Smyrna times., 1896-10-21
WYAND0TTE CAVE.
A PARTIAL DESCRIPTION OF THIS
WONDERFUL "GROUND HOLE"

WONDEnFOL "GhOOND 7OLE."
Among the Many Curious Things the
Greatest Is the Pillar of the COnstitu-
tion-It Is $4,000 Years Old or Many
Thousand Times That Age.
Wyandotte cave is inferior to Nam
moth in length, and yet walk through |
its 23 miles of avenues and chambers
convinces the visitor that there is enough
and to spare. OF course he usually takes
only the three routes-12 miles-and is |
satisfied. AS is the case with all other |
caves that are i'll business, bear bears |
the credit Of discovering this natural |
wonder. 1t was in this way: In the |
early days of this state a hunter one |
day saw bear and shot but did not kill |
it. whereupon he gave chase and was in |
close pursuit, when, 10 and behold, it |
Disappeared This much puzzled the !
seasoned hunter, and he stood in amaze
ment, but finally summOning his reso- !
luton he went to the spot where the |
animal had vanished. There was large |
opening in the side of the hill. Investi- |
CATION revealed the existence of this |
vast underground possession. So much
for tradition. The same thing occurred |
with every other cave, and why not
with this?
The existence of this cave has been
known for years. As early as 1912 it
was owned by white man who gath
cred saltpeter in its chambers and made
gunpowder-a precious article in the
backwoods. The early settlers worked
the cave that way for years. going far
ther and farther from the entrance in
search Of this mineral. Finally it ceased
to be necessary or profitable to make
their own powder, and the owner of the
cave abandoned it, and the land revert
ed to the general government. In 1S49
or 1850 a man named ROthrock bought
the land and explored the cave. At that
time only four miles were known, but
by chance a small opening was noticed,
and an investigation revealed the fact
that new and greater portion had been
discovered. This unknown route was
explored, six miles more of cave came
into possession Of the owner, and it first
occurred to him that he had bonanza.
The new find brought the cave into no
tice, and subsequent discoveries have
placed it among the wonders of America.
1t was 46 years ago that Mr.. Roth
rock, then young man, commenced
acting as guide among the labyrinth of
| passageways under the hill. Now comes
one of the most interesting features of
! the cave. When he began his visits here,
he heard the drip, drip of the waters
| that never cease and saw the stalactites
| little fingers of stone which had been
made by the dripping waters. To test
I the growth Of the stone stems he mark
! ed one with the smoke of candle and
awaited results. Almost so years have
| elapsed, and he returns today to the
stone timekeCpcr and measures the
! h-thTee-sixteenths of an inch.
There are columns here seven feet high
! formed by the constant drop of water.
Only few feet from the top you pass
from the known to the prehistoric.
WyandOtte is beautiful in sediment
! formatiCr-stal&gm and stalactites
that form from floor and ceiling, grow
ing scarcely a hairbreadth in year,
but gradually lessening the distance be-
I
they meet and form columns of translu-
cent stone, beautiful and chaste i'll de-
sign, the despair Cf architects. Fancy a
chamber of imposing dimensions, the
lofty ceiling supported by these divine
ly wrought pillars, the concave walls
veneered with a coating of sparkling
diamonds, the delusive glitter of gold
and silver i'll bOundless wealth, and you
have Aladdin's cave, as rich as the ava
ricious vision of the Arabian dreamer
The new routes reveal the beauties Of
crystal, the old route presents the tu-
multuous, the grand. The passages and
chambers are rough, broken, the barren
ruggedness that turns ones thoughts to
grandeur. This route terminates in the
climax of attractions. This is the senate
chamber, and from its center, seeming
ly out Of a boiling caldron Of molten
lava that had been chilled and left i'm
movable, rises the pillar Of the consti-
tuition. 1t stands alone, the grandest
column ever erected by man or his mas
ter. Thirty feet in height, 75 feet in
circumference, with futed surface and
unbroken body, it stands in perpetual
darkness, no ray of light ever gliding
it's sparkling exterior save that from a
flickering candle.
Let us take out our notebook and cal
culate the age Of this venerable pile. The
gray bearded guide has told us that the
fragile finger of stone grew three-six-
teenths of an inch in nearly 90 years
one inch in 245 years. This pillar is 80
! sC.,
, and 40 years to one single inch. But
: then it forms from floor and ceiling, so
. that inches arc formed in that time.
According to our calculation, it has
been A, 100 years since the foundation
of this column was laid. But we have
omitted one factor. The stone finger
would have formed in that time, bat
4 this is 600 times as great in diameter.
r Our pencils and books again-but this
e is bewildering. We cannot conceive Of
q the lapse of time contained in the A, 0OC
: years. Why go on piling ages upon
ages? Who is brave enough to say that
America lacks ageH Why, compared
with this, the Rameses were but squat.
g ters upon the homestead of antiquity.
) Before leaving found small piece
\ of rock the Indians had dug from the
pillar. 1t had been 700 years since the
} redskins had made ornaments from this
. beautiful stone, and 1 carried it away
3 with me as a relic Gas ancient as an
T American can we'll stand up under) o.
3 the column whose foundation was lai(
" in the eternity Of the past, ,-Indianapo
a lis Journal.
Y Solomon was called by the Jews o
n his time the White King, from tn,
t. color Of the robes he wore. The allusiol