Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1895-08-15

60 scribe them at any
length would require prodlgious
amount of work. Last year Prof. Mer-
Ger of the University of Pennsylvania
visited Chattanooga and spent some
time in eXcavating in Lookout, Nicka-
Jack, and other caves, in hope of find
ing the remains of extinct animals, or
at least traces of some prehistoric race.
No list Of the natural curiosities Of
Tennessee has ever been compiled, and
even the histories and descriptive
sketches of the various counties do not
mention them all That they have been
objects of interest since their existence
became known is made manifest by the
fact that in 1912 book entitled Life
As 1t Is was written by j. W. NJ.
Breazeale.
Breazeale makes no mention of Look
out Cave, and fails to mention also Car
rolls Cave, one of the most interesting
in Coffee county, not far from Tulla
homa. In Smith and Wilson counties
there are numerous extensive caves but
no mention of them is made in the book.
very beautiful cave, which is fully as
interesting as, if not more so, than the
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. The en-
trance is in the side OF a ridge about
midway between the summit and the
base, and merely a hole about five feet
| square. From the entrance is a long,
narrow slope, leading into a subter
ranean chamber, with grolned roof and
well turned arches and numbers Of
stalactites and stalagmites. Narrow
passageways connect this chamber with
a number of others. in one of which is
"Pompey's Pillar" column about
twenty feet high and two feet in dame
ter, which glitters like a cluster of gems
in the torchlight. In another chamber
is swift flowing stream, and in an
other a deep hole, from which cur
rent of air passes rapidly.
In Jefferson county, near Messy
Creek, is one of the most peculiar cav
erns in the country, the entrance being
on level plateau, and the cave itself
almost horizontal with the surface of
the country. The entrance is like the
crater of a volcano, and when the bot
tom of the shaft is reached passage
way extends q great length in an easter
ly direction. 1t has never been eX-
plored very far because of a deep stream
of water of about twenty-five feet in
width, which has hitherto barred fur
ther progress. Away in the distance
is heard the roaring of a much larger
stream, which is thought to be verita-
BILE underground river of no small di-
mansions, The general surface of the
country is level, sparsely timbered, and
with very few springs for several miles
around. However, two miles from the
cave is an enormous hole about $50 feet
long and 100 feet wide, at the bottom
of which is deep lake of clear and eX-
eeedingly cold water.
The curiosity part of the fact is that
she hole is 100 feet deep from the sur
face of the ground to the surface of
the water, and the lake has apparently
no bottom and neither inlet nor outlet.
A few miles from this lake is the site
of Swingles lead mine, where the first
settlers procured lead for bullets.
/ In Jefferson county also is Engllsha
e Mountain, in which there is blowing
cave" This cave has never been eX-
plored, because a strong current of air
rushes from it every four minutes with
sufficient force to extinguish any
e lamp or torch. Electricity has not
4 reached that locality yet. In Carter
county are caves, but without any
striking features One of them i.
known as Dead Mans Cave" becaus;
three hunters lost their way in it and
were found dead by their friends, hay
ing been overpowered by gases. M