The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1896-01-30
ICE CAVES IN JAPAN.

iCE Va co iN JdfdN.
From the London Field.
Some eight or nine miles from
Shoji, in the woods, is the entrance
to the great ice cave we had come
so far to see, a natural circular de-
preston or basin in the ground in
the middle of the TO est, some thirty
yards across and about forty feet
deep. At the foot OF one of the
sides is a dark opening in the lava, a
few feet down which may be seen
the top Of wooden ladder. This is
about twenty feet long, and at the
foot of it are heap of blocks o:
lava, down which we scrambled Tor
some thirty or forty feet more, till q
foor of solid ice, more or less fat,
sas A. eacped, Very careful progress
zi3st thfs sRad'En,be made stS.svsia
silnsx 4 bss { Z
torches. For the first fifty yards
frequent blocks OF lava rise through
the ice of the floor, while further on
there is nothing but ice. The lava
roof is sometimes thirty or forty fee5
above ones head, sometimes only
four or FIVE feet from the floor. The
light of the torches glanced contin-
ually on icicles many feet long PEN
dant from the roof. Presently we
passed some large blocks OF ice,
which had been cut by the country
people for sale at Kofu, some miles
off. At nearly 400 yards rom the
entrance about twenty wonderful ice
stalagmites, from two to five feet in
height, rose from the floor close to a
lava wall forming apparently the
end of the cave, to meet icicles
hanging from the roof from which
water at this time of the year con-
tinually drops on to them. The tops
OF these stalagmites form hollow
bell shaped cylinders giving out q
faint note like gong when struck !;
they are partly filed with water
which drips on to them from the
lcicles above. Soon by the side of
them, on the left, low arch in the
lava on the level of the floor about
three eet high may be seen. Down
this is a strong current of air, there
is rapid descent for some thirty
i've feet, and thence the course of
the cave has been followed for
another 200 yards or so, but owing
20 the strong current of air which
constantly extinguishes the torches,
and the smallness of the passage,
which slopes down rapidly from the
entrance, no detailed description of
it can be given; but undoubtedly the
cave runs on for some distance, per-
haps to another outlet, for the cur
rent Of. air is gszy sSrong at tho ex-
treme point to which any one has
yet penetrated.
The ice has probably remained
frozen in the cave from the winter
months, the action OF the higher
summer temperature being insutfi-
cient to do more than affect the
surface of the ice floor, form few
pools of water, and melt part of the
ice stalactites and sta.agmites. The
tenn mperature OF the cave in summer
seldom exceeds 30 degrees Fahr.,
and that in the declivity or basin in
the ground at the entrance some IL
degrees or IL degrees higher; on
going up from the latter to the level
of the ground in tire wood, rise OIL
some 20 degrees on a warm day is at
once experienced.
Here we stayed the night at the
town of Kajika zawa, and the next
day made the exciting descent Of
the rapids of the Kujikawa, which
need no des ription here, as an ex-
cellent one is given by Messrs.
Cham berlain and Mason in theil
guide, referred to above. AT lwabu
Chi, forty five miles from Kajika-
zawa reached in little over six
hours, l entered the train TOR Kioto
II which 1 spent a most wretcheG
night, in company with a number o.
mosquitoes, whose power of pene.
tration l believe are unaquallet
elsewhere, clothes forming no pro-
lection whatever-a somewhat un.
pleasant termination to an enjoy.
able trip,