Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1896-02-28
DOWN IN A CRATER.
Wonders Witnessed by q Noun
tain Explorer.
Indian LsEends ut |. famous Extinct Vol
cano In tho West = Stra1Se AMI
mails Found IN the sYbter-
ranean Cavernat

emo IL tho West : st-aYse Ant
mails Found IN tho sTbter-
.ranean Caverna
Crater mountain is one |of the UNA
tilla indians great spool depots from
ancient time, says the Btlzer City Dem
ocrat. Bucks that are bow white with
the hoary frosts of maty winters rec
cllect hanging in the trees tightly
strapped to their nursing boards, while
their mothers roamfd the forests in
search of game for the lords Of crea-
ton or wood for the tepee, and from
infancy love to relate how the great
spirit spoke to til EN- with the awful
voice of terrific tn ndcr i'll the bowels
of the earth. Maj by are the stories and
legends of Indian lore told Of Crater
mountain. One Jof the favorite ones is
told of great war between the
Shoshones and Umatillas. When the
Umatillas had conquered their foes
they proceeded to slaughter old and
young, regardless Of sex. One beautl-
full Shoshone maiden, seeing that
death was I'M vitable from her pursu-
ing foes, plunged headlong into the
burning crater, and instantly the vol
canic eruption ceased, much to the
CONSERVATION of her pursuers, who on
the following day found, on looking
down ths chasm of inky darkness, a
cesplendent light with the form OF the
Shoshone maiden in the midst of the
apparition. They told it to their dusky
warrio1 sand to this day Crater noun
tain u.s. looked upon with reverence
srom an Indian point OF view.
The following is from the diary OF j.
a: Wright: ''Crater mountain is located
some eleven miles from the Camp OF
Corhucopia, on the south side of the
rs4ge whose caps are tipped with
eternal snow. Many chas1ns and fis-
enres have in the misty past cleft the
hountains and left them in the most
fantastic shapes. Vegetation ceases to
/erow after certain height is reached,
and close under the base of one OF the
great peaks is the fam ous extinct vol
eano. Ashes and Law q are found in
great profusion and in such indescrib-
able masses that it makes the ascent
one Of peril and great difficulty. How
ever, once at the top, peek down into
the blank, fathomless abyss supplies the
naost morbid minds with all the sensa-
tionalism necessary for a lifetime. A
savorite amusement was to throw rocks
down and listen to the sounds as they
struck on the projecting sides Of the
dark chimney until the sounds died
sway, leaving nothing but for the
mystifed explorer to guess it had
reached the bottom"
Many have been the stories circu-
lated of the wonderful cavern that ex-
tended from the sides of the great
chimney. A stout cable was pr divided
and basket swung from a pulley.
I4on. Joseph, with camera and note
book, was carefully lowered some
three hundred and seventy-eight feet,
when he noticed an aperture in the
side of the chimney, and, by signals
agreed upon, halt was called in his
downward career, and he crawled
thrnngh cleft in the great chimney
and the work of exploration began.
The first sight that met his astonished
gaze was most stupendous chamber,
from whose mighty dome hung stalac-
tites Of great beatty, which were en-
hanced by the light Of the candle, and
fairly struck terror to his heart, as the
dickering candle seemed to possess the
power of some unseen hand that made
millions of the brilliant stalactites
dance in Respondent beauty. A great
snowy owl blinked at the astonished
Joseph. E.@
The explorer CROPPED his way to the
far end of the chamber, where he
thought he heard the sounds Of falling
:water-nor was he mistaken, for
squeezing himself through an opening
he found himself in another chamber
Of great beauty, with a stream of hot
sulphur water running into the earth.
The incrustation from the sulphur
water had transformed the cavern into
0 coral-like substance and left it in
such fantastic shapes. He found in the
water some lively little lizards and
some frogs that change color on the
slightest provocation and two large
rats, who eyed the explorer with GU
riosity that seemed to bode no good,
and he longed for his little gun.
HT,a New Terror for French Conv;cts.