Evening journal., 1896-10-21
WYANDOTTE CAVE.
A PARTIAL DESCRIPTION OF 7 a
WONDERFUL" i"eRouNO HOLT .,

Among the Ma ny Curious ? oinrs Z,
Greatest Is II e Pnlar of .be copstit
tion-It Is a. 900 Year roia or Mar
Thousand Tin es That Aoe
Wyandott efcave Is inferior to Man
moth in lem ct n, aAdsyet a walk r.rougI
Its 20 miles r)f avvmes and chambe
oonyinces th visitu that tbeTe is ono,,ok /
and to spare. OF or rJurso no rsuallv AZ
only the thu zee ro ates-12 milesYand i
satisfied. IAs is the case with oll 9th,
caves tnat ire in business. a hear bea,s
the credit Of discovering tbis -.
wonder ~ was in this way: In al
ei'riy dayff Of this state a hunter onI
day saw Z bear and shot but did not Ii
1t, whe' fupon he gave chase and was II
close pursuit, when, 10 and behold. Il
dlsapI cared! This much puzzled Ill
seaso' led hunter, and he stood in amazel
mem but finally summoning his resc
lutp IN he went to the spot where I'll
am NAL had vanished. There was a iarul
op aning in the side of the hill. Invest1
g. ition revealed the existence of tbf
est underground possession. So muc3
fw tradition. The same thing occurrel
with every other cave, and why nc
with this?
The existence Of this cave has beeH
known for years. AS early as 1879 ];
was owned by a white man who GATH
eered saltpeter in its chambers and madk
igunpowder-a precious article in TIL
lbackwoods The early settlers worke
the cave that way for years, going far
ther and farther from the entrance il
search of this mineral Finally it cease
TO be necessary or profitable to MAXI
tneir own powder, and the owner Of thI
! cave abandoned it, and the land reverb
e1 to the general government. In l81I
( or 1880 a man named Rothrock bouglI
the land and explored the cave. At thai
time only four miles were known, buI
by chance "a small opening was noticed
and an investigation revealed the fac
/ that new and greater portion had beel
discovered. This unknown route wal
explored, six miles more Of cave camI
into possession of the owner, and it firaI
occurred TO him that he had a bonanzJI
The new find brought the cave into 4
tice, and subsequent discoveries hi
placed it among the wonders Of Amoril
1t was as years ago that Mr. Ro
rock, then young man, commend
acting as guide among the labyrinth
pass ageways under the hill. Now cor,
one'of the most interesting features n
tfe cave. When he began his visits herd
lle heard the drip, drip Of the water
that never cease and saw the stalactite'
little fingers of stone which had bee
made by the dripping waters. To tes|
the growth Of the stone stems he mark
ed one with the smoke Of a candle an
awaited results. Almost 90 years hav'
elapsed, and he returns today to th
stone timekeeper ard measures tn
/ growth-three-sixte of ain incl
There are columns here seven feet hig
| formed by the constant drop of water.
/ Only u few feet from the top you pas.
from the known to the prehistoric.
Wyandotte is beautiful in sedimen
Observation-Disclosures and stalactitC
that form from floor and ceiling, grow
/ ing scarcely a hairbreadth in a year
but gradually lessening the distance bo
| tween their crystal points until in tim
/ they meet and form columns of transit
/ cent stone, beautiful and chaste in de-
sign, the despair Of architects. Fancy
chamber Of imposing dimensions, th'
lofty ceiling supported by these divine
/ y wrought pillars, the concave wall
veneerod with a coating of sparklin
| diamonds, tho delusive glitter Of gol'
and silver ia boundless wealth, and yo
have Aladdin's cave, as rich as the avs
ricious vision Of tho Arabian dreamer
The new routes reveal the beauties d
crystal, the old route presents the Il
multuous, the grand. The passages al.
chambers are rough, broken, the barre
ruggedness that turns one's thoughts 4
grandeur. This route terminates in Il
climax of attractions. This is the senat
chamber, and from its center, seeming
ly out Of q boiling caldron Of molte
lava that had been chilled and left in
movable, rises the pillar Of the const
tuition. IL stands alone, the grande
column ever erected by man or his MAJ
ter. Thirty feet in height, 20 feet
circumference, with tuted surface an
unbroken body, it stands in perpetui
darkness, no ray Of light ever gildin
its sparkling exterior save that from
fiickering candle.
Let rs take ont our notebooks and ca
culate the age of this venerable pile. II
gray bearded guide has told Us that ii
fragile finger Of stone grew three-si'
teenths of an inch in nearly 90 years
ono inch in 245 years. This pillar is
feet high, 800 inches-two centuriC
and 40 years to one single inch. Br
then it forms from floor and ceiling, :
that 2 inches are formed IN that tim,
According to our calculation, it hi
been A, 100 years since the foundatio
Of this column was laid. But we hay
omitted one factor. The stone iingt
would have formed in that time, .bI
Z this is GOO times as great in diameteI
Our pencils and books again-but th|
is bewildering. We cannot conceive
the lapse of time contained in the A, 0Q
years. Why go on piling ages upd
ages? Who is brave enough to say ths