The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1896-04-21
LOoI lN 4 NANe.
The Dreadful Fate of Man In the Blue
Ridge Mountains.


Ridge Mountains.
Four or five drummers for New
York houses were seated in the
smoking compartment of Pullman
on train homeward bound, and as
might naturally be expected they
were swapping experiences.
1t is not necessary to state here
that affidavits did not accompany
the remarks of the travellers.
by George" said a solemn look
ing party representing a big dry
goods firm, Il had an experience
down in Virginia four weeks ago
that I hope will never be repeated.
What was it?" asked a nattily
attired shirt and collar man. For
get your private supply when you
struck local option county?"
The solemn looking party paid no
| attention to the slanderous insinua-
| ton.
Il Sundayed, =" he said, Sin a town
at the foot of the Blue Ridge, and
young man there asked me to go
with him TO a cave in the mountains,
which had been discovered only a
few days before, for the purpose of
exploring it. AS there wasn't any
thing else to do l accepted the invi-
tation, and provided with lamps,
compasses and other exploring para
phernalia we drove out to the place,
| about three miles from the town.
We picked upa country jay near the
cave and took him along with us, as
he told us he had made two or three
trips in during the last three OF four
days and had pretty good idea of
what it was like for half mile or
SO. We went in in good shape and
got along fairly well until we were
in a mile, when it became rougher,
and at last, after a tight squeeze
through the only opening in the
main hall, we emerged into the
grandest auditorium to be found
anywhere in these United States,
I'll wager money. 1t was 100 feet
to the dome, 200 feet across, and
then all about it, as if support
ing the dome, were hundreds of
pure white columns twisted into
perfect cOnvolutions as if by ma
chinery. The whole vast space was
a glittering area of whiteness, which
caught the light of our lamps and
reflected it back in myriads of rays,
making the most splendid scene l
have ever witnessed.
"We stood spellbound for many
minutes, then began to move about,
going in and out among the pillars,
as if in forest. have no idea how
far they extended, for, after some
time, l looked about for my CON-
panions, and they were gone. l was
scared in minute and began to
shout, but received no answer. Then
tried to find my way out. Half an
hour later / stumbled on our guide,
worse scared than / was, and he had
done what the rest of us had-got
lost in admiration of the beauty of
the place and wandered away reck-
| lessly. We shouted ourselves hoarse
for the third man, but got no re-
sponse, and then began to look for
a way out. Luck is with some peo-
pie sometimes, and as it happened
we found the entrance and hurried
out for help. Three hours later we
had 30 mon IN there searching, and
they kept it up for "a hours without
finding orr man. Neither did we
find him at the end Of As hours. And
what a dreadful time the poor fellow
had He wandered around in the
silent darkness for l don't know
how long. The bats covered him
and clawed him. He fell over a prec-
ipioe into a pit of freezing water.
Driven by hunger, on the third day
he ate bats raw whenever he could
catch them. He bruised and tore
himself ON the sharp rock. He
screamed for help and fougAt the
white pillars as If they had beon
ghosts pursuing him and finally be-
camo raving maniac. 1t was hor-
rible, horrible, and the worst of it
all was that we never found him."
The listeners were so unnerved by
the dreadful recital that for a mo-
ment no one spoke. Then the shirt |
and collar man gave an uneasy
cough, which made everybody jump
nervously.
WELL" he said, giving himself a
shake, "how in thunder did you
know what happened to him if you
never found him?"
This timely inquiry relieved the
pressure at once and vote was'im-
mediately taken that the solemn
looking party pay for tho drinks