The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1895-07-20
Our G9lio.
Some Tennessee Caves.
Prom the Chattanooga Timc,.

gNit3niiltH ithht>~tt iit.-eit- VERY cNtch-
sivetield In all quarters of the state are
To b found caveras, gro;toes, lakes, and
otheA objects of interest. and to describe
thett At any length would require pro
iigitls amount of work. Last year Prof.
Merter, Of the University Of Pennsylvania,
visited Chattaneoga and spent some time
in eAayating in Lookout Nickajack and
othe caves. in hope Of finding the remains
of ektiuc, ANIMALS or At least traces Of
>omss prehistoric race.
N list If the natural curiositiss &c Ten
ufvsl has ever been compiled. and even
the istugies and descriptive sketches Of
the lrious counties do not mention them
all Tha, they have bccu object, of inter
ess pee their existence heSAme known l.
,sas Imauii,~g by the fact that in 1872 4
boo ntitlcd l.ife As Il l. was writ
ten } W VI BreaHeale. \ cupy uf
this ,eres,ing work Is in the possession II
l.. awake, of thi~ city
a,-sle make, Ra mention Of Lookout
cav md fail. to mention al-o CarruA :
Cav ne 81 the mts-t interesting IN t'oise
e,suitN nat FAR frum Tullahossa. In
Smit And Wilson counties there arr numer
ous Extensive caves. but ~ mcution of
thess !. made in the book
Al this Is the soaS,u when tourists in
va,le the remose plau,-, Il the earth 1t may
possibly assist ,hcm 70 Ind eut ssus.shiug
tia, Is at least novel. by describing the
II hs.g q ......
II shss-c fu,aks u nature
Near t;reeuviIle ia Gresne county. Is a
yrry bcautiful cave. which i iully a. inter
estilt. 81 II not mere ~. the mammoth
Cays It Kentucky The entrance is in
the ode Il a ndgc. ah,u, midway between
the suauait and the base. and merely a
hulc about 6ye feei SQUARE From the
ensEsncc h hng. aaTrow sloIe ieading
intr sab,errancsn chamber. with sFoiuc,l
F.~s aui weil turned srghss and number
q aahetilss and sfslagmiis~ Nrusw
tasa-euays cOnneCt this chamber Wiih a
nntf.-r 4 ogbrrs 10 ose Il which !. Pom
pew, Pillar a eslamn about ta fcet
high ASH . feet IL diameter. which giit
teTs Ike cluster of srnl> in the t,rrhhght
H. an,shes chamber i. . swifl flowing
.lrr4m and in anssher deep hnlc, trom
which current of AIT paS-ss raP'dly
In lcsien~nn county near Messy creek.
!, ope of the uiasi peculiar ravcrns in the
y0aagry the entrance being pn level
plateau and the cave its,lf alu,o-i horinon.
tai wiih the surface # the country The
entrance i Ike the crater af vulCano
aud when the ho,tosn Of the shaft + reached
q l1s,aseway extend, great length in an
ta.ieiy directi0a Il has aeyrr heen eX
pl,avd very far because of deep stream
.f water about - feet in width. which
has hitherto barred further pg,ssrer-
Away in the distance l. heari the psring
u q much larger stream, which Is thought
to h. a yeTitable underground ryer 81 no
small dluseusi0ns The general surface #
the caua,ry = level. Sparscly timbeTed.
aud with yery few spring, f,r several miles
around However. two miles frem the
cave ! an enormous hule at1uy 25O iee'
hong aud loo feci wide a, the bottom ct
which is a deep lake of clear and exceed
ingiy cald water
The e,sriszity IaFt oC the fact Is that the
hole i loo Cert deep irom the surface oi
the ground to the surface Of the water, and
the lake has apparently M bottom and
neither inlet noF outlet \ few miles from
this lake Is the site af Swingle lead mine,
where the 6rsI sestler> procured lead ioI
bullets.
In Jeifersou county also Is English :
Mountain. in which there Is a blowing
cave This cave has never been eX-
plored because a strong current Of ali
rushes from il every four minutes with a
sufficient force 10 extinguish any lamp OF
torch Electricity has nos reached that
locality yet In Carter county are caves.
bul without any striking feature. One OF
them Is known a Dead Man Cave,
because three hunters lost their way in it
and were found dead by their friends, hav-
ine been oyerpowered by gases.
In Monroe county, about q miles from
Madisonville. on Milk Silk Knobs, is a
very beautiful cave. The entrance Is in
the side of steep slope, and l. only just
large enough TO permit person TO enter.
4 narrow passage about 100 yards long
lead, into magnificent chamber about
200 feet square aud over $50 feet high.
Then there Is complete chain Of cham
bers Of enormous size, connected by low,
narrow passages. In one of these cham
bers is deposit of ochre, and from the
earth in another chamber it is said that
saltpetre was once manufactured. This
cavern also contains very large river and
millions # stalactites, from the size Of a
lead pencil To nearly a yard in diameter,
One column is nearly six feet in diameter.
In Warren county is Higginbotham :
Cave with vast chamber nearly II acres
in extent, aud there are several very beau
tiful caves in Marion county.
Some day these caves will be thoroughly
explored by scientists, and then, without
doubt, a. great deal of valuable information
viii be added to our history of Tennessee.