The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1896-12-23
WYANDOTTE CAVE.
a PARTIAL DESCRIPTION OF THIS
WONDERFUL "GRCuND HOLE"

tton-It Is $4,000 Years Old or Many =
Thousand Times That Age.
Wyandotto cave is inferior to Nam. q
moth in length, and yet walk through c
its 20 miles Of avenues and chambers {
conv!nces the visitor that there is enough t
and to spare. OF course he usually takes |
only the three routes-12 mlles-and IS
satisfied. As is the case with all other ,
caves that are in business, bear bears
the credit of discovering this natural
wonder. 1t was in this way: In the
early days Of this state q hunter one
day saw bear and shot but did not kill
it. whereupon he gave chase and was III
close pursuit, whom, 10 and behold, 1t
disappeared! This much puzzled the
seasoned hunter, and he stood in amaze
meut, 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. Inyestl-
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 1917 1t
was owned by white man who gath
erod saltpeter in its chambers aud mado
gunpowdcr-a precious article i'll tho
backwooas. The early settlers worked
the cayo that way for years, going far
thcr 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 tho
cave abandoned it, and the land revert
cd To the general government In lS49
or 1850 a man named Rothrock bought
the land and explored the cave. AT that
time only four miles were known, but
by chance q small opening was noticed,
and all investigation revealed tho fact
that new ard greater portion had been
discovered. This unknown route was
explored, six miles more OF cave came
into possession of the owner, ard 1t 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 q
passageways under the hill. Now comes
ono of the most interesting features O
, the cave. When he began his visits here
he heard the drip, drip Of the water
that never cease and saw the stalactlte
little fingers Of stone which had boe7
made by the dripping waters TO tes
Q the growth Of the stone stems ne mark
;, ed one with the smoke Of a candle an
awaited results. Almost 80 years hav
t elapsed, and be returns today to tn
q stone timekeeper and measures tn
erowth-three-six Of an incl
There are enlumns here seven feet hlg
y. formed BIZ the constant drop OF water
- Only few feet from the top you pa'
J. from the known to the prehistoric.
n Wyandotte is beautiful in sedimel
Observation-Disclosures and stalactit'
that form from floor and ceiling, grow
ING scarcely hairbreadth in yea
lg but gradually lessening the distance b
ID tween their crystal points until III TN
IN they meet aud form columns OF transl
20 cent stone, beautiful and chaste III d
y. . sign, the despair of architects. Fancy
~" ~, chamber Of imposing dimensions, t
" lofty ceiling supported by these dlyir
No " wrought pillars, the concave wa
9, yeneered with coating of sparkli
re diamonds, the delusive glitter OF &c
ed and silver in boundless wealth, and y
nd have Aladdin's cave, as rion as the az
ricious vision Of the Arabian dreamer
:. The new routes reveal the beauties
~ crystal, the old route presents the
10 multuous, the grand. The passages a
Oh chambers are rough, broken, the bari
Ve ruggedness that turns ones Thoughts
nd grandeur. This route terminates IN
nv climax of attractions. This is the SEN
,se chamber, and from it's center, seemil
~ " out Of boiling coldron OF mol
90 lava that had been chilled and left
-. movable, rises the pillar Of the con-
tuition. It stands alone, the grand
no column ever erected by man or his III
Ion ter. Thirty feet in height, rs feet
ant circumference, with 1uted surface
be. unbroken body, it stands in perpet
the darkness, no ray Of light ever gild
ary its sparkling exterior save that IRON
our Pickering candle.
Let US take out our notebook ana
oulate the age of this venerable pile.
gray bearded guide has told us mat
10 fragile finger Of stone grew three.
4 tcenths Of an inch in nearly 30 yeal
.'fo Que inch in 245 years. This pillar il
ing feet high, $50 inches-two centu
sue and as years to one single inch.
ma then it forms from floor and ceiling
oes. that 2 inches are formed in that Il
hey According to our calculation, 1t
Won been "a, 100 years since the founda
,orc of this column was laid. But we
'~o omitted one factor. The stone fiji
- would have formed in that time,
non this is 600 lines as great in diane
lore Our pencils and books again-but
lsed is bcwi,dering. We cannot concel'
only the lapse of time contained i'll the "a
" years. Why 60 on piling ages
" in ages? Who is brave enough to say
America lacks age? Why, comp
with this, the Rameses were but sc
tiers upon the homestead of antiqul'
ncle Before leaving found small
,ceal Of rock the Indians had dug iron
,fora pillar 1t had been 700 years sine
ank. , ,.:e', nav s.o.,a end carried Il ,
'cted .,.;th NO as relic las ancient
- American can we'll stand up under