meant. When we got well
inside and had our torches burning we
found the finest white roof over our heads
| ever saw, but no cattle. 1t was like
polished crystal and only about six feet
high The place spread out big very
close to the entrance, and while the roof
was white nearly everywhere the sides
were mostly rocky and brown. Running
off from the main room of the cave were
dozens of rooms or halls, and into a
mum Der of them we went for long dis
tances, finding the roof always white and
shiny and the walls dark and rocky
About mile in we ran into another big
room and in that we found two cattle we
saw come in and there were forty or fifty
more, ali of them licking away at the
walls in front, which here We're not rocky
but white. We were in a narrow place
and far enough away from the cattle not
to scare them, and we hustled out Of
there in a hurry, for we didn't want a
stampede and walkover for the
cattle. Them cattle in there
made US study awhile when we got
to a safe place, and Clipped off piece
of what l thought was white quartz and
tested it. 1t wasn't quartz, but it was
salt, and about as nice salt as ever seen.
Then we studied over that cave for some
more. BY gum, Bill said to my part
ner, this is a salt cave, and them cattle
are here for salt
"Bill was college graduate and knowed
a good deal.
= Yes SAID he, 4 knowed it. and I
know from the geological formation that
this amt natural cave, but an artificial
one, and has been licked out under this
mountain and run off into all these rooms
and halls, miles and miles of them, by
countless cattle in countless years coming
here to salt themselves. Don't you sec
that the roof is only high enough to be
out of reach of their tongues, and how
slick they have licked it, and how they've
kept going ahead where the rock don't
cut the salt out as it does at the sides of
the cave!'
"'By gum, Bill, said l, you're right :;
but how many years do you calculate it
took to do the jobl'
The thin man gazed around on his audi
tors. inquiringly.
THAT was a poser for Bill, " resumed
the thin man, land if any of you gentle
men can answer it I'll be obliged to you"
In the midst of profound silence the
drummer got up and walked out on the
platform for more air, and the thin man
waited for somebody to answer his guess
ton.